The Guard at the Tomb

62 The next day, that is, after the day of ^vPreparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate 63 and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After ^wthree days I will rise.’ 64 Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, ^xlest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard¹ of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by ^ysealing the stone and setting a guard.

The Resurrection

1 ^zNow after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great ^aearthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the ^bstone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like ^clightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, ^das he said. Come, see the place where he² lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is ^egoing before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” 8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and ^ftook hold of his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

The Report of the Guard

11 While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. 12 And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers 13 and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and ^gstole him away while we were asleep.’ 14 And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” 15 So they took the money and did as they were directed. ^hAnd this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.

The Resurrection

1 ^tWhen the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the ^ustone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” 4 And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. 5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. 6 And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is ^vgoing before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” 8 And they went out and ^wfled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

The Resurrection

1 ^pBut on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2 And they found the ^qstone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, ^rtwo men stood by them in dazzling apparel. 5 And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the ^sliving among the dead? 6 He is not here, but has risen. ^tRemember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the ^uthird day rise.” 8 And they ^vremembered his words, 9 and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, 11 but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did ^wnot believe them. 12 But Peter rose and ^xran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.

The Resurrection

1 ^kNow on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the ^lstone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and ^mthe other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were ⁿrunning together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the ^olinen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’¹ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they ^pdid not understand the Scripture, ^qthat he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes.

The Resurrection of the Dead

12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no ^jresurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that ^khe raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and ^lyou are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope¹ in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

20 But in fact Christ has been ^mraised from the dead, ⁿthe firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as ^oby a man came death, ^pby a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be ^qmade alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his ^rcoming those who ^sbelong to Christ. 24 Then comes ^tthe end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying ^uevery rule and every authority and power.