Bible Text: Matthew 27; Mark 15; Luke 23; John 19

Lesson Focus: In his dying, Jesus fulfills God’s intent.

Big Question: How can death be about life?

Key Words: CRUCIFIXION, RELIANCE, SALVATION

Prepare

Quick Prep

• All four Gospels have accounts of Jesus’ trial, torture, and execution by crucifixion.

• Not the religious authorities, civil authorities, crowds, nor Jesus’ followers stopped Jesus’ execution.

• Only a criminal and a centurion recognized Jesus as righteous; the darkening cosmos affirmed that something significant was happening.

• Jesus suffered and died as a human being.

• As he was dying, Jesus’ care and concern for others continued. He even prayed for forgiveness for his persecutors.

• In his dying, Jesus fulfilled God’s intent, relying and trusting wholly in God and God’s power over all that was happening.

• Crucifixion was a particularly heinous form of capital punishment.

Deep Prep

Jesus was arrested, tortured, and tried by both religious and civil authorities, who then sentenced him to death. Despite an opportunity to rescue Jesus, the crowds called for his crucifixion. Simon of Cyrene was made to carry Jesus’ cross to the site of the crucifixion. Jesus was crucified with two criminals. One criminal joined the onlookers in mocking Jesus, and according to Luke, the other was fearful and asked Jesus to remember him. Most of Jesus’ followers were afraid and witnessed the events of the trial and crucifixion from a distance. It took a Roman centurion on the scene to proclaim Jesus’ innocence; the darkening cosmos affirmed that something significant was happening. Some of Jesus’ followers prepared his body for burial. To avoid Jesus’ body being stolen and thus support the tales of a resurrection, the authorities secured the tomb (Matthew 27:62–66).

Jesus’ words from the cross tell us much. Jesus’ asking why God had forsaken him testifies that Jesus suffered just as we suffer, and that he felt abandoned just as we feel abandoned. Putting his mother into his beloved disciple’s care (John 19:25–27) showed Jesus’ continuing care and concern for others, even as he was dying. In the midst of his suffering, in the moments when it is most inconceivable, Jesus prayed that God would forgive his persecutors (Luke 23:34). Jesus’ promise to the criminal that he would be with Jesus in paradise (Luke 23:43) overturns the pious expectations some people have of God’s righteousness. Saying, in fulfillment of scripture, that he was thirsty and then receiving vinegar to drink, gives further evidence of Jesus fulfilling God’s intent. Commending his spirit to God (Luke 23:46) witnesses Jesus’ total reliance on and trust in God. Proclaiming, “It is finished,” Jesus testified not only to his awareness and readiness for death, but also to God being in control of the events.

Throughout history, forms of capital punishment have included burning at the stake, beheading, stoning, drowning, hanging or strangling, and executing by firing squad, sword, lethal injection, gas, and electrocution. Crucifixion did not originate with the Romans and was practiced at least as early as the sixth century B.C. by the Phoenicians and Persians. Others, among them Indians, Scythians, Celts, Carthaginians, and Greeks, also are evidenced to have practiced crucifixion. Constantine I banned crucifixion from the Roman Empire in A.D. 337. Crucifixion was a particularly heinous form of capital punishment, which drew out death over a long period of time. The executioners sometimes preceded crucifixion with other torture, as in Jesus’ case. Victims were sometimes murdered before being hung on a cross for display, but crucifixion was itself commonly a means of execution. The condemned person was nailed or tied to a “cross” in the form of an uppercase T or a lowercase t. Sometimes birds and other animals fed on bodies left hanging on crosses.

In the United States there is a movement to abolish capital punishment in most states that allow the death penalty. The ELCA’s social statement on the death penalty, which was adopted in 1991, opposes the death penalty because of the church’s commitment to justice. State policies vary. For example, some states exclude juvenile defendants. Between 1976 and 1985, there were 50 legal executions in the United States; between 1986 and 1995, 263 executions; and between 1996 and 2004, 631 executions. Texas carried out 336 executions between 1976 and 2004. Between 1976 and August 2005, more than 100 death row inmates were determined innocent and released. The annual rate of exonerations is increasing as science helps provide clearer evidence. Various studies show that capital punishment is not a deterrent to murder. Most executions are by lethal injection; the second most common method is electrocution. Other methods used since 1976 are gas chamber, hanging, and firing squad.

Adolescent Connection

How can death be about life?

Your students’ experiences with death will all be different. Some may have lost someone close to them, while others may not have had that experience. Although this session is about Jesus’ crucifixion and death, we already know the end of the story. And that makes our approach to death different. Ask the students to describe the most unbelievable thing they have ever encountered. As youth focus on something in their lives that is unbelievable, you can take their core experiences and transfer them to the faith we have in Jesus’ crucifixion, death, and resurrection.

Youth are often in the questioning stage of faith, as described by John Westerhoff in his book Will Our Children Have Faith? They may find it incredible to believe empirically that Jesus came back from the dead. Yet this belief is the bedrock of our faith: Death will not win. We believe that there is a new life in God’s kingdom that will become the final answer. By making a life-to-Bible-to-life connection, you can help youth to grasp this enormous concept and bring it into the realm of possibility and probability. The concept that God is in control of events is a key understanding for your students.

Gather

Welcome and Review

CRUCIFIXION: the process of putting someone to death by nailing or binding the wrists or hands and feet to a cross.

RELIANCE: the act of depending on someone or something and putting your trust in that person or thing.

SALVATION: what Jesus achieved for us, delivering us from the power and effects of sin.

Getting Started

Choose one of the following three options to introduce the lesson. Then lead students in the Opening Prayer.

Guest Speaker Option: Hospice Worker

Invite someone from a hospice team (chaplain, nurse, social worker) to speak to your class. Ask him or her to describe the work with dying patients and their families. Encourage the person to talk about what it’s like when a person dies. Do people utter last words? How do families rely on the Bible and familiar hymns in the midst of a death? Is every death the same? Invite the guest speaker to talk about any young people who died in their care or who were present at a death. Many pastors could also talk about these same questions with your class. Encourage students to ask their own questions of the guest speaker.

Debrief the presentation with these questions:

• What surprised you about what you learned from the speaker?

• Why is hospice care so valuable?

• Did anything you learned change your thoughts about death?

Opening Prayer

Tell the students that in this session they will be learning more about Jesus’ death, even though they know the ending. Pray the following prayer.

Leader: Jesus, the living Christ, we come to this chapter of your life story and want to run away rather than sit at the cross. Help us now to stay with you and to know why the cross is so important. We can only grasp and benefit from your whole story of death and resurrection if we are willing to view the death part. Like your first disciples, we are scared and repulsed by the manner of your death. Turn our fear and repulsion into something you can use to touch us and teach us so that we can remain by your side and speak of you to others. Help us to know that you remain close to us even when we run away from you.

All: Amen.

Teach

My Faith Story

Ask kids to respond to the Big Question: How can death be about life?

Then share a part of your own faith story using the suggestion below or another way to share about an experience you have had with someone who was dying.

Have you ever been present with someone when he or she died? If so, talk about what the experience was like. Make a list of what you would want your final words to be to each of your loved ones and share that list, encouraging students to do the same in class. What would you say to your confirmation class if this were your last night to teach them? Share a story about how a last chance motivated you to speak the truth.

Open the Bible

Read Luke 23:39–43. How are people changed? What are life-changing events? One of the criminals hanging on a cross next to Jesus was changed by the power of Jesus’ witness. The criminal asked Jesus to remember him, and Jesus responded by saying the criminal would be with Jesus in Paradise. What brings someone to believe in Jesus Christ? Jesus’ death may be the most powerful witness to who he was throughout his earthly life—the servant of God who conquered with the power of humility and faith. Read about the generosity Jesus showed toward his enemies in Luke 23:34. Now notice what happened to other people who witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion. Turn to Luke 23:47 to read about the centurion glorifying God and Luke 23:48 to read about the people who were moved to repentance. Do the students know anyone who chose to be a Christian?

At Jesus’ final cry on the cross, the curtain of the Jerusalem temple was torn from top to bottom. This symbolizes that the way to God is now open to all humankind. In the temple the curtain divided the sanctuary from the rest of the temple. The high priest was the only one allowed to pass through the curtain to speak to God for the people. From now on no curtain was necessary; all people would understand that they have access to God. Read and discuss Hebrews 10:19–22.

Turn to Matthew 27 and note some of the details of the crucifixion.

Verse 2: Pontius Pilate was the Roman governor for Judea. The Jewish council of leaders agreed that Jesus should be put to death, but only the Romans could legally give the death sentence.

Verse 7: “Potter’s fields” still exist today as public burial places for paupers, unknown persons, and criminals. The potter’s field that the priests bought with Jesus’ “blood money” may have been a place where potters gathered clay because the quality of the soil was too poor for farming.

Verse 24: Pilate washed his hands to show that it was the Jewish leaders’ decision to kill Jesus, not his, though the execution could not have happened without his final approval.

Verse 33: Golgotha was probably given its name because it was near a large rock shaped like a human skull. The Latin translation of Golgotha is calvaria, which in English is Calvary.

Verse 34: Jesus was offered wine mixed with gall, which was probably a juice made from the bitter and poisonous herb called gall. This could have made Jesus unconscious or even speeded death. Crucifixion was very slow and painful; a person could suffer for days before dying.

Verse 60: Jesus’ body was laid in a tomb. Some Jewish people buried their dead in rooms carved out of solid rock. The tombs had a small square entrance about a yard (meter) high and wide.

Open the Catechism

Here We Stand Student Book page 299: Invite students to read the second article of the Apostles’ Creed, paying particular attention to the last paragraph. Jesus died on the cross so that we may belong to him and live under his kingdom. (Note that the Bible reading for this article is Luke 23:39–46, the first text under “Open the Bible.”) Death is definitely about life.

Quiz Show

Multiple Choice Questions

1. The man who carried the cross for Jesus was . . .

a. Judas Iscariot.

b. the good Samaritan.

c. Simon of Cyrene. (Correct)

d. his father, Joseph.

2. When Jesus died, darkness came over the whole land from . . .

a. noon until 3:00 p.m. (Correct)

b. 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

c. 3:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

d. We don’t know; no one had a watch.

3. Joseph of Arimathea is remembered for . . .

a. building the cross on which Jesus was crucified.

b. being out of town on that first Good Friday.

c. carrying Jesus’ body from the cross to the tomb. (Correct)

d. recording the last words of Jesus.

True or False Questions

4. Jesus told the daughters of Jerusalem not to weep for him. (True)

5. A sign on Jesus’ cross read, “King of the Criminals.” (False; the sign read “This is the King of the Jews.”)

6. No one saw Jesus’ body laid in the rock-hewn tomb after his death.(False; Joseph of Arimathea laid Jesus’ body in the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jesus were both there. In John’s Gospel, Nicodemus also helped Joseph carry Jesus to the tomb.)

7. Jesus was too busy talking to God to talk to anyone else from the cross. (False; in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus speaks to one of the criminals who was crucified along with him; in John’s Gospel, Jesus speaks to one of the disciples and his mother.)

8. Jesus’ death was dramatic but was insignificant for us. (False; Jesus’ death was not the end—it brought salvation and new life through Jesus’ resurrection.)

Take a Break

Connect

Group Connection

Select one of the options below to explore in your small group. Then finish with the Best/Worst activity and prayer.

Object Lesson Option: Death on a Cross

Bring a crucifix (that’s the one with Jesus body on the cross) to class. (This activity can also be done without a crucifix.) Borrow one from a friend who is Catholic or find one at a Catholic bookstore. Talk to students about the difference between a crucifix and a cross. Explain that Catholics see the crucifix as a reminder of the suffering Jesus endured for us. Protestants use an empty cross to emphasize that Jesus has risen from the dead.

Debrief the object lesson with these questions:

• Could we use both symbols of the cross in our spiritual life?

• Have you ever attended a Catholic mass and viewed a crucifix in church? Is it jarring or enlightening for us as Protestants to see Jesus hanging on a cross?

Science Option: Shine It Up

Before the lesson, assemble the supplies, read through the experiment, and do a trial run.

Supplies:

• Tarnished silver item, such as a small bowl or piece of silverware

• Dishpan large enough to immerse the tarnished item

• Roll of aluminum foil

• Water

• Saucepan

• Hot pads

• Baking soda (about 1 cup [.24 L] for each gallon [3.8 L] of water used)

• Measuring cup

• Wooden spoon

• Stove and sink

Line the bottom of the dishpan with aluminum foil, then set the silver piece in the dishpan. Heat water to boiling in the saucepan. Put the saucepan in the sink and add about 1 cup (.24 L) of baking soda per gallon (3.8 L) of water, and then stir with a wooden spoon. Don’t be surprised if the mixture froths and bubbles over.

Pour the water mixture into the dishpan to cover the silver piece. What happens? Almost immediately the tarnish will begin to disappear. (Note: a badly tarnished piece may take more than one mixture of hot water to shine it up completely.)

Silver tarnishes when it combines with sulfur to form black silver sulfide. You can use polishing substances and rub the surface to make it silver again, or use this method, which forms a chemical reaction that converts the silver back to its original form.

Debrief the science experiment with these questions:

• How did something that looked dark become new?

• Jesus’ crucifixion was a dark, mournful time for his followers. What new happened in this story?

Song Option: Amazing Love

Play the song “Amazing Love (You Are My King)” sung by the Newsboys from Newsboys: Greatest Hits(Sparrow Records, 2007). Please preview this content to determine its appropriateness for your setting.

The crucifixion of Jesus is a horribly tragic yet triumphant story of God’s love for all of humanity. The fact that Jesus would allow himself to be crucified to save us is a very difficult concept to grasp. The Newsboys’ version of this song speaks of the amazing love that Jesus had for the people of the world, and it also speaks of the humble honor and praise we can give to God for giving us new life.

Debrief the song with these questions:

• What do you think of when you read or hear the story of the crucifixion?

• How does the crucifixion story make you feel?

• The concept of Jesus dying to save us is complicated and deep. What are your thoughts on the subject?

Best/Worst and Prayer

The song “Were You There” is often sung during Holy Week. Use it now as a litany to remember what it was like when Jesus was crucified. If you have a recording of the song, you could play it softly in the background.

Leader: Were you there when they crucified my Lord?