21 A man named Simon was passing by. He was from Cyrene. He was the father of Alexander and Rufus. Simon was on his way in from the country. The soldiers forced him to carry the cross. 22 They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha. The word Golgotha means the Place of the Skull. 23 Then they gave him wine mixed with spices. But he did not take it. 24 They nailed him to the cross. Then they divided up his clothes. They cast lots to see what each of them would get.

25 It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. 26 They wrote out the charge against him. It read,

the king of the jews.

27-28 They crucified with him two rebels against Rome. One was on his right and one was on his left. 29 Those who passed by shouted at Jesus and made fun of him. They shook their heads and said, “So you are going to destroy the temple and build it again in three days? 30 Then come down from the cross! Save yourself!” 31 In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law made fun of him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said. “But he can’t save himself! 32 Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross! When we see that, we will believe.” Those who were being crucified with Jesus also made fun of him.

For the Adults:

I don’t know about you, but I’m rarely capable of letting a challenge like, “you can’t even…” go without standing up for myself. Especially when I know I can do it. Yet Jesus makes the self-emptying, God-honoring choice in following the will of the father - even unto death on the cross.

There is song entitled Ten Thousand Angels by Roy Overholt about the Crucifixion that says,

He [Jesus] could have called ten thousand angels
To destroy the world and set Him free
He could have called ten thousand angels
But He died alone for you and me

Jesus had all power and authority to stop everything at any moment. Yet, He chose to die to redeem you, me and the entire world. All glory be to God the father because even in the face of an agonizing death on the cross; even with the power to call down heavenly armies from above; even with the ability to destroy the whole world and start over again, He did not come down!

For The Kids:

Enter:

How has your week been?

How do you think Easter will be different this year?

Since things are different, in what ways can we focus more on Jesus?

Hear:

Read the passage.

Pause:

Meditate on God’s word and his sacrifice.

Wonder:

What stood out to you about this passage?

When can we remember this story?

Bless:

Dear God, thank you for your sacrifice to redeem the whole world. We know Easter will be different this year, but the actions you took out of love for us have not changed! We are forever grateful. Amen!