The Ties That Bind. Matthew 27:62-66 NLT

About the tomb, the following is excerpted from David Guzik: 

"The tomb would commonly have a small entrance and perhaps one or more compartments where bodies were laid out after being somewhat mummified with spices, ointments, and linen strips. Customarily, the Jews left these bodies alone for a few years until they decayed down to the bones, then the bones were placed in a small stone box known as an ossuary. The ossuary remained in the tomb with the remains of other family members. 

The door to the tomb was typically made of a heavy, circular shaped stone, running in a groove and settled down into a channel, so it could not be moved except by several strong men. This was done to ensure that no one would disturb the remains.

The tomb was secured by a stone, which was a  material obstacle. These stones were large, and set in an inclined channel. This was a real obstacle. For sure, the stone could not be rolled away from the inside. 

The tomb was secured by a  seal, which was an obstacle of  human authority. The seal was a rope, overlapping the width of the stone covering the entrance to the tomb. On either side of the doorway, there was a glob of wax securing the rope over the stone. You could not move the rock without breaking the seal. It was important that the guards witness the sealing, because they were responsible for whatever was being sealed. These Roman guards would watch carefully as the stone was sealed, because they knew their careers, and perhaps their lives, were on the line. The Roman seal carried legal authority,  to break a Roman seal was to defy Roman authority. That stone was secured by the authority of the Roman Empire. 

The tomb was secured by a  guard, which was an obstacle of  human strength. A typical Roman guard had four soldiers. Two watched while the others rested. The soldiers would be fully equipped – sword, shield, spear, dagger, armor. We should also remember that these were  Roman soldiers. They didn’t care about Jesus or Jewish laws or rituals. They were called to secure the tomb of a criminal. To them the only sacred thing at this tomb was the Roman seal, because if that were broken, their careers were ruined and they might be executed themselves. Soldiers cold-blooded enough to gamble over a dying man’s clothes were not the kind of men to be tricked by trembling disciples, or would not jeopardize their necks by sleeping at their post. "

All these precautions, all these steps done to secure the tomb,  had no power over the resurrected Jesus. Only He can break all the ties that bind us to the sin in our life. 

Matthew 27:62-66 NLT

Guard at the Tomb 

62 The next day, on the Sabbath,  the leading priests and Pharisees went to see Pilate.  63 They told him, “Sir, we remember what that deceiver once said while He was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise from the dead.’  64 So we request that you seal the tomb until the third day. This will prevent His disciples from coming and stealing His body and then telling everyone He was raised from the dead! If that happens, we’ll be worse off than we were at first.” 

65 Pilate replied, “Take guards and secure it the best you can.”  66 So they sealed the tomb and posted guards to protect it. 

Blessings, Cecilia