Catechism of the Catholic Church

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640 "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen." ⁴⁹² The first element we encounter in the framework of the Easter events is the empty tomb. In itself it is not a direct proof of Resurrection; the absence of Christ's body from the tomb could be explained otherwise. ⁴⁹³ Nonetheless the empty tomb was still an essential sign for all. Its discovery by the disciples was the first step toward recognizing the very fact of the Resurrection. This was the case, first with the holy women, and then with Peter. ⁴⁹⁴ The disciple "whom Jesus loved" affirmed that when he entered the empty tomb and discovered "the linen cloths lying there", "he saw and believed". ⁴⁹⁵ This suggests that he realized from the empty tomb's condition that the absence of Jesus' body could not have been of human doing and that Jesus had not simply returned to earthly life as had been the case with Lazarus. ⁴⁹⁶

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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PART ONE: THE PROFESSION OF FAITH

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SECTION TWO: THE PROFESSION OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH

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CHAPTER TWO: I BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST, THE ONLY SON OF GOD

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ARTICLE 5: "HE DESCENDED INTO HELL. ON THE THIRD DAY HE ROSE AGAIN"

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Paragraph 2. On the Third Day He Rose from the Dead

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I. THE HISTORICAL AND TRANSCENDENT EVENT

Notes for the above paragraph:

492 Lk 24:5-6.

493 Cf. Jn 20:13; Mt 28:11-15.

494 Cf. Lk 24:3, 12, 22-23.

495 Jn 20:2, 6, 8.

496 Cf. Jn 11:44; 20:5-7.

English Translation of the Cathechism of the Catholic Church for the United States of America © 1997, United States Catholic Conference, Inc.

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