NT Lesson 59-60 Luke 24-John 1

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Lesson 59: Luke 24

Introduction

On the third day after Jesus Christ’s death, angels at the tomb announced His Resurrection to a group of women. Upon hearing the women’s report, some of the disciples doubted the possibility of the Savior’s Resurrection. Two disciples traveled to Emmaus and, without recognizing the resurrected Lord, spoke with Him along the way. Jesus later appeared to His Apostles and others, showed them His resurrected body, and commissioned them to preach repentance and be witnesses of Him.

I. Luke 24:1–12  Angels announce to a group of women that Jesus Christ is risen

Show a portion of the video “Jesus Is Laid in a Tomb” from The Life of Jesus Christ Bible Videos, pausing before the angels speak to the women (time code 0:00–2:27). This video is available on LDS.org.

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---If you are unable to show the video, invite students to imagine that they had been at the tomb when Jesus was placed there and had seen the stone being rolled in front of the doorway. Ask them to imagine the thoughts and feelings they might have had there.

---Read Luke 24:1–4 looking for what the women discovered when they returned to the tomb three days later.

---After showing the video clip or reading verses 1–4, ask:

• What did the women find at the tomb?
• How might you have reacted if you had seen the angels standing at the opened tomb?

---Read Luke 24:5–8 looking for what the angels told the women. Invite students to report what they find.

---In Luke 24:9–10  the women left the tomb and told the disciples what they had seen and heard.

---Read Luke 24:11 aloud, and ask the class to look for the Apostles’ reaction to the women’s words. Invite students to report what they find.

---After hearing the women’s report, Peter and John ran to the sepulchre and found that Jesus’s body was gone (see Luke 24:12; John 20:1–4).

II. Luke 24:13–32  The risen Lord speaks to two disciples on the road to Emmaus

---Ask students to ponder a time when they, like the disciples in this account, have struggled to believe a gospel concept.

---In Luke 24:13 we learn that two disciples left Jerusalem “that same day,” traveling about 6–7.5 miles (10–12 kilometers) “to a village called Emmaus.” Studying their experience on the road to Emmaus can help us know how to strengthen our testimonies of Jesus Christ and His gospel.

---Read Luke 24:14–17 and look for who joined the two disciples as they walked.

• Who joined the disciples as they traveled?
• Why did the disciples not recognize Jesus? (Explain that the word holden [verse 16] means restrained or covered.)

Show the video “Christ Appears on the Road to Emmaus” (3:32) from The Life of Jesus Christ Bible Videos, which is available on LDS.org. Ask students to watch for what the disciples learned from Jesus as they walked with Him without recognizing who He was. Before showing the video, explain that the dialogue in the video is from Luke 24:17–33 so that students can follow along in the scriptures if they would like to. (If you are unable to show the video, invite students to take turns reading aloud from these verses.)

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---Point out that in this video, we do not hear what Jesus taught the disciples as they walked.

---Read Luke 24:27 and look for what Jesus taught the disciples.

• What did Jesus teach the disciples? What tool did He use to teach about Himself?
• According to Luke 24:32, how did the Savior’s teachings from the scriptures affect the two disciples?
• What does it mean that the disciples’ “heart[s] burn[ed] within” them? (The Holy Ghost testified that the teachings about Jesus in the scriptures were true.)

---Invite students to ponder what the disciples might have learned from Jesus’s using the scriptures to teach them rather than simply revealing who He was. You might ask a few students to share their thoughts.

• What can we learn from these verses about the effects of our own scripture study? (After students respond, write the following principle on the board: As we study the scriptures, we invite the Holy Ghost to teach us of Jesus Christ.)
• Besides a burning in our hearts, how else would you describe what we might experience as the Holy Ghost testifies of Jesus Christ?

---Ask students to locate a scripture that has helped them feel the Holy Ghost teaching them about Jesus Christ. Invite them to share their scriptures and the effects of what they have felt. You may also want to share a scripture that has helped you personally.

---Remind students that even though it is important to read the New Testament for seminary credit, it is even more important to study the scriptures in a way that the Holy Ghost can strengthen their testimonies of the Savior.

---Provide copies of a bookmark that contains the following statement by Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (or invite students to write the statement on a blank bookmark):

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“The central purpose of all scripture is to fill our souls with faith in God the Father and in His Son, Jesus Christ. …

“… Faith comes by the witness of the Holy Spirit to our souls, Spirit to spirit, as we hear or read the word of God. And faith matures as we continue to feast upon the word. …

“… Study the scriptures carefully, deliberately. Ponder and pray over them. Scriptures are revelation, and they will bring added revelation” (D. Todd Christofferson, “The Blessing of Scripture,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2010, 34, 35).

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---Ask a student to read the statement by Elder Christofferson aloud. Invite the class to follow along, looking for ways in which they can improve their personal scripture study.

---Invite students to set a goal to study their scriptures in ways that invite the Holy Ghost to increase their faith in and knowledge of Jesus Christ. You might suggest that they write this goal on the back of the bookmark so that they can use it as a reminder during their scripture study.

III. Luke 24:33–53  Jesus appears to His disciples and shows them His resurrected body

---Invite two students to bring their scriptures to the front of the class to help role-play a scene that portrays missionaries approaching someone’s door. Instruct them to knock. Pretend to open a door and greet them. Tell them to introduce themselves. After they do so, say something like the following:

“I have a question. A lot of people I know do not believe in life after death. Some of them say they believe in Jesus Christ but do not believe He was resurrected with a physical body. They say He continued to live only as a spirit. What do you believe about the Resurrection of Jesus Christ?”

---Give the two students time to answer the question.

---Luke 24:36–39 is a scripture mastery passage and can help teach about the literal Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Provide context for this passage by explaining that the disciples who were with Jesus on the road to Emmaus immediately returned to Jerusalem and related their experience to the Apostles and other disciples (see Luke 24:33–35). While they were talking, the Savior appeared (see verse 36).

Luke 24:36–39 is a scripture mastery passage. Studying scripture mastery passages will help students increase their understanding of basic doctrines and be prepared to teach them to others. You may want to suggest that students mark scripture mastery passages in a distinctive way so they will be able to locate them easily. Refer to the teaching idea at the end of the lesson to help students with their mastery of this passage.

---Invite one of the students who helped role-play to read Luke 24:36–39 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for evidence that Jesus was literally resurrected and has a body of flesh and bones.

• What did Jesus invite His disciples to do to help them understand that He was not merely a spirit but had a physical body? (Consider displaying the picture Jesus Shows His Wounds [Gospel Art Book (2009), no. 60; see also LDS.org].)
• How do you think you would feel if you had been present when Christ appeared to His disciples?

---Thank the students who helped role-play, and ask them to sit down.

---Read Luke 24:40–43 looking for what else Jesus did to show that He had a tangible (or physical) resurrected body.

• What else did the Savior do to show that He had a resurrected body?
• What doctrines can we learn from these verses? (Students may identify a variety of doctrines, but be sure to emphasize that Jesus Christ has a resurrected body of flesh and bones. Write this doctrine on the board.)
• Why is this doctrine important to understand and believe?

---Invite a student to read the following statement aloud:

“Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, all people will be resurrected—saved from physical death (see 1 Corinthians 15:22). Resurrection is the reuniting of the spirit with the body in a perfect, immortal state, no longer subject to disease or death (see Alma 11:42–45). …

“An understanding and testimony of the resurrection can give you hope and perspective as you experience the challenges, trials, and triumphs of life. You can find comfort in the assurance that the Savior lives and that through His Atonement, ‘he breaketh the bands of death, that the grave shall have no victory, and that the sting of death should be swallowed up in the hopes of glory’ (Alma 22:14)” (True to the Faith: A Gospel Reference [2004], 139, 140).

• What are some examples of trials that the hope of our own resurrection could help us endure?

---Ask a few students to testify of the Savior’s Resurrection and to explain why the doctrine of the Resurrection is important to them.

---Read Luke 24:44–53 aloud. Ask the class to listen to the Savior’s words as though they had been part of the group of disciples who were with Him and to consider which teachings may have been most meaningful to them. Invite a few students to share their thoughts about the teachings in these verses.

---Conclude by testifying of the truths you have discussed.

Scripture Mastery—Luke 24:36–39

To help students memorize Luke 24:36–39, divide the class into four groups. Assign a different verse from this passage to each group, and instruct the students in each group to work together to memorize their assigned verse. After a few minutes, ask each group to recite their assigned verse in order of the verses. You may want to invite students to recite their verses again for the next few class periods until the entire passage becomes familiar to everyone.

Commentary and Background Information

Luke 24:11. “They believed them not”

Luke indicates that it was difficult for the eleven Apostles to believe the women who testified that Jesus had risen from the grave. Although other individuals had been temporarily revived from death but would eventually die again as mortals, Jesus Christ was the first person to be resurrected. President Gordon B. Hinckley explained:

“Never had this occurred before. There had been only death without hope. Now there was life eternal. Only a God could have done this. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ was the great crowning event of His life and mission. It was the capstone of the Atonement. The sacrifice of His life for all mankind was not complete without His coming forth from the grave, with the certainty of the Resurrection for all who have walked the earth.

“Of all the victories in the chronicles of humanity, none is so great, none so universal in its effects, none so everlasting in its consequences as the victory of the crucified Lord, who came forth from the tomb that first Easter morning.

“Those who were witnesses of that event, all who saw and heard and spoke with the Risen Lord, testified of the reality of this greatest of all miracles. His followers through the centuries lived and died in proclamation of the truth of this supernal act.

“To all of these we add our testimony that He who died on Calvary’s cross arose again in wondrous splendor as the Son of God, the Master of life and death” (“Special Witnesses of Christ,” Ensign, Apr. 2001, 15, or Liahona, Apr. 2001, 16–17).

Luke 24:36–43. “A spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have”

Elder Tad R. Callister, who served in the Presidency of the Seventy, said the following about the false idea that the Savior’s Resurrection was temporary:

“Following the Savior’s Resurrection, He appeared to His disciples and said, ‘Handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have’ (Luke 24:39). Some have suggested this was a temporary physical manifestation and that when He ascended to heaven He shed His body and returned to His spirit form. But the scriptures tell us this was not possible. Paul taught, ‘Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him’ (Romans 6:9). In other words, once Christ was resurrected, His body could never again be separated from His spirit; otherwise He would suffer death, the very consequence Paul said was no longer possible after His Resurrection” (“Joseph Smith—Prophet of the Restoration,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2009, 35).

© 2016 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.

Lesson 60: John 1

Introduction

John the Beloved recorded important doctrines related to Jesus Christ’s role in the premortal existence. John the Baptist also bore witness of Jesus Christ and baptized Him. Jesus Christ invited others to learn of Him.

I. John 1:1–18; Joseph Smith Translation, John 1:1–19  John testifies of Jesus Christ as the Son of God

---Divide students into pairs. Display a picture of Jesus Christ on the board. Ask students to imagine that they are talking with someone who knows very little about Jesus Christ. Invite one student in each pair to take one minute to teach the other student about Jesus as if the other student knew very little about Him. Following this activity, invite a few students who were taught about Christ to share with the class what they were taught by their partners.

---Briefly introduce the book of John by explaining that the Apostle John recorded what he wanted the Saints to know about Jesus Christ. John was an eyewitness to many of the accounts he wrote about. Most of the material in John’s Gospel is not found in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, which were written to help Jews and Gentiles believe that Jesus was the Messiah and Savior of mankind. In contrast, John specifically wrote to those who already believed that Jesus was the Christ.

---As we study John 1, look for truths about the Savior that can strengthen your faith in and testimonies of Jesus Christ.

---Read aloud Joseph Smith Translation, John 1:1–2 (in the Bible appendix). Invite the class to follow along. Ask them to look for truths that John taught about Jesus Christ.

• What truths do we learn about Jesus Christ in these verses? (One truth students should identify is that Jesus Christ was with God in the beginning. Write this truth on the board near the picture of the Savior.)
• What does it mean that Jesus Christ was with God in the beginning? (Explain that the phrase “in the beginning” refers to the premortal existence. Jesus Christ was the Firstborn of the Father in the spirit [see D&C 93:21], He was like unto God among the spirits gathered “before the world was” [Abraham 3:22–24], and He was chosen by the Father from the beginning [see Moses 4:2].)

---Read aloud Joseph Smith Translation, John 1:3 (in the Bible appendix), and ask the class to look for an additional truth John taught about Jesus Christ.

• What else did John teach about Jesus Christ? (Students should identify a doctrine similar to the following: All things were made by Jesus Christ. Write this truth near the picture of the Savior on the board.)

---Jesus Christ created the heavens and the earth under the direction of the Father and that Jesus Christ has created worlds without number (see Moses 1:33). However, Heavenly Father has reserved “two creative events” to Himself: the creation of all spirits (including Jesus Christ’s) and the creation of the physical bodies of Adam and Eve (Bruce R. McConkie, A New Witness for the Articles of Faith [1985], 63; see also Moses 2:27).

---Read aloud Joseph Smith Translation, John 1:4–5 (in the Bible appendix). Ask the class to look for how John described Jesus and His gospel.

• How did John describe Jesus and His gospel?
• What does it mean that “in him was the gospel”? (Jesus Christ was the good news, the embodiment of the gospel.)
• What do you think it means that “the light shineth in the world, and the world perceiveth it not”? (Joseph Smith Translation, John 1:5).

---The Apostle John next taught about John the Baptist.

---Read aloud Joseph Smith Translation, John 1:6–10 (in the Bible appendix). Ask the class to look for what John the Baptist declared about Jesus Christ. Invite students to report what they find.

• In verses 9–10, what doctrine did the Apostle John teach about Jesus? (Students should identify a doctrine similar to the following: Jesus Christ is the Light of the World. Write this truth near the picture of the Savior on the board.)
• In what ways is Jesus Christ the Light of the World? (See D&C 88:5–13.)

---In Joseph Smith Translation, John 1:11–18 (in the Bible appendix) John the Baptist testified that all those who believe on Jesus Christ would receive immortality and eternal life.

---Point out that in verses 14 and 16, John referred to Jesus Christ as “the Word.” Explain that this is a title of Jesus Christ found in several places in the scriptures (see John 1:1, 14; 1 John 1:1; Revelation 19:13; D&C 93:8–10; Moses 1:32).

---Point out that we use words to communicate and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas to others.

• In what ways is “the Word” an appropriate title of Jesus Christ?

---Without the Joseph Smith Translation, John 1:18 could be misunderstood as stating that no man has ever seen God the Father.

---Read aloud Joseph Smith Translation, John 1:19 (in the Bible appendix).

• How does Joseph Smith Translation, John 1:19 clarify John 1:18?

---Divide students into the same pairs that they were in for the activity at the beginning of the lesson. Ask one student in each pair to take one minute to teach his or her partner about Jesus Christ using the doctrines the class identified in Joseph Smith Translation, John 1:1–19 (in the Bible appendix). After sufficient time, ask:

• Why would it be important for someone to know these doctrines about Jesus Christ?

II. John 1:19–34; Joseph Smith Translation, John 1:20–34  John the Baptist bears witness of Jesus Christ and baptizes Him

---In Joseph Smith Translation, John 1:20–28 (in the Bible appendix) the Jews sent priests to John the Baptist asking if he was the Messiah. John explained that his role was to bear record of the Messiah, who would baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost. The next day, John the Baptist saw Jesus, whom he had previously baptized.

---Invite a student to stand and read aloud, as if the student were John the Baptist, the words of John the Baptist in Joseph Smith Translation, John 1:29–33 (in the Bible appendix). Invite the class to follow along and look for what John the Baptist wanted people to know about Jesus Christ.

---Point to the picture of Jesus Christ and the truths written on the board and ask:

• What other truths or descriptions about Jesus Christ could we add from Joseph Smith Translation, John 1:29–33? (List students’ responses on the board.)
• Why do you think John the Baptist referred to Jesus as “the Lamb of God”?

III. John 1:35–51  Jesus invites His followers to learn more about Him

---Ask students to imagine that a teenager attending fast and testimony meeting hears several friends bear testimony that they know that Jesus Christ is their Savior. This young person wonders how those friends “know” those things.

• How would you respond to this question?

---As we study John 1:35–51, look for what we can do to receive (or strengthen) our own witness of Jesus Christ as the Savior.

---Read John 1:35–37 and look for what John the Baptist did the day after he baptized Jesus.

• What did John do when he saw Jesus?

---Read John 1:38–39 looking for what Jesus said to the two disciples.

• What did Jesus ask the two disciples?
• What was their response?
• What did Jesus invite the two disciples to do?

---Read John 1:40–42 and look for what Andrew learned after he accepted the Savior’s invitation to “come and see.”

• What did Andrew learn by accepting the Savior’s invitation to “come and see”? (That Jesus is the Messiah, or the Christ. You may also want to point out that we learn from the Joseph Smith Translation of John 1:42 that Peter would be called “Cephas, which is, by interpretation, a seer, or a stone” [in footnote a], indicating that Peter would become a seer in the Church.)

---Read John 1:43–46 and look for what the Savior invited Philip to do. Ask students to share what they find.

• Which words in verse 45 indicate that Philip received a witness of Jesus Christ after he accepted the Savior’s invitation to follow Him?
• What invitation did Philip then give to Nathanael?

---Invite three students to read John 1:47–51 aloud. Assign one to be the narrator, one to read the words of Jesus, and one to read the words of Nathanael. Invite the class to listen for what happened as Nathanael accepted the invitation to learn of Jesus.

• What happened after Nathanael accepted the invitation to learn of Jesus?
• What principle can we learn from these accounts? (Students should identify a principle similar to the following: As we accept the invitation to learn of and follow Jesus Christ, we will receive our own witness of Him.)

---Invite a student to read aloud the following statement by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

“It seems that the essence of our mortal journey and the answers to the most significant questions in life are distilled down to these two very brief elements in the opening scenes of the Savior’s earthly ministry. One element is the question put to every one of us on this earth: ‘What seek ye? What do you want?’ The second is His response to our answer, whatever that answer is. Whoever we are and whatever we reply, His response is always the same: ‘Come,’ He says lovingly. ‘Come, follow me.’ Wherever you are going, first come and see what I do, see where and how I spend my time. Learn of me, walk with me, talk with me, believe. Listen to me pray. In turn you will find answers to your own prayers. God will bring rest to your souls” (“He Hath Filled the Hungry with Good Things,” Ensign, Nov. 1997, 65).

---Invite students to ponder their own efforts to learn of Jesus Christ and follow Him.

• In what ways has your testimony of Jesus Christ increased as you have learned of and followed Him?

---Invite students to write in their class notebooks a few sentences about what they will do to more fully accept the Savior’s invitation to “come and see” and to learn of and follow Him.

---Conclude by sharing your testimony of the principles identified in class today.

Commentary and Background Information

John 1:9. “The true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world”

John’s writings contain the only New Testament teachings about the Light of Christ. The Bible Dictionary explains:

“The light of Christ is just what the words imply: enlightenment, knowledge, and an uplifting, ennobling, persevering influence that comes upon mankind because of Jesus Christ. For instance, Christ is ‘the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world’ (D&C 93:2; see John 1:9). The light of Christ fills the ‘immensity of space’ and is the means by which Christ is able to be ‘in all things, and is through all things, and is round about all things.’ It ‘giveth life to all things’ and is ‘the law by which all things are governed.’ It is also ‘the light that quickeneth’ man’s understanding (see D&C 88:6–13, 41). In this manner, the light of Christ is related to man’s conscience and tells him right from wrong (Moro. 7:12–19).

“The light of Christ should not be confused with the personage of the Holy Ghost, for the light of Christ is not a personage at all. Its influence is preliminary to and preparatory to one’s receiving the Holy Ghost” (Bible Dictionary, “Light of Christ”).

Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught the following about the Light of Christ:

“The Light of Christ is that divine power or influence that emanates from God through Jesus Christ. It gives light and life to all things. It prompts all rational individuals throughout the earth to distinguish truth from error, right from wrong. It activates your conscience” (“Peace of Conscience and Peace of Mind,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2004, 15).

John 1:14, 29. Titles and names of Jesus Christ such as “the Word” and the “Lamb of God”

The Apostle John stated that his purpose for writing this book was to persuade others to believe in Jesus Christ. Throughout his Gospel, John used several names or titles to help readers both understand and identify Jesus Christ as the divine Son of God. For example, in John 1, Jesus is referred to as “the Word” and as the “Lamb of God.”

Jesus is the Word of God because He is the expression or representative of the Father to the world; He declares the Father’s words; He is the messenger of salvation [see D&C 93:8]; He is the perfect example of how to live the word of God; He gives the words of eternal life; and His words give life.

Jesus is the Lamb of God because just as the blood of Passover lambs saved Israel from death and brought deliverance from Egyptian bondage, the title “Lamb of God” indicated that Jesus would shed His blood to save His people and deliver them from sin. (See also Topical Guide, “Jesus Christ, Lamb of God.”)

The Gospel of John records various names or titles that can help readers understand the divinity of Jesus Christ. Some titles are implied while others are overtly identified with “I am the …” Some examples include Jesus being identified as the Giver of Living Water (see John 4:10–14) and Jesus saying “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35); “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12); “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11); “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25); “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6); and “I am the true vine” (John 15:1).

John 1:19–28. Who are Elias and Elijah?

“The Jewish leaders asked John if he was ‘Elias’ (the Greek name for the Hebrew ‘Elijah’), who was prophesied to someday return (see Malachi 4:5–6). In the Joseph Smith Translation, the Lord revealed a more complete account of John’s response to the Jewish leaders, which conveys John’s knowledge of his own mission as one who came to prepare the way for the Messiah. To their queries, John ‘confessed, and denied not that he was Elias; but confessed, saying; I am not the Christ’ (Joseph Smith Translation, John 1:21 [in the Bible appendix]).

“John understood, as the priests and Levites apparently did not, that there are various meanings for the name-title Elias (see Bible Dictionary, ‘Elias’; Guide to the Scriptures, ‘Elias’; scriptures.lds.org). John was an Elias, which means a forerunner of the Messiah, but he was not the Elias, who is Jesus Christ, the Messiah. John was also not Elijah the prophet, whose name in Greek is Elias. …

“When John denied that he was Elijah, the Jewish leaders asked him, ‘Art thou that prophet?’ (John 1:21). Their question likely had reference to the prophecy of Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15: ‘The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken.’ However, by asking John if he was ‘that prophet’ after John had already denied that he was the Christ, these Jews showed that they did not understand the messianic nature of Moses’s prophecy. Many of the Jews in Jesus’s day anticipated the coming of a prophet who would be like unto Moses but who was not the Messiah. This is evident when many in Jerusalem later proclaimed that Jesus Christ was ‘the Prophet,’ while others declared that He was ‘the Christ’ (John 7:40–41; see also 6:14)” (New Testament Student Manual [Church Educational System manual, 2014], 201–2).

© 2016 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.

Right margin extras:

Help students understand the Basic Doctrines

Students will learn the Basic Doctrines as they study and discuss the scriptures and as they master key scripture passages. You should not divert from sequential scripture study to focus on the Basic Doctrines. Rather, identify and help students understand the Basic Doctrines as they arise in the course of study. For instance, in this lesson you could emphasize the doctrines of the Godhead that relate to what is taught in John 1.