SLIDE 1
Have you ever had a shock? Well, on the Thursday before Easter, Jesus’ disciples had a big shock that they were certainly not expecting. Here’s what happened.
Jesus and His disciples had shared a meal together in the upstairs room of a house. After eating, they went off to a local garden called the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus wanted to go there to pray. Suddenly, completely unexpectedly, as Jesus was talking to His followers…

SLIDE 2
A mob armed with swords and clubs turned up, saying they had come to arrest Jesus. The disciples were so shocked at this but couldn’t do anything to stop it happening.

SLIDE 3
The mob which included some religious leaders marched Jesus off to the high priest’s house. Although Jesus had never done anything wrong the high priests wanted to get rid of Him. Jesus had only ever done lots of good, helping loads and loads of people and bringing God’s message of love and forgiveness to everyone.

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The high priests had no authority to harm Jesus so early the next morning, they took Him to the Roman governor making false claims that Jesus had done wrong, according to their religious laws.

SLIDE 5
So the high priests and religious leaders lied to the Governor, Pilate, who just didn’t know what to make of their accusations. Even, Pilate’s own wife sent Him a message and told him to have nothing to do with Jesus, who she said was an innocent man.

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Pilate tried to argue with the priests wanting to release Jesus but they just kept on insisting, that Jesus had caused trouble and should be punished. Pilate went out to the people and asked them what they wanted him to do with Jesus.

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But it was no good. The priests and religious leaders had stirred up a crowd to shout for Jesus to be crucified, which meant being hung on a wooden cross. Despite there being no real evidence at all against Jesus, eventually Pilate gave in to their request.

SLIDE 8
So on that first Good Friday of Easter many years ago Jesus died on a cross. But it wasn’t Jesus who had done anything wrong, instead He died for the wrong that everyone in the whole world has ever done, including you and me, because he loves us so much.

SLIDE 9
On Good Friday night Jesus’ dead body was taken off the cross and buried in the tomb of a man named Joseph of Arimathea . The tomb had been cut out of stone and looked very much like a cave.

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The tomb was sealed by a big stone, which was rolled across its entrance.

SLIDE 11
The priests and religious leaders ordered guards to keep watch, as even after Jesus’ death they were afraid his disciples might come and take His body away. They didn’t want to hear any more about Jesus so they had his tomb sealed tight.

SLIDE 12
But the priests and religious leaders were going to hear news of Jesus again. Actually, they were in for a huge shock.

SLIDE 13
Early on Sunday morning, Mary, one of Jesus’ followers, went to the tomb. But there were no soldiers standing watch. The stone was rolled away, the tomb was empty! Mary was shocked and wondered what could ever have happened.

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Mary wasted no time and ran off to tell Peter and John, two of Jesus’s disciples, what had happened.

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Peter and John couldn’t believe what they were hearing and ran off to the tomb as fast as they could, to see for themselves what was going on.

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John outran Peter and arrived at the tomb first but did not go in.

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John could see that the tomb was empty, he stood outside looking in waiting for Peter.

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Peter arrived and went straight inside the tomb. It was indeed empty, what had happened to Jesus’ body?

SLIDE 19
Mary arrived and Jesus’ friends stood wondering over the meaning of the empty tomb. They were all puzzled. Still in shock, Peter and John left the tomb but Mary stayed behind. She was now in for an even bigger shock than finding the tomb empty.

SLIDE 20
Suddenly, as Mary stood outside the tomb crying, a man appeared in front of her. It was early in the morning and Mary was upset that Jesus’ body had disappeared. She didn’t immediately recognise the man and thought it may have been the gardener but as soon as He spoke to her, as soon as He said her name, Mary knew it was Jesus. They chatted together, Mary was so happy to see Jesus again.

SLIDE 21
After Jesus appeared to Mary, He appeared to His followers on many other occasions, including the seashore, the Emmaus road and on one instance to more than 500 people! The good news is that Jesus is alive today! Now that’s something to celebrate.