Jesus Crucified and Resurrected

After Jesus was born, he lived in Judea for thirty years. Then he started to travel around Judea, teaching people what God wanted them to do. His most famous teaching was given on the side of a mountain, so today, people call it the “Sermon on the Mount.” Here are some of the things that Jesus taught:

Blessed are the poor, for the kingdom of God belongs to them.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

Blessed are peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.

If someone strikes you on the cheek, don’t fight back. Turn the other cheek instead.

Love your enemies, and pray for those who are mean to you.

Do not judge other people, or you will be judged.

The “Gospels,” in the New Testament, record these and many other teachings of Jesus.

Jesus was very popular with the people of Judea. He was so popular that the leaders who were governing Judea began to worry. The Jewish leaders were afraid that Jesus might begin a rebellion against the Romans. If that happened, Roman soldiers might march into Judea and kill hundreds of Jews.

When the Roman official who was supposed to keep the peace in Judea heard about Jesus, he got worried too. If he didn’t get rid of Jews who might start rebellions against Rome, he could get into trouble with the Roman “First Citizen”—a man named Tiberius, who had inherited the job of running Rome from Augustus Caesar. He might lose his job as a Roman official, or even be executed.

alt=293.jpg>

So the Romans helped some of the leaders of Judea arrest Jesus. They put him on trial for treason. The penalty for treason was death! Jesus was convicted of treason and put to death near Jerusalem, the capital city of Judea.

The Gospels tell the story of what happened after Jesus’ death. Here is what the Gospel of Luke says:

fter Jesus died, he was put in a tomb that was like a cave, carved into rock.

Three days after Jesus died, some of the women who followed him went to the tomb where he had been buried. But when they got there, they found that the huge stone at the entrance had been rolled away! And the tomb itself was empty.

“What has happened here?” they asked each other. “What has happened to the body of Jesus?”

Then two angels, dressed in shining clothes, appeared to them. “Why are you looking for Jesus here?” one of them asked. “He is not here. He has risen from the dead!”

The women were terrified! They ran back to tell Jesus’ other followers what had happened. But no one believed them!

While his followers were talking about the story the women told, Jesus himself appeared to them. “Peace be with you!” he said. “I am not a ghost! I have risen from the dead.” Then he blessed them and said, “Go and tell all nations what you have seen.”

The followers of Jesus told this story all around Jerusalem. Then they spread it all the way to Rome itself! More and more people believed that Jesus had been resurrected, or brought back to life from the dead. They were careful to follow the teachings of Jesus. They believed that Jesus was the son of God. Soon, these people were called “Christians.”

Note to Parent: The actual year of Jesus’ birth is probably closer to 3 BC/BCE than to the year 1.