Sunday
June 5
1. CHRIST FORETOLD HIS RESURRECTION
a. How did Jesus foretell His death and resurrection? Matthew 20:18, 19.
b. What did the Jewish leaders do on the Sabbath to prevent the fulfillment of Christ’s words concerning His resurrection? Matthew 27:62–66. What can we learn from the women who prepared spices for Jesus? Luke 23:55, 56.
“The priests gave directions for securing the sepulcher. A great stone had been placed before the opening. Across this stone they placed cords, securing the ends to the solid rock, and sealing them with the Roman seal. The stone could not be moved without breaking the seal. A guard of one hundred soldiers was then stationed around the sepulcher to prevent it from being tampered with. The priests did all they could to keep Christ’s body where it had been laid. He was sealed as securely in His tomb as if He were to remain there through all time.”—The Desire of Ages, p. 778.
Monday
June 6
2. THE SCENE OF CHRIST’S RESURRECTION
a. Who raised Jesus according to the apostles? Acts 2:32; 13:33. Whom did the Father send to actually call Jesus back to life? Matthew 28:1–3.
“This messenger is he who fills the position from which Satan fell. . . . The soldiers see him removing the stone as he would a pebble, and hear him cry, Son of God, come forth; Thy Father calls Thee. They see Jesus come forth from the grave, and hear Him proclaim over the rent sepulcher, ‘I am the resurrection, and the life.’ As He comes forth in majesty and glory, the angel host bow low in adoration before the Redeemer.”—The Desire of Ages, p. 780.
b. What part did the divine Son of God act in the resurrection of His human body? John 2:19–22; 10:17, 18.
“When the voice of the mighty angel was heard at Christ’s tomb, saying, Thy Father calls Thee, the Saviour came forth from the grave by the life that was in Himself. . . . Now was fulfilled the prophecy He had spoken to the priests and rulers, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up’ (John 2:19).”—Ibid., p. 785.
c. How did the Roman guards and the evil angels guarding the tomb react when they saw Christ being resurrected? Matthew 28:4. What did the resurrection of Christ confirm in the mind of Satan?
“Terror seized the Roman guard. Where was now their power to keep the body of Jesus? They did not think of their duty or of the disciples’ stealing Him away. As the light of the angels shone around, brighter than the sun, that Roman guard fell as dead men to the ground. . . .
“Satan’s angels had been compelled to flee before the bright, penetrating light of the heavenly angels. . . . Satan knew that after a season he must die, and his kingdom pass unto Him whose right it was. He lamented and raged that notwithstanding all his efforts, Jesus had not been overcome, but had opened a way of salvation for man, and whosoever would might walk in it and be saved.”—Early Writings, p. 182.
Tuesday
June 7
3. RAISED TO EVERLASTING LIFE
a. How did Jesus explain to His disciples that He was resurrected as a human being with a physical body and not as a spirit being like the angels? Luke 24:36–40. When they doubted, what did He do to remove their doubts? Luke 24:41–43.
b. How does the Bible describe the resurrected human body of Christ? Philippians 3:21. How is the resurrected body of Christ different from our present mortal body? Romans 6:9, 10; Hebrews 7:16.
c. What plan did Satan device to destroy the impact of Christ resurrection, and how was this plot implemented? Matthew 28:11–15.
“Satan bade his servants go to the chief priests and elders. Said he, ‘We succeeded in deceiving them, blinding their eyes and hardening their hearts against Jesus. We made them believe that He was an impostor. That Roman guard will carry the hateful news that Christ has risen. We led the priests and elders on to hate Jesus and to murder Him. Now hold it before them that if it becomes known that Jesus is risen, they will be stoned by the people for putting to death an innocent man.’ . . .
“. . . It was decided to hire the soldiers to keep the matter secret. The priests and elders offered them a large sum of money. . . . And when the guard inquired what would be done with them for sleeping at their post, the Jewish officers promised to persuade the governor and secure their safety. For the sake of money, the Roman guard sold their honor, and agreed to follow the counsel of the priests and elders.”—Early Writings, pp. 183, 184.
“A lying report was then given to the soldiers. . . . Here the priests overreached themselves. How could the soldiers say that the disciples had stolen the body while they slept? If they were asleep, how could they know? And if the disciples had been proved guilty of stealing Christ’s body, would not the priests have been first to condemn them? Or if the sentinels had slept at the tomb, would not the priests have been foremost in accusing them to Pilate?”—The Desire of Ages, pp. 781, 782.
Wednesday
June 8
4. TROPHIES OF CHRIST’S VICTORY
a. What countermeasure did God plan beforehand to overrule the cover-up that Satan had devised? Matthew 27:50–53.
“When Jesus, as He hung upon the cross, cried out, ‘It is finished,’ the rocks rent, the earth shook, and some of the graves were opened. When He arose a victor over death and the grave . . . many of the righteous dead, obedient to His call, came forth as witnesses that He had risen. Those favored, risen saints came forth glorified. They were chosen and holy ones of every age, from creation down even to the days of Christ. Thus while the Jewish leaders were seeking to conceal the fact of Christ’s resurrection, God chose to bring up a company from their graves to testify that Jesus had risen, and to declare His glory. . . .
“Those who came forth after the resurrection of Jesus appeared to many, telling them that the sacrifice for man was completed, that Jesus, whom the Jews crucified, had risen from the dead; and in proof of their words they declared, ‘We be risen with Him.’ They bore testimony that it was by His mighty power that they had been called forth from their graves.”—Early Writings, p. 184.
b. What Old Testament prophecy was fulfilled by those raised by Christ on the day of His resurrection? Isaiah 26:19. How are these resurrected saints different from those He raised before His death? John 11:43, 44; Luke 7:11–15.
“During His ministry, Jesus had raised the dead to life. He had raised the son of the widow of Nain, and the ruler’s daughter and Lazarus. But these were not clothed with immortality. After they were raised, they were still subject to death. But those who came forth from the grave at Christ’s resurrection were raised to everlasting life. They ascended with Him as trophies of His victory over death and the grave. These, said Christ, are no longer the captives of Satan; I have redeemed them. I have brought them from the grave as the first fruits of My power, to be with Me where I am, nevermore to see death or experience sorrow.”—The Desire of Ages, p. 786.
Thursday
June 9
5. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF CHRIST’S RESURRECTION
a. What hope of the believer was made certain by Christ’s resurrection? 1 Corinthians 15:20–23; John 6:40; 1 Thessalonians 4:14–17.
b. What kind of body will the resurrected Christian have, and why is the change to immortality necessary? 1 Corinthians 15:50–53.
“The risen body of the Saviour, His deportment, the accents of His speech, were all familiar to His followers. In like manner will those who sleep in Jesus rise again. We shall know our friends even as the disciples knew Jesus. Though they may have been deformed, diseased, or disfigured in this mortal life, yet in their resurrected and glorified body their individual identity will be perfectly preserved, and we shall recognize, in the face radiant with the light shining from the face of Jesus, the lineaments of those we love.”—The Faith I Live By, p. 180.
c. What symbolic Old Testament ceremony prefigured the resurrection of Christ? Leviticus 23:10–12; 1 Corinthians 15:20.
“Christ arose from the dead as the first fruits of those that slept. He was the antitype of the wave sheaf, and His resurrection took place on the very day when the wave sheaf was to be presented before the Lord. . . . His resurrection is the type and pledge of the resurrection of all the righteous dead.”—The Desire of Ages, pp. 785, 786.
Friday
June 10
PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. Why did the Jewish leaders go to great lengths to secure the body of Jesus?
2. Who actually resurrected the body of Jesus?
3. What did the resurrection of Christ confirm regarding the destiny of Satan?
4. What was special about those resurrected with Christ?
5. What is the “flesh and blood” that cannot inherit the kingdom of God?