A
RESURRECTION ROSARY
Compiled
from Knox-Cox “The Gospel Story”
(combining
extracts from: Matthew, Mark,
Luke, John,
Acts)
The
Empty Tomb
And when the sabbath was over, early in the morning on the first day of the week, while it was
still dark, Mary the mother of James, and Salome had
bought spices, to come and anoint Jesus.
And suddenly there was a great trembling of the
earth, because an angel of the Lord came to the place, descending from heaven,
and rolled away the stone and sat over it; his face shone like lightning, and
his garments were white as snow; so that the guards trembled for fear of him,
and were like dead men.
So they came to the tomb very early on the day
after the sabbath, at sunrise. And they began to question among themselves, Who
is to roll the stone away for us from the door of the tomb?
Then they looked up, and saw that the stone,
great as it was, had been rolled away already. They went into
it, and could not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
So Mary Magdalen came running to Simon Peter,
and that other disciple, whom Jesus loved; They have carried the Lord away from
the tomb, she said to them, and we cannot tell where they have taken him.
The women were still puzzling over this, when two men came
and stood by them, in shining garments. As they bowed their faces to the earth
in fear, the young man seated on the right, in the
tomb, said openly to the women, You need not be
afraid; I know well that you have come to look for Jesus of Nazareth, the man
who was crucified.
Why are you seeking one who is alive, here among the dead? He has risen
again, he is not here. Here is the place where they laid him. Remember
how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, The Son of Man is to be given
up into the hands of sinners, and to be crucified, and to rise again the third
day.”
You must go in haste, and tell Peter and the rest of his disciples that he has risen from the dead; and now he is going on before you
into Galilee, where you shall have sight of him, as
he promised you. That is my message to you.
So they came out and ran away from the tomb,
trembling and awe-struck, and said nothing to anyone, out of fear.
Then they remembered what he had said, and brought news of
all this to the eleven apostles and to all the rest; but to their minds the
story seemed madness, and they could not believe it.
The
Resurrection
And while they were on their way, Peter and the other disciple both set out, and made their way to
the tomb; they began running side by side, but the other disciple outran Peter,
and reached the tomb first. He looked in and saw the linen sheet lying there,
but he did not go in.
Simon Peter, coming up after him, went into
the tomb and saw the linen sheet lying there, and also the chinband which had
been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen sheet, but folded up in a place
by itself.
Then the other disciple, who had reached the
tomb first, also went in, and saw this, and learned to believe. They had not
yet mastered what was written of him, that he was to rise from the dead. The
disciples went back home, full of surmise over what had befallen.
But Mary stood outside before the tomb,
weeping. And she bent down, still weeping, and looked into the tomb; and saw
two angels clothed in white sitting there, one at the head, and the other at
the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
They said to her, Woman, why are you weeping?
Because they have carried away my Lord, she said, and I cannot tell where they
have taken him.
Saying this, she turned round, and saw Jesus
standing there, without knowing that it was Jesus.
Woman, Jesus said to her, why are you weeping?
For whom are you searching? She supposed that it must be the gardener, and said
to him, If it is you, Sir, that have carried him off, tell me where you have
put him, and I will take him away.
Jesus said to her, Mary. And she turned and
said to him, Rabboni (Master).
Then Jesus said, Do not cling to me thus; I
have not yet gone up to my Father's side. Return to my brethren, and tell them
this; I am going up to him who is my Father and your Father, who is my God and
your God.
So Mary Magdalen went
and gave the news to those who had been of his company, where they mourned and
wept, of how she had seen the Lord, and he had
spoken thus to her. And they, when they were
told that he was alive and that she had seen him, could not believe it.
The
Road to Emmaus
It was on the same day that two of them were walking to a
village called Emmaus, seven miles away from Jerusalem, discussing all that had
happened.
They were still conversing and debating together, when Jesus
himself drew near, and began to walk beside them; but their eyes were held
fast, so that they could not recognize him; he appeared in the form of a stranger.
And he said to them, What talk is this you exchange between
you as you go along, sad-faced? And one of them, who was called Cleophas,
answered him, What, are you the only pilgrim in Jerusalem who has not heard of
what has happened there in the last few days?
What happenings? he asked; and they said, About Jesus of
Nazareth, a prophet whose words and acts had power with God, and with all the
people; how the chief priests, and our rulers, handed him over to be sentenced
to death, and so crucified him.
For ourselves, we had hoped that it was he who was to
deliver Israel; but now, to crown it all, to-day is the third day since it
befell. Some women, indeed, who belonged to our company, alarmed us; they had
been at the tomb early in the morning and could not find his body; whereupon
they came back and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said that
he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb, and found that
all was as the women had said, but of him they saw nothing.
Then he said to them, Too slow of wit, too dull of heart, to
believe all those sayings of the prophets! Was it not to be expected that the
Christ should undergo these sufferings, and enter so into his glory? Then,
going back to Moses and the whole line of the prophets, he began to interpret
the words used of himself by all the scriptures.
And now they were drawing near the village to which they
were walking, and he made as if to go on further; but they pressed him, Stay
with us, they said; it is towards evening, and it is far on in the day. So he
went in to stay with them.
And then, when he sat down at table with them, he took
bread, and blessed, and broke it, and offered it to them; whereupon their eyes
were opened, and they recognized him; and with that, he disappeared from their
sight.
And they said to one another, Were not our hearts burning
within us when he spoke to us on the road, and when he made the scriptures
plain to us?
Rising up there and then, they went back to Jerusalem, where
they found the eleven apostles and their companions gathered together, now
saying, The Lord has indeed risen, and has appeared to Simon. And they told the
story of their encounter in the road, and how they recognized him when he broke
bread; but they
did not believe them either.
The
Appearances to the Apostles
And now it was evening on the same day, the
first day of the week; for fear of the Jews, the disciples had locked the doors
of the room in which they had assembled. While they were
speaking of this, as
they sat at table, Jesus himself came, and stood there in the midst
of them; Peace be upon you, he said.
They cowered down, full of terror, thinking that they were
seeing an apparition. What, he said to them, are you dismayed? Whence come
these surmises in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet, to be assured that
it is myself; touch me, and look; a spirit has not flesh and bones, as you see
that I have. And as he spoke thus, he showed them his hands and his feet and his side.
Once more Jesus said to them, Peace be upon
you; I came upon an errand from my Father, and now I am sending you out in my
turn. With that, he breathed on them, and said to them, Receive the Holy
Spirit; when you forgive men's sins, they are forgiven, when you hold them
bound, they are held bound.
There was one of the twelve, Thomas, who was
not with them when Jesus came. And when the other disciples told him, We have
seen the Lord, he said to them, Until I have seen the mark of the nails on his
hands, until I have put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand
into his side, you will never make me believe.
So, eight days afterwards, once more the
disciples were within, and Thomas was with them; and the doors were locked.
Jesus came and stood there in their midst; Peace be upon you, he said.
Then he said to Thomas, Let me have your
finger; see, here are my hands. Let me have your hand; put it into my side.
Cease your doubting, and believe. Thomas answered, You are my Lord and my God.
And Jesus said to him, You have learned to believe, Thomas, because you have
seen me. Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have learned to believe.
Jesus appeared to his disciples again
afterwards, at the sea of Tiberias. Simon Peter was there, and with him were
Thomas, Nathanael, and two more of his disciples. Simon Peter told them, I am going
out fishing; and they went out and embarked on the boat, and all that night
they caught nothing.
But when morning came, there was Jesus
standing on the shore; only the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Have
you caught anything, friends, Jesus asked them, to season your bread with? And
when they answered No, he said to them, Cast to the right of the boat, and you
will have a catch. So they cast the net, and found before long they had no
strength to haul it in, such a shoal of fish was in it.
Whereupon the disciple whom Jesus loved said
to Peter, It is the Lord. And Simon Peter, hearing him say that it was the
Lord, girded up the fisherman's coat, which was all he wore, and sprang into
the sea. The other disciples followed in the boat (they were not far from land,
only some hundred yards away), dragging their catch in the net behind them.
So they went ashore, and found a charcoal fire
made there, with fish and bread cooking on it. Bring some of the fish you have
just caught, Jesus said to them. When Jesus said to them, Come and break your
fast, none of the disciples ventured to ask him, Who are you? knowing well that
it was the Lord. So Jesus came up and took bread, which he gave to them, and
fish as well.
The
Commissioning of the Apostles
And now the eleven disciples took their journey
into Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had bidden them meet him. When they
saw him there, they fell down to worship; though some did
not recognize him until
he came near and spoke to them.
All
authority in heaven and on earth, he said, has been given to me; you,
therefore, must go out all over the world and
preach the gospel to the whole of creation, making
disciples of all nations, and baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all the commandments
which I have given you.
This is what I told you, he said, while I still walked in
your company; how all that was written of me in the law of Moses, and in the
prophets, and in the psalms, must be fulfilled. Then he enlightened their
minds, to make them understand the scriptures.
So it was written, he told them, and so it was fitting that
Christ should suffer, and should rise again from the dead on the third day; and
that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all
nations, beginning at Jerusalem. Of this, you are the witnesses. And behold I am with you
all through the days that are coming, until the consummation of the world.
Jesus then laid a charge, by the power of the
Holy Spirit, on the apostles whom he had chosen. He gave them orders, as he shared a meal with
them, not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the fulfilment of the
Father's promise: Behold, I am sending down upon you the
gift which was promised by my Father; you must wait in the city until you are
clothed with power from on high. John's baptism was with water, but there is a baptism
with the Holy Spirit which you are to receive, not many days from this.
And as he led them out as far as Bethany, his companions asked
him, Lord, do you mean to restore the dominion to Israel here and now? But he
told them, It is not for you to know the times and seasons which the Father has
fixed by his own authority. Enough for you, that the Holy Spirit will come upon
you, and you will receive strength from him; you are to be my witnesses in
Jerusalem and throughout Judaea, in Samaria, yes, and to the ends of the earth.
And so the Lord Jesus, When he had said this, lifted up his hands
and blessed them; and even as he blessed them he parted from them; they saw him lifted
up, and a cloud caught him away from their sight.
And as they strained their eyes towards
heaven, to watch his journey, all at once two men in white garments were
standing at their side. Men of Galilee, they said, why do you stand here
looking heavenwards? He who has been taken from you into heaven, this same
Jesus, will come back in the same fashion, just as you have watched him going
into heaven. And they bowed down to worship him
who is seated now at the right hand of God.
Then, from the mountain which is called
Olivet, went back full of joy to Jerusalem into the upper room where they dwelt. All with
one mind, gave themselves up to prayer, together with Mary the mother of Jesus,
and the rest of the women and his brethren.
Matthias was added to their number as a witness of Jesus
resurrection and took rank with the eleven apostles. They spent their
time continually in the temple, praising and blessing God.
When the day of Pentecost came round, while
they were all gathered together in unity of purpose, all at once a sound came
from heaven like that of a strong wind blowing, and filled the whole house
where they were sitting. Then appeared to them what seemed to be tongues of
fire, which parted and came to rest on each of them; and they were all filled
with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in strange languages, as the Spirit
gave utterance to each.
