What kind of security was there to keep Jesus in that tomb? That's the big question of Easter that Dr. Woodrow Krull will tackle today on Encounter God's Truth. Welcome, friends, to this very special Resurrection Sunday edition of our program, which comes to you each weekend from Whitcomb Ministries. A regular Bible teacher, longtime professor, scholar, and author, Dr. John Whitcomb, is celebrating his Easter Sunday in heaven. So we've asked a great friend of our ministry, Dr. Woodrow Kroll, to be our guest teacher for this holiday series on Palm Sunday and Easter. Many of you know Dr. Kroll from his 23 years as President and Senior Bible Teaching for the International Radio Broadcast, Back to the Bible. Dr. Kroll continues to serve the Lord in Woodrow Kroll Ministries, teaching Christian workers through the Helios Projects, which provide biblical training to pastors all around the world who lack formal theological education. Dr. Kroll agrees wholeheartedly with the conviction that we share with you each and every week, that God's Word is true from the beginning to the end. So he's been gracious to share two very powerful messages with us for the significant season of the year. If you weren't here for last week's lesson, you'll want to go back and listen again at sermonaudio.com slash Whitcomb, where you'll also find lots of other material covering these vital themes. I'm Wayne Shepherd, inviting you now to turn with us to the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 27, verse 57, where Dr. Kroll will begin by talking about the burial of Jesus. Here he is now with the big question of Easter. The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave has spawned all kinds of questions. But today, this is Resurrection Day, and I want to ask a question most people don't even think of. Here's my big question. What kind of security was there to keep Jesus in that tomb? What kind of security does Satan have? You know, everybody today is concerned about security. Well, believe it or not, security was a big issue in the first century as well, especially at the tomb of Jesus of Nazareth. You see, keeping Jesus on the cross was no problem. He wanted to be there. Keeping him in the tomb was another matter. He wanted out of there. Caiaphas and his crew did not have the problem of cybersecurity we have today, but they clearly had a security problem. The last person to want Jesus on the cross was Satan. If he could keep Jesus from dying on Calvary's cross, he could keep him from making atonement for our sins, for paying the penalty for our sins. Satan did not want Jesus on that cross. But that old snake wanted Jesus to stay in that tomb. The Jewish leaders knew they needed to secure the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, because it had been a wild weekend so far. and they wanted no more difficulty such as would be caused by someone stealing Jesus' body from the grave. That's why the Jewish religious leaders went back to Pontius Pilate with a request for additional security. Now, we're going to let Matthew do the talking for us. Here are the words of Matthew, a disciple of Jesus of Nazareth, an eyewitness to the events of Passion Week, the Crucifixion Week, the events immediately following Jesus' resurrection. So if anyone should know what happened, an eyewitness ought to know. Here's Matthew 27, beginning at verse 57. When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it should be given to him. And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud and laid it in his own new tomb, which he cut out of the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. Okay, the question is, what kind of security does Satan have to keep Jesus in that grave? After all, if Satan can keep Jesus in a Palestinian tomb, there's no hope for any of us once we die. You remember the Apostle Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 15. If Christ has not been raised from the dead, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. Sobering words. So today, Resurrection Day, this Easter, is a pretty important day for me, and for you, and for all who have come to faith in Jesus as their Savior. Okay, here are the important details of this story. Joseph was from Arimathea. According to Luke 23, it was a city in Judea, about eight miles north of Jerusalem. He was a wealthy man and a member of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish high court, so he likely also had a house in Jerusalem. He boldly went to Pontius Pilate to ask permission to bury the body of the crucified Jesus. Pilate agreed, and Joseph Nicodemus and likely some servants removed Jesus' limp body from the cross and carried it to Joseph's nearby family tomb. Joseph wrapped Jesus' dead body in a shroud. Nicodemus applied abundant spices. And here's where the issue of security comes in. First, it says, he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb. That's verse 60. And then in Matthew 27, 62, the next day, that is the day after the day of preparation, The chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, Sir, we remember how that this imposter said while he was still alive, after three days I will rise. Therefore, order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal in the way until the people is risen from the dead. And the last fraud will be worse than the first. So the level of security, the first one, was that huge stone rolled over the entrance to the tomb. The second level of security was the seal that was placed around the stone to secure it. Matthew continues in verse 65. Pilate said to them, you have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can. So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard. Well, there it is, the threefold, triple security that was put in place to keep Jesus in the grave. It was the best Satan could hope for, a stone, a seal, and soldiers. This must have given a sense of security to the chief priests and Pharisees, not to mention Satan himself. But these flimsy attempts at securing Jesus' tomb must have been quite amusing to God. Psalm 2 says, The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed, but he who sits in the heavens laughs. and holds them in derision. You know, sometimes I think God gets a good laugh at the extent some people will go to thwart His eternal plan. It is just futile. God will have His way, and since it was God's plan to raise Jesus from the dead, there was very little Satan could do to stop it. Today is Easter Sunday. It is Resurrection Day. It is the day, almost 2,000 years later, that Jesus rose from the dead. Now, don't let those words slip by you too quickly. Jesus died on Calvary's cross at 3 p.m. on Friday afternoon. He was buried before sundown that same day. But before dawn on Sunday morning, the third day, this very day, Easter, he came out of the tomb alive, with the stone rolled away, his death shroud left behind, and the cloth that covered his face neatly folded. That, my friends, that is a first-rate, grade-A, top-of-the-line miracle of God. Now, what I want to do today is explore with you the quality of Satan's security, his efforts to keep Jesus in Joseph's tomb. The first level of security was the stone. But both Matthew And Mark mentioned that Joseph, with the help of others, rolled a stone over the face of the tomb with Jesus' body inside, Matthew 27, 66. So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a gar. Mark 15, 46 adds, and he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Neither Luke nor John mentions the stone in the crucifixion chapters. but they do refer to it in their resurrection chapters. Luke 24, the first three verses say, But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared, and they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. John 20, verse 1 notes, Now, on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. That means that all four Gospels note that the first level of security to keep Jesus in the tomb and His disciples out of it was this vast rolling stone at the entrance. First century sepulchres were often closed by these massive stones outside the door, often rolled slightly downhill in a trough or a channel cut from the rock parallel to the face of the tomb. When the giant circular stone was pushed back from the doorway, Apparently they would place a small stone under it as a wedge to keep the larger stone in place. And when they left the tomb, they would simply remove the stone wedge and the gravity would return the rolling stone to its place. So the first level of security for Satan to keep Jesus in the grave Well, it was a massive stone. And archaeologists have discovered stones like this in the Holy Land. And they have discovered these channels where the stone would sit. And in front of the opening, there would be a small hollowed out part. That's where the stone came to rest. You can trust what the Bible says when it says that the stone was rolled away. That was the first level of security that Satan had to keep Jesus in the grave, the massive stone. But that's only level one. More is to come. This is a special Easter weekend edition of Encounter God's Truth. To learn more about this broadcast, visit WhitcombMinistries.org or Facebook.com slash Whitcomb Ministries. We're taking a break from our regular teaching series to bring you holiday programs prepared just for you by guest teacher, Dr. Woodrow Kroll. If you've missed any part of these two presentations, you can always hear them at sermonaudio.com slash Whitcomb. And we certainly want to encourage you to tell your friends about them this week as well. Dr. Crowell left off a moment ago by speaking about the first level of security that Satan had to keep Jesus in the grave, the massive stone. He picks up the all-important account leading up to Christ's resurrection right there. So let's hear the conclusion of The Big Question of Easter. So in addition to this massive stone, there is a second type of security used to make certain Jesus' body was not stolen by the disciples. Now, before we examine the seal that the temple police would have used, I think it would be beneficial for us to think about what a seal meant. What was the purpose of a seal, anyway? Well, briefly, a seal was used for three reasons. Number one, a seal indicated a completed transaction. A seal was never applied until the work was done. The prophet Jeremiah bought a piece of property from his cousin in Anatolia. Jeremiah 32 verses 9 through 11 describes the legal procedure used. Listen to this. Then I weighed out the money to him, 17 shekels of silver. I signed the deed, sealed it, got witnesses, and weighed the money on scales. Then I took the sealed deed of purchase containing the terms and conditions to the court. signed, sealed, and delivered. The final step in the legal purchase of property was the seal applied to the deed indicating it was a completed transaction. Now, here's the second reason for a seal. The seal certified authenticity. When the property deed was purchased by Jeremiah and it was sealed, handed to the court, That seal bore witness to the fact that Jeremiah now owned the property in Anitoth. The same thing is true today. When I purchased my house more than 25 years ago, the deed was stamped with the great seal of the state of Nebraska. Now, my name was on the deed, but it was certified as authenticated by the state with the official state seal. A seal indicated a complete transaction. It indicated certified authenticity. And thirdly, a seal guaranteed security. When the temple police sealed the stone that had been rolled in front of the entrance to Joseph's tomb, they could come back on the third day, and if the seal was unbroken, that meant the tomb was undisturbed. It was secure. Every package we receive today is sealed with tape or something. When the package arrives, if the seal is broken, it is an indication the package is not secure, and perhaps has been tampered with. When I was in college, I worked the 3.30 a.m. to 7.30 a.m. shift, before I went to class, at the UPS facility in Rhode Island. When I was hired, the company immediately saw my outstanding abilities. So they put me to work unloading those huge trailers you see on the highway. When a truck backed a trailer into the dock, my first responsibility was to inspect a metal loop that ran through two isolates, and it sealed the contents of the trailer. If that seal, that metal loop, was broken, I didn't raise the door. I reported it to my superintendent. See, that's the purpose of a seal around the stone of Joseph's tomb. The Jewish leaders and the high priest wanted that seal around that stone because the high priest's imprint would be put on that seal. that clay or that wax would be imprinted with the high priest's official seal, and no one dared break the high priest's seal. Thus, the seal around the stone was level two of Satan's security. Now, the third level of security at the tomb of Jesus was an armed guard placed there to make certain no one tampered with the tomb. Matthew 27 informs us that the Jewish religious leaders went Saturday morning, the next day, that is, after the day of preparation, which was Friday, to Pilate they went with their request for extra security at the tomb. However, this day was the weekly Sabbath. Shouldn't they be at home with their families? Even more, it was also likely the Passover Sabbath, the most solemn day of the year. How threatened must these Jewish religious leaders feel that they left their homes, met together to decide on a plan, and went to Pilate with that plan? How scared must Satan have been as well? The Jewish religious leaders demanded the Roman governor provide a Roman guard at the tomb as a permanent military presence until the third day. They were ordering the Roman government to do what they did not want to do themselves. Ah, but here's where the plot thickens. Pilate said to them, You have a guard. Go. Make it as secure as you can." So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard. Matthew 27, verse 62. So what did Pilate mean by his response? Well, the Greek text, you have a guard, could mean, here, I'll give you a Roman guard, in which it would be composed of Roman soldiers. Or it could just as well mean Pilate was saying, why do you want my Roman soldiers involved? You have your own soldiers, the temple police force. Let them guard the tomb if you're so concerned. I think this is more likely. The Jews had a temple police force akin to an army. These policemen guarded the temple to keep out intruders. They were highly trained, highly skillful, and brutal. Pilate said, use them. Matthew Henry was an old 17th century English nonconformist minister and a Bible commentator. He had a funny comment about this. Listen to this. He wrote, me thinks that word, make it as sure as you can, looks like a banter. Either of their fears, be sure to get a strong guard upon a dead man, or rather of their hopes. Do your worst. Try your wit and strength to the utmost. But if he be of God, he will rise in spite of you and all your guards. My favorite expression in this passage is Pilate's words, Make it as sure as you can. It seems that even Pilate is beginning to think this Jesus of Nazareth may be in charge of every aspect of his trial and crucifixion. Why not the grave as well? Okay, so I have now set the table. Let me go back to my big question. What type of security did Satan have to keep Jesus in the tomb? How effective was his triple-S security? The stone, the seal, and the soldiers. Well, my friends, in a word, inadequate. Satan saw to it that the best security possible at that time was applied to Jesus' tomb, but it was still inadequate. Why? Because of the eternal plan of God for our salvation. Paul said, for our sake, he, God the Father, made him, God the Son, to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him, Jesus, we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5 20. Now, if God's defense against Satan is that good, don't you think God can keep you safe and secure in his hand? David the psalmist said, I waited patiently for the Lord. He inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and he set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. Psalm 42 verses 1 and 2. And remember Jesus' reassuring words, My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father who has given them to me is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of my fathers." Oh, grab hold of those words of Jesus. John 10, verses 27-29. Satan's security? Inadequate. God's security? Incomparable. Inconceivable. Incredible. Indescribable. Indestructible. Indispensable. God's security is everything Satan's isn't. So rejoice today. It's Sunday. Resurrection Sunday. The grave could not hold him. He is risen. He is risen indeed. Up from the grave he arose with a mighty triumph for his foes. He arose a victor from the dark domain, and he lives forever with his saints to reign. He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose! Indeed, we can rejoice today and have hope in the incomparable and indestructible security that God offers to the believer through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which we celebrate on this Easter Sunday. We're so glad for this wonderful truth that prevails at the very foundation of our faith. And we're also very glad for our friend, Dr. Woodrow Kroll, who's been so kind to share these messages with us and so encouraging by powerfully proclaiming the biblical truth regarding Jesus' passion, leading us through this resurrection Sunday. For all of us here on Encounter God's Truth, I'm Wayne Shepherd, wishing you a blessed and happy Easter, and reminding you as we close of the words of the angel in Luke chapter 24, verses five through seven. Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen. Remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, saying, The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.