The Bible tells us about Jesus
key words
biblical reference
Luke 4:16-44
lesson objective
To help the children know that the Bible teaches them about Jesus, the Son of God.
memory verse
“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path” (Psalm 119:105, NIV*).
prepare yourself to teach
Many elementary children think that the Bible is a collection of stories. Others know that this revelation of God contains rules and commandments; and some have heard that the Bible speaks of God and Jesus.
This information is valuable to them, but the most important thing is that they begin to recognize that the Bible is a unique book, unlike all other history books or manuals with rules. This book talks about God’s love and gives the right answers to many of our questions. The message of the Bible is unique and available to everyone.
This lesson will help them understand that Jesus is more than a great teacher who lived a long time ago. He is the Son of God and, through many biblical stories, they can learn about the great miracles he performed.
Guide your children as they learn to not only read and memorize passages of the Bible, but to love, respect and above all, obey it.
biblical commentary
Read Luke 4:16-44. One year after his baptism, Jesus returned to Nazareth, the town where he had grown up, and went to the synagogue, as was customary on the Sabbath. In biblical times, going to the synagogue was very important for Jewish families. The services in the synagogue were divided into three parts: prayer, reading of the Law and the Prophets, and the explanation of the Scripture.
This would be a special service. It was the ideal time and place for Jesus to begin his ministry. In the synagogues, there were always preachers, and it was customary to ask a visiting teacher to read the Scripture and explain it. After the explanation of Scripture, there was a time of questions and debate.
Jesus’ sermon in the synagogue of Nazareth was one of the many episodes in which Jesus showed clearly that he was the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies. He read Isaiah 61:1-2 and surprised everyone present when he said, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled before you” (Luke 4:21).
The passage of Scripture was clear. Jesus was the Messiah that the Hebrew people had been waiting for hundreds of years. However, people rejected that message.
The Bible repeatedly declares to us that Jesus is the Son of God and that he has a special plan of salvation for all mankind. However, as happened in Nazareth, each person has the option of rejecting or accepting him.
introduce the lesson
Attendance sheet
You will need Student Activity Sheet #194-A and #194-B plus the Week 2 figure (books) that corresponds to this session in SAS #194-E. Help the children cut out the Week 2 figure and glue it in the correct space on Student Activity Sheet #194-A. Encourage them to not miss any session in order to complete their attendance sheet.
Ten things that I know about Jesus
For this activity, you will need a plastic ball.
Ask the children to sit in a circle, and tell them: Today’s Bible story tells us about Jesus.
Let us see how quickly we can say ten important things we know about Jesus.
Begin the game by saying: I know that Jesus loves us all. Then, hand the ball to one of your children to say something different, and then they pass the ball to another person, etc. Continue the game until 10 children or more have participated.
teach the lesson
Jesus in the synagogue
“Look who came back to the city!” people said. Jesus had come to Nazareth to visit the place where he had grown up.
Jesus went to the synagogue and looked for a place to sit.
“Is not that Jesus, the son of Joseph, the carpenter?” some asked.
“Yes, it is him,” someone answered. “His mother will be happy to see him. I would like to hear him read the Scriptures. They told me that he taught in some Galilean synagogues and that he is a great teacher. “
So they invited Jesus to come forward to read the Scriptures. The people who were there wanted to hear him, and they were attentive while Jesus opened the scroll and began to read.
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
The people recognized the portion of the Scripture that Jesus was reading. Many years ago, the prophet Isaiah had written those words, announcing the fulfillment of a promise. That passage referred to the Savior of the world, whom God had promised to send. Jesus closed the scroll and said, “Today the Scripture that you have just heard has been fulfilled.”
“What?” said the people. “Is it true what he is telling us?”
“Is not he Joseph’s son?” they asked each other.
Jesus tried to explain more about the Word of God and what it said about the Savior, but they did not want to hear it.
Rather, all who were in the synagogue became angry with Jesus. So they took him out of there to the top of a hill to throw him off. However, Jesus passed through them and went to Capernaum. There he performed many miracles, healed the sick and taught many about the love of God. Jesus showed the people that he really was the promised Messiah.
“Do not leave us!” the inhabitants of Capernaum asked him.
But Jesus answered, “I have to go. It is necessary that I go and tell others the good news of the kingdom of God. For that I have been sent.”
So Jesus went to many others, healed the sick and taught in other synagogues the message of God’s love.
Although it was very sad for Jesus to have been rejected by his own people, in other places many believed in his Word.
connect the lesson
Ask a volunteer to help you distribute Student Activity Sheet #195-A. Instruct the group to look at the pictures and number them according to the order of the biblical story. As they work, tell them that the story they learned is in the Gospel of Luke.
Next, ask them, “Is Luke in the Old or New Testament?” Listen to their answers. If you see that many are still confused, ask them to open their Bible and locate the Gospel of Luke.
Let’s play!
On Student Activity Sheet #195-B, read the instructions for this game together. Have them find a partner to play the game with. To each pair give a set of X’s and O’s and questions for the game from Student Activity Sheet #195-C and let them start playing. Observe them while doing the activity, and help those who have difficulty answering the Bible questions found on Student Activity Sheet #195-C.
practice the memory verse
Write the words of Psalm119:105 on different cards. Stick or pin them on a wall or board, so that you can easily remove them and put them back on. Read the text several times, and ask your children to repeat it. Change the cards for your children to reorder them. Repeat this activity several times and say the text each time the cards are ordered.
wrap-up
Pray
Ask everyone to tell the prayer needs. Then, pray for your children, especially giving thanks to God for allowing us to know Jesus more through his Word. Remind them to pray during the week.
Encourage
Encourage those who have Bibles to bring them to the next meeting.
Invite
Say something interesting about the next session so they will want to attend. Ask them to invite their friends.
* 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.™