Passion Week: April 4, AD 33

April 4th, 2026
by Lance Waldie

Matthew 27:62-66 On the next day, the day after the preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate: 63 “Sir, we remember that when He was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I am to rise again.’ 64 Therefore, give orders for the grave to be made secure until the third day, otherwise His disciples may come and steal Him away and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you know how.” 66 And they went and made the grave secure, and along with the guard they set a seal on the stone.

Even after Jesus’ death, the chief priests were still fearful of Him. On the Sabbath (April 4, AD 33) day after His burial—“the day after the preparation,” they went to Pilate and requested a guard for Jesus’ tomb. Knowing that Jesus had prophesied that He would rise from the dead after three days (cf. 16:21; 17:23; 20:18), they were fearful that His disciples would steal the body and tell everyone that Jesus had risen. So a guard was needed to secure the tomb “until the third day.”

Pilate capitulated and gave the Jews a Roman “guard” to protect Jesus’ tomb. A “guard” was plural, usually consisting of two groups of four men each. The guard at the tomb was plural since Matthew 28:4 says that the guards who comprised the “guard” were fearful after they saw the empty tomb. This can also be seen in Matt. 28:11-15 which speaks of this guard as a group of men as opposed to a single man. This is a vital fact since it refutes the idea that one man guarded the tomb and was later overpowered by Jesus’ disciples of Jesus who then stole His body.

Certainly Rome did its best to protect the tomb. Roman guards were strict in all matters. It is known that if a soldier fell asleep while on duty, he was executed. Yet while attempting to explain away Jesus’ resurrection, the chief priests conspired to say that the disciples stole Jesus’ body while all the Roman soldiers were sleeping (28:12-13)! It is improbable enough that one solider would fall asleep, but all of them? Clearly, this was another act of God’s providence that further proves Jesus did in fact rise from the dead.

The Jews knew that the Roman guard had to be strict in order to keep the tomb from being disturbed. They knew that if word got out that Jesus had risen, then the “last deception will be worse than the first” (v. 64). In other words, even if Jesus rose from the grave, they would not believe but only lament the fact that their plan to murder Him did not ultimately work, at least not for them. In addition to the guard at the tomb, the stone covering it was sealed with the seal of Rome. The seal was a cord that stretched across the stone on both ends with the seal of the king’s signet ring on top of it. Seals were engraved in the presence of Roman guards, who were given the task to watch and protect what was sealed. To break a Roman seal was a crime against the official whose identity was attached—another crime punishable by death.

Food For thought
Many today still strive to squelch Jesus’ influence in our world. Most simply ignore Him, but others spread lies about Jesus, sarcastically insulting Christians and acting as if they know for sure that Jesus did not rise from the grave. Yet as the religious leaders of Jesus’ day failed, so too will all the modern efforts to do the same. After all, if the truth is found in Jesus Christ, and the truth always wins, how can the lies of satanically driven atheists and skeptics prevail? They can’t and they won’t. Let us as Christians therefore praise God that all of His chosen ones will indeed hear the truth and eventually come to saving faith in Jesus Christ—God in flesh, crucified under Pontius Pilate to pay the penalty for our sins, buried in Joseph’s tomb, raised to glory on the third day! Though we weren’t there to witness it, neither were all these modern skeptics. We believe it like we believe other historical accounts: eyewitnesses attest to it. And no one can refute it!