(10 minutes, easy set-up)
Students will discuss Jesus’ predictions about His resurrection.
Learning Goal: Students will explore various responses to the truth of the Jesus’ resurrection.
Enlist five students to look up and read the following passages: Matthew 16:21-23, Matthew 17:22-23, Matthew 20:17-19, Matthew 26:31-32, and John 2:18-21. Ask: Did Jesus know what was going to happen to Him? (yes) Ask: How did these predictions inform His disciples and others of His identity and purpose? As students share, note that Jesus called Himself the Son of Man, which was a title that identified Him as the Messiah or Son of God who would save His people from their sins. Ask: What did Jesus tell His disciples to expect? (He would suffer at the hands of the religious leaders, be crucified, and raised to life again.) Remind students that John gave us an account that Jesus told others that He would be raised to life three days after His death, and this statement was what caused the religious leaders to be afraid. Point out that while the women who came to Jesus’ tomb and the religious leaders all remembered Jesus’ teaching about His resurrection, it brought comfort and joy to the women and fear to the religious leaders. Ask: How could the religious leaders have responded in a way that brought them joy and comfort in the face of the truth? As students voice their answers, emphasize that these leaders had a choice to continue to reject Christ as the Son of God or to repent of their rejection. Say: We have the same choice today.