"If I . nish my vegetables, I get dessert," says Caleb, 8. "But Jesus didn't get dessert. He got a spear in his side." Caleb's comparison might sound humorous, but it reminds us that when Jesus said, "It is . nished," on the cross (John 19:30), he wasn't talking about ending a small task. He was talking about completing the greatest mission of all time.
"Jesus meant that he . nished paying for our sins," says Abigail, 10. "He took the punishment we deserved." From the beginning of the Bible, God promised to send a Savior. All the sacri. ces in the Old Testament pointed forward to a perfect Lamb who would take away the sin of the world. Jesus, the Lamb of God, was that sacri. ce. When he said, "It is . nished," he meant that the debt of sin had been paid in full.
"Jesus didn't just die," says Lucas, 9. "He completed a rescue mission." Let's look at the scene. Roman soldiers had nailed Jesus to a cross. They divided his clothes and cast lots for his tunic. Nearby, his mother Mary stood with a few faithful followers. Jesus saw her and made sure she would be cared for, saying to John, "Behold your mother!" Even in his suffering, Jesus cared for others.
