— — — —

Gospel Reading:
Jesus Taken Up Into Heaven

In my former book, Theophilus,
I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach
 until the day he was taken up to heaven,
after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.
After his suffering,
he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive.
He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.
On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command:
“Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised,
which you have heard me speak about.
 For John baptized with water,
but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Then they gathered around him and asked him,
“Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

 He said to them:
“It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.
 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you;
and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria,
and to the ends of the earth.”

 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes,
and a cloud hid him from their sight.

 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going,
when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.
“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky?
This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven,
will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
(Acts 1:1-11).

* * *

God sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
We saw his son and are now telling others about him.
(1 John 4:14 NIV)

   — — — —

Gospel Reading:
Jesus Has Risen

 When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week,
he appeared first to Mary Magdalene,
out of whom he had driven seven demons.
 She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping.
When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him,
they did not believe it.

Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them
while they were walking in the country.
These returned and reported it to the rest;
but they did not believe them either.

 Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating;
he rebuked them for their lack of faith
and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.

He said to them,
“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved,
but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
 And these signs will accompany those who believe:
In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;
 they will pick up snakes with their hands;
and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all;
they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them,
he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God.
 Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere,
and the Lord worked with them
and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.
(Mark 16:9-20).

* * *

God sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
We saw his son and are now telling others about him.
(1 John 4:14 NIV)

   — — — —

Gospel Reading:
Jesus Has Risen

When the Sabbath was over,
Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James,
and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body.
 Very early on the first day of the week,
just after sunrise,
they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other,
“Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

But when they looked up, they saw that the stone,
which was very large, had been rolled away.
 As they entered the tomb,
they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side,
and they were alarmed.

“Don’t be alarmed,” he said.
“You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified.
He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.
But go, tell his disciples and Peter,
‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee.
There you will see him, just as he told you.’”

 Trembling and bewildered,
the women went out and fled from the tomb.
They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.
(Mark 16:1-8).

* * *

God sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
We saw his son and are now telling others about him.
(1 John 4:14 NIV)

   — — — —

Gospel Reading:
The Burial of Jesus

It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath).
So as evening approached,
Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council,
who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God,
went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body.
Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead.
Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died.
 When he learned from the centurion that it was so,
he gave the body to Joseph.
So Joseph bought some linen cloth,
took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock.
Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.
 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid.
(Mark 15:42-47).

* * *

God sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
We saw his son and are now telling others about him.
(1 John 4:14 NIV)

   — — — —

Gospel Reading:
The Death of Jesus

At noon,
darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.
 And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice,
“Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?”
(which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

When some of those standing near heard this,
they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.”

Someone ran,
filled a sponge with wine vinegar,
put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink.
“Now leave him alone.
Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said.

With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.

 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus,
saw how he died, he said,
“Surely this man was the Son of God!”

 Some women were watching from a distance.
Among them were Mary Magdalene,
Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph, and Salome.
In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs.
Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.
(Mark 15:33-41).

* * *

God sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
We saw his son and are now telling others about him.
(1 John 4:14 NIV)

   — — — —

Gospel Reading:
The Crucifixion of Jesus

A certain man from Cyrene, Simon,
the father of Alexander and Rufus,
was passing by on his way in from the country,
and they forced him to carry the cross.
They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha
(which means “the place of the skull”).
 Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it.
 And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes,
they cast lots to see what each would get.

 It was nine in the morning when they crucified him.
The written notice of the charge against him read: the king of the jews.

They crucified two rebels with him,
one on his right and one on his left.
Those who passed by hurled insults at him,
shaking their heads and saying,
“So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days,
 come down from the cross and save yourself!”
In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves.
“He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself!
Let this Messiah, this king of Israel,
come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.”
Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
(Mark 15:21-32).

* * *

God sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
We saw his son and are now telling others about him.
(1 John 4:14 NIV)