The hours pa.s.sed by. It was about time for the Pa.s.sover lambs to be killed in the city. Clouds were beginning to cover the sun, and it was growing dark although it was not yet night.

Jesus cried out,

"My G.o.d, my G.o.d, why hast thou forsaken me?"

There was a stir of interest in the crowd. _Let's see what will happen now_, they thought.

Jesus was becoming weaker. He said, "I am thirsty."

A soldier dipped a sponge in vinegar, and held it up on a stick to Jesus' lips so that he could drink.

Jesus cried out once more:

"It is finished. Father, into thy hands I give my spirit."

His head sank down upon his chest. There was a loud sound like a clap of thunder, and the earth shook.

In the silence that followed, a Roman soldier spoke.

"This man--" he said, "this man was indeed the Son of G.o.d."

But Jesus did not hear him. For Jesus was dead.

When evening came, a man named Joseph of Arimathaea went to see Pilate. Joseph was a rich man, and much respected; and he had believed in Jesus. He went secretly to Pilate, for he was afraid of the Jews.

He asked Pilate if he might have Jesus' body, and Pilate gave permission.

Joseph came then to the cross, and took down Jesus' body. He wrapped it in a white linen cloth, and had it carried away to a tomb which had been dug out of the rock. Not until after the Sabbath could Jesus'

family and friends come to put spices on the body of him whom they loved.

Jesus' body was laid inside the tomb, and a great stone was rolled against the door.

Standing there was a woman named Mary Magdalene with Mary the mother of Jesus. They watched while the body of Jesus, so dear to them, was laid away to rest.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

15. The Victorious King

At sunrise the day following the Sabbath, three women came to the garden where Jesus was buried. They came, as the custom was, to put ointments and spices on the body of Jesus.

On the way they remembered that a great stone had been rolled against the door of the tomb. They wondered how they would get in.

"Who will roll the stone away?" they asked each other.

But when they reached the tomb, they found that the stone had been rolled back. Someone had been there before them; the door was open.

The women went through the door of the tomb. A young man in white clothes was sitting on one side. Seeing their amazement, the young man spoke:

"Do not be surprised. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is not here. He is risen from the dead. Look! There is the place where he was!"

They looked, and they saw that his body was no longer there.

The young man went on, "Go quickly, and tell this to his disciples: 'Jesus is alive.'"

The women ran out of the tomb, trembling with fright and with surprise. One of the women was Mary Magdalene. As she ran, she saw two of the disciples coming, John and Peter. She cried out to them:

"Someone has taken Jesus' body out of the tomb. We don't know where they have put it!"

John and Peter began to run toward the tomb. John ran faster, and got there first. He looked through the door, and there he saw the white cloths that Jesus' body had been wrapped in, but there was no body in them any longer. Peter caught up to John, and ran right into the tomb.

He too saw the folded cloths. John and Peter went away to their homes, not knowing what to think.

Meanwhile Mary Magdalene had come back. She stood in the garden near the tomb, weeping as though her heart would break. She turned around, and saw that a man was standing near her. He spoke to her, and said:

"Why are you crying? For whom are you looking?"

Mary thought that the man must be the gardener. Through her tears she said:

"Sir, if you have carried away the body of my Lord, tell me where you have laid him, and I will go and take him away."

The man said softly,

"Mary!"

She looked again. She knew that voice. It was Jesus--Jesus calling her name!

She cried out,

"Master!"

She moved as though to take hold of him. Jesus spoke again. It was really he.

"Do not try to hold me here. I am going to my Father in heaven. But now go and tell that to the disciples. Tell them that I am going to my Father."

And Mary went and told the disciples,

"I have seen the Lord!"

Afterward, no one could ever remember clearly all that happened on that day. No one knew what to make of it all. No one knew whether to believe that Jesus was really alive.

Late that afternoon, two disciples were walking along the road from Jerusalem to the village of Emmaus. They talked of what had happened on Friday, and now on Sunday. As they were talking, a stranger joined them. The stranger said,