Session 7 Spring 2019 Junior Youth Jesus death and resurrection LUKE 23; 24:1 12 prepare PRAYER Lead me, O God, into this familiar story with a fresh sense of wonder, vulnerability, curiosity, and amazement. May this story change my life just as it has changed our world. Amen. PURPOSE STATEMENT To ponder Jesus death and resurrection STORY SUMMARY A crowd led by Judas came to arrest Jesus on the Mount of Olives. Peter, who had followed, denied knowing Jesus. Jesus was tried before religious leaders and by Pilate and Herod. Jesus was mocked, beaten, and then crucified. After Jesus death, women went to his tomb and found the stone rolled away and two men in dazzling clothes. The men told them that Jesus had risen. The women told this to the other disciples, but the others did not believe them. teaching tips for junior youth Today s story includes both Jesus death and resurrection. This serves a practical purpose since many churches do not meet for Christian education on Easter Sunday, but also a spiritual purpose in that it gives youth a chance to journey not just through the sadness of Jesus death but further, into the wonder of his resurrection. Prepare for Share the story to take longer than usual as your group walks through Jesus crucifixion, pauses to reflect, and then greets the morning of his resurrection. Devote ample time to reading, extinguishing and lighting candles, and listening to music or observing silence as described on page 90 of this guide. Thoroughly review the directions ahead of time so you can guide youth reflectively and reverently through this central story of the Christian faith. Decide which Explore options to offer. Set up the stations described in Live it if you choose that option. Check Supplies and To do throughout this session to see what needs to be prepared. 42 / 7 Jesus death and resurrection April 14, 2019
dig deeper Today s text is a long and detailed account of the trial and crucifixion of Jesus (23:1 56), followed by a brief account of Jesus resurrection (24:1 12). This essay focuses on major themes reflected significantly or uniquely within Luke s Passion and resurrection narrative. Shared Jewish/Roman responsibility for the death of Jesus Luke s Gospel establishes two clear causes of the death of Jesus. One of these causes is Jewish. The Jewish leadership conspires against Jesus (22:1 6) arrests him (22:47 53), interrogates him before their council (22:66 71), brings him to Pilate (23:1), and raises persistent charges against him before Pilate (23:2, 5, 14) and Herod (23:10). They call for his death so loudly and urgently (23:18, 21, 23a) that their voices prevailed (23:23b) and Pilate grants their wishes (23:24 25). The other cause of Jesus death is Roman. The Jewish leaders bring Jesus to Pilate (the Roman governor) precisely so that Pilate can crucify Jesus (23:21, 23; cf. 23:18), an action which the Jewish leaders cannot take on their own. Pilate, who knows that Jesus is innocent of all charges (23:4, 14 15, 22) and has done no evil (23:22), clearly wishes to release Jesus (23:16, 20, 22). But for this very reason Pilate s responsibility for Jesus death is even greater, as he grants the wishes of the Jewish leadership (23:24 25). Pilate by no means gets a free pass from Luke. It is ultimately Pilate, the most powerful man in Luke s story, who handed Jesus over to his fate (23:25). Jesus, the innocent martyr In Luke s story, Jesus dies above all as an innocent martyr. While the Jewish leaders bring many charges against Jesus (23:2, 5, 10, 14), neither Pilate (23:4, 14, 22) nor Herod (23:15) recognizes any of these charges as worthy of a death sentence. In Pilate s words, Jesus has done no evil (23:22). In the words of the repentant criminal crucified along with Jesus, This man has done nothing wrong (23:41b). And at Jesus death the centurion at the cross proclaims, Certainly this man was innocent LUKE GENESIS 23; 6:5 9:17 24:1 12 by Dorothy Jean Weaver (23:47b). Here Luke works deliberately to highlight the fact that Jesus dies an unjust death for evil and wrong that he has not done. Jesus compassion for people around him This motif offers a uniquely Lukan perspective on Jesus death. Here Luke depicts Jesus reaching out with compassionate words toward others (just as he responded with compassionate action toward the high priest s slave; 22:51). On his way to crucifixion, Jesus turns and comforts (but also warns!) the daughters of Jerusalem who are beating their breasts and wailing as they follow Jesus toward his death (23:27 31). From the cross Jesus calls out a prayer of forgiveness for those, surely both Jewish and Roman, who are responsible for his crucifixion: Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing (23:34). To the repentant criminal who calls out for Jesus to remember him (23:42), Jesus responds, Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise (23:43). Even as he dies in a profoundly unjust fashion, Jesus responds with compassion to all those around him. Salvation for humankind through the risen Jesus Jesus death and resurrection are, within Luke s story, altogether crucial to God s plans for humankind and human history. As the men at the empty tomb explain, [Jesus] is not here, but has [been raised]. Remember how he told you... that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again (24:5 7). This must reflects God s unstoppable plan for the unfolding of human history and the outworking of God s salvation for humankind. Not only does Jesus resurrection reflect God s powerful vindication of the life Jesus lived and the death Jesus died (Acts 3:15; 4:10; 5:30; 10:40), but it is ultimately in [the] name of the risen Jesus that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed... to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem (24:47). Salvation comes to humankind through the risen Jesus. www.shinecurriculum.com Luke 23; 24:1 12 / 43
Bible Shine Songbook and CD CD player White pillar candle and matches (or batteryoperated candle) Paper scraps Pencils resource pack Words to live by poster (1 Corinthians 11) Lord s Prayer poster media connections Songs for Good Friday/Holy Saturday: God Rested by Andrew Peterson; Secret Ambition by Michael W. Smith; Wondrous Love by Jadon Lavik Songs for the resurrection: Christ the Lord Is Risen Today by Jill Phillips; All Things New by Steven Curtis Chapman; High Noon by Andrew Peterson Contemporary artwork of women at the tomb: Three Women (Easter Sunday) by Romare Bearden; Who Will Roll Away the Stone by Hanna- Cheriyan Varghese; Women Arriving at the Tomb by He Qi; Holy Women Near the Tomb by Maurice Denis (Internet) Gospel of Luke Ch. 19 23 by The Bible Project (YouTube) gather BUILD COMMUNITY Share the following groups of statements. One is untrue and the other two are true. Ask the youth to identify the untrue statement. The length of your small intestine is about four times your height. Adults lose bone mass as they get older. Shaving causes your hair to grow back faster and thicker (untrue). Listening to classical music makes you smarter (untrue). Learning to play a musical instrument improves your concentration. Listening to calming music lowers your stress level. Then ask who would be willing to share two true statements and one untrue statement about themselves. Let the group see if they can determine what is true and untrue. WORSHIP TOGETHER Light a white pillar candle as a reminder of Christ s presence. Remind youth that although in today s story darkness will seem to have won, truth shines through in the end. Have a youth read John 1:5 from a Bible. Pray together the Lord s Prayer from the poster in the resource pack. SPIRITUAL PRACTICE For this final session during Lent, direct youths attention to the final line of the Lord s Prayer poster: And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one. Jesus gave us this prayer knowing full well that challenging times would come for everyone. Invite youth to silently reflect: What challenges are you facing today? What trials or distractions make it difficult to stay on the path of following Jesus? Invite youth to write one challenge or distraction on a small piece of paper and lay it, folded or facedown, around the candle as a way of prayerfully offering that trial to God s care. Consider playing a reflective song, such as Ki Ri Su To No (May the Peace of Christ), (track 19) during this time. words to live by Read 1 Corinthians 11:23 26 from the Words to live by poster, with one group reading the narration and one group reading the words of Jesus in quotation marks. Note the last line about proclaiming the Lord s death. Today s story brings us to the death of Jesus. What might these words from Jesus last supper teach us about the meaning of his death? What do youth think it means to proclaim the Lord s death? How do we do this today beyond sharing the bread and cup together? 44 / 7 Jesus death and resurrection April 14, 2019
experience SHARE THE STORY Light seven battery-operated or wax candles and have your group sit in a circle around them with Bibles open to Luke 23. Remind youth that so far, your group has explored the events of Holy Week Jesus last week in Jerusalem from Sunday through Thursday night. Today s story picks up in the wee hours of Friday morning. To tell the story, your group will observe a service of Tenebrae [TE-na-bray]. Share information about Tenebrae from page 90 of this guide, then assign the readings listed there to different youth. Tell youth that when you call out their reading, they should read their passage. If their passage is from Luke 23, they should extinguish a candle. If it s from Luke 24, they may light a candle. Share that you will pause between Luke 23, which tells the story of Friday, and Luke 24, which tells about the events of Sunday morning, to either listen to a song or observe silence in honor of the Saturday in between, whose events are not recorded in the Bible (see the song suggestion on page 90 of this guide). Give youth time to locate their reading or readings, then call out the first reading and begin following the instructions on page 90 of this guide. REFLECT AND RESPOND Invite youth to reflect on this sad, joyful, and mysterious story by exploring some of the following discussion questions together. Which part of this story did you find the most heartbreaking? Most hopeful? Why do you think the crowd wanted a violent criminal released and this nonviolent man executed? Ponder the words Jesus spoke from the cross (have youth look back at these words in Luke 23:34, 43, and 46 and read them aloud). What do these final words show us about who Jesus is? Imagine going to visit the grave of a beloved friend or family member and finding it empty. What might you think? Feel? Wonder? Why do you think no one believed the report of the women? And if it was an idle tale, why do you think Peter decided to go check out the tomb? PEACE NOTES Jesus final words from the cross are taken from Psalm 31. Read some of this psalm together. How does this prayer move back and forth between a place of turmoil and a place of peace? How does today s story do the same? How do our lives move back and forth between peace and turmoil? Reflect on how a prayer like this one that Jesus remembered in his final moments might be one that could help us find peace as we move through the ups and downs of our own lives. Jesus death and resurrection Luke 23; 24:1 12 Bibles Tenebrae service guide (from Additional resources) Shine Songbook and CD CD player Internet-connected device (optional) storytelling props Seven candles and matches (or batteryoperated candles) to do Review the Tenebrae service guide on page 90 of this guide so you are comfortable with the sequence. Choose which songs you will play during the Tenebrae service. www.shinecurriculum.com Luke 23; 24:1 12 / 45
explore LINK Today is the first day of the Holy Week. Watch the YouTube video suggested in Media connections: Gospel of Luke Ch. 19 23 by The Bible Project. Challenge youth to put the first eleven Holy Week symbols from the resource pack in the proper order and retell the story of Jesus final week using these images. Which moment in Jesus final week strikes them most deeply or surprises them most? Holy Week symbols (from resource pack) Internet-connected device other ideas WRESTLE Remind youth of the Build community activity True or untrue. Note how at the end of today s story, most people thought the news shared by the women was untrue. Ask the youth to think of a time when they did not believe something that turned out to be true, or of a time someone didn t believe them when they were telling the truth. Share a story of your own and invite youth who wish to do so to share. Then, as a group, discuss what helps us believe something is true. Does it help to see or touch something for yourself to know it s real? Does it help to hear confirmation from someone you trust, like a parent or an expert? Does it help to read the facts in a book? How do youth think people eventually came to trust the good news that Jesus is alive? Ask the youth if anything they expect to hear at Easter was missing from the end of today s story. Compare Luke 24:1 12 with Matthew 28:1 10; Mark 16:1 8; and John 20:1 18. Have youth find the names of Jesus used throughout today s story on the Names of Jesus poster from the resource pack. Discuss: At the end of Luke 23, what name on this poster do you think the crowds would have been likely to use for Jesus? After reading Luke 24, what name do you think would have been most fitting? Display some of the artwork suggested in Media connections. Notice details and differences in the paintings and think about why they are included. LIVE IT Set up five stations around your room, each labeled with station number and including a Bible and the respective object described in Supplies. Have youth move individually or with a partner through the stations following the instructions on pages 18 19 of L.E.D. Bibles L.E.D. magazines Signs labeled Stations 1 5 Fine robe or fabric (Station 1) Recording of crowd noise (try searching YouTube for angry crowd sound effect ) (Station 2) Cross (Station 3) Heavy rock/stone (Station 4) Lit candle (Station 5) 46 / 7 Jesus death and resurrection April 14, 2019
bless SEN D Gather around the candle with the written-down challenges or distractions from Spiritual practice this week. Offer this prayer or one like it: Dismiss youth with this blessing: ac he r's Go forth to walk with Jesus through the joys and sorrows of the week ahead, knowing that Jesus walks with you each step of the way. SA M PL E Ju ni or Yo ut h te Jesus, as we remember your time of trial this week, help us also look forward with joy to your time of triumph. Remind us that whatever is going on in our lives, your peace is stronger than our turmoil, your forgiveness is greater than our wrongs, your love is more powerful than even death. Amen. gu id e Candle and papers from Spiritual practice PRAY Sometimes you just have to let the kids go; they might come up with something different that you would never have thought of! Brian Bachman Chantilly, Virginia leader s closing prayer What new insight from or aspect of Jesus final hours and resurrection caught your attention in today s experience of an often-repeated story? God, thank you for the way your Word continues to speak to me. Help me to keep this story close with me as I draw close to you this week. Amen. www.shinecurriculum.com Luke 23; 24:1 12 / 47