The Crucifixion and Death of Jesus (Luke 23:26-56)
As they lead Jesus away, they seize a man named Simon of Cyrene coming in from the country and put the cross on him to carry it behind Jesus. A large crowd follows, including women who are mourning and wailing for Him. Jesus turns to them: daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me. Weep for yourselves and for your children.
They arrive at the place called The Skull, in Aramaic Golgotha. There they crucify Him, along with two criminals, one on His right and one on His left. Jesus says: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." The soldiers divide His clothes by casting lots. The crowd stands watching. The rulers sneer: he saved others, let him save himself, if he is God's Messiah, the Chosen One. The soldiers mock Him too. A sign is placed over Him: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
One of the criminals hangs there hurling insults at Him: aren't you the Messiah? Save yourself and us! But the other criminal rebukes him: don't you fear God, since you are under the same sentence? We are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong. Then he says: "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." Jesus answers: "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise."
It is about noon. Darkness falls over the whole land and lasts until three in the afternoon, for the sun stops shining. The curtain of the temple is torn in two. Jesus calls out in a loud voice: "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." And having said this, He breathes His last.
The centurion, seeing what has happened, praises God and says: "Surely this was a righteous man." The crowds who had gathered to watch turn away beating their breasts. All those who knew Jesus, including the women who had followed Him from Galilee, stand at a distance, watching these things.
A man named Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the council who had not consented to what they did, goes to Pilate and asks for Jesus' body. He takes it down, wraps it in linen cloth, and places it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. It is Preparation Day, and the Sabbath is about to begin. The women who had come from Galilee follow Joseph and see the tomb and how His body is laid in it. Then they go home to prepare spices and perfumes. And they rest on the Sabbath, according to the commandment.
A Curious Question
One of the first things Jesus said from the cross was a prayer: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." He prayed that for the soldiers who nailed Him there. He prayed it for the crowd mocking Him. He prayed it for the rulers sneering at Him. What does it tell you about Jesus that in the worst moment of His life, His first words were a prayer for the people who were hurting Him? Do you think you could ever pray like that? Why or why not?
Old Testament Connection
The crucifixion of Jesus fulfills the most specific predictive psalm in the entire Old Testament. Psalm 22, written by David roughly a thousand years before the cross, describes a suffering man whose hands and feet have been pierced, whose clothing is divided by lot, who is surrounded by mockers saying "let God rescue him if he delights in him," and who cries out "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" None of this was written about a crucifixion. Crucifixion had not been invented yet when David wrote those words. But everything in Psalm 22 maps exactly onto the scene at Golgotha. God was telling the story of the cross a thousand years before it happened.
The tearing of the temple curtain is the single most important piece of symbolism in this passage. That curtain separated the Holy of Holies, where God's presence dwelt, from the rest of the temple. Only the high priest could enter, once a year, and only with blood. When Jesus dies and the curtain tears from top to bottom, God is declaring that the way into His presence is now open. There is no more separation. There is no more barrier. The sacrifice has been made. The price has been paid. Everyone who trusts in Jesus now has direct access to the Father. This connects directly to the tabernacle lessons in Exodus, where children learned about the curtain and the mercy seat. Tell them: Jesus is the mercy seat and the curtain is gone.
Discussion Questions
- Jesus prayed "Father, forgive them" while the soldiers were crucifying Him. Is there someone in your life who has hurt you in a way that feels impossible to forgive? What would it look like for you to pray that prayer for them, even if it is very hard?
- The repentant criminal on the cross next to Jesus had nothing to offer. He had no good deeds, no time to change his life, no chance to do anything right. He simply asked Jesus to remember him. And Jesus said: today you will be with me in paradise. What does that tell you about what it takes to be with Jesus?
- The temple curtain tore from top to bottom when Jesus died. That was the barrier between people and God's presence. What do you think it means for your life that there is no longer a barrier between you and God, and that Jesus made a way for you to come directly to the Father?
"So What?" What Can I Do?
The repentant criminal's prayer was the simplest prayer in the Gospels: "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." It was enough. This week, if you have never personally asked Jesus to remember you, to include you in His kingdom, you can do that right now in the simplest words you have. If you have, then this week find one person you can tell about what happened on the cross. Not a sermon. Just the story: He died for the guilty so the guilty could go free. That is the news worth telling.
Memorize God's Word
Luke 23:34: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."
Hand Motions:
- Father: Look upward and extend both arms slightly upward with open palms, as if addressing someone above.
- forgive them: Cross both arms over your chest in a self-embrace, then open them wide as if releasing something.
- for they do not know: Place one hand flat over your eyes as if you cannot see, or shake your head slowly.
- what they are doing: Hold both hands out in front of you, palms up, as if presenting someone's actions for examination.
Praying with Kids
Lord Jesus, You went to the cross for us. You prayed for the people hurting You while they were hurting You. You offered paradise to a criminal who had nothing to offer back. You died and the curtain tore and the way to God was opened. Thank You. We are the ones who were on the wrong side of that curtain. We are the ones who needed that price to be paid. Help us to never get used to the cross, to never think of it as just a story we've heard before. It is the most important thing that ever happened. And it happened for us. Amen.
Craft: The Torn Curtain Cross
Children will create a simple cross visual with a torn piece of fabric or paper representing the temple curtain, connecting the death of Jesus to the open access to God it accomplished.
Materials Checklist
Instructions
- On the dark paper, draw a simple cross shape using the gold or yellow marker. The cross should fill most of the page.
- Take the strip of fabric or paper. Before gluing it, tear it down the middle from top to bottom to create two ragged halves. This tearing is the key moment: let children feel the resistance of the fabric and hear the tear.
- Glue or tape the two torn halves onto the cross, one on each side of the center, with the torn edges facing inward to show the gap in the middle where the curtain was torn.
- On the left half of the torn curtain, write: Separated from God. On the right half, write: Now welcome in.
- Below the cross, write the memory verse: Luke 23:34.
- Allow the craft to dry and send it home as a reminder of what the cross accomplished.
Effective Teaching Techniques
This is the most solemn lesson in all of Luke, and it deserves to be taught with appropriate weight. Do not begin with a game or a joke. Open quietly. You might simply say: today we are going to talk about the day Jesus died. Sit with that sentence for a moment before you begin the story. Children are often more capable of sitting with gravity than adults expect, especially when the teacher is not performing urgency but actually feeling it.
The criminal's conversation with Jesus is a complete picture of salvation in four verses. Do not rush past it. The repentant criminal acknowledges that he deserves his punishment, that Jesus has done nothing wrong, and asks only to be remembered. Jesus does not ask him to recite a creed, complete a process, or demonstrate changed behavior. He simply says: today you will be with me in paradise. This is the most grace-saturated moment in the crucifixion narrative. Ask children: what did the criminal do to deserve paradise? The answer is nothing except turn to Jesus and ask. That is the Gospel in its simplest form.
If your children have done the Exodus unit, the tearing of the curtain is the moment everything connects. You can say: remember when we studied the tabernacle? Remember the curtain that separated the Holy of Holies from everything else, and only the high priest could go behind it, once a year, with blood? That curtain just tore in half. From top to bottom, meaning God tore it, not a person. The way is open. Jesus is the final high priest and the final sacrifice. You do not need another curtain or another sacrifice ever again. Watch children's faces when they hear that connection. It lands.
The most likely question: "Did Jesus know He was going to rise again? If so, why did He cry out?" Answer directly: yes, Jesus knew. He told the disciples multiple times. But Jesus was also fully human, and on the cross He was bearing the full weight of the sin of the world, which involved a real and terrible separation from the Father. The cry does not mean He doubted. It means the suffering was real. He was not pretending. The cost was actual. That is why it was enough.