Sunday School Quiz – Lesson 64: The Dying Thief

#1 One thief admitted that he deserved to be punished for what he had done. Do we deserve to be punished for our sin?

Yes, I do.

Yes, but not very much. Most people are worse than me.

Not at all – I am quite a good person.

Yes, we all deserve to be punished for our sin. We have ALL sinned very badly in God’s eyes (we may not be a thief like these men, but just think how often we are selfish or unkind), and the Bible tells us we deserve to die too. The amazing thing is that God has given us a way to escape from the punishment we deserve.

#2 We know that the Lord Jesus suffered terribly on the cross. What made his suffering so bad?

He was in terrible pain.

He was mocked by the soldiers standing near.

When He died, He took the punishment for our sin.

The Lord Jesus was in great pain on the cross, and He was mocked by many people. But when He was on the cross, He suffered all the punishment for all His people, and that was far worse than all the pain and cruelty. We deserve to be punished, but He was there instead of us. He was willing to do all that for our sake.

#3 The Lord Jesus did not deserve to die, because He had never sinned. Why did He not get down from the cross?

He could not get down.

He stayed on the cross so as to save His people from their sins.

Jesus had the power to get down from the cross, but He would not! He came to this earth to live and to die to save us from our sins. If He had come down from the cross, we could never be saved – there is no other way to be saved, except by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ.

#4 Did both of the thieves come to trust in the Lord Jesus?

Yes.

No, only one believed.

Neither believed.

Sadly, only one thief believed. The other thief heard everything Jesus said, but he did not care. We must be like the thief who listened to Jesus’ words, repented of his wickedness and asked Jesus to remember him.

#5 If we want to become a Christian, do we need to pray a long or complicated prayer?

Yes, it is very difficult to pray to God.

No, but we have to get the words exactly right, or God will not hear our prayer.

No – if our prayer is sincere, God will hear us.

If we want to become a Christian, our prayer can be long OR short. It must be from our heart and in our own words. Remember how short was the thief’s prayer – just a few words – but Jesus heard him, and gave him what he asked.

#6 The thief became a Christian when he was just about to die. Should we do the same?

Yes, because then I can live my life just as I like, but still get to heaven.

No, we should seek the Lord NOW – today!

We can put it off till we’re older, but not quite that late.

We must seek the Lord Jesus straight away. If we put it off, we may never come to Him at all. And why put it off? Anyone who comes to the Saviour will receive forgiveness, peace in their hearts, joy, a place in heaven, a Heavenly Friend …. and so many more wonderful things.

#7 Jesus gave the thief a precious (very valuable) promise: He said to him, ‘Verily I say unto thee, today thou shalt …..

be forgiven.

be with me in paradise.

die very soon.

Jesus said to him ‘today thou shalt be with me in paradise’ (heaven). The thief was just about to die physically (that was still going to happen), but now he would be at peace, knowing that in just a few hours, he would be with the Lord Jesus in heaven.

#8 For a Christian, death is ….

Something to be feared.

Rather sad, but after death we just don’t exist any more.

The time that we leave this world and go to be with the Lord Jesus Christ for ever.

For a Christian death is not something to be afraid of. It is the time that we leave this world, but it is just the beginning of a new life in heaven with the Lord Jesus, and all our sin and sadness is gone.

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