at moment, the veil in the Temple between
the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies, was torn apart by unseen hands
from the top to the bottom. And when the Roman officer, who had charge
of the soldiers around the cross, saw what had taken place, and how
Jesus died, he said: "Surely this was a righteous man; he was the Son of
God."

After Jesus was dead, one of the soldiers, to be sure that he was no
longer living, ran his spear into the side of his dead body; and out of
the wound came pouring both water and blood.

There were even among the rulers of the Jews a few who were friends of
Jesus, though they did not dare to follow Jesus openly. One of these
was Nicodemus, the ruler who came to see Jesus at night. Another was a
rich man who came from the town of Arimathea, and was named Joseph.
Joseph of Arimathea went boldly in to Pilate, and asked that the body of
Jesus might be given to him. Pilate wondered that he had died so soon,
for often men lived on the cross two or three days. But when he found
that Jesus was really dead, he gave his body to Joseph.

Then Joseph and his friends took down the body of Jesus from the cross,
and wrapped it in fine linen. And Nicodemus brought some precious
spices, myrrh and aloes, which they wrapped up with the body. Then they
placed the body in Joseph's own new tomb, which was a cave dug out of
the rock, in a garden near the place of the cross. And before the
opening of the cave they rolled a great stone.

And Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, and some other women, saw the
tomb, and watched while they laid the body of Jesus in it. On the next
morning, some of the rulers of the Jews came to Pilate, and said:

"Sir, we remember that that man Jesus of Nazareth, who deceived the
people, said while he was yet alive, 'After three days I will rise
again.' Give orders that the tomb shall be watched and made sure for
three days, or else his disciples may steal his body, and then say, 'He
is risen from the dead'; and thus even after his death he may do more
harm than he did while he was alive."

Pilate said to them:

"Set a watch, and make it as sure as you can."

Then they placed a seal upon the stone, so that no one might break it;
and they set a watch of soldiers at the door.

And in the tomb the body of Jesus lay from the evening of Friday, the
day when he died on the cross, to the dawn of Sunday, the first day of
the week, when he arose from the dead and appeared unto his disciples