Church Skits & Plays
A Good Friday skitClean Hands3 actors · 5–6 min

Easter · 3 actors · 5–6 minutes · Adults (the servant can be an older teen)

Clean Hands

The morning after the crucifixion, Pilate hasn’t slept, his wife wants to know exactly what he said, and a basin of water waits on the table, untouched. A serious Good Friday skit for three adults: Pilate, his wife and a servant who grew up hearing the prophets read.

$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 · Adults (the servant can be an older teen)
PrepMemorized, with two rehearsals. Pilate carries the longest part.
Best forGood Friday service, Tenebrae, before a Holy Week sermon on Isaiah 53 or on Pilate
ScriptureIsaiah 53:5–6; Matthew 27:19, 24; Luke 23:22 (KJV)
ThemePilate tried to wash his hands of Jesus. The stripes he ordered, the wounds of the whipping, are the very wounds that heal us.
FormatPrintable PDF

About the skit

Saturday morning, the day after the crucifixion. Pilate hasn’t slept, and a servant has poured water into a basin he won’t touch. His wife wants to hear exactly what he said yesterday. He tells her: he sent Jesus to Herod, offered the crowd a choice, said three times he found no fault in Him, and washed his hands in front of all of them. No one in that courtyard, he says, tried harder than he did.

Then Pilate defends himself with his own words from Luke 23:22, and the servant, almost without meaning to, answers with a few words from a prophet he learned as a child. They come from Isaiah 53, and Pilate makes him say them again.

Three adults, about 5–6 minutes, memorized with two rehearsals. There is no humor; it’s written for Good Friday, Tenebrae or before a sermon on Isaiah 53, and afterward the congregation can sing “Were You There” or the pastor can read Isaiah 53:1–6. The staging notes cover the basin as the clock, letting the silences sit, and a folded note that hides Pilate’s cue sheet.

Read the first page

(PILATE walks in, still in yesterday's clothes, and sits at his end of the table. The SERVANT follows, pours about an inch of water from the pitcher into the basin, as if he'd been asked to, and waits beside it with the towel. PILATE looks at the water. He doesn't touch it.)

PILATE: Leave it.

(The SERVANT steps back but stays. PILATE's WIFE enters and stands at the other end of the table.)

WIFE: You didn't sleep.

PILATE: Neither did you.

WIFE: I haven't slept since the dream. (beat) You got my message.

PILATE: On the judgment seat. With a crowd shouting outside. Yes, I got it.

WIFE: Then you know what it said.

PILATE: (reciting it flatly) "Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him."

WIFE: And?

PILATE: And I had nothing to do with it. That was the whole point. I did everything I could to have nothing to do with it. I sent Him to Herod. He's a Galilean; Galilee is Herod's. Herod sent Him back.

WIFE: Dressed as a king.

PILATE: Herod and his men mocked Him first. Herod found no crime in Him either.

WIFE: What did you say to them?

PILATE: You were there.

WIFE: I was upstairs. Tell me what you said.

PILATE: (standing, pacing) I said I found no fault in Him. I said it to the priests. I said it again when He came back from Herod. There was the custom, one prisoner released at the feast, so I gave them a choice. I thought it was an easy choice. (beat) They took the other man. And when they kept shouting, I said it a third time. Three times, I told them He was innocent.

WIFE: Three times.

PILATE: Three.

The script continues in the full PDF.

Characters

  • Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea; proud, tired and sure he did the reasonable thing
  • Pilate’s Wife, calm and exact, and never raises her voice; the Bible doesn’t give her name
  • The Servant, serves in the governor’s house and grew up hearing the prophets read; a man or a woman

Props

  • A plain side table
  • One chair and a bench, or three chairs
  • A basin and a pitcher with a little water
  • A towel for the servant
  • Optional: a small folded note for Pilate

What you get

  • The full script with stage directions
  • Cast list, props list and simple staging notes
  • Three 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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