Outside the walls of Jerusalem, there was a hill
called Calvary. There were three dark crosses on the
hill. On two of them were thieves who were punished for bad things
they did. Jesus Christ was put on the cross in the center with nails through
His hands and feet.
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On Friday morning, Jesus was
brought before the Roman governor of Jerusalem for trial. The
priests were accusing Jesus of lying. He is telling lies to many
people throughout Judea, said one man. He claims to be the Son of God and calls
himself the Messiah said another. Jesus remained silent and did not answer
to these accusations. The governor asked Jesus in private, Are you the King of the Jews?. Jesus
answered, My kingdom is not of
this world; if
it were of this world, then would My servants fight for Me. Jesus continues, I am a king, and all who know the truth, know that
my words are true. The governor did not know the truth but
he knew that Jesus was not an ordinary man and could not sentence him to
death, but the wicked priests of Jerusalem insisted the Jesus be crucified.
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Jesus mother Mary and His disciple John stood beside
His cross comforting each other. A group of Jews close by said to
Jesus, If you are truly the Son of God, then come down from the
cross. Then they went away saying, He saved others but He cannot
save Himself. Shortly after, the sky was filled with clouds and
Jerusalem became dark. The darkness lasted for many
hours. At that moment, all the evil in the world gathered around
Jesus Christ, but the power of evil could not break the strong spirit of the
mighty Son of God. The spirit of Jesus left His body and went up
to the heavens.
The body of Jesus, wrapped in a white shroud, was
carried into a cave where it was to be buried. The Roman governor,
advised by the priests, ordered that the tomb of Jesus be guarded by
soldiers. The priests told the governor, The tomb must be watched,
so that his disciples cannot steal him away and say that he is risen from the
dead.
Jesus apostles were very sad and miserable, for
their beloved teacher and master was no longer with them.
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Bible Stories: Easter Sunday and the resurrection of
Jesus
Early on Sunday morning, Mary Magdalen, along
with other women, went to visit the tomb of Jesus. To their surprise, the soldiers who
were supposed to be guarding the tomb were not there. They were even more surprised and
afraid because the tomb was opened and the body of Jesus disappeared. Mary Magdalen went inside the cave
while she was crying. She
saw two angels inside. Why are you crying? the
angels asked her. Because
they have taken away my Lord she answered. And then another voice behind her
said to her, Mary, why do you cry?.
She
turned around and realized that it was Jesus standing behind her. She could not believe her
eyes. She went and told
the apostles, I have seen the Lord!. The
apostles could not believe it either that Jesus was alive. The great news was too good to be
true. As the apostles
were gathered together speaking about all of this, Jesus appeared among them
and said Peace be unto you. As
soon as they saw Him, the apostles knew that it was Jesus Himself, their
beloved teacher. This was the happiest moment in their life.
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At this point,
many people in Jerusalem were talking about seeing Jesus. When the news
reached the governor, he asked the soldiers what happened. The soldiers said that as they were
guarding the tomb of Jesus, an angel came down from heaven and opened the tomb
and Jesus rose up from His grave.
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Forty days
after Easter Sunday, Jesus and His apostles went to the Mount of
Olives. He told them, Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And remember that I am always with
you. As Jesus said this, He raised His
hand and blessed His apostles. Then
He went up to His father in the heavens. The apostles were not sad when Jesus
left them, because they remembered His words, I am always with you, and they knew that it was true.
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