Knock, Knock

The Easter story

by Janice Ross

Suitable for Whole School (Pri) - Church Schools

Aims

To retell the Easter story by using knock-knock jokes.

Preparation and materials

• You will need a leader and four readers.
  
  You will need an adult to play the Narrator, and three children to play the parts of Mary, a Roman centurion and Peter. Everyone should be ready at the front to say their lines when needed.

Assembly

Narrator: Knock, knock.

Audience: Who’s there?

Narrator: Sadie.

Audience: Sadie who?

Narrator: Sadie magic word and watch me disappear!

Leader: There was a time when Jesus disappeared, and it certainly wasn’t funny! Many people had watched as he was crucified. Many had heard his anguish and seen his pain. Many had seen him die, be taken down from the cross by Roman guards and then be carried to a burial cave. Many had watched as a stone was rolled across the entrance and guards took up their positions outside the tomb.

However, the next day, when Mary and some other women came early to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body, they discovered that he had disappeared. The stone had been rolled away and the tomb was empty. At that moment, their sadness and bereavement turned to fear, shock and horror.

Mary wandered the garden in tears until a gardener asked her why she was crying.

Mary: Someone has taken Jesus’ body and we don’t know where they have laid him.

Leader: Mary wasn’t the only one to be struggling to understand Jesus’ disappearance. The poor Roman guards were called before their boss, the centurion, to give their account.

Centurion: What do you mean, it’s disappeared? Dead bodies don’t just disappear!

Narrator: Knock, knock.

Audience: Who’s there?

Narrator: There’s no body.

Audience: There’s nobody who?

Narrator: It’s Mary and there’s NO BODY!

Leader: Suddenly, Mary realized that the gardener she was talking to was actually Jesus! She immediately rushed down the road to share her news with some other followers of Jesus. When Peter opened the door to her urgent knocking, Mary explained what had just happened. Peter was really confused, but he ran to the tomb to see for himself.

Peter: Mary is right! There’s no body! Jesus isn’t here, although the cloths that his body was wrapped in are still here. Even the cloth that covered his head is lying here, neatly folded.

Leader: Later, the disciples were all together in an upstairs room, trying to come to terms with the news, when there was a knock at the door.

Narrator: Knock, knock.

Audience: Who’s there?

Narrator: Lettuce.

Audience: Lettuce who?

Narrator: Lettuce in, it’s cold out here!

Leader: Actually, that bit is just a joke! Jesus didn’t knock on the door and ask to come in. Instead, the disciples were sitting in the room, mulling over the day’s events, when Jesus appeared, right there among them! He hadn’t needed to knock. He had risen from the dead and he had a different body now. He had come to be with his disciples and comfort them.

Time for reflection

Leader: Can you imagine how surprised Jesus’ friends would have been? He was really alive again! He had risen from the dead! What great news!

Jesus coming back to life again is called the resurrection. It is a central Christian belief. Christians believe that Jesus died on the cross and then came back to life. On Good Friday, they remember his death and on Easter Sunday, they celebrate his resurrection.

Christians also believe that Jesus didn’t die again, but went back to heaven alive, which means that he is always there for us to talk to, any time.

Narrator: Now let’s listen to a knock-knock joke with a difference. Knock, knock.

Audience: Who’s there?

Narrator: Anybody home? God is always there . . . and he always answers.

Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you that Jesus came back to life and is alive today.
Thank you that you promise always to be near us.
Help us to remember that we can talk to you at any time of the day or night.
You are always there to listen to us.
Amen.