The resurrection of Jesus

28 Dawn was breaking on the first day of the week; the sabbath was over. Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, had come to look at the tomb, ² when suddenly there was a great earthquake. An angel of the Lord came down from heaven. He came to the stone, rolled it away, and sat down on top of it. ³ Looking at him was like looking at lightning, and his clothes were white, like snow. ⁴ The guards trembled with terror at him, and became like corpses themselves.

⁵ “Don’t be afraid,” said the angel to the women. “I know you’re looking for Jesus, who was crucified. ⁶ He isn’t here! He’s been raised, as he said he would be! Come and see the place where he was lying— ⁷ and then go at once, and tell his disciples that he’s been raised from the dead, and that he’s going on ahead of you to Galilee. That’s where you’ll see him. There: I’ve told you.”

⁸ The women scurried off quickly away from the tomb, in a mixture of terror and great delight, and went to tell his disciples. ⁹ Suddenly, there was Jesus himself. He met them and said, “Greetings!” They came up to him and took hold of his feet, prostrating themselves in front of him.

¹⁰ “Don’t be afraid,” said Jesus to them. “Go and tell my brothers that they should go to Galilee. Tell them they’ll see me there.”

The priests and the guards

¹¹ While the women were on their way, some of the soldiers who had been on guard went into the city and told the chief priests everything that had happened. ¹² They called an emergency meeting with the elders, allotted a substantial sum of money, and gave it to the soldiers.

¹³ “This,” they told them, “is what you are to say: ‘His disciples came in the night, while we were asleep, and stole him away.’ ¹⁴ And if this gets reported to the governor, we’ll explain it to him and make sure you stay out of trouble.”

¹⁵ They took the money and did as they had been instructed. And this story still goes the rounds among the Jews to this day.

The Great Commission

¹⁶ So the eleven disciples went off to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had instructed them to go. ¹⁷ There they saw him, and worshiped him, though some hesitated.

¹⁸ Jesus came towards them and addressed them.

“All authority in heaven and on earth,” he said, “has been given to me! ¹⁹ So you must go and make all the nations into disciples. Baptize them in the name of the father, and of the son, and of the holy spirit. ²⁰ Teach them to observe everything I have commanded you. And look: I am with you, every single day, to the very end of the age.”