Jesus was resurrected!
key words
biblical reference
Luke 24:1-12
lesson objective
To help the students know and believe that Jesus died and was buried, but God resurrected him; and learn that the Easter story is to celebrate that Jesus lives.
memory verse
“God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it” (Acts 2:32, NIV*).
prepare yourself to teach
How real and exciting can we make the resurrection for children who have their minds fixed on Easter parties, rabbits and chocolate eggs? The truth is that we do not have a good answer. The little ones do not show us immediately when a spiritual truth comes to them. And, many times teachers do not understand the signals they send us. As teachers, we are not responsible for convincing children of the biblical truths. That’s the task of the Holy Spirit. Our goal is to present the truth faithfully and in the best possible way, and then trust that the Spirit will help them apply it.
As you prepare the lesson, consider what the resurrection means to you. Does it bring you joy, security and hope? Does it help you know that you can find victory over your sins? Does your faith in God increase when you face daily struggles? You “teach” your students by reflecting with your life what you say with your words. In the same way that you talk about the resurrection, you will communicate with your life the reality of this fact to them. Therefore, whether or not you receive any indication from the children, teach this lesson with confidence. Through the resurrection, you will know that God, in his time, will make this truth real for them.
biblical commentary
Read Luke 24:1-12. The conviction of Jesus’ resurrection saturates the message of the New Testament. First, the resurrection, and later the authority and power of the Holy Spirit, enabled the apostles to carry the message of the Good News. Second, the fact of the resurrection was a central topic of the message of the apostles, as found in the book of Acts.
One of the strangest parts in the story of the resurrection is that Jesus’ closest friends seemed to not remember or to disbelieve the many predictions of his crucifixion and resurrection (Luke 9:21-27, 44-45, 18:31-34). In contrast, their enemies remembered them very well. That’s the reason why the religious leaders made sure that Jesus’ tomb was sealed and protected by guards until the third day. The day of rest (sabbath) was Saturday, so the “first day” of the week was Sunday. Several women went to the tomb to complete the funerary ritual, putting spices in the folds of the sheet that wrapped the body of Jesus.
As in most of the times in which people met with celestial beings, the women were deeply frightened. Luke does not describe the two men as angels, but they were. Their clothes were “resplendent” - in the same way the clothes of Jesus are described in the story of the transfiguration (Luke 9:29). The fact that women were the first witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus is important. A theory against the truth of the resurrection indicates that the disciples invented that story. However, in biblical times, women were not allowed to be official witnesses. If the disciples had plotted the resurrection story, they certainly would not have involved women as eyewitnesses.
A second evidence against the “plotted theory” is that the disciples reluctantly believed that Jesus had risen. When the women gave their report, they rejected it as something that did not make sense. Although Peter at least showed curiosity, and together with John (John 20:3-4) they went to take a look. In particular, he noticed the position of the sheet, which was not as if some grave robber had removed it before taking the body of Jesus. But still, Peter did not believe; he only wondered what had happened.
Luke does not give all the details of the resurrection that are included in the other Gospels. But he emphasizes the certainty of the resurrection. “He is not here, he is risen!” The truth of the resurrection is the center of Christianity. Why did Christ rise from the dead? Christians now know that the Kingdom of heaven has redirected our world. Now it is moving towards redemption.
Death was conquered and we all have the hope of resurrection and eternal life with Christ. Our testimony to the world has authority. The greatest tragedy - the crucifixion of Christ - had meaning. That means we can find meaning in the tragedies of life and have hope for the future. We are sure that Christ lives and governs his kingdom. He is not a legend. He is alive and he is real. The power of God that raised Christ from death is available to help us live victoriously without sinning in this unholy world.
introduce the lesson
“Jesus came back to life!”
Say: "Find the words in Student Activity Sheet #224-A. When the students are finished, encourage them to take the activity home and show it to their friends and family.
Tell the students the story of Jesus’ resurrection. They will see how exciting it is! Remind them to thank God, because we have Jesus who arose from the dead. Jesus is neither on the cross nor in the grave! Tell them: “Everyone who listens to you will know about Jesus, and maybe even follow him. You are his disciple and you can tell his story.”
teach the lesson
“He is not here, he is risen!”
Read Luke 24:1-12. “I cannot believe it!” Mary Magdalena said to her friends. “It is like a nightmare.” “I know,” said another. “Why did they kill Jesus in such a horrible way?” It was Sunday morning. Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and other women who loved Jesus walked towards the grave. They wanted to finalize all the special details that people performed for a loved one who had died. The women carried jars with spices and rich perfumes. They would place the perfumes in the folds of the sheet that covered Jesus’ body.
While the women walked, they talked. “How will we enter Jesus’ tomb?” asked one of them. “That’s a good question!” replied another. “They are right!” said a third. “The leaders of the temple placed a huge rock at the entrance to the tomb and sealed it. And now they have soldiers guarding it. Maybe those same soldiers will help us remove the stone.”
“Look!” cried one of the women. “The stone has been removed. The tomb is open!” Quickly, the women entered the tomb. Jesus’ body was not there! “Where is Jesus’ body?” they asked each other. “What happened? Who could have taken it?”
At that moment, the women saw two men standing next to them. But these were not ordinary men. Their clothes shone like lightning. They were angels. The women fell on their knees, very frightened. “Why do they search for the living among the dead?” asked the angels. “He is not here, he has risen. Do not you remember what Jesus said before he died? He told you that he would be crucified by his enemies, but that on the third day he would be resurrected.”
As the angel spoke, the women began to remember Jesus’ words. With enthusiasm, they ran to where Jesus’ disciples were. “The stone has been removed, the tomb of Jesus is empty!” they said excitedly. “Two angels told us that Jesus lives, just as he had told us before! “That makes no sense!” the disciples said. They had seen Jesus die painfully on the cross. They had seen Joseph of Arimathea place Jesus’ body in the tomb. They did not remember the words of the Master about his resurrection. Therefore, they did not believe the women.
Peter wanted to make sure for himself. He ran to the grave. He bent down, looked at the open tomb, and saw the sheet that had been used to wrap Jesus’ body. There was something strange there. Peter left that place and returned to where the disciples were. “What happened?” he asked himself. “Could it be possible that Jesus is alive?”
At the end of the story, ask the children: “What miracle did God do on Easter morning? (He made Jesus live again.) Who believed the Good News that Jesus was alive? (At first no one believed, later the women believed.) Why do you think the story of the resurrection is the most important thing for Christianity?” Listen carefully to the children’s responses. It is possible that some understand some of this. Say: “Today’s story is the best story in the entire Bible. Christianity is the only religion in which its leader, Jesus, rose from the dead and today lives in heaven. And since Jesus was resurrected, we Christians know that the power of God is superior to anything else. Christians know that when we die, we will live again and we will be with God and Jesus in heaven. This is the Good News of the resurrection!
connect the lesson
We remember the empty tomb (drama)
Choose several children to represent different characters in the story of the resurrection. Actors: the 3 women, Peter, three or four soldiers, two angels, several disciples. Prepare in advance a short dialogue between all the characters to dramatize the resurrection day. You can add more characters as the Gospels indicate. Use your creativity to devise the tomb with the stone removed.
practice the memory verse
Write the memory verse on the board with the words mixed up. For example: “God, we are witnesses, Jesus ...”. Then let the children go one by one to write on the board the verse with the words in the right order.
wrap-up
Pray
Make sure the children understand the true meaning of the resurrection. Give thanks to the Lord for it, because death was defeated.
Encourage
Encourage the children to use the following dialogue as an Easter or Resurrection greeting.
Teacher: The Lord has risen!
Students: He has risen indeed!
Then, have each student say goodbye to each other with the same greeting.
Invite
Say something interesting about the next session so the children will want to attend and to invite friends.
* 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.™