Book of Common Prayer

²⁹ Another thing, what good is it for people to be baptized for dead people? If dead people are not raised, why are some people baptized for them?

³⁰ And why are we in trouble all the time?

³¹ I face death every day! That is true. Just the way it is true that I am proud of you, my brothers. I am proud that you belong to Christ Jesus.

³² I fought against wild animals at Ephesus. If I was thinking only of life on earth, why did I do this? If dead people do not rise, then we might just as well say, `Let us eat and drink because we will die tomorrow.'

³³ Do not be fooled. `If good people keep company with bad people, the good people will become bad too.'

³⁴ Wake up! Do what is right. Stop doing wrong things. Some of you do not know God at all. I say these things to you to make you ashamed.

³⁵ But someone will ask, `How can dead people be raised? What kind of body will they have when they come back from death?'

³⁶ What foolish questions! The seed you put in the ground must die before it can come to life.

³⁷ You do not put a grown-up plant in the ground. You put in a seed, such as corn, wheat, rice, or something like that.

³⁸ God gives the seed the body he wants it to have. He gives a different kind of body to every kind of seed.

³⁹ Not all living bodies are alike. People have one kind of body. Animals have another kind of body. Fish another kind of body. Birds have another kind.

⁴⁰ So too, there are bodies for the sky and bodies for the earth. The bodies for the sky are fine in one way, and the bodies for the earth are fine in another way. They are not alike.

⁴¹ The sun is fine in one way. The moon is fine in another way. The stars are fine in still another way. And one star is fine in a different way from another star.

28 The Sabbath day was past. Morning light was beginning to shine on the first day of the week. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the grave.

² The earth shook very much because an angel of the Lord came down from heaven. He came and rolled the big stone away from the grave and sat on it.

³ His face shone like lightning. His clothes were as white as snow.

⁴ The soldiers who were guarding the grave saw him and shook with fear. They fell down like dead men.

⁵ The angel talked to the women. He said, `Do not fear. I know you are looking for Jesus, who was nailed to a cross.

⁶ He is not here. He has risen, as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.

⁷ Go quickly and tell his disciples, "He has risen from death. He is going to Galilee before you. You will see him there." Now, I have told you.'

⁸ The women went quickly away. They left the grave with fear and they were very happy. They ran to tell his disciples.

⁹ As they were going, Jesus met them. He said `Greetings!' The women bowed down in front of him and put their hands on his feet.

¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, `Do not fear. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee. They will see me there.'

¹¹ While the women were going, some of the soldiers who had guarded the grave came into the city. They told the chief priests all that had happened.

¹² The chief priests had a meeting with the leaders of the people and talked the matter over. They gave much money to the soldiers.

¹³ They said, `Tell the people, "His disciples came by night and took away the body while we were sleeping."

¹⁴ If the ruler hears about this, then we will talk to him so that he will not punish you.'

¹⁵ The soldiers took the money. They did as they were told to do. And even to this day, many of the Jewish leaders say this is what happened to Jesus.

¹⁶ The eleven disciples went to Galilee. They went to the hill where Jesus had told them to meet him.