NOTES for Mat 28:1-20
The angel who announced the Resurrection addresses the women who came to the tomb, but not the guards who are nearby. This must be because there is no point imposing factual knowledge on those who are not yet ready to receive it. After all, to accept the Gospel message does not mean to memorize the contents of a text; it means to begin a new life. So the guards are free to decide how they should relate to the miracle that has taken place. The Angel addresses those who accepted Jesus and love Him, and to them the Angel entrusts the task of telling the disciples the news of the Resurrection.
On the way to the apostles they met the Risen One Himself. Well, a meeting with Him can happen precisely when, fulfilling our duty, we are going to our brothers. And how important Matthew's testimony to the faithfulness of these women is!
The behavior of the chief priests may seem strange. Are they really blinded to such a degree that they are unable to accept the miraculous event as testimony that Jesus truly is the Son of God?
Yes, to exactly that degree. The level of teaching they have absorbed is for them the fullness of truth, and what goes beyond rigid boundaries is hard for them to perceive. And pride and "political considerations" prevent them from admitting that they were wrong and had sent an innocent man to death. They do not need the Truth. But Truth nevertheless rose.