Sources in Jerusalem say Jesus of Nazareth is alive

Easter Sunday, Year B
First Reading: Acts 10:34a, 37-43
Second Reading: Col 3:1-4
Gospel Reading: Jn 20:1-18

Jesus, after being executed and buried on Friday afternoon, came back to life on Sunday morning. It is a historical fact, far more true and reliable than what we see on TV.

However, we have heard it so often, in Biblical language, that we no longer wonder at it. What would it sound like as a current news item (which is what it is)?

Reports indicate that Jesus of Nazareth, executed in Jerusalem last week, is alive. Sources there say people claim to have seen and talked with the well-known Galilean preacher who was crucified for alleged blasphemy on Calvary Hill outside Jerusalem on Friday, April 3.

Rumours started April 5 when three women claimed they had found the grave empty when they visited the cemetery to complete the burial rites, which had been cut short in order to dispose of the body before Passover began the evening of April 2. The women have been identified as Mary of Magdala, Joanna, Salome, and Mary the mother of James.

Cleopas claims that a man he identifies as Jesus travelled with him 11 kilometres from Jerusalem to Emmaus on Sunday evening. However, Jesus’s closest collaborators say they talked and ate with him in Jerusalem shortly afterwards.

Jerusalem temple police, accompanied by Roman soldiers, seized Jesus after Jewish leaders laid charges against him late Thursday night. The Sanhedrin condemned him early Friday morning, and Roman authorities executed him later that day.

Both Jewish Pharisee and Sadducee parties have officially condemned Jesus for dividing the people, many of whom believe He is the Messiah predicted by the prophets. For three years, Jesus has repeatedly accused both parties of legalism and hypocrisy. However, crowds greeted him as “King of the Jews” on March 29 as He entered Jerusalem.

A Pharisee spokesman has charged that Jesus’s followers removed His body from the grave Saturday night. Other Jewish authorities have suggested that Jesus fainted from loss of blood but did not actually die.

However, the Roman centurion in charge of the execution disagreed. “He was definitely dead when we took him down,” he said. “We usually break their legs to hasten their death, but He was already dead. To make sure, we stabbed him in the heart with a spear. He could not have survived.”

John, a friend of Jesus who said he had witnessed the stabbing, claimed that he saw “the last drops” of Blood and Water flow from the Body.

The grave, supplied by Council member Joseph of Arimathea, was a cave cut into rock and closed with a large stone. Roman governor Pontius Pilate, under whose jurisdiction Jesus was executed, had placed a seal over the stone and posted a guard in the cemetery.

Jewish authorities requested the precautions in case Jesus’s followers stole the Body and claimed that He had come back to life.

In a formal statement, the guards stated that the Body had been stolen while they were “asleep.” Roman military authorities are allegedly investigating their conduct, but so far, no charges have been laid.

Describing her experience at the tomb, Mary Magdalene said that “two angels” had told her Jesus was alive. “As I turned around, I saw what I thought was the gardener,” she said. “As soon as He said my name, I knew it was Jesus.”

“Mary told us early Sunday morning that His Body was not in the grave,” said John. “We ran to the cemetery and saw the grave empty and the linen grave clothes lying there but did not see Jesus.”

Jesus gave her a message that He would meet His followers in Galilee, Mary said. Their leader, Simon Peter, confirmed that all of them saw Jesus except Thomas, the Twin, late Sunday evening. “He talked with us and ate some fish,” he insisted. “It was not a ghost.”

Could you tell your non-Catholic friends about the Resurrection in these terms, as though you really believed it?

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