Church Skits & Plays
A Good Friday readers’ theaterThree Robbers6 actors · 7 min

Easter · 6 actors · 7 minutes · Adults or older teens

Three Robbers

There were robbers in Jerusalem the day Jesus was crucified, and six readers count them three times, while Barabbas, released that morning, stands among them holding a board with his crime on it. A Good Friday readers’ theater for six, with no memorizing.

$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 time7 minutes
Cast6 roles · Adults or older teens
PrepRead from scripts on music stands; nobody memorizes. One rehearsal of about 30 minutes, mostly for the pace, the counting and the silences.
Best forGood Friday service, Tenebrae, a Holy Week evening service, before a sermon on 1 Peter 3:18 or on Barabbas
ScriptureJohn 18:38–40; Mark 15:6–7, 15; Matthew 27:21–22, 38; Luke 23:32–33, 48; 1 Peter 3:18 (KJV)
ThemeChrist, the just, suffered for sins, for the unjust, to bring us to God. On the day the robber Barabbas was released, Jesus was led out to be crucified.
FormatPrintable PDF

About the skit

Two thieves, two crosses, the readers count. “Three,” says Barabbas, holding up the board that names his crimes: sedition and murder. He was free by the time they reached the hill. In the governor’s courtyard that morning, four ordinary people each say plainly what “I” did: one said “Barabbas,” one said it louder, one said nothing, and one wanted to see what would happen next.

Then the street moves out toward the hill, and Barabbas goes too, to see who they put up there instead of him. Each count adds up differently, and the reading ends on 1 Peter 3:18. Nobody blames anyone but themselves, and Barabbas never puts the board down.

Six readers at music stands, adults or older teens, with one 30-minute rehearsal. It’s written for Good Friday or Tenebrae and plays dry and plain. The staging notes cover the board, the pace of the counting and the silences, and where the readers look when they look up at the hill.

Read the first page

(The six READERS walk in together and take their places. BARABBAS holds his board against his chest with both hands, letters facing the congregation. The others open their folders together.)

NARRATOR: There were robbers in Jerusalem that Friday. Count them.

FIRST READER: One. On the right hand.

SECOND READER: One. On the left.

NARRATOR: "Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left."

THIRD READER: Two thieves.

FOURTH READER: Two crosses.

THE FOUR READERS: Two.

BARABBAS: Three.

(The four turn and look at him.)

BARABBAS: You missed one. "Now Barabbas was a robber." (He lifts the board a little.) That's me. Count me.

FOURTH READER: You weren't on a cross.

BARABBAS: No. I was free by the time they reached the hill. Count me anyway.

(Silence. The four look back at their scripts.)

NARRATOR: Before the hill, there was a courtyard. "Now at that feast he released unto them one prisoner, whomsoever they desired. And there was one named Barabbas, which lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection."

BARABBAS: They write it down for you. (He tips the board so more people can read it.) Sedition. Murder. So everyone on the road knows what you did without having to ask. (beat) Everything on this board is true. There was an uprising in the city. We had knives. A man died in the street, and I won't tell you he deserved it. (beat) They chained me up with the others. I knew what came next. Everybody knows what comes next.

The script continues in the full PDF.

Characters

  • Narrator, reads the Gospel and keeps the count; steady and plain, never dramatic
  • Barabbas, “a robber,” released that morning; rough, wary and not sorry yet
  • First Reader, was in the governor’s courtyard that morning
  • Second Reader, was there too, and said it louder
  • Third Reader, was there too, and didn’t say anything
  • Fourth Reader, was there, and then followed the crowd out to the hill

Props

  • Six music stands and five plain black folders
  • A light foam board painted dark, lettered BARABBAS. SEDITION. MURDER.
  • Barabbas’s lines on two sheets in large type

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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