Jesus Comes Back to Life
key words
biblical reference
John 20:1-18
lesson objective
To help the students understand that Jesus’ resurrection gives them hope of salvation and eternal life
memory verse
“That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord ... (Philippians 2:10-11, NIV*).
prepare yourself to teach
Students of this age who grew up in the church probably don’t question the resurrection. However, it’s possible that those who have another religious background don’t know exactly what to believe about it. Today, preadolescents are taught to be “tolerant” of other beliefs, which means that “each person’s belief is as valid as theirs.”
Some of your students may not be clear that the belief in the resurrection is a powerful truth upon which the Christian faith rests. The story may seem like a fairy tale or simply a story that had a “happy ending” after the tragic reality of the crucifixion.
Help them to understand the reality of the resurrection and what it means to them. It’s because Jesus lives that we have hope for salvation and eternal life. The great power that raised Jesus from the dead is present today to help us to have victorious Christian lives in whatever circumstances we have to go through, and to witness to others about Jesus.
As you teach the story of Mary Magdalene and her discovery, help the students understand how she felt. Discuss with the students what you feel about the resurrection. God raised Jesus from the dead. And he is alive! Still today!
Help them rejoice that Jesus is their Savior and risen King.
biblical commentary
The resurrection of Jesus was crucial for the fulfillment of God’s plan: the redemption of the world. Without it, the death of Jesus on the cross would have been only that of another martyr - certainly impressive - but without any power. However, for the followers of Christ, the resurrection guarantees eternal life and victory over sin and death.
Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus did something that involved some personal risk. Both were members of the court of the Sanhedrin of the Jews. They knew that Jewish law demanded that bodies be buried by sundown before the Sabbath. Because of that law and the circumstances surrounding his death, Jesus’ body should have been placed in a common grave outside the walls of Jerusalem. However, Joseph and Nicodemus took a risk, and requested something that was against the law of ceremonial contamination in order to bury Jesus’ body properly. That meant that their actions could exclude them from the whole celebration of the Passover and destroy their political and religious careers.
Joseph and Nicodemus prepared Jesus’ body according to the custom typical of the Jews of the first century. This consisted of wrapping it tightly with scraps of cloth with spices, which included myrrh, aloe and sandalwood. These were placed between the body and the linen under the body.
Mary Magdalene, early that third day, went to the grave. Although she was not part of the inner circle of Jesus, she was one of the women who followed him devoutly.
Upon discovering that the stone had been removed from the tomb, Mary Magdalene ran to tell the disciples the incredible news: “Somebody had taken the body!” In that first century in Jerusalem, tombs were dug in the limestone hills around the walls of the city. The door to the tomb was a round stone four to six feet high (approximately 1 to 2 meters), which settled into a shallow hole when rolled in front of the tomb. Moving the stone door would have required tremendous force. It couldn’t have accidently opened. This caused Mary to conclude that someone had taken the body.
When Peter and John ran to inspect the tomb, they found that it was empty; but there were still the cloths that had covered Jesus’ body. John noticed that important detail, which made him reject the theory of theft. Tomb robbers, in their eagerness, wouldn’t have taken the time to unwrap the body and leave the cloths folded. Having realized this, John “believed” (20:8). Although he didn’t yet understand the full meaning of the resurrection, he seemed to understand that Jesus had conquered death and was alive.
After the disciples left, Mary Magdalene remained behind crying, or “lamenting.” When she bent down again to look inside the tomb, she saw two angels. They didn’t give her a message, but their very presence indicated that something supernatural had happened.
Mary Magdalene couldn’t process this truth until Jesus himself pronounced her name. In a few seconds, her great sorrow was transformed into immense joy. She addressed Jesus as “Raboni”, a way to intensify the word “Rabbi” (as a special teacher). In Judaism, that form was generally used to address God in prayer. The woman still didn’t fully understand that her “teacher” was God, but it wouldn’t take her long to learn it, and so her joy would be complete.
When people hear about the resurrection of Jesus for the first time they respond in various ways:
1.Some only think of it as a fantastic story.
2.Others search for the facts.
3.Still others, accept it as the truth.
4.Some commit themselves to the risen Christ.
Those who commit themselves to the risen Christ experience the reality of the presence of Christ within!
introduce the lesson
Your feelings
(If there is a child in your group who has recently experienced the death of a family member, you may prefer to skip this activity.)
Let the students work on this activity Student Activity Sheet #380-A (Your Feelings), with the different expressions of the faces. Let each child choose and write under each face the feeling that corresponds to each: anger, surprise, fear, joy, sadness.
Then ask: Which of these faces shows how you feel when you think or hear something related to death? Give the students time to answer and circle the face of their choice. Then on the blank face, draw how they feel when they think about death.
Ask: “What words come to your mind when you think about death? (The students’ responses will be different and will include: fright, fear, sadness, fear of the unknown, being with Jesus, end of life, etc.)
Say: “Death is something that we don’t like to think about, and we all have different feelings about it. In our story today, the followers of Jesus were fighting against their feelings. It was assumed that the Passover would be a happy celebration with their family and friends. But their best friend, whom they thought would be their Savior, had been crucified and was dead. Let’s see what happened next.”
teach the lesson
The tomb is empty
Always use your Bible to tell the story. The passage from John 20:1-18 is found in Student Activity Sheet #380-B and #380-C. You can divide the reading among several students, read it yourself, divide into several reading groups, or whatever you prefer. Use your creativity to make this a very special moment.
How did Mary feel?
Have the students go to Student Activity Sheet #380-C. Tell them that as they read the Bible story, they should order and write from 1 to 4 in the blank boxes how Mary Magdalene felt.
connect the lesson
Important words
Say: “In the last session we saw the word ‘Passover. In this session we have the word ‘Resurrection’. Use cards about 15 cm. x 11 cm to write this word. On one side of the card write the important word and the other its meaning. You can hide the cards in the room, and whoever finds one first and can explain its meaning will be the winner. You can reward him with a candy or something small, like a balloon or a pen.
Resurrection: to return to life after having died. Jesus rose from the dead and lives today. His resurrection is the hope of all Christians.
“V” for Victory
For this activity you will need pencils or pens, crayons or markers and, if possible, decals with the theme of Easter to decorate the letter V.
Ask: “Why is Jesus’ resurrection so important to us?”
Give the students time to think about the answer. Allow them to read the sentences written in Student Activity Sheet #380-D (V is for Victory). Take turns reading the phrases. Talk briefly about each of them. Use these ideas to discuss.
The resurrection shows us:
•When Jesus rose from the dead, he defeated the power of death. That’s why those who trust him can be sure that after his death they’ll live forever in heaven.
•Since we know that we’re going to be with Jesus, we shouldn’t be afraid to die.
•God has great power! And the Bible (Ephesians 1:19-20) tells us that the same power that God used to resurrect Jesus from the dead is in us today to help us resist temptation and do the right things and avoid the wrong things.
Have the students write a thank you prayer and decorate the “V” to their liking.
To finish this activity, have each student complete the sentence at the bottom of the page with one of the phrases surrounding the letter “V”.
Say: “The resurrection of Jesus is one of the blessings, one of the greatest gifts, God has given us. During this Easter, give thanks to God for this gift.”
practice the memory verse
Ask your students if they remember the verse they began memorizing the previous session. If several raise their hands, allow them to recite it. If they still don’t know it by memory, or they make mistakes saying it, use again the palm branches that you used during the previous session, or simply repeat the verse several times. First repeat phrase by phrase, until they can say everything complete and by memory.
wrap-up
Pray
Conclude with a prayer, thanking God for the power that raised Jesus, which will help us so that we can live as he wants us to live, and because of Jesus’ resurrection, one day we’ll be with him and we’ll see him face to face.
Encourage
Say to the group: “In our churches there are several very happy and beautiful hymns or choruses that speak of the resurrection. Let’s sing one of them.” If you have no talent for music, invite a young person to help you with this activity.
Invite
Tell the group something interesting about the next session and encourage attendance. Tell them that friends are are welcome.
* Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™