to hear (in various senses) · verb — aorist passive subjunctive, 3rd person singular
to
ἐπὶepi
G1909
properly · preposition
governor’s
ἡγεμόνος,hēgemonos
G2232
a leader · noun — genitive singular masculine
ears
ἀκούωakoúō
G191
to hear (in various senses)
we
ἡμεῖςhēmeîs
G2249
we (only used when emphatic)
persuade
πείσομενpeisomen
G3982
to convince (by argument · verb — future active indicative, 1st person plural
him
αὐτὸνauton
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — accusative singular masculine
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
secure
ἀμερίμνουςamerimnous
G275
not anxious · adjective — accusative plural masculine
you
ὑμᾶςhymâs
G5209
you (as the objective of a verb or preposition)
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Matthew 27:2 And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor.
Acts 12:19 And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went d…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 28:14
And if this come to the governor's ears--rather, "If this come before the governor"; that is, not in the way of mere report, but for judicial investigation.
we will persuade him, and secure you--The "we" and the "you" are emphatic here--"we shall [take care to] persuade him and keep you from trouble," or "save you harmless." The grammatical form of this clause implies that the thing supposed was expected to happen. The meaning then is, "If this come before the governor--as it likely will--we shall see to it that," &c. The "persuasion" of Pilate meant, doubtless, quieting him by a bribe, which we know otherwise he was by no means above taking (like Felix afterwards, Act 24:26).
John Gill on Matthew 28:14
And if this come to the governor's ears,.... Not the governor of the watch, but Pontius Pilate the governor of Judea: if this should be told him, and should be heard by him; or this matter should come before him, and be under his examination, and there should be any danger of punishment; for to sleep on the watch was severely punished by the Romans:
we will, persuade him; that this is the true state of the case, and intercede with him, and make use of all our interest, not to punish for it: or will persuade him, that though this is a false account, yet it will be much better that it should go in this way, for his own peace, and the peace of the nation, and the security of the Roman governme…
Matthew 28:11-15
Matthew 28:11-15
11. And while they were departing, lo, some of the guards came into the city, and told the chief priests all things which had happened. 12. And having assembled with the eiders, and entered into consultation, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, 13. Saying, Say that his disciples came by night, and stole him, while you were asleep. 14. And if this come to the ears of the governor, we will persuade him, and ensure your safety. 15. And they took the money, and did as they had been instructed: and this statement is currently reported among the Jews till the present day.
Matthew 28:11. And while they were departing. It is not only credible, but the…
Nevertheless, these shameless and audacious men, although there were so many things to stop their mouths, "Say ye," these are their words, "and we will persuade, and will secure you." Seest thou all depraved? Pilate, for he was persuaded? the soldiers? the Jewish people? But marvel not, if money prevailed over soldiers. For if with His disciple it showed its might to be so great, much more with these.
Among these misdeeds, we find the priests bribing people and, what is worse, deceiving them by pointing falsely to the misdeeds of others. Meanwhile they were putting a price on sin. They paid money to cover up their manipulations. They buy out Judas who betrayed his Lord. They compensate with money the blood of the Savior of the world. They try to shut up faith in the empty tomb by purchasing silence. With petty theft they deal in the greater crime of denying the resurrection. "They gave a sum of money to the soldiers and said, 'Tell people, "His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep." And 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 has been spread among the Jews to this day." Among the Christians too. What they covered up with gold in Judea would shine brightly and intensely over the whole world. The disciples received Christ; they did not steal him. You purchased treachery, but you did not steal the truth. Christ rose from the dead. You lost money.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Resurrection of Christ — One of the cardinal facts and doctrines of the gospel. If Christ be not risen, our faith is vain (1 Cor. 15:14). The whole of the New Testament revelation rests on this as an historical fact. On the…
Bribery · of Jesus — of Jesus
Resurrection Of Christ, The · Was attested by: His enemies — Was attested by: His enemies
Roman Empire, The · Allusions to military affairs of: Danger of sentinels’ sleeping — Allusions to military affairs of: Danger of sentinels’ sleeping
Soldiers · Guard the gravesite of Jesus — Guard the gravesite of Jesus
Watchman · Unfaithfulness in the discharge of duty of, punished by — Unfaithfulness in the discharge of duty of, punished by
Watchmen · Danger of sleeping on their posts, referred to — Danger of sleeping on their posts, referred to
Witness · Corrupted by money — Corrupted by money
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Tyndale Open Study Notes on Matthew 28:13
stole his body: Tomb robbery was a common problem in the ancient world, so such an accusation would have been entirely believable.
