Holy Week: Easter Sunday

Both from the Russian Orthodox Church of Mary Magdalene

 Mark 16
 1 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.

From the Russian Orthodox Church of Alexander Nevsky

Matthew 28
2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for ^athe ^bangel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.

 3 ^aHis ^bcountenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:

 4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.

 5 ^aAnd the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.

 6 He is not here: for he is ^arisen, as he said. Come, see the place where the ^bLord lay.

From the Roman Catholic Chapel in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher

Mark 16

 9 ¶Now when Jesus was ^arisen early the first day of the week, he ^bappeared first to ^cMary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.

From the Russian Orthodox Church of Mary Magdalene

John 20
 15 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.

 16 Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, ^aMaster.

 17 Jesus saith unto her, ^aTouch me not; for I am not yet ^bascended to my ^cFather: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my ^dFather, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

 18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.

 The Disciples Peter and John Running to the Sepulchre, by Dan Burr (Ensign April 2009)

John 20 

 2 Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other ^adisciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the ^bLord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.

 3 Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre.

 4 So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre.

The Doubtful Thomas, by Carl Heinrich Bloch

 John 20
24 ¶But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.

 25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the ^aprint of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.

 26 ¶And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.

 27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and ^athrust it into my side: and be not ^bfaithless, but ^cbelieving.

 28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.

 29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast ^aseen me, thou hast believed: ^bblessed are they that have not seen, and yet have ^cbelieved.

Christ on the Road to Emmaus, by Greg Olsen

Luke 24
13 ¶And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem ^aabout threescore furlongs.

 14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened.

 15 And it came to pass, that, while they ^acommuned together and reasoned, ^bJesus himself drew near, and went with them.

 16 But their eyes were ^aholden that they should not know him.

 17 And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?

 18 And the one of them, whose name was ^aCleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?

 19 And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:

 20 And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him.

Trappist Monastery at Latrun (one of several possible sites of Emmaus--but too far from Jerusalem to be the real place)


From Trappist Monastery at Latrun

Luke 24
28 And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further.

 29 But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.

 30 And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.

 31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.

 32 And they said one to another, Did not our ^aheart ^bburn within us, while he ^ctalked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?

Ruins of another Emmaus (Emmaus Nicopolis)

Easter Morning (2010) Services at the Garden Tomb






Easter Morning Roman Catholic Services (2010) in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher

In front of the entrance to the tomb

Holy Week: Saturday

 

From the Russian Church of Alexander Nevsky

Luke 23
39 ¶And one of the malefactors which were hanged ^arailed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.

 40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?

 41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due ^areward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.

 42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.

 43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in ^aparadise.

1 Peter 3

 18 For Christ also hath once ^asuffered for sins, the just for the ^bunjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to ^cdeath in the flesh, but quickened by the ^dSpirit:

 19 By which also he went and ^apreached unto the ^bspirits in ^cprison;

With his body in the tomb, the Spirit of Jesus went to preach in the Spirit World. Here are some images from the Holy Land of things Jesus taught about during his earthly ministry that may also have been part of his ministry in paradise. 

Matthew 7

 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth ^agood ^bfruit; but a ^ccorrupt tree bringeth forth ^devil fruit.

 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good ^afruit is ^bhewn down, and cast into the fire.

 20 Wherefore by their ^afruits ye shall know them.

Village of Jish in the northern Galilee

 Matthew 5

14 Ye are the ^alight of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

 15 Neither do men light a ^acandle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

 16 Let your ^alight so shine before men, that they may see your good ^bworks, and ^cglorify your Father which is in heaven.

 

 Jews and Arabs in Hebron 1995

 Matthew 5
44 But I say unto you, ^aLove your ^benemies, ^cbless them that ^dcurse you, do ^egood to them that ^fhate you, and ^gpray for them which despitefully use you, and ^hpersecute you;

 45 That ye ^amay be the ^bchildren of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth ^crain on the just and on the unjust.

 The Lord's Prayer in Indonesian from the Pater Noster Church

Matthew 6
9 ^aAfter this manner therefore ^bpray ye: Our ^cFather which art in heaven, ^dHallowed be thy ^ename.

 10 Thy ^akingdom come. Thy ^bwill be done ^cin earth, as it is in heaven.

 11 Give us this day our daily ^abread.

 12 And forgive us our ^adebts, as we ^bforgive our debtors.

 13 ^aAnd ^blead us not into ^ctemptation, ^dbut deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the ^eglory, for ever. Amen.

 14 For if ye ^aforgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

 15 But if ye ^aforgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

A small side entry (aka eye of the needle) beside a main gate into Roman Jerusalem

Matthew 19
24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a ^arich man to enter into the kingdom of God.


Anemones (lillies) at biblical Beth Shemesh

Matthew 6
28 And why take ye thought for raiment? ^aConsider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

 29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

  The Southwest corner of the Temple Mount

Mark 12
10 And have ye not read this scripture; The ^astone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner:


Water flowing from the springs at Dan

John 4
10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the ^agift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee ^bliving water.


Near the Mt. of Beatitudes

 Matthew 13

 3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;

 4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:

 5 Some fell upon ^astony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:

 6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

 7 And some fell among ^athorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:

 8 But other fell into good ground, and ^abrought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

Mustard tree in the Kidron Valley

Matthew 13
31 ¶Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a ^agrain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:

 32 Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the ^abirds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.

Matthew 17
 20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your ^aunbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have ^bfaith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this ^cmountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be ^dimpossible unto you.

Sea of Galilee near Capernaum

 Matthew 4
19 And he saith unto them, ^aFollow me, and I will make you ^bfishers of men.

Near shepherds field, Beit Sahour.

Luke 14
28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?

 29 Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,

 30 Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.

The separation wall that runs around and through Bethlehem

John 8
32 And ye shall ^aknow the ^btruth, and the ^ctruth shall make you ^dfree.
36 If the Son therefore shall make you ^afree, ye shall be free indeed.

Friday family dinner with the Qawasmi family.

 Luke 14
15 ¶And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall ^aeat ^bbread in the kingdom of God.

 16 Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many:

 17 And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.

Judean Wilderness along the road down to Jericho.

Luke 15
4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine ^ain the wilderness, and go after that which is ^blost, until he find it?


Sea of Galilee

Mark 4
 39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, ^aPeace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great ^bcalm.

 40 And he said unto them, Why are ye so ^afearful? how is it that ye have no ^bfaith?

 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

Giving 5 year old Will a rest.

Matthew 11
28 ¶^aCome unto me, all ye that ^blabour and are heavy laden, and I will give you ^crest.

 29 Take my ^ayoke upon you, and ^blearn of me; for I am ^cmeek and ^dlowly in ^eheart: and ye shall find ^frest unto your souls.

 30 For my yoke is ^aeasy, and my burden is light.

Israeli wheat fields near the south end of the Sea of Galilee

Matthew 13
24 ¶Another ^aparable put he forth unto them, saying, The ^bkingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good ^cseed in his field:

 25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed ^atares among the wheat, and went his way.

 Children in a Bethlehem orphanage 1982

 Luke 18

 16 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little ^achildren to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.

East Jerusalem bread, best eaten with zaatar.

John 6:35: I am the bread of life.

Sea of Galilee

John 8:12: I am the light of the world.


Nazareth Village

John 10: 7: I am the door of the sheep.


Mar Elias monastery between Bethlehem and Jerusalem


Near Jib (biblical Gibeon)

John 10:11: I am the good shepherd.


From the Catholic Church in Bethany

John 11: 25: I am the resurrection and the life.


BYU students walking the hills of Samaria, 1982.

John 14: 6: I am the way, the truth and the life.

In the Armenian quarter of Jerusalem.

John 15:5 I am the vine.

Greek Orthodox Rotunda in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher

John 8
58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.