The Resurrection of Jesus
Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 20
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After the Lord Jesus gave his life on the cross, he was buried in a tomb by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, and there were guards posted at the tomb because the Pharisees knew that Jesus had said he would rise from the dead after three days, and they were afraid that the disciples would come and take away the body.
And on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of Jesus, came early in the morning, when it was still dark, to the place where Jesus was buried. And there was a great earthquake, because the angel of the Lord came down from heaven and rolled the stone away from the tomb and sat on it. His face was as bright as lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the keepers of the tomb were so frightened that they shook very much. Then the angel said to Mary, "Don't be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here, for he is risen as he said he would. Come and see the place where the Lord lay then go quickly and tell his disciples that he is risen"...so quickly they ran and came to Peter and John and told them what the angel said, but the disciples didn't believe them.
Peter and John ran to the tomb, and John ran faster than Peter and was first to arrive. And looking in he saw the linen cloths that Jesus had been wrapped in, but he did not enter the tomb until Peter went in. And there with the cloths was the napkin that had been around Jesus' head, but this was not lying with the other cloths, it was neatly wrapped up and put in a place by itself. But at this time, they did not know that Jesus had risen from the dead and so they went back home.
But Mary stood outside the tomb weeping, and she bent down and looked into the tomb, and there she saw two angels in white, one at the head, and one at the feet where Jesus had lain. And they said to her, "Woman, why are you crying?" and she answered them "because they have taken away my Lord, and I don't know where he is." And then she turned around and Jesus said to her "Woman, why do you weep? who are you looking for?" but Mary did not know it was Jesus who was speaking to her, she thought he was the gardener, and so she said "Sir, if you have taken him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." And then Jesus said "Mary." And then Mary said "Master" and held him by the feet and worshipped him.
Jesus said to her "Don't touch me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father, but go to my brethren and say to them "I ascend to my Father, and your Father, and to my God, and your God." Mary went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken those things to her.
Memory Verse: Matthew 27:6 "He is not here: for he is risen, as he said."
Questions:
1. Why did Pilate put guards at the tomb?
2. How did the stone move away from the entrance to the tomb?
3. What did the angel tell the women?
4. Which disciples came to the tomb?
5. How do you think Mary felt when she knew it was the Lord Jesus?
Answers:
1. Because he thought the disciples might steal the body
2. An angel came down from heaven and moved it away and sat on it.
3. That Jesus was not there because he had risen from the dead
4. Peter and John
5. She must have been very, very happy.
Vicki C. Gross/Nov'02
