Matthew 28:13 - Printer Friendly

ESV: and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’

NIV: telling them, 'You are to say, 'His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.'

NASB: and said, 'You are to say, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him while we were asleep.’

CSB: and told them, "Say this, 'His disciples came during the night and stole him while we were sleeping.'

NLT: They told the soldiers, 'You must say, ‘Jesus’ disciples came during the night while we were sleeping, and they stole his body.’

KJV: Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.

NKJV: saying, “Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’

From the first moments following Jesus' resurrection, two competing stories started to circulate about what really happened. The truth came from lips of the women who had seen the angel, then encountered Jesus alive and even touched His feet. They were the first to report that Jesus had been raised from the dead (Matthew 28:1–10).

The other story begins here. The Roman soldiers, too, had seen the angel. They had seen him roll away the stone. They had felt the earthquake. They knew the body was gone and that something truly epic was going on. However, the Jewish religious leaders have bribed them to spread a different story. Their claim is to be that Jesus' disciples came in the dead of night, while the soldiers were sleeping, and took the body away.

Of course, this story is itself hard to believe. Jesus' body was not sitting on a piece of wood, in the open, waiting to be easily snatched away. It had been placed into a rocky cave, with a boulder for a door, sealed and guarded by Roman soldiers (Matthew 27:59–66).

Versions of these two stories still compete in our world today. Christians say Jesus, the Son of God, was raised from the dead on the third day. Unbelievers claim the body of Jesus, the imposter Messiah, died and never drew breath again.

The soldiers will agree to take the money to tell the false version of the story, but they will do so at some risk to themselves. Roman soldiers could be executed for falling asleep while on guard duty. These men will claim to have been so asleep that men could break a seal, move a boulder, and then escape with a dead man. The chief priests will have an answer for that.

Matthew 28:11–15 describes a plot by the Jewish religious leaders to distribute a false story about Jesus' resurrection. The Roman soldiers report what really happened at the tomb. The chief priests and elders agree to bribe the soldiers to lie and say they fell asleep on the job so hard that Jesus' followers were able to steal His dead body. They promise to protect the soldiers from Pilate, the Roman governor, if he hears they slept while on guard duty and wants to punish them. The lie begins to spread among the Jewish population, despite the idea being ludicrous (Matthew 27:66).

An angel of the Lord descends from heaven and rolls the stone from Jesus' tomb. The guards faint. The angel sits on top of the stone and waits. Two women, followers of Jesus, arrive and are told that Jesus is risen from the dead. Jesus then meets them and tells them to give the news to His brothers. The chief priests bribe the guards to say Jesus' followers stole His body. Jesus meets the disciples on a mountain in Galilee and commissions them to make disciples of people from all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to obey Jesus' commands. Jesus promises to be with them always.

Matthew 28 follows the dark events of the crucifixion in the previous chapter and brings Matthew's story of Jesus to a close. An angel descends from heaven and rolls back the stone. The guards faint. The angel tells two women Jesus is risen and then Jesus meets them. The Jewish religious leaders bribe the guards to lie and distribute a story that His followers took the body. Jesus meets His disciples in Galilee and commissions them to make disciples of people from all nations on earth, baptizing them and teaching them to obey all of Jesus' commands.

The Gospel of Matthew clearly shows the influence of its writer's background, and his effort to reach a specific audience. Matthew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, a Jewish man, and a former tax collector. This profession would have required literacy, and Matthew may have transcribed some of Jesus' words as they were spoken. This book is filled with references to the Old Testament, demonstrating to Israel that Jesus is the Promised One. Matthew also includes many references to coins, likely due to his former profession. Matthew records extensive accounts of Jesus' teaching, more than the other three Gospels.