Boys and girls, I’ve got two stories for you, one for the day we call, ‘Good Friday’ and the other for Easter Sunday morning. These are stories for everyone to join in with – so someone read the story and every time you hear the word, ‘Listen’, everyone put their finger to their lips and say, ‘Shhhh….’
Here we go…
GOOD FRIDAY: A SAD DAY
Listen… Jesus and his friends are in a garden at night. It’s quiet, when suddenly some noisy people come with torches and clubs and sticks. Judas, who was supposed to be Jesus’ friend, is with them….he creeps up behind Jesus and kisses him on the cheek.
Listen… This is what Judas says, ‘This is the man you want! Arrest him!’ Jesus looks very sad. They grab Jesus and drag him before the religious leaders. The religious leaders don’t like Jesus, they are jealous of him…they want to get rid of him…
Listen… This is what those leaders say: ‘He says he’s a king!’ says one man…
‘He’s a troublemaker!’ shout some others…
They beat Jesus, take away his clothes, push a crown of thorns onto his head and call him names…
Listen… What does Jesus say as he is taken away to die? Nothing. They make him carry a heavy cross of wood to the top of a hill. When they get there, they put Jesus on the cross and nail him to it. They lift the cross so that everyone can see…
Listen… The people looking at Jesus laugh at him and shout things like, ‘He saved other people; let him save himself’.
A thief on a cross beside Jesus is afraid…Listen…. He’s talking to Jesus, ‘Take me with you when you go to your kingdom in heaven’, he pleads…
And listen, for what Jesus says to him, ‘Today, you will be with me in Paradise.’
But listen….Jesus has one last thing to say.
‘It is finished’, he whispers, ‘It is done.’
And that’s when he dies…
And it’s gone very dark even though it’s daytime and the earth rumbles and roars and quakes. Down the hill the temple curtain is torn right down the middle.
Two soldiers are talking. They look at Jesus on the cross and one says to the other, ‘Surely he was the Son of God’. Listen…
THE FIRST EASTER MORNING: A GLAD DAY
Listen!
The birds are singing. It’s early in the morning on the first day of the week.
There are footsteps on the path. Some women are coming who were friends and followers of Jesus, and listen, they are crying as they walk along. Their friend Jesus is dead. Their hearts are breaking. They have come to say goodbye. They are worried about the Roman soldiers who are guarding the tomb and a big stone that’s across the entrance, but they don’t know what’s about to happen!
So, listen….Because as they reach the graveyard the first thing is the ground shakes and rumbles and then suddenly there’s an angel and he rolls the stone away from the tomb… The guards are so frightened they tremble and faint with fear… The woman are afraid, they are trembling too…
But listen…
The angel has something to say.
‘Don’t be afraid’, he says, ‘I know that you have come to see Jesus who was crucified. But he’s not here; he has risen, just as he said. Look for yourselves and you will see. Now go quickly. There is no time to lose. Tell the disciples – Jesus has risen and he’s coming to meet you.’
Listen…
The women are crying again. But this time they are tears of joy. They turn to leave, and that’s when the impossible happens. For there is Jesus. Standing right in front of them.
And listen. He greets them. ‘Peace be with you’, he says.
‘And listen, I have an important job for you. Go back to the disciples. Tell them I’m alive. Tell them I want to see them.’
And listen…Jesus died on the day we call, ‘Good Friday’. The Bible tells us He died for you and me. And on that first Easter Day, by the power of God, He rose again…Jesus is alive and is calling you and calling me to follow Him– listen!
HAPPY EASTER!
THERE ARE LOTS OF FUN RESOURCES AT www.sermons4kids.com ‘An Easter Surprise’.