Pastors Jim and Marie Watt
(From: MATTHEW #49 - 27:57-66)
H. 27:57-66 THE MYSTERY OF THE TOMB
1. 27:57-61 HIS BODY IN JOSEPH'S TOMB
a. 27:57-58a JOSEPH OF ARIMATHAEA
O-PSIas de ge-noMEnes, ELthen ANthro-pos PLOUsi-os [4145]aPO Ari-maTHAIas,
And when even was come, a rich man came from Arimathaea,
TOUno-ma IoSEPH, hos kai auTOS e-ma-theTEUthetoIeSOU:
Joseph by name, who also himself was a disciple of Jesus:
HOUtos pro-selTHON toPeiLAto, eTEsa-to to SOma tou IeSOU.
58athis manwent to :Pilate and asked for the body of :Jesus.
b. 27:58b Then :Pilate commanded itto be given up.
TOte ho PeiLAtos eKEleu-sen [2753]a-po-doTHEnai [591].
c. 27:59-60 JESUS' BODY LAID IN A NEW TOMB
kai laBON to SOma ho IoSEPH, e-neTUli-xen [1794] auTO en sinDOni [4616] ka-thaRA [2513],
And :Joseph took the body, andwrapped it in a clean linen cloth,
kai Ethe-ken auTO en to kaiNO auTOU mneMEIo, ho e-laTOme-sen [2998] en te PEtra [4073]:
60and laid it in his own new :tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock:
kai pro-skuLIsas [4351] LIthon MEgan te THUra tou mneMEIou, aPELthen.
and he rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb, anddeparted.
d. 27:61 And Mariam :Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulcher.
en de eKEI MaRIam heMag-da-leNE, kai he ALleMaRIa, kaTHEme-nai aPEnan-ti [561]tou TAphou [5028].
2. 27:62-66 PHARISEES HAVE TOMB SEALED
a. 27:62-63 THE PHARISEES FEAR RESURRECTION DECEPTION
Te de ePAUri-on [1887], HEtis esTIN meTA ten pa-ra-skeuEN [3904],
Now on the morrow, which is the dayafter the Preparation,
suNECHthe-san [4863] hoi ar-chi-eREIS kai hoi Pha-riSAIoi pros PeiLAton,
the chief priests and the Pharisees were gathered unto Pilate,
LEgon-tes, KUri-e, emNESthe-men [3415] HOti eKEInos ho PLAnos [4108] EIpen
63saying, Sir, we remember that that :deceiver said
Eti zon, MeTA treis heMEras eGEIro-mai [1453].
while yet alive, After three days I rise again.
b. 27:64 THE REQUEST OF THE PHARISEES
KEleu-son [2753] oun as-pha-lisTHEnai [805] ton TAphon HEos tes TRItes heMEras,
Command therefore that the sepulcher be made secure until the third day,
ME po-te elTHONtes hoi ma-theTAI KLEpso-sin [2813] auTON,
lest haply the disciples come andsteal him,
kai EIpo-sin to laO, E-GERthe aPO ton neKRON:
and say to the people, He is risen from the dead:
kai EStai he esCHAte PLAne [4106] CHEIron [5501] tes PROtes.
and the last error will be worse than the first.
c. 27:65 :Pilate said to them, you have a guard: go, make it assecure as you can.
EpheauTOIS ho PeiLAtos, Eche-te kou-stoDIan [2892]: huPAge-te, as-phaLIsas-the [805]hos OIda-te.
d. 27:66 So they went, andmade the sepulcher sure, having sealed the stone, with the guard there.
hoi de po-reuTHENtes, es-phaLIsan-to ton TAphon, sphraGIsan-tes [4972]ton LIthon, meTA tes kou-stoDIas.
NOTE: 27:57 - God has His elect even among the most bitter of His enemies. Joseph of Arimathaea was from among the Jewish leaders - yet - he not onlybelieved in Jesus - he was also committ ed to Him as a disciple. God wanted His Son to have a burial fitting to His high estate. Though His enemies despised and hated Him, yet Joseph put Him in a tomb as fine as any prepared by Jews. He not only looked after His body on an extremely temporary basis - but he also as a disciple made room for Him in his heart! Following His Resurrection and Pentecost, Joseph no doubt in his body gave Jesus by His Spirit a dwelling place fit indeed for the Son of God.
When Jesus comes into our lives, He is like the Babe of Bethlehem. He grows within us by His Spirit as we pray, and meditate overthe Word of God - even audibly. A life apart from prayer and Word Meditation fails to feedthe
new Babe within us. But as we like Paul give ourselves fully to feeding the New Life within, then soon we can say like Paul, “I have been crucified with Christ; and no longer I live, but Christ lives in me: and what I now live in theflesh I live by faith which is in the Son of :God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me.” Galatians 2:20.
27:62-66 - Notice that Pilate did not do exactly what the chief priests and Pharisees requested. They asked himto secure and seal the tomb. Hegave thema guard, and told them to use the guard in doing the best they could according to their request. Our next reading reveals that no mancould prevent the Father from raising His Son from the dead! He sent a might angel! The stone was rolled away! Jesus rose triumphant over death and the grave! God wanted the Jewish leaders - not Pilate - for the failure in preventing Jesus rising from the dead!
So - this reading on the Tomb - and all that was done to entomb Jesus in the grave - could notcontain Him. Thank God! J.A.W.