Paintings by Piero della Francesca, Bellini, Donatello, Fra Angelico, Paolo Uccello, Veit Stoss, Bramantino, Bellini, Cranach, Memling, Grünewald, Borgognone, Bruegel,
El Greco, Rubens, Rembrandt, Blake, He Qi
HE LIVES!
|
Compare the
different accounts
|
SCROLL DOWN FOR PAINTINGS
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Date: 1400's
Artist: Unknown illustrator of the 'Breviary (Book of Prayers) of Martin of Aragon, Spain
Comment: The reign of Martin, king of Aragon was a peaceful period in Spanish history, and this allowed the king to devote his energies to consolidating his kingdom from within. He assembled an impressive library, and one of the items in it was an imposing breviary which he had copied around 1398 in the Cistercian monastery of Poblet.
The calendar's distinctive illustrations were modeled on the luxurious Books of Hours produced for the French court, notably de Berry's 'Petites Heures'.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Date: 1440
Artist: Fra Angelico
Comment: Fresco showing the Resurrection of Christ, and the Women at the Tomb
Oh, to have been a Dominican
monk living in the Convent of San Marco, Florence in the late 15th
century. The walls of the monastery's dormitories and cells were
painted with wonderful scenes from the life of Christ, so that the
silence of monastic life was flooded instead with thoughts of Jesus
Christ.
This painting of the Resurrection of Christ, and the Women at the Tomb
was painted during the artist's stay in the convent, 1436-46.
The figures are arranged with simple formality, and yet it would be
wrong to think there was a lack of sophistication: Fra Angelico is
intent only on his subject, and he does not distract the viewer with
unnecessary details.
The grace and dignity of the women does not conceal their grief; they
turn for some explanation to the figure of the angel who should, by its
nature, be physically insubstantial but instead has a sort of reassuring
solidity and authority. Dominic prays, head bowed and eyes
lowered.
The Risen Christ watches over them all.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Uccello
was also a gifted mathematician. He designed this small stellated
dodecahedron ( a polyhedron with twelve faces) in about 1430. The mosaic
appears in the San Marco Cathedral in Venice. According to Plato, the
design of the universe was based on the dodecahedron.
Date: 1443
Artist: Paolo Uccello
Comment: Stained glass window in the Duomo, Florence
Paolo Uccello was born in
Florence in 1397, lived and painted there most of his life, and died
there in 1475. That is what I call being in the right place at
the right time.
He was famous for his interest in perspective, influencing many of his
more famous successors. You can see a love of geometric form in many of
his works, which have an almost Cubist feel about them.
The radiant figure of Christ in the Duomo's glass window transcends
mortality, seeming to float above the open coffin. There are touches of
strong green here and there - green being the sacred liturgical color of
new life.
The sleeping soldiers on each side of the window are condittieri,
usually hired foreign soldiers used extensively in the Italian wars of
the period - in preference to the burgher troops who were unfitted for
anything but defense.
As time went on these condittieri gained
more and more of the trade union spirit, seeing it was in their own
interest to make fighting as bloodless as possible. Pitched battles
between gorgeously arrayed forced would sometimes last for hours with
hardly a casualty on either side, and they became notorious for breaking
more lances than limbs. Uccello pokes gentle fun at soldiers by placing
two of them, asleep, at the greatest event in Christian history.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Date: 1463
Artist: Piero della Francesca
Comment: The Resurrection fresco, Pinacoteca Comunale, Sansepolcro
The soldiers in this
painting are quite different to the ones Uccello presented (above) in
his stained glass window. They are strong men bored with the task they
must perform - very human, in fact.
But the painting does show della Francesca's mastery of anatomy. The
brown-torsoed figure is especially interesting, both for his wonderfully
painted physique and the vacancy of his sleeping face - a face that only
a mother could love.
The painting also shows della Francesca's innovative use of
foreshortening - notice the realism of Jesus' left leg and foot as he
hoists himself out of the tomb. This Christ-man ,the painter seems to
say, is not an ethereal being who floats above us but a real, solid
human being.
The Risen Jesus has an uncompromising, determined expression. He
looks the viewer squarely in the face. What is more, he raises a
standard with his right hand, squaring his shoulders as if to lead his
followers into battle.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Date: 1465
Artist: Donatello
Comment: bronze
pulpit, with its three panels showing (left) Christ in Limbo, (center) the Resurrection, and (right) the
Ascension of Christ.
Christ was believed to have descended into Limbo after his death. Only
after his death would these waiting souls be allowed into Heaven. At
their forefront is John the Baptist, reaching out to Jesus.
This extraordinary piece of
church furniture was produced right at the end of Donatello's life - it
may well have been the last thing he did. There is some dispute, in
fact, about whether it was his, or merely the work of his apprentices,
but the center section of the Resurrection is generally held to be his
own work.
Donatello liked to explore the psychological undercurrents of an event
(see his tortured sculpture of the penitent Mary Magdalene at BIBLE
ART: MARY MAGDALENE), and he does so here.
In the central panel the figure of Jesus towers over the sleeping
soldiers, dominating them as they dream unconscious of his power. He
towers too above their discarded instruments of torture, and the
scorpion-embossed shield that lies beside one of them - the scorpion of
course being an emblem of Death.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Date: 1475
Artist: Giovanni Bellini, The Resurrection
Comment: The central focus of worship in a medieval Catholic church was the altar. Here the priest consecrated the bread and wine so that it became the Body and Blood of Christ. Immediately after the bread had been consecrated, he lifted it high, so that all the members of the congregation could see it.
Now imagine the drama of this scene played against the backdrop of Bellini's 'Resurrection', an altarpiece standing immediately behind the altar. As the priest raised the Host towards heaven, his action was echoed by the figure of Christ, rising heavenward from his tomb. The parallel could not have been more obvious. The image echoed what was happening in the Mass.
This was reinforced by subtle parallels in the painting. The shape of the coffin of Jesus was similar to the altar's design; on the altar itself lay a white cloth not unlike the now-discarded shroud; and a dawn sky, with budding twigs on the trees, hinted at renewal in Nature. Even some cheeky rabbits, symbols of new life, gamboled at Jesus' feet.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Date: 1477 - 1489
Artist: Veit Stoss
Comment: 'Resurrection'. This wooden carving is one of the panels of the extraordinary altarpiece in the Church of Our Lady, Cracow. The huge triptych (42' high by 36' wide) stands behind the main altar, and was carved by the German sculptor and wood carver, Veit Stoss. The entire carving is shown below. The Resurrection scene is in to top right corner.
In the carving, Jesus seems to leap nimbly from the tomb. The alteration in his bodily state is suggested by the unopened coffin lid, through which his body has passed. The soldiers are dressed in 15th century armor and clothing, and they carry lethal crossbows and clubs.
The magnificence of Stoss' altarpiece is apparent in the lower photograph. Twelve years in the making, the altar dominated the Church of Our Lady. The two side panels could be closed, and may only have been opened for the celebration of Holy Mass.
(Right) During the German occupation of Poland in the Second World War, the Veit Stoss Altar was removed to Germany. The photograph shows American soldiers carefully loading the Altar, for return to Poland in 1946, after the end of the war.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Date: 1490
Artist: Bramantino
Comment: The Resurrected Christ
Bramantino (circa 1465-1535) was a Lombard painter and architect whose real name was Bartolomeo Suardi. His works were noted for their fine architectural backgrounds - though there is little evidence of this in 'The Resurrected Christ'. If anything, it is the face, body and cloak that have an architectural quality, evidence of careful draughtsmanship.It seems to me that
Bramantino was trying to capture the image of a perfect man - perfect in
form, in intellect, and in compassion.
At the same time, his 'Resurrected Christ' is a man who has passed
through death and is now detached, no longer part of the world that we,
the Living, inhabit.
The cloak that Jesus wraps around himself has an almost metallic sheen
to it, mirroring the pallor of the skin. And yet when you look at the
painting, you notice that the face itself has quite a different color to
it, as if there is more life in it than there is in the body.
The skin is luminously pale, unearthly, even though it shows the marks
of violence and the raised veins of a living body. The eyes are sad,
looking through and past the viewer. They are the eyes of someone who is
somewhere else. These eyes have seen things the Living have not seen.
They are disquieting, perhaps because they make the viewer seem
irrelevant.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Date: 1490
Artist: Hans Memling
Comment: The critics pour mild scorn on Memling because he was, they say, a copier of other artists' styles, and produced nothing unique to himself. This seems to miss the point. Memling's portraits of the human face were superb - sensitive and subtle. But his main achievement was that he could suggest a spiritual world similar to our own, but somehow Other.
The three panels in this
painting show the Resurrection (central), the martyrdom of St Sebastian
(left) and the Ascension (right).
The Resurrection scene needs little explanation: the Risen Christ steps
from the tomb while the soldiers sleep on, unaware of what has happened.
The left panel shows St Sebastian stripped of his clothes and looking
rather glum as he is shot through with arrows - he has been condemned to
death by the emperor Diocletian because of his faith in Christ. His
execution was carried out by his fellow soldiers - no doubt as a warning
to them not to follow him in his disloyalty to the Roman State.
The right panel shows Mary, mother of Jesus and the disciples watching
as the Risen Jesus ascends into the sky, leaving them forever. As a
small child I wondered if this meant the disciples could see up under
Jesus' robes - a thought I instantly regretted, fearing I might be
plunged into hellfire for such disrespect. Do admit, however: the
dangling feet of Jesus in Memling's painting seem a little odd.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Date: 1510
Artist: Ambrogio de Stefano Borgognone
Comment: Serenity. Acceptance. Calm. A delicate naturalism. And a certain sadness. These were the qualities that Borgognone presented in his painting of the Risen Christ.
The God/Man he shows is no longer tormented by the cares of his turbulent life. He has passed beyond this, into his glory.
Borgognone painted at roughly the same time as
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Date: 1510
Artist: Matthias Grünewald
Comment: The Resurrection panel from the Isenheim Altarpiece
This image of the Resurrection is part of the Isenheim Altarpiece from the chapel of St Anthony's Monastery in Isenheim, Alsace. It formed a large carved backdrop behind the altar, with two sets of folding wings.
The first view,
with the folding panels closed, is of the Crucixion (you can see
detailed images
of this harrowing masterpiece at
BIBLE
ARCHAEOLOGY: CRUCIFIXION).
The panel shows the twisted, bloody figure of Jesus on the cross,
flanked on the left side by his mother Mary who is supported by the
apostle John. Beside them, collapsed on the ground, is the pitiful
figure of Mary Magdalene. On the right stands John the Baptist pointing
to Jesus: this is the Messiah whom John foretold. At Jesus' tortured
feet stands a lamb - symbol of the sacrificial Lamb of God who now hangs
on the cross.
But when the wings of the altarpiece are opened, an altogether different sight greets the viewer, now dazzled by a blaze of golden light. Three panels have appeared, showing the Annunciation, the Concert of Angels, and the Resurrection. Unlike the outer ones, these inner panels are suffused with light.
The drama of this light is especially obvious against the dark night sky in the background of the Resurrection scene. Grünewald's message? Christ brings light to the world.
Tellingly, the soldiers in Grünewald's painting are not asleep. They writhe away from the brilliance emanating from Jesus, as if it causes them physical pain. Their eyes are dazzled, and they themselves are overwhelmed. Their armor and elaborately quilted tunic offer no protection now.
Above them, the serene and enigmatic Jesus hovers, weightless in his ethereal body. Only his punctured hands, extended towards the viewer, remind one of the torment he has so recently endured.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Date: undated, but may be circa 1560
Artist: Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Comment: The Resurrection of Christ, a drawing
This drawing captures the earthiness of earth better than any drawing I've ever seen. The dark opening of the tomb/sepulcher seems about to crumble away, and one can almost smell the dank odor coming out its gaping mouth.
The angel, defying gravity, hovers above the teetering stone that has, despite its size, been rolled quite a distance from the opening.
At first sight, there seems no sign of Christ, but closer examination shows him hovering above the angel, weightless in his resurrected body. The women, newly arrived on the scene, look up towards the angel, while the soldiers wake from their sleep and gather their wits as best they can.
The drawing is full of human activity - there is a certain confused busyness about the foreground scene that sums up what it means to be alive and human.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Date: 1577
Artist: El Greco
Comment: The Resurrection, Toledo
El Greco was the ideal painter for fervently Catholic Spain - and indeed for the famously enigmatic Spanish mind. His works are multi-layered, combining an almost Byzantine mysticism, which he soaked in from his native Crete, and the rich brooding colors of Venetian Mannerism.
El Greco was able to express the essence of all great Spanish art: subtle sensuality, sophistication, and unique emotional intensity.
His resurrected Christ seems to emerge out of a stormy, threatening sky - though it must be admitted that stormy skies are common in many of El Greco's works.
The gold surround of this work is a poor choice, since it overwhelms the
painting itself. But it is interesting that someone has
(inadvertently?) chosen this model of a pagan Greek temple to
surround an image of Christ's Resurrection.
A hidden agenda?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Date: 1611 and 1616
Artist: Rubens
Comment: (1) The Resurrection of Christ
(2) Christ Risen
Rubens contributed more than any other Flemish master to the formation of the Baroque style of the seventeenth century. His works are vivid, dramatic and frankly sensual, glorying in the beauty of the human form. They are colorful, generous, voluptuous, expansive - all the qualities of the best Baroque art and music.
In both the two canvases opposite, the figure of Christ dominates the space. There is nothing ethereal and other-worldly here, but a male human body in all its beauty. A god, in fact, and a triumphant one at that.
Compare Christ's body in both these paintings with the sketch for 'The Lamentation', also painted by Rubens at about this time. He has obviously used the same model, which makes the contrast interesting. But he has also managed to capture the difference between a living and a dead body - the one charged with energy (as in the two paintings at left) and the other so flaccid that the viewer can almost feel the cold damp flesh.
The vigor of the living body of Christ in the two paintings at left is heightened by Rubens' masterly use of light and shadow. The dark areas in the paintings are uncannily empty, threatening, but Christ's body pulses with light. This clever contrast of light and dark were almost certainly inspired by Rubens' encounter in Italy with the works of Caravaggio. Rubens drew on what he had learnt there throughout the rest of his career.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Date: 1635
Artist: Rembrandt van Rijn
Comment: The Resurrection
What could be more different to Rubens' paintings of the Risen Jesus (above)? Here in Rembrandt's painting Christ is pure light radiating out of the darkness of the tomb, a theological statement rather than a physical one. In the face of this light, the human beings in the painting tumble into a confused group.
Rembrandt, perhaps the most famous Dutch painter of the 17th century and one of the greatest in all Europe, was using the same technique that Caravaggio used with such success: a strong light overcaming the darkness around it.
The 1630's was a particularly prosperous time for Rembrandt. He married Saskia van Uylenburgh, the wealthy niece of an art dealer, and they had four children, only one of whom survived. His firstborn son was born and died in the year 'The Resurrection' was painted. The idea of Christ's conquest over Death may have seemed especially relevant to Rembrandt at this painful time, since he was deeply religious and a devoted family man.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Date: 1805
Artist: William Blake
Comment: Angels Rolling away the Stone from the Sepulchre
We are inside the tomb with Jesus as life returns to his body. Two angels guard him while a third steps forward to open the door of the tomb. The stone has been rolled away and the viewer sees past the angel into the chilly outside world. It is in darkness, waiting for Christ's light.
This is an unusual view. Artists almost always present the Risen Christ from outside the tomb, either looking into the tomb or watching Christ as he emerges. You can see the interior of a real 1st century tomb at BIBLE ARCHAEOLOGY: TOMBS AND CATACOMBS.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Date: 1867
Artist: Nikolay Gay
Comment: Harbingers of the Resurrection, Moscow
View the enlarged computer image (click on image at left) of this painting from the side, rather than front on. You will get a better idea of the depth in the foreground of the original painting.
Gay was a brilliant thinker and painter who was, in his later paintings, out of step with his times. His first paintings were nice safe conventional scenes - 'Solomon's Judgement' for example is indistinguishable from hundreds of other religious paintings being done at the time. As Gay aged, however,he began to produce works that were savage, distraught and deeply offensive to many people. His 'Christ and Pilate' (1890) was banned as blasphemous, and his 'Crucifixion' was more harrowing and realistic than people wanted to see.
'Harbingers of the Resurrection' is somewhere in between. The sky and the angel both throb with life, but they fail to light up the soldiers and the dark fortress at the right of the picture. They are harbingers only, not the real thing - that is about to happen.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Date: 1886
Artist: James J. Tissot. Held by the Brooklyn Museum, but not on view. A pity.
Comment: Angel seated on the stone of the tomb, watercolor
My reading of this picture is that the gloriously ethereal angel is standing (floating?) in the antechamber of the tomb. This angel is clothed in classical draperies, and has a double set of quite realistic wings. Behind the angel is a large flat shape which must be the stone, now rolled away from the entrance.
Inside the tomb itself two (I count four wing tips on the far left of the picture) other angels sit, waiting on Jesus.
Tissot did paint a picture of the Resurrection but it is not one of his best, to say the least, and is not included here.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Date: 1920l
Artist: Theodor Baier
Comment: 'The Resurrection'
Oh, dear. Jesus looking vaguely like Prince Albert or some other respectable Victorian gentleman just out of his bath. I can't see the Roman authorities in Jerusalem being overly concerned about this fellow. And a pink shroud?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Date: 1957
Artist: Michel Ciry
Comment: The Risen Christ, Paris
How far this is from the triumphant medieval paintings of the Resurrected Christ. What a dramatic contrast to the Christ-figures of Rembrandt or della Francesca. The difference perfectly illustrates the changed image of Christ that exists in today's world.
The twentieth century has seen a de-mythologizing of Christian beliefs. Jesus' humanity has been emphasized at the expense of his divinity - indeed people often find it difficult to understand what is meant by the 'divinity' of Christ. The idea of the 'historical Christ' has taken a firm hold of the modern mind, at the expense of Jesus as God.
21st century people find it almost impossible to deal with mythic or symbolic thinking. Modern faith in science and rational thinking means that everything has to be 'provable fact'. If it is not, it is given no credence.
Hence a 20th century Risen Christ who looks very like Dan, the man in the Deli.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Date: 1998
Artist: Arcabas (Jean-Marie Pirot)
Comment: Resurrection, St Paul de Meythet Church
Modern religious art at its best - stylish, dramatic, relevant. Note the large scale of the painting - compare it with the altar furniture in front of it.
This is a painting that demands attention, and deserves it. The Risen Jesus is being mobbed by angels, but his calm figure dominates them and the altar space. Arcabas' message is clear: Christianity is about life, not death.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Date: 1998
Artist: Frederick Hart
Comment: Christ Rising, bronze statue
Hart has captured a sense of weightlessness for the body of Jesus - it seems to float in space, transcending its own humanity. The body is reminiscent of Donatello's 'David' - there is the same slim vulnerability in the figure, the same sense of grace.
The position of the body, with arms outstretched, reminds the viewer of the Crucifixion, as if both events are inextricably connected, and one is simply a necessary extension of the other.
Click on this thumbnail to
see an extraordinary photograph of a detail of Frederick Hart's 'Christ
of the Millenium'
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Date:
Artist: Carl Heinrich Bloch
Comment: 'The Resurrection'
Carl Bloch was a well-known and popular Danish artist in the 19th century. He painted a series of works on the Life of Christ, which are now housed in the Frederiksborg Palace, Denmark.
His paintings would not please art aficionados today - the figures in them are too clean, calm and European. They do not express the gritty reality of Jesus' life, but rather an ideal of what it might have been. This does not cater to the 21st century's craving for an historical reality. But the best of them are quite beautiful, as this example shows.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Date:
Artist: He Qi
Comment: Easter Morning
He Qi is one of the most popular modern painters of religious themes.
Here a triumphant Christ raises his hand as a signal that he has conquered the demons of darkness, who now flee from him.
The women have not yet woken properly, and seem unaware of what has happened. Instead of the unfurled military-style banner often held by Christ in earlier paintings, He Qi's Christ carries a luminous lily.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Artist: Simon Dewey
Comment: 'He Lives'
This sort of realistic painting, showing a triumphant Christ, is disparaged by the Art cognoscenti. Despite this, it is very popular, and in fact Simon Dewey is one of the most visible religious artists of the late 20th century.
It's message is strong and direct: Christ is risen, he is the Savior.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
EXTRA WEBSITES: stories, photographs, reconstructions
Artworks on Mary Magdalene and the Resurrection story BIBLE PEOPLE: MARY
Real tombs from 1st century Palestine BIBLE ARCHAEOLOGY: TOMBS AND CATACOMBS
Tending to the dead in the time of Jesus DEATH AND BURIAL
Artworks about that other resurrection THE RAISING OF LAZARUS
FOUR
ACCOUNTS OF
THE RESURRECTION
GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, CHAPTER 28
- After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
- Suddenly there was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.
- His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow.
- The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
- The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.
- He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.
- Then go quickly and tell his disciples: `He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you."
- So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.
- Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him.
- Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."
- While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened.
- When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money,
- telling them, "You are to say, `His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.'
- If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble."
- So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.
GOSPEL OF MARK, CHAPTER 16
- When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body.
- Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb
- and they asked each other, "Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?"
- But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away.
- As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.
- "Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.
- But go, tell his disciples and Peter, `He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.'"
- Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.
- When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons.
- She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping.
- When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.
GOSPEL OF LUKE, CHAPTER 23 & 24
- Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.
- On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.
- They found the stone rolled away from the tomb,
- but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
- While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.
- In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead?
- He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee:
- The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.'"
- Then they remembered his words.
- When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others.
- It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles.
- But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.
- Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.
GOSPEL OF JOHN, CHAPTER 20
- Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.
- So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!"
- So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb.
- Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.
- He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in.
- Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there,
- as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen.
- Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.
- (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)
- Then the disciples went back to their homes,
- but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb
- and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
- They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?" "They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him."
- At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
- "Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?" Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him."
- Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).
- Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, `I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"
- Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Bible
Stories: People of
the New Testament -
Bible Study Resource: Jesus and the Resurrection, Mary Magdalene, Easter
morning