Leviticus 21; Leviticus 22; Matthew 28

1 The LORD spoke to Moses, "Tell the priests, Aaron's sons: None of you should become unclean by touching one of your relatives who has died.

2 However, you are allowed to become unclean when one of your nearest relatives dies. These relatives include your mother, father, son, daughter, or brother,

3 and especially an unmarried virgin sister who is still close to you.

4 As the head of your people, you should never become unclean. That would make you unholy.

5 "You should never mourn by shaving bald spots on your heads, shaving the edges of your beards, or slashing your bodies.

6 "Be God's holy men, and don't dishonor the name of your God. Be holy because you bring sacrifices by fire to the LORD. It is the food of your God.

7 You should never marry prostitutes, those who have lost their virginity, or divorced women because a priest is God's holy man.

8 Be holy because you offer the food of your God. Be holy because I, the LORD, am holy. I set you apart as holy.

9 When a priest's daughter dishonors herself by becoming a prostitute, she dishonors her father. She must be burned.

10 "The priest who is anointed with oil and wears the chief priest's clothes is chief over his brothers. He must never mourn by leaving his hair uncombed or by tearing his clothes.

11 He must never go near any dead bodies or become unclean, even for his father or mother.

12 He must not leave the holy tent of his God. If he does, he will be dishonoring it, because he is dedicated with the anointing oil of his God. I am the LORD.

13 "The anointed priest must marry a virgin.

14 He must never marry a widow, a divorced woman, a woman who has lost her virginity, or a prostitute. He may only marry a virgin from his own people.

15 He must not dishonor his children among his people because I, the LORD, set him apart as holy."

16 The LORD spoke to Moses,

17 "Tell Aaron: If any of your descendants (now or in future generations) has a physical defect, he must never bring food to offer to God.

18 Indeed, no one who has a physical defect may ever come near [the altar]. That means anyone who is blind or lame, who has a disfigured face, a deformity,

19 or a crippled hand or foot,

20 who is a hunchback or dwarf, who has defective sight, skin diseases, or crushed testicles.

21 If a descendant of the priest Aaron has a physical defect, he must never bring sacrifices by fire to the LORD. He has a defect. He must never bring food to offer to God.

22 He may eat the food of his God--what is holy and what is very holy.

23 However, he must never come up to the canopy or to the altar, since he has a physical defect. He must never dishonor the holy places because I, the LORD, set them apart as holy."

24 So Moses spoke to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites.

1 The LORD spoke to Moses,

2 "Tell Aaron and his sons that they must respect the holy offerings which the Israelites set apart for me. In this way they will not dishonor my holy name. I am the LORD.

3 "Tell them: In future generations if any of your descendants, while unclean, comes near the holy offerings the Israelites set apart for the LORD, that person must be excluded from my presence. I am the LORD.

4 "No descendant of Aaron who has a skin disease or a discharge may eat any of the holy offerings until he is clean. Any person who has an emission of semen or touches a dead body,

5 an unclean swarming creature, or an unclean person

6 will be unclean until evening. He must not eat any of the holy offerings unless he has washed himself.

7 When the sun has set, he will be clean. Then he may eat the holy offerings because they are his food.

8 He must never eat the meat of an animal that dies naturally or is killed by wild animals. It will make him unclean. I am the LORD.

9 The priests must do what I order, or their sin will bring them death because they dishonored a holy offering. I am the LORD, who sets them apart as holy.

10 "Laypeople must never eat any holy offering, even if they are visiting a priest or are working for him.

11 But if a priest buys a slave, the slave and anyone born in his household may eat the priest's food.

12 However, if a priest's daughter marries a layman, she must never eat the food taken from the holy contributions.

13 If a priest's daughter is widowed or divorced, doesn't have any children, and comes back to live in her father's home, she may eat her father's food. But a layperson must never eat it.

14 "Those who eat a holy offering by mistake must give another holy offering to the priest and add one-fifth more to it.

15 Priests must not dishonor the holy offerings that the Israelites contribute to the LORD.

16 They must make those people pay the penalty for their guilt because they have eaten the priests' holy offerings. I am the LORD, who sets them apart as holy."

17 The LORD spoke to Moses,

18 "Tell Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites: Israelites or foreigners may bring burnt offerings to the LORD for anything they vowed or as freewill offerings.

19 The offering must be a male that has no defects from your cattle, sheep, or goats in order to be accepted.

20 Never bring any animal with a physical defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf.

21 A person may bring the LORD a fellowship offering to fulfill a vow or for a freewill offering. Whether it is from the cattle, sheep, or goats, it must be an animal that has no defects in order to be accepted. It must never be an animal that has defects.

22 Never bring the LORD an animal that is blind, has broken bones, cuts, warts, scabs, or ringworm. Never give the LORD any of these in a sacrifice by fire on the altar.

23 You may use a bull or a sheep with a deformity or one that is stunted in growth as a freewill offering. However, it will not be accepted for a vow.

24 Never bring the LORD an animal that has bruised, crushed, torn out, or cut out testicles. Never do any of these things to an animal in your land.

25 Never bring any kind of castrated animal received from a foreigner as a food offering for your God. A castrated animal will not be accepted on your behalf because castration is a physical defect."

26 The LORD spoke to Moses,

27 "When a calf, a lamb, or a goat is born, it must stay with its mother for seven days. From the eighth day on it may be accepted as a sacrifice by fire to the LORD.

28 Never slaughter a cow or a sheep and its young the same day.

29 "When you sacrifice a thank offering to the LORD, do it in the proper way.

30 Eat it the same day. Never leave any of it until morning. I am the LORD.

31 "Carefully obey my commands. I am the LORD.

32 Never dishonor my holy name. I will show my holiness among the Israelites. I am the LORD, who sets you apart as holy.

33 I brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the LORD."

1 After the day of worship, as the sun rose Sunday morning, Mary from Magdala and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

2 Suddenly, there was a powerful earthquake. An angel of the Lord had come down from heaven, rolled the stone away, and was sitting on it.

3 He was as bright as lightning, and his clothes were as white as snow.

4 The guards were so deathly afraid of him that they shook.

5 The angel said to the women, "Don't be afraid! I know you're looking for Jesus, who was crucified.

6 He's not here. He has been brought back to life as he said. Come, see the place where he was lying.

7 Then go quickly, and tell his disciples that he has been brought back to life. He's going ahead of them into Galilee. There they will see him. Take note that I have told you."

8 They hurried away from the tomb with fear and great joy and ran to tell his disciples.

9 Suddenly, Jesus met them and greeted them. They went up to him, bowed down to worship him, and took hold of his feet.

10 Then Jesus said to them, "Don't be afraid! Go, tell my followers to go to Galilee. There they will see me."

11 While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city. They told the chief priests everything that had happened.

12 The chief priests gathered together with the leaders and agreed on a plan. They gave the soldiers a large amount of money

13 and told them to say that Jesus' disciples had come at night and had stolen his body while they were sleeping.

14 [They added,] "If the governor hears about it, we'll take care of it, and you'll have nothing to worry about."

15 The soldiers took the money and did as they were told. Their story has been spread among the Jewish people to this day.

16 The eleven disciples went to the mountain in Galilee where Jesus had told them to go.

17 When they saw him, they bowed down in worship, though some had doubts.

18 When Jesus came near, he spoke to them. He said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

19 So wherever you go, make disciples of all nations: Baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

20 Teach them to do everything I have commanded you. "And remember that I am always with you until the end of time."