Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday. Both lend themselves to all sorts of exciting possibilities for the Sunday school classroom — special colorful crafts and activities, joyful and boisterous songs, and an enthusiastic presentation of the biblical narratives. Children love it and churches often go to great lengths to highlight these celebrations in the classroom.
But what about the biblical narrative of the cross? Where does it fit in between these back-to-back Sunday celebrations? After all, the events surrounding Jesus’ death on the cross don’t lend themselves to any kind of fun or appealing activities. The story of Jesus’ death on the cross is filled with pain, blood, sorrow, betrayal, abandonment, and darkness--and even worse as the sinless Son of God bore the sins of His people and experienced the fierce wrath of God so that we might be saved.
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24 ESV)
Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. (Romans 5:9 ESV)
If we are not careful and intentional, Jesus’ death on the cross can become a type of quick “flyover” between Palm Sunday and Easter. But our children need to be told of Jesus’ death on the cross—the mocking, thorns, nails, blood, suffering, and even the wrath of God poured out on His sinless, beloved Son —if they are to truly understand, embrace, and celebrate the significance of Palm Sunday and Easter in their hearts. So let’s make sure that we leave plenty of room for telling and explaining the story of the Cross. May it never be a “flyover” in our church calendar, but may we thoughtfully, truthfully, and passionately proclaim its immeasurable significance.
Teachers and parents, here is a short excerpt from the book God’s Gospel that you could use for explaining the significance of the cross to your children and students.
Also, make sure to take advantage of our Easter special and order a copy of Sally Michael’s new book, The World Created, Fallen, Redeemed, and Restored – The Gospel Plan of God.
