Matthew 28: Deceitful Plans
After the amazing events of Matthew 28:1-10, verse 11 tells us that while the women were on their way to the tomb, some of the guards who had been posted at the tomb (who must have regained consciousness) got up and went into the city.
They reported the event to the chief priests, revealing everything that had happened.
But instead of embracing these truths and being filled with joy at the news of Jesus’s resurrection, verse 12 tells us that the chief priests met with the elders and together they devised a plan (basically a lie) for which they paid the soldiers a large sum of money to repeat.
The soldiers accepted the money and repeated the lie. And today, people are still told this lie! People then and people now, willing to disregard the truth of God for a lie, which is most often hard to believe!
The Lie
This is exactly what we see next. Verse 13 says that the religious leaders told the soldiers what they were to say. “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’”
If that were true, the Roman soldiers could have lost their lives. Not only could they be killed for sleeping on the job, they could also lose their lives for losing their prisoner, and in this case, a dead man.
But they agreed, and the religious leaders assured them not to worry. Verse 14 tells us the leaders said, “If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy Him (meaning we will support this lie and protect you) and keep you out of trouble.”
What happened to these religious leaders? How did they become so corrupt and rebellious against God and His Word? Why were they willing to replace the truth of God and His promised Word with a lie?
Well, I believe it began with the sin of pride.
The Sin of Pride
It was the same sin that overtook Adam and Eve. These religious leaders, who not only knew God but also knew His Word, came to the point in their lives where they thought they had a better plan, a better way. They discounted God and His Word!
Their power and position had gone to their heads and not their hearts. I believe they thought of themselves higher than they ought. I believe pride, power, and the prestige of their positions began to take over and their love for God, His Word, and His people was lost in the process.
Instead, they let their EGO’s “EDGE GOD OUT” and they then made decisions not based on God’s Word or God’s will but on what they wanted or desired! Had these religious leaders remembered and lived by God’s Word in Proverbs 6:16-19, things might have gone differently. But it appears that they were so set in their ways instead of God’s they refused to live by the Holy Scriptures they professed to treasure!
Proverbs 6:16-19 tells us:
There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him:
Haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that devises wicked schemes,
feet that are quick to rush into evil,
a false witness who pours out lies
and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.
These religious leaders had committed all of these things–things which were detestable before their God. And we too can be guilty of such sins if we do not remain faithful to God and His Word! We would do well to remember that pride comes before a fall.
Christians are to live the resurrected life by remaining faithful to God and living by His Word.
Terri Hamman
Faith & Fitness Coach