Matthew 27:64

Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest haply his disciples come and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: and the last error will be worse than the first.

In all history, where is there another case of a posted guard and sealed tomb to prevent reports of a resurrection? True, graves have been sealed and guarded many times, but never before or since for such an ostensible purpose as this. The profound implications of this request of the Pharisees are astonishing. It shows that they anticipated the preaching of the apostles that "He is risen from the dead!" Their supposition, however, that the apostles would do so, even if it was a lie, can be explained only on the basis that the Pharisees imputed to the apostles of Christ the same hypocrisy and falsity they had in themselves. Yet it must appear that no group of men ever born could have preached a falsehood of such dimensions (if it had been a falsehood), sealing it with their blood, and going to prison and to death shouting "His is risen from the dead," and demonstrating the most passionate and emotional dedication to such a gospel. The behavior of those faithful men who preached the truth removes every suspicion that it was anything other than the truth and gives a solid ground on which two thousand years of believing disciples of Christ have founded their conviction that those wonderful things, including the resurrection of the Christ, did actually occur.

We gazed not in the open tomb, Where once thy mangled body lay; Nor saw Thee in that upper room, Nor met Thee on the open way; But we believe that angels said, "Why seek the living with the dead?" But we believe that angels said, "Why seek the living with the dead?" - Ann Richter's words for Knowles Shaw's great hymn, "We Saw Thee Not!" (Great Songs of the Church, No. 404)

There is also an admission of the Pharisees in this verse that the crucifixion was an "error," although they probably did not intend such an admission. The fact that even so mild an admission of "error" fell from their lips can be understood only in the light of the marvels that attended the death of our Lord. The earthquake, the darkness, the rending of the veil, etc., along with the confession of the centurion, had produced the most overwhelming demonstration that "the Holy One" indeed had been upon the cross; and as a result, those pious hypocrites were at last willing to admit, quite piously and indirectly of course, that perhaps it was an "error"!

Satanic instigation of the request for the sealing of the grave and posting of a guard is evidenced by the following: The Lord's disciples were scattered, discouraged, and, for the most part, disbelieving that any resurrection would occur. There was not the slightest possibility that any of them would have stolen the body, nor could any of them, not even Judas, have been capable of such futile and unrewarding fraud as that suggested by the Pharisees. Why then was the watch set? It is the view here that Satan anticipated the resurrection, knowing that it would occur perfectly on schedule; and the devil desired such a watch in order to provide suborned liars to deny it after the fact. That such was actually his purpose is manifest in the use that was quickly made of it. Not even the devil thought that the resurrection could be prevented by so naive and futile a device.