The mercy of Jesus
key words
biblical reference
Matthew 5-7
lesson objective
To help the children learn to have mercy on others and to not judge them unfairly for their wrongdoings
memory verse
“Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 6:27b-28, NIV*).
prepare yourself to teach
The Sermon on the Mount teaches us about three areas of our relationships. First, our relationship with God. While we only see the outside of people, God sees what is on the inside; He sees our hearts. The problem with being judgmental of others is that we put ourselves above others as judges, and that role is only God’s.
Secondly, the Sermon on the Mount teaches us about our relationship with others. When we look for faults in others, we will see an attitude in ourselves that lacks love and forgiveness. Jesus shows us how to love and forgive others like he loves and forgives us.
Thirdly, the Sermon on the Mount teaches us about our relationship with ourselves. We cannot help others if we are judgmental and speak badly of them. This attitude comes from our own selfishness and thinking that we need to feel superior. Jesus asked us, “How can you condemn others and be blind to your own faults?”
In Matthew 7:2, Jesus tells us, “For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” He is not teaching us to overlook the sin; but what condemns us is the despicable attitude and the lack of love that we have when we condemn others. Jesus loves the sinner but hates the sin.
How do we avoid being judgmental of others? God has provided us with his forgiveness, so we owe it to God to see the good in others and respond with the love of a forgiver towards every sin committed.
Children form concepts and ideas of other people, just like the world that is around them. At this age, they develop the capacity to think for themselves, and they start to see good and bad in the world. For children, the bad demands punishment.
They need to learn to establish a difference between discerning something is wrong and having a condemning attitude. They also need to know all of the facts to make that kind of decision.
In this session, they will learn how to show mercy instead of holding a condemning attitude toward others. God wants us to forgive others with love like we experienced when He forgave us.
introduce the lesson
Activity: Who is who?
Ask the children to find this activity on Student Activity Sheet #303-A and trace a line between each person and the prize they think each person won.
Easily the first impression the children will have is based on the appearances of the people in the pictures. For example, the child in the wheel chair could be an admirable artist; the strong, young man could be a great athlete; the child with the spectacles could be the computer genius.
Narrate the following stories so the children will understand that first impressions are not always correct.
The great athlete
Carla was born with a mental limitation. Even though she has never been able to walk, she loves sports. Her father takes her to lots of different games and practices. One day she entered a wheel-chair race that was being held in the youth Olympics. Can you imagine who won?
The computer genius
Luis is a strong and attractive young man; his dad is a high school football coach. His friends all thought that he would join the youth football league, but Luis does not enjoy rough games. He prefers the computer. He actually joined a computer club at his school. One day he took part in a competition to see who could create the best computer game. Do you know who won?
The admirable artist
Mario has glasses with thick lenses because he has problems seeing. He always goes around with a pencil tucked behind his ear because it makes him look smart. But he does not like to read; he only enjoys reading when there are lots of pictures. He loves drawing pictures in his folders. One day the art teacher told him that there was going to be an art competition at the Municipal Library. He suggested that Mario enter the competition. Who do you think won?
Now, have the children draw a line between the child and the real prize they won and ask them, “What happens if we judge people too quickly without getting to know them at all?” (We draw wrong conclusions and we can hurt people’s feelings or hurt their reputation, etc.)
Ask them “Is everything as it seems?” Have the children discuss how easy it is to judge things incorrectly. Ask them to mention some examples of situations in their lives when they have judged things wrongly.
Whatever ideas we have about people can be right or wrong if we do not have all of the details, and in this way, we can be unfair. Remember the words of Jesus Christ, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Matthew 7:1-2a).
teach the lesson
Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees, who had been following Jesus and spying on him, saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.” Jesus knew that the Pharisees did not care that the disciples were hungry. They did not feel love nor did they care very much about circumstances. The only thing they cared about was carrying out the law and the authority that it gave them.
Jesus reminded them of the story of David when he was escaping from King Saul: “Have not you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread – which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. Or have not you read in the Law how the priests desecrated the temple on the Sabbath and yet were innocent? If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
The Pharisees stopped their discussion with Jesus, but he knew they had not changed their way of thinking. They would keep trying to find faults with Jesus and try to find a way to destroy him. (Matthew 7 and 12)
connect the lesson
Review
Distribute Student Activity Sheet #303-B, #303-C and #303-D to review the lesson.
Biblical commentary for children
Ask a child to read aloud what this activity says in Student Activity Sheet #303-D. Then tell them all to write a letter to God to give thanks for having sent his Son Jesus Christ to save us.
practice the memory verse
If any of the children know how to play an instrument, encourage them to accompany the group by tapping a beat to the text to help them memorize it. The more people participate the more fun it will be.
wrap-up
Pray
To end the lesson, ask the group to pray asking God to help them to not have a judgmental attitude.
Encourage
Show appreciation for the students’ attendance and ask them not to forget what they learned.
Invite
Announce something about the next session to increase the group’s interest. Remind them to welcome visitors.
* 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.™