Lesson 6: Jesus Is Betrayed and Arrested

Welcome

            Thank kids for coming.

            Just for fun, have preschoolers give someone a “round” of applause by clapping in a circle in front of a friend.

            Make announcements.

            Introduce new kids.

Celebrate birthdays by teaching preschoolers to do a “happy birthday” wave.         Collect the offering.

Introduce the Lesson

            Say: Today we’ll learn about some people who didn’t like Jesus, and we’ll see how Jesus showed love to them. Jesus loves even his enemies. That means he was kind and caring toward the people who were mean to him.

Share

            Share about a mean character in your favorite preschool-friendly movie.

            In leader-led small groups, help preschoolers talk about “bad guys” in their favorite movies.

            After groups have discussed, have adult or teen helpers share with the whole group what they talked about in their small groups.

Summarize

           Open a Bible, and say: [Name a few of the mean characters mentioned in the discussion] are mean! The Bible tells us about some people in the Bible who were mean to Jesus. We’ll see how Jesus loved even his enemies. The Bible is special because it’s full of true stories about what God has done. God can talk to us as we hear about him. Let’s listen to God as we hear from the Bible today.

            Pray, thanking Jesus that he loves his enemies.

Tip 

• Don’t have internet in your classroom? That’s okay! You can download the videos before class using the “download” button at the link provided, or just purchase this quarter’s DVD here.

Sing Songs to God

            Sing the three songs in any order.

Make Binoculars

            Say: Today we’re learning about Jesus’ love! Jesus loves everybody! Jesus loves each one of us…he loves children, grown-ups, people who are sick, people who don’t know about Jesus at all, and people who love Jesus back! But Jesus also loved his enemies—the people who weren’t very nice to Jesus and didn’t like him at all. In our Bible story, Jesus showed love to everyone, even the people who were mean to him. Let’s make a craft to remember to show Jesus’ love to everyone we see! Show preschoolers the sample craft, and point out how the shape of the binoculars kind of looks like a heart.

            Give preschoolers each a pair of cardboard binoculars, and let them decorate their binoculars using the markers and stickers. Once preschoolers finish decorating their binoculars, help them tape each end of a length of yarn to the bottom edge of the cardboard tubes.

            Have preschoolers put the yarn “straps” over their heads and look around the room through their binoculars. Whenever preschoolers see someone through their binoculars, have them tell that person, “Jesus loves you!”

            Say: Just like Jesus loved even his enemies, our heart binoculars can remind us to show Jesus’ love to everyone we see!

Have a Group Hug

            Say: Today we’re going to learn about Jesus’ great big love—for everyone. Let’s start off with a great big hug. Gather the children together for a group hug.

            That was great! It feels good to be surrounded by our friends. Let’s do our group hug one more time. Let any children who were on the outside edge of the hug stand in the center for the second hug. If needed, do a third hug to make sure all the children had a turn in the center of the hug.

            Ask: • What did you like about our group hugs?

            Say: It’s great to give hugs to friends and family! It’s one way we show we love them. And in our group hug, we were surrounded by our friends—they were all around us! Today, we’ll read in the Bible about a time Jesus was surrounded by people who were not his friends. Lead children in gently poking one or two others with their elbows. Keep this part somber so you’ll be able to tie it to the idea of enemies later on.  

            Ask: • How did it feel when someone poked you with their elbow?

            Say: It’s much nicer to be surrounded by our friends in a group hug than it is for people to poke us with their elbows. We’re all friends here, and we were gentle with our elbows. But sometimes people aren’t gentle. Today we’ll hear about some people who weren’t gentle with Jesus. They were his enemies. That means they didn’t like him and they weren’t nice to him.          

            Share an example of something someone did that wasn’t nice or hurt your feelings, without mentioning details about the specific person. Allow children to share a few things that might hurt their feelings, such as when someone grabs something from their hands.

            Say: It doesn’t feel good when someone is mean or hurts our feelings. Jesus knows how that feels, but he wasn’t mean back. Jesus loved even his enemies. Let’s look at the Bible now to see what happened.

Act It Out

            Open the Bible. Say: The Bible says Jesus was with his friends in a garden called Gethsemane (Geth-SEM-a-NEE). It was filled with olive trees. Jesus and his friends went there a lot.

            Share about a place you like to go with your friends.    Ask: • Tell about a place you like to go with your friends.

            Say: Those places sound special. This was a special place for Jesus and his friends. But one of his friends wasn’t there with them. His name was Judas, and he was off spending time with people who didn’t like Jesus.

            Judas knew that Jesus would be spending time with his friends in that garden. He wanted to help Jesus’ enemies find Jesus so they could hurt him. So Judas brought an angry crowd of enemies to the garden. Lead children in stomping to sound like a big angry crowd.

            The crowd of Jesus’ enemies had swords, sticks, and torches. Torches are big sticks with fire on the end. Lead the children in wiggling their fingers like flames. They can say “crackle, crackle,” or they can make a crackling sound.

            Jesus’ enemies were surrounding him. That must’ve been scary. Lead children in showing their scared faces.

             Jesus knew they were coming, and he wasn’t scared. So he stepped forward to meet them. He said, “Who are you looking for?” They told him that they were looking for Jesus. So Jesus told them, “I am he.” And as soon as he told them that he was Jesus, the enemies fell to the ground! Lead the children in pretending to fall to the ground.

            Judas came to Jesus and kissed him on the cheek, like a friend. But Judas wasn’t a friend anymore. Lead children in making a “kiss” sound.

            He did that to show the men who Jesus was so they could take him away. Jesus’ enemies arrested him. They grabbed him and tied him up. Lead children in clasping their hands behind their backs. When he was arrested, Jesus would be tied up like that and he’d have to do what the people who arrested him said.

            Jesus’ friends were scared. So they asked Jesus if they should fight the enemies. One friend, Simon Peter, took out his sword and cut off one of the enemies’ ears! Lead children in grabbing one of their ears.

            But Jesus didn’t want his friends to fight his enemies. Jesus loved even his enemies. He told Simon Peter, “Put down that sword.” Then Jesus healed the man’s ear by touching it. That means Jesus made it so the man’s ear was all better! Jesus’ enemies were mean to him, but Jesus showed love to his enemies when he healed the man’s ear.

            Let’s show love like Jesus did. We’ll pretend to heal someone’s ear. Put your hand over a child’s ear and say, “Jesus loved even his enemies.” Then help the children do the same for others in your group. Encourage children to “heal” at least three people’s ears.

            Say: Jesus told the crowd, “I’m not dangerous.” And he asked them why they had swords and sticks. Jesus let his enemies arrest him, and he loved them even though they were being mean.

            Then Jesus’ friends all ran away. Lead children in running in place. The friends were afraid of Jesus’ enemies. But Jesus wasn’t scared. He loved his enemies, and he let them take him, even when he knew they would keep being mean to him. We can love people who are mean to us, too. Remind children of some of the things they mentioned earlier when they talked about people hurting their feelings.

            Say: Jesus wants us to love people who are mean to us.

            Ask: • What can we do to be nice to people who are mean to us?

            Here are some examples to help kids think of ideas:

            • If someone grabs a toy from your hand, you can say, “I didn’t like when you grabbed that toy, but I’m happy to share it with you.”  

            • If someone pushes you, you can say, “I didn’t like it when you pushed me, but I’m not going to push you back.” And then you can walk away.

            • If someone says something mean, you can say, “What you said hurt my feelings.”

            (If you have any concern that children could be in abusive situations, help them understand that the loving thing to do is walk away from the person and tell an adult they trust about what happened.)   Say: It’s easy to be kind to our friends, but Jesus shows us we can even be nice to people who aren’t nice to us. Jesus loved even his enemies.

Play a Loving Game

            Say: Let’s play a game to practice loving our enemies.

            Lead children in doing these actions and singing this song to the tune of “The Ants Go Marching.” Have half of the children pretend to be the crowd of people who came for Jesus. Have the other half be Jesus’ friends. Jesus’ friends will start by sitting in a circle. The crowd will start by marching around the circle of children.

            His enemies, they came for him. (Jesus’ friends make scared faces; the crowd marches around the circle)

            Oh no! Oh no! (Jesus’ friends put their hands on their cheeks; the crowd marches around the circle)

            His enemies, they came for him. (Jesus’ friends make scared faces; the crowd marches around the circle)

            Oh no! Oh no! (Jesus’ friends put their hands on their cheeks; the crowd marches around the circle)

            His enemies, they came for him. (Jesus’ friends make scared faces; the crowd marches around the circle)

            And Judas stopped to kiss Jesus. (the crowd stops; Jesus’ friends cover their heads to protect themselves)

            And yet Jesus loved them, (Jesus’ friends get up and find someone in the “crowd” to hug)

            Even though they hurt him so. (hug)

            Lead kids in playing the game and singing several times, frequently switching the kids who are in the crowd and those who are Jesus’ friends.

Tip 

• Don’t have internet in your classroom? That’s okay! You can download the videos before class using the “download” button at the link provided, or just purchase this quarter’s DVD here.

Discuss and Watch “Who’s Your Enemy?”

            Say: We’re learning that Jesus loves even his enemies. Jesus’ enemies were very mean to him.

            Ask: • Tell about a time someone was mean to you. Share your own example first.

            Say: Let’s watch a video to see who other kids think of when they think of enemies.

            Watch “Who’s Your Enemy?”

            Ask: • The kids in the video shared about a lot of enemies, like foxes, mosquitoes, no one, bullies, and kids at school. Which of the answers is one you might give, too?

            • The kids in the video shared a lot of ideas for how to show love to an enemy. Which ones do you think you could do the next time someone’s mean to you?

            • At the end of the video, one girl said she’d show love to her enemy because “This would make me feel happy. I think it would make her feel happy, too.” What do you think about the idea of making an enemy feel happy?

            Say: Even if you don’t have a human enemy, like some of the kids in the video, we’ll all have times people are mean to us. For those moments, they might feel like an enemy. But Jesus loves even his enemies, and he can help us do the same.

Tip

• Before printing, turn on page numbering in Word to keep the pages in order (or simply hand-number each page after printing). You may also find it helpful to highlight your part and set the script on a music stand nearby during the skit.

Leader: It’s time for our puppy friend, Theo, to come for a visit. Let’s call him to our class with a “woof, woof.” Ready? (Leads kids to bark until Theo is brought into view.)

Theo: Hi, friends! (Rushes in, looking behind himself nervously.) My back is so itchy today. Would you scratch my back? (Circulates among kids so each child can pet him.)

Leader: Thanks for giving Theo a big welcome!

Theo: Thank you, friends!

Leader: How are you today, Theo?

Theo: Oh, I’m okay.

Leader: How come you’re not great?

Theo: There’s this bully at school—Bud Boxer. He’s been extra mean this week.

Leader: That’s too bad.

Theo: Yeah, he was so mean to my best friend, Becky Beagle, the other day. I just want to be mean back. (Looks to kids.) Have you ever had to be around a bully? (Encourages kids to share their experiences without naming names.)

Leader: I understand. It’s no fun to be around a bully, but being mean in return might not help.

Theo: Really? Why?

Leader: Well, Jesus loved his enemies. There were some people who were really mean to him, but he forgave them.

Theo: But how can I love my enemy when I don’t even like him?

Leader: “Love your enemies” doesn’t mean we have to have mushy feelings about them or be best friends with them. It just means to be kind and to not be mean to them, even if they’re mean to us.

Theo: (Looks to kids.) Would you help me think of some ways to love my enemy? (Leads kids to think of ideas, and makes suggestions and asks what they think. Kids  might suggest saying kind things or nothing at all. Or they might suggest walking away instead of getting in a fight.)

Leader: If someone is hurting us, that doesn’t mean we need to stay there and get hurt more. Sometimes loving our enemies means getting away from a bully so they can’t hurt us anymore.

Theo: (Sighs in relief.) I’m thankful for that. I’m going to go tell Becky how we can love our enemies.

Leader: That sounds like a great idea, Theo. We’ll let you go do that now. (Looks to kids.) Friends, give Theo a big “woof, woof, goodbye.” (Leads kids to say “woof, woof, goodbye,” and then places Theo out of sight.)

Poke in Toothpicks

            Tell kids to form a big circle by extending their arms, standing so they cannot touch their neighbors, and then dropping their arms. Show kids the foam ball, and gently toss the ball around the circle one time. Comment on how easy it was to toss and catch the smooth ball. Say: Good job! Passing around a smooth ball is easy, isn’t it? Let’s make it a little harder. Show children how to poke a toothpick firmly into the foam ball. Hold the ball and move around the circle, giving toothpicks to each child to poke into the ball. Guide the children so toothpicks are spread out around the ball, and give additional toothpicks as needed so the surface of the ball is mostly covered. Occasionally press on the toothpicks with the palm of your hand and comment that the ball is getting pokey. 

Pass the Pokey Ball

            Once everyone has added a toothpick, tell children to toss the pokey ball around the big circle again. Demonstrate how to gently toss the pokey ball to a neighbor. Have kids only use underhand throws, and caution them to throw carefully. Children may hesitate, so if someone doesn’t want to catch, encourage children to skip to the next person.

Talk About It

            Ask: • How did you feel when the pokey ball was tossed to you?

            Say: Tossing the smooth ball was easy. We weren’t nervous at all! But catching the pokey ball was a little scary because we usually want to stay away from pokey things. Sometimes people can be a little pokey or hurtful, too. People might say or do things that hurt our feelings or make us sad.

             Ask: • What are ways we can show Jesus’ love to people who are mean? As each child shares, let him or her remove one toothpick until all the toothpicks are gone. Briefly let kids toss the ball around again to see how showing love is better.

            Say: It’s easy to love nice people, but it’s harder to love people who hurt us. In our Bible story today, Jesus didn’t run away from mean people. He loves everyone, even pokey people! Jesus loves even his enemies. His love is big enough to share with others…even pokey people!

Play a Game

            Say: When someone is mean to us, the first thing we might want to do is be mean back by saying unkind words or maybe by pushing or hitting that person. But Jesus wants us to do the opposite! He wants us to be kind to people, even when they aren’t nice to us. When we’re kind, we show God’s love. In our Bible story, we heard how Jesus did the opposite of what most people would do. Jesus loved even his enemies, and he showed kindness to the people who were being mean to him and wanted to hurt him.

            To remember that Jesus did the opposite of what most people would do, let’s play an opposite game! I’m going to call out things, and I want you to do the opposite of what I say. So if I tell you to sit down, you’ll do the opposite and stand up instead!

            Give preschoolers a few more examples of the opposites from the following list so they understand what to do. Then have preschoolers spread out around your room, and call out several commands for each of the following pairs. Remind preschoolers to do the opposite of what you say!

            You can have preschoolers:

• Stand up/sit down
• Walk around the room/freeze in place
• Jump up/squat down
• Run to this side of the room/run to the other side of the room
• Put your arms up/put your arms down
• Wiggle/freeze
• Smile/frown
• Shout/whisper

            Play for several minutes, adding in any other opposite commands you’d like. If time allows, let preschoolers take turns leading. After playing, gather preschoolers to you.

            Say: Our game was fun, but it was hard and kind of confusing to know what to do! Jesus’ friends were confused, too, when Jesus loved even his enemies. Jesus’ friends wanted to fight the mean people, and Jesus’ friend Simon Peter even cut off someone’s ear! But Jesus healed the man because Jesus loves even his enemies. And Jesus helps us love people even when we’re confused and want to do the opposite.    

Tip

• If you used the Music Video block, consider repeating the songs from today’s lesson during the game. You can find the album here.

Recommended for 6 or more kids.

Play a Version of Tag

            Say: Today we’re learning about some people who didn’t like Jesus and were mean to him. Instead of fighting with them, Jesus was kind. Let’s think more about that as we play a game.

            Choose one child to be the Guard. Explain to children that the object of the game is to avoid being “caught” or tagged by the Guard and being out of the game. However, if the Guard does tag a child, that child will give the Guard a hug before sitting down and being out of the game for that round. (If children don’t feel comfortable hugging, encourage them to give a high-five instead.) Once kids understand the rules, begin playing the game. After a minute, have all the kids stand up. Choose a new Guard, and begin playing again. Play as many rounds as time allows.

            If you’d like, play music as kids play.

Talk About It

            Ask: • What was it like to hug the Guard who tagged you out of the game?

            Say: Even though you might not have wanted to hug someone who just tagged you out of the game, when you hugged the Guard you were acting the way Jesus did. Jesus loved even his enemies, and Jesus can help you show love to others, too—even people who aren’t nice to you.

Tip

• If you used the Music Video block, consider repeating the songs from today’s lesson during the game. You can find the album here.

Recommended for 6 or more kids.

Pass Two Stuffed Animals

            Have children sit together in a circle.

            Hold up one of the stuffed animals. Make up a name for the animal and introduce it to the children. Say: We’re going to pass our friend [use made-up name] around the circle as quickly as we can. Let’s practice once. Have kids pass the animal as quickly around the circle as possible until it comes back to you. Praise kids for their quick passing.

            Then say: Now we’re going to make it trickier. Hold up the second stuffed animal and introduce the animal by name to the children. This time I’ll start by passing [name of first stuffed animal], but then I’ll start passing [name of second stuffed animal], too. We’ll see if [name of second animal] can “catch up” to [name of first animal] as we keep passing them as quickly as we can around the circle. Ready? Go!

            Begin by passing the first animal to the child on your left. After a couple of seconds, pass the second stuffed animal in the same direction as the first. Play until the second animal catches up to the first, and then start another round. Play as many rounds as time allows.

            If you’d like, play music as kids play.

Talk About It

            Say: One of Jesus’ friends, Judas, wanted to catch Jesus. He was with some angry people who wanted to catch Jesus, too, so they could be mean to him. But Jesus still loved Judas and the angry people, so Jesus let them catch him. And even when they were mean to him, Jesus was nice to them. That’s because Jesus loved even his enemies.

            When someone is mean to us, sometimes we want to be mean back. But that’s not what Jesus did. Jesus loved even his enemies, and Jesus can show us how to love people who are mean to us, too.

Pray for Enemies

            Say: Today we saw how Jesus loved even his enemies. He loved people who were very mean to him. We can show love to people who are mean to us, too. One way we can do that is by praying for that person.

            Share several preschool-friendly examples of unkind things someone might do. Then say: Think about someone who was mean to you. Don’t say that person’s name out loud. Allow time.

            Give each child a heart sticker to put on his or her shirt. Say: Let’s pray for the person you just thought of.

            Have children each put one hand over their heart stickers and close their eyes. Pray: Jesus, you loved your enemies, and we can love people who are mean to us, too. Tell children to picture the person who was mean to them. Jesus, help us love this friend who was mean to us. Help us be kind to him or her. In your name, amen.

Remember

            Say: Keep the sticker on your shirt today, and each time you see it, ask Jesus to help you love the person we just prayed for.

            Let the children know that you’re happy they came to church today. Also invite them to come back next week.

            Distribute a copy of the “Dig In @ Home” handout to kids as they leave, or email it to parents during the week.