So they went with the guard and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone.
ExplanationCommentary
Verse 66. They departing. See how beyond the possibility of contradiction these precautions prove the reality of Christ’s resurrection, and how the inveterate enemies of Christ become unwilling witnesses of it; for, since the sepulchre was guarded, there was an impossibility of any deceit on the part of the disciples. Now, if the least deceit was utterly impracticable, then indeed Christ our Lord was infallibly risen; and to remove every, the least possibility of deceit, Pilate would not permit the soldiers alone to seal up the monument. S. Thos. Aquin.—The high priests made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone at the entrance of the monument with the public seal, σφραγιζαντες τον λιθον, proof against all fraud, either of corrupt guards or of designing followers, as Darius did, (Daniel 6:17) that no violence might be offered him. All this diligence, on the part of the enemies of the Christian faith, was permitted by divine Providence, that our faith in Christ’s resurrection might be more certain, his glory greater, and the minds of the people better disposed to believe. Jans.