In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God, Amen.
Death caweth out from the Underworld,
“Make ready, O Hades, for I have brought thee another.
The dust of the race of men doth feed thee again
and our ruling powers make feast.
The one whom we saw could not withstand my onslaught.
Let us revel and be glad.”
“What hast thou done?” replieth Hades,
“For he was to be left untouched.
Thou hadst no claim over him
nor right to ensnare him.
Thou didst not capture him for he doth come willingly.
He approacheth—send him back!
For he cometh with great Light which my eye comprehendeth not.”
“Fear not him, say I, captured was he without fight.
The princes of Jerusalem and of Rome led him to me
And he cameth as the sheep led to the slaughter,
And as a lamb before its shearer
so openeth he not his mouth. Blameless
am I, yet now a bitter taste entereth my mouth.
He doth rush our gates, and his kinsman riseth to greet him.
Woe is me! A corpse took I yet he beareth Life,
Our prisoner would become our gaoler.
Let us hide, dear friend, from him,
perchance he passeth us by.”
And as they cower in fear,
The Liberator of the captives unjustly held
crieth unto Death, Hades and all their powers concealing themselves,
“Lift up your gates, O ye princes,
And be lifted up, ye everlasting doors,
And the King of Glory shall enter.”
With a whimper they reply, “Who is the King of Glory?”
“The Lord, strong and mighty,
The Lord, mighty in war.”
And as Judgment is brought
upon the princes of the Underworld and of this Age,
The Voice, heard before the foundation of the world is heard again,
“Lift up your heads, O ye princes,
And be lifted up, ye everlasting doors,
And the King of Glory shall enter.”
At a loss for all else, Death and Hades
muster the strength to reply in a whisper,
“Who is the King of Glory?”
“The Lord of Hosts,” cometh the response,
“He is the King of Glory.”
O Lord, who didst descend into the caverns and pits of the Earth and didst despoil the power of Hades and Death for my sake, glory to thee!
Brethren, all who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death. We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His. We know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the sinful body might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For he who has died is freed from sin. But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him. For we know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over Him. The death He died He died to sin, once for all, but the life He lives He lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
— Romans 6:3–11
After the sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the sepulcher. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. His appearance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. Lo, I have told you.” So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Hail!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see me. While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sum of money to the soldiers and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So they took the money and did as they were directed; and this story has been spread among the Jews to this day. Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age. Amen.
— Matthew 28:1–20