The Day Everything Changed | Kid's Club

God's story, Jesus died on the cross. So part of God's story is about why Jesus died on the cross and it goes like this. When Jesus came to the world, he did all kinds of amazing miracles like healing people and walking on water and forgiving our sins, but the most amazing thing he would ever do is rescue the whole world by dying. One night while Jesus was eating dinner with his disciples, he told them about God's rescue plan. He knew it was going to be really hard and that made him sad. He also knew he needed to talk to God about it. So Jesus took a few of his closest friends with him into a garden to pray. Jesus went off by himself and said, father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup of suffering away from me. Jesus was asking God if there was any other way to rescue the world. After that, an angel from heaven appeared to Jesus and gave him strength. Then Jesus said, but not my will, but your will be done. Jesus wanted to do whatever God wanted, even if that meant dying. After Jesus finished praying, he went back to the disciples, but they were asleep. Jesus said, get up. Jesus couldn't believe that his friends fell asleep

during a time like this. Meanwhile, one of Jesus's disciples, Judas, who people thought was Jesus's friend, had been paid 30 pieces of silver to betray Jesus. See, the religious leaders didn't believe Jesus was God's son and they didn't like what he was teaching. So they wanted to punish him. Jesus asked them, who is it you want? They answered, Jesus of Nazareth. And Jesus said, I am him. Peter, trying to defend Jesus, was so mad he cut off someone's ear with his sword. But Jesus didn't want his friends to hurt others, even though they planned to hurt him. So Jesus healed the man and let the soldiers arrest him. Instead of fighting, Jesus gave himself up and he treated his enemies with kindness. After that, all of Jesus's friends abandoned him. And even his closest friend, Peter, denied knowing him. Jesus was alone. Next, Jesus was taken to trial. One of the most powerful men in the city, Pontius Pilate, wasn't sure if Jesus was guilty, but the crowd wanted Jesus to die. So they started yelling, kill him! So Pontius Pilate let the soldiers take Jesus. The soldiers beat Jesus and made fun of the idea that he was a king. They put a crown of thorns on his head and nailed him to a cross.

Many people watched, but not all of them wanted Jesus to die. His mother and close friends were there and they were brokenhearted. Once Jesus was up on the cross, the sky got completely dark in the middle of the afternoon, but those soldiers kept on making fun of Jesus. They said things like, if you're really God's son, why don't you just call on some angels to save you? Jesus could have saved himself that way, but he loved us so much that he wanted to rescue us, even if that meant dying. So instead, Jesus prayed to God, father, I place my life into your hands. At that moment, Jesus died. The soldiers who had just killed him said, surely this man was the son of God. Jesus suffered and died on a cross, even though he had never done anything wrong. And now people in God's family wondered how they would ever be close to God again. But three days later, something incredible happened. Jesus didn't stay dead. He came back to life. This was God's plan all along. Jesus took our punishment and then proved he really is the son of God by coming back to life. And he's still alive today. Jesus chose to take the punishment for our sins. And now anyone can become a part of God's family

if we choose to believe that Jesus rescued us. And that's the story of why Jesus died on the cross. So in case you missed it, here's the quick version. Jesus told his disciples he had to die. Jesus prayed. His friends betrayed him. He was put on trial. People wanted him killed. He was beaten and nailed to a cross. Jesus died. People were sad. Jesus didn't stay dead. He came back to life. And now anyone can be in God's family. And that's a part of God's story. you