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VOLUME 32:04 APRIL 2021 SCRIPTURE AND SCIENCE FOR KIDS IN THIS ISSUE: CHRIST AND THE CROSS SIN & JESUS & SALVATION & THE CROSS THE CROSS THE CROSS

YOU HAVE PROBABLY SEEN SOME PEOPLE WEARING A CROSS AROUND THEIR NECKS. IF YOU HAVE EVER ASKED A PERSON WHY HE WEARS A CROSS, THE PERSON MAY HAVE EXPLAINED TO YOU THAT THE CROSS REPRESENTS CHRISTIANITY. CHRIST &THECROSS What does a cross have to do with Christianity? IN ABOUT 500 B.C., THE PERSIAN EMPIRE INVENTED A FORM OF PUN- ISHMENT WE CALL CRUCIFIXION. IT WAS PASSED DOWN FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS AND USED IN THE FIRST CENTURY BY THE ROMAN EMPIRE. IT WAS A FORM OF CAPITAL PUNISH- MENT THAT WAS OFTEN APPLIED TO CRIMINALS AND PRISONERS OF WAR. CAPITAL PUN- ABOVE: RUINS FROM ISHMENT OCCURS THE PERSIAN EMPIRE WHEN THE PERSON RIGHT: ICONS FROM BEING PUNISHED THE ROMAN EMPIRE IS SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR HIS CRIMES. CRUCI- FIXION OFTEN IN- VOLVED NAILING A PERSON TO PIECES OF WOOD THAT FORMED THE SHAPE OF A CROSS. THE POINT OF THE PUNISHMENT WAS TO KEEP THE CRIMINAL ALIVE FOR MANY HOURS AND CAUSE HIM AS MUCH PAIN AND HUMILIATION AS POSSIBLE. SOMETIMES CRIMINALS WOULD HANG ON A CROSS FOR SEVERAL DAYS BEFORE THEY DIED. 26   Discovery • April 2021 DiscoveryMagazine.org © COPYRIGHT, APOLOGETICS PRESS, INC., 2021, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WHY WOULD ANYONE WANT TO USE SUCH A CRUEL FORM OF DEATH? THE MAIN POINT WAS TO SHOW OTHER PEOPLE WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO THEM IF THEY COMMITTED A SIMILAR CRIME. OFTEN DURING CRUCIFIXION, THE CRIME THAT THE CRIMINAL WAS BE- ING PUNISHED FOR WOULD BE WRITTEN ON A SIGN AND HUNG AT THE TOP OF THE CROSS. IF A PERSON STOLE OR COM- MITTED MURDER, THE SIGN WOULD SAY SOMETHING LIKE “THIEF” OR “MURDERER,” AND WOULD WARN PEOPLE TO AVOID SUCH CRIMES IF THEY DIDN’T WANT TO DIE A CRUEL DEATH. SO, WHY IS A TORTURE DEVICE A SYMBOL OF CHRISTIANITY? AS YOU MAY KNOW, THE ROMAN GOVERNOR, PILATE, ORDERED JESUS TO BE CRUCIFIED ON A CROSS ABOUT THE YEAR A.D. 30. IN FACT, THE EARLIEST CHRISTIANS VIEWED THE CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST AS ONE OF THE MOST IM- PORTANT EVENTS IN HIS LIFE. THE APOSTLE PAUL ONCE WROTE TO THE CHURCH AT CORINTH, “FOR I DETERMINED NOT TO KNOW ANY- THING AMONG YOU EXCEPT JESUS CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED” (1 CORINTHIANS 2:2). DiscoveryMagazine.org 27April 2021  •  Discovery   © COPYRIGHT, APOLOGETICS PRESS, INC., 2021, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

IF JESUS IS GOD’S BELOVED DEATH IS A DEBT THAT GOD SON, WHY WOULD GOD OWES SINNERS. BECAUSE LET HIM SUFFER AND DIE GOD IS A JUST GOD, HE MUST SUCH A PAINFUL DEATH PAY THE DEBT (DEUTERONO- ON A CROSS? WHEN WE MY 32:4). THAT MEANS THAT LOOK INTO THE BIBLE, WE ALL PEOPLE WHO ARE OLD ENOUGH TO UNDERSTAND FIND OUT THAT JESUS DIED SIN, AND WHO HAVE SINNED, ON THE CROSS TO SAVE DESERVE TO BE SEPARATED HUMANS FROM THEIR SINS. FROM GOD FOREVER. YOU SEE, WHEN PEOPLE SIN BY BREAKING GOD’S LAWS, THEY HAVE EARNED THE PAYMENT FOR SIN—SEPARATION FROM GOD (ISAIAH 59:2)—WHICH THE BIBLE CALLS DEATH (ROMANS 6:23). THERE IS NO AMOUNT OF WORK, GOOD DEEDS, OR PRAYERS THAT A PERSON CAN PERFORM TO EVER EARN FORGIVENESS FOR SINS. 28   Discovery • April 2021 DiscoveryMagazine.org © COPYRIGHT, APOLOGETICS PRESS, INC., 2021, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

THOSE WHO SIN DESERVE TO DIE, BUT THEY CANNOT PAY THE DEBT FOR CHRIST T&HECROSS THEIR OWN SIN. THAT MEANS, IF GOD IS GOING TO BE JUST AND PUNISH SIN WITH DEATH, THEN SOMEONE MUST DIE FOR THAT SIN. THE BIBLE EXPLAINS THAT JESUS CARRIED THE SINS OF THE WHOLE WORLD TO THE CROSS AND DIED TO PAY THE DEBT FOR SINS. THIS WAS ONLY POSSIBLE BE- CAUSE JESUS NEVER SINNED. HE DID NOT DESERVE DEATH, SO HE WAS NOT DYING FOR HIS OWN SINS. THE BIBLE SAYS THAT GOD “MADE HIM (JESUS) The apostle Peter wrote that Jesus WHO KNEW NO SIN TO BE SIN FOR US, “BORE OUR SINS IN THAT WE MIGHT BECOME HIS OWN BODY ON THE THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD.” TREE (CROSS), THAT WE, HAVING DIED TO SINS, 2 CORINTHIANS 5:21 MIGHT LIVE FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” 1 PETER 2:24 The prophet Isaiah stated, “BUT HE WAS WOUNDED FOR OUR TRANSGRESSIONS, HE WAS BRUISED FOR OUR INIQUITIES; THE CHASTISEMENT FOR OUR In other words, on PEACE WAS UPON HIM, AND BY HIS STRIPES WE the cross, Jesus paid ARE HEALED. ALL WE LIKE SHEEP HAVE GONE our debt for sins. ASTRAY, WE HAVE TURNED, EVERY ONE, TO He could do this HIS OWN WAY; AND THE LORD HAS LAID ON HIM because He was the only THE INIQUITY OF US ALL.” person to ever live a perfect, ISAIAH 53:5 sinless life on Earth. Humans who sin deserve to die a cruel death, but Jesus took our place. 29April 2021  •  Discovery DiscoveryMagazine.org   © COPYRIGHT, APOLOGETICS PRESS, INC., 2021, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

THINK ABOUT IT LIKE THIS. IMAG- INE THAT YOU GO INTO A CAFETERIA AND ORDER A BUNCH OF FOOD. YOU GET A SLICE OF PIZZA, A CANDY BAR, A SODA, AND A BAG OF CHIPS. YOU THEN SIT DOWN AND EAT ALL THE FOOD. WHEN YOU GET DONE, YOU ARE ABOUT TO WALK OUT, BUT THE OWNER EXPLAINS THAT YOU OWE HER $12 FOR ALL THE FOOD YOU ATE. YOU DO NOT HAVE ANY MONEY, AND SINCE YOU ATE THE FOOD, YOU CANNOT GIVE IT BACK. THERE IS NO WAY FOR YOU TO PAY THE DEBT YOU OWE. THE OWNER WILL NOT LET YOU LEAVE UNTIL THE DEBT IS PAID, BUT YOU HAVE NO MONEY. HOW CAN YOU EVER GET OUT OF THE CAFETERIA? YOU NEED SOMEONE TO COME AND PAY YOUR DEBT FOR YOU SO YOU CAN LEAVE AND GO HOME TO BE WITH YOUR FAMILY. WHEN JESUS DIED ON THE CROSS, IT IS LIKE HE PAID OUR DEBT OF SIN (THE MONEY WE OWED FOR THE FOOD) SO THAT WE COULD GO HOME. 30   Discovery • April 2021 DiscoveryMagazine.org © COPYRIGHT, APOLOGETICS PRESS, INC., 2021, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

ACTPIVAGITEY True or False WANT MORE? CLICK THE QR 1. ___ In about A.D. CODE TO HELP 100, the Romans WILSON FIND invented a form THE CROSS OF of punishment we call crucifixion. CHRIST 2. ___ Capital punishment occurs when the person being punished is allowed to go free. 3. ___ When being crucified, sometimes criminals would hang on a cross for several days before they died. 4. ___ There is no amount of work, good deeds, or prayers that a person can perform to ever earn forgiveness for sins. Solve, Find, 5. ___ Humans deserve to go to heaven, even with and Circle our sins. C WA U M X R G R WO W 6. ___ Jesus “bore our sins in His own body on the CRUCI F I E DTRF tree, that we, having died to sins, might live C Y UOOGR UI I Y B for righteousness” (1 Peter 2:24). K P R C QH B OT H A Q 7. ___ Humans who sin deserve to die a cruel death, but Jesus took our place. 8. ___ The prisoner, Judas, was set free instead of Jesus, Who died on a cross. U I MB I C Y T MR B X N L F S S F E E A H WI 4. In about 500 B.C., the ________ Empire AANZANI B S GOS invented a form of punishment we call crucifixion. I TDE GI BXYSI P 5. Crucifixion often involved ________ a S E D WC A A WI N N E person to pieces of wood that formed the R O A K S O MH S O R E shape of a cross. E F HNHYPTBUNH 6. Jesus died on the cross to save humans PNAI L I NGSHE S from their ______. 7. Jesus went to the cross while ________, the criminal who deserved death, was freed. 1. _________ was a form of capital punishment used by the Romans that was often applied to criminals 8. “All we like _______ have gone astray, we have turned, every one, to his own way; and and prisoners of war. the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6). 2. Often during crucifixion, the crime that the criminal was being punished for would be _______ on a sign 9. Paul wrote: “For I determined not to know and hung at the top of the cross. anything among you except Jesus Christ 3. The Roman governor, _______, ordered Jesus to be and Him ________” (1 Corinthians 2:2). crucified on a cross. DiscoveryMagazine.org 31April 2021  •  Discovery   © COPYRIGHT, APOLOGETICS PRESS, INC., 2021, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

APOLOGETICS PRESS, INC. Periodicals Postage 230 Landmark Drive PAID Montgomery, AL 36117 THEY DEMANDED THAT PILATE RELEASE (800) 234-8558 (Orders) THE MURDERING REBEL BARABBAS AND (334) 272-8558 CRUCIFY JESUS. JESUS WENT TO THE DiscoveryMagazine.com CROSS WHILE BARABBAS, THE CRIMI- NAL WHO DESERVED DEATH, WAS FREED © 20201 Apologetics Press, Inc. (READ MATTHEW 27:26). ALL HUMANS All Rights Reserved WHO HAVE SINNED ARE LIKE BARABBAS. WE DESERVE DEATH. BUT JESUS CAME TO Editor: Kyle Butt, M.Div. THIS EARTH TO LIVE A PERFECT, SINLESS Associate Editor: Eric Lyons, M.Min. LIFE SO THAT HE COULD PAY OUR DEBT Layout and Design: Rob Baker, M.Ed. OF SIN ON THE CROSS. Discovery is published monthly by Apologetics Press, Inc., 230 Landmark Drive, Montgomery, AL 36117. Application to Mail at Periodicals Postage Prices is Pending at Montgomery, AL. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Discovery, 230 Landmark Drive, Montgomery, AL 36117; USPS# 23370 LET’S THINK ABOUT ANOTHER ILLUSTRA- TION OF THIS PRINCIPLE. IN THE BOOK OF MATTHEW, WE READ ABOUT A MAN NAMED BARABBAS WHO REBELLED AGAINST ROME AND COMMITTED MURDER DURING HIS REBELLION. HIS CRIMES WERE EXACTLY WHAT THE ROMANS USED CRUCIFIXION TO PUNISH. THEY WANTED TO SHOW EVERY- ONE THAT A CRUEL AND PAINFUL DEATH AWAITED ALL SUCH CRIMINALS. BARABBAS DESERVED TO DIE. THE ROMAN GOVERNOR PILATE KNEW THAT JESUS DID NOT DESERVE TO DIE. HE HAD NOT COMMITTED ANY CRIMES AND WAS INNOCENT. THE ROMANS HAD A CUSTOM THAT AT A CERTAIN TIME OF YEAR, THEY WOULD LET ONE PRISONER GO WITHOUT BEING PUNISHED. PILATE TRIED TO GET THE JEWISH MOB TO HAVE JESUS RELEASED. THE JEALOUS CROWD, HOW- EVER, DID NOT WANT TO LET JESUS GO, EVEN THOUGH HE WAS COMPLETELY INNOCENT. IN THE BOOK OF COLOSSIANS, PAUL WROTE THAT JESUS TOOK OUR DEBT OF SIN “OUT OF THE WAY, HAVING NAILED IT TO THE CROSS ” (2:14). THE NEXT TIME YOU SEE A CROSS, REMEMBER WHAT JESUS SUFFERED TO PAY THE DEBT FOR OUR SINS. C WA U M X R G R WO W ANSWERS CRUCI F I E DTRF C Y UOOGR UI I Y B SOLVE, FIND, AND CIRCLE: 1. Crucifixion; 2. written; 3. Pilate; 4. Persian; 5. nailing; 6. sins; 7. Barabbas; 8. sheep; 9. crucified. K P R C QH B OT H A Q TRUE OR FALSE: 1-F; 2-F; 3-T; 4-T; 5-F; 6-T; 7-T; 8-F. U I MB I C Y T MR B X N L F S S F E E A H WI Yearly Subscription Fees in U.S. Funds Only • United States of America: Individual rate: $14 each • Bulk rate (at least 5 to same address): $12 each. AANZANI B S GOS I TDE GI BXYSI P S E D WC A A WI N N E R O A K S O MH S O R E E F HNHYPTBUNH PNAI L I NGSHE S 32   Discovery • April 2021 Club rate (at least 10 to different addresses paid together): $12.50 each DiscoveryMagazine.org © COPYRIGHT, APOLOGETICS PRESS, INC., 2021, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED