Level 3
Lesson 23: The First Easter

There came a time when the friends of Jesus were very sad indeed, for the cruel rulers in Jerusalem had taken their dear Master and killed Him.

One of the friends of Jesus had buried his body in a rocky cave in his own garden, outside the city. Two days after, so early in the morning that it was still dark, Mary Magdalene, who had loved Jesus very dearly, came to the cave, bringing sweet spices and perfumes for the body of Jesus.

On the way to the garden she thought, “How shall I roll away the heavy stone from the mouth of the cave?”

Imagine her surprise when she reached the garden and found that the stone had already been moved! What could have happened? Someone must have been there and taken away her dear Lord!

Poor Mary turned and ran back to find Peter and John. “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and I do not know where they have laid Him,” she cried.

Peter and John started to run to the tomb, and Mary followed, but John ran faster than the others and reached the tomb first. He bent down and looked through the low doorway into the empty tomb, but did not go in.

Then Peter came up, breathless from running, and went right into the tomb. John followed. Yes, there lay the clothes that had been wrapped around Jesus, but nothing else! The two friends looked at each other wondering as they left the cave and went back home, leaving Mary standing outside crying.

As she stood there wondering what to do, Mary bent down and looked into the cave. To her surprise she saw two young men in white garments sitting where the body of Jesus had lain. One of them said to her, “Why do you weep?”

Mary replied, “Because someone has taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”

Then a very wonderful thing happened. As she turned to go she saw someone standing behind her. It was still not quite light and Mary thought to herself, “He must be the gardener.”

The Man spoke to her gently, “Why do you cry? Who do you seek?”

“At last,” thought Mary, “here is someone who can tell me where Jesus is.” Speaking eagerly, she said, “Sir, if you have taken Him away, tell me where you have laid Him.”

But the Man said just one word—“Mary!”

At once she knew Who it was—Jesus himself. She could hardly believe her eyes; she was so happy that she could only say breathlessly, “Master!”

How wonderful it was that Jesus was alive again and able to speak to her! All her sorrow was gone, for now she knew that Jesus would always be near.

As she ran home to tell the other friends of Jesus what she had seen, her heart was singing for joy, and she kept repeating to herself, “Jesus is alive. Jesus is alive forever!”