YEA Lesson Library
Missing Friend
About This Lesson
This lesson teaches about the resurrection of Jesus and the many witnesses to this fact.
Scriptures
Matthew 28:1-20
Luke 24:1-34
John 11:25-26
John 20:1-31
John 21:1-25
1 Corinthians 15:14-22
Words to Know
INTERN - Someone, as a student or recent graduate, working as an apprentice or trainee to gain practical experience in an occupation
The Lesson
A young government intern was having an affair with a well known senator. About the time his wife was coming to town, the intern disappeared. The D.C. police questioned the senator. They searched his apartment for clues to the missing girl. They spent days with dogs going over every inch of nearby parks in search of the missing intern. The girl was never found and the mystery is yet to be solved. How would you feel if your friend was missing and no one could find her?
Jesus was missing too. It was also a mystery His disciples and friends wanted to solve. After Jesus had died and while He was still hanging on the stake, a Roman soldier broke the legs of the two criminals hanging on either side of Jesus to ensure they died quickly. Since Jesus was already dead, the soldier pierced His side with a spear, and blood and water flowed out. This fulfilled a prophecy that said “‘Not one of his bones shall be broken,’ and ‘They shall look on him whom they pierced.’”
A rich man, Joseph of Arimathea, had been a secret disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked permission to take Jesus’ body down off the stake and bury it in his new tomb that was nearby. The First Day of Un- leavened Bread was fast approaching, so Joseph and Nicodemus rushed to wrap Jesus’ body in a long linen cloth that was saturated with spices. This was a Jewish custom.
The chief priests and pharisees went to Pilate and told him, “Sir, that liar once said, ‘After three days I will come back to life again.’ So we request an order from you sealing the tomb until the third day, to prevent his disciples for coming and stealing his body and then telling everyone he came back to life! If that happens we’ll be worse off than we were at first.” (Matthew 27:62b-64 TLB). So they sealed the tomb with a stone and used the Temple police to guard it to make sure nothing happened.
Very early Sunday morning Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to Jesus’ tomb. Suddenly there was an earthquake! What caused it? An angel of God came down from heaven and rolled the stone sealing Jesus’ tomb away. Then he sat down on the stone. This was such a frightening experience the Temple police guard fainted out of shear fear.
When Mary Magdalene and the other women arrived at the tomb, they were expecting to see Jesus’ body. For they had come with spices to anoint it. But their Friend’s body was missing. They didn’t find Jesus there. They too were so badly frightened that they ran from the tomb when the angel told them that Jesus was missing, He had come back to life. The angel told them to quickly go and tell the disciples the good news about Jesus’ resurrection.
They headed down the road to find the disciples. Guess what happened next? Jesus was suddenly in front of them and said “Good morning!” The women fell to the ground and worshiped Him.
Jesus told them to tell the disciples to meet Him in Galilee. In the meantime, the Temple police rushed to the chief priests and told them that Jesus was missing – He was alive! They quickly called a meeting of the Jewish leaders. It was decided to bribe the Temple “police to say they were asleep when Jesus’ disciples came during the night and stole his body.” The police took the bribe and did as they were told. This story spread all over the place and it’s even believed to this very day.
What do we need to learn from this lesson? Why was Jesus resurrected? And what does His resurrection mean to you?.
“And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. . . But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:14, 20- 22 NIV). If we do not live until Christ returns, our only hope of living again is in the resurrection of the dead. Christ had to be resurrected first or we would have no hope of being resurrected. It is through His resurrection that we have hope of eternal life.
The Bible tells us that there is no forgiveness of sin without the shedding of blood. The Roman soldier pierced Jesus’ side and His blood was shed for your sins. If you will accept the sacrifice Jesus made by giving His blood for you, you have forgive- ness of your sins. But the death of Jesus alone cannot save you. It is through Jesus’ life that we are saved – His resurrection to life! Praise God, He Lives!
Student Prayer
Almighty God and Father,
Thank you for raising Jesus Christ from the dead. It is through His shed blood that I have forgiveness of my sins and through His life that makes it possible for me to live forever! Help me to always live my life to reflect my appreciation for this awesome event.
In the name of my living Savior I ask these things.
Amen.
Daily Devotions
Sunday: Matthew 28:1-10
Monday: Luke 24:1-12
Tuesday: Luke 24:13-26
Wednesday: John 20:26-31
Thursday:1 Corinthians 15:14-22
Friday: John 11:25
Saturday: Matthew 28:11-20
Objectives
At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
1. State that over 500 people saw Jesus alive after His resurrection.
2. Tell the story of the Temple soldier guarding the tomb, the stone being rolled away, the women coming to the tomb and the lies the religious leaders spread about Jesus’ body being stolen.
3. Explain that we are forgiven of our sins through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, and it is through Jesus’ resurrection that we are given eternal life.
Topics & Themes
Angel
Blood
Days of Unleavened Bread
Eternal Life
Forgiveness
Fulfillment of Prophecy
Holy Days, Unleavened Bread
Jesus, Death of
Jesus, Resurrection of
Joseph of Arimathea
Nicodemus
Sin
Three days/nights
Tomb
Witnesses
Materials Needed
Bible, YEA students’ and teacher’s books, attendance and memory verse charts; songbook, CD or music tapes, music player, blue, red, and yellow ribbons, pins
How to Teach This Lesson
As the students arrive, pin a red ribbon on the first person, a blue on the second and a yellow on the third. Repeat pinning the ribbon colors in order as other students arrive.
Begin the class by telling all of the students with red ribbons to go to one corner of the room. All of the students with blue ribbons on to go to the other corner of the room. And all of the students with a yellow ribbon on to go to another corner of the room. Explain that each group will have five minutes to plan the disappearance of one of their friends in their group and construct a story to go with your missing friend. That friend can’t leave the grounds. But they can hide anywhere outside or inside the building.
After five minutes, call the three groups back together. Have each group tell the story of how their missing friend disappeared. Then send all three groups out to look for the two missing friends who are not in the group they were in. The first group that finds another group’s missing friend wins.
Debrief - Ask: How did you feel about planning a friend’s disappearance? Which story was the most believable? Why? How would you compare the disappearance of your “missing friend” with Jesus’ disappearance from the tomb? How was the disappearance of your “missing friend” similar to Jesus’ disappearance from the tomb? What part of Jesus’ resurrection was most difficult for you to believe? Why? Why would you be afraid to die? How did this lesson give you hope? How did this game strengthen your faith in Jesus’ resurrection? What makes Jesus’ resurrection so important to you?
Have the students recite their memory verse. Go over the activity in the students’ book with your class, and make sure all of the people are filled in the blanks.
Teacher-Directed Activity
Count the students off in pairs. Move the chairs to face one another, but far enough so that another person talking won’t bother them. Tell the students that they are to tell the story of Jesus’ resurrection to their partner. They should include such things as Temple police guarding the tomb, the earthquake and why the women visiting the tomb and the lies the religious leaders spread to cover up the resurrection.
REACH Activity
Spotlight Memory Verse
Answer the question that Jesus asked Martha in the memory verse: Do you believe that Jesus is the resurrection and the life? Support your answer with three Scriptures and then share your proof with a classmate or family member.
Where in the World?
Where is Arimathea, and who was Joseph? Research the type of tomb Joseph offered for Jesus’ burial. What information did you find that you consider remarkable? Present your research information to another YEA class.
They Did What Back Then?
Use your Bible and Bible tools to find information on the Jewish burial practices during Jesus’ time. If you have completed Where in the World? (above), consider combining your research into one presentation. Otherwise you may choose to write the information in your Bible notebook and share it with the class or your family.
Making It Mine
One of the strongest cases for Christianity is the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. But how could you prove that He actually did that? In your Bible notebook, write down as many proofs as you can think of. If you need some help, read the words to the song “He Lives” on page 112 of the CEM Hymnal. These words were written by Alfred Ackley to explain how he knows that Jesus was resurrected and is alive. Remember to talk over your reasons with your family or Sabbath School class.
Worldview Collision
Secular worldviews will give all sorts of excuses for why Christians believe in God the Father and Jesus Christ, His Son. They range from Karl Marx’s assertion that religion is the opiate of the people, to a mockery of Christians’ intelligence (Russian writer Mikhail Bakunin said, “Christianity is the complete negation of common sense and sound reason.”), to a misattribution of positive influence in our culture (American naturalist and author John Burroughs said, “Science has done more for the development of western civilization in one hundred years than Christianity did in eighteen hundred years.”) In essence, people who don’t believe in God dismiss Christians as stupid people.
A Biblical worldview says just the opposite. Read Deuteronomy 4:5-8 and Psalm 119:97-100.
What do these verses say about God and His ways?
The above quotations were taken from The Great Thoughts, George Seldes, editor, Ballantine Books, 1985, pgs. 31, 61.
Song
“I Am the Resurrection and the Life” is on page 23 of The Group Songbook.
Closing Prayer
Have the students form a circle and join hands. Ask for a volunteer to lead in prayer thanking God for raising His Son from the dead, thereby giving us hope of being resurrected from the dead as well.
Printable Pages
