The Crucified King The cross is the kingly road, and for this reason the evangelist St. Matthew presented to us a detailed account of the cross events: 1- His Judgment before the governor 1-2 2- Returning the Silver 3-10 3- His silence before the governor 11-14 4- The release of Barabas 15-26 5- His suffering before the crucifixion 27-31 6- His suffering during the crucifixion 32-38 7- Mocking Him 39-44 8- Darkness on the Earth 45 9- His crying out and giving up His spirit 46-50 10- The veil of the temple is torn 51-56 11- The Lord’s burial 57-61 12- Sealing the Tomb 62-66 + + + 1- His Judgment before the governor: The religious judgment remained all night long, in the midst of the darkness of envy and hate (Matt 27:1-2) “When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put Him to death. And when they had bound Him, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor.” The Jewish rulers were asking for the Messiah, the Savior so He would deliver them from the Roman rule, and He would establish for them the earthy kingdom of the Messiah. Each one coveted to have authority and a prominent position in it. But the Lord has destroyed every materialistic concept for this kingdom, and has declared the spiritual one instead. They therefore resorted to the Roman chiefs themselves to pass judgment over Him, not only from their religious point of view, but also as a national traitor who established a kingdom for Himself. It was as if those who wished to et rid of Caesar, they themselves, for the sake of their personal profit, they pretended to be defenders to Him against the Savior! Their inward principle and the hidden one was their personal benefit, not the majority or the service of God and the nation! 2- Returning the silver: it was not possible for Judas to keep the silver with him. Just as he who leaves something for the Lord’s sake, he would be rewarded a hundred fold in this world and in life to come (Matt 19:29), likewise, he who sells the Lord for a price loses a hundred fold in this world and also loss his life forever. Judas assumed, in his greed, he would gain thirty pieces of silver, but as a result he gained disaster and misfortune. So he went to return the silver pieces in regret, without any repentance, https://coptic-treasures.com/ and in bitterness without any hope. He could no longer stand his life so he went to strangle and hang himself. The chief priests did not accept the silver to be put in the treasury, since it is the price of blood. So they bought a potter’s filed, a graveyard for stranger, and it has been called he ‘field of the blood’, as a witness to what mankind did to their Savior. St. Cyril El Orshilimy comments on the words of the chief priests and the elders to Judas (Matt 27:4) “What is that to us? You see to it!” also he comments on their words about the silver thrown in the temple (Matt 27:6) “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury because they are the price of blood,” saying “this is amazing! The killers say ‘what is that to us?’ they ask of him who received the price frr the crime to see for himself. As for them, His killers, they did not have to see. They then tell themselves “It is not lawful to put it in the treasury is considered sinful, how much more would the shedding of blood be? And if you see a pretext for crucifying Christ, then why do you refuse to accept the price ?” The ‘Field of Blood’ bought for thirty pieces of silver as a graveyard for strangers, refers to the world redeemed by the Lord with His blood, so the Gentiles could be buried in it, and be blessed with Him in His resurrection. As St. Jerome says, “Why have they bought it? So as to use it as a graveyard for strangers. We are the ones making use of it, for it was bought for our sake with the blood of Jesus for its price.” St. Ambrosias says, “ The field according to the divine words, is the entire present world (Matt 13:36) . The price of the blood is the price for the Lord’s suffering, who has bought the world with the price of His blood so as to save it, (John 3:17). He came to keep those who are buried with Christ and have died with Him in the baptism (Rom. 6:4,8 ; Col.2:12) so as to obtain the eternal blessings. Instead of living as strangers under the law, they have become close by means of the blood of Jesus (Eph. 2:11-13)”. We have previously explained the thirty pieces of silver, and the house of pottery, and the field of blood, and what they signify in our study of the book of Zechariah the prophet (Zech. 11:12,13). 3- His Silence before the Governor: (Matt. 27:11-14) “Now Jesus stood before the governor. And the governor asked Him, saying, ‘are You the king of the Jews?’ Jesus said to him, ‘It is as you say.’ And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing. Then Pilate said to Him ‘do You not hear how many things they testify against You?’ But He answered him not one word, so that the governor marveled greatly.” His answers to Pilate the governor are concise indeed, to the extent in which He reveals the truth and so he would have no excuse. At this point He stopped speaking either to the religious rulers or the governor, for hHe did not wish to defend Himself. If He had wanted to, He could have testified of Himself, and would have commanded the heavens and it would have witnessed to Him. But He was not in need of this testimony, and His defense. Indeed, a lot of words, particularly when man justifies himself, this only declare the inward hollow weakness inside. But, as much as the soul is inwardly satisfied, our inward man would be just as strong, even tough by means of very few words! https://coptic-treasures.com/ The Lords’ silence before His accusers is a priceless treasure and stock from which the believers supply themselves, when they are mocked and are unjustly accused, and hence they do not flare up in anger, or get disturbed. As St. John Chrysostom says, “Has anyone insulted you? Draw the sign of the cross on yourself, and remember all what happened at the crucifixion, and thus everything will be put out.” He goes on to sy, “have pity on him who curses you, for he is subjected to a master, a fearful ghost which is spite, and to a scary devil which is anger.” + At any rate, Jesus is attached at all times by false witnesses. As long as evil is in the world, then He is exposed to accusations continuously. Despite this, He is still silent before this without giving ang audible answer. He rather puts His defense in the life of His real disciples. This life is an exalted testimony that surpasses above any other false witnessing, and it destroys all the attacks and accusation, that are altogether unbased upon anything. The scholar Oreganus. 4- The release of Barabas: as much as the power of evil has bonded together so as to get rid of the Lord by means of crucifixion, the Lord gave Himself a Passover for the entire humanity, all joyfully. He allows visible symbolic blessings during His crucifixion, as a symbol of invisible blessings. When conspiring against Him, the opposing religious groups met together in sharing this one aim. It is as if by means of His death, He was offering the reconciliation between the contradicting opponents in concepts, and those at discord not only among one national category, but rather among variable races and tongues and nations. During His judgment, Pontius Pilate sent Him to Herod for being the governor over Galilee. The latter was eager to see Him; and so a reconciliation issued between Pilate and Herod, because of the Lord who was tied under the judgment. Just before the crucifixion, Pilate asked the people that he releases one at the feast. They cried out that Jesus be crucified, and Barabas released, for Barabas was a famous prisoner. Therefore the Lord saved Barabas with His own death! When the Lord stood before Pilate, the latter marveled greatly (Matt 27:14) “For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy (Matt 27:18). Because the Lord God wanted to guide him, He spoke to him by means of his… in a dream. She therefore sent to him saying (Matt 27:19) “Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because f Him.” This was a lesson not only to Pilate alone, but also to the chief priests and the elders so they see and hear this foreign Pilate declaring the innocence of the Lord, by the washing of his hands before all, and saying (Matt 27:24) “I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it.” 5- His suffering before the Crucifixion: After the Lord had been …. (Matt 27:26) and was handed over to be crucified, all the garrison gathered round Him. They stripped Him of His clothes, and put a scarlet robe on Him. They also twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. They bowed the knee before Him and mocked https://coptic-treasures.com/ Him saying, ‘Hail king of the Jews! They spat on Him and took the reed and struck Him on His head. When accepting to be crucified, the Lord revealed the outcome of evil, for He was representative of humanity who carried the fruit of their wickedness. Man asks for sin and seeks it for the sake of temporary pleasure, or physical pleasure. The Lord handed over His body to be scourged and whipped, and the Holy One was exposed to deadly whips! With each whip, the traces were there on His tender and modest body. The Lord sees the weight of our iniquity as everlasting whips which no one could bear except Himself. He accepted them for these were of God’s justice. This is why the apostle says (2Cor. 5:21) “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” The iniquity in its reality is the fruit of our ego, and it is also the one to give it birth at the same time. Man in his selfishness asks what is for himself materialistically, or as honors or pleasures. These in essence kindle all these more his love for himself. He thinks within himself he is the center of the whole world, and all work for his sake. This is what the serpent declared to Eve when it tempted her (Ger. 3:5) “For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Man wished to be like God, and thus his eyes will be opened to see himself above all others, and enslave everything for himself. This is why the garrison gathered against Him, as if representing the entire humanity or the entire world. They surrounded the accused not to give Him honor or work for His account, but rather to strip Him of His clothes, and put on Him a scarlet robe for mockery, for the accused One wished to establish Himself as a God or King. With iniquity , man lost the crown of hidden glory that God had granted him so as to control with it the worldly creation. He twisted for himself a crown of thorns, made of the earth that was cursed because of him. This was instead of the …….. that God offered to him to reign over his heart, his senses and emotions before he reigns over others. Sin handed him a reed in his right hand, which is a flint of mockery that reveals his loss of authority over his inward life, and all of his senses and emotions. He has therefore become as a reed moved by the wind! In humiliation and scorn, sin holds this fake scepter to hit Him on the head with it, as if declaring that what He thought honor and glory to Him is only a …. Even up to His head and inner thoughts. Man believed being so sinful, that he reigns over all and that the world kneels down to him. But the world in mockery kneels down to make fun of Him, saying “Hail, King of the Jews!” as if rebuking Him, and telling Him “You who have lost Your inward peace, how are You asking for outward to the glory of God the Father.” I believe, moreover, that we have to draw your attention at this point here, that the cross is being carried, which reminds us of our righteous father Abraham when he went up the mountain he saw, to offer Isaac a sacrifice as God has commanded him. He put the stones on the son, which is a symbol of Christ, who carried His cross on His shoulders, exalted up to the glory of His cross. For, the suffering of Christ was His glory as he taught us Himself (John 13:31) “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him.” https://coptic-treasures.com/ On the way to the crucifixion, He felt several times due to the heavy weight of the cross. They therefore called a Cyrene man named Simon, to carry with Him the cross. It is as if he is representing the church of the new covenant that has to be committed to carrying the cross with the Lord in His crucifixion, since it is mature in spiritual manhood. Thus, the church will…… the kingdom in this partnership. It is great glory for the believer bend down and carry the suffering with His Lord, so he would experience the power of the resurrection and its glory in him. On the cross (Matt 27:34) “they gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when He had tasted it, He would not drink.” This was a custom with the Romans in crucifixion; the vinegar was given, mingled with bitterness, as a way of anesthesia or ….., and the crucified one would not feel the weighty suffering as much. But the Lord tasted the sour vinegar, and refused to drink it, so that He would bear the pain in its totality, out of His own self will. When the Lord was crucified, the soldiers divided His garments into four parts, but as for His robe that had no seams, woven all from the top (John 19:23) they cast lots for it. (Matt 27:35) “that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet: ‘They divided My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots’.” But they were no sandals with His clothes. Concerning His garments divided into four parts, this refers to the church that has Christ’s body glued to it. It has spread to the four sides or corners of the universe. it has become in the hands of the Roman soldiers, in the hands of the Gentiles, and they are able to obtain the membership in it. As for the robe that had no seams to it, all woven from the top, this is not split or divided, this refers to the one church that should have no divisions or splitting. The Lord was careful, even in His crucifixion, that His robe be not divided. It is as if, whenever the church shares His cross, the Lord is careful not to have any division or splitting among itself. But unfortunately, this happens when the church is found to be in a period of luxury, far away from the cross. The cross has revealed that His robe is woven from the top (John 19:13). In such a way, when the church goes round in a circle of suffering, its heavenly nature is revealed. It is woven by God’s hand Himself, it is the work of His Holy Spirit. There were no shoes for the Lord to take off. When studying the book of Exodus, we saw how the shoes refer to the evil and dead deeds. This is why man has to take them off when standing before God, in a holy place, just as Moses had done (Ex. 3:5). After casting lots over His robe (Matt 27:36) “Sitting down, they kept watch over Him there.” The Lord Jesus was not in need of any watch, for He is the Creator who through Him is everything made, and without Him nothing would have been made. Yet He yielded with His body to this watch. Indeed the Lord Jesus allowed in a hidden way His persecutors, those soldiers, to be guards to Him on the cross! It is bright picture of God’s divine work for He allows the ordeals that surround the church. His own body to be a guard to the church. These hardships support the believers, and thus they live in the spirit of lowliness, and are exalted. As much as this issue to be guarded is precious, as much as the watch is increased. Also, as much as God cherishes His children and His church, as much as He allows hardships, so they cross this life well kept in it. https://coptic-treasures.com/ “And they put over His head the accusation written against Him: This is Jesus the king of the Jews.” The king was crowned with the cross! As the church says in the Song of Solomon (Song of So. 3:11) “Go fourth, O daughters of Zion, and see king Solomon with the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding, the day of the gladness of his heart.” The church calls the souls of the believers to go out of itself and look up to its King, the Donor of the heavens, so it could enter with Him, by means of the cross to His wedding and be blessed with the eternal hearty wedding. (Matt 27:38) “Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left.” The Jewish masters sat in their seats teaching, as if they came from above. They rebuked and blamed, and feared to touch anything defiled lest they themselves be defiled as well. But as for the Lord, He came presenting a new concept of edification; for He has left His seat and position to be counted among the criminals and sinners. He event into their midst, sharing them their pain till the cross, accepting their mockery. He declared His practical love so as to release them to His father’s embrace. He has been crucified with the two robbers, and for their sake, to the extent that one of them wished to be accepted inside Him, a real king, uplifting him to His paradise. The Lord answered him; “Today you will be with Me in paradise.” 7- Mocking Him: The evil forces united together against the Lord to give us the most bitter picture of the cross. (Matt 27:40) “And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads & saying, ‘You who destroyed the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” The passers by lost their balance and wagged their heads as a sign of mockery against Him. They blasphemed against Him and said ‘You who destroy the temple and build it in three days save Yourself.” They were unaware of exerting their utmost to destroy the temple of His body, and were only witnessing oh Him that He had previously declared of His resurrection ahead of time. Those blasphemers have become true witnesses to His deed of salvation, and His resurrected life. They have asked of Him to save Himself, and they did not realize He was only resurrecting them by His own resurrection; He would rise and make them rise as well. Satan might have felt the danger of the cross, and he got terrified, and was eager the Lord comes down from His cross. But it was too late; he therefore motivated those blasphemers to ask of the Lord ‘if You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.’ Satan’s fear increased, and so he motivated further the chief priests and the scribes and elders to ask the Lord if He could come down from it, saying (Matt 27:42) “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him.” At those moments, Satan focused on the Lord coming down from the cross. Even the two robbers reviled Him (Matt 27:44) and asked Him to come down if He could. https://coptic-treasures.com/ 8- Darkness on the Earth: (Matt 27:45) “Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land.” Darkness prevailed over all the land, declaring its authority that has prevailed over the world since the moment of downfall. The Lord has left it to prevail to a certain time, for He says (Luke 22:53) “But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.” The Lord left the authority to darkness to a certain hour, so that when it tries to lure and entrap Light in its web, then the Light would destroy darkness and ruin its entrapping. That hour came before the Lord gave up His spirit. It is as if the Lord gave to hell the opportunity to accept His spirit, whereas it was unaware that He alone is able to break down the doors of hell, so as to embrace those who slept in the hope, and thus carry them as His holy sheep, entering with them into paradise. The prophets were concerned about their prophecy of this hour of darkness. As mentioned by St. Cyril El Orshilimy, Zechariah says ‘On this day there will be no light …’ then the prophet says (Zech. 14:6,7) “It shall be one which is known to the Lord.” Does God not known the other days? God forbid! For the days are many, but (Ps. 118:24) “This is the day which the Lord has made.” The Lord was patient in His sufferings. Them, how can this be explained? This is what the gospel explains when it relates to us it was not an ordinary day in which the sun shines as usual for morn till dusk. But from the sixth hour there was darkness at midday, till the ninth hour. This darkness is explained by God, saying (Gen. 1:5) “and the darkness He called Night.” For this reason, it was neither Day nor Night, for there was there entire night so that it be called night. But the sun shone after it was nine. Concerning this, the prophet also prophesies (Zech. 14:7) “But at evening time it shall happen that it will be light.” Just contemplate to what extent this has been so accurate, and how it has taken place. Amos the prophet, also makes definite the darkness of the sun. I wish he would say this to the Jews who try to make their ears deaf to it. (Amos 8:9) “And it shall come to pass in that day, says the Lord God, that I will make the sun go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in broad daylight” this is because darkness fell at six o’clock. He also makes definite the season in which all of this will occur, for Amos says “I will turn your feasts into morning, and all your songs into lamentation” because Christ was crucified in the days of the feast, in the Passover. After this He says (Amos 8:10) “I will make it like morning for an only Son, and its end like a bitter day”, because on the Passover feast, the women wept and lamented, and moreover, the apostles hid in fear and it was as bitter as could possibly be. St. Cyril the great says, “This was an obvious sign for the Jews, that the minds of those persecutors who crucified Him, these were wrapped in spiritual darkness (Rom. 11:25) “blindness in past has happened to Israel.” They have been rebuked and cursed by king David due to his love to God (Ps. 69:23) “Let their eyes be darkened, so they do not see.” Yes indeed, creation lamented itself to God; for the sun got …. And the rocks cracked, and the temple itself was clothed in sorrow, for the veil got torn from top to bottom. This is what God suffered as said by Isaiah (Is.50:3) “I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make …. Their covering.” https://coptic-treasures.com/ 9- His Crying Out and Giving up His Spirit: (Matt 27:46-50) “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabacktani?’ that is, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’ Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said ‘This Man is calling Elijah!’ Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink. The rest said ‘let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him.’ And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.” Being the representative of humanity that has fallen under the authority of darkness, He cried in pain, moaning due to its weight, as someone departing “My God, My God, why hast …. Forsaken Me?” when the Lord bent down His head, carrying the entire sin of humanity, He became as if blocking the Father’s face from Him, so He would break down the authority of sin by paying the totally absolute price. It is then that He would take us back to the Father’s face, that was obstructed from us. With this His cry, He might have wished to awaken the Jewish thinking from its sleep, to go back to Psalm 22, that has begun with this cry, declaring in detail the crucifixion events. It is as if He wished to confirm that what was happening is only of His divine and godly provision, previously prophesied by the prophets. 10- The Veil of the Temple in Torn: When the Lord Jesus gave up His spirit, the veil of the temple got torn in two, from top to bottom (Matt 27:51). This was a declaration of what was previously prophesied. He had said (John 2:19) “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” What happened in the Jewish temple, has been fulfilled in His Holy body, so He would raise it up on the third day. The tearing down of the temple veil referred to the ingratitude of the Jews towards the Messiah, and their rejection of His work of salvation. They have thus become rejected, as St. Cyril El Orshelimy says, “Not one part of it was not cracked, for the Lord had said (Matt 23:38) “See! Your house is left to you desolate.” The tearing down of the veil, which separates the holiest of the holiest from Jerusalem, only reveals the work of salvation made by the Lord Jesus. With His death, the doors of heaven have been opened for the first time, so that in joy we enter the divine holiest of the holies, in our unity with the Lord. St. Jerome says that the separation of God’s grace from the old temple, has opened the door to the Gentiles, and has established the new temple. He also says that the Jewish historian, Youssephios himself assures us that at the time of the Lord’s crucifixion, there came out of the temple, voices of the heavenly hosts saying “let us go out of here.” The temple veil of the Jews got torn down, and the earth shook. That is to say, it is the collapse of the Jewish materialistic way of thinking concerning the worship. The earthly concepts have got shaken, so that the believer would no longer ask for what is worldly, but he would rather be liberated towards that which is heavenly. With the Lord’s death our old and worldly person would get shaken inside the baptismal waters, and thus we be blessed with the new man, the one https://coptic-treasures.com/ resurrected from the dead. For this reason (Matt 27:52,53) “ And the gravers were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and opened to many.” What occurred in the crucifixion as an actual fact, has been touched and experienced by those in Jerusalem. This is fulfilled in the believer’s life when he accepts the cross with the Lord Jesus in the baptismal waters. He shakes his inward ground and cracks his rocks, and opens the holy grave so as to be blesses with the resurrection of the Lord, and he adopts his new life. Moreover, the resurrection of many of the bodies of saints who were asleep, this carried the assurance of our resurrection not only spiritually but also physically in the great day of the Lord. As St. Ambrosias says, “When He gave up His spirit He manifested His death for our resurrection sake, for He worked in the range of His resurrection.” As for the fruits of these events, the evangelist made them clear by his words (Matt 27:54) “So when the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly saying, ‘Truly, this was the Son of God’.” These have represented the Gentile church that accepted the faith in Christ through the work of the cross. 11- The Lord’s Burial: (Matt 27:57-60) “Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him. When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tombs, and departed.” We have not heard of St. Joseph of Arimathea before, for he was a secret disciple to the Lord for fear of the Jews (John 19:30). But he appeared at the ordeal moments, and with him was Nicodemus (John 19:39) when everyone deserted the Crucified. The ….. came up to Pilate bravely, and asked for the sanctified body. He has therefore obtained this tremendous honor to enter with the sanctified place on earth. In moments of trial and hardship, saints are manifested, for as the yellow leaves ……. From the sun’s heat the green leaves increase in ….. the sun of ordeals that scorches the plants is the very same one that give fruits their ripeness. St. Joseph had hewn a tomb for himself in the rock. If he had preferred himself to his Master, then this tomb would have become, in the Jewish eyes, a place to represent fifth as all other tombs. He who draws close to it becomes defiled all day long till he is cleansed. Because the tomb turns into a place that contains rotten and corrupted bones, no one alive lives there, unless those overpowered by the evil spirits, or have been inflicted with leprosy. But because he offered this tomb to the Lord Jesus ‘the real Rock’ it has become a sanctified church, to which pilgrims go, believers from all over the world, throughout of the power and joy of the resurrection. The prophets have also declared previously His burial. Isaiah the prophet says (Is. 53:8,9) “for the transgressions of My people He was stricken. And they made His grave with the wicked---but with the rich at His death.” He also says (Is https://coptic-treasures.com/ 51:1) “look to the rock from which you were hewn.” As for the door of the tomb, Jeremiah the prophet says, (Ger. 3:53) “They put Me in the cave and threw stones at Me.” + Therefore mediate how the corner-stone, the precious and chosen One, lays for a little while behind the rocks. This is the rock of olestruction for the Jews, and the rock of salvation for the believers. The true of life has been planted in the ground, even the ground that has been cursed has been blessed with the resurrection of life from the dead. St. Cyril El Orshelimy + These matters and events have not been planned haphazardly, the body was placed in a new tomb where no one has been put before so that no one would think that the resurrection has been to someone else placed with Him. It is also to make possible for the disciples to come quickly and witness what happened, and that there would be witnesses to His burial. This is not only to the disciples alone, but also to the enemies as well, by sealing the grave and appointing soldiers to guard Him as witnesses to His burial. St. John Chrysotom + Joseph and Nicodemus had brought a lot of fragrant oils because of their love to Christ. In this too, there are divine mysteries; so that if Christ rose and went out of these …. That clung to Him so hard with the linens, this would be a great spices. And indeed, it is a very great thing that the linens were found alone, as well as the handkerchief. This was so, because the opposing voices would not say that His disciples came out at night and stole Him. For he who comes to steal Him would not have enough time, and would be to fearful to separate the One stolen from these spices, nor would be place the linens by themselves, and the handkerchief separately, though their sticking to the spices prevents them at such time from doing all of this. St. Peter El Sedmenty + Since the Lord was born from a new and pure vessel with no one using it before Him, it is good likewise that He be buried in a new tomb where no one was laid before. + As for His being in a garden, this is a symbol of Adam’s salvation who had died the death of sin in a garden. The Lord was therefore buried in a similar one, so as to erase the criminal aftermath away from him, and to bring him back to it once more. There is moreover another interpretation: that it becomes an assurance that He who robe is no one else; particularly because the garden was not a graveyard, but it was Joseph who had hewn this tomb, by means of inspiration in a place not known for any burial before. St. Peter El Sedmenty 12- The Sealing of the Tomb: https://coptic-treasures.com/ The chief priests and the Pharisees assembled together with Pilate, and said to him (Matt 27:63,64) “Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, ‘fter three days I will rise.’ Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead’. So the last deception will be worse than the first.” They acted in such a way that shown their hateful and envious spirit towards the Lord Jesus. This was living proof, though, from the enemies before those foreign authorities that He had previously spoken of the resurrection. It was as if the Lord’s resurrection was not an unexpected matter, but it was rather declared by the Lord, as to prepare the minds in expectation for it. By doing and saying this, they have spread out all the more the news of the Lord’s resurrection. They made out of it a reality not be doubled. The tomb was besieged by the Jews and the Gentiles, as well as by the seal itself. + If the soldiers alone were the ones who had sealed the tomb, they would gave been able to say the soldiers have allowed the body being stolen, and that the disciples have invented the idea of resurrection and have provided for it. St. John Chrysostom.
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