(10 minutes, easy set-up)
Students will compare the guards’ reaction to the resurrection with James 2:17-20.
Learning Goal: Students will explore various responses to the truth of the Jesus’ resurrection.
Ask: How can someone, like the guards, know the truth but not have true faith in Christ? Enlist a student to read James 2:17-20. Ask: According to James, what is the difference between intellectual assent to Jesus as Lord and a genuine faith in Jesus as Lord? Allow students to discuss their answers for a couple of moments. Be sure to point out that James was not advocating that a person could do enough good things to earn faith or favor with God, but that our actions demonstrate whether our faith is genuine or not. Direct students to compare the guards from today’s passage with what James said about the demons in James 2:17-20. (They both believed the truth, both shuddered, and both did not reflect a life changed by Jesus.) Ask: What did James say was a sign of genuine faith? As students share their thoughts, conclude by reminding them that faith alone in Jesus brings salvation, but that genuine faith always brings a life that is consistently striving to be more like Christ and demonstrates that faith through obedience to His Word.