Matthew 27:64

Matthew 27:64 is the sixty-fourth verse of the twenty-seventh chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. This verse occurs after the crucifixion and entombment of Jesus. In it the chief priests and the Pharisees, who are meeting with Pontius Pilate, ask for a guard for the tomb.

Content

The original Koine Greek, according to Westcott and Hort, reads:
In the King James Version of the Bible it is translated as:
The modern World English Bible translates the passage as:
For a collection of other versions see .

At the time when Matthew's Gospel was being written, it appears that a story was current among anti-Christians that instead of being resurrected, Jesus' body had been stolen by the disciples. These verses are considered an attempt by the author of Matthew to counter these rumours. These scenes are not found in any of the other gospels. Grave robbery was a common problem in this era, lending some background to the charge.
The "last deception" seems to clearly be a reference to Jesus rising from the dead. What is mean by the "first deception" is not made clear. Theologian Daniel J. Harrington suggests it was probably Jesus' claim to be the King of the Jews. The talk of deception ironically foreshadows the actions of the priests at Matthew 28:12-13, where they bribe the guards to lie about the resurrection.