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Bible Study Lessons on Encountering the Risen Christ
“The Lord has Risen Indeed!”
When Jesus rose from the dead, he didn’t just return to heaven, leaving his disciples in confusion and fear. In a series of wondrous encounters, he showed himself to them, taught them, and raised their joy and hope in the forgiveness and new life he had won for all people. In some cases, scripture tells us that Jesus met them in the midst of sorrow, darkness and despair, and that this encounter filled them with his peace.
In the following Bible studies, we explore the Emmaus story in Luke 24 to see how we can meet Christ and be changed. In this story, we see how the disciples met Jesus through word and sacrament, and how these two elements combine to reveal the living Lord. As you work through these studies, remember that we too can recognize the Lord as we hear the word, digest it, and allow the Spirit to burn in our hearts. As this happens, we too will recognize the Lord in the Eucharist; like the disciples, we too will be changed by our encounter with Jesus.
Bible Study 1
The following Bible Study is especially intended for children and those who work with them.
How about producing a first-century news program reporting on the resurrection of Jesus? Assign one or two children the role of “roving reporters” who interview eyewitnesses or key figures to help them investigate rumors that Jesus had come back to life. Other children can play the witnesses: Pilate, Herod, Peter, John, Mary Magdalene, the soldiers who guarded the tomb, Thomas, and others.
To make this even more fun, you may want to include a medical expert, the gardener, and an angel or two. At the end, Jesus might show up and give an interview! Help the children write their parts based on their study of the gospels’ resurrection narratives. If you have the resources, you may want to make this into a full-scale production, using a video-recorder, or staging a play that could be performed for your parish, school, or neighborhood.
Bible Study 2
Read Luke 24:13-35 carefully. Take note especially of how the two disciples act as Jesus explains scripture to them.
1. What were the disciples doing as they walked toward Emmaus? What kind of mood were they in? What clues in the text helped you come to these conclusions?
2. How do these two disciples describe Jesus? What hopes did they have centered around him?
3. What was different about the disciples’ mood by the end of this story? What did they say to Jesus, and to each other, and what did they do that indicated a change? What caused these changes?
Bible Study 3
Read Luke 24:13-35 again, this time focusing your attention on the breaking of the bread and its effects on the disciples.
1. Compare Luke 24:30 with 9:16 and 22:19. Why do you think Luke used the same wording in the Emmaus story as in these other two stories? What sorts of connections do you think he wanted his readers to make?
2. What happens to the disciples when they receive the bread from Jesus? Verses 31 and 32 hint that there were at least two levels of “recognition” in the disciples. What types of recognition can you identify? How do you think they’re related?
3. How do you think this story can help you understand better what it means to “see” Jesus in the Eucharist and to allow your encounter of him at Mass to change your heart?
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