A young man and his two sisters lived in the little village of Bethany. They were close friends of Jesus, who often stayed with them when He visited Jerusalem.

One day the young man became very ill. “Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha... Therefore the sisters sent to [Jesus], saying, ‘Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick’” (John 11:1, 3).

John describes this family as close, filled with love and peace. No doubt Christ enjoyed visiting their home and relaxing from arduous journeys. Notice that the sisters didn’t even ask for Him to come. They knew that once He heard of Lazarus’ illness, He would come to see His sick friend.

Martha responded that she knew Lazarus would “rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

Jesus didn’t do what they expected. He deliberately waited (verses 6-7). In the meantime, the illness claimed Lazarus’ life. By the time Jesus arrived, Lazarus had been dead for at least four days. Martha, in her anguish, met Christ as He arrived. “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” Christ responded to her grief by urging her to have faith and believe in Him. He even told her, “Your brother will rise again” (verses 21, 23).

Martha responded that she knew Lazarus would “rise again in the resurrection at the last day” (verse 24). She was aware of the biblical promises of a coming resurrection at the end of this age.

Hope of the resurrection

However, she did not understand that God would use her brother’s death to glorify His Son, Jesus of Nazareth. She apparently did not believe she would ever see her brother alive again in this life.

Lazarus come forth

Jesus again offered her encouragement. “I am the resurrection and the life,” He told her. “He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

She responded positively to some of what Jesus said: “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world” (verses 25-27). She may have been unsure about the rest of His meaning or what He was driving at. Regardless, she summoned her sister Mary, who was still mourning in their house.

When Mary came, “Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. And He said, ‘Where have you laid him?’” (verses 33-34).

As was often done at that time, Lazarus’ friends and family interred him in a cave. They then covered its entrance with a large rock to keep out predators. Christ told those present to remove the stone that covered the mouth of the cave. Martha objected that Lazarus’ body would have already begun to decay.

Jesus persisted, so “they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying” (verse 41). After a short prayer to His Father, Christ, in a loud voice, shouted, “Lazarus, come forth!”

From within the dark cave came the sounds of movement—and shortly the figure of a man struggling to walk appeared at the entrance. He was struggling because his body was still wrapped in the strips of linen cloths in which he had been interred!

“And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Loose him, and let him go.’ Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him” (verses 44-45).

Word of this remarkable event quickly reached the religious authorities in Jerusalem. Perceiving Jesus as a threat to their positions and the stability of the area, they plotted to do away with Him. Little did anyone realize the stage was being set for another death and resurrection.

An innocent man crucified

Around 3 o’clock on the afternoon of Passover day, the wishes of the hostile crowd were fulfilled. Jesus’ life was ended with the upward thrust of a Roman soldier’s spear. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, two less-well-known disciples, quickly went into action. Both of these men believed Jesus’ teachings, yet they kept it secret out of fear of what their fellow Jews might do to them.

Perhaps they were ashamed of their earlier reticence. But now they showed the courage to step forward and claim the body of Jesus Christ and begin preparing it for proper, but hasty, entombment. It was Joseph of Arimathea, who went to Pilate and asked for Christ’s body and offered his own new tomb as a place of burial. Nicodemus helped and contributed a vast amount of costly spices for His burial.

Since it was already around 3 o’clock in the afternoon, there was not much time before the “high day” (John 19:31), one of seven biblical annual Sabbaths (Leviticus 23), began. They had much to do before sunset, at which time all work would cease to honor the Sabbath. Perhaps these two wealthy men had servants who helped with the many things that would need to be done in the short time remaining.

“Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews’ Preparation Day [for the Sabbath], for the tomb was nearby” (John 19:40-42).

Jewish burial practices

Because of the hot climate and religious customs, the Jews of that day would bury their dead very quickly. They practiced neither cremation nor the Egyptian practice of embalming.

The poor would simply bury their dead in the ground, covering the grave with earth and stones. Others would use caves as a resting place for their dead, as happened with Lazarus. Those who could afford to would carve tombs in the sides of the many hills and mountains of the area. Such tombs would typically have several shelves carved in the stone on which the bodies of family members would be laid.

The body would normally be washed and then wrapped in a clean linen cloth or strips of cloth, similar to the way Egyptians wrapped their mummies. Families that were better off financially would put perfumes, ointment and spices on the body and between the wrappings of cloth. In some cases the spices and ointments would be thick enough to cause the outer cloths in time to harden somewhat like a cocoon.

Myrrh is specifically mentioned as being used in the preparation of Christ’s body. Myrrh is a very nice-smelling resinous substance from several types of trees in Arabia and North Africa. Usually a separate piece of cloth would be used to wrap the head of the deceased. If the death occurred just before a Sabbath, it was especially important that the body be taken to its resting place before the Sabbath began. They would not bury the dead on the Sabbath.

Mark mentions that the women bought the spices after the Sabbath, and Luke states they prepared the spices before the Sabbath.

Some of the women who followed Jesus also made plans to buy spices for the preparation of Christ’s body. They took note of His burial place and went to their homes to rest on the Sabbath. Again, this Sabbath was a high day (John 19:31), in this case the first day of Unleavened Bread, which fell on a Thursday that year. When the annual Sabbath was over, on the next day, Friday, they went into the city to purchase the spices and oils.

“And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses observed where He was laid. Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him” (Mark 15:47-16:1).

They spent the remaining time on this Friday preparing the spices for the anointing of Christ’s body. “Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment” (Luke 23:56).

Notice Mark mentions that the women bought the spices after the Sabbath and Luke states they prepared the spices before the Sabbath. There is no contradiction when we realize that there are two Sabbaths involved in this three-day period. After resting on the weekly Sabbath, Saturday, they went as early as possible to the tomb the next day.

An astounding discovery

When the women arrived at the tomb, they discovered the stone cover had been rolled back and the tomb was empty! They rushed to inform the other disciples. When they returned and saw the evidence of what had happened, they realized Jesus Christ had indeed been raised to a new life exactly as He had said would happen.

But what was this evidence? The most astounding discovery was not the empty tomb, nor the announcement of an angelic being that “He is not here, He has risen!” It was something else. Among the Gospel writers, only John records what that was. Let’s read it in John 20.

“Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been moved away from the entrance, and ran to Simon Peter, and the other disciple [John], the one whom Jesus loved. ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb,’ she said, ‘and we do not know where they have laid him.’

What Peter and John saw instantly convinced them not only that His body had not been stolen, but also that God the Father had raised Jesus to glory and immortality!

“So Peter and the other disciple set out and made their way to the tomb. They ran together, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and reached the tomb first. He peered in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not enter. Then Simon Peter caught up with him and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the napkin which had been round His head, not with the wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed” (verses 1-8, Revised English Bible).

What did the disciples see that made them believe? It wasn’t simply an empty tomb. If the body had been stolen, as Mary had assumed, all they would have seen was an empty tomb.

But there was more. Christ had told them several times that he would die and rise again, but it hadn’t sunk in. What Peter and John saw instantly convinced them not only that His body had not been stolen, but also that God the Father had raised Jesus to glory and immortality (Acts 3:13-15)!

Powerful evidence left behind

Christ’s wrapped body had been laid on a rock shelf in the tomb. Yards of linen cloths had been wrapped around His body. Spices and thick myrrh were placed inside those wrappings, essentially pasting them together. What Peter and John saw as they peered into the dimness of the man-made cave was a neat, collapsed cloth form. If someone had removed Jesus’ body, if tomb robbers had been at work, why should they leave these wrappings?

No tomb robber would have taken the time to laboriously unwrap the body and leave the burial cloths there—especially since they would have been in danger of being discovered by the guards the Roman authorities had posted there to prevent that very thing (Matthew 27:62-66; 28:11-15).

But there was more. The cloths were not scattered all around—they were still wrapped. This resurrection was not like Lazarus’, in which he was restored to live a few more years and would eventually die again. This was the resurrection of a spirit body (see 1 Corinthians 15:44).

What John saw made a profound impression on him. The grave-clothes were not disheveled and disarranged, as would have been the case if someone had removed them or someone had struggled to free himself from the wrappings. The original Greek wording means they were lying there still in their folds, the clothes for the body where the body had been and the “napkin,” a smaller, separate piece of cloth, where the head had lain.

The whole point of John’s description is that the grave clothes did not look as if they had been put off or taken off. They were lying there in their regular folds as if the body of Jesus had simply evaporated out of them. The sight suddenly penetrated John’s mind. He realized what had happened—and he believed. It was not what Jesus had said so often that convinced him that Jesus had risen. It was what he saw with his own eyes!

John’s convincing details

Notice this comment from Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words about Jesus’ head covering being “wrapped together in a place by itself” there in the tomb (John 20:7, King James Version): “‘Wrapped together’ might suggest that this cloth had been ‘rolled’ or wrapped up and put in a certain part of the tomb at the Lord’s resurrection, whereas, as with the body wrappings, the head cloth was lying as it had been ‘rolled’ round His head, an evidence, to those who looked into the tomb, of the fact of His resurrection without any disturbance of the wrappings either by friend or foe or when the change took place” (W.E. Vine, 1985, “Roll”). Jesus’ glorified body had passed right through the cloth!

This resurrection was not like Lazarus’, in which he was restored to live a few more years and would eventually die again.

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, in its article “Resurrection of Jesus Christ,” states: “Significantly, the grave clothes were undisturbed... Long ago, Chrysostom pointed out that the grave robbers would not have stolen the body naked because of time restraints and other difficulties (‘it was buried with much myrrh, which glues linen to the body not less firmly than lead. [Hom. 85 on Jn. 4]). The Gospels describe an orderly scene, not one of confusion that would have resulted had the grave clothes been torn from the body. That something extraordinary had taken place is shown by the fact that the beloved disciple ‘saw and believed’” (1988, Vol. 4, p. 151).

In a footnote on John 20:7, the Companion Bible explains that John’s original wording “implies that the cloth had been folded round the head as a turban is folded, and that it lay still in the form of a turban. The linen clothes also lay exactly as they were when swathed round the body. The Lord had passed out of them, not needing as Lazarus ([John] 11:44), to be loosed. It was this sight that convinced John (v. 8).”

We can share in Christ’s resurrection

The apostle John recorded significant and important differences in these two resurrections. In the first, the stone covering of the tomb was removed so that Lazarus could get out. The stone covering of the other was rolled back not so Jesus could get out, but so that the disciples could see in and witness that Jesus had already gotten out!

Of the two who were entombed, the first had to have others remove the wrappings so he could walk about. The other did not, for He had passed through His wrappings in a body of spirit.

Later John made it clear that Christ’s true followers will likewise be resurrected, that they will be like Him in a glorious resurrection to immortal spirit life: “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!... Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 John 3:1-3).

Lazarus lived with his two sisters in the little village of Bethany. They were close friends of Jesus of Nazareth, who often stayed with them when He visited Jerusalem.

But one day Lazarus became ill. "Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha ... Therefore the sisters sent to [Jesus], saying, 'Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick'" (John 11:1-3).

John describes this family as close, filled with love and peace. No doubt Christ enjoyed visiting these friends' home and relaxing after arduous journeys. Notice the sisters didn't even ask for Him to come. They knew that once He heard of Lazarus' illness He would journey to see His sick friend.

But Jesus didn't do what they expected. He deliberately waited (verses 6-7).

In the meantime, the illness claimed Lazarus' life. By the time Jesus arrived Lazarus had been dead at least four days. Martha, in her anguish, met Christ as He arrived. "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died." Christ responded to her in her grief by urging her to have faith and believe in Him. He even told her, "Your brother will rise again" (verses 21, 23). Martha responded that she knew Lazarus would "rise again in the resurrection at the last day" (verse 24). She was aware of God's promises of a resurrection at the end of this age. (To better understand the promised resurrections, request your free booklets What Happens After Death? and Heaven and Hell: What Does the Bible Really Teach?)

However, she did not understand that God would use her brother's death to glorify His Son, Jesus the Messiah. She did not believe she would ever see her brother again in this life.

Jesus again offered her encouragement. "I am the resurrection and the life" He told her. "He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" (verses 25-26).

Martha responded positively to some of what Jesus said: "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world" (verse 27). She may have been unsure about the rest of His meaning or what He was driving at. Regardless, she summoned her sister Mary, who was still mourning in their house.

When Mary came, "Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping." He "groaned in the spirit and was troubled. And He said, 'Where have you laid him?'" (verses 33-34).

As was a common practice at the time, Lazarus' friends and family interred him in a cave. Then they covered its entrance with a large rock to keep out predators. Christ told those present to remove the stone that covered the mouth of the cave. Martha objected that Lazarus' body would have already begun to decay.

Jesus persisted, so "they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying" (verse 41). After a short prayer to His Father, Christ, in a loud voice, shouted, "Lazarus, come forth!" (verse 43).

From within the dark cave came the sounds of movement, and shortly the figure of a man struggling to walk appeared at the entrance. He was struggling because his body was still wrapped in the strips of linen cloths in which he had been interred!
"And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, 'Loose him, and let him go.' Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him" (verses 44-45).

Word of this remarkable event quickly reached the religious authorities in Jerusalem. Perceiving Jesus to be a threat to their positions and the stability of the Roman-dominated province, they plotted to do away with Him. Little did anyone realize the stage was being set for another death and resurrection, one far more significant than that of Lazarus.

An innocent man crucified

Around 3 o'clock on the afternoon of Passover day, the demands of the hostile crowd were fulfilled. Shortly after Jesus breathed His last, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, two less-well-known followers of Jesus, quickly went into action. Both men believed Jesus' teachings, yet they kept their belief secret out of fear of what their fellow Jews might do to them.

Perhaps they were ashamed of their earlier reticence. But now they showed the courage to step forward and claim Jesus' body and begin preparing it for proper, but hasty, entombment. It was Joseph of Arimathea who went to Pilate and asked for Christ's body and offered his own new tomb as a place of burial. Nicodemus assisted Joseph and contributed a vast amount of costly spices for His burial.

Since it was already around 3 o'clock in the afternoon, there was not much time before the "high day" (John 19:31), one of seven biblical annual sabbaths (Leviticus 23), began. They had much to do before sunset, at which time they would cease work to honor that Sabbath.

"Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews' Preparation Day [for the Sabbath], for the tomb was nearby" (John 19:40-42).

Jewish burial practices

Because of the hot climate and reli-gious customs, the Jews of that day would bury their dead quickly. They practiced neither cremation nor the Egyptian custom of embalming.

The poor would simply bury their dead in the ground, covering the grave with earth and stones. Others would use caves as a place of entombment, as happened with Lazarus. Those who could afford to would carve tombs in the sides of some of the many hills and mountains of the area. Such tombs would typically have several shelves carved in the stone on which the bodies of family members would be laid.

A body would normally be washed and then wrapped in a clean linen cloth or strips of cloth, similar to the way Egyptians wrapped their mummies. Families that were better off financially would put perfumes, ointment and spices on the body and between the wrappings of cloth. In some cases the spices and ointments would be thick enough to cause the outer cloths in time to harden somewhat like a cocoon.

Myrrh is specifically mentioned as used in the preparation of Christ's body. Myrrh is a pleasant-smelling resinous substance from several types of trees in Arabia and North Africa. Usually a separate piece of cloth would be wrapped around the head of the deceased. If the death occurred just before a Sabbath, it was especially important that the body be taken to its resting place before the Sabbath began. The dead were not to be buried on the Sabbath.

Some of the women who followed Jesus also made plans to buy spices for the preparation of His body. They took note of His burial place and went to their homes to rest on the Sabbath. Again, this Sabbath was a high day (John 19:31), in this case the first day of Unleavened Bread, which fell on a Thursday that year. When the annual Sabbath was over, on the next day, Friday, they went into the city to purchase the spices and oils.

"And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses observed where He was laid. Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him" (Mark 15:47; 16:1).

The women spent the remaining time on this Friday preparing the spices for the anointing of Christ's body. "Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment" (Luke 23:56).

Notice that Mark mentions the women buying the spices after the Sabbath, and Luke states they prepared the spices before the Sabbath. There is no contradiction when we realize that two Sabbaths are involved in this three-day period. After resting on the weekly Sabbath, which ended Saturday at sunset, they went to the tomb the next morning to be there at first light. (To better understand the timing of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection-which were not on Friday and Sunday-request our free booklet Holidays or Holy Days: Does It Matter Which Days We Keep?)

An astounding discovery

When the women arrived at the tomb, they discovered the stone cover had been rolled back and the tomb was empty! They rushed to inform the other disciples. When they returned and saw the evidence of what had happened, they realized God had indeed raised Jesus Christ to a new life exactly as He had said would happen.

But what was the evidence? The most astounding discovery was not the empty tomb, nor the announcement of an angelic being proclaiming that "He is not here, He has risen!" It was something else. Among the Gospel writers, only John records what that was. Let's read it in John 20.

"Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been moved away from the entrance, and ran to Simon Peter, and the other disciple [John], the one whom Jesus loved. 'They have taken the Lord out of the tomb,' she said, 'and we do not know where they have laid him.'

"So Peter and the other disciple set out and made their way to the tomb. They ran together, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and reached the tomb first. He peered in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not enter. Then Simon Peter caught up with him and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the napkin which had been round His head, not with the wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed" (verses 1-8, Revised English Bible).

What did the disciples see that made them believe? It wasn't simply an empty tomb. If the body had been stolen, as Mary of Magdala had assumed, all they would have seen was an empty tomb.

But there was more. Christ had told them several times He would die and rise again, but that prophecy hadn't sunk in. What Peter and John saw instantly convinced them not only that His body had not been stolen, but that God the Father had raised Jesus to glory and immortality! (Acts 3:13-15).

Powerful evidence left behind

Christ's wrapped body had lain on a rock shelf in the tomb. Yards of linen cloths had been wrapped around His body. Spices and thick myrrh were placed inside those wrappings, essentially pasting them together.

What Peter and John saw as they peered into the dimness of the man-made cave was a neat, collapsed cloth form. If thieves had removed Jesus' body, if grave robbers had been at work, why should they leave these wrappings?

No tomb robber would have taken the time to unwrap the body and leave the burial cloths there, especially since they would have been in danger of being discovered by the guards the Roman authorities had posted there to prevent that very thing from happening (Matthew 27:62-66; 28:11-15).

But there was more. The cloths were not scattered; they were still wrapped. This resurrection was not like Lazarus', in which he was restored to live a few more years and would eventually die again. This was the resurrection of a spirit body (see 1 Corinthians 15:44).

What John saw made a profound impression on him. The grave clothes were not disheveled and disarranged, as would have been the case if someone had removed them or someone had struggled to free himself from the wrappings. The original Greek wording means they were lying there still in their folds, the clothes for the body where the body had been and the "napkin," a smaller, separate piece of cloth, where the head had lain.

The whole point of John's description is that the grave clothes did not look as if they had been discarded or taken off. They were lying in their regular folds as if the body of Jesus had simply evaporated out of them.

The sight instantly penetrated John's mind. He realized what had happened-and he believed. It was not what Jesus had said so often that convinced John that Christ had risen. It was what he saw with his own eyes!

John's convincing details

Notice this comment from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words about Jesus' head covering being "wrapped together in a place by itself" there in the tomb (John 20:7, King James Version): "... 'Wrapped together' might suggest that this cloth had been 'rolled' or wrapped up and put in a certain part of the tomb at the Lord's resurrection, whereas, as with the body wrappings, the head cloth was lying as it had been 'rolled' round His head, an evidence, to those who looked into the tomb, of the fact of His resurrection without any disturbance of the wrappings either by friend or foe or when the change took place" (W.E. Vine, 1985, "Roll"). Jesus' glorified body had passed right through the cloth!

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, in its article "Resurrection of Jesus Christ," states: "Significantly, the grave clothes were undisturbed ... Long ago, Chrysostom pointed out that the grave robbers would not have stolen the body naked because of time restraints and other difficulties ('it was buried with much myrrh, which glues linen to the body not less firmly than lead' [Hom. (homily) 85 on Jn. 4]). The Gospels describe an orderly scene, not one of confusion that would have resulted had the grave clothes been torn from the body. That something extraordinary had taken place is shown by the fact that the beloved disciple 'saw and believed' ..." (1988, Vol. 4, p. 151).

In a footnote on John 20:7, the Companion Bible explains that John's original wording "implies that the cloth had been folded round the head as a turban is folded, and that it lay still in the form of a turban. The linen clothes also lay exactly as they were when swathed round the body. The Lord had passed out of them, not needing as Lazarus ([John] 11:44), to be loosed. It was this sight that convinced John (v. 8)."

We can share in Christ's resurrection

The apostle John recorded significant and crucial differences in these two resurrections. In the first, the stone covering of the tomb was removed so Lazarus could get out. The stone covering of the other was rolled back, not so Jesus could get out, but so the disciples could see inside and then draw the inescapable conclusion that Jesus had already gotten out!

Of the two who were entombed, the first had to have others remove the wrappings so he could walk about. The other did not, for He had passed through His wrappings in a body of spirit.

Later John made it clear that Christ's true followers will likewise be resurrected, that they will be like Him in a glorious resurrection to immortal spirit life: "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! ... Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure" (1 John 3:1-3). GN

Just as Jesus had prophesied, He was dead and in the grave for 3 days and 3 nights, from just before sunset on Wednesday, to just around sunset on the Sabbath day. (Matthew 12:39-40)

In the evening after the first Holy Day of Unleavened Bread on Thursday, while Jesus had been in His tomb for one day, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices and ointments.

Upon the second day that Jesus was in His tomb, on Friday they mixed and prepared the spices and ointments to embalm Jesus. (Mark 16:1, Luke 23:56) 

Then they rested on the weekly Sabbath day, during the Days of Unleavened Bread, according to God's 4th Commandment. (Luke 23:56)

Around the end of the Sabbath day, God our Father then performed a wondrous miracle, by restoring Jesus Christ back to life from death. He caused another earthquake and then commanded a great angel roll back the heavy stone in front of Jesus tomb, so He could walk out.

The strong Roman centurion guards outside the tomb, were shocked and terrified to death, because the angel's appearance was like lightning with clothing white as snow.  (Matthew 28:2-4)

Jesus Christ was now resurrected to life again, but before Jesus left His tomb, He neatly folded the linen napkin shroud that had been on His head and left it in a separate place in the tomb, to His fallen linen body shrouds. (John 20:7)

"Jesus being the very First of the Firstfruits to be resurrected to life again, is very exciting for us to consider", says Grandad. 

"You see, it is so encouraging for us to realise God our Father raised Jesus from the dead to life again. Since our Father did that for Jesus His Son, so shall God resurrect many faithful human sons and daughters like us, into the Family of God, to live for eternity.

Isn't that wonderful to think about?"  (1 Corinthians 15:20, 1 Corinthians 15:23, James 1:18, Revelation 14:4)

"Yes, it is thrilling to think about", says Nanna.

"Christ's resurrection to life again, and being restored to the glory He previously had as God with God His Father from eternity, also fulfilled the ancient prophetic symbolism of the Wave Sheaf Offering, during the Days of Unleavened Bread." (Leviticus 23:10-15)

Early, just before the Sunday dawn the two Marys came to Jesus tomb, with their prepared spices to embalm Jesus with these lovely smelling aromatic oils. They were wondering to themselves, "who will roll back the huge stone", so we can enter to do the embalming. (Mark 16:2-5, Luke 24:1-2, John 20:1-2)

Can you imagine their surprise, when they arrived, to see that the huge stone to Jesus tomb had been rolled back already, and there were no soldiers there? 

When they rushed into the tomb they were met inside by an angel who said: "Don't be afraid. I know you are seeking Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, as He said. Come and see the place where the Lord Himself was lying. Go quickly and tell His disciples. He is already going before you into Galilee, and you will see Him." (Matthew 28:5-8)

So the women rushed out of the tomb and told Peter and John that Jesus was not in His tomb. They were very shocked and ran to the tomb. John was there first, just ahead of Peter and they both noticed the linen cloths Jesus had been wrapped in, were lying there, but His head napkin shroud was all folded neatly and lying separately from the other linen cloths. (John 20:2-10)

This reminded them of Jesus personal thoughtfulness for manners and loving care.

They felt stunned and amazed at what had happened, and left to walk home, but Mary Magdalene stayed, standing outside the tomb, weeping. As she turned her sad head to look into the tomb again, she saw two angels in white, who were sitting on the burial plinth, one where Jesus head had been and one where Jesus feet had been laid.

The Angels said to her kindly: "Woman, why are you weeping?"

Mary said: "Because they have taken away my Lord and I do not know where they have laid Him."

Then she turned around and saw a man standing near her, but Mary did not know at first that it was Jesus. She thought it might have been the gardener. So, she said: "Sir, if you have carried Him off, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away."

Jesus simply replied to her in His well known tone of voice: "Mary".

Startled, she turned to him and said: "Rabboni", which means 'Teacher'.

Jesus said to her: "Do not touch Me, because I have not yet ascended to My Father. But go to My brethren and tell them I am ascending to My Father and your Father and My God and your God." (John 20:11-18)

So, Jesus fulfilled the symbolism of the "wave sheaf offering".

Just as the High Priest in the Temple in Jerusalem was waving the "wave sheaf" omar of barley, so Jesus was presenting Himself as the First of the Firstfruits to his Father in heaven.

Meantime, Mary Magdalene was so excited, she rushed to tell the disciples she had seen Jesus.

The Roman soldiers who had been keeping watch on Jesus tomb, were paid a big bribe by the chief priests to say: "tell everyone that His disciples came by night and stole Him while you were sleeping." (Matthew 28:11-15)

Later that day, after Jesus had presented Himself to our Father in Heaven, Jesus came back down to Earth and began walking beside two disciples. One of them was named Cleopas, as they were walking towards Emmaus, which is nearly 8 miles (12km) from Jerusalem.

At first they did not recognize Jesus, but when He began to break bread at a late afternoon snack with them, their eyes were opened and they clearly saw it was Jesus, with them. Jesus then disappeared and these two disciples were so excited, they rushed to tell the disciples in Jerusalem, how they had been with Jesus and said: "In truth the Lord has risen!" (Luke 24:13-35, Mark 16:12-13)

Now, just as they were telling these things, suddenly Jesus Himself stood in their midst and said: "Peace be to you."  They were thrilled and shocked at the same time in their feelings, hardly believing what they were seeing with their own eyes.

Jesus showed them his hands and his feet where the nails had been driven through. One disciple named Thomas was not there with them and when they told him later that they had seen Jesus, Thomas did not believe them. (Luke 24:36-48, John 20:24-25)

Eight days later, the disciples were gathered together again and Thomas was with them.  Jesus suddenly appeared again and asked Thomas to put his finger in Christ's scars in His hands, feet and side where the spear had been thrust. Thomas was so startled and choked in surprise that all he could say was: "My Lord and my God."

The disciples knew Jesus Christ is God along with God our Father. This is the "true God". (1 John 5:20)

Later, on different occasions besides being seen by the Apostle Peter, and the other 11 Apostles, Jesus was seen by over 500 brethren at once. After that he was seen by His half-brother James and all of the other Apostles. (1 Corinthians 15:4-7, Matthew 28:16-17)

On one occasion Jesus cooked some fish and fresh baked bread in the hot coals of a fire on the beach, while the disciples were fishing offshore on the Lake of Galilee. He called out to them: "Do you have any food?" They answered: "No!" So, Jesus said: "Cast the net to the right side of the ship, and you shall find some."

"And do you know what happened then, our child?" says Grandad. "They cast their net on the right side of the boat, like Jesus told them, and guess what? There were so many fish in the net, that they didn't have the strength to haul the net in."

Then the Apostle John realised realised it was Jesus on the shore. Peter was so happy, he jumped off the ship and swam ashore to Jesus.

The rest of the disciples brought the ship to shore, dragging the huge net full of fish with them.

Jesus fed them with the beautiful meal of fish and bread He had baked in the hot coals of the fire.

After they had enjoyed a wonderful meal and talk, Jesus said to Peter: "Do you love (agape) Me more than these?"

"Agape" says Nanna, "is the beautiful Greek word that means 'unconditional total outgoing concern and love for God and our fellow human beings'. Paul describe this greatest height, breadth and depth of love in 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7."

Peter suddenly remembered how he had denied Jesus, in His time of torture before being crucified.

So, Peter choked a little bit and said: "Yes Lord you know I love (phileo) you."

"Phileo" says Grandad, is also a nice Greek word which means "brotherly love", but it is not as great a wonderful, unselfish love as "agape" is, because agape is the kind of deep love that God has for us, as Nanna described."

Jesus asked Peter again: "Peter, do you love (agape) Me?"

Again, the only level of love Peter could honestly bring himself to express to Jesus was "phileo", brotherly love, as he replied: "Yes Lord, you know that I love (phileo) you."

Jesus then persisted the third time, but this time Jesus wisely and deliberately lowered the level of love to "phileo", brotherly love, when He asked Peter: "Peter, do you love (phileo) me?"

Peter was now feeling deeply grieved that he had denied Jesus, three times, as he heard Jesus ask him the third time, but now lowering the level of love to "phileo" and not the deeper love of "agape".

So, Peter, feeling very emotional, could still only honestly say that he felt "phileo" for Jesus, as he replied: "Lord, you know all things. You know that I love (phileo) you."

Jesus encouraged Peter to take care of all the brethren in the Church, like as if he was a good shepherd looking after sheep and their lambs.

"Now, our child, there is something we can discover about Peter towards the end of his life, that many Christian people have never realised", says Grandad.

"Do you know what that is?

Well, it is very exciting and very encouraging for all of us, when we come to see it, and understand it, and live by it!

What am I talking about, I hear you ask?

It is the fact that at the end of Peter's life, in his 2 epistles of 1 Peter and 2 Peter, that Peter shows he had finally developed that great and deep level of "Agape" love for God and for fellow human beings, way above the level of "Phileo" love that he held in the past."

"So True!" says Nanna. "It is very exciting to see the deeper level of spiritual maturity that Peter had finally reached towards the end of his life, as we examine these 6 verses where "agape" is expressed by Peter 7 times, as the kind of Godly love we all need to develop.

Here are those "agape" verses in 1 Peter and 2 Peter, that are so important for us today, as a guide to develop "agape" in our lives":

1. 1 Peter 1:8  whom having not seen you love (agape). Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,

2. 1 Peter 1:22  Since you have purified your lives in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren (philadelphia), love (agape) one another fervently with a pure heart,

3. 1 Peter 2:17  Honor all people. Love (agape) the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.

4. 1 Peter 3:10  For he that will love (agape) life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:

5. 1 Peter 4:8  And above all things have fervent love (agape) among yourselves: for love (agape) shall cover the multitude of sins.

6. 2 Peter 1:7  to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love (agape).

"Agape, unselfish totally unconditional outgoing love for God and human beings is worth thinking about, isn't it?" says Grandad.

"Better still. Worth praying these inspired verses of Peter, on our knees, and asking God to help us develop this Godly level of Agape love, as Peter did in his life …don't you think?

Yes, I believe we are all agreed on this Godly "agape" love, aren't we?

May God bless us all in living "agape" love, in our lives, now."

To be continued in Chapter 22...