Matthew 27:66

66 So they went with the guard of soldiers [and] made the tomb secure [by] sealing the stone.

Matthew 27:66 Meaning and Commentary

Matthew 27:66

So they went
From Pilate's palace, to the garden of Joseph, and to the sepulchre there; which whether more than a sabbath day's journey, or two thousand cubits, may be inquired; and if so, then they broke one of their own traditions, which allowed a person to go no further on a sabbath day; (See Gill on Acts 1:12).

And made the sepulchre sure;
in the following manner,

sealing the stone;
that was rolled to the door of it, it may be with some public seal, with Pilate's, or with the sanhedrim's; as the stone at the mouth of the lions' den, in which Daniel was put, was sealed with the king's signet, and with the signet of his lords, ( Daniel 6:17 ) , that there might be no change of the sentence upon him, and by which it appeared, that his deliverance was by no human assistance: so the stone at Christ's sepulchre was sealed, that it could not be removed without breaking it; which would show, whether any fraudulent methods were taken to remove the body:

and setting a watch;
a guard of soldiers, to observe and prevent any person coming near it; or "with the watch": they made sure the sepulchre with the watch; or sealed the stone, the watch being present; all which was overruled by the providence of God, for the greater confirmation of the truth of Christ's resurrection: by the methods taken, it clearly appears, there could be no fraud in the case; the body was laid in a tomb, where no corpse had ever been before; in a tomb hewed out of a rock, to which there was no access, but at the door; where a great stone was rolled; and this had a seal upon it, and a guard of soldiers about it; and hereby there were more witnesses of Christ's resurrection, than otherwise would have been; as the soldiers, though they were afterwards bribed to tell another story; and even the chief priests and Pharisees were convicted that he was risen, or they would never have taken such a method with the soldiers, as they did.

Matthew 27:66 In-Context

64 Therefore give orders that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples come [and] steal him and tell the people, 'He has been raised from the dead,' and the last deception will be worse than the first."

65 Pilate said to them, "You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make [it] as secure as you know how."

66 So they went with the guard of soldiers [and] made the tomb secure [by] sealing the stone.

Footnotes

• [a] *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("went") has been translated as a finite verb
• [b] *Here "[by]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("sealing") which is understood as means