Paul's Journeys

Courtroom Script

Needed: Prosecutor and witnesses, Defense attorney and witnesses, jury, judge.

Design your drama space to look like an official "courtroom". Include a podium with a microphone for the lawyers to make their argument, and a witness box with a microphone. If you have an extra kid with nothing to do, make them a guard! The judge could be a teacher, which gives them the ability to 'direct' the drama from the bench, rather than prodding it from the side.

*Give each child their testimony on index cards and allow them time to practice it, asking for help to pronounce difficult words.

Practice lines ahead of time and help the kids act like their characters. Costumes will help!

Let the jury know what to expect.

Information for Attorneys/Judge/Jury

To prepare:
Read over Acts 21:17-22:23, which details Paul’s actions in Jerusalem which had the Jewish leaders so upset. They would accuse him of violating the temple by bringing Gentiles into it, which could be punished by death to those Gentiles back in Jesus‘ time (he apparently did NOT bring Gentiles in, but may have not had much of a problem with those who did: remember Paul’s opinion was that Jesus had changed everything, faith was enough-he was teaching his new Gentile converts that they need not become circumcised or follow the dietary laws) They would also accuse Paul of trying to incite a riot, which was untrue- it was the leaders themselves who were inciting the crowd to beat Paul over his sayings and actions (see Acts 21:27-31).

Attorneys:
Read over Acts 22:30-Acts 26 for background information on different trials of Paul. Then read over the various choices for witnesses, as well as the Bible references that go along with them, so you can choose the witnesses that will best represent your particular point of view.

Prosecution:
Your aim is to prove that Paul violated the temple in Jerusalem by bringing Gentiles into it, and that he started the ensuing riot. Use witnesses from Jerusalem and other places we have already learned about to support your case.

Defense:
Your aim is to prove that Paul is not guilty of any crime. He believes in the same God as his accusers, he is a Pharisee and the son of a Pharisee. The leaders can find no real crime to charge him with; the real reason for the trial is the resurrection. The leaders are afraid because they know everything has changed, and they are making Paul their scapegoat.

Keep in mind that many kids in K-5th grade are not the most expressive readers due to their inexperience, so the responses they can give you must necessarily be short and to the point. This activity would be much more creative with older kids who can think on their feet, but I think my K-5th graders will get a lot out of it nonetheless.

Script

We need to remind the children that what the witnesses will be saying will in some cases be skewed to support the side they are testifying for. They thus will not necessarily be telling the truth on the stand. We should encourage them to go back and read from a children’s Bible the scripture on which their testimony is based. You will not necessarily have the time/enough children to use all of the script. Again, feel free to make the changes you need to in anyone‘s testimony, and eliminate the witnesses you don’t have the time or enough children for. The way I am setting this up gives only the kids exactly what to say-attorneys will need to ad-lib the questions or prepare them in advance once it is decided which witnesses to use.

*Give each child their testimony (printed below) on index cards and allow them time to practice it, asking for help to pronounce difficult words.

Witnesses for Prosecution
Person from:

Ephesus-
I have no doubt that Paul caused a riot in Jerusalem. Paul caused a riot here in Ephesus, too. He knew that our whole economy is based on people visiting the temple to Artemis. If they don’t come and spend money, we can’t support our families! But Paul told people that Artemis is not a real god, and this Jesus guy is the son of the one true God. Lots of people believed him. No wonder we got mad. I depend on selling idols that I make so that I can feed my family. I was glad when he left. I am sorry to see he made trouble other places.
(Based on Acts 19:23-41)

Galatia-
Paul and Barnabas performed a bunch of tricks in my town of Iconium. Some people said they were able to heal people and perform miracles, but it sounded like magic tricks to me. When a bunch of the Jewish leaders ran them off, I knew Paul must be dishonest. He sounds like the kind of guy who would get revenge by taking Gentiles into the Temple.
(Based on Acts 14:6)

Philippi-
My uncle was the owner of that slave girl that Paul “cured”. Now that the demons have left her, she can’t tell the future anymore, and my uncle is poor. The officials would not have put Paul and Silas in jail unless they were really guilty of something awful. We don’t put innocent people in jail. And we have suspicions about how he really got out of jail. I think they were making up the whole “We are Roman citizens” thing. And who ever heard of a jail full of prisoners NOT escaping when they had the chance?
(Based on Acts 16:16-40)

Corinth-
I personally heard Paul tell people they were temples of God. He said that God’s temple is holy, and the followers of this Jesus are the temple! I was brought up to believe that the temple in Jerusalem is the holy place where God lives. If Paul is a blasphemer, what wouldn’t he do?
(Based on 1 Corinthians 3:16-17)

Jerusalem- I was there and I saw him take Gentiles into the temple. Well, I saw him walking toward the temple with some Gentile from Ephesus, and Paul said he was going in. I am sure he took that Gentile with him!
(Based on Acts 21:26-29)

Witnesses for Defense
Person from:

Philippi, after the earthquake-
Paul did not do anything wrong! It was the power of God who caused the earthquake! Paul could have just saved himself and gotten away, but he stayed and kept everyone in their cells so God’s miracle could speak for itself. He didn’t want the jailer to get in trouble. Paul speaks the truth and God is on his side.
(Acts 16:25-36)

Troas-
I was there when Paul was preaching so late. Eutychus, my best friend, was foolish enough to sit in the windowsill. It was hot and he thought the breeze was better there. Well, he fell fast asleep and fell out of the window! It was three stories down, and Eutychus was dead by the time we got downstairs. Paul stopped preaching and brought him back to life! Then we went back upstairs and shared the Lord’s Supper! Eutychus seems perfectly healthy now. How can that not be the power of God?
(Based on Acts 20:7-12)

Corinth-
I went to the church in Corinth. Paul challenged us to give an offering for the poor in Jerusalem, and he personally went with the group who took it to them. If he was not a man of God, wouldn’t he have kept it for himself and run away?
(Based on I Corinthians 16:1-4)

Ephesus-
I went to the synagogue in Ephesus, and I heard Paul preach almost every Sabbath for 3 months. He made believers out of many people who practiced dark arts and magic. They took a fortune in their evil books and burned them! When the riot happened, it was the silversmiths who started it, not Paul. The silversmiths were just too threatened by the truth Paul was teaching.
(Based on Acts 19:8-41)

Jerusalem-
Paul fasted, prayed, and purified himself as our law requires. I went to the temple with him for the ceremony, and everyone who went in was a Jew. It is true that Paul was talking to his Gentile friend Trophimus from Ephesus. But Trophimus waited outside the temple when we went in. The leaders who accuse Paul of taking Gentiles to the temple are just looking for a reason to get him in trouble.
(Based on Acts 21:18-29)

Antioch of Pisidia-
The Jews themselves stirred up people and started the riots in Antioch, Thessalonica, Ephesus, and other cities, not Paul. I am sure it was they who did it in Jerusalem, too. In Antioch, where I am from, a lot of the Jews converted when Paul and Barnabas spoke in the synagogue. But when the Jewish leaders got mad and argued against them, Paul and Barnabas took the message to the Gentiles. This made the leaders more angry, and they got all the city officials and influential people they could find to help run Paul and Barnabas out of town.
(Based on Acts 13:50, 14:2, 14:19, 16:22, 17:13)

Apostle Paul himself-
The only reason I am on trial is because my hope is in the resurrection of the dead. I have committed no crime against the Roman government or the temple or the Jewish laws. I am a Pharisee, as were many of my ancestors. The law and the temple are very important to me. I worship the God of our ancestors. My accusers are making up these charges of violating the temple and inciting riots because they do not want to hear the truth. I once did everything I could to oppose the followers of Jesus of Nazareth. I helped have them sent to prison. I voted against them when they were condemned to death. I even went all the way to Damascus to find followers of Jesus and bring them back to Jerusalem for trial. While I was on the road to Damascus, I saw a blinding light from heaven and heard a voice call out, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” The voice told me he was Jesus, and he was appointing me to be his servant and witness. He told me to tell the Gentiles about him. My message is God’s message! He has sent his son to die for the sins of everyone, so we can be made right before God. Jesus is the Messiah we have waited for for generations! I have spent years since Jesus called me traveling and spreading the Good News. People have tried to kill me for saying these things everywhere I have gone, but God has always kept me safe.
(see Acts 24:10-21 and Acts 26 for his defense testimony)

After testimony there can be closing arguments by each side. There may also be a motion to dismiss by the defense based on these arguments:

Dismiss all charges because-
They are based on lies and assumptions, not fact.
Witnesses under oath are deliberately giving false testimony.
The real charges are religious, not civil, and Rome should not be involved in a religious matter.

Misc:

Everyone stands when the judge comes in. Have someone pretend to be the bailiff and say "All rise. The Honorable Judge So and So is presiding. Court is now in session. You may be seated." You may choose to swear in witnesses. Lawyers can object to witness testimony on the basis of hearsay or speculation, judge can rule on objections. (When we did this activity I told our judge to overrule all objections since the kids were too young to know how to rephrase. It did, however, add some realism to our case, and the kids thought it was a nice touch.) Jury can come to decision after trial.

To get real trial info we will point kids to Acts 23-26 and tell them this trial led the leaders to send Paul to prison in Rome to await a trial. Roman citizens such as Paul could appeal to have their case heard by the Emperor himself in Rome, and Paul chose to do this.

*You might consider videotaping the proceedings to let the kids watch later on, and even share with the congregation. If I do this again, I would like to allow more time for each side to cross-examine the opposing side. We would probably get help from the youth group with it next time, too. Littler kids did well as the jury, and it helped them feel important since they could not read well enough to be witnesses.

After the drama....

You might put some of the STUDENTS ON TRIAL.
Accuse them of going to church and believing in a false Messiah.
Ask them to make their case.
Have their lawyer try to defend them.

Lead them off in chains.

By Angela Lewter, Children's Ministry Coordinator, Decatur-Trinity Christian Church, Bartlett, Tennessee August

Based on ideas from "Paul's Journeys" by Nancy Fisher, Rose Publishing,

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