Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

³⁴ Then Peter began to speak. “I now realize how true it is that God treats everyone the same,” he said. ³⁵ “He accepts people from every nation. He accepts anyone who has respect for him and does what is right. ³⁶ You know the message God sent to the people of Israel. It is the good news of peace through Jesus Christ. He is Lord of all. ³⁷ You know what has happened all through the area of Judea. It started in Galilee after John preached about baptism. ³⁸ You know how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Jesus went around doing good. He healed all who were under the devil’s power. God was with him.

³⁹ “We are witnesses of everything he did in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by nailing him to a cross. ⁴⁰ But on the third day God raised him from the dead. God allowed Jesus to be seen. ⁴¹ But he wasn’t seen by all the people. He was seen only by us. We are witnesses whom God had already chosen. We ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. ⁴² He commanded us to preach to the people. He told us to tell people that he is the one appointed by God to judge the living and the dead. ⁴³ All the prophets tell about him. They say that all who believe in him have their sins forgiven through his name.”

⁹ At that time they will say,

Christ Rose From the Dead

15 Brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the good news I preached to you. You received it and have put your faith in it. ² Because you believed the good news, you are saved. But you must hold firmly to the message I preached to you. If you don’t, you have believed it for nothing.

³ What I received I passed on to you. And it is the most important of all. Here is what it is. Christ died for our sins, just as Scripture said he would. ⁴ He was buried. He was raised from the dead on the third day, just as Scripture said he would be. ⁵ He appeared to Peter. Then he appeared to the 12 apostles. ⁶ After that, he appeared to more than 500 brothers and sisters at the same time. Most of them are still living. But some have died. ⁷ He appeared to James. Then he appeared to all the apostles. ⁸ Last of all, he also appeared to me. I was like someone who wasn’t born at the right time.

⁹ I am the least important of the apostles. I’m not even fit to be called an apostle. I tried to destroy God’s church. ¹⁰ But because of God’s grace I am what I am. And his grace was not wasted on me. No, I have worked harder than all the other apostles. But I didn’t do the work. God’s grace was with me. ¹¹ So this is what we preach, whether I or the other apostles who preached to you. And that is what you believed.

³⁴ Then Peter began to speak. “I now realize how true it is that God treats everyone the same,” he said. ³⁵ “He accepts people from every nation. He accepts anyone who has respect for him and does what is right. ³⁶ You know the message God sent to the people of Israel. It is the good news of peace through Jesus Christ. He is Lord of all. ³⁷ You know what has happened all through the area of Judea. It started in Galilee after John preached about baptism. ³⁸ You know how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Jesus went around doing good. He healed all who were under the devil’s power. God was with him.

³⁹ “We are witnesses of everything he did in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by nailing him to a cross. ⁴⁰ But on the third day God raised him from the dead. God allowed Jesus to be seen. ⁴¹ But he wasn’t seen by all the people. He was seen only by us. We are witnesses whom God had already chosen. We ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. ⁴² He commanded us to preach to the people. He told us to tell people that he is the one appointed by God to judge the living and the dead. ⁴³ All the prophets tell about him. They say that all who believe in him have their sins forgiven through his name.”

The Tomb Is Empty

20 Early on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb. It was still dark. She saw that the stone had been moved away from the entrance. ² So she ran to Simon Peter and another disciple, the one Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb! We don’t know where they have put him!”

³ So Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. ⁴ Both of them were running. The other disciple ran faster than Peter. He reached the tomb first. ⁵ He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there. But he did not go in. ⁶ Then Simon Peter came along behind him. He went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there. ⁷ He also saw the funeral cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place. It was separate from the linen. ⁸ The disciple who had reached the tomb first also went inside. He saw and believed. ⁹ They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead. ¹⁰ Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

¹¹ But Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she cried, she bent over to look into the tomb. ¹² She saw two angels dressed in white. They were seated where Jesus’ body had been. One of them was where Jesus’ head had been laid. The other sat where his feet had been placed.

¹³ They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said. “I don’t know where they have put him.” ¹⁴ Then she turned around and saw Jesus standing there. But she didn’t realize that it was Jesus.

¹⁵ He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who are you looking for?”

She thought he was the gardener. So she said, “Sir, did you carry him away? Tell me where you put him. Then I will go and get him.”

¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him. Then she cried out in the Aramaic language, “Rabboni!” Rabboni means Teacher.

¹⁷ Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me. I have not yet ascended to the Father. Instead, go to those who believe in me. Tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ”

¹⁸ Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news. She said, “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

Jesus Rises From the Dead

16 The Sabbath day ended. Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices. They were going to use them for Jesus’ body. ² Very early on the first day of the week, they were on their way to the tomb. It was just after sunrise. ³ They asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance to the tomb?”

⁴ Then they looked up and saw that the stone had been rolled away. The stone was very large. ⁵ They entered the tomb. As they did, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe. He was sitting on the right side. They were alarmed.

⁶ “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. But he has risen! He is not here! See the place where they had put him. ⁷ Go! Tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him. It will be just as he told you.’ ”

⁸ The women were shaking and confused. They went out and ran away from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.