Easter (Old Testament) Teaching Activities
- Benjamin Wilcox
- Mar 22
- 9 min read
ECHOES OF EASTER-OLD TESTAMENT STORIES THAT POINT TO CHRIST
TRUTH:
Long before Jesus Christ was born, the Lord was already teaching about His Atonement and Resurrection through the symbols, stories, and prophecies of the Old Testament.
FIRE IN THE BONES:
I’m excited about teaching this lesson because it gives us a chance to take a step back and look at the big picture behind the Old Testament. One of the most powerful realizations we can have in this year’s study is that Jesus is not just a New Testament figure. The atonement and resurrection of Christ were events that were planned, prepared for, and pointed to even before the creation of the earth itself. That’s why the discerning student of the scriptures is going to find echoes and shadows of that great atoning sacrifice all throughout the pages and stories of the Old Testament. It quietly points us forward to the “meridian of time” when the Son of God would suffer for sin and rise again in triumph over death. So this Easter week, we get a chance to help our students begin to see those connections. And with that, the scriptures start to feel less like separate books and more like one great story centered on Jesus Christ.
ICEBREAKER/OBJECT LESSON:
For an object lesson and icebreaker, set up a simple light source such as a lamp or a flashlight behind a poster board or a sheet, so that students can only see the shadow of a number of different objects that you are going to place in front of the light. And what you’ll do is you will hold up the shapes of a number of different Old Testament items. And to make this easier for you, rather than asking you to go out and try to find all of these objects yourself, instead, I’m going to make a template available that has pictures of all of these object shapes ready for you so that all you would need to do is print them out (and I would suggest that you print them on card stock if possible) and then cut them out with scissors. Then you could just take those pictures and position them in front of the light and invite students to guess what each object is based only on its shadow. And here’s a list of those objects that I would want my students to try and guess. A lamb, a whale, a scroll, a snake, a knife, ,and then a silhouette of the Savior. After the activity, help your students to see the connection that many stories and symbols in the Old Testament function like shadows. Share Hebrews 10:1 with them, which says:
1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.
This was Paul’s way of saying that the things we find in the Old Testament, especially the symbolism of the law of Moses ,were shadows of good things to come. What were those good things? The life of Jesus Christ and his sacrifice. The Old Testament gives us an outline or a hint of the Savior and His mission long before He was ever born. Just as a shadow points to a real object, the scriptures and stories that we’re going to look at today point us forward to Jesus Christ and help us better understand His Atonement and Resurrection.
SEARCH ACTIVITY/GAME:
And now for a search activity. To help your students recognize and interpret the symbols, stories, and prophecies that pointed to Jesus’s life and sacrifice, you could play a round of classic concentration. The challenge is to match the scripture reference with a main truth about the Savior that that reference teaches. The way this works is that there are 20 different tiles displayed on the screen. You divide your class into two teams and challenge them to find the matches. Behind half of the tiles, they’ll find Old Testament symbols or stories and the specific scripture reference where you find it, and behind the other half they will find principles or specific aspects of Christ’s mission that they represent. What they’ll need to do is match the symbol /story with what it teaches about Jesus Christ. So first, you’ll have someone on one team select two different tiles, and if they match, they earn two points. If it’s not a match, the cards are flipped back over and it’s the other team’s turn. Also, there are two tiles that have “FREE POINT” underneath. If they find one of those, they automatically get a point and still have an opportunity to select another tile to try and match. Then you just go back and forth giving each team a chance to find the correct matches. And you’ll find that the teams struggle for a while at first to make matches since it takes a bit of trial and error to become familiar with the content behind each tile. But as the game progresses, it gets easier and easier as they begin to remember what is where and fewer options remain on the board as matches are made. The team that has the most points at the end wins.
So here are the answers to the matching activity. And you’ll notice that a tile in red text represents the symbol, and the tiles in blue text represent the interpretation. So every match will have a red that matches with a blue, so that should help them a little to recognize matches easier.
Behind tile # 1
The Coats of skins that God gave Adam and Eve after they partook of the fruit (Moses 4:27)
The match would be tile #8. Christ’s sacrifice covers our sins and clothes us in his protective grace and mercy.
Tile #14 Abraham was asked to offer his beloved son Isaac as a sacrifice (Genesis 22:1-13)
Matches tile #11 Heavenly Father would offer His own Son as a sacrifice for the sins of the world.
Tile #19 Adam and Eve were asked to offer the firstlings of their flocks unto the Lord. (Moses 5:5-8)
Matches tile #5 This was done as a similitude of the sacrifice of the Firstborn and Only Begotten Son of God.
Tile #12 The blood of a lamb spread on the doorposts of the Israelites so that the destroying angel would pass over them. (Exodus 12:3-13)
Matches tile #13 The blood of Jesus Christ protects us from the destructive effects of sin and death.
Tile #3 Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of a whale before being delivered. (Jonah 1:17, Matthew 12:40)
Matches tile #6 Jesus Christ would be buried in the tomb for three days but would then be gloriously resurrected.
Tile #18 The bronze serpent was lifted up on a pole, and anyone who looked upon it was healed from the bites of venomous serpents. (Numbers 21:4-9)
That matches tile #2 Jesus Christ was lifted up on the cross, and all who look to Him in faith can be healed from the effects of sin.
Tile #15 Isaiah prophesied: “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:3-5)
Matches Tile #20 Jesus’s atoning sacrifice would give us strength to overcome our griefs, sorrows, afflictions, transgressions, and iniquities.
Tile #16 When the Israelites were dying of thirst in the wilderness, Moses struck a rock and water flowed out to give them life. (Exodus 17:5-6, 1 Corinthians 10:4)
Matches Tile #4 Jesus Christ’s teachings and gospel are the living source of spiritual life that sustains and refreshes us in the wilderness of this world.
And Tile #9 Joseph of Egypt forgave the very brothers who betrayed and sold him and later saved them from famine. (Genesis 45:4-7)
Matches Tile #7 Jesus Christ offers forgiveness and salvation even to those who have sinned against Him.
ANSWERS/MATCHES:
1 and 8
14 and 11
19 and 5
12 and 13
3 and 6
18 and 2
15 and 20
16 and 4
9 and 7
10 and 17 are FREE POINTS
HANDOUT:
After the game, give your students an opportunity to dig a little deeper into at least one these stories or symbols. Hand out the following worksheet and invite them to choose just one symbol that interests them most. Then challenge them to study the accompanying scripture reference with this question in mind: What does this symbol teach you about Jesus Christ and His mission? As they read, encourage them to look for specific details in the story that might help them better understand the Savior and His Atonement. Give them a set amount of time to study—I would suggest about 5–10 minutes—and then invite volunteers to share any insights or impressions they had as they studied. This simple activity can create a very edifying, personal, and Christ-centered learning experience.
DISCUSSION QUESTION:
During the course of this lesson, here are a few more additional discussion questions you may wish to add to your lesson plan.
Why do you think God used so many symbols and stories to prepare the world for Jesus Christ?
Can you think of any other stories or symbols in the Old Testament that point to Jesus Christ? Which ones have stood out to you?
TAKE IT TO HEART:
How does seeing Christ in the Old Testament strengthen your faith in Him?
I WILL GO AND DO:
For an I will go and do. A simple challenge. Invite your students this Easter season to look for Christ in the scriptures.
When they read the Old Testament, challenge them to look for:
sacrifices
deliverance stories
prophecies
symbols of redemption
All of them ultimately point to the same place: Jesus Christ.
TAKEAWAY:
At the beginning of the lesson we were trying to recognize objects just from their shadows. In many ways, the Old Testament works like that too. For centuries, God gave His people shadows—stories, symbols, and sacrifices that pointed forward to Jesus Christ and His Atonement. But those shadows weren’t only meant for the people who lived back then. God knew these scriptures would one day be in our hands as well. He filled the Old Testament with these symbols so that as we read it, we would recognize His Son and be drawn closer to Him. And during this Easter season especially, studying these symbols can deepen our appreciation for what the Savior actually did for us—how He suffered, died, and rose again. I testify that Jesus Christ truly is the Savior those symbols point to—that He suffered for our sins and rose again so that we could live. As you study the scriptures, keep looking for Him there. If you do, I promise you’ll begin to see Him more clearly and feel more deeply the love and power of His Atonement in your life.
OPTIONAL LESSON ENHANCEMENTS:
VIDEO:
For a video suggestion, I want to make aware of a certain page available on the Church website. It’s just called Easter Videos, and there you’re going to find a giant list of video options that you might want to make a part of an Easter lesson you teach. I’ll include a link to that website in the lesson plan for this week.
If I had to narrow it down at all, there are two particular videos on that list that I would recommend. They’re both new this year. The first is called “Jesus Christ’s Great Love for You”. It shows scenes from the last hours of the Savior’s life and shares an inspirational message of love and hope through Christ.
The other video is called: Greater Love: A Message of Hope from the First Presidency. It contains a short message and an invitation from the current First Presidency to worship Christ and find hope in his sacrifice this Easter season.
QUOTE:
A quote you may want to share from President Cristofferson:
We see the role of death in our Heavenly Father’s plan, but that plan would become void without some way to overcome death in the end, both physical and spiritual. Thus, a Redeemer, the Only Begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ, suffered and died to atone for Adam and Eve’s transgression, thereby providing resurrection and immortality for all. And since none of us will have been perfectly and consistently obedient to the gospel law, His Atonement also redeems us from our own sins on condition of repentance. With the Savior’s atoning grace providing forgiveness of sins and sanctification of the soul, we can spiritually be born again and reconciled to God. Our spiritual death—our separation from God—will end. (“Why Marriage, Why Family,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2015, 51)
