Other Sunday and Holy Day Readings
HOLY SATURDAY OF THE LORD'S PASSION, VIGIL MASS (CYCLE B)
On Holy Saturday, we meditate on our Lord's suffering and death. The paschal Sabbath lasts from sundown on Good Friday to sundown on Holy Saturday. Saturday is the middle of the Triduum. In Latin, Holy Saturday is the Sabbatum Sanctum, the Holy Sabbath. Jesus rested in the tomb on the Jewish Sabbath, and on Holy Saturday, the Church rests in Christ. The altar is left bare, and there is no celebration of the sacrifice of the Mass. The Church waits expectantly at the Lord's tomb and draws on the symbolism of darkness versus light. Like Sacred Scripture, the Liturgy identifies darkness with sin and light with Christ, who defeats the darkness. On Holy Saturday, the Church waits at the Lord's tomb in prayer and fasting, meditating on His Passion, Death, and Descent into Sheol/Hades, the abode of the dead (1 Peter 3:18-20; Apostles' Creed), as we await His Resurrection. The Church abstains from the sacrifice of the Mass with the sacred altar table left bare until after the solemn Vigil ends at sunset. At nightfall, the blessed Sabbath is over, and we begin to anticipate the Pascal joys, which will last fifty days from the first of seven Sundays of Easter, from Resurrection Sunday to Pentecost (as the ancients counted). Holy Communion may only be offered during Holy Saturday as Viaticum.
At nightfall on Saturday, the first day of the week begins. According to Jewish customs, the first task in one's house was to make a fire and light the evening lamp after the Old Covenant Sabbath. The Church repeats this custom as the Easter Vigil begins with a bonfire and the lighting of candles. The faithful enter the Church, which is the household of God, to drive out the darkness in remembrance of the Resurrection of Jesus, "the Light of the world." In the same way, our celebration of Christ's Resurrection begins at dawn in a spirit of joy that carries us through the fifty days (as the ancients counted without the concept of a zero place-value) to the Feast of Pentecost.
Traditionally, converts enter the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil Mass in the Sacrament of Baptism. "Baptism, the original and full sign of which is immersion, efficaciously signifies the descent into the tomb of the Christian who dies to sin with Christ to live a new life. We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life" (CCC 628). All previously baptized Catholics participate by renewing their baptismal vows.
Readings for the Liturgy of the Word at the Vigil Mass: There
are nine readings, seven from the Old Testament (each with a Responsorial
Psalm) and two from the New (the Epistle and Gospel).
First Reading: Genesis 1:1-2:2 or 1:1, 26-31a
Psalm 104:1-2, 5-6, 10, 12-14, 24, 35 [30] or
33:4-7, 12-13, 20-22
Second Reading: Genesis 22:1-18
Psalm 16:5, 8-11
Third Reading: Exodus 14:15-15:1
Exodus 15:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 17-18
Fourth Reading: Isaiah 54:5-14
Psalm 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11-12, 13
Fifth Reading: Isaiah 55:1-11
Isaiah 12:2-6
Sixth Reading: Baruch 3:9-15, 32-4:4
Psalm 19:8-11
Seventh Reading: Ezekiel 36:16-17a, 18-28
Psalm 42:3, 5; 43:3, 4 (A) or Isaiah 12:2-6 (B) or Psalm 51:12-15, 18-19 (C)
Epistle: Romans 6:3-11
Psalm 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23
Gospel Reading for Cycle B: Mark 16:1-7
Abbreviations: NABRE (New American Bible Revised Edition), NJB (New Jerusalem Bible), RSVCE (Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition), IBHE (Interlinear Bible Hebrew-English), IBGE (Interlinear Bible Greek-English), or LXX (Greek Septuagint Old Testament translation). CCC designates a citation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The word LORD or GOD rendered in all capital letters is, in the Hebrew text, God's Divine Name, YHWH (Yahweh).
God reveals His divine plan for humanity in the two Testaments; therefore, we read and relive the events of salvation history in the Old and New Testaments in the Church's Liturgy. The Catechism teaches that our Liturgy reveals the unfolding mystery of God's plan as we read the Old Testament in light of the New and the New Testament in light of the Old (CCC 1094-1095).
The Theme of the Easter Vigil Readings: The New Creation
in Christ Jesus, the Light of the World
The first Old Testament readings focus on the old Creation
in Genesis and the earlier covenants with Adam, Abraham, and the Sinai Covenant
with Israel. The next set of readings from Isaiah, Baruch, and Ezekiel focuses
on restoring God's covenant people. In the Epistle reading, St. Paul tells the
Roman faithful that Christians die to sin with Christ in the Sacrament of
Baptism, and He resurrects us with Him to a new life, freed from slavery to sin
and death.
The women disciples could not return to the tomb until daybreak on the day after the Sabbath because they obediently observed the Sabbath rest. Some of the women who came to the tomb that morning in addition to Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James and the sister or wife of Cleopas (Mt 28:1), were Salome, the mother of James and John Zebedee (Mk 16:1), Joanna, the wife of Herod Antipas's steward (Lk 24:10), and perhaps Susanna among others (Lk 8:2-3). The other women left after discovering the empty tomb, but Mary Magdalene remained behind. Nowhere in the New Testament is Mary Magdalene described as a prostitute. Only St. Mark identifies her former affliction as demon possession (Mk 16:9). Jesus rewarded Mary for her faithfulness in not abandoning Him at the Cross by choosing her as the first disciple to see He as the Resurrected Christ. She was also the first to receive the mission to spread the news of His Resurrection. However, the grief-stricken Apostles did not believe her at first. That same morning, He also appeared to two disciples on their way to their home in the nearby village of Emmaus (Mk 9:12). They were prevented from recognizing Him; however, after hearing the stranger talk about the Messiah's Resurrection as foretold in the Scriptures, they invited Him to dine with them. Then, at the meal, they recognized Him after He prayed the blessing over the meal and broke the bread, as He had at the Last Supper, and they immediately ran back to Jerusalem to tell Peter and the other Apostles (Lk 24:13-35).
The Gospels of Luke and John report that Peter ran to investigate the tomb. However, St. John includes the information that the "beloved disciple," whom he also calls the "other disciple" (believed to be St. John Zebedee), also ran to the tomb with Peter. They discovered the tomb was empty except for the burial cloths (Jn 20:2-10). Significantly, both the Gospels of Luke and John mention the burial cloths plural, believed to be the shroud that covered His body and the rolled napkin tied around the deceased's head (Jn 11:44). If robbers had disturbed the tomb, they would have left the corpse behind and would have taken the expensive burial cloths. If Jesus's disciples had taken His body, they would have carried it away still wrapped in the cloths out of respect. St. John's Gospel reports that the "other" disciple with Peter "saw and believed" that Christ arose from the dead (Jn 20:8).
Next, Jesus appeared to two disciples on their way out of Jerusalem (Lk 24:12). These disciples were Cleophas and his son returning to their village of Emmaus. The Gospel of Luke tells their resurrection experience in detail (Lk 24:13-35). At first, they did not recognize Jesus or believe in His Resurrection from death. Their eyes "were opened" to recognize Jesus as He broke the bread in their meal with Him (Lk 24:30-31). They also carried the news of Jesus's glorious Resurrection to the Apostles in Jerusalem (verse 13).
St. Luke recorded Jesus's sudden appearance to the Apostles in the Upper Room that same day when He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures in the Old Testament that were about Him (Lk 24:36-49). And in John 20:19-23, Jesus breathed His Spirit upon the Apostles and gave them the power to "bind and loose" sins as they governed the Church, His Kingdom of Heaven on earth. He appeared privately to St. Peter (Lk 24:34; 1 Cor 15:5), to His relative St. James, who became the first Christian bishop of Jerusalem and wrote the Letter of St. James (1 Cor 15:7), and to more than 500 disciples at one time (1 Cor 15:6). In Mark 16:15, Jesus commissioned His Apostles and disciples to carry the Gospel to the ends of the earth (also see Mt 28:19; Lk 24:47-48; Acts 1:8). Their mission to universally share the Gospel of salvation is in fulfillment of the prophecy God gave the prophet Isaiah ~ "I am coming to gather every nation and every language. They will come to witness my glory" (Is 66:18). The commission to spread the Gospel also fulfills Simeon's prophecy to the Holy Family at Mary's purification and infant Jesus' Temple presentation in Luke 2:29-32. Simeon, empowered by the Spirit of God, said: "Now, Master, you are letting your servant go in peace as you promised; for my eyes have seen the salvation which you have made ready in the sight of the nations; a light for revelation for the Gentiles and glory for your people Israel."
The Paschal mystery in which we take part at the Vigil has two aspects:
The Christian's new life, entered through the Sacrament of Baptism, is necessary for our eternal salvation (Mk 16:16), and it gives us the justification that reinstates us in God's grace. St. Paul wrote that Jesus was handed over for our transgressions and was raised for our justification (Rom 4:25). He also wrote, We were indeed buried with Him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life (Rom 6:4). Our justification is both a victory over the death caused by sin and a new participation in grace (cf. Eph 2:4-5; 1 Pt 1:3). It brings about our adoption as sons and daughters of God and as heirs of Christ, our brother and God's firstborn Son. We become His brothers and sisters not by the natural order but by the gift of God's grace in an adoption that gives us a genuine share in the life of the only begotten Son of God, fully revealed in His glorious Resurrection (see CCC 654).
The Vigil is divided into four parts:
The Seventh Reading is from Ezekiel 36:16-17a, 18-28 followed by Responsorial Psalm B from Isaiah 12:2-3, 4abcd, 5-6
The Epistle is Romans 6:1-11: The Regeneration of Baptism
3 You cannot have forgotten that all of us, when we were
baptized into Christ Jesus, were baptized into his death. 4 So by our baptism
into his death we were buried with him, so that as Christ was raised from the
dead by the Father's glorious power, we too should begin living a new life. 5
If we have been joined to him by dying a death like his, so we shall be by
resurrection like his; 6 realizing that our former self was crucified with him,
so that the self which belonged to sin should be destroyed and we should be
freed from the slavery of sin. 7 Someone who has died, of course, no longer has
to answer for sin. 8 But we believe that, if we died with Christ, then we shall
live with him too. 9 We know that Christ has been raised from the dead and will
never die again. Death has no power over him any more. 10 For by dying, he is
dead to sin once and for all, and now the life that he lives is life with God.
11 In the same way, you must see yourselves as being dead to sin but alive for
God in Christ Jesus.
In Romans 6:1 St. Paul takes us back to the question he raised in Romans 3:5-8, But if our injustice serves to bring God's saving justice into view, can we say that God is unjust when "to use human terms "he brings his retribution down on us? Out of the question! It would mean that God could not be the judge of the world. You might as well say that if my untruthfulness makes God demonstrate his truthfulness, to his greater glory then I should not be judged to be a sinner at all. In this case, the slanderous report some people are spreading would be true, that we teach that one should do evil that good may come of it."
In other words, Paul asked in Romans 3:5-8 and again here in 6:1-2, "Should we sin more so that God's grace can come to us in greater abundance?" The rhetorical question suggests, "How can sin be a problem if it leads us to greater forgiveness?" Paul vehemently rejects this notion in 6:11. Grace does not mean freedom to sin! If one has died to sin through the Baptism of Jesus Christ, and if one is in union with the life of Christ, then one is dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus, and, therefore, reasons Paul, sin becomes foreign to the life of the reborn believer.
How does God's abundant grace reach us? What is the effect of this infusion of grace? Paul tells us the answer in verses 3-4. Through the Sacrament of Baptism, we receive God's grace, which frees us from the control of and slavery to sin. The entomological meaning of the word "baptize" is "dip" or "immerse." Immersion was common in the Old Covenant for ritual purification and conversion (i.e., John the Baptist's immersion for repentance). However, our immersion in the Baptism of Christ goes far beyond ritual symbolism.
When one receives the Sacrament of Baptism, a supernatural sequence of events takes place, which images the life of Christ. See Colossians 2:9-14 and John 3:3-8; CCC# 628; 977-978:
St. Ambrose, in his instruction to the newly baptized on the Sacrament of Baptism, taught, "The Lord who wanted his benefactions to endure, the serpent's plans to be turned to naught, and the harm done to be put right, delivered a sentence on mankind: You are dust, and to dust you shall return' (Genesis 3:19), and made man subject to death." Then, as St. Ambrose continues, God in His mercy provided a remedy: "The remedy was given him: man would die and rise again.... You ask me how?" Answering his own question St. Ambrose informed the newly Baptized, "Pay attention! So that in this world too the devil's snare would be broken, a rite was instituted whereby man would die, being alive, and rise again, being alive .... Through immersion in water the sentence is blotted out: You are dust and to dust you shall return." St. Ambrose writing on the Sacrament of Baptism, De Sacramentis, II,6
Paul also taught concerning being baptized into Christ's death in his other letters. He wrote about the role the old Law of Moses played in anticipation of our baptism, which is not only a symbolic death. See Galatians 3:27-28; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13; Colossians 2:9-14; Ephesians 4:4-6. The old Law served as a tutor or a guardian (see CCC# 1963) to prepare God's covenant people to be reborn into the family of God as the true spiritual heirs of Abraham and members of the One Body in Christ, the New Covenant Church:
Baptism is not merely a symbolic death and rebirth but a genuine participation in Christ's saving mission of death, burial, and Resurrection as figured in water immersion (death and burial) and coming "up" out of the water (our resurrection).
Paul made a promise that affects our future (also see 1 Peter 1:3-5). He promised in Romans 6:5 that if we have been united to Christ in a death like His, through our Baptism, and raised to a new life like His Resurrection, then we will also be united with Him in the final Resurrection of the righteous dead at the end of time. He also addressed the result of our baptismal resurrection, which looks forward to the final Resurrection in Romans 6:4-11. Note that the literal translation of 6:4 is that we, in newness of life, might walk. The result is that we should "walk" or live in "newness of life" and that the "self" that belonged to sin would be destroyed, and we shall be freed from sin.
In Biblical terms, "walking with God" refers to righteous behavior in the sight of God (see Genesis 17:1; 48:15; Deuteronomy 5:33; 8:6; 1 Kings 3:14; Psalms 86:11; 119:1; etc.). But what does "newness" point toward, and how does this "newness" image what was lost to humanity in the Fall? The Baptized believer is a new creation in Christ. In Colossians 3:10, Paul wrote: You have stripped off your old behavior with your old self, and you have put on a new self which will progress towards true knowledge the more it is renewed in the image of its Creator. God created humanity in His image and likeness (Genesis 1:26-27). But the family of Adam became lost in trying to gain knowledge and wisdom apart from the will of God (Genesis 2:17) and became slaves of sin. The "old self" (Romans 6:6) that must die. It is the "new self" that is reborn through the waters of baptism into Christ, who is the true image of God and who has come to restore fallen humanity to the splendor of that image that had been stained and distorted by sin (also see 2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 6:14-16; Colossians 3:10-11).
In Romans 6:5-1,0 Paul focused on Christian conformity to the life of Christ. He made an argument in two steps, beginning each step with a conditional statement in verse 5 and again in verse 8. Each statement expressed a hope that we believe will become a reality through the promises of Jesus Christ. The argument centered on the Christian's conformity to the ethical pattern of Christ's death, burial, and Resurrection, which brought about a release from slavery to sin and God's wrath and His glorious Resurrection to new life:
Our old self is crucified with Christ. The new life the believer is called to live is a freedom from sin and a freedom from "self." See verse 6: our former self is crucified with him, so that the self which belonged to sin should be destroyed and we should be freed from the slavery of sin. Our new life is not merely symbolic (see 2 Peter 1:3-4). The regenerative waters of baptism yield a transformation and rebirth. In Scripture, a "sign" points beyond the event to a more significant event. Baptism is a sign or symbol only in that it is symbolic of the greater supernatural reality of the sacrament, which shows in a visible form God's action to perform what the physical event signifies "the baptized believes's resurrection to new life in Christ. The sinner is immersed in water and is thus "buried" with Christ (Colossians 2:12), with whom the Christian is also raised up through the water to resurrection (Romans 8:11) as a "new creation; infused with "divine life" (2 Peter 1:3-4; 2 Corinthians 5:17), and as a member of God's family and at one with the Body of Christ animated by the one Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 4:4ff). However, the Christian's resurrection will not be complete or final until the End of Time (1 Corinthians 15:12). Paul assures us that Christians, having been freed from sin, are literally freed from the power of sin over their lives because God's grace is more powerful that the power of sin.
| Christ's crucifixion and death ---> | Christ's Resurrection ---> | Christ's glorified new life |
|
Our crucifixion with Christ and our death to sin &
self into the waters of baptism ---> |
Our resurrection to new life through the power of the Holy Spirit = "born again" or "born from above" in the image of Christ raised up through the water of baptism ==> | Our final resurrection and glorification |
M. Hunt Copyright © 2006
In his commentary of Romans 6:1-14, St. John Chrysostom wrote about what it means to be dead to sin in baptism: "Being dead to sin means not obeying it any more. Baptism has made us dead to sin once and for all, but we must strive to maintain this state of affairs, so that however many commands sins may give us, we no longer obey it but remain unmoved by it, as a corpse does. Elsewhere, Paul even says that sin itself is dead ... in order to show that virtue is easy. But here, since he is trying to rouse his hearers to action, he says that they are the ones who are dead" (Homiliae in ad Romanos).
The early Church Fathers regarded baptism by water and the Spirit as more than symbolic, recognizing the sacramental character of baptism in which the believer dies to sin and is resurrected to new life by the power of the Holy Spirit. This teaching has come down to us unchanged after two thousand years and is expressed in the oral teaching found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: "This sacrament is called Baptism, after the central rite by which it is carried out: to baptize (Greek = baptizein) means to 'plunge' or 'immerse'; the 'plunge' into the water symbolizes the catechumen's burial into Christ's death, from which he rises up by resurrection with him, as a new creature.'" CCC# 1214. "This sacrament is also called the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit,' for it signifies and actually brings about the birth of water and the Spirit without which no one can enter the kingdom of God." CCC# 1215. Also see Tertullian's 2nd century AD treatise On the Resurrection of the Flesh, 47.
From the Church's earliest years, the sacramental graces of baptism were considered so essential that even infants were not denied this special grace. The argument was that in the Old Covenant, Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day of His life and entered into the community's life in the Sinai Covenant; therefore, children should be baptized. Origen, theologian and director of the School of Theology in Alexandria, Egypt, wrote in the first quarter of the 200s the necessity of baptism for infants to remove the stain of original sin: "The Church received from the Apostles the tradition of giving Baptism even to infants. For the Apostles, to whom were committed the secrets of divine mysteries, knew that there is in everyone the innate stains of sin, which must be washed away through water and the Spirit" (Origen, Commentary on Romans, 5.8).
Writing of the Christian's "new freedom" in Romans 6:6, Paul vigorously warned the Christian community that sinful conduct must be excluded from the life of the Christian who now "walks" with God. Freedom is not license, for the Christian freedom is in a life that conforms to the image of Jesus Christ. Paul explained the relationship between the Christian's new life and righteous conduct, which should result from his justification and reconciliation with God.
A review of the role justification plays in the Sacrament of
Baptism:
Justification begins the life of the reborn child of God on
the path of Christian life. The Catechism of the Catholic Church identifies
baptism as the Sacrament of justification because in it, all our previous sins,
including original sin, are forgiven:
However, acts of justification and forgiveness may occur at many points in one's faith journey. These continual acts of justification are necessary for Christian growth in holiness and sanctification. When, for example, a priest declares a sinner forgiven in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, this is an act of justification, which brings Christians back into a "rightness" in their relationship or "walk" with God the Father.
The Gospel Reading at the Vigil for the Holy Night of Easter
is Mark 16:1-7 ~ The Empty Tomb "Christ is Risen!
1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the
mother of James, and Salome brought spices so that they might go and anoint
him. 2 Very early when the sun had risen, on the first day of the week, they
came to the tomb. 3 They were saying to one another, "Who will roll back the
stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?" 4 When they looked up, they saw
that the stone had been rolled back; it was very large. 5 On entering the tomb,
they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe, and
they were utterly amazed. 6 He said to them, "Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus
of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Behold, the
place where they laid him. 7 But go and tell his disciples and Peter, He is
going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you.'" (NABRE)
Obediently observing the Sabbath rest, the women disciples could not return to the tomb until daybreak on the day after the Sabbath, the first day of the week that we call Sunday. St. John's Gospel explains that the Sabbath of the holy week of Unleavened Bread was a solemn observance (Jn 19:31). For the Jews, the Sabbath is the last day of the week (Gen 2:1-3). The women returned on the "first day" of the week, which early Christians designated by the Roman custom as "the day of the sun" or Sunday. Christians called Sunday the "Lord's Day" to commemorate Jesus's Resurrection from the dead and to offer worship in the sacrifice of the Eucharist (Acts 20:7; Rev 1:10, CCC 1166 and 2174). Saturday was the last day of the Creation event when God rested from the work of creation; therefore, Sunday was the first day of the Creation event in Genesis 1:1. Jesus's Resurrection on Sunday, the "first day of the week," signifies a New Creation and a New Age of humanity. That Sunday was also the Jewish Feast of Firstfruits that fell the day after the Great Sabbath of the Holy Week of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Lev 23:4-14; Jn 19:31).
The women named in verse 1 are Mary Magdalene (cured of demon possession) and Mary, the mother of James the Lesser, and Salome, the mother of James and John Zebedee (Mk 16:1). The Gospel of Luke includes Joanna (Lk 24:10), and perhaps Susanna, among others (Lk 8:2-3).
The week from the 14th to the 21st of Nisan contained three of the seven annual sacred feasts: Passover on the 14th, Unleavened Bread from the 15th to the 21st, and the Feast of Firstfruits within that holy week on the day after the Sabbath "on the day we call Sunday. The Feast of Firstfruits, which fell on the day after the Sabbath of the holy week of the pilgrim feast of Unleavened Bread, was one of the two annual festivals with no specific date, unlike the other five yearly feasts. God ordained the Feast of Firstfruits to fall on the day after the Sabbath of Unleavened Bread, and the Feast of Pentecost commanded to fall 50 days after Firstfruits as the ancients counted (Lev 23:9-11, 15-16). Therefore, both feast days always fell on the first day of the week, our Sunday. The Feast of Firstfruits celebrated the first fruits of the spring barley harvest in the Promised Land. At the feast, the people presented the first fruits of the barley harvest to God along with the sacrifice of an unblemished male lamb, a grain offering, a libation of red wine, and a public profession of faith (Lev 23:9-14; Dt 26:1-10).
Jesus fulfilled each of the sacred annual feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread, and Firstfruits:
Except for the Samaritans and the Jewish sect of the Karaites, most modern Jews designate Nisan the 16th as the Feast of Firstfruits, which destroys the connection to Christ's Resurrection. Flavius Josephus, the first-century AD Jewish priest/historian, recorded that the Feast of Pentecost always fell on the "first day of the week" (our Sunday). Therefore, the Feast of Firstfruits determined the day of Pentecost fifty days later, which also always fell on the first day of the week. However, the religious authorities changed the day (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 13.8.4 [252]. The change to a specific date was an attempt to sever the connection between the Feast of Firstfruits and Jesus's Resurrection.
The women disciples arrived at the tomb to discover the large stone that covered the entrance rolled aside. Inside the tomb, they found a "man" dressed in white who told them Jesus was raised from death. He explained to them that what Jesus told them in Galilee concerning the prophecy of His Passion and Resurrection on the third day was now fulfilled (Mt 16:21; 17:22-23; 20:17-19). All four of the Gospels record that the women disciples were the first to hear the angelic announcement of Jesus's Resurrection and witness the glorified Christ (Mt 28:9-10). It was their reward for faithfulness in standing by Jesus at His Cross of suffering.
Then, the man/angel instructed the woman to inform the Apostles of the miracle of Jesus's Resurrection and to tell them to meet Him in Galilee, where their life-altering adventure began. The Gospels of Luke (24:9-11) and John (20:1-2) tell us that the women immediately went to the eleven Apostles (Judas was already dead). They were rewarded for their obedience when encountering the resurrected Jesus on the way (Mt 28:9-10). Jesus greeted them, and as they prostrated themselves before Him in reverent worship, He told them not to be afraid and repeated the angel's message that they must deliver to the Apostles.
Both the Gospels of Luke and John record that Peter ran to investigate the tomb. However, St. John includes the information that the "beloved disciple," also called the "other disciple" (believed to be St. John himself), also ran to the tomb with Peter. They discovered the tomb was empty except for the burial cloths (Jn 20:2-10). Significantly, both the Gospels of Luke and John mention burial textiles. If robbers had disturbed the tomb, they would have left the corpse behind and taken the expensive burial cloths. And if Jesus's disciples had taken His body, they would have carried it away still wrapped in the shroud out of respect. St. John's Gospel reports that the "other" disciple "saw and believed" that Christ was indeed raised from the dead (Jn 20:8).
Is the testimony in the Gospels enough for you to "see and believe"? Jesus fulfilled the promise He made to Martha of Bethany that changed the course of human history. Jesus told Martha, "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die" (Jn 11:25-26). The Final Age of humanity had begun!
For a lesson on the First Reading from Genesis 1:1-2:2 or 1:1, 26-31a, see Agape Bible Study - Genesis Lesson 2.
For the Second Reading from Genesis 22:1-18, see Agape Bible Study - Genesis Lesson 11 .
For the Third Reading from Exodus 14:15-15:1, see Agape Bible Study - Exodus Lesson 8.
For the Fourth Reading from Isaiah 54:5-14, see Agape Bible Study - Isaiah Lesson 20.
For the Fifth Reading from Isaiah 55:1-11, see Agape Bible Study - Isaiah Lesson 21.
The Sixth Reading is from Baruch 3:9-15, 32-4:4
For the Seventh Reading from Ezekiel 36:16-17a, 18-28, see Agape Bible Study - Ezekiel Lesson 13.
For the Reading from the Epistle to the Romans 6:3-11, see Agape Bible Study - Romans/Chapter6.
Michal E Hunt, Copyright © 2015; revised 2021, 2024 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.
The tomb of Jesus at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in
Jerusalem: