Just Because: The Story of Salvation for Children (20 page)

She didn’t know Jesus could know her thoughts.

Through her sobbing she heard Jesus speaking to

Simon and telling a story about two men. Jesus was

talking about how much a person would love someone

who forgave them a great debt of money. Then Mary

heard Jesus speaking about her and telling Simon

He knew she had many sins but she loved Him very

deeply because she knew what a sinner she was. And

then Jesus spoke to her. He lifted her face with His

hands and told her the most beautiful words she had

ever heard.

“Your sins are forgiven,” He said. “Your faith has

saved you. Go in peace.”

Those demons came out of her and ran away.

There was no place for them any longer because Mary

was instantly made a new person. She felt so clean.

She felt like a newborn baby. She felt as though she

could fly.

She went home and cleaned her house. She went

to her neighbour and told her what had happened,

and her neighbour hugged her. That day they became

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dear friends for the rest of their lives. Mary’s life was

never the same after that. She never did the things

again that she had done, and she became a disciple of

Jesus, living her life to serve God. Mary loved God

because she knew He had forgiven her of so much

sin. She knew she didn’t deserve to be forgiven, and

the Lord loved her for her love.

If we think we are not bad sinners, then we might

think the Lord doesn’t need to forgive us of very

much, and we might not love Him very much. But

all people are sinners, and Jesus was going to die on

that cross for you, for Mary and for me. None of us

deserves to be forgiven. The Lord wants all of us to

love Him as Mary does, Just Because He created us

to love Him and to be loved by Him forever.

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Jesus did many thousands of miracles. He even

brought people back to life who had died. Many

of these miracles are told in the Bible, and you

can read about them there. But it is important to

understand that Jesus came to earth not only to heal

people and to show us exactly what God is like, but

He came to be that lamb, the lamb that must die to

pay for sin.

One day as they were sitting near the shore of the

sea Jesus told His disciples to gather around Him.

He told them that soon He must go to Jerusalem, and

there He must suffer many things. He told them how

the chief leaders of the temple would plot to kill Him.

He said He would be killed, and three days later He

would come alive again.

Now Peter was sitting there thinking, “Well, if

You know they will kill You, then we can stop it from

happening by not going to Jerusalem.”

Peter took Jesus aside and spoke to Him.

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“Lord, what are You saying?” he said, “This will

never happen to You. You don’t need to die. We won’t

let You die. You don’t need to suffer.”

“Be silent, Peter,” Jesus said. “Although you

don’t realise it you are a trap to Me. You don’t have

in your mind the things God wants, but only what

men want. I must do what God wants, for that is My

purpose here on earth. I must die for the sins of the

people; otherwise they will never know their heav-

enly Father as I know him.

Jesus called the other disciples over to Him.

“Listen,” He said. “I will be crucified on a cross.

The same death as a terrible criminal. If any man

chooses to be My disciple, then he must also be

willing to humble himself as I do. People may hate

you, but whoever will not give his life to Me shall

one day lose it to the evil one. But whoever will give

his life to me shall be saved forever.”

Jesus’ disciples listened carefully to all He said,

but I don’t think they understood exactly what He

meant.

“Come,” said Jesus. “I must go to Jerusalem. If

you are truly My disciples, then follow.”

So they set out. Jesus walked in front of them. No

one really knows what He was thinking, but the Bible

says He walked as though nothing would stop Him.

He knew He was going to suffer. He knew people

would laugh at Him and spit at Him and beat Him

with their fists. He knew they would whip Him until

lots of His skin was cut off. He knew they would

throw Him on the ground and put long nails through

His hands and feet, and He knew He would die in

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terrible pain upon the cross. But He didn’t turn back

and try to think of an easier way to save us from our

sins. No! He went willingly, and He went with joy in

His heart because He knew He was doing what God

wanted. But most of all He went because He loves us

more than anyone can ever write on paper.

There was a big feast in Jerusalem. The feast of

the Passover. The celebration of the Jews’ freedom

from slavery in Egypt. When the crowds heard

Jesus was coming they ran and cut huge palm tree

branches and lined the roads on either side spreading

the leaves on the ground before Jesus. He was riding

on a donkey, and as He entered Jerusalem the people

shouted, “Hosanna! Hail to the king! Here comes the

Lord!” They were excited about Him coming. They

welcomed Him as their king.

Jesus came to the temple. He went into the large

area leading up to the holy place. Many people were

buying animals for sacrifice. Instead of a holy place

for worship, it looked like a marketplace. People

were using the temple of God to make money and to

be dishonest.

Jesus could have just turned away and said nothing,

but He was angry at what the people were doing in

the holy place. He went up to one of the merchants’

tables and tipped it over. Money went flying al over

the ground. Along the temple area He went, turning

over the tables and yel ing at the merchants to get out.

Some of them didn’t want to leave, so Jesus picked up

a whip and drove them out.

“You have turned My Father’s house into a place

for thieves!” He yelled. “Get out!”

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Now what He did didn’t make Him very popular.

But Jesus was a real man, a whole man. Not only

a gentle, loving man who healed people, nursed

little children and did miracles, but a man who said

what He believed, who did what was right no matter

what people thought. Some of the powerful religious

leaders came out of the temple when they heard the

noise and demanded an explanation from Jesus.

“What do You think You are doing?” they asked

Him.“You see these stones,” said Jesus pointing to the

walls of the huge Jerusalem temple. “I tell you, all

will be pulled down, and not one will be left upon

another.”

“Are You going to destroy this temple?” asked a

Pharisee.

Jesus looked at him and said, “Destroy
this

temple, and in three days I will raise it again.”

The Pharisee started to laugh at Him because

he didn’t understand. Jesus wasn’t talking about the

temple building where God lived, but His own body

which was a temple where God lived. Then Jesus

turned to the Pharisees and said some things they did

not expect.

“You Pharisees, you so-called leaders of the

temple, are a bunch of snakes. You hide the truth

from the people and take their money for yourselves.

You walk around the city in your fancy robes. You

look lovely on the outside, but inside your hearts you

are like dead men’s graves.”

Well, as you can imagine, the Pharisees got pretty

angry when they heard this. Nobody dared talk to

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them
this way. “Arrest him!” they said to the temple

guards.

But Jesus just turned and walked away. Nobody

touched Him. The Pharisees held a meeting to decide

what to do about Jesus.

“He’s got to go,” said one man.

“But what He’s teaching is not wrong,” said a

man called Nicodemus who secretly loved Jesus.

“What! Do you agree with Him? Go and join

Him then.”

“But maybe He is the Messiah,” said Nicodemus.

“Only God could do the miracles He does.”

“He’s got a devil in him,” said one Pharisee. “He

does miracles with Satan’s help.”

“No,” argued Nicodemus. “Satan would never do

the wonderful things He has done.”

And they kept on arguing.

“But the prophets of old never said a Messiah

would come from Nazareth or Galilee. He can’t be

the Messiah. The Scriptures say the Messiah will

come from Bethlehem, but this Jesus is a carpenter

from Nazareth. He eats and drinks with sinners. He

talks to losers. He teaches the scum of the city. He

tells them that if they believe then they will go to

His Father’s kingdom. He claims to be God, and

for that He must die. He must be stopped. He must

be killed.”

Nicodemus left the meeting, and after it was dark

he went to find Jesus. Nicodemus found Jesus resting

in a garden and said to Him, “Teacher, I believe You

have come from God, because no one can do what

You have done unless God is with Him.”

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Jesus said to him, “I tell you the truth, unless

a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of

God.”

“How can a man be born when he is old?” asked

Nicodemus.

Then Jesus explained to him that a person must

be first born from his parents and then later be born

from God’s Spirit when God’s Spirit came to live in

them. Jesus also said He would be lifted up and that

whoever believes on Him would have eternal life.

These things were hard for Nicodemus to understand,

but he would know what Jesus meant later. He would

realise Jesus would be lifted up on the cross and His

death would be a punishment for every person’s sins.

Jesus knew powerful people were planning to have

Him killed. But He didn’t run away, Just Because He

was thinking of you and me and every person in the

world who would one day know and love Him and

live with Him in heaven.

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The Pharisees were looking for a way to have

Jesus arrested by their soldiers. They had decided

Jesus must be stopped. Jesus had said He was equal

to God, and the Pharisees believed that for saying

this He must die. So they spoke to Judas Iscariot, the

disciple who loved money and power. They made a

deal with Judas, and maybe they tricked Judas.

On the night He was arrested Jesus ate a last meal

with His twelve disciples. When they were all seated,

He put a towel around Himself and, taking a basin of

water, went and washed their feet. They were embar-

rassed by this, because usually only a slave would do

such a thing. Jesus was the Lord God of all creation,

and here He was doing the work of a slave. He did

this to show us we must be humble. God hates pride

in people, but He helps the humble.

During the supper Jesus took the bread and broke

it, and giving it to His disciples He said, “This is My

body which is broken for you. Do this to remember

Me.” And taking the wine He passed it to them and

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said, “This wine is the new covenant in My blood

which is given for you.”

Jesus was the perfect lamb. When the angel

passed over Egypt the Jews put the lamb’s blood on

their doors in the sign of the cross to save them. And

then the Lord gave them His commandments. These

things were the old covenant, and now Jesus was

showing them the new and perfect covenant. He was

the true lamb, the lamb which was a real person. His

blood was perfect human blood, and His death would

give everyone who trusted in Him a new life.

Then Jesus looked at Judas and said to him,

“What you are about to do, go and do.”

Yes, Jesus knew Judas would betray Him, and yet

Jesus stil loved Judas. Judas ran away to tel the Jewish

leaders where they could find Jesus. They wanted to

grab Him while it was dark, because they were afraid

of the crowds who loved Him. Then Jesus told Simon

Peter that before the rooster crowed three times Peter

would say he never knew Jesus. Peter boasted that he

was ready to die for Jesus, and he meant it, but when

the time came he would fail Jesus.

Jesus and His disciples went to a beautiful garden

called Gethsemane. Jesus went to pray knowing this

night He would be arrested. He prayed for hours.

He prayed for you and me that night. He prayed we

would come to know and love Him.

Satan went to Gethsemane. He was making plans.

He had whispered into Judas’s ear, and now Judas

was bringing the temple soldiers to take Jesus. But

Satan was worried about what Jesus had said about