Session 6

Our Task

Matthew 28:1-10,16-20

Memory Verse: Matthew 28:19-20

Because Jesus rose from the grave, we are to take the gospel to all people.

Friday was a horrible day!
Jesus, the one His followers believed was the Messiah
sent by God to deliver Israel
and establish His kingdom, had been arrested.
He had been informally questioned before Annas,
the patriarch of the high priestly family,
along with the high priest Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin, the Jewish high council.
He was sent to Pilate on a trumped-up political charge
and shuffled on to Herod Antipas for interrogation.
Eventually, He was sent back to Pilate for sentencing.

The death sentence sent Jesus to the cross
and to six hours of intense physical and spiritual suffering
as the One who “bore our sins in his body on the tree”
(1 Pet. 2:24).
After a hasty burial, a great stone sealed the tomb.
By Saturday, the Sabbath, all hope seemed to be lost.
But Sunday morning made all the difference!

FIRST THOUGHTS

Most of us often remember the details of the moments we received bad news.
We probably remember where we were and what we were doing on September 11, 2001.
Interestingly, sometimes we don’t remember details when we receive good news.
The joy of the news overshadows the specifics of how and when the news was received.
This was not the case for the eyewitnesses to Jesus’s resurrection.
They could look back on the greatest news of all and remember vividly. (PSG, p. 54)

Ask:

• Why do you think we are selective in what we remember and what we forget? (PSG, p. 54)

ENGAGE

Explain:

We are temporarily is skipping to the end of Matthew to study Jesus’s resurrection.

Context:

To set the context for this session, share this information from Understand the Context:

The resurrection is crucial to the gospel message of salvation through Jesus.
If Jesus had not risen, nothing would have been accomplished by His death.
The resurrection is God’s stamp of approval on all that Jesus did on the cross.
The resurrection is also factual.
One of the most powerful testimonies in court is the word of eyewitnesses.
Each of the Gospel writers in their own way
highlighted the role of eyewitnesses to Jesus’s resurrection.
Matthew . .

chose to emphasize the eyewitness account of two women:
Mary Magdalene and another woman named Mary. (PSG, p. 55)

Transition:

We know that Easter is a special day for Christians.
Today, we’ll consider how the resurrection should change our lives each and every day.