the story of jesus for kids

8/12/2019 The Story of Jesus for Kids

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T H E S T O R Y

o f J E S U S

Se lec t ions f rom the

NEW INTERNATIONAL REA DERS VERSION


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The Story of Jesus for Kids

(Taken from The Story for Kids, NIrV)

Copyright 2008, 2011 by Zonderkidz

The Holy Bible, New International Readers Version

Copyright 1995, 1996, 1998 by Biblica, Inc.

Illustrations copyright 2011 by Fausto Bianchi

Art production by Dan Davis

Published by Zonderkidz

Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530, U.S.A .

www.zonderkidz.com

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2010943071

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Contents 1. The Birth of the King . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

2. Jesus Ministry Begins . . . . . . . . . . . 12

3. No Ordinary Man . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

4. Jesus, the Son of God . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

5. The Hour of Darkness . . . . . . . . . . . 55

6. The Resurrection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

7. New Beginnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78


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1The Birth ofthe King

John wrote about Jesus by calling him

the Word. Whenever you hear or read

the Word, you can replace it with Jesus.

Heres what John wrote:

In the beginning, the Word was already there.The Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He was with God in the beginning.

All things were made through him. Nothing

that has been made was made without him. Life

was in him, and that life was the light for allpeople The light shines in the darkness But the


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The Story for Kids

The true light that gives light to every man

was coming into the world.

The Word was in the world that was made

through him. But the world did not recognize

him. He came to what was his own. But his own

people did not accept him.

Some people did accept him. They believed

in his name. He gave them the right to become

children of God. To be a child of God has nothing

to do with human parents. Children of God are

not born because of human choice or because a

husband wants them to be born. They are born

because of what God does.

The Word became a human being. He made

his home with us. We have seen his glory. It is

the glory of the one and only Son. He came from

the Father. And he was full of grace and truth.

Moses gave us the law. Jesus Christ has given

us grace and truth. No one has ever seen God.

But God, the one and only Son, is at the Fathers

side. He has shown us what God is like.


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The Birth of the King

God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a

town in Galilee. He was sent to a virgin. The girl

was engaged to a man named Joseph. He came

from the family line of David. The virgins name

was Mary. The angel greeted her and said, The

Lord has given you special favor. He is with

you.

Mary was very upset because of his words.

She wondered what kind of greeting this could

be. But the angel said to her, Do not be afraid,

Mary. God is very pleased with you. You will

become pregnant and give birth to a son. You

must name him Jesus. He will be great and will

be called the Son of the Most High God. The Lord

God will make him a king like his father David of

long ago. He will rule forever over his people,

who came from Jacobs family. His kingdom will

never end.

How can this happen? Mary asked the

angel. I am a virgin.

The angel answered, The Holy Spirit will

come to you. The power of the Most High God


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The Story for Kids

I serve the Lord, Mary answered. May it

happen to me just as you said it would. Then

the angel left her.

Mary said,

My soul gives glory to the Lord.

My spirit delights in God my Savior.

He has taken note of me

even though I am not important.

From now on all people will call me blessed.

The Mighty One has done great things for

me.

His name is holy.

He shows his mercy to those who have

respect for him,

from parent to child down through the

years.

He has done mighty things with his arm.

He has scattered those who are proud in

their deepest thoughts.

He has brought down rulers from their

thrones.


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He has filled those who are hungry with

good things.

But he has sent those who are rich away

empty.

He has helped the people of Israel, who

serve him.

He has always remembered to be kind

to Abraham and his children down through

the years.

He has done it just as he said to our

people of long ago.

Although Joseph and Mary were engaged,

they werent married yet, and neither one

had ever tried to have a baby. So when

Mary told Joseph she was pregnant, Joseph

was surprised. After all, Mary was the firstand only woman God made pregnant this

special way.

Her husband Joseph was a godly man. He did

not want to put her to shame in public. So he

planned to divorce her quietly.


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The Story for Kids

The angel said, Joseph, son of David, dont be

afraid to take Mary home as your wife. The baby

inside her is from the Holy Spirit. She is going to

have a son. You must give him the name Jesus.

That is because he will save his people from

their sins.

All of this took place to bring about what

the Lord had said would happen. He had said

through the prophet, The virgin is going to

have a baby. She will give birth to a son. And he

will be called Immanuel. The name Immanuel

means God with us.

Joseph woke up. He did what the angel of the

Lord commanded him to do. He took Mary home

as his wife.

In those days, Caesar Augustus made a law.

It required that a list be made of everyone in

the whole Roman world . . . All went to their own

towns to be listed.

So Joseph went also. He went from the town

of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea. That is where


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of David. He went there with Mary to be listed.

Mary was engaged to him. She was expecting a

baby.

While Joseph and Mary were there, the time

came for the child to be born. She gave birth to

her first baby. It was a boy. She wrapped him

in large strips of cloth. Then she placed him in

a manger. There was no room for them in the

inn.

There were shepherds living out in the fields

nearby. It was night, and they were looking after

their sheep. An angel of the Lord appeared to

them. And the glory of the Lord shone around

them. They were terrified.

But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid.

I bring you good news of great joy. It is for all the

people. Today in the town of David a Savior has

been born to you. He is Christ the Lord. Here is

how you will know I am telling you the truth. You

will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and

lying in a manger.

Suddenly a large group of angels from heaven


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The Story for Kids

May glory be given to God in the highest

heaven!

And may peace be given to those he is

pleased with on earth!

The angels left and went into heaven. Then

the shepherds said to one another, Lets go toBethlehem. Lets see this thing that has hap-

pened, which the Lord has told us about.

So they hurried off and found Mary and

Joseph and the baby. The baby was lying in the


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manger. After the shepherds had seen him, they

told everyone. They reported what the angel

had said about this child. All who heard it were

amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

But Mary kept all these things like a secret

treasure in her heart. She thought about them

over and over.

The shepherds returned. They gave glory and

praise to God. Everything they had seen and

heard was just as they had been told.

After Jesus birth, Wise Men from the eastcame to Jerusalem. They asked, Where is the

child who has been born to be king of the Jews?

When we were in the east, we saw his star. Now

we have come to worship him.

When King Herod heard about it, he was veryupset. Everyone in Jerusalem was troubled too.

King Herod was afraid Jesus would

become king instead of him. So he decided

to get rid of Jesus. When God told Joseph

what Herod wanted to do, he moved his fam-


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The Story for Kids

Every year Jesus parents went to Jerusalem

for the Passover Feast. When he was 12 years

old, they went up to the Feast as usual.

After the Feast was over, his parents left to

go back home. The boy Jesus stayed behind in

Jerusalem. But they were not aware of it. They

thought he was somewhere in their group. So

they traveled on for a day.

Then they began to look for him among their

relatives and friends. They did not find him. So

they went back to Jerusalem to look for him.

After three days they found him in the temple

courtyard. He was sitting with the teachers. He

was listening to them and asking them ques-

tions. Everyone who heard him was amazed

at how much he understood. They also were

amazed at his answers.

When his parents saw him, they were

amazed. His mother said to him, Son, why have

you treated us like this? Your father and I have

been worried about you. We have been looking

for you everywhere.


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house? But they did not understand what he

meant by that.

Then he went back to Nazareth with them,

and he obeyed them. But his mother kept all

these things like a secret treasure in her heart.

Jesus became wiser and stronger. He also

became more and more pleasing to God and to

people.

Discussion Questions

1. Is there someone in your life who has a

baby or young child? Do you know what

you were like as a baby or young child?

Tell a story about yourself that you have

heard someone else tell about you, ortalk about a memory you have of your-

self as a young child.

2. Have you ever gotten lost? How did it

happen and what did you do?

3. How can you become more pleasing


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2Jesus Ministry

Begins

The Bible doesnt tell us what Jesus did

between the ages of twelve and thirty. Jesus

probably learned to be a carpenter like

Joseph, and he probably played with his

friends. One of his friends might have beenhis cousin John. John was a very special

person to God too. Around the time Mary

was visited by the angel, the same angel

came to tell Johns parents that John would

be born soon. And the angel also said Johnwould tell the world that the Messiah


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Jesus Ministry Begins

In those days John the Baptist came and

preached in the Desert of Judea. He said, Turn

away from your sins! The kingdom of heaven is

near.

Johns clothes were made out of camels hair.

He had a leather belt around his waist. His food

was locusts and wild honey. People went out to

him from Jerusalem and all of Judea. They also

came from the whole area around the Jordan

River. When they admitted they had sinned,

John baptized them in the Jordan.

Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan River.

He wanted to be baptized by John. But John tried


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The Story for Kids

to stop him. He told Jesus, I need to be baptized

by you. So why do you come to me?

Jesus replied, Let it be this way for now. It is

right for us to do this. It carries out Gods holy

plan. Then John agreed.

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he came up

out of the water. At that moment heaven wasopened. Jesus saw the Spirit of God coming

down on him like a dove.

A voice from heaven said, This is my Son,

and I love him. I am very pleased with him.

The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert.There the devil tempted him. After 40 days and

40 nights of going without eating, Jesus was

hungry.

The tempter came to him. He said, If you

are the Son of God, tell these stones to become

bread.

Jesus answered, It is written, Man doesnt

live only on bread. He also lives on every word

that comes from the mouth of God.

Then the devil took Jesus to the holy city. He

had him stand on the highest point of the tem-


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The Lord will command his angels to take

good care of you.

They will lift you up in their hands.

Then you wont trip over a stone.

Jesus answered him, It is also written, Do

not put the Lord your God to the test.

Finally, the devil took Jesus to a very high

mountain. He showed him all the kingdoms of

the world and their glory. If you bow down and

worship me, he said, I will give you all of this.

Jesus said to him, Get away from me, Satan!

It is written, Worship the Lord your God. He is

the only one you should serve.

Then the devil left Jesus. Angels came and

took care of him.

After Jesus was tempted in the desert, hestarted to preach to the people. Meanwhile,

John the Baptist kept telling the people to

listen to Jesus because he was the Messiah.

But some of the Jewish leaders didnt

believe John was telling the truth.


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The Story for Kids

to them. He did not try to hide the truth. He

spoke to them openly. He said, I am not the

Christ.

They asked him, Then who are you? Are you

Elijah?

He said, I am not.

Are you the Prophet weve been expecting?

they asked.

No, he answered.

They asked one last time, Who are you? Give

us an answer to take back to those who sent us.

What do you say about yourself?

John replied, using the words of Isaiah the

prophet. John said, Im the messenger who is

calling out in the desert, Make the way for the

Lord straight.

Some Pharisees who had been sent asked him,

If you are not the Christ, why are you baptizing

people? Why are you doing that if you arent Eli-

jah or the Prophet weve been expecting?

I baptize people with water, John replied.

But One is standing among you whom you do


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This all happened at Bethany on the other

side of the Jordan River. That was where John

was baptizing.

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward

him. John said, Look! The Lamb of God! He takes

away the sin of the world! This is the One I was

talking about. I said, A man who comes after me

is more important than I am. Thats because he

existed before I was born. I did not know him.

But God wants to make it clear to Israel who this

person is. Thats the reason I came baptizing

with water.

Then John told them, I saw the Holy Spirit

come down from heaven like a dove. The Spirit

remained on Jesus. I would not have known him.

But the One who sent me to baptize with water

told me, You will see the Spirit come down and

remain on someone. He is the One who will bap-

tize with the Holy Spirit. I have seen it happen. I

give witness that this is the Son of God.

Jesus was ready to start his ministry now

and tell the people that he was the Messiah


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The Story for Kids

wanted helpers who would learn from him.

These helpers, called disciples, went with

Jesus practically everywhere. They saw

Jesus do some very amazing things. Simon,

one of Jesus disciples, was worried about his

mother-in-law. He told Jesus that she was ill.

So [Jesus] went to her. He took her hand and

helped her up. The fever left her. Then she began

to serve them.

That evening after sunset, the people brought

to Jesus all who were sick. They also brought all

who were controlled by demons. All the people

in town gathered at the door. Jesus healed many

of them. They had all kinds of sicknesses. He also

drove out many demons. But he would not let the

demons speak, because they knew who he was.

A man who had a skin disease came to Jesus.

On his knees he begged Jesus. He said, If you

are willing to make me clean, you can do it.

Jesus was filled with deep concern. He

reached out his hand and touched the man. I


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Jesus sent him away at once. He gave the man

a strong warning. Dont tell this to anyone, he

said. Go and show yourself to the priest. Offer

the sacrifices that Moses commanded. It will be

a witness to the priest and the people that you

are clean.

But the man went out and started talking

right away. He spread the news to everyone. So

Jesus could no longer enter a town openly. He

stayed outside in lonely places. But people still

came to him from everywhere.

A few days later, Jesus entered Capernaum

again. The people heard that he had come

home. So many people gathered that there was

no room left. There was not even room outside

the door. And Jesus preached the word to them.

Four of those who came were carrying a man

who could not walk. But they could not get him

close to Jesus because of the crowd. So they

made a hole in the roof above Jesus. Then they

lowered the man through it on a mat.


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Some teachers of the law were sitting there.

They were thinking, Why is this fellow talking

like that? Hes saying a very evil thing! Only God

can forgive sins!

Right away Jesus knew what they were think-

ing. So he said to them, Why are you thinking

these things? Is it easier to say to this man, Your

sins are forgiven? Or to say, Get up, take your

mat and walk? I want you to know that the Son

of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.

Then Jesus spoke to the man who could not

walk. I tell you, he said, get up. Take your mat

and go home.

The man got up and took his mat. Then he

walked away while everyone watched. All the

people were amazed. They praised God and

said, We have never seen anything like this!

The Pharisees were angry with Jesus

because they didnt think he was telling the

truth. Jesus was saying he could forgive

peoples sins, which was something only

God could do. The Pharisees didnt think


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Jesus traveled all over Israel preach-

ing and doing miracles. Before long, huge

crowds gathered around him wherever he

went.

News about him spread all over Syria. People

brought to him all who were ill with differentkinds of sicknesses. Some were suffering great

pain. Others were controlled by demons. Some

were shaking wildly. Others couldnt move at all.

And Jesus healed all of them.

Large crowds followed him. Some people

came from Galilee, from the area known as the

Ten Cities, and from Jerusalem and Judea. Oth-

ers came from the area across the Jordan River.

Because of the crowd, Jesus told his disciples

to get a small boat ready for him. This would

keep the people from crowding him. Jesus had

healed many people. So those who were sick

were pushing forward to touch him.

When people with evil spirits saw him, they

fell down in front of him. The spirits shouted,


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The Story for Kids

Jesus didnt want to tell everyone he was

the Messiah too quickly, because he first had

to teach them what the Messiah had come

to do: save the people from sin, not destroy

Rome in a battle. Jesus knew that he had to

do a lot of teaching to make the people see

who the Messiah really was. But first he had

to teach his helpers.

Jesus went up on a mountainside. He called

for certain people to come to him, and they

came. He appointed 12 of them and called them

apostles. From that time on they would be with

him. He would also send them out to preach.

They would have authority to drive out demons.

After this, Jesus traveled around from one

town and village to another. He announced the

good news of Gods kingdom. The Twelve were

with him. So were some women who had been

healed of evil spirits and sicknesses. One was

Mary Magdalene. Seven demons had come out

of her. Another was Joanna, the wife of Cuza. He


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