The Guard - Matt 27:62-66

I just want to circle around and talk a little bit more about what exactly was being done to Jesus’ tomb. First, let’s talk about what Matthew meant when he said that the chief priests “made the sepulcher sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.” Pilate had sent a Roman officiator to inspect and certify that Jesus’ tomb was under Roman jurisdiction. In an article entitled, “Buried & Sealed: Jesus in the Tomb” published on CBN’s website we read, “Wasting no time, the chief priests and elders hastened to the tomb with their government- issued soldiers and the special officers assigned to inspect the tomb before placing Pilate’s seal upon it… The purpose of the seal was to authenticate that Jesus was dead; therefore, we can know that His body was thoroughly inspected again for proof of death… We can also be fairly certain that the chief priests and elders who accompanied the soldiers to the burial site demanded the right to view His dead body as well so they could verify that He was truly dead.”

So how did the Roman’s “seal” the tomb? It consists of moving parts and lots of dirt. In an essary entitled, “Resurrection Facts to be Reckoned with” we learn, “After the guard inspected the tomb and rolled the stone in place, a cord was stretched across the rock and fastened at either end with sealing clay. Finally, the clay packs were stamped with the official signet of the Roman governor.” The article also notes that tampering with the seal would have been punishable by death, as Jesus’ tomb was now considered to be under the control of Pilate himself. I would imagine that initially, the wet slay would have held the embossment well but also would have been difficult to move. The state of the wet clay would have been the perfect time to try to and carefully peel away the clay in order to access the tomb, but it would have taken a while to take the seal off the stone door without it cracking. After the clay dried, then it would have been almost impossible to remove the seal without it being completely obvious.
But even if someone were able to remove the seal and kept it intact, the amount of time it took wouldn’t matter because they would have to get through the guards first. I’m not quite sure if these guards were Roman or Jewish. We already know that the chief priests had their own contingent of guards because that’s the group that came to arrest Jesus just the day before. Taking into consideration the different accounts of these events, I can make the case for both Roman guards and Jewish guards, not together of course, but either party would make sense. Pilate’s statement “ye have a watch” could indicate that “fine, you can take some soldiers with you to guard the tomb.” But another way to look at it could be “you already have your own guards, use them” and was only granting them officials to seal the tomb.