Chronological

Jesus Rises from Death

28 The day after the Sabbath day was the first day of the week. At dawn on the first day, Mary Magdalene and another woman named Mary went to look at the tomb.

² At that time there was a strong earthquake. An angel of the Lord came down from heaven. The angel went to the tomb and rolled the stone away from the entrance. Then he sat on the stone. ³ He was shining as bright as lightning. His clothes were white as snow. ⁴ The soldiers guarding the tomb were very frightened 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 that 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. Say to them: ‘Jesus has risen from death. He is going into Galilee. He will be there before you. You will see him there.’” Then the angel said, “Now I have told you.”

⁸ The women left the tomb quickly. They were afraid, but they were also very happy. They ran to tell Jesus’ followers what had happened. ⁹ Suddenly, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings.” The women came up to Jesus, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go on to Galilee. They will see me there.”

The Soldiers Report to the Jewish Leaders

¹¹ The women went to tell Jesus’ followers. At the same time, some of the soldiers who had been guarding the tomb went into the city. They went to tell the leading priests everything that had happened. ¹² Then the priests met with the Jewish elders and made a plan. They paid the soldiers a large amount of money. ¹³ They said to the soldiers, “Tell the people that Jesus’ followers came during the night and stole the body while you were asleep. ¹⁴ If the governor hears about this, we will satisfy him and save you from 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

¹⁶ The 11 followers went to Galilee. They went to the mountain where Jesus told them to go. ¹⁷ On the mountain they saw Jesus and worshiped him. But some of them did not believe that it was really Jesus. ¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All power 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. You can be sure that I will be with you always. I will continue with you until the end of the world.”

Jesus Rises from Death

16 The day after the Sabbath day, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome 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 on their way to the tomb. It was soon after sunrise. ³ They 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 already moved. The stone was very large, but it was moved away from the entrance. ⁵ The women entered the tomb and saw a young man wearing a white robe. He was sitting on the right side, and 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 laid him. ⁷ Now go and tell his followers and Peter, ‘Jesus is going into Galilee. He will be there before you. You will see him there as he told you before.’”

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

Some Followers See Jesus

⁹ Jesus rose from death early on the first day of the week. He showed himself first to Mary Magdalene. One time in the past, he had forced seven demons to leave 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 him, but the followers did not believe her.

¹² Later, Jesus showed himself to two of his followers while they were walking in the country. But Jesus did not look the same as before. ¹³ These followers went back to the others and told them what had happened. Again, the followers did not believe them.

Jesus Talks to the Apostles

¹⁴ Later Jesus showed himself to the 11 followers while they were eating. He criticized them because they had little faith. They were stubborn and refused to believe those who had seen him after he had risen from death.

¹⁵ Jesus said to the followers, “Go everywhere in the world. Tell the Good News to everyone. ¹⁶ Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But he who does not believe will be judged guilty. ¹⁷ And those 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 They will pick up snakes without being hurt. And they will drink poison without being hurt. They will touch the sick, and the sick will be healed.”

¹⁹ After the Lord Jesus said these things to the followers, he was carried up into heaven. There, Jesus sat at the right side of God. ²⁰ The followers went everywhere in the world and told the Good News to people. And the Lord helped them. The Lord proved that the Good News they told was true by giving them power to work miracles.