1When dawn broke on the first day of the week after Passover, the three days and nights had passed following which Jmmanuel would live again after his near-death, as he had foretold.
2And behold, a great thundering arose in the air, and a radiant light came from the sky and settled on the earth, not far from the tomb.
3Then a guardian angel stepped forth from the light; his appearance was like lightning and his garment was as white as snow.
4And he went to the tomb, and the soldiers, full of fear, moved out of his way.
5He lifted his hand, and from it bright lightning sprang forth and struck the soldiers, one after the other.
6And they fell to the ground and did not stir for a long time.
7Then the guardian angel stepped up to the tomb, rolled the stone away from the door and said to Mary, the mother of Jmmanuel, and to Mary Magdalene, who were both there:
8"Don't be afraid, I know you seek Jmmanuel, the crucified.
9"He is not here, for he is alive just as he said he would be. Come here and behold the place where he has lain.
10"Go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from near-death.
11"Also tell them: He will walk before you to Galilee, and there you will see him. Behold, I have told you.
12But Mary asked, "Yet he was dead and lay here dead. How can he then rise?"
13The guardian angel answered, "Why are you seeking a live person among the dead?
14"Go now and spread the news among his disciples, but beware of telling anyone else.
15And the guardian angel went to the bright light and disappeared into it. Soon a great thundering came forth from it again, and it rose up into the air, shooting straight into the sky.
16Jmmanuel's mother and Mary Magdalene then departed, leaving the tomb.
17The soldiers, however, recovered from their paralysis and were greatly astonished. So they went into the city to spread the news of what had happened.
18And secretly they met with the chief priests and elders of the council to decide what to tell the people.
19The chief priests and elders gave sufficient money to the soldiers and said, "Tell the people his disciples came at night while we were sleeping and stole his body."
20And the soldiers took the money and did as they had been instructed.
21Mary and Mary Magdalene, however, left and did as they had been mandated by the guardian angel.
22And behold, again a guardian angel met them on their way and said, "Remember what you have been instructed to do. Be careful and do not inadvertently tell the people.”
23Mary Magdalene approached the guardian angel, who wore a brilliant white garment, and she wanted to grasp his hand.
24But he stepped back from her and said, "Do not touch me, because I am of a different kind from you and my garment is a protection against this world.
25"If you touch me you will die and be consumed by fire.
26"Step back from me and be on your way as you have been instructed."
27So they departed, and they met Peter and another disciple, telling them what had taken place.
28Peter and the other disciple went to the tomb, with the other disciple arriving there first.
29And he looked into the tomb and saw the linen bandages lying neatly on the ground, but he did not enter.
30Then Peter arrived, went into the tomb and found everything just as the other disciple had.
31The bandages had been carefully folded and placed on the ground. The sweat cloth, which had covered Jmmanuel's head, had been placed on a particular spot, together with the salves and herbs and clay figurines of peculiar appearance, the likes of which he had never seen before. Thus they were foreign to him.
Jmmanuel's Meetings With His Disciples
32In the evening of the same day, the disciples were gathered in the room in the city where they had taken their last meal with Jmmanuel before Passover.
33And they were in the room speaking to each other about what had happened that day when, behold, the door opened and a stranger entered whom they had never seen before.
34And they were afraid that he might be one of the Israelites who wanted to betray them.
35But then the stranger said, "Peace be with you:' and when he took the cloth from his face, they recognized him as Jmmanuel.
36After he had said that, he showed them his hands, his loin and his feet; and when they saw his wounds, they were happy he was among them.
37But Thomas believed a ghost to be in front of him. So he said, "lf I could touch your wounds, I would know that you are not a ghost."
38Then Jmmanuel said to him, "Reach out and place your hand on my wounds, so that you of small mind may recognize the truth.'
39So Thomas did as he had been told, and he touched his wounds and said, "Truly, it is you."
40Then Jmmanuel departed, saying, "Guard the secret of my return, so it will not be known that I am alive.
41And behold, the next day the disciples set out for Galilee to spread the joyful news among Jmmanuel's supporters.
42As other followers went along, behold, an itinerant joined them and for part of the way walked with them.
43They were sad and talked among themselves about how Jmmanuel had been forced to die on the cross.
44Then the itinerant, a stranger, said to them, "Why are you mourning?" And they told him what grieved them.
45But the itinerant said, "How little knowledge you yet have; Jmmanuel told you he would rise from near-death after three days and nights.
46"So just as he has said, it has happened.”
47After he had spoken he removed the cloth from his face and they recognized him as Jmmanuel.
48But he said nothing more, and again covering his face, he withdrew. And he was not seen for a long time.
49Long after Jmmanuel had disappeared, it came to pass that the disciples were fishing on the Sea of Tiberias,
50and they caught nothing the entire night, so by daybreak they were exasperated.
51And when they approached the shore, there stood a stranger who asked, "Haven't you anything to eat? I'm hungry."
52They answered, "No, we have not caught one fish in our nets."
53Then the stranger said, "Throw the net out to the right side of the boat, and you will have a large catch."
54The disciples were astonished by what he said, but nevertheless cast the net. And behold, they could not pull it in because of the multitude of fish.
55And they came ashore and prepared a meal, for like the stranger they, too, were hungry.
56But when he uncovered his face, behold, it was Jmmanuel.
57And while they were eating and in good spirits, he said to them, "Go to Galilee to such-and-such mountain; there I will join you, because our time together has ended and each of us may go his separate way.”