Jesus Is Risen!

28 Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave. ² And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. ³ And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. ⁴ The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men. ⁵ The angel said to the women, “^[a]Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. ⁶ He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. ⁷ Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.”

⁸ And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples. ⁹ And behold, Jesus met them ^[b]and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus *said to them, “^[c]Do not be afraid; go and take word to My brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

¹¹ Now while they were on their way, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened. ¹² And when they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, ¹³ and said, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’ ¹⁴ And if this should come to the governor’s ears, we will win him over and ^[d]keep you out of trouble.” ¹⁵ And they took the money and did as they had been instructed; and this story was widely spread among the Jews, and is to this day.

The Great Commission

¹⁶ But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. ¹⁷ When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. ¹⁸ And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ^19 [e]Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you ^[f]always, even to the end of the age.”

The Purifier

3 “Behold, I am going to send My ^[a]messenger, and he will ^[b]clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; ^[c]and the ^[d]messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of hosts. ² “But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like ^[e]fullers’ soap. ³ He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the Lord ^[f]offerings in righteousness. ⁴ Then the ^[g]offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.

⁵ “Then I will draw near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against those who swear falsely, and against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages, the widow and the ^[h]orphan, and those who turn aside the ^[i]alien and do not ^[j]fear Me,” says the Lord of hosts. ⁶ “For ^[k]I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, ^[l]are not consumed.

⁷ “From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of hosts. “But you say, ‘How shall we return?’

You Have Robbed God

⁸ “Will a man ^[m]rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and ^[n]offerings. ⁹ You are cursed with a curse, for you are ^[o]robbing Me, the whole nation of you! ¹⁰ Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be ^[p]food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until ^[q]it overflows. ¹¹ Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not ^[r]destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes,” says the Lord of hosts. ¹² “All the nations will call you blessed, for you shall be a delightful land,” says the Lord of hosts.

¹³ “Your words have been ^[s]arrogant against Me,” says the Lord. “Yet you say, ‘What have we spoken against You?’ ¹⁴ You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we have kept His charge, and that we have walked in mourning before the Lord of hosts? ¹⁵ So now we call the arrogant blessed; not only are the doers of wickedness built up but they also test God and escape.’”

The Book of Remembrance

¹⁶ Then those who ^[t]feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord gave attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who ^[u]fear the Lord and who esteem His name. ¹⁷ “They will be Mine,” says the Lord of hosts, “on the day that I ^[v]prepare My ^[w]own possession, and I will ^[x]spare them as a man ^[y]spares his own son who serves him.” ¹⁸ So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.