40. Jesus Is Crucified

What the Story Says

1. What did the soldiers force Jesus to carry?

   They forced him to carry the cross on which he would die (#40-02).

2. What did Jesus ask him Father to do for the soldiers who crucified him?

   He asked his Father to forgive them, for they did not understand what they were doing (#40-02).

3. What did the sign above Jesus' head say?

   The sign said, "King of the Jews" (#40-02).

4. What did Jesus promise to the robber who asked Jesus to remember him?

   Jesus promised him that he would be with Jesus that very day in Paradise (#40-04).

5. What did the Jewish leaders and people in the crowd tell Jesus to do so that they might believe in him?

   They told Jesus to come down from the cross and to save himself (#40-05).

6. What happened to the sky as Jesus was on the cross?

   The sky became completely dark for three hours in the middle of the day (#40-06).

7. What did Jesus cry out to his Father as he died?

   He said that it was finished, and gave his spirit into his Father's hands (#40-07).

8. What happened to the curtain in the temple when Jesus died?

   The curtain was torn in two, from the top to the bottom (#40-07).

9. What did the the Roman soldier say about Jesus when he died?

   The soldier said the Jesus was certainly innocent, and that he was the Son of God (#40-08).

10. Who buried Jesus?

    Two Jewish leaders named Joseph and Nicodemus buried Jesus (#40-09).

11. How did Joseph and Nicodemus close the tomb?

    They rolled a large stone in front of the tomb to block the entrance (#40-09).

What the Story Means to Us

1. Why do you think Jesus said the soldiers did not know what they were doing?

   The soldiers were Romans who did not know very much about the Jewish religion. They probably thought Jesus was an ordinary criminal, and they treated him as one.

2. They soldiers gambled for Jesus' clothing. Why does that help us believe Jesus was the Messiah?

   This action was one of many things that the scriptures, written hundreds of years before, said they would do to the Messiah. All these prophesies were fulfilled in Jesus.

3. Jesus told the robber who rented that he would be with Jesus in Paradise that day. What does that tell us about the way to enter into heaven?

   The robber did not perform a single good deed. Instead, he simply confessed that he was a sinner, and asked Jesus to remember him in the kingdom. As a result, Jesus promised that he would be in Paradise—that is, heaven—that same day. The way to enter into heaven is to believe in Jesus.

4. Why do you think Jesus did not come down from the cross and save himself when the people asked him to?

   The people who told Jesus to come down from the cross did not want to believe in him. They were only mocking him. They did not realize that he had the power to come down from the cross. But he came to earth to die for sinners. That was the will of his Father. He had to stay on the cross and give up his own life in order to make it possible for God to forgive other people who believed in Jesus.

5. What was finished when Jesus cried out?

   When Jesus cried out, "It is finished!" he wanted to say that he had finished paying the penalty for the sins of everyone in the world. It was now possible for God to forgive those who repent and trusted in Jesus. People no longer need to die for their own sins.

6. Why was the curtain of the temple torn from top to bottom?

   The curtain of the temple prevented people from seeing or entering into the most holy place in the temple where God was. God in heaven above tore the curtain from the top to the bottom when Jesus died. He did this to show that Jesus had opened a way for man to approach God through the sacrifice of Jesus.

7. Why did the soldier say that Jesus was innocent, and the Son of God?

   The Roman soldier had probably executed hundreds of criminals. He recognized that Jesus did not act like a criminal. Instead, he was a good man who asked his Father to forgive the soldiers, and who spoke kindly to the robber who repented. Furthermore, the miraculous signs that happened when Jesus died convinced the soldier that Jesus was not just a man—he was the Son of God.

Summary

Jesus suffered greatly as he died. The soldiers mocked and mistreated him. The religious leaders and the crowd mocked him. Even one of the robbers on a cross beside him mocked him. Despite this, Jesus remained on the cross and suffered in order to make a way for God to forgive sinners. He was willing to die in order to obey his Father and finish the task that he came to do. One of the robbers understood this, and went to heaven with Jesus. One of the soldiers also saw the Jesus was truly the Son of God. And two of the religious leaders believed in Jesus and honored him by burying his body. God was honored even through the death of his Son.