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Matthew 28:11-15 (Resurrection; Easter)

INTRODUCTION: Our message series is called Lead Me to the Cross, but we are in Matthew’s final chapter now, which means we are on the other side of the cross.

Last week we looked at Jesus’ resurrection and what the other side of the cross meant for the women, what it meant for Jesus and indeed what it means for each one of us. Today we want to look at the religious leaders on the other side of the cross. How did they respond to Jesus’ resurrection?

You may remember they had mocked Jesus on the cross earlier. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him” (Matthew 27:42). Would they believe in him now that he rose from the dead? Let’s find out! (Pray for the message.)

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The most important question you can answer in life is: “Who is Jesus Christ?” And the most important question you can answer about Jesus is: “Did Jesus rise from the dead?” If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, then he wasn’t who he said he was, and we can all pack up our things and go home. But if Jesus did rise from the dead, then he really is the Son of God, and you owe your life and loyalty to him.

The religious leaders didn’t want to accept the facts of Jesus’ resurrection, and they didn’t want other people to either. So, they created a cover story to cover for their own disobedience and unbelief. This morning we will look at a number of cover stories that people have invented over the years in order to avoid the fact of Jesus’ resurrection. And then we will do a little detective work as we look at each of these cover stories to see if they stand up to the evidence.

I. Cover Story #1 – The disciples stole the body.
   – That’s why the guards were there to begin with!
   – If the guards were asleep, how did they know what happened?
   – Why wasn’t the body recovered and the disciples arrested?
   – The disciples died for their faith, and people don’t die for a lie.

So, first we come to cover story #1 – that the disciples stole the body. This is the original cover story, the granddaddy of them all. Look at verses 11-15 with me now:

Look at verses 11-15 with me now:

While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. 12 When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, 13 telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ 14 If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” 15 So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day. (Matthew 28:11-15)

So, while the women are on their way to share the good news of the empty tomb with the disciples, some of the guards go into the city to report the bad news of the empty tomb to the chief priests. The chief priests confer with the elders and together they come up with a plan. They bribe the soldiers with a large sum of money to say that the disciples stole the body while they were sleeping. Sorry, Judas, you were underpaid! Remember, Judas only got paid thirty pieces of silver, the price of an injured slave. It looks like he could have held out for more. The religious leaders gave money to Judas to betray Christ. Now they are giving money to the soldiers to lie about the body of Christ. If I was part of their synagogue, I might be a little upset at how they were using my offering money!

They also promise to protect the soldiers from Pilate should the story get back to him. A Roman soldier who fell asleep on the watch could be executed for dereliction of duty. So, the religious leaders promise to protect them by satisfying Pilate, which probably means even more large sums of money would exchange hands.

The rest is history. The soldiers took the money and ran with the story, and the story continued to be widely circulated even up to the time Matthew was writing his gospel some thirty years later. It was still circulating a hundred years later when Justin Martyr wrote his famous Dialogue with Trypho (Dialogue 108). And it is still circulating today as one of the many cover stories people embrace to avoid the resurrection of Christ.

So, what’s wrong with this first cover story, that the disciples stole the body? Well, there’s so much wrong with it, it’s hard to know where to begin.

First of all, that’s why the guards were there to begin with! Remember, the whole reason they went to Pilate and posted a guard and put a seal on the stone was to stop this from happening. And they said if it did happen, if the disciples did steal the body, that this second deception would be worse than the first. But it’s not the disciples who are doing the deceiving here. It’s the religious leaders.

And then secondly, if the guards were asleep, how did they know what happened? Imagine if you were called into court as a witness and your testimony was that you were sleeping while the incident happened. You would get laughed out of court. It’s like when we were kids and after praying someone would complain to the teacher, “Johnny had his eyes open during prayer!” “Oh, he did, did he? And how do you know that?” “Ummmm ….”

And then thirdly, if the disciples stole the body, why wasn’t the body recovered and the disciples arrested? The religious leaders already said this was the worst thing that could happen. They had their own guards that they already used to arrest Jesus earlier. So why not use their resources to arrest the disciples and retrieve the body?

And then, fourthly, the disciples died for their faith, and people don’t die for a lie. If the disciples stole the body, then they knew Jesus didn’t really rise from the dead. It would mean the whole story of the resurrection was nothing but a lie. And why do people tell lies? We tell lies either to get ourselves out of trouble or to benefit ourselves in some way.

Now, it’s one thing if the disciples were getting rich off the story. But proclaiming the resurrection was getting them into trouble, not out of trouble. And not just trouble, but death. As the famous French philosopher Pascal once said, “I believe the witnesses that get their throats cut.” Except for John who was exiled to the island of Patmos in his old age, all the disciples eventually died for their faith. N. T. Wright makes the point that “it was three centuries before anyone gained anything except insults, danger, torture and death by believing in the resurrection” (N. T. Wright, Matthew for Everyone, Vol. 2, p. 204).

What’s wrong with the original cover story of the disciples stealing the body? Everything! 1) That’s why the guards were there to begin with. 2) If the guards were asleep, how did they know what happened? 3) Why wasn’t the body recovered and the disciples arrested? 4) The disciples died for their faith, and people don’t die for a lie.

The disciples stealing the body was the first cover story, but it wasn’t the last. There are several other cover stories that people use to try and avoid Jesus’ resurrection. So, let’s look at a few more of them.

II. Cover Story #2 – The religious leaders moved the body.
   – Why? What would be their reason?
   – Why leave the grave clothes?
   – Why didn’t they produce the body to stop the gospel?

A second cover story is that the religious leaders moved the body. If the disciples didn’t do it, then maybe the religious leaders did. Then the disciples would truly believe Jesus rose from the dead, and they would be dying for something they thought was true rather than something they knew to be a lie. But there are a number of problems with this cover story, too.

First of all, why would the religious leaders do this? What would be their reason? Remember, they went to Pilate and posted a guard to make sure the tomb wouldn’t be empty on Sunday morning. They said the worst thing that could happen would be if the tomb was empty on Sunday morning. So, why would they take the body? It doesn’t make any sense.

Secondly, why leave the grave clothes? In fact, why would anyone leave the grave clothes? The linen had value. What value did the dead body have? If you’re stealing the body, why would you take the time to remove all the linen wrappings and then fold up the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head (John 20:6-7). Once again, it doesn’t make sense.

And then thirdly, if the religious leaders moved the body, why didn’t they produce the body to stop the gospel? They didn’t want stories of Jesus’ resurrection to spread. That’s why they posted the guard to begin with. If they had moved the body, the easiest way to stop this new movement would be simply to produce the body and prove that Jesus didn’t rise from the dead after all.

III. Cover Story #3 – They went to the wrong tomb.
   – This was a brand-new tomb belonging to Joseph of Arimathea.
   – The women were there when Jesus was buried.
   – Why did the guards report Jesus as missing?
   – Why didn’t they produce the body to stop the gospel?

A third cover story that is often used is that the women went to the wrong tomb. It was early morning, still dark, the women were grieving, and in their confusion they went to the wrong tomb. Well, this cover story doesn’t make sense either.

First of all, this was a brand-new tomb belonging to Joseph of Arimathea. In other words, it was a very specific, well-marked tomb and easily identified.

Secondly, the women were there when Jesus was buried. Matthew specifically tells us that Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb while Joseph placed Jesus’ body in the tomb and rolled the big stone in front of the entrance (Matthew 27:61).

Thirdly, why did the guards report Jesus as missing? If the women went to the wrong tomb, then that means Jesus was still in the right tomb and the guards were still there watching over him. Why then did the guards report Jesus’ body as missing?

And then fourthly, the same as before, why didn’t they produce the body to stop the gospel? If the women went to the wrong tomb, then it was all just a big misunderstanding. All the religious leaders needed to do was go to the right tomb, produce Jesus’ body and stop all these rumors of Jesus’ resurrection dead in their tracks.

All sorts of people knew exactly where Jesus was buried – the guards, the religious leaders, Pilate, the women and certainly Joseph would know where his own tomb was. This third cover story that the women went to the wrong tomb doesn’t make any more sense than the first two.

IV. Cover Story #4 – Jesus didn’t really die.
   – Jesus was beaten, flogged, crucified and pierced with a spear.
   – Jesus was certified dead by the centurion.
   – Jesus was wrapped in 75 lbs of linen and spices.
   – Jesus was sealed in a tomb with soldiers standing guard.

Okay, we have two more cover stories to go. The first three cover stories are all used to try and explain the empty tomb. These next two are used to try and explain the appearances of Christ after his resurrection. So, let’s look at cover stories number four and five next.

The fourth cover story is that Jesus didn’t really die. In other words, the reason the disciples saw Jesus alive after the cross was not because he rose from the dead, but because he never died to begin with. This one is sometimes called the “swoon” theory, that Jesus simply fainted on the cross, and everyone thought he was dead, and then he revived later in the coolness of the tomb. Of course, this cover story has all sorts of problems, too.

First of all, even if Jesus didn’t really die, he was still in terrible shape physically. He had been beaten, flogged, crucified and pierced with a spear. Many people died just from the flogging alone. Crucifixion was the most brutal of punishments, and if that was not enough, Jesus was also pierced with a spear so that blood and then water ran out (John 19:34), an indication that a person had died from asphyxiation, which is what eventually kills you on the cross anyways.

Not only that, but Jesus was also certified dead by the centurion – twice! Once when they came to break his legs but found he was already dead (John 19:32-33), and a second time when Pilate asked for confirmation that he was really dead (Mark 15:44-45). The centurions were trained soldiers familiar with death, and they would certainly have known the difference between a man who had died and someone who had merely fainted.

But even if the centurion messed up – twice! – you still have Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus who took charge of Jesus’ body for burial. Surely, they would have noticed if Jesus was still alive and breathing. Together they wrapped Jesus’ body in seventy-five pounds of linen and spices, and then laid him in the tomb. And not only that, but Jesus was also sealed in the tomb with a large stone over the entrance and the soldiers standing guard.

And so, this is perhaps the least convincing cover story of all. To believe that Jesus didn’t really die, you would have to believe that after being beaten, flogged, crucified and pierced with a spear, no one really noticed that he was still breathing and so they buried him alive. Then in a wounded and weakened state, Jesus revived in the tomb, somehow struggled out of seventy-five pounds of linen wrappings, neatly folded his grave clothes, staggered over to the entrance and pushed the stone away, overcame the Roman guards, walked the road back to Jerusalem, and then beaten and bloody and bruised he appeared before the disciples and somehow convinced them that he had gloriously risen from the dead. Now that cover story requires more faith than simply believing the resurrection!

V. Cover Story #5 – The disciples were hallucinating.
   – Jesus appeared to multiple groups of people at the same time.
   – The disciples were not expecting to see Jesus alive.
   – Why not produce the body?

And then one final cover story that is used to explain the appearances of Jesus to the disciples after the cross is that the disciples were hallucinating. This cover story doesn’t make sense either.

If Jesus had appeared to only one disciple, or even one at a time, perhaps you could blame it on a hallucination. But just like two people sleeping in the same bed don’t have the exact same dream at the exact same time, so two people standing in a room don’t have the same hallucination at the exact same time.

Jesus appeared to lots of different people, in groups of two or more, repeatedly in the forty days between his resurrection and his ascension back to heaven (Acts 1:3). He appeared to the women at the tomb and made a special appearance to Peter (Luke 24:33–35; 1 Cor. 15:5). The same day he appeared to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13–32), and then also to the ten disciples in the Upper Room (John 20:19–25). One week later, he appeared to all eleven disciples including Thomas this time (John 20:19–25). He appeared to seven disciples on the beach and had breakfast with them (John 21:1-14). On one occasion he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time (1 Corinthians 15:6).

The bottom line is they couldn’t all have been hallucinating. Hallucinations are rare and not shared. And usually, you hallucinate about something you are desperately trying to believe. The women weren’t expecting Jesus’ resurrection. They went to the tomb to anoint a dead body. The disciples certainly weren’t expecting or believing Jesus’ resurrection. They were hiding in the Upper Room in fear. Jesus had to appear to them in order to convince them that he was alive, not the other way around.

And then, once again, if the disciples were just hallucinating, then Jesus was still in the tomb, so why not produce the body? So, the hallucination cover story doesn’t work either.

None of these cover stories work, which only leaves one alternative – Jesus really did rise from the dead. The only explanation that makes sense of Jesus’ sufferings and death on the cross, the empty tomb, the appearances of Christ to so many, and the changed lives of the disciples such that they went from hiding in fear to boldly giving their lives for the gospel is that Jesus really did rise from the dead.

VI. What’s your cover story?

All of these cover stories were invented and told simply to avoid the fact of Jesus’ resurrection. So, what’s your cover story? Why are you avoiding the fact of Jesus’ resurrection? Could it be that if Jesus rose from the dead, then he really is who he says he was, and you would need to bow before him as Lord of your life? Could it be that you don’t want to make certain changes to your life, and so you are trying to keep the risen Lord at a distance?

By the way, another name for a cover story is a lie. So, not to be too harsh here, but what lie are you defending to keep from believing in Christ’s resurrection? That your life is better without him? That you don’t really need forgiveness for your sins? That you will do just fine on judgment day? What is your cover story? What is keeping you from Jesus today?

CONCLUSION: The religious leaders didn’t want to accept the facts of Jesus’ resurrection, so they created a cover story. And not a particularly good one at that. In fact, it was so weak that people have invented multiple cover stories over the years to try and explain away Jesus’ resurrection. And as we have seen, each of these cover stories have serious problems of their own. Not only that, but they all contradict each other. In other words, we don’t have multiple cover stories providing complementary evidence against Jesus’ resurrection. Rather, we have competing cover stories, and you can only choose one.

The very fact that people have invented multiple, contradictory cover stories over the years only provides further evidence that Jesus’ resurrection is real. You don’t create multiple cover stories unless there is something actually to cover up. The fact of the matter is that Jesus rose from the dead, and the multiple cover stories that have been produced to deny the resurrection only serve to further confirm the resurrection.

All of these cover stories are deadly, because it is vitally important that you do believe in Christ’s resurrection. Your salvation depends on it. Paul writes in Romans 10:9: “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

Do you believe God raised Jesus from the dead? Will you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord? I invite you to drop your cover story today and come to Jesus. He has risen. He is alive. He is there for you.

© Ray Fowler

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