Trying to Lock the Lord in the Tomb (Matthew 27:62-28:7).

Class Outline:

Wednesday April 29, 2026

 

Main Point: 

Human attempts to secure the gospel in the tomb always fail, because the resurrection of Jesus Christ is God’s decisive victory over death. 

 

How could the dead keep the One who defeated death in a room for the dead, a sepulchre? 

 

The resurrection turns fear into joy, death into life, and defeat into a global commission. And men tried to stop this from getting out. 

 

MAT 27:62-28:7

Now on the next day, the day after the preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate, 63 and said, "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.

 

MAT 28:1-7

Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave. 2 And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. 3 And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. 4 The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men. 5 The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. 6 "He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. 7 "Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you." 

 

Point 1: The Quest to Secure the Tomb

 

They used the word “secure” three times in three verses. This is the theme of this first part, they want to secure Jesus in the tomb so that His teaching and influence will be wiped from the earth. 

 

They called Him “that deceiver.” They worried that “the last deception will be worse than the first.” In a strange way, they were prophetic. The “deception” did spread—but it wasn’t a lie told by a deceiver. It was the explosive growth of the gospel and the church, the living body of the risen Lord.

 

As Bruce Shelley wrote in Church History in Plain Language: “Christianity is the only major religion to have as its central event the humiliation of its God.”

 

Securing a lion. 

 

REV 5:5

"Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals." 

 

If the Lion of the tribe of Judah wants to rise, no human security operation will hold Him.

 

Point 2: The Resurrection - Death Devoured by Life   

 

MAT 28:1-4

 

Notice the irony: The Man who was supposed to be dead inside the tomb is alive. The guards who were supposed to be alive outside the tomb are “like dead men.” Not everyone who seems alive really is. And not everyone we think is dead stays dead.

 

This is the most unique of all miracles.

 

The resurrection happened on the first day of the week—a workday—because this was the dawning of a new era in history. The last era before final judgment.

 

The angel rolled the stone away not to let Jesus out, but so that the women (and eventually the world) could look in.

 

There were no eyewitnesses to the actual moment of resurrection. That silence is one of the strongest evidences of the truthfulness of the Gospels. The dignity of the Gospel is that no eye had seen it, and therefore no pen described it.

 

Point 3: The Angel’s Message - “Do Not Be Afraid… He Has Risen”

 

MAT 28:5-7

 

“Do not you be afraid” — the pronoun is emphatic. The guards can stay afraid. But for those who seek the crucified Jesus, fear is replaced by peace when we believe God’s commands and promises.

 

“He has been raised” — one Greek word (egerthe) that, if false, brings all of Christianity down like a house of cards. It is passive voice, pointing to the Father’s power. Death is defeated.

 

He gave us the Lord’s Supper to remind us of this continually. Notice how the angel describes Jesus: 

 

MAT 28:5

I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified.

 

The perfect tense of the verb speaks of volume of theology - He has been and remains crucified. The Lord’s Supper is to commemorate His death and not His resurrection.

 

“Just as He said” — this validates every promise Jesus ever made (MAT 12:40; 16:21; 17:9, 23; 20:19; 26:32). God’s promises are “Yes” and “Amen.”

 

“Come and see” — an invitation to empirical investigation. 

 

This is direct contrast to the upcoming attempt of the religious leaders, after the resurrection, to deceive the world with the propaganda that the disciples stole the body. 

 

Biblical faith is not anti-question; it is humbly inquisitive.

 

The bodily resurrection matters because God loves the whole person—body and soul.

 

It is historical reality, not a mere spiritual influence or memory. Jesus Himself—fully, personally, corporeally—is alive.

 

Application  

 

1. Stop trying to secure your own tomb. Some of us are still living as if Jesus is dead. Let Him out.

 

2. The message is not for private comfort. The angel told the women, “Go quickly and tell.”

 

3. God uses the faithful weak things. In a world that did not consider women credible witnesses, Jesus chose them first. He still chooses what the world calls weak to shame the strong.

 

4. Live in the power of a living hope. 1PE 1:3 — “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

 

Because He is risen:

- Your body matters (future resurrection).

- Your obedience matters (He is with you always).

- Your failures are not final (He goes ahead of you even when you have denied Him).

 

He kept His promise to meet the disciples in Galilee even after they fled. He will keep His promises to you.