ve Jesus' body, and Pilate gave
permission.

Joseph came then to the cross, and took down Jesus' body. He wrapped
it in a white linen cloth, and had it carried away to a tomb which had
been dug out of the rock. Not until after the Sabbath could Jesus'
family and friends come to put spices on the body of him whom they
loved.

Jesus' body was laid inside the tomb, and a great stone was rolled
against the door.

Standing there was a woman named Mary Magdalene with Mary the mother
of Jesus. They watched while the body of Jesus, so dear to them, was
laid away to rest.

[Illustration]

15. The Victorious King

At sunrise the day following the Sabbath, three women came to the
garden where Jesus was buried. They came, as the custom was, to put
ointments and spices on the body of Jesus.

On the way they remembered that a great stone had been rolled against
the door of the tomb. They wondered how they would get in.

"Who will roll the stone away?" they asked each other.

But when they reached the tomb, they found that the stone had been
rolled back. Someone had been there before them; the door was open.

The women went through the door of the tomb. A young man in white
clothes was sitting on one side. Seeing their amazement, the young man
spoke:

"Do not be surprised. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was
crucified. He is not here. He is risen from the dead. Look! There is
the place where he was!"

They looked, and they saw that his body was no longer there.

The young man went on, "Go quickly, and tell this to his disciples:
'Jesus is alive.'"

The women ran out of the tomb, trembling with fright and with
surprise. One of the women was Mary Magdalene. As she ran, she saw two
of the disciples coming, John and Peter. She cried out to them:

"Someone has taken Jesus' body out of the tomb. We don't know where
they have put it!"

John and Peter began to run toward the tomb. John ran faster, and got
there first. He looked through the door, and there he saw the white
cloths that Jesus' body had been wrapped in, but there was no body in
them any longer. Peter caught up to John, and ran right into the tomb.
He too saw the folded cloths. John and Peter went away to their homes,
not knowing what to think.

Meanwhile Mary Magdalene had come back. She stood in the garden near
the tomb, weeping as though her heart would break. She turned around,
and saw that a man was standing near her. He spoke to her