Five Bible Stories for Easter Time

Remember the story of the child who grew a beanstalk up into the clouds and went on a magical adventure? What about the one of the beautiful young girl and her long locks that draped down the tower? How about the story of the breakfast menu that’s inexplicably green?

Children love stories. Their imaginations can run wild as they’re swept up in a land exotic and unfamiliar. Stories teach them about the world around them, visible and invisible. What better time of year to share mesmerizing stories of God’s goodness?

Since Easter is the perfect time to share the whole story of God and His redemptive plan for mankind, you may be picking up a Bible soon wondering where to flip to! Don’t worry. We have some ideas. Let’s look through five Bible stories just right for sharing at Easter.

Genesis 3

If you don’t start here, you can anticipate a lot of “Why?” questions to follow! The resurrection, the very heart of Easter, doesn’t make too much sense if man hasn’t fallen yet.

Read through the story of the fall of man with your children. Some points to discuss are what lies the serpent told Eve and why she believed them. The evil serpent called God a liar and questioned His good purposes for mankind. You can also talk through man’s response to disobeying God and God’s consequences. Imagine what the Garden of Eden must have been like! There lie some connections to heaven as well.

Mark 14:12-26

This passage helps explain a custom in our Easter celebrations. The last supper story will give your children a deeper appreciation for communion.

It’s all too easy for Christian rituals to become rote and devoid of meaning. Jesus explains it best Himself; honoring communion is honoring Jesus’ death and sacrifice. Some interesting discussion points pop up in this passage. Your family can talk through Jesus’ all-knowing power of God, since He knew where they’d hold the last supper and knew who would betray Him. Talk through what exactly the bread and the cup symbolize. Why is it important to your family that we remember Jesus in this way?

Psalm 22

Psalm 22 is amazing! Chapter 22 is the most quoted psalm in the New Testament. It speaks directly about Jesus but was written a few centuries before He was even born.

The prophecy of Jesus here speaks directly about His death. Explicit details and events are foretold about the crucifixion. It’s helpful to read this passage in conjunction with Matthew 27 below.

God’s sovereignty and omniscience are displayed for us in prophecy. Children can see how God knows all and sees the whole future stretched out before Him like a rug. You can also talk with them about how God always knew He’d send His Son to save us from sin. God had that plan of gracious redemption hundreds of years before Mary gave birth.

Matthew 27:27-50

The cross is a disturbing scene. Jesus is mocked, beaten, insulted, abandoned and killed.

Consider how the disciples must have felt. The One they laid down their lives for and followed appeared beyond hope. At the cross Jesus was in ultimate humiliation.

The cross can be difficult for children to grasp. It can be scary or surreal. Talk through what the scene must have been like. Ask them what they feel when hearing about Jesus’ abuse. It’s good to walk through the deep, hard, emotional places on this passage because the story has a good ending.

John 20

The rest said, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him.” (Matthew 27:49) The good news is that God does save Jesus. Death could not hold Him! Our eternal hope lies in this passage. Jesus has overcome death and reconciled us to the Father.

This passage itself has a lot of cliffhanger moments for families to discuss. What do your children think when Jesus isn’t in the tomb? How could His burial clothes still be there, but He’s not? How did Mary finally understand? Since Jesus continues to interact with His disciples, how then do we sense His presence in our lives?

The beautiful thing about Easter and its stories is that Jesus’ work is complete. He has come to give us life eternal, and our hope of salvation never falters in the Lord.