Let's talk about a very special person, the Messiah named Yeshua. He was a great teacher who showed us how to love G-d and be nice to everyone. Yeshua taught important lessons to everyone, teaching people how to follow G-d's laws as He intended. Imagine your dad left your house and put you in charge with a list of rules to keep the house looking nice and keeping everyone safe. You go to your room for a little while and see your siblings fighting and spilling soda on the carpet! You'd try to help them clean it up and explain the rules to them. They might not listen to you, but you have to try!
Yeshua lived a long time ago and taught people about G-d's house rules, which are found in the Torah. These rules help us be good and kind. He loved G-d very much and wanted everyone to love G-d too. He said we should all say sorry when we do something wrong and try to be better.
Yeshua and the very special way he showed his love for everyone, is called a 'sacrifice' for a few different reasons. Let's explore what this means and why it's so important.
First, let's understand what a 'sacrifice' means. It's when you give up something of yours to show your love for someone. Like when you have a meal, but a kid in your class doesn't have anything to eat, so you give him your meal - that's a kind of sacrifice because you're giving up something you love to make your friend happy. A long time ago when there was a temple, the Jewish people would bring animals, food, and drinks to give to G-d on the altar, and those were also called sacrifices and offerings! Even though G-d doesn't eat food or drink, it was a way of showing love for G-d. If the people were disobedient and didn't love G-d, then the sacrifices didn't mean anything.
Yeshua lived a life full of love and kindness. He always thought about others, helped people in need, taught about G-d's love, and showed everyone how to live in a way that makes G-d happy. His whole life was like a big, ongoing act of kindness and love – a 'living sacrifice'. He always put others before himself. When Yeshua had a coat, and someone else didn't, he would give them a coat. He was always sacrificing his own needs for the needs of others.
The biggest sacrifice Yeshua made was at the end of his life. He was very kind and loving, but not everyone was nice to him. In fact, some people were very unkind to him. But even then, Yeshua kept loving and forgiving them. He showed us that love is powerful and can change hearts. The people who were mean to him didn't believe in the words he spoke. They didn't believe he was really teaching G-d's desires. One of the things Yeshua taught was that one day, all of G-d's people who died would come back to life and live in peace and with G-d for eternity. He also taught that one of the greatest commands, even greater than the Sabbath, was to love one another. Lots of people didn't like this. Yeshua knew that the only way to prove it to them was to die and be resurrected.
When the people came to murder him, Yeshua allowed them to because he knew the only way they would realize they were wrong and turn back to G-d is if he died and came back to life. If G-d brought him back to life like G-d promised him, then they would know he was telling the truth. So he willingly laid his life down for everyone. For those that believed him, it strengthened their belief in his words. It also showed them how much we should love each other. For those who didn't believe in him, they saw him walking around after he died! How was this possible unless he was telling the truth? If G-d raised him from the dead, he must be important. He gave up his life and sacrificed his life out of love for everyone so that everyone would turn back to G-d and follow His Torah properly, just as Yeshua taught.
Yeshua's story is about showing the biggest love – the love that forgives and cares, no matter what. We can be like Yeshua by being kind, loving, and forgiving others every day. Let's try to spread love and happiness just like Yeshua did!
Isn't it wonderful to learn about such big love? Yeshua's story helps us understand how we can be better and love more every day!
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