Church Skits & Plays
An Easter skit from Matthew 28While We Slept4–7 actors · 7 min

Easter · 4–7 actors · 7 minutes · Teens and adults, plus an optional child with no lines

While We Slept

The guards at the sealed tomb take their orders very seriously, right down to the sparrow near the seal, and the next morning they’re handed a purse and a story to learn. A funny-then-serious Easter skit from Matthew 28 for teens and adults.

$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
Cast4–7 roles · Teens and adults, plus an optional child with no lines
PrepMemorized, with one or two rehearsals; walk the scene change in your room. Every line is short, and the two longest parts can keep cue sheets on the set.
Best forEaster Sunday, an Easter program, a youth group; before a sermon on Matthew 28 or on the evidence for the resurrection
ScriptureMatthew 27:62–66; 28:2–4, 11–15 (KJV)
ThemeGod raised Christ from a sealed and guarded tomb. Even the story that was paid for had to begin with the tomb being empty.
FormatPrintable PDF

About the skit

“Sabbath. Third hour. Seal: whole. Stone: in place. Watch: awake.” The Senior Guard calls it out every hour, by the book, and drills the New Guard on the orders word for word. The Third Guard keeps nodding off, a sparrow perches far too close to the seal, and the New Guard has one question nobody wants to answer: what if He does rise again?

Before dawn, three shaken guards run to the chief priests’ messenger with a report about an earthquake and someone who sat on the stone like it was a bench. He comes back with a closed purse and a sentence for them to learn, Matthew 28:13 word for word, and the harder they practice it, the worse the story gets. Then the Senior Guard stops, because something about that sentence is bothering him.

It fits Easter Sunday, an Easter program or a youth night, and leads well into a sermon on Matthew 28 or the evidence for the resurrection; the first half is too funny for Good Friday. Four to seven people, every line short, with one or two rehearsals. The staging notes cover the scene change down the center aisle without lights, keeping the Bird safely off the stone, and why the purse never opens.

Read the first page

(The SENIOR GUARD bends down and checks the seal closely. Then he straightens up and calls out the hour, the way he will every hour.)

SENIOR GUARD: Sabbath. Third hour. Seal: whole. Stone: in place. Watch: awake.

NEW GUARD: Can I ask a question?

SENIOR GUARD: Is it about the watch?

NEW GUARD: Why are we guarding a dead man?

SENIOR GUARD: Orders. Say them back to me.

NEW GUARD: (reciting) "Make it as sure as ye can."

SENIOR GUARD: And why?

NEW GUARD: (reciting carefully) "Lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead."

SENIOR GUARD: Word for word. Good.

NEW GUARD: How sure is "as sure as ye can"?

SENIOR GUARD: As sure as we can.

NEW GUARD: But He's dead. What's He going to do?

SENIOR GUARD: While He was alive, He said that after three days He would rise again.

NEW GUARD: So we're guarding against a story.

SENIOR GUARD: We're guarding a stone.

THIRD GUARD: I heard He made a blind man see.

SENIOR GUARD: Rumors. We don't repeat rumors.

NEW GUARD: I heard He raised a man from the dead.

SENIOR GUARD: (a beat) We don't repeat rumors.

THIRD GUARD: (yawning) Long shift.

SENIOR GUARD: And nobody sleeps.

THIRD GUARD: (snapping upright) Nobody's sleeping.

The script continues in the full PDF.

Characters

  • The Senior Guard, in charge of the watch; twenty years on duty and never once asleep
  • The New Guard, young and eager; good at learning orders, bad at keeping a story straight
  • The Third Guard, sleepy; very, very sleepy
  • The Messenger, carries messages for the chief priests; calm, careful and never sneering
  • The Bird, optional: a child with paper wings and no lines
  • Extra Guards, optional: one or two, with no lines

Props

  • A big circle of gray-painted cardboard for the stone
  • A red ribbon seal with a paper circle
  • Helmets and spears, or matching tunics and belts
  • A cardboard shield for the Senior Guard
  • A small table, a chair and a cup
  • A closed cloth purse stuffed with tissue
  • Paper wings for the Bird

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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