Myrrh-bearing Women



  1. Students should be able to say the word “myrrh” and know its meaning.
  2. Students should be able to tell the story of the myrrh-bearing women in their own words.


Possible Lesson Plan:

  1. Open with prayer.


  1. Read the story of the myrrh-bearing women in the Children’s Bible Reader, page 257, or the Read with Me Bible, pages 398-399. Supplement with the Children’s Bible, pages 354-356, or Children’s Stories of the Bible 235-237, if desired. There is also an Arch book, “The Easter Women”. Why were women going to the tomb? Why on Sunday? What is myrrh? What did they find? What did they do?


  1. Feed the Elephant True/False Questions:

True                                                     False

            The women went to the tomb on Sunday.      The women went on Saturday.

            The women carried myrrh.                              The women carried wine.

            They found the tomb empty.                          They found Jesus’s body.

            They told the disciples Jesus was risen.          They cried and fell asleep.


  1. Discuss a bit burial customs. Have any of the children been to a funeral or vigil? What are our customs? See if the children can remember singing “Memory Eternal” or eating koliva. The Jewish custom was to rub the body with myrrh. Why couldn’t the women do it Friday night? (the Sabbath) Where do we go to visit someone who has died? (cemetery) Where was Jesus’s body  put after He died? Can you remember whose tomb it was? We usually bury people in the ground and fill the grave with dirt. How was the tomb of Jesus sealed? (stone) How did the women feel when the stone was rolled away? How would you feel if the grave of a loved one were found dug up? But, Jesus’s body wasn’t stolen; He told the women He had risen from the dead! How did they feel now? What did they do?

  1. Make Sachets: Take a small circle of fabric for each child – or several? Fill each with spices – cinnamon, cloves, etc. Tie with ribbon or yarn. Give to mom for Mother’s Day to put in her drawers. Remind the children that the myrrh-bearing women brought sweet-smelling spices for Jesus. Can they tell the story?


  1. Close with prayer.