O
ne of Jesus’ followers was a rich man called Joseph of Arimathea. Pilate gave him Jesus’ body.
Joseph and his friend Nicodemus took Jesus’ body to a garden near Golgotha. They wrapped his body in clean linen cloths. Then they put him in a tomb that belonged to Joseph. The tomb had never been used before. It was cut out of the rock, like a cave. Joseph rolled a big stone in front of the entrance of the tomb. The day after Jesus died was the Sabbath day, so everyone stayed home. Early the next morning, Mary Magdalene and some of the other women went to the tomb. It was still dark, but Mary could see that the stone wasn’t in front of the entrance. Someone had moved the stone! Mary was frightened and ran back to the city. She said to Peter and John, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb! We don’t know where they have put him!” Peter and John ran to the tomb. John reached the tomb first but didn’t enter. When Peter arrived, they both went in and saw that Jesus wasn’t there. They only saw strips of linen, and the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head lay carefully folded, separate from the linen. They were sad because they didn’t understand that Jesus had risen from the dead. Peter and John went home again, but Mary stayed near the tomb. She was so sad that she began to cry. Then she looked into the tomb again and saw two angels sitting on the bench where Jesus’ body had been. They asked her, “Why are you crying?”
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