Matthew 27:51–66

⁵¹And behold, ^pthe curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And ^qthe earth shook, and the rocks were split. ⁵²The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of ^rthe saints ^swho had fallen asleep were raised, ⁵³and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into ^tthe holy city and appeared to many. ^54uWhen the centurion and those who were with him, ^vkeeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, ^w“Truly this was the Son⁹ of God!”

⁵⁵There were also ^xmany women there, looking on ^yfrom a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ^zministering to him, ⁵⁶among whom were ^zMary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and ^athe mother of the sons of Zebedee.

Jesus Is Buried

^57bWhen it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. ⁵⁹And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud ⁶⁰and ^claid it in his own new tomb, ^dwhich he had cut in the rock. And he rolled ^ea great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. ⁶¹Mary Magdalene and ^fthe other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

The Guard at the Tomb

⁶²The next day, that is, after the day of ^gPreparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate ⁶³and said, “Sir, we remember how ^hthat impostor said, while he was still alive, ⁱ‘After three days I will rise.’ ⁶⁴Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, ^jlest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” ⁶⁵Pilate said to them, “You have ^ka guard¹⁰ of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” ⁶⁶So they went and made the tomb secure by ^lsealing the stone and setting a guard.