“As the women were going to tell the others that Jesus was alive; some of the guards from the tomb where Jesus lay were on that same mission to tell the chief priests that Jesus was not in the tomb. They gave the guards money to perpetuate the lie that the body of Jesus was taken by His followers.” — Matthew 28:11-13

Here we have two groups greatly affected by the resurrection; on one hand, the women who were excited that Jesus was alive just as the angel told them. On the other hand were the guards and chief priests who were willing to construct a lie in order to guard their position.

The guards saw the same angel that the women saw, and by their reactions they knew that this was not some figment of their imagination; how then were they able to believe their own lie? Was the money sufficient to wipe away the memory of what they had witnessed? Or were they later to understand the Truth? Were they later converted because the Truth was too obvious to continue to ignore? Speculation, but I believe a reasonable thought.

What about the chief priests? Their situation was much more serious; they were the teachers, those who were the keepers of the Scriptures, those who should have known but chose not to. They will be held to a higher level of accountability (James 3:1). 

It seems an incredulous thing that they were willing to pay someone to spread their own lie, so that they could believe it themselves. Many nonbelievers of Jesus still hold fast to this two-thousand-year-old falsehood; clinging to anything, even a lie, in order not to believe in the Truth.

There might be a glimmer of hope for those who did not have the Bible as we have it today, for those today who have the completed Word and the benefit of the guidance of the Holy Spirit, there is no excuse for not knowing and embracing the Truth.

And yet there are literally millions upon millions of folks who still choose to trust the lie, rather than cling to the Truth. Choosing the lie because the Truth will interfere with the lifestyle of their choice; willingly sacrificing their eternity for a few so called “good times”, they are not too far removed from their evil sponsor.

He is risen! Believe, and live!

Rev. Bobby Thornhill is a retired pastor.