The guards who had been posted to prevent any deception become the first involuntary witnesses of the resurrection's power: they shook and became like dead men. The irony is complete — the soldiers sent to guard against a fake resurrection encounter the real one and are incapacitated by it. They experience the death-like paralysis while the women who came expecting death encounter life. The guards will later become paid false witnesses (Matthew 28:11–15), testifying to a story they themselves know is false. The contrast between the guards' fear-induced paralysis and the women's fear transformed into great joy (Matthew 28:8) illustrates the resurrection's different effects: to the enemies of the kingdom, it is overwhelming; to the disciples of the kingdom, it is commissioning.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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