| JESUS' CRUCIFIXION ~ 1 |
| Back in Bible times, the Roman rulers killed their enemy by making them suffer first. One way was to nail their hands and feet to boards crossed over each other with one end in the ground. The nails were the only thing holding them up. Jesus was very, very good. Therefore, bad peole hated him. Did you ever do something good in front of your friends and they got mad at you for it? So the bad people got permission from the Roman government to hang Jesus on a cross with nails. That is called a crucifixion. It usually took from one to a few days for the person to finally die. Jesus could have stopped them. He had the power to strike them dead before they could hurt him. But he loved his enemies and did not want to hurt them. Jesus loved all of us so much, that is why he let them crucify him. It had to be done to pay the punishment for our sins. Oh, how Jesus loved you and me. His hands hurt. His feet hurt. They were also bleeding. Although he was a grown man, he probably cried sometimes because of his terrible pain. Jesus' family went to where he was suffering on the cross. They cried. Soldiers kept them from taking him down. Jesus' apostles were there, even though they were afraid of being crucified too. They were brave. They had promised they'd never desert Jesus again. They were very sad too. Jesus was their best friend and leader, and they did not want him to die. Jesus tried to comfort them even while suffering. He even told his mother, Mary, to go home with his apostle John so John could take care of her. Finally, after six very painful hours on the cross, Jesus died. You might ask why all this was necessary. God is Good and cannot be friends with anyone who has ever done anything bad. Everyone has done something bad. Just like what we throw up in the air has to come down, there are other natural laws. Another natural law is that bad must be punished so we can forget the bad and start over again. God told his Son, Jesus, to take the world's punishment for our sins, even though he never sinned. Once the punishment was over with, God said he would like to be everyone's friend in the whole world, even if we do bad sometimes. All you have to do is believe God's Son, Jesus, died for you, be willing to do the type things he did in his life, and then you will be God's forever friend. And you will be able to share God's home with him in heaven some day. |