The Trial - Part 4

When: Saturday, April 8, 30 AD
Where: Hinnon Valley, Jerusalem, Judea

GUARD THE TOMB:

After 6 am on Saturday the Sabbath, a representative of the Chief Priest, and a representative of the Sadducees, went to the Fortress Antonia where Pilate was staying. The Passover had been celebrated and the Sabbath begun. They could afford to be "unclean" now.

During the night, some of the Sadducees had remembered that the charges against Jesus had included a reference to 'raising the temple on the third day'. One Sadducee knew enough about Jesus' teaching to suspect that Jesus may have been referring to his own "Pharisee resurrection". If Jesus' body were taken, then the disciples could claim that Jesus had been raised (that God had put a "stamp of approval" on what Jesus taught) and then would claim that Jesus was a true prophet. This would present serious problems because the Sanhedrin had found Jesus guilty of blasphemy and had Jesus condemned to death.

Therefore they met with Pilate. They requested a Roman guard to watch the tomb until Monday night. Pilate did not want to be bothered anymore with this situation, yet Pilate realized that this was important to the Sadducees. So Pilate agreed, on the condition that they pay each soldier their regular pay and a bonus. 'And, of course, there would be administrative fees as well'. Once the arrangements had been agreed on, the soldiers were instructed and dispatched.

When the soldiers arrived, they removed the stone enough to check that the body was still there. Then they replaced the stone. They found a place on the tomb, laid a cord across it and dripped hot wax onto the cord and the rock surface. Then, keeping the cord tight and straight, they repeated the process on the stone "door". So they sealed the "door" just as the "door" to the lion's den had been sealed when Daniel was put in. If any part of this seal were cracked or broken, it would indicate a violation of the tomb.

Then they set up camp nearby and settled down to "guard" the tomb.

Meanwhile the followers of Jesus honored the Sabbath, and rested.

 

When: 6 am, Sunday, April 9, 30 AD
Where: Hinnon Valley, Jerusalem, Judea

APPEARANCES AT THE EMPTY TOMB:

On Sunday morning, the first day of the week, at first light [around 5 am], Mary Magdalene and another woman staying in Bethany, collected the spices and other things they would need to do their duty preparing the body of Jesus. At sunrise it would have been about 36 hours since Jesus had been laid in the tomb, and at sunrise, the beginning of the third day [Friday evening, Saturday, and Sunday morning].

Mary Magdalene, and the other woman who had seen the body of Jesus taken into the tomb, had agreed to meet at the western gate at sunrise. It would take Mary and her companion less than 30 minutes to walk to Jerusalem, through the city, and to the gate just north of the three towers of Herod's palace.

Meanwhile, the women who had watched Joseph and Nicodemus roll the "door" stone into place, and who had then returned to Jerusalem to the house of the mother of Mark, knew that they could not get the stone rolled away from the "doorway". Since they had not been able to get a message to Mary in Bethany during the Sabbath, they planned to simply "pay their respects" outside the tomb. They left in plenty of time to arrive at the west gate by sunrise.

Just before sunrise [around 6 am] the two groups of women, met at the west gate. The women from Jerusalem informed Mary and the women from Bethany that after they had left on Friday, a very large stone had been rolled into place in front of the doorway to the tomb and that they had no idea how they could move it. They all agreed to continue to the tomb anyway.

As the sun broke over the hills to the east, there was another earthquake. The earthquake moved the stone door enough to allow entry, and a figure of a man appeared sitting on top of the stone "door" dressed in a robe as bright as the morning sun. The Roman guard passed out at the sight. Other tombs were also opened and bodies came out, and the revived persons went into Jerusalem.

When the women arrived at the tomb, they saw some Roman soldiers lying on the ground seeming to be unconscious. But they also saw that the stone "door" had been moved, and that there was now an opening in the doorway to the tomb. The man with bright clothes, sitting on the stone "door" said, 'you seek Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified!? He is not here. He has been raised. Come and see where he was laid.'

Mary, and the women from Bethany, with more courage then the Jerusalem women, looked inside. Inside they saw another man with bright clothes, sitting on the right side of the rock shelf where Jesus' body had been laid. The women lowered their heads. 'Why do you look for the living here among the dead?' the angel asked. 'Remember how he told you this would happen? Go and tell the disciples that Jesus has been raised and will meet them in Galilee.'

Mary, and the women from Bethany, went out and briefly told the others that the body was gone and that an angel told them that The Messiah had risen, but neglected to mention that they were to go to Galilee. Then they all left the garden. Mary and the Bethany group hurried back to Bethany to tell the disciples that were there, while the Jerusalem women returned to the home of Mark.

By 6:15 am the Jerusalem women were hurrying home when Jesus appeared to them in person. He knew that Mary had not mentioned the angel's instructions to go to Galilee and that they were so frightened that they did not intend to say anything to anyone.

Jesus greeted them. They recognized him immediately. He was just as they remembered. Jesus instructed them to tell the disciples in Jerusalem to go to Galilee and that he would meet them there. But when the women were alone again, the doubt returned and they decided to tell no one when they arrived back at the house. 'No one would believe us anyway.' And the disciples in Jerusalem did not receive the instruction to leave the city.

But Mary Magdalene, when she arrived in Bethany around 6:30 am, found many of the disciples were gathered. The women told what had happened and what had been said, and that they were to go to Galilee. The disciples dismissed the story as emotional nonsense. The women could not even agree with each other on the details of what "had happened".

As the group broke up, Mary Magdalene made a special plea to Peter and John to whom she was able to speak privately. 'I don't understand what has happened', she said. 'But I do know that the body is gone, and I don't know where it is. Please, go back with me and find out what has happened.'

Meanwhile, after the women had departed from the tomb, the guards regained consciousness. They found the stone "door" had been moved and that there was no body inside the tomb. They decided to report what they knew to their employers. So they went to the home of Caiphas and told him that they had seen the body, sealed the stone "door", and kept watch. Then an angel had struck them down, and now the stone "door" was moved and the body gone.

Caiphas assembled his "advisors" to discuss what to do. They decided that the best thing they could do was to maintain peace, and that allowing the true story of the guards to "get out", would cause confusion and arguments. So they paid each soldier a sizable amount of money to say that they had all fallen asleep. The "advisors" also agreed to pay off Pilate when he heard the story, because the guards knew that the penalty for sleeping on the job was death, and no amount of money was of any use if Pilate had them killed.

So Peter, John, and Mary set off from Bethany, to return to the tomb. They had to be careful. If they were recognized, the religious leaders might have them arrested. So they traveled to Bethphage, up onto the Mount of Olives, then down to the city, and through the gate, always keeping their faces down.

Once through the west gate they walked faster, past Golgotha and toward the garden and the tomb. Mary pointed out the tomb on the face of the western hill, and the men started to run. John outran Peter and around 7 am arrived first at the tomb. He bent down and looked in. He saw the ledge where the body was supposed to be, but saw only the linens.

Peter arrived, panting, and without hesitation, boldly entered. He noticed that the linens that had wrapped the body looked as though the body had just vanished and the clothes had collapsed. However the scarf that had covered the face of Jesus, lay in the correct place but, it lay rolled up off by itself. The whole thing made no sense to Peter. 'If grave robbers had taken the body', he said aloud to himself, 'why not take the linens? Why would they leave the wrappings?'

Then John entered behind Peter. He saw the same things. He heard Peter ask his questions out loud. But at that moment John put together what Mary had told them, the things he had now seen, and some of the things that Jesus had said, and BEGAN to perceive that this was some sort of really significant event. He still did not understand the details, but he began to believe that Jesus had been raised.

Peter and John turned around and went back outside. When they met Mary, Peter said, 'you were right, the body is gone'. Then Peter and John walked away from the entrance of the tomb. Seeing Mary was weeping, they told her that they would wait for her out of sight. Then they continued walking away while deep in conversation. Mary remained by the entrance of the tomb.

Mary felt troubled. She had noticed the expressions on the faces of Peter and John. Not the anger that she had expected, but instead there was confusion and concentration. What had they noticed? Mary dried her eyes and remained outside of the tomb. She was allowing herself time to grieve. She had loved Jesus as a teacher and friend, and her memories brought forth her tears again. Jesus was dead and gone.

Still weeping, Mary went to the entrance of the tomb and looked in. This time she saw two men in bright white robes. She rubbed her eyes. One sat beside where the head had been, and one sat where the feet had been on the preparation table.

'Why are you so sad?' asked one. To this messenger from God, she could organize only a simple response. 'They have taken my lord and I do not know where they have put the body.'

Receiving only silence from the messenger, she turned her back to the tomb and her face toward the risen sun. In front of her she saw the form of a man surrounded by the light of the sun. He also asked why she was so sad. Thinking that maybe this was the caretaker of the tombs, she repeated her request to find the body of Jesus.

But his response electrified her to the core. Her throat constricted when she heard the man say her name. Every fiber of her being responded to his voice, and the way he spoke her name. 'JESUS', her mind screamed. From her throat was ripped the title she had always used. 'Teacher,' she gasped. He was back! He was alive! Things would be as they were before [But she was wrong. Things had changed.].

Mary reached out to touch the "Teacher" who had so changed her life that it was as though she had died and been born a new woman. But Jesus looked her straight in the eyes. 'Mary. Do not cling to what I was. Things are not as they were, and they never will be again. Mary, tell my new brothers that I am going to be with our true Father.' When she hesitated to leave he gently said, 'go'. And she left and met Peter, and John, and then returned to Bethany, arriving before 8 am, and told those disciples everything.

When: 3 pm, Sunday, April 9, 30 AD
Where: Emmaus, Samaria

EMMAUS:

By 3 pm Cleopas, one of the followers who had joined the Bethany group, left for his home in the village of Emmaus [7 miles northwest of Jerusalem], with another disciple. He agreed to stop in at the upper room in Jerusalem to deliver the message that some of the Bethany gathering would join them in Jerusalem for the evening meal.

After Cleopas delivered the message, he, and his companion, continued their journey north toward Emmaus. They expected to arrive well before dark [after all it was only a two to three hour walk]. They were confused, and were discussing the events of the last few days in order to try to understand what had happened and what it meant for them and for Israel.

They passed many people on the road, and some even passed them because they were not in a hurry. They finally became aware that one man, who seemed to be walking at the same pace they were walking, seemed to be paying attention to their conversation. When Cleopas looked directly at the man, the man said, 'What is all this talk about this fellow Jesus?'

Of course they were surprised that anyone did not know about the turmoil and crucifixion. So they summarized for the stranger all the events related to the death of Jesus, and to the confusion following his death. But they confessed that they did not have the wisdom to understand what it all meant.

So The Christ, the Word of God, God's Wisdom made visible, enlightened their minds as to the meaning of these events that had been prophesied. Just as the sun remained in the sky an extra day to help Joshua see [in the nearby Valley of Aijalon], now the "Light of the World", took the time to began to dispel the spiritual darkness.

After walking north from Jerusalem for about an hour, they came to the crossroad where they needed to turn west to Emmaus. The stranger appeared to be planning to continue north toward Galilee, but Cleopas urged him to come to Emmaus, only an hour detour, and spend the night with him and his household. After all, the sun was about to set. So The Christ went with them and continued to enlighten them.

They were passing the village of Gibeon. It was in Gibeon that Solomon had made his request to God for Wisdom. Now God's Wisdom, as seen in the resurrected Christ, was enlightening these disciples.

After sundown, around 6 pm, supper was served at Cleopas' home in Emmaus. The stranger had earned the respect of all, for his wisdom. So the stranger began the meal with the "blessing over bread". He broke it and handed it to Cleopas. They suddenly realized that this stranger was no less then The Christ [Jesus returned]. Yet the moment they realized who he was, he was no longer physically present with them.

Now that they understood what had happened, they decided to immediately return to Jerusalem and tell the combined gatherings what had happened.

So it was about 6:30 pm when they grabbed a handful of food and began their return to Jerusalem, where they knew many Apostles and disciples would be meeting. It would still take them about two hours to make the journey, but when they arrived they were welcomed.

When: 8 pm, Sunday, April 9, 30 AD
Where: Upper room, Upper city, Jerusalem, Judea

FIRST APPEARANCE TO THE APOSTLES:

Members from both groups gathered in Jerusalem, in the upper room, that evening, though they were very much afraid that the religious leaders might want to arrest some of the more "well known" followers of Jesus. So they had the door closed and locked.

The folks that had gathered had very mixed feelings. Jesus had all but told them that he was the Messiah that would establish God's kingdom and then rule forever. But the religious leaders had turned him over to the Romans before Jesus could organize an army. Now he was dead. What could they do? They had been such fools to fall under the spell of such a fraud.

But what was all this talk about an empty tomb? Mary Magdalene, Mary the wife of Clopas, and other women claimed to have seen Jesus alive. Peter and James also claimed to have seen Jesus alive. Even Peter claimed that Jesus had appeared. What did all this mean? What should they do?

Suddenly, around 8 pm, there came a knock on the door. Everyone went silent and looked at each other. But when Cleopas came in, everyone was relieved. When Cleopas told his story, some got excited and again tried to come to an understanding of what all of this meant. Yet most still could not figure out what had happened.

They were about to settle down to eat when they became aware of a presence among them. Everyone backed away from it. Once again the room was suddenly quiet. Superstitious fear gripped many. What sort of spirit might this be? 'Shalom', it said. Immediately Cleopas recognized The Christ. 'Lord', he said. And then the room filled with whispers. Was this The Christ? What proof is there?

The "spirit", understood their concern and said, 'Look at my hands, feet and side, and be convinced.' And some were. 'It would have been better if you had faith enough to believe without proofs', said The Christ.

But some still believed The Christ to be a disembodied spirit, or an illusion, or a hallucination. So The Christ asked if he might join them at meal [because everyone knew that a spirit did not eat solid food]. And as they sat down to eat, The Christ did eat some fish.

Then The Christ tried to open their minds to understand some of what had happened and what must happen.

,,,,, Continues............