273 April12 He Is Risen! Lesson7 t ,] ii - todg! " '';+ o" -"" "01 Dtvorror.rAr REeprNc: L Corinthians L5: 5 He is not here, but is risen: remember t2-26. how he spake unto you when he was yet in Bn cxcnouNn Scnlprunn: Luke 24:l-12. Galilee, 7 Saying, The Son of man must be deliv- Pnnrnn TExr: Luke 242'1.-12. ered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise Luke24:1-72 again. 8 And they remembered his words, 1 Now upon the first day of the week, very 9 And returned from the sepulchre, and early in the morning, they came unto the sep- told all these things unto the eleven, and to ulchte, bringing the spices which they hid all the rest. prepared, and certain others with them. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, and ]oanna, and 2 And they found the stone rolled away Mary the mother of James, and other women from the sepulchre. that were with them, which told these things 3 And they entered in, and found not the unto the apostles. body of the Lord Jesus. 11 And their words seemedto them as idle 4 And it came to pass, as they were much tales, and they believed them not. perplexed thereabout,behold, two men stood 12 Then arose Pete1,and ran - unto the sep- by them in shining garments: ulchre; and stooping down, he beheld tlie 5 And as they were afraid and bowed down linen clothes laid by themselves, and depart- their faces to the earth, they said unto them, ed, wondering in himself at that which was Why seek ye the living among the dead? cometo pass. Gor,onirTexr: Why seekye the living amongthe dead? He is not here,but is risen.-Luke 24:b,6. APRIL 12 274 Hn Is RrsEN! prise us that Jesus'followers aII seemedto have forgottenthat He foretold His suffering,death, and Christand Creation resurrection?How could they forget something so The Dawn of New Life crucial? And what do we learn from the differ- ent ways they responded to the news of this life- Lessons6-9 changing event when reminded? B. Lesson Background LessonAims In Luke 9:20, Peterwas the first disciple to con- fessJesus as Messiah(or Christ).Jesus responded After participatingin this lesson,each student by warning that He was to suffer, die, and rise will be able to: on the third day. Shortly thereafter, following a 1. Retell Luke's account of the women's experi- crowd-dazzlinghealing display,Jesus impressed enceon resurrectionmorning. upon His followers that He would be betrayed. 2. Compareand contrastthe various levels of But they didn't graspwhat He was saying (9:44, belief of those first told of the resurrectionwith 45). Jesuslater alluded to being killed in |erusa- the varying levels of faith expressed, lem (13:33).He alsotold the disciplesthat He had 3. PIan to discuss with an unbeliever the facts to suffer and face rejection (17:25). of Jesus'resurrection. As the time of His death drew closer, |esus repeatedthese predictions. He was to be handed LessonOutline over, mocked, beaten, and killed, but would rise on the third day i1B:31-33).Still His disciplesdid INtRoluctlou not graspwhat He was saying. A, Rememberingto Remember Jesusgave His disciples severalopportunities to B. LessonBackground expect His death and recognizeit for what it was: I. Evprv Tovn (Luke 24:L-3) a temporary stop on the path to resurrection. But A. Routine Freparations (v. 1) they did not comprehend.Indeed, they could not B. UnexpectedFindings (w. 2, 3) becauseit had been concealedfrom them (Luke II. Hsa\,TNryMnssnNcsRs (Luke 24:4-8) 9:45;18:34). In God'sinfinite wisdom,He planted A. AngelsAppear to the Women(w. 4, 5) a seedwithin them that was to bear fruit only after Cemeteries Christ's resurrection. Our text today records how B. Angels Remind the Women (w. 6-8) Jesus'closest followers first respondedto the news IIL RU-+vnnMnssacs (Lrtke 24:9-1,2) of that resurrection. A. WomenTell the Apostles(w, 9, 10) The eventsthat transpired before it are famil- B. ApostlesDoubt the Women (vv. 1L,1,2) iar to long-timeChristians. |esus was betrayedby Tall Tales Judasand handed over to ]ewish authorities. They CoNcrusroN subsequentlyhanded Him over to Roman author- A. SecondhandTestimony ities. Pilate gavein to the crowd's wish that the B. Prayer innocentman fesusbe crucified.Since it was the C. Thought to Remember day beforethe Sabbath,Jesus'body was removed quickly from the cross and placed in the tomb of Introduction Josephof Arimathea. Then on the third day the unbelievablehappened. A. Remembering to Remember It is funny how the humanmind remembers. I. Empty Tomb Friendsand family will sometimestell us stories (Luke 24:1-31 of events we participated in firsthand only a few years back, but we may have absolutely no recol- A. Routine Preparations (v. 1) Iection of them. Then we may hear an old song 1. Now upon the first day of the week, very on the radio that we haven't heard in years and, early in the morning, they came unto the sep- instantly, every word of the lyrics comes back to ulchre, bringing the spices which they had pre- mind. I imagine some of this has to do with the pared, and certain others with them. Ievel at which the original context affectedus. The first day of the week is of course Sunday. Forgetfulnesstakes several forms. Some forget- |esus was crucified and died two days previ- fulnessis harmlessand someis harmful. Someis ously, on Friday. Since Saturday was the Sabbatn, accidental and some is intentional. Does it sur- it would not have been appropriate to anoint LnssoN7 275 APRIL 12 Christ's body with spiceson that day. Pious fews side in a track running in front of and parallel to are careful to avoid all forms of work on the Sab- the cave opening. Such stonesmay thus be rolled bath (Luke 23:56). Coming into contact with a to the left or right to gain accessto the interior. dead body, especially on a "high" Sabbath (John 3. And they entered in, and found not the body 19:31),creates problems of ceremonialunclean- ofthe Lord fesus. ness(Numbers 19:1L). If the women are not disturbedby the moved So Friday evening the body had been taken off stone, the fact that the body is missing certainly the crossand hastily placedin a tomb to await final alarms them! What thoughts flash through their burial preparations. Luke 23:54-56tells us that the minds? Have they come to the wrong tomb? Not women who followed fesus from Galilee (referred a chance!These same women personallyhad fol- to as they) take it upon themselvesto prepare the lowed Josephto the grave and witnessed the loca- spicesthe day of Christ's death and then wait until tion ofJesus'Iifeless body (Luke23:55). the first day of the week, after the Sabbath,to Have]esus' enemiesstolen His body in order to administer them. [Seequestion #1, page280.] subject it to further disgrace?One can only imag- The time of day (very early in the moming) ine the rush of mixed thoughts that come over the shows us how eagerthe women are to complete women. But they do not wonder for long. [See this task. Psalm 30:5 says"weeping may endure question #2, page280.1 for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." God is about to dry the tears of all |esus' followers and II. Heavenly Messengers changethe course of world history. fl,uke 24:4-8) B. Unexpected Findings (w. 2, 3) A. Angels Appear to the Women (w. 4, 5) 2. And they found the stone rolled away from 4. And it came to pass, as they were much per- the sepulchre. plexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by Mark 16:3 tells us that the women wonder who them in shining garments. will roll the stone away so they can gain entrance God quickly supplies an answer through fwo to the sepulchre.When they see that the stone is men who are clad in shining garments.They are already moved, they may be both relieved and later identified as angels(Luke 24:23).This event startled.Who has done this, and why? Perhapsthe parallels the appearanceof two men to the dis- women think that Josephof Arimathea has cour- ciples to interpret ]esus' ascensioninto Heaven teously sparedthem the burden of trying to roll (Acts1:10). Perhaps God choosestwo angelicmes- back the healy stone.After all, the gravesite does sengersto satisfy the requirement that weighty belong to him, and he has taken a keen interest in claims be confirmed by two witnesses (Deuteron- providing for Jesus'burial (Luke23:50-53). omy'1,7i6; 2 Corinthians 13 : L ; Hebrews 10 :28; Rev- One mental image of this gravestoneis that of elation11:3). a giant spherethat rolls downhill into the cave 5. And as they were afraid, and bowed down mouth, thus securing it from intruders. This is their facesto the earth, they said unto them, Why one possibility, but there is at least one other. The seek ye the living among the dead? stone may be a flat, round disc that rolls side to Apparently the appearanceof the angelsis more startling than verse 4 would imply! The women respondto the awe-inspiring presenceof angelsas How to Say It any of us would if approachedby heavenlymes- Arumrrna./ri-uh-muh-fhee-uh (fft asin sengers:the women are terrified, bowing ffielr fftin; strongaccent on fhee). faces to the ground in respect.The angelsrespond Crnopuas.Klee-o-fus.