Shocking Goodness

Ever wondered what your faithful support through prayer and giving looks like in the classroom? Dubbo SRE teacher, Josiah Clarke, gives us a fascinating first-hand glimpse below as a group of Year 2 students take part in a recent lesson on the events leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion:

“Barabbas was a violent man, and Jesus was a good king. Which one do you think the crowd would want Pilate to release?” I asked the class.

They chorused confidently: “Jesus!”

“Unfortunately, no,” I said, solemnly. “The crowd shouted together, ‘Release Barabbas!'”

The shock in my Year Two class was palpable, “What!? But Jesus had done nothing wrong…”

I continued. “Pilate asked: ‘What do you want me to do with Jesus?”

The class shuffled uncomfortably, predicting what was about to come.

“They shouted, ‘kill him!'” I stated.

“What!?” “Why?” “He had done nothing wrong!”Voices in the classroom exclaimed.

One boy put his hand up and asked: “Why were there people who didn’t like Jesus?” Another girl added, “Yeah, he only ever did the right thing!”

As we chatted about the story afterwards, I asked: “Could Jesus have stopped himself from dying?”

An air of uncertainty fell as students darted their eyes around to see what others thought.

One girl broke the tension, saying confidently: “Yes, Jesus could have stopped himself from dying, but he did it so we could be friends with God.”

One of the reasons I love teaching children the gospel stories is that I am reminded of things like how the shock and goodness of the cross go hand in hand.

To support the invaluable work of Scripture in schools, and help to make more conversations like this possible, remember to pray for our teachers and classes across the state and visit su.org.au/donate