1) The document discusses a Sunday school lesson about the resurrection of Jesus Christ based on the biblical account in Luke 24:1-8. 2) It explains that the resurrection guarantees that believers will be raised from the dead to eternal life, just as Jesus defeated death. 3) The resurrection is supported by direct evidence of people encountering the risen Jesus, and indirect evidence of the disciples' transformed boldness in preaching after believing he rose from the dead.

1. LESSON 13
June 28, 2015
The Resurrection of Jesus
Golden Text
In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground,
but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the
dead? (Luk 24:5)
Useful Practice
The resurrection of Jesus is the guarantee that all the dead in Christ
shall be raised from the dust of the earth.
Scripture Reading
Luke 24: 1-8
1 - On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women
took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.
2 - They found the stone rolled away from the tomb,
3 - But when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
4 - While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes
that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.
5 - In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground,
but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the
dead?
6 - He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he
was still with you in Galilee:
7 - ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be
crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ”
8 - Then they remembered his words.

2. General Objective
To present the resurrection of Christ as the guarantee of the reality of
life to come.
Specific Objectives
I - To explain the doctrine of resurrection.
II – To expose the literal and bodily nature of the resurrection of Christ .
III – To list the direct and indirect evidence of the resurrection of Jesus.
IV – To discuss the purpose of the resurrection of Jesus.
Introduction
The Scriptures teach that God made man in his image and likeness
(Genesis 1:26). Before the Fall, death had no dominion over man.
However, as a morally free being, man sinned causing sin to enter the
world, bringing death with it. So death spread to all men.
Even in the Old Covenant, the Lord gave life to the dead to reveal
his power over death. And although it was not being fully revealed, the
doctrine of resurrection was already believed by Old Testament saints
(Job 19:25). They longed for the redemption of the body.
Jesus revealed himself as the promised Messiah and his death and
resurrection ensured that the penalty of sin - death - was overcome. In
Christ, the right to live eternally in a physical body became real again.
I - THE DOCTRINE OF RESURRECTION
1. In the Old Testament context. The Old Testament records three
cases of people being raised. All the cases occurred under the prophetic
ministry of Elijah and Elisha. In 1 Kings 17:17-24, Elijah brings to life the
son of the widow of Zarephath; in 2 Kings 4:32-37, we find Elisha raising
the son of the Shunammite woman. The other case is in 2 Kings 13:21
where a dead man revives when he touches the bones of the prophet
Elisha. These facts show, already in the Old Covenant, God's power to
give life to the dead.
Abraham, for example, would sacrifice his son Isaac because he
"considered that God was able to even raise the dead" (Hebrews 11:18).
2. In the New Testament context. With the advent of the New
Covenant, the doctrine of resurrection is demonstrated in its fullness (2

3. Tim 1: 10).
The New Testament records many cases of people being
resurrected. Some of them were of resurrections performed by the Lord
Jesus, while others, by his apostles (Mark 5:35-43 ....). In all cases,
except for the resurrection of Jesus, the people who were raised died
again.
II - THE NATURE OF THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS
1. A literal resurrection. The testimony of the third Gospel is about a
physical and literal resurrection. Jesus himself, when raised, said, "Look
at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does
not have flesh and bones, as you see I have "(Luke 24:39).
2. A bodily resurrection. Christian apologetics always ensured that the
resurrection of Jesus was a physical event in which his body was
revivified. This means that, though transformed, Christ had risen with the
same physical body with which he was buried. Luke emphasizes this
fact as he records Jesus eating with his disciples after his resurrection
(Luke 24:43). In his first letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul
asserts that the entire Christian faith is false if the resurrection of Jesus
did not happen in a bodily form (1 Corinthians 15:14,15).
III - EVIDENCE OF THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS
1. Direct evidence. The scriptures have a lot of evidence about the
resurrection of Jesus. Apologists classify this evidence as direct and
indirect. The text of Luke 24:13-35 tells about the encounter that two
disciples had with Jesus after his resurrection on the road to Emmaus.
This is a direct evidence of the resurrection because it shows Jesus
resurrected with a physical, tangible body. Similar evidence can be seen
in the narrative of the Resurrection in the Gospel of John 20:10-18. In
these accounts, we note that the people to whom the Lord appeared
saw his body, talked to him and even got to touch him. It was not,
therefore, a vision or dream, but a real encounter!
2. Indirect evidence. As we have seen, the Gospels present a lot of
direct evidence of the Lord's resurrection, however, they also have other
indirect evidence. Before the Resurrection, we find a group of disciples
discouraged, sad and downcast. It was a disheartening scenario. After
the Resurrection and Pentecost, these same disciples present
themselves to the people bolder than ever before. They now begin to

4. testify that their Lord was alive and they gave proof of it. They healed
the sick, made the lame walk, cast out demons and testified: "God has
raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it" (Acts 2:32). The
resurrection of Jesus became the main theme of the apostles’
preaching.
IV - THE PURPOSE OF THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS
1. Salvation and justification. Talking to the disciples in the upper
room, Jesus highlights salvation as the purpose of resurrection (Luke
24:46-48). The resurrection of Jesus differs from all others, just as Jesus
differs from all men. He is the God who became flesh (John 1:14); the
second Adam, representing the fallen humanity (Rom 5:12; 1
Corinthians 15:45), the only mediator between God and man (1 Tim
2:5), who saves us from our sins (1 Timothy 1:15). The Bible says that
He died for our sins (Romans 4:25; and that his sacrifice was a ransom
for all people (1 Tim 2:6). It also shows that the Resurrection was "for
our justification" (Romans 4: 25) and that, in this respect, He was
appointed Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead (Rom
1:4).
2. The redemption of the body. The resurrection of Jesus is the
guarantee that believers will also be raised from the dead (Rom 5:17).
When risen from the dead, Jesus became the firstfruits of those who will
be raised never to die again (1 Cor 15: 23). The Apostle Paul states that
if Christ has not been raised, then our faith is in vain (1 Corinthians
15:17). In his resurrection, Jesus defeated death, so that we no longer
need to fear it (1 Corinthians 15:55-58). In the resurrection, we will be
given incorruptible and immortal bodies (1 Corinthians 15:42-49).
CONCLUSION
Undoubtedly, one of the greatest News, which was given by an Angel,
was that Jesus had been raised (Luke 24:6). In Jesus' days, belief in the
resurrection of the dead was no consensus. The Pharisees believed in
it, but the Sadducees rejected it, and the Greeks ridiculed it.
Even Jesus' disciples proved to be incredulous and slow to accept
it. When raised from the dead, the Lord Jesus appeared to his disciples
with undeniable evidence, that none of them had doubts. The
resurrection of Jesus was an unquestionable reality for the apostolic
church to the point of becoming the main theme of its preaching.