PURKEY'S
B I B L E S T U D Y
O U T L I N E S
H O M E P A G E
_______________________________________________________________________
Rev. Ronald C. Purkey, an ordained Baptist minister, claims no originality for the contents
of these Bible study outlines. However, every Bible study posted on this website has been
taught by Rev. Purkey. To see more Bible study outlines go to the Archives Page:
rcpbibleoutlines.com/index10.htm_
______________________________________________________________________
THE EMPTY TOMB
April 2, 2023
SCRIPTURE: Luke 24:1-12
INTRODUCTION: In Luke 24, the Lord Jesus Christ wins the victory FOR US!
1. “Christianity is in its very essence a resurrection religion,” says Dr. John Stott. “The concept of resurrection lies at its heart. If you remove it, Christianity is destroyed.”
2. The resurrection of Jesus Christ affirms to us that He is indeed the Son of God, just as He claimed to be (Rom. 1:4). It also proves that His sacrifice for sin has been accepted and that the work of salvation is completed (Rom. 4:24-25). Those who trust Him can “walk in newness of life” because He is alive and imparts His power to them (Rom. 6:4; Gal. 2:20). Our Lord’s resurrection also declares to us that He is the Judge who will come one day and judge the world (Acts 17:30-31).
3. It is no surprise, then, that Satan has attacked the truth of the Resurrection. The first lie that he spawned was that the disciples came and stole Christ’s body (Matt. 28:11-15), but it is difficult to imagine how they could have done this. To begin with, the tomb was carefully guarded (Matt. 27:61-66); and it would have been next to impossible for the frightened Apostles to overpower the soldiers, open the tomb, and secure the body. But the biggest obstacle is the fact that the Apostles themselves did not believe that He would be resurrected! Why, then, would they steal His body and try to perpetrate a hoax?
4. A second lie is that Jesus did not really die on the cross but only swooned, and when He was put into the cool tomb, He revived. But Pilate carefully checked with the centurion to see whether Jesus was dead (Mark 15:44), and the Roman soldiers who broke the legs of the two thieves knew that Jesus had died (John 19:31-34). Furthermore, how could a “cool tomb” transform Christ’s body so that He could appear and disappear and walk through closed doors?
5. The message of the Gospel rests on the death of Jesus Christ and His resurrection (1 Cor. 15:1-8). The Apostles were sent out as witnesses of His resurrection (Acts 1:22), and the emphasis in the Book of Acts is on the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
6. This explains why Luke climaxed his book with a report of some of the appearances of Jesus after He had been raised from the dead. He first appeared to Mary Magdalene (John 20:11-18), then to the “other women” (Matt. 28:9-10), and then to the two men on the way to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-22). At some time, He also appeared to Peter (Luke 24:34) and to His half-brother James (1 Cor. 15:7).
7. That evening, He appeared to the Apostles (Luke 24:36-43), but Thomas was not with them (John 20:19-25). A week later, He appeared to the Apostles again, especially for the sake of Thomas (John 20:26-31). He appeared to seven of the Apostles when they were fishing at the Sea of Galilee (John 21). He appeared several times to the Apostles before His ascension, teaching them and preparing them for their ministry (Acts 1:1-12).
8. When the believers discovered that Jesus was alive, it made a tremendous difference in their lives.
INSIGHT: No man saw Christ rise; but many saw the risen Christ. He appeared to Mary and to Peter and to James and to “the eleven” and to more than five hundred disciples at one time. Of the appearances on the day of His resurrection none is recorded with more dramatic vividness and more definiteness of detail than that related by Luke.
I. EARLY MORNING DISCOVERY.(Luke 24:1-12)
A. The announcement of the angels was a message of encouragement. (Luke 24:1-6a)
“Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. 3 And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: 5 And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but is risen…” (Luke 24:1-6a)
1. The women went to complete the burial process with spices for the body.
2. Instead, they found the stone at the entrance of the tomb rolled back and the body gone.
3. Two angels, described as “men in shining garments” (Luke 24:4), appeared to explain that Christ had risen.
B. The announcement of the angels was a call to remembrance. (Luke 24:6b-8)
“Remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, 7 Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. 8 And they remembered his words.” (Luke 24:6b-8)
1. The angels asked the women why they were looking “for the living among the dead” (Luke 24:5).
2. Incredibly, they declared:
a. That Jesus had risen from the dead,…
b. Then reminded the women that Jesus had told them that He would be crucified and rise again on the third day.
C. The announcement of the angels was an exhortation to all His followers. (Luke 24:9-12)
“And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. 10 It was Mary Magdalene and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles. 11 And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not. 12 Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.” (Luke 24:9-12)
1. Once shattered by grief, the transformed women returned joyfully.
2. They shared the incredibly good news with Jesus’ mourning followers.
3. They gave Jesus’ mourners new joy and hope.
RESURRECTION REALITY
Read: Luke 24:1-12
1. The disciples and early followers of our Lord asserted with a zeal born of heartfelt conviction that Jesus of Nazareth was a living Savior, not a martyred teacher and philosopher. They held this truth so dear that they were willing to suffer torture and death rather than renounce it.
2. This startling message so electrified their ministry that their testimony "turned the world upside down" (Acts 17:6). It is still true today: The Holy Spirit honors the witness of those who proclaim the resurrected Jesus. They do not point primarily to moral codes, religious rituals, or theological creeds (good as these may be in themselves), but to the living God-man who alone can save. It is to Him who is "alive forevermore" (Revelation 1:18) that we should look in these days of dead orthodoxy and spiritual apostasy.
3. A proud and ungodly professor said to a young child who believed in the Lord Jesus, "My dear little girl, you don't know whom you believe in. There have been many christs. In which of them do you believe?" "I know which one I believe in," replied the child. "I believe in the Christ who rose from the dead!"
4. Jesus is alive (Luke 24:1-10). Your eternal life depends on it. – Adapted from Henry G. Bosch, “Our Daily Bread”, April 20, 2003
II. BEARING WITNESS. (Acts 9:19-20, 26-28, 30-31)
INSIGHT: Saul’s original purpose in going to Damascus was to persecute the church there just as he had done in Jerusalem. We learn in
A. A proof of salvation:
1. Obeying the commands of Jesus. (Acts 9:17-18)
“And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus. 20 And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.” (Acts 9:17-18)
2. Association with other believers. (Acts 9:19)
“And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus.” (Acts 9:19)
3. Preaching Christ in the synagogues. (Acts 9:20)
“And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.” (Acts 9:20)
B. A vital fellowship with Christians:
1. Some doubted his discipleship. (Acts 9:26)
“And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple.” (Acts 9:26)
2. Barnabas assured the other disciples. (Acts 9:27)
“But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.” (Acts 9:27)
3. Saul was coming in and going out with them at Jerusalem. (Acts 9:28)
“And he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem”. (Acts 9:28)
a. Possibly Barnabas had met Saul before the new convert came to Jerusalem.
b. Barnabas:
(1) Shared the story of Saul’s conversion.
(2) Told about Saul’s preaching in Damascus.
(3) Convinced the Jerusalem congregation to accept their former persecutor.
C. A growth in spirituality and numbers. (Acts 9:30-31)
“Which when the brethren knew, they brought him down to Caesarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus. 31 Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.”
1. Barnabas’s actions show his helpful spirit.
2. He also had keen spiritual powers of discernment to know that Paul’s conversion was not a pretense.
3. All new Christians, struggling to grow in their faith, need the support of mature believers like Barnabas.
THE RESURRECTED KING
(Read: Matthew 28:1-15)
“He is not here: for he is risen…” (Matthew 28:6a)
Matthew 28 is all about the Lord Jesus Christ. It records “The Resurrection of the King” and forms the great climax to the Gospel story.
First, The Importance of Christ’s Resurrection. (1) It proves He is the Son of God (John 10:17-18), (2) It attests to the truth of Scripture (see Acts 2:31 With Psalm 16:10), and (3) It assures us of our own future resurrection when we die (1 Thessalonians 4:13)
Second, The Empty Tomb (Matthew 28:1-10). The empty graveclothes lying in the tomb were in the shape of the body of Christ, like an empty cocoon. This proves His body was not stolen, but that He arose through the graveclothes and left them behind as testimonies of a miracle. If His body were stolen, it was stolen by either friends or enemies. If by enemies, they would have produced it and silenced the disciples. If by friends, they would not have willingly given their lives for a lie, and His friends did not even believe that He would rise from the dead!
Third, The Proof Of Christ’s Resurrection (Matthew 28:11-15). The resurrection of Christ is an accepted historical fact, and the person who questions or denies it must offer the proof that He did not arise from the dead. The same Satan who tried to destroy Christ on the cross now wants men to believe that He is still dead! It was Satan, the liar, who was the author of the conspiracy between the Jews and the soldiers in Matthew 28:11-15.
Eyewitnesses testified that they had seen Christ (Luke 24:33-36; John 20:19, 26; Acts 1:3, 21-22). At one time, over 500 people saw Christ alive (1 Corinthians 15:6). Some unbelievers say that these early witnesses were “hypnotized” or that they suffered from “self-imposed hallucinations.” But it would be impossible for 500 people at one time to be hypnotized or to suffer hallucinations.
The change in the early believers proves He arose from the dead. When you stop to think that Peter and the other apostles didn’t expect the Resurrection, the remarkable change in their lives proves that they must have met Christ. Peter was a frightened coward one day and a mighty preacher a few weeks later!
Paul’s conversion (Acts 9) proves that Christ was alive. No “delusion” or “myth” could change this dedicated Jewish rabbi into a fiery Christian preacher.
The existence of the New Testament, the continuation of the church, and the significance of the Lord’s Day are all proofs that Christ is alive.
Of course, the best proof is the conversion of a sinner. “You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart!”
CONCLUSION: Yes, Jesus died. Yes, Jesus was buried. Yes, Jesus rose from the dead – just like He said He would. If you truly believe this and trust Him to forgive your sins and save you, one day He WILL take you to heaven!
“Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen.” (Luke 24:5b-6a)
On the first Easter Sunday morning, the women found that God’s power had rolled away the stone and fulfilled the prophecy of Christ’s resurrection. And Saul the persecutor became The Apostle Paul the preacher through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and obedience to His commands. When confronted by Christ, Saul became a follower of Jesus Christ and Exhibit A of the risen Christ’s power to change lives.
Jesus Christ still transforms lives. We come to Him first for our salvation, an act dependent on His power and grace alone. Then, as God’s Holy Spirit works through our obedience and submission, day by day, the risen Christ is changing us into His image (Romans 12:1-2).
THOUGHT TO REMEMBER: “Christ's resurrection assures what Calvary secures”
REFERENCES: References used in these Bible studies are the Moody Bible Commentary, J. Vernon McGee’s Thru the Bible Commentary: (www.ttb.org), the Scofield Study Bible, the Believer’s Bible Commentary, Dr. Charles J. Woodbridge Bible Outlines, Dr. Lee Roberson’s Sermons, Dr. Charles Stanley: (http://www.intouch.org/), Don Robinson’s Bible Outlines, Women’s Study Bible, The Bible Reader’s Companion Ed. 3, The Nelson Study Bible: New King James Version, Dr. Tony Evans (https://tonyevans.org/), KJV Bible Commentary, Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines of the New Testament ed. 4, Dr. David Jeremiah: (http://www.davidjeremiah.org/site/), Dr. Cliff Robinson’s Bible Outlines, Dr. Robert Jeffress’ Pathway to Victory (https://ptv.org/), Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines of the Old Testament, Dr. Alan Carr’s The Sermon Notebook (www.sermonnotebook.org), With the Word Bible Commentary, Wiersbe’s “Be” Series: Old & New Testaments, Radio Bible Class Ministries (http://rbc.org/), selected illustrations and other references.
E-Mail: Rev. Ronald Purkey
How To Get To Heaven: CLICK HERE
More Bible Study Outlines: CLICK HERE
Who is Rev. Ronald Purkey? CLICK HERE
Who is Sarah Sibert Purkey? CLICK HERE
Listen to The Bible Broadcasting Network: CLICK HERE
Read the “Let’s study the Bible” article on: www.inkfreenews.com