54 TIME-LIFE MIRACLES OF FAITH
The next day is the Sabbath, when work is forbidden,
and early the following Sunday morning, Mary Magda-
lene, another follower of Jesus’, returns to the tomb. The
gospels differ on the exact details. In John, she is alone,
while in others, she is accompanied by other women. To
Mary’s astonishment, the stone in front of the tomb has
been rolled away, and the tomb is empty. Depending on the
gospel, one or two men in white robes announce that Jesus
is risen.
When Mary tells the disciples what she has seen, they
doubt her—but eventually Jesus appears to them all. “See
my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; touch me and see,
for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that
I have,” Jesus says, according to Luke. Then, writes Luke,
“while he was blessing them, he parted from them and
was carried up into heaven.” The disciples finally accept
that Jesus has risen from the dead.
The resurrection is the final and ultimate example of
Jesus’ ability to overcome the bounds of natural law—of
death itself—and proof to the faithful of his divinity. It is
also an essential fulfillment of the multiple prophecies set
forth in the gospels regarding his fate on earth. ▪“See my hands and my feet, that it
is I myself; touch me and see, for a spirit
does not have flesh and bones as
you see that I have,” Jesus says,
according to Luke.NEW TESTAMENT