CHAPTER 29

The sun was rising on Sunday morning, and the women disciples—Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and Salome the mother of the apostles James and John—walked toward the tomb of Jesus. The women brought fragrant oils they had prepared to anoint the body of Jesus. As the women were walking to Jesus’ tomb, they asked each other, “Who will roll the large stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

As the women disciples were walking, there was a violent earth- quake when an angel of the Lord came down from heaven. The angel rolled back the entrance stone of the tomb and sat on it. The angel’s appearance was like lightning. His clothes were bright white like snow. The guards saw the angel and shook in fear. They became like dead men.

When the women disciples arrived at the tomb, they found the large stone had been rolled away from the entrance. The women entered the tomb and found that it was empty. They were confused because the body of Jesus was not there. Then suddenly two angels appeared and stood by them inside the tomb. They were wearing bright shining clothing that looked like lightning. One angel was sitting on the right side where the feet of Jesus had been. The women were filled with fear and bowed their faces to the ground.

One of the angels said to the women, “Do not be afraid! Why are you looking for the living among the dead? I know you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen from the dead as he said he would. Come and see the place where his body once was. It is now empty. Remember how Jesus told you when he was with you in Galilee, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified, and raised from the dead on the third day.’” And the women remembered what Jesus had told them. Then the angel said, “Go quickly and tell Peter and the other disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him again, just as he told you.’”

Shaking and filled with amazement, the women disciples ran from the tomb of Jesus to tell the apostles and the other disciples everything the angel had said. The women were filled with joy, but they did not tell anyone else because they were afraid. When the women disciples arrived, they told everything to the apostles. But the apostles did not believe the women, because they thought what they said was nonsense.

Mary Magdalene said to Peter and John, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have moved him!” So Peter and John ran toward the tomb of Jesus. Although both were running, John outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down and looked inside at the strips of linen lying there, but he did not go into the tomb. Then Peter arrived and went immediately inside the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, and the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. Then Peter went away, wondering to himself what had happened. John, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside the tomb and saw that it was empty. But Peter and John still did not understand from the Old Testament that Jesus had to rise from the dead.

Then they went back to where they were staying.