Lesson video

Hi everyone.

And welcome back to your RE lessons.

My name is Mrs Day, and we are going to go through more Christian beliefs today.

So today's lesson is on at the crucifixion.

I'm sure you might've heard little bits and pieces about that before, but today we are going to look at that in more detail and think about what it means to Christians.

So the first thing that I would love you to do is to make sure that you have everything you need for today's lesson.

So you might want to pause the video here and go to get a pen or a pencil and some paper that you can write on.

If you have a second pen of a different colour, that would be great.

So you can mark your work as we go along.

So what are we actually going to cover in today's lesson? So firstly, we're going to consider the events before the crucifixion.

So we're going to look at the week, leading up to the crucifixion and think about what Jesus did during that week.

Secondly, we are going to look at the crucifixion itself.

We're going to read the account of the crucifixion and consider what happened.

And finally, we're going to consider why the crucifixion matters to Christians today.

This is a core belief to Christians today, but we need to think about why? why hundreds of years later christians still remember this.

So that is what we are going to study today.

If you look at the picture on the screen right now, I'm sure this is a familiar search.

What you can see is someone wearing a necklace in the ship of a crucifixion or cross.

And why we see that all the time in society, but you might wonder where this image comes from.

A lot of the time we see Christians wear this and you might wonder why this is the core image of Christianity.

We see this again and again.

If a Christian could choose a symbol to represent their faith across this probably what you would see in Christianity.

So today we are going to explore why this is? So We need to consider firstly what happened in the week leading up to the crucifixion.

The crucifixion didn't just happen one day, but there were key events that led up to it happening.

So firstly, we're going to consider these key events.

The week before the crucifixion is sometimes referred to as Holy week.

Now we're got to have a look at what happened on each of the days during that week.

So we're in the lead up to the crucifixion.

So we're going to start on day one.

And day one, is sometimes known as Palm Sunday.

Let me read to you a little excerpt from the Good News Bible, which tells us about what happens on Palm Sunday.

A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted "Hosanna to the son of David" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord" "Hosanna in the highest heavens" Matthew chapter 21:8-9.

So as you can see, this seems to be a scene of celebration, Jesus enters Jerusalem at this time, interesting for you to notice this time he rides in on a donkey.

Remember what we said about Jesus's arrival on earth and the scene.

We see this idea of humility coming through again here.

So he enters Jerusalem on a donkey and we can see from the reaction of the people that he's really popular.

People really like him.

We have people shouting leaving their cloaks down We can see that Jesus is a very popular figure among the people in Jerusalem at this point.

Interesting, because in less than a week, we are going to look at how he dies.

So remember on Palm Sunday, Jesus is very popular.

So let's now look at day two.

So on day two, Jesus is still in Jerusalem and he enters the temple.

Let me read to you about what happens in the temple.

Jesus went into the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling there.

He overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the stools of those who sold pigeons and said to them, "It is written in the Scriptures that God said, My temple will be called a house of prayer, But you are making it a hideout for thieves" Matthew chapter 21:12-13 from the Good News Bible.

So what has happened now, if you look at the image, it will give you a bit of an idea as well.

But we see that Jesus has went into the temple and he's really annoyed about how people are treating it.

It's being used as a centre for business and a market rather than to worship God.

So what does Jesus do? He turns over tables.

He makes a big deal and he says, "Get out of the temple.

You can't do this here.

This is my father's house.

It's not to be used for business" But What do you think the reaction of the Jewish leaders might be at this point? This is the first point where we start to see that maybe Jesus is losing some of his popularity.

Why? Because people were making money.

The people who were selling things were doing quite well, but Jesus has stopped that.

He said we can't use the temple to make money.

So in that away, that annoys people.

So that was day two.

And then we get today three.

And on day three, we see Jesus with his disciples, leaving Jerusalem and going out to the Mount of olives, where they spent some time together.

And let me read to you what happened at the Mount of olives.

As Jesus sat on the Mount of olives, the disciples came to him in private, "Tell us what all this will be" they asked.

"And what will happen to show that it is the time for your coming and the end of the age" Matthew chapter 24:3 from the Good News Bible.

So here we can see that Jesus is spending time with his disciples.

Jesus had 12 disciples and they were his best friends.

They followed him everywhere.

And they're the people that after he died, carried on his mission.

But what happens here, we see here that Jesus is teaching them a about the end of the world, about what will happen in the future.

So we're starting to see more signs that something big is going to happen soon.

Then we need to have a look at day five.

Day five is a really important day.

A lot happens on day five.

You might recognise the image on the screen.

This is an image printer of Leonardo DaVinci of the last supper.

Let me read to you what happened at the last supper, while they were eating, Jesus took a piece of bread, gave a prayer of thanks, broke it and gave it to his disciples, "Take and eat it" he said, "this is my body" Then he took a cup, gave thanks to God and gave it to them, "Drink it, all of you", he said, "this is my blood which seals God's covenant, my blood poured out for many, for the forgiveness of sins" Matthew chapter 26:26-28 from the Good News Bible.

So the disciples are having this meal.

It's Passover Jesus and his disciples are having a Passover meal.

And then Jesus does this, which seems a little bit strange because at this point, Jesus hasn't died.

So this is the first example of communion and Jesus here, makes it quite clear that his death is going to happen soon.

So he uses the bread to represents his body and the wine to represent his blood.

We're going to look more at communion when we get to our Christian practises lessons.

But for now, this is the first time that Jesus does this.

So the disciples have this meal.

They understand that something big is about to happen.

But then what happens is interesting.

One of the disciples at the meal is going to betray Jesus.

And Jesus says that the disciple is called Judas Iscariot, he leaves the meal early, and he goes to meet the Jewish leaders and he hands Jesus in.

Later, Jesus is met by the Jewish the leaders and he is handed over to them.

Great, so well done on following the story so far, I'm aware there's a lot of information to take on.

So we are going to do a little true and false quiz to see what you remember.

You can either write this down on a piece of paper, or you can just point at the screen.

I don't mind either way.

So let's go.

Number one, Jesus was very popular on Palm Sunday.

Is this true or is it false? Five, four, three, two, one.

It is true.

Well done.

Remember we said, when Jesus came into Jerusalem on the donkey, people were celebrating ,they had clothes down Palm trees down.

So at this point we can see Jesus is very popular.

Number two, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a horse.

Is this true or false? Five, four, three, two, and one, it is false well done.

We know that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey.

Number three, Jesus was angry about how the temple was been used.

Is that true or false? Five, four, three, two and one.

That is of course true.

Remember day two, Jesus goes into the temple and he's angry about how it is being treated.

Number four, the Jewish leaders grew suspicious of Jesus during his time, little bit harder.

Is that true or false? Five, four, three, two, and one.

That is true.

We know that during this Holy week, the Jewish leaders got more and more suspicious of Jesus.

Why? Firstly, because the people really liked him.

He was gaining popularity, which meant the Jewish leaders were losing popularity, but even more so he was getting in the way of things that normally happened.

For example, people making money in the temple.

so we know that the Jewish leaders were starting to get suspicious of Jesus.

Number five, Jesus taught his disciples on the Mount of Apples.

Is that true or false? Five, four, three, two and one.

That is of course false.

The name of the mount was the mount of olives.

And number six, Jesus had a meal with his disciples on the night before he died.

Is that true or false? Five, four, three, two and one.

That is of course true, well done.

If you got that a bonus point, if you remember the name of that meal.

That name is the last supper.

Number seven, One of the disciples betrayed Jesus.

Is that true or false? Five, four, three, two and one.

That is of course true.

As I said, one of the disciples left the meal early and went to betray Jesus.

And number eight, the last supper is still taken by Christians today.

Is that true or false? Five, four, three, two and one, that is true.

Well done.

If you got that, remember we said that Christians today still take communion and we're going to look at that practise of communion in another lesson shortly.

Well done on that.

Okay.

I hope you did really well and remembered lots of that information.

If you didn't feel free to have a little, watch through it again and make sure that you understand all of the key points.

Great.

So what I would love you to do now is to have a go at this quick task by yourself.

So pause the video here and write down what happened on each of these days.

So in the week before Jesus' death, what happened on each of these days? Well done.

Now we are going to go through the answers.

So in day one, Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey, bonus point if you got the name of that day, it is Palm Sunday.

Day two, Jesus clears the temple.

Day three, he teaches at the Mount of Olives.

And day five, the last supper happens with his disciples and Jesus is betrayed by Judas.

You might have had much more detailed than that, if you did well done, but hopefully you all got this order really well done.

Now we are ready to move on to consider the events of the crucifixion.

So now we're going to think about what exactly happened when Jesus was crucified.

What is crucifixion? And what is the story that Christians believe today? What is the story that lots of Christians say is the most important thing in their life? So we're going to look at this together now.

So crucifixion was a method of execution that was used at that time.

It's a very unpleasant method of execution where a criminal was fixed to across while nails were attached to their hands and feet to keep them there.

On the image, you will see what these crosses looked like.

So we are told in the Bible that there were three crosses that people were executed on.

I understand that crucifixion was not general form of capital punishment under Roman law.

And it was only applied in extreme circumstances.

So slaves could be crucified only for robbery or rebellion.

So this is a really horrible punishment that was reserved for the worst people in society.

We are talking slaves, we are talking people that were just considered outcasts and horrible criminals.

So this is the type of death that Jesus had.

So it's important to remember that this was not a normal punishment that lots of people received, but this was the most extreme type that was given.

So now we're going to read through the events of what happened at Jesus's crucifixion.

So this can be found in the Good News translation of the Bible.

"At noon the whole country was covered with darkness, which lasted for three hours.

At about three o'clock, Jesus cried out with a loud shout, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani" which means my God, my God, Why did you abandon me? Some of the people standing there heard him and said, "He's calling for Elijah" One of them ran up at once, took a sponge, soaked it in cheap wine, put it on the end of the stick and tried to make him drink it.

But the other said, "Wait, let us see of Elijah is coming to save him!" Jesus again, gave a loud cry and breathed his last.

Then the curtain hanging in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

The earth shook, the rocks split apart, the graves broke open and many of God's people who had died were raised to life.

They left the graves and after Jesus rose from death, they went into the Holy city where many people saw them.

When the army officer and soldiers with them who were watching Jesus, saw the earthquake and everything else that happened, they were terrified and said.

"He really was the son of God" So as you can see, this is a huge event and things happen during this event, which were normal, which broke the laws of nature.

Our definition of America, things happened here, which were completely different.

To what normally happens at executions.

So what I would like you to do now is to complete this task.

So I would like you to write diary account as if you were present at the crucifixion.

So you can go back and watch the video again, to get another idea of what happened.

And you should include the main events, what you can see, How it's making you feel.

And then after it happens, what you believe about Jesus.

So pause the video here and resume once you have finished this task.

Well done on that task.

I'm sure you wrote some amazing diary entries.

And do you have a really good understanding of the event, but now we need to ask the question, why is the crucifixion so important for Christians? So as we've said, Christians today still view this as the key event in their faith.

But why is it so important? Firstly, it reveals God's love for human beings.

So we read in the passage that Jesus was executed and that this forgive human sin.

So this is God sending his son to pay the price for human beings.

Christians believe that God allowed his only son to die on the cross to take the sin from human beings, to take the punishment from them.

So this reveals God's Omnibenevolence, keyword, which means that he is all loving.

Secondly, the crucifixion allowed human beings to have a relationship with God.

The Bible tells us that after Jesus died, the temple curtain ripped into two from the top right to the bottom.

And if you look at the image on the screen, you will see a nice little curtain, but it wouldn't take much for that curtain to rip.

But the curtain in the temple did not look like that curtain.

The curtain in the temple was maybe like four inches wide.

So about this wide and really tall.

So this curtain is not easily ripped, I know best that it ripped from the top to the bottom, not from the bottom to the top, because I would suggest that if it was ripped from bottom to the top, that could happen by someone using scissors and cutting it.

Whereas if it's ripped from the top, it's unlikely that that happens.

So why does this matter though, before Jesus died, if you were a Jew, you were not allowed to go into the Holy of Holies.

That was the space behind the curtain.

So if you wanted to say sorry to God for something, you had to do it through the priest who would then go behind the curtain and speak to God.

So normal people could not speak to God.

They had no access to God.

Whereas when Jesus died, that curtain ripped from top to bottom to symbolise that human beings could now have a relationship with God, that they had access to God.

They no longer needed to go through the priest.

And finally, the crucifixion reveals Jesus true identity.

So Christians believe that this is a really important moment.

And we can see as remarked, he really was the son of God.

Christians believe that the darkness, the ripping of the curtain, the earthquake, all of that proved that Jesus was who he said he was, all of that proved how powerful he was.

And that he wasn't just a normal human being, but that he was really God's son, that he was really the incarnation of God.

Remember what that means? God in human form.

So your task now is to use these three reasons to fill all this table.

So what I would like you to do, is if you look at this table, you can see that I have put three reasons on that side.

So I'd like you to fill in the explanation, the verse you could use from the passage.

So you can look back in the video and find the verse, and then finally how might people live differently because of this? So let's do the first one together.

So if we look here, it says importance for Christians, as it reveals God's love for human beings.

The explanation could be that this showed God's love as he was willing to sacrifice his son, to save human beings.

What verse could you use? You could use the verse that said, my God, my God, why did you abandon me? This shows that Jesus is having a really tough time.

And finally, How might people live differently because of this? I would suggest they might live differently as they would be thankful for God's love and they would want to share that with other people.

So have a go at this task.

You can pause your screen on the next slide and then resume when you are finished.

Really well done.

Now we're going to go through these answers together and you can mark your own work.

Great, so if you look at this table, you can get some answers.

So this is the one that we did together, but I will run through it quickly now and you can mark your own.

So the importance for Christians is that God's love is revealed.

The explanation, God's love is clear, as he sacrificed his son to save human beings.

He let his son go through a painful death for human beings, which shows his only omnibenevolence.

Bonus point, If you wrote that work.

The verse you could use, you could use the verse, My God, my God, Why did you abandon me? If you used another one, that's totally fine.

And how might people live differently? This might cause people to want to worship God and follow him.

If God allowed his own son to die for humans, then they would want to follow him and love him in return.

So that is point one.

Let's do point two together.

So why is the crucifixion important? It allows humans to have a relationship with God.

Your explanation could be before Jesus's death, Jews were only allowed to talk to God through a priest who spoke to God behind the temple curtain.

When Jesus died, this curtain rip to give all people access to God, the verse we could use is, then the curtain hanging in the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.

And finally, how would this change someone's life? This would cause people to have a relationship with God.

Christians would believe that they could pray to God by themselves because of this event.

Finally, this crucifixion is important, because it reveals Jesus's identity.

Explanation of this, the dramatic way in which the death happened, showed that Jesus was the son of God.

There was an earthquake and the sky turned black.

What quote could you use? So you could use the quote, "He really was the son of God" And then finally, how Would this influence Christians today? This would cause Christians today to view him as omnipotent keyword, which means all powerful and to be respected.

Due to this they would to follow the commandments of God.

So they would want to follow what God taught, because they believe he's omnipotent.

Really well done on that.

And feel free to go back and pause this and add on some extra notes.

Well done.

Well done on all the work you've done today.

I am so impressed.

If you would like to share some great work you've done, please do add them to Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, obviously asking a parent or a carer to do this for you and tag OakNational or hashtag learn with Oak.

Thank you so much for joining in today's lesson.

I hope that you have learnt a lot about the crucifixion and that your understanding of the events leading up to.

Now please have a go at the summary quiz and test yourself to see what you remember.

I will see you soon for another lesson on Christian beliefs.

Have a lovely day.