What is the meaning of Matthew 28:12? And • This little conjunction ties verse 12 directly to what just happened: “And behold, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened” (Matthew 28:11). • The guards have just witnessed the angel, the rolled-away stone, and the empty tomb (Matthew 28:2–4). Their immediate report signals crisis for the leaders who had begged Pilate for that very guard (Matthew 27:62-66). • Scripture often uses an “and” to stitch together acts of God that demand a human response—sometimes faith (John 20:8), sometimes scheming (Exodus 1:8-10). Here the leaders choose the latter. after the chief priests had met with the elders • Chief priests (mostly Sadducees) and elders (leading Pharisees) join forces—again—just as they had conspired to arrest Jesus (Matthew 26:3-4) and condemn Him (Matthew 27:1). • John 11:47-53 shows this same coalition plotting Jesus’ death “lest the Romans take away both our place and our nation.” The resurrection now threatens that “place” even more. • Luke 22:66-71 records their earlier council against Jesus. They rejected the truth then; they resist the truth now. and formed a plan • Instead of investigating the evidence, they devise a cover-up. Psalm 2:1-3 asks, “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?”—a timeless picture of human plans opposing God’s. • Acts 4:16-17 describes a later plan to silence the apostles: same motive, new day. Evil often repeats its playbook. • The plan itself will surface in the next verses: “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep’” (Matthew 28:13). A lie hatched in fear becomes the official narrative. they gave the soldiers a large sum of money • Money changes hands once more in the Passion story: Judas received silver to betray (Matthew 26:14-15), the soldiers receive silver to lie. • Proverbs 17:23 warns, “A wicked man takes a bribe from the bosom to pervert the ways of justice.” That proverb comes to life here. • 1 Timothy 6:10 reminds us that “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil,” explaining why both traitor and guards could be bought. • Acts 24:26 shows Governor Felix hoping for a bribe from Paul; bribery runs like a thread through fallen human systems, yet God’s purposes still prevail. summary Matthew 28:12 pulls back the curtain on human resistance to divine truth. The same leaders who sentenced Jesus now scramble to suppress His resurrection. They meet, scheme, and bribe, but their plan cannot cancel God’s victory. The verse exposes the bankruptcy of unbelief while underscoring the reliability of the resurrection account—an empty tomb that no amount of money can bury. |
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