The Death and Resurrection of Jesus

Welcome to class, we will be talking about the death and resurrection of Jesus. I encourage you to follow the lesson. Enjoy this class.

Death of Jesus Romans 5:6-10

Death means the end of being alive. Jesus was crucified on the cross of Calvary with his two hands and legs nailed to the cross with blood flowing out of his body. He died as a sacrificial lamb for the sins of man. He paid the penalty for the offences of man.

Jesus was the Son of God. He was always kind and always chose to do right. But even though Jesus was good there were people who hated him. They did not like it when he said he was the King of the Jews. Some people hated Jesus so much that they found a way to have him put on trial and sentenced to die on a cross.

After his trial the soldiers made fun of Jesus. They put a soldier’s robe on him and put a staff in his hand to make him look like a king. They twisted thorny plants together to make a fake crown and stuck the crown on Jesus’ head. Then they kicked him and spat on him and hit him on the head over and over with the staff. The soldiers bowed down in front of Jesus and made fun of him by saying, “Hail, the King of the Jews.”

Jesus is the King! Jesus could have called all of the angels in heaven to come and help him. He could have called down fire to burn up the soldiers. He could have even just disappeared. But Jesus did not do any of those things because he knew that the only way to save everyone from sin was to die on the cross. The soldiers put a big piece of wood from the cross on Jesus’ back and made him carry it. When Jesus got too tired the soldiers grabbed a man named Simon out of the crowd and made him carry Jesus’ cross.

The soldiers took Jesus to a place called “The Skull” (in other languages this is Calvary or Golgotha). The soldiers took off Jesus’ clothes and cast lots (sort of like dice) to see who got to keep them. They nailed big nails through Jesus’ wrists and heels to put him on the cross. Jesus must have really wanted stop everything then! Maybe he thought about all of his apostles and friends. Since he knew the future maybe he thought about all of us who had not been born yet. He must have really loved us to suffer like that!

Jesus was crucified in between two criminals who had done very bad things. One of the criminals made fun of Jesus but the second criminal told the first to be quiet and said, “You and I did bad things and we deserve to die. This man has not done anything wrong.” The criminal thought that maybe Jesus really was the King of the Jews. He asked Jesus to remember him in his kingdom.

Jesus said to the criminal, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”  Jesus’ mother, Mary stood near the cross along with John, the apostle. Jesus looked at them and said, “Dear woman, here is your son.” To John he said, “Here is your mother.” After that day Mary lived at John’s house so he could take care of her.

God had sent his son to die for the sins of the world. Even though it hurt very much Jesus decided to obey God. Still, when he was feeling very lonely, he called out to God, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” That means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  The soldiers and rulers still made fun of Jesus. Instead of getting angry, do you know what Jesus did? He prayed for them. He prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

Jesus knew it was time to die. He only asked for one thing. He looked down from the cross and said, “I am thirsty.” Someone soaked a sponge with wine vinegar and used a plant stalk to lift it up to Jesus. Even though it was the middle of the day the sky began to get dark. Darkness came over the whole land from noon until three in the afternoon. God had not forgotten Jesus!

Jesus prayed to God, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” Then he cried out in a loud voice, “It is finished” and he bowed his head and died.
At the moment Jesus died, the great curtain in the temple of Jerusalem tore all the way from the top to bottom all on its own. The earth shook and rocks split. Tombs opened and many good people came back to life. One of the Roman soldiers- a centurion in charge of 100 other soldiers said, “Surely he was the son of God.

Resurrection of Jesus

Resurrection means rising from the dead three days after Jesus died on the cross. He rose from the dead. The resurrection of Jesus means the victory of man over death and over the power of sin.

Jesus used to tell the apostles and his friends that he was King. He told them that he would be raised on the third day. His followers listened to Jesus but they did not always understand what he meant.

Then something happened that made them forget everything. Jesus was put to death on a cross. Even after he was dead the soldiers were mean to him. One Roman soldier stuck a spear into his side after he was dead- just to make sure. How could Jesus be king if he was dead? This was on a Friday and it was the saddest and most hopeless day that has ever been. The apostles and Jesus’ friends thought everything was over.

After Jesus died two friends came to get his body. They were Joseph (from Arimathea) and Nicodemus. They washed Jesus’ dead body and wrapped it in long strips of cloth with lots and lots of spices in between the cloths. They put the body into a tomb that had been carved out of a solid rock. Then they rolled a very big stone in front of the doorway to the tomb.

The Jewish leaders were afraid that someone might steal Jesus’ body and say that he was raised from the dead. So, they asked Pilate to put a special seal on the stone in front of the tomb and put guards in front of it. That was still on Friday (the first day).

Saturday (the 2nd day) passed and all was quiet. Then, on the third day (Sunday) some women sadly made their way to the tomb. It was a custom for women to come and put sweet-smelling spices on the body of the person that died.  But the women were worried.  They had heard about the big stone in front of the tomb.  Who would move the stone so they could put spices on the body of Jesus?

When the women arrived at the tomb, they saw that the stone had already been moved. A man dressed in white (an angel) was beside the tomb and he said, “Don’t be afraid. You are looking for Jesus from Nazareth, the one who was killed on a cross. He has risen from death. He is not here. Look, here is the place they laid him. Now go and tell his followers and Peter, ‘Jesus is going into Galilee. He will be there before you. You will see him there as he told you before!’”

This is what had happened just before the women had arrived. There was a violent earthquake and an angel of the Lord came down out of heaven like a lightning bolt. His clothes were as white as snow. The angel went to the tomb and rolled back the huge stone and then sat on it.

The guards were so afraid that they couldn’t move. Finally, they ran away to tell the Jewish leaders what had happened. The Jewish leaders didn’t want anyone to know the truth so they gave the soldiers lots of money and told them to tell everyone that the disciples had come during the night and stolen Jesus’ body.

The women left to tell the other followers of Jesus. Peter and John both came to see. Everyone was amazed. But one of the women, Mary Magdalene, stayed behind. She was in the tomb crying because she still could not understand how Jesus’ body could be gone. How could the tomb be empty? Maybe someone had stolen it.  But Mary was not alone in the tomb.  Two angels spoke to her and asked her why she was crying.

She began to explain but then heard another voice.

At first, she didn’t know who was speaking but then he heard him say, “Mary”. When she heard him say her name Mary knew that it was JESUS, her teacher, speaking. Jesus had come back from the dead!

Jesus spoke to Mary and told her to go and tell the others that he would spend some time on earth with them but that he would be returning to his Father soon. After Jesus rose from the dead he appeared to many people. Two men were walking along a road talking about Jesus when he just appeared right there with him. His apostles had gathered and he appeared right there in the room with them. He ate with them and even let them touch the scars he had from when he had been crucified. More and more people began to realise that Jesus was no longer dead. JESUS WAS ALIVE.

Quiz

  1. How did Jesus die? Crucified on a cross
  2. Name three miracles that happened when Jesus died. Earthquake, darkness, temple curtain tore by itself.
  3. Name one of the things Jesus said while he was on the cross. “It is finished” “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?” “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise” “Dear woman, here is your son. Here is your mother.” “I thirst.” “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit”
  4. What did the sign above Jesus’ cross have written on it? “The King of the Jews”
  5. What day of the week did Jesus die on? Friday
  6. What was put in front of the tomb where Jesus was buried? Huge stone
  7. On what day of the week was Jesus raised from the dead? Sunday
  8. Whom did Jesus first speak to when he had risen? Mary Magdalene
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