Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

³⁴ Then Peter began to speak: “Now I understand that God shows no partiality. ³⁵ Indeed, whoever fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him in any nation. ³⁶ He has sent his word to the descendants of Israel and brought them the good news of peace through Jesus the Messiah.^[a] This man is the Lord of everyone. ³⁷ You know what happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached. ³⁸ God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and because God was with him, he went around doing good and healing everyone who was oppressed by the Devil. ³⁹ We are witnesses of everything Jesus^[b] did in the land of the Jews, including Jerusalem.

“They hung him on a tree and killed him, ⁴⁰ but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear— ⁴¹ not to all the people, but to us who were chosen by God to be witnesses and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. ⁴² He also ordered us to preach to the people and to testify solemnly that this is the one appointed by God to be the judge of the living and the dead. ⁴³ All the prophets testify to this: everyone who believes in Jesus^[c] receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Celebration of the Righteous

Thanksgiving to God

The Resurrection of the Messiah

15 Now I’m making known to you, brothers, the gospel that I proclaimed to you, which you accepted, on which you have taken your stand, ² and by which you are also being saved if you hold firmly to the message I proclaimed to you—unless, of course, your faith was worthless.

³ For I passed on to you the most important points that^[a] I received: The Messiah^[b] died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ he was buried, he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures—and is still alive!— ⁵ and he was seen by Cephas,^[c] and then by the Twelve. ⁶ After that, he was seen by more than 500 brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.^{[d] 7} Next he was seen by James, then by all the apostles, ⁸ and finally he was seen by me, as though I were born abnormally late.

⁹ For I am the least of the apostles and not even fit to be called an apostle because I persecuted God’s church. ¹⁰ But by God’s grace I am what I am, and his grace shown to me was not wasted. Instead, I worked harder than all the others—not I, of course, but God’s grace that was with me. ¹¹ So, whether it was I or the others, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.

³⁴ Then Peter began to speak: “Now I understand that God shows no partiality. ³⁵ Indeed, whoever fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him in any nation. ³⁶ He has sent his word to the descendants of Israel and brought them the good news of peace through Jesus the Messiah.^[a] This man is the Lord of everyone. ³⁷ You know what happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached. ³⁸ God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and because God was with him, he went around doing good and healing everyone who was oppressed by the Devil. ³⁹ We are witnesses of everything Jesus^[b] did in the land of the Jews, including Jerusalem.

“They hung him on a tree and killed him, ⁴⁰ but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear— ⁴¹ not to all the people, but to us who were chosen by God to be witnesses and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. ⁴² He also ordered us to preach to the people and to testify solemnly that this is the one appointed by God to be the judge of the living and the dead. ⁴³ All the prophets testify to this: everyone who believes in Jesus^[c] receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Jesus is Raised from the Dead^(A)

20 On the first day of the week,^[a] early in the morning and while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene^[b] went to the tomb and noticed that the stone had been removed from the tomb. ² So she ran off and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, whom Jesus kept loving. She told them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” ³ So Peter and the other disciple took off for the tomb. ⁴ The two of them were running together, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and came to the tomb first. ⁵ Bending over to look inside, he noticed the linen cloths lying there, but didn’t go in. ⁶ At this point Simon Peter arrived, following him, and went straight into the tomb. He observed that the linen cloths were lying there, ⁷ and that the handkerchief that had been on Jesus’ head was not lying with the linen cloths but was rolled up in a separate place. ⁸ Then the other disciple, who arrived at the tomb first, went inside, looked, and believed. ⁹ For they did not yet understand the Scripture that said^[c] that Jesus^[d] had to rise from the dead. ¹⁰ So the disciples went back to their homes.

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene^(B)

¹¹ Meanwhile, Mary^[e] stood crying outside the tomb. As she cried, she bent over and looked^[f] into the tomb. ¹² She saw two angels in white clothes who were sitting down, one at the head and the other at the foot of the place where Jesus’ body had been lying. ¹³ They asked her, “Lady,^[g] why are you crying?”

She told them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I don’t know where they have put him.”

¹⁴ After she had said this, she turned around and noticed Jesus standing there, without realizing that it was Jesus.

¹⁵ Jesus asked her, “Dear lady,^[h] why are you crying? Who are you looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she told him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will take him away.”

¹⁶ Jesus told her, “Mary!”

She turned around and told him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means “Teacher”).

¹⁷ Jesus told her, “Don’t hold on to me, because I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I’m ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

¹⁸ So Mary Magdalene^[i] went and announced to the disciples, “I’ve seen the Lord!” She also told them what he had told her.

Jesus is Raised from the Dead^(A)

16 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene,^[a] Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices to go and anoint Jesus.^{[b] 2} Very early on the first day of the week,^[c] when the sun had just come up, they were going to the tomb. ³ They kept saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” ⁴ Then they looked up and saw that the stone had been rolled away. (It was a very large stone.)

⁵ As they went into the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were utterly astonished. ⁶ But he told them, “Stop being astonished! You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised. He is not here. Look at the place where they laid him. ⁷ But go and tell his disciples—especially Peter—that Jesus^[d] is going ahead of you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.”

⁸ So they left the tomb and ran away, overwhelmed by shock and astonishment. They didn’t say a thing to anyone, because they were afraid.^[e]