Learning Objectives:

• Understanding of what Christians believe about the identity of Jesus.
• Consider key moments in the ministry of Jesus.
• Consider evidence concerning the resurrection of Jesus.
• Understand the significance of Christ’s death as a once-for-all atonement for sin.

Learning Outcomes:

• Reflect on how they identify when a task has been successfully completed.
• Analyse a film clip and reflect on Snow White’s recovery from death.
• Analyse a gospel account of Jesus’ resurrection and compare it with the film clip.
• Analyse New Testament writing about Jesus’ resurrection, and analyse the importance that this event has for Christians.
• Synthesise learning by summarising what Christians believe about Jesus’ resurrection and its significance for them.

STARTER:

Ask the students what they would do if they wanted a cup of tea. Ignore answers along the lines of ‘ask Mum to make one’, and draw out that they would boil a kettle of water. Ask how they would know that the water had finished boiling, and draw out that they would see steam billowing out of the spout, and the on/off switch would turn itself off. Ask them to think of some more tasks, and to suggest ways in which they would know that the task has been successfully completed.

Explain that in this lesson you are going to be looking at what Christians believe is the most important aspect of the entire Christian faith: Jesus’ death and resurrection, and you are going to be considering how Christians believe that they can know that God’s plan to save the world worked.

MAIN ACTIVITIES:

Introduce the first clip from the film Snow White and the Huntsman (Universal 2012, certificate 12). Click here to buy a copy of the film on DVD.

Explain that a wicked Queen has deposed Snow White’s father and seized control of his kingdom for herself. A prophecy says that only Snow White (Kristen Stewart) can overthrow the Queen. Unfortunately, the Queen has tricked Snow into eating a poisoned apple, and now she is in a deep enchantment, apparently dead. Ask the students to pay particular attention to what the Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) says before he kisses Snow White.

• Start time: 1.28.25 (beginning of chapter 16 of the DVD)
• End time: 1.33.00
• Clip length: 4 minutes and 35 seconds

The clip begins with an establishing shot of snowy mountains, cutting to lots of people (and dwarves) coming into the town square. The first line is the Huntsman speaking to Snow White’s body, saying, ‘Well here you are, all dressed up.’ The clip ends after Muir (Bob Hoskins) says, ‘The spell is lifted’.

Ask the students why Snow White came back to life. Draw out that the Huntsman’s kiss seemed to be the catalyst for breaking the spell. Remind them that the Huntsman said that Snow White, like his late wife, didn’t deserve her fate. Later in the lesson you can remind them of this, likening it to the Christian belief that Jesus’ death was also undeserved – he alone had committed no sin – but he chose to die in the place of sinful humanity, to save them.

Put the students into pairs or small groups, and ask them to look at a gospel account of Jesus’ resurrection. The passages are: Matthew 28:1-20; Mark 16:1-20; Luke 24:1-50 and John 20:1-31. Each group should also look at 1 Corinthians 15:12-19 and Romans 6:5-10, which offer more of an explanation of the significance of the resurrection in Christian thinking. Ask each group to answer the following questions in the light of the passages;

• What similarities can you find between Snow White and Jesus? What significant differences?
• In what ways does 1 Corinthians 15 suggest Jesus’ resurrection is of vital importance to the Christian faith?
• What difference does Romans 6 suggest Jesus’ death and resurrection makes for Christians?

Take feedback, and remind the students of what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:19 – ‘If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.’ Ask if anyone can explain why Paul makes such a statement. You could draw a comparison with the way that the rebels against the Queen lost all hope when they thought Snow White was dead, but felt that her return to life made victory over the Queen possible again.

Explain that for Christians, Jesus’ life is more than just a good example to follow, and belief in his being raised from the dead is at the centre of Christian belief. At the core of the Christian faith is the belief that all human beings have rebelled against God and as a result are condemned to be separated from him forever. The only way to avoid this is by trusting that Jesus’ death has made it possible for anybody to be put right with God. Christians see Jesus’ resurrection as the proof that God’s plan worked – that Jesus’ death had successfully paid the price for human sin and opened the way to God. If the resurrection didn’t happen, Christians have no basis for being sure of their eternal life.

SUMMARY AND ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING:

Ask the students to write a short account of what Christians believe happened after Jesus’ death, based on their reading of the Bible in this lesson, and then another short account of why this belief occupies such a central place in Christian thinking.

YOU WILL NEED:

• A copy of Snow White and the Huntsman and the means to play it.
• Bibles.