Jesus was Arrested - Sunday October 25, 2020

Sunday October 25, 2020 (Vol 9, Unit 26, Session 4)

Hi-there parents! Welcome back! Or if you're new here, welcome! The following blog is here to be a tool for you to help your kids grow in their faith while Children's Church is not meeting. Please feel free to use as much of it as you choose. You know your kids and are the best possible teacher for them. God has given you the power of the Holy Spirit to enable you to do more than you think possible (Eph 3:20).  

Parent Devotional: This week’s lesson, "Jesus was Arrested" is found in Matthew 26-27.

The Pharisees and other Jews in Jerusalem did not like Jesus. He didn’t play by their rules (Matt. 12:1-14), He claimed to be God (John 8:58-59; 10:22-33), and He extended salvation beyond the Jewish people (Luke 4:27). So, they plotted several times how they might kill Him.

The events leading up to His death did not surprise Jesus. Each step was part of God’s established plan. (See Isa. 53:10; Acts 2:23.) But knowing God’s plan didn’t lessen Jesus’ suffering as He was betrayed by His friends, arrested, falsely accused, and beaten. As you teach kids about the arrest of Jesus, help them understand the gravity of the events.

First, Jesus wanted to do God’s plan. Jesus came to earth to rescue people from sin. He was committed to doing the Father’s will. (Matt. 26:39,42) When Judas showed up with a crowd, Jesus didn’t run. He didn’t even allow Peter to stand in His defense. (Matt. 26:52) Jesus willingly gave Himself up for us because He loves us. (Eph. 5:2)

Second, Jesus was betrayed and arrested even though He did nothing wrong. The Jews tried to find a legitimate reason to kill Jesus, but they couldn’t find one. (Matt. 26:59-60) Jesus did what we failed to do; He perfectly obeyed the law. His arrest was not just. The trial was not fair. But this had to happen. Only a sinless, perfect sacrifice could take away sin. (Heb. 9:11-14)

Finally, Jesus is who He says He is. After Jesus’ arrest, the high priest asked Jesus if He was the Son of God. Jesus affirmed that He is. (Matt. 26:64) The high priest accused Him of blasphemy (speaking against God), but Jesus always told the truth. 

Jesus felt the pain of betrayal and the agony of His imminent suffering and death. He came to do His Father’s plan no matter what in order to bring salvation to the world.

As we begin to explore this week’s lesson, take a moment to remember the verse from Deuteronomy about teaching your children the scriptures. Deuteronomy 6:9 says: "You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." Maybe you don't have time to sit and have an hour of Bible time all at once, or maybe your children are too young to sit for that long. Take the key points and ask God to give you opportunities to speak them into the hearts of your children throughout the week. Let the Bible become a part of your day to day. Be blessed this week my friends!  

Each week we include songs, activity pages, the bible lesson video, memory verses and possibly a craft or 2. We pray this will help you find ways to engage your kids spiritually. It is written in script form from the K-2nd grade lesson so you can read directly from it or change it up to suit your children. Take a few moments to look at and print the activity pages as well as the additional activities and information (found in the links at the bottom of the page) also to review the lesson so you can make adjustments as needed. I have included the Bible and Discussion questions along with a breakdown of the Gospel in the Older Kids Activities pages and loads of activities and crafts on the Preschool Extra Activity Pages. Once you are ready, go ahead and start with these songs if you'd like or pick some of your favorite worship songs and then jump right in! Have fun! And remember, this does not need to be done in one sitting! Feel free to break it up over the course of the week. Please contact me if you have any questions or suggestions. I'd love to hear from you!  

So, let's get started. I like to begin each week with Blessings and Bummers. Tell me, what have you seen the Lord doing in your lives this week? What have your greatest blessings been? How about your biggest bummers? 

Parents share your blessings and bummers and encourage the kids to do the same. 

Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father God, Thank you. Thank you for providing for our needs. You are so good to us even though we don't deserve it! Thank you for continuing to bless us Lord. Thank you for being patient with us. Thank you for our friends as well as our families. Help us to appreciate all you do for us and to look to you in all that we do. In Jesus name, Amen. (please add to or customize prayer time to fit your family)

Praise the Lord for hearing our prayers! 

Prompt kids to tell about a time they were grounded or put in time out.

Say • When we break rules, there are usually consequences. That may mean being in time out or losing privileges. Adults who break the law may be arrested or put in jail. Today we will hear about a time Jesus was arrested, even though He never did anything wrong or against the law.

Optional Session Starter Activity Pick one of two options, or do both, this is your party. These are found in the activity pages attached below. 

Jesus is God’s Son, so no one could have arrested Him without His allowing them to. Jesus allowed His enemies to arrest Him because He knew it was part of God’s plan to save us. What did Jesus do to save us? Jesus lived a sinless life, died on the cross, and rose from the dead. Through those actions, Jesus made the way for us to be declared righteous by God. Jesus took on our sin at the cross and God gives us Jesus’ righteousness. When Jesus rose again, His resurrection proved His sacrifice was enough.

The week before Jesus’ death was kind of like an emotional roller coaster. At the start of the week, people welcomed Jesus to Jerusalem as their King. But soon, His enemies were plotting to kill Him. Their first plan to catch Him saying something wrong didn’t work. Jesus spoke with wisdom and authority. Then Jesus shared a special Passover meal with His followers. Jesus commanded His disciples to remember His sacrifice. That’s where we pick up.

Have you ever known the right thing to do but been afraid to do it? In a way, that’s what Jesus felt as He prayed in the garden the night He was arrested. Jesus knew God’s plan, and He wanted to obey. But obeying God’s plan meant being hurt, made fun of, spat on, hit, and killed. Jesus asked God for another way, but He was committed to God’s plan.

Even in the middle of this difficult time, Jesus put God’s glory above His feelings. When the men led by Judas came to arrest Jesus, He did not fight back. He did not even let Peter fight back. Jesus allowed His enemies to arrest Him.

The Jewish Scriptures explained how to have a trial if you thought someone had broken a law. The religious leaders threw all of that out when it came to Jesus. They didn’t care about fairness or justice; they just wanted Jesus dead. What they didn’t know is that God was using their evil plans to work out His wonderful one.

The Old Testament is filled with stories of hard, scary, and sad situations happening to people. Each and every time, God used the sad things to do something beautiful and glorious. God used Job’s suffering to show His power and sovereignty. God used Joseph’s slavery to save his whole family from a famine. God used Esther’s forced marriage to protect His people from Haman. And now, God was preparing the saddest and most unfair thing ever to make the way for us to be saved.

Jesus knew that His death was God’s plan to save people from sin. Jesus’ friends turned against Him and He was arrested and put on trial, but Jesus followed His Father’s plan in order to bring salvation to the world.

Bible Time! 

Distribute a Bible to each kid. Help kids find Matthew 26. Encourage the kids to use the table of contents to find Matthew. Remind them that Matthew is the first book of the New Testament. Ask a volunteer to provide the names of the book before and the book after Matthew. (Malachi, Luke) You may allow a strong reader to read a few verses from Mathew 26.

Ask the following questions. Lead the group to discuss:

What did Jesus pray in the garden? (“Let this cup pass from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will,” Matt. 26:39)

Which disciple betrayed Jesus and how? (Judas, with a kiss; Matt. 26:47-49)

How did Jesus respond when the high priest told Jesus to say if He is the Messiah? (Jesus agreed, Matt. 26:64)

Why do you think Peter denied knowing Jesus? Guide kids to discuss the fear Peter surely felt. If the religious leaders had arrested Jesus, what would stop them from also arresting and punishing Jesus’ followers? Peter was focused on his own physical well-being and comfort, not on Jesus.

When might we feel tempted to pretend that we don’t know Jesus? Guide kids to discuss the pressure the world will put on them to disobey God. Remind them that Satan is always working to convince people to worship things or people other than God. It may feel easier or more comfortable to ignore Jesus, but we are called to boldly preach the gospel to all.

What is something difficult or scary that God may ask you to do? Guide kids to think through situations they may face now or in the future. Remind them that no matter what situations we face, we always have hope for the future. Someday Jesus will return and destroy all evil, fixing the world for us to live with God forever.

Say • Jesus allowed His enemies to arrest Him. He knew that God’s plan would be painful, scary, sad, and very difficult. He obeyed anyway and went to the cross to take the punishment we deserve. He is our Savior.

Let's take a look at our memory verse: Phillipians 2:8.  

Jesus allowed His enemies to arrest Him. He is God the Son, and no one can do anything apart from God’s allowing it to happen. Jesus’ death on the cross wasn’t unexpected. It was the high point of God’s plan all along. Our key passage reminds us that Jesus was obeying God the Father. He died because that was the way to give God the most glory and make the way for people to live with Him forever.

Optional Memory Verse Activity:

Write each word or phrase of the key passage on a separate index card. Invite volunteers to say the key passage from memory. Praise each kid’s effort and encourage all the kids to continue working on the key passage. Then, distribute each card to a kid. Ask the kids to arrange themselves in key passage order and sit down. Then say the key passage with each kid standing when his word or phrase is spoken.

Say • Jesus chose to lay down His life so that we could live with God forever. Jesus is the Son of God, and He obeyed God perfectly, even going to the cross. Jesus allowed His enemies to arrest Him. Jesus willingly laid down His life.

That's it for this week!

Let's pray:    Father, thank You that Jesus was courageous in the face of great difficulties. Thank You that He perfectly obeyed Your plan to save us. Help us obey You out of love. Help us be bold in the face of scary times. Amen.

Thanks for joining us! I hope to meet you here again next week!

FCBC is grateful to Lifeway Christian Resources for allowing us to publish this blog using their Gospel Project materials.

Additional Activities and Information