The Life of Jesus

The people stood watching, and the rulers sneered at him. “He saved others,” they said, “so if he really is the Messiah, the one chosen by God, let him save himself!”

The soldiers too ridiculed him; they came up, offered him vinegar

and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself!”

And there was a notice over him which read, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS

One of the criminals hanging there hurled insults at him. “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

But the other one spoke up and rebuked the first, saying, “Have you no fear of God? You’re getting the same punishment as he is.

Ours is only fair; we’re getting what we deserve for what we did. But this man did nothing wrong.”

Then he said, “Yeshua, remember me when you come as King.”

Yeshua said to him, “Yes! I promise that you will be with me today in Gan-‘Eden.”

It was now about noon, and darkness covered the whole Land until three o’clock in the afternoon;

the sun did not shine. Also the parokhet in the Temple was split down the middle.

Crying out with a loud voice, Yeshua said, “Father! Into your hands I commit my spirit.” With these words he gave up his spirit.

When the Roman officer saw what had happened, he began to praise God and said, “Surely this man was innocent!”

And when all the crowds that had gathered to watch the spectacle saw the things that had occurred, they returned home beating their breasts.

All his friends, including the women who had accompanied him from the Galil, had been standing at a distance; they saw it all.

There was a man named Yosef, a member of the Sanhedrin. He was a good man, a tzaddik;

and he had not been in agreement with either the Sanhedrin’s motivation or their action. He came from the town of Ramatayim, a town of the Judeans; and he looked forward to the Kingdom of God.

This man approached Pilate and asked for Yeshua’s body.

He took it down, wrapped it in a linen sheet, and placed it in a tomb cut into the rock, that had never been used.

It was Preparation Day, and a Shabbat was about to begin.

The women who had come with Yeshua from the Galil followed; they saw the tomb and how his body was placed in it.

Then they went back home to prepare spices and ointments. On Shabbat the women rested, in obedience to the commandment;

but the next day, while it was still very early, they took the spices they had prepared, went to the tomb,

and found the stone rolled away from the tomb!

On entering, they discovered that the body of the Lord Yeshua was gone!