Resurrection is Against the Law

The next day, that is, after the day of preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, "Sir, we remember how that imposter said, while he was still alive, 'After three days I will rise again.' Therefore, order the sepulcher to be made secure until the third day, lest 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." Pilate said, "Take a guard of soldiers; go, make it secure as you can." So they went and made the sepulcher secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.

Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the sepulcher. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. His appearance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid; for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. Lo, I have told you."

...While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sum of money to the soldiers and said, "Tell people, 'His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.' And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble." So they took the money and did as they were directed; and this story has been spread among the Jews to this day. -Matthew 27:62-28:7; 28:11-15

It is among the sweet ironies of Matthew's account that Roman soldiers are among the first witnesses of the resurrection. Under orders to guard against it, they are granted a front row seat. And they are first to convey (for ill or good) news of the truth.

There is, indeed, a whole sequence of ironic twists in Matthew's telling of the story. It begins when the chief priests and scribes remember so precisely what the disciples have forgotten: the promise of Jesus that he would be raised. In every Gospel account (however different in person or geography) the friends of Jesus are surprised utterly by the resurrection. It is as though everything from his parable hints to the outright and straightforward promises had escaped them. They cower behind closed doors, resign themselves to fate, head back disappointed to job and family. The resurrection is neither awaited nor expected. It catches them entirely off guard.

The authorities and powers of Jerusalem, however, are not caught off guard. They are, quite literally, on guard. Unless the Gospel writers are paranoid conspiratorial theorists, the crucifixion of Jesus is a carefully arranged event. The scenario has been planned and thought through. The authorities want to be in control. They attend to details. And they are not about to blow it all by miscalculation, even after the accomplished fact. They attribute to the disciples their own devious means and methods. So before the body is barely cold, they sit down for a meeting with Pilate.

Herewith another irony. After all the quibbling and complaining and righteous indignation about Jesus breaking the Sabbath, they all troop up to the praetorium for a Saturday morning consultation with the governor. Earlier on they had demurred to enter Pilate's headquarters (John 18:28) lest they be made unclean to eat the Passover meal. Perhaps that was a more public occasion, because there seem to be no qualms or hesitation now about slipping into the praetorium. They enter not to open eyes or cure the lame (God forbid!) on the Sabbath, but to conspire with profane political authority.

Authority is truly the question of the hour. When the disciples finally meet up with Jesus in Galilee he says, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given me. Go therefore and make disciples...." The chief priests and Pharisees, however, look in a different direction and bow to a different lord. They ask Pilate for some troops to guard the tomb. It is, in short, an appeal to the authority of death, to the same one who sits enthroned by virtue of wielding the sword and condemning to the cross. Pilate authorizes them and sets the seal.

Now the sealing of the tomb is, I believe, notoriously misunderstood. I for one grew up with a Sunday School notion that to seal the tomb was a matter of hefting the big stone and cementing it tight. The seal, in my mind's eye, was something like first-century caulking. Puttying up the cracks to keep the stink in. Not so. This is the official governmental seal; in all likelihood the imperial seal. Wax or something pliable would be impressed with the governor's stamp. To move the stone would break the seal. It is a legal lock on the tomb door. Not air tight, but politically tight. To move the stone and break the seal is a civil crime. The resurrection is against the law.

The seal is a recurring theme in the book of Revelation. Remember the scroll of history which is sealed with seven seals? Only One is worthy to break them and look upon or unveil the truth: that One is the Lamb who was slain. The seal is a claim of ownership and authority. Its meaning in Revelation is at least that God in Christ reigns sovereign over all history and in all events.

Caesar in Pilate, on the other hand, violently disputes the claim. He has set his seal of approval on Jesus' death, and now he guarantees it with troops. Secured by security forces. When the seal is broken in the resurrection, it stands among the signs that the power of the powers (death in all its forms) has been broken. The dominion of political authority, especially inflated, aggressive, and imperial authority has been cut to the heart.

Well, some will say, that's a lovely statement of faith, but you needn't look far afield to cast a shadow of doubt cross that doctrine. From Auschwitz to Hiroshima to Gdansk to San Salvador, the authorities seem not to have caught on that their imperial power has been cracked. They brutally deny the fact. Exactly so. And Matthew himself may well be making a similar point.

Here we come to yet another (perhaps more bitter) irony. The chief priests, privy to the eyewitness reports of the Roman watch, are neither astonished nor converted by the glad news. I guess we are naive to expect otherwise. They simply hatch another phase of the program. The truth is a matter of indifference to them. It is merely a factor to be controlled in the battle for people's minds. They are not misinformed; they deny what they know. These friends of the law manage a cover-up. Official sources will have a censored and carefully worded version of events. Confusion will be encouraged. The credibility of the women and the other disciples will be impugned.

It is implied that the Roman soldiers are concerned what Pilate will make of their night on guard duty. They worry perhaps for their jobs, their records, and their military careers. They are a vulnerable and easy mark for the temple crew. No sweat, say the planners, we can cover your backsides with the governor. Moreover, as the King James puts it, there is "large money" available. They are bought off. Now the seal is on their lips. In counterpoint to the Great Commission, they are paid handsomely to advertise a lie, to publish abroad the anti-Word, to bury again the truth.

Which is simply to say that violent imperial rule, be it in San Salvador or Moscow or Washington, is founded and sustained by a Big Lie: the resurrection never was. We are not freed, we are not reconciled, we are not justified. Indeed, there is no freedom, there is no reconciliation, there is no justice. There is only power.

That, however, is not the last word, either in Matthew's Gospel or in our common history. Maybe we need to confess that we have acted as if it were. Have we swallowed the official line and lived as though the resurrection were merely a pleasant lie betrayed by the facts? Have we proved to be one of the facts? Perhaps (surprise!) the very ground we stand on will be shaken. No doubt we would tremble with that odd combination of joy and fear. For such an Easter let us pray: an ironic twist of faith.

Bill Wylie-Kellermann was a Sojourners contributing editor, a Methodist pastor, and a member of the Detroit peace community when this article appeared.