ALIVE: Chapter 185, The Eighth Day

Being the last person to leave Hades, Jesus was free to pick a mountaintop upon which to enjoy His much needed Sabbath rest. Some angels thought that they hadn’t seen God, the Son, so needful of rest since the first Sabbath after they topped off Creation with all the animals and Adam and Eve.

Thoughts of spending the day and night on Mt. Sinai perked Jesus up. Sinai! Perfect. He always wanted to go there while still human. The Law is life. The Law. How devoted Jesus was to the Law, every single commandment of His Father. How perfectly He obeyed, and yet, it was for their misunderstanding of the Law (what is work?) that He was criticized. Ironic. Yes, Sinai was the perfect healing place. While on the Holy Mountain Sinai, just as on that day three years earlier in Jericho after He was grilled by Satan, Jesus needed the angels and He needed the Sabbath rest.

Dozens of angels and archangels met Him there to minister to Him. They chanted, they chatted, they performed tricks to return laughter to His heart.

As much as He wanted to, Jesus hadn’t ascended to His Father yet. He died as a human and He was still a human. He had one more person to bring back to life from the dead and that was Himself. Jesus grinned as He remembered the jeers, “If you are the Son of God, come down from that cross. Save yourself!” Nah, too easy, too soon. After leaving Hades and annihilating it, He needed to prove that He had conquered death. That He was alive. Flesh and blood alive. Eating and breathing alive.

He had one more feat to perform. He had to free the living from the slavery of sin, one person at a time. That would take a miracle.

More than the pain and humiliation of the crucifixion, and even more grueling than taking upon Himself the sins of humankind as the Lamb of God, Jesus needed to recover from the shock of being in Hades. After all, He didn’t know what to expect, which was why He had to become human and be crucified in the first place. It was so gloomy and horrible. If it wasn’t for seeing John the Baptist, David, and some of the prophets there, the pit of Hades would have been unbearable. The hodgepodge of good and the evil, the friends of God and His enemies captured together in one dark dungeon tormenting each other was even worse than the tumultuousness of good and evil wrestling against each other on earth and within each human soul.

Those souls in Hades who recognized Jesus, greeted Him warmly, although it was impossible for them to be genuinely happy, since they had grown accustomed to the malaise of Hades. Jesus shuddered to think back on what He saw there. The effect of the curse of death on both the holy and the hellish darkened the magnificence of Creation. It was time for sorting.

Gazing at the Sabbath sun setting on the distant horizon from the top of Sinai, Jesus was reminded that He needed to prepare for His  resurrection to prove that death had no hold on Him. “Jesus, we need to be going.” said Archangel Michael.

“What a view!” replied Jesus admiring the blazing red sky. “I’m going to miss being human.  This planet looks so beautiful from here. I only traveled between Galilee and Judea, there is so much more to see. I loved walking.”

“Remember, you went to Egypt.” reminded Michael. “Besides, you have the nebula to admire. These humans don’t have that.”

“Yeah, but I was too young to remember much of Egypt, except our neighbor. I loved her. Thanks for reminding me. I will need to make sure she finds out who I am. She will be so surprised.”

After the sun fell behind the Judaea horizon of that holiest of holy Sabbaths during the fourth watch of night, the Archangels Michael and Gabriel accompanied Jesus from Sinai back to the tomb. After the angels, bright and beautiful, illuminated the dark cave, Jesus reentered His beaten and bruised body. He lifted the cloth from His face, opened His eyes, sat up and looked around. He looked down and saw the dried blood where the soldier pierced Him. Then He closed His eyes again and asked His Father to restore His body.

He felt His beaten body heal while leaving scars for evidence. He  returned to the perfection of Adam at creation, before the curse of death ever haunted humankind. His mission, until He ascends to His Father will be to reveal the essence and capabilities of the original and future human being. He looked forward to relaying His parting lessons outside the synagogue. It was time to introduce all nations to the one true God.

Instead of an ethnicity, the chosen people of God would soon be related by their baptism, by obedience, humility, and faith, and in their bodies too through the Eucharist, holy medicine, the antidote of sin. They would be true children of God. Such a transformation of humankind was certainly worth dying for.

…

As Jerusalem slept, having fully regained His strength, Jesus first  wiped away the myrrh and aloes which had retained their fragrance through the night. Lower angels swept the cave clean.

Jesus jumped off the sepulcher and stretched His arms and legs. He folded the face napkin. Looked up at the angels with a smile who smiled back. He easily walked through the stone that had been placed at the mouth of the sepulcher to prevent anyone from stealing His body. He chuckled at how easy that was, and how pathetic His enemies were.

Outside, He took a deep breath of the fresh morning air. He felt great! He remembered that on the eighth day all baby boys were circumcised to receive the mark of the covenant between God and His chosen people. Well, here it was the first day, but also the eighth day. The sign of the new covenant would be engraved on their hearts, the place of spiritual procreation. Boys and girls alike would receive the invisible mark of the new covenant.

Light accompanied Him as He walked around soaking in the joy of being human on earth. He was sorry that these final days would be numbered, 40 to be exact, just as with Moses on Mt. Sinai when he retrieved the Ten Commandments, or the 40 days of the flood, or the forty days He fasted after His baptism. He looked forward to the surprise on the faces of the ladies who would soon be coming.

More than the imminent surprise, knowing the magnitude of what had transpired after the crucifixion, on Passover Sabbath and today, the eighth day, the seeds He planted for a new world is what brought Jesus the most satisfaction. He foreknew the tortures His martyrs would endure, and He knew that He would be with them to help them get through the mutilation of their bodies, but their souls would grow stronger and stronger as they endured until the end, which would be their arrival in Paradise. As He tricked Satan by allowing Himself to be crucified so He could go to Hades, so would His followers trick evil of all kinds by enduring it to received their own crowns of glory. A moment of pain for an eternity of joy, like childbirth. What brought gladness to His heart was the realization that the holiest of humankind could go to Paradise instead of Hades to wait for the new world, and that they could be there together.

…

Back in Jerusalem, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James who was sleeping next to her woke up while it was still dark. They had felt such anguish during the crucifixion, that the Passover Seder seemed unreal as they went through the motions. Ordinarily after crying so much, they would sleep, but not that night, none of these ladies lady slept well. Magdalene said whispered to her friend so as not to wake up the men, “Do you want to go to the tomb with me now to anoint Him with the spices and oils [we prepared yesterday]?”

“I’m ready.” Mary replied eagerly.

Salome from Galilee heard the ladies and said, “I’m coming too. I’m awake.”

“Me too.” added Joanna groggily.

“Of course.” whispered the other ladies in unison. “Let’s all go.”

Without another word, the ladies dressed and folded their blankets. Joanna picked up the satchel of spices. Magdalene quietly opened the door and they all tiptoed out into the darkness of predawn leaving the snoring men and His mother in a deep refreshing sleep.

Heading up the narrow streets to the sepulcher the ladies walked slowly, somberly, and carefully to avoid tripping on the cobblestones. Joanna was careful not to spill the precious spices. Day slowly broke through the darkness.The closer they got to the tomb, the harder their hearts beat from fear and grief. They still couldn’t believe that their Lord was dead. It all happened so fast. Each lady succumbed to weeping while hiking up the last stretch of well worn trail to Golgotha.

Salome said, “I’m sure there will be a boulder in the mouth of the tomb. How will we move it?”

Joanna replied casually,  “Let’s wait until that is a real problem, before we try to solve it.”

“Here come the ladies.” said the angel to Jesus, “You had better hide!”

Jesus scurried behind a tree to watch for the ladies to arrive.

When they finally reached the tomb where He had been laid, suddenly the earth quaked under them. The ladies lost their balance and fell to the ground.

Mary Magdalene, propping herself up, spotted an angel of the Lord descend from heaven, approach and with a touch roll away the stone, and sat on it. She blinked several times to make sure it wasn’t just an apparition. The angel’s appearance was as lightning, and his robe was as white as snow.

The other ladies stared as they saw the stone roll away presumably from the quake of the earth, but they didn’t see the angel.

All four ladies were dumbfounded and paralyzed with fear as they picked themselves up.

With the stone fully out of the way, one by one each lady composed herself and brushed herself off. They peaked inside the opening of the tomb which which was drenched in light as bright as a summer midday and saw that Jesus was not there.

Joanna said, “Mary, are you sure this is the right tomb?”

“Yes, of course Joanna. I’m positive. Besides, what other tomb of a dead man would be so bright and have the sheets folded so neatly. Don’t you see the angel?”

Joanna shrugged her shoulders and tiptoed inside the tomb followed by the others.

Entering into the tomb, they all saw a young man sitting on the right side, arrayed in a white robe; and they were amazed. 

Suddenly, the frightened ladies heard a voice saying, “Fear not; for I know that you seek Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here. He has risen, even as He said He would. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.”

They tiptoed around for a closer look at the folded death clothes on the empty sepulcher.

After pausing while the ladies looked around, the angel added, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how He spoke to you when He was in Galilee? He told you that the Son of Man must be delivered up into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again. Today is that day, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday! This is a new day! It is the eighth day. No longer will it be known as the day to return to work.”

“Where is He?” said Salome.

The man replied, “He is risen; He is not here. Go, tell his disciples and Peter that He will meet them in Galilee. You all will see Him there.”

Mary Magdalene was the first to say, “Thank you!  Come ladies, there is nothing more to see here.”

Joanna dropped the satchel of spices and oil there in the tomb, and followed, smiling at the bright man in white as she passed him.

On the way out they passed the other brilliant angel again and feeling more comfortable after the shock, they smiled, nodded, and walked briskly away trembling with astonishment.

The second brilliant angel repeated, “Go and tell His disciples that He is risen as He said, “Go to Galilee!”

“Oh my!” said Mary the mother of James. “This is astonishing.”

Echoes of good byes and ‘thank yous’ trailed the rushing ladies down the mountain. Soon bewilderment swept into their minds. He wasn’t there, but where was He?

Mary Magdalene who was lagging behind the others in deep contemplation because she still wasn’t sure what to believe, and looking down to make sure of her footing, noticed a man standing nearby; she planned to walk by Him. Then she heard Him say, “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for this early in the morning?”

Mary Magdalene, supposing the man to be the gardener replied, “Sir, if you have taken Jesus away from here, please, I beg of you, tell me where you laid Him, and we will take Him away.”

Jesus said, “Mary.”

Recognizing His voice she said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” She rushed over to Him and fell at His feet. She touched them and worshipped Him, saying “My Lord, my Lord! You ARE alive! Glory to God! Glory ! Hallelujah.”

Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid, but don’t touch Me! I have not yet ascended to the Father: but go to my brothers, and tell them that I will ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God. Tell them to meet Me in Galilee.”

Jesus then disappeared. Mary looked around for Him and when sure He was gone, she went to catch up with the other ladies heading back to tell them that she saw and spoke to Him!

She squinted her eye to see how far ahead her friends were down the path.

After hearing that Mary Magdalene had actually seen Jesus, the ladies merrily descended Golgotha and entered the city without saying a word to each other because they were all still afraid of the priests, and at the same time overjoyed. They passed men and women preparing for the day, removing their clothes from the line and children playing as if this was a normal day. Instead thought Joanna, this day is like a brand new day! I want to call it the Lord’s day!”

The ladies walked as fast as they could without running.

Magdalene was the first to reach the door and thrust it open. The men were all awake by then, still looking sullen. “Brothers! Our Lord is risen! I have seen Him!”

Thomas said, “Are you crazy?!”

The other Mary added, “We went to the tomb and we saw angels. They told us that Jesus was risen and to meet Him in Galilee. Let’s go!”

“Now I know you are crazy.” added Thomas.

Matthew said, “I don’t believe you.”

Mary Magdalene blurted, “I saw Him with my own eyes! He spoke to me. He told me that He will see you in Galilee.”

A few others echoed, “I don’t believe you either.”

Meanwhile, Peter stood up and rushed out of the house.

Mother Mary was beaming. She didn’t need to see for herself.

John said, “I’m coming too!” and started running, soon passing Peter.

…

When John arrived at the tomb first, he stooped and peaked inside. He saw the linen cloths sitting on the sepulcher. Peter arrived, put his hand on John’s shoulder and pushed him back and said, “I’m going in.” Peter entered the tomb first. It smelled so good in there!

Peter noticed the napkin that covered Jesus’ face rolled up in a place by itself. John then entered the tomb. He looked around but saw nothing else, no angels. All Peter could do was go back confused wondering what happened. They were both so shocked that they didn’t remember that Jesus told them that He would rise on the third day.

John said, “What should we do? Should we go to Galilee?”

Peter replied, “Let’s go back first and tell everyone. His mother will be so surprised.”

John said softly, “No she won’t.”

…

Meanwhile, two soldiers who had been hired to guard the tomb had fallen into a deep sleep. When the sun woke them up, they were afraid to see Peter and John in the empty tomb looking around.  They stealthily left and went into the city and the synagogue and confessed to the chief priests what had happened.

“We are so sorry! Please don’t punish us!” said the bravest more honest one. The other soldier nodded emphatically.”

The shrewd priests conferred among themselves said. “If we punish them the people will think that we are lying and that the culprit performed a miracle after all. We will never hear the end of it.”

“Yes, we will lose the people who agreed with us to crucify Him. Let’s go to the elders and ask them what we should do.”

“We’ll be right back. Don’t go away. You’ve caused enough harm!” said a priest to the lousy guards.

The elders, being older and wiser than the chief priests conferred with each other and came up with a plan.

The chief priests returned immediately with shekels from the elders.

“We won’t punish you. Just take these shekels and spread the word that His disciples took the culprit in the middle of the night, when you were asleep, which is probably what happened.”

The other priest added, “If or when Pilate hears this, we will persuade him that it happened that way, and you won’t be blamed. Now go.”

The guards took the money, and did as they were told. This is the story that was spread abroad among the Jews, who believe it to this day.

The only problem, that they couldn’t hide, was that it wasn’t true, and Jesus would prove it every day for centuries to one person at a time.

…

Later that same day, the first day of the week, when some were  returning from work, two followers were walking to a village named Emmaus, which was threescore furlongs from Jerusalem. They were talking to each other about the crucifixion as they walked. While they were walking and talking Jesus approached to walk with them. Thinking He was a normal stranger they greeted Him politely.

Jesus said, “What are you fellows talking about?”

Looking sad, one of them, named Cleopas, answered, “Are you the only one in Jerusalem who doesn’t know what happened and what is happening these days?”

Jesus replied, “What things?”

The other man replied, “The things concerning Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him up to be condemned to death, and crucified Him.”

Cleopas broke in adding, “We hoped that it was He who would redeem Israel. And besides, today is the third day since He was hung on the cross.”

The third man added, “We heard that certain women of our company went to the tomb early this morning and said that they didn’t find His Body! They said, that they had seen a vision of angels, who told them that He was alive.”

The other man, Simon, chimed in, “Other people went and they came back saying they didn’t see His body there either.”

Jesus listened to these men while grinning in His heart. When they finished, He said, “O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Didn’t you know that the Messiah had to suffer these things, to enter into His glory?”

Cleopas gazed at the stranger quizzically.

While they continued to walk, Jesus, being the great teacher that He was, expounded on the prophets, starting with Moses and Daniel, Isaiah and the others interpreting scriptures concerning the Messiah until they came near their destination.

Jesus stopped and said He needed to go another way.

Cleopas grabbed His forearm and said, “No please don’t go. Stay with us, it’s almost evening and the day is over.”

Jesus replied, “Okay.” The men all went into a boarding house together and sat down for a meal and rest. Jesus took the bread from the basket and blessed it and then broke the loaf in pieces and handed a chunk to each of His traveling companions.

No sooner did He do that then all of a sudden it hit them at once! ‘No one knows the scripture as well as this man, except Jesus. The report that He is alive is probably true! This man must be Jesus! And Jesus is therefore the Messiah that He had been describing through the prophets!!!’ That same thought ran through the men’s minds like thunder, loud, frightening, and real.

No sooner did they have this revelation than Jesus vanished.

Stunned and silent, the men sat there, glaring wide eyed at each other. Heads spinning while looking around for Him. It was too much to absorb, but it was reality and they had to process what had just happened. They were walking and talking with, not just Jesus, the rabbi, alive who had been crucified, but with the Messiah of God! Weaker constitutions would have fainted. But they were Jewish men.

After a while, processing the shock of that, when they were ready to speak, Simon said, “I knew it!!!  Wasn’t our hearts burning while He was talking to us about the scripture while we were walking?”

“Yes, yes, yes.”

“Let’s go back to Jerusalem right now. I don’t care that it’s getting dark. We have to tell His disciples! They will be at His mother’s house still holding shiva, but not!! I think we will find them there.”

Indeed they did.

“Let’s go.” said Cleopas. The men stood up right then and went back on the road that connected Emmaus with Jerusalem and retraced their steps.

Hours later, in the dark beginning of the second day, they reached the familiar home and knocked on the door. They heard Thomas ask who it was, since they were afraid that the chief priests would be coming after them too.

“We are friends: Cleopas, Simon, and Saul, we bring good news.”

Thomas open the door ajar, looked at the men and then opened wider to let them in. Without a greeting, Cleopas blurted out, “The Lord is risen indeed! He appeared to Simon!” Simon nodded his head enthusiastically.

Thomas said, “Come in gentlemen, come in! Tell us what you saw.” The men took turns recounting the events on the road to Emmaus and at supper, especially during the breaking of the bread.

While they were talking to the disciples and Mother Mary, Jesus appeared!

Eleven pair of bulging eye focused on the living breathing Jesus, Son of Mary, Son of Man, Son of God, the Messiah who just appeared in their midst. They were flabbergasted.

As if this was a normal visit, Jesus calmly scanned the group, then He spoke, “Peace be to you.” In other words, don’t be afraid.

But they were. They were terrified. They all figured it must be a ghost, an apparition.

Jesus tried to convince His disciples that while He had overcome death, He was still as human as ever. “Why are you so troubled? Calm down. See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: touch Me, and see. A ghost doesn’t have flesh and bones. I do! See!” Jesus held out His hands. Then He grabbed Peter’s hand and shook it. The He stomped His feet loudly. “Did you hear that?”

Everyone was so glad to see Him. But they were still trying to figure out how He returned from the dead, except that a few of them had seen Lazarus revived after 4 days! That was different, Lazarus had been sick. Jesus was scourged and nailed to a cross.

Jesus broke the awkward silence by saying, “Mom, I’m hungry.”

Mary smiled, she was the least surprised. Her Son had prepared her for this moment. “Yes my love, coming up.” She went into the kitchen and brought out smoked fish, figs, and bread.

“Thank you.” Then He looked around, smiled and said, “Now watch this.” And He ate to prove He was alive and human, relishing the food and the opportunity to demonstrate His annihilation of death.

After swallowing, Jesus looked at them and said again, Peace be unto you: as the Father has sent Me, even so send I you.”

Then He took a deep breathe and blew His breath on them, and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whosoever sins you forgive, they are forgiven of them; whosoever sins you retain, they are retained.”

The first day ended, the day when Jesus went back to work after His Sabbath rest. There was much to accomplish during His last 40 days on earth, but not as much as during the following millennia when He in His Father and with their Holy Spirit would transform the world—when the first day (Light BE!) and the eighth day (circumcision-covenant, resurrection-covenant) unite  and are called The Lord’s Day, a second Sabbath day of rest. Never again to be the day to return to work.

John 1:10-13

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But to those who receive Him, to those who believe in His name, He gave the right (the essence, the power) to become children of God —children born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but they are born of God.    

And live happily ever after. True. And live happily ever after. True.