EASTER

Easter candy, Easter egg hunts, and Easter baskets are all really fun. But Easter isn’t about those things; Easter is about Jesus! Jesus died for you and then came back to life. Let’s dig in to the Bible to find out more. The Bible is a very special book that God gave us. One of the ways God talks to us is through the Bible. God is ready to talk to you right now. Let’s talk with him.

            Thank you, Jesus, for loving us so much. Thank you for dying for us.
Amen

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SUNDAY SCHOOL WORSHIP

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We’re learning that Jesus died for us.
          • What do you think it smelled like in Jesus’ tomb?
         • Peter and John raced to the tomb after Jesus came back to life. Why do you think John won?
        • What do you think Jesus’ friends thought or said when they found his empty tomb?
         Let’s see this Bible story as told by some kids like you! We’ll see how they answered those questions.

Which parts of this story do you think show the way it really happened? Which parts were just kids’ imagination?
        Jesus died for us. But he didn’t stay dead! While some of the details of Jesus’ resurrection are up to our imagination, the important thing is that Jesus is alive! We know for sure that he came back to life! 

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BIBLE LESSON

Something has happened here. Can’t you just feel it? I’ve gathered a bunch of clues, but I’m not quite sure what’s going on. There’s been a lot of buzz about Jesus. He says he’s God’s Son, but plenty of people think that’s a lie. I heard he was going to get in trouble! Maybe something happened with the Roman governor, named Pilate. Maybe you can help me figure out what all my clues mean.

  What do you think this clue means?

Oh! That looks like the same kind of wood they use to build crosses. That might go with this clue I found.
       John 19:17 Carrying the cross by himself, he went to the place called Place of the Skull (in Hebrew, Golgotha).

     Oh wow! That wood must be from when Jesus carried his cross up the hill.

 What do you think this clue means?

 This isn’t good! That’s what they use to put people on crosses! And I found this note.
           John 19:18 There they nailed him to the cross. Two others were crucified with him, one on either side, with Jesus between them.

     This is terrible. Jesus appeared before the Roman governor, a guy named Pilate. Apparently, Pilate ordered Jesus’ death by crucifixion. That means nailing him to a cross of wood! And…what’s this sign? ​

John 19:19 And Pilate posted a sign on the cross that read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”
         People were making fun of Jesus.
            
       Jesus must’ve suffered so much. But that fabric looks like part of his clothes! And I wonder what the dice are for? Pause for children to guess.
  

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Maybe these notes I found will help.
          John 19:23 - 24 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they divided his clothes among the four of them. They also took his robe, but it was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. So they said, “Rather than tearing it apart, let’s throw dice for it.” This fulfilled the Scripture that says, “They divided my garments among themselves and threw dice for my clothing.” So that is what they did.

     What a sad, sad day. Jesus was hurt, made fun of, and humiliated. What do you suppose this sponge is for? 
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John 19:28-30 Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips. When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

      After he drank from that sponge, he died. But what happened next? Hmm…I see some ointment like what they put on bodies before they bury them.  

Do you think that’s what they used it for? Let’s find out.
      John 19:38-40 Afterward Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret disciple of Jesus (because he feared the Jewish leaders), asked Pilate for permission to take down Jesus’ body. When Pilate gave permission, Joseph came and took the body away. With him came Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus at night. He brought about seventy-five pounds of perfumed ointment made from myrrh and aloes. Following Jewish burial custom, they wrapped Jesus’ body with the spices in long sheets of linen cloth.
           
​Aha! They did bury him. I wonder if we can find any clues about where his tomb is. Maybe we could visit his tomb to pay our respects. 
         

 This looks like dust from a big, heavy rock? I think it fell off a much larger stone. Maybe there used to be one here. Here’s a note I found.
    John 20:1 Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.
      Hmm…that’s weird. If there was a big stone covering the entrance, why do you think it’s gone now? Maybe we could find more clues in the tomb. Do you think anyone’s been in there yet? Oh! Here’s a note from a detective who’s checked out the scene.
          John 20:3-5 Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in.
          Well, let’s head in and see what we can find. 

       John 20:6-7 Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings. Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed— for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead. Then they went home.

Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. “Dear woman, why are you crying?” the angels asked her.
“Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”
She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him. “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?”
She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.”
“Mary!” Jesus said.
She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”).

 
Wow! We’ve learned a lot about what happened here! So let’s see if we can put all the clues together and figure out everything that happened.

​It’s clear what happened here. Jesus died, but more importantly, Jesus died for us. We all deserve to be away from God forever because we’ve all done wrong things. When Jesus died, he took our punishment for those wrong things. Jesus died so that God could forgive us and we can be with him.
            And the best news is, Jesus didn’t stay dead! We’ve seen plenty of evidence that the tomb is empty because Jesus is alive! 

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PRAYER

Jesus, thank you that you died for us and that you’re alive today. We love you! In your name, amen.

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Thanks for joining us for online Sunday School! See you next week!