Easter Message
The Last Days of Christ's Life on Earth
What you will need:
Children fill a clear plastic cross with layers of different colors of candy to remind them of different things in the Easter story. They could also use beads to make a bracelet.
Each child is given a plastic cross frame. You can buy Plastic Sand Art Crosses (Pack of 12 Crosses)
Colors: White, Black, Purple, Green, Red, Gold or Yellow (You can also substitute beads and cord to make bracelet or necklace instead of using the Sandy Candy)
The Lesson
What happened to you in the last few days? Did anyone have anything exciting happen to them that they can share with us? (Give each child a cross frame as the children are sharing.)
(Pass around white candy and instruct children to fill their cross with a small amount of white candy.) - In the last few days of Jesus' life, a lot of things happened to him. Today we are going to talk about them and make a cross for you to take home so you can tell other people about Jesus' last days on earth.
Jesus knew that he was about to die. He looked toward heaven and he prayed for his followers. He said "Father, it is time for me to die. I have taught my followers everything that you wanted me to teach them. I am praying for them now, that they will be one and love each other." We will use WHITE to symbolize Jesus' prayer, because it was so pure and showed what Jesus' heart was like, a pure heart.
(Pass out GREEN Sandy Candy, followed by RED) - When Jesus finished praying, he went with his followers across the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was a garden, and Jesus and his followers went into it. We will use GREEN to stand for the garden. While they were there Judas brought some men that wanted to arrest Jesus. They asked Jesus who he was and then they arrested him. When Jesus was arrested, Simon Peter cut the ear off one of the soldiers! Let's add a little RED for blood to remember this part of the story!
(Pass out ORANGE candy.) - Well, first Peter was upset about Jesus being arrested. But then he became afraid. While he was afraid someone asked him if he knew Jesus and he said "No, I don't know him!" Three times people asked him if he knew Jesus and three times he said that he didn't know him. After he said that three times, Peter could hear a rooster crow. We will use ORANGE to stand for the rooster.
(Pass out PURPLE Candy) - After this, Jesus was questioned by the High Priest and then by the Roman Governor. While they questioned Jesus, Jesus told the truth. They ordered that Jesus should be taken away and whipped. We will use PURPLE to remind you that they were important people.
(Pass out Black Sandy Candy) - Jesus was whipped and a thorny crown was put on his head. They made fun of him and said "Look here is the King of the Jews!" Let's put some BLACK Sandy Candy in to stand for the whip and the thorns. Pilate could not find anything wrong with Jesus and he wanted to let him go. But the people were shouting to "Crucify Him" and so they did.
(Pass out GOLD.) - The soldiers took charge of Jesus. Jesus carried his own cross, to a place called The Place of the Skull, which in the Jewish language is called Golgotha. There they crucified Jesus. They also crucified two other men, one on each side, with Jesus in the middle. Pilate wrote a sign and put it on the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. LET'S USE GOLD TO STAND FOR KING.
Now we come to the saddest part of our story. This is where Jesus Dies. Let's all put some BLACK in to stand for the sadness that we feel when we hear this story. Jesus knew that everything had been done. So that the Scripture would come true, he said, "I am thirsty." There was a jar full of vinegar there, so the soldiers soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a branch of a hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' mouth. When Jesus tasted the vinegar, he said, "It is finished." Then he bowed his head and died.
(Pass out WHITE.) - Now we are going to use white. First the white will stand for the cloths that they used to bury Jesus. Two men took Jesus' body and wrapped it with the spices
in pieces of linen cloth, which is how the Jewish people bury the dead. In the
place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden. In the garden was a new
tomb that had never been used before. The men laid Jesus in that tomb because
it was nearby. The white will stand for a very special angel that they saw.
Mary Magdalene went to the tomb while it was still dark. When she saw that the
large stone had been moved away from the tomb, she ran to Simon Peter and the
follower whom Jesus loved. Mary said, "They have taken the Lord out of
the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him. So Peter and the other
followers started for the tomb. Simon Peter arrived and went into the tomb and
saw the strips of linen lying there. He also saw the cloth that had been around
Jesus' head, which was folded up and laid in a different place from the strips
of linen . Mary stood outside the tomb, crying. As she was crying, she bent
down and looked inside the tomb. She saw two angels dressed in white, sitting
where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and one at the feet. They asked
her, "Woman, why are you crying?" She answered, "They have taken away my Lord, and I don't know where they
have put him." When Mary said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing
there, but she did not know it was Jesus! He was no longer dead, but he was
alive!
Written by Vicki Wiley
