Court Trials

Court trial your faith…

Trial and Crucifixion

Summary of Lesson Activities:

For the Kick-off as stage is decorated to look like a courtroom. The

person hosting the kick-off is the court clerk and should be dressed in
business clothes. The court clerk’s role will be to welcome the youth
to the courtroom, inform them of the upcoming trial, and provide
them with background information through verbal explanation and a
movie depicting Holy Week. A short court session follows the movie –
where the judge begins to address the question of Jesus
innocence/guilt of the charge of blasphemy, but is exasperated by the
lack of evidence and recruits the youth to investigate the matter and
appear in court with their verdict in an hour by stations. The clerk will
close the session by distributing paper folders for youth to use as they
collect their evidence through the stations.

Session Outline:

 10 min: Introduction to the upcoming trial and the charge of

blasphemy
 30-40 min: Holy Week video (The Jesus Story for Children,
available for free online)
 15 min: Court is in session and kids recruited as investigators
 10 min: Overview of the rotation (the kids’ mission), introduction
to the memory verse

Leader Preparation:

 Review the scripture and background materials.

 Gather the supplies.
Supplies List:

 Costume for the judge (robe, wig, gavel)

 Table, tablecloth, and wooden chair (judge’s desk – set up at the
front of the chapel)
 Flag on a pole (optional – but would help make the chapel court-
like. Have in a stand beside the judge’s desk.)
 The Story of Jesus for Children (cued to 30:13)
 Projector and laptop or TV and DVD player
 Paper Folders (1 per student)

Lesson Plan

Opening: 

Lesson (led by Court Clerk):

Welcome kids as they are dropped off. Inform them that this
room is a courtroom for today, and that you are the court clerk
(that’s why you’re dressed in business clothes). Stress that there
are special protocols that must be followed when the court is in
session, and go over them with the kids. 

Rules for the Courtroom:

o Hats must be removed

o Eating and drinking is not allowed
o Large bags and parcels must be left in a designated area
by the door
o You must be very quiet and sit still so that you do not
disturb the court
o If the judge asks you a question, you must stand up when
you answer and always address the judge as “Your
Honour” [maybe practice this a couple of times, for fun].
o You must stand up when the judge enters the court, and
remain standing until the judge sits down. When the judge
leaves the court, you must stand up until the judge has left
 the room. (Listen to the clerk; she’ll tell you when you have
to stand up)

Dig: 

Say:

There is a big trial coming up this afternoon, and I need to fill

you in before Court is in session so that you can understand
what’s going on. Does anyone here know what a trial is?  A trial
in court is where a judge decides whether someone is guilty of a
crime!  Today, the judge is going to be putting Jesus on trial!!
He is going to decide whether Jesus is innocent or guilty of
blasphemy! (Pause for a moment) Wait, do you guys know what
blasphemy is? I’d better back up and explain! 

Blasphemy is a fancy word that means to say or do something

that is extremely offensive to God. It is a crime. An example of
blasphemy is claiming to be equal to God when you are not. It’s
like saying, “I am just as powerful as God!” or even “I am God!” 
Does that make sense? [Check for understanding. Rephrase if
necessary – it’s important that the kids understand this
concept]. 

A long time ago, Jesus was accused of blasphemy. He was put

on trial, and He was killed because He had said that He was the
Son of God. You see, claiming to be the Son of God is the same
thing as claiming to be equal with God! Even though this was
many years ago, people are still wondering if Jesus was guilty or
innocent of this charge. Some people are saying that Jesus
wasn’t blaspheming when He claimed to be the Son of God –
they say that Jesus was telling the truth! Other people say that
Jesus was not the true Son of God.  So today, the judge is going
to make a decision for once and for all: Was Jesus the Son of
God, or not? 
Before the judge comes in, and the court starts, I think it would
be helpful if we watched a video of the first time Jesus went to
court! I’ve got a movie here that shows the events surrounding
Jesus’ first trial. 

[Play ‘The Story of Jesus for Children’, from 30:13 –

57:07.] 

Isn’t that an amazing story? It’s my favorite…But we don’t have

time to talk about that – the Court session is about to begin! But
there’s a big problem – while you were watching the video, I got
a notice from both lawyers who were supposed to come today,
and neither of them will be here! The lawyer who believes that
Jesus is innocent missed his plane this morning; and the lawyer
who believes that Jesus was lying when He said He was the Son
of God came down with laryngitis and can’t speak at all! The
judge isn’t going to be too impressed by this…but at least the
lawyers each sent their arguments on paper! Maybe the trial can
go ahead after all. [Check your watch]. Oh boy, Court needs to
start right now. You guys remember the rules, right? Stand up
when I tell you to, sit down after the judge sits down, be very
quiet, and if the Judge asks you a question stand up and call him
“Your Honour” when you reply. 

Drama with the Judge: 

[Clerk moves to the door and opens it; looks toward the stage
and speaks with dignity]: All Rise! 

[The Judge enters regally and moves to the desk on the stage;
bangs the gavel on the desk]

Judge: Court is now in session. [Sit down]

[Clerk motions to the kids to sit down] 

Judge: Today, we will be hearing the case of Jesus’ trial: Is
Jesus innocent or guilty of blasphemy for claiming to be the Son
of God? Would the prosecuting attorney please rise? 

Clerk: [looks nervously around] Your Honour, I regret to inform

you that the prosecuting attorney is unable to be here today; he
has laryngitis and can’t speak. But he sent a written statement…
would you like to assign someone to read it?

Judge: [Sighs] I suppose we had better. [Scans the benches of

kids, points to one of the older kids]. You, what is your name?

[Allow the student to stand up and say, “          , Your

Honour”.] 

Judge: Would you please come to the front and read the

statement for the lawyer who believes that Jesus was guilty of
blasphemy?

[Student should respond: “Yes, Your Honour”. Clerk gives the

student the following statement to read] 

Statement from the Prosecuting Attorney

Jesus lied when He said He was the Son of God. He was just a
man. I declare that Jesus is guilty of blasphemy! 

[Allow for a long period of silence] 

Judge: Is that it?! That’s the whole statement? No evidence, no

witnesses, nothing to back up this claim?

[Look at the student and allow them to respond] Unbelievable!

What kind of court does this lawyer think I’m running? Well,
thanks for stepping in, I guess – you can go sit down now. 

Judge: Would the defending attorney please rise?

Clerk: [looks nervously around] Your Honour… I’m afraid that
lawyer missed his plane and can’t be here either. He did send his
statement though… 

Judge: [shakes head; scans the benches and points to another

one of the older kids]. You, what is your name? 

[Allow the student to stand up and say, “          , Your

Honour”.] 

Judge: Would you please come to the front and read the

statement for the lawyer who believes that Jesus was innocent
of blasphemy?

[Student should respond: “Yes, Your Honour”. Clerk gives the

student the following statement to read] 

Statement from the Defending Attorney

Jesus was telling the truth when He said He was the Son of God.
I declare that Jesus is innocent of blasphemy! 

[Again, allow for awkward silence while anticipating that there is

more to be read.] 

Judge: There’s nothing else from this lawyer, either? Surely, he

provided some evidence? A witness? [Look at student and allow
them to respond to the negative]. Nothing? Unbelievable! Good
thing these lawyers aren’t here or I’d throw them out of the
court for incompetence!!

[Stand up and speak emphatically]. This is an important case

though! I can’t make a decision about Jesus if no one is going to
bring forward any evidence! [Start pacing]. What can I do? 

[Stop and turn toward the kids like you just had a great idea].
Hey…what about you guys? You look like a smart bunch of kids.
I bet you could do a much better job than those lawyers! I need
people to investigate the issue – and you are just the ones for
the job! I need you to learn the facts! Get to the bottom of this.
If Jesus was the Son of God – then I need proof! Bring me
photos! Bring me witnesses! If Jesus actually did miracles, you
need to interview people who saw them. Did Jesus really rise
from the dead? Then I’ll need to hear from someone who
actually saw Him alive after He died! You can’t just tell me what
you think – prove to me one way or the other if Jesus really was
the Son of God! 

You got it? The Court Clerk can get you set up with everything
you’ll need to do your job. [Stand behind the desk and raise the
gavel] We will hear the case for Jesus in two weeks’ time. This
court is now adjourned. [Bang the gavel]. 

[Clerk motions for the kids to rise; the judge leaves with dignity
and composure out the door]. 

Review of the Rotation (lead by Clerk)

Express amazement at this very unexpected turn of events.

Review with the kids what the judge wants them to do and
explain that over the next 2 weeks they will have opportunity to
visit different workshops that will help them to gather the
evidence they need to determine whether Jesus was guilty or
innocent. Remind them to take careful notes and pay attention,
because they will be presenting their case before the judge!
Hand out a briefcases to each student and ask them to label it
with their name and grade (this is for keeping their case notes
safe). 

If there is time at the end, share with the kids a verse that you
think will help them to make sense of this whole trial: 1 Peter
3:18 “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the
unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the
body but was made alive in the Spirit.” Explain any difficult
words/phrases (sins= anything we do, say, or think that does
not please God; the righteous = a person who always does what
is good; the unrighteous = people who do what is not good; put
to death = killed), and practice the verse together. Creative
methods to consider:

o Make up actions for key words

o Split the room in half (or boys and girls) and give them
alternate phrases to say. Repeat the verse several times
until each side knows their parts, then switch. (One side
says “For Christ also suffered once for sins”, “to bring you
to God”, and “but was made alive in the Spirit" )
o Start at the beginning of the verse and have the kids
repeat the first few words after you. Repeat the one bit
several times before adding more. Once you’ve gotten
through the whole verse, start quoting from near the end
and have the kids finish it. Do it again, making it longer by
a phrase until they say the whole verse.
o Make up a tune to sing the verse to, and teach the verse to
the kids as a song

KICK-OFF (All students together to introduce theme before workshops)

Summary of Lesson Activities:

Trial and Crucifixion
Creative Storytelling
School of Investigation

Summary of Lesson Activities:

Children will investigate Jesus' innocence.

Scripture Reference:

Luke 22:45 - 23:25 

Lesson Objectives:

This lesson is part of a themed rotation studying Jesus’

trial. Children have been recruited as investigators and
will be collecting evidence that Jesus is innocent of his
charge of Blaspheme. Each workshop will help students
gather their evidence and learn more about the story of
Jesus’ trial. Help the students stay in theme by calling
them investigators, asking to see their briefcases and
notes and using legal terms.  

Your lesson focuses largely on exploring the story of

Jesus’ trial through the theme of an investigator training
school. After working through their lesson they will
receive a graduation certificate to add to their briefcase.

Leader Preparation:
 Read the scripture and background materials.
 Gather the Materials.

Materials List:
 Bibles
 Markers
 Paper
 Playdoh
 Bible figurines
 Action figures
 Dolls
 Playmobil or lego

Lesson Plan 

Opening:
Introduce yourself as the Professor/Instructor at the
School of Investigation. Get to know the names of each of
your students. 

Let the students know that you are aware of the job that
the judge has given them - they are supposed to figure
out if Jesus was guilty or innocent of the charges that the
Sanhedrin laid against Him. That is a really big
responsibility! 

Tell them that every great investigator has to have some

pretty specialized skills. To help them complete their job
for the judge you are going to make sure that they are
trained in some investigation skills. If they pass your
tests than you will give them a certificate that proves that
they are indeed trained investigators. 

Tell them that since they are investigating Jesus’ trial you
decided to use that same story in the Bible for the
training activities you are doing today. 

Dig: 

SKILL #1 - Listening Carefully

This game will help children pay close attention to a

reading of the gospel account of Jesus’ trial. 

Introduction:
  Explain to children that as investigators they have to listen
extremely carefully to people’s testimonies. You need to catch
every detail that people tell you so that you can investigate if
stories line up, find the truth and understand what happens.
 Tell children that you are going to be reading the story of Jesus’
trial and their job is going to be to listen very carefully to identify
how many times people wronged Jesus (by hurting him, betraying
him or by lying about him). They will keep count by making tally
marks on a paper with a pen.
 We’ll see at the end if anyone got the right answer
 Hand out pens and paper to children
 

Read from Luke 22:45 - 23:25  

Here is list of the wrongs against Jesus:

15. Judas betrayed Jesus

16. The officers arrested Jesus
17. Peter denied knowing Jesus to the girl at the fire
18. Peter denied knowing Jesus a second time
19. Peter denied knowing Jesus a third time
20. The guards mocked and beat Jesus
21. The crowd lied about Jesus betraying Caesar
22. The chief priests and teachers shouted accusations at Jesus
23. Herod and his officials ridiculed Jesus
24. The crowd shouted crucify him even though Pilate had stated he
was innocent
25. Pilate listened to the crowd instead of the proof he had found for
Jesus’ innocence and sentenced Jesus to death 

Review:
  Have children add up their tally marks and see if any children came
to the total of 11 (or at least 11, some students will mark down
every single incident of wrongs against Jesus instead of just the
overall situations listed above)
 Review each of the eleven situations where Jesus was wronged
 

Skill #2 - Scene Investigation

This game will help children learn and remember the
details of Jesus’ trial and who was involved.  (Some of the
information provided in the character descriptions was
gathered from the fantastic Biblical Backgrounds here on
rotation.org) 

Set-up:

 Good investigators need to study every detail at the scene of a

crime and be able to remember everything they see when
investigating a case.
 Using playdoh, bible figurines, action figures, dolls, playmobil or
lego - set up a diorama style scene as you once again walk through
the details of the story and help imagine the scene of Jesus’ trial.
As you set up the scene explain background/details of who people
are and how they participated in Jesus’ trial
 Allow students to ask questions as you build the scene
 Explain to students that they have to memorize exactly what the
scene looks like and who is in the scene. Practice by quizzing kids
on who the playdoh balls/bible character dolls represent
 Children can make notes if they want to
 After setting up the scene have children turn away and close their
eyes.
 Change the scene by removing, adding or rearranging one
character or a set of characters from the scene
 Children look back and try to find the change
 Let students take turns making the change and trying to stump
their peers

 
Creating the scene: 

There is no record of exactly who was in attendance at

Jesus’ trial so we will be imagining what it may have
looked like and take some liberties so that we can teach
children as much about the full story as possible. You may
wish to place a paper backdrop behind the scene or create
paper   columns to help set a stage.  Maybe you'll make a
courtyard for the crowd or a special chair for Pilate.  Use
your imagination.   

Teaching through the scene: 

Set up the scene in the following order. As you build the

diorama use the following teaching notes. 

Guards & Jesus

 While Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane a group of

soldiers came to arrest him. His very own disciple Judas had led the
way and turned Jesus in to be arrested.
 The soldiers who took Jesus and kept watch over him mocked him
and beat him.
 

THE SANHEDRIN
  The next morning Jesus was taken to the Sanhedrin 
 The Sanhedrin was the Jewish ruling council during New Testament
times. Technically, Israel was under Roman rule, but the Sanhedrin
ruled in religious matters; they were the Jewish Court of Justice.
This group of seventy-one men consisted of chief priests and
scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees (We are placing 7people in the
scene to represent the 71 members of the Sanhedrin). They were a
powerful group. They made laws, had their own police force and
could arrest people and send them to jail. The “president” of the
Sanhedrin at this time was the high priest, Caiaphas. 
 The gospels portray the Sanhedrin as a group most interested in
preserving their own power and position. They were obviously
threatened by Jesus and his message and were violently opposed
to him. 
 Only one member, Joseph of Arimathea, was a supporter of Jesus,
though a secret one, “for fear of the Jews.” (John 19:38) Joseph of
Arimathea is the one who requested permission from Pilate to
remove Jesus’ body from the cross and used his own tomb for
Jesus’ burial. 
 Jesus had angered the Sanhedrin on several occasions, by
cleansing the Temple and by making them appear ridiculous during
question and answer sessions. The resurrection of Lazarus a month
ago had been the final nail in Jesus’ coffin! The Sanhedrin was
convinced that the problem of Jesus must be settled once and for
all. There would no fair trial for Jesus. Several witnesses spoke
against Jesus. Caiaphas commanded Jesus to respond to the
charges. “Are you the Christ, the Son of God?” Jesus replied, “I
AM... In days to come, you will see the Son of Man sitting at the
right hand of the Mighty One...” This outraged the high priests who
immediately demanded that Jesus be put to death. They then spit
on him, hit and slapped him. The guards took him and beat him.

PONTIAS PILATE & HIS WIFE

  The Sanhedrin brought Jesus to Pilate. 
 As Roman governor and supreme judge in the province, Pilate had
the sole authority to execute a criminal. 
 Pilate listened to their complaints but was not interested and
essentially told them to deal with Jesus themselves. But the priests
were insistent. Jesus should be put to death and for that they
needed Pilate. Pilate questioned Jesus and found no reason to
charge him. But the chief priests were adamant that this
troublemaker from Galilee be stopped.
 Pilate’s wife told her husband not to have anything to do with
sentencing Jesus - he was an innocent man!
 

HEROD

 When Pilate heard that Jesus was from Galilee, he sent him to
Herod (the tetrarch of Galilee) who was also in Jerusalem for the
Passover. 
 Herod was actually glad to see Jesus and hoped to witness some of
his miracles. But Jesus did not respond to Herod’s questions.
 Herod and his soldiers taunted Jesus, placing a royal robe on him
and sending him back to Pilate.
 

PONTIAS PILATE & WIFE, THE CROWD, BARABBAS

 Once again Jesus was in Pilate’s presence and a large crowd also
gathered for the court hearing
 The crowds were whipped into a frenzy by the priests and religious
leaders. They shouted for Jesus to be crucified. 
 The practice at Passover was to let one prisoner go free. Pilate
offered to release Jesus, but the crowd demanded instead the
release of Barabbas, a known robber, murderer and rabble-rouser. 
 The gospel accounts make it clear that Pilate did not believe that
Jesus was guilty. But Pilate eventually succumbed to the will of the
crowd and ordered Jesus to be whipped and then to be crucified. 
 

Play the game

Play a few rounds having children look away while you
remove a character, change positioning in the diorama,
swap spots or make other changes. As children guess
which changes have been made see if they can remember
the people involved in the story. 

SKILL #3 - Knowing the difference between Guilty vs.

Innocent 

Introduction:

 Good investigators need to understand the difference between

innocent and guilty and be able to find evidence that would prove
one or the other
 Have children see if they explain what the difference is between
innocent and guilty
 Define innocent and guilty 
 Discuss some of the characters that were guilty in the story of
Jesus’ trial (Judas, the officers, Peter, the guards, the crowds, the
chief priests and teachers, Herod and his officials, Pilate. Although
it wasn’t specifically in connection to Jesus - Barabbas was also
guilty - he was a murderer!)
 Who was innocent? Jesus! Why was he innocent?
 Explain that it would be VERY unfair if someone who was innocent
had to take on the punishment of someone who was guilty.
 

WINK MURDER

Play a game where children determine who is guilty of

being the murderer. Here is list of the wrongs against
Jesus:
  All of the players sit in a circle and close their eyes. The teacher
walks around the outside of the circle and chooses the murderer by
tapping someone on the head one time. The detective is chosen by
tapping someone on the head twice.
 After the murderer and the detective are selected everyone can
open their eyes.
 The detective moves to the middle of the circle. That player’s goal
is to determine who the murderer is as quickly as possible.
 The murderer kills people by winking at them. When a player is
killed, he should lay down or leave the circle. (Many players like to
make the killing dramatic by, for example, pretending they’ve been
shot.)
 The detective has three chances to guess who the murderer is. If
the detective does guess right, the murderer becomes the detective
for the next round. 
 

Review:

 How do you think the disciples felt when Jesus was arrested for
accusations that He was innocent of?
 Was Jesus’ punishment fair? How big of a punishment did he get?
(prison, beating, mocking, death)
 Have you ever gotten in trouble for something you didn’t do
(something you were innocent of?) How did it make you feel? 

Jesus knew He was innocent. He could have asked God to

save Him from death on a cross. Jesus WILLINGLY took
His punishment. Jesus died on the cross as an innocent
man to cleanse us of all our guilt. He took our punishment
for everything we have ever done wrong or ever will do
wrong and made everything right.

Close with a prayer.

I would like to thank God for this site https://www.rotation.org

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