The Resurrection of Jesus Christ

Discussion Questions: “Resurrection of Jesus Christ, He Has Risen!”

This event is the most important event for the Christian faith.  Without Jesus’ resurrection, Christians would have a completely different outlook on Baptism, being born again, and having a relationship with the Lord while living and after death.

It is important to note, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John did not witness the women at the tomb.  The women who told this event told the disciples what they saw, heard, and who they interacted with.

1)   Dawn, Easter Sunday.  The first day after the Sabbath (Saturday).  (Read the verses outlined in black: Matthew 28:1,M ark 16:1-2, Luke 24:1, and John 20:1) Who were the two Mary’s? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2)   Preparing vs. buying spices (Mark 16:1, and Luke 24:1). Did the women prepare spices or buy spices to bring to the tomb?  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3)   Bringing spices to the tomb. (Mark 16:1, and Luke 24:1) Why did the women bring spices to anoint Jesus?  Did they really believe he would rise from the dead?  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4)   The great earthquake (Read only: Matthew 28:2) What is the significance of the great earthquake? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5)   The stone rolled back from the door (Read the verses outlined in red:  Matthew 28:2, Mark 16:3-4, Luke 24:2, and John 20:1) Who or what rolled back the stone from the door of Jesus’ tomb? ______________________________________________________________

6)   Mary Magdalene leaves the other Mary and Salome (Read verse in green: John 20:2 and Luke 24:8-11). Why did Mary leave the other women and run to the disciples?  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7)   The women enter Jesus’ tomb. (Read verses in orange: Matthew 28:3-4, Mark 16:5, Luke 24:3-4, and John 20:11-13) What did the women find when they entered Jesus’ tomb?  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8)   HE HAS RISEN!  (Read verses in blue: Matthew 28:5-7, Mark 16:6-7, and Luke 24:5-7) This is the most important part of the lesson. Let us answer some easy questions and then do a deep dive into the resurrection.

a)   Who is Risen?  ______________________________________________

b)   Who did the angel(s) say to the women go and tell them Jesus has risen from the dead? _________________________________________

c)    Why is Peter called out in Mark 16:7?  ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Deep Dive:  The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the focal point of the Christian faith.  It is imperative to demonstrate how significant this one event had on human history.

d)   The Resurrection is unique to Christianity.  Why?

i)     __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

ii)    Who was the founder of the Islam Religion?  __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

iii)   Who was the founder of Chinese Philosophy?  __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

iv)  Who was the founder of the Buddhism Religion? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

e)   Old Testament Prophecies - Two Old Testament prophecies that specifically reference the coming Messiah’s resurrection.

(1) Isaiah 53:10-12 (read in more context: Isaiah 53:7-12) What does this mean?  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(2) Psalm 16:10-11 What does this mean?  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

f)     New Testament prophecies:  Jesus predicts His own resurrection.  What New Testament verses do you know when Jesus predicted His own resurrection?  We tried to group them:

(1) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(2) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(3) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(4) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(5) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(6) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(7) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(8) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

g)   Post Resurrection – What if there was no Resurrection? Read the statement from Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:12-19.  If there is no resurrection, then Christianity is false. According to Paul, if Christ was not raised, then the following points would be true:

(1) ______________________________________________________

(2) ______________________________________________________

(3) ______________________________________________________

(4) ______________________________________________________

(5) ______________________________________________________

9)   Fear and Joy (Read verses in purple: Matthew 28:8, and Mark 16:8). Why did the women feel both fear and great joy when leaving the tomb on their way to see the disciples?  __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10)        The first disciples ran to Jesus’ tomb (Read verses in yellow: Luke 24:12, and John 20:3-10).

a)   Simon Peter ran to the tomb.  Who was the other disciple that went with him that Jesus loved? ___________________________________________________________

b)   What was the first physical proof Jesus’ body was not stolen?  (John 20:5) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

c)    They did not know the scriptures.  At what moment did the disciples believe Jesus was resurrected from the dead? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

d)   The disciples missed the opportunity to see Jesus. (John 20:10) Why did the disciples not see Jesus at the tomb?  ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

e)   No question.  An important observation at this moment.  (John 20:11) Mary Magdalene remained at the tomb after the disciples departed home.

11)        Jesus was taken away. (John 20:12-13) Who is Mary referring to when she said, “They have taken away my Lord?”  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

12)        The women see Jesus (Read verses in gray:  Mark 16:9-11, John 20:14-17).

a)   Who appeared to Jesus first?  ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

b)   Why did Mary not recognize Jesus? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

c)    Rabboni (John 20:16). Why did Mary call Jesus Rabboni?  ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

d)   Mary attempts to touch Jesus.  Why did Jesus tell Mary not to cling to him, and what does that mean?  _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

13)        Mary Magdalene meets up with Salome and the other Mary. Jesus appears to these three women. (Read verses in light green: Matthew 28:9-10, John 20:18)

a)   Why did Jesus say to the three women, “Rejoice!?”  ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

b)   Where did Jesus tell the women the disciples would see Him?  ___________________________________________________________

14)        The Roman Guard reports (read verses in brown: Matthew 28:4 and Matthew 28:11-15) The Roman Guard was ordered by Pilate to guard the tomb of Jesus (Matthew 27:65-66)

a)   How many Roman soldiers consisted of a “Roman Guard?” ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

b)   The guards became like dead men. (Matthew 28:4) Why did the Roman guards become like dead men?  ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

c)    Why did the elders give a large sum of money to the Roman soldiers?  (Matthew 28:12-15) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________