The Guard's Report - Matthew 28:11-15
The Guards’ Report
11 While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. 12 When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, 13 telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ 14 If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” 15 So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.
Reflection:
Now the guards were in trouble. Some have said their very lives might be on the line for failing to keep watch over the tomb. So when the chief priests found out they met with the elders to figure out a way to explain what happened. Notice the great lengths people go to explain Jesus away. And in this case was pretty foolish because there is virtually no way Jesus' disciples could have rolled away the stones. But the leaders paid the soldiers a large sum of money to keep this under wrap. And while this money makes sense in some ways, it doesn't in others.
Why would the disciples want to steal the body? They were counting on Jesus rising from the dead. And if they were so scared to defend Jesus His trial they are unlikely to try and steal the body and becoming sitting ducks for the soldiers, who already had shook like dead men when they saw the angel's come and roll away the stone showing the empty tomb. Besides we know the disciples went on preaching to their deaths confessing that Jesus was Lord and God raised him from the dead. And perhaps the greatest argument for the literal and bodily resurrection is that the disciples would not have died for a lie they knew was not true. Very rarely will anyone die for the truth, but no one would die for a lie.
Now granted you might say people all the time die for a lie. What about the suicide bombers don't the die for a lie? But the fact is these men go to their graves thinking they are pleasing their god, and their will be a reward foe them in heaven. How sad they will be when they find out that without Jesus their is hope for the resurrection. That is why the biblical writers were so concerned about false teachers. Even in the disciples era people were taking the doctrine of Christ and perverting it saying things like, Jesus only appeared like a man but was really a spirit being. For no one born of the flesh could be God. But we know Jesus had to be a human to live among us and really die for our sins.
We see today large numbers of Jews that still don't believe Jesus was really the Messiah. I suppose that they still use this excuse today that the disciples stole his body. But since this is virtually impossible it allows one conclusion. That Jesus was and is the Son of God and that believing we might have life in His name.
11 While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. 12 When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, 13 telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ 14 If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” 15 So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.
Reflection:
Now the guards were in trouble. Some have said their very lives might be on the line for failing to keep watch over the tomb. So when the chief priests found out they met with the elders to figure out a way to explain what happened. Notice the great lengths people go to explain Jesus away. And in this case was pretty foolish because there is virtually no way Jesus' disciples could have rolled away the stones. But the leaders paid the soldiers a large sum of money to keep this under wrap. And while this money makes sense in some ways, it doesn't in others.
Why would the disciples want to steal the body? They were counting on Jesus rising from the dead. And if they were so scared to defend Jesus His trial they are unlikely to try and steal the body and becoming sitting ducks for the soldiers, who already had shook like dead men when they saw the angel's come and roll away the stone showing the empty tomb. Besides we know the disciples went on preaching to their deaths confessing that Jesus was Lord and God raised him from the dead. And perhaps the greatest argument for the literal and bodily resurrection is that the disciples would not have died for a lie they knew was not true. Very rarely will anyone die for the truth, but no one would die for a lie.
Now granted you might say people all the time die for a lie. What about the suicide bombers don't the die for a lie? But the fact is these men go to their graves thinking they are pleasing their god, and their will be a reward foe them in heaven. How sad they will be when they find out that without Jesus their is hope for the resurrection. That is why the biblical writers were so concerned about false teachers. Even in the disciples era people were taking the doctrine of Christ and perverting it saying things like, Jesus only appeared like a man but was really a spirit being. For no one born of the flesh could be God. But we know Jesus had to be a human to live among us and really die for our sins.
We see today large numbers of Jews that still don't believe Jesus was really the Messiah. I suppose that they still use this excuse today that the disciples stole his body. But since this is virtually impossible it allows one conclusion. That Jesus was and is the Son of God and that believing we might have life in His name.
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