Day 7: Guarding the Tomb
Matthew 27:62-65 “The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while He was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, His disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that He has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.” “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.”
After Jesus’ death on the cross, Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish council, asked Roman governor Pilate for permission to bury Jesus. Tombs were sealed with huge stones to deter robbers and scavengers. It would take a miracle to move the heavy stone, signifying that the dead are separated and cut off from the living. In Jesus’ case, the tomb was guarded as well. They thought that by killing the Messiah, the job was complete. They acted on their own understanding.
Meanwhile, His disciples and believers were dejected and left hopeless. Their hope for freedom from Roman rule had been dealt a heavy blow. This was a dark period for them.
IN A NUTSHELL
“Sir,” they said, “we remember that while He was still alive, that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’”
All that day, Christ lay dead in the grave, having laboured and done all His work for six days. He rested and was being refreshed for what would come, while the Pharisees and the chief priests, instead of being on their knees, asking for forgiveness for the sins of the past week, were busy asking Pilate to have Jesus’ tomb guarded and secured. They remembered that Jesus had said He would rise again after three days. His disciples would remember the same words for the confirmation of their faith, while the Pharisees remembered them out of fear.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, as I come to this final day of our prayer and fasting journey, reflecting on Jesus's guarded tomb, my heart meditates on the silence and stillness that wrapped the world in those moments. This was a time of waiting and uncertainty for the disciples, yet it was part of Your sovereign plan. Lord, help me to trust in Your timing and Your perfect will, even when outcomes are unclear and the wait feels long. Teach me to rest in the assurance that You are at work, even in the silence, even in the grave.
Thank You for the peace that comes from knowing the end of the story—that death does not have the final say, that Your love conquers all. As I guard my heart and mind in Christ Jesus, prepare me to celebrate the victory of the resurrection. In the precious and Holy name of Jesus, who defeated death, I pray, Amen.
APPLICATION
Write in a journal about a time in your life when you had to wait for an outcome and didn't know what was going to happen. Reflect on how you felt during that waiting period and how it resolved. Compare this to the disciples’ feelings during Jesus’ time in the tomb and draw parallels to the lessons learned about trust and patience.
Identify one situation in your life where you feel uncertain or anxious. Make a conscious decision to ‘let go’ of this anxiety and place your trust in God’s hands. Write a prayer of commitment to trust God with this situation and review this commitment daily.
Who are you trusting today? The rulers of this world (who base their decisions on human understanding), or on the promises of Christ, the Son of God?
Read on to find out more about the resurrection of Jesus:
Explore the resurrection morning – (Matthew 28:1-10)
Explore the significance of Christ's resurrection – (1 Corinthians 15:12-28)
Examine Luke's account of the resurrection – (Luke 24:1-12)