28 After the Sabbath, as the light of the next day, the first day of the week, crept over Palestine, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to the tomb to keep vigil. ² Earlier there had been an earthquake. A messenger of the Lord had come down from heaven and had gone to the grave. He rolled away the stone and sat down on top of it. ³ He veritably glowed. He was vibrating with light. His clothes were light, white like transfiguration, like fresh snow. ⁴ The soldiers guarding the tomb were terrified. They froze like stone.

⁵ The messenger spoke to the women, to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary.

⁸ The women were both terrified and thrilled, and they quickly left the tomb and went to find the disciples and give them this outstandingly good news. ⁹ But while they were on their way, they saw Jesus Himself.

The women fell down before Him, kissing His feet and worshiping Him.

¹¹ As the women were making their way to the disciples, some of the soldiers who had been standing guard by Jesus’ tomb recovered themselves, went to the city, and told the chief priests everything that had happened—the earthquake just after dawn, the heavenly messenger, and his commission to the Marys. ¹² The chief priests gathered together all the elders, an emergency conference of sorts. They needed a plan. They decided the simplest course was bribery: they would pay off the guards ¹³ and order them to say that the disciples had come in the middle of the night and had stolen Jesus’ corpse while they slept. ¹⁴ The chief priests promised the soldiers they would run interference with the governor so that the soldiers wouldn’t be punished for falling asleep when they were supposed to be keeping watch. ¹⁵ The guards took the bribe and spread the story around town—and indeed, you can still find people today who will tell you that Jesus did not really rise from the dead, that it was a trick, some sort of sleight of hand.

¹⁶ The eleven disciples, having spoken to the Marys, headed to Galilee, to the mountain where they were to meet Jesus. ¹⁷ When the disciples saw Jesus there, many of them fell down and worshiped, as Mary and the other Mary had done. But a few hung back. They were not sure (and who can blame them?). ¹⁸ Jesus came forward and addressed His beloved disciples.

16 ^1-2 At the rising of the sun, after the Sabbath on the first day of the week, the two Marys and Salome brought sweet-smelling spices they had purchased to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus. ³ Along the way, they wondered to themselves how they would roll the heavy stone away from the opening. ⁴ But when they arrived, the stone was already rolled away in spite of its weight and size.

⁵ Stepping through the opening, they were startled to see a young man in a white robe seated inside and to the right.

⁸ The women went out quickly; and when they were outside the tomb, they ran away trembling and astonished. Along their way, they didn’t stop to say anything to anyone because they were too afraid.

[⁹ After He rose from the dead early on Sunday,^[a] Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene, a woman out of whom He had cast seven demons. ¹⁰ She brought this news back to all those who had followed Him and were still mourning and weeping, ¹¹ but they refused to believe she had seen Jesus alive.

¹² After that, Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them as they walked through the countryside, ¹³ and again the others did not believe it.

¹⁴ The eleven did not believe until Jesus appeared to them all as they sat at dinner. He rebuked them for their hard hearts—for their lack of faith—because they had failed to believe those witnesses who had seen Him after He had risen.

¹⁹ After the Lord Jesus had charged the disciples in this way, He was taken up into heaven and seated at the right hand of God. ²⁰ The disciples went out proclaiming the good news; and the risen Lord continued working through them, confirming every word they spoke with the signs He performed through them.]^[c]

[And the women did everything they had been told to do, speaking to Peter and the other disciples. Later Jesus Himself commissioned the disciples to take this sacred and eternal message of salvation far to the East and the West.]^[d]