Jesus shares a special meal
key words
bible reference
Mark 14:12-25
lesson objective
To help the children learn the significance of the special meal that Jesus shared with his disciples.
memory verse
“He is not here; he has risen!” (Luke 24:6, NIV*).
prepare yourself to teach
Jesus knew that the time of his crucifixion, death and resurrection was approaching. While Jesus and his disciples began the journey to Jerusalem, they asked him where they would celebrate the Passover. God chose Jerusalem to be the place of the Passover sacrifice (Deuteronomy 16:57), and its residents opened their homes to pilgrims who traveled for that purpose.
The Easter celebration included a dinner that was part of the religious ritual. Jesus planned to share a special dinner with his disciples to celebrate the Passover. He chose two of them, giving them specific instructions so that they would find the place where they would meet and where they should make the preparations. Everything happened according to the instructions that Jesus had given.
During the meal, Jesus began to prepare his disciples for the betrayal that he would suffer, as well as his death and resurrection. He prepared them by telling them some of the things that would happen. His words indicated that he knew what would happen, and he surrendered to these events. Jesus was obedient because he trusted in God, his Father. Through that obedience, salvation is available to all people. After the Passover meal, Jesus went with his disciples to a nearby mountain to prepare himself spiritually.
adaptation
In many countries, Holy Week coincides with a holiday period, which obscures the true meaning of this special date.
In addition, pagan traditions and customs have sought to confuse the background of this Christian celebration. That is why children's disciplers have the responsibility to teach children the meaning and importance of these events in the life of Christ. Preschoolers are in a phase of concrete thought. That is, they do not yet have the capacity to understand abstract ideas or concepts, so they may find it difficult to understand in detail the crucifixion of Jesus. Focus your lesson on the fact that Jesus is the Son of God, and he came into the world in obedience to defeat the power of sin as well as to save us from our sins.
Prepare yourself in prayer and meditation on the Word of God so that the Holy Spirit guides you to teach with wisdom the truth of the Last Supper, the triumphant coming, and the death and resurrection of Christ.
introduce the lesson
Attendance sheet “Jesus lives”
In advance, cut out or copy the attendance sheet for this unit from Student Activity Sheet #66-A and #66-B. Cut out the stamps (hearts) that correspond to this session in Student Activity Sheet #66-C.
Hand out the activity sheets to your children. Allow them to write their name and paste the stamp that corresponds to this lesson. While they are working, explain that during each lesson of the unit you will give them a stamp. Those who fill the entire sheet will receive a prize. Prepare a special area of the room to stick up the pages and maintain a visual of the monthly attendance.
Save the remaining pictures in plastic bags to use in the following lessons.
teach the lesson
This activity will help you teach the Bible lesson.
Who should we invite?
Gather the children in front of the board and ask them: “If you were planning a special dinner, who would you like to invite?” Listen to and record their answers.
Tell them that Jesus planned a special dinner to share with his disciples. At this dinner Jesus spoke to them about the kingdom of God and gave them important instructions.
Jesus shares a special meal
It was the time when the people of God had a special dinner to remember God delivered them from slavery in Egypt. Jesus told his disciples that he wanted to share that dinner with them. “Where do you want us to prepare dinner?” asked his disciples.
“Go to Jerusalem. There you will see a man who carries a vase with water. Follow him to the house where he enters and tell the owner of the house, ‘The master wishes to know in which room he may celebrate the Passover meal with his disciples.’ He will take you to a large room where we can share the meal together,” said Jesus.
Two of the disciples went to Jerusalem and they did everything just as Jesus had told them. So, they set out to prepare dinner. As evening began, Jesus and his disciples went to the room to share the special dinner.
There, when they were all together, Jesus said to them, “In a short time we will all suffer moments of sadness, one of you has decided to harm me.”
The disciples became very sad, and each one said to him, “I love you very much, am I the one who is going to hurt you?”
Everyone was worried, and they looked at each other, wondering who the traitor would be. After this, Jesus spoke to them about the kingdom of God and prayed for them. He took bread and gave thanks to God. Then he broke it and gave a piece to each disciple and said, “Eat this bread and remember that I love you.”
He also took a drink and gave thanks. Then he passed it to the disciples and they all drank from it and he said: “Always remember that I love you and that everything that I will suffer will be for you.”
Afterwards Jesus and his disciples sang together.
Then they went from that place to the Mount of Olives.
connect the lesson
Use this activity to relate biblical truth to your children’s daily lives.
True or False
Ask the children to form a circle. They should stand with their arms at their sides.
Tell them: I am going to say something about the story. If it is true, take a leap; but if it is false, then you must duck.
We suggest some phrases to start the game, but you can add as many as time allows:
1. Jesus and his disciples went to Jerusalem. (True/ leap)
2. Jesus and his disciples took a train to go to the city. (False/ duck)
3. Jesus sent four disciples to the city. (False)
4. Jesus and his disciples celebrated a dinner called Passover. (True)
5. Jesus did not invite all his disciples to dinner. (False)
6. Jesus told his disciples that he loved them. (True)
practice the memory verse
Prepare several (8) large cards. Write each word of the verse and the quotation marks on each of the cards. Before the session, hide them in the meeting area. Ask your children to look for them while you count from 1 to 20. When they find them, put them on a table and explain how to arrange them to read the verse. Allow them to put them in the correct order a couple of times while repeating this unit is memory verse out loud.
wrap-up
Pray
Gather your children in a circle and hold hands. Pray for them and for the requests they have. Help them to be thankful that Jesus was obedient to our Heavenly Father.
Encourage
Encourage them to pray for each other during the week and tell them that you pray daily for them. This will make them feel motivated and appreciated.
Invite
Before leaving, emphasize the power of Jesus and the blessing it is to know it. Be sure to say something interesting about the next session and invite them to attend.
* 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.™