062 The Crucifixion - A Bible Story for Children

Matthew 27:27-58 - Mark 25:16-45 - Luke 23:26-52 - John 19:2, 16-30, 38

The soldiers of Pontius Pilate took hold of Jesus and led him into a great hall.

There they stripped him of his clothes and draped him in a robe of purple, like a king. On his head they placed a crown of thorns. Then the soldiers knelt before Jesus and made fun of him.

"Hail, king of the Jews," they laughed, spitting at Jesus and beating his head with a cane. When they had finished mocking Jesus, they ripped the purple robe off his back and put his own clothes on him again.

The soldiers then led Jesus away to be crucified. A few days before, Jesus had passed through the streets of Jerusalem on a donkey and was greeted with palm branches and treated like a king. Now he walked through the city to his death. He had not slept the night before, and he was weak from hunger.

Beaten and mocked, Jesus stumbled under the heavy wooden cross that he had to carry and fell on the rough cobblestones. In the crowd was a man called Simon, from Cyrene, who was passing on his way from the country. The soldiers took hold of him and ordered him to carry the wooden cross on which Jesus would be crucified. Simon walked behind Jesus on his painful journey. Many people followed, and the women wept over Jesus' cruel punishment.

"Do not weep for me, daughters of Jerusalem," Jesus said. "Weep for yourselves and your children, for evil days are coming."

Now they reached the hill called Golgotha, or Place of the Skull. It was a lonely spot, outside the city walls. Here the Romans brought the guilty to be crucified so all could see and be warned. With Jesus that day were two thieves.

The soldiers offered Jesus a drugged drink to dull his pain, but after he took one sip, he refused to drink it. So the soldiers stretched Jesus out on the cross and nailed him to it by his hands and feet. Jesus lifted up his eyes and looked at the soldiers. "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do," he said in a low voice. But the soldiers were busy rolling dice to see which one would take home Jesus' clothes and paid no attention. On either side of him, they crucified the two thieves.

The soldiers raised the cross and stood it in the hole that was dug for it. Then they sat down to begin the death watch. Sometimes it took several hours, even days, for a person to die on the cross.

Jesus hung on the cross. Above his head was tacked a sign stating his crime: "This is Jesus, king of the Jews." Below the cross, crowded on the hillside were the people who had come to see Jesus die. Some ran up to the cross and shouted, "Save yourself, come down from that cross, if you are really the Son of God." Others jeered, "What kind of king is this? He saved others, but he cannot save himself. If he is the Messiah, the Christ, let him come down from that cross. Then we will believe him."

The two thieves on either side of Jesus listened to the jeers and insults shouted at Jesus. "Say," remarked on of the thieves, "since you are the Savior, save us."

But the other thief scolded him. "For us, the punishment is fair. We have committed crimes. But this man has done no wrong." The thief turned to Jesus. "Remember me, Lord when you come into your kingdom," he asked.

Jesus turned his bloodied head to the thief. "Today, you will be with me in Paradise," he told him.

The sky was darkening earlier than usual. The soldiers grouped below the cross played games to pass the time. Lowering his eyes, Jesus saw his followers who had come these last steps to be with him. Among them were John, his beloved apostle, and Mary, Jesus' mother. "Mother, this is your son," he said to Mary and nodded at John. To John, he said, "Son, this is your mother." For Jesus wanted John to take care of Mary.

As the afternoon dragged on, people kept running up to mock Jesus. For hours now, he had hung on the cross. "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" he cried out in his agony. It was almost three o'clock. The sky was nearly dark. Jesus leaned back his head. "I thirst," he murmured. Someone ran up with a sponge soaked in sour wine and held it to his lips.

"It is done," Jesus said, with a loud cry. "Father, into your hands I give my spirit." He bowed his head and died.

Darkness spread over the whole land, and the curtain that hung in front of the holy place in the Temple in Jerusalem tore in two, from top to bottom.

"Surely this man was the Son of God," said a soldier standing near the cross.

It was the evening of the Sabbath. Jesus' friends and followers had to bury him immediately, for according to Jewish law, no one was allowed to be buried on the Sabbath day.

Joseph of Arimathea, a rich and important man who was a faithful follower of Jesus, went to Pontius Pilate. Bravely, he asked the Roman governor to let him bury Jesus. Pilate was surprised that Jesus had died so quickly, but he gave his permission. With haste, Joseph returned to Golgotha.

Joseph gently took Jesus' body down from the cross. He wrapped it in fine, clean linen, following the custom of the Jews, and laid it in a new tomb, cut from rock. In front of the tomb, he rolled a heavy stone. Mary Magdelene and Mary, Jesus' mother watched him close the tomb and then went home to rest on the Sabbath.

Category: Children's Bible Stories