Jesus, the best doctor
key words
biblical reference
Luke 7: 1-17
lesson objective
To help the children understand that Jesus, being the Son of God, healed diseases and raised the dead; and that same Jesus can help them today when they have needs.
memory verse
“While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I’m well pleased. Listen to him!’” (Matthew 17:5, NIV*).
prepare yourself to teach
For most children, the idea that someone can be healed exists only in the stories of the Bible. Unless the children have experienced the healing of a relative, they may not be able to associate that form of God’s power with their daily life. This lesson provides an excellent opportunity for someone you know, or yourself, to testify about their healing. A testimony, combined with biblical history, will help make the power of Jesus real in the lives of children. In addition, it will create a bridge between the biblical stories and the truth of the Word of God as a reality in today’s world.
Ask God to help you minister to the children in your group. As you talk about the power of Jesus, know that some of them have serious needs. Some will have disabilities that God has not healed. Others have sick parents or friends.
Use this session to teach about the importance of prayer in each circumstance. Remind your students that God always listens to us when we pray. Also, that God cares about their colds and scrapes in the same way he cares about other serious situations. Encourage the group to pray and ask God when they have illnesses and sufferings in their families. Tell them that it is not always God’s will for us to be healed in ways we see best, but it is his will that we pray and learn to accept him with the confidence that he knows what is best for us.
biblical commentary
Each story has its “climax”. In a joke, the “climax” arrives unexpectedly, and that’s why it is funny. In a story, the climax may happen in more than one place. But still, it works the same way. The purpose is to finish the story in a powerful way. The “climax” is what will make us remember that particular story.
The story of Luke 7 has those “high points”: “God has visited his people” (v. 16). That phrase is enough to encourage us, despite the suffering caused by this world sick with sin. And there is even more in this passage! We have two great demonstrations of how God helped his people through Jesus.
The first story is about a man who was self-sufficient in almost all areas of his life. As a military leader, he had a number of soldiers who did what he asked of them. But he recognized that there was an area beyond his command and power: he was unable to heal his death-sick servant. He did what he could: he sent some of his high-ranking Jewish friends to ask Jesus for help.
The second story shows us another person who did not have resources. She was a widow and mourned the death of her only son. Not only had she lost the support of her husband, which was necessary to have prestige in society, but she was also in the process of burying the only resource that would supply her with food ... her son.
Jesus reacted to these two people. He was “amazed” (v. 9) by the centurion’s faith. The centurion, in saying that Jesus did not need to come to his house to heal the servant, showed more faith than Jesus had found in most of the Jews of his time. In contrast, the heart of Jesus “felt sorry” (v. 13) for the widow when he came across her son’s funeral. Jesus reacted to the widow’s pain in the same way that he had acted at the request of the centurion.
He not only reacted, but also responded to both situations. Jesus healed the centurion’s servant “by remote control.” He came close to the house, but not to the house. Upon returning, the messengers to the house found the servant in good condition. In contrast, Jesus responded to the widow by acting. He touched the coffin and brought the boy back to life, thus restoring the poor woman’s source of support. Then, Luke shows us the reaction of the people: “And all were afraid ...” (v. 16). This brings us to the “climax”: “God came to help people” (v. 16).
introduce the lesson
“M” is for “Miracles”, review and important word
You will need: cardboard or construction paper, scissors, paints, colored pencils, markers, figures, stickers or stamps, colored paper, etc. to decorate the letters “M”. Before the session, cut out large letters “M”, about 6 cm. wide, for each child. In the group, while the children decorate their letters “M”, say, “The ‘M’ is the letter with which the word ‘MIRACLE’ begins. What is a miracle? (A powerful act that shows the power of God, we cannot explain that act in any other way). What miracle did we talk about last week?” (Jesus cast out an evil spirit from a man.) Allow time for the children to show others their decorated “M” letters. Once the work is finished, place the letters “M” on display in a mural on one of the walls of the room. You can place them around the word “MIRACLE” and a picture of Jesus.
teach the lesson
“Your servant is very ill, I do not think he will improve,” the Roman soldier told his commander. “I know,” the commander replied. “I’m worried. He is a good servant. We have done everything possible to cure him, but his health keeps getting worse.” The days passed and the servant was still very sick. Finally, the commander realized that if he did not seek immediate help, his servant would die. What could he do? Suddenly, he had an idea. “Maybe that Jewish teacher, Jesus, could help my servant. I’ve heard wonderful stories about him! And now he has come to our town,” he thought.
Quickly, the centurion sent a message to his Jewish friends. They were important leaders. “Please, go to where Jesus is and ask him to heal my servant,” he asked them. The Jewish leaders were happy to do what the commander asked of them. Generally, Jews did not help Roman soldiers. But this soldier was different from the others, so they rushed to look for Jesus. “Jesus,” they begged, “please come to the commander’s house and heal his servant. This Roman is a good man. He loves the Jews, and he even built a synagogue for us.”
Quickly, Jesus went with men. But when they were near the commander’s house, someone came out to meet him. “Sir, do not worry,” he said. “The commander told me to tell you that he is not good enough for you to come to his house. He knows that if you say a word, his servant will be healed.” When Jesus heard that, he marveled at the commander ... He turned and looked at the people who were with him and said, “I tell you that not even in all of Israel have I found so much faith.” And then, addressing the centurion’s friends, he said to them, “Return to the commander’s house.”
Pause and say, “Surprise! What do you think happened?” Let the children guess what the first surprise in the story is. The commander’s friends returned to the house. There they discovered the wonderful truth. The Roman commander’s servant was completely healthy!
Sometime later, Jesus went to the city of Nain. The disciples and a large crowd went with him. Just he was entering the city, he saw a funeral. A young man had died and they were taking him to be buried. His mother went with them. Jesus felt sorry for the poor woman. Her husband had long since died. She only had that one son, who took care of her. And now he was dead. What could this woman do? “Do not cry,” Jesus said to the widow. Then he went to the coffin, touched it and said, “Young man, I tell you, get up!”
Again, pause and say, “Surprise! What happened?” Let the children guess what the second surprise is, then continue. Suddenly, the boy sat up and started talking. He was alive! Jesus looked at the young man’s mother; she was looking at him with total admiration. “Here is your son,” Jesus said. The people were amazed and began to praise God. “A great prophet has risen among us!” they said. “God has visited his people!”
connect the lesson
Doctor’s instruments ...
Pass out Student Activity Sheet #220. Tell the students to follow the instructions on the Student Activity Sheet. They can cut out, color and paste on construction paper the instruments that some doctors use. Then, ask them to write each one’s name: 1. thermometer, 2. syringe, 3. band aid, 4. medicine, 5. stethoscope, 6. tongue compressor, 7. instrument for looking into the ears, 8. instrument for taking blood pressure, 9. cast.
Encourage the children to take home the activity and share the lesson with family and friends.
practice the memory verse
Continue using the same biblical memory verse. Write each word in the form of clouds or other forms. Divide into two groups and give each team a set of the words for the Bible verse. The team that completes the verse first will be the winner. Encourage the losing group to continue practicing to learn the verse.
wrap-up
Pray
Ask the children to pray for their family and friends who are sick. Make a list of the names of the sick people. Say, “Because Jesus is the Son of God, we know that he has the power to help us and to heal diseases. Pray for your sick friends and family. Let’s ask the Lord to heal them, but we also pray that, if it is not God’s will to heal them, both they and we will learn to be happy with God’s will for our lives. He can help the sick to cope with the moments of pain. He gives us strength in the midst of pain.”
Encourage
Encourage the children to continuing praying for others at home.
Invite
Before they depart, tell the students some things about the next session to encourage them to attend. Remind them to invite their friends too.
* 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.™