The Resurrection Part 1

About the Series

This week students looked at the resurrection of Jesus, from His burial through His appearances to Mary Magdalene and the disciples. The story didn't end at the tomb, and the same hope the disciples found in the risen Jesus is available to us today.

Passages: John 19:38-42; John 20:1-23

What Was Taught

Jesus Is Buried

Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus took Jesus' body, prepared it for burial, and laid it in a new tomb. John describes the scene with real finality. Jesus wasn't missing or in hiding. He was dead and buried.

It's a lot like the funeral scene at the end of Avengers: Endgame. The whole world gathers to grieve someone who is truly gone. That's the weight John wants us to feel here. But unlike Tony Stark's story, Jesus' story wasn't over. Sometimes the darkest moment in a story comes right before its greatest moment.

The Empty Tomb

On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene found the stone rolled away and ran to tell Peter and John. Her first thought wasn't that Jesus had risen. It was that someone had stolen the body. Grave robbery was common in that world.

Peter and John ran to the tomb and found it empty, with the burial cloths left behind and the face cloth folded neatly by itself. Robbers don't unwrap a body and fold the cloth before they leave. Something else happened here.

The cross reminds us Jesus died for us. The empty tomb reminds us He defeated death for us.

Mary Meets the Risen Jesus

Mary stayed at the tomb weeping. She saw two angels, then turned and saw Jesus himself, but didn't recognize Him until He said her name. That wasn't unusual. Jesus often wasn't immediately recognizable after He rose. The disciples on the road to Emmaus, and later at the lake of Tiberias, didn't know Him right away either.

Jesus told Mary not to cling to Him but to go tell the disciples He was ascending to "my Father and your Father, my God and your God." Because of what Jesus accomplished, those who trust Him get the same access to God the Father that Jesus has.

Mary went from mourner to messenger. She told the disciples, "I have seen the Lord." Jesus turns our tears into a testimony.

Jesus Appears to the Disciples

The disciples were hiding behind locked doors, afraid for their lives. Jesus came and stood among them, showed them His nail-pierced hands and His wounded side, and said, "Peace be with you." Then He breathed on them and gave them the Holy Spirit, sending them out the same way the Father had sent Him.

Notice the order: Jesus comes to them. Jesus gives them peace. Jesus shows them He's alive. Then Jesus sends them. The resurrection didn't erase their fear. It gave them something bigger than their fear: Jesus Himself.

My own father was a believer who passed away in the summer of 2022. That loss brought real grief. But because Jesus is risen, I don't have to believe death was the end for my dad. His faith in Christ means death didn't get the final word. That's the same hope Jesus gave the disciples in that locked room, and it's the hope He gives us. Whatever we're facing, fear, grief, uncertainty, even death itself, Jesus holds it. Because He's alive, we can face tomorrow with hope.

Talk About It at Home

These are the questions students discussed tonight.

1. What would you have thought if you were one of the disciples and saw the empty tomb?
2. Why do you think Jesus wanted Mary and the disciples to tell others that He was alive?
3. Mary went from being afraid and sad to telling everyone about Jesus. How can we share our hope in Jesus with others?
4. How does knowing that Jesus rose from the dead give you hope when you are afraid, sad, or going through something difficult?

A few easier openers if you want to start smaller:

• What's your favorite part of the Easter story?
• Has anyone ever told you good news that was almost too good to believe?
• If you could ask Jesus one question about the resurrection, what would it be?
• When has hope helped you get through something hard?

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