What does Daniel 6:23 mean?

Darius was extremely happy that Daniel was unharmed by the lions. Though he had foolishly signed an unchangeable law requiring Daniel to be placed in this den (Daniel 6:6–9), it was never his intent to harm his trusted and competent advisor (Daniel 6:1–3, 14). His anguish overnight (Daniel 6:18) transformed into celebration when he saw that Daniel's God had provided a miracle (Daniel 6:19–22). Not only was Daniel alive, but he was even uninjured; the animals had not even scratched him (Daniel 6:24). Just as Daniel's three friends had escaped the fire without even smelling like smoke (Daniel 3:24–26), so too was Daniel kept perfectly safe.

Many facets of Daniel's experience foreshadow those of Jesus Christ. A stone with official seals had to be rolled away to let Daniel out of what was supposed to be his tomb (Daniel 6:17). The stone which blocked Jesus' tomb was rolled away. But that stone was not removed by human hands; it was divinely moved. Matthew 28:2 states: "And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it." The most important difference between Daniel's exit and that of Jesus is that Daniel had not died. He went in alive and stayed alive, while Jesus died, was buried, and then rose from the dead (John 20:1, 17; 1 Corinthians 15:3–8).