History of the Resurection of our Lord

Jesus Christ: from the EASTER Oratorio

by Heinrich Schuetz.

The resurrection of our Lord Jesus

Christ as it is told by the four

Evangelists.

When the Sabbath was over, Mary

Magdalene and the Mary who is called

Jacobi or Salome, and Johanna and

others who had come with Jesus from

Galilee came and prepared the spices to

annoint Jesus, because on the Sabbath

they did not work, according to law.

On the evening of the Sabbath, which

had dawned in the morning of that day,

they came to the tomb early while it

was yet dark, and brought the spices

they had prepared. And it happened

that there was an earthquake, because

the Angel of God had descended from

Heaven and rolled the stone away from

the entrance of the tomb, and he sat on

it, and his figure was as lightning and

his cloth as white as snow. But the

guards were frightened and became as if

dead. But the women said to each

other:

Who will take the stone away from the

tomb?

Because it was very large. And they

looked there and saw that the stone had

been taken away from the tomb and they

entered the tomb and did not find the

body of the Lord Jesus. So Mary

Magdalene ran to tell these things, and,

as the women were grieving because the

body of Jesus was not there, two men in

shiny white cloths approached and the

women lowered their faces to the earth

in fear. But the men said to them:

Why do you look among the dead for

one who is alive? He is not here. He

has risen. Remember what He said to

you when He was still in Galilee:

Mankind's Son must be given to the

sinners and be crucified and on the

third day He will rise.

And they remembered His words and

went away from the tomb and told it to

the Eleven and all the others and to

the Apostles and they did not believe

them. And as Mary ran, she went to

Simon Peter and the other disciple, the

one whom Jesus loved, and said to them:

They have taken the Lord out of the

tomb, and we do not know where they

have laid Him.

Peter then came out with the other

disciple, and they went toward the

tomb. They both ran, but the other

disciple outran Peter and reached the

tomb first; and stooping to look in, he

saw the linen cloths lying there, but

he did not go in. Then Simon Peter

came, following him, and went into the

tomb; he saw the linen cloths lying,

and the napkin, which had been on His

head, not lying with the linen cloths

but rolled up in a place by itself.

Then the other disciple, who reached

the tomb first, also went in, and he

saw and believed; for as yet they did

not know the scripture, that He must

rise from the dead. Then the disciples

went back to their homes. But Mary

stood weeping outside the tomb, and as

she wept she stooped to look into the

tomb; and she saw two angels in white,

sitting where the body of Jesus had

lain, one at the head and one at the

feet. They said to her:

Woman, why are you weeping?

She said to them:

Because they have taken away my Lord,

and I do not know where they have laid

Him.

Saying this, she turned round and saw

Jesus standing, but she did not know

that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her:

JESUS

Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do

you seek?

Supposing him to be the gardener, she

said to him:

Sir, if you have carried him away,

tell me where you have laid him, and I

will take him away.

Jesus said to her:

JESUS

Mary

She turned and said to Him in Hebrew:

Rabboni

Which means teacher. Jesus said to

her:

JESUS

Do not hold me, for I have not yet

to my God and your God.

This is Mary Magdalene, from whom

Jesus, who had risen early on the

Sabbath, had driven away 7 devils. And

she went and told those who had been

with Him and who were grieving and

weeping that she had seen the Lord and

that He had said these things to her.

And those who heard that He lived and

had come to her did not believe her.

But the women went into the tomb and

saw a young man sitting on the right

dressed in long white cloths, and they

were afraid. It was the Angel of God

and he said to them:

Do not be afraid, I know that you

seek Jesus of Nazareth, Who was

crucified. He is not here, He has

risen, as He said. Come and see the

place where the Lord has lain, and then

go quickly and tell his disciples and

Peter that He has risen from the dead,

and see, He will go to Galilee and then

you shall see Him, as He has told you.

And they left the tomb quickly with

fear and great joy, and ran to tell His

disciples, and as they went, great

trembling and fear overcame them and

they did not tell anyone because they

were afraid. And as they went to tell

His disciples, they encountered Jesus

and He said to them:

JESUS

I greet you.

And they went to him and touched His

feet and knelt before Him. And Jesus

said to them:

JESUS

Do not be afraid, go and tell my

brothers to go to Galilee and there

they shall see me.

But as they went, some of the

soldiers in the town came and told the

High Priests what had happened. And

they assembled with the elders and held

a council and gave money to the

soldiers and said:

Go and tell that His disciples came

during the night and stole His body

while we were asleep.

And they took the money and did as

they were told. And these things are

believed by the Jews until this day.

And two of them went on the same day to

a place which was a distance away and

which is called Emmaus, and they spoke

to each other of all these stories and

it so happened that as they so spoke

and questioned each other Jesus came to

them and wandered among them. But

their eyes were blinded so that they

could not recognize Him because He

appeared to them in another figure. He

said to them:

JESUS

What are these talks between you and

why are you sad?

One by the name of Cleophas answered

and said to Him:

Are you the only one among the

strangers in Jerusalem who does not

know what has happened there?

And He asked:

JESUS

What?

And they said:

About Jesus of Nazareth, He who was a

Prophet, great in action and words,

Whom our High Priests have condemned to

death and crucified. But we have hoped

that He would redeem Israel and today

is the third day, upon which this was

to happen. The women frightened us who

went to the tomb early today and did

not find His body and said that they

had seen the Angels who said He was

alive. Some of us have gone to the

tomb and found it as the women

descibed.

And He replied:

JESUS

You are fools who do not believe in

everything the Prophets have said. Do

you not know that Christ has to suffer

this to enter into glory?

And he started to relate from Moses

and all the Prophets and to interpret

the scripture which told of Him. And

they came to the place for which they

had set out and He continued as if he

wanted to go on, but they begged Him

and said:

Stay with us, because night is

falling and the day has gone.

And He stayed with them. And so it

happened, as He was sitting at the

table with them that He took the bread,

broke it and gave it to them. And

there eyes were opened and they

recognized Him. And He disappeared from

them. And they said to each other:

Did not our hearts burn in us when He

spoke to us on the way, when He

revealed the meaning of the scripture

to us.

And they rose at this same hour and

went back to Jerusalem and found the

Eleven assembled. And some amongst

them said:

(THE ELEVEN ASSEMBELED IN JERUSALEM)

The Lord has truly risen. He has

appeared to Simoni.

And they told what had happened on

the way and how they had recognized Him

by the way He had broken the bread.

And they did not believe this either.

On the evening of this Sabbath, the

doors being shut where the disciples

were for fear of the Jews, Jesus

himself came as they were sitting at

the table, and he stood amongst them

and said to them:

JESUS

Peace be with you.

And He scolded their disbelief and

the severity of their hearts for not

believing those who had seen Him risen.

But they were afraid and thought they

were beholding a ghost and He said to

them:

JESUS

Why are you so frightened and why do

such thoughts come to your hearts.

Look at my hands and feet. It is I,

touch me and see that it is I, for a

ghost has not flesh nor legs as you see

I have.

And as He so spoke He showed them His

hands and feet and His side, and the

disciples rejoiced that they were with

the Lord. But in their joy, as they

still did not believe and were amazed,

He said to them:

JESUS

Do you have something to eat?

And they laid before Him a piece of

fried fish and honeycombs and He took

them and ate from them. And He said to

them:

JESUS

These are the words I spoke to you

while I was still with you, that

everything will come true that has been

written of me in the laws of Moses, in

the Prophets and in the Psalms.

And He opened their hearts so that

they understood the scripture and said

to them:

JESUS

So it is written, and so Christ had

to suffer and to rise from the dead on

the third day, and to have repentance

and forgiveness of sins in all nations

preached in his name. And you are

bearing witness to this.

And again He said to them:

JESUS

Peace be with you. As the Father has

sent me, even so I send you.

And when he had said this, he

breathed on them and said to them:

JESUS

Receive the Holy Spirit. If you

forgive the sins of any, they are

forgiven; if you retain the sins of

any, they are retained.

CHORUS

God be thanked, who has given us

Victory through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

VICTORY, VICTORY, VICTORY