Jesus’ words in this passage about carrying your cross have to be up there with some of his most famous sayings. While the focus of this passage could be that Peter gets it wrong, it could also be about this famous instruction. This craft pictures just that, a walking Jesus dragging a cross behind him. It’s a simple craft and the only time-consuming part is backing it onto thicker card.
To make this craft, you will need the printout, some card, scissors, a stick (chopstick is ideal), a spit pin (brad), an awl (or something to poke a hole) some tape and some glue
Back onto thick card and cut the pieces out.
Where the small circles indicate, make holes for the split pin
Thread the split pin and open up on the reverse of the design
Add a stick to the main body of Jesus using tape.
gently roll Jesus to see his feet ‘walk’ as he carries the cross forward.
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This is a passage many people would rather skim, we would rather not portray the angry Jesus who slings things like calling someone a devil. But this passage is so important to understanding not only Peter but the way the people of God could move from adoring crowds to chanting crucify. At the root of this passage, Peter gets it wrong on the back of declaring Jesus the Messiah, his great high and painful low clashing back to back.
Play this little board game, the rules are on the page, but the basis is that you need to lose everything to win. You’ll need a lot of counters or coins. The PDF is accessible by clicking on the picture.
Follow the leader
Under 7’s
Any size group
No Setup time
Noisy game
Space needed
This classic game ties in well to the story where Peter wanted Jesus to follow his dream, not Jesus’ mission.
When I’m king…
All Ages
Any size group
No Setup time
Quiet game
Can be seated
A variant on what I’ll take to grandma’s this is a game about memorising a list. Each player lists a decree they’ll make when he or she becomes ruler, the following person has to add their decree to the list after recalling all that has gone before.
Feel bags
All Ages
Small group
Requires setup time
Quiet game
Can be seated
These are precisely what they sound like. Grab some bags and hide things inside, have the kids feel the outside and guess the contents. What clues do the bags give us, why did we get some right and some wrong? Link to Peter’ community having dreams of a Messiah, why did they get right and wrong given the clues they had?
These are the Character resources provided for: Peter gets it wrong (Matthew 16)
For each passage, there is a collectable card alongside high-quality character images and a colouring page. All other graphics are extra’s!
Click on the images below to see a larger version. Save the images by right click + ‘save image as’ (computers) OR long press + ‘save image’ (mobile).
These images are NOT copyright free.
These resources are provided for personal/classroom use only. Use can use them for teaching, games, publicity, decorations, big screen presentations, flannel graphs, stickers, or any other non-commercial activity in your church, school, home, or organised group. You may not use them in products you are going to sell (both printed and digital). Nor may you upload the original images online, on websites, social media or in YouTube videos. Any questions, please reach out to me using the contact page link at the end of the page.
As we journey through Peter’s ups and downs, it’s clear that his bravery to speak from the heart both earns his accolades and dumps him in hot water, too. Here Peter gets it very wrong. This passage is one that really seems odd until you consider the background. Peter knew what a messiah looked like – he’d be a king, a warrior, a savour to his people with the power of God behind him – Jesus decimates that idea pretty quickly. This isn’t a complex craft and lends itself well to groups who like the colouring process or those who want a craft in a hurry.
A massive part of understanding scripture comes from understanding the context that it’s played out in. In passages like this, where Peter challenges Jesus’ planned schedule as absurd, we have to see the wider picture to understand the actions of the characters. This shift in Jesus’ teaching is totally incompatible with the expectations and teachings of a coming Messiah, and Peter putting his foot in it is a very predictable response. It’s easy to make Peter look like a fool or a man of weak faith in this conversation, but neither is true. By understanding why he had trouble grasping this concept, we also shed light on why the religious leaders lead Jesus to his death.
This retold version of the Bible passage is supplied for inspiration, feel free to omit or embellish to give it your personal voice.
Everything seemed to change after that conversation, the one where Simon had said he thought Jesus was the messiah, the Christ, the long-awaited saviour…. and Jesus had said yes! Simon had been given a new name – Peter – because he was going to be the rock Jesus built his new church on. He walked around like he was king for a few hours with his new-found importance. Peter knew who Jesus was, even if Jesus told them to keep it a secret for now.
They had been waiting for a messiah for hundreds of years. The Messiah was going to take back the crown of David their ancestor, be the new king. He would save them from the Romans who ruled over the Israelites so they could be independent again. He would bring in a new time of peace and prosperity and worship to God. Every child, man and woman longed for the messiah to come and Peter had found him!
But the next day, Jesus started teaching the disciples something new. He started to teach them that a time was coming when Jesus would be arrested and killed. The Messiah killed? Peter was outraged. The messiah wasn’t going to be killed. He was going to be a great leader, he was going to unify the people, bring back the temple as the focus of peoples lives, make the nation strong. Not get arrested like a common rebel and die. But Jesus kept saying the same thing again and again and again.
Finally, Peter took him aside. “No Jesus, God won’t allow this, it must never happen!” Now Jesus looked mad, he shouted at Peter, “Get behind me deceiver, don’t be something I’ll fall over” Peter stepped back in amazement – what was going on?
Jesus looked deep into Peter’s eyes, he wanted to make sure Peter understood he wasn’t going to be the Messiah Peter expected, his kingdom wasn’t going to be like the one Peter wanted.
“Peter, you look through human eyes, not God’s eyes. If you want to save your life, you must be willing to lose it. If you want to follow me, you need to take up your cross.” Peter thought about the thick wooden crosses they used to kill prisoners, they were so heavy to carry, it was a horrible way to die.
“Peter,” said Jesus softly now, “It does not work like you think. If you lose your life for me, you will gain so much more!”
Peter looked at Jesus, he didn’t fully understand, but he knew that Jesus was worth risking everything for, even dying on a cross.
