Supporting Evidence #4: The Guards
The
Guards Since the guards reported to the chief priests to protect themselves, the implication is that they were Roman guards, and not the Temple guards. As Roman guards, desertion of their post meant death. (Temple guards also would suffer very significant punishment for desertion, BTW). The guards were told by the chief priests to say that they had fallen asleep, although falling asleep on duty for a Roman soldier was also punishable by death. I talked a little about some of the issues with the guards HERE Matthew 28: 11-15: 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. When the chief priests had met
with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of
money, telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and
stole him away while we were asleep.’ If this report gets to the governor, we
will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” 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. (NIV) |
