VERSES: Mark 16:6-18; Luke 24:13-48; John 20:11-31
MEMORY VERSE: Mark 16:16 "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved..."
BOOK TO REMEMBER: Zephaniah. Write "Zephaniah" on small slips of paper, so the students may memorize another book of the Old Testament.
PRAYER: Thank God for loving us enough to send His only begotten Son to this earth and die on the cross for us.
SPECIAL SONG: The Books Of The Old Testament -(see March 2014 - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #3 on this blog. Click on orange circle for tune.)
VISUAL AID: Large Activity (see below)
LESSON POINTS:
- When Jesus had risen from the dead on the first day of the week, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene as she stood outside the tomb. She was crying and stooped down and looked inside the tomb and saw two angels dressed in white. One angel was sitting at the head and the other was sitting at the feet of where Jesus' body had been. The angels saw her and asked her, "Why are you crying?" Mary said, "Because they have taken away my Lord and I don't know where they have laid Him." When Mary had answered the angels, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know it was Jesus. Jesus asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?" She thought He was the gardener and said to Him, "If you have taken Him somewhere else, tell me and I will take Him away." Then Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned to Him and said to him, "Rabboni!" which means Master. Jesus told her not to touch Him because He had not ascended to His Father, yet. He told her to go to His disciples and tell them that Jesus was going to ascend to His Father. Mary did as she was told, going back to the disciples as they mourned and wept for Jesus. She told them that she had seen Jesus and that He had spoken to her, but they did not believe her.
- On that same day, but a little later, two of Jesus' disciples were walking together on the road to village of Emmaus. As they talked and reasoned together in deep conversation, Jesus drew closer to them, but they did not recognize Him. Jesus spoke to them, "What are you talking about as you are walking?" One of the two men whose name was Cleopas answered Him, "Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who doesn't know what has happened here the past few days?" Jesus asked him, "What things?" Then, they told Him about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet of God, powerful in words and deed. They told Him about how the chief priests and rulers condemned Him to death on the cross and how the women were at the tomb on that very morning, but did not find His body there. The women had seen angels there and had come back to tell them. When some went to the tomb, they found it just like the women said, but Jesus was not there. That's when Jesus started talking all about the scriptures concerning Himself, beginning with Moses and the prophets. As they drew closer to the village of Emmaus, Jesus was going to leave the men, but they urged Him to stay with them since it was getting late. Jesus agreed to stay. As they got ready to eat, Jesus took the bread and blessed it and gave it to them. That is when their eyes were opened and they knew that He was Jesus--and then He disappeared! The disciples said to each other, "Didn't our hearts burn within us as He spoke to us from the scriptures?" They got up right then, walked back to Jerusalem where the eleven disciples were together, and told them that certainly Jesus had risen from the dead, describing what had happened to them.
- As they were talking together with the eleven, Jesus stood in the middle of them and said, "Peace, be to you." They were frightened and terrified and thought they had seen a spirit. But Jesus said to them, "Why are you troubled? Look at my hands and my feet. It is Me!" Then Jesus showed them His hands and His feet and how they had nail scars in them. When the disciples still could not believe because of their joy and amazement, He asked them if they had anything to eat. They gave Him a piece of broiled fish and honeycomb and He ate it in front of them. He said that these were the words that Moses and the prophets had written in the law, in the prophets, and in the psalms concerning Him. Then Jesus opened up their understanding, so that they could understand what He was saying. He told them that it was written that Christ should suffer and rise again on the third day and that repentance and remission of sins would be preached in His name, beginning at Jerusalem. He told them to go into all the world and preach the gospel to everyone. he said that he that believed and was baptized would be saved. Then He told them that they would be able to perform miracles to show that they were from God.
- Next time, we will study about Jesus appearing to more of His disciples at other times before He went into heaven.
- To think of all the sadness and sorrow that Jesus' disciples had gone through, seeing Him suffer and die on the cross. They had been together with Jesus for three and a half years! They must have been full of grief and at a loss at what would come next. Think of their joy when they realized that Jesus was alive again! He had been dead, but now He was alive! Their joy must have been greater than their sadness had been!
- Do we remember why there were only eleven disciples gathered together in Jerusalem instead of twelve? (Judas had died.)
Materials needed: White bond paper, crayons, pen.
- Hand out white paper.
- Fold in thirds.
- Do not unfold.
- On outside fold, write "Jesus Appears After his Death".
- Open once.
- On bottom panel, write "Mark 16:6-18", "Luke 24:13-48", and "John 20:11-31".
- Completely unfold the paper.
- Trace on lines.
- Write #1 on the top panel, #2 on the middle panel, and #3 on the bottom panel.
- In PANEL #1: Draw Jesus and Mary at the tomb in the garden. Draw and label tomb, great stone, Jesus, Mary, and the word GARDEN. Write "Mary" close to Jesus and MASTER close to Mary.
- In PANEL #2: Draw Jesus talking to two men on the road to Emmaus. Draw a sign that says EMMAUS. Label Jesus. Write, "What are you talking about as you are walking?" above Jesus. Write "Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who doesn't know what has happened here in the past few days?" above the two men.
- In PANEL #3: Draw Jesus talking to thirteen men, two on one side of Jesus and eleven men on the other side of Jesus. Label Jesus. Draw a sign that says JERUSALEM. Write "Why are you troubled? Look at my hands and my feet. It is ME!" above Jesus.
- Fold up and take home.
