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Christianity Home Page Jesus of Nazareth Chronology of
the Life of Jesus
If you wish to go to a specific part of the document please click on the underlined headings :- The Nativity, Beginning of the Public ministry, The Year of the death of Christ, The day of the death of Christ, Relative Chronology, The Infancy of Jesus, The hidden life of Jesus, The Public life of Jesus, Duration of the Public life, Journey of Jesus during his public life, The passion of Jesus, Preparation for the Passion, Trial of Jesus, Death of Jesus & The Glory of Jesus. In the following paragraphs we shall endeavour to establish the absolute and relative chronology of our Lord's life, i.e. we shall show first how certain facts connected with the history of Jesus Christ fit in with the course of universal history, and secondly how the rest of the life of Jesus must be arranged according to the inter relation of its single elements. A. ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY The incidents whose absolute chronology may be determined with more or less probability are the year of Christ's nativity, of the beginning of His public life, and of His death. (1) The Nativity St. Matthew (ii, 1) tells us that Jesus was
born "in the days of king
Herod". Josephus (Ant., XVII, viii, 1) informs
us that Herod died after ruling thirty four years
de facto, thirty seven years de jure. Now Herod was
made rightful King of Judea A.U.C. 714, while he began his actual rule
after taking Jerusalem A.U.C.717. As the Jews reckoned their years
from Nisan to Nisan, and counted
fractional parts as an entire year,the above data will place the death of
Herod in A.U.C.749, 750, 751. Again, Josephus tells us from that an eclipse of the moon occurred not long before
Herod's death; such an eclipse occurred
from 12 to 13 March,A.U.C. 750, so that Herod must have died before the Passover of that year which fell on 12 April
(Josephus, "Ant"., iv, 4;
viii, 4). As Herod killed the children up
to two years old, in order to destroy the new born King
of the Jews, we are led to believe that Jesus may have
been born A.U.C. 747, 748, 749. (2) Beginning of the Public Ministry The date of the beginning of Christ's ministry may be calculated from three different data found respectively in Luke, iii, 23; Josephus, "Bel. Jud." I, xxi, 1; or "Ant.", XV, ii, 1; and Luke, iii, 1. The first of these passages reads: "And Jesus himself was beginning about the age of thirty years". The phrase "was beginning" does not qualify the following expression "about the age of thirty years", but rather indicates the commencement of the public life. As we have found that the birth of Jesus falls within the period 747-749 A.U.C., His public life must begin about 777-779 A.U.C. Second, when, shortly before the first Pasch of His public life, Jesus had cast the buyers and sellers out of the Temple, the Jews said: "Six and forty years was this temple in building" (John, ii, 20). Now, according to the testimony of Josephus (loc. cit.), the building of the Temple began in the fifteenth year of Herod's actual reign or in the eighteenth of his reign de jure, i.e. 732 A.U.C.; hence, adding the forty six years of actual building, the Pasch of Christ's first year of public life must have fallen in 778 A.U.C. Third, the Gospel of St. Luke (iii, 1) assigns the beginning of St. John the Baptist's mission to the "fifteenth year of the Tiberius Caesar". Augustus, the predecessor of Tiberius, died 19 Aug., 767 A.U.C., so that the fifteenth year of Tiberius's independent reign is 782 A.U.C.; but then Tiberius began to be associate of Augustus in A.U.C. 764, so that the fifteenth year reckoned from this date falls in A.U.C. 778. Jesus Christ's public life began a few months later, i.e.about A.U.C. 779. (3) The Year of the Death of Christ According to the Evangelists, Jesus suffered under the high priest Caiphas (A.U.C. 772-90, or A.D. 18-36), during the governorship of Pontius Pilate A.U.C. 780-90). But this leaves the time rather indefinite. Tradition, the patristic testimonies for which have been collected by Patrizi (De Evangeliis), places the death of Jesus in the fifteenth (or sixteenth) year of Tiberius, in the consulship of the Gemini, forty-two years before the destruction of Jerusalem, and twelve years before the preaching of the Gospel to the Gentiles. We have already seen that the fifteenth year of Tiberius is either 778 or 782, according to its computation from the beginning of Tiberius's associate or sole reign; the consulship of the Gemini (Fufius and Rubellius) fell in A.U.C. 782; the forty second year before the destruction of Jerusalem is A.D. 29, or A.U.C. 782, twelve years before the preaching of the Gospel to the Gentiles brings us to the same year, A.D. 29 or A.U.C. 782, since the conversion of Cornelius, which marks the opening of the Gentile missions, fell probably in A.D. 40 or 41. (4) The Day of the Death of Christ Jesus died on Friday, the fifteenth day of Nisan. That He died on Friday is clearly stated by Mark (xv, 42), Luke (xxiii, 54), and John (xix, 31). The few writers who assign another day for Christ's death are practically lost in the multitude of authorities who place it on Friday. What is more, they do not even agree among themselves: Epiphanius, e.g., places the Crucifixion on Tuesday; Lactantius, on Saturday; Westcott, on Thursday; Cassiodorus and Gregory of Tours, not on Friday. The first three Evangelists are equally clear about the date of the Crucifixion. They place the Last Supper on the fourteenth day of Nisan, as may be seen from Matt., xxvi, 17, 20; Mark, xiv, 12 17; Luke, xxii, 7 14. Nor can there be any doubt about St. John's agreement with the Synoptic Evangelists on the question of the Last Supper and the Crucifixion. The supper was held "before the
festival day of the Pasch" (John,
xiii, 1), i. e. on 14 Nisan, as may be seen
from Matt., xxii, 7-14. Nor can there be any doubt about
St. John's agreement with the Synoptic Evangelists
on the question of the Last Supper and the Crucifixion.
The Supper was held "before the festival day
of the pasch" (John, xiii, 1), i.e. on 14 Nisan,since the sacrificial day was computed
according to the Roman method (Jovino, 123 sqq., 139 sqq.).
Again, some disciples thought that Judas left the
supper table because Jesus had said to him: "Buy
those things which we have need of for the festival day: or
that he should give something to the poor" (John,
xiii, 29). If the Supper had been held on 13 Nisan this
belief of the disciples can hardly be understood, since
Judas might have made his purchases and distributed his
alms on 14 Nisan; there would have been no need for
his rushing into the city in the middle of the night.
On the day of Christ's Crucifixion the Jews "went
not into the hall, that they might not be defiled, but that
they might eat the pasch" (John, xviii, 28). The
pasch which the Jews wished to eat could not have been the
paschal lamb, which was eaten on 14 Nisan, for the
pollution contracted by entering the hall would have
ceased at sundown, so that it would not have
prevented them from sharing in the paschal supper. Finally, the day following the parasceve on which Jesus died is called "a great sabbath day" (John, xix, 31), either to denote its occurrence in the paschal week or to distinguish it from the preceding pasch, or day of minor rest. No student of the life of Jesus will question the chronological order of its principal divisions: infancy, hidden life, public life, passion, glory. But the order of events in the single divisions is not always clear beyond dispute. The history of the infancy, for instance, is recorded only in the First Gospel and in the Third. Each Evangelist contents himself with five pictures: St. Mathew describes the birth of Jesus, the adoration of the Magi, the flight into Egypt, the slaughter of the Holy Innocents, and the return to Nazareth. St. Luke gives a sketch of the birth, of the adoration of the shepherds, of the circumcision, of the purification of the Virgin, and of the return to Nazareth. The two Evangelists agree in the first and the last of these two series of incidents (moreover, all scholars place the birth, adoration of the shepherds, and the circumcision before the Magi), but how are we to arrange the intervening three events related by St. Mathew with the order of St. Luke? We indicate a few of the many ways in which the chronological sequence of these facts has been arranged. * The birth, the adoration of the shepherds, the circumcision, the adoration of the Magi, the flight into Egypt, the slaughter of the Innocents, the purification, the return to Nazareth. This order implies that either the purification was delayed beyond the fortieth day, which seems to contradict Luke, ii, 22 sqq., or that Jesus was born shortly before Herod's death. so that the Holy Family could return from Egypt within forty days after the birth of Jesus. Tradition does not seem to favour this speedy return. * The birth, the adoration of the shepherds, the circumcision, the adoration of the Magi, the purification, the flight into Egypt, the slaughter of the Innocents, the return to Nazareth. According to this order the Magi either arrived a few days before the purification or they came on 6 Jan.; but in neither case can we understand why the Holy Family should have offered the sacrifice of the poor, after receiving the offerings of the Magi. Moreover, the first Evangelist intimates that the angel appeared to St. Joseph soon after the departure of the Magi, and it is not at all probable that Herod should have waited long before inquiring concerning the whereabouts of the new born king. The difficulties are not overcome by placing the adoration of the Magi on the day before the purification; it would be more unlikely in that case that the Holy Family should offer the sacrifice of the poor. * As Luke 2:39 appears to exclude the possibility of placing the adoration of the Magi between the presentation and return to Nazareth, there are interpreters who have located the advent of the wise men, the flight to Egypt, the slaughter of the Innocents, and the return from Egypt after the events as told in St. Luke. They agree in the opinion that the Holy Family returned to Nazareth after the purification, and then left Nazareth in order to make their home in Bethlehem. Eusebius, Epiphanius, and some other ancient writers are willing to place the adoration of the Magi about two years after Christ's birth; Paperbroch and his followers allow about a year and thirteen days between the birth and the advent of the Magi; while Patrizi agrees with those who fix the advent of the Magi at about two weeks after the purification . The text of Matt., ii, 1, 2, hardly permits an interval of more than a year between the purification and the coming of the wise men; Patrizi's opinion appears to satisfy all the data furnished by the gospels, while it does not contradict the particulars added by tradition. It was in the seclusion of Nazareth that
Jesus spent the greatest part of His earthly life. The
inspired records are very reticent about this
period: Luke, 2:40-52; Mark 6:3; John 6:42; 7:15, are
about the only passages which refer to the hidden life.
Some of them give us a general view of Christ's life:
"The child grew, and grew in strength and wisdom; and
the grace of God was in him" is the brief summary
of the years following the return of the Holy Family
after the ceremonial purification in the Temple.
"Jesus advanced in wisdom, and age, and grace with God and
men", and He "was subject to them" form the
inspired outline of Christ's life in Nazareth after He had
attained the age of twelve. "When he was twelve years
old" Jesus accompanied His parents to Jerusalem,
'according to the custom of the feast'; When they returned,
the child Jesus remained in Jerusalem; and his
parents knew it not." After three days, they found him
in the Temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors,
hearing them, and asking them questions." It was on this
occasion that Jesus spoke the only words that have come
down from the period of His hidden life: "How is it
that you sought me? Did you not know, that I must be about
my Father's business [or, "in my father's
house"]?" The Jews tell us that Jesus had not passed through the
training of he Rabbinic schools: "How doth this man
know letters, having never learned?". The same
question is asked by the people of Nazareth, who add, "Is
not this the carpenter?" St. Justin is authority
for the statement that Jesus specially made "ploughs and
yokes' (Contra Tryph., 88). Though it is not certain that
at the time of Jesus elementary schools existed in the
Jewish villlages, it may be inferred from the
Gospels that Jesus knew how to read (Luke 4:16) and
write (John 8:6). At an early age He must have learned
the so called Shema (Deut. 6:4), and the Hallel,
or Psalms 113-118 (Hebr.); He must have been familiar
with the other parts of the Scriptures too,
especially the Psalms and the Prophetic Books, as He
constantly refers to them in His public life. It is also
asserted that Palestine at the time of Jesus Christ was
practically bilingual, so that Christ must have spoken
Aramaic and Greek; the indications that He was
acquainted with Hebrew and Latin are rather slight. The chronology of the public life offers a number of problems to the interpreter; we shall touch upon only two, the duration of the public life, and the successive journeys it contains.
Back to the top There are two extreme views as to the length of the ministry of Jesus: St. Irenaeus (Contra Haer., II, xxii, 3-6) appears to suggest a period of fifteen years; the prophetic phrases, "the year of recompenses", "the year of my redemption" (Is., xxxiv, 8; lxiii, 4), appear to have induced Clement of Alexandria, Julius Africanus, Philastrius, Hilarion, and two or three other patristic writers to allow only one year for the public life. This latter opinion has found advocates among certain recent students: von Soden, for instance, defends it in Cheyne's "Encyclopaedia Biblica". But the text of the Gospels demands a more extensive duration. St. John's Gospel distinctly mentions three distinct paschs in the history of Christ's ministry (ii, 13; vi, 4; xi, 55). The first of the three occurs shortly after the baptism of Jesus, the last coincides with His Passion, so that at least two years must have intervened between the two events to give us the necessary room for the passover mentioned in vi, 4. Westcott and Hort omit the expression "the pasch" in vi, 4 to compress the ministry of Jesus within the space of one year; but all the manuscripts, the versions, and nearly all the Fathers testify for the reading "En de eggysto paschaheeorteton Ioudaion": "Now the pasch, the festival day of the Jews, was near at hand". Thus far then everything tends to favour the view of those writers and more recent commentators who extend the period of Christ's ministry a little over two years. But a comparison of St. John's Gospel with the Synoptic Evangelists seems to introduce another pasch, indicated in the Fourth Gospel, into Christ's public life. John, iv, 45, relates the return of Jesus into Galilee after the first pasch of His public life in Jerusalem, and the same event is told by Mark, i, 14, and Luke iv, 14. Again the pasch mentioned in John, vi, 4 has its parallel in the "green grass" of Mark, vi, 39, and in the multiplication of loaves as told in Luke, ix, 12 sqq. But the plucking of ears mentioned in Mark, ii, 23, and Luke, vi, 1, implies another paschal season intervening between those expressly mentioned in John, ii, 13, and vi, 4. This shows that the public life of Jesus must have extended over four paschs, so that it must have lasted three years and a few months. Though the Fourth Gospel does not indicate this fourth pasch as clearly as the other three, it is not wholly silent on the question. The "festival day of the Jews" mentioned in John, v, 1, has been identified with the Feast of Pentecost, the Feast of Tabernacles, the Feast of Expiation, the Feast of the New Moon, the Feast of Purim, the Feast of Dedication, by various commentators; others openly confess that they cannot determine to which of the Jewish feasts this festival day refers. Nearly all difficulties will disappear if the festival day be regarded as the pasch, as both the text (heorte) and John, iv, 35 seem to demand (cf. Dublin Review, XXIII, 351 sqq.). (b) Journeys of Jesus during His Public Life The journeys made during His public life may be grouped under nine heads: the first six were mainly performed in Galilee and had Capharnaum for their central point; the last three bring Jesus into Judea without any pronounced central point. We cannot enter into the disputed questions connected with the single incidents of the various groups. (i) First Journey -- December, A.U.C. 778-
Spring, 779. (Cf. John, i, ii; Matt.,iii, iv; Mark, i;
Luke, iii,iv.) Jesus abandons His hidden life in
Nazareth, and goes to Bethania across the Jordan, where
He is baptized by John and receives the Baptist's
first testimony to His Divine mission. He then
withdraws into the desert of Judea, where He fasts for
forty days and is tempted by the devil. After this He
dwells in the neighbourhood of the Baptist's ministry,
and receives the latter's second and third testimony;
here too He wins His first disciples, with whom He
journeys to the wedding feast at Cana in Galilee, where He
performs His first miracle. Finally He transfers His
residence, so far as there can be question of a residence
in His public life, to Capharnaum, one of the
principal thoroughfares of commerce and travel in
Galilee. Jesus had returned to Capharnaum, and there healed on the Sabbath day a man who had a withered hand. The Pharisees now make common cause with the Herodians in order to "destroy him". Jesus withdraws first to the Sea of Galilee, where He teaches and performs numerous miracles; then retires to the Mountain of Beatitudes, where He prays during the night, chooses His Twelve Apostles in the morning, and preaches the Sermon on the Mount. He is brought back to Capharnaum by the prayers of the centurion who asks and obtains the of his servant. (iii) Third Journey -- About Pentecost,
A.U.C. 780- Autumn, 780. (Cf. Luke, vii, viii; Mark,
iii, iv; Matt., iv, viii, ix, xii, xiii.) Jesus
makes another missionary tour through Galilee; He
resuscitates the son of the widow at Naim, and shortly
afterwards receives the messengers sent by John from
his prison in Machaerus. Then follows the scene of the
merciful reception of the sinful woman who anoints
the feet of the Lord while He rests at table in Magdala
or perhaps in Capharnaum; for the rest of His
missionary tour Jesus is followed by a band of pious women
who minister to the wants of the Apostles. After
returning to Capharnaum, Jesus expels the mute devil, is
charged by the Pharisees with casting out devils by
the prince of devils, and encounters the remonstrances of
His kinsmen. Withdrawing to the sea, He
preaches what may be called the "Lake Sermon",
consisting of seven parables. (vi) Sixth Journey -- About May, A.U.C. 781- Sept., 781. (Cf. Lk., ix; Mk., vii-ix; Matt., xiv- xviii; John, vii.) It may be owing to the enmity stirred up against Jesus by His Eucharistic discourse in Capharnaum that He began now a more extensive missionary tour than He had made in the preceding years of His life. Passing through the country of Genesar, He expressed His disapproval of the Pharisaic practices of legal purity. Within the boarders of Tyre and Sidon He exorcised the daughter of the Syrophenician woman. From here Jesus travelled first towards the north, then towards the east, then south-eastward through the northern part of Decapolis, probably along the foot of the Labanon, till He came to the eastern part of Galilee. While in Decapolis Jesus healed a deaf-mute, employing a ceremonial more elaborate than He had used at any of His previous miracles; in the eastern part of Galilee, probably not far from Dalmanutha and Magedan, He fed four thousand men, besides children and women, with seven loaves and a few little fishes, the remaining fragments filling seven baskets. The multitudes had listened for three days to the teaching of Jesus, previously to the miracle. In spite of the many cures performed by Jesus, during this journey, on the blind, the dumb, the lame, the maimed, and on many others, the Pharisees and Sadduces asked Him for a sign from heaven, tempting Him. He promised them the sign of Jonas the Prophet. After Jesus and the Apostles had crossed the lake, He warned them to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees; then they passed through Bethsaida Julias where Jesus gave sight to a blind man. Next we find Jesus in the confines of Caesarea Philippi, where Peter professes his faith in Christ, the Son of the living God, and in his turn receives from Jesus the promise of the power of the keys. Jesus here predicts His passion, and about a week later is transfigured before Peter, James, and John, probably on the top of Mt. Thabor. On descending from the mountain, Jesus exorcizes the mute devil whom His disciples had not been able to expel. Bending his way towards Capharnaum, Jesus predicts His Passion for the second time, and in the city pays the tribute-money for Himself and Peter. This occasions the discussion as to the greater in the kingdom of heaven, and the allied discourses. Finally, Jesus refuses His brethren's invitation to go publicly to the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem. (vii) Seventh Journey -- Sept., A.U.C. 781- December,781. (Cf. Luke, ix-xiii; Mark, x; Matt., vi, vii, viii,x, xi, xii, xxiv; John, vii-x.) Jesus now "steadfastly set His face to go Jerusalem", and as the Samaritans refused Him hospitality, He had to take the east of the Jordan. While still in Galilee, He refused the discipleship of several half-hearted candidates, and about the same time He sent other seventy-two, two by two, before His face into every city and place whither He Himself was to come. Probably in the lower part of Peraea, the seventy-two returned with joy, rejoicing in the miraculous power that had been exercised by them. It must have been in the vicinity of Jerico that Jesus answered the lawer's question, "Who is my neighbour?" by the parable of the Good Samaritan. Next Jesus was received in the hospitable home of Mary and Martha, where He declares Mary to have chosen the better part. From Bethania went to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles, where he became involved in discussions with the Jews. The Scribes and Pharisees endeavoured to catch Him in the sentence which they asked Him to pronounce in the case of the woman taken in adultery. When Jesus had avoided this snare, He
continued His discussions with the hostile Jews. Their
enmity was intensified because Jesus restored sight to
a blind man on the Sabbath day. Jesus appears to have
His stay in Jerusalem with the beautiful discourse on
the Good Shepherd. A little later He teaches His
Apostles the Our Father, probably somewhere on Mt.
Olivet. On a subsequent missionary tour through Judea
and Peraea He defends Himself against the charges of
Pharisees, and reproves their hypocrisy. On the same
journey Jesus warned against hypocrisy, covetousness,
worldly care; He exhorted to watchfulness, patience under contradictions, and to penance. About this
time, too, He healed the woman who had the spirit of
infirmity xii.) This last journey took Jesus from Ephrem northward through Samaria, then eastward along the border of Galilee into Peraea, then southward through Peraea, westward across the Jordan, through Jericho, Bethania on Mt. Olivet, Bethphage, and finally to Jerusalem. While in the most northern part of the journey, He cured ten lepers; a little later, He answered the questions raised by the Pharisees concerning the kingdom of God. Then He urged the need of incessant prayer by proposing the parable of the unjust judge; here too belong the parable of the Pharisee and Publican, the discourse on marriage, on the attitude of the Church towards the children, on the right use of riches as illustrated by the story of the rich young ruler, and the parable of the labourers in the vineyard. After beginning His route towards Jerusalem, He predicted His Passion for the third time; James and John betray their ambition, but they are taught the true standard of greatness in the Church. At Jerico Jesus heals two blind men, and receives the repentance of Zacheus the publican; here He proposed also the parable of the pounds entrusted to the servants by the master. Six days before the pasch we find Jesus at Bethania on Mt. Olivet, as the guest of Simon the leper; Mary anoints His feet, and the disciples at the instigation of Judas are indignant at this seeming waste of ointment. A great multitude assembles at Bethania, not to see Jesus only but also Lazarus; hence the chief priests think of killing Lazarus too. On the following day Jesus solemnly entered Jerusalem and was received by the Hosanna cries of all classes of people. In the afternoon He met a delegation of Gentiles in the court of the Temple. On Monday Jesus curses the barren fig tree, and during the morning He drives the buyers and sellers from the Temple. On Tuesday the wonder of the disciples at the sudden withering of the fig tree provokes their Master's instruction on the efficacy of faith. Jesus answers the enemies' questions as to His authority; then He proposes the parable of the two sons, of the wicked husbandmen, and of the marriage feast. Next follows a triple snare: the politicians ask whether it is lawful to pay tribute to Caesar; the scoffers inquire whose wife a woman, who has had several husbands, will be after resurrection; the Jewish theologians propose the question: Which is the first commandment, the great commandment of the law? Then Jesus proposes His last question to the Jews: "What think you of Christ? whose son is he?" This is followed by the eightfold woe against the Scribes and Pharisees, and by the denunciation of Jerusalem. The last words of Christ in the Temple were expressions of praise for the poor widow who had made an offering of two mites in spite of her poverty. Jesus ended this day by uttering the prophecies concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, His second coming, and the future judgement; these predictions are interrupted by the parable of the ten virgins and the talents. On wednesday Jesus again predicted His Passion; probably it was on the same day that Judas made his agreement with the Jews to betray Jesus. The history of Christ's Passion comprises
three parts: (a) Preparation for the Passion Jesus prepares His disciples for the
Passion, He prepares Himself for the ordeal and His
enemies prepare themselves for the destruction of Jesus. (ii) Preparation of Jesus -- Jesus must
have found an indirect preparation in all He did and said
to strengthen His Apostles. But the
preparation that was peculiarly His own consisted in His prayer
in the grotto of His Agony where the angel came to
strengthen Him. The sleep of His favoured Apostles during
the hours of His bitter struggle must have prepared Him
too for the complete abandonment He was soon to
experience. (b) Trial of Jesus Jesus was tried first before an ecclesiastical and then before a civil tribunal. (i) Before Ecclesiastical Court -- The
ecclesiastical trial includes Christ's appearance before Annas, before
Caiphas, and again before Caiphas, who
appears to have acted in each case as head of the
Sanhedrin. The Jewish court found Jesus guilty of blasphemy, and
condemned Him to death, though its proceedings were
illegal from more than one point of view. During the
trial took place Peter's triple denial of Jesus; Jesus
is insulted and mocked, especially between the second
and third session; and after His final condemnation
Judas despaired and met his tragic death
Back to the top Jesus carried His Cross to the place of execution. Simon of Cyrene is forced to assist Him in bearing the heavy burden. On the way Jesus addresses his last words to the weeping women who sympathized with His suffering. He is nailed to the Cross, his garments are divided, and an inscription is placed over His head. While His enemies mock Him, He pronounces the well-known "Seven Words". Of the two robbers crucified with Jesus, one was converted, and the other died impenitent. The sun was darkened, and Jesus surrendered His soul into the hands of His Father. The veil of the Temple was rent into two, the earth quaked, the rocks were riven, and many bodies of the saints that had slept arose and appeared to many. The Roman centurion testified that Jesus was indeed the Son of God. The Heart of Jesus was pierced so as to make sure of His death. The Sacred Body was taken from the Cross by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, and was buried in the new sepulchre of Joseph, and the Sabbath drew near. After the burial of Jesus, the Holy women returned and prepared spices and ointments. The next day, the chief priests and Pharisees made the sepulchre secure with guards, sealing the stone. When the Sabbath was passed, the Holy women brought sweet spices that they might anoint Jesus. But Jesus rose early the first day of the week, and there was a great earthquake, and an angel descended from heaven, and rolled back the stone. The guards were struck with terror, and became as dead men. On arriving at the sepulchre the holy women found the grave empty; Mary Magdalene ran to tell the Apostles Peter and John, while the other women were told by an angel that the Lord had arisen from the dead. Peter and John hasten to the sepulchre, and find everything as Magdalene has reported. Magdalene too returns, and, while weeping at the sepulchre, is approached by the arisen Saviour Who appears to her and speaks with her. On the same day Jesus appeared to the other Holy Women, to Peter, to the two disciples on their way to Emmaus, and to all the Apostles excepting Thomas. A week later He appeared to all the Apostles, Thomas included; later still He appeared in Galilee near the Lake of Genesareth to seven disciples, on a mountain in Galilee to a multitude of disciples, to James, and finally to His disciples on the Mount Olivet whence He ascended into heaven. But these apparitions do not exhaust the record of the Gospels, according to which Jesus showed Himself alive after His Passion by many proofs, for forty days appearing to the disciples and speaking of the kingdom of God. Christianity Home Page Back to the top |