Luke 23:26-34
THE wicked people were very glad when Pilate said that Jesus was to be crucified. They made a cross of two great pieces of wood and made Jesus carry it. They took him out of Jerusalem into the country. The wicked people came with Him.
Jesus was so weak that He could hardly walk, and the cross was so heavy that He could not carry it. He would have dropped down on the way if a man had not helped Him to carry the cross.
There were a few people who were sorry for the Lord Jesus. Some women, who loved Him very much, came crying after Him. Jesus heard them crying, and He turned round and spoke very kindly to them.
He said, ‘Do not cry for Me; cry for yourselves and for your children.’ Why did Jesus tell them to cry for themselves?
Jesus knew how God would one day punish the people in Jerusalem for their wickedness.
At last Jesus came to the top of a hill. Then the soldiers made Jesus lie on His cross, and they put nails in His hands and nails in His feet. So they nailed Him to the cross. Then the soldiers made a hole in the ground and stuck the cross in it.
They had taken off Jesus’ clothes. And when He was on the cross, four soldiers tore the clothes in four pieces. They each took a piece. But when they looked at His coat they said, ‘We will not tear it, because there is no seam in it’. Then one of the soldiers took it for his own. So the wicked people took everything away from Jesus.
Was Jesus very angry with them?
No, He was as meek as a lamb. He prayed to His Father while He was on the cross. He could not lift up His hands, but He could speak to God. He prayed for these wicked people. He said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’
‘Father, forgive,’ the sufferer cries,
‘Because they know not what they do.’
To heaven He lifts His dying eyes:
Was such a prayer e’er heard below?
Tell me for whom the Savior prays?
For those who bear Him deadly hate,
Who spat upon His lovely face,
And pierced His blessed hands and feet.
And does the Savior pray for these?
Ah, then I see that I should pray
For all who hurt me, vex, or tease,
By spiteful things they do or say.
Questions
Who carried Jesus’ cross?
Could Jesus carry it by Himself?
Who came after Jesus crying, because He was going to die?
What did Jesus say to these kind women?
What did the wicked men do to Jesus when He came to the top of the hill?
Who took Jesus’ clothes?
Did they tear them all?
Who did Jesus ask His Father to forgive?
Should we forgive people who are unkind to us?
Jesus’ prayer for those who crucified Him:
A verse from the Bible for you to learn:
“Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”
Luke 23:34.