Gift= BETRAYAL

The post Judas (Matthew 26) appeared first on Jesus Without Language.

For this craft you will need the PDF printout, string, light coloured craft felt (the cheap flatter stuff works better than the fluffy stuff), scissors, glue, a hole punch, an iron and some water. This printout NEEDS to be printed using a laser printer or a photocopier to get ink transfer. If you don’t have access to either you can still make the pouch and add the bases! If you want to try the colour printout then it will only work on white felt! For printing in Colour PDF – one page For printing with no Colour PDF – one page For printing with no heroes PDF – one page

Grab your printout and cut round the circle roughly. Place onto your felt and iron on face down. You’ll find the paper sticks to the felt quite easily.

Once stuck all the way round wipe the paper with water. Iron until dry and repeat – it will eventually go transparent so you can see the design. Repeating extra times may make your image a little bolder. Note : don’t make the mistake of removing the paper, it’s really tricky to get back in the exact same place!

Once you’re happy with your dry felt peel off the paper. WARNING : the image will not be really bold.

Using the small back circles as guides punch 12 holes around your circle.

Cut out the 2 other circles from the printout. Stick one in the middle of your crowd.

Go ahead and thread that string, make sure you put a couple of knots in the ends so they can’t slip out again.

If you lightly pull the string it will appear as if the disciples are gathered round for their last meal. Notice Judas is missing. Place the money in the middle and pull the string tight.

Alternatives : If you have a bit of extra money to throw at the project then print the colour version on T-shirt transfer paper! This will both give a bold image and make your felt feel a bit leathery! If you don’t have access to a photocopier / laser printer then lightly glue the template to the felt, cut round, punch holes, then separate. Feel free to substitute the felt for any fabric you have on-hand. If it’s too floppy try a bit of starch!

The post Judas (Matthew 26) | Craft 2 appeared first on Jesus Without Language.

This story of Judas is crammed full of symbols, objects, and motivations to bounce off. From the silly to the deep and reflective there is a real mix of ideas here that can be used to springboard your group into one aspect of the story for discussion. One thing the games don’t do is vilify Judas.

The coin hunt – Explain to the children that Judas has lost the 30 pieces of silver and needs to find them all before he can go and give them back! Hide the coins round the room and have the children find them. If you don’t want to use real coins then pictures of circles wrapped in silver foil work well.

No not me – Have all the children sit in a circle, close their eyes and place their hands behind their backs. Walk around the outside of the circle and gently place a token (a sweet works well) in the hands of one child. Go round the circle and allow each child to ask one other child a question – either ‘do you have it?’ or ‘does your neighbour have it?’ the child then needs to either reveal their hands or reach to feel their neighbours hands. Linking into the ideas who would betray Jesus wasn’t obvious to the rest of the group and that Jesus had to be identified by a kiss.

Pin the ear – A silly variation on pin the tail on the donkey but this time with Malchus (the servant) and his ear. I’d recommend sticky tack rather than pins. Click on the small image for the big version

Flip the coins – I love this simple classic idea of tiddlywinks being flipped into a small piece of cloth to represent the coin purse. For those new to the game you have small plastic disks with smooth edges, and a larger squidger used to press the edge of the disk causing it to ‘jump’. The aim is to get your wink (plastic disk) to the correct target. If you have a set of the real things then use them, if not they can be substituted with counter pieces. If your pieces don’t have a smooth edge then you’ll find it easier to play on the carpet.

Not a sword – Try and get hold of a toy sword for this alternative activity. Give the children the toy and ask them what it is, then tell them it’s not a sword! Jesus told Peter to put away his sword so Peter needed to find a different use for it. Challenge the kids to come up with different uses for the object.

Save me, Save me charades – Hand out slips of paper and have the children write the baddies they come across in life, these can be homegrown bullies, wider world wars, natural disasters, lack of or excess things etc. Place the slips in a container and have the children draw one and act it out. link to the theory that Judas wanted Jesus to save the Jewish nation and lands from Roman occupation.

The post Judas (Matthew 26) | Games appeared first on Jesus Without Language.

The post Judas (Matthew 26) | Worksheet appeared first on Jesus Without Language.

For this craft you will need the PDF printout, scissors, some sturdy card and a glue stick. For printing in Colour PDF – one page For printing with no Colour PDF – one page

Start by add any colour or other decorations to your template then cut out the rectangle only. This needs to be folded in a concertina. To help you there are dotted white lines along the fold points. (recommendation : start folding at the base of the picture!) Put this piece to one side for the time being.

Roughly cut out the remaining 4 pieces and glue onto your backing card.

Carefully cut out all four pieces. (Remember to reapply glue on any lose edges!)

Construct the sword by gluing the 2 sword shapes together and then adding the handles on each side.

Finally, glue the flag / reveal over the white box.

The post Judas (Matthew 26) | Craft 1 appeared first on Jesus Without Language.

I wonder, have you ever made a mistake?
A big mistake?
I wonder if anything good came from that mistake?
I wonder, if you knew the future, would you still have made that mistake?

Today’s story is about a mistake. A huge one, but it turned out not to be a mistake at all or did it?
Today’s hero is called Judas Iscariot. Judas’ mistake was to betray Jesus.

Judas heard there were looking for ways to trap Jesus. Some men offered him 30 pieces of silver to help. He waited until there were no crowds and then lead the men to Jesus, he even showed them exactly who was Jesus by kissing Jesus on the cheek. Those men took Jesus away and eventually killed Jesus.

Why did Judas want to help these men? Jesus was his friend, Jesus had even chosen Judas as one of his special apostles. It doesn’t make sense….

Until you look at the bigger picture….

Judas had grown up being told a messiah was coming, a messiah who would would save his people. In the land where Judas and Jesus lived the Roman army had taken control, it makes sense that people thought the messiah would save them from the Romans. Then along comes Jesus, he talks about the Kingdom all the time, he must be the King in this Kingdom! Kings fought to defend their Kingdoms… Judas wondered when the war would start?

Perhaps Jesus needed a push in the right direction? They could arrest Jesus but he’d done nothing wrong, ever, so they couldn’t punish him… could they? Jesus being arrested could be the spark that started the fire? Perhaps Judas thought the people would rise up behind Jesus as their leader and fight?

Jesus always seemed to know what was going on before everybody else. That night, just before the meal, Jesus announced someone was going to betray him. Jesus looked straight at Judas, Jesus knew it would happen, but he never stopped Judas or asked him not to do it. Judas left the meal and went to get the men. Judas knew Jesus would go to the garden to pray later, it would be quiet there.

So Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss and they grabbed Jesus to take him away. But Jesus wasn’t alone, Peter pulled out a short sword to fight them off, he cut off one mans ear as he swung his blade about. Jesus shouted at Peter; “Stop, Put that away” and everyone stopped. Jesus gently reached towards the man and healed his ear. “No more of this” said Jesus sternly. “You didn’t need swords and guards, I was with you in the temple everyday teaching, you could have found me there.”

Suddenly Judas realised how big a mistake he had made. Jesus was not going to fight back, he wasn’t going to let anyone else fight either, not even his closest friends. He looked around, why did they need swords? Oh no, these people would not play fair. What had he done? Jesus was on his way to death and there was nothing Judas could do. Judas took the money and threw it at the feet of the men who had paid him, but it made no difference.

Unlike Judas we know the end of this story. We know that Jesus had to die, that Jesus was going to fight, and that Jesus would win the battle. Not a battle against the Romans or the Jewish leaders, but a battle against death itself!

Today’s hero is Judas Iscariot because he show us the gift of betrayal

The post Judas (Matthew 26) | Story appeared first on Jesus Without Language.

Here are the images you need for the hero’s attributes linked to Judas Iscariot (Matthew 26).
Each hero set contains a high quality graphic of the character, a take home bible card and a colouring page.

The images are displayed small here, click on the image you wish to have, then save the image that loads.
(Please note : these images have no watermark but are not copyright free, they are only intended for classroom use.)

English

The post Judas (Matthew 26) | Character Images appeared first on Jesus Without Language.

Names you need to know

 
Peter (Simon) – Probably the most vocal, impulsive, emotional and well known disciples, Simon is renamed Peter (the rock) by Jesus and goes onto be the sort of leader of the pack.

James & John – These brothers are called the sons of thunder by Jesus, over excitable and fiery they form the inner circle with Peter and seem glued to Jesus’s side.

Andrew – Leaving John the Baptist, Andrew seeks greater truth in Jesus, while brother to Simon-Peter, Andrew is much less impulsive and outspoken than his fellow Galilean fishermen.

Philip – Is clearly a seeker and will pull people into the discussion, inviting Nathaniel into the crowd. Not to be confused with Philip the deacon who met the eunuch.

Thomas – Is a man of declarations, be they boldly supportive, deeply theological, or famously doubtful, he’s the first to grasp that Jesus is fully God.

Nathaniel – Is a devout Israelite, a true Jew whose faith is very much alive and makes him able to see Jesus for who is really is, the messiah, right from the beginning.

Matthew – Longs to be accepted and loved, something he would never get being a tax collector, he sees an opportunity in Jesus’ invitation and doesn’t hesitate to leave it all behind.

Little James – James the less or the little is probably the most obscure of all the disciples, but Jesus did not always choose the dramatic and some stories are untold.

Simon – Another man of strong convictions, a Zealot defending tradition and Jewishness, to be in a crowd with the tax collector Matthew shows how Jesus would include all in his kingdom.

Jude – Sometimes called Judas or Thaddeus, he wasn’t very outspoken but may have shared some of Simons strong beliefs. Some people believe he wrote the epistle Jude.

Judas – The money keeper and betrayer, it’s the 30 pieces of silver and kiss Judas will always be remembered for, the only disciple not to see Jesus resurrected.
 

Historical significance

 
These 12 brash, uncouth, foolish, brave, but importantly ordinary men were chosen by Jesus himself as his top team. The number 12 was hugely significant, signalling completeness in scriptures. The 12 tribes of Israel represented the whole of God’s chosen people, and so for Jesus to chose only 12 of his crowd was to symbolically show he was there for the whole of the Jewish nation. In acts Judas is replaced with Matthias to continue this idea.

Unlike some other biblical heroes, the Apostles stories are usually a bi-product, a means to illustrating a greater lesson, and for some their presence in the list is the greatest fact we can verify about them. For evangelicals the titbits of information can’t be bumped out with church tradition, though whatever your perspective on the validity of the non-biblical accounts it’s usually worth taking a look at.

These 12 men were chosen, there were no volunteers and their status as chosen lead to persecution for many. They accepted a role with no security, no pay, and often involving abandoning family. While the risks were great, and the sacrifice total, in return these 12 had an intensive discipleship course, at times having hidden meaning revealed to them while the rest of the crowd were left to ponder. As well as being sent out as part of the 70, and commissioned by the resurrected Christ, they were witness to countless miracles and the arrival of Pentecost. Many were martyred and some went on to write scripture.

Taking a closer look at the list reveals that they were neither all Galilean, nor all fishermen as they are often portrayed. Rather than gormless teens looking for something to do, most had careers they abandoned and were actively searching for a deeper truth. Many came to Jesus with a strong faith and firm opinions. The world they lived in was in turmoil, the religious groups torn between appeasing the empire that detested their religion, and fighting against it. Some were part of these groups, some on opposite sides. While elements of the Roman world shaped the early church, they met Jesus as an oppressed people dreaming of a ‘Messiah’, a great warrior who would rescue his people from it’s clutches. Jesus turned their dreams on their heads and seemed to spend significant time confusing their preconceived ideas.
 

The post Preparing to Teach : The Apostles appeared first on Jesus Without Language.