There was once a man with the job of raising and lowering the drawbridge so passenger trains could cross a deep canyon. This man had one child, a son, that he loved very much. One day the little boy wandered towards the bridge without his father noticing. Soon the father heard a train whistle. As he started to pull the lever to lower the bridge, he looked out the window and saw that his son had crawled down into the big heavy gears. If he pulled the lever his son would be crushed. There were only a few seconds to decide. Hundreds of people would die if he didn’t lower the bridge – all sons and daughters loved by someone. He took a deep breath and pulled the lever. The bereaved father stood helplessly at the window screaming as the train zipped over the bridge. The passengers saw him and thought he was waving – so waved happily back without realizing the price the father had just paid for them.

The Crucifixion Learning Objective: To enquire into the death of Jesus.

Record what the image makes you feel and what is says about the crucifixion.

What happens during a crucifixion? Crucifixion is the most painful death imaginable. Before crucifixion the prisoner would be whipped with a leather strap. Pieces of bone or iron tore the back open. The condemned man had the cross bar strapped across his back and had to carry it miles to the place of crucifixion The body is arranged so that it is impossible to be comfortable The weight of the body bears down on the rib cage until eventually the prisoner is suffocated to death This can take many days to happen.

The Crucifixion