It was like John, the thoughtful one, to wait at the door of the tomb; and it was like Peter, the quick and hasty one, to rush straight into the tomb. After Peter walked into the tomb, John followed him inside.
They saw that the grave-place was empty; but they saw no angel. John noticed that the grave-clothes were lying in a heap on the floor, just as if Jesus had slipped out of them, without unrolling the long bands; and that the napkin which he had seen bound about his face had been carefully folded and was lying by itself. All these things showed that the body had not been taken away suddenly or in haste.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Peter and John hurried to the tomb; seeing that it was empty they were convinced that Jesus had risen.]
Peter, the excitable, was not a thinker, and just looked at these things and wondered. But John, the thoughtful disciple, looked at these things--the stone rolled away with its seal broken, the empty tomb, the grave clothes in an orderly pile, and the napkin folded carefully. Then it flashed upon his mind for the first time that his Lord had risen alive from the tomb! And at that moment came to him the words of Jesus spoken more than once, that he must die, and on the third day would rise again from death to life. Of all the eleven disciples of Jesus--for now that Judas was dead, they were no longer twelve, but eleven--John, the disciple whom Jesus loved the most, was the first one to believe that Jesus had risen, and he believed it before he had seen his living Lord.
As yet no one had seen Jesus living. Two disciples had looked into the empty tomb, and the women, except Mary Magdalene, had seen the angel, but none of them had seen Jesus; and all of them, save Mary Magdalene, went away, wondering and scarcely knowing what to think.
Jesus and Mary Magdalene
CHAPTER 99
All THE FOUR gospels agree in saying that the first person who saw Jesus Christ living after his death on the cross was Mary Magdalene; that is, Mary of Magdala, a town on the Sea of Galilee; a woman from whom a year before Jesus had driven out evil spirits; and who in love for what Jesus had done to her, followed him, and helped him with her gifts, for she was a rich woman.
When the other women, with Peter and John, went away from the tomb, Mary stayed there, weeping and sobbing; for she had not seen the angel who said that Jesus had risen, and did not know that he was alive. As she stood weeping at the door of the tomb, she looked inside. There she saw two angels sitting at the empty grave-place, one at the head, the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying.
"Woman," said one of the angels, "why are you weeping?"
"Because they have taken away my Lord," answered Mary, "and I do not know where they have laid him."
Just then something caused her to turn around, and she saw a man standing near her. It was Jesus, but she did not know him; for after rising from his grave Jesus showed himself in differing forms, and people could not know him until he allowed them.
"Woman," said Jesus to her, "why are you weeping? Who is it that you are looking for?"
Mary thought that this strange man was the gardener. She said to him:
"Oh, sir, if you have carried him anywhere, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away myself."
"Mary!" said Jesus.
And as he spoke her name, she knew him; and fell at his feet, clasping them in her hands.
"My own Master!" was all that she could say, in her joy at seeing him alive once more, whom she had last looked upon dead, hanging on the cross.
"Do not hold me," said Jesus, "for I have yet to arise and go to my Father in heaven; but go to my brothers, my disciples, and tell them that I shall soon rise up from the earth and go to my Father and your Father, to my G.o.d, and your G.o.d."
Mary Magdalene went and found the disciples, and said to them, "I have seen the Lord!" telling them also what he had said to her.
After Mary Magdalene had gone away from the tomb, the other women--Mary the wife of Clopas, Joanna, and Salome--came back from having seen the disciples, and having told them what the angel had said, that Jesus had risen. As they drew near the tomb, Jesus went to meet them.
"Welcome!" he said to the women. They ran up to him, fell on their faces, and clasped his feet, just as Mary had done, for they felt joy and fear mingled as they saw him.
"Do not be afraid," said Jesus, "go tell my brothers to go to Galilee and they shall see me there."
So these women went again to find the disciples and give them the news that Jesus was really living, and that they had seen him. All this was on Sunday morning--the first Easter-day.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Mary Magdalene turned and answered the strange man whom she thought was the gardener: "Oh, sir, if you have carried him anywhere, tell me where you have laid him." "Mary!" said Jesus. And as he spoke her name she knew him.]
On that morning, when the soldiers who had fled from the tomb recovered from their terror, they went to the chief priests and told them about the earthquake and the angel who had rolled away the stone. The priests had a talk with the rulers of the city; then they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, and told them to say to everybody:
"The disciples came at night, while we were asleep, and broke open the tomb, and stole the body of Jesus."
They knew that a soldier had no right to sleep while on guard; and the rule of the army was, that any soldier who slept on his post should be put to death. But the rulers said to them:
"If the governor hears about this, we will satisfy him, and see that no harm comes to you."
So the soldiers took their money and did as they were told. And the story that the body of Jesus was stolen from the tomb, was told among the Jewish people and believed by them.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Coins struck by Pontius Pilate]
[Ill.u.s.tration: Then Jesus began to show them in all the Old Testament books, how all the prophets had foretold the things that should take place with Christ when he should come.]
A Walk with the Risen Christ
CHAPTER 100
WHEN JESUS was seen after he rose from the tomb, it was called an "appearance" because Jesus appeared to someone. His first appearance, as you have read, was to Mary Magdalene; his second appearance was to the other women; and his third appearance was to two men walking out into the country on that first Easter morning.
Those two men were not among the twelve disciples of Jesus; but they had believed in him as the Christ, the King of Israel. One of them was named Cleopas; the name of the other has not been given in the gospel by Saint Luke, where this story is told. The two men on that morning were walking out from Jerusalem to a village called Emmaus, which was six or seven miles from the city. As they walked, they talked together of Jesus, of his death, his burial, and of a report which had just come to them, that he was living again.
While they were walking and talking, they suddenly saw another man walking with them. This stranger was Jesus, but they did not know him; just as Mary Magdalene did not know Jesus when first she saw him. He said to them:
"What is it that you are talking about, as you walk along?"
They stood still, with sorrowful faces; and Cleopas answered this stranger.
"What!" said Cleopas, "do you live all alone in Jerusalem, since you seem not to have heard of the things that have taken place there in the last few days?"
"What things do you mean?" asked the stranger.
"Why, about Jesus of Nazareth," they answered. "Have you never heard of him? He was a wonderful prophet, to whom G.o.d gave power in his words and his deeds before all the people. But the chief priests and our rulers seized him, and gave him up to be sentenced to death, and crucified him.
But it was our hope that he was to be the one to set Israel free from its enemies, and reign as our King. And now, this is the third day since he died, and this morning some women of our company have brought to us news that greatly surprised us. They went to the tomb at daybreak, and found it open, but did not find his body within it. They told us that they had seen some angels, who said that Jesus was alive! At once some of our men went to the tomb, and found it just as the women had said, the tomb thrown open and the body gone; but they did not see Jesus."
"O, foolish men, with hearts so slow to believe, after all that the prophets have said in the Holy Book!" said the stranger, who was the risen Jesus. "Do you not know that Christ was bound to suffer all these things before he could enter his glory as the Son of G.o.d?"
Then he began to show them in all the Old Testament books, how Moses in the law, and David in the psalms, and all the prophets in their writings, had foretold the things that should take place with Christ when he should come; and that all these things had come to pa.s.s with Jesus, showing that Jesus of Nazareth was in truth the Son of G.o.d and the King of Israel.
While they went on talking together, they drew near the village of Emmaus, to which the two men were going. The unknown Jesus seemed as if he was going further; but they urged him to stop.
"Stay with us," they said to him, "for it is getting toward evening; the sun is already about to set."