Church Skits & Plays
A Good Friday skitBefore Sundown3 actors · 5–6 min

Easter · 3 actors · 5–6 minutes · Adult women (older teens can play them)

Before Sundown

Friday, the last hour before the sabbath. Mary Magdalene, Joanna and the other Mary grind spices and fill jars for Jesus’ body, racing the sun, and talk about what they saw that day. A serious Good Friday skit for three women that ends in “Were You There.”

$8USD, tax included
  • Instant PDF download, yours to keep
  • Performance rights for your whole church
  • 30-day refund if it doesn’t fit your church
Running time5–6 minutes
Cast3 roles · Adult women (older teens can play them)
PrepLines learned before the rehearsal, then one rehearsal with the real props. Their hands are busy the whole time, so a cue sheet can lie flat on the table among the cloths.
Best forGood Friday service, a Holy Week evening service, a women’s gathering during Holy Week
ScriptureLuke 23:46, 49, 55–56; Luke 8:2–3; Psalm 31:5 (KJV)
ThemeJesus committed His spirit into His Father’s hands, and that evening the same hands held the women who loved Him.
FormatPrintable PDF

About the skit

Friday afternoon in a room in Jerusalem, the last hour before the sabbath. Three women have just come back from the garden tomb, and their hands never stop: Joanna grinds the spices she bought without asking the price, Magdalene stirs the oil, and the other Mary covers jars between trips to the window to check the sun. There is no humor here and no weeping; their grief comes out as work.

Joanna can’t forgive herself for what she heard told in her husband’s house that morning, and for standing there saying nothing. Magdalene was close enough to hear His last words, and she has noticed something in one of them that changes how all three see the day. It lands on Luke 23:46 and Psalm 31:5 just as the sun goes down.

Three adult women and a table of real props, about 5–6 minutes, and then the congregation sings “Were You There,” ending on the tomb stanza. It’s written for a Good Friday or Holy Week evening service. The staging notes cover keeping the hands busy the whole time, the sun as the only clock, real spices, and a one-sentence introduction for churches with no bulletin.

Read the first page

(The three women come in together, quickly, still in their outdoor cloaks. JOANNA goes straight to the mortar and starts grinding at once, still in her cloak. MAGDALENE empties the oil jug into the bowl. THE OTHER MARY goes to the window first and looks out, then turns back toward the others. From here to the end, their hands never stop working.)

THE OTHER MARY: The sun's on the roof across the street.

(She comes back to the table and starts covering jars.)

JOANNA: Then we have an hour.

THE OTHER MARY: Less.

JOANNA: (grinding) Is it enough? Tell me it's enough.

MAGDALENE: It's what there was.

JOANNA: I bought everything the man had. I didn't even ask what he wanted for it. I just kept putting coins down. (She shakes the pouch. Almost nothing in it.)

THE OTHER MARY: You always paid. In Galilee you paid for half of what we ate.

JOANNA: Money was all I ever had to give Him.

THE OTHER MARY: That isn't true.

MAGDALENE: Grind it finer. It has to go into the oil.

JOANNA: I know. I'm doing it.

(They work.)

MAGDALENE: They did it too fast. You saw. The linen, the spices, all of it. Those two men were racing the sun.

THE OTHER MARY: They did it with care.

MAGDALENE: They did it fast.

THE OTHER MARY: Both.

The script continues in the full PDF.

Characters

  • Mary Magdalene, has followed Jesus since Galilee; steady and blunt, and she heard His last words
  • Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward, who always paid; quick hands, angry with herself
  • The Other Mary, Mary the mother of James and Joses, the oldest of the three; keeps an eye on the sun

Props

  • A table, and a bench or three stools
  • A wooden mortar and pestle, a mixing bowl and a wooden spoon
  • A small jug with a splash of olive oil
  • Six to eight small jars, with cloth squares and string
  • Whole spices: cinnamon sticks, cloves, bay leaves and rosemary
  • A small money pouch with a few coins
  • One large cloth to cover the table
  • Three cloaks or shawls, and a drop cloth under the table

What you get

  • The full script with stage directions
  • Cast list, props list and simple staging notes
  • Four discussion questions for a small group, youth group or Sunday school class
  • Performance rights for your church: perform it as often as you like and print copies for your cast

Performance rights

One purchase covers one church or ministry. Perform it as many times as you like, make copies for everyone in the cast and crew, adapt the lines and include it in your livestream. Please don’t resell the script or share the file publicly. Read the full license.

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Questions

Can I change the names or lines?

Yes. Change names and genders, trim lines for time or adapt a joke for your church. The script is yours to fit to your people.

Can we record and stream the performance?

Yes. You can include it in your livestream and post the recording on your church’s own channels.

How do I get the file after I buy?

Right after checkout you get a download link on the confirmation page and by email. It works for up to 20 downloads, and each copy is marked with your order so it stays licensed to your church.

Who is the seller on my receipt?

Payments are processed by Link, Stripe’s checkout, which acts as the reseller. Your card statement shows LINK.COM* CHURCHSKITS. Questions about the script itself come to us at hello@churchskits.org.

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