They Could Not!

In Matthew 27, we meet the Roman centurion who oversaw the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus. This Centurion, a Roman soldier, was not particularly a religious man and certainly not of Jewish upbringing. He knew nothing about what was happening, yet he heard the things Jesus said, saw all that was going on around him as Jesus died on the cross, and he knew the truth. He could only respond, “Truly this was the Son of God!” (Matt. 27:54).

When you read these Scriptures and hear all that has been said about Jesus, do you respond as this man did? Do you believe the Word concerning Jesus? Do you understand that Jesus truly is the Son of God and that He died for you?

Forgiveness of sin was secured for you at the cross, but that isn’t the end of the story. Matthew goes on to tell us that Joseph of Arimathea, a Jewish leader who believed in Jesus, received permission from Pilate to take the body of Jesus and place Him in a tomb, a small cave for burial, “and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb” (Matt. 27:57-60).

The Jewish leaders also went to Pilate, receiving permission to secure the tomb. They sealed the tomb with the Roman seal, making it a crime to open the tomb. They set a guard of Roman soldiers about the tomb to make sure no one could take the body of Jesus and then falsely claim that He had risen from the dead as He had predicted He would (Matt. 27:62-66).

What follows, fulfills prophecy in a way that cannot be disputed. Matthew 28:1-15 tells the rest of the story in two parts: first, through the eyes of the guards; and second, through the eyes of the women.

“And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men” (Matt. 28:2-4).

There was “a great earthquake” (v. 2a). Why? Because “an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it” (v. 2b). Wow! What an experience! Who is going to arrest an angel sent from heaven for breaking the Roman seal? “Certainly, not I,” said each of the guards, one by one. (I’m kind of ad libbing a little bit and reading between the lines!)

I can just see the guards talking to each other in a panic. “Are you going to arrest this angel? I'm not! He broke the seal. How about you? Will you arrest him?” And back and forth the conversation would go! But in reality, there was no time for any such conversation, at least not until later. For now, they were actually all frozen in fear!

God set it all up so the resurrection was officially witnessed by some Roman soldiers, leaving no doubt as to its truth. Not the disciples; not the Jews—but a handful of Roman soldiers!

The guards witnessed the angel as he came down and moved the stone. We are told they “shook with fear” (v. 4a) when they saw the angel and they froze in their tracks “like dead men” (v. 4b). They shook and then they froze. They knew exactly what had happened and they didn’t like where they stood—in God’s way!

These guards were part of a great scheme devised by men to keep Jesus in the grave—but they could not! The guards told the truth (v. 11), but were then paid to lie (vs. 12-15), all to keep Jesus in the grave—but they could not!

Try as you might, you cannot keep Jesus in the grave. The soldiers tried—but they could not! He is not there. He is risen!

“Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb” (v. 1). As the women came, the earthquake occurred, and when they arrived at the tomb, they saw that, much to their delight, the stone had already been rolled away! Then they saw an angel sitting on the stone! What a sight to behold! And the guards? They were frozen in their tracks! Right where they stood! In fact, they looked like they were all dead! Still standing, but dead!

The women were afraid, so the angel spoke to them and said, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you” (vs. 5-7).

What a message! First the angel calmed their fears (v. 5), fears that were only natural. Then the angel told them the great news—Jesus is risen! In his own words, “He is not here; for He is risen” (v. 6a).

Then the angel gave the women a message from Jesus: “Go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you” (v. 7).

It is just as Jesus told them it would be! The tomb is empty! Jesus is risen! They will see Him again soon! So, they hurried off to tell His disciples the great news. They left “with fear and great joy” (v. 8). They had dual emotions that overwhelmed them, and understandably so. They were in great awe of God and all that had taken place, yet they were filled with joy, knowing they were about to see Jesus again! Yes, they were about to see Jesus!

And see Him they did! They didn’t have to wait long, either. “As they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them saying, ‘Rejoice!’ So, they came and held Him by the feet and worshipped Him” (v. 9). And Jesus told them to follow the message of the angel: “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me” (v. 10).

The Roman guards tried to keep Jesus in the grave, that was their job, the reason they were assigned to this duty—but they could not! It was the Roman guards (four of them, as they worked guard duty four at a time, changing shifts every two hours to stay fresh and awake) who witnessed the resurrection first hand. But what did they actually see?

They certainly saw the angel come and roll the stone away! But did they see Jesus rise and leave the tomb? Probably not. After the resurrection, Jesus could appear behind closed and locked doors. He had likely already risen and departed the tomb before the stone was rolled away.

The stone wasn't rolled away to let Jesus out. It was rolled away to let the guards, the women, and the disciples in. It was rolled away for us! The guards saw the angel and that the tomb was empty, though no one else had been there. There was no other explanation but that Jesus rose from the dead as He said He would. The women then confirmed that truth. As the angel said, “He is not here; for He is risen!” (v. 6a)

Jesus died on the cross for your forgiveness and He rose from the dead to provide you with new life. It is up to you to place your trust in Him. Put your faith in Jesus and trust Him. Amen.