Jesus Found to Be Dead. His Body Buried and Guarded in the Tomb.

  39 And there came also Nicodemus, he who at the first came to him by night

  ^a 59 And Joseph ^b bought a linen cloth [a sindon--see Section 124],

  ^c 53 And he took ^a the body, ^c down, ^b and taking him down, wound him in the linen cloth, {^a and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,}

  ^d 40 So they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.

[As to the swathing of dead bodies, see Section 93, also Acts 5:6 . The spices were wrapped between the folds of the linen in order to partially embalm the body. Thus two members of the Sanhedrin unite to bury Jesus, each showing his reverence in his own way: Joseph by buying a sindon instead of cheaper cloth, and Nicodemus by a wonderful wealth of spices--twelve hundred ounces. Possibly the heart of Nicodemus smote him for his tardiness in honoring Christ, and he desired to appease his conscience by giving the Lord a royal burial-- 2 Chronicles 16:14 .]

  ^d 40 So they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.

  41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden [belonging to Joseph];

and in the garden a {^a his own} new tomb which he had {^c that was ^b which had been} ^c hewn in stone, ^b out of a {^a the} rock: ^d wherein was never man yet laid. {^c where never man had yet lain.} [To the sindon Joseph adds the honor of a burial in his own tomb. The unused state of the tomb is mentioned to show that there is no shadow of doubt as to whose resurrection opened it.]

  54 And it was the day of the Preparation, and the sabbath drew on.

  ^d 42 There then because of the Jews' Preparation (for the tomb was nigh at hand) they laid Jesus. ^a and he rolled a great stone to {^b against} the door of the tomb. ^a and departed.

  ^d 42 There then because of the Jews' Preparation (for the tomb was nigh at hand) they laid Jesus. ^a and he rolled a great stone to {^b against} the door of the tomb. ^a and departed.

women, who had come with him out of Galilee, followed after, and beheld the tomb, and how his body was laid.

  ^a 61 And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, ^b the mother of Joses ^a sitting over against the sepulchre. ^c and beheld the tomb, ^b where ^c and how his body was laid.

  56 And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments. And on the sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

[As Jesus died about three o'clock in the afternoon, and as all work had to stop at sunset, which was the beginning of the Sabbath, Joseph was much hurried in his efforts to bury Jesus. The context, therefore, shows that our Lord was not completely embalmed by him. The body of Jesus might have been kept elsewhere until after the Sabbath; but because the tomb was near it appears to have been used temporarily, and the preparation of spices by the women shows that even that part of the burial was not, in their estimation, completed. This unfinished burial led the women back to the tomb early on the first day of the week, and thus brought to the disciples the glad news of the resurrection without any needless delay.]

  ^a 61 And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, ^b the mother of Joses ^a sitting over against the sepulchre. ^c and beheld the tomb, ^b where ^c and how his body was laid.

  56 And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments. And on the sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

  ^a 62 Now on the morrow, which is the day after the Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees were gathered together unto Pilate [This was not the whole Sanhedrin, but members of it. When did they come to Pilate? Meyer, Cook, etc., say that the Greek word translated "morrow" precludes any other idea than it was after daylight Saturday morning, but Michaelis, Paulus, Kuinoel, etc., say that they came Friday night, and we think their view is correct. The word translated "morrow" also means "the next day." As the Jewish day began at sunset, we know of no other Greek adverb by which Matthew could have expressed the beginning of a day. Had it been the Sabbath morning there is no reason why Matthew should not have said so. By mentioning, instead, the Preparation, he draws the mind back to what we would call Friday night. It is highly improbable that the Jews would leave the tomb of Jesus unguarded for one whole night. Their gathering thus to Pilate in the shades of evening presents a gruesome picture],

that that deceiver said while he was yet alive, After three days I rise again. [For this saying,tfg.cgi?section=T#">Section Section 49.]

  64 Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day [Had the phrase "after three days" meant three full days to them, they would have said "until the fourth day." For the Jewish method of counting days see Section 49], lest haply his disciples come and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: and the last error will be worse than the first. [The marvelous signs accompanying the death of Jesus appealed to men's fear rather than to their love, and were, therefore, calculated to make a far deeper impression upon his enemies than upon his friends. We find, therefore, these Jewish rulers full of active interest in the dead Christ while his apostles and friends are listless in despair. They, of course, did not think it possible that Jesus could indeed rise, but, seeing the profound impression which the portents attending the crucifixion had made upon the multitude ( Luke 23:48 ), and judging the disciples of Jesus by themselves--full of all subtlety and cunning--they grasped at once the idea that the disciples could make a great stir among the people by stealing the body and proclaiming the predicted resurrection. The apostles, on the other hand, when the actual resurrection had taken place, did not learn for fifty days what use to make of it, thus showing they could not have planned a pretended resurrection.]

  65 Pilate said unto them, Ye have a guard [The Greek here may be the indicative or the imperative; it is clearly the latter. If the Jews had possessed a guard, they would not have asked for one. Pilate consents to their request by saying, "Have ye a guard:" thereby fully sanctioning their idea]: go, make it as sure as ye can.

  66 So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, the guard being with them.

[They sealed the stone by drawing a string or tape across it and fastening the ends with wax or clay to the surface of the rock on either side. If either seals were broken, that fact would show that the tomb was entered from without.]

  66 So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, the guard being with them.