It Is I Myself
Month 7: He Is Risen! — Why We Believe · Memory Verse
Today's Scripture
Read together: Luke 24:39
39 Look at My hands and My feet. It is I Myself. Touch Me and see—for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”
Memory Verse
“Look at My hands and My feet. It is I Myself. Touch Me and see—for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.””— Luke 24:39 (BSB)memorize this week
📖 Bible-in-a-Year (optional)
Today's reading: Isaiah 19–22
Reading the whole Bible in a year — do this when you have extra time. (Around Day 196 of 365 — Isaiah's messages to Egypt and the surrounding lands.)The Heart of It
When Jesus suddenly stood among the disciples after rising, they were "terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit" (). So Jesus gave them proof they could touch. "Look at My hands and My feet. It is I Myself. Touch Me and see." He showed them the very scars from the nails. He even asked for a piece of broiled fish and ate it right in front of them. Ghosts don't have flesh and bones. Ghosts don't eat fish. This was no vision. This was no wishful dream. This was Jesus, the same Jesus, raised in a real, glorified body they could see and touch and recognize.
This is one of the most important truths of our faith. The resurrection was physical. Jesus didn't just live on as a memory. He didn't float around as a friendly spirit. The tomb was empty because His body got up and walked out. And the body that rose still carried the marks of His love. It carried His scarred hands and feet. Our hope is not that we will someday become ghosts in the clouds. Our hope is that because Jesus rose with a body, those who trust Him will one day rise too, with real bodies, on a renewed earth. "It is I Myself," He says. And that changes everything about how we live and how we face death.
Around the Table
Jesus said, "Touch Me — it's really Me!" He even ate some fish. Jesus is really, truly alive!
Let's do it: Wiggle your fingers and toes and say, "Jesus has hands and feet — He's alive!"
The disciples thought Jesus was a ghost. He proved He wasn't. He let them touch Him, and He ate food while they watched.
Let's talk: What is the difference between a ghost and a real, risen body? Why does that matter?
Jesus kept the nail-scars even in His glorified body. They prove who He is and what He did. Our resurrection hope is bodily, not "spirit-only."
Let's go deeper: Try to recite from memory. Why is it good news that Jesus rose with a real body?
💬 Conversation Starter
If you wanted to prove to a friend that you were really you and not a fake, what would you do or say? Jesus showed His scars and ate dinner!
🛡️ Defending the Faith
When someone says, "Maybe the disciples just saw a ghost, or imagined it," remember Jesus' own answer. He invited them to touch Him, and He ate food. Hallucinations don't eat fish. And a whole group of people doesn't dream up the exact same thing at the exact same time. Be ready to share this gently and with respect ().
For Dad · Go Deeper
The bodily resurrection is the hinge of the Christian hope. Yet your kids are growing up in a culture that quietly assumes the afterlife is a vague, ghostly "better place." Scripture says far more. Christ rose in a transformed body, the firstfruits of a coming resurrection for all His people (). Help your children memorize , not as a Bible-trivia drill, but as an anchor. It is a verse they can grip when they someday stand at a graveside. A father who treasures the physical resurrection teaches his family to grieve with hope. He teaches them to honor their bodies as things God intends to raise, not throw away.
Draws on: Sean McDowell & J. Warner Wallace, on the historical resurrection; and Max Anders, 30 Days to Understanding the Bible.
Let's Pray Together
"Lord Jesus, thank You that You rose with a real body. You showed Your friends the scars of Your love. Help us hold tight to this hope. Because You live, we will live too. In Jesus' name, amen."
Jesus rose in a real body. "It is I Myself," He said. So our hope is real too.