Resurrection and Ascension

The Resurrection of Jesus

(Mt 28:1-7; Mk 16:1-8; Lk 24:1-8; Jn 20:1)

^16:1When the Sabbath was over, early in the morning as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary the Magdalene, Joanna; Mary, mother of James; Salome, and others with them came to the tomb while it was still dark—²the sun was just starting to come up. ^24:1They were carrying the spices and aromatic oils they’d prepared to put on his body.

²There was a violent earthquake. An angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled the stone away, and sat on it. ³His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were as white as snow. ⁴The guards were so terrified they trembled and became like dead men.

³The women were saying to one another, “Who’s going to roll the stone away for us from the entrance?” ⁴When they looked up, they saw the stone had been rolled away. It was really big.

⁴While they were perplexed about this, two men stood by them in dazzling clothes. ⁵The women were scared and bowed their faces to the ground.

They said to the women, ⁵“You don’t need to be afraid; we know you’re looking for Jesus, who was crucified. But ⁵why are you looking for the living among the dead? ⁶He’s not here; he arose ⁶like he said he would. Come and look where he was lying.”

5They went in the tomb and saw a young man sitting on the right wearing a white robe, and they were startled. ⁶He said, “Don’t be startled you’re looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He resurrected; he’s not here. See where they laid him. ⁶Remember how he told you when he was still in Galilee ⁷that the Son of Man had to be betrayed to sinners, be crucified, and arise the third day.” ⁸They remembered what he’d said.

⁷“Hurry and tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He arose from the dead, and is going ahead of you into Galilee; you’ll see him there.’ I’ve told you.”

⁸They went out and fled from the tomb, because trembling and excitement gripped them. They didn’t talk to anybody, because they were afraid.

The Report of the Women

and Peter and John’s Visit to the Tomb

(Lk 24:9-12; Jn 20:2-10)

The women left the tomb and reported all this to the eleven and the rest. (They were Mary Magdalene, Joanna; Mary, mother of James; and others with them.) ²Mary Magdalene [in particular] ran to Simon Peter and the disciple Jesus loved, “They’ve taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.”

³So Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb. ⁴The other disciple outran Peter and got there first. ⁵He stooped down and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but didn’t go in.

⁶Then Simon Peter got there and went on in, and saw the linen wrappings ⁷and the facecloth they’d put over his head. It wasn’t lying with the linen wrappings; it was folded up off by itself. ⁸Then the other disciple went in and saw, and believed. ⁹They didn’t yet understand the scripture that he had to rise from the dead. ¹⁰So they went back to their quarters perplexed.

Appearance to Mary the Magdalene

([[Mk 16:9-11]] Jn 20:11-18)

[[9After he’d resurrected early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary the Magdalene, that he’d cast seven demons out of.]]

¹¹She stood outside the tomb crying. As she was crying, she stooped down and looked in the tomb. ¹²She saw two angels in white, sitting at the head and foot of where Jesus’ body had lain.

¹³They said, “Ma’am, why are you crying?”

“They’ve taken my Lord, and I don’t know where they’ve put him.” ¹⁴When she’d said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but didn’t recognize him.

¹⁵“Ma’am, why are you crying? Who are you looking for?”

She supposed he was the gardener, “Sir, if you’ve carried him off, tell me where you’ve put him, and I’ll take him away.”

¹⁶Jesus said, “Mary.”

She turned around and said in Hebrew, “Rabbi [Teacher]!”

¹⁷Jesus said, “You don’t need to cling to me. I haven’t gone up to the Father yet. Go tell my disciples, ‘I’m going up to my Father and yourpl Father, my God and yourpl God.’”

¹⁸Mary went and [[10reported it to the ones that had been with him, who were mourning and crying.]], “I’ve seen the Lord,” and what he’d told to her to say. [[11When they heard he was alive and she’d seen him, they didn’t believe it.]]

The Appearance to the Other Women

(Mt 28:8-10)

⁸They left the tomb quickly with fear and great excitement, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹Jesus met them and said, “Hello.” They came and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. ¹⁰Then Jesus said, “You don’t need to be afraid. Go give my brothers the message to go to Galilee. They’ll see me there.”

The Report of the Guard

(Mt 28:11-15)

¹¹While they were going, some of the guards went in the city and reported to the chief priests what happened. ¹²When they got together with the elders and took counsel, they gave a large number of silver coins to the soldiers, ¹³“Say, ‘His disciples came during the night while we were asleep and stole him.’ ¹⁴If the governor hears about this, we’ll persuade him and keep you out of trouble.” ¹⁵They took the silver coins and did as they were told. That story has spread among the Jews to this day.

Appearance to Two on the Way to Emmaus

([[Mk 16:12-13]]; Lk 24:13-32)

¹³That same day [[he appeared in a different form to]] two disciples as they were traveling to Emmaus, a village about seven miles from Jerusalem. ¹⁴They were talking about everything that had happened. ¹⁵Meanwhile Jesus caught up with them, ¹⁶but they didn’t recognize him.

¹⁷He said, “What were you talking about as you were walking?”

¹⁸One named Cleopas said, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem that doesn’t know what happened there lately?”

¹⁹“What?”

“About Jesus of Nazareth, a prophet powerful in deed and word before God and all the people. ²⁰The chief priests and our rulers delivered him over to the death sentence and had him crucified. ²¹We were hoping he was the One that would redeem Israel. On top of everything, it’s been three days since that happened, ²²but some women from our number astounded us. They’d arrived at the tomb early this morning. ²³When they didn’t find his body, they came and said they’d seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. ²⁴Some with us went to the tomb and found it the way the women had said, but they didn’t see him.”

²⁵He said to them, “Foolish people and slow to believe everything the prophets have said, ²⁶wasn’t it necessary for the Messiah to suffer these things and enter his glory?” ²⁷He started with Moses and the prophets, and explained to them all the scriptures what referred to him.

²⁸They got close to where they were going, and he acted like he was going on. ²⁹But they urged him, “Stay with us; it’s toward evening, and the day’s almost over.” So, he went in with them.

³⁰While he was reclining at table with them, he took bread, blessed it, broke it, and handed it to them. ³¹They recognized him, and he disappeared. ³²They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn [in us]ms while he was talking to us on the road and explaining the scriptures to us?”

Report of the Two (Lk 24:33-35);

(Lk 24:33-35)

Appearance to Peter (1 Cor 15:5)

³³They got up right then and went back to Jerusalem and found the eleven together and the ones with them. ³⁴They told the two that the Lord really had resurrected and appeared to Simon. ³⁵They in turn recounted what happened on the road, and how they recognized him when he broke the bread.

Appearance to the Ten

([[Mk 16:14]] Lk 24:36-43; Jn 20:19-23)

³⁶As they were talking about this, [[reclining at table]], Jesus himself stood among them, “Peace to you.” ³⁷They were startled and scared, and thought they were seeing a spirit. [[He chided them for their resistance to believing the ones that had seen him resurrected.]]

³⁸“Why are you unsettled? Why are you wondering what’s going on? ³⁹See my hands and my feet; it’s really me. Touch me and see. A spirit doesn’t have flesh and bones as you can see I have.” ⁴⁰He showed them his hands and his feet. ⁴¹They couldn’t believe it.

While they were marveling, he said, “Do you have any food here?” ⁴²They gave him a piece of baked fish. ⁴³He took it and ate it in front of them.

Appearance to the Eleven

(Jn 20: 24-31; cp 1 Cor 15:5)

²⁴Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, wasn’t with them when Jesus came. The other disciples told him, “We’ve seen the Lord!”

²⁵But Thomas said, “Unless I see the imprints from the spikes in his wrists and put my finger in them and put my hand in his side, I’m not believing this.”

²⁶Eight days later, his disciples were behind locked doors again. Jesus came and stood among them, “Peace to you.” ²⁷He said to Thomas, “Look at my wrists; put your finger here. Put you hand in my side. Don’t keep on disbelieving.”

²⁸Thomas answered, “My Lord and my God!”

²⁹Jesus said, “You believe because you’ve seen? They’re blessed who believe and haven’t seen.”

³⁰Jesus did an endless number of signs in front of his disciples that I haven’t recorded here. ³¹I’ve written these so you’ll believe he’s the Messiah, God’s Son, and have life because you believe in him.

Appearance to the Seven by Lake Galilee

(Jn 21:1-23)

^21:1After this, Jesus appeared again to his disciples at Lake Tiberias. ²Simon Peter, Thomas, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together.

³Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.”

“We’ll go with you.”

They went out and got in the boat, and that night they didn‘t catch anything. ⁴When morning was coming, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples didn’t know it was him.

5“Children, you haven’t had anything to eat, have you?”

“No.”

6“Cast the net on the right side of the boat; you’ll find some.”

So they did, and they couldn’t haul it in for the number of fish.

⁷The disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!”

When Simon Peter heard it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (he’d stripped down) and dived in the water. ⁸The rest of the disciples came in the small boat, because they weren’t far from land—only about three hundred feet away, dragging the net full of fish. ⁹When they got out of the boat, they saw a charcoal fire with a fish and a loaf laid on it.

¹⁰Jesus told them, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.”

¹¹Simon Peter got up and pulled the net up on land full of large fish—153. Although there were so many, the net didn’t tear.

¹²Jesus said, “Come and eat breakfast.”

None of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. ¹³Jesus gave them the bread and the fish. ¹⁴This was a third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he resurrected.

¹⁵When they’d finished breakfast, Jesus said, “Simon Barjonah, do you love me more than these do?”

“Yes, Lord, you know I love you.”

“Tend my lambs.”

¹⁶He said the second time, “Simon Barjonah, do you love me?”

“Yes, Lord, you know I love you.”

“Tend my sheep.”

¹⁷He said the third time, “Simon Barjonah, do you love me?”

It pained Peter that Jesus said a third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know everything; you know I love you.”

¹⁸Jesus told him, “Tend my sheep. When you were younger, you’d dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted to. When you get old, you’ll stretch out your hands, and somebody else will dress you and carry you where you don’t want to go.” (19He said this to indicate by what kind of death he would glorify God.) When he’d said this, he said to him. “Follow me.”

²⁰When Peter turned around, he saw the disciple Jesus loved, following, who had leaned back on Jesus’ chest at the supper and said, “Lord, who’s going to betray you?” ²¹Peter said, “Lord, what about him?”

²²Jesus said, “If I want him to live till I come back, what’s that to you? You follow me.”

²³So the idea got going among the brothers that he wouldn’t die. But Jesus didn’t say he wouldn’t die; he said, “If I want him to live till I come back, what’s that to you?”

The Appearance to Five Hundred (1 Cor 15:6)

The Great Commission

(Mt 28:16-20)

¹⁶The eleven disciples went to Galilee to the mountain Jesus had said. ¹⁷When they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted. ¹⁸He came to them and said, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹Go make disciples in every country. Baptize them into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; ²⁰and teach them to observe everything I’ve commanded you. I’ll always be with you till the end of the age.”

Appearance in Jerusalem:

the Great Commission Repeated [[Mk 16:15-18]]

[[15He told them, “Go all over the world and tell the good news to everybody. ¹⁶Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever disbelieves will be condemned. ¹⁷These signs will follow the ones that believe:

they’ll cast out demons in my name;

they’ll speak in new languages;

¹⁸they’ll pick up snakes and

if they drink anything deadly, it won’t hurt them;

they’ll lay hands on sick people and they’ll recover.”]]

The Appearance to James (1 Cor 15:6)

Appearance to the Disciples with Further Commission

(Lk 24:36-49; cp. Acts 1:3-8)

⁴⁴He said, “This is what I told you when I was still with you: everything the scripture says in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms about me would be fulfilled.” ⁴⁵Then he opened their mind to understand the scriptures. 46“The scripture says the Messiah would suffer, and resurrect the third day, ⁴⁷and that in his name repentance for forgiveness would be preached in every country. Beginning in Jerusalem, ⁴⁸you’re witnesses of these matters. ⁴⁹I’ll send on you what the Father promised. But, stay in the city till I clothe you with power from on high.”

The Ascension

(Lk 24:50-53)

⁵⁰He led them out as far as Bethany. He lifted up his hands and blessed them. ⁵¹While he was blessing them, he was carried up into the sky, 19[[and sat down on God’s right hand]]. ⁵²They [worshiped him and]ms returned to Jerusalem full of joy, ⁵³and were continually in the temple, praising God.

Epilogue

([[Mk 16:20;]]; Jn 21:24-25)

20[[They went out and proclaimed the good news everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message with a the signs that followed.]]

²⁴I’m the disciple that wrote this. I know what I’m telling you is true. ²⁵Jesus did a lot of other things. If every one was written down, I suppose the world couldn’t hold the books.

Virgil Warren, PhD

translator

christir.org