Lesson Continued...

Warm Up

Last week, we learned that Jesus was arrested. What did Jesus do to be arrested?

Today, we're going to learn about what happened to Jesus after he was arrested.

Teach the Story 

Scripture for Kids to Read Aloud Mark 15:16-38  

Some teachers might feel uncomfortable telling this story to children - especially young children. While we certainly encourage you to be sensitive to your students' ages and their ability to process the information, we strongly encourage you not to water the lesson down so much that they miss the central point: Jesus Christ willingly suffered at the hands of men for our sins. You can teach them that the soldiers placed a crown of thorns on his head and give them a basic description of it without going into gory details. You can teach them that they nailed him to the cross on his hands and his feet without treating it like a scary movie. 

Here are the components of the story:

Jesus was put on trial - Jesus was first put on "trial" before the Jewish leaders. They were looking for some reason to be able to take him to the Roman government to be punished. They had different people give "testimony", but no one could get their stories straight. Finally they just asked Jesus to incriminate himself by asking him whether he was the Son of God. Jesus said, "I AM", and that was enough for them to convict him of blasphemy. Then they sent him to be put on trial before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor. He couldn't find any reason to put him to death, but by this time the crowd was whipped up into a fury and he had to worry about creating unrest in an occupied area. So he relented and had Jesus sentenced to crucifixion.

The soldiers mocked Jesus - These Roman soldiers were hardened death squads. The Romans had perfected crucifixion as a method of punishment, and they were making a sport of it. They placed a crown made from thorns on his head, they put a purple robe on him (mocking him as "king"), spit on him, hit him on the head with sticks, and pretended to worship him.

Simon carried Jesus' cross for him - They took Jesus to a hill called Golgotha (which meant, the "Place of the Skull"). They required Jesus to carry his own cross up the road. Along the way, Jesus grew tired and wasn't able to keep carrying it. So the soldiers forced a man named Simon to carry it for him.

The soldiers nailed Jesus to the cross - These were not ordinary nails like you get at the hardware store. These were about 4-6" long and thick. If you can get hold of some, get some cut nails from the hardware store, which are much more like the nails they used. They nailed one into each of his wrists and one into both of his feet.

The soldiers offered Jesus something to drink several times - Jesus was offered wine vinegar (literally just really old, sour wine) mixed with gall (a form of poison or narcotic) that he refused. After he said, "I thirst", they also offered him sour wine (also called vinegar, or wine vinegar) which he drank.

The soldiers cast lots for his clothes - Again, making a game of this horrible torture, the soldiers cast lots (think rolling dice or choosing straws) to see who could take his clothes home as a souvenir of their day's work.

The crowd mocked Jesus - The crucifixion lasted several hours. It was meant as a public embarrassment as much as it was torture. As people passed by, they shouted at him and mocked him. The soldiers had placed a sign over his head on the cross that said, "King of the Jews" to mock him. The people passing by told him that if he really was the Son of God, that he should just come down off the cross himself.

Darkness fell over the land for 3 hours before he died - The Mark account tells us that at about noon, darkness fell over the land for about 3 hours until Jesus died. 

Jesus' last words - Jesus said several phrases that were recorded as his last words. Two of them were especially noteworthy. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” comes from Psalm 22:1. This helps us understand that Jesus was carrying our sins on him on the cross and that he was taking our punishment (separation from God). Then, just before he breathed his last breath, he said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” (Luke 23:46)

Miracles happened when Jesus died - The Matthew account gives us details about several miracles that occurred just as Jesus died. The temple curtain was torn in two; there was an earthquake; tombs broke open and saints were raised to life and they went back to Jerusalem and appeared to others.

Joseph of Arimathea helped bury him - A man named Joseph of Arimathea bought a tomb and took Jesus' body down off the cross, wrapped him in a linen cloth and placed him in the tomb.

Comprehension Questions

• Who put Jesus on trial?

First the Jewish leaders, then Pontius Pilate the Roman governor

• What was Jesus accused of?

Blasphemy, or claiming to be God himself

• What did the soldiers do to mock Jesus?

Put a purple robe on him, a crown of thorns, beat him and called him the "King of the Jews"

• How did the soldiers put Jesus on the cross?

They nailed his hands and feet to the cross

• How did the soldiers mock Jesus while he was on the cross?

They cast lots to divide his clothing and insulted him

• What did the Jewish leaders say to Jesus while he was on the cross?

"He says he is the King of the Jews. Why can't he save himself from the cross?"

• What were Jesus' last words?

"My God, My God, why have you forsaken me" and "Into your hands I commit my spirit"

• What happened when Jesus died?

Darkness fell over the earth, there was an earthquake, the temple curtain was torn in two, tombs were opened and dead saints were raised to life

• Who buried Jesus?

Joseph of Arimathea

• Where did he bury Jesus?

In a tomb he bought in the side of the mountain

• In this lesson, we learned that Jesus was punished and suffered a terrible death on the cross. But he did this willingly, and to take our sins and the judgment of God on him. Have you accepted Jesus' forgiveness of your sins?

Memory Verse

Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved. (Acts 16:31 ESV) 

Directions

1. Give each child a piece of paper and a few colors of paint in the paint trays.

2. Have them use the tips of their fingers to dip into the paint and create a fingerprint cross. If they need help with the outline you can take a pencil and sketch the cross shape for them to fill in.

Directions

Directions

1. Have a player from the first team choose a slip of paper from the basket without letting anyone else see what is written on the slip of paper.

2. That player must then use the Play-Doh to create the symbol he/she received.

3. The player’s team has one minute to try to guess the symbol that is being sculpted.

4. If the player’s team does not guess correctly in one minute, the other team has a chance to guess.

5. Once the symbol has been correctly identified, have the children explain how the symbol fits into the Easter story.

6. Play then rotates to the next team.

7. Continue playing until everyone has had a chance to sculpt a symbol.

Option for Small Groups:

If you have a small group (less than 6 people), there is no need to play in teams. Simply rotate around the group allowing each child to have a turn.

Symbols for Sculpt the Story Game:

Write each of these symbols on a small slip of paper and place in a basket.

Cross

Crown of thorns

Stone

Palm branch

Cup

Sheep or lamb

Donkey

Nail

Tomb

Money

Praying

Garden

Temple

Soldier

King

Temple Curtain

Rooster

Kiss

Angel

Whip

Earthquake

Love

Sword 

Directions

1. Divide the kids into two teams and give the first player on each team a pool noodle. 

2. When you say go, they will work their way through the obstacle course carrying the pool noodle on their back. When they get to the end of the obstacle course they must go back through it and then pass the pool noodle to the next person in line.

3. When everyone has had a chance to go through the course and back the game is over! You can play as many times as you want and put a spin on it like "this time you can't use your left foot" or "this time you must do it walking backwards", etc...