TRV
Translation
King James Version
So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.
Complete Jewish Bible
So they went and made the grave secure by sealing the stone and putting the guard on watch.
Berean Standard Bible
So they went and secured the tomb by sealing the stone and posting the guard.
American Standard Version
So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, the guard being with them.
World English Bible Messianic
So they went with the guard and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone.
Geneva Bible (1599)
And they went, and made the sepulchre sure with the watch, and sealed the stone.
Young's Literal Translation
and they, having gone, did make the sepulchre secure, having sealed the stone, together with the watch.
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In the KJVVerse 24,196 of 31,102
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Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers . Public domain.
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Hilary of Poitiers (as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)AD 367
Catena Aurea by Aquinas
Their fear lest the body should be stolen, the setting a watch on the tomb, and sealing it, are marks of folly and unbelief, that they should have sought to seal up the tomb of One at whose bidding they had seen a dead man raised from the tomb.
John Chrysostom (as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)AD 407
Catena Aurea by Aquinas
(Hom. lxxxix.) Observe how against their will they concert to demonstrate the truth, for by their precautions irrefragable demonstration of the resurrection was attained. The sepulchre was watched, and so no fraud could have been practised; and if there was no collusion, it is certain that the Lord rose again.
Pilate will not suffer that the soldiers alone should seal. But as though he had learnt the truth concerning Christ, he was no longer willing to be partner in their acts, and says, Seal it as ye will yourselves, that ye may not be able to accuse others. For had the soldiers alone sealed, they might have said that the soldiers had suffered the disciples to steal the body, and so given the disciples a handle to forge a tale concerning the resurrection; but this could they not say now, when they themselves had sealed the sepulchre.
John ChrysostomAD 407
Homily on the Gospel of Matthew 89
Everywhere deceit recoils upon itself, and against its will supports the truth. And observe. It was necessary for it to be believed that He died, and that He rose again, and that He was buried, and all these things are brought to pass by His enemies. See, at any rate, these words bearing witness to every one of these facts. "We remember," these are the words, "that that deceiver said, when He was yet alive," (He was therefore now dead), "After three days I rise again. Command therefore that the sepulchre be sealed," (He was therefore buried), "lest His disciples come and steal Him away." So that if the sepulchre be sealed, there will be no unfair dealing. For there could not be. So then the proof of His resurrection has become incontrovertible by what ye have put forward. For because it was sealed, there was no unfair dealing. But if there was no unfair dealing, and the sepulchre was found empty, it is manifest that He is risen, plainly and incontrovertibly. Seest thou, how even against their will they contend for the proof of the truth?
But mark thou, I pray thee, the disciples' love of truth, how they conceal from us none of the things that are said by His enemies, though they use opprobrious language. Behold, at any rate, they even call Him a deceiver, and these men are not silent about that.
But these things show also their savageness (that not even at His death did they let go their anger), and these men's simple and truthful disposition.
But it were worth while to inquire concerning that point also, where He said, "After three days I rise again?" For one would not find this thus distinctly stated, but rather the example of Jonah. So that they understood His saying, and of their own will dealt unfairly.
What then saith Pilate? "Ye have a watch; make it as sure as ye can. And they made it sure, sealing the sepulchre, and setting the watch." He suffers not the soldiers alone to seal, for as having learnt the things concerning Christ, he was no longer willing to co-operate with them. But in order to be rid of them, he endures this also, and saith, "Do ye seal it as ye will, that ye may not have it in your power to blame others." For if the soldiers only had sealed, they might have said (although the saying would have been improbable and false, yet nevertheless as in the rest they cast aside shame, so in this too they might have been able to say), that the soldiers, having given up the body to be stolen, gave His disciples opportunity to feign the history concerning His resurrection, but now having themselves made it sure, they are not able to say so much as this.
Seest thou how they labor for the truth against their will? For they themselves came to Pilate, themselves asked, themselves sealed, setting the watch, so as to be accusers, and refuters one of another. And indeed when should they have stolen Him? on the Sabbath? And how? for it was not lawful so much as to go out. And even if they transgressed the law, how should they have dared, who were so timid, to come forth? And how could they also have been able to persuade the multitude? By saying what? By doing what? And from what sort of zeal could they have stood in behalf of the dead? expecting what recompense? what requital? Seeing Him yet alive and merely seized, they had fled; and after His death were they likely to speak boldly in His behalf, unless He had risen again? And how should these things be reasonable? For that they were neither willing nor able to feign a resurrection, that did not take place, is plain from hence. He discoursed to them much of a resurrection, and continually said, as indeed these very men have stated, "After three days I rise again." If therefore He rose not again, it is quite clear that these men (having been deceived and made enemies to an entire nation for His sake, and come to be without home and without city) would have abhorred Him, and would not have been willing to invest Him with such glory; as having been deceived, and having fallen into the utmost dangers on His account. For that they would not even have been able, unless the resurrection had been true, to feign it, this does not so much as need reasoning.
For in what were they confident? In the shrewdness of their reasonings? Nay of all men they were the most unlearned. But in the abundance of their possessions? Nay, they had neither staff nor shoes. But in the distinction of their race? Nay, they were mean, and of mean ancestors. But in the greatness of their country? Nay, they were of obscure places. But in their own numbers? Nay, they were not more than eleven, and they were scattered abroad. But in their Master's promises? What kind of promises? For if He were not risen again, neither would those be likely to be trusted by them. And how should they endure a frantic people. For if the chief of them endured not the speech of a woman, keeping the door, and if all the rest too, on seeing Him bound, were scattered abroad, how should they have thought to run to the ends of the earth, and plant a feigned tale of a resurrection? For if he stood not a woman's threat, and they not so much as the sight of bonds, how were they able to stand against kings, and rulers, and nations, where were swords, and gridirons, and furnaces, and ten thousand deaths day by day, unless they had the benefit of the power and grace of Him who rose again? Such miracles and so many were done, and none of these things did the Jews regard, but crucified Him, who had done them, and were they likely to believe these men at their mere word about a resurrection? These things are not, they are not so, but the might of Him, who rose again, brought them to pass.
But mark, I pray thee, their craft, how ridiculous it is. "We remember," these are their words, "that that deceiver said, while He was yet alive, After three days I rise again." Yet if He were a deceiver, and boastfully uttered falsehood, why are ye afraid and run to and fro, and use so much diligence? We are afraid, it is replied, lest perchance the disciples steal Him away, and deceive the multitude. And yet this has been proved to have no probability at all. Malice, however, is a thing contentious and shameless, and attempts what is unreasonable.
And they command it to be made sure for three days, as contending for doctrines, and being minded to prove that before that time also He was a deceiver, and they extend their malice even to His tomb. For this reason then He rose sooner, that they might not say that He spake falsely, and was stolen. For this, His rising sooner, was open to no charge, but to be later would have been full of suspicion. For indeed if He had not risen then, when they were sitting there, and watching, but when they had withdrawn after the three days, they would have had something to say, and to speak against it, although foolishly. For this reason then He anticipated the time. For it was meet the resurrection should take place, while they were sitting by and watching. Therefore also it was fit it should take place within the three days, since if it had been when they were passed, and the men had withdrawn, the matter would have been regarded with suspicion. Wherefore also He allowed them to seal it, as they were minded, and soldiers sat around it.
And they cared not about doing these things, and working on a Sabbath day, but they looked to one object only, their own wicked purpose, as though by that they were to succeed; which was a mark of extreme folly, and of fear now greatly dismaying them. For they who seized Him, when living, are afraid of Him when dead. And yet if He had been a mere man, they had reason to have taken courage. But that they might learn, that when living also He endured of His own will, what He did endure; behold, both a seal, a stone, and a watch, and they were not able to hold Him. But there was one result only, that the burial was published, and the resurrection thereby proved. For indeed soldiers sat by it, and Jews are on the watch.
JeromeAD 420
COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 4.27.64
It would not have sufficed for the chief priests, scribes and Pharisees to have crucified the Lord our Savior if they had not also guarded the tomb, called in the military, sealed the entrance and, as far as they were able, resisted the resurrection. Their concern for these details serves only to advance our faith; the greater their precautionary care, the more fully is revealed the power of the resurrection. Thus he was buried in a new tomb cut from rock. If the tomb had been constructed from a mound of stones, it could have been said that his body was excavated from underneath the stones and secretly removed. That he had to be buried in a sepulcher is also shown by the prophecy which says, “He will dwell in a deep cave cut from the strongest rock,” and again, two verses further: “You will see the king in his glory.”
JeromeAD 420
Commentary on Matthew
(Verse 64 and following) Therefore, command that the tomb be guarded until the third day, lest his disciples come and steal him away and tell the people, 'He has risen from the dead,' and the last deception will be worse than the first." Pilate said to them, "You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can." So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard. It was not enough for the chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees to have crucified the Lord and Savior, unless they also guarded the tomb, took a cohort, sealed the stone, and opposed their hands to the one rising, so that their diligence would benefit our faith: For the more it is kept hidden, the more the power of the resurrection is revealed. And in the new monument, which had been cut out of the rock, He was buried, so that if it had been built with many stones, the foundation of the tomb being dug up, it could be easily taken away by thieves. But as for where He was to be placed in the tomb, there is the testimony of the prophet, saying: He shall dwell in the rocky cave which is the strongest rock (Isaiah 33:16). And immediately after two verses, it follows: You shall see the King with glory (Ibid., 17).
Jerome (as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)AD 420
Catena Aurea by Aquinas
It was not enough for the Chief Priests to have crucified the Lord the Saviour, if they did not guard the sepulchre, and do their utmost to lay hands on Him as He rose from the dead.
Remigius of Rheims (as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)AD 533
Catena Aurea by Aquinas
And to this day the holy women, that is, the lowly souls of the saints, do the like in this present world, and with pious assiduity wait while Christ's passion is being completed.
They say that He had declared, After three days I will rise again, in consequence of that He said above, As Jonas was three days and, three nights in the whale's belly, &c. (Matt. 12:40.) But let us see in what way He can be said to have risen again after three days. Some would have the three hours of darkness understood as one night, and the light succeeding the darkness as a day, but these do not know the force of figurative language. The sixth day of the week on which He suffered comprehended the foregoing night; then follows the night of the Sabbath with its own day, and the night of the Lord's day includes also its own day; and hence it is true that He rose again after three days.
Rabanus Maurus (as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)AD 856
Catena Aurea by Aquinas
By the Parasceve is meant 'preparation;' and they gave this name to the sixth day of the week, on which they made ready the things needed for the Sabbath, as was commanded respecting the manna, On the sixth day they gathered twice as much. (Exod. 16:22.) Because on the sixth day man was made, and on the seventh God rested; therefore on the sixth day Jesus died for man, and rested the Sabbath day in the tomb. The Chief Priests although in putting the Lord to death they had committed a heinous crime, yet were they not satisfied unless even after His death they carried on the venom of their malice once begun, traducing His character, and calling one, whom they knew to be guileless, a deceiver. (John 11:49.) But as Caiaphas prophesied without knowing it, that it is expedient that one man should die for the people, so now, Christ was a deceiver,1 not from truth into error, but leading men from error to truth, from vices to virtue, from death to life.
Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day. For Christ's disciples were spiritually thieves; stealing from the unthankful Jews the writings of the New and Old Testament, they bestowed them to be used by the Church; and while they slept, that is, while the Jews were sunk in the lethargy of unbelief, they carried off the promised Saviour, and gave Him to be believed on by the Gentiles.
When they say, And the last error will be worse than the first, they utter a truth unwittingly, for their contempt of penitence was worse for the Jews than was their error of ignorance.
Pilate's answer to their request is as much as to say, Be it enough for you that ye have conspired the death of an innocent man, henceforth let your error remain with you.
Theophylact of OhridAD 1107
. The evangelist did not call the sabbath "the sabbath," for it was not the sabbath as far as the Jews in their malice were concerned. For though the law forbade anyone on the sabbath day to wander about, these Jewish transgressors of the law assembled at the place of the foreigner, Pilate, instead of at the place of assembly ordained by the law. They were moved by their own evil to approach Pilate and then to secure the tomb. This was God’s providence, that the Resurrection might occur with them, His enemies, as witnesses guarding the sealed tomb. It is worth asking where the Jews learned that He had said that on the third day He would rise; for undoubtedly the Lord never said this clearly and openly. We can say that they surmised this from the example of Jonah. For Christ had said that "just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three days, so too will I be in the belly of the earth" (Mt. 12:38-39); and also, "Ye shall destroy this temple." Before they had not understood these sayings, but had thought that He was speaking of the Jewish temple. On this charge they had borne witness against Him. But now they understood that by "temple" He meant His own Body, and they were afraid and denounced Him as "a deceiver," not ceasing from their malice even after His death.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
Matthew 27:66 records the meticulous efforts of the chief priests and Pharisees, who, with the permission of Pontius Pilate, took extreme measures to secure Jesus' tomb. Driven by fear that His disciples would steal the body and fabricate a resurrection, they sealed the massive stone covering the entrance and stationed a Roman guard, inadvertently providing irrefutable evidence for the miraculous reality of Christ's subsequent triumph over death.
CONTEXT
Literary Context: This verse immediately follows the Jewish leaders' urgent appeal to Pilate in Matthew 27:62-65. Having remembered Jesus' prophecies about rising after three days (e.g., Matthew 16:21, Matthew 17:23, Matthew 20:19), they expressed concern that His disciples might steal the body and claim He had risen, leading to a "worse deception than the first" (Matthew 27:64). Pilate, perhaps dismissively, granted them a guard, instructing them to make the tomb "as sure as you can" (Matthew 27:65). Matthew 27:66 then details the precise actions taken to fulfill this command, setting the stage for the dramatic discovery of the empty tomb in Matthew 28.
Historical & Cultural Context: The scene unfolds in Judea under Roman occupation, where Pontius Pilate held ultimate authority. The Jewish leaders, though possessing religious authority, required Roman permission for such security measures. The practice of sealing a tomb was not uncommon, often involving a cord stretched across the stone and affixed with clay or wax, then stamped with an official seal (either Roman or temple). Breaking such a seal was a grave offense, punishable by Roman law, indicating tampering. The "watch" refers to a detachment of Roman soldiers, known for their strict discipline and adherence to duty. Desertion or dereliction of duty by a Roman guard carried severe penalties, including death, underscoring the formidable nature of the security put in place. This level of security was intended to be foolproof, leaving no doubt about the integrity of the tomb's contents.
Key Themes: This verse powerfully contributes to several overarching themes within Matthew's Gospel. Foremost is the futility of human opposition against divine will; despite their most stringent efforts to prevent the resurrection, the Jewish leaders' actions inadvertently served to confirm its reality by making any human interference impossible. This highlights divine sovereignty, demonstrating that even the plans of those who oppose God are ultimately incorporated into His perfect, unstoppable purpose. The extreme measures of sealing and guarding also serve as confirmation of the resurrection, providing undeniable, external evidence that the tomb was undisturbed until the moment of Christ's miraculous rising. This narrative thread underscores the profound conflict between human power and God's ultimate plan, ultimately affirming God's absolute control.
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
The narrative in Matthew 27:66 is rich with irony. The very actions taken by the chief priests and Pharisees to prevent a fraudulent resurrection—sealing the stone and setting a watch—become the most compelling evidence for the authenticity and miraculous nature of the actual resurrection. Their desperate attempts to control the outcome inadvertently serve God's greater purpose, turning their human precautions into divine confirmations. This situation also employs foreshadowing, as the extreme security measures hint at the extraordinary, supernatural power that would be required to overcome them, thereby magnifying the glory of Christ's resurrection. Furthermore, the sealed tomb and the armed guard function as symbolism, representing the ultimate human efforts to control, contain, or thwart God's sovereign plan, which are ultimately revealed as powerless against divine will.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Matthew 27:66 stands as a profound testament to the unyielding sovereignty of God and the ultimate futility of human opposition to His divine plan. The meticulous efforts of the Jewish leaders, backed by Roman authority and military might, to "make sure" the tomb, inadvertently served to validate the miraculous resurrection. Their actions, born of fear and unbelief, became an integral part of God's redemptive narrative, ensuring that no human agency could be credited with the empty tomb. This demonstrates that God's purposes cannot be thwarted, even by the most determined and powerful adversaries; rather, He orchestrates all things, even their resistance, to fulfill His perfect will.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
The scene at Jesus' tomb in Matthew 27:66 offers a powerful and enduring lesson for believers today: no obstacle, however formidable or meticulously guarded, can ultimately stand in the way of God's sovereign plan. Just as the sealed stone and the disciplined Roman guard could not prevent the glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ, so too are the "sealed tombs" in our own lives—our most difficult challenges, our deepest fears, our seemingly impossible situations—never beyond the reach of God's transformative power. This verse encourages us to trust in God's unstoppable nature, reminding us that He can bring life, breakthrough, and victory even out of circumstances that appear utterly hopeless or securely bound. It calls us to surrender our anxieties and limitations to the God who laughs at human futility and whose power transcends all earthly barriers.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why were the chief priests and Pharisees so concerned about the tomb, even after Jesus' death?
Answer: The chief priests and Pharisees were deeply concerned because they remembered Jesus' repeated prophecies that He would rise from the dead on the third day. Passages like Matthew 16:21, Matthew 17:23, and Matthew 20:19 clearly articulate these predictions. They feared that Jesus' disciples might steal His body and then claim that He had risen, leading to a "worse deception than the first" (Matthew 27:64). To prevent this perceived fraud and maintain their religious and political authority, they sought Pilate's permission to secure the tomb with a guard and an official seal, believing these measures would definitively prevent any tampering.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Matthew 27:66, far from being a mere historical detail, serves as a crucial Christ-centered fulfillment, underscoring the absolute certainty and divine nature of Jesus' resurrection. The meticulous sealing of the stone and the deployment of a Roman guard were human attempts to contain the divine, to prevent what they deemed a fraud. Yet, these very actions paradoxically provided irrefutable, external validation that the tomb was undisturbed by human hands. When the tomb was found empty, it was not because the body was stolen, but because Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, had triumphed over death, just as He said He would (John 2:19-21). This event confirms Jesus' identity as the Son of God (Romans 1:4), the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah's victory over the grave (Psalm 16:10), and the cornerstone of Christian faith (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). The sealed tomb, meant to imprison the dead, became the silent witness to the living Lord, demonstrating His ultimate authority over sin, death, and all human opposition, offering the promise of new life to all who believe (Romans 6:4).