Jesus: miracle worker
key words
biblical reference
Mark 6:5-52; Luke 7:11-17; John 2:1-11
lesson objective
To help the students understand that since Jesus is God, he has power humans do not possess, he has compassion for us, and he helps us
memory verse
“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being” (Hebrews 1:3a, NIV*).
prepare yourself to teach
Your students live surrounded by superheroes. A new one is constantly appearing. These comic characters save the world from destruction daily. Preadolescents always enjoy stories with a happy ending. Even so, these heroes do not produce a significant change in our lives. Unlike these supermen and super fictional women, Jesus has real power, the greatest power. During his years on earth, he produced significant changes in people’s lives. He showed compassion and love for them, healed the sick, and raised the dead. He experienced temptations and showed us that he had the power to overcome them. He is the Son of God, and he came to show us what God is like. It is necessary that our students know that today Christ can produce a real change in our lives. He does not disappear when the screen goes off, like the heroes of television, movies, and books. Christ is real, powerful, and takes care of you and your students.
biblical commentary
While some of us may have seen modern miracles, the passages of Mark, Luke, and John describe three miracles of which none of us today have seen with our own eyes.
In the Gospel of Mark, we read that one night Jesus walked on a lake. He was alone, praying, perhaps asking for the spiritual strength necessary to resist the popular efforts that people were trying to make him king (John 6:14-15). He had sent the disciples ahead of him in a boat. It was a windy night. At a certain time, he noticed that they were fighting against the waves, and he walked towards them on the water. It seemed as if he would pass by and continue walking without stopping. At that time there was a superstition among the Jews that made them believe that seeing a spirit or ghost at night was a sure sign of disaster. The terror of the disciples was probably due to the fear of thinking that they had just seen a spirit on the water. Jesus spoke to them and calmed their fears. The winds also stopped.
In the Gospel of Luke, we find Jesus interrupting a funeral procession, seeing that the only son of a widow had died leaving her helpless. Some believe that she was no longer of age to enter into a new marriage and to give birth again. Therefore, unless a family member helped her, she would be condemned to begging in order to survive. She would be easy prey for the scammers and dishonest people. Jesus felt compassion for her and returned her son to life. That was Jesus’ first miracle of resurrection. Two others were the daughter of Jairus and Lazarus.
In the Gospel of John, we read what is considered to be the first public miracle of Jesus. Together with his mother and his disciples, he had attended a wedding. The wine was finished. This was a real scandal in the society of those days. Mary asked Jesus to help the host and thus save the reputation of the groom before the community. Still reluctant, Jesus accepted, turning the water into a kind of wine worthy of winning a prize in any contest. John described it as the first miraculous sign of Jesus. For him, the key to the miracle was not in its spectacular nature, but in the fact that it showed Jesus as the Son of God.
None of these three miracles would be humanly possible. Only God is capable of doing them. Human beings perform “miracles” only in modified versions. A person can walk on water only if it is frozen or if it has some support under the surface. A doctor can resuscitate a patient who is “clinically dead.” And some people have the ability and the knowledge to ferment grapes and help them transform into wine.
These similar versions may be helpful, but we need more. Human ingenuity and technology cannot solve all problems. God is the only one who can solve every difficulty. Jesus opened the way for us to have a relationship with the miracle-working God.
Every miracle that Jesus performed had an immediate human benefit and also demonstrated his divinity. When studying these stories, what do these miracles tell us?
They remind us of at least two important thoughts:
The power to perform miracles by the earthly Jesus still resides in the risen Lord.
Miracles are evidence that we can trust that God will help us. Of course, help will not always come in such a spectacular way. The Lord can work through modified versions that allow them to be done by human beings (doctors, medicines, etc). In any case, we can depend on his divine help.
introduce the lesson
Extraordinary event
Hand out Student Activity Sheet #377-A (Extraordinary Power). Ask a volunteer to read the instructions aloud. Ask them to draw or write some examples of extraordinary events they have witnessed, such as, fireworks, healing, the ocean, a tornado, lightning, volcanoes, earthquakes, sporting events, the Olympics, big musical concerts, etc. Then, let them share with the rest of the group.
Say: “You drew or wrote really extraordinary things. Today we’re going to talk about three miracles that will surprise us even more.”
teach the lesson
The three miracles
Say: “Since Jesus is completely God, he has all the POWER of God too.” Ask for volunteers to list some of the miracles that Jesus performed when he was on earth.
Say: “Not everyone who has power uses it for the good of others. Today we’ll read about three amazing miracles that Jesus performed, and we’ll also discover why he did them.”
Tell the students to get in pairs and look at Student Activity Sheet #377-B and #377-C (Images of Power). Provide Bibles for those who do not have one. They’re to look for the evidences of compassion and power that Jesus demonstrated in the three biblical stories and write them down. When they’re finished, tell them to share their answers with the group. Complete their comments with the information provided in the “Biblical Commentary,” and with the following statements:
John 2:1-11
Evidence of compassion: The person in charge of the banquet had the responsibility to provide enough food and drink for the wedding, which could last up to a week. If Jesus had not supplied the wine, the host would have been embarrassed and humiliated in front of all his guests.
Evidence of power: Jesus had the power to instantly transform water into something else. Nobody else could do it.
Mark 6:45-52
Evidence of compassion: When the disciples were terrified, Jesus told them words of encouragement. But he was also with them in the boat and calmed the storm.
Evidence of power: The power of Jesus is greater than that of the laws of nature. That’s why he was able to walk on the water and make the wind stop.
Luke 7:11-17
Evidence of compassion: Jesus felt sad to see that the mother of the deceased youth had to face poverty, or perhaps worse, not having anyone to help her. He offered words of comfort and healing for his son.
Evidence of power: The power of Jesus is greater than the power of death. Therefore, he resurrected the young man.
Ask: “Is Jesus the same today as in biblical times? Does he still have enough compassion for people to help them? How do we know?” (Answers can be varied, but they must include that Jesus has compassion and power.) “The Bible says so. Hebrews 13:8 says, ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.’ The experiences of people over the years and in the Bible confirm his compassion and his power. Being God, Jesus has all the power of God. We can count on his love and help.”
connect the lesson
The source of power
If possible, take a light bulb to this session. Show it and say: “Humans are somewhat like this little bulb that is not connected to any source of energy; we do not have much power. Jesus was a man like us, but since he is also fully God, he has all the power of God. If we insert the bulb into a lamp that’s plugged into a power source, we can turn it on. Jesus has powers that people do not have.”
If you have a blackboard or whiteboard, draw a large incandescent light bulb on the board. If you do not have a board, use a large paper or poster. Ask a volunteer to point out the lower part of the bulb (the threads or other contact points). Then ask the group for examples of some of the powers that we humans have. (Examples: the power to “make our own decisions,” the power of the “speaking,” the power of “prayer,” “physical strength,” etc.)
Ask another volunteer to point out the upper part of the bulb (the oval part). Then ask the group for examples of the powers that Jesus has. (Examples: power to “resuscitate people,” power “over the forces of nature,” power to “heal,” power to “live without sinning,” etc.)
Ask: “What or who is the source of ALL power?” (God)
Acrostic of power
Guide your students to the last activity in Student Activity Sheet #377-D for this session. Explain that “acrostic” is a type of poetry. Allow them to complete it based on the word “POWER.” They should write words or phrases that describe: (a) the power of Jesus, (b) his compassion, or (c) situations in their life in which they need the compassion and power of Jesus in order to succeed.
practice the memory verse
Before this session, make a large poster on poster paper or cardboard to write this unit’s memory verse. Divide it into 16 squares: 4 horizontally, and 4 vertically. Also, cut 16 squares of cardboard. Then write each of the words of the verse of Hebrews 1:3 (including the reference on one of them). If you have transparent paper you can cover each square of cardboard.
Attach the poster on one of the walls of the room. One way to do this is to put a ring of adhesive tape on each of the 16 squares.
In the group, direct the students’ attention to the memory verse. Read it and tell them to repeat it several times. Then show the poster on the wall. Place the rectangles with the words of the verse on the table, mixed up, face down. When you say “now,” a student will begin to order the words of the verse in the shortest possible time, taping the squares with the words in order on the poster attached to the wall. Time how long it takes the student. When finished, repeat the verse together. Then, remove the words from the poster, place them again on the table face down, mix them up, and let another student participate. Continue like this until everyone has competed, repeating all together the verse each time someone puts it in order. The one who does it in the shortest time is the winner.
wrap-up
Pray
Remind the preadolescents that prayer and daily reading of the Word of God are very good ways to be connected with God. Finally, pray for them. Ask God to help the students to fully trust that he loves them because he knows their concerns and needs. He also has all the power to help them and heal them, their families, and friends.
Encourage
Ask the students to think of some need they have. Encourage the students by saying: “Jesus has compassion on us and also the power to help us. God ALWAYS answers our prayers, although sometimes the answers are different from what we hope for.” Encourage the students to record their needs on the paper. Perhaps they can put their records in an envelope to keep while trusting God to answer their prayers. As God answers their prayers, encourage everyone to tell these miraculous stories of Jesus to those who do not know Jesus and are going through some difficulty or illness. Challenge the students to trust and ask God to help or heal them, since he has the power to do so.
Invite
End the session by telling the students something of interest about the next session and encourage them to attend. Remind them that visitors are welcome.
* Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™