NEW TESTAMENT 53
JESUS LIVES
HE HAS
RISEN
In the mystery that underpins
Christianity, the faithful believe
Jesus was resurrected after
dying on the crossC
hristians of all denominations consider it
the miracle at the heart of their faith.After
the Roman governor Pontius Pilate deems
Jesus a criminal and condemns him to
death, Jesusis taken to a place called Gol-
gotha. There, he is crucified, alongside two others, in the
third hour of the day—between nine and ten a.m. by our
current time conventions. According to Mark, in the ninth
hour, Jesus utters “a loud cry, and breathed his last.” Af-
ter that, “the veil of the temple was torn in two from top
to bottom”—the result of an earthquake, according to the
Gospel of Matthew—and the centurion attending to the
crucifixion shouts, “Truly, this was the Son of God!”
Crucifixion was a torturous execution method that
sometimes lasted a day or more. The criminal who is
put on a cross before Jesus lingers so long that soldiers
break his legs to speed his passing. In comparison, Jesus
perishes quickly, after a mere six hours. In fact, the sol-
diers note that he appears dead already, so they pierce his
side with a spear. In accordance with Jewish law, which
requires burial within 24 hours but forbids burial on the
Sabbath, Jesus’ body is quickly transferred to a tomb be-
fore sundown on Friday, and a large stone is rolled across
the entrance.AN EMPTY TOMB
An angel of the Lord
delivered a message to
the women arriving at
Jesus’ tomb: Jesus has
risen. Book illustration
(c. mid-1800s).