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Jesus: Early in the Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw something strange. She ran at once to Simon Rock and John, breathlessly panting,
MARY MAGDALENE: They took our Leader from the tomb. We don't know where they've put him.
JESUS (V.O.): Rock and John left immediately for the tomb. They ran, neck and neck. John got to the tomb first. Stooping to look in, he saw the pieces of linen lying there, but he didn't go in. Simon Rock arrived after him, entered the tomb, and observed the linen lying there, and the kerchief used to cover a head not lying with the linen cloths but separate, neatly folded.
Then John went into the tomb, took one look at the evidence, and believed. No one yet understood from the Bible that I had to rise from the dead. My students then went back their secret place.
But Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where the body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
ONE ANGEL: Woman, why are you crying?
MARY: They took my Leader away, and I don't know where they put him.
Jesus: Lady, why do you crying? Who are you looking for?
MARY: Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.
Jesus: Mary!
MARY: (She turned toward Jesus and cried out.) My teacher!
Jesus: Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go ahead to my students and tell them, “I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”
JESUS (V.O.): Mary Magdalene went to the students with the news at a hiding place.
MARY: I saw the Lord!
JESUS (V.O.): And she told them everything I said to her.
Later on that day, the students had gathered together, but, fearful, had locked all the doors in the house. I entered, stood among them.
JESUS : Peace be with you!
JESUS (V.O.) : I showed them my hands and side. My students, seeing me, with their own eyes, were exuberant.
JESUS : Peace to you. Just as the Father sent me, I send you.
(Then Jesus took a deep breath and breathed into them.) Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone's sins, they're gone forever, now. If you don't forgive sins, they are not forgiven.
JESUS (V.O.): But Thomas, sometimes called the Twin, one of the Twelve, was not with them when I came. So, the other students told him:
OTHER STUDENT: We saw the Leader.
THOMAS: Unless I see the bullet holes, and put my finger in them, I won't believe it.
JESUS (V.O.): Eight days later, my students were again in the room. This time Thomas was with them. I came through the locked doors, stood among them, and said, "Peace be with you!"
Then I look at Thomas.
Jesus: Take your finger and examine my body. Take your hand and stick it in my side. No more doubting but believe.
THOMAS: My Lord! My God!
Jesus: So, you believe because you've seen with your own eyes. Even better blessings are in store for those who believe without seeing.
JESUS (V.O.): I provided far more God-revealing signs to them so that they will believe that I am the Leader, the Son of God, and in the act of believing, have real and eternal life in the way I revealed it.
What is next?
Many Christians try to blend and paraphrase of the 4 Gospels. Here is one.
Jesus - a Bible in Modern English: A blending and paraphrase of the 4 Gospels Everything Jesus said and did, by Charles Templeton
MARY MAGDALENE: They took our Leader from the tomb. We don't know where they've put him.
JESUS (V.O.): Rock and John left immediately for the tomb. They ran, neck and neck. John got to the tomb first. Stooping to look in, he saw the pieces of linen lying there, but he didn't go in. Simon Rock arrived after him, entered the tomb, and observed the linen lying there, and the kerchief used to cover a head not lying with the linen cloths but separate, neatly folded.
Then John went into the tomb, took one look at the evidence, and believed. No one yet understood from the Bible that I had to rise from the dead. My students then went back their secret place.
But Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where the body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
ONE ANGEL: Woman, why are you crying?
MARY: They took my Leader away, and I don't know where they put him.
Jesus: Lady, why do you crying? Who are you looking for?
MARY: Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.
Jesus: Mary!
MARY: (She turned toward Jesus and cried out.) My teacher!
Jesus: Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go ahead to my students and tell them, “I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”
JESUS (V.O.): Mary Magdalene went to the students with the news at a hiding place.
MARY: I saw the Lord!
JESUS (V.O.): And she told them everything I said to her.
Later on that day, the students had gathered together, but, fearful, had locked all the doors in the house. I entered, stood among them.
JESUS : Peace be with you!
JESUS (V.O.) : I showed them my hands and side. My students, seeing me, with their own eyes, were exuberant.
JESUS : Peace to you. Just as the Father sent me, I send you.
(Then Jesus took a deep breath and breathed into them.) Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone's sins, they're gone forever, now. If you don't forgive sins, they are not forgiven.
JESUS (V.O.): But Thomas, sometimes called the Twin, one of the Twelve, was not with them when I came. So, the other students told him:
OTHER STUDENT: We saw the Leader.
THOMAS: Unless I see the bullet holes, and put my finger in them, I won't believe it.
JESUS (V.O.): Eight days later, my students were again in the room. This time Thomas was with them. I came through the locked doors, stood among them, and said, "Peace be with you!"
Then I look at Thomas.
Jesus: Take your finger and examine my body. Take your hand and stick it in my side. No more doubting but believe.
THOMAS: My Lord! My God!
Jesus: So, you believe because you've seen with your own eyes. Even better blessings are in store for those who believe without seeing.
JESUS (V.O.): I provided far more God-revealing signs to them so that they will believe that I am the Leader, the Son of God, and in the act of believing, have real and eternal life in the way I revealed it.
What is next?
Many Christians try to blend and paraphrase of the 4 Gospels. Here is one.
Jesus - a Bible in Modern English: A blending and paraphrase of the 4 Gospels Everything Jesus said and did, by Charles Templeton
