The Resurrection of Jesus
The story of the resurrection of Jesus (Easter) is a crucial aspect of the gospel. The resurrection of Jesus confirmed that He truly is the long-awaited Messiah of the Old Testament, the Son of God. It also means that He is still alive today. Helping children (or anyone) understand the fundamentals of Jesus’ resurrection is essential to biblical faith.
Generally speaking, children will not have difficulty believing that the resurrection of Jesus actually happened. They understand better than many adults that if God is truly God, then raising Jesus from the dead is not difficult. The bigger issue will be helping kids understand why the resurrection is important. But first, let’s consider whether the Bible actually teaches a bodily resurrection.
Did the Resurrection of Jesus (Easter) Really Happen?
The conviction that Jesus really died and was then bodily raised from the dead is a notion that the world has always found difficult to believe. And yet, the Bible is clear on this point. All four Gospel writers affirm this reality. The narratives regarding the resurrection of Jesus can be found in Matthew 28:1-10; Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24:1-12; and John 20:1-18. All of these accounts make it clear that Jesus was crucified and died, He was buried, and was physically raised from the dead. The Gospel writers drove the point home by noting that he appeared to people who knew Him immediately after the resurrection. This is not a story the church later fabricated. The early church believed it to be true from the very beginning.
Christians in the early church also understood that Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection had changed everything. The early church would worship on Sundays just in order to celebrate the resurrection. They would often greet each other with the phrase, “He is risen!” as a declaration that Jesus had died, but then overcame death to live again. They would then respond with “He is risen indeed!”
A New Age Has Dawned
For the young church, the resurrection of Jesus really did change everything because it demonstrated that God was finally breaking into history and ushering in a new day, just as the Old Testament had promised. If Jesus really died and really came back to life, then He conquered death and demonstrated that He has initiated a new age or season of history.
When Adam and Eve sinned, evil and death entered into the world. Consequently, our current world is broken. Brokenness and death are the reality of our current world; what the Bible calls “the present age” (Titus 2:12). Jesus’ ministry revealed that He was establishing the Kingdom of God. That is, He was establishing “the age to come” (1 Tim. 6:19). The resurrection confirmed this reality by showing that Jesus had conquered death. This means we are living in a new season or “age” where the age to come is overlapping with the present age. We still live in a broken world where death is real, but we’re also living in the age to come where death has been destroyed. Jesus’ resurrection proves that death has been conquered!
The Resurrection of Jesus Means Jesus Is Alive!
The early church believed Jesus had really risen from the dead, but why would this be important to them or us? For children, the most important thing to understand about the resurrection of Jesus may be that He is alive today. God raised Jesus from the dead permanently. Jesus didn’t die again later. This certainly makes Jesus unique among religious leaders, but it also means Jesus is present with us here and now. For children, this is not a difficult thing to believe, but it is hugely significant. Because Jesus is alive, He sees us. He knows us. He hears us. He loves us. Children may not be able to understand why bad things happen in our broken world (a complex theological issue), but they generally are eager to believe that Jesus is alive and present in this life and world. Easter gives us hope that we are not alone. Jesus is alive and is here with us!
Easter Means Jesus Is the Messiah
According to Romans 1:4, the resurrection demonstrated that Jesus is the “Son of God.” Indeed, the resurrection confirmed that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah of the Old Testament and that He “died for our sins, according to the scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3). This means that Jesus not only conquered the reality of death, He did so as the anticipated Messiah. The resurrection points to WHAT Jesus did in conquering death, but it also points to WHO He was as the Lord of lords and King of kings.
The world’s idea of what it means to be King or Lord is different from God’s idea. For the world, power rests in the hands of politicians and generals. For the people living in the 1st Century A.D., Rome held all of the political and military power. Caesar was the undisputed king and lord. After the resurrection of Jesus, the church of the 1st Century A.D. had a different message; Jesus is Lord! This could only be the case because Jesus had overcome death.
Rome declared that the Caesars became gods after they died. The son of a deceased Emperor was, therefore, the “Son of God.” Here, too, the church had a radically different message… Jesus is the Son of God and the resurrection proves it!
The resurrection of Jesus, that we celebrate at Easter, can help children develop a better understanding of what Jesus did (conquer death) and who He was (the Messiah and Son of God). The free related activities on Sunday School Zone can help children learn these important truths.
You can find all of the activities related to the resurrection of Jesus here.
To read another helpful article about the importance of the resurrection, go here.
