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.
Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure - by a Roman guard,
Until the third day - after which, if He still lay the grave, the imposture of His claims would be manifest to all.
Lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead. [The word nuktos (G3571), 'by night,' appears by the authorities not to belong to the genuine text here, and was probably introduced from Matthew 28:13]. Did they really fear this?
So the last error shall be worse than the first - the imposture of His pretended resurrection worse than that of His pretended Messiahship.