When the Sun Rose

The sun rose up from behind the trees. A blue sky soars over us, and a very light breeze brushes against my face. My puffy eyes itch from my constant crying. Jesus has died, and there is nothing I can do about it. My stomach aches as I walk beside Salome and Mary, James the younger's mother, as we head to Jesus's tomb to anoint him with spices. The other women walk on the sides of us.

"Who will roll away the stone for us?" Salome asks as we turn the corner. A stone is laying beside an opened tomb. My heart thumps against my chest. This can't be correct. We must have gone to the wrong tomb...right? No. I assure myself. This is definitely it. We peer inside only to find no body lying on the stone bed.

"Oh my. What has happened?" I ask. A tragic idea crosses my mind. Has someone stolen the sacred body of Jesus?

"Do not be alarmed," a young man stands in the corner of the stone tomb. "You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here." Salome drops the spices in astonishment. He tells us to go and tell the disciples. Everything happens so quickly, but we immediately dash off to find the disciples. As we approach the city, I see Peter walking into a small courtyard. He presses against the wooden door.

"Peter, Peter!" I say. I hold up the side of my long tunic and bounce my feet over to him

"Hello Mary," Peter gently says. He spots the concern in my eyes. "What has happened?" His dark eyes stare down at me in concern.

"It's Jesus. He's gone. An angel said he is resurrected!" I tell him, still doubting that fact myself.

Peter's eyes get huge. His face turns white, and he says, "Someone stole the body? He's gone?"

Salome runs up behind me. Panting, she says, "No, the angel said he is resurrected. Go see for yourself!" She adds a little smile to the end. A dash of belief, that Jesus is actually resurrected, springs into my mind. Peter takes off quickly, heading to the tomb, and I quickly follow.

Peter peers around the opening of the tomb and gasps, "You were right, Mary! He is no longer here. I have to tell the others!" A smile radiates across his face. I say goodbye to him as he heads back home, but I can not leave the tomb. I hold my hands up to my face and cry. Could Jesus really have resurrected or did someone steal the body? If so, who was that man inside the tomb? A small sound makes me jump. I glance to the tomb. Holding up the side of my long tunic, I glide over and step inside the tomb. My eyes are taken back by two figures sitting inside the tomb. They adjust, and I realize that the figures are not people, but they're angels! The white light glistens off of their figures as one sits where Jesus's head sat and the other where his feet laid.

"Woman, why are you weeping?" they ask me. I step farther into the tomb, still confused.

"They have taken away my Lord, an-" my voice breaks, and I wipe away a tear. "And I don't know where they have laid him." I turn around and notice a man standing outside the tomb.

"Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" the man, who I am guessing is the gardener, asks. My hands wipe my eyes. An idea comes to my mind. This man could have easily taken Jesus's body.

"Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." I manage to say in between my cries.

"Mary," he says. I look up. Jesus stands in front of me. His body gleams and the wind blows his dark hair. Tears begin rolling from my eyes, and my heart explodes.

"Teacher!" I run to Jesus. 

"Do not cling to me, for I have not ascended to the Father, but go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" Before I know it, Jesus is gone. I stand in awe. I witnessed it. Jesus Christ resurrected.

~~~~~

When the sun rose on the third day of Jesus's death, I learned more than I ever have before. I realized that the death had to happen, so God could use His amazing power to defeat it. There is no denying the fact that Jesus is the Son of God, I witnessed it. I saw the miracles, the trial, the death, the burial, and after all that, the best part was that I saw the resurrection. Death is now defeated, because when the sun rose, the Son rose.