The Story of Jesus on the Cross (John 19)

It was awful what they did to Jesus. They made a crown out of thorns and put it on his head. They spit on him. They beat him with a whip. They laughed and made fun of him, and then they nailed him to a cross. Some of the rulers mocked him and said, “He saved others but himself he cannot save,” and some of them even said, “Come down from the cross and we will believe on you.” Of course we know Jesus had power to save himself and come down from the cross, but he would not do it because he was dying for the sins of the whole world. Even while people were doing all these awful things, Jesus prayed for them and said, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” There were also two thieves or robbers on crosses, one on each side of Jesus. One of them spoke against Jesus and said, “If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.” The other robber rebuked him for not fearing God. He reminded him that they were getting what they deserved for their sins, but Jesus had done nothing wrong. This second robber then said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.” Jesus said to him, “Verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise.” Boys and girls, people in the world today are very much like those two robbers. Some people will not go to heaven when they die because they reject Jesus, and they are not sorry for their sins. Other people repent of their sins and trust in Jesus, and they are saved because of what Jesus did for us at Calvary. After Jesus died, they put his body in a tomb. Do you think it will stay there? Don’t miss tomorrow’s Bible Story about the Empty Tomb.