Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, “Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.” So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day. (Matthew 28:11-15)

The Great Lie

When the Jewish rulers realized the tomb of Jesus was empty, they had a problem. Jesus had told His disciples that He would be killed in Jerusalem but raised from the dead on the third day. The claim of Jesus to come from the grave was not an idle threat to the minds of His enemies. They knew that Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead and that after four days, Jesus called him out of the tomb. The possibility of resurrection became clearer when Jesus died, and the rulers went to Pilate demanding a guard be placed at the tomb. Jesus died on Friday, and on Saturday, the chief priests and Pharisees came to Pilate concerned the disciples of Jesus would come and steal the body away and claim He was resurrected. They demanded Pilate make secure the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea (where Jesus was buried) until after the third day lest what they called the “last deception” be worse than the “first deception.”

It was unknown to the Jewish leaders they completed the divine will of God when they demanded a Roman guard. If the guard had not been placed, an argument could be made that, somehow, the disciples stole the body of Jesus. Placing a Roman guard at the tomb of Jesus removed any doubt the tomb was empty through the power of God. The tomb was guarded and secured by the might of the Imperial Roman Army. The disciples could not have mounted an attack against these seasoned soldiers who knew if they allowed anyone to steal the body, they would face certain death. They sealed the tomb and set the guard.

On the first day of the week, two women came to the tomb of Jesus. A great earthquake shook the earth, and an angel of God descended from heaven and rolled back the great stone sealing the tomb. The guards shook in fear as they had never seen the power of God before. As the women stood in awe of the splendor of the power of God, the angel told them Jesus was not there but had risen, and they must tell the disciples. The women went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy and ran to tell the disciples what they had seen. When the women left, the soldiers guarding the tomb realized they had a serious problem. The body they were guarding was gone, and they faced certain death.

Leaving the tomb, the soldiers entered the city and told the chief priests what had happened. Assembling the Jewish leadership, the chief priests and elders faced a terrible dilemma. Jesus claimed He would rise from the dead on the third day. The first day of the week had come, and the tomb of Jesus was empty. His claim for the world to find an empty tomb on the third day had come true. Did they think about the event of Lazarus and realize the truth of what Jesus said? The chief priests and elders were in a dizzying quandary of despair to admit Jesus had risen from the dead. They also began to hear reports of family members returning from the dead and filling Jerusalem. The city had dead people walking about that were no longer dead.

The only solution the Jewish leaders could find was to pay the soldiers large sums of money, bribing them to keep quiet about what they knew and to lie about what happened. Remarkably, the cover story was the disciples of Jesus came and overpowered the Roman soldiers while they slept and stole the body of Jesus. The soldiers took the large sums of money and told the story as given to them by the Jewish leadership. It is difficult to understand how they explained that to their fellow soldiers and were not court-martialed or killed. If the governor happened to hear the soldiers were sleeping and lost the body of Jesus, the Jewish leaders would appease him (probably with more money). The fear that began when Jesus died became the greatest lie when the tomb was found empty.

Lying has its own wings, and how large the wings of a lie can take a story to incredible heights. The soldiers told the truth about what had happened, but the Jewish leaders wove the deceitfulness of lies in an attempt to cover up the truth they had to admit. One has to wonder what became of the soldiers. It is clear to the Bible student the Jewish leaders could deny Jesus rose from the dead but in reality; they knew He had risen. The power of God thwarted their efforts to secure the tomb, and they knew it. The greatest lie comes when the truth is evident, and man’s heart refuses to admit what he knows is true. This is like those who deny the Bible as the word of God. Each generation tries to destroy the Bible, and yet it remains. Truth remains. Lies fall.