Crafting Through the Easter Season: Cross on Calvary

For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16

Crafting through the Easter season from Palm Sunday to the Resurrection is a great way to share the redemption story of Jesus’s perfect sacrifice on the cross that bought us our salvation. It is free to anyone who will receive this gift of salvation, but it cost Jesus His very life and God the Father His only begotten Son.

As we continue our journey on bringing the Passion week to life in your home through crafts, our next craft is the Cross on Calvary.

This craft reminds us of Jesus dying on the cross to pay our sin debt. But the story does not end there, thank God! Three days later He rose again from the dead, victorious over sin and death! Hallelujah!

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

When Jesus was crucified, this fulfilled Old Testament prophecies like Isaiah 53:5, “He was pierced for our transgressions.” This tells us that the Word of God is infallible. This means it has no errors, it is always true, can never be wrong and it will always come to pass.

So will My word be which goes out of My mouth; It will not return to Me void (useless, without result), Without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:11

Jesus demonstrated His love for us when He was crucified and died on the cross for us. And even in His suffering, He still shows love for those who mock Him by praying for them.

The message of the cross is one that should bring much joy to the believer. Because it tells us about how Jesus gave us the best gift we could ever receive.

You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for He forgave all our sins, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This He set aside, nailing it to the cross. Colossians 2:13-14.

It was because of love that Jesus did this. He says it Himself in John 15:12-13 This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

It is important to know that no one forced Jesus to die in our place. He chose to sacrifice Himself because He loves us so much. No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.” John 10:18

No one else could do what Jesus did because Jesus was fully God and fully man. That means that Only Jesus could die in the flesh then raise back to life again to live forever more, victorious over sin and death. He paid the penalty of our sins once and for all. We no longer need to make daily sacrifices for our sins like in the Old Testament times all thanks to Jesus, the perfect Lamb of God. The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! John 1:29

Materials:

Popsicle sticks
Glue
Optional: paint, twine

Directions:

Arrange two popsicle sticks, one on top of another to make a cross.

Stick them together with glue.

Repeat until you have three crosses. One for Jesus and two for the thieves crucified besides Him.

When they came to the place called The Skull, they crucified Him there, along with the criminals, one on His right and the other on His left.

Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up His garments by casting lots. Luke 23:33-34