28 After Shabbat, as the next day was dawning, Miryam of Magdala and the other Miryam went to see the grave. ² Suddenly there was a violent earthquake, for an angel of Adonai came down from heaven, rolled away the stone and sat on it. ³ His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were as white as snow. ⁴ The guards were so terrified at him that they trembled and became like dead men. ⁵ But the angel said to the women, “Don’t be afraid. I know you are looking for Yeshua, who was executed on the stake. ⁶ He is not here, because he has been raised — just as he said! Come and look at the place where he lay. ⁷ Then go quickly and tell the talmidim, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and now he is going to the Galil ahead of you. You will see him there.’ Now I have told you.”

⁸ So they left the tomb quickly, frightened yet filled with joy; and they ran to give the news to his talmidim. ⁹ Suddenly Yeshua met them and said, “Shalom!” They came up and took hold of his feet as they fell down in front of him. ¹⁰ Then Yeshua said to them, “Don’t be afraid! Go and tell my brothers to go to the Galil, and they will see me there.”

¹¹ As they were going, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the head cohanim everything that had happened. ¹² Then they met with the elders; and after discussing the matter, they gave the soldiers a sizeable sum of money ¹³ and said to them, “Tell people, ‘His talmidim came during the night and stole his body while we were sleeping.’ ¹⁴ If the governor hears of it, we will put things right with him and keep you from getting in trouble.” ¹⁵ The soldiers took the money and did as they were told, and this story has been spread about by Judeans till this very day.

¹⁶ So the eleven talmidim went to the hill in the Galil where Yeshua had told them to go. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they prostrated themselves before him; but some hesitated. ¹⁸ Yeshua came and talked with them. He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore, go and make people from all nations into talmidim, immersing them into the reality of the Father, the Son and the Ruach HaKodesh, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember! I will be with you always, yes, even until the end of the age.”

1 From: Sha’ul, Sila and Timothy

To: The Messianic Community of the Thessalonians, united with God the Father and the Lord Yeshua the Messiah:

Grace to you and shalom.

² We always thank God for all of you, regularly mentioning you in our prayers, ³ calling to mind before God our Father what our Lord Yeshua the Messiah has brought about in you — how your trust produces action, your love hard work, and your hope perseverance. ⁴ We know, brothers, that God has loved and chosen you; ⁵ that the Good News we brought did not become for you a matter only of words, but also one of power, the Ruach HaKodesh and total conviction — just as you know how we lived for your sakes when we were with you. ⁶ You, indeed, became imitators of us and of the Lord; so that even though you were going through severe troubles, you received the Word with joy from the Ruach HaKodesh.

⁷ Thus you became a pattern for all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia; ⁸ for the Lord’s message sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but everywhere your trust toward God became known. The result is that we don’t need to say anything; ⁹ since they themselves keep telling us about the welcome we received from you and how you turned to God from idols, to serve the true God, the one who is alive, ¹⁰ and to wait for his Son Yeshua, whom he raised from the dead, to appear from heaven and rescue us from the impending fury of God’s judgment.

2 You yourselves know, brothers, that our visit to you was not fruitless. ² On the contrary, although we had already suffered and been outraged in Philippi, as you know, we had the courage, united with our God, to tell you the Good News even under great pressure. ³ For the appeal we make does not flow from error or from impure motives, neither do we try to trick people. ⁴ Instead, since God has tested us and found us fit to be entrusted with Good News, this is how we speak: not to win favor with people but with God, who tests our hearts. ⁵ For, as you know, never did we employ flattering talk, nor did we put on a false front to mask greed — God is witness. ⁶ Nor did we seek human praise — either from you or from others. ⁷ As emissaries of the Messiah, we could have made our weight felt; but instead, we were gentle when we were with you, like a mother feeding and caring for her children. ⁸ We were so devoted to you that we were glad to share with you not only God’s Good News but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us. ⁹ For you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship, how we worked night and day not to put a burden on any of you while we were proclaiming God’s Good News to you. ¹⁰ You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless our behavior was in the sight of you believers; ¹¹ for you know that we treated each one of you the way a father treats his children — ¹² we encouraged you and comforted you and appealed to you to lead lives worthy of God, who calls you into his Kingdom and glory.

¹³ Another reason we regularly thank God is that when you heard the Word of God from us, you received it not merely as a human word, but as it truly is, God’s Word, which is at work in you believers. ¹⁴ For, brothers, you came to be imitators of God’s congregations in Y’hudah that are united with the Messiah Yeshua — you suffered the same things from your countrymen as they did from the Judeans who ¹⁵ both killed the Lord Yeshua and the prophets, and chased us out too. They are displeasing God and opposing all mankind ¹⁶ by trying to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles, so that they may be delivered. Their object seems to be always to make their sins as bad as possible! But God’s fury will catch up with them in the end.

¹⁷ And as for us, brothers, when we were deprived of your company for a short time — in person, but not in thought — we missed you and tried hard to come and see you. ¹⁸ We wanted so much to come to you — I, Sha’ul, tried more than once — but the Adversary stopped us. ¹⁹ For when our Lord Yeshua returns, what will be our hope, our joy, our crown to boast about? Won’t it be you? ²⁰ Yes, you are our glory and our joy!

3 So when we could no longer stand it, we agreed to be left in Athens alone ² and sent Timothy, our brother and God’s fellow worker for the Good News of the Messiah, to make you solid and encourage you in your trust; ³ so that none of you would let these persecutions unsettle him. For you yourselves know that these are bound to come to us; ⁴ even when we were with you, we kept telling you in advance that we were about to be persecuted; and indeed it has happened, as you know. ⁵ That is the reason why, after I could stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your trust. I was afraid that somehow the Tempter had tempted you, and our hard work had been wasted.

⁶ But now Timothy has come to us from you, bringing good news about your trust and love, and telling us that you remember us well and are always longing to see us, just as we long to see you. ⁷ Because of this, brothers, in spite of all our trouble and distress, we were comforted over you — because of your trust; ⁸ so that now we are alive; since you continue to stand fast, united with the Lord.

⁹ Indeed, how can we thank God enough for you or express to our God all the joy we feel because of you? ¹⁰ Night and day we pray as hard as we can that we will be able to see you face to face and supply whatever shortcomings there may be in your trust. ¹¹ May God our Father and our Lord Yeshua direct our way to you.

¹² And as for you, may the Lord make you increase and overflow in love toward each other, indeed, toward everyone, just as we do toward you; ¹³ so that he may give you the inner strength to be blameless, by reason of your holiness, when you stand before God our Father at the coming of our Lord Yeshua with all his angels.