The Source Church

This episode covers approximately the week after Jesus was raised from the dead. When reading the relevant passages from the four Gospels, the exact order of events is a little unclear. One possible ordering of events is: the tomb is visited by women, the stone is rolled away, the tomb is found empty by the women, the tomb is found empty by Peter and John, Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene, Jesus appears to other women, report of the soldiers, Jesus appears to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus who report to the apostles, Jesus appears to the ten apostles, and Jesus appears to Thomas and the rest of the apostles.

Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus buried Jesus on Friday afternoon. They did not have time nor expertise to bury the body properly. Perhaps it was the job of the women to prepare a dead body. In any event, the women were not involved and went home to prepare spices and perfumes. They rested on Saturday in accordance with the Law of Moses.

At first opportunity, dawn on Monday, Mary Magdalene and other women took spices and perfumes to anoint the body of Jesus. They arrived either as the angels were rolling away the stone in front of the tomb or just after they had done so. When the women looked into the tomb, they found it empty. While they were in a stupor, the angel(s) told them Jesus had come back to life, just as he said he would.

The women ran to tell the eleven apostles, who were in disbelief. However, Peter and John ran to the tomb and also found it empty. When Peter saw the headcloth was folded by itself, he ascertained that things were askew, but was not convinced Jesus had risen from the dead.

At some point, Mary Magdalene stood outside the tomb and Jesus appeared to her. He instructed her to tell the apostles to meet him in Galilee. Jesus also appeared to the other women.

That same day, Jesus appeared to two of his disciples walking on the road to Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They could not recognize him in his resurrected body, but he eventually revealed himself. Importantly, he explained how the scriptures in the Old Testament testified about him. The two returned to Jerusalem and told the apostles.

Jesus appeared to ten of the apostles without Thomas, and later appeared to all eleven of them. So Jesus rose from the dead as he foretold. How would that change things?

All four Gospels record events from the last week of Jesus’ life. Reading about this time period in a parallel Gospel account is very helpful, mindful that each writer has his own information sources and goals, and the Holy Spirit inspired them. Matthew and John were eyewitnesses of this time period, while Mark got his information from other sources, with Peter probably being his primary resource.

During his last week, Jesus generally entered Jerusalem in the morning, taught the people and jousted with the authorities during the day, and then retired from Jerusalem in the evening to the Mount of Olives.

Although the order of events is not perfectly clear, it is likely that Jesus’ last week begins with his triumphal entry, an event recorded in all four Gospels. Possibly the next events are the cursing of the fig tree, and the cleansing of the Temple when Jesus challenged the moneychangers.

Another well-recorded event is known among scholars as the Olivet Discourse, when Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives and gave a long discourse about the future events, especially the future of Jerusalem. Matthew 24-25 is the most detailed of the recordings. Jesus tells at least five parables, and ends with the well-known story of the separation of the sheep and goats when the Son of Man comes.

All four Gospels portray the Last Supper, but John 13-17 provides the most details of the evening. At the end of the Last Supper, Jesus leads the apostles to Garden of Gethsemane, located on the western slope of the Mount of Olives. Jesus prays in the garden and prepares his apostles for the end, then Judas and a contingent of up to two hundred men arrive to arrest Jesus and take him back to Jerusalem for trial.

Although the order is not absolutely certain, events probably transpired as follows: the trial before Annas, the trial before Caiaphas while Peter denies Jesus in the courtyard, the trial before the Sanhedrin, the first trial before Pilate, the trial before Herod Antipas, the second trial before Pilate, the approximately six hours of crucifixion, and the burial of Jesus.