Peter and the Easter Egg Hunt
by Martha Reynolds
Notes: This skit was written with permission from Family Life to better explain the resurrection of Christ to children. Each egg is explained in detail in this skit, however, it is suggested that Peter’s lines are paraphrased for brevity and fewer lines to memorize. The number of children can vary and their lines are few which allows practically any child to be a part of this fun skit. To acquire the resurrection eggs, you may follow this link...
Scripture: The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay. Matthew 28: 5-6
Cast: Peter (adult), 3-6 children
Setting: Area outside of church where group of children are having an Easter egg hunt. Resurrection eggs are hidden along with normal candy eggs (so there is a visible difference in the eggs) Peter appears to be Simon Peter from Bible times and is understood to be the actual Peter.
Props: Resurrection Eggs© , Boulder or bench, baskets, adult Bible-time costume
[Children have been hunting for eggs and have “found” them all. They are sitting looking at the eggs that they have found.]
Child 1: This is really a ROTTEN Easter Egg hunt. Some of these eggs don’t have any candy in them. They’ve got all kinds of weird things!
[Peter enters - looking skyward in thought possibly carrying papers rolled up]
Child 2: WHO are you?
Peter: My name is Peter.
Child 3: Peter Cottontail? [Laughs]
Peter: No, Simon Peter.
Child 2: [to another child]: Oh, who’s that?
Peter: What are you kids doing out here?
Child 1: We’re having an Easter Egg hunt, but some of these eggs are rotten!
Peter: Let’s see - they don’t look rotten. In fact, I think they’re pretty special eggs.
Child 1: Really ?
Peter: Why don’t you give me that blue egg and I’ll show you just how special they are? There just might be a story in each one of them.
Child (with blue egg): Okay, here it is but there’s no candy in it - you’ll see. It’s not so special.
[Child Hands Peter the blue egg. Peter opens the egg.]
Peter: Well, what’s this inside this egg?
Children (together & disappointed): A donkey.
Peter: Yes, it’s a donkey. Do any of you know a story about a donkey?
[Children shake heads “no”.]
Peter: OK, let’s see - I remember a time when Jesus told his disciples or specialfriends to go to town and when they saw a donkey they were to go to the owner and tell him that the Master needed his donkey. And do you know what happened? The man told Jesus’ special friends to take the donkey. Can you imagine that someone would just let them take their donkey? Well, they took the donkey back to Jesus and he rode it into Jerusalem. That was the day that the people lined the road and waved palm branches and shouted to welcome Jesus to Jerusalem. What did they shout?
Children (excitedly): Hosanna ! Hosanna ! We learned that in Sunday School!
Peter: Right. Okay, who has the Light Purple egg?
Child (with that egg): I do, I do! Here it is! What’s in it?
Peter (opening the egg): Well, what do you think this is?
Children: A game piece from Monopoly? A funny screw?
Peter: No, you’re wrong. This is a very small cup. It is supposed to remind us of the time when Jesus shared the last supper with His disciples. It was at that supper that Jesus told the disciples that they were to remember Him whenever they drank from the cup (because He was going to shed His blood for our sins. They were also to remember His body that He gave for our sins whenever they ate the bread. Have you ever seen people in your church take communion? They eat the bread and drink the grape juice, don’t they? Christians do this all in remembrance of Jesus, especially to remember His blood that was poured out for them to give them eternal life with God if they believe in Him. Okay, who has the orange egg?
Child (with the orange egg): That’s me - I’ve got it. What’s inside?
Peter: Looks like hands that are folded in prayer, doesn’t it? Do you know what “prayer” is?
Children: Yes - Talking to God.
Peter: Exactly, prayer is “talking to God or Jesus”. Jesus sets a wonderful example of prayer. He would go off by Himself at different times to pray to His father, God. At this time in Jesus’ life, He knew he was going to die and He went to a garden called Gethsemane to pray. But, do you know what happened? His special friends or disciples fell asleep while they were praying. They fell asleep even after Jesus woke them up. Have you ever been so tired that you fell asleep while you were praying? It’s hard to be strong when you are tired, isn’t it? Jesus’ disciples were weak when they tried to be strong on their own apart from God. While Jesus cried out to the Father in prayer, three times He returned to find the disciples sleeping. This is a reminder to all of us that we cannot be strong on our own. We need to pray and ask for our Heavenly Father’s strength, just like Jesus did. Okay, who has the light pink egg?
Child (with the light pink egg): Me, Me - I’ve got it!
Peter (takes the egg and opens it): Oh, silver coins. They kind of look like quarters but I know what they’re supposed to be. The Jewish leaders wanted to get rid of Jesus because He had taught that how they had acted and what they were doing was wrong and they were mad that Jesus was telling them that they were sinful men. Have you ever done something that was wrong?...
[Children look ashamed and shake heads “yes”.]
...Well, of course you have, we ALL have done things that were wrong or sinful. The only person who NEVER did anything wrong or sinful was Jesus. Now, Judas was one of Jesus’ disciples, but he was a greedy man and when the Jewish leaders offered him 30 silver coins to tell them where Jesus could be found, he took the money and led the leaders and soldiers to Jesus. The soldiers arrested Jesus and put Him on trial for saying that He was God. Now, where’s the green egg?
Child (with the green egg): Here it is - Here it is! But, no ham. [Child smiling and children laugh]
Peter (opens egg): Green eggs and ham...funny. What’s this?
Children: A rope - A shoestring - I don’t know!
Peter: It’s a leather strap. After Jesus was put on trial, He was given to the soldiers so they could whip Him with a cat o’ nine tails. It was made up of many leather straps and it tore Jesus’ back when they hit Him. This leather strap reminds us that Jesus was beaten for our sins. There are verses in Isaiah that were written before Jesus was born that tell about His being beaten. It says that we are healed by His “scourging” or beatings. He didn’t deserve to be beaten because Jesus had never sinned. Remember, He’s the ONLY person who has NEVER sinned. Yet He was willing to take the beatings and die to save us from our sins even though He didn’t deserve it. Where’s the light yellow egg?
Child: [with that egg - more quietly than usual] I’ve got it!
Peter: [Opens egg and takes out the crown of thorns] This represents the crown of thorns that the Roman soldiers made and put on Jesus’ head. The soldiers did not like Jesus. They teased Him, hit, and beat Him. And then they put the crown of thorns on His head and kneeled before Him saying... “Hail , King of the Jews!”, even though they didn’t believe He was king. And then they spit on Him and beat Him some more. They crushed the thorns into His head and caused him to bleed badly. And Jesus forgave them and prayed for them! We should remember to pray for those who treat us badly just like Jesus did for the soldiers. Who’s got the Bright Yellow egg?
Child: [with the bright yellow egg] Here it is, Mr. Peter!
Peter: The Bible says that three large nails were driven into Jesus’ hands and feet when they crucified or put Him on the cross. [opens egg and takes out cross] This cross is made of 3 nails to remind us that Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins. Believing in Jesus and that He died on the cross is the ONLY way we can go to heaven when we die. That is why God sent His Son to earth. Remember the verse John 3:16? “For God so loved the world, that He sent His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, should not die, but have everlasting life.” God provided the only way for us to escape punishment for our sins by sending His only Son, Jesus, to die. Jesus received the death sinners like us deserve. Because Jesus is the perfect Son of God, only He could be punished in the place of all sinners. By His death on the cross, Jesus provided a way for believers to get into Heaven. When we think of the nails that were pounded through Jesus’ hands and feet into the cross, we should be sad about our sins. But we should also be filled with joy because we know we are given everlasting life through Jesus’ death. He was pierced for us! Okay, where’s the light green egg?
Child (with that egg): I’ve got it - is it going to be a sad egg, too?
Peter: Well, let’s see. What’s this?
Children: It’s dice! Are we going to play a game?
Peter: No, we’re not. But that’s what this is supposed to remind us about. You see, when Jesus was on the cross, the soldiers were dividing up all of His clothes. They “cast lots” - just like rolling dice to see who would win Jesus’ clothes. It’s sad to think they were trying win the only things that Jesus owned on the earth, while He was dying on the cross. But, do you know that Jesus was praying for these soldiers. He asked God to forgive them. That’s a great example of how we should treat those who are mean to us isn’t it? We know from the Bible, that we need to pray for our enemies. We also are told that we need to forgive them, just like Jesus showed us. Who has the purple egg?
[Child hands the purple egg to Peter]
Peter: A spear! Did you know that when people were put to death on a cross that the soldiers usually broke their legs? This made the people die more quickly. When Jesus was crucified on the cross, there were 2 robbers who were crucified on each side of Him. The soldiers went to the first robber and broke his legs and then went to the second robber and broke his legs but when they got to Jesus, He was already dead and they did not have to break His legs. Did you know that hundreds of years before that day it was written in the Psalms that this would happen? It says in the Psalms that “He keeps all His bones, not one of them is broken." Jesus gave up His life and died before the soldiers could even get to Him. Because the soldiers had to make sure that Jesus was really dead, they pierced Him in the side with a spear. When they did this, water and blood came out. This was the proof they needed to show that Jesus had died. Jesus must have loved us so much to die in our place! Who’s got the white egg?
Child (with the white egg): It's right here!
Peter: What’s this inside this egg?
Children: A tissue? A bandage? Something white!
Peter: That’s right. It’s supposed to represent the white linen cloths that were used to wrap Jesus’ body before they buried Him. A man named Joseph of Arimathea got permission to take the body down from the cross and bury it in a nice tomb that he owned. Joseph wrapped the body in linen cloth and prepared the body for burial. Joseph’s love for Jesus and courage were amazing. God must be pleased when we love Him enough to risk the things we own, even our very lives to stand with Him. Will you be courageous and stand with Jesus? Alright, where’s that pinkish/red egg?
Child: [with that egg] Here it is, Mr. Peter. What’s going to happen now? Jesus is dead!
Peter: That’s right, but you just wait and see what happens now!
[Peter opens the egg and holds up the rock.]
Children: It’s a rock - I told you these were rotten Easter eggs - Who wants a rock?
Peter: Wait a minute - wait a minute [calming the children]. It looks like a rock but it’s supposed to be a big stone. A really big stone! Bigger than a door and heavier than a car! That BIG stone was placed in front of the opening to the tomb to keep grave robbers from stealing the body of a dead person or valuables in the tomb that belonged to the dead person. The Jewish leaders were afraid that Jesus’ disciples or other followers would take His body from the tomb and then say that Jesus had risen from the dead. In order to prevent this, Pilate had soldiers guard the tomb. Pilate even had the soldiers close the tomb with an official Roman seal or stamp on the edge of the huge stone. Pilate and the soldiers were sure that this would keep the disciples fromstealing Jesus’ body because the penalty for breaking the official seal was death. The soldiers also knew that if someone broke the seal while they were watching the tomb, it would mean that they would be killed, too. When Mary Magdalene and another Mary went to the tomb one day, they were shocked. The huge stone was rolled away, the soldiers were gone and when they went into the tomb, they found only the linen cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ body. They were fearful and didn’t know what had happened. They didn’t remember that Jesus had said that He would rise from the dead after 3 days. If only they had remembered Jesus’ words. If they had, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary would have had faith instead of fear and confusion. Are there things in your life that cause you to be afraid and confused? Because we don’t remember or don’t know God’s Word, the Bible, we don’t have faith. But God wants us to remember His words. His words give us faith, hope, joy, courage and direction -- even when life is scary or confusing. Words about the stone being miraculously rolled away and about Jesus’ resurrection from the dead are the most encouraging and hope-giving words a Christian could ever have! I think there’s one more egg left. Who has it?
Child: (with the light blue egg): I have it - Here it is!
Peter: This egg is empty! Just like Jesus’ tomb! When Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were at the tomb, they saw an angel who told them not to be afraid. He said that no one had taken Jesus’ body, but instead Jesus had risen from the dead! The angel told them to go and tell the disciples what they had seen - that Jesus was risen. Can you imagine how excited they were? They ran all the way home to tell the disciples the good news! “HE is risen from the dead! Alleluia!” Like the tomb and this egg, our hearts are empty and lifeless without Jesus. But as we turn from sin, believe and trust in Jesus’ death and resurrection, He fills our hearts with life and the Holy Spirit. As we read the Bible, the Holy Spirit helps us obey God by reminding us of what His Word, the Bible says. Of course, you won’t always do the right thing, will you? The Bible says that when you do wrong or sin, you need to admit them to God or confess them, and then turn away from those sins. God will forgive you based on Jesus’ death on the cross.
Now when you think of the empty egg, remember the empty tomb. Remember that Jesus rose from the dead and He is alive. Remember too, that Jesus comes into empty, dead hearts and lives and fills them with His Spirit, giving new life!
[Children thank Peter for the stories about the eggs and exit stage]
[Peter sits in a prayerful manner.]
[Offstage voice yells: "Hey Bill - I mean, Simon Peter, you’re needed on stage in 2
minutes. The pastor is looking for you!"
Peter finishes praying and exits stage.
The End
Study Questions
Do you realize how much God gave for each of us.
Think about all the wrong things we do, and then remember that those wrong things are what Jesus died for. He loves you that much.
Have you ever prayed to have Jesus come into your heart? If not, ask someone to pray with you, Jesus is ready for you, but you need to ask Him in.
© 2005 by Martha Reynolds
Special Thanks go to Family Life who has granted FCS permission to use
© Resurrection Eggs for this skit.