Stories of Jesus for Children 6 - Jesus' Friends

When Jesus and his friends had finished their special meal together, I think they all felt very strange. They knew that big things were happening, and most of them didn't understand what it was all about. One of his friends, Judas, sneaked out of the room, and only Jesus seemed to know where he was going. Jesus asked the rest of his friends to come outside the city with him, to spend the night praying.Can you see Jesus in the picture, looking at Jerusalem and praying? He got very upset when he prayed - praying is talking to God, and Jesus cried and told God that he was feeling very scared about what would happen next. See - even Jesus can get scared.In this picture you can see Jesus kneeling down and praying, if you look very hard (it was dark, of course). Can you see his friends? They've fallen asleep! Jesus was sad and scared but his friends weren't there to help him.

But one friend had done something much worse. When Judas left their special meal he went to tell the important people where Jesus was going. The important people quickly called some soldiers and they all went together to arrest Jesus - to capture him like he was a criminal!

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The soldiers said: 'We don't know what Jesus looks like - how can we arrest him?' Judas told them: 'I'll go up and give him a friendly greeting - a hug and a kiss like we always do. Then you'll know that the one I kiss is the one to arrest.' Can you see Judas giving him a hug in the picture?

So Jesus was arrested, and he let the important people take him away and tell everyone what a bad man he was. It was a terrible night. Everything seemed to have gone wrong. But somehow, Jesus seemed to act like it was OK with him. Maybe he something that the others didn't...

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Question for younger children: Do you sometimed feel scared? Who do you talk to when you feel scared?

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Question for older children: Jesus' friends all let him down. Have you ever been let down by a friend? Have you ever let a friend down yourself?

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Activity: Judas got paid some silver coins by the important people when he gave Jesus to them. See if you can find a silvery coin and put it in your Easter garden, to remind you of this sad night.