Daily Devotions
Luke
Luke 23:50-56; Matthew 27:62-66 "INTERNAL FRICTION AMONG THE JEWS"
Day 334 – Luke 23
Text: Luke 23:50-56; Matthew 27:62-66
INTERNAL FRICTION AMONG THE JEWS
The majority of the Sanhedrin Council were dead set against Jesus and all that He stood for. However, there was a minority that still wielded some authority and influence. Joseph of Arimathea was able to approach Pilate personally to ask that the body of Jesus be given to him for burial. Nicodemus came along to give him support.
Obviously, the Sanhedrin Council wasn’t able to get their way all the time. They were the ones who forced the hand of Pilate to crucify Jesus. They were also the ones who asked that the legs of Jesus and the two criminals crucified with Him be broken to hasten their death.
Somehow, they did not think about asking for the body of Jesus. They figured that the Romans would dispose of the corpses in their own way. They reckoned without people like Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. They may have been silent ones before, but when they saw how Jesus was crucified, they stepped forward.
They did not want to see the body of Jesus desecrated! Joseph and Nicodemus were now one step ahead of their rivaling colleagues in the Sanhedrin Council. By having Jesus properly entombed, they ensured that His body would not be put through any further ignominy.
THE REQUEST OF THE CHIEF PRIESTS AND PHARISEES
It was the Sabbath day! The chief priests and the Pharisees should have been observing the Sabbath. After all they were the ones who insisted that the bodies of Jesus and the two robbers be brought down before the Sabbath began! The women disciples of Jesus “rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment” (Luke 23:56). The chief priests certainly did not rest when they went to ask for an audience with the Roman Governor.
Matthew recorded the interview between the Jews and Pilate. The Jews made their request known to Pilate.
“On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation,
the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate,
saying, ‘Sir, we remember, while He was still alive,
how that deceiver said,
‘After three days I will rise.’
Therefore, command that the tomb be made secure
Until the third day, lest His Disciples come by night
And steal Him away, and say to the people,
‘He has risen from the dead.’
So the last deception will be worse than the first.’ “
Matthew 27:62-64
The Jews were not to be outdone, by Joseph, Nicodemus or the Disciples of Jesus. Yes, the silent Disciples of Jesus had stolen a march on them by asking that the body of Jesus be given to them. The Jews would never have given Jesus this kind of a burial!
They could not prevent Joseph from asking for the body of Jesus. News that Jesus’ body had been given to Joseph must have shocked them. Perhaps this prompted the Jews to ask that Pilate mount a guard at the tomb of Jesus, just in case other disciples had another wild idea, like stealing the body of Jesus from His tomb.
THE CONSENT OF PILATE
Pilate by now must have been quite tired of these Jews! He quickly agreed to their request with these words,
“Pilate said to them, ‘You have a guard;
Go your way, make it as secure as you know how.’
So they went and made the tomb secure,
Sealing the stone and setting the guard.”
Matthew 27:65-66
Setting a guard over a tomb after sealing it? Who had heard of such precautions, to guard a dead body? Pilate had talked to his centurion concerning the certification of the death of Jesus! There was no question about the fact that Jesus had indeed died on the Cross at Calvary!
THE TOMB OF JESUS ALREADY HAD A STONE TO SEAL IT UP
Mark noted that the tomb of Jesus, given by Joseph of Arimathea had a stone to seal the mouth of the cave. This was quite normal to prevent any desecration of the dead.
“Then he (Joseph) bought fine linen, took Him down,
and wrapped Him in the linen.
And he laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock,
and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.”
Mark 15:46
The Jews though they had succeeded in killing Jesus were still haunted by the fear that the Disciples of Jesus might steal the Body of Jesus, and spread the news that He had risen from the dead. They personally did not believe that Jesus could ever rise from the dead, and thus they asked for guards to secure the tomb from any unwarranted attempts to break in.
GOD’S PART NOT COINSIDERED AT ALL
The Jews must have had time to assess the events of the day. When Jesus was crucified, a great darkness had covered the land. When He uttered His last words, the Veil in the Temple was torn from top to bottom. Some graves were opened, and the dead walked arose!
The Jews had all these facts to consider and they ended up with asking for the tomb of Jesus to be sealed and guarded. They hadn’t factored in what God could do!