Read along with the Easter story as you find each egg on the trail
To open up a printable version of this Easter story and the Easter Trail Quiz please click on this blue text Easter story
Poster 1: Why Easter?
Have you ever wondered why we celebrate Easter?
We hope you will enjoy this trail, finding posters and looking for clues and answering questions. Along the way we hope that you will also begin to understand a little more about the meaning of Easter. You will need to use the What 3 Words app. to find the posters and write down the answers to the quiz.
Poster 2 Palm Sunday – the Sunday before Easter
The Bible tells us that Jesus and his friends travelled to Jerusalem to celebrate the festival of Passover. A big crowd gathered. People put their coats on the ground and waved palm leaves. Jesus was riding on a donkey.
The Bible tells us that this happened just as teh prophet Zechariah said it would, 400 years before!
“Shout for joy people of Jerusalem! Your king is coming to you. He does what is right and saves. He is gentle and riding on a donkey” Zechariah chapter 9 verse 9
Poster 3: The Last Supper
The Bible tells us that Jesus and his friends had a special meal together. Jesus washed his friend’s dusty feet to show that he had come to serve people. He told his friends that he was going to die and he shared bread and wine with them saying, “Do this to remember me. Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you show others about the Lord’s death until he comes” 1 Corinthians chapter 11 verse 26
Poster 4: The Garden of Gethsemane
After their special meal, Jesus and his friends went to a garden. Jesus wanted to pray – he asked God to help him. While he was praying his friends went to sleep. One of his friends betrayed him and brought soldiers to arrest him.
Poster 5: Peter’s denial
When Jesus and his friends were having their special meal Jesus warned his friends that one of them would betray him. Peter was worried it would be him. Jesus explained that Peter wouldn’t betray him but he would deny knowing Jesus. He said: “I tell you the truth, tonight before the cockerel crows you will say three times that you don’t know me.” Matthew chapter 26 verse 34
After Jesus was arrested Peter followed him to see what would happen. Somebody recognised Peter as one of Jesus’ friends. Peter was scared that he too would be arrested and so he said that he didn’t know Jesus. Then somebody else asked him and then another person. Each time Peter denied knowing Jesus. Then a cockerel crowed and Peter remembered what Jesus had said. He was very sad that he hadn’t been a good friend.
Poster 6: The trial of Jesus
Jesus was brought to Pontius Pilate to be judged. Pilate asked him if he was the King of the Jews. The soldiers made fun of Jesus. They put a purple robe on him and a crown made of thorns. Pilate knew that Jesus hadn’t done anything wrong but the crowd wanted him to kill Jesus on a cross. Pilate washed his hands to say that he wasn’t guilty of causing Jesus’ death.
Poster 7: Jesus is beaten
Jesus was treated very badly. The soldiers whipped him and nailed him to a wooden cross, then a soldier pierced his side with a spear. The Bible tells us that the prophet Isaiah, who lived about 700 years before Jesus, predicted these things. He wrote:
“But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.”
Isaiah chapter 53 verse 5
Poster 8: Jesus dies
When Jesus died there was an earthquake, the sky went dark and the curtain in the temple, that separated people from the most holy place, tore in half from top to bottom. Jesus had made a way for people to get close to God.
His body was put in a tomb, closed with a big stone.
Poster 9: Three Days later
On the Sunday morning after Jesus died, his friend Mary went to the tomb. The stone had been moved and the tomb was empty. An angel was there and he told Mary that Jesus wasn’t dead anymore. Then Mary saw Jesus – at first she didn’t recognise him but then she was amazed and excited and ran to tell everyone. Jesus is alive!
Poster 10: A visit from Jesus
After Jesus had risen from the dead he visited lots of people, including his special friends. He showed them the wounds in his hands and feet and told them he loved them. The Bible tells us he gave them this instruction:
“Go and make followers of all people in the world. Baptise them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach them to obey everything that I have told you. You can be sure that I will always be with you.” Matthew chapter 28 verse 19 – 20
Poster 11 – The final poster: The story continues ….
Christians believe that the Easter story shows how much God loves us – he was willing to let his son Jesus die to take the punishment that was meant for us. No mistake is too big to keep us from God – we are all invited to be his friend.
If you would like to be a friend of God, here is a simple prayer that yo could say:
For a printable copy of the Quiz sheet and how to claim your child(ren)s goody bag please click on this blue wording Quiz & Contact Details
This Easter trail has been produced by Staplehurst Free Church, using material from The Together at Home webiste www.tath.co.uk
