16 – Jesus Dies on a Cross

Mark 15:33–39

Jesus dies

33 At midday, the whole country became dark for three hours. 34 At three o'clock in the afternoon, Jesus shouted loudly, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ That means, ‘My God, my God, why have you left me alone?’

35 Some people who were standing near there heard him. They said to each other, ‘Look! He is shouting to Elijah.’

36 One man ran to get a piece of cloth. He poured cheap wine on it, and he put it on the end of a stick. Then he lifted it up to Jesus so that he could drink the wine from it. The man said, ‘Wait! Now we will see if Elijah comes to take him down from the cross.’

37 Then Jesus shouted loudly, and after that he died.

38 And the curtain inside the temple completely tore into two parts from the top down to the bottom.

15:38The curtain was in front of the special room inside the temple. God caused it to tear from the top down. The curtain was too thick for a man to tear it.

39 The captain of the soldiers was standing there in front of Jesus. He saw how Jesus died. ‘It must be true!’ he said. ‘This man really was the Son of God.’

15:39The captain was an important soldier. He had authority over 100 other soldiers.

Mark 15:33-39 EasyEnglish Bible (EASY)

Did you Know?

Hanging on a cross was a slow and painful way to die.
Jesus spoke a language called Aramaic.
Elijah was a famous Jewish prophet.
The wine given to Jesus was a sour, cheap wine like vinegar.
The curtain in the temple stopped people entering ‘the holy place’.
The army officer took part in the killing of Jesus.

The Meaning of the Story

After Jesus ate the Passover meal, he was arrested. The Pharisees wanted to kill Jesus because of all the things he said and did. Jesus was nailed to a cross on a hill outside Jerusalem. Many people watched him die.

In the middle of the day, it became dark. God sent the darkness to show people he was punishing sin.

Then Jesus asked God why he had left him all alone. God turned away from Jesus because Jesus took all our sins onto himself. Instead of God punishing us, he punished Jesus.

The most important room in the temple was ‘the Holy Place’. Only the high priest was allowed inside this room. The curtain stopped people coming to God. When Jesus died, God took this curtain away. Now we can all come to God, because Jesus’ death has taken away our sins.

An army officer understood and believed that Jesus is God’s Son.

Who is Jesus?

On the cross, Jesus died for us. He took the punishment for our sins so we could be God’s friends and live with him forever. This was the greatest work that God sent Jesus to do.

We have called this book, Meet Jesus. When you meet Jesus, then you meet God. God wants to get to know you. We can all get to know God because Jesus has brought us to God. Jesus has brought us to God by taking our sins away on the cross.

Thinking about the Story

Why did the sky become dark when Jesus was dying?
Why did God leave Jesus as he was dying on the cross?
What was the meaning of the curtain in the temple being torn in two?
How does Jesus’ death on the cross make us friends with God?