John 20: 1-31 The Empty Tomb. Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene. Jesus Appears to His Disciples. Jesus Appears to Thomas.

The Empty Tomb
1-9 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said; "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!"

So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in.Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head.  The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
10-18 Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?"

"They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him." At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

"Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?"

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him."

Jesus said to her, "Mary."

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).

Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' "

Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her.

Jesus Appears to His Disciples
19-23 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not fogive them, they are not forgiven."

Jesus Appears to Thomas
24-31 Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!"

But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."

A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."

Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"

Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Easter is: Celebrating Jesus' Resurrection and Assention into Heaven.

Thanks to Jesus, our sins can be forgiven by God, our Heavenly Father, when we sincerely ask His forgiveness and try our best to avoid sin. All we have to do is think of whatever sins we've committed and apologize to God, ask Him to forgive us, preferably ask forgiveness of anyone it may have affected, and sincerely try to never do it again.

Having a close relationship with our Heavenly Father by talking to Him throughout our day, like a good friend or parent, will help us stay on the right track, in avoiding sin and temptation. Our being closer with God may cause Satan to tempt us more, though. So beware! If you see negative things happening in you life, it may be because you have gotten really close with God. All you need to do is get even closer to God and put it in His hands. He will help you and take are of you, answering your prayers, if it is in His will for you. God never breaks His promises.

None of us is sinless and none of us can stop sinning on our own, but with the help of the Holy Spirit it is much easier to avoid sin, if we just ask God to keep temptations away from us!

At Easter the multiplying bunnies, hatching eggs, and blooming flowers are symbols of New Life and that is what We Receive when we Believe Jesus died to take the punishment for all sinners.

God came down to us through His son, Jesus- and volunteered to be our sacrificial 'lamb'- They would sacrifice lambs back then, as the penalty for their sins- so that God would forgive them.

Now that Jesus has taken the punishment for us, we need to accept His payment to God by just believing He was crucified and died on the cross, and on the third day he rose from the dead, He decended into hell, then ascended into Heaven where He sits at the right hand of His Father.

If we believe this and allow the Holy Spirit into our heart and soul He will guide us in the way God wants us to think and act. Before reading our bible we should ask the Holy Spirit to show us what we need to learn from that scripture.

The Holy Spirit is also God, as the son Jesus is. They are three in one (the Holy Trinity). By reading our bibles and attending church services, bible studies and Sunday school classes, we can learn what we need to know, to tell others about God, and what Jesus did for us!

We all can have Heaven on earth, until we sit at Jesus' feet when our time comes.