The Greatest Story Ever Told
This Passion Week, CCA High School Bible teacher and Discipleship Lead Omar Vargas encourages parents to engage their children in the greatest story ever told – a true story that offers life-changing hope!
One of the greatest things I get to do as a father of two wonderful and energetic boys is that every night before they go to bed, I read them a devotional and a quick short story. The majority of the time, it’s a Bible story of one of the well-known biblical characters such as David, Abraham, Joseph, or Moses.
Sometimes, we pull out one of their favorite books, 100 Adventurous Stories for Brave Boys, where they get to read about the different men that stood up for their faith or did something courageous. During Passion Week, I get excited because I get to share with them a story that changed my life, and I believe it's the greatest story ever told, because, to the one who puts their faith in its message, their life will never be the same again.
I get excited because I get to share with them a story that changed my life
During Passion Week, we have some important dates that we reflect on. Palm Sunday starts us off with a picture of Christ riding on a donkey as He enters Jerusalem. Matthew 21:4 tells us He did this in order to fulfill prophecy, specifically the words that we see in Zechariah 9:9:
Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
And this is the moment I will pause with my boys and begin to tell them about why it was important these things happened the way they did.
Josh McDowell writes about the sheer difficulty it would be to fulfill the over 300 prophecies the way Jesus did: “The chance of any man fulfilling these prophecies, even down to the present time, would be 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000 (10 to the 17th power).” So to my boys, I start off by showing them that the greatest story ever told begins with Jesus fulfilling prophecy in only a way the true Messiah could fulfill it.
The chance of any man fulfilling these prophecies . . . would be 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000
Matthew 21:9 states that as he was entering, the people would cry out, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” The people crying this out literally are shouting out “Lord, save us!” Even in calling him Son of David, they are recognizing Him as the Messiah.
It is at this moment one of my boys would likely interrupt me, as they typically do during devo time, and ask me, why do these people cry out that they need to be saved? The people thought they needed to be saved from the political oppression they were going through, but little did they know that Jesus actually came into the world to save them from their sins and eternal separation from God. As John 3:16 tells us, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”
This story is the greatest because without Jesus and what He did on Good Friday and Easter, we could not be saved! In giving His life on the cross and through His resurrection from the grave, we can have the hope that changes everything. Christ did answer the call of “Hosanna”, and he answered it more abundantly!
In giving His life on the cross and through His resurrection from the grave, we can have the hope that changes everything.
Therefore, during this Passion Week, take the time to speak about the greatest story ever told with your child(ren). Maybe make it part of your devotional time with them. Take the time to reflect on the cross this Friday and on the empty tomb. Invite a friend to church and celebrate how Christ saved us! It is truly the greatest story ever told, as it is the true story of how Christ brought the gift of salvation to all of us!
Omar Vargas has been teaching at CCA for six years. He serves as a 12th grade Bible teacher and on the high school discipleship team. He holds a master’s degree in Church Planting and Ministry from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is also the Lead Pastor of Real Church in Hollywood, FL, which is a trilingual ministry serving in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. He enjoys coaching baseball for his boys who are both CCA students (Andres, 2nd Grade and Kaleb, Pre-K4).
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Tammy Henghold4/6/2023 @ 5:35 PMThis was a great read. A great reminder to start off the Passion Week remembering and rejoiceing what Jesus has done for us.
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