Lesson Two: Proof of Jesus' Resurrection

Proof of Jesus' Resurrection

John leaves no doubt that Jesus died on the cross and that he was buried. Now let’s read about what happened on the third day after Jesus died in Matthew 28:1–10.

Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

Two women, both named Mary, were going to see Jesus’ tomb early on Sunday morning. They had been followers of Jesus and were going to prepare his body with spices, but Jesus' body was not there. There was a great earthquake at the tomb caused by an angel of the Lord coming down from heaven and rolling the stone away from the tomb. The angel looked like lightning, with clothes as white as snow.

Roman guards had been placed at the tomb to make sure no one got in. When they saw the angel, they trembled and became like dead men.

These tough Roman guards were so afraid that they were shaking and couldn’t speak or move—they might have even fainted.

Now look at verses 5–7. The angel had a very important message for these women. Part of their message, verse 6, is our memory verse.

The angel gave these women good news. Jesus was not there; he had risen! He was alive.

The angel had rolled away the stone so that the women could see the empty tomb. They knew Jesus was alive, and they ran to tell the disciples, just as the angel told them to do. But on their way, the women had an even greater surprise. They met someone. Who do you think it was? Let's read verses 8-10 to find out.

Jesus appeared to them! Imagine what that must have been like to see Jesus alive again! The women worshipped at Jesus’ feet. He told them not to be afraid but to go and give a message to the disciples (his brothers).

Let's read Matthew 28:11–15.

While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.

The women weren’t the only ones who knew the tomb was empty. The guards were there to see the angel roll away the stone. Remember, the guards were terrified of the angel.

Some of the guards were worried about getting in trouble because their job was to make sure that no one broke into the tomb to take Jesus’ body. And now the tomb was empty! They went to the Jewish leaders (chief priests) and told them what happened.

The chief priests told the guards to tell people that the disciples came and stole Jesus’ body while they were sleeping. No one could disagree that Jesus’ body was gone, and the priests knew that Jesus had said he would rise on the third day. But they didn’t want people believing in Jesus, so they paid the guards to spread a lie about what happened. Even Jesus’ enemies knew the tomb was empty.

When the women told the disciples they had seen Jesus, the disciples didn’t believe them at first. But the Bible tells us that Jesus appeared to his disciples and let them see the wounds in his hands and side. He ate meals with them to show that he was alive in a real body and wasn’t a ghost or part of their imagination. For 40 days after his resurrection, Jesus spoke to his disciples and appeared to many other followers.

Before Jesus went back to heaven, he told his followers to be witnesses and tell people about everything they had seen and heard. Sometime after Jesus went up into heaven, the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak boldly about Jesus. They knew the truth that Jesus had died on the cross to pay for their sins and had risen again to give them eternal life.

False Ideas

Like the disciples, we also know that Jesus rose from the dead. But many people do not want to believe it, so they have come up with false ideas to explain away the resurrection.

Some argue Jesus never truly died. Jesus’ friends and family watched him die, but some people still say that Jesus only passed out on the cross then later woke up and walked out of the tomb. This doesn't make any sense. Crucifixion was so horrible and painful, no one could live through it. Also, what did we read in John’s Gospel about the soldiers who came to break Jesus’ legs? They didn't break Jesus' legs because they saw he was already dead. One soldier even pierced Jesus' side to make sure he was really dead.

Others say it was not actually Jesus on the cross, but someone who looked like Jesus, but this doesn't make any sense either. Jesus’ friends and family—especially his own mother—would not have mistaken someone else for Jesus. After he rose from the dead, many of his followers saw him and recognized him. And to prove that Jesus had risen from the dead, he showed his disciples the nail marks in his hands and the spear wound in his side.

Another false idea is the assumption that someone stole or moved Jesus' body, but this doesn't make sense. The women and the guards saw the tomb was empty. Matthew told us exactly how this false idea began, so we know that it isn’t true. The Jewish leaders told the guards to spread the rumor that the disciples stole Jesus’ body.

Others argue that people only imagined they saw Jesus alive again, but this can't be true. We read that the risen Jesus appeared to the women and his disciples. The Bible also tells us that he appeared to over 500 people over 40 days before he returned to heaven. It’s impossible for that many people to imagine the same thing—especially in different places and at different times.

Yet another false idea is that the resurrection is just a story that writers made up years later. But think about the people Jesus came to first. He first appeared to the women, not to his disciples or the Jewish leaders. In Jesus’ day, people thought women were not as important as men and often would not believe them. So, it would have been a bit embarrassing to admit that Jesus appeared first to women instead of to the men.

If you were making up a story, would you make up a story that embarrassed you? Of course not. The same is true for the Gospel writers. If they had made up the story, they would have said that Jesus appeared to the men first, not the women. This proof is a great piece of evidence that the writers were telling the truth.

Don’t some of these false ideas seem silly, especially when we know the evidence from God's Word? We can throw these false ideas into the trash where they belong.

Application

No matter how many false ideas people make up to say the resurrection didn’t happen, we know it is true. The Bible gives us the proof for Jesus’ death and resurrection. It’s important to know what the Bible says so that we can show people from God’s Word what really happened. Those who saw Jesus die and who saw him after he’d risen wrote about it. They wanted all people to know that these events are true and to believe that Jesus is the Son of God. The resurrection shows that Jesus is God; when he came to life again, he conquered death for us.

Because we have God’s Word, we can know for sure that Jesus died and rose again to save us from sin. What do you think God wants us to do because of this truth?

When the women met Jesus and knew that he had risen, they fell at his feet and worshipped. They recognized Jesus as their Savior and Lord. And that is what God wants us to do, too. If you have never told Jesus that you want him to be your Savior, you can trust in him today. Easter is a wonderful time to become a child of God.

Prayer Time

• Thank God for the accounts of Jesus’ death and resurrection in the Bible.
• Ask God for help to read and study his Word to learn more about him and his Son, Jesus.