Lesson - Jesus is Crucified

VERSES:  Matthew 27:27-56;  Mark 15:16-41;  Luke 23:26-49;  John 19:1-37

MEMORY VERSE:  John 19:30  "...he said, It is finished..."

BOOK TO REMEMBER:  Micah.  Write "Micah" on small slips of paper and hand out at the end of class, so the students may memorize another book at home.

PRAYER:  Realizing that Jesus gave His life for us, let us always thank God for sending His Son to die on the cross for our sins.

SPECIAL SONG:  No, Not One (see June 2014 - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #6 on this blog. Click on orange circle to hear tune.)

VISUAL AID:  Large Activity (see below)

LESSON POINTS:

• After Pilate had instructed Jesus to be scourged or whipped, the soldiers led Him into the Praetorium Hall and gathered the whole band or cohort of Roman soldiers where they mocked or made fun of Jesus. The soldiers put a purple robe on Him, someone braided a crown of thorns and placed it on His head, then they began to salute Him and say, "Hail! King of the Jews!" They hit Him on the head with a reed which was a tall, slender plant, and put it in His right hand. They spit on Jesus and bowed down on their knees and pretended to worship Him. When they had finished making fun of Him, they took the robe off, put His own clothes back on Him and led Him out to be crucified.
• When they came out of the hall, they found a man from Cyrene passing by named Simon and forced him to carry Jesus' cross. They walked until they came to a place called Golgotha which meant a place of the skull. Golgotha and Calvary were the same place. There was a great multitude of people following Jesus and many women who mourned and cried after Him. The soldiers gave Jesus a drink of wine which had myrrh in it, but when Jesus tasted it, he would not drink it. 
• When they arrived at the place where He was to be crucified, there were two criminals who were thieves and were already hanging on their crosses. As the soldiers placed Jesus on a cross in the middle of the two other men, Jesus prayed to His Father, asking Him to forgive them because they did not know what they were doing. Then the soldiers divided Jesus' clothing, even His seamless coat, by casting lots. 
• There were so many people standing and looking at Jesus! Those who passed by, scolded Jesus and shook their heads and said, "You who destroyed the temple and would build it up in three days, save yourself!" The rulers who had been making fun of Him, said, "He saved others, let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God. Come down from the cross and we will believe you!"" The soldiers, too, mocked Him and offered Him vinegar and said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself!" Pilate had instructed that a sign be made that said in three languages, "This is the King of the Jews." It was placed over Him on the cross. The sign was read by many of the Jews because the place where Jesus was crucified was close to the city. The chief priests said to Pilate, "Don't write King of the Jews. Write, "He said I am King of the Jews." Pilate didn't listen to them. He only said, "What I have written, I have written." 
• Mary, Jesus' mother, His mother's sister who was also named Mary, and Mary Magdalene stood by the cross. When Jesus saw His mother and John standing by, Jesus said to his mother, "Woman, behold your son!" meaning John. Then He said to John, "Behold your mother!" From that hour on, John took Mary into his own home and took care of her. Even as Jesus was dying on the cross, He remembered His mother, Mary. 
• One of the criminals who hanged beside Jesus railed or insulted Jesus. He said, "If you are the Christ, save yourself and us!" But, the other criminal rebuked or scolded the other criminal and asked Him, "Do you not fear God, seeing that you are condemned? We are here by what we have done, but this man has done nothing wrong." Then, he said to Jesus, "Remember me when you come to your kingdom." Jesus replied, "Truly, I say to you that today you will be with me in paradise."
• Even though it was not even noon, darkness came over the earth for three hours. Jesus cried out with a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" which meant "My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?" When some of them, who were standing by, heard what He said, they thought He was calling to Elijah. Someone ran and filled a sponge with vinegar and put it on a reed and put it up to His lips. That sounds like a kind thing to do, but it was done without kindness because the one who did it, said, "Let us see whether Elijah will some and take Him down." When Jesus received the vinegar, He said, "It is finished." Then, Jesus cried in a loud voice, "Father, into your hands, I commend my spirit." And then bowed His head and died. 
• The Jews had a law that said that bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath day, so they asked Pilate earnestly that their legs should be broken that they might be taken away. But when the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two who were crucified, they saw that that Jesus was already dead, so they did not break His legs. One of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side and blood and water came out. John saw the soldier pierce Jesus' side.
• Unusual things started happening. The sun had already darkened, but the veil of the temple was torn down the middle from the top to the bottom, there were earthquakes, and rocks broke in two. The graves opened up and many bodies of the saints or followers of God came out of their graves and appeared to many people in Jerusalem.
• When the centurion, a Roman officer, saw what had happened, he glorified God and said, "Surely, this was a righteous man. Truly, He was the Son of God!" Then, all the people who were there watching, and had seen all the things that were done, hit their chests and went home. All of Jesus' friends and the women who followed Him from Galilee stood far away and watched everything that had happened.

"Older Student" Tips:

• Simon was from Cyrene which was located in northern Africa in the country of Libya.
• Casting lots was much like our "drawing straws." It was just a method of choosing which person would receive which piece of Jesus' clothing.
• The three languages that "This is the King of the Jews" were written in was Greek, Latin, and Hebrew.
• Jesus was not a Christian; therefore He lived and died by the Old Testament Law. After Jesus had died on the cross, that was when His law, the New Testament Law, took effect. Even today, when someone remembers us in their will, we do not receive what was promised until the one who wrote the will dies. 
• What compassion Jesus had to make sure that His own mother was taken care of when He wouldn't be there. He loved His mother.

ACTIVITY: Jesus Is Crucified
Materials needed:  6" x 12" light brown construction paper, scraps of tan, gold, and dark brown paper, crayons, pencil, marker, glue.

1. Hand out light brown paper.
2. Round the corners of light brown paper by tearing. This is Calvary.
3. Hand out scraps of paper.
4. Cut out two dark brown crosses and one gold cross.
5. Fold the middle of all crosses.
6. Glue ONLY the bottom edge of the crosses. This way the crosses have a 3-D effect.
7. Place gold cross in the middle of the two dark crown crosses.
8. At the bottom of Calvary, write "Jesus died on the cross." and "Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, John 19."
9. Cut a small tan rectangle and write "King of the Jews". This is the sign.
10. Glue sign at the top of the gold cross.
    
11. Turn Calvary over.
12. On back of Calvary, write in a curved line, following the top of the hill,
13. Write events that the student learned from this lesson, such as, "They mocked Jesus. They placed a crown of thorns on his head. Jesus hung between two thieves. They put a sign over Him that said, "The King Of The Jews." It was dark for three hours. After Jesus died, the veil in the temple tore in two. There were earthquakes and the rocks were broken. 'Truly, this was the Son of God.'"