Story of the Month
Resurrection Morning
Matt 27:62-66, Matt 28:2-4, Matt 28:11-15, Mark 16:1-13, John 20:1-18
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Early Sunday Morning
All was quiet at the tomb of Jesus until early Sunday morning, before the sun came up. Suddenly there was a violent earthquake and an angel appeared. He rolled back the stone from in front of the tomb and sat on it! The guards were terrified and fell down as if they were dead – and all was quiet again.
As the sun came up, Mary Magdalene and some other women walked into the garden so they could put spices on the body of Jesus. They were wondering how they could convince someone to roll back the stone from the tomb. Suddenly they saw that the soldiers were gone and the stone was rolled back from the entrance. They looked and saw that the tomb was empty!
Confusion at the Garden
Mary Magdalene turned and ran back to the city so she could tell the disciples about the empty tomb. The other women went inside the cave. There, they saw two angels. One of them said, “Don‘t be afraid! You are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, but is risen from the dead. Go tell his disciples and Peter that Jesus will meet them in Galilee.” So the women left to do as they were told.
Meanwhile, Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “They have taken the body of Jesus out of the tomb and we don‘t know where they put it!”
Peter and John immediately ran to the tomb. John got there first, stopped, and looked into the cave. Peter rushed in and John followed. There they saw the strips of linen that had been wrapped around the body of Jesus. The cloth that had been over his face was folded and placed to one side. They then walked home, wondering what all this meant.
First People to See Jesus
After they left, Mary Magdalene arrived back at the garden. She moved slowly toward the tomb, weeping as she walked. She looked up and saw the angels, who said, “Woman, why are you crying?”
“Because they have taken away my Lord and I don‘t know where he is.”
She turned and saw a man standing near her and thought it was the gardener. She didn‘t realize it was Jesus. She said, “Sir, tell me if you have carried him away, so I can go get him.”
He said, “Mary!”
Suddenly she knew who it was and fell down and grabbed his feet. She cried, “My Master!”
He said, “Don‘t hold me, but go tell my disciples that you have seen me.” Immediately she obeyed and got up and went to find the disciples.
Jesus then appeared to the other women as they were walking back into the city. They immediately fell down and worshipped him. He said, “Go find my brothers. Tell them I‘ll meet them in Galilee.”
The women went back and told the disciples what they‘d seen. They said, “He is alive! We‘ve seen him and talked to him.” The men were overcome, and could not believe it was really true.
Don’t forget to check out our ‘Tips for Telling’ this month as well
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