Easter Stories: A 5-Day Reading Plan Sample

Everyone Leaves Jesus

Jesus knew he was going to die and that his closest friends would desert him.

Judas was the worst. He was one of the twelve disciples, but he never truly loved Jesus. He betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. For a little bit of money, Judas agreed to turn Jesus over to his enemies. Many of the Jewish leaders hated Jesus. They were jealous of his popularity. They were envious of his power. Most of all, they wanted to kill Jesus because he said he was the Son of God. They didn’t have eyes to see who Jesus really was.

Early on Friday morning, after the Last Supper, while it was still dark, Judas came with a mob to arrest Jesus. The men had swords and clubs. The chief priests and scribes and elders were there too. Judas gave Jesus a kiss on the cheek and said, “Teacher!” That was the sign to those who were with Judas. They laid hands on Jesus and took him by force. But he didn’t put up a fight. It was almost his time to die.

Jesus’s friends and followers ran away. They were too scared to be seen with Jesus. Judas wasn’t the only one to turn on Jesus.

Before the arrest, Peter, James, and John were supposed to watch and pray with Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. But it was late, and they were sleepy. Jesus’s best disciples couldn’t even stay awake one hour to help their teacher and friend.

Later in the morning, after his arrest, Jesus stood trial before the chief priests, scribes, and elders. It wasn’t a fair trial. They brought in people to lie about Jesus. Even the things Jesus really said, the priests didn’t understand (or try to understand). They had already decided that Jesus deserved to die.

If that wasn’t bad enough, Jesus’s boldest disciple was turning into a chicken, or a scaredy-cat, or whatever animal you can think of that is the opposite of courage. A few hours earlier, Peter made a big boast that he would never, ever leave Jesus. But Jesus knew Peter better than Peter knew Peter. And sure enough, before the rooster crowed on Friday morning, Peter had denied Jesus three times.

Unlike Judas, Peter would later repent of his sin and go on to do great things for Jesus. But there wasn’t any greatness in Peter on that day. He swore up and down that he had never even met Jesus before. No one wanted to be near Jesus, let alone follow him.

Jesus was hated when he should have been loved. He was despised when he should have been worshiped. When his friends and followers should have been there for him, they all scattered. What Jesus was about to face, he would have to face alone.

PRAYER: Dear God, forgive us for the times we have denied Jesus or been too scared to follow him. Amen.

This Plan was adapted from The Biggest Story Bible Storybook by Kevin DeYoung, Illustrated by Don Clark