Our celebration of the last week of Jesus’ life is called Holy Week. It was an eventful week. Jesus entered Jerusalem in triumph on Palm Sunday; He taught in the Temple; ate the Last Supper with His disciples; He prayed in Gethsemane; He was betrayed by Judas; and He was arrested, tried, convicted, and sentenced to death. Jesus’ closest disciples fled in fear, and on Friday, when Jesus died, it was mainly His women followers who witnessed His death. The Jewish Sabbath begins at sunset, so there was no time to complete the normal burial rituals. The women watched as Jesus’ body was hastily placed in a tomb hewn out of the rocky hillside.

Each of the four Gospels reports that early on Sunday morning, after the sabbath was over, it was the women who were first to witness the Resurrection. They came to the tomb to wash and anoint Jesus’ body, but the tomb was empty! Some people accused the disciples of fabricating the story of the Resurrection. However, since women were not allowed to be legal witnesses in those days, the disciples would have surely devised a better plan if they had intended to fool anyone. The fact that women discovered the empty tomb, then, actually added credibility to the account!

The account of the Resurrection is an account about the power of God, power that is stronger than hatred, than fear and stronger than death itself. Children have many reactions to Jesus’ death and Resurrection. Some simply accept it without question, while others are disturbed by Jesus’ suffering and death. Help your children know that Jesus’ death is not the end of the story. Help them see that the good news is that Jesus rose from the dead and is alive today!

This week encourage your children to explore the account of the Resurrection and what it means to them. Encourage them to wonder, to pose questions, and to grow in their faith.

“I am the resurrection and the life” John 11:25