Rotation.org Writing Team
Mary Magdalene: Meeting Jesus at the Empty Tomb
Art Workshop
Summary of Activities
Students will construct a "Dish Garden Tomb" to celebrate Jesus' resurrection and appearance to Mary Magdalene. They will create and place figures of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and their self at the Empty Tomb.
Scripture
Bible Story: John 20:1-18
Key/Memory Verse: “Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’, and she told them that he had said these things to her.” John 20:18 (NRSV)
Lesson Objectives
See the Bible Background at rotation.org for this set's complete list of objectives.
Preparation and Materials
- Read the Bible Background and scripture.
- Print the attached photo of tombs at the time of Jesus.
- Gather supplies:
- Permanent markers.
- A clay pot dish (saucer), approximately 12"-14" in diameter, for each student.
- A small clay pot to form the empty tomb for each student. Mini 1 3/4" to 2" clay pots recommended.
- Bag of topsoil to form around the clay pot tomb and cover with moss and rocks.
- Scoops or shovels for the soil.
- Bag of small rocks (polished hobby rocks easily found on Amazon or craft stores).
- Bag of larger flat rocks to cover the tomb opening.
- "Sheet" Moss found in hobby stores or on Amazon.
- Water.
- Paper towels.
- Sticks of various sizes for the crosses and for Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and student figures. See the alternate idea for "peg people" below if you choose to use that.
- Pruning sheers to cut sticks.
- Yarn to wrap around sticks to form Jesus, Mary M., the student, and the cross(es).
- Scissors to cut the yarn.
- White glue to secure the end of the yarn.
- Plastic wrap to wrap up completed gardens for safe transport home.
Supply Tips:
The clay dishes/saucers, pots, polished rocks, larger rock, and sheet moss can all be purchased online in quantity at very reasonable prices --typically $1 for the pot, $1 for the dish, and so on. Think of this as a family devotion like a creche, and not a disposable craft.
It is important to get the sizes of the dish, pots, and rocks that are proportionate to each other. You don't want a pot that's too big or a dish that's too small. If you will be making smaller dish gardens, get smaller rocks, too. Use topsoil, as potting mix won't compact to hold the garden elements in place.
Note that alternative supplies may be needed instead of sticks and yarn for making people by younger students or if time is short; see the adaptation suggestions at the end of this lesson.
Lesson Plan
Opening
Welcome your students and explain what they'll be learning and doing today. Show them some of the dish garden materials, and walk them through the following explanation as you show them a picture of a tomb (attached at the bottom of this lesson page) and/or quickly assemble a dish and pot.
Say: Back in the time of Jesus, around Jerusalem wealthy people were often buried in family "caves" cut into the rocky hillside. The cave might have a carved entrance, and often a large square or round stone would be used to seal the tomb entrance. Inside the tomb there was a stone bench upon which they would lay the dead body, which was wrapped in cloth and covered with myrrh and other things to cover the odor. Jesus was not wealthy enough to own such a tomb; but Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy Pharisee and friend of Jesus, asked Governor Pilate if he could take Jesus' body off the cross and place it in his family's tomb where the bones of his family rested. That was on Friday. The next day was Saturday, the Sabbath. Then early on Sunday morning -- the third day since Jesus had been crucified -- Mary Magdalene went to mourn at the tomb. That's where our scripture story picks up.
Let's take turns reading it to one another, and as we do, I want you to think about the answers to these four questions. [Teacher: you might want to assign these questions to students ahead of time so they know they're going to be called upon to answer.]
(1) How did Mary Magdalene, Peter, and John each respond differently to finding the tomb empty?
(2) If you had been there that morning, which of the three disciples would you have most likely responded like?
(3) What changed Mary's grief into belief?
(4) When you believe that Jesus is alive, what are you supposed to do?
Read John 20:1-18. For younger children, you may use a Bible storybook.
Option: As you read the scripture, you or an assistant can lay out and move the clay pot, stones, and 'people' to mimic the action in the story.
Make the Resurrection Garden
Dish Garden Steps
- Begin by writing the key verse around the outside of the clay dish: “Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord.'" John 20:18
- Put a thin layer of soil in the dish and set the clay pot in it to form the tomb.
- Add soil and compact it around the clay pot and in the dish.
- Add small rocks and a large rock.
- Place sheet moss on top of the soil and clay pot. Lightly water and press the moss into the soil. Trim excess with a pair of scissors or tuck into the dish.
- Create a cross using sticks and yarn and sink it in the deepest part of the soil next to the clay pot. (Create just one to save time.)
- Clean the edge of the dish with a wet paper towel.
- Quickly make and place stick figures representing Jesus and Mary M. at the tomb. The "student" figure will be made and placed during the Reflection.
- If there is time, add a few stones inside the "tomb" on top of some soil to form the "bench" where Jesus' body would have been laid, and where the grave clothes were found. Comment on this part of the story, such as, "What would you have thought if you had looked in and didn't see his body?"
Your Dish Garden should now be complete with tomb, moss, cross, stones, and Jesus and Mary figures.
Reflection: Me at the Empty Tomb
Have students make a stick figure that represents THEM, then before having them place it in their garden, ask these questions:
(1) Where are you standing at the Resurrection right now? Are you looking in the Empty Tomb and wondering what happened? Do you think it's just a strange story and are you planning to walk away and not think about it once Easter is over? Or have you felt like Jesus has been calling your name and trying to get your attention? (How does he try to get our attention?)
(2) Now place your stick figure next to Jesus and Mary. As you do, answer this question: What does the risen Jesus want you to do with your life?
(3) Finally, observe that they have created a garden, and that "gardens are meant to grow things." Ask: When you take this garden home and put it in a prominent place so that friends and family see it, what might grow in your home?
Last Step: Wrap the dish gardens in plastic wrap for safe transport home.
Stick figure notes: You probably won't have much time to create the Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and "my" stick figures, this is why we have kept their design simple. To hasten the creating of the stick figures, you can pre-tie the stick figure pieces together and then let students wrap the sticks with a bit of yarn. Tieing-off the yarn requires some manual dexterity. Use a simple half-hitch and then smooth in a dab of white glue to secure it. Do not wrap the last 1" of the stick as that will go into the soil.
Adaptations
For Younger Students: Prepare the saucers with the memory verse and soil ahead of time. Fasten the cross pieces together ahead of time, and the stick figure pieces as well, so that the children simply have to wrap a bit of yarn around them. Consider using sturdy plastic saucers that won't break.
If Short on Time: Situate the clay pots in the soil and saucer ahead of time. Fasten the cross pieces together ahead of time. Pre-cut lengths of yarn. Help place and press the sheet moss onto the dish garden and have a helper trim the excess with a pair of scissors, or tuck it into the soil. Instead of yarn and sticks, you could make the people using clothespin dolls, craft sticks, or peg dolls decorated with markers. See the "Alternate People" post below in this lesson thread.
Written by the Rotation.org Writing Team
Copyright 2018, Rotation.org Inc.
