Matthew 28:12 (WEB)

Passage

When they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave a large amount of silver to the soldiers,

Nearby Context

Matthew 28:10 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Go tell my brothers that they should go into Galilee, and there they will see me.”

Matthew 28:11 Now while they were going, behold, some of the guards came into the city, and told the chief priests all the things that had happened.

Matthew 28:12 When they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave a large amount of silver to the soldiers,

Matthew 28:13 saying, “Say that his disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.

Matthew 28:14 If this comes to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him and make you free of worry.”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "assembled", "elders", "taken", "counsel", "gave", "large", "amount", and "silver". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "assembled" and "elders", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "Now while they were going behold some..." into verse 13's "saying Say that his disciples came by...", so "assembled" and "elders" belong inside that flow. In Matthew context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "assembled" and "elders" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.