51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. 54 When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
55 There were also many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him, 56 among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
57 When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. 59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud 60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.
62 The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate 63 and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ 64 Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
After Jesus gave up His life, the curtain of the temple which separated the holy place from the most holy place was torn in two from top to bottom. Man no longer needed a Levitical high priest to mediate between him and God. Because of Jesus’ death, we now have access to God through Jesus. The entire system of animal sacrifices had been done away with. The earth shook and rocks were split with earthquakes as a sign of God’s wrath (Jer 10:10). Many believers (at the time in the future Messiah) were raised from the dead when Jesus was raised and they came out of their tombs and went into Jerusalem and appeared to many. These people were likely raised like Lazarus had been, not raised as will happen at the return of Christ. When the centurion and guards who had kept watch over Jesus saw all these things happen, they were filled with awe and agreed that Jesus probably was who He had said He was. While the disciples had deserted Jesus, all the women who had been ministering to Him were there and watched from a distance.
That evening, Joseph of Arimathea went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. The bodies of criminals who had been crucified were typically discarded. Jesus is wrapped in cloth and buried in Joseph’s tomb which had been cut out of a rock. Joseph was a wealthy member of the Sanhedrin who had become a disciple of Jesus. Jesus was buried in a rich man’s grave as prophesied (Isa 53:9). A large stone was rolled in front of the grave and the women were there watching.
The next day the chief priests and Pharisees went to Pilate and arranged to have a guard protect the tomb. They knew that Jesus had predicted that He would rise on the third day and they didn’t want His disciples to steal the body and claim a resurrection. Pilate had the tomb sealed and placed a Roman guard to protect the tomb. Jesus had been declared dead and buried. A large stone was placed over the tomb entrance which could not be rolled away from the inside. A Roman guard stood watch on the outside and the tomb was sealed. There was no way anyone was coming out of that tomb apart from a supernatural resurrection.