"Bedtime Bible Stories"

From the Book of Matthew,
Chapter 28, Verses 12-15

The stories about Jesus' coming back from the dead spread all around Jerusalem. When the Jewish leaders heard about it, they were very angry. All the things they had done to make sure Jesus wouldn't bother them again hadn't done any good at all.

They called the guards who had been assigned to protect the tomb and asked them what had happened. They couldn't explain it. They were guarding all night, and never went to sleep, but in the morning the stone in front of the tomb had been moved and the body of Jesus was gone!

The priests had an idea. They bribed the guards. They gave them extra money and told them to tell everyone they had fallen asleep while on duty and followers of Jesus had stolen his body to make it look like he'd come back from the dead.

The guards accepted the bribe and spread their story all over Jerusalem. Some people, who don't believe in the power of Jesus, still tell their story today.