They gave a large sum of money to the soldiers

MONDAY 13 APRIL (Mt 28,8-15)

The wicked condemns himself with his own decisions. He is overwhelmed by his malice and perversity. It is the light that comes from the Psalm: “Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Who is the man who desires life And loves length of days that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil And your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous And His ears are open to their cry. The face of the Lord is against evildoers, To cut off the memory of them from the earth. The righteous cry, and the Lord hears And delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones, Not one of them is broken. Evil shall slay the wicked, And those who hate the righteous will be condemned. The Lord redeems the soul of His servants, And none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned” (Ps 34 (33), 12-23). Let us remember what had happened: “The next day, the one following the day of preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember that this impostor while still alive said, ‘After three days I will be raised up.’ Give orders, then, that the grave be secured until the third day, lest his disciples come and steal him and say to the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead.’ This last imposture would be worse than the first.” Pilate said to them, “The guard is yours; go secure it as best you can.” So they went and secured the tomb by fixing a seal to the stone and setting the guard” (Mt 17,62-66). Their malice will condemn them forever. What they have asked for and obtained has repercussions against them on the day of judgment. The guards are their guarantee.

What happens now? It is precisely the guards who come and attest that Jesus has truly risen. They are not the disciples. They are not women. They are their guards, the ones they placed as seal that Jesus would have remained in the grave forever. But their stony heart goes even further. They want to destroy Christ even now that he is indestructible because he no longer falls under their sin of malice and perversity. They buy their silence with money. First they bought Judas’ betrayal to kill him. Now they buy the silence of the guards to deny the truth of his resurrection, which is the seal of the Father, God, on the whole Person and the mission of Jesus the Lord. They are ready to buy even the silence of Pilate, should he take some punitive action against them. But now they are inexcusable. Christ is truly risen. The whole Word of God is fulfilled in Him. He is the true Christ, the true Messiah, the true Sent by the Father. Yet the Lord had given them this great grace: the announcement of the resurrection by impartial people.

Then they went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce this to his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them. They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” While they were going, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had happened. They assembled with the elders and took counsel; then they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him while we were asleep.’ And if this gets to the ears of the governor, we will satisfy (him) and keep you out of trouble.” The soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has circulated among the Jews to the present (day).

Every man must pay close attention to his every word, every thought of his and every work. Tomorrow, tt will be precisely these things that will accuse him to the heavenly Father on the day of judgment. You put the guards as your guarantee. They told you that Jesus really rose. You didn’t believe. You bought their silence. If the guards had not been placed before the tomb, you would have some excuse. You didn’t know. You didn’t trust the disciples. The guards were yours, they were not some disciples. Why didn’t you believe? He is wise who measures, weighs and calculates the good of each of his actions.

Mother of God, Angels and Saints arrange that Christians act with great wisdom.