Did Jesus' Disciples Steal His Body from the Tomb? Matthew 27:62-66

The Guard at the Tomb

62 The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63 “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64 So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.” 65 “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.

Though Jesus was dead and lying in a tomb, the chief priests and Pharisees' minds were not at rest.  It was probably a combination of guilt for what they had done, but also the ominous memory of when Jesus had predicted after three days he would rise from the dead.  To mitigate their fear. they propose a guard should watch the tomb, lest the disciples would steal the body thus propogating a hoax.  Note they acknowledge that Jesus was INDEED dead, which nullifies any so called "swoon theory", where Jesus did not really die but was only close to death. 

But you have to ask yourself, with the disciples in the condition they were in, as disappointed as to the end their savior and friend had come to, why would they lie and steal Jesus' body.  Either Jesus was the Messiah or not, but they had no motive to steal his body.   Bottom line the disciples really had nothing to gain by taking the body out of the tomb and presenting a lie that he had risen from the dead. They had taken Jesus at his word and either he was superaturally resurrected from the dead, or they could only conclude he was merely a human like them

To guarantee the disciples would not do this Piliate had a guard on post at the tomb and also put a seal on the tomb.  

"These security measures simply gave greater testimony to the miracle of the resurrection. If Jesus’ tomb was unguarded, one might suggest that an unknown person or persons stole the body, and it would be difficult to refute. Yet because the tomb was so well guarded, we can be certain that His body wasn’t stolen." (Guzik)

"The tomb was secured by a stone, which was a material obstacle. These stones were large, and set in an inclined channel. This was a real obstacle. For sure, the stone could not be rolled away from the inside. The disciples, if you had enough of them, could roll away the stone – but not quietly. Besides, they would have to work together to roll it away, and that didn’t seem likely. "(Guizk)

Someone has said, "The literal, bodily resurrection of Jesus is the linchpin of the resurrection."  

Today's story verifies three important details. 

1. Jesus was literally and truly dead. 

2. The disciples could not have stolen the body, nor did they have any motive to do so. 

3. There is no human explanation for the empty tomb on Easter morning. 

How do the details of Jesus' resurrection encourage you and give you confidence in your faith in him?  How does the literal resurrection differentiate Christianity from other religions?