The Burial of Jesus^(A)

⁵⁷ As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸ Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. ⁵⁹ Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, ⁶⁰ and placed it in his own new tomb^(B) that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. ⁶¹ Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.

The Guard at the Tomb

⁶² The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. ⁶³ “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’^{(C) 64} So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body^(D) and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”

⁶⁵ “Take a guard,”^(E) Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” ⁶⁶ So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal^(F) on the stone^(G) and posting the guard.^(H)

Jesus Has Risen^(I)

28 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene^(J) and the other Mary^(K) went to look at the tomb.

² There was a violent earthquake,^(L) for an angel^(M) of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone^(N) and sat on it. ³ His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.^{(O) 4} The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

⁵ The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid,^(P) for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.^(Q) Come and see the place where he lay. ⁷ Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee.^(R) There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

⁸ So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

The Burial of Jesus^(A)

⁴² It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath).^(B) So as evening approached, ⁴³ Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council,^(C) who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God,^(D) went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. ⁴⁴ Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. ⁴⁵ When he learned from the centurion^(E) that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. ⁴⁶ So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.^{(F) 47} Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph^(G) saw where he was laid.

Jesus Has Risen^(H)

16 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices^(I) so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. ² Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb ³ and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”^(J)

⁴ But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. ⁵ As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe^(K) sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

⁶ “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene,^(L) who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. ⁷ But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him,^(M) just as he told you.’”^(N)

⁸ Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.^[a]

The Burial of Jesus^(A)

⁵⁰ Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, ⁵¹ who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea, and he himself was waiting for the kingdom of God.^{(B) 52} Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body. ⁵³ Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. ⁵⁴ It was Preparation Day,^(C) and the Sabbath was about to begin.

⁵⁵ The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee^(D) followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. ⁵⁶ Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes.^(E) But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.^(F)

Jesus Has Risen^(G)

24 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared^(H) and went to the tomb. ² They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³ but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.^{(I) 4} While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning^(J) stood beside them. ⁵ In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? ⁶ He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee:^{(K) 7} ‘The Son of Man^(L) must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ”^{(M) 8} Then they remembered his words.^(N)

The Burial of Jesus^(A)

³⁸ Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders.^(B) With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. ³⁹ He was accompanied by Nicodemus,^(C) the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.^{[a] 40} Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen.^(D) This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs.^{(E) 41} At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. ⁴² Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation^(F) and since the tomb was nearby,^(G) they laid Jesus there.

The Empty Tomb^(H)

20 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene^(I) went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.^(J)