Part 1 – Isaiah 53:4-5

Please read the texts with your children and discuss the questions below:

1. Who is this passage written about? Jesus Christ
2. When was it written? About 700 years before Jesus was born
3. What does the prophet Isaiah foretell us about Jesus? He would carry the weight of and take the punishment for our sins.
4. Why did someone need to die? Old Covenant animal sacrifices could never take away sins (Hebrew 10:3-4), but Jesus could make believers holy (sanctify) by sacrificing himself (Hebrews 10:10).

Part 2 – Mark 15:21-39

Please read the text with your children and discuss the questions below.

1. Why did they ask Simon of Cyrene to carry Jesus’ cross up the hill? Jesus had just been beaten, he was too weak to carry it up the hill.
2. The chief priests challenged Jesus, the Christ, to save himself. Why didn’t Jesus save himself? Christ is a title, it means Messiah, or Savior.  While the religious leaders were looking for Jesus to save himself, Jesus was actually saving us by dying.  Our sin and punishment was put on Him, so His righteousness could be put on us.  He died, so we could live abundant lives (John 10:10) now and for eternity.
3. What great signs made the centurion believe Jesus was the Son of God? Three hours of darkness, an earthquake (Matthew 27), and the temple curtain was torn.
4. How was the temple curtain torn, and why was it important? Only God could have torn the curtain from the top-down.  The curtain itself was a barrier to a room called the Holy of Holies, where the Spirit of God rested.  Now, as believers now under a New Covenant (Hebrews 8:13), we are temples, and the Holy Spirit lives in us (1 Corinthians 6:19).

How can we respond Jesus’ sacrifice for us? This is an opportunity to pray with your children, to encourage them to start a relationship with their Savior if they have not.