Mark 16:1-8, NIRV

Jesus Rises from the Dead

16The Sabbath day ended. Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices. They were going to use them for Jesus’ body. ²Very early on the first day of the week, they were on their way to the tomb. It was just after sunrise. ³They asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance to the tomb?”

⁴Then they looked up and saw that the stone had been rolled away. The stone was very large. ⁵They entered the tomb. As they did, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe. He was sitting on the right side. They were alarmed.

⁶“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. But he has risen! He is not here! See the place where they had put him. ⁷Go! Tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him. It will be just as he told you.’”

⁸The women were shaking and confused. They went out and ran away from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

Visual objects: Clay pot with soil and seeds

Message

It’s Easter!

Today’s scripture passage tells us that the women who had been Jesus’ friends and helpers wanted to put some special spices and oils on his body. This was the way that people in those days prepared bodies to be buried. The women went to the tomb where Jesus had been placed. The tomb was a huge opening in a wall like a cave.

When they got there, the stone in front of the door to the tomb had been moved. The stone was so large that one person could not have moved it. The women found a young man dressed in white. Was it an angel? (Let the children respond.) The young man told them that Jesus wasn’t there and that God had raised Jesus from the dead. He instructed the women to go and tell others the good news. The good news was that they would see Jesus again.

Mark writes in his gospel that the women didn’t tell anyone because they were afraid. But somehow the news did spread. Soon many people were talking about how Jesus was alive!

Jesus was alive!

I have a pot with some good soil in it. I also have some seeds. Are the seeds alive? What do we need to do to make these seeds grow? (Allow children to respond.) Easter is about new life. In the next few weeks, we are going to find out together what it takes to make these seeds grow. We may also discover that our lives are growing more like Jesus as well. We are going to discover that this seed is alive, and we can tell others Jesus is alive as well. We shouldn’t be afraid to tell the good news of Easter!