Opening Prayer

Dear Jesus, this is the story of the day you died for us. Help us be brave enough to listen, and show us your love hiding inside the darkness. Amen.

Scripture: Matthew 26:14–27:66

One of Jesus’s own twelve friends, Judas, went secretly to the priests and said, “What will you give me if I hand him over to you?” They paid him thirty silver coins — the price people paid for a slave.

That night, Jesus ate supper with his disciples. He took bread, broke it, and said, “Take, eat. This is my body.” Then he took the cup and said, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood, poured out for the forgiveness of sins.”

After supper, Jesus went to a garden called Gethsemane. He fell on his face and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. But not what I want — what you want.” He prayed this three times. His friends fell asleep every time.

Then Judas came with a crowd carrying swords and clubs. He walked up to Jesus and kissed him. That was the signal. They grabbed Jesus and took him away.

Peter followed from a distance. But when people asked if he knew Jesus, Peter said three times, “I don’t know the man.” Then the rooster crowed, and Peter went outside and cried.

They brought Jesus to the governor, Pilate. Pilate asked the crowd, “What should I do with Jesus?” The crowd shouted, “Crucify him!” Pilate washed his hands and said, “I’m not responsible.” But no one could wash this away.

The soldiers nailed Jesus to a cross. At noon, darkness covered the whole land for three hours. Then Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And he breathed his last.

At that moment, the curtain in the Temple — the thick wall between people and God — ripped from top to bottom. The earth shook. Tombs broke open. A Roman soldier looked up and said, “Truly this was the Son of God.”

What This Means

Thirty silver coins. That’s what Judas took. Do you know what thirty silver coins was worth back then? It was the price you’d pay if your animal hurt someone’s slave. That’s what they thought Jesus was worth. The God who made the stars — sold for pocket change.

But here’s something strange. The word the Bible uses when Judas “handed over” Jesus is the same word it uses when it says God “handed over” his Son for us. The very same word. What Judas did out of greed, God was doing out of love. Judas thought he was in charge. He wasn’t. God was working his rescue plan right through the worst betrayal in history.

And then there’s the garden. Jesus didn’t want to go to the cross. He asked his Father three times if there was another way. He was so scared that he fell on his face in the dirt. This matters. Jesus wasn’t pretending. He felt everything — the fear, the loneliness, the weight of what was coming. His best friends couldn’t even stay awake for him.

On the cross, Jesus shouted the opening words of Psalm 22: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” That psalm starts in total darkness — but it ends with praise. It ends with, “He has done it!” Jesus was carrying every wrong thing any person has ever done. He felt cut off from his Father so that you never will be.

And the curtain ripped. From the top down — God tore it. The wall is gone. You can come to him now. Anytime, anywhere. Because of that Friday.

Let’s Talk About It

Eberley: The Bible uses the same word for Judas betraying Jesus and God delivering Jesus for us. What does it mean that God was working through the worst thing anyone has ever done? Can you think of a time something terrible turned out to have something good hidden inside it?

Eberley: Jesus asked three times for the cup to pass. Why is it important that Jesus was genuinely afraid and didn’t want to suffer?

Sonja: Jesus’s friends fell asleep in the garden when he needed them most. How do you think Jesus felt when he looked over and saw them sleeping? Have you ever needed someone and they weren’t there?

Sonja: Peter said three times that he didn’t know Jesus, and then the rooster crowed. What happened next? (He cried.) Why do you think Peter cried so hard?

Dahlia & Freddy: How much money did Judas get for telling on Jesus? (Thirty coins.) Was that a lot or a little? (A little!) Is Jesus worth more than coins? (Yes — he’s worth everything!)

Remember This

Jesus was so afraid he shook — but he went to the cross anyway, for you.

Closing Prayer

Dear Jesus, thank you for not running away in the garden. Thank you for staying, even when you were scared, even when your friends fell asleep, even when it hurt more than anything. You did it all for us. Help us remember that nothing can ever cut us off from you — because you were cut off so we never would be. Amen.

Memory Verse

“Not what I want, but what you want.” — Matthew 26:39