Introduction
After laying His life down for you and me, two men come to retrieve His body and prepare it for burial. One is Joseph of Arimathea and the other is our friend Nicodemus. As you read today, take special note of these two men. The Lord is risen indeed!
Reading [You can read as much as you can, depending on your availability]
John 19:31-20:31
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Luke 23:50-24:49
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Matthew 27:57-28:15
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Mark 15:42-16:18
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Meditating [Use these questions to start your thinking]
- As you study these passages, list all of the verses that describe the mental attitude of the disciples.
- Why is the resurrection so important to the Christian faith (see 1 Cor. 15:1-19)?
- Because of the resurrection of Jesus, what is now true about the life of Jesus?
- What other questions do you still have?
Sharing: Text ONE of your answers to the questions above to your team. Each team should post a sharing from a team member in the comments below.
He has risen from the dead! Death could not hold Him down. Jesus, my Saviour, triumphed over death and rose in victory. The Bible says that with Jesus’ resurrection, “‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’ ‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ’” (1 Cor. 15:54-57). The power to live life is in the power of Jesus’ victory over death. Jesus rose as the first of many who will rise: “Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 6:8-11). That is powerful! That is the resurrection of Jesus — it gives us the power to defeat sin in our lives as we yield ourselves to the transforming work of the Father. The power of Jesus and His resurrection flows through us as we set aside our will and allow Jesus to live in and through us.
Resurrection leadership is leadership that is allowing Jesus to live in and through oneself. The servant leader, the submissive leader, the passionate leader, the effective leader is the someone who has Jesus in them, living through them. Leadership, Jesus-style, is a radically different type of leadership than what our world models for us. Worldly leadership is a self-absorbed, control-oriented leadership that presses the will of the leader onto the people. It lords itself over them, controls, demanding, harsh, and cruel. Jesus-style leadership is gentle, kind, loving, compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving kindness, and grace-filled. Which kind of leader do you want to be?
Speaking of leaders, what did you discover about Joseph and Nicodemus? Joseph was a member of the ruling Council, a good and righteous man. Nicodemus was a Pharisee who had come to Jesus by night. We discover these two leaders in Israel were secret disciples (John 19:38). They were undercover Christ-followers, who believed that Jesus was the Messiah, but hid their beliefs for fear of the Jews. Their fear immobilized them and kept their faith a secret. They were afraid of suffering for the name of Jesus or damaging their reputation among the religious crowd. Do you know any undercover disciples? Are you an undercover Christ-follower? What are you afraid of? What if people found out that you were a Jesus follower? He publicly went to the cross for me and yet, at times, I still find it so hard to stand for Him. To my own embarrassment, there are times when I have not stood up for the One who gave everything for me. I know I am not alone. But, we must remember that there is nothing this world has to offer that even comes close to knowing Jesus — nothing!
Are you an undercover Christ-follower? Make a commitment to stand for Jesus and you will feel His resurrection power flow through you. Speak His name and tell others of His sacrifice. Spend some time talking with others about what fears they have in making it known that they love Jesus. Pray for one another that together you would make Jesus known.
In John 19:31-20:31, we see that after Jesus died and was buried in the tomb, he resurrected. This event is important to the Christian faith, because it validates that Jesus us who he says he was, and was a clear sign that he was truly the son of God. I believe that it also gives hope to others that “new” life is possible.
Why is the resurrection so important to the Christian faith (see 1 Cor. 15:1-19)?
If the resurrection didn’t happen, our faith would be in vain because Jesus’ claims and all the disciples’ witnesses wouldn’t be true, and we our sin wouldn’t have been accounted for and redeemed by just the death of Jesus. His resurrection defeats death and sin for all and solidifies all that Jesus was proclaiming
Some verses that mention the disciples mental attitudes. I’ll start with Mary’s section where she initially questions where Jesus is. During this interaction with the angel, it’s clear she is distress and wondering where Jesus’ body is. Another part I saw was when Thomas needed to touch Jesus’ wounds.
I think throughout this passage I kept thinking about how the disciples and everyone must have been relived when they saw Jesus.