Lesson 8 – The Empty Tomb

On the first Easter, Jesus revealed to Mary Magdalene and to His disciples that He was alive. Through the Word, the Spirit gives us faith to believe in Christ’s resurrection and comforts us when we mourn the death of loved ones. 

Opening

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

This lesson explains the different details given about Jesus' resurrection sightings in each Gospel.

Watch the video, "Skit Guys - Peter and John: The Tomb".  This video shows one idea of how part of today's lesson may have happened.

Remember these images as we dig into other eyewitness accounts of Jesus' resurrection.

Prayer: Dear Jesus, thank You for loving us enough to come to earth as our Savior, for living without sin, for dying for our sins, and for rising from the dead to give us hope of eternal life in You. That's real love! Amen.

God Speaks

About 90 percent of John's Gospel is different from the other three Gospels, including accounts of Jesus' resurrection. Often, John adds details that others do not mention.

Follow the directions on the Student Page at the end of the lesson.

Read all of John Chapter 20.

PART 1: Verses 1-10

• List the people involved. Mary Magdalene; Peter; and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved (verse 2). Church tradition says this disciple was John, the brother of James, son of Zebedee, fisherman from Galilee, disciple of Jesus, and author of this Gospel (John 21:20-24).
• Summarize the action in order, using short phrases. Mary Magdalene went to the tomb while it was still dark, saw the stone moved, ran and told Peter and the other disciple that someone stole Jesus' body. The men ran to the tomb. The other disciple arrived first, looked in, and saw linen burial cloths. Peter followed, went in, and saw the linen cloths and face cloth, folded up. The other disciple went in, saw, and believed. They did not understand that Scripture said Jesus must rise from the dead. They went home.
• List evidence of Jesus' resurrection and tell why it is important. (1) The large stone could not be moved easily by many people. (2) Jesus' body was missing, and the disciples did not know where it was. Who else would steal it? (3) If someone stole Jesus' body, they'd take it wrapped in the linen, but the grave clothes were in the tomb. (4) Thieves would not leave behind valuable linen and spices. (5) Thieves would not take time to neatly fold the face cloth.
• List resurrection details in John that are not in the other Gospels: Matthew 28:1-10; Mark 16:1-11; Luke 24:1-12. John says Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb; Luke identifies only Peter. Only John names Mary Magdalene but not other women from Galilee at the tomb.
• List details from the other Gospels that John does not mention. This part of John does not mention angels (or men) inside or outside the tomb. (Part 2 does.) The other Gospels identify more women at the tomb: another Mary (Matthew); Mary, mother of James and Salome (Mark); women from Galilee including Joanna and Mary, mother of James (Luke 23:55-56; 24:10). John does not mention the earthquake or soldiers fainting in fear (Matthew 28:2, 4). Mark says the women didn't tell anyone because they were afraid, but all accounts say Mary Magdalene told the disciples.

PART 2: Verses 11-18

 

• List the people involved. Mary Magdalene, two angels, Jesus
• Summarize the action in order, using short phrases. Mary wept outside the tomb. She stooped to look inside and saw two angels sitting where Jesus had lain. The angels asked why she wept. Mary said someone took her Lord and she did not know where His body was. She turned and saw Jesus but did not recognize Him. Jesus asked why she wept. Mary gave the same answer.  Jesus said her name. She turned and recognized Him ("Rabboni!"). Jesus told Mary not to cling to Him and that He hadn't yet ascended to the Father, but to go tell His brothers. Mary told the disciples she saw Jesus and what He said.
• List evidence of Jesus' resurrection and tell why it is important. (1) Two angels in the tomb spoke to Mary. (2) Mary saw and touched Jesus. He had a body and was not just a spirit. Mary was an important witness.
• List resurrection details in John that are not in the other Gospels:  Matthew 28:1-10 and Mark 16:9-11. John tells about Mary Magdalene at the tomb but does not include the other women. He describes Mary meeting Jesus alone, not with the other women.
• List details from the other Gospels that John does not mention. Matthew says the women were filled with fear and joy. They touched Jesus' feet and worshiped Him.

 

We Live

We can't be too hard on Jesus' followers, because we're like them in many ways. Why do you think we struggle to believe Jesus rose from the dead? We are born in sin, which clouds our vision and fills us with doubts. Jesus unprecedented resurrection defies human reason.

We cannot believe in God on our own. How, then, do we believe? Faith is the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives (1 Corinthians 12:3; Romans 10:17; and Ephesians 2:8-9).

Faith enables us to believe the words of the Bible and recognize it as holy. Why is it holy? Read 2 Timothy 3:16 and 2 Peter 1:20-21 (on the Student Page)."The Bible is the 'Holy Scripture' because God the Holy Spirit gave to His chosen writers the thoughts that they expressed and the words that they wrote (verbal inspiration). Therefore, the Bible is God's own Word and truth, without error (inerrancy)" (Catechism Question 3).

We can trust the Scriptures because they were "breathed out by God" so we know the truth.  Men spoke (wrote) as carried along by the Holy Spirit.

As Christians, we believe God's Word to be true. But how can we account for the differences in these resurrection accounts? God's Word is inspired by God, and we believe it to be true in all instances. Each account is written in a different voice and perspective and has different emphases and details. Together, we have a bigger, more detailed picture of Easter morning.

What role does human reason play in understanding Holy Scripture? "It is right to use reason as a servant of the text, but the guidance of the Holy Spirit is essential for its proper understanding.... It is wrong to question or deny the truthfulness of the sacred text" (Catechism Question 5).

How does Mary's confession help us (verse 18)? Our sinful nature seeks proof. Mary's confession satisfies this need and gives us hope.

Since Mary saw Christ after He rose from the dead, what can we also be certain of regarding our own death? Like Christ, our body will rise from the dead and join our Father in heaven.

God’s gift of faith enables us to believe the Scripture truths. Faith enables us to proclaim with Mary, "I have seen the Lord!" and to share this awesome truth with others.

This same faith is strengthened when Christ comes to us personally through His Word and Sacraments, reminding us that we are God's children and heirs to His kingdom.

Closing

 Prayer: Lord, with the father whose son Jesus healed, we say, "We believe! Help our unbelief" (Mark 9:24). Increase our faith in our Savior and our hunger to know and understand His Word. In Jesus' name we pray.  Amen.