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v15 So the soldiers took the money. They did what the chief *priests had told them to do. And this same story has spread among the *Jews to this very day. Verses 11-14 The *priests were desperate. They did not want anyone to know the true story. They wanted the soldiers to tell lies about Jesus body. So they had to pay a lot of money to the soldiers. This was a very serious matter. A *Roman soldier should never have slept while he was on duty. The *priests promised that they would deal with the ruler. There would be no trouble for the soldiers. Verse 15 The story was a weak story because it was a lie. But people still heard it at the time when Matthew was writing this *gospel. Nobody could deny that the grave was empty. It is strange that the *priests did not search for the *disciples. The *priests probably knew that they would not find Jesus body. And some *priests later believed that Jesus was alive again (Acts 6:7).
4. Jesus had given his *disciples an enormous task. He had warned them that people would hate them. People would oppose them. But he did not want them to be afraid. So he promised that he would be with them always. Then they could obey his commands. He will be with his *disciples every single day. When the end of the world comes, they will have finished their work for him. Jesus told some stories that we can read only in Matthews *gospel. See: