In the background we see the walls of the town of Bethany from where the Jewish people have come out to the tomb site to mourn Lazarus. On the left side of the icon, the disciples stand behind Christ, looking fearful as well as doubtful. On the right side of the icon, we see one or two young men rolling away the tombstone, and, in some variations of the icon, starting to unbind Lazarus.
Mary and Martha are kneeling in front of Christ and weeping. Lazarus is shown standing in the tomb entrance, still wrapped up in his burial clothes. You can listen to the chanted troparion in English on YouTube, chanted by Vassilios Hadjinikolaou.Ĭhrist stands in the center, with His right hand raised, calling forth Lazarus. Do one or more reinforcement activities (worksheet, craft, game, act-out activity with the puppets).īy raising Lazarus from the dead before Your passion, / You did confirm the universal Resurrection, O Christ God! / Like the children with the palms of victory, / We cry out to You, O Vanquisher of death / Hosanna in the Highest! / Blessed is He that comes in the Name of the Lord!.Read the story from an Orthodox-approved children’s Bible and discuss the main points.Introduce the story using our paper puppets.Using our material, a lesson on the Raising of Lazarus could go as follows: Older children should be able to explain that this miracle is important to us today because it reveals Christ’s dominion over death, thus reminding us of the potential for our own salvation if we choose to follow Him.Older children should also be able to describe more details in the icon (Bethany in the background, the cave, the people holding their noses). Children should point to our Lord, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus in the icon.Children should be able to briefly retell the story of Lazarus.Lazarus’ bodily corruption symbolizes the corruption happening to our soul because of our sins.This further enraged the Pharisees against our Lord, and from that moment on they planned to put Him to death – and to also kill Lazarus. Because of the Raising of Lazarus, Christ was recognized by the masses as the long-anticipated Messiah King of Israel.Jesus simultaneously displays human emotions, weeping for His friend, and the fullness of His divine power, raising Lazarus’ dead and already decomposing body. This miracle clearly reveals the two natures of Christ, human and divine.The miracle is a prophecy in the form of an action – it foreshadows the Resurrection of our Lord, which happened eight days later and, by extension, our own resurrection on the Last Day. The importance of the Raising of Lazarus can be summarized as follows:īy raising Lazarus, Jesus Christ appears as Lord and Victor over Death.It is a great feast day of the Church, and is celebrated the Saturday before Palm Sunday (thus the name Lazarus Saturday), right before the beginning of Holy Week. The Raising of Lazarus is the most important miracle that our Lord Jesus Christ performed, just before He entered His Holy Passion.TEACHING THE RAISING OF LAZARUS Main points
– Step-by-step craft, game and snack ideas Sneak peek: Thank you for being fair and respectful of our work!ĭownload our printable packet for a complete Lazarus lesson plan, which includes:
#Lazarus bible game download
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