Eyewitness: The Story of a Promise Kept An Easter Play for Children by Carrie Varnell

Carrie Varnell Only original purchaser is granted photocopy permission. All othe r rights reserved. Skit Guys is a trademark of Skit Guys, Inc. Printed in U.S.A.

Eyewitness: The Story of a Promise Kept SYNOPSIS It s two days after the resurrection of Jesus and the disciples are a little on edge about what will happen next. As they hide away and lay low until things calm down, they reminisce about their time with Jesus. Narrated from the perspective of a young girl, this simple play is a what if about the events after Jesus death on the cross. Hear eyewitness testimonies from some really fun characters. TIME Approximately 25-30 minutes; This script is 15 pages long CAST NOTE:This play was written to be performed by adults for children. However, it c an be changed to be played by children. If you choose to have children play the charac ters, I would recommend that the characters Estelle and Ruth be played by older teenager s or even adults who can pull off an old woman. Rebecca: A young girl, approximately 12-17. She is the narrator of the story. Thomas: Disciple; has a hard time having faith. James: Disciple Peter: Disciple; loves fish. John: Disciple; he is the voice of reason within the group. Andrew: Disciple RS 1: Roman Soldier 1; gruff RS 2: Roman Soldier 2; also very gruff Citizen 1: Citizen 2: Citizen 3: Citizen 4: Ruth: Very Passerby Passerby Passerby Passerby old woman, we re not sure how old, but she s been around longer

than most people as has her friend, Estelle; has seen a few things in her time; Jewish; can speak with a New York accent. Think Edith Bunker from All in the Family. 2 www.skitguys.com

Eyewitness: The Story of a Promise Kept Estelle: Friend of Ruth; she is also very, very old; Jewish; can speak with a New York accent. Similar in character to Ruth. Mary: The mother of Jesus Mary M: A follower of Jesus F1: Follower 1; Saw Jesus on the road to Emmaus; talks like a surfer dude . F2: Follower 2; Another who saw Jesus on the road to Emmaus; talks like a surfer dude. Jesus: The Christ; comes in at the end. COSTUMING All characters should wear Biblical-type costuming. Follower 1 (F1) and Follower 2 (F2) should wear Biblical robes, but can also wear something to indicate their surfer dude personalities. For instance, when originally performed, they wore knit caps with black string twisted together to look like dread locks. Our church already had costumes for the Roman Soldiers. If you don t have these, then I would suggest checking with another bigger church who might have a costume room, or even your local theatre. They are usually willing to rent out costumes for a minimal fee. SET DESIGN AND PROPS Scene 1: City street in Jerusalem. This can be in the aisle of the audience. *See how to make a palm tree on page 21. Scene 2: A room where the disciples are hiding out. You can use a table that is low to the ground and pillows to sit on. You can also use short stools covered in fabric or milk crates covered in fabric to fix any blocking problems or site problems that can come with sitting on the floor of a stage. Scene 3: A quiet room where Mary is alone and thinking about Jesus as her baby. This can be somewhere off of the stage on the floor level in front of the audience. She can sit in a simple wooden chair with a simple blanket that might have belonged to Jesus. Scene 4: The city streets of Jerusalem. This can be on the floor level in front of the audience or in the aisles. Scene 5:

Same as Scene 4. Get creative about the different settings and where to put your characters. They can be placed all over your auditorium or playing space. The two old ladies, Estelle and Ruth, are pushing a cart that they use to sell their wares, so you can have all sorts of things 3 www.skitguys.com

Eyewitness: The Story of a Promise Kept hanging off of it and inside it. We had a fake rooster sitting on top of it and named him Archibald. Scene 6: The room where the disciples are hiding out. Scene 7: Same room. Scene 8: Begins in the room, but Peter runs out and through the streets of Jerusalem and to the tomb. He then runs back to the room. Scene 9: The room where the disciples are hiding out. Scene 10: Same room. From the Author: My Dad is a Children s Pastor and always likes doing fun and creative things for the kids on Easter Sunday. For two years in a row we performed this play during the Children s Worship. Some things in this play are straight from Scripture and some are what if s . One thing I love to do is create an environment throughout the room. Our space was the children s area at our church and had a small stage at one end. We had the children sit on the floor so that they were free to turn around and watch other scenes going on around the room. The aisles and the floor level in front of the stage were set up like the streets of Jerusalem and the stage level was the room where the disciples were hiding. The narrator interacts with the children during the play and even gets them to respond a couple of times. This takes some bravery and someone who can control the situation, but it s so much fun hearing what the children come up with. We also had the Roman Soldiers in the audience and the kids loved it! Any blocking in the play is what was originally done, so feel free to change whatever you need to in order to fit your space and event. I also used a lot of music for scene transitions and to add to the Jerusalem feel. There are many soundtracks that you can pull music from to use as transitions between scenes. Two soundtracks that have great music with a Middle Eastern feel are The Passion of the Christ and The Nativity Story . We used a song from Riverdance for scene 8 where the disciples run to Jesus tomb. There are a couple of times in which Rebecca sings quietly, in scenes 3 and 6. We used the lullaby from The Prince of Egypt for scene 3 and a shortened and slower version of Israel or Hine Lo Yanum for scene 6 (Maranatha has a version of this song you can find on You Tube). I sincerely hope you have as much fun as we did performing this play. Carrie Varnell 4 www.skitguys.com

Eyewitness: The Story of a Promise Kept Scene 1 Rebeccaenters with a basket of food. She is on her way to the room where the disciples are hiding.She addresses the audience. Rebecca: Oh. You shouldn t be out on the streets at such a late hour! Pilate has set a curfew and if the guards see you they might arrest you! We must hurry and get indoors. I have just come from my aunt s getting some bread for the disciples, the followers of Jesus. With all the chaos and excitement, the markets closed early today and we needed food. What s all the excitement about? Haven t you heard? The man they called Jesus has been crucified a couple of days ago. My mother wouldn t let me go to witness it as so many others did, including my brother. I had met him- Jesus- just the other day. He had just come to town a few days ago and, boy let me tell you, that was a sight! We had already heard of all the amazing things he had done and I couldn t wait to meet him! I touched his hand as he passed and he looked at me and smiled. I ve never felt like that before in my life and I knew! Somehow I just knew that he was the Messiah! The one our scriptures promised would be sent by God to rescue us. People were waving palm branches and shouting (she shouts) Hosanna! (Catches herself and looks around nervously) Oh. We had heard of all the amazing things that Jesus had done- healing the sick and the blind and teaching thousands of people! The Jewish leaders and the government rulers didn t like what he said or what he did. The priests were afraid that he would come and take over! So they had Jesus arrested and put on trial. And then they sentenced him to death. When Jesus died, the sky turned black even though it was the middle of the day! Jesus had followers, or disciples- 12 of them. They are waiting for me now to bring them their supper. I should go and you should go too! The Jewish leaders are keeping an eye out for anyone who followed Jesus. Shalom! Peace be with you! Rebeccamakes her way to the room as theLIGHTS come up on stagewhere we see John, Thomas, James and Peter sitting around a table.HOUSE LIGHTS dim. Scene 2 Thomas: We should probably gather all of our belongings and see if we can make our way out of the city.

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Eyewitness: The Story of a Promise Kept James: No. It s still not safe. Governor Pilate s men will be on the lookout for anyone who was even SEEN with Jesus. We should wait here a while longer while things calm down out there. Peter: (With full mouth)Let them come. I m not afraid. It s better than sitting around and waiting for nothing! (Goes rummaging for sword in a box pulls loaves of bread and other misc objects. No sword is found.) John: Peter, calm down. Besides, what if Jesus comes back? Remember what he said? Thomas: John, you saw what I saw. He s not coming back. Knock at the door John: Who s there? (Peterdraws his loaf of bread.) Rebecca: It s Rebecca. I brought food. John: Did anyone follow you? Rebecca: No, I don t think so. I did see someone in the street, but I don t think th ey meant any harm. They didn t even know what had happened today. Thomas: Foolish girl! We told you not to speak with anyone! You could put us all in danger! Rebecca: I m sorry! I thoughtJohn: It s alright. There is no harm done. We should all do a little better at calming down and not jumping at every little noise, eh Thomas? Whatever happens, happens. It is all the Lord s will and it is in his hands. Now run along home and be very careful. Be sure that no one sees you. (Rebeccaexits) Thomas: Do you think she ll reveal us to anyone? How do we know we can trust her? John: Thomas, brother, don t lose heart. Jesus told us all that would happen didn t he? Why can you not be still? What is it that bothers you? Thomas: I guess I just can t believe that he is gone. I wish none of this had happened. James: I know brother. I think we all miss him. John: We just need to be patient. It s only been two days since Jesus died, but I feel like it s been so long since we talked with him. 6 www.skitguys.com

Eyewitness: The Story of a Promise Kept Andrew: Being cooped up with you all is enough to drive us all crazy. I m tired of being patient. I wonder if anything will be different today. Thomas: I doubt it. Rebecca: Now the disciples were hiding because they were afraid that the Jewish leaders would find them and arrest them because they were followers of Jesus. They remembered what Jesus had told them- that he would be crucified on a cross, but then he would come back to life after 3 days. After seeing him being beaten up and then die on the cross, they began to lose hope. How would you feel? (takes a few answers, then ) They missed Jesus so much! Well, let s find out what happens! James: (Remembering)You know for a carpenter, he sure knew how to fish. Peter: (Warming and laughing at the memory)You know, I saw this man once with a dancing fish. Turns out he just had is strung up with a line and jerked it around. But Jesus wow! All he had to do was give a command and the fish practically turned themselves in! Jesus didn t even have to get into the boat, or even fiddle with the nets! He just stood on the bank and told us where to throw the net! Ahhh, Jesus loved the boats and the lake talking about fishing eating fish watching fish. Just us and him. Together. With the fish. I think that s what I ll miss the most- the times when it was just us alone with him. Fishing. John: Yes, we ve learned a lot just by sitting and listening to him. (looks strangely atPeter)

Andrew: I will always remember his miracles. Remember the boy what was his name that brought the bread and Peter: Fish! Andrew: Right fish. We were all sitting on the hillside while Jesus was preaching and the crowd was getting very restless and hungry. Jesus saw the boy and asked if he could use the boy s lunch to feed the people. Thomas: We all thought he was crazy. Andrew: Right. It would have taken the bakers for miles around baking all week and fishermen from all over saving their catch from the week to feed all those people! But somehow as he broke the bread there seemed to be more and more and we fed everyone that was there.

James: There must have been thousands. 7 www.skitguys.com

Eyewitness: The Story of a Promise Kept John: That was pretty amazing. Peter: Lots of fish. John: That was Jesus for you. Andrew: Amazing just doesn t seem to describe him or the things that he did. Wherever we went he would heal people of their sicknesses. Matthew: Or make the blind to see and the lame to walk. John: I will never forget the little girl. She was so young and her father was so sad. He didn t know if Jesus was really the Messiah, but he did have faith that he could perform a miracle. He asked Jesus if he could heal his daughter who was sick and near death. By the time we got to their home it was too late. The little girl had died. Andrew: So what happened? John: Jesus asked her parents why they were crying- that the girl was died but was only sleeping! The crowd that had gathered laughed Jesus. I ll never forget it. He went inside and sat next to the girl. He took her hand and leaned over and began to sing softly She opened her eyes and smiled at Jesus and he asked her if she some breakfast. Peter: Fish? (Other disciples glare athim) James: News about Jesus spread so quickly after that. Matthew: Hey, remember the time that we were all in the boat and the storm blew up? Thomas: Now let s see was that when we were sailing from the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, or on the river or that time when the big tornado came down and then Matthew: No, remember? We saw a figure coming towards us on the water. James: Peter thought it was a ghost. Peter: Hey, I wasn t the only one. Matthew: (Not paying at ttention toPeter)That s right. But as the figure got closer, we realized it was Jesus. hadn t at lifeless little to her. wanted

John: He sure knew how to make an entrance, didn t he? Matthew: Jesus spoke, and the storm stopped! 8 www.skitguys.com

Eyewitness: The Story of a Promise Kept James: And then Peter thinks he can walk on water too. Peter: I did too! James: For like three seconds. Peter: I could have gone longer! Thomas: I doubt it. Andrew: Thomas, you doubt everything! Peter: Well, it was not one of my prouder moments. Walking on water is not an easy thing to do. You should try it sometime and we ll see how far you get! Not enough fish to step on. James: You sank because you took your eyes off the Master. You lost your faith. We should all remember our faith now more than ever (directed at Peter). Peter: (Offended, threateningJameswith his bread) My faith is strong. I dare anyone of you to question my love and loyalty to the Master. Thomas: I seriously doubt that your loya Andrew: (Interrupting, glaring atThomas) No one is questioning you Peter. I believe you. At least you got out of the boat. No one else dared try. John: Thomas, weren t you trying to hide under the nets in the bow of the ship? And the rest of you? What were you doing? Even me. Thomasscowls, the other disciples grow silent. Peter: I feel as if I ve failed him. He told me Andrew: Told you what? Peter: He told me that while we are here in Jerusalem that I would deny knowing him. Andrew: You didn t, right? You didn t did you? Peter? Peter?! Peter: (Annoyed and hurt)Yes!! Yes. I did it. And not just once three times! He knew that I would fail him. I can t imagine what he must think of me. John: Peter, don t be discouraged. Jesus loves you as if you were his own brother. 9 www.skitguys.com

Eyewitness: The Story of a Promise Kept Lights on stage dim. Everyone on stage is still; Light onMary.Rebeccais in front of audience. Scene 3 Rebecca: Mary was Jesus mother. She had been there when Jesus died on the cross. That night she sat and remembered all the wonderful things that Jesus had said and did. Nobody knew Jesus like Mary did. Before Jesus was born an angel had visited her to tell her that she was going to have a baby and that she was to name him Jesus. From that moment on she knew that her boy would be special- that somehow he would change the world. It was so hard for her to watch other people say such horrible things about Jesus. No mother wants to see her son be ridiculed and hurt. That night as she sat and thought about Jesus she remembered him as her little boy. Rebecca sings lullaby; she can also hum softly as Mary rocks her baby . Rebecca: Mary also prayed that night. She prayed for her son and that God s will would be done. Lights fade to black on Mary; Back to the stage. Scene 4 Matthew: Sshh quiet. It sounds like someone is outside. HOUSE LIGHTS fade up; STAGE LIGHTS dim;Matthewlistens at the door; Everyone on stage is very still during this next scene.Roman SoldiersandCitizensare crossing by each other in front of audience on the city street . Roman Soldier 1stopsCitizen 1. RS1: You there! Citizen 1: Yes? What s this all about? RS1: We are looking for some men who call themselves the disciples of Jesus. Do you know where they are? Citizen 1: No. I don t know who you re talking about. (Quickly leaves) Citizen 1andCitizen 2are walking together and pass by theRoman Soldiers. RS2: (Stopping another passerby)Stop right there in the name of Caesar! Citizen 2: Sir, what is it? RS2: Do you know the whereabouts of the ones who follow Jesus? 10 www.skitguys.com

Eyewitness: The Story of a Promise Kept Citizen 2: No, sir. But I did see the one called Peter earlier in the day. RS2: Where did you see him? Citizen 3: He was in the streets in the marketplace. We don t know where he is now. RS2: Is this the truth? Citizen 3: Yes sir. Please, I don t know anything more. RS2: It is a crime against Rome to harbor wanted men. I hope for your sake you are telling the truth! (They leave quickly) RS1: (Pointing to audience) That goes for the lot of you! If anyone sees the disciples of Jesus, they must immediately report them! Scene 5 EnterRuthandEstellepushing their fruit cart that they use to sell their wares. T hey walk right past the soldiers unafraid.The soldiers are surprised that these two women would not pay them any attention. Ruth: Come on, honey. I d like to get home before Archibald here gets a chill. Estelle: Ruth, how many times do I gotta tell ya, that rooster is dea Ruth: (Interrupting)Don t say it! Estelle: Alright, but you re only foolin yourself, honey. RS 1: (Coming up behind the ladies and proclaiming )Halt! What are you doing out so late! Estelle: What do you mean scarin two old ladies in the middle of the night! You ought to be ashamed of yourselves! Ruth: She s right! Let me tell you something right now (she walks over to the soldier and smacks him lightly across the face as a Jewish mother would do)I know your mutha (mother)! And if she knew what you were out here doin she d come out here and throw you over her knee RS 2: (A little dumbfounded and surprised that this little old woman would talk to him this way)Both of you need to be inside. There s a curfew and you are breaking the law. Estelle: Oh, right, I know. After all the commotion today I get it. Well, let me tell you something deary, we knew Jesus! 11 www.skitguys.com

Eyewitness: The Story of a Promise Kept At this point,EstelleandRuthare also including the audience in their conversatio n, as if the audience is another person on the street. Ruth: Well, we knew his mutha. Estelle: Right, we knew his mutha. She was a sweet girl. Always watching out and praying for her boy. Ruth: I always knew that boy was going places. You could see it in his eyes even when he was just a boy! Estelle: That s right! Oh the things he did when he grew up! Such a nice boy. Loved his mutha. Ruth: Yeah. You know I remember this one time with Jesus good friend oh what was his name? Larry Leo Laza- Laza- (the kids might call out the name Lazarus, if so go with it! Tell them thank you for helping you out and your mind ain t what it used to be! ) Estelle: Oh yeah! Lazarus! Little Lazzie. Sweet boy. And he had a coupla sisters , Mary and Martha. Good housekeepers, those girls. I don t know why they aren t married yet. I ll have to work on that. Good girls. We knew their mutha! But you tell the story, Estelle, you tell it. (To the audience) She always tells such great stories. Ruth: That s right, well, Jesus got very sad because Lazarus he died! So Jesus went to where they buried his friend. Estelle: (Jumping; she s very excited)That s right! He s standing outside of his grave and everybody s wonderin what s he gonna do? Oh, but you tell it honey. You tell it better than me. Ruth: (She just looks at Estelle and then )Ya done? Estelle: Yeah, but you need to hurry up. My prunes are kickin in. Ruth: Right. So anways, Jesus is standing outside of Lazarus tomb and he says (calling loudly) Laaaaaa-za-ruuuuussss! Laaaaaaa-za-ruuuusss! Come forth! And ya know something? Estelle: He came forth!! (Ruth just looks at her) I m sorry, honey. You tell it. Y ou tell it much better than me. Ruth: So here comes Lazarus out of his tomb and he s walkin like this because he s all wrapped up (she s demonstrating with her legs together and her arms to her side as if she s all wrapped up in grave clothes) and Jesus says You better get him unwrapped cause if he falls down and bumps his head, I m not doin this again! (She laughs at her own joke.) No, he doesn t say that. I m teasing. I kid. I kid cause I love. 12 www.skitguys.com

Eyewitness: The Story of a Promise Kept Estelle: Oh, Ruth. You re hysterical. Oh, tell them about the time when all the disciples were on the boat and Jesus was with them! Ruth: Oh right, I remember that. Well, there they are in the boat on the waterEstelle: And a big storm blows up! (Pause as she realizes she s done it again)Go ahead. Ruth: Well, a big storm blows up and the disciples are all afraid like the boat is going to sink or something. So Jesus, he steps up to the edge of the boat and you know what he did? (See if the kids will answer) Estelle: That s right! He told that storm to cut it out! He says, Peace, be still. Ruth: We ve seen Jesus do a lot of amazing things! When he says he s gonna do something Estelle: (Getting really excited) He s gonna do it! Ruth: (Excited as well) And when he says to the lame, Get up and walk Estelle: They get up and walk! Ruth: And when he says to the blind Open your eyes and see! Estelle: (Even more excited)They open their eyes! Ruth: (Even more excited as well)And when he says that he s gonna rise from the dead in three days Estelle: (Quietly and in awe) He s gonna do it. Ruth: (To the Soldier who at this point is just tolerating them and waiting for them to be finished)So you turn that frown upside down! Cause our Jesus lives! Estelle: That s right, Ruth! Our Jesus lives! (Haves a moment ) Oh hon, we gotta go now. Ruth: Prunes? Estelle: Yeah, plus I think I ate some bad dates. They begin to exit pushing their cart offstage. Ruth: You had a bad date? With who? Estelle: No, not a date a date like a fruit (they banter as they exit). 13 www.skitguys.com

Eyewitness: The Story of a Promise Kept Soldiers exit; back at the disciples room, Matthew has been listening at the door . Thomas sneaks up behind him. HOUSE LIGHTSdim and STAGE LIGHTS come back up. Scene 6 Thomas: Are the soldiers gone? Matthew: (Jumps) Yes, Thomas. I believe they re gone. T h omas: T h is is too ri sk y . W e sho uldn t be her e ! Jesus is gone and th er e is no r e ason f o r u s to st a y in t h e cit y . W e should go hide out in Emmaus u nti l things calm down. P e ter : No! I f they want to come and take us let them come! I f k n owing Jes us and f o l l owing him means that I wil l die , then I am r e ady! Ha HA! (He picks up a loaf of bread and wields it like a sword.) Disciples: P e t e r! Shh! Quiet! Hey , wh er e do y o u keep getting the br ead ? James: Quiet all of y o u . W e ar en t goin g an y w her e . W e sta y her e . And w e wait. T h omas: W a it f o r wh a t? W a it to d i e? T o be arr ested and p ut on tri a l and then sentenced to dea t h? John: No. We wait for him. Thomas: I fear that we are all waiting for disappointment. It . I doubt anything is going to happen like he said. s been two days now

James: Thomas, sit and eat. (Peter gets protective about his food.) John says a blessing. NOTE: When originally performed, we used a Hebrew blessing before the disciples ate. Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech Haolam Hamotzi Lechem Meen Haaretz This means Blessed (Baruch)are you (Atah) Oh! Lord(Adonai) our God (Eloheinu) Kin g (Melech)of the Universe(Haolam) Who brings forth (Hamotzi) bread (Lechem)from (Meen)the earth(Haaretz). Rebecca comes to sit on the edge of the stage and sings. As Rebecca sings, each disciple decides they are too sad to eat, and exit the stage one by one.When the last one has left, there is a pause before Rebecca begins the next scene. Scene 7 14 www.skitguys.com

Eyewitness: The Story of a Promise Kept TwoMaryscome running up from the back through the audience; HOUSE LIGHTS come up. Rebecca: Early the next morning, just at sunrise, Mary and Mary Magdalene a woman who Jesus had healed were on their way to the tomb of Jesus to put spices on his body to prepare him for burial. They ran back to the disciples to tell them what they had seen! Mary: Hurry, Mary! Mary M: Wait, let me catch my breath! Mary: We re almost there! Knock on the door. John: Who s there? Mary: It s me, please open the door. Peter: (Entering with bread)They didn t use the secret knock! John: Look, Peter s going to be surly if you don t do the knock. Peter: Don t use my name! John: (Rolling his eyes) Just do the knock. Marysighs, makes a comment under her breath, and does the knock Peter: No it s a short one followed by two long Andrew: (Entering) Oh by the stubborn mule open the door already! Maryenters. John: Mary, what s wrong? Peter: You look like you ve seen a ghost! Mary: Not a ghost! He s alive! Thomasenters. Thomas: Who s alive? Mary M: Jesus! We saw him! He s alive! Need some disbelief from disciples here.They are all talking at once.Johnasks fo r a recounting. 15 www.skitguys.com

Eyewitness: The Story of a Promise Kept Mary: We went to his grave to anoint Jesus body, but what we saw was amazing! When we arrived at the tomb, there was a great earthquake and an angel appeared! Mary M: Two angels. Mary: Yes, two, that s right. But one first. Mary M: Yes, one. And then the other. Mary: And the second was more .well .More important? Mary M: The ground shook and the stone that covered the grave rolled away. The soldiers were so afraid that they fell down as if they were dead! Mary M: The angel spoke to us. He said, Don t be afraid. I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified, but he isn t here. He has been raised from the dead, just as he said would happen. And then we went inside the tomb to see that Jesus was gone. Mary: While we were on our way here to tell you, we saw him on the road. James: You saw him? Jesus? Thomas: You saw him with your own eyes? Mary: Yes! We saw him. It is true. Jesus is alive! Peter: Can it be? Rebecca: Peter couldn t believe it! Was it true just as Mary and Mary Magdalene had said? He ran out to the grave to see with his own eyes. Scene 8 PeterandAndrewrun out of the room and out of the main room. Lights fade on stage and tomb lights come up.PeterandAndrewapproach the tomb andPeterlooks inside. NOTE: You can use some upbeat chasing music here to add to the scene. Peter: It istrue! It s just as she said. He is alive! Praise God! Peterand Andrew run out to join the others in the room again; lights up on stage as Peterenters the room. Scene 9 James: So? What did you see? 16 www.skitguys.com

Eyewitness: The Story of a Promise Kept Peter: (Out of breath)We ran. All the way there. And if Andrew says that he beat me there he s lying. Andrew: I did beat you. Peter: You had a head start! I ve always been faster than you (Johnand Peterstart arguing) John: Brothers! The tomb? What did you find? Peter: Huh? Oh right! Nothing! James: Nothing? Peter: There were some of the linens that he was wrapped in and they were you know .all still together like and wrapped up like they hadn t been unwrapped and well but he was gone! James: Could it be that someone has stolen his body? Peter: I don t know. But the tomb was empty! The disciples continue to discuss what might have happened asRebeccatalks to the audience. Scene 10 Rebecca: The disciples talked about what might have happened to Jesus body. They wanted to believe that Jesus had come back to life just as he said he would. But sometimes when things look so bad it s really hard to have faith. How do you think you would feel? (If you feel comfortable and your audience is small enough, let the kids answer for a minute.) The disciples were so excited! The news began to spread of Jesus disappearance from the tomb. That same day two of Jesus followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles outside of Jerusalem. As they walked along they were talking about all that had happened. Suddenly, Jesus himself began walking by them. But they didn t know who he was, because God kept them from recognizing him. (Luke 24:13-33) The men came to where the disciples had gathered to tell them what happened. F1:

Dude! The craziest thing happened! Like we were on our way home to Emmaus and we were all really bummed about what happened to Jesus. F2: Yeah, we were totally like 17 www.skitguys.com dude .

Eyewitness: The Story of a Promise Kept James: So um huh? F1: Right, so we re walking along doin our thing when this dude starts walking with us. F2: Right! And so he asks why we re so bummed. And we tell him, Like have you been in a cave or something, dude? Cause Jesus, the man from Nazareth, was crucified. He did all these righteous miracles and he s like the Son of God and all. F1: So then we told him that the body of Jesus was missing and we re all like whoa cause the dos (as in the Spanish number for 2) Mary s said they saw the angel Peter: He was F2: He wasn t F1: Right, so that told them Jesus was adios. what? there, dude. then we re walking along and all and then the dude says You

dudes are trippin ! You so need to chill. Don t you read your Scriptures? It totally said that all these things would happen and that the Son of God would raise from the dead! F2: So we were like whoa, dude, you are so right. So by that time we got to our house and we were all like dude come and hang with us. We can totally have some dinner. F1: Right, so we sat down to eat and the dude took the bread and blessed it and then broke it. And suddenly we just knew it was Jesus! F2: Yeah! So we were like dude ? ( Dude is said like a question) F1: And he was all dude . ( Dude is said knowingly) F2: And then we were like F1 and F2: Dude! ( Dude is said excitedly! They high-five each other.) Long pause and then Peter: I have no idea what you just said. F1: Dude! We totally hung with Jesus! He s alive and we saw him and talked to him. It was so sweet! James: This can t be right. Mary said they saw him on the road Everyone starts arguing and talking and finally Johnsays 18 www.skitguys.com

Eyewitness: The Story of a Promise Kept John: Look, we all need to calm down so we can figure this out! Jesusappears from behind a scrim. NOTE: The Bible says that Jesus appeared in the room. This will take some creati vity with your stage and lighting. For more information about how to use a scrim, che ck out a link on eHow: http://www.ehow.com/how_2120768_use-theater-scrim.html Jesus: Maybe I can be of some assistance. Rebecca: It was Jesus! He was alive and standing in the room with all of his followers! Even though the doors had been locked he was there! Everyone was so amazed, they couldn t believe their eyes! He showed them the wounds in his hands and feet so they d believe. Now Thomas, known as the doubter, did not believe when he had heard that Jesus was no longer in the tomb. Even though Mary had told him what they had seen, he wouldn t believe it until he had seen it. John: Thomas, look who s here. It takesThomasa minute to realize it sJesus Thomas: It can t be. Jesus: Thomas, come see the wounds in my hands. Thomas: Lord! It is you! Jesus: You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who haven t seen me and believe anyway. Rebecca: Jesus stayed with his disciples for 40 days. Each disciple was changed forever because they had witnessed Jesus dying on a cross and then was raised from the dead. Jesus had kept his promise just as He said he would. Matthew walks downstage and addresses the audience. Matthew: Jesus said, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. Love your neighbor as you love yourself. Peterwalks downstage and addresses the audience. Peter: And that we should always forgive one another just as he is faithful to forgive us our sins. Jameswalks downstage and addresses the audience. 19 www.skitguys.com

Eyewitness: The Story of a Promise Kept James: We should show how much we love the Lord by serving one another and doing good things. Johnwalks downstage and addresses the audience. John: For God loves you so much that he gave his one and only son so that if you believe in him you will not perish, but have eternal life. Andrewwalks downstage and addresses the audience. Andrew: While we were with Jesus, sometimes we had problems believing that he was the Son of God. Thomaswalks downstage and addresses the audience. Thomas: But Jesus told us, If you have the faith of even a very small seed, you can move mountains. Rebecca: On the 40th day, Jesus met the disciples on a mountain. He said Jesuswalks downstage and should be in the center of the disciples. Jesus: Go and make disciples of all the nations. Teach the new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even until the end of the earth. The End. 20 www.skitguys.com

Eyewitness: The Story of a Promise Kept How to Make a Palm Tree Needs: Carpet rolls- cardboard roll from a carpet store; store may be glad to get rid o f some Lunch size brown paper bags Tape Stapler Umbrella Green bulletin board paper Brownish green tempera paint Scraps of burlap material or sand-colored fabric Stand for tree: we have used microphone stands, flag poles, pvc pipe anchored in large vegetable cans full of cement that we used for holding signs during VBS. Cut the bottom end of the paper bag so that it's open at both ends and thread do wn the carpet roll. Scrunch first one all the way to the bottom of the roll and sta ple it so it won't fall off. Keep scrunching the bags until the roll is covered. You will wan t to cut the rolls so they are varying heights like real palm trees. Slide the roll over your stand. Now for the top. Your base for that is an umbrella - people have lots of them ly ing around and are glad to give them to you. Otherwise go to a dollar store. Cut individual palm leafs from the green bulletin board paper. Slit the edges of the leaves about 2-3 inches from the edge to give it the palm look. Then with your greenish brown tempera (or a brown marker) make the veins in the leaf. Then atta ch those to the umbrella from the top with some sort of packing tape or duct tape. Make a roll of tape (or use double stick tape), attach to the plastic knob on the top and stick the leaf there. Leaf should hang down below the umbrella. After you have the ful lness (may take 8-10 leaves) you desire, staple the leaves to the fabric of the umbrel la. For a more realistic look, don't staple them flat. You can buckle the leaves (or as my southern mother says pooch them) to make them stand out in random places. Slide the umbrella into the top of the cardboard carpet roll. Wrap the base of the can with burlap to look like sand. Now you re in Jerusalem! Shalom! 21 www.skitguys.com