News That Jesus Has Risen From Death^(A)

28 The day after the Sabbath day was the first day of the week. That day at dawn Mary Magdalene and the other woman named Mary went to look at the tomb.

² Suddenly an angel of the Lord came from the sky, and there was a huge earthquake. The angel went to the tomb and rolled the stone away from the entrance. Then he sat on top of the stone. ³ The angel was shining as bright as lightning. His clothes were as white as snow. ⁴ The soldiers guarding the tomb were very afraid of the angel. They shook with fear and then became like dead men.

⁵ The angel said to the women, “Don’t be afraid. I know you are looking for Jesus, the one who was killed on the cross. ⁶ But he is not here. He has risen from death, as he said he would. Come and see the place where his body was. ⁷ And go quickly and tell his followers, ‘Jesus has risen from death. He is going into Galilee and will be there before you. You will see him there.’” Then the angel said, “Now I have told you.”

⁸ So the women left the tomb quickly. They were afraid, but they were also very happy. They ran to tell his followers what happened. ⁹ Suddenly, Jesus was there in front of them. He said, “Hello!” The women went to him and, holding on to his feet, worshiped him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Go tell my followers^[a] to go to Galilee. They will see me there.”

Report to the Jewish Leaders

¹¹ The women went to tell the followers. At the same time, some of the soldiers who were guarding the tomb went into the city. They went to tell the leading priests everything that happened. ¹² Then the priests met with the older Jewish leaders and made a plan. They paid the soldiers a lot of money ¹³ and said to them, “Tell the people that Jesus’ followers came during the night and stole the body while you were sleeping. ¹⁴ If the governor hears about this, we will talk to him and keep you out of trouble.” ¹⁵ So the soldiers kept the money and obeyed the priests. And that story is still spread among the Jews even today.

Jesus Talks to His Followers^(B)

¹⁶ The eleven followers went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus told them to go. ¹⁷ On the mountain the followers saw Jesus. They worshiped him. But some of the followers did not believe that it was really Jesus. ¹⁸ So he came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth is given to me. ¹⁹ So go and make followers of all people in the world. Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. ²⁰ Teach them to obey everything that I have told you to do. You can be sure that I will be with you always. I will continue with you until the end of time.”

News That Jesus Has Risen From Death^(A)

16 The next day after the Sabbath day, Mary Magdalene, Salome, and Mary the mother of James bought some sweet-smelling spices to put on Jesus’ body. ² Very early on that day, the first day of the week, the women were going to the tomb. It was very early after sunrise. ³ The women said to each other, “There is a large stone covering the entrance of the tomb. Who will move the stone for us?”

⁴ Then the women looked and saw that the stone was moved. The stone was very large, but it was moved away from the entrance. ⁵ The women walked into the tomb and saw a young man there wearing a white robe. He was sitting on the right side of the tomb. The women were afraid.

⁶ But the man said, “Don’t be afraid. You are looking for Jesus from Nazareth, the one who was killed on a cross. He has risen from death! He is not here. Look, here is the place they put him when he was dead. ⁷ Now go and tell his followers. And be sure to tell Peter. Tell them, ‘Jesus is going into Galilee and will be there before you come. You will see him there, as he told you before.’”

⁸ The women were very afraid and confused. They left the tomb and ran away. They did not tell about what happened, because they were afraid.^[a]

Some Followers See Jesus^(B)

⁹ Jesus rose from death early on the first day of the week. He appeared first to Mary Magdalene. One time in the past Jesus had forced seven demons out of Mary. ¹⁰ After Mary saw Jesus, she went and told his followers. They were very sad and were crying. ¹¹ But Mary told them that Jesus was alive. She said that she had seen Jesus, but they did not believe her.

¹² Later, Jesus appeared to two followers while they were walking in the country. But Jesus did not look the same as before he was killed. ¹³ These followers went back to the other followers and told them what happened. Again, the followers did not believe them.

Jesus Talks to His Followers^(C)

¹⁴ Later, Jesus appeared to the eleven followers while they were eating. He criticized them because they had so little faith. They were stubborn and refused to believe the people who said Jesus had risen from death.

¹⁵ He said to them, “Go everywhere in the world. Tell the Good News to everyone. ¹⁶ Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved. But those who do not believe will be judged guilty. ¹⁷ And the people who believe will be able to do these things as proof: They will use my name to force demons out of people. They will speak in languages they never learned. ¹⁸ If they pick up snakes or drink any poison, they will not be hurt. They will lay their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

Jesus Goes Back to Heaven^(D)

¹⁹ After the Lord Jesus said these things to his followers, he was carried up into heaven. There, Jesus sat at the right side of God. ²⁰ The followers went everywhere in the world telling people the Good News, and the Lord helped them. By giving them power to do miracles the Lord proved that their message was true.

News That Jesus Has Risen From Death^(A)

24 Very early Sunday morning, the women came to the tomb where Jesus’ body was laid. They brought the sweet-smelling spices they had prepared. ² They saw that the heavy stone that covered the entrance had been rolled away. ³ They went in, but they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ They did not understand this. While they were wondering about it, two men in shining clothes stood beside them. ⁵ The women were very afraid. They bowed down with their faces to the ground. The men said to them, “Why are you looking for a living person here? This is a place for dead people. ⁶ Jesus is not here. He has risen from death. Do you remember what he said in Galilee? ⁷ He said the Son of Man must be handed over to the control of sinful men, be killed on a cross, and rise from death on the third day.” ⁸ Then the women remembered what Jesus had said.

⁹ The women left the tomb and went to the eleven apostles and the other followers. They told them everything that happened at the tomb. ¹⁰ These women were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary, the mother of James, and some others. They told the apostles everything that happened. ¹¹ But the apostles did not believe what they said. It sounded like nonsense. ¹² But Peter got up and ran to the tomb to see. He looked in, but he saw only the cloth that Jesus’ body had been wrapped in. It was just lying there. Peter went away to be alone, wondering what had happened.^[a]

On The Road to Emmaus^(B)

¹³ That same day two of Jesus’ followers were going to a town named Emmaus. It is about seven miles^[b] from Jerusalem. ¹⁴ They were talking about everything that had happened. ¹⁵ While they were talking, discussing these things, Jesus himself came near and walked with them. ¹⁶ (But the two men were not allowed to recognize Jesus.) ¹⁷ He asked them, “What’s this I hear you discussing with each other as you walk?”

The two men stopped, their faces looking very sad. ¹⁸ The one named Cleopas said, “You must be the only person in Jerusalem who doesn’t know what has just happened there.”

¹⁹ Jesus said, “What are you talking about?”

They said, “It’s about Jesus, the one from Nazareth. To God and to all the people he was a great prophet. He said and did many powerful things. ²⁰ But our leaders and the leading priests handed him over to be judged and killed. They nailed him to a cross. ²¹ We were hoping that he would be the one to free Israel. But then all this happened.

“And now something else: It has been three days since he was killed, ²² but today some of our women told us an amazing thing. Early this morning they went to the tomb where the body of Jesus was laid. ²³ But they did not find his body there. They came and told us they had seen some angels in a vision. The angels told them Jesus was alive! ²⁴ So some of our group went to the tomb too. It was just as the women said. They saw the tomb, but they did not see Jesus.”

²⁵ Then Jesus said to the two men, “You are foolish and slow to realize what is true. You should believe everything the prophets said. ²⁶ The prophets said the Messiah must suffer these things before he begins his time of glory.” ²⁷ Then he began to explain everything that had been written about himself in the Scriptures. He started with the books of Moses and then he talked about what the prophets had said about him.

²⁸ They came near the town of Emmaus, and Jesus acted as if he did not plan to stop there. ²⁹ But they wanted him to stay. They begged him, “Stay with us. It’s almost night. There’s hardly any daylight left.” So he went in to stay with them.

³⁰ Joining them at the supper table, Jesus took some bread and gave thanks. Then he broke some off and gave it to them. ³¹ Just then the men were allowed to recognize him. But when they saw who he was, he disappeared. ³² They said to each other, “When he talked to us on the road, it felt like a fire burning in us. How exciting it was when he explained to us the true meaning of the Scriptures!”

³³ So the two men got up then and went back to Jerusalem. There they found the followers of Jesus meeting together. The eleven apostles and the people with them ³⁴ said, “The Lord really has risen from death! He appeared to Simon.”

³⁵ Then the two men told what had happened on the road. They talked about how they recognized Jesus when he shared the bread with them.

Jesus Appears to His Followers^(C)

³⁶ While the two men were saying these things to the other followers, Jesus himself came and stood among them. He said to them, “Peace be with you.”

³⁷ This surprised the followers. They were afraid. They thought they were seeing a ghost. ³⁸ But Jesus said, “Why are you troubled? Why do you doubt what you see? ³⁹ Look at my hands and my feet. It’s really me. Touch me. You can see that I have a living body; a ghost does not have a body like this.”

⁴⁰ After Jesus told them this, he showed them his hands and his feet. ⁴¹ The followers were amazed and very, very happy to see that Jesus was alive. They still could not believe what they saw. He said to them, “Do you have any food here?” ⁴² They gave him a piece of cooked fish. ⁴³ While the followers watched, he took the fish and ate it.

⁴⁴ Jesus said to them, “Remember when I was with you before? I said that everything written about me must happen—everything written in the Law of Moses, the books of the prophets, and the Psalms.”

⁴⁵ Then Jesus helped the followers understand these Scriptures about him. ⁴⁶ Jesus said to them, “It is written that the Messiah would be killed and rise from death on the third day. ^47-48 You saw these things happen—you are witnesses. You must go and tell people that they must change and turn to God, which will bring them his forgiveness. You must start from Jerusalem and tell this message in my name to the people of all nations. ⁴⁹ Remember that I will send you the one my Father promised. Stay in the city until you are given that power from heaven.”

Jesus Goes Back to Heaven^(D)

⁵⁰ Jesus led his followers out of Jerusalem almost to Bethany. He raised his hands and blessed his followers. ⁵¹ While he was blessing them, he was separated from them and carried into heaven. ⁵² They worshiped him and went back to Jerusalem very happy. ⁵³ They stayed at the Temple all the time, praising God.

News That Jesus Has Risen From Death^(A)

20 Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb. She saw that the large stone was moved away from the entrance. ² So she ran to Simon Peter and the other follower (the one Jesus loved very much). She said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.”

³ So Peter and the other follower started going to the tomb. ⁴ They were both running, but the other follower ran faster than Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵ He bent down and looked in. He saw the pieces of linen cloth lying there, but he did not go in.

⁶ Then Simon Peter finally reached the tomb and went in. He saw the pieces of linen lying there. ⁷ He also saw the cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. It was folded up and laid in a different place from the pieces of linen. ⁸ Then the other follower went in—the one who had reached the tomb first. He saw what had happened and believed. ⁹ (These followers did not yet understand from the Scriptures that Jesus must rise from death.)

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene^(B)

¹⁰ Then the followers went back home. ¹¹ But Mary stood outside the tomb, crying. While she was crying, she bent down and looked inside the tomb. ¹² She saw two angels dressed in white sitting where Jesus’ body had been. One was sitting where the head had been; the other was sitting where the feet had been.

¹³ The angels asked Mary, “Woman, why are you crying?”

Mary answered, “They took away the body of my Lord, and I don’t know where they put him.” ¹⁴ When Mary said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there. But she did not know that it was Jesus.

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

She thought he was the man in charge of the garden. So she said to him, “Did you take him away, sir? Tell me where you put him. I will go and get him.”

¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and said in Aramaic, “Rabboni,” which means “Teacher.”

¹⁷ Jesus said to her, “You don’t need to hold on to me! I have not yet gone back up to the Father. But go to my followers^[a] and tell them this: ‘I am going back to my Father and your Father. I am going back to my God and your God.’”

¹⁸ Mary Magdalene went to the followers and told them, “I saw the Lord!” And she told them what he had said to her.

Jesus Appears to His Followers^(C)

¹⁹ The day was Sunday, and that same evening the followers were together. They had the doors locked because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them. He said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁰ As soon as he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. When the followers saw the Lord, they were very happy.

²¹ Then Jesus said again, “Peace be with you. It was the Father who sent me, and I am now sending you in the same way.” ²² Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive the sins of anyone, their sins are forgiven. If there is anyone whose sins you don’t forgive, their sins are not forgiven.”

Jesus Appears to Thomas

²⁴ Thomas (called Didymus) was one of the twelve, but he was not with the other followers when Jesus came. ²⁵ They told him, “We saw the Lord.” Thomas said, “That’s hard to believe. I will have to see the nail holes in his hands, put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side. Only then will I believe it.”

²⁶ A week later the followers were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. The doors were locked, but Jesus came and stood among them. He said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here. Look at my hands. Put your hand here in my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

²⁸ Thomas said to Jesus, “My Lord and my God!”

²⁹ Jesus said to him, “You believe because you see me. Great blessings belong to the people who believe without seeing me!”

Why John Wrote This Book

³⁰ Jesus did many other miraculous signs that his followers saw, which are not written in this book. ³¹ But these are written so that you can believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. Then, by believing, you can have life through his name.