“When it was time for Jesus be our sacrifice, it wasn’t a surprise to people who were really paying attention. In fact, thousands of years ago, prophets (people who were told about the future by God), wrote down exactly what would happen to Jesus.”
“Remember how I said Jesus was hated because he didn’t want to overthrow the Romans? That’s most of the story, but there was one event in particular that turned the hate of the teachers of Israel, into a desire to kill him.”
“When Jesus came to a town called Jerusalem, he went to the temple to pray. When he entered, he found that people weren’t using the temple to pray and to honor God, but there were business people who were selling things, lending money, and taking advantage of the poor.”
“Jesus was angry.”
“Jesus was so angry, that he overturned the tables, and made whips to drive people out. He would not have it that anyone would turn his Father’s house, a holy temple, into a place of business and sin.”
“The Chief Priests and the leaders were getting rich off of the business done in the temple, so when Jesus did that, they became angry and wanted to kill him.”
“Because Jesus was literally living a perfect life, and the men who wanted to kill Jesus didn’t want to just kill him, but wanted everyone to think that he was a liar, they decided that they would hold a fake trial where they would have people falsely accuse him. This way, when he died, everyone would forget his teachings.”
“In order to arrest him, they wanted one of Jesus’ followers to betray him and show them where Jesus was. They paid a man named Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus’ closest followers, who then led them to Jesus.”
“Wait,” Tim asked, “why did one of Jesus' followers betray him?”
“It’s hard to say,” Austin responded, “But Judas loved money. He loved money so much that when it became clear that Jesus was going to be killed, he would rather have money than be punished with Jesus. So that’s what he did. He accepted money from the leaders of Israel and in exchange, he led him to Jesus.”
“Why do people care so much about money?” Tim asked.
“And why did Jesus let someone who loved money more than him be a follower?” Jason asked as well.
“I’ll answer your question first, Tim,” Austin replied. “Everyone serves a master. It can be their family, money, sports, how they look, anything, but if we serve anything other than God, we’re not with him, because we can’t serve two masters.”
“Money just happens to be what very many people serve because with it, many people feel powerful and strong, and without it, a lot of people feel weak and helpless. But, if you serve God, he promises he will always take care of you, even if you don’t have a lot of money.”
Tim understood.
“As to why Jesus allowed someone who loved money more than him to be his disciple,” Austin started, “Jesus wanted to be a sacrifice for everyone, and he knew that for this to happen, someone had to betray him. Jesus took Judas with him, knowing he would betray him.”
Jason wasn’t happy with that answer, and Austin saw that. “Why don’t you like that answer?” Austin asked.
Jason responded, “It sounds like Jesus wanted to be hurt.”
“He did.” Austin said. “Jesus looked at us, all of his children, and knew that the only way for us to be with him was for him to be betrayed. He loves us so much that he would go through anything to save us, no matter how painful.”
Jason still didn’t like how painful it must have been for Jesus, but nodded his head.
“So Jesus was brought in front of a judge, but when people lied about him, their lies all said different things so the judge didn’t know what to believe. But then, when a priest asked if he was the son of God, Jesus said that he was, and immediately the priest yelled out that Jesus was guilty.”
“Even though Jesus had been prophesied as coming for thousands of years, the jews said that when Jesus claimed to be the son of God, he was elevating himself to be like God. And because he was a prisoner and they expected the messiah to be a great conqueror, they called him a liar.”
“Isn’t Jesus God?” Marissa asked.
“Yes and no,” Austin responded. “God is made up of three parts, God the Father, The Holy Spirit, and Jesus their son.”
“Remember how Jesus came to do two things for us? To be an example for us and forgive our sins? Him being an example to us is showing us how to live for God The Father and serve him. He basically came to earth and said, through me, you can be with the Father. Jesus didn’t want to be worshipped, but he wanted the Father to be worshipped.”
“Jesus revealed God The Father with his life, but allowed for the Holy Spirit to come with his death. After Jesus’ trial, he was nailed to a cross and killed.”
“The Holy Spirit is a part of God the Father, and was with him and Jesus from the beginning of time. God The Father and The Holy Spirit created the first humans in the very beginning, but it was the Holy Spirit who formed us on earth and gave us a place to live. The Father was the one who commanded us into existence and began our creation, but it was the Holy Spirit on earth spending time with us and taking care of us.”
“That was, until, humans first sinned (which is a story for another time). Like the Father, the Holy Spirit couldn’t be with us in our death, and all up until Jesus died, there was no real way for us to be with the Holy Spirit, who desired more than anything to take care of us.”
“When Jesus died and forgave our sins, the Holy Spirit was able to come back, and is among us right now, teaching us how to be with God The Father, just like how Jesus taught his followers.”
“So Marissa, when you ask if Jesus is God, it makes a lot of people confused because they believe that God is supposed to be all powerful, and Jesus says that God The Father is greater than him, so how could Jesus still be God?”
“Think of it this way. God The Father is the one who makes all the decisions and has all the power. The Holy Spirit is with God The Father, and is part of God the Father, but the nature of the Holy Spirit is to take care of us. And finally, Jesus is their son, who is like them both, but points the way to the Father, and died for us so that we could live.”
Marissa understood better.
“In the same way that Jesus' death allowed us to be with the father, it also allowed the holy spirit to come to us and take care of us. Jesus knew that when he left earth to go back to heaven that we would miss him and need his teachings. That’s where the Holy Spirit comes in. The Holy Spirit loves and protects us and is with us right now.”
Read Chapter seven