We know that this was the attitude of the majority of educated Romans of that time to religion from the works of Roman poets – Ovid, Albius Tibullus, Lucretius and others, which reflect real life, the real views of the Romans of the first century on the gods, on piety. Women are still religious, they perform some rituals, fast, pray, and so on; Men, on the other hand, have lost faith in the gods, although they remember them when they are afraid of something, but then they forget about them. This is what we see in the Gospel of John. When the Gospels of Matthew and John are compared, the picture is complete, and Pilate looks like a typical Roman, a representative of his era. Finally, only Matthew tells us that Pilate allows the bishops to seal the tomb and place guards.

In very different ways, in different language, with the mention of different details, the four Evangelists tell about Passion Week. But from the comparison of their texts, an absolutely complete picture emerges. Nothing in the Gospel is so precise, stunningly authentic as the stories of Holy Week. And the more you read the Gospel lines, the more you compare the testimonies of the four Evangelists, the more the ultimate reliability of the Gospel text is revealed. Each new generation of exegetes discovers more and more new details that were not noticed by their predecessors — so rich is the Gospel narrative of information. It can be safely said that the Gospels have not yet been read to the end, and, apparently, in the future, during the parallel reading of the four Gospels, more and more new material will be revealed.

Chapter 21.

RESURRECTED

After His Resurrection, Jesus begins to appear among the disciples, and always unexpectedly. This is told in the last two chapters of the Gospel of John. He appears in a room that is locked and then disappears, leaving the students in a state of bewilderment. The line between His presence and absence is now blurred—it cannot be said that He is here, but it cannot be said that He is not. At the same time, the disciples, seeing the Teacher, either rejoice, or are confused, or frightened, or simply do not understand who this appearing person is, and therefore they do not immediately recognize Him. The presence of Jesus, to which they have become accustomed in recent years and months, is replaced by His appearance.

In the epilogue of the Gospel of Mark, which also tells about the appearances of Jesus, the key words are "appeared" and "they did not believe."

"Rising early on the first day of the week, Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene... She went and told those who were with Him, weeping and weeping. But when they heard that He was alive and that she had seen Him, they did not believe it. After this, He appeared in a different form to two of them on the road, when they were going to the village. And they, having returned, announced to the rest; But they were not believed either. At last He appeared to the eleven themselves, who were reclining at the supper, and reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him risen" (Mark 16:9-14).

As we can see, the story of the Evangelist Mark is based on these two key words. The Gospel of John describes five appearances of the Risen One, but if we bear in mind the testimony of the Apostle Paul in the First Epistle to the Corinthians, there were many more of these appearances.

The first appearance of Jesus was to Mary Magdalene. Meeting the Resurrected One at the tomb, Mary mistakes Him for a gardener. He calls her by name, and at that moment Maria suddenly realizes that the Teacher is in front of her. Jesus exclaims: "Do not touch me" – this is how these words are usually translated. But in Greek, the phrase means a prohibition to do something, an order to stop what you have begun, so Jesus' words could be translated, "Don't grab hold of me, let me go." It is easier for Mary to regain her former relationship with the Master than to establish a new one. She is ready to weep over the body of the Departed, but she is not yet ready to meet the Resurrected One and follow Him.

There is a fundamental difference between the resurrection of Jesus and the resurrection of Lazarus. Lazarus returns to his former life, while Jesus takes a step into a new existence, unknown to us from our experience. His Resurrection is not a step back, as in the case of Lazarus, but a step forward somewhere, into a life that is inaccessible and incomprehensible to us.

Jesus says to Mary, "I . . . I ascend to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God" (John 20:17). He reminds us of the unique relationship between Him and God that He spoke of earlier, for example, in the Sermon on the Mount.

It is important to understand that the entire Gospel is devoted to the theme of the uniqueness of the relationship between God as Father and Jesus, who reveals it to us through His preaching and His life, through everything He says and does. This relationship of the Son with the Father, while remaining unique, also becomes a relationship with God and His disciples. Now God is not only His Father, but also the Father of the disciples to whom He is addressing, He is the Father and God of every disciple of Jesus.

The second appearance of Jesus is His reappearance in a closed room. His students locked the doors, apparently afraid that they would be captured, beaten, or do something else bad to them. And suddenly Jesus appeared and showed them His wounds (cf. John 20:19-20). This is said in almost the same words in the Gospel of Luke. The Resurrected One appears before them as He was on the Cross. The sores on His hands and feet, the blood caked on His ribs, remind us of His suffering. He says, "Peace be unto you." The 14th chapter of the Gospel of John comes to mind, where Jesus says: "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid" (v. 27). The word "peace" (in Hebrew shalom) does not mean the peace of which Greek literature speaks, nor is it an antonym to the word "war." Shalom is openness to each other, the fulfillment of the commandment of love for enemies, it is prayer for those who curse us. Jesus' words "Peace be unto you" are reminiscent not only of the farewell discourse, but also of the Sermon on the Mount with its words: "Love your enemies."

This theme of peace as something very deep, not just a state without war, but a state of complete openness to each other, is already present in the Old Testament.