Easter

TEXT: Matthew 28:1-10

OBJECTIVE

The students will be able to describe the events of the Resurrection. They will be able to explain that, though there was sorrow over Jesus' death, there was much joy that first Easter morning when it was discovered that Christ had indeed risen from the dead.

BIBLE LESSON OUTLINE

Introduction: Give each child a puppet made from the "Jesus Is Alive!" puppet pattern described under In Class Activities. Explain that these puppets are telling the message that was given on the first Easter day, and also the reason why we celebrate Easter every year.

1. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came early on Sunday morning with sweet spices to anoint the Lord's dead body.
2. The two Marys said, "Who shall roll away the stone?" When they looked the big stone was rolled away.
3. An angel sitting in the tomb said, "Ye seek Jesus ... he is risen; he is not here."

Climax: The announcement by the angel "He is risen, He is not here" amazed the two Marys. They ran quickly to tell Peter and the disciples.

Conclusion: The resurrection of Jesus caused great joy that erased the grief from the hearts of His believers.

Response: The students will be able to describe the events that took place that first Easter morning. They can tell of the joy that filled the hearts of Christ's followers.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

We do not have many Scriptures in the Old Testament that foretell the Resurrection. In Psalm 16:10 we read "Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption." This does not specify the number of days Christ would be in the grave, but it would indicate a short time as bodies start to decompose in three or four days in that climate.

In Matthew 12:40 Jesus plainly told the people that as Jonas was in the whale's belly three days and three nights so would the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth. On other occasions He mentioned rising from the dead, but His disciples and followers didn't grasp what He was saying. When He was placed in the tomb they did not dream that He would rise again. In fact, on the first day of the week, certain women brought spices to anoint His body since there was not time enough to do so when He was placed in the tomb. They were greatly perplexed when they found the stone rolled away and Jesus gone. An angel told them that Jesus was risen as He had said. The women ran and told the disciples, but they refused to believe that He had risen. Peter and John hurried to the tomb and confirmed that it was empty.

Jesus had risen and appeared unto several of His followers, but most of the disciples just couldn't accept the fact that He was alive. He appeared to the eleven as they sat at meat and reprimanded them for their unbelief.

The fact of the Resurrection gives absolute authority to all that Jesus said. The resurrection of Christ is of necessity the central doctrine of the New Testament. "If Christ be not raised, your faith is vain" (1 Corinthians15:17). Because of the Resurrection, Jesus is not a vague historical figure, but the living Lord of the present. He is not a religious leader of the past to be talked about, but the living Christ to be met personally.

IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES

• Help your class make "Sonrise" Easter cards for their parents. Gather cans of different sizes. Let the children use these to trace circles, one inside the other, on a piece of construction paper. Then have them draw lines to look like sun's rays and color the design. Fold the card, and write an Easter message on the inside.
• Make an Easter surprise basket to help you teach the truths of the holiday. Fold up the bottom third of a piece of construction paper and staple the sides closed. Out of the top third, cut a handle for your basket. Make up a secret code and then use a felt-tip pen to write this code on the basket. Surround the code with stickers and Easter decorations. Fill your basket envelope with construction paper egg shapes, one for each of your students. On each shape, write a simple Easter message in code such as "Jesus Lives," "He arose," or "Jesus Is Alive!" During class time, have students take turns pulling an egg from the basket, figuring out the code, and reading aloud the message.
• Help each of your students make a stained-glass window display (see Patterns). Cut out a copy of the pattern, lay it on the folded edge of a sheet of construction paper. Trace the pattern onto the paper. Then staple the loose edges of the construction paper together so that it won't slip when the child is. cutting it. The paper can then be opened. Put a small bit of glue along the edges of the sides, tomb, and Jesus. Let the children choose a piece of colored tissue paper and place it on the glued side of the design, thus making a small stained-glass look. When the glue is dry trim the excess tissue around the edges. These would look pretty if all the children chose to hang them in your classroom window to give a stained-glass effect.

Special Instructions for Unit 32: Refer to Lessons 7e and 20c for additional ideas.

QUESTIONS

1. What is the true meaning of Easter?
2. Why were the women going to Jesus' grave?
3. Why were they worried when they saw the stone rolled away?
4. How do you think the stone was rolled away?
5. Who was the man sitting on the stone? (See Matthew 28:2.)
6. Jesus wasn't there. Where was He?
7. Where is Jesus now?
8. Jesus had told His disciples what was going to happen. Why didn't they understand when they saw the empty tomb?

PRE-SCHOOL SUGGESTIONS

• Make tiny Easter basket treats for your children using large gumdrops. With the wide end at the top, hollow out a little bit of the gumdrop. Use a piece of chenille wire for a handle, insert it in the sides by bending the tips of the handle at right angles. Attach a tiny bow on the top of the handle and put tiny candies in the hollowed-out spot.
• Give each of your children one of the "Jesus Is Alive!" hand puppets (see Patterns). Let them color the child. Help them fold on the line indicated, then staple or tape the sides of each puppet together. The children may put their fingers between the front and back sections. Let them make their puppets ''talk" about the good news that Jesus is alive.
• Fold a 6 1/2'' by 8" piece of heavy paper in half so it becomes 6 1/2" by 4". Lay the butterfly shape (see Patterns) next to the folded edge, and cut out the shape. Unfold both pieces and use them as stencils. Make one set of butterfly stencils for each of your children to use. Supply the children with paper on which they may color their stencil design. They may trace around the outside of the butterfly shape or trace inside the hole from which the shape was cut. Tell the children that their butterfly represents new life. Aren't we glad to know that Jesus arose and now lives in Heaven?
  

REVIEW IDEAS‍

Use pictures from someone who has been to the Holy Land in recent years, and show your group how Jerusalem looks today. Emphasize areas related to the Easter story, such as Jerusalem, the Garden of Gethsemane, Golgotha, the Garden tomb.

Plan an Easter celebration for your whole group. Inflate pastel-colored balloons, and let the students draw Easter symbols or messages on them and hang them around your meeting area. Bring Easter sugar cookies cut in the shape of flowers or butterflies and sprinkled with multi-colored sugar. Play Easter songs as background music. Have a bare tree branch in a bucket of sand, and let each child cut out a butterfly, flower, or bird to put on the tree (see Patterns). Recite your Easter verse together, and sing the memory verse song.

SUPPORT MATERIAL

• The Easter Women — Arch Books
• Kiri and the First Easter — Arch Books