Matthew 27:51–66

^51*Then the curtain hanging in the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split apart, ⁵²the graves broke open, and many of God’s people who had died were raised to life. ⁵³They left the graves, and after Jesus rose from death, they went into the Holy City, where many people saw them.

⁵⁴When the army officer and the soldiers with him who were watching Jesus saw the earthquake and everything else that happened, they were terrified and said, “He really was the Son of God!”

^55*There were many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee and helped him. ^56*Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the wife of Zebedee.

The Burial of Jesus

⁵⁷When it was evening, a rich man from Arimathea arrived; his name was Joseph, and he also was a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸He went into the presence of Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate gave orders for the body to be given to Joseph. ⁵⁹So Joseph took it, wrapped it in a new linen sheet, ⁶⁰and placed it in his own tomb, which he had just recently dug out of solid rock. Then he rolled a large stone across the entrance to the tomb and went away. ⁶¹Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there, facing the tomb.

The Guard at the Tomb

⁶²The next day, which was a Sabbath, the chief priests and the Pharisees met with Pilate ^63*and said, “Sir, we remember that while that liar was still alive he said, ‘I will be raised to life three days later.’ ⁶⁴Give orders, then, for his tomb to be carefully guarded until the third day, so that his disciples will not be able to go and steal the body, and then tell the people that he was raised from death. This last lie would be even worse than the first one.”

⁶⁵“Take a guard,” Pilate told them; “go and make the tomb as secure as you can.”

⁶⁶So they left and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and leaving the guard on watch.