The report of the guard
MARY Magdalene and the other Mary went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce the news to His disciples. And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them. They approached, embraced His feet, and did Him homage. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”
While they were going, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had happened. The chief priests assembled with the elders and took counsel; then they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him while we were asleep.’ And if this gets to the ears of the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” The soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has circulated among the Jews to the present day.
REFLECTION HIS DISCIPLES CAME BY NIGHT AND STOLE HIM. The empty tomb could be interpreted in different ways. Matthew writes that at the time he was writing his Gospel (ca. 85 AD), there circulated among the Jews the story that Jesus’ disciples came by night and stole His body.
The basis of the disciples’ conviction that Jesus rose from the dead is the appearance of the risen Jesus to them. Jesus is not a phantom appearing to them from the dead; he is alive and in His glorious state. He can be seen but not by mere physical sight; He has to “reveal himself”— give His disciples a deeper insight so that they can recognize Him.
The story of the empty tomb has been developed in our time by the movie RISEN, a 2016 American drama film directed by Kevin Reynolds and starring Joseph Fiennes, who plays the character of Clavius, a Roman tribune appointed by Pontius Pilate to investigate the rumors of a risen Jewish Messiah. Failing to secure Yeshua’s (Jesus’) body, he locates his disciples for clues to the disappearance. During a raid, he unexpectedly discovers a seemingly resurrected Yeshua with his apostles in a solitary room. He later joins Yeshua and his followers on a journey to determine the validity of his mortal rejuvenation. Consequently, he witnesses the healing of a leper, and then the ascension of Yeshua into heaven. He eventually leaves behind his past to proclaim Yeshua and his message.