Matthew 27:62-65
In going to Pilate, the Pharisees’ goal was to prevent Jesus’ followers from making him a martyr in the eyes of the people. Remembering Jesus’ predictions that he would rise from the grave after three days, the religious professionals went to the governor on the Sabbath to petition him to guard the tomb so that his disciples could not steal him away at night and then claim that Jesus’ prophecies had come true.
Did you notice the hypocrisy? The religious authorities went to Pilate on the Sabbath.
During Jesus’ three plus year ministry, the religious elites often accused Jesus of healing or breaking their customs on the Sabbath. But here they are, the day after he died, petitioning a secular ruler to set up a guard at his tomb. The chief priests and Pharisees should have been teaching the people. They should have been extolling the Scriptures that teach about justice, mercy and resting in God.
Pilate more than granted the petitioners their request and sent them soldiers for in order for them to make the tomb secure. Included was Pilate’s seal, that if broken, would have been punishable by death. Instead of squashing a phony miracle story, the Pharisees strengthened the resurrection reports. Instead of stopping false witnesses, they added enemy eye witnesses to the Gospel’s amazing Resurrection Sunday accounts.
And despite all their anxious planning and hypocritical diplomacy, these religious zealots couldn’t keep Jesus, or his Gospel, in the grave.
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