Resurrection

As Jesus and his followers entered a city, they saw a large crowd leaving to bury a young boy. He was the only son of a widow.

When Jesus saw what happened, he felt sorry for the widow. "Don't cry," he said to the woman. Then Jesus walked up and touched the coffin. The people carrying the coffin stopped. "Young man," Jesus commanded, "get up." The once-dead boy sat up and began to talk! Jesus gave the boy back to his mother.

Everyone gasped at the sight! "God has blessed his people," they said. "A truly holy man is with us!"

Based on Luke 7:11-16

With one simple act of kindness, Jesus showed people he had God's power. He raised a young boy from the dead! We might see many wonderful things through the work of doctors and medicine. But only God can give the dead life!

Jesus had three special friends: Martha, her sister Mary, and her brother Lazarus. When Jesus arrived where his friends lived, he found out Lazarus was dead. The man had been buried four days before.

Martha went out to meet Jesus. "Lord!" Martha exclaimed. "If you would have been here earlier, my brother wouldn't have died! But even now I know whatever you ask God to do, he will do it!"

"Your brother will rise again," Jesus replied.

"Yes," Martha said. "I know he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day."

"I am the resurrection and the life!" Jesus exclaimed. "The person who trusts me will live with God, even though his body dies. Everyone who trusts me and lives with God will never really die."

Based on John 11:17-26

Jesus not only used God's power to raise people to life. He claimed to be God! He was the Resurrection and the Life of God. When he rose from the dead, he gave God's life to his followers.

Three days after Jesus died, Mary from Magdalena, Salome, and Mary, mother of John, brought spices so they could finish preparing the body of Jesus for burial. Just after sunrise, they arrived at the tomb of Jesus. "Who will roll the large stone away from the doorway of tomb for us?" they said to each other. When they looked up, they saw the large stone was already rolled back. When they went into the tomb, they saw a young man who sat to the right of the place where the body of Jesus was laid. The young man was dressed in a long white robe.

"Don't be surprised!" the young man told them. "You were looking for Jesus of Nazareth, the man who was crucified. He is risen and is not here. Look! This is the place where his body was laid. Now, leave! Tell Peter and the other followers, 'Jesus goes ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you!'"

Based on Mark 16:1-7

How do we know Jesus rose from the dead? After all, no one actually saw Jesus come back to life. But, many of Jesus' closest followers did see the empty tomb. And they did see him after the Resurrection. When they saw him, they noticed the wounds of his death. Unlike the young boy or Lazarus who rose from the dead only to die again, they realized Jesus would live forever.

In time, these followers would spread the Good News of Jesus: the power of his death and Resurrection. With the death of Jesus, we were freed from sin. And with his Resurrection, he raised us to new life. Like the grain of wheat that falls to the ground and dies to produce more grain, Jesus died and rose again to give us eternal life!

"The time has come!" Jesus said.

"The Son of Man will be given glory!
Listen!
If a grain of wheat stays on the stock,
it's just there by itself.
But if it dies and falls to the ground,
it will produce a lot more grain."

Based on John 12:23