Year B. 2nd Term. Lesson 1. The resurrection of Jesus.

Scripture: for teacher background:  Matthew 28:1-15     Mark 16:1-14   Luke 24:1-12   John 20:1-22

(An interesting exercise for the teachers is to make 4 columns and compare the accounts of the resurrection.)

A very good book on the resurrection of Jesus and highly recommended for the teachers to read is “Who moved the stone?”  Frank Morrison

Making contact:

Talk about cocoons and how they are transformed into butterflies. If possible have real examples – depending on the season, or pictures, to show the children.

Get one of the boys to try and take his shirt off without unbuttoning it. It must be a buttoned shirt – all the way to the top. (Impossible)

(Optional: If you haven’t already done so, for a lesson later on in the term, on the Fruit of the Spirit, get the children to plant some tomato seeds or baby tomato seeds in plastic ice cream boxes. Remember to water them. Hopefully there will be tomatoes by the time that lesson arrives.)

 Exploration:

It was very early in the morning on the day after the Sabbath, Sunday. 

Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, Salome and some other women took spices to anoint the body of Jesus and hurried to the tomb where Jesus had been buried.

On the way there they worried about how they were going to get into the tomb. Who would roll the stone away for them?

Suddenly there was an earthquake, an angel came down from heaven and rolled the stone away and sat on it. His clothes were white light snow and he was as bright as lightning. 

The guards fainted in sheer fright!

The women crouched over and crept inside. 

They saw an angel sitting on the right hand side of the tomb. He spoke to them and told them not to be afraid.

He said he knew who they were looking for, and asked why were they looking for the living among the dead. 

“ He had been raised as He said He would. He is going ahead of you to Galilee where He will meet you. But first go and tell Peter and the other disciples what has happened.”

 The women were dazed and shocked and hurried off to tell the others. Mary was crying outside the tomb. 

The angels asked her why she was crying. She said that someone must have taken the body of Jesus and she didn’t know where He was. 

Someone was in the garden and she thought it was the gardener.

 As He said her name, she realized it was Jesus. 

The women running back to tell the disciples also met Jesus and threw themselves down at His feet.

Peter and another disciple had run to the tomb. 

The other younger disciple, John, got there first and just looked inside and saw the linen clothes. 

Peter went inside. The head wrapping were to the one-side away from the other wrappings. The other disciple, John, believed then that Jesus had risen.

 (Explain to the children how Jesus had gone through the wrappings and that is why they weren’t unwrapped. 

In the same way He came into the locked room. BUT HE wasn’t a ghost; He ate fish to prove it and told them to touch Him. 

THIS IS IMPORTANT for them to understand, so repeat it over the next couple of lessons.

Application

Mary didn’t recognize Jesus, because she was so sure He was dead. Her mind was trapped by logic. Our faith is not based on logic!

Sometimes human logic and human thinking can block faith!

What is an eye- witness? 

We are able to read this story and even though we didn’t see the linen wrappings and the stone rolled away, we can believe. ………………. 

There was a man who decided to write a book telling the proofs that Jesus wasn’t raised from the dead.

As he was writing the book,” he realized that he was wrong and that Jesus really rose again. The book is called “Who moved the stone?”

Challenge to Mission

Find one person, even a family member who is unsure about the resurrection of Jesus. Tell them what you have learnt.

Consolidation

 The children can make an Easter Garden – using a box, (a shallow one works nicely) or plastic basin or flower pot, some sand, stones, flowers, greenery, an empty egg shell and a wooden cross. They can arrange the stones to make a cave and mound the sand up a little on one side to make a hill for the cross – one or three and put some grass cuttings and flowers around.

Memory Verse:

“If you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised Him from death, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9

There will be an Easter card you can help the children to make. This could be done during the holidays, if you take the children out of church and while you are making them, tell them the Easter story.