When the guards reported the incident of the empty tomb, the Jewish authorities asked them to say that
Answer Details
When the guards reported the incident of the empty tomb, the Jewish authorities asked them to say that Jesus' disciples had stolen His body. This was an attempt by the authorities to explain away the empty tomb and to discredit the claim of the resurrection. By blaming the disciples, they sought to shift the blame away from themselves and to prevent the spread of the Christian message. However, this explanation was later refuted by the eyewitness accounts of the disciples, who testified to seeing Jesus alive after His death and burial.