Mt 28:8-15
His disciples stole him: In the beginning of his gospel, Matthew tells of Herod’s plan to kill the newborn Messiah. Through deceit, he sought to make use of the magi to lead him to Jesus (2:1-8). But God frustrated Herod’s evil plan. Matthew now resumes the story with the bribing of the guards. The malefactors are the Jewish priests and the elders. Earlier, they took counsel on how to arrest and kill Jesus in secret; they paid Judas silver pieces to betray him. The last mention of these Jewish authorities has them teaching the soldiers to lie.
This story, special to Matthew, goes beyond historical evidence and reflects the tension between the Christian community and the Jewish synagogue. The Jews thought of Jesus as one who “led people astray” and rumors circulating among ordinary folks told of the disciples stealing the body of Jesus. The Christians, on the other hand, portrayed the Jewish authorities as scheming liars, and one lie that circulated among the Jews—that of the disciples stealing the body to explain the resurrection of Jesus—is really a nasty one.
Matthew implies that the hostile apologetics that has developed among the Jewish circle against the resurrection is really futile. But Christians may learn, too, that calling the “Jews” as malevolent does little to its cause.