the Near Eastern empires of the time, but was much less common among the Roman forces, where if caught the punishments would be very severe. Gundry notes that the largeness of the sum indicates how important it was to the priests to keep the guards' secret, and that the guards would demand a large sum for a lie that would put them in jeopardy, as Matthew 28:14 indicates. Alexander Jones notes that the guards would also have an interest in covering up the matter, as the supernatural story of what did happen at Matthew 28:2 was not likely to be believed if the matter did come to a court martial. Notes References Matthew 28