Connected easter | Lesson 4 | The Resurrection | John 20 | April 20

Jesus died on the cross as the way to bring us from death to life and free us from the slavery of sin. His body was taken from the cross and placed in a nearby tomb in a garden. The tomb's entrance was covered with a large stone. Jesus had died on a Friday. The next day was the Sabbath, that's a day of rest, which ended at sundown. The next morning, Sunday, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb. Mary was one of Jesus' friends and followers. She was obviously very sad about Jesus' death. When she got to the tomb, the stone had been moved away from the entrance. She ran to tell two of Jesus' disciples, Peter and John. They ran to the tomb to see for themselves. John got there first, but they both noticed the burial cloths were there, undisturbed, but Jesus' body was gone. If it was grave robbers, they wouldn't have left the clothes so neat. The two disciples went back to where they were staying. Mary stood outside the tomb crying. Then she looked inside and saw something unexpected. Two angels dressed in white were sitting right where Jesus' body had been. They asked her, Woman, why are you crying? They have taken my Lord away, she answered. I don't know where they have put him. Then Mary turned around. There was someone else behind her, a man. He also asked her why she was crying. Who are you looking for, he said. She just wanted to know where Jesus' body was. Perhaps this man had taken it. Then the man said her name, Mary. At once she knew it was Jesus. He had risen from the dead and was right there in front of her. Mary was so excited he was alive. She cried out, Rabbi Nei, that means teacher. Jesus sent Mary with a message to his other believers. Tell them I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God. This meant that soon Jesus would go to heaven to be with God, the Father. Mary told the disciples everything she had seen and heard. That night, the disciples saw what Mary had seen. They were in a room with the doors locked because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. But Jesus couldn't be locked out. He came in and said to them, May peace be with you. They saw that Jesus was alive. Then he showed them the wounds he had received on the cross, on his hands and in his side. The disciples were so happy. This was really Jesus. He had really died and he was really alive. In his great power, he defeated death and rose from the grave forever. Jesus' great power can free us from death too because Jesus lives.