What happened after the resurrection of Christ. Resurrection of Christ. Victory over death. The meaning of the Resurrection of Christ

Myrrh-bearing women at the tomb of the Lord. Icon of the festive rank

Easter is the main Christian holiday for both Catholics, who this year celebrated it on April 8, and for the Orthodox, who are preparing to celebrate the Bright Resurrection of Christ a week later, on April 15. Neither of them, however, insist that this is the exact date of the resurrection of Christ. There is reason to believe that this actually happened on April 9, 30.

nisan 14

The last days of Christ's life are described in detail in the four canonical Gospels that have come down to us and in many other historical documents. However, very little is known about exactly when his earthly life ended: Christ was crucified on the cross on Nisan 14, it was Friday, in Jerusalem they were preparing to celebrate the Jewish Passover.

The first attempts to calculate the exact date of the resurrection were made in the VI century by the monk Dionysius the Small. He went down in history as the person who made 2012 our calendar. Before him, time was counted according to the years of the reign of the Roman emperors, but the system was inconvenient. In addition, among the emperors there were such nasty personalities for Christians as Diocletian, whose era was also called the era of martyrs. In general, in 525 Dionysius the Small proposed to start counting from the year of the birth of Christ.

True, for this he had to solve a difficult, to put it mildly, task: to calculate exactly when Jesus was born and died.

“It was possible to count, again, according to the years of the reign of the emperors and according to the already dilapidated consular lists stored in Rome,” says the teacher of apologetics, priest Anthony Lakirev. - Subsequently, it turned out that Dionysius the Small was mistaken in the calculations by about five years: Christ was actually born between 6 and 4 years BC. e. But for the technology that was used, this is still brilliant accuracy.

Defined by Dionysius the Small and the date of the death of Christ: March 23, 31. However, calculations carried out already in the 20th century showed that this date is also most likely erroneous.

Nisan is the first spring month of the Jewish calendar, which corresponds to March-April. Christ, as you know, was condemned and crucified under Pontius Pilate, who ruled Judea from 26 to 36. When comparing historical and astronomical data, it turned out that only three years fit into this framework, when Nisan 14 fell on Friday, and the Jewish Passover on Saturday: this was the case in 27, 30 and 33.

“It could not have happened in 27, because in that case the entire gospel story lasted less than a year, which is unlikely,” says Priest Anthony Lakirev. - The year 33 is not suitable, because there is too little time left before the year 35, when the persecution of Christians began, traceable from Jewish sources.

How did the Byzantines change history?

30 years is not a mistake, just the opinion that Christ at the time of death was 33 years old is erroneous. The so-called "age of Christ", which for many means a certain milestone, in fact, has no historical basis. According to Priest Anthony Lakirev, the fact that Christ allegedly lived for 33 years is a figment of the imagination of the Byzantines, who were very fond of beautiful numbers and were not distinguished by their desire for historical accuracy:

– Christ was about 35-36 years old. The Byzantines, on the other hand, remained in history as people with a rich imagination. There are other examples of Byzantine poetry associated with Christ: for example, the story about the red egg that Mary Magdalene allegedly presented to the emperor Tiberius, who did not believe in the resurrection.

Interestingly, sometimes the day of the death of Christ is called not 14, but 15 Nisan. Researchers, in particular theologian Robert Thomas, professor of the New Testament Department at Masters College Seminary (Sun Valley, California), explain the discrepancies only by different traditions of counting the day: for the Jews, the day began not with sunrise, but with sunset, which in Jerusalem takes place around 18 hours. Thus, Nisan 15 and the Jewish Passover began on Friday evening, when Jesus Christ, according to the testimony of the disciples, was already crucified.

The stone is rolled away, the tomb is empty

What happened then - early in the morning of Nisan 16, when the disciples of Christ came to his tomb?

In 1987, renowned Protestant preacher Josh McDowell, J.D., wrote the book Undeniable Evidence. He spent about 700 hours preparing the chapter on the resurrection of Christ, which is two-thirds quotations from historical documents, after which he confessed: “This is either one of the most malicious, insidious and heartless deceptions ever imposed on mankind, or the most amazing event his history."

So the tomb was empty. According to Hegumen Peter (Eremeev), Doctor of Theology, Rector of the Russian Orthodox University, there can be only three explanations for this:

“Either the body of the Lord was taken by his enemies, or it was done by his friends, or he rose from the dead. The first option is extremely unlikely: the enemies would certainly show his body in the future in order to expose the Christians and stop the spread of the Gospel. It is also unlikely that the disciples of Christ took away his body, because after the trial and crucifixion they were completely depressed and disappointed precisely because they did not believe in His resurrection. It is absurd to think that people in such a state could go to the trick, steal the body and spread the doctrine, which they themselves did not believe in. Only one thing remains - Christ is risen!

The main testimonies of the resurrection of Christ are the gospel testimonies written by his disciples and survived countless tests for authenticity. Already in our time, theologians, archaeologists, historians, literary critics, lawyers, physicists, chemists undertook to study them. “There is no doubt that archeology continues to confirm the almost complete correspondence of biblical traditions to historical facts,” wrote the famous orientalist, archaeologist William Albright.

Josh McDowell in his book cites the conclusion of the famous engineer and inventor John Ambrose Fleming, who argued that there is nothing in the Gospel that could confuse the scientist: “One should trust the conclusions of experts about the age and authenticity of these documents.”

“The first fragments that have come down to us date back to the very beginning of the 2nd century,” says Yuri Belanovsky, catechist at the St. Danilov Monastery. – That is, between the time when Christ lived and the time when written testimonies appeared, about 70 years passed. And starting from the 2nd century, this is already an uncountable number of manuscripts from different corners peace. The historical accuracy of the Gospel is very high. For comparison and understanding: for example, how do we now know about Socrates? From a dozen manuscripts of the X-XII century. At the same time, Socrates lived long before the birth of Christ. That is, between the manuscripts that we have and Socrates, in whom everyone is absolutely sure, many centuries have passed. There are only a few decades between Christ and the first written evidence of his resurrection. Sometimes people ask: how do you know that Christ is risen? We know from eyewitnesses. Further - very important point: resurrection is not proven. It can only be perceived through trust in eyewitnesses. Why would the disciples of Christ lie about this if they didn't lie about everything else?

Shall we celebrate together?

It is possible that someday Christians will again celebrate Easter on the same day and this will be the first Sunday after April 7th. Although it is unlikely that anyone living today will see it with their own eyes. Firstly, because the church, although it does not object to attempts to clarify the dates associated with the person of Christ, however, takes this calmly. Neither for the Orthodox nor for the Catholics is it important what date Christ was born, died and even resurrected. The second reason why the tradition of celebrating Easter on different days is unlikely to be revised in the foreseeable future has to do with church conservatism.

– Is it necessary to change something? A big question, says Priest Anthony Lakirev. – We do not lose anything fundamentally important by preserving the current tradition, and by changing it, we will not achieve anything really important. The changes are also sure to cause terrible controversy. Nobody likes this, and we in Russia have the sad experience of disagreements on church matters. Therefore, healthy conservatism teaches not to change what can not be changed.

Apologia for the Resurrection of Christ.

Draniceru Alexander

This work is abstract in nature, and the main purpose of which is, basically, only to list. if possible, all the main logical, historical, biblical and theological arguments in favor of the resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ, in order, according to A. Peter, to be always ready to give an account of your hope.

“Hallow the Lord God in your hearts; always be ready to give an answer to everyone who requires you to give an account of your hope with meekness and reverence.

(1 Peter 3:15)

The main arguments (theories) of opponents of the resurrection of Jesus Christ (authors and adherents of these ideas are indicated in brackets):

1. Christ is generally a fictional character and myth.

2. Jesus did not die, but was buried alive, as a result of which He appeared to His disciples;

3. The story of the resurrection is a myth that was smashed by the disciples who stole the body of Christ (Jews);

4. The Resurrection of the Savior was fancied by the disciples.

5. Jesus didn't die. Another was crucified for him (Muslims and ancient heretics);

1. The historicity of Jesus Christ. Christ is a fictional character and myth.

One of the simple, or shall we say, natural ways to refute the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is to deny the very existence of Christ. There is no reason - there is no event. This myth about the “myth” began to spread in the 17th-18th centuries, with the development of a rationalistic analysis of the Bible, and, in this smoldering fire of ignorance, they still tried to throw firewood in Soviet times.

In our time, both among scientists and among ordinary laity (even those who are sharply opposed to Christianity), there are very few left who still deny the real existence of Jesus Christ. Biblical studies have already developed so much that it was possible not to mention this argument of the opponents of the Resurrection, but nevertheless, in order to preserve historical justice, we will briefly consider this point.

But before moving on to the arguments “For” and “Against”, it is first important to touch upon the topical issue of pseudo evidence of the existence of Jesus Christ, which Christian and Orthodox apologists resort to out of ignorance or malicious intent, doing more harm than good, because . the devil is the father of lies (John 8:44), who tries to intervene in all, even the best, intentions (Paisius the Holy Mountaineer).

Pseudo-Beletsky, or "Memorandum of Academician A. I. Beletsky"

A widely known and popular article that appeared on the territory of the USSR in the 60s, back in the days of Samizdat, which is still passed from hand to hand in the Orthodox parish environment, mainly by Orthodox grandmothers. This article has also been widely cited throughout the Orthodox media since the 1990s: video films, articles in newspapers, brochures (on its own initiative or even with the blessing of the clergy), personal websites and even on the official websites of dioceses (!).

The article, which is attributed to the Russian and Ukrainian Soviet literary critic, Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR Alexander Beletsky, is, in fact, unique, because. she refers to a huge number of ancient historical eyewitness documents testifying to the Resurrection of Christ, and mentions the presence of more than 230 such documents (!). Of particular interest are direct quotes from a certain Greek Garmisius, “the biographer of the ruler of Judea, under Pilate” (in some versions of publications - “historiographer”), who was a direct eyewitness of the Resurrection of Christ, being only 150 steps from the Holy Sepulcher. Also, the author of the "note" constantly refers to venerable and supposedly venerable scientists.

To give weight to the article, it is drawn up as a memorandum to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, as a response to the demarche of anti-religious forces rooted in the Soviet Union.

In general, if everything in the article were true, before Christians could sleep peacefully and not worry about attacks from atheists who do not believe in the resurrection of Christ, because. would have in their hands a huge amount of convincing and undoubted evidence of the Resurrection of Christ. But... this note is fake.

Even without a serious check of this document, even the simplest layman can be confused by the fact that on the night of the Resurrection, near the Holy Sepulcher, it turns out there was a whole crowd of eyewitnesses, which is not mentioned in any Gospel, but those who even took the slightest time to study the authenticity Bible the fact that all these "historical documents" are not mentioned anywhere else in any serious scientific work on the subject of Biblical studies. What can we say about the fact that F. Engels is mentioned, who allegedly recognized no less than the very fact of the Resurrection of Christ.

The "Note" is subject to sharp criticism on the following points:

2. The general style of argumentation is completely unthinkable for a venerable philologist;

3. Inappropriate political coloration in the context of this document;

4. The inconsistency of the evidence of the "Memorandum of Understanding ..." with the narration of the canonical Gospels, protected by the author from criticism;

5. Linguistic inconsistencies;

6. Literary and philological inconsistencies;

7. The assertion that by the end of his life Friedrich Engels recognized "the fact of the resurrection of Christ";

But the most complete analysis of all the mentioned " historical documents”, quotes, statements of scientists and the same F. Engels, was conducted by Arkady Grin, a teacher German language Odessa National University. I. I. Mechnikov, where he completely proves the falsification of the document and debunks the authorship attributed to A. Beletsky, who never hid his religious beliefs, but simply could not and did not write such a note that discredits his reputation as a scientist.

Pseudo-historical documents(not finished)

(see the corresponding chapter of B. G. Derevensky “Jesus Christ in the Documents of History”)

Historicity of Jesus Christ(not finished)

(this is a large separate topic, the issue is quite widely discussed, see the corresponding wikipedia article)

2. Christ did not die. He was buried alive or unconscious.

1. Torture.

The cruel inhuman tortures of Christ, after which, the exhausting road for the tormented, and subsequently the cruel execution on the cross itself;

Many historical testimonies of contemporaries and historians have been preserved about cruel tortures and the execution of the cross (ch. "Sunday historical fact or deceit");

2. Witnesses.

· Roman soldiers-executioners.

Like no one, they knew the signs of death well, and the execution of the cross was a common thing for them. They are, as it were, the first witnesses and forensic experts of the death of Christ, who reported to Pilate.

They heard the death cry and testified of death:

“The centurion who stood opposite Him, seeing that He, having thus exclaimed, gave up the spirit, said: Verily, this Man was the Son of God.”

(Mark 15:39)

Pilate was surprised that He had already died, and, calling the centurion, asked him if he had died long ago.

(Mark 15:44)

Jews themselves.

Witness and acknowledge the fact of Christ's death:

and said: sir! We remembered that the deceiver while still alive

(Matt.27:6)

They set up guards at the Tomb, thereby confirming that they were completely sure of the death of Christ;

3. "Control blow" with a spear.

A Roman soldier pierced the rib of Jesus in order to finally assure himself of death;

33 But when they came to Jesus, and saw him already dead, they did not break his legs,

34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water.

35 And he that saw testified, and his testimony is true; he knows that he speaks the truth so that you may believe.

(John 19:33-35)

4. Rupture of the heart.

· Blood and water. It is quite remarkable that A. John especially notes the fact of the abundant flow of blood and water from the pierced rib of Christ, perhaps perceiving it as a miracle. Information is widely disseminated that there can be no profuse bleeding from a dead person. But according to medical experts, the flow of blood along with the water suggests that even before being hit with a spear, Jesus Christ died of a broken heart.

Here is a look at the cause of Christ's death offered by Samuel Houghton, a renowned physiologist at the University of Dublin:

“When the soldier pierced the ribs of Christ with a spear, He was already dead, and the ensuing outflow of blood and water was either a natural phenomenon caused by natural causes, or a miracle. Apostle John considered this, if not a miracle, then something unusual, as is clear from his commentary, and also from the solemnity with which he writes about his accuracy in recounting these events.

Repeated observations and experiments on humans and animals led me to the following conclusion:

A posthumous piercing of the left side with a large knife, comparable in size to a Roman spear, can lead to the following consequences:

1. There is no leakage from the wound, except for a few drops of blood.

2. Copious flow of blood from the wound.

3. A copious flow of "water" followed by a few drops of blood.

The first of these three cases is the most common; the second is observed in drowned people and in strychnine poisoning; it can be modeled on animals, and it can also be assumed that it would have been observed at the crucifixion. The third case is observed in death from pleurisy, pericarditis and rupture of the heart. These three cases are familiar to most anatomists who have ever taken an interest in such problems. However, the two following cases, being easily explicable from the point of view of a physiologist, are not described in the literature (with the exception of the Gospel of John). I also failed to observe them.

4. A copious flow of water followed by a copious flow of blood.

5. A copious flow of blood followed by a copious flow of water.

... Death through crucifixion causes a condition of pulmonary blood, similar to that observed in drowning and poisoning with strychnine; the fourth case can be observed if the crucified before execution suffered from a hemorrhage of the pleura; the fifth case would correspond to the death of the one crucified on the cross from a broken heart. The history of the days preceding the crucifixion of our Lord forces us to discard the assumption of pleurisy, which is also excluded if blood first flowed from the wound, and then water. There remains, therefore, the only possible explanation for the recorded phenomenon: a combination of crucifixion and rupture of the heart. (quoted by Josh McDowell)

· The very fact of describing the outflow of blood and water. It is quite obvious that the apostle could not have known such pathological features of the death of a person, and if Christ were alive, he would have described the outpouring of a thick stream of blood for every beat of the heart.

5. Burial according to Jewish law.

The fact that he was wrapped in a shroud and covered with a huge amount of incense shows that Jesus really was dead, otherwise he would have suffocated from the strong smell of incense and their causticity.

It is simply impossible to imagine that under all these conditions described above, Christ could still be alive, then still untie Himself, move away the stone imperceptibly and, as if nothing had happened, wandering around the city, also imperceptibly reach the disciples and calmly share with them meal like a perfectly healthy person.

.B. I. Gladkov Interpretation of the Gospel” 1991 (Reprint reproduction from the edition of 1907) Publisher: "Stolitsa", Moscow

Internet encyclopedia "Wikipedia", article "Pseudo-Beletsky" (http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudo-Beletsky)

A.L. Grin. Have you seen the Resurrection of Christ? In the footsteps of one fake, or how they make idiots out of us. (http://www.portal-credo.ru/site/?act=lib&id=2304)

B. G. Derevensky “Jesus Christ in the Documents of History”

Josh McDowell "Indisputable Evidence";

St. John Chrysostom. "CREATURES OF OUR HOLY FATHER JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, THE ARCHBISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE"

“One God & One Lord: Reconsidering the Cornerstone of the Christian Faith” (Appendix “G”, Russian translation).

Dranicher Alexander

RESURRECTION OF THE LORD

history of the holiday

After the Sabbath, at night, on the third day after His suffering and death, the Lord Jesus Christ, by the power of His Divinity, came to life, i.e. risen from the dead. His human body was transformed. He came out of the tomb without breaking the stone, without breaking the Sanhedrin seal and invisible to the guards. From that moment on, the soldiers, without knowing it, guarded the empty coffin.

Suddenly there was a great earthquake; An angel of the Lord came down from heaven. Having approached, he rolled away the stone from the door of the tomb of the Lord and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were as white as snow. The warriors who stood guard at the tomb trembled and became like the dead, and then, waking up from fear, fled.

On this day (the first day of the week), as soon as the Sabbath rest ended, very early, at dawn, Mary Magdalene, Mary Jacobleva, John, Salome and other women, taking the prepared fragrant myrrh, went to the tomb of Jesus Christ to anoint His body, because they did not have time to do this at the burial. (The Church calls these women myrrh-bearers). They did not yet know that guards were assigned to the tomb of Christ and the entrance to the cave was sealed. Therefore, they did not expect to meet anyone there and said among themselves: “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” The stone was very large.

Mary Magdalene, ahead of the rest of the myrrh-bearing women, was the first to come to the tomb. It was not yet dawn, it was dark. Mary, seeing that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb, immediately ran to Peter and John and said: “They took the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they laid Him.” Hearing these words, Peter and John immediately ran to the tomb. Mary Magdalene followed them.

At this time, the rest of the women, walking with Mary Magdalene, approached the tomb. They saw that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb. And when they stopped, they suddenly saw a luminous angel sitting on a stone. The angel, turning to them, said: “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus crucified. He is not here; He is risen, as He said while still with you. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And then go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead.”

They went inside the tomb (cave) and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. But, looking, they saw an angel in a white robe sitting on the right side of the place where the Lord was laid; they were terrified.

The angel says to them: “Do not be terrified; Seek Jesus the crucified Nazarene; He is risen; He is not here. That's the place where He was laid. But go tell His disciples and Peter (who by his renunciation fell away from the number of disciples) that He will meet you in Galilee, where you will see Him, as He told you.”

When the women stood in perplexity, suddenly two angels in shining clothes appeared before them again. The women bowed their faces to the ground in fear.

The angels said to them: “Why are you looking for the living among the dead? He is not here: He is risen; Remember how He told you when He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful people, and be crucified, and rise again on the third day.

Then the women remembered the words of the Lord. And having gone out, they fled from the tomb in trembling and fear. And then, with fear and great joy, they went to tell His disciples. They didn't say anything to anyone on the way, because they were afraid.

Having come to the disciples, the women told about everything they had seen and heard. But their words seemed empty to the disciples, and they did not believe them.

Meanwhile, Peter and John come running to the tomb of the Lord. John ran faster than Peter and came to the tomb first, but he did not enter the tomb, but bending down, he saw the sheets lying. Following him, Peter comes running, enters the coffin and sees only the sheets lying, and the bandage (bandage). Which was on the head of Jesus Christ, lying not with swaddling clothes, but rolled up in another place separate from the swaddling clothes. Then John came in after Peter, saw all this and believed in the Resurrection of Christ. Peter marveled at what had happened in himself. After that, Peter and John returned to their homes.

When Peter and Joanna left, Mary Magdalene, who came running with them, remained at the tomb. She stood and wept at the entrance to the cave.

And when she was crying, she bent down and looked into the cave (coffin), and saw two angels in a white robe, sitting, one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of the Savior lay.

The angels said to her: “Woman! Why are you crying?"

Mary Magdalene answered them: "They have carried away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him."

Having said this, she looked back and saw the standing Jesus Christ, but from great sadness, from tears and from her confidence that the dead do not rise, she did not recognize the Lord.

Jesus Christ says to her: “Woman! Why are you crying? Who are you looking for"?

Mary Magdalene, thinking that this is the gardener of this garden, says to Him: “Lord! If you have carried him, tell me where you put him, and I will take him.”

Then Jesus Christ says to her: "Mary"!

The well-known voice made her come to her senses from her sadness, and she saw that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself was standing before her. She exclaimed, “Master!” - and with indescribable joy she threw herself at the feet of the Savior; and for joy she did not imagine the whole grandeur of the moment.

But Jesus Christ, pointing to the great holy mystery of His resurrection, tells her: “Do not touch Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to my brothers (i.e. disciples) and say to them: I ascend to my Father and to your Father and to my God and your God.”

Then Mary Magdalene hastened to His disciples with the news that she had seen the Lord and that He had told her. This was the first appearance of Christ after the resurrection.

On the way, Mary Magdalene caught up with Mary Iakovleva, who was also returning from the tomb of the Lord. When they went to tell the disciples, suddenly Jesus Christ Himself met them and said to them: “Rejoice!”

They came up, took hold of His feet and worshiped Him.

Then Jesus Christ said to them: "Do not be afraid, go, tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me."

Then the resurrected Christ appeared a second time.

Mary Magdalene with Mary Iakovleva, entering the eleven disciples and all the others, weeping and weeping, announced great joy. But when they heard from them that Jesus Christ is alive and they saw Him, they did not believe.

After that, Jesus Christ appeared separately to Peter and assured him of His resurrection. (Third occurrence). Only then did many cease to doubt the reality of the resurrection of Christ, although there were still unbelievers among them.

But first of all, as testified from antiquity, St. Church, Jesus Christ rejoiced His Most Holy Mother, having announced to Her through an angel of His resurrection.

Meanwhile, the soldiers who were guarding the tomb of the Lord and fled from fear, came to Jerusalem. Some of them went to the high priests and they were told everything that had happened at the tomb of Jesus Christ. The high priests, having gathered with the elders, held a conference.

Due to their evil stubbornness, the enemies of Jesus Christ did not want to believe in His resurrection and decided to hide this event from the people. To do this, they bribed the soldiers. Giving a lot of money, they said: “Tell everyone that His disciples, when you were sleeping, stole Him at night, and if this comes to the ruler (Pilate), then we will clap for you in front of him and save you from trouble.” The warriors took the money and did as they were taught. This rumor spread among the Jews, so that many of them believe it to this day.

The deception and lies of this rumor are visible to everyone. If the soldiers were asleep, they could not see, and if they saw, then they did not sleep and would have detained the kidnappers. The guard must watch and watch. It is impossible to imagine that the guard, which consisted of several persons, could fall asleep. And if all the soldiers fell asleep, then they were subject to severe punishment. Why were they not punished, but left alone (and even rewarded)? And the frightened disciples, who locked themselves in their homes from fear, could they possibly decide, without weapons against the armed Roman soldiers, on such a brave deed? And besides, why did they have to do this when they themselves had lost faith in their Savior?

Besides, could they roll off a huge rock without waking anyone up? All this is impossible. On the contrary, the disciples themselves thought that someone had carried away the body of the Savior, but when they saw the empty coffin, they realized that this did not happen after the abduction. And, finally, why didn't the leaders of the Jews search for the body of Christ and punish the disciples? Thus, the enemies of Christ tried to obscure the cause of God with a crude interweaving of lies and deceit, but proved powerless against the truth.

Chapter from the Law God's Seraphim Sloboda.

Mary Magdalene and women at the tomb of Jesus Christ

Appearance of the Resurrected Jesus Christ to Mary Magdalene (first appearance)

Peter and John Run to the Tomb

Usually the Romans threw the bodies of the crucified into a common pit - or worse, they left them on the Cross until the bodies were pecked by birds and animals were taken away. But one of the members of the Jewish supreme council - the Sanhedrin, Joseph of Arimathea, a rich man and a disciple of Jesus, came to the Roman governor - Pontius Pilate, and asked him for permission to take the body of Jesus. On the part of Joseph, this was a manifestation of great fidelity - to express interest in the Preacher, who was executed on charges of rebellion, meant putting himself at risk. In addition, the pious Jews avoided entering the house of the pagan Romans. Joseph, however, went to great lengths to ensure Jesus had a proper burial. At that time, people were buried in rock-cut tombs. Joseph's property was a tomb in which no one had yet been laid. He decided to donate it to Jesus - and laid His body there, closing the entrance to the tomb, as was usually done, with a huge stone. The next day, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered and asked Pilate to put guards at the tomb so that the disciples would not steal the body and declare Jesus resurrected.

As the Gospel says, “After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for the Angel of the Lord, who descended from heaven, approached, rolled away the stone from the door of the tomb and sat on it; his appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow; fearful of him, the guards trembled and became like dead men; The angel, turning his speech to the women, said: Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus crucified; He is not here - He is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay, and go quickly, tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead and is ahead of you in Galilee; you will see him there. Behold, I have told you” (Mt 28:1-7).

The place where he was buried - and rose again - the Lord from the very beginning Christian Church was an object of reverence. After Christianity became the state religion, the pious Empress Helen, the mother of Emperor Constantine, visited the Holy Sepulcher, who ordered that a temple be erected on this site in honor of the Resurrection of Christ. The temple was solemnly consecrated in the presence of Emperor Constantine on September 13, 335.

Centuries have passed since then; power in Jerusalem passed from hand to hand, the temple was destroyed and rebuilt, but the flow of pilgrims from all over the world who wanted to honor the place of the Resurrection of Christ did not dry up for a day. As Isaiah prophesied centuries before Christ, “And many nations will go and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and He will teach us His ways, and we will walk in His paths; For out of Zion the law will go forth, and the word of the Lord out of Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:3).

Why was Jesus Christ resurrected?

The gospel emphasizes that the resurrection of the Lord Jesus is a victory over sin and death on a universal scale, a victory that concerns every person.

Before that, there were other cases of the return of dead people to life: the Lord resurrected, for example, the son of the widow of Nain (Lk 7:11) and in the most amazing and miraculous way - Lazarus (Jn 11). But this was the return of people to ordinary life, which still ends in death. Saint Lazarus, as Church Tradition tells us, became a bishop in Cyprus and died thirty years after his resurrection. But “Christ, having risen from the dead, dies no more; death has no more power over him” (Rom. 6:9). It is this, qualitatively different, eternal and blessed life that Christ will share with those who trust Him and follow Him: He will once again (and forever) resurrect both Lazarus and all pious Christians.

The resurrection, which the Lord repeatedly foretold even before His suffering, is also the seal of God's approval on everything Jesus said and did.

Eyewitnesses of His ministry convey to us His words, they are preserved in the Gospels. As even His adversaries admitted, "Never did a man speak like this Man."

Jesus said that He was with the Father before the world was. That it is He, Jesus, who will judge all nations at the last day. That our eternal life is determined by whether we turn to Him in repentance and faith. And He said that the purpose of His coming was to suffer and die for the sins of people. “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mk 10:45).

After forty days, He ascended to the Father, instructing His disciples to preach the Good News of His resurrection: “And he said to them, Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; but whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:15,16)

Through faith and Baptism, people enter into a mystical union with Christ, abide “in Christ,” as Scripture says, so that He takes away their sins and partakes them of His eternal life. This union is carried out in the Church - a community where the Risen One, invisibly, but effectively and savingly, dwells among His faithful.

Having completed their earthly journey, they move to Him and abide in the inexpressible light and joy of His presence. The day will come when the Lord will return in glory to judge the world, forever and finally crush the forces of evil. Then the dead will be resurrected and enter into the blissful life of the saved and transfigured universe.

And we already see the dawn of this day in the Resurrection of Christ.

In what year did Jesus Christ resurrect?

The Gospels report that Christ began his ministry when he was about 30 years old, and it lasted three years, therefore the Crucifixion and Resurrection took place in the year 33 AD - after all, we count the years of “AD” from the Nativity of Christ. True, it is possible that in the Middle Ages, when determining the exact date of Christmas, a mistake was made, and in reality the Lord was born between 12 and 7 BC, which, accordingly, changes the exact date of the Resurrection, but this is not so important; the historical context of this event is important for us.

In the 1st century the whole world was pagan, people worshiped many deities. These gods were neither omnipotent, nor omniscient, nor all-good. It was even impossible to say that they love people, they could have favorites, as rulers have favorites, but love for people in general ... No, this was not. The gods could have a rather quarrelsome and dissolute character and often conflicted with each other.

But in Jerusalem they believed quite differently. The ancient Jews were different from their pagan neighbors - they were, as we now say, monotheists. They believed that there was only one true God, the Creator of all things. God, who is the unconditional Master of human history and directs it towards the goals that He has determined. This God made a Covenant with His people, that is, entered into close relationships, family relationships with the people whom He has chosen and brought near.

The Old Testament - the part of the Bible that tells about events that took place before the birth of Jesus Christ - recounts the long, often painful history of God's people. People swore allegiance to God, but then they cheated and fell into idolatry. The sin of the people led to terrible disasters - the pagans destroyed the city and drove people into captivity. People repented and turned to God and got the opportunity to return. All this time, God sent prophets to the people - people who denounced the worship of false gods, injustice and oppression, and called the people and the nobility to repentance. But the prophets conveyed another message - that God would send the Savior, the Messiah, to people.

The word "Messiah", Mashiach, or, in Greek, "Christ" means "the anointed one." In ancient times, when a person was appointed to some extremely important ministry, a prophet or a king, they poured sacred oil on his head, a special kind of oil, as a sign that God gives him power and strength to fulfill the mission entrusted to him.

Over time, the word “anointed one” began to mean a king and a prophet in some absolute, final sense - the one who will establish the Kingdom of peace and justice on earth and forever defeat the forces of evil and sin.

When the Lord Jesus went out to preach, someone responded to His words with sincere faith, realizing that this is the Christ foretold by the prophets, but many saw in Him a threat to their power, their authority, their habitual way of life. Jesus' opponents slandered Him before the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, presenting Him as a rebel against the Roman authorities.

Jesus was sentenced to terrible death, which the Romans subjected those who rebelled against them - to the Crucifixion on the Cross. The executioner was first beaten with scourges with sewn in lead spikes, which cut the body to the bone, then they nailed the arms and legs to the cross so that his death was as painful and terrifying as possible.

On the screen saver: a fragment of a photo of the Descent of the Holy Fire in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, author - Tsafir Abayov

is the foundation of our faith. It is that first, most important, great truth, with the proclamation of which the apostles began their sermon. Just as our sins were cleansed by Christ's death on the cross, so eternal life is given to us by His resurrection. Therefore, for believers, the resurrection of Christ is a source of constant joy, unceasing jubilation, reaching its peak on the feast of the holy Christian Pascha.

There is probably no person on earth who has not heard about the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. But, at a time when the very facts of His death and resurrection are so widely known, their spiritual essence, their inner meaning are the mystery of God's wisdom, justice and His infinite love. The best human minds bowed helplessly before this incomprehensible mystery of salvation. However, the spiritual fruits of the Savior's death and resurrection are accessible to our faith and palpable to the heart. And thanks to the ability given to us to perceive the spiritual light of Divine truth, we are convinced that the incarnate Son of God really voluntarily died on the cross to cleanse our sins and rose again to give us eternal life. Our whole religious outlook is based on this conviction.

Now let us briefly recall the main events connected with the resurrection of the Savior. According to the evangelists, the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross on Friday, about three o'clock in the afternoon, the day before Jewish Passover. On the same day in the evening, Joseph of Arimathea, a rich and pious man, together with Nicodemus, removed the body of Jesus from the cross, anointed it with fragrant substances, wrapped it in a linen (“shroud”), as it was supposed to according to Jewish traditions, and buried it in a stone cave. Joseph carved this cave in the rock for his own burial, but out of love for Jesus, he gave it to Him. This cave was located in the garden of Joseph, next to Calvary, where Christ was crucified. Joseph and Nicodemus were members of the Sanhedrin (the supreme Jewish court) and at the same time secret disciples of Christ. The entrance to the cave where they buried the body of Jesus, they blocked with a large stone. The burial was done hastily and not according to all the rules, since that evening the feast of the Jewish Passover began.

Despite the holiday, on Saturday morning, the chief priests and scribes went to Pilate and asked him for permission to assign Roman soldiers to the tomb to guard the tomb. A seal was applied to the stone that closed the entrance to the tomb. All this was done out of a precaution, as they remembered the prediction of Jesus Christ that He would rise again on the third day after His death. So the Jewish leaders, without suspecting it themselves, prepared irrefutable evidence of the resurrection of Christ that followed the next day.

Where was the Lord in His soul after He died? According to the belief of the Church, He descended into hell with His saving sermon and brought out the souls of those who believed in Him (1 Pet. 3:19).

On the third day after His death, Sunday, early in the morning, when it was still dark and the soldiers were at their post at the sealed tomb, the Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead. The mystery of the resurrection, like the mystery of the incarnation, is incomprehensible. With our weak human mind, we understand this event in such a way that at the moment of resurrection the soul of the God-man returned to His body, which is why the body came to life and was transformed, becoming incorruptible and spiritualized. After that, the resurrected Christ left the cave without rolling off the stone and without violating the high priestly seal. The soldiers did not see what happened in the cave, and after the resurrection of Christ they continued to guard the empty tomb. Soon there was an earthquake, when the Angel of the Lord, descended from heaven, rolled away the stone from the door of the tomb and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The soldiers, frightened by the Angel, fled.

Neither the myrrh-bearing women nor the disciples of Christ knew anything about what had happened. Since the burial of Christ was done hastily, the myrrh-bearing wives agreed on the day after the Easter holiday, that is, in our opinion, on Sunday, to go to the tomb and finish anointing the body of the Savior with fragrant ointments. They did not even know about the Roman guard assigned to the coffin and about the attached seal. When the dawn began to appear, Mary Magdalene, Mary Jacobleva, Salome and some other pious women went to the tomb with fragrant myrrh. Heading to the burial place, they were perplexed: “Who will roll away the stone from the tomb for us?”- because, as the Evangelist explains, the stone was great. Mary Magdalene was the first to come to the tomb. Seeing the tomb empty, she ran back to the disciples Peter and John and informed them about the missing body of the Teacher. A little later, other myrrh-bearing women came to the tomb. They saw a young man in the tomb, sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe. The mysterious youth said to them: “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus crucified. He has risen. Go and tell His disciples that they will see Him in Galilee.” Excited by the unexpected news, they hurried to the disciples.

Meanwhile, the apostles Peter and John, having heard from Mary about what had happened, ran to the cave: but, finding in it only the linen and cloth that was on the head of Jesus, they returned home in bewilderment. After them, Mary Magdalene returned to the burial place of Christ and began to cry. At this time, she saw in the tomb two angels in white robes who were sitting - one at the head, the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus lay. The angels asked her: "Why are you crying?" After answering them, Mary turned back and saw Jesus Christ, but did not recognize Him. Thinking it was the gardener, she asked: “Sir, if you have carried Him (Jesus Christ), then tell me where you put Him, and I will take Him.” Then the Lord said to her: “Mary!” Hearing a familiar voice and turning to Him, she recognized Christ and, exclaiming: “Teacher!” threw herself at His feet. But the Lord did not allow her to touch Himself, but ordered her to go to the disciples and tell about the miracle of the resurrection.

On the same morning, the soldiers came to the high priests and informed them about the appearance of the Angel and about the empty tomb. This news greatly excited the Jewish leaders: their anxious forebodings were fulfilled. Now their first task was to ensure that the people would not believe in the resurrection of Christ. Having gathered a council, they gave the soldiers a lot of money, ordering them to spread the rumor that the disciples of Jesus had stolen His body at night, while the soldiers were sleeping. The soldiers did everything in this way, and so the rumor about the theft of the body of the Savior then kept for a long time among the people.

A week later, the Lord again appeared to the apostles, including St. Thomas, who was absent at the first appearance of the Savior. To dispel Thomas's doubts about His resurrection, the Lord allowed him to touch His wounds, and Thomas, who believed, fell at His feet, exclaiming: "My Lord and my God!" As the evangelists further relate, during the forty-day period after His resurrection, the Lord appeared to the apostles several more times, talked with them and gave them final instructions. Shortly before His ascension, the Lord appeared to more than five hundred believers.

On the fortieth day after His resurrection, the Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven in the presence of the apostles, and since then He has been at the “right hand” of His Father. The apostles, encouraged by the resurrection of the Savior and His glorious ascension, returned to Jerusalem, waiting for the descent of the Holy Spirit upon them, as the Lord had promised them.