The Servant of the Lord

Faith That Produces Action

11 Faith is being sure of what we hope for. It is being sure of what we do not see. ² That is what the people of long ago were praised for.

²³ Moses’ parents had faith. So they hid him for three months after he was born. They saw he was a special child. They were not afraid of the king’s command.

²⁴ Moses had faith. So he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. That happened after he had grown up.

²⁸ Because of his faith, Moses was the first to keep the Passover Feast. He commanded the people of Israel to sprinkle blood on their doorways. He did it so that the destroying angel would not touch their oldest sons.

²⁹ The people of Israel had faith. So they passed through the Red Sea. They went through it as if it were dry land. The Egyptians tried to do it also. But they drowned.

³⁰ Israel’s army had faith. So the walls of Jericho fell down. It happened after they had marched around the city for seven days.

³¹ Rahab, the prostitute, had faith. So she welcomed the spies. That’s why she wasn’t killed with those who didn’t obey God.

³² What more can I say? I don’t have time to tell about all the others. I don’t have time to talk about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah. I don’t have time to tell about David and Samuel and the prophets. ³³ Because of their faith they took over kingdoms. They ruled fairly. They received the blessings God had promised. They shut the mouths of lions. ³⁴ They put out great fires. They escaped being killed by swords. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became powerful in battle. They beat back armies from other countries. ³⁵ Women received back their dead. The dead were raised to life again. There were others who were made to suffer greatly. But they refused to be set free. They did this so that after death they would be raised to an even better life. ³⁶ Some were made fun of and even whipped. Some were held by chains. Some were put in prison. ³⁷ Some were killed with stones. Some were sawed in two. Some were killed by swords. They went around wearing the skins of sheep and goats. They were poor. They were attacked. They were treated badly. ³⁸ The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains. They lived in caves. They lived in holes in the ground.

³⁹ All these people were praised because they had faith. But none of them received what God had promised.

Jesus Rises From the Dead

28 The Sabbath day was now over. It was dawn on the first day of the week. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

² There was a powerful earthquake. An angel of the Lord came down from heaven. The angel went to the tomb. He rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³ His body shone like lightning. His clothes were as white as snow. ⁴ The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

⁵ The angel said to the women, “Don’t be afraid. I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here! He has risen, just as he said he would! Come and see the place where he was lying. ⁷ Go quickly! Tell his disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead. He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

⁸ So the women hurried away from the tomb. They were afraid, but they were filled with joy. They ran to tell the disciples. ⁹ Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings!” he said. They came to him, took hold of his feet and worshiped him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee. There they will see me.”

The Tomb Is Empty

20 Early on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb. It was still dark. She saw that the stone had been moved away from the entrance. ² So she ran to Simon Peter and another disciple, the one Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb! We don’t know where they have put him!”

³ So Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. ⁴ Both of them were running. The other disciple ran faster than Peter. He reached the tomb first. ⁵ He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there. But he did not go in. ⁶ Then Simon Peter came along behind him. He went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there. ⁷ He also saw the funeral cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place. It was separate from the linen. ⁸ The disciple who had reached the tomb first also went inside. He saw and believed. ⁹ They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead. ¹⁰ Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

¹¹ But Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she cried, she bent over to look into the tomb. ¹² She saw two angels dressed in white. They were seated where Jesus’ body had been. One of them was where Jesus’ head had been laid. The other sat where his feet had been placed.

¹³ They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said. “I don’t know where they have put him.” ¹⁴ Then she turned around and saw Jesus standing there. But she didn’t realize that it was Jesus.

¹⁵ He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who are you looking for?”

She thought he was the gardener. So she said, “Sir, did you carry him away? Tell me where you put him. Then I will go and get him.”

¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him. Then she cried out in the Aramaic language, “Rabboni!” Rabboni means Teacher.

¹⁷ Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me. I have not yet ascended to the Father. Instead, go to those who believe in me. Tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ”

¹⁸ Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news. She said, “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.