The Passion: He Was Buried — The Confirmation of His Death
Study The Word
Matthew 27:57–66
When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus’ disciple: He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.
There are some people who dispute the fact that Jesus Christ actually died. Some people went about saying that He faked His death, that it was staged, that money was involved in a plot during Jesus’s day to make it all look real. Even Pilate initially couldn’t believe it — “He’s already dead?” But the scriptures are very clear: Jesus died. He truly died. And then He was buried. And the burial of Jesus Christ is one of the most important details of the gospel because it confirms beyond all doubt that He was truly dead. You cannot bury someone who is alive. The body was taken down from the cross. It was wrapped in clean linen. It was placed in a tomb. And a great stone was rolled to seal it.
θάπτω thapto buried – to bury, to entomb, to inter a body; the act of placing the dead in a sepulchre
But it gets even more powerful than that. The chief priests and the Pharisees — those same characters who plotted His death — they came to Pilate and said, “Sir, remember that this deceiver said while He was yet alive, after three days I will rise again. Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead.”
The enemies of Jesus actually confirmed that He was dead! They wanted the tomb secured because they knew He had prophesied His own resurrection. That right there is proof that Jesus was truly dead. They didn’t know that all their attempts to cover this up was providing the evidence and confirmation of His death and subsequent resurrection.
קבר qabar grave – to bury, to be buried; a burial place, a sepulchre, a tomb
And Pilate said unto them, “You have guards. Go your way. Make it as sure as you can.” So they went and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone and setting a guard. They sealed the tomb. They posted soldiers. They did everything in their power to make sure that Jesus stayed dead and buried. But here’s what they didn’t understand: you cannot seal what God has destined to open. You cannot guard against the power of the resurrection. You cannot prevent the purposes of God with lies, bribes, stones and soldiers. Glory to God! The folly of the enemies of Jesus back then and even today is that, they never realized that God’s wisdom is such that every attempt to disprove the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ does the opposite, it produces more evidence.
σφραγίζω sphragizo sealing – to seal, to set a seal upon, to mark with a seal for security or authentication
The confirmation of Jesus’s death, the sealing of the tomb, and the stationing of trained guards — who would themselves become eyewitnesses — effectively dismantles any theory that the timid disciples could have orchestrated a body theft. What this does is shift the burden of proof entirely onto the chief priests and the leaders of the people. If the resurrection was a hoax they had already anticipated and warned against, they now owed the world a body to disprove it.
No credible argument can place frightened, fleeing disciples on a suicide mission against armed men. This means the onus falls squarely on the chief priests and rulers — claiming that the resurrection was a fabricated prophecy, the most obvious counter was to produce the body. Where’s the body? They never could produce the body. Haha!
Think about this, the prophet Isaiah had already spoken of this burial hundreds of years before. Isaiah 53:9 says, “And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.” The chief priests and the leaders of the people were the prominent and wealthy figures of the nation of Israel at the time. Joseph of Arimathea who asked for the body of Jesus, was also a rich man. And he laid the body of Jesus in his own new tomb. The prophecy was fulfilled to the letter. He made His grave with the rich in His death. Every detail of the gospel was spoken of in the law, in the prophets, and in the psalms – all fulfilled. Jesus died. Jesus was buried. And the tomb was sealed. But the story doesn’t end there. Hallelujah! Because what God has purposed, no man can seal against. The burial was confirmed. But the resurrection was coming!
Pray The Word
Heavenly Father, I thank You that every detail of the gospel was fulfilled according to the scriptures — including the burial of Jesus Christ. I thank You that His burial confirms the reality of His death and the certainty of His resurrection. No stone, no seal, and no guard could stop Your plan of salvation, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Speak The Word
Jesus Christ was truly buried, and His burial was confirmed by eyewitnesses, by His enemies, and by the fulfillment of prophecy. No power of man could keep Him in the grave! What God has purposed, no stone can seal and no guard can prevent. The gospel is established on fact, on prophecy, and on the power of God. I stand on these unshakeable truths, in the name of Jesus Christ!