APRIL 9 - JESUS APPEARS TO HIS DISCIPLES
READ Luke 24
After Jesus rises from the dead, He appears to a number of His disciples.
INSIGHT
The most reasonable explanation for the empty tomb is the Resurrection. If, as some have claimed, Jesus had not been killed but only weakened by the crucifixion, the stone and the soldiers would have prevented His escape from the tomb. If Jesus’ friends had tried to steal the body, the stone and the soldiers likewise would have prevented them. Jesus’ enemies would not have taken the body, since a missing body would only encourage belief in His resurrection. The easiest way to quiet claims of His resurrection would have been to produce the body. This they could not do. The angel said, “He is not here, for He is risen, as He said” (Matthew 28:6). Since Jesus predicted and experienced His own death, burial, and resurrection, we can trust Him with our lives.
PRAYER
The Lord can be trusted with our lives because of His own life, and we praise Him:
I will thank the Lord with all my heart;
I will declare all your wondrous works.
The Lord is a refuge for the persecuted,
a refuge in times of trouble.
Those who know your name trust in you
because you have not abandoned
those who seek you, Lord
(Psalm 9:1, 9-10).
Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:
Who perceives his unintentional sins?
Cleanse me from my hidden faults.
Moreover, keep your servant from willful sins;
do not let them rule me.
Then I will be blameless
and cleansed from blatant rebellion
(Psalm 19:12-13).
Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind. Now pause to pray this affirmation to the Lord:
Everyone the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never cast out (John 6:37).
As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:
Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:
Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us;
establish for us the work of our hands —
establish the work of our hands!
(Psalm 90:17).
After Jesus rises from the dead, He appears to a number of His disciples.
INSIGHT
The most reasonable explanation for the empty tomb is the Resurrection. If, as some have claimed, Jesus had not been killed but only weakened by the crucifixion, the stone and the soldiers would have prevented His escape from the tomb. If Jesus’ friends had tried to steal the body, the stone and the soldiers likewise would have prevented them. Jesus’ enemies would not have taken the body, since a missing body would only encourage belief in His resurrection. The easiest way to quiet claims of His resurrection would have been to produce the body. This they could not do. The angel said, “He is not here, for He is risen, as He said” (Matthew 28:6). Since Jesus predicted and experienced His own death, burial, and resurrection, we can trust Him with our lives.
PRAYER
The Lord can be trusted with our lives because of His own life, and we praise Him:
I will thank the Lord with all my heart;
I will declare all your wondrous works.
The Lord is a refuge for the persecuted,
a refuge in times of trouble.
Those who know your name trust in you
because you have not abandoned
those who seek you, Lord
(Psalm 9:1, 9-10).
Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:
Who perceives his unintentional sins?
Cleanse me from my hidden faults.
Moreover, keep your servant from willful sins;
do not let them rule me.
Then I will be blameless
and cleansed from blatant rebellion
(Psalm 19:12-13).
Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind. Now pause to pray this affirmation to the Lord:
Everyone the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never cast out (John 6:37).
As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:
- Greater love for the lost
- The work of evangelism in Africa
- Your activities for the day
Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:
Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us;
establish for us the work of our hands —
establish the work of our hands!
(Psalm 90:17).
A Dogwood Church Discipleship Ministry Resource. © Walk Thru the Bible 2026.