Preschool
Be strong in the Lord (Ephesians 6:10).
Salvation’s Plan Completed
Memory Verses
Primary
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might (Ephesians 6:10).
Junior
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might (Ephesians 6:10).
Background Scripture: Luke 24
Lesson Scripture: Luke 24:36-48
Introduction
Oh, wondrously sweet is the story,
That Jesus came down from above,
To make an atonement for sinners,
And bless this poor world with His love.1
Today we are studying the final phase in God’s immeasurable plan of salvation. It is a wondrous plan, far-reaching in its scope and benefits to mankind. In his unfathomable wisdom and foreknowledge, knowing all of us would be sinners, God created this plan for you and me. Oh, the love of God for fallen man “that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
Key Verse
And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely (Rev. 22:17).
Lesson Scripture
Luke 24:36 And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
37 But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.
38 And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?
39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
40 And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.
41 And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat?
42 And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb.
43 And he took it, and did eat before them.
44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.
45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
48 And ye are witnesses of these things.
Studying the Lesson
The last ten or so days the disciples spent with Jesus before his crucifixion were filled with conversations that they found difficult to understand. He tried to explain to them that He would be put to death and then resurrected and that He would need to leave the earth so that the Holy Spirit could come to dwell with them in his stead. He instituted Holy Communion and told them that this was to be done in remembrance of Him, intimating by this He would not always be with them. These concepts were foreign to their thinking and upbringing, and they struggled to comprehend, but they knew they were in the presence of the Son of God, and their faith carried them.
Then came the unforgettable time in the garden of Gethsemane and Jesus’s betrayal. He was taken to the palace of the high priest, then to the judgment hall of Pilate, then to Herod’s palace, and finally back to Pilate. In none of these places did He receive a fair trial or any recognition for who He was. Rather, he was mocked, abused, and beaten. Finally, He was made to carry his cross to Golgotha and there was most cruelly crucified.
At last He was pronounced dead, taken from the cross, and placed in a tomb. With a touch of finality, the tomb was sealed with a stone. This same Jesus, whom the disciples had seen perform so many miracles and had spoken of a glorious kingdom to come, the same Jesus in whom they had trusted and whom they had loved, was, as far as they knew, forever gone. What hopelessness they must have felt! Was all their faith, their hopes, and their dreams come to nought? Who would they go to now in their distresses and trials? Where would the words of encouragement and love come from now? How could anyone ever take Jesus’s place?
Then three days after what they saw as the end of all, they began to hear strange tales of things that had never been heard before. Surely Jesus was truly dead and still in the grave, but what were these stories that they were hearing from the women who had gone to anoint his body? Then, amazingly, He had appeared unto Simon Peter himself! While the eleven were gathered together and discussing these strange events, the disciples from Emmaus arrived and added their experience of meeting Jesus. Finally, at the culmination of them relating their exciting story, Jesus appeared to them all. What a wonder! Their sense of joy and renewed hope must have been nearly tangible!
The special beauty in this wonderful story is that this same joy and renewed hope can be ours through the same power of the resurrection demonstrated so clearly to the disciples. When we are distressed and things seem hopeless, we forget that our God today is the same God who gave Jesus the power to conquer death. We forget that Christ suffered in the flesh as we do and so understands our trials. We forget that hope is just a prayer away. God’s plan of salvation was completed, and that completeness also includes his ability to bear our trials and give us beauty for ashes, hope in time of despair, and succor in time of our greatest need.
Practical Truths for Today
In the beginning, God created man in his own image. Because man was the very crown of his creation, He loved mankind with an undying love. However, in the hour of temptation, man forgot their Creator and sinned, thereby bringing the curse of death on mankind. This curse also included the earth and all of nature, resulting in the fact that man would be in a constant struggle with the elements for survival. Not only would sickness, pain, and hardship be his lot in life but the struggle with sin and its consequences would also tend to keep him in a state of guilt and despair.
God foresaw all of this and, because of his love for us, created the blessed plan of salvation. He decreed that man should die for his sin, both spiritually and eventually physically. “But,” He said, “I will send a man, One who has the same body of flesh as my beloved human creation but without sin. By his death, an atonement can be made for the rest of mankind.” Only one Being was able to fulfill that requirement, and that One was Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son.
So in the fullness of time, Jesus came to earth as a baby, grew up, and at thirty years of age began his ministry. At the end of three and a half years, He was put to death, still without sin. The atonement for our sin had been made at this point, yet the plan was not complete. God needed to show that He not only had power over sin and power to atone for sin but also over death, the ultimate finality of the curse. Therefore, Christ arose triumphantly! His mission was complete, and so was the redemption of mankind.
One of the marvelous parts of this story of redemption is that Christ suffered in the flesh. As He was, so are we in this world. He is very aware of our temptations and the pain and suffering that we endure. He understands loneliness and grief. He has felt rejection, scorn, and mocking. He knew the trials of poverty and the temptations of riches. “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). We can boldly go before the throne of grace without shame, for He truly understands.
Some may be tempted with the thought that they have sinned away all grace. The devil would like to tell us that we are never going to be able to be faithful, that we will never be able to overcome our sin, and that surely God will grow tired of forgiving us. However, the same power of the resurrection that caused Christ to rise from the dead is available to us to overcome sin, and for those times when we do fall, God’s door of repentance is never closed.
Having faith in these statements about God’s long-suffering and power are key to successful Christian living as well as understanding our own incapability to live in the right. We must believe that there is nothing Jesus does not understand and on which He does not have compassion. Although we can hardly comprehend it, even our vilest and most depraved temptations are understood, and He also understands how to mete out the power and grace of the resurrection so that we can overcome them. Think of King David; his sins were many, ranging all the way from murder and adultery to lack of faith and disobedience, yet the Bible testifies that he was a man after God’s own heart. How can this be true with such sins in his life? It can only be that he understood and believed in both the judgments of God and his kindness and mercy. He was able to recognize that God knew his sinful nature and was made of the dust of the earth, so he did not fear to go to God in humbleness of heart and ask for forgiveness.
We speak of the present dark and dangerous times we are in and are concerned about the influence that technology has on us. We see the cause and effect that sin has in the culture of the world about us. A godless society promotes making poor choices, and more and more people are reaping the wages of choosing wrongly. Perhaps there is a little voice in our head that makes us wonder how the Christian and this beloved church of ours will ever stand. We hear of wars and unrest among the nations and frightening trends in politics, and we are troubled, but we must stand firm in the hope and truth of the resurrection! This same power that personally keeps us is also in control of the world about us. “A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee” (Ps. 91:7).
In the sight of his disciples, Jesus ascended back to heaven as a final touch to the plan of salvation. Now He sits at the Father’s right hand and intercedes for us. He is also preparing a place for us that we may spend eternity with Him, praising the Father and the Son for their wonderful plan of salvation.
Questions
- Did God create his plan part by part, or was it created as a whole, entire and complete from the very beginning?
- What does the power of the resurrection do for us in daily living?
- We all have a fear of death. When should we be concerned that it is too strong?
- 1 Elisha A. Hoffman (1839-1929), “Sweet Is the Story,” Christian Hymnal
Source: COGICM Daily Bible Readings (Daily Bible Readings, PO Box 124, Glenn, CA 95943).