TEACHING THE MEANING OF EASTER

An Easter Activity for Family Home Evening

I can’t take credit for this idea–these are sometimes called Resurrection Eggs and they’ve been around for a few years. My daughter has done this activity at school and it is a great learning tool for little ones to really learn the real meaning of Easter.

Preparation
(1) Number (with stickers or a marker) 12 plastic Easter eggs.
(2) Put the following items in the respective eggs:

one: a leaf–real or plastic (if it vaguely resembles a palm branch, all the better)
two: a piece of cloth with a little perfume on it
three: a piece of a tortilla, pita, or bread or white clay shaped to look like flat bread
four: a picture of Jesus with children or of a temple or a picture of your family
five: three dimes
six: a piece of purple cloth or paper
seven: a cross made out of wood, toothpicks, popsicle sticks, paper, or brown clay
eight: a nail
nine: a piece of paper that says THE KING OF THE JEWS
ten: a little bundle (wrapped in fabric, a baggie, plastic wrap, etc.) of spices–cloves would be nice
eleven: a stone–rounded would be best
twelve: leave empty

(3) If you have a Gospel Art Picture Kit, get these pictures: 223, 225, 227, 228, 230, 232.

The Activity
You can have your children take turns opening the eggs (be sure to go in order by the numbers). Here are the explanations for the items in each egg; I’ve made them appropriate for a four-year-old; scale up or down as necessary.

One: When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the people waved branches because that’s what people used to do when a king walked by.

Two: Later, Jesus had a special dinner with his friends. A woman came and poured perfume on his head. This showed that she knew that he was the Christ and she knew that he would die soon.

Three: The next day, Jesus had another special meal with his friends. We call this The Last Supper. This is when the sacrament began, because Jesus said that people who followed Him should have bread and wine or water to help them remember Him.

Four: Jesus went to a garden to pray. Here, he suffered for our sins. Because He did this for us, we can repent and live in heaven again.

Five: Judas was supposed to be one of Jesus’ special helpers, but instead he helped other men arrest Jesus. He did this because those men paid him money.

Six: After Jesus was arrested, the soldiers were really mean to Him and made fun of Him. One thing that they did was to put a purple robe on Him. Only kings wore purple robes. They didn’t realize that He really was a King—they were just teasing Him because people thought He was a king!

Seven: Jesus was crucified.

Eight: When the soldiers put Jesus on the cross, they pounded nails into His hands and feet.

Nine: Another thing the soldiers did to make fun of Jesus was to put a sign on the cross that said “THE KING OF THE JEWS.� Again, they thought they were making fun of Him—they didn’t realize that He really was the King of the Jews!

Ten: After Jesus died, His friends put his body in a tomb. Later, some of the women who followed Him came to the tomb to put spices on His body. That was something they did back then when someone died.

Eleven: The tomb had a rock that could roll over the opening to seal it. While the women were walking to the tomb, they wondered how they would get the stone out of the way.

Twelve: When they got to the tomb, they were amazed to find that the stone had been rolled out of the way—and Jesus’ body was gone! Then an angel came and told them, “He is risen; he is not here� (Mark 16:66). This egg is empty because Jesus’ tomb was empty. Jesus’ tomb was empty because He was resurrected! (You may want to share your testimony of the resurrection at this point.)

Here are the scriptures that go along with each egg if you want them. You could either print them out, cut them up, and place the appropriate one in each egg, or you could read them as you explain what is in each egg.

#1: “And many spread their garments in the way: and others cut down branches off the trees, and strawed them in the way. And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord:� (Mark 11:8-9)

#2: “And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as [Jesus] sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head.� (Mark 14:3)

#3: “And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body.� (Mark 14:22)

#4: “For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; but if they would not repent they must suffer even as I; which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men.� (D & C 19:16-19)

#5 “And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went unto the chief priests, to betray him unto them. And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. And he sought how he might conveniently betray him.� (Mark 14:10-11)

#6: “And the soldiers led him away into the hall, called Praetorium; and they call together the whole band. And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head, and began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews!� (Mark 15:16-18)

#7: “And it was the third hour, and they crucified him.� (Mark 15:25)

#8: “Behold the wounds which pierced my side, and also the prints of the nails in my hands and feet; be faithful, keep my commandments, and ye shall inherit the kingdom of heaven. Amen.� (D & C 6:37)

#9: “And the superscription of his accusation was written over, THE KING OF THE JEWS.� (Mark 15:26)

#10: “And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.� (Mark 16:1)

#11: “And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.� (Mark 16:3-4)

#12: “And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.� (Mark 16:6)

We’ve done this activity for a few years now and my children always enjoy it.