Jesus' Death and Resurrection

Parents, you can find the story of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection in the New Testament book of Matthew 27:32 - 28:10.

Begin by explaining that this was, and continues to be Jesus’ greatest gift to us. He took our place so that we can experience freedom in Christ and true connection with our God!

Jesus was traveling to Jerusalem to continue his teachings. The city was packed with people awaiting his arrival. When they saw him, they shouted, “Hosanna!” (which means ‘save’ or is used as a shout of adoration/love) and even put their clothes on the road to keep the donkey’s feet clean. They treated Jesus as if he were their king.

Jesus planned a special meal with his disciples later that night. When they arrived, Jesus wanted to wash their feet, but the disciples didn’t think he should – it was a job for a servant, not a king. (Jesus came to serve! Mark 10:45)

During the meal, Jesus took bread and broke it. He poured wine into a glass and shared it. He told his disciples that the bread represented his body and the wine represented his blood. He told them that this would be a new promise to them, yet to come. They sang and ate together, and then went to the garden of Gethsemane to pray. Jesus asked his disciples to pray with him. He knew that soon, bad things would come. But it was late, and the disciples were very tired, so they fell asleep. Jesus stayed awake and prayed to his Father, asking Him to help him do the right thing, even though it was very hard. (Even Jesus had struggles, just like we do!)

Jesus prayed all night and then a mob of men came to arrest him. Judas, one of Jesus’ disciples betrayed Jesus and told the men where he was praying, in exchange for money. They took Jesus to the Roman ruler, but they couldn’t find a thing that Jesus had done wrong. He obeyed all the rules. But the king feared what others would think if he let Jesus go, so they gave the people the choice: Jesus, or a criminal. The people chose to kill Jesus. The same people who were cheering and shouting praises days ago to him were now trying to destroy him.

They hurt Jesus badly and made him carry a heavy wooden cross to the top of a hill, and then they nailed him to it and raised it. Jesus was hurting, but he still trusted God and prayed that He would forgive the people who were hurting him. Finally, Jesus said “It is finished,” and died on the cross. His body was buried in a tomb with a big stone in the front, and guards protecting it to make sure nobody came to bother his body.

But something amazing happened. Three days later, Jesus’ friends went to visit the tomb. When they arrived, they saw that the stone had been rolled away! Jesus wasn’t in the tomb! He had risen from the grave, just like he had promised! It is because of Jesus’ death and resurrection that we get to experience salvation!

PRAYER

"Thank You, Jesus, for dying for us and coming back to life! Thank You for loving us so much. Help us live for You today!"

Application

Parents, ask your child questions about the story.

- Why did the people want to kill Jesus?

- Why is it important that Jesus died and was resurrected?

- What gift did God give us through Jesus’ death and resurrection?