Vacation Bible School 7/30/20
Our last day of Rocky Railway VBS. It’s been great having you join us for this year’s VBS.
Ms. Mara shares a Bible story.
Today’s Bible Story starts with Matthew 27:32
32 The soldiers were going out of the city with Jesus. They forced another man to carry the cross to be used for Jesus. This man was Simon, from Cyrene. 33 They all came to the place called Golgotha. (Golgotha means the Place of the Skull.) 34 At Golgotha, the soldiers gave Jesus wine to drink. This wine was mixed with gall. He tasted the wine but refused to drink it. 35 The soldiers nailed Jesus to a cross. They threw lots to decide who would get his clothes. 36 The soldiers sat there and continued watching him. 37 They put a sign above Jesus’ head with the charge against him written on it. The sign read: “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.” 38 Two robbers were nailed to crosses beside Jesus, one on the right and the other on the left. 39 People walked by and insulted Jesus. They shook their heads, 40 saying, “You said you could destroy the Temple and build it again in three days. So save yourself! Come down from that cross, if you are really the Son of God!”
41 The leading priests, the teachers of the law, and the Jewish elders were also there. These men made fun of Jesus 42 and said, “He saved other people, but he can’t save himself! People say he is the King of Israel! If he is the King, then let him come down now from the cross. Then we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God. So let God save him now, if God really wants him. He himself said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 And in the same way, the robbers who were being killed on crosses beside Jesus also insulted him.
Jesus Dies
45 At noon the whole country became dark. This darkness lasted for three hours. 46 About three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” This means, “My God, my God, why have you left me alone?”
47 Some of the people standing there heard this. They said, “He is calling Elijah.”
48 Quickly one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled the sponge with vinegar and tied it to a stick. Then he used the stick to give the sponge to Jesus to drink from it. 49 But the others said, “Don’t bother him. We want to see if Elijah will come to save him.”
50 Again Jesus cried out in a loud voice. Then he died.
51 Then the curtain in the Temple split into two pieces. The tear started at the top and tore all the way down to the bottom. Also, the earth shook and rocks broke apart. 52 The graves opened, and many of God’s people who had died were raised from death. 53 They came out of the graves after Jesus was raised from death. They went into the holy city, and many people saw them.
54 The army officer and the soldiers guarding Jesus saw this earthquake and everything else that happened. They were very frightened and said, “He really was the Son of God!”
55 Many women were standing at a distance from the cross, watching. These were women who had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for him. 56 Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of James and John were there.
Jesus Is Buried
57 That evening a rich man named Joseph came to Jerusalem. He was a follower of Jesus from the town of Arimathea. 58 Joseph went to Pilate and asked to have Jesus’ body. Pilate gave orders for the soldiers to give it to Joseph. 59 Then Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth. 60 He put Jesus’ body in a new tomb that he had cut in a wall of rock. He rolled a very large stone to block the entrance of the tomb. Then Joseph went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other woman named Mary were sitting near the tomb.
The Tomb of Jesus Is Guarded
62 That day was the day called Preparation Day. The next day, the leading priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63 They said, “Sir, we remember that while that liar was still alive he said, ‘After three days I will rise from death.’ 64 So give the order for the tomb to be guarded closely till the third day. His followers might come and steal the body. Then they could tell the people that he has risen from death. That lie would be even worse than the first one.”
65 Pilate said, “Take some soldiers and go guard the tomb the best way you know.” 66 So they all went to the tomb and made it safe from thieves. They did this by sealing the stone in the entrance and then putting soldiers there to guard it.
Jesus Rises from Death
28 The day after the Sabbath day was the first day of the week. At dawn on the first day, Mary Magdalene and another woman named Mary went to look at the tomb.
2 At that time there was a strong earthquake. An angel of the Lord came down from heaven. The angel went to the tomb and rolled the stone away from the entrance. Then he sat on the stone. 3 He was shining as bright as lightning. His clothes were white as snow. 4 The soldiers guarding the tomb were very frightened of the angel. They shook with fear and then became like dead men.
5 The angel said to the women, “Don’t be afraid. I know that you are looking for Jesus, the one who was killed on the cross. 6 But he is not here. He has risen from death as he said he would. Come and see the place where his body was. 7 And go quickly and tell his followers. Say to them: ‘Jesus has risen from death. He is going into Galilee. He will be there before you. You will see him there.’” Then the angel said, “Now I have told you.”
8 The women left the tomb quickly. They were afraid, but they were also very happy. They ran to tell Jesus’ followers what had happened. 9 Suddenly, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings.” The women came up to Jesus, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go on to Galilee. They will see me there.”
The Soldiers Report to the Jewish Leaders
11 The women went to tell Jesus’ followers. At the same time, some of the soldiers who had been guarding the tomb went into the city. They went to tell the leading priests everything that had happened. 12 Then the priests met with the Jewish elders and made a plan. They paid the soldiers a large amount of money. 13 They said to the soldiers, “Tell the people that Jesus’ followers came during the night and stole the body while you were asleep. 14 If the governor hears about this, we will satisfy him and save you from trouble.” 15 So the soldiers kept the money and obeyed the priests. And that story is still spread among the Jews even today.
Jesus Talks to His Followers
16 The 11 followers went to Galilee. They went to the mountain where Jesus told them to go. 17 On the mountain they saw Jesus and worshiped him. But some of them did not believe that it was really Jesus. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All power in heaven and on earth is given to me. 19 So go and make followers of all people in the world. Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach them to obey everything that I have told you. You can be sure that I will be with you always. I will continue with you until the end of the world.”
You can listen to the Rocky Railway theme song as you work on today’s craft.
If you missed any days of VBS this week, you can find them on the Vacation Bible School page.