Jesus Is Risen!

24 ^(A)Now on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. ² And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³ but when they entered, they did not find the body of ^(B)the Lord Jesus. ⁴ And it happened that while they were perplexed about this, behold, ^(C)two men suddenly ^(D)stood near them in dazzling clothing, ⁵ and when the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead? ⁶ He is not here, but He ^(E)has ^[a]risen. Remember how He spoke to you ^(F)while He was still in Galilee, ⁷ saying that ^(G)the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.” ⁸ And ^(H)they remembered His words, ⁹ and when they returned from the tomb, they reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. ¹⁰ Now ^(I)Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the rest of the women with them were there; they were telling these things to ^(J)the apostles. ¹¹ But these words appeared ^[b]to them as nonsense, and they ^(K)were not believing them. ¹² But Peter stood up and ^(L)ran to the tomb; and stooping to look in, he *saw the linen wrappings ^[c]only. And he went away ^(M)by himself, marveling at what had happened.

Testing Your Faith

1 ^[a](A)James, a ^(B)slave of God and ^(C)of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To ^(D)the twelve tribes who are in the ^(E)Dispersion: ^(F)Greetings.

^2 (G)Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter ^(H)various ^[b]trials, ³ knowing that ^(I)the testing of your ^(J)faith brings about ^(K)perseverance. ⁴ And let ^(L)perseverance have its perfect work, so that you may be ^[c](M)perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

⁵ But if any of you ^(N)lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and ^[d]without reproach, and ^(O)it will be given to him. ⁶ But he must ^(P)ask in faith, ^(Q)doubting nothing, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, ^(R)driven and tossed by the wind. ⁷ For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, ⁸ being a ^[e](S)double-minded man, ^(T)unstable in all his ways.

^9 (U)But the ^[f]brother of humble circumstances is to boast in his high position; ¹⁰ and the rich man is to boast in his humiliation, because ^(V)like ^[g]flowering grass he will pass away. ¹¹ For the sun rises with ^[h](W)a scorching heat and ^(X)withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away.

^12 (Y)Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has ^[i]been approved, he will receive ^(Z)the crown of life which the Lord ^(AA)has promised to those who ^(AB)love Him. ¹³ Let no one say when he is tempted, “^(AC)I am being tempted ^[j]by God”; for God cannot be tempted ^[k]by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. ¹⁴ But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. ¹⁵ Then ^(AD)when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when ^(AE)sin is fully matured, it brings forth death. ^16 (AF)Do not be ^[l]deceived, ^(AG)my beloved brothers. ¹⁷ Every good thing given and every perfect gift is ^(AH)from above, coming down from ^(AI)the Father of lights, ^(AJ)with whom there is no variation or ^[m]shifting shadow. ¹⁸ In the exercise of ^(AK)His will He ^(AL)brought us forth by ^(AM)the word of truth, so that we would be ^[n]a kind of ^(AN)first fruits ^[o]among His creatures.