How does Matthew 28:15 challenge the authenticity of the resurrection account? Text and Immediate Context Matthew 28:15 “So the guards took the money and did as they were instructed. And this account has been circulated among the Jews to this very day.” The verse concludes Matthew’s narrative of the bribed soldiers (28:11-15), inserted between the angelic announcement to the women (28:5-10) and the Great Commission (28:16-20). Its purpose is to record the origin and persistence of a rival explanation for the empty tomb: “His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep” (28:13). Historical Setting: Roman Guard, Jewish Leaders, and the Early Rumor • The “guard” (κουστωδία, custodia) was almost certainly a Roman detachment assigned at the behest of the Sanhedrin (27:62-66). Dereliction of duty for Roman soldiers guarding an imperial seal was punishable by death (cf. Acts 12:19). • The priests’ willingness to bribe soldiers and promise protection (28:14) shows extraordinary desperation: they chose capital-risking perjury rather than allow the resurrection narrative to stand. • Josephus documents priestly bribery to protect interests (Antiquities 20.9.4), illustrating that such political maneuvering is historically plausible. Literary and Rhetorical Function in Matthew Matthew, writing within a few decades of the events, names the specific rumor still circulating “to this very day.” By preserving an embarrassing counter-claim, he employs the criterion of enemy attestation: only a genuine controversy requires refutation. Fabricators typically omit rival explanations. External Corroboration: Patristic and Rabbinic Echoes • Justin Martyr, c. A.D. 155, records Jewish emissaries spreading the same theft story throughout the Mediterranean (Dialogue with Trypho 108). • Tertullian notes identical allegations in Africa (Apology 8). • The medieval Toledot Yeshu, drawing on earlier oral tradition, repeats the theft motif. The rumor’s tenacity corroborates Matthew’s comment that it was already widespread by his day, confirming an empty tomb acknowledged even by opponents. Legal-Historical Analysis: Sleep, Seal, and Capital Offense 1. The tomb had been sealed with an imperial stamp (27:66). Breaking a Roman seal without authorization was a crime against Caesar. 2. All soldiers would have had to fall asleep simultaneously—an implausible scenario, especially given the threat of execution. 3. If asleep, they could not identify the perpetrators. Their testimony (“while we were asleep”) is self-contradictory, undermining its credibility and tacitly admitting the tomb was vacated. Implications for the Empty Tomb 1. Both sides—the disciples and the Sanhedrin—agree the tomb was empty. 2. The authorities never produced Jesus’ body, though the tomb was near the city and under their control. 3. Alternative explanations (swoon, wrong tomb, legend) are precluded by the official theft claim embedded in Matthew 28:15. The Guards as Hostile Witnesses Hostile witnesses carry exceptional evidentiary weight. The soldiers’ acceptance of bribery and dissemination of a false report confirms: • They experienced something requiring explanation. • They could not deny the disappearance of the corpse. • Their silence about a bodily presence anywhere else reinforces resurrection rather than challenges it. Alternate Explanations Weighed • Theft by disciples: requires coordinated action by a terrified, scattered group, capable of rolling a multi-ton stone silently past armed guards and later dying for what they knew was a lie. • Hallucination: does not empty a tomb; multiple group appearances (1 Corinthians 15:6) defy collective hallucination theory. • Legendary development: impossible within the short time-frame; the theft rumor presupposes the immediate proclamation of resurrection. Archaeological and Geological Considerations Rolling-stone tombs with plug-type stones, common in first-century Judea, weighed 1–2 tons. Experiments at Nazareth Village and Gordon’s Calvary demonstrate that at least several men are required to move such stones, making surreptitious theft improbable. Excavations at the Talpiot tombs show alternate interment sites but no contradicting evidence regarding Jesus’ burial. The Miracle Affirmed The resurrection meets the historical criteria of multiple attestation, enemy attestation, early testimony, and transformation of witnesses. Matthew 28:15 supplies the “enemy attestation” pillar: opponents agreed on the empty tomb while denying the cause. Conclusion: Unwitting Confirmation, Not Challenge Matthew 28:15 does not undermine the resurrection; it records the earliest counter-narrative, thereby confirming that (1) the tomb was empty, (2) hostile authorities lacked contrary evidence, and (3) the resurrection proclamation arose in the very environment most capable of falsifying it—yet remained undefeated. Far from challenging authenticity, the verse strengthens the historical case that Christ is risen indeed. |
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