Did Jesus Redeem Mankind? — Page 238
? 231 in which the Messiah was placed, people did not die but would live and the death of Jesus under these conditions was utterly impossible. From the beginning to the end, the people who remained with him were either his followers or friends and well- wishers and did all they possibly could to save him. Again, their solicitude for him is also evident from the fact that, after the Messiah had been removed from the Cross and placed in a sepulchre, when the Jews pleaded that guards be placed there for three days and three nights as the Messiah had claimed that he would rise like Jonah after three days and three nights, Pilate refused to detail official guards, saying, "Ye have a watch go your way, make it as sure as ye can. " (St, Matthew 27:65) Pilate's refusal was due to the consideration that if official watch was placed, the Messiah would not be able to get away, and in case he clashed with the centurions, it would be an act of resistance to the government, and that private watch would be easy to handle. The subsequent events also support the conclusion that the Messiah did not die on the Cross.