Week 42: Luke 24 – Jesus’ Resurrection

Luke 24 – Jesus’ Resurrection

As a family, read Luke 24:13-34 together. Afterwards, share the following discussion.

What happened?

Two of Jesus’ followers were walking from the city of Jerusalem to a town called Emmaus. As they were walking, Jesus appeared to them – the same Jesus who died on a cross three days earlier! But God kept these two followers from recognizing that it was really Jesus who walked with them. They thought He was just a stranger.

The two men were talking about everything that had happened to Jesus. As they looked back, they felt sad because their friend and teacher had died. They felt discouraged because they thought Jesus had come to be the Savior of the world, but now He was gone. They were confused because earlier that day they had heard an astonishing report that Jesus’ body was missing from the tomb and that He was alive again. They weren’t sure what to believe.

At that point, the stranger started teaching from the Old Testament and showed them all the things that were written about Jesus hundreds of years before He was even born. He told them how everything that had just happened was really God’s plan from the very beginning. As He redirected their thoughts about Christ’s suffering and the glory that would follow,the two followers began to understand why Jesus came to die.

When they came to Emmaus, the two men invited the stranger to stay for dinner. As they sat down to eat, they recognized that it was Jesus who was with them. Suddenly, Jesus disappeared! In an instant, He was gone. The two followers got up and went back to Jerusalem to tell the disciples that Jesus was alive!

Why is this important to us today?

Jesus’ resurrection from the dead proves that He is God. That means that His sacrifice on the cross is enough for us to find forgiveness for our sins and all the wrong things we do – the things that separate us from God, who is perfect and without sin. When we place our trust in Him, we can have victory over the power of sin in our lives.

As amazing as that is, there is something else that we can take away from this passage. When bad things happen in our lives, we often lose sight of the big picture. Like the two followers, we lose hope and forget that God is in control. During hard times, we need to remember that God is always working out a bigger plan, even though we may see only a part of it. Knowing that His plan will be accomplished gives us hope to keep going.

Spend a few minutes talking about what you just read by answering these questions:

1. How did everything change for the two followers when they recognized Jesus?

2. How was God in control of Jesus’ death and resurrection?

3. What bigger picture was God working out?

How can we better follow God this week?

Talk about hard times you have gone through or may be facing even now. How have you seen part of the bigger picture in one of those times? How does knowing that God is in control help you trust Him for the outcome?

Before you finish, pray together and ask God to show you how He is working in each of your lives. Thank Him for how He has worked out details in the past.