TLC Lesson 2 - The Death of Christ

Introduction

God was in the beginning before time began. Jesus Christ was in the beginning with God. He is equal with God. Together they created the heavens and the earth. However Jesus became a man like us and He lived on earth. He even died like a man. Why did He do this? Look at the pictures for this lesson and I will tell you.

Picture 58. The Transfiguration of Jesus Christ

Mark 9:1-8; Matthew 17:1-8

Jesus lived in the land of Israel about two thousand years ago. He taught the people about God and He worked many miracles. Jesus chose twelve men to be His special followers. They knew that Jesus had come from God. They thought that He would become their king. But Jesus told His followers that He must suffer and die. They could not believe it. One day Jesus took three of these men to a high mountain. There they saw an amazing thing. Look at the picture. Jesus was changed. His face shone like the sun and His clothes became as white as light. Two men appeared with Him. They were prophets who had lived on earth many hundreds of years before. They talked with Jesus. They talked about the way He would die in Jerusalem. Then the two prophets disappeared.

Picture 90. Parable of the Wicked Tenants

Mark 12:1-12

The religious leaders of Israel worshipped God. They thought that they knew all about God, but they did not believe that Jesus had come from God. They rejected Him.

So Jesus told them a story about a man who planted a vineyard. He rented the vineyard to some farmers and he went away. At harvest time the owner sent a servant to collect some of the fruit, but the tenants beat the servant and sent him away. The owner of the vineyard sent many servants, but the tenants beat them all and gave them nothing. Finally the land owner sent his only son, saying, "They will respect my son." But the tenants said, "Let us kill him, and the vineyard will be ours."

Jesus said to the religious leaders, "What will the owner do? He will come and kill those tenants, and give the vineyard to others." The leaders were angry. They knew that Jesus was telling this story against them. In time past, the leaders of Israel had killed many of God's prophets. Now they wanted to kill Jesus as well.

Picture 97. Jesus Anointed at Bethany

Mark 14:1-9; John 12:1-8

Jesus knew that He must die. A few days before His death, Jesus was eating with some of His friends. A woman came into the house. She had a jar of very expensive perfume. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on Jesus' head. Some of the people were angry with the woman. One named Judas Iscariot said, "Why didn't she sell this perfume and give the money to the poor?" But Jesus said, "Leave her alone. She has done a beautiful thing to me. She poured perfume on my body to prepare me for my burial."

Picture 98. Judas Iscariot Betrays Jesus

Mark 14:10-11

Judas Iscariot was angry. He went to the religious leaders. He said he would help them so that they could arrest Jesus. They were delighted and gave him 30 pieces of silver. So Judas looked for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to His enemies. However, Jesus knew what Judas was doing.

Picture 100. Teaching at the Last Supper

Mark 14:22-25

In this picture you can see Jesus and His followers. They are celebrating the feast called 'The Passover'. Every year the people of Israel remembered the time when they were slaves in Egypt. God promised to deliver them. He told the Israelites to kill some lambs and to mark their houses with the blood. Then God passed through that land. He killed many of the Egyptians but He passed over the houses of the Israelite slaves. The Israelites were saved by the blood of the lambs. After this the Egyptians let the slaves go free. So every year the Israelites killed a lamb at Passover and they remembered how God had delivered them.
Jesus knew that He was going to die. At the feast He took some bread and He said, "This is my body which is given for you. Eat this as a way of remembering Me." Then he took a cup of wine and He said, "Drink this. This is My blood which is poured out for many people." Jesus was like that Passover lamb. He was sacrificed to save all people from sin and death. He is called 'The Lamb of God who takes way the sin of the world.' We should always remember this because He died to save us.

Picture 102. Jesus Prays in Gethsemane

Mark 14:32-42

After the feast, Jesus took some of His followers to a garden called Gethsemane. It was late at night. Jesus told three of his friends to keep watch. In the picture you can see Jesus praying. He was in great distress. Jesus did not want to suffer and die. He said to God, "Take this cup of suffering from me, yet do what you want, not what I want." But while Jesus prayed, His disciples fell asleep.

Picture 103. Jesus Arrested

Mark 14:43-50

Judas Iscariot knew where Jesus had gone. He followed Him to Gethsemane. He took a crowd of men from the religious leaders. They were armed with clubs and swords. Judas told the men, "I will kiss one man. He is the one you want; arrest Him." Then Judas greeted Jesus and kissed Him. So the men seized Jesus and arrested him. His followers were terrified. They all left Jesus and fled.

Picture 104. Jesus Tried Before the High Priest

Mark 14:53-65

The men bound Jesus. They took Him away to the house of the chief priests. The priests and the leaders questioned Him. They found people to falsely accuse Him. They said that He had done many wrong things, but their statements did not agree. Then the high priest said, "Are you the Christ, the Son of God?" And Jesus said, "I am." The high priest said, "Why do we need any more witnesses? You heard him dishonour God." So they all agreed that Jesus must die.

Picture 106. Jesus Tried Before Pilate

Mark 15:1-15

The religious leaders had no power to kill Jesus, so they sent Him to the governor. His name was Pilate. He had the power to sentence men to death. Pilate questioned Jesus. Then Pilate said, "I cannot find any reason to kill Him." However, he let the soldiers beat Jesus. They made a crown out of thorns and put it on His head. They called Him, "The King of the Jews." They laughed at Him and insulted Him. Pilate wanted to let Jesus go, but the religious leaders stirred up the people. They all cried out, "Kill Him! Kill Him! Nail Him to a cross!" Pilate was afraid. He thought there might be a riot, so he did what the leaders wanted. He sentenced Jesus to death.

Picture 107. Jesus Led Out to be Crucified

John 19:16-17; Luke 23:26-33

The soldiers took Jesus away to kill him. They made Him carry a big wooden cross. The women cried and wailed for Jesus as He passed by. You can see them in the picture. They came to a place outside the city. It was called Golgotha, which means "The place of the skull."

Picture 108. The Crucifixion

Mark 15:25-39; Luke 23:42-43

The soldiers took Jesus' clothes. They nailed Him to the cross and hung Him up to die. Jesus was in terrible agony. He prayed to God and said, "Father, forgive these people, for they do not know what they are doing." Two criminals were nailed to crosses beside Him. People who passed by abused Jesus. One of the criminals abused Him too.

But the other one said to him, "Don't you fear God? We got the punishment we deserved, but this man has done nothing wrong." Then he said to Jesus, "Remember me when you come into your kingdom!" And Jesus replied, "I promise you that today you will be with Me in paradise."

A great darkness came over the land. After six hours on the cross, Jesus cried out, "It is finished!" He gave up His spirit and died. The soldier in charge saw what happened. He was amazed and said, "This man really was the Son of God!"

Conclusion

Why did Jesus die? Why did God let the people kill His Son? Friends, Jesus the Son of God died for us.

We have all sinned and displeased God. The payment for our sin is death. Sin separates us from God forever. But God loves all people. He does not want anyone to be lost from Him. So He sent His Son to take our punishment for sin. God sent Jesus to die in our place.

Now God can forgive your sin and my sin too. All people who believe in Him will not perish, but will rise from death to live with Him forever. This is why Jesus Christ came to earth and this is why He died on the cross.

(If you have a Bible, you can find these things in Rom. 3:23; Rom. 6:23; 2 Pet. 3:9; Rom. 8:32; Matt. 26:28; Matt. 20:28; John 3:16; and 1 Thess. 4: 16,17.)