Bible Study – We are Easter People
Share: Your highs (something that made you happy) and lows (something that made you sad) this week with others around you or write them down.
Easter - the unearned gift of grace. The reflective season of “going in” that Lent provided (no matter what disciplines we undertook, nor even how well we attended to them) explodes on Easter. Of course, we cannot “figure it out.” How comforting, then, to have these scriptures, showing first how the disciples struggled to grasp what had happened and then stories of Jesus before the crucifixion, which are written in the light of the Resurrection.
As Easter people we know, as Paul said, that nothing, not even death, shall separate us from the love of God. We are people who expect life out of death. And so, in Eastertide we celebrate the wonder and prepare ourselves to take the awesome message out into the world on Pentecost.
Our story today happened on a Sunday very early in the morning. The Sunday after Jesus died. This is John’s account of the resurrection, where Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb by herself and finds that the stone in front of the tomb had been moved. She runs to get Simon Peter and the beloved disciple who go inside the tomb to find the wrappings that were on Jesus’ body were still there, but Jesus was gone. The disciples return to where they are staying and Mary is standing outside the tomb crying when she is asked by angels, “woman, why are you crying?” She explains, only to have Jesus (who she does not recognize) ask her the same question. Jesus answers her by simply saying her name, which causes her to recognize him. Jesus tells her to go spread the news that he has risen and will be ascending to the Father.
Opening Prayer: Amazing God, we thank you for bringing us once again to this glorious day in which we remember that you rose from the dead and brought us all back to life. Help us to be your Easter people in the world. Amen.
Please open your Bibles to John 20:1-18 and read or read the scriptures below.
John 20:1-18
The Empty Tomb
20 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.
Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.
Reflection Questions:
- Why do you think Mary was going to the tomb to visit Jesus?
- How do you think Mary and the disciples felt when they saw the empty tomb?
- What do you think it was like for Mary to hear Jesus say her name?
- What was your favorite part of this story?
Click here for the young learner’s lesson.
Videos (Click on url)
LUMO-Gospel of John 20:1-18: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWDUpelqKhc
Gospel of John Summary: A Complete Animated Overview Part 2 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUfh_wOsauk
Song: He Lives – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFz_jHPJh-g
Activities:
Easter Day is today and Easter Season and celebration lasts for 7 more weeks. We want to help remind everyone, including ourselves, that we are Easter people all the time, not just today. Today we celebrate Jesus being raised from the dead. Today’s story is one of miracles and joy.
What are some ways that we can show joy?
When Jesus called Mary’s name, she responded with such joy and excitement because she realized that Jesus was right in front of her. What are some ways that we know Jesus is with us?
Eastertide banner: Take a sheet off of a large roll of paper (like butcher paper or poster paper you buy on a roll) and write “Alleluia” in very large letters in the middle. Underneath, write “Christ is Risen and calls us by Name.” You could also print out the message on sheets of colorful paper and tape them to the banner. Then decorate the banner and write your name on the banner as well as anything you want to remember from the Easter story. Have this banner hang in your room so you will see it throughout the season of Easter.
Cross Book Markers: Draw and cut out a cross from card stock. Decorate it with stickers and colored markers to make a book marker. Write I HAVE SEEN THE LORD or JESUS LIVES on the cross. Add a ribbon that will be put through a hole at the top of the cross.
The Resurrection - Crossword: https://sermons4kids.com/activities/the-resurrection
The Resurrection - Word Search: https://sermons4kids.com/activities/the-resurrection-3
Easter – Multiple Choice: https://sermons4kids.com/activities/easter-2009-2
The Resurrection – Maze: https://sermons4kids.com/activities/the-resurrection-2
Prayer: Gracious and life giving God, we thank you for the gift of your Son, Jesus Christ, who knows us by name, and calls us to join him in the resurrection feast this Easter time. Be with us as we go into the world that we may find you in the signs of spring, in our name being called, and in the things that we do. Amen.
