Misinterpretations of this verse often include assuming the guards literally died rather than fainted in terror, as 'became as dead men' is idiomatic for unconsciousness from fear; others erroneously attribute their reaction solely to the earthquake mentioned earlier, downplaying the angel's terrifying presence and the passage's emphasis on heavenly power, or skeptically dismiss it as fabricated without considering the guards' credible witness of fear amid the resurrection events.
Matthew 28:4
King James Version (1769)
4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.
Matthew 28:4 captures the overwhelming terror induced by the angel's divine appearance at Jesus' empty tomb, causing the Roman guards to faint as if dead, which powerfully illustrates the supernatural authority and glory of God that renders human opposition powerless and affirms the miraculous reality of Christ's resurrection as an unstoppable divine act.