I'm so excited about Easter! I feel like I have grown and learned something this Easter! I am currently teaching 1st Graders at a Christian school which means I have free reign to talk about Jesus with them. It is actually a part of our curriculum. We have beautiful cards that show the story in a powerful way! They usually don't hold anything back either!
So for the month of March we started talking about all the things that Jesus did in His ministry! We talked about His many miracles and how He healed and set free many people! How he caused food amounts to multiply and how he raised others from the dead! My kids became more and more excited by His kind nature and by how powerful he was! But as you know in certain parts of these stories Jesus has to deal with the Jewish leaders who hated Him! So the kids became aware of how much some people hated him and they would get a little upset lol! They would say things like "They are just crazy!! And they just love the devil!!" And then this past week we started talking about the last week of Jesus life.
We talked about how Jesus rode the donkey's colt into Jerusalem and how people laid their head wraps and laid twigs before him and cried out "Hosanna" when Jesus rode through the city! They asked what "Hosanna" meant and when I told them that it meant "Glory to God in the highest" They were so excited because they saw that as Jesus finally getting the respect he deserves! I could literally see the light in their eyes glow bright because they were happy for Jesus!
Then we talked about Passover and how that represented God bringing the people out of Egypt and told them about Jesus washing the disciples feet. Told them about how the disciples and Jesus all took communion together and how Jesus told them that He was going to have to die. I told them about how Peter got very upset and how he said that "HE would never let that happen to him!" Then we talked about Judas betraying Jesus to the people that hated him...boy they were not happy with Judas! They just couldn't believe that he would do that after all that he had seen Jesus do and heard him say!
Then we talked about how Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane and how he was scared and was feeling the weight of having to take the sins of the world, so overwhelmed that his sweat turned to blood. Then as the guards came and Judas kissed him to betray him they became more upset with Judas and these "Crazy old guards" as they said. **They loved the part where the soldiers asked "Which one of you are Jesus of Nazareth?" and He said "I am HE". When he said that they all fell to the ground. And Jesus told them (paraphrasing) You are not taking me captive...For I could call down legions of angels to come to my rescue...but I am freely giving my life" (They loved that)
However their emotions switched from being kind of angry to very hurt and saddened by what they were hearing. As I talked about how they took Jesus before a big crowd and lied on him and said horrible things about him, then they spit on him and punched him and made fun of him their emotions changed. They were still angry but more hurt for Jesus than mad! They would say things like..."Why did they do that?? They are horrible! They are the liars!!" Then when Jesus admitted that He was the son of God, the priest had enough and wanted to kill him, they got very quiet!
Talked about how they took Jesus before the governor so that they could get permission to kill him. I told them about how Pilate (the governor) didn't think that Jesus really did anything wrong...but he was scared of the people...Then they saw the card that showed Jesus being beaten with blood on his back they became very upset..( sounds like a little much for them at their age but the truth is the truth)
I talked about how they almost killed him when they beat him and told them how the soldiers put a fake robe on Jesus...a crown of thorns on his head...and a fake scepter in his hands (all to make fun of him) and called out "Hail king of the Jews!!" The kids were almost in tears...because they remembered all the other stories of how Jesus had been so kind and loving to everyone...He didn't deserve all this.
Then I talked about how Pilate brought him back out in front of the angry religious people and they still cried out "Crucify him!!" The kids said "What???You have got to be kidding me!!" They could see that these people wanted him dead! And I explained...it was God's plan for him to die for us so it had to happen this way!
Talked about Jesus carrying the cross up that steep hill as everyone in the crowd called him names and threw stuff at him. They were sadder and sadder. Talked about how the whole way the guards still beat him and cussed at him. They were mad!
Talked about how they then threw Jesus on the ground and drove a nail in his right hand with a hammer into the cross and the same in his left hand. Then they did the same thing to his feet. I reminded them that this was horrible pain!!! They sat there quietly...very quiet...eyes filled with tiny little tears...And one boy turned around and said to the rest of the class..."HE did all that for us...when we should have been the ones crucified.." He pointed to the picture of Jesus hanging on the cross and said "That should have been us!"
I told them that as Jesus hung between two thieves all the people made fun of him! They threw rocks at him and hollered cuss words at him and yelled things like "You call yourselves a King but you can't even save yourself!!" The kids were horrified!! Angry, Devastated, and grieved. But the next thing I said rocked their worlds.
I told the kids the next thing that Jesus said on the Cross and they were astonished! As Jesus heard all of these insults and was being made fun of and hit...He whispers "Forgive them Father because they don't know what they are doing" The kids all gasped...they couldn't believe Jesus just prayed for those horrible people. But I reminded them that Jesus loved them so much too!! I saw their little eyes fill with tears again. :)
Then I told them about the thieves hollering stuff at Jesus too...but how after one of the thieves heard Jesus pray for these people he told his friend...I think this is the Son of God...and said to Jesus "When you go to Heaven...will you please remember me?" And Jesus told him "OF course...this day you will be with me in Paradise!" The kids cheered because Jesus had just taken that bad guy to heaven with him!!
Lastly I told them about Jesus saying with a loud voice it is finished...and dying. They were very solemn and looked at me with tears in their eyes (trying to fight them back of course...so was I lol) Then I told them that we were going to pray and I wanted them to whisper their prayers to Jesus and thank him for what he did! So we prayed and the sweetest sound came from their little mouths...Things like "thank you Jesus! I love you Jesus" HA good stuff!
I told all of this to tell you all that I was reminded of the purity of this gospel today! Its so simple...Jesus died for our sins and he shouldn't have had to. But he did. He didn't deserve it, He loved endlessly and He is awesome! The purity of the way these children were taking in this message was so refreshing! They were in awe of a Savior that would do something like this so that they didn't have to go to Hell!
I told them that though this story is very sad..Just hold on because its about to get good Jesus rises from the dead!!
I hope that the purity of these little kids can stir you like it stirred me! God bless and Happy Easter!
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