God, let him save him now, if he will; for he said: I am the son of God. And the robbers who were crucified with him spoke abusively to him in the same way.
But from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. But about the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a great voice, saying: Elei elei lema sabachthaneii Which is: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? But some of those who were standing there heard and said: This man calls to Elijah. And at once one of them ran and took a sponge, soaked it in vinegar and put it on the end of a reed, and gave it to him to drink. But the rest said: Let us see if Elijah comes to save him.
Then Jesus cried out again in a great voice, and gave up his life. And behold, the veil of the temple was split in two from top to bottom, and the earth was shaken, and the rocks were split, and the tombs opened and many bodies of the holy sleepers rose up; and after his resurrection they came out of their tombs and went into the holy city, and were seen by many. But the company commander and those with him who kept guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that happened, were greatly afraid, saying: In truth this was the son of God. And there were many women watching from a distance there, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, waiting on him. Among them were Mary the Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
When it was evening, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, Joseph by name, who also had been a disciple of Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered that it be given up to him. And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in clean linen, and laid it in his new tomb, which he had cut in the rock, and rolled a great stone before the door of the tomb, and went away. But Mary the Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting before the tomb. On the next day, which is the day after the Day of Preparation, the high priests and the Pharisees gathered in the presence of Pilate, and said: Lord, we have remembered how that impostor said while he was still alive: After three days I shall rise up. Give orders, then, that the tomb be secured until after the third day, for fear his disciples may come and steal him away and say to the people: He rose from the dead. And that will be the ultimate deception, worse than the former one. Pilate said to them: You have a guard. Go and secure it as best you can. And they went and secured the tomb, sealing it with the help of the guard.
t Late on the sabbath, as the light grew toward the first day after the sabbath, Mary the Magdalene and the other Mary came to visit the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for the angel of the Lord came down from heaven and approached the stone and rolled it away and was sitting on it. His look was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And those who were on guard were shaken with fear of him and became like dead men. But the angel spoke forth and said to the women: Do not you fear; for I know that you look for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here. For he rose up, as he said. Come here, and look at the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he goes before you into Galilee. There you will see him. See; I have told you. And quickly leaving the tomb, in fear and great joy, they ran to tell the news to his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them, saying: I give you greeting. They came up to him and took his feet and worshipped him. Then Jesus said to them: Do not fear. Go and tell my brothers to go into Galilee, and there they will see me. And as they went on their way, behold, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the high priests all that had happened. And they met with the elders and took counsel together, and gave the soldiers a quantity of money, saying: Say that the disciples came in the night and stole him away while we were sleeping. And if this is heard in the house of the governor, we shall reason with him, and make it so that you have nothing to fear. And they took the money and did as they were instructed. And this is the story that has been spread about among the Jews, to this day.
Then the eleven disciples went on into Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had given them instructions to go; and when they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came up to them and talked with them, saying: All authority has been given to me, in heaven and on earth. Go out, therefore, and instruct all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have taught you. And behold, I am with you, all the days until the end of the world.
LUKE
L
uke is believed by the majority of authorities to be "Luke, the beloved physician" of Colossians 4.14. This gospel is generally dated somewhere about A.D. 85, after the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.
41 SINCE MANY HAVE UNDERTAKEN TO compose an account of those things which have been fulfilled among us, as those who saw for themselves from the beginning and became servants of the word have handed it down to us, it seemed good for me also, since I have followed everything closely from the first, to write it out in order for you, most exalted Theophilus, so that you may le^rc the truth concerning those stories of which you have been informed.
In the days of Herod, king of Judaea, there was a certain priest, by name Zachariah, of the division of Abiah; and his wife came from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. They were both righteous people in the sight of God, going blamelessly in all the commandments and judgments of the Lord. And they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well advanced in their days. Now it happened that during his priestly duty, when it was the turn of his division to be in the presence of God, according to the custom of the priesthood, he was the one allotted to go into the temple of the Lord and burn the incense. And all the multitude of people was praying outside at the hour of the incense; and he had a vision of an angel of the Lord standing at the right of the altar for the incense. And Zachariah was shaken when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him: Do not fear, Zachariah; since your entreaty has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name John; and he will be your joy and your pride, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will never drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while still in the womb of his mother, and he will tum many of the sons of Israel toward the Lord their God; and he will go before him in his presence in the spirit and power of Elijah, to tum the hearts of fathers toward their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous; to prepare a people which will be ready for the Lord. And Zachariah said to the angeclass="underline" How shall I know this? For I ^ an old man, and my wife is advanced in her days. And the angel answered him and said: I ^ Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God; and I was sent to talk to you to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things come to pass, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.
Now the people were waiting for Zachariah, and they wondered at the time he took in the temple. But when he came out he could not speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple; and he kept nodding to them, and remained speechless. And it happened that when the days of his service were completed he went back to his own house. And after these days Elizabeth his wife conceived; and she kept herself in concealment for five months, saying: Thus has the Lord done by me in the days when he consented to take away the reproach that was mine among men.