Three days after Jesus is killed, Mary Magdalene comes to visit the tomb. It's very early in the morning, so it's still dark outside. When she comes closer to the tomb, she sees that the stone that laid over the opening has been removed and the tomb has been open. That's weird. Mary runs to tell Peter and the Beloved Disciple this odd piece of news. Peter and the Beloved Disciple John rush with her back down to the tomb. When they arrive, Peter goes inside and sees the linen cloths that had wrapped Jesus's body lying on the ground. The Beloved Disciple sees it, too, and believes that Jesus has risen from the dead. He gets it!
The two men return to their homes, leaving Mary alone at the tomb, weeping in despair. When Mary looks into the tomb, she sees two angels dressed in white sitting in the place where they laid the body of Jesus. The angels ask Mary why she is crying. She tells them it's because someone must have taken Jesus's body and she has no idea where they could have put it. As she says this, she turns around and sees Jesus standing there, only she doesn't recognize Him.
Like the angels, Jesus asks her why she's crying. Mary thinks that He must be the gardener and asks Him if He took the body. "Mary!" Jesus says to her, and——she recognizes Him. Jesus tells her not to touch Him though; He hasn't yet gone back to God. But, what she could do is go tell His disciples that He is going to God. Mary rushes back to the disciples once again to give them the good news.
That evening, the disciples meet at a house. They lock all the doors because they're still afraid of what might happen to them if the religious authorities find them. Suddenly, Jesus comes into the room and greets them. He shows the disciples the wounds on His hands and in His side, and the disciples are thrilled to see Him again. Jesus tells them that they are being sent out, and then… He breathes on them. They have now received the Holy Spirit and have the power to forgive the sins of others.
Thomas however, wasn't around to see any of this. Later, he rejoins the disciples and they tell him everything. Thomas isn't buying it. He says that, until he sees the nail marks and wounds on Jesus first-hand, he's not going to believe their story. Thomas needs proof of life. A week later, the disciples are meeting again in the same house and Thomas is there. Again, all the doors are locked, but again, Jesus comes. He greets the disciples and then tells Thomas that he's free to put his hand in the wound in His side and shows Him the nail marks on His hands. Jesus tells him not to doubt, but to believe. Faced with some pretty strong evidence, Thomas believes whole-heartedly. Jesus says it's great that he believes, but it's even better when people who haven't seen Him believe. Like Christians are going to have to do for the next couple millennia.
After this, Jesus appears again to the disciples on the sea near Tiberius, back up in Galilee. Peter is there, along with Thomas, Nathanael, the Beloved Disciple John, and three other unnamed disciples. The group decides to go fishing. Guess they think they should go back to their old jobs. But they don't catch anything that night. At dawn, Jesus stands on the beach and calls out to them. He tells them that if they try casting their nets on the right side of the boat they're sure to catch some fish. The disciples don't realize it's Jesus. They catch so many fish that they can barely haul them all into the boat. Then the Beloved Disciple realizes—that's Jesus standing on the beach. Peter is so excited to hear this that he jumps out of the boat and swims to shore. The other disciples are only about a hundred yards off, so they bring the boat in along with the gigantic catch of fish. When they reach the shore, they see a fish cooking over a fire and some bread. Jesus tells them to bring the fish they caught. Peter helps bring in the haul. They've caught 153 huge fish. That is what you get when you put your faith in Jesus and ask for His help. Without Christ the disciples' (and any believer's) attempts to accomplish something great on their own will fail, but that with Jesus all things are possible Not only is that a really specific number, it's amazing because their net isn't even torn. They are no longer Fishermen.. but Fishers of Men. They now worked for God whose will, was for them to catch men and not fish. Jesus invites them to have breakfast with Him. He takes the bread and gives it to each of them and does the same with the fish.
When they all finish eating, Jesus asks Peter if he loves him. Of course, Peter says. Jesus asks Peter a second time if he loves Him. —Peter still does. Then, Jesus asks him a third time. Peter is starting to feel a little hurt. Of course he loves Jesus. Jesus knows everything—He should know that, too. Funny how Peter denied Jesus three times and now Jesus is asking him three times. Jesus explains to Peter that when he (Peter) was young, he could go wherever he wanted, but when he gets older, he will be taken by force somewhere he doesn't want to go. Peter's going to be a martyr. Peter doesn't seem too excited by this. He asks what's going to happen with the other disciples, specifically The Beloved Disciple John. The Beloved Disciple looks like he's going to die a natural death. Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow Me.” Because of this, the rumor spread among the believers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”
The gospel writers tell us that the Beloved Disciple John is the one who saw all this and wrote it down. He's vouched for it, so no worries. The stories in this gospel are just the tip of the iceberg though. Jesus also did so many other amazing things. If someone ever tried to write them all down, there wouldn't be enough paper in the entire world.
Here is one of my paintings
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