Jesus gives His life for us on the Cross Basic 4 Christian Religious Studies (CRS) Lesson Note

Why Jesus Gave His life for Us

Because He Loves Us

• Jesus loves every person in the world
• His love is perfect and never changes
• He loves us even when we do wrong things
• Love motivated Him to die for us

Bible verse: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8)

To Save Us from Sin

• All people have sinned and disobeyed God
• Sin separates us from God’s holy presence
• We cannot save ourselves from sin
• Jesus came to rescue us from our sins

What sin does:

• Makes us enemies of God
• Brings spiritual death
• Keeps us out of heaven
• Makes us deserve punishment

Bible verse: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23)

To Pay the Price for Our Sins

• The punishment for sin is death
• Someone had to pay for our wrongdoing
• Jesus took our place on the cross
• His death paid the full price for our sins

Bible verse: “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23)

To Give Us Eternal Life

• Jesus died so we can live forever with God
• His death opened the way to heaven
• Now we can have a relationship with God
• Believers will never truly die

What eternal life means:

• Living with God forever in heaven
• Perfect happiness and no pain
• No more sadness or crying
• Being with Jesus always

Bible verse: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16)

To Fulfill God’s Plan

• God planned Jesus’ death from the beginning
• The prophets wrote about it long ago
• Jesus came to earth specifically to die for us
• He was obedient to His Father’s will

To Defeat Satan

• Satan had power over people through sin
• Jesus’ death broke Satan’s power
• He rescued us from Satan’s kingdom
• Now believers belong to God’s kingdom

Because We Are Precious to God

• God thinks we are worth saving
• He was willing to give His most precious Son
• Each person is valuable in God’s eyes
• Jesus died for you personally

The Sacrifices Involved in Giving His Life for Us

Jesus Left Heaven’s Glory

What He gave up in heaven:

• Perfect happiness and comfort
• Worship and praise from angels
• His position as God in glory
• No pain, hunger, or suffering

What He came to on earth:

• A poor family in Bethlehem
• A world full of sin and suffering
• People who would reject and hurt Him
• A life of hardship and difficulty

Bible verse: “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant” (Philippians 2:6-7)

Jesus Experienced Human Suffering

Physical suffering:

• He felt hunger, thirst, and tiredness
• He experienced pain and sickness
• He was beaten and whipped
• He was nailed to a wooden cross

Emotional suffering:

• People rejected and hated Him
• His friends ran away and left Him
• He felt lonely and abandoned
• He was mocked and laughed at

Spiritual suffering:

• He carried the weight of all our sins
• God the Father turned away from Him
• He experienced separation from God
• He felt the punishment for our sins

The Cross – The Ultimate Sacrifice

What happened on the cross:

• Jesus was nailed to wooden beams
• He hung in terrible pain for hours
• He bled and struggled to breathe
• He died a criminal’s death

The spiritual meaning:

• Jesus took all our sins upon Himself
• He experienced God’s anger against sin
• He paid the full price for our wrongdoing
• He died so we don’t have to be punished

Bible verse: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness” (1 Peter 2:24)

Jesus Could Have Saved Himself

His power:

• Jesus had the power to come down from the cross
• He could have called angels to rescue Him
• He could have destroyed His enemies
• He chose to stay and die for us

His choice:

• Jesus willingly gave His life
• No one forced Him to die
• He stayed on the cross because He loved us
• His sacrifice was completely voluntary

Bible verse: “No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down of my own accord” (John 10:18)

The Cost Was Everything

What it cost Jesus:

• His perfect sinless life
• His blood shed for our forgiveness
• His relationship with the Father (temporarily)
• His life as payment for our sins

What it cost God the Father:

• His beloved Son
• Watching Jesus suffer terribly
• Turning away from Jesus on the cross
• The pain of separation from His Son

The price was complete:

• Nothing more is needed for our salvation
• Jesus’ sacrifice was perfect and sufficient
• The debt of sin is fully paid
• We can be completely forgiven

The Importance of Jesus Laying Down His Life for Us

It Proves God’s Love

How we know God loves us:

• He gave His most precious Son for us
• He was willing to make the greatest sacrifice
• God chose to save us when we didn’t deserve it
• His love is shown by actions, not just words

What this means:

• We are deeply loved by God
• His love never changes or ends
• We don’t have to earn God’s love
• We can trust in His care for us

Bible verse: “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him” (1 John 4:9)

It Makes Our Salvation Possible

Without Jesus’ death:

• We would still be lost in sin
• We couldn’t go to heaven
• We would remain enemies of God
• We would face eternal punishment

Because of Jesus’ death:

• Our sins are completely forgiven
• We can have peace with God
• The way to heaven is open
• We can become God’s children

How to receive salvation:

• Believe that Jesus died for your sins
• Ask God to forgive you
• Trust Jesus as your Savior
• Follow Him as your Lord

It Defeats Satan’s Power

Satan’s defeat:

• His power over believers is broken
• He cannot claim us as his property
• His accusations against us are answered
• His kingdom of darkness is defeated

Our victory:

• We are moved to God’s kingdom of light
• We have power to resist sin
• We don’t have to fear death
• We can overcome Satan’s temptations

Bible verse: “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8)

It Gives Us Hope

Hope for this life:

• God is with us in our troubles
• We have purpose and meaning
• We can face difficulties with courage
• We know God will take care of us

Hope for eternity:

• We will live forever with Jesus
• Death is not the end for believers
• We will see our loved ones again in heaven
• Perfect joy and peace await us

Bible verse: “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure” (Hebrews 6:19)

It Changes How We Should Live

With gratitude:

• We should thank Jesus for His sacrifice
• We want to please Him with our lives
• We don’t take His love for granted
• We praise Him for saving us

With love for others:

• We should love others as Jesus loved us
• We forgive people who hurt us
• We help those in need
• We share God’s love with everyone

With obedience:

• We obey Jesus’ teachings
• We try to live like He lived
• We put God first in our lives
• We serve others as He served us

Bible verse: “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters” (1 John 3:16)

It Gives Our Lives Meaning

We are valuable:

• Jesus thought we were worth dying for
• God has a special plan for each of us
• Our lives have eternal importance
• We matter to the Creator of the universe

We have purpose:

• We are called to tell others about Jesus
• We can make a difference in the world
• We are God’s representatives on earth
• We can use our lives to honor God

It Brings Peace

Peace with God:

• We are no longer His enemies
• He is not angry with us anymore
• We can talk to God through prayer
• We have a loving relationship with Him

Peace in our hearts:

• We don’t have to feel guilty about our sins
• We can rest in God’s love and forgiveness
• We have assurance that we will go to heaven
• We can face the future without fear

Bible verse: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1)

It Creates Unity Among Believers

We are family:

• All believers are brothers and sisters
• Jesus’ death makes us one family
• We should love and help each other
• We belong together in God’s family

We share the same salvation:

• Everyone needs Jesus equally
• No one is better than anyone else
• We all received the same gift of salvation
• We should treat everyone with love and respect

Exercises

Exercise 1: Fill in the Blanks

1. Jesus gave His life for us because He _______ us.
2. The punishment for sin is _______.
3. Jesus experienced physical, emotional, and _______ suffering.
4. Jesus’ death makes our _______ possible.

Exercise 2: True or False

1. Jesus was forced to die on the cross. _____
2. All people have sinned and need salvation. _____
3. Jesus could have saved Himself from the cross. _____
4. Jesus’ death gives us hope for eternity. _____