Week 20 Discussion Guide: He Is Risen

Opening Question

If you could have been present at one resurrection encounter this week – the women at Matthew’s earthquake-shaken tomb, the Emmaus road walk, Mary Magdalene in the garden, Thomas touching the wounds, or Peter’s restoration at the charcoal fire – which would you choose, and why?

Review

This week we read the resurrection accounts from all four Gospels, and together they form the most consequential testimony in human history. We began with Matthew’s account of the crucifixion – Judas’ remorse without repentance, Pilate’s futile hand-washing, Barabbas set free while the innocent one was led to death, the three hours of darkness, the cry of dereliction, the torn curtain, the earthquake, and the sealed tomb with its Roman guard. Then Matthew gave us resurrection morning: the second earthquake, the angel like lightning, the guards struck down like dead men, the women commissioned as the first witnesses, the guards bribed to lie, and the Great Commission from a mountain in Galilee. Mark’s spare, urgent narrative focused our attention on Simon of Cyrene, the centurion’s climactic confession, and the stunningly abrupt ending – women fleeing in silence, the story left unfinished in the reader’s hands. Luke contributed the incomparable Emmaus road narrative, where the risen Christ opened the Scriptures to two heartbroken disciples, revealed himself in the breaking of bread, and ascended at Bethany with hands outstretched in blessing. And John gave us the most intimate encounters of all: Mary recognizing Jesus when he spoke her name, the new-creation breath of the Holy Spirit, Thomas’s supreme confession – “My Lord and my God!” – and Peter’s threefold restoration at a charcoal fire on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.

Looking Back: The Passion Arc (Weeks 17-20)

Before we discuss this week’s readings, let us step back and consider the full arc of the Passion narrative that has occupied us for the past four weeks.

Week 17: The Upper Room. We began in the intimacy of Jesus’ final evening with his disciples. He washed their feet, instituted the Lord’s Supper, delivered the Farewell Discourse in John 13-17, and prayed the High Priestly Prayer – the longest recorded prayer of Jesus, in which he asked the Father to protect, sanctify, and unify those who would believe. The Upper Room was the place of preparation, where Jesus poured out his heart and his teaching before the storm broke.

Week 18: Trials and Betrayal. The storm broke in Gethsemane. We witnessed Jesus’ agonized prayer, the kiss of Judas, the arrest, Peter’s sword and subsequent denials, the illegal night trial before the Sanhedrin, the political maneuvering between Pilate and Herod, and the crowd’s terrible choice of Barabbas. The institutions of religion and empire conspired against the Son of God, and yet every injustice advanced the predetermined plan of God.

Week 19: The Cross. We stood at Golgotha through the eyes of Luke and John. We heard the seven last words from the cross – forgiveness for the executioners, paradise for the thief, provision for Mary, the cry of dereliction, the declaration of thirst, the shout of completion, and the final committal of spirit to Father. We saw the curtain torn, the centurion confess, and the body laid in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea.

Week 20: Resurrection. And now, this week, we have witnessed the vindication of everything. The tomb is empty. The Lord is risen. The prophecies are fulfilled. The disciples are commissioned. Peter is restored. Thomas believes. And the story that began in a manger ends – or rather, begins anew – with the risen Christ sending his followers to the ends of the earth, promising to be with them always.

The question that spans all four weeks is this: Was the cross a tragedy that was reversed by the resurrection, or was it a victory that was revealed by the resurrection? The New Testament’s answer is the latter. The resurrection does not undo the cross; it validates it. It declares that the death of Jesus was not a defeat but the means of redemption, not a failure but the fulfillment of everything God had promised since Genesis 3:15. The resurrection is God’s “Amen” to the cross.

Study Questions

1. The Diversity of the Resurrection Accounts: The four Gospels describe the resurrection with significant differences in detail – the number of angels, the identity of the women, the sequence of appearances, the emotional reactions. Some see these differences as problems; others see them as evidence of independent, authentic testimony. How do you evaluate these differences? What would it mean if all four accounts were identical?

2. Women as First Witnesses: All four Gospels agree that women were the first witnesses to the empty tomb and/or the risen Christ. In a culture where women’s testimony was legally inadmissible, this detail would have undermined rather than supported the early Christian case. What does the consistent testimony of women as first witnesses tell us about the nature of these accounts? What does it tell us about the character of God?

3. The Emmaus Road Hermeneutic: On the road to Emmaus, Jesus demonstrated that the entire Old Testament – Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms – pointed to his suffering and resurrection. How has this study’s chronological reading of the Gospels helped you see the Old Testament connections more clearly? What Old Testament passage has been most illuminated by the Passion narrative?

4. Thomas’s Doubt and Confession: Thomas refused to believe without physical evidence, and Jesus provided it. Then Jesus pronounced a blessing on “those who have not seen and yet have believed.” How do you hold together the legitimacy of honest doubt with the call to faith? Is doubt the opposite of faith, or can it be a path toward deeper faith?

5. Peter’s Restoration: Peter denied Jesus three times at a charcoal fire and was restored three times at another charcoal fire. Why was this public, painful, and repetitive process necessary? What does it teach us about how Jesus deals with failure in those he loves?

6. “It Is Finished” and “He Is Risen”: These two declarations – one from the cross, one from the empty tomb – form the twin pillars of the Christian gospel. What was “finished” on Friday? What was “begun” on Sunday? How do these two realities shape the way you live between promise and fulfillment?

Going Deeper

Consider the resurrection as the answer to every question the Passion narrative raised:

• The cross asked: Can God be trusted when everything falls apart? The resurrection answers: Yes – the worst day in history was followed by the best.
• The cross asked: Is evil stronger than good? The resurrection answers: No – death is swallowed up in victory.
• The cross asked: Does faithfulness lead to abandonment? The resurrection answers: No – “I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
• The cross asked: Is failure final? The resurrection answers: No – Peter, who denied Christ three times, was commissioned three times.

What question has the Passion narrative raised for you personally, and how does the resurrection speak to it?

Also consider the structural connections between the Gospels’ resurrection accounts and their openings. Matthew begins with Emmanuel (“God with us”) and ends with “I am with you always.” Mark begins with “The beginning of the gospel” and ends with an open-ended invitation to continue the story. Luke begins in the Temple with a silent priest and ends in the Temple with joyful praise. John begins with “In the beginning was the Word… and the Word was God” and ends with Thomas declaring “My Lord and my God.” Each Gospel is a complete literary and theological circle, and the resurrection is the point where every circle closes – and opens again into eternity.

Application

• The Empty Tomb and Your Grief: Mary came to the tomb weeping, expecting to find a dead body. The risen Christ met her in her grief and called her by name. What grief are you carrying that you need to bring to the empty tomb?
• The Emmaus Road and Your Confusion: The two disciples had “hoped” that Jesus would redeem Israel, but their hope had collapsed. Have you experienced a collapse of hope? How might the risen Christ be walking beside you in your confusion, waiting to open your eyes?
• The Charcoal Fire and Your Failure: Peter’s greatest failure became the site of his greatest restoration. Is there a failure in your life that you have been avoiding rather than bringing to Jesus? What would it look like to let him ask you his restoring question?
• The Great Commission and Your Calling: The risen Christ said “Go” and promised “I am with you.” These two words – go and with – define the Christian life. Where is the risen Christ sending you this week, and do you believe he is going with you?
• Thomas and Your Doubt: Jesus did not reject Thomas for his doubt; he met him in it. If you are struggling with doubt, bring it honestly to the risen Christ. He is not threatened by your questions.

Prayer Focus

This is the culmination of four weeks in the Passion narrative. Take extended time in prayer, using the following structure:

• Silence: Begin with two minutes of silence, placing yourself at the empty tomb. The stone is rolled away. The grave clothes are lying in place. What do you see? What do you feel?
• Thanksgiving: Give thanks for the specific dimension of the resurrection that has struck you most powerfully this week – the empty tomb, the appearances, the Great Commission, the restoration of Peter, Thomas’s confession, the Emmaus road encounter.
• Confession: Confess the ways you have lived as though Friday were the end of the story – in despair, in fear, in silence, in failure that you have refused to bring to the risen Christ.
• Petition: Ask the risen Christ to meet you as he met Mary (by name), Thomas (with evidence), Peter (with restoration), and the Emmaus disciples (with opened Scripture). Ask him to show you where he is alive and at work in your life right now.
• Commission: Close by praying the Great Commission over your group. “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Amen.