Up From the Grave He Arose!

Matthew 28:1-15; Mark 16:1-11; Luke 24:1-12; John 1:1-18[1] 

And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.  His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.  And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.

Now when the Sabbath was past, very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him. And they said among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?”  But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away—for it was very large.

Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments.

Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ ” And they remembered His words. So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.

Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.  It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles.  And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them.

Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb.  So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first.  And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in.  Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there,  and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself.  Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed.  For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.  Then the disciples went away again to their own homes.

But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb.  And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.  Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”

She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”

 Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus.  Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?”

She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”

 Jesus said to her, “Mary!”

She turned and said to Him,“Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher).

 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’ ”

 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her.

So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.

 And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.  Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

 Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened.  When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, “Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’  And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.”  So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.

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[1] Note: Much of the Harmony readings will be pieced together like a puzzle putting the four Gospels together into one narrative. I am copying the order or format from A Simplified Harmony of the Gospels, George W. Wright, Holman Bible Publishers, 2001. However, I am using the New King James rather than the HCSB. This order is from the research of Wright and is open to discussion. Of course, you can also read the passages side by side separately if you prefer.