Message Theme & Verses: God’s wonderful surprise: Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 20
Memory Verse: Matthew 28:6 He is not here, for He has risen
All of Jesus’ friends were sad. Somehow, they forgot that He said He had to die, but would rise again. They thought His life was over and they were all alone. Some women went to Jesus’ tomb to put spices on His body. Before they got there, God sent an earthquake and an angel that sent the guards away and rolled the giant stone from in front of the tomb. The women expected to see a dead body, but they only saw the cloth that was wrapped around Jesus’ body. “Why are you looking for Jesus in a tomb?” asked the angel? “This is a place for the dead, Jesus is alive!” The ladies were so excited, they ran home to tell everyone. Mary, the one who had washed Jesus’ feet with her hair, stayed back. She saw someone else in the garden and thought she would ask the gardener where Jesus was. “I can’t find Him,” she cried. “Mary” said the man. She knew right away that this was Jesus in his new perfect body. “Go and tell the others I am alive” commanded Jesus. Jesus was preparing to go back to heaven to be with God the Father and He had work for His followers to do here on earth. Jesus’ work of saving people from their sins was finished. He had died on the cross and taken the punishment that we deserved. He drank the full cup of the Father’s wrath. As the same time, Jesus gave His goodness to His people and now they could be together with the holy God. Jesus doesn’t want believers to keep this Good News to themselves. He wants us to use His goodness to help others and even more importantly to tell them how they too can be made right with God by believing in Jesus!
Barkadang Questions
1. When is a time when you were most excited to see someone?
2. Who have you gone to visit at the cemetery? What happened there?
3. How would you react if you saw an angel? (Every time someone sees an angel in the Bible, the angel says “Do not be afraid.” Sometimes, people try to worship the angel. Angels know that people and angels are to only worship God so they tell the people they are created too. If you saw an angel, you would be afraid and overwhelmed.)
4. How would you feel if you saw a dead person come back to life?
5. What would you do in life if you knew that you would not die or would come back to life?
6. Why is it important that Jesus came back to life? (Jesus’ resurrection proves that He is God. He has control over all things including death. Jesus made a prophecy that He would rise from the dead. When He did, this proved that everything else He said is true as well. The Bible calls Jesus the firstfruits of the resurrection. This means that because Jesus came back to life, we too can have eternal life. Jesus is our hope that we will live forever with God. Jesus’ resurrection is the most important event that ever happened in human history. Jesus said, “because I live, you also will live.” We must believe that Jesus rose again to be Christians and to have the hope of eternal life with Him.)
7. How do we know that Jesus truly rose from the dead? (The men who wrote about Jesus’ resurrection saw Him alive after He had been crucified. Jesus also later appeared to over 500 people who saw and touched Him. Jesus’ followers had a dramatic change after they saw the risen Christ. Before, they were a small, scared group, hiding from Jesus’ enemies. After, they were bold proclaimers of the Good News that Jesus lives. They even were killed for their beliefs. People will not die for what they know is a lie. Finally, all stories say that Jesus’ body was not in the tomb. If Jesus did not die, what happened to His body? The Jews and the Romans both wanted to prove that Jesus stayed dead and yet, they could not. Jesus is alive and His life gives us life, if only we believe in Him.)