Holy Saturday: Sleeping Soldiers

‘While [the women were departing from the tomb], 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 him 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 Jews to this day.’

[Matthew 28.11-15]

 

At this moment in time, we need to get our story straight. We’re trained soldiers, not a rabble of rowdy rebels – we need to explain how we let the biggest heist in history occur under our very noses. You can’t just steal a dead body from under our noses, and then have the same body appear hale and hearty to his friends!

 

Yes, we may have been asleep on duty (an offense worthy of a flogging if ever there was one), but he was dead, and his followers didn’t look particularly dangerous – you could smell them a mile off, fishermen to a man,. The Centurion Longinus had confirmed to us that he definitely was dead, though come to think of it he had a funny, almost spooked look in his eye. If Longinus or one of his men tell you a man’s dead, then he’s dead, there’s no two ways about it. (They know their stuff!)

 

No one is going to believe us, no matter how hard we try. I wouldn’t be surprised if we weren’t crucified as he wass. Co-conspirators they’ll call us, though how we can be in cahoots with a dead man I don’t know!?

 

Still even if he has survived it’s not going to mean much is it? Another Jewish holy man and rebel. Hardly going to shake the Empire is he …