Bribed to Deny the Resurrection

12 And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers 13 and said, "Tell people, 'His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.' 14 And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble." 15 So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.

Matthew 28:12-15 (ESV)

In Julius Caesar, Brutus rebuked a fellow Roman senator for corruption: “Let me tell you, Cassius, you yourself / Are much condemn’d to have an itching palm / To sell and mart [market] your offices for gold / To undeservers.”¹ Thus Shakespeare seconded the Bible’s expressions of contempt for bribery. And though Cassius was wicked to subvert the integrity of the Roman senate, his crime did not compare to those surrounding the crucifixion of Jesus. From Judas’s betrayal for silver to the soldiers’ acceptance of hush money, bribery reared its ugly head at the very turning point of history.

Only Matthew recorded how the chief priests and elders bought the soldiers in order to explain away the resurrection. Pilate had stationed them as guards around the tomb, where they held their post until they collapsed at an angel’s appearing (Matt. 27:65-66; 28:2-4). When they reported the events to the chief priests, these Jewish leaders offered them enough money to fabricate a story about the disappearance of the body. (The story is full of holes. If they slept, how did they know who stole the body? If they noticed, why did they not stop the intruders?) Nonetheless, the soldiers accepted the bribe, admitted incompetence, and were assured that all would be well for them.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ lies at the heart of Christianity. As Paul observed, “[I]f Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain” (1 Cor. 15:14). So to suppress the new faith, its enemies quite reasonably attacked the claim that the Lord had risen from the grave. But to do so, they had to ignore foundational moral teaching from the Torah, which condemned bribes. Perhaps these leaders reasoned themselves out of judgment since, technically speaking, it was the soldiers who accepted the bribe and the soldiers who lied.

As preposterous as the soldiers’ lie was, the devil used it for over a century to steer sinners away from the gospel. Justin Martyr, in his Dialogue with Trypho, summarized what was still popularly taught by Jews in the second century: “[H]is disciples stole him by night from the tomb, where he was laid when unfastened from the cross, and now deceive men by asserting that he has risen from the dead and ascended to heaven.”²

Of course, resurrection-denial did not stop in Justin Martyr’s day. It continues in each generation, taking many forms, e.g., the “swoon theory,” which claims that Jesus did not die on the cross at all, but that he merely lapsed into a coma, from which he recovered. And just as in Jesus’ day on earth, people suppress the truth for perceived gain.

Even Christians can be bought off on this matter. Concerned that they might lose popularity or standing among their secular colleagues, they fail or refuse to talk of the risen Christ. No, they do not fabricate stories denying the resurrection, but they let their interest in social and professional gain silence them on this crucial point. It is as if they had been bribed to look the other way, to act as though they knew nothing about Christ’s triumph over death. But perhaps, by the Spirit’s prompting, they will finally cast aside the coins of peer approval for which they have marketed away their witness.

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