Curriculum
Easter Surprise
Memory Verse:
“But He is not here. He has risen from death as he said he would. Come and see the place where His body was.” Matthew 28:6
Bible Background
What Kids Will Learn
Jesus keeps His promises even when it’s tough for us to understand. Jesus was raised from the dead–just like He said.
Scripture Summary
The women carried spices with them as they headed to the tomb to continue attending to Jesus’ body. Mark also accounts this act of the women and mentions the women wondered who would roll the stone away from the tomb in order for them to tend to the body. The “other Mary” was not Jesus’ mother but possibly Jesus’ aunt or the wife of Clopas.
Jesus didn’t need the stone to be rolled back in order for Him to get out of the tomb. The stone was rolled away in order for the women and the guards to take a look inside and see for themselves that Jesus had in fact risen from the dead.
The resurrection of Jesus is the culmination of the Christian faith. Jesus rose from the dead–just like He said He would. And just as Jesus was raised from the dead, we, too, can have a new life with Jesus. Jesus overcame earthly limitations and is an example that there is eternal life not bound by this world.
Jesus came to save us from our sins. And He did just that. He was beaten, crucified, died, buried, and rose again. We can, and are called to, share this message with our friends, our neighbors, and the world.
Why Is This Important
We can trust Jesus to do what He says. He’s proven His faithfulness over and over, and we can trust Him with what we’re facing today.
Teacher Devotion
Scripture
Extra! Extra! Hear All About It!
“The women ran quickly from the tomb. They were very frightened but also filled with great joy, and they rushed to give the disciples the angel’s message.” (Matthew 28:8)
The women, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, were the first to know of Jesus’ resurrection. What an incredible experience to be the first to know. They had a huge responsibility and were feeling all sorts of emotions. Let’s take a closer look at the text. Read the full passage, Matthew 28:1-10, slowly and ponder the story from a few different points of view.
- The area around the tomb. In your mind, place yourself there. What do you see? What do you smell? What trees and plants are nearby? Are there birds singing and bugs chirping? How is the sun changing the landscape as it rises?
- The guards. With such a public crucifixion, we can guess that the guards were hand-selected by the leaders. They were powerful and had just one job to do–to guard the tomb of Jesus. Imagine you were one of the guards who had stood his post all night. What did you do as the earth shook? How would you react to the angel moving the stone away?
- The women. What were they feeling as they arrived at the tomb? How did they react to the earthquake? How did the angel’s words penetrate their hearts? In all of the chaos, no wonder the angel said, “Remember what I have told you.” And then, they saw Jesus. Pause for a moment and imagine that scene as the women were rushing to find the disciples, and they came upon Jesus. Jesus! What do you think the women said as they “grasped His feet”?
- The disciples. While it isn’t stated here in Matthew, ponder what the reaction of the disciples might have been. How do you think they responded to the women telling them to leave for Galilee because Jesus was risen and was going to meet them there?
This was the biggest news ever. And to this day, it’s the biggest news to ever reach the headlines. And we have a job to do to tell others that Jesus is alive!
Prayer
Dear God, thank You for such an incredible end to the story. Jesus died on the cross, but it didn’t stop there. Thank You for conquering death and giving me life. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Bible Memory Verse
“But He is not here. He has risen from death as he said he would. Come and see the place where his body was.” Matthew 28:6 (ICB)
SAY: We have so much to celebrate today because Jesus is risen! Let’s do a cheer for our Bible memory verse.
Lead kids in these motions for each phrase of the verse.
- “But He is not here. (shake finger “no)
- He has risen from death (arms at sides, then raise high)
- as he said he would. (hands around mouth)
- Come (beckon to come)
- and see (hands over eyes)
- the place where his body was.” (thumbs up sign over the shoulder)
- Matthew 28:6 (hands open like a Bible)
Practice this several times. And encourage kids to share their Bible memory verse cheer with their families.
Interactive Bible Experience
You’ll Need: Clay or Play Doh (multiple colors)
SAY: Easter is a lot of fun. We dress up and get candy. We may hide eggs and get Easter baskets. We come to church and sing beautiful songs. But Easter is about so much more. It’s about Jesus coming back to life after He died for us.
Have children mold tombs with a stone that can roll away. Walk around as kids create and remind them of parts of the Easter story they may want to add, such as an angel, a soldier, the women, or Jesus.
Afterward, encourage kids for the great job they did in creating a clay picture of what happened on Easter.
Snack
Easter Surprise Cookies
You’ll Need: Several “Easter Surprise Cookies” for each child, Napkins
Serve children the Easter Surprise Cookies and water. Remind kids that God gave the best surprise when He raised Jesus from the dead.
Game
Duck, Duck Surprise Game
You’ll Need: A scarf or handkerchief
Lead kids in this game with these steps:
- Have kids sit in a circle.
- Choose one child to be the Surpriser. Give this child the scarf.
- This child will walk around the circle, tapping each child on the head and saying, “Duck.”
- When the child is ready to drop the scarf, he will drop the scarf behind a child and say, “Surprise!”
- That child will then jump up and chase the Surpriser around the circle to tag him. Then that child is the new Surpriser.
Play again several times.
Afterward, remind kids that the happiest surprise ever was when Jesus rose from the dead on Easter.
Craft
Gospel Bookmark
You’ll Need: “Colors of the Gospel Bookmark” handout for each child (printed on card stock), Scissors, Markers or crayons
SAY: Easter is a great time to celebrate what Jesus did for us when He died on the cross and rose from the dead. The “Colors of the Gospel” can help us understand what Jesus did for us better.
Give each child a “Colors of the Gospel Bookmark.” Practice telling what the colors mean with kids. Then have them practice with one another.
- Yellow—God loves us.
- Purple—We all have sin that separates us from God.
- Red—Jesus died for our sins.
- White—Jesus forgives us of our sins and gives us life in heaven.
- Green—We grow in our friendship with Jesus.
SAY: Today we’re going to make bookmarks to help us remember what Jesus did for us on the cross and by coming back to life.
Have kids follow these steps:
- Fill in each circle with the matching color.
- Cut out the bookmark.
Encourage kids to take their bookmarks home to use in their Bibles and to keep learning about what Jesus’ life, death and resurrection means to them.
Prayer
Thank You Prayer
You’ll Need: Large cross on a poster (You can draw this on a poster board.), Finger paint, Wipes
Tell children that today they will thank God for bringing Jesus back to life after He died.
SAY: The Bible says that all of us have sinned. But Jesus died and came back to life so we can be forgiven and have life in heaven.
Paint kids handprint and have them quietly go to the cross and place their handprint on or near it.
Then close in prayer, thanking God for sending Jesus to die for our sins and for raising Him from the dead.
