Jesus is baptized
key words
biblical reference
Matthew 3:1-17
lesson objective
To help the students know that Jesus is the Son of God, and understand that his baptism shows that he came to save us from sin.
memory verse
“And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52, NIV*).
prepare yourself to teach
The elementary students are young and do not have testimonies like their parents or other adults in the church. But it is still very important to affirm their spiritual development. Even if they’re very small, they can decide to love and serve God. They observe the examples of the adults that surround them. The responsibility for their spiritual development comes from an association between the older people close to them and God. Let’s try to adapt the children’s perceptions about God and give them opportunities to experience God’s love and grace. These lessons about Jesus’ ministry will help them better understand his life and message. As their understanding grows, so does their ability to respond to the gospel message in a positive way. Pray for the children you teach each week and ask God for his blessing to present the truths of his Word.
biblical commentary
Read Matthew 3:1-17. After Jesus moved to Nazareth with Joseph and Mary (Matthew 2:1923), the Bible does not tell us much about his life. Apparently, he worked as a carpenter with Joseph, his earthly father, and probably took over the business when Joseph died. While Jesus worked in carpentry, his cousin John the Baptist preached in the desert. John’s message was: “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”
When people listened to John’s preaching, they confessed their sins and were baptized in the Jordan River. The word “repentance” means to turn 180 degrees in life and go in a direction totally opposite to what the person had been doing until then. Then and today, it implies that people leave sin and take a new path towards a righteous life. But who will give us the power to march in the direction of God?
We know that we need to repent so that our sins are forgiven, but we also know that we need a real change in our hearts so as not to sin continuously. John used water baptism as a way to show that the person has chosen to stop disobeying God. The baptism with the Holy Spirit (vv. 11-12) was something Jesus would do to give people a clean heart so that they could have the power to obey God and live for him.
When the time was approaching when Jesus would begin his public ministry, he went to visit John at the Jordan River. Jesus was the Son of God. He did not need to repent of any sin. As the Messiah, the first thing Jesus did was to announce publicly that he identified with the lost people, that he had come to save, and that he was obedient to the will of God.
When the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus “like a dove,” it was God’s way of telling the world that Jesus is his Son, and that he would carry out the plan of salvation for all humankind. Children should know that when they love Jesus, they are loving someone whom God loves very much. They should know that when they repent of their sins, they are saying that they love God and want to obey him. The Holy Spirit is the one who will help them do it.
introduce the lesson
Prepare in advance the teaching materials you will use for this lesson and try to have your meeting area ready before your students arrive. Remember to welcome visitors and collect their contact information to connect with them during the week.
Ask the group: “What is a testimony?” (allow several responses) Then say: “We may be young and might not have testimonies like our parents or other adults in the church, but it is still very important to affirm our spiritual development. Even if we are very small, we can decide to love and serve God.”
Ask the children: “Who is responsible for my testimony?” (allow several responses) Then say: “We can observe the examples of others around us. Also some responsibility for our spiritual development comes from an association between the older people close to us, each one is responsible to God for our testimony.”
Say: “This lesson about Jesus’ life and ministry helps us better understand his life and message. As our understanding grows, so does our ability to respond to the gospel message in a positive way.”
Try to adapt the children’s perceptions about God and give them opportunities to experience God’s love and grace. Pray for the children you teach and ask God for his blessing to present the truths of his Word.
What is this?
You can do the following activity to get the attention of the children. Before the session, write each letter of the word “baptism” on separate cardboard squares (you can put masking tape rings behind the letter to stick it up, or punch and place a thread to hang).
In your group, mix up the letters and give them to the children. Tell them: “Let’s sort these letters to form a word that has a special meaning. If you have the letter that corresponds to the key that I’m going to give, bring it and hang it up.”
The first letter is the second letter of the alphabet (B)
The second letter is the first letter of the alphabet. (A)
The third letter is the letter before Q. (P)
The fourth letter is the name of a cold or hot drink. (T)
The fifth letter is a vowel with a dot. (I)
The sixth letter is similar to a snake. (S)
The last letter has two mountains. (M)
Ask: “What word do we make with these letters?” (baptism). Baptism was and is a way of showing that they had repented of their sins. It also showed that they wanted to live for God. When John the Baptist preached, he told people that they needed to repent and be baptized. Our Bible story today tells us about someone who did it.
teach the lesson
“Hi, my name is Alberto. I’m going to tell you about a strange man. His name is John and he spoke to people from the Jordan River. I asked my mom if we could go see him. Guess what? We decided to go, and we saw the most amazing things!
“The man wore clothes made of camel hair and he had a leather belt. Someone said he ate honey and locusts. Can you imagine how horrible that’s? Then we heard him say that people needed to confess their sins and ask God for forgiveness. If they did, they then walked into the river and the man pushed them into the water. Mom told me that this is called baptism, and that’s why people called him ‘John the Baptist’.
“We were sitting on a rock looking and watching. Then, we heard a group of Pharisees and Sadducees approach; someone told me that these were the most important religious leaders. John saw them arrive and told them they were like vipers. That sounded like an insult! I do not think they liked what John told them. Actually, the Baptist said strange things. He talked about someone who would come, who was very powerful. He said that not even he could untie the strap on that man’s shoes. He thought that the powerful lord would arrive on a white horse, and with many soldiers, or in a beautiful carriage of brilliant colors. But it was not like that.
“We saw a simple man come to the river. I’m sure John was thrilled to see him. Somebody whispered in my mother’s ear that this man was called Jesus. I heard that he wanted to be baptized, but John did not want to do it. We heard that John said to Jesus, ‘I need to be baptized by you, why do you come to me?’”
“Jesus insisted and asked John to baptize him. Finally, John accepted. Both walked into the river and John helped Jesus dip into the water. When he came out of the water, the most fantastic thing that I have ever seen happened.
“At that moment, we saw the heavens opening and the Spirit of God descended on Jesus like a dove. The dove was spectacular, beautiful! I think I’ll never see an equal to that again.
“Then we all heard a voice saying, ‘This is my beloved Son, I’m very pleased with him.’ Our eyes and ears could not believe it. We went home amazed by everything that had happened!”
connect the lesson
Jesus is baptized
Before the session follow the instructions on Student Activity Sheet #212-A and #212-B to assemble the figures.
Give the children Student Activity Sheet #212-A and #212-B and help them follow the instructions for this activity. First, cut along the dotted lines to cut out the water and the dove. Second, cut out the figure of Jesus. Then fold along the solid lines and tape the strips together so it stands up. Third, fold the water in half along the solid line. Fourth, cut along the 7 dotted lines in the water. Fifth, unfold the water and tape the edges together. (refer to your sample) Sixth, place Jesus in the center of the water. Hold the dove with one hand.
Use the water, Jesus and the dove to tell the Bible story. Allow them to put their figures on the table; use them to review what happened in the story. Show the children how to push down the water from the top in order to reveal Jesus. Give their figures to them to tell the story to their family and friends.
Ask them:
• Who baptized people? (John the Baptist)• What did John say to Jesus? (I need to be baptized by you.)• What happened when Jesus came out of the water? (The Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus in the form of a dove and the voice of God was heard.)• How did Jesus prepare to do the work planned by God? (He was baptized.)• Why do you think that was important? (Because he showed that he loved sinners and that he had come to help them.)• How do we show our gratitude to Jesus for being our Savior? (By loving God and doing what he wants us to do, receiving Jesus as our Savior.)
practice the memory verse
You can use the previous activity with the ball for the children to learn the memory verse. When the child has the ball in her hands, she must say a word of the text, and as the ball goes from child to child, the group will learn the verse by repetition. If anyone drops the ball, the whole group will have to say the verse together. Also, if the person with the ball can say the whole verse, that child may exit from the game with applause.
Search for the lost text
Before the session, write the memory verse on medium-sized cards (20 cm x 20 cm), writing one word on each card. You will need 16 cards, including the reference. Hide the cards in different places in the room before the children arrive. After praying, welcoming and repeating several times the memorized text that will be written on the board, ask the children to look for the lost words of the verse. When they have found all of the words, they are to arrange them in the correct order. You can choose three children to serve as judges and say if the passage is worded correctly.
Then, choose other children to be judges. Then, jumble up the words and have the children arrange them correctly again. The new judges will say if the text is in the correct order. This is a very busy activity, but the children will enjoy playing and learning the text by heart.
You can repeat this type of activity during the unit and do it with any other topic that you have to address. If the number of students is large, you can divide into two or more groups so that everyone participates: some being judges and others who put the text in order.
wrap-up
Pray
Before dismissing them, tell them to make a circle and pray with them.
Encourage
Always give them the opportunity to ask about the lesson. You will be surprised to see that some show a desire to delve into the Word of God and biblical events. Sing a chorus according to the theme of the lesson.
Invite
Be sure to say something about the next session and invite them to attend. Remind them that visitors are also 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.™