Our Daily Bread Teens EditionSample

Read Luke 24:1–12

1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” 8 Then they remembered his words.

9 When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

Jesus Defeated Death

It’s really annoying when you’re in school or in the middle of something and you can read only part of a text message on your phone’s lock screen. When friends send me long texts and I can’t open my messages straightaway, I read the first part and try to guess the rest. Then, for the next few hours, I imagine all sorts of awful scenarios of what could be happening or what I think they are saying.

Jesus’ friends felt the same way about the message of the cross. Their Lord had said He was the Saviour of the world, but His death seemed to end all that, leaving them with nothing but a dead body to bury. They must have thought that the message of the gospel was, “Jesus is defeated” . . . until some of the women came to His grave and faced an empty tomb and two angels (Luke 24:3–6)!

It was only then, that the “full message” came through; they remembered Jesus promising to come back to life once He had died for our sin (v. 8). The women ran back to share the full message with the rest of Jesus’ followers: Jesus had defeated death. But all the others thought the women were talking rubbish. Even after checking the tomb himself, Peter (one of Jesus’ closest friends) had trouble understanding the message (vv. 9–12).

We too can choose to read the “full message” of the gospel. It didn’t end with Jesus dying on the cross for our sins. He also rose from the dead, defeating death and making eternal life possible. Jesus is alive today! 

Jesus defeated death forever!

And . . . Action!

Write a text message to thank God for the gospel and tell Him which part of it makes you most grateful.

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