And sitting there, they were keeping watch over Him.
The soldiers, after the crucifixion, sat down and kept watch over Jesus, as if to prevent the disciples’ interference, yet unknowingly they became witnesses of the divine counsel. Before their eyes the salvation of the world was being accomplished, and they watched it as an ordinary punishment. This peaceful yet dark scene highlights human indifference, when a person can sit before Holiness without recognizing Him. The phrase “they sat and kept watch” became a symbolic expression for the world that guards the body but does not see the divinity. Yet even their unconscious presence became testimony that Christ’s death was not going to be a hidden or questionable event; God’s plan was to be fulfilled before every eyewitness.