Jesus' Journey to the Cross
Image courtesy of Sweet Publishing
Journey to the Cross
Based on Matthew 27: Jesus crucified
Isaiah 53:4 He suffered the things we should have suffered. He took on himself the pain that should have been ours.
“Today is Good Friday and we are going to travel back to Jerusalem to see when Jesus was crucified. This means when he was nailed to the cross.” SATTAR was explaining to A.J. and Milo what they would be experiencing today.
“SATTAR, I don’t understand why they call today Good Friday. It sounds horrible to me!” Milo was really sad.
“Well, Milo, you do make a good point.” SATTAR responded. “It is not a good day at all for Jesus. But it is a good day for all those that put their faith in Jesus! Remember when Jesus died on the cross, he did he took the punishment that was meant for us. We are the sinners, not him. That makes it a really good day for us! Let’s go see what happened.”
Jesus had been taken from the palace of the high priest Caiaphas and brought to the Roman governor, Pilate.
Jesus was standing in front of the governor. The governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
“Yes. You have said so,” Jesus replied.
But when the chief priests and the elders brought charges against Jesus. Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the charges they are bringing against you?” But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge. The governor was really amazed.
It was the governor’s practice at the Passover Feast to let one prisoner go free. The people could choose the one they wanted. At that time they had a well-known prisoner named Jesus Barabbas. So when the crowd gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to set free? Jesus Barabbas? Or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate knew that the leaders wanted to get their own way. He knew this was why they had handed Jesus over to him.
“Which of the two do you want me to set free?” asked the governor.
“Barabbas,” they answered.
“Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked.
They all answered, “Crucify him!”
“Why? What wrong has he done?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted even louder, “Crucify him!”
Pilate let Barabbas go free. But he had Jesus whipped. Then he handed him over to be nailed to a cross.
The governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the palace. All the rest of the soldiers gathered around him. They took off his clothes and put a purple robe on him. Then they twisted thorns together to make a crown. They placed it on his head. They put a stick in his right hand. Then they fell on their knees in front of him and made fun of him. “We honor you, king of the Jews!” they said. They spit on him. They hit him on the head with the stick again and again. After they had made fun of him, they took off the robe. They put his own clothes back on him. Then they led him away to nail him to a cross.
When they had nailed him to the cross, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. They sat down and kept watch over him there. Above his head they placed the written charge against him. It read,
this is jesus, the king of the jews.
Those who passed by shouted at Jesus and made fun of him. In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders made fun of him. “He saved others,” they said. “But he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross! Then we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him. He’s the one who said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ”
From noon until three o’clock, the whole land was covered with darkness. About three o’clock, Jesus cried out in a loud voice. He said, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” This means “My God, my God, why have you deserted me?”
After Jesus cried out again in a loud voice, he died.
At that moment the temple curtain was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook. The rocks split. The Roman commander and those guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened. They were terrified. They exclaimed, “He was surely the Son of God!”
As evening approached, a rich man came from the town of Arimathea. His name was Joseph. He had become a follower of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth. He placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb. Then he went away. The tomb was made secure. They put a royal seal on the stone and placed some guards on duty.
SATTAR, A.J. and Milo traveled home that day in silence. Jesus had told his disciples that in three days he would rise from the dead. The time-traveling trio were anxiously waiting for that day!
Today’s Message For You! Jesus took our sin on himself when he died on the cross.
