Jesus’s resurrection offers eternal life for me.
Most Americans do all they can to live a long life. We’ll do whatever it takes to add a few years to our lives. Despite our best efforts, though, we still die. But physical death need not mean the end of life, because Christ has made eternal life possible for us. He conquered death when God raised Him from the dead, never to die again. He offers eternal life to us when we trust in Him.
THE PASSAGE
John 20:1-2,11-18
THE SETTINGS
Jesus had been crucified, and He died on His cross. His body had been prepared for burial and placed in a new tomb that belonged to Joseph of Arimathea. The tomb was located in a garden near the place where He was crucified. A wheel-shaped stone had been rolled into place to cover the entrance to the tomb. There the body of Jesus was laid throughout the next day, which happened to be a Sabbath.
Over the course of this study, we have been looking at different encounters with Jesus. Each has shown us something powerful and amazing about Jesus. However, the encounter we are studying in this session is perhaps the most amazing. The encounter Mary Magdalene had with Jesus not only transformed her life, but it can also transform ours.
THE POINT
Jesus’s resurrection offers eternal life for me.
At church, we occasionally sing the beautiful hymn “Because He Lives.” I have found that it is loved by both students and people in their nineties. The song speaks of both the power of the resurrection and its impact on our lives and captures the significance of what Mary Magdalene experienced on that Sunday morning. It is the empty grave that makes all the difference.
God calls all His followers to be His witnesses, but we don’t witness alone. Jesus’s ascension set the stage for the coming of the Holy Spirit as recorded in the book of Acts. “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). It is this same Spirit who indwells believers today and empowers us to share the same message that Mary was sent to tell the disciples: Jesus is alive!
