Bay City Baptist Church, Green Bay, WI - For Whom Did Jesus Die?

Stories for children that teach them about the nature of God

For whom did Jesus die?

Our family went on a vacation to Washington, D.C. We stayed a whole week and got to see tons of places. We stayed in Maryland with Uncle Doug. That’s not too far from Washington. Every day we went to places to learn about our country. We each liked a different place the best. Megan liked the U. S. Mint. We saw money being made there. It was pretty interesting.

Bobbie said she liked the Washington Monument - especially looking out the windows at the top. You can see almost all of the city if it’s a clear day. From up there we saw the Capitol building, the White House, the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Reflecting Pool.

My favorite place was the National Air and Space Museum with all the airplanes and other flying machines. I really liked the Space Shuttle because you can walk around in it and check out the buttons.

I think Mom liked seeing the White House and visiting Mount Vernon. She likes the houses of famous people, because she likes to see how they decorated.

Dad and Uncle Doug liked the Vietnam Memorial. I thought that was kind of boring. It’s just a huge black stone that makes a wall. It starts out very small and gets bigger and bigger till it’s higher than Dad’s head. I could barely touch the top when I was on Dad’s shoulders, and there are names written all over the wall.

I asked Dad, "Whose names are those, Dad? Do you know any of those people?"

"No, I don’t, Son. I was too young to go to Vietnam, but Uncle Doug knew some of them."

Uncle Doug looked sad. "I sure did, Topher. Some of those people were my friends. I served with them in Vietnam. God protected me, and I came back alive. Not all my friends were that blessed. Look right here at this name. That man was my good friend."

"But why did all those people die, Uncle Doug?" It didn’t seem right to me. Bobbie asked if the people who died were being punished.

Uncle Doug told us, "They died fighting for our country. They died to protect freedom for you and me."

"But, Uncle Doug, I don’t even know those men. Why would they die for me?" I didn’t quite get it.

"They died fighting an enemy. It was their job."

When we got in the car to leave the Vietnam Memorial, Bobbie asked, "Who did Jesus die for?"

"Yeah," I asked, "was He protecting people too?"

"Bobbie, Toph, those are excellent questions." Uncle Doug is almost as good at answering questions as Grandpa is. "Jesus died for all the people in the world. He died to give people a way to Heaven. His death paid the penalty that we each deserve because of our sin."

"But, Uncle Doug, not everyone knows about Jesus."

"That’s true, but it doesn’t change what Jesus did or why He did it."

Verses to Read

Isaiah 53:5,6: "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all."

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR CHILD

1. For whom did Jesus die?

2. Why did Jesus have to die?

3. Do you believe Jesus died for you?

This material is reprinted by permission from "Kids' Questions About Jesus" and "Kids' Questions about Sin and Salvation,," published by Regular Baptist Press. (www.rbpstore.org/showprod.cfm?prodnum=5308)

Who is God?

Why Did Jesus Die?

I Have a Question About Sin

Who Goes to Heaven?

I Have a Question About Salvation

For Whom Did Jesus Die?

How Does Jesus' Death Help Me?

What Does God Think About Jesus' Death?

How Do I Get the Free Gift?

I Sinned Again, Now What?