Class Lesson March 31, 2013

Hey Gang,


We conclude this Easter Sunday with our series on “Answering Key Questions.”


Jesus often made statements, told parables, and also used questions to teach spiritual truths and to challenge religious assumptions.This is why some of Jesus' questions angered religious leaders who refused to accept truth over tradition. This five-week study has explored questions Jesus asked and why the answers are essential to growing in discipleship.

Below is an outline of the lessons in this series:

1. March 3 God’s Word or Tradition? - Matthew 15:1-11, 17-20
2. March 10 Commitment or Lip Service? - Luke 9:20-26, 57-62
3. March 17 Compassionate Action or Indifference? - Luke 10:25-37
4. March 24 Serve or Expect to Be Served? - Luke 22:19-30
5. March 31 Recognize Christ or Worship Another? - John 20:1-18

 

Life Goal  

Recognize and live out the fact that Jesus changes everything.

I. WHAT DO YOU SEE? – JOHN 20:1-4

The Empty Tomb

20 On the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark. She saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. 2 So she ran to Simon Peter and to the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put Him!” 3 At that, Peter and the other disciple went out, heading for the tomb. 4 The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and got to the tomb first.



How is Mary representative of those who see but do not recognize?

• Mary came to the tomb searching for some way to honor her dead Lord, but she panicked when she found the tomb empty. At this point, she represents people who are searching for the Lord but, because they cannot see Him, assume they have lost Him.
• Some people are searching for the Lord but feel they cannot find Him.
• Because some people can’t find the One they expect, they despair.
• Fortunately, sometimes people seek help from those closest to Jesus.

Why do you think Jesus’ followers had a hard time in the beginning believing He was resurrected?

• Sometimes people can view the same evidence and come to differing conclusions. A baseball player slides into home plate. The home crowd may have seen the event as an out, but the visiting crowd may have seen it as safe. They saw the same event, but they interpreted the evidence differently. Peter and John had to make a determination in their own hearts just as Mary did about what happened to the body of Jesus. Though they saw, at first they could not understand what was happening. Sometimes in a crisis, people are not quite sure what they’re looking for, but others can help them find what they need. The implications were huge when it came to the meaning of the empty tomb. The resurrection meant Christ was Lord of both life and death. Though seeing the empty tomb itself did not convince them, they investigated the facts further in an effort to understand what had happened to Jesus.

If you are a Christian, what has convinced you of the resurrection’s reality?



When Mary found the tomb empty, what did she assume? What other assumptions could she have made? Why didn’t she?

• In the wake of His execution, Jesus’ followers had reason to fear both the religious leaders and the Romans responsible for putting Him to death. Mary’s assumption was these enemies of Jesus had taken His body. It must have seemed like just another attempt by their opponents to squelch Jesus’ followers from spreading His message.
• Whether or not Mary was present when He said it, Jesus had specifically told His disciples He would die and rise again (Matt. 26:2-32; Mark 8:31; Luke 9:22). Yet the possibility that Jesus might be alive didn’t seem real.
• How is Mary’s response like or unlike how some today respond to biblical accounts of Jesus’ resurrection? Why do people look for a reason other than resurrection for the empty tomb?
• From that day until now, many people still have difficulty accepting the fact that a supernatural event occurred. They try to explain the empty tomb by rationalizing that someone took Jesus’ body or He wasn’t actually dead when He was buried. A supernatural event, like resurrection, occurs outside laws of nature.

After Jesus’ death on Friday, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus took Jesus’ body to Joseph’s tomb and began to prepare the body for burial (John 19:38-42; see this lesson’s background study on “Jewish Burial Customs in First-Century Israel”). John emphasized the haste with which this took place when he wrote, “since the tomb was nearby” (v. 42). Luke 23:55 emphasized that a group of women from Galilee traveled with Joseph to the tomb, presumably to assist in this process. The second Gospel noted that “Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses” were two of those women (Mark 15:47). Matthew also confirmed that these two women were with them (Matt. 27:61). The Sabbath began at sundown on Friday, and Jesus had only died about three hours before that. In the following three hours, Joseph had to travel to Pilate to request the body of Jesus and Nicodemus had to gather the spices. Apparently, they did not have time to finish the task of anointing the body for burial, so the women decided to return after the Sabbath and complete the job. Since the Sabbath ended at sundown on Saturday, the women naturally waited until sunrise on Sunday, the first day of the week, to return to the tomb. They came early, a time-frame which indicated somewhere between 3:00 and 6:00 in the morning.

John only mentioned Mary Magdalene, but this does not place him in opposition to the other Gospel writers since he did not state that she was the only one who came to the tomb. Indeed, when Mary explained what happened to the apostles, she used the plural, “We don’t know where they have put Him!” Certainly Mary was not the only woman who made her way to the tomb, but she was the central character mentioned by John. The only other place where John mentioned Mary was in John 19:25, where she was listed as one of those who stood beside Jesus at the cross. In another account of the resurrection, Mark mentioned that Mary Magdalene had had seven demons possessing her, and that Jesus had driven out those demons from her (Mark 16:9). Her background and the grace Jesus showed toward her probably helped her remain faithful throughout the remainder of His ministry and death.



As Mary arrived at the tomb, she saw that the stone had been removed from the front of the tomb. Though she saw the stone removed, she did not recognize what had happened. She was puzzled by the sight of the empty tomb. Though the verses don’t mention that she looked inside the tomb, the message she revealed to the disciples makes it clear that she did. She ran to Simon Peter, the one who had denied the Lord, and the one Jesus loved, John’s own self-designation found throughout his Gospel (John 13:23-25; 19:26-27; 21:7, 20-25). Her explanation for the empty tomb revealed that even though she had seen, she did not understand what was happening. She bewilderedly said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb.” Obviously she believed the authorities who were responsible for Jesus’ death, whether Jewish or Roman had removed the body, though she did not indicate what their motive might have been. Some in modern society have suggested that the disciples created a “resurrection hoax,” but the disciples clearly had no aspirations that a resurrection would take place despite Jesus’ earlier predictions that He would die and rise again (Mark 8:31; 9:30-32; Matt. 20:17-19). Mary certainly had seen the empty tomb, but she didn’t recognize what was happening.



Peter and John decided they would go to the tomb and see for themselves what happened. John outran Peter to the tomb. They did not merely take Mary’s word that something had happened. They left what they were doing and ran to the tomb to see if it was empty. Mary’s job as a witness was not to believe for them but to announce the news of the empty tomb. Each person had to come to a realization in his own heart of what had happened on that Sunday morning and why the body of Jesus was nowhere to be found.

II. WHAT WILL CONVINCE YOU? – JOHN 20:5-10

5 Stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying there, yet he did not go in. 6 Then, following him, Simon Peter came also. He entered the tomb and saw the linen cloths lying there. 7 The wrapping that had been on His head was not lying with the linen cloths but was folded up in a separate place by itself. 8 The other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, then entered the tomb, saw, and believed. 9 For they still did not understand the Scripture that He must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went home again.


What is the significance of the grave clothes and how they saw them?

• The exact look of these linen clothes is not clear.
• The Bible tells us only that the clothes were lying there. Wrapped (folded up) and placed away from the other clothes was the napkin (the wrapping) that had covered His head.
• One view is that the clothes were still in the shape of Jesus’ body.
• One clear conclusion is that the clothes left behind showed that Jesus’ body was not stolen.
• Thieves would not have taken time to fold the head covering, and they probably would have taken the clothed corpse with them. The clothes left in the tomb show that the exit of the body was not a rushed thing.

In what way did John believe?

• John said that he believed. John is the only one of Jesus’ disciples who believed based on the empty tomb before the appearances of the risen Lord. What was the extent and basis of his belief? Some think it was a full-blown faith that Jesus had been raised from the dead. Other’s think it only meant that he believed Mary’s report to be true. It says that they still did not understand the Scripture that He must rise from the dead. The clothes may have been a factor in his faith since he wrote that he saw and then believed.

How did Peter respond?

• Peter does not seem to have believed at the same time John did. Luke 24:12 tells us that Peter “departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.” Later that day, Jesus appeared to Simon Peter (vv. 33-34). We are not told any details of this meeting, but it must have been wonderful.

How is John representative of those who believe but do not understand?

• John is representative of all who believe but who lack an understanding of what they believe. He believed, but he did not yet understand the scriptural meaning of the resurrection.
• Many people get excited when they hear that something unusual has happened and they want to check it out for themselves.
• When some people learn that Jesus is alive, they merely return to their homes.
• Learning that Jesus is alive should lead to faith and a new life.
• Some people who believe have little understanding of the Bible.

Why do you think Jesus’ disciples were not expecting His resurrection?




Why do some people think they have to understand everything before they will believe?

• Like the disciples, we do not have to understand everything about Jesus before we can believe in Him. We might not be able to explain everything that happened at the resurrection, but we can believe He is alive. The most important evidence we have for the resurrection is the Bible itself. The resurrection was part of the plan of God for His Son. Jesus’ life fulfilled so many prophecies of His birth, His life, His death, and His resurrection. What will convince you of the resurrection? Study the Scriptures and look at the evidence. Did Jesus rise from the dead, and if not, what other explanation would you give for the empty tomb? The disciples didn’t steal the body; they weren’t even expecting a resurrection. The authorities didn’t steal the body, or they would have brought it out to squash the spreading of Christianity. The best explanation is that Jesus rose to fulfill the Scriptures!

What pieces of evidence did John (“the other disciple”) put together to arrive at the belief that Jesus had been resurrected? Would this have been enough to convince you? Explain?

• The way the grave clothes were left behind provided evidence Jesus’ body wasn’t stolen. The linens were left neatly, still shaped as they would have been around His head and torso. The evidence did not suggest a grave robber had hastily snatched His body.

What questions might John still have had about what had happened at the tomb prior to his arrival? What questions do you have about Jesus’ resurrection? How is it possible to believe while you still have questions?

• Just as John may have wondered things like “Where is Jesus now?” or “How could a man who was dead for three days come to life again?” we may struggle with questions. We don’t have to bury our questions or brains.
• Faith trusts before having all answers (Heb. 11:1).

What role did Old Testament Scripture play in corroborating accounts of the resurrection for first-century believers? What role do Old and New Testament passages play in corroborating the truth of the resurrection for us today?

• Although the disciples did not understand initially that the Scriptures pointed to the truth of Jesus’ resurrection, they would in time. In fact, they would use the Scriptures to convince others of the resurrection (Acts 13:35-36).

The evidence for a resurrection began to mount. In addition to an empty tomb, John saw linen cloths lying in the tomb. Those who prepared the body for burial had wrapped these cloths around Jesus’ body as a preparation for the burial. Now not only were these cloths not around His body, but His body was nowhere to be found. For some reason, John did not continue into the tomb. Was he afraid or uncertain? Did he do so in deference to Peter who was older and the acknowledged spokesperson for the group? We’re not told. Using the same word that described Mary, John saw something that he did not fully understand at that moment. He needed more convincing.



Simon Peter took the lead and investigated more closely. He entered the tomb and noticed the same linen cloths that John had seen. He also saw the wrapping that had covered Jesus’ head. In the process of preparation, the face was covered with a napkin-like material that was different from the linen that surrounded the body. The wrapping was not hastily thrown to the side as if a robber had taken the body. Rather, it was folded up in a separate place by itself. None of the evidence of the empty tomb pointed to someone having stolen the body.


As John entered the tomb with Peter, he saw the same evidence. He saw, and believed. This time the Greek word for saw is different. It literally meant to stare at, implying to see with understanding. Both he and Mary Magdalene had seen the empty tomb, but the sight did not yet lead them to believe. As the evidence began to mount for the resurrection, John saw in a way that made him believe. Some have debated to what extent the disciples believed at this point. Throughout Jesus’ ministry many saw the signs of His Lordship but failed to believe (John 6:30; 9:38-41). But John seemed to believe without seeing the resurrected Lord, a quality that Jesus would commend in those who later would believe in Him (20:29). The Scriptures interpreted with the aid of the Holy Spirit have the power to witness to Christ in a way that will inspire faith in the reader. Obviously at this point John did not understand everything about Jesus, but he understood enough to know that the tomb was empty, and he believed. God gave him fuller revelation as he studied the Scriptures and discovered that Jesus would rise from the dead.



The disciples at this point did not yet understand the Scripture that said Jesus must rise from the dead. What Scriptures taught the resurrection of Jesus in the Old Testament? Certainly Isaiah 53:10 is a good starting place. Isaiah said, “Yet the Lord was pleased to crush Him severely. When You make Him a restitution offering, He will see His seed, He will prolong His days, and by His hand, the Lord’s pleasure will be accomplished.” Or maybe John intended a verse like Psalm 16:10, “For You will not abandon me to Sheol; You will not allow Your Faithful One to see decay.” Though the disciples may not have seen these texts as describing Jesus’ resurrection in advance, once they encountered the empty tomb and risen Lord, they understood the fullness of meaning in these Old Testament verses.



The Bible provides ample evidence that Jesus was victorious over death and rose from the grave. Most of the disciples questioned until the resurrected Lord appeared to them, but John saw enough he believed in Jesus’ resurrection when he saw the emptiness of the tomb. The text clearly emphasizes that the disciples were not expecting a resurrection, giving further evidence that they did not fabricate the story based upon a misunderstanding of what happened to the body. They believed based upon what they saw that morning and later that night, then understood Old Testament Scriptures more fully.




III. HOW WILL YOU RESPOND TO JESUS? – JOHN 20:11-18

Mary Magdalene Sees the Risen Lord

11 But Mary stood outside facing the tomb, crying. As she was crying, she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 She saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet, where Jesus’ body had been lying. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “Because they’ve taken away my Lord,” she told them, “and I don’t know where they’ve put Him.” 14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, though she did not know it was Jesus. 15 “Woman,” Jesus said to her, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Supposing He was the gardener, she replied, “Sir, if you’ve removed Him, tell me where you’ve put Him, and I will take Him away.” 16 Jesus said, “Mary.” Turning around, she said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!”—which means “Teacher.” 17 “Don’t cling to Me,” Jesus told her, “for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to My brothers and tell them that I am ascending to My Father and your Father—to My God and your God.” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them what He had said to her.



Why did Mary return to the tomb? Why was she weeping?

• She went back hoping that someone could tell her where Jesus was. The tomb was the last place she knew Him to have been. She still had no idea that He was alive and that He would soon appear to her.
• She was weeping because her heart was broken by the perceived loss of the One she loved so dearly. She probably grieved also because she would have no last chance to do something for Him.

What convinced Mary that Jesus had been resurrected (as opposed to how John was convinced)? What are different things God uses to convince people today? Why does He use different things with different people?

• Mary believed when she saw Jesus face to face and heard Him speak her name. John believed after seeing the empty tomb and grave clothes.
• Some people respond in faith to the intellectual arguments of apologetics, others to a compelling personal testimony of how God changed another person’s life, and still others to God’s revealing Himself through music, art, or nature. Name even more ways God speaks to us where we are and draws us to Himself.

How did Mary’s response to her situation change multiple times throughout this passage? What made it change? How did Jesus redirect her response in verse 17 and why?

• Mary went from crying, to clinging, to telling about Jesus’ resurrection.
• Jesus redirected her action to going and telling. His message to her seems to indicate there would be a new way of relating to Him now. No longer would His followers relate to Him through the physical senses because His ascension would make that no longer possible.

Mary perhaps arrived back after the two disciples had come and gone from the tomb. She stood outside the tomb crying, translated from a Greek word that indicated tormented wailing often connected with grief. However, her grief was not only over the death of Jesus but the fact that His body was missing. This violated Jewish burial laws and common decency in their society. Like John had done earlier, Mary stooped to look into the tomb. This time she saw more than a missing body and linen cloths. She saw two angels in white. All the Gospels contain the presence of angelic beings at the tomb, though they each have their own distinct memories about those angels. Angels appear in pairs in other places throughout the Bible, and they often appear dressed in white clothing (Acts 1:10). One angel appeared where the head of Jesus had been, and the other appeared where His feet had been. The angels asked a thought-provoking question, “Woman, why are you crying?” If only Mary understood what was happening, she would have had no cause for grief. She grieved because she lacked understanding of the truth. Many people lack the full understanding of the truth that gives them a proper perspective about what God is doing on the earth. How often do we grieve because we cannot see things from God’s perspective?


Mary responded that she wept because “they’ve taken away my Lord … and I don’t know where they’ve put Him.” This response mirrored her earlier explanation to the disciples (John 20:2). She still believed the authorities had taken Jesus’ body. As Mary turned, she saw Jesus standing there, though she did not recognize Him. People have given various explanations of why she did not recognize Jesus. Were her eyes so filled with tears she could not see? Was Jesus so different from the last time she had seen Him after His death on the cross that she didn’t recognize Him? Did Jesus prevent her from seeing and recognizing Him as were the men on the Emmaus road (Luke 24:16)? Did the trauma of the day leave her in shock? In the end, the Bible does not say why she did not recognize Him, but it does indicate she needed clearer understanding of Jesus’ resurrection.


The figure Mary did not recognize asked the same question as the angels, “Why are you crying?” However, He asked a deeper question, “Who is it you are looking for?” The implication is that if she understood who Jesus really was, she would not be looking for Him in the grave. Looking for a living Savior in a cemetery is a contradiction. She wasn’t looking for a living Savior but a body. She wanted to revere Jesus by remaining near the corpse and completing the burial process, just as many today make a pilgrimage to the cemetery to grieve for those they love. The events about to happen would change her worldview. She was about to experience the resurrected Christ.


Mary supposed Jesus was the gardener. Tombs were often in gardens or places of beauty, and caretakers often tended gardens in the early hours. She assumed this unrecognizable figure was there to tend the grounds. Daring to hope this man had removed the body, Mary requested to know where He had placed the body. She offered to take Him away. No doubt she merely wanted to give the body a proper burial and put an end to this situation that grieved her. All it took for her eyes to be opened was one word from Jesus. He revealed His identity by calling her name, “Mary.” As Mary turned and looked at Jesus, she recognized Him, saying, “Rabbouni!” [ra BOO nigh], the word for teacher that had an endearing quality to it. Literally it might be rendered, my dear Rabbi. Finally, Mary began to realize what was happening. Not everyone comes to faith the first time hearing the gospel. We can’t respond appropriately to Jesus until we recognize who He is.



Jesus told Mary not to cling to Him because He had not yet ascended to His Father. The KJV translated these words, “touch me not,” but a simple touch was not what Jesus was prohibiting in the passage. Certainly later Jesus would invite Thomas to touch His hands and His side so that he could believe it was Jesus (John 20:27). Jesus was not preventing actual touch but was asking her not to stay there and cling to Him. She had a job to do before Jesus ascended to His Father. She had to go and tell the disciples that she had seen the risen Lord. A woman became the first person to encounter the risen Lord and to share personally the good news of Jesus with others. The verbs tell the urgency of Jesus for Mary to share the news: don’t cling…go…tell. We too are urged not to keep the joy to ourselves, as we have been given a similar commission as the one Mary received (Matt. 28:19-20). We have to go and tell that we have had an encounter with the risen Jesus. Mary fulfilled her commission well, telling the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!”


What caused your eyes to be opened to who Jesus is?



What do you cling to that keeps you from sharing Christ with others?



The resurrection appearances of Jesus in the New Testament show that just seeing Jesus does not always lead to real faith. Many – like Mary Magdalene – at first see Jesus, but do not have faith until they recognize Him for who He really is. Once this happens, they have the assurance that they have encountered the risen Lord. This in turn leads them to experience joy and to tell the good news to others.



Biblical Truths of This Lesson in Focus

• We must recognize and believe in the risen Lord for our lives to be transformed.
• People may see the same evidence for the resurrection and come to different conclusions, leading one to believe and one to question.
• Not everyone knows what they are looking for; believers can help lost people find what they need.
• The Scriptures powerfully testify that Jesus would die and rise again, and it is our best evidence to the resurrection.
• The events surrounding the resurrection demand that a person respond to Jesus in some way, whether believing or rejecting. One cannot remain neutral.

The resurrection changes everything! What has it changed in your life?

Prayer of Commitment

Lord, help me to see You and truly believe and trust in you as my risen Savior. Make a difference in my life. Totally transform it for Your glory. Amen.

We close out this series on Sunday with our Easter lesson - be in prayer this weekend as you prepare for Easter morning and what it will mean to you.

He's Alive!

See you on Easter!

In His Love,

David & Susan