Children’s Sermon

Luke 24:36b-48

It’s a Ghost

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Luke 24:36b-48
It’s a Ghost

By Dell Smith Klein

Jesus had been crucified. His disciples had seen Jesus on the cross. They had seen the bruises and the blood and had seen Jesus die. Some women, and later some of the disciples, said that the tomb was empty. One of the women even said that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him. But the disciples didn’t believe her. They remembered seeing Jesus being taken down from the cross and placed in a tomb.

One day, not long after the crucifixion, the disciples were all together when suddenly Jesus stood among them. Jesus said, “Peace be to you.” (vs. 36)

The disciples didn’t feel very peaceful. They thought they were seeing a ghost! They remembered his death. They remembered that he was placed in the tomb – dead. The disciples were scared.

Jesus knew his friends were frightened. He said, “Why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and feet, that it is truly me. Touch me and see.” (Vss. 38-39) And then, Jesus asked for food. After eating some fish and honeycomb, he talked with his disciples. He finished his talk by saying,“You are witnesses of these things.” (vs. 48)

What is a witness? What does a witness do? (Allow the children to answer.) Witnesses watch and see things all around them. You might call the person an eyewitness because he or she sees something with his or her own eyes––and tells other people about what he/she has seen.

Have you ever been to a parade? (Let children respond.) What did you see? (Give children time to respond.) Maybe you saw horses, fancy cars, people tossing candy for you to pick up, clowns or big fire trucks. You saw lots of interesting things, didn’t you? No one can tell you that you didn’t see those things. You were an eyewitness. You saw things with your own eyes.

When a witness sees and hears something, they don’t usually change their minds. They know what they have seen. The disciples had seen Jesus die. They had seen him placed in a tomb.

But, then, they saw Jesus alive. Not just this day, but for more than 40 days, they saw him and talked with him. They even watched him eat food. They were not seeing a ghost!

Those same disciples went all over the world, telling the story of Jesus’ crucifixion, his death, and his resurrection. They never stopped telling the story during their whole lives. You can be a witness for Jesus, too. Jesus is alive.

PRAYER

God, we thank you that Jesus is no longer dead. You brought him back to life. Let us be your witnesses on earth. Amen.

Scripture quotations from the World English Bible

Copyright 2013, Richard Niell Donovan