“Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard. So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard. Matthew 27:65-66
… an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. Matthew 28:2
Have you ever thought that the resurrection could be considered an act of civil disobedience? Breaking Pilate’s official seal was a crime punishable by death. But who was he going to indict for the offense? Maybe the angel who busted the seal not to mention the law behind it? Or was Jesus the criminal here? After all, it was his grave in which he was supposed to stay put. He was convicted of insurrection and sentenced to death by the ruling power. But now he’s not dead. He broke their law and now he’s breaking it again.
Reminds of the apostles who were told to stop preaching. They didn’t. They were incarcerated. And then broke out of jail. Their Department of Justice got slapped around quite a bit in those days, whether by Jesus, his followers, or some angels!
Then there’s the even bigger problem of who could carry out the law’s sentence when the seal was broken, the stone was rolled away, and Jesus left the tomb? Their first attempt to keep him dead failed miserably. I don’t think even Rome had the political will to give that another try. They could blame the angel for flouting their law, but I’m pretty sure killing angels is outside the scope of Pilate’s or anyone else’s job description, authority, or ability! I don’t know how you’d find one in the first place. Kinda slippery spirits those.
I guess we’d have to chalk it up to an early instance of an unpunished crime of civil disobedience.
barney wiget 