Matthew 27:57-66

Jesus’ Burial

27:57 Now ¹  when it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus. ²  27:58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ³  Then Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 27:59 Joseph ⁴  took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, ⁵  27:60 and placed it ⁶  in his own new tomb that he had cut in the rock. ⁷  Then he rolled a great stone across the entrance ⁸  of the tomb and went away. 27:61 (Now Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there, opposite the tomb.)

The Guard at the Tomb

27:62 The ⁹  next day (which is after the day of preparation) the chief priests and the Pharisees ¹⁰  assembled before Pilate 27:63 and said, “Sir, we remember that while that deceiver was still alive he said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 27:64 So give orders to secure the tomb until the third day. Otherwise his disciples may come and steal his body ¹¹  and say to the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.” 27:65 Pilate said to them, “Take ¹²  a guard of soldiers. Go and make it as secure as you can.” 27:66 So ¹³  they went with the soldiers ¹⁴  of the guard and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone.

[27:57]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[27:57]  ² sn Though some dispute that Joseph of Arimathea was a disciple of Jesus, his actions regarding Jesus’ burial suggest otherwise.

[27:58]  ³ sn Asking for the body of Jesus was indeed a bold move on the part of Joseph of Arimathea, for it clearly and openly identified him with a man who had just been condemned and executed, namely, Jesus. His faith is exemplary, especially for someone who was a member of the council that handed Jesus over for crucifixion (cf. Mark 15:43, Luke 23:51). He did this because he sought to give Jesus an honorable burial.

[27:59]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[27:59]  ⁵ tn The term σινδών (sindwn) can refer to a linen cloth used either for clothing or for burial.

[27:60]  ⁶ tc ‡ αὐτό (auto, “it”) is found after ἔθηκεν (eqhken, “placed”) in the majority of witnesses, including many important ones, though it seems to be motivated by a need for clarification and cannot therefore easily explain the rise of the shorter reading (which is read by א L Θ Ë¹³ 33 892 pc). Regardless of which reading is original (though with a slight preference for the shorter reading), English style requires the pronoun. NA²⁷ includes αὐτό here, no doubt due to the overwhelming external attestation.

[27:60]  ⁷ tn That is, cut or carved into an outcropping of natural rock, resulting in a cave-like structure (see L&N 19.25).

[27:60]  ⁸ tn Or “to the door,” “against the door.”

[27:62]  ⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[27:62]  ¹⁰ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[27:64]  ¹¹ tn Grk “him.”

[27:65]  ¹² tn Grk “You have a guard.”

[27:66]  ¹³ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of Pilate’s order.

[27:66]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “with the guard.” The words “soldiers of the” have been supplied in the translation to prevent “guard” from being misunderstood as a single individual.