Part 21 (1/2)

The hours pa.s.sed by. It was about time for the Pa.s.sover lambs to be killed in the city. Clouds were beginning to cover the sun, and it was growing dark although it was not yet night.

Jesus cried out,

”My G.o.d, my G.o.d, why hast thou forsaken me?”

There was a stir of interest in the crowd. _Let's see what will happen now_, they thought.

Jesus was becoming weaker. He said, ”I am thirsty.”

A soldier dipped a sponge in vinegar, and held it up on a stick to Jesus' lips so that he could drink.

Jesus cried out once more:

”It is finished. Father, into thy hands I give my spirit.”

His head sank down upon his chest. There was a loud sound like a clap of thunder, and the earth shook.

In the silence that followed, a Roman soldier spoke.

”This man--” he said, ”this man was indeed the Son of G.o.d.”

But Jesus did not hear him. For Jesus was dead.

When evening came, a man named Joseph of Arimathaea went to see Pilate. Joseph was a rich man, and much respected; and he had believed in Jesus. He went secretly to Pilate, for he was afraid of the Jews.

He asked Pilate if he might have Jesus' body, and Pilate gave permission.

Joseph came then to the cross, and took down Jesus' body. He wrapped it in a white linen cloth, and had it carried away to a tomb which had been dug out of the rock. Not until after the Sabbath could Jesus'

family and friends come to put spices on the body of him whom they loved.

Jesus' body was laid inside the tomb, and a great stone was rolled against the door.

Standing there was a woman named Mary Magdalene with Mary the mother of Jesus. They watched while the body of Jesus, so dear to them, was laid away to rest.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

15. The Victorious King

At sunrise the day following the Sabbath, three women came to the garden where Jesus was buried. They came, as the custom was, to put ointments and spices on the body of Jesus.

On the way they remembered that a great stone had been rolled against the door of the tomb. They wondered how they would get in.

”Who will roll the stone away?” they asked each other.

But when they reached the tomb, they found that the stone had been rolled back. Someone had been there before them; the door was open.