Matthew 28:14

Matthew 28:14 is the fourteenth verse of the twenty-eighth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. This verse is part of the resurrection narrative. In this verse the priests of Jerusalem assured the safety of the tomb guards in case that Pontius Pilate received the report of their failure.

Content

The original Koine Greek, according to Westcott and Hort/[NA27 and UBS4 variants], reads:[1]

14: καὶ ἐὰν ἀκουσθῇ τοῦτο ἐπὶ τοῦ ἡγεμόνος, ἡμεῖς πείσομεν [αὐτὸν] καὶ ὑμᾶς ἀμερίμνους ποιήσομεν.

In the King James Version of the Bible it is translated as:

14: And if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him, and secure you.

The modern World English Bible translates the passage as:

14: If this comes to the governor's ears, we will persuade him and make you free of worry."

For a collection of other versions see BibleHub Matthew 28:14

Analysis

The Roman soldiers who guarded the tomb would received capital punishment for not properly doing their duty when the report of the missing corpse reached 'the governor's ears', as the fate of the keepers after Apostle Peter's miraculous liberation from the prison (Acts 12:19).[2] The priests used 'all persuasive powers' to assure the safety of these watchmen, that "Pilate would acquiesce in the deception, and that the Sanhedrin would make sure he did".[3]

The guards could not be from the Roman platoon directly responsible to Pontius Pilate (cf. Matthew 27:65–66), because the governor would surely get to hear what happened, but could be a local troop of Jewish temple guard.[4] Pilate would not concern overmuch about the failure of soldiers not directly under his command.[5]

In the apocryphal Gospel of Peter 11:43-49, the report was made directly to Pilate, then the Jewish elders came to beg Pilate to order the soldiers (unspecified whether Jewish or Romans) to keep quiet, which he did.[6]

According to a fragment of Hegesippus, and Eusebius,[7] Pilate eventually learned about the resurrection of Jesus, with no record of him punishing the guards, but it is noted that he sent an account of the matter to Tiberius, who then tried to make the senate pass a decree enrolling Jesus in the list of Roman gods.[8] This fact is attested by Tertullian in his Apologeticus.[9]

References

1. Greek Text Analysis: Matthew 28:14. Biblehub
2. Matthew 28:14. The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge cross reference: Acts 12:19. Quote: And when Herod had sought for him [Peter], and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judaea to Caesarea, and there abode. (KJV)
3. Phillips, John (2005). Exploring the Gospel of Matthew: An Expository Commentary. The John Phillips Commentary Series. Volume 1 (reprint ed.). Kregel Academic. p. 125. ISBN 9780825433924.
4. France 2007, p. 1104.
5. France 2007, p. 1106.
6. France 2007, pp. 1103–1104.
7. Eusebius, Chronicles Book II, chapter 2. Quote: Chapter 2. How Tiberius was affected when informed by Pilate concerning Christ. 1. And when the wonderful resurrection and ascension of our Saviour were already reported abroad, in accordance with an ancient custom which prevailed among the rulers of the provinces, of reporting to the emperor the novel occurrences which took place in them, in order that nothing might escape him, Pontius Pilate informed Tiberius of the reports which were reported abroad through all Palestine concerning the resurrection of our Saviour Jesus from the dead.
8. Exell, Joseph S.; Spence-Jones, Henry Donald Maurice (Editors). On "Matthew 28". In: The Pulpit Commentary. 23 volumes. First publication: 1890. Accessed 24 April 2019.
9. Tertullian, Apologeticus, chapter V. Quote: By virtue of this old decree it was that Tiberius, in whose reign Christianity came into the world, having received intelligence from Judea about the miracles of Christ, proposed it to the senate, and used his prerogative for getting Him enrolled among the number of their gods. The senate, indeed, refused the proposal, as having not maturely weighed His qualifications for a deity; but Caesar stood to his resolution, and issued out severe penalties against all who should accuse the worshippers of Christ. Source: The Apology of Tertullian, translated and annotated by William Reeve (1709 reprinted 1889).

Sources

• France, R.T. (2007). Bruce, Frederick Fyvie (ed.). The Gospel of Matthew. New international commentary on the New Testament. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. ISBN 9780802825018.