Chapter 61–70
61. Jesus before Annas; Peter’s denials
The cohort and its tribune and the Jewish guards seized Jesus and bound him. The men who had arrested Jesus led him off and took him first to Annas where all the scribes and the chief priests and the elders were assembled there, because Annas was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. It was Caiaphas who had counselled the Jews, ‘It’s better for one man to die for the people.’
Simon Peter with another disciple followed Jesus at a distance right to the hight priest’s palace. This disciple, who was known to the high priest, went with Jesus into the high priest’s palace, but Peter stayed outside the door. So the other disciple, the one known to the high priest, went out, spoke to the door-keeper and brought Peter in.
The girl on duty at the door said to Peter, ‘Aren’t you another of that man’s disciples?’
He answered, ‘I am not.’
Now it was cold, and the servants and guards had lit a charcoal fire in the middle of the courtyard and were standing there warning themselves. So Peter went in and sat down there too among them, warning himself with the others attendants, to see what the end would be.
The high priests questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.
Jesus answered, ‘I have spoken openly for all the world to hear;
I have always taught in the synagogue and in the Temple where all the Jews meet together;
I have said nothing in secret.
Why ask me?
Ask my hearers what I taught; they know what I said.’
At these words, one of the guards standing by gave Jesus a slap in the face, saying, ‘Is that the way you answer the high priest?’
Jesus replied, ‘If there is some offence in what I said, point it out; but if not, why do you strike me?’
Then Annas sent him, bound, to the house of Caiaphas the hight priest.
Meanwhile Simon Peter was down sitting outside in the courtyard warning himself, one of the high priest’s servant girl came up. She saw Peter warning himself there by the blaze, looked closely-peered at him and said, ‘You too were with Jesus the Galilean, the man from Nazareth. This man was with him too.’
Someone said to him, ‘Aren’t you another of his disciples?’
But he denied it in front of them all. ‘I am not. Woman, I do not know him and I do not understand what you are talking about,’ he said.
And he went out into the forecourt, and a cock crowed.
When he went out to the gateway another servant-girl saw him and again started telling the bystanders and to the people there, ‘This man was with Jesus the Nazarene. This man is one of them.’
Shortly afterwards someone else saw him and said, ‘You are one of them too.’
And again, with an oath, Peter denied it, ‘I am not, my friend. I do not know the man.’
About an hour later another man insisted, saying, ‘This fellow was certainly with him. Why, he is a Galilean.’
Peter said, ‘My friend, I do not know what you are talking about.’
A little later the bystanders themselves came up and said to Peter, ‘You are certainly one of them too! Why, you are a Galilean, your accent gives you away.’
But he started cursing and swearing, ‘I do not know the man you speak of.’
One of the high priest’s servants, a relation of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, said, ‘Didn’t I see you in the garden with him?’
Again Peter denied it; at that instannt, while he was still speaking, the cock crowed for the second time, and the Lord turned and looked straight at Peter, and Peter remembered the Lord’s words; what Jesus had said to him, ‘Before the cock crows today twice; you will have disowned me three times.’ And he went outside and burst into tears and wept bitterly.
Meanwhile the men who guarded Jesus were mocking and beating him. They blindfolded him and questioned him, saying, ‘Prophesy! Who hit you then?’ And they heaped many other insults on him.
62. Jesus before the Sanhedrin
First thing when morning came, all the chief priest together with the elders of the people and the scribes and the rest of the Sanhedrin had their plan ready met in council to bring about the death of Jesus.
He was brought before their council.
The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus, however false, on which they might have him executed. But they could not find any, though several lying witnesses came forward. Several, indeed, brought false witness against him, but their evidence was conflicting. Some stood up, eventually two came forward and made a statement, and submitted this false evidence against him, ‘We heard him say, „I am going to destroy this Temple made by human hands, and in three days build another, nor made by human hands.’ and ‘This man said, „I have power to destroy the Temple of God and in three days build it up.’ But even on this point their evidence was conflicting.
The hight priest then rose before the whole assembly and put this question to Jesus, ‘Have you no answer to that? What is this evidence these men are bringing against you?’
But Jesus was silent and made no answer at all.
The high priest put a second question to him saying, ‘I put you on oath by the living God to tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God. Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?’
And they said to him, ‘If you are the Christ, tell us.’
He replied, ‘If I tell you, you will not believe, and if I question you, you will not answer. It is you who say it, I am. But from now on, I tell you that from this time onward you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the power of God and coming on the clouds of heaven.’
They all said, ‘So you are the Son of God then?’
He answered, ‘It is you who say I am.’
Then they said, ‘Why do we need any evidence? We have heard it for ourselves from his own lips.’
Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, ‘He has blasphemed. What need of witnesses have we now? There! You have just heard the blasphemy. What is your opinion? What is your finding?’
They answered, ‘He deserves to die.’
Their verdict was unanimous: he deserved to die.
Then some of them started spitting at his face, hitting him with their fists and saying, ‘Play the prophet!’ and others, the attendants, said as they struck him too, ‘Prophesy to us, Christ! Who hit you then?’
The whole assembly then rose, they had Jesus bound and led him away to hand him over to Pilat, the governor.
63. The death of Judas
When he found that Jesus had been condemned, then Judas, his betrayer, was filled with remorse and took the thirty silver pieces back to the chief priests and elders saying, ‘I have sinned. I have betrayed innocent blood.’
They replied, ‘What is that to us? That is your concern.’
And flinging down the silver pieces in the sanctuary he made off, and went and hanged himself.
The chief priests picked up the silver pieces and said, ‘It is against the Law to put this into the treasury; it is blood-money.’
So they discussed the matter and with it bought the potter’s field as a graveyard for foreigners, and this is why the field is still called the Field of Blood.
The word spoken through the prophet Jeremyah was then fulfilled:
And they took the thirty silver pieces, the sum at which the precious One was priced by the children of Israel, and they gave them for the potter’s field, just as the YaHWeH directed me.
64. Jesus before Pilat
They then led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the Praetorium. It was now morning. They did not go into the Praetorium themselves to avoid becoming defiled and unable to eat the Passover.
So Pilate came outside to them and said, ‘What charge do you bring against this man?’
They began their accusation by saying, ‘We found this man inciting our people to revolt, opposing payment of the tribute to Caesar, and claiming to be Christ, a King.’
Jesus, then, was brought before the governor, and the governor Pilat put to him this question, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’
Jesus replied, ‘It is you who say it.’
And the chief priests brought many accusations against him.
But when he was accused by the chief priests and the elders he refused to answer at all.
Pilat then said to him, ‘Do you not hear how many charges they have made against you?’
Pilat questioned him again, ‘Have you no replay at all? See how many accusations they are bringing against you!’
But, to the governor Pilate’s surprise and amazement, Jesus made no futher replay; he offered not a word in answer to any of the charges.
Pilate then said to the chief priests and the crowd, ‘I find no case against this man.’
They replied, ‘If he were not a criminal, we should not have handed him over to you.’
Pilate said, ‘Take him yourselves, and try him by your own Law.’
The Jews answered, ‘We are not allowed to put anyone to death.’
This was to fulfil the words Jesus had spoken indicating the way he was going to die.
So Pilate went back into the Praetorium and called Jesus to him and asked him, ‘Are you the King of Jews?’
Jesus replied, ‘Do you ask this of your own accord, or have others said it to you about me?’
Pilate answered, ‘Am I a Jew? It is your own people and the chief
priests who have handed you over to me: what have you done?’
Jesus replied, ‘Mine is not a Kingdom of this word; if my Kingdom were of this world, my men would have fought to prevent my being surrendered to the Jews. As it is, my Kingdom does not belong here.’
Pilate said, ‘So, then you are a King?’
Jesus answered, ‘It is you who say that I am a King. I was born for this, I came into the world for this, to bear witness to the truth; and all who are on the side of truth listen to my voice.’
‘Truth?’ said Pilate, ‘What is that?’
And so saying he went out again to the Jews and said, ‘I find no case against him. But according to a custom of yours I should release one prisoner at the Passover; would you like me, then, to release for you the King of the Jews?’
At this they shouted, ‘Not this man,’ they said, ‘but Barabbas.’ Barabbas was a bandit.
But they persisted, ‘He is inflaming the people with his teaching all over Judaea and all the way from Galilee, where he started, down to here.’
When Pilate heard this, he asked if the man were a Galilean; and finding that he came under Herod’s jurisdiction, he passed him over to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.
Jesus before Herod
Herod was delighted to see Jesus; he had heard about him and had been wanting for a long time to set eyes on him; moreover, he was hoping to see some miracle worked by him. So he questioned him at some length, but without getting any replay. Meanwhile the chief priest and the scribes were there, vigorously pressing their accusations. Then Herod, together with his guards, treated him with contempt and made fun of him; he put a rich cloak on him and sent him back to Pilate. And though Herod and Pilate had been enemies before, they were reconciled that same day.
65. Jesus is condemned to be crucified
Pilate then summoned the chief priests and the leading men and the people. He said to them, ‘You brought this man before me as a popular agitator. Now I have gone into the matter myself in your presence and found no grounds in the man for any of the charges you bring against him. Nor has Herod either, since he has sent him back to us. As you can see, the man has done nothing that deserves death, so I shall have him flogged and then let him go.’
Pilate then had Jesus taken away and scourged.
Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus with them to the inner part of the palace, that is, the Praetorium, and called the whole cohort together round him. And after this the soldiers stripped him and put a scarlet cloak round him-dressed him up in a purple robe-and after this the soldiers having twisted some thorns into a crown they put this on his head and placed a reed in his right hand. To make fun of him they knelt to him and began saluting him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ They kept coming up to him and saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ and slapping him in the face. And they spat on him and took the reed and struck him on the head with it; and they went down on their knees to do him homage.
And when they had finished making fun of him, Pilate came outside again and said to them, ‘Look, I am going to bring him out to you to let you see that I find no case against him.’
Jesus then came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe.
Pilate said, ‘Here is the man.’
When they saw him, the chief priests and the guards shouted, ‘Crucify him! Crucify him!’
Pilate said, ‘Take him yourselves and crucify him: I find no case against him.’
The Jews replied, ‘We have a Law, and according to that Law he ought to be put to death, because he has claimed to be Son of God.’
When Pilate heard them say this his fears increased. Re-entering the Praetorium, he said to Jesus, ‘Where do you come from?’
But Jesus made no answer.
Pilate then said to him, ‘Are you refusing to speak to me? Surely you know I have power to release you and I have power to crucify you?’
Jesus replied, ‘You would have no power over me at all if it had not been given you from above; that is why the man who handed me over to you has the greater guilt.’
From that moment Pilate was anxious to set him free, but the Jews shouted, ‘If you set him free are no friend of Caesar’s; anyone who makes himself king is defying Caesar.’
Hearing these words, Pilate had Jesus brought out, and seated him on the chair of judgement at a place called the Pavement, in Hebrew Gabbatha. It was the Day of Preparation, about twelve o’clock.
‘Here is your King.’ said Pilate to the Jews.
But they shouted, ‘Away with him, away with him, crucify him.’
Pilate said, ‘Shall I crucify your King?’
The chief priests answered, ‘We have no king except Caesar.’
At festival time it was the Pilate governor’s practice to release a prisoner for the people, anyone they chose, anyone they asked for. Now there was then a notorious prisoner whose name was Barabbas, was then in prison with the rebels who had committed murder during the uprising.
When the crowd went up and began to ask Pilate the customary favour, Pilate answered them, ‘Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?’
But as one man they howled, ‘Away with him! Give us Barabbas!’ This man had been thrown into prison because of a riot in the city and murder.
In his desire to set Jesus free, Pilate addressed them again. So when the crowd gathered, Pilate said to them, ‘Which do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?’ For Pilate realised it was out of jealousy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over.
Now as he was seated in the chair of judgement, his wife sent him a message, ‘Have nothing to do with that upright man; I have been extremely upset today by a dream that I had about him.’
The chief priests and the elders, however, had persuaded and incited the crowd to demand that he should release of Barabbas for them instead and the execution of Jesus. So when the governor spoke and asked them, ‘Which of the two do you want me to release for you?’ they said, ‘Barabbas.’
Pilate spoke to them again, ‘But in that case, what am I to do with the man you call the King of Jews, Jesus, who is called Christ?’
But they all shouted back, ‘Crucify him! Crucify him! Let him be crucified!’
And for the third time he spoke to them, ‘But what harm has this man done? I have found no case against him that deserves death, so I shall have him flogged and then let him go.’
But they kept on shouting at the top of their voices, demanding that he should be crucified, ‘Let him be crucified! Crucify him!’ And their shouts kept growing louder.
Then Pilate saw that he was making no impression, that in fact a riot was imminent. So he took some water, washed his hands in front of the crowd and said, ‘I am innocent of this man’s blood. It is your concern.’
And the people, every one of them, shouted back, ‘Let his blood be on us and on our children!’
Pilate then gave his verdict: their demand was to be granted. So Pilate, anxious to placate the crowd, at that he released the man they asked for, Barabbas, who had been imprisoned because of rioting and murder, and handed Jesus over to them to deal with as they pleased and he handed him over to be crucified.
66. The crucifixion of Jesus
Then they took charge of Jesus, took off the purple and dressed him in his own clothes and led him away to crucifiy him.
On their way out carrying his own cross, they seized on-came across-a passer-by, a man from Cyrene, called Simone, father of Alexander and Rufus, who was coming in from the country, and made him shoulder his cross and enlisted him to carry it behind Jesus.
Large numbers of people followed him, and women too, who mourned and lamented for him.
But Jesus turned to them and said, ‘Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, weep rather for yourselves and for your children. For look, the days are surely coming when people will say, „Blessed are those who are barren, the wombs that have never borne children, the breasts that have never suckled!“ Then they will begin ta say to the mountains, „Fall on us!“; to the hills, „Cover us!“ For if this is what is done to green wood, what will be done when the wood is dry?’
They brought Jesus to the place called in Hebrew Golgotha, or that is, the Place of the Skull.
Now they were also leading out two others, criminals, to be executed with him.
When they had reached the place called Golgotha, they offered him to drink wine mixed with myrrh-gall, which he tasted, but refused it to drink.
Then there they crucified him with the two others, the two criminals and bandits, one on either side, one on his right, the other on his left, Jesus being in the middle.
Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them; they do not know what they are doing.’
Pilate wrote out a notice and had it fixed to the cross. Above his head was placed this inscription giving the charge against him; it read, ‘This is Jesus the Nazarene, the King of the Jews.’
This notice was read by many of the Jews, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the writing was in Hebrew, Latin and Greek. So the Jewish chief priests said to Pilate, ‘You should not write, „King of the Jews“, but that the man said, „I am King of the Jews“.’
Pilate answered, ‘What I have written, I have written.’
When the soldiers had finished crucifying Jesus they took his clothing and divided it into four shares, one for each soldier, casting lots to decide what each should get. His undergarment was seamless, woven in one piece from neck to hem; so they said to one another, ‘Instead of tearing it, let’s throw dice to decide who is to have it.’ In this way the words of scripture were fulfilled:
They divide my garments among them
and cast lots for my clothes.
That is what the soldiers did and then sat down and stayed there keeping guard over him.
It was the third hour when they cricified him.
Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala.
Seeing his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing near her, Jesus said to his mother, ‘Woman, this is your son.’
Then to the disciple he said, ‘This is your mother.’
And from that hour the disciple took into his home.
The passers-by jeered at him; they shook their heads and said, ‘Aha! So you would destroy the Temple and in three days rebuild it! Then save yourself if you are God’s Son and come down from the cross!’
The people stayed there watching.
As for the leaders, they jeered at him with the words, ‘He saved others, let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.’
The chief priests with the scribes and elders mocked him among themselves in the same way with the words, ‘He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. He has put his trust in God; now let God rescue him if he wants him. For he did say, „I am God’s Son.“. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, for us to see it and believe.’
Even the bandits who were crucified with him taunted him in the same way.
One of the criminals hanging there abused him, ‘Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us as well.’
But the other spoke up and rebuked him. ‘Have you no fear of God at all?’ he said. ‘You got the same sentence as he did, but in our case we deserved it: we are paying for what we did. But this man has done nothing wrong.’
Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.’
He answered him, ‘In truth I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’
It was now about the sixth hour and the sun’s light failed, so that darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour.
And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’
When some of those who stood there by heard this, they said, ‘Listen, the man is calling on Eliyah.’
After this, Jesus knew that everything had now been completed and, so that the scripture should be completely fulfilled, he said, ‘I am thirsty.’
The soldiers mocked him too, coming up to him, offering him vinegar, and saying, ‘If you are the King of Jews, save yourself.’
A jar full of sour wine stood there; so, someone of them quickly ran to get a sponge soaked which he filled with vinegar on a hyssop stick putting it on a reed, they held it up to his mouth and gave it him to drink.
But the rest of them said, ‘Wait! And see if Eliyah will come to save him, to take him down.’
But after Jesus had taken the wine he said, ‘It is fulfilled.’
Jesus again crying out in a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.’
With this words bowing his head and he breathed his last he gave up-yieldel up his spirit.
And suddenly, the veil of the Sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom, right down the middle, the earth quaked, the rocks were split, the tombs opened and the bodies of many holy people rose from the dead, and these, after his resurrection, came out of the tombs, entered the holy city and appeared to a number of people
The centurion, together with the others guarding Jesus, had seen the earth quake and all that was taking place, and they were terrified and said, ‘In truth this man was Son of God.’
When the centurion, who was standing in front of him, had seen how he had died and saw what had taken place, he gave praise to God and said, ‘Truly, this was an upright man.’
And when all the crowds who had gathered for the spectacle saw what had happened, they went home beating their breasts.
And all his friends and many women were stood there, watching from a distance and saw all this happen, the same women who had followed and accompanied Jesus from Galilee. Among them were Mary of Magdala, Mary the mother of James the younger and Joset, and the mother of Zebedee’s son and Salome. These used to follow him and look after him when he was in Galilee. And many other women were there who had come up to Jerusalem with him.
67. The burial
It was the Day of Preparation, and to avoid the bodies’ remaining on the cross during the Sabbath-since the Sabbath was a day of special solemnity-the Jews asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken away.
Consequently the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with him and then of the other. When they came to Jesus, they saw he was already dead, and so instead of breaking his legs, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a lance; and immediately there came out blood and water.
This is the evidence of one who saw it-true evidence, and he knows that what he says is true-and he gives it so that you may believe as well.
Because all this happened to fulfil the words of scripture,
‘Not one bone of his will be broken;’
and again, in another place scripture says,
‘They will look to the one whom they have pierced.’
And now, after this, it was now evening, and since it was
Preparation Day-that is, the day before the Sabbath-arrived a rich man from
Arimathaea, a Jewish town, a prominent member of the Council called Josef , a
good and upright man, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus-though a
secret one because he was afraid of the Jews. He had not consented to what the
others had planned and carried out, who himself lived in the hope of seeing the
Kingdom of God. And this man boldly went to Pilate and asked for the body of
Jesus, to let him remove.
Pilate, astonished that he should have died so soon, summoned the
centurion and enquired if he had been dead for some time. Having been assured
of this by the centurion, he gave permission and granted the corpse to Joseph.
Then Pilate ordered it to be handed over.
So Joseph bought a shroud and they came and took Jesus down from the
cross. Nicodemus came as well-the same one who had first came to Jesus at night
time-and he brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and
bound it in linen cloths with the spices-wrapped him in the clean shround,
following the Jewish burial custom.
At the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in
this garden Joseph’s own new tomb, which he had been hewn out of the rook and
which had never held a body-in which no one had yet been buried. Since it was
the Jewish Day of Preparation and the Sabbath was beginning to grow light, and
the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there. He then rolled a large stone across
and against the entrence to the tomb and went away.
Meanwhile the women who had come from Galilee with Jesus were
following behind. Mary of Magdala and the other Mary the mother of Josef were
there, sitting opposite the sepulchre. They took note of the tomb and how and
where the body had been laid. Then they returned bought and prepared spices and
ointments. And on the Sabbath day they rested, as the Law required.
68. The Jesus resurection
Next day, that is, when Preparation Day was over, the chief priests
and the Pharisees went in a body to Pilate and said to him, ‘Your Excellency,
we recall that this impostor said, while he was still alive, „After three days
I shall rise again.“ Therefore give the order to have the sepulchre kept secure
until the third day, for fear his disciples come and steal him away and tell
the people, „He has risen from the dead.“ This last piece of fraud would be worse than what went before.’
Pilate said to them, ‘You may have your guard; go and make all as secure as you know how.’
So they went and made the sepulchre secure, putting seals on the stone and mounting a guard.
When the Sabbath was over and towards dawn on the first day of the
week, Mary of Magdala, and the other Mary, the mother of James and Salome went
to visit the sepulchre. It was very early morning on the first day of the week
and still dark, when they came to the tomb with the spices they had prepared to anoint him.
And suddenly there was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the
YaHWeH, descending from heaven, came and rolled away the stone and sat on it.
His face was like lightning, his robe white as snow. The guards were so shaken by fear of him that they were like dead men.
They had been saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone
for us from the entrance to the tomb?’ The sun had risen, but when they looked
they saw that the stone-which was very big-had already been rolled back from
the tomb, but on entering they could not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
As they stood there puzzled about this, on entering the tomb they
saw a young man in a white and brilliant robe, suddenly appeared and seated on
their the right-hand side, and they were struck with amazement. Terrified, the
women bewed their heads to the ground.
But the angel spoke; and he said to the women, ‘There is no need for
you to be afraid and so amazed. Why look among the dead for someone who is
alive? I know you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is
not here, for he has risen, as he said he would. Come and see, here is the
place where he lay. Remember what he told you when he was still in Galilee:
that the Son of Man was destined to be handed over into the power of sinful men
and be crucified, and rise again on the third day.’ And they remembered his
words. ‘But then you must go quickly and tell his disciples and Peter, „He has
risen from the dead and now he is going ahead of you to Galilee; that is where you will see him just as he told you.“ Look! I have told you.’
Filled with awe and great joy the women came quickly away from the tomb and ran to tell his disciples.
And suddenly, coming to meet them, was Jesus. ‘Greetings,’ he said.
And the women came up to him and, clasping his feet, they did him omage.
Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers that they must leave for Galilee; there they will see me.”
And the women came out and ran away from the tomb because they were frightened
out of their wits; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. Now
while they were on their way, some of the guards went off into the city to tell
the chief priests all that had happened. These held a meeting with the elders
and, after some discussion, handed a considerable sum of money to the soldiers
with these instructions, ‘This is what you must say, „His disciples came during
the night and stole him away while we were asleep.“ And should the governor
come to hear of this, we undertake to put things right with him ourselves and
to see that you do not get into trouble.’ So they took the money and carried
out their instructions, and to this day that is the story among the Jews.
And they returned from the tomb and told all this to the Eleven and to all the others. The women were Mary of Magdala, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James. And the other women with them also told the Apostles, but this story of theirs seemed pure nonsense, and they did not believe them.
So when Mary of Magdala came to the tomb saw that the stone had been moved away from the tomb and came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb,’ she said, ‘and we don’t know where they have put him.’
So Peter, however, set out with the other disciple to go to the
tomb. They ran together, but the other disciple, running faster then Peter,
reached the tomb first; he bent down and saw the linen cloths lying on the
ground, but did not go in. Simon Peter, following him, also came up, went into
the tomb, saw the linen cloths lying on the ground and also the cloth that had
been over his head but nothing else; this was not with the linen cloths but
rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple who had reached the
tomb first also went in; he saw and he believed. Till this moment they had
still not understood the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. The
disciples then went back home, amazed at what had happened.
But Mary was standing outside near the tomb, weeping. Then, as she wept, she stooped to look inside, and saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head, the other at the feet. They said, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’
‘They have taken my Lord away,’ she replied, ‘and I don’t know where they have put him.’
As she said this she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, though she did not realise that it was Jesus.
Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?’
Supposing him to be the gardener, she said, ‘Sir, if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and remove him.’
Jesus said, ‘Mary!’
She turned round then and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbuni!’-which means Master.
Jesus said to her, ‘Do not cling to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to the brothers, and tell them: I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’
So Mary of Magdala told the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord, ‘ and that he had said these things to her.
The road to Emmaus
Now that very same day, two of them were on their way to a village called Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking together about all that had happened.
And it happened that as they were talking together and discussing it, Jesus himself came up and walked by their side; but their eyes were prevented from recognising him. He said to them, ‘What are all these things that you are discussing as you walk along?’
They stopped, their faces downcast.
Then one of them, called Cleopas, answered him, ‘You must be the only person staying in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have been happening there these last few days.’
He asked, ‘What things?’
They answered, ‘All about Jesus of Nazareth, who showed himself a
prophet powerful in action and speech before God and the whole people; and how
our chief priests and our leaders handed him over to be sentenced to death, and
had him crucified. Our own hope had been that he would be the one to set Israel
free. And this is not all: two whole days have now gone by since it all
happened; and some women from our group have astounded us: they went to the
tomb in the early morning, and when they could not find the body, they came
back to tell us they had seen a vision of angels who declared he was alive.
Some of our friends went to the tomb and found everything exactly as the women
had reported, but of him they saw nothing.’
Then he said to them, ‘You foolish men! So slow to believe all that the prophets have said. Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer before entering into his glory?’
Then, starting with Moses and going through all the prophets, he explained to them the passages throughout the scriptures that were about himself.
When they drew near to the village to which they were going, he made
as if to go on; but they pressed him to stay with them saying, ‘It is nearly evening, and the day is almost over.’
So he went in to stay with them. Now while he was with them at
table, he took the bread and said the blessing; then he broke it and handed it
to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognised him; but he had vanished from their sight.
Then they said to each other, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us as he talked to us on the road and explained the scriptures to us?’
They set out that instant and returned to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven assembled together with their companions, who said to them, ‘The Lord has indeed risen and has appeared to Simon.’
Then they told their story of what had happened on the road and how they had recognised him at the breaking of bread.
Appearances to the disciples
In the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the doors were closed in the room where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews. They were still talking about all this when Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you!’
In a state of alarm and fright, they thought they were seeing a ghost.
But he said, ‘Why are you so agitated, and why are these doubts stirring in your hearts? See by my hands and my feet that it is I myself. Touch me and see for yourselves; a ghost has no flesh and bones as you can see I have.’ and, after saying this, he showed them his hands and his feet and his side.
The disciples were filled with joy at seeing the Lord.
Their joy was so great that they still could not believe it, as they were dumbfounded; so he said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’
And they offered him a piece of grilled fish, which he took and ate before their eyes.
Then he told them, ‘This is what I meant when I said, while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets and in the Psalms, was destined to be fulfilled.’
Having risen in the morning on the first day of the week, he
appeared first to Mary of Magdala from whom he had cast out seven devils. She
then went to those who had been his companions, and who were mourning and in
tears, and told them. But they did not believe her when they heard her say that
he was alive and that she had seen him. After this, he showed himself under
another form to two of them as they were on their way into the country. These
went back and told the others, who did not believe them either. Lastly, he
showed himself to the Eleven themselves while they were at table. He reproached
them for their incredulity and obstinacy, because they had refused to believe
those who had seen him after he had risen.
He then opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said
to them, ‘So it is written that the Christ would suffer and on the third day
rise from the dead, and that, in his name, repentance for the forgiveness of
sins would be preached to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are
witnesses to this. And now I am sending upon you what the Father has promised.
Stay in the city, then, until you are clothed with the power from on high.’
And he said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so am I sending you.’
After saying this he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven; if you retain anyone’s sins, they are retained.’
Thomas unbelieving
Thomas, called the Twin, who was one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, ‘We have seen the Lord,’ but he answered, ‘Unless I can see the holes that the nails made in his hands and can put my finger into the holes they made, and unless I can put my hand into his side, I refuse to believe.’
Eight days later the disciples were in the house again and Thomas was with them. The doors were closed, but Jesus came in and stood among them. ‘Peace be with you,’ he said.
Then he spoke to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; look, here are my hands. Give me your hand; put it into my side. Do not be unbelieving any more but believe.’
Thomas replied, ‘My Lord and my God!’
Jesus said to him, ‘You believe because you can see me. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.’
There were many other signs that Jesus worked in the sight of the disciples, but they are not recorded in this book. These are recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing this you may have life through his name.
The ascension
Then he took them out as far as the outskirts of Bethany, and raising his hands he blessed them.
And he said to them, ‘Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These are the signs that will be associated with believers: in my name they will cast out devils; they will have the gift of tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands and be unharmed should they drink deadly poison; they will lay their hands on the sick, who will recover.’
And so the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, now as he blessed them and was taken and carried up into Heaven, there at the right hand of God he took his place.
They worshipped him and then went back to Jerusalem full of joy; and they were continually in the Temple praising God.
69. On the shore of Tiberias
Later on, Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples.
It was by the Sea of Tiberias, and it happened like this: Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee and two more of his disciples were together.
Simon Peter said, ‘I’m going fishing.’
They replied, ‘We’ll come with you.’
They went out and got into the boat but caught nothing that night.
When it was already light, there stood Jesus on the shore, though the disciples did not realise that it was Jesus.
Jesus called out, ‘Haven’t you caught anything, friends?’
And when they answered, ‘No,’
he said, ‘Throw the net out to starboard and you’ll find something.’
So they threw the net out and could not haul it in because of the quantity of fish.
The disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord.’
At these words, ‘It is the Lord,’ Simon Peter tied his outer garment round him-for he had nothing on-and jumped into the water.
The other disciples came on in the boat, towing the net with the fish; they were only about a hundred yards from land.
As soon as they came ashore they saw that there was some bread there and a charcoal fire with fish cooking on it.
Jesus said, ‘Bring some of the fish you have just caught.’
Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net ashore, full of big fish, one hundred and fifty-three of them; and in spite of there being so many the net was not broken.
Jesus said to them, ‘Come and have breakfast.’
None of the disciples was bold enough to ask, ‘Who are you?’ They knew quite well it was the Lord.
Jesus then stepped forward, took the bread and gave it to them, and the same with the fish.
This was the third time that Jesus revealed himself to the disciples after rising from the dead.
When they had eaten, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these others do?’
He answered, ‘Yes, Lord, you know I love you.’
Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’
A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’
He replied, ‘Yes, Lord, you know I love you.’
Jesus said to him, ‘Look after my sheep.’
Then he said to him a third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’
Peter was hurt he asked him a third time, ‘Do you love me?’ and said, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know I love you.’
Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep.
In all truth I tell you, when you were young you put on your own belt and walked where you liked; but when you grow old you will stretch out your hands, and somebody else will put a belt round you and take you where you would rather not go.’
In these words he indicated the kind of death by which Peter would give glory to God.
After this he said, ‘Follow me.’
Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them-the one who had leant back close to his chest at the supper and had said to him, ‘Lord, who is it that will betray you?’
Seeing him, Peter said to Jesus, ‘What about him, Lord?’
Jesus answered, ‘If I want him to stay behind till I come, what does it matter to you? You are to follow me.’
The rumour then went out among the brothers that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus had not said to Peter, ‘He will not die,’ but, ‘If I want him to stay behind till I come.’
This disciple is the one who vouches for these things and has written them down, and we know that his testimony is true.
70. In Galilee
Meanwhile the eleven disciples set out for Galilee to the mountain where Jesus had arranged to meet them.
When they saw him they fell down before him, though some hesitated.
Jesus came up and spoke to them. He said, ‘All authority in Heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you. And look, I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.’
While they, going out, preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word by the signs that accompanied it.
Epilogue
There was much else that Jesus did; if it were written down in detail, I do not suppose the world itself would hold all the books that would be written.
God bless you!
The Gospel of Eternity is a synthesis of the four Gospels written by Crisan Petrescu in Prague, ready 13. 08. 1999.
Text use for translation from romanian original is The New Jerusalem Bible.
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