When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, "Tell them, 'His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.' And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will appease him and make you secure." So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.
Matthew 28:12-15

The lengths to which some will go to deny the Lordship (and in this case the resurrection) of Christ amazes me. The Jewish religious leaders went to Pilate in Matthew 27, to do what they could to keep Jesus in the tomb. They put a seal on the door and had a guard detail stationed outside the tomb. They did that because they knew that Jesus had promised that He would rise from the dead (v.63)

Then when Jesus had risen, in spite of their efforts to prevent it from happening, they had no recourse except to concoct a lie and bribe others to join in the deception.

The truth was simple. Jesus rose from the dead. But when people refuse to believe the truth, it is amazing what lies they will tell and believe, and to what lengths they will go to deny the truth and defend the lie.

Why do we who believe, believe the truth about Jesus and His resurrection? Is it because we are more intelligent, or more spiritually astute? Not at all. It is because of the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. Let us be amazed that we believe. Let us humbly thank the Lord, and pray for His work in the lives of those still do not believe.

An Ironic Postscript: In Matthew 27:63, the Jewish religious leaders called Jesus a liar. Then to deny that His resurrection happened exactly as He said it would, they lied and paid others to join in their duplicity. Imagine facing God on judgment day, having called God a liar, and then lying in their attempt to cover the truth.