Matthew 27:64

So give the order that the tomb be secured until the third day. Otherwise, His disciples may come and steal Him away and tell the people He has risen from the dead. And this last deception would be worse than the first.”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The chief priests and Pharisees speak to Pilate after Jesus’ burial, requesting a guard to secure the tomb until the third day.

The words — The request hinges on κελεύσων (keleusōn), “order” or “command,” and ἀσφαλισθῆναι (asphalisthēnai), “to be secured,” which together specify the physical guarding of the tomb.

The thread — The guard request and the fabricated cover-up story appear in Matthew 28:13, while the phrase “worse than the first” recalls the principle of spiritual restoration in Matthew 12:45.

Why it lands — The text records a political calculation to control a narrative, requiring the reader to recognize how human attempts to prevent prophecy only establish the very evidence they fear.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.

Cross-references

Matthew 28:13 and instructed them: “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’
Matthew 12:45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and dwell there. And the final plight of that man is worse than the first. So will it be with this wicked generation.”