Matthew 28:14 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.”

NIV: If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.'

NASB: And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and keep you out of trouble.'

CSB: If this reaches the governor's ears, we will deal with him and keep you out of trouble."

NLT: If the governor hears about it, we’ll stand up for you so you won’t get in trouble.'

KJV: And if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him, and secure you.

NKJV: And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.”

The chief priests and elders want the temple guards, who are Roman soldiers, to lie about what happened to Jesus' body. In truth, the soldiers probably don't know exactly what happened to His body, yet. They knew it was in the sealed tomb. They knew a terrifying angel from heaven broke the seal and opened the tomb. They knew the body was gone. They probably never saw Jesus alive with their own eyes (Matthew 28:1–10).

As outrageous as the true story sounds, Jewish religious leaders want the soldiers to tell a tale which is even more dangerous, at least for the soldiers themselves. They want the soldiers to tell people that they fell asleep while on guard duty. They slept so deeply, in fact, that Jesus' followers were able to come in the middle of the night, roll a large stone away, and take Jesus' body. This story is dangerous because Roman soldiers could be executed for falling asleep while on duty, especially in foreign territory.

The chief priests have two answers for that. First, they will pay the guards to tell the lie. Bribery is an effective motivator (Matthew 26:14–16). Second, they promise to protect the guards from the governor, Pilate, if he hears the story about them sleeping. Specifically, they say they will satisfy Pilate and keep them from trouble. This likely means that the Jewish religious leaders plan to bribe Pilate, as well, to keep their plan intact.

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.