Faith Formation: Matthew the Gospel of God With Us December 4, 2024

While they were going, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests everything that had happened. After the priests had assembled with the elders, they devised a plan to give a large sum of money to the soldiers, telling them, "You must say, 'His disciples came by night and stole the body away while we were asleep.' If this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble." So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story is still told among the Judeans to this day. Matthew 28:11-15

Matthew returned to the story of those who guarded the tomb. As the women went to tell the disciples what they had been told, the guards went to the chief priests with their account but not with the women's hope or faith. The Jerusalem leadership had asked Pilate for a guard because of the rumors about Jesus being raised on the third day. The soldiers guarded the tomb through the night but when the earth quaked and the angels appeared they fainted. Upon awakening they went to the chief priests to report the things they had seen. The technical terms used for the guard, "soldiers," may indicate that they were Roman soldiers rather than Temple police. They went to the chief priests because reporting their failure to protect the tomb to Pilate may have sent them to their own crucifixion. They were offered a bribe, "a large sum of money," perhaps larger than the bribe given to Judas, as long as they would tell an alternative story. Confessing that they had fallen asleep however ruined their credibility. The chief priests assured them that they would smooth things over with Pilate if they kept their mouths shut as to what they actually experienced. Matthew's intent was to dismiss the counter narrative, by stating that the soldiers indeed did witness the events that the women reported, and by ridiculing the bumbling attempt to concoct a counter story. Bribes, asleep on the job and smoothing things over with the Roman authorities represented a "three strikes and your out" rejection of the guards story.

Still the rumors persisted. The story of Jesus resurrection was fantastic with nuances of fantasy. It was both unbelievable in terms of "too good to be true" and in terms of not being believable at all. The tension of faith and fact, witness and evidence, shrouded the proclamation the church called the gospel. A couple of ancient texts relate the ongoing controversy.

Second century Christian witness Justin Martyr in a dialogue with a Jewish scholar argues this story. "And though all the men of your nation knew the incidents in the life of Jonah, and though Christ said among you that He would give the sign of Jonah, exhorting you to repent of your wicked deeds at least after He rose again from the dead, and to mourn before God as did the Ninevites, in order that your nation and city might not be taken and destroyed, as they have been destroyed; yet you not only have not repented, after you learned that He rose from the dead, but, as I said before you have sent chosen and ordained men throughout all the world to proclaim that a godless and lawless heresy had sprung from one Jesus, a Galilean deceiver, whom we crucified, but his disciple stole him by night from the tomb, where he was laid when unfastened from the cross, and now deceive men by asserting that he has risen from the dead and ascended to heaven. Moreover, you accuse Him of having taught those godless, lawless, and unholy doctrines which you mention to the condemnation of those who confess Him to be Christ, and a Teacher from and Son of God. Besides this, even when your city is captured, and your land ravaged, you do not repent, but dare to utter imprecations on Him and all who believe in Him. Yet we do not hate you or those who, by your means, have conceived such prejudices against us; but we pray that even now all of you may repent and obtain mercy from God, the compassionate and long-suffering Father of all." Dialogue with Trypho, 108 https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/01287.htm

At the resurrection the apocryphal Gospel of Peter imagined the guards hearing a loud voice from heaven. They witnessed the opening of the heavens and the appearance of two shining men. The stone in front of the tomb suddenly rolled away, so the guards fled and told their story to the centurion who was with them. Then they saw three men exiting the tomb, the angels and Jesus. Jesus was supported by the angels and a cross followed him out of the tomb. When Jesus ascended a voice from heaven asked the cross if those who had fallen asleep had heard the good news. The cross responded, "Yes." The guards ran to Pilate to tell him their story, repeating the word of the centurion at the cross, "Truly he was God's Son." Pilate simply responded that he was innocent of Jesus blood, but they were responsible for their report. The guards afraid that the Jews would stone them for reporting what they had seen, begged Pilate to command silence about these things. They would rather fall into the hands of God for their sins than into the hands of the Jewish authorities. Pilate gave the order. The soldiers said nothing more. https://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/gospelpeter-brown.html

The story of Jesus resurrection was not and never has been merely accepted or immediately heard as good news. Countless objections have been raised about the credibility of ancient sources, the experience of the dead remaining dead, and suspicion of religion in general. From ancient times faiths have competed with each other as to whose story is true and truth. Matthew defended the faith and the proclamation of Jesus resurrection for the followers who Christ called and commissioned to share the story of God with us.

Keep the faith. Say your prayers. Love like Jesus.

Pastor Tim Bauer