A Few Extra Coins
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"Did you not feel the earth tremble?"
One of the guards spoke. The other two maintained silence. Obviously they were shaken. The news they were bringing to the high priest would not be received well.
"There was no earthquake," one of the priests said.
"We felt it, great priest," the guard replied.
"Your task was to stand watch over the tomb of a dead man. One who claimed to have the ability to rise from death. One whose followers would stop at nothing to make us... and the Romans believe he had, in fact, come back among the living."
"There was a light as well," another guard added.
"And three women," said the first guard.
"Women?" The high priest queried.
"They saw the tomb as well. It was empty."
"Caiaphas," a rounded priest said, stepping up beside the high priest, "Perhaps these women were followers of the Nazorean."
"I see no reason to doubt your observation," Caiaphas replied, then said to the guards, "Perhaps the truth would be told that you were drinking some cheap wine."
All three guards shook their heads in unison.
"And these women," Caiaphas continued, "What was their purpose for being at the tomb."
"Perhaps they brought herbs," the rounded priest at Caiaphas' side said.
"Perhaps."
"It took a group of men to roll that stone in place. How could a group of men sneak passed our guards?" Another of the priests pondered out loud.
"We saw nothing," the first guard answered. "All we saw was the light, like a bolt from the sky. At the same moment the earth shook. When we went to see the women were hurrying away. The tomb was open... and there was no body."
"Just what we feared," the priest at Caiaphas' side said.
"His followers came and took the body while you were sleeping," Caiaphas said to the guards. "You shall say nothing else. You will take the blame and be rewarded for doing so. We will cover for you when Pilate comes to us for an explanation.
The guards left, still shaken, and with a few silver coins in their hands. They hadn't been drinking. They weren't sleeping. There was no group of men who moved the stone.
"We are scapegoats," one of the guards said. "There were no men to move that large stone... only three women. We were not drinking, nor were we asleep. The earth did shake, and light did shoot from the sky."
"You mustn't repeat that," the first guard responded.
"He speaks the truth," the other guard said. "Suppose it is as they claimed."
The first guard responded sharply, "What, that a dead man would rise?"
"I've heard stories."
"Fables of the ignorant."
"So, we just keep our mouths shut?"
"My friend," the first guard put his hand on the others arm. His grip was a bit firm. "We know what we saw... and what we felt. But speaking of these things in the open will be a dangerous thing to do. You've heard stories. Things have been said about that man whose tomb we were guarding. Maybe some of those things were true. Maybe they weren't. I only know that we are all walking away unscathed, and with a few extra coins in our palms."
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