Co-Mission Possible_Preliminary

101 M3 / L4 ACTIVITY



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Preliminary Draft MISSION 3: JESUS’ STATEMENTS — HE SAID...WHAT? LESSON 5: JESUS SAYS TO RELIGIOUS LEADERS: “DESTROY THIS TEMPLE” BIG IDEA: KEY TEXT:  CURRICULUM: M.K.1 Begin to understand and articulate the Bible as one story MU3_ L_5 NNOOTTEESS by seeing the relationship of key Bible stories to The Redemp- tive Story.; M.K.4 Identify the relationship of Jesus to the Gospel and to one’s per- sonal and present life TAKING AIM: APPLICATION — CONFIDENCE: Jesus rose from the dead just like He said. This gives us confidence. PREPARE: To Get: Three donuts or cupcakes (one for a student to eat, one for “crumb” evidence, one for the winner of a game); stopwatch; To Do: Prepare two notes for the Opener (see “Detective” activity sheet at the end of this lesson); cut the “Follow Historical Facts” paper slips at the end of this lesson; prepare SIX signs with the following statements: Jesus didn’t actually die. He only passed out and revived. / Jesus’ body was never really buried. / The tomb wasn’t really empty. / The resurrection of Jesus is only a myth. / Only Jesus’ followers claimed to have seen Jesus. / Jesus actually AROSE! OPENER: (10 minutes): See “Detective” activity sheet at the end of this lesson. ACTIVITY: ▪ You may recall in our last unit, we talked about Jesus flip- ping over the tables. In that whole encounter, Jesus made a shocking statement that the religious leaders were totally clueless about. They had no idea what Jesus was speaking about. Does anyone remember what He said? [Field responses] ▪ Can someone please read it from John 2:19? [Remind the students: Jesus was foretelling His resurrection. Yes, a dead man really came back to life!] ▪ Of course, many have set out to try and disprove the resurrection of Jesus. They know that, if they can do this, then all of Christianity comes crashing down too (you can read 1 Cor 15:17). So they’ve concocted theories to explain the empty tomb. ▪ [Post the six signs stating some of the common theories.] ▪ [Explain:] Just like our donut example, your task is to consider pieces of ev- idence which even non-Christians agree are historically factual and accurate. I have those pieces of evidence on these papers. ▪ Your task is to read the verses or facts on your slip of paper, then discuss with your group* whether or not your evidence ‘debunks’ one or more of these theories. You’ll have about 10 minutes to do this. [*There are 14 points. Depending on class size, you can give one slip per student or two slips per partner-group.] 105

TEACHER ANSWERS: MU3_ L_5 NNOOTTEESS The slips of paper can debunk more than one theory. (Be sure to have the students cross out multiple theories if more than one are applicable.) Use the following groupings as a general guideline: 1. “Jesus didn’t actually die. He only passed out and revived.” ▪ Read John 19:31-33 — It was normal procedure for Roman soldiers to speed up the dying process by breaking the legs of those on the cross. (Unable to push them- selves up for easier breathing, they eventually suffocated to death.) But when they came to Jesus, they didn't do this. Why not? ▪ HISTORICAL FACT — Roman soldiers saw hundreds or even thousands of crucifix- ions every year. They were experts at killing. In fact, many people died in the beating that came before the crucifixion. ▪ Read John 19:33, 34 — Even today’s medical experts say, “Clearly, the weight of the historical and medical evidence indicates that Jesus was dead before the wound to his side was inflicted” (Journal of the American Medical Association, March 21, 1986). 2. Jesus’ body was never really buried. ▪ Read: Matthew 27:61 — These women watched as the body of Jesus was buried. ▪ Read: Matthew 27:57-60 — A rich man named Joseph (from a region called Ari- mathea) offered to bury Jesus in his tomb. He could have easily dispelled this theory. ▪ Read Matthew 27:65 — After the body was buried, the tomb was secured with a seal. The “seal” was a cord stretched across the stone with Rome’s official logo attached to it. Anyone who broke a Roman seal was executed. ▪ Read Matthew 27:66 — Even Pilate (the Roman governor in Judea where Jesus was executed) made sure Jesus’ tomb was well-secured! He assigned a Roman guard (16 soldiers) to protect the burial site. 3. “The tomb wasn’t really empty.” ▪ Read Matthew 28:12-15 — Even the authorities realized that the tomb was empty. They had to bribe the soldiers to make up some story about the body being stolen while the soldiers were sleeping! ▪ Read: Matthew 27:57-60 — The tomb Jesus was buried in belonged to a rich man named Joseph (from a region called Arimathea). Surely Joseph, the owner of the tomb, would have known if it was empty or not. ▪ LOGICAL FACT — If the body was really in the tomb (or a different tomb, as some say), the enemies of Jesus could have produced the body to prove the followers of Jesus wrong. But no body was ever produced. 4. “The resurrection of Jesus is just a myth.” ▪ Read 1 Corinthians 15:3-6 — Usually, a myth, or legend, forms many years after an event, when the evidence can no longer be examined. (A myth is a story that lacks evidence.) But we have historical documents, like 1 Corinthians, written soon after the death of Christ, which give testimony of people who claimed to have 106

seen Jesus. M3 L5 NOTES ▪ Read 1 Corinthians 15:3-6 — If there were one or two eyewitnesses to an event, we might still be suspicious. How about one or two hundred eyewitnesses? Pretty convincing, yes? But 1 Corinthians tells us that over 500 people claimed to have seen the risen Jesus! And most of them were still alive when this letter was written by Paul. In other words, he was saying, “You don’t believe me? Go ask all those eyewitnesses!” 5. “Only Jesus’ followers claimed to have seen Jesus.” ▪ Read 1 Corinthians 15:7 and Matthew 13:55 — This man, James, was the half- brother of Jesus. Read Mark 3:21. He and his siblings thought that Jesus was what? ▪ Read Acts 9:1 — Before he met Jesus, this man was a Christian terrorist. Now read Acts 9:20,21 which describes this very same man! What made the difference? Here’s the explanation: Acts 9:3-5! TEACHAECRT IINVSITTYR:UCTIONS 1. Invite each group (or a representative from each group) to come up, summarize their point, and, using a marker (or paint brush and paint), draw a line through the theory or theories debunked by their evidence. 2. Proceed through all the groups. You may need to prompt some extra thinking if they get stumped on any of the points. 3. When finished, make the point again: The process of determining what happened when you didn’t physically see something comes down to asking this question: What scenario BEST explains the evidence? When we consider all the evidence together, though it doesn’t actually PROVE that Jesus rose from the dead, it is only reasonable to dismiss THESE theories: Turn over sign #1 to reveal: “ACTUALLY DIED” Turn over sign #2 to reveal: “REALLY BURIED” Turn over sign #3 to reveal: “OPEN and EMPTY TOMB” Turn over sign #4 to reveal: “SEEN (allegedly) BY HUNDREDS” Turn over sign #5 to reveal: “EVEN ENEMIES SAW HIM” 4. The best explanation for all this evidence is that…[Taking your marker, circle the first letters of each of these phrases to spell the word A-R-O-S-E.] …point to your final sign. CONCLUSION: We began the lesson by making the point that many try to disprove the resurrection because then Christianity falls apart. But if it DID happen, what does that mean? [Field responses.] It means that everything else Christ says is true! So did it happen? Listen to this triumphant verse: “But now Christ is risen from the dead” (1 Cor 15:20)! I want to leave you with this question: Are YOU willing to believe where the evidence leads? IF you are prepared to believe in a Jesus who rose from the dead, you have enough faith to be saved and go to Heaven! It is one of the essentials of being saved. Romans 10:9 — “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” He rose from what? The dead. And why did He die? To pay our sin-debt! Do you believe this? Have you received His forgiveness? You can’t base your decision on what people around you — your friends and even your family — have decided. If you are going to be intellectually honest, this will require you to respond appropriately to overwhelming evidence of Jesus’ resurrection! 107

MISSION 3 | LESSON 5 • OPENING ACTIVITY: “DETECTIVE” NOTE TO THE TEACHER: This demonstration should take no more than 5 to 10 minutes. It should provide a solid illustration for the lesson to follow, that even though we were not there to physically see the risen Christ, the evidence we have overwhelmingly points to a bodily resurrection as being the best explanation for the empty tomb of Jesus. IF TIME DOES NOT ALLOW, you can simply present an abbreviated summary of this scenario to lay the groundwork for the lesson. INTRODUCTION: “Now, what’s the evidence? We’re safe to cross out the last sce- [Important: As one of your students comes into the room, hand them nario because these crumbs on the table are REAL, PHYSICAL a note that says, “During my opening game, I’m going to drop a trail EVIDENCE of a real treat. What other evidence do we have?” of crumbs to the person I give a treat to. Please keep your eyes open to see what I do. Don’t show this note to anyone.”] [Invite a student to come up and inspect the table.They should spot the trail of crumbs leading to the student who actually YOU: “I saw this scrumptious donut (or cupcake, cookie, etc.) today ate it.] and couldn’t resist! I thought I would buy one for someone in our class. Any takers?” “Ah-ha! This is CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE: it doesn’t prove any- thing conclusive, but it makes some strong suggestions!” [Take note of someone with their hand up who actually wants “Looks to me like the evidence is strongly suggesting that [student] it so as to avoid giving it to someone who may not be able to ate the donut. Is there any other evidence? Did anyone in the room eat it for dietary reasons.] SEE them eat it?” “Well, it might be yours if you win this simple game.” [Call on the person you instructed to keep their eyes open.] “All you have to do is close your eyes, put your head down (no peek- “So here’s another kind of evidence: EYEWITNESS EVIDENCE.” ing at a watch or phone, or you’ll be disqualified!), and count in your head to 100. The first person to put up their hand — while still [Cross out all explanations except for “A student ate it.”] keeping your head down — closest to 100 seconds according to my watch wins the prize.” “So it’s settled! We have physical evidence (crumbs on the table, showing that it was a real cupcake). We have circumstantial evidence “So, eyes closed, and heads down! Meanwhile, I’m going to walk (crumbs leading to [student]). And we have eyewitness evidence around to make sure no one is peeking.” (someone saw [student] eat it).” [At this point, carefully drop a trail of crumbs to the person Looking at that student, ask: “You stole and ate the donut! Is you’ve pre-selected who is sitting fairly close to the treat. Tap that correct? It’s okay, you can tell the truth — the whole truth and the student on the shoulder, and hold up a note that says, nothing but the truth!” “Quick! Eat it! Put your head back down and say nothing for the rest of this demonstration!” [Hopefully, the student will state that you told him/her to eat it.] YOU: “But can you prove that? Can anyone here prove that?” Go back to the front of the room, and note the person who puts up [Motion to the student you gave the note to.] “Can you prove their hand closest to 100. “Heads up, and I’ll declare the winner! that this is accurate?” [Have the student read the note.] Congratulations to…wait! The treat is gone!” “And that is DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE!” “Okay, now we have a problem. And I want you all to help me here. DRIVE HOME THE POINT... What happened to the donut?” [Field responses.] “There’s only one way for you to figure this out. Come up with pos- “So let me ask you all: Even though the rest of you DID sible scenarios, look for evidence, then follow the process of elimi- NOT actually see what happened, are you confident — based nation. First, what are some possible scenarios?” on the physical, eyewitness, circumstantial, and documentary evidence — that I gave the donut to [student]?” Write these on the board: • Teacher ate it • Teacher hid it • A student ate it • Perhaps Make the point: “The process of determining what hap- the treat was a hologram? pened when you didn’t physically see something happen comes down to asking this question: What scenario BEST “Okay, that last idea sounds ridiculous. But ALL options have to be explains the evidence?” on the table.” 108

FOLLOWING HISTORICAL FACTS Read John 19:31-33 — It was normal procedure for Roman soldiers to speed up the dying process by breaking the legs of those on the cross. (Unable to push themselves up for easier breathing, they eventually suffocated to death.) But when they came to Jesus, they didn't do this. Why not? HISTORICAL FACT — Roman soldiers saw hundreds or even thousands of crucifixions every year. They were experts at killing. In fact, many people died in the beating that came before the crucifixion. Now read John 19:31-33. Read John 19:33,34 — Even today’s medical experts say, “Clearly, the weight of the historical and medical evidence indicates that Jesus was dead before the wound to his side was inflicted” (Journal of the American Medical Association, March 21, 1986). Read: Matthew 27:61 — These women watched as the body of Jesus was buried. Read: Matthew 27:57-60 — A rich man named Joseph (from a region called Arimathea) offered to bury Jesus in his tomb. He could have easily dispelled this theory. Read Matthew 27:65 — After the body was buried, the tomb was secured with a seal. The “seal” was a cord stretched across the stone with Rome’s official logo attached to it. Anyone who broke a Roman seal was executed. Read Matthew 27:66 — Even Pilate (the Roman governor in Judea where Jesus was executed) made sure Jesus’ tomb was well-secured! He assigned a Roman guard (16 soldiers) to protect the burial site. Read Matthew 28:12-15 — Even the authorities realized that the tomb was empty. They had to bribe the soldiers to make up some story about the body being stolen while the soldiers were sleeping! Read: Matthew 27:57-60 — The tomb Jesus was buried in belonged to a rich man named Joseph (from a region called Arimathea). Surely Joseph, the owner of the tomb, would have known if it was empty or not. LOGICAL FACT: If the body was really in the tomb (or a different tomb, as some say), the enemies of Jesus could have produced the body to prove the followers of Jesus wrong. But no body was ever produced. Read 1 Corinthians 15:3-6 — Usually, a myth, or legend, forms many years after an event, when the evidence can no longer be examined. (A myth is a story that lacks evidence.) But we have historical documents, like 1 Corinthians, written soon after the death of Christ, which give testimony of people who claimed to have seen Jesus. Read 1 Corinthians 15:3-6 — If there were one or two eyewitnesses to an event, we might still be suspicious. How about one or two hundred eyewitnesses? Pretty convincing, yes? But 1 Corinthians tells us that over 500 people claimed to have seen the risen Jesus! And most of them were still alive when this letter was written by Paul. In other words, he was saying, “You don’t believe me? Go ask all those eyewitnesses!” Read 1 Corinthians 15:7 and Matthew 13:55 — This man, James, was the half-brother of Jesus. Read Mark 3:21. He and his siblings originally thought that Jesus was what? What happened? Read Acts 9:1 — Before he met Jesus, this man was a Christian terrorist. Now read Acts 9:20,21 which describes this very same man! What made the difference? Here’s the explanation: Acts 9:3-5! 109



MISSION FOUR: THE SUPERNATURAL: JESUS’ MIGHTY ACTS



MISSION 4: JESUS’ SUPERNATURAL POWER — HE DID...WHAT? Preliminary Draft LESSON 1: THE SECRET MIRACLE M4 L1 NOTES BIG IDEA: KEY TEXT:  1. We need to be careful when reading books or CURRICULUM: M.D.3 Obey God’s Word and follow Jesus; M.D.7 Choose to watching shows that depict act upon or obey scripture in daily life; M.D.10 Begin to seek Jesus as a boy or young man. Why? Verse 11 makes it clear God’s purpose for their life. that this was Jesus’ first mi- racle. Anything people claim TAKING AIM: APPLICATION: OBEDIENCE — The secret to God’s blessing: He did before this is based “Do whatever He says.” only on conjecture. PREPARE: 1. Fill a clear pitcher with water. 2. Get a plastic one-litre bottle 2. Three words are used in and a single-serve ketchup packet. 3. Get a regular rock or connection to the acts Jesus performed: “Jesus of Naza- stone. 4. Pour 7-10 drops of iodine into a glass. 5. Pour some bleach into a glass reth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and container and label it “God’s Forgiveness”. wonders and signs” (Acts 2:22). Miracles [dunamis] OPENER: I want to introduce you to our next mission: Mission 3, Examin- highlight the supernatural ing Jesus’ Supernatural Miracles. So where should we begin? power of the event; wonders [teras] refer to the response At what the Bible calls “the beginning”1 of Jesus’ miracles2, when He literally turned in those witnessing it; signs [sēmeion] emphasize the au- water into wine.3 [Pour water into the glass with the iodine drops.] thority behind the one per- forming the act, such as Let’s read this story in John 2:1-11. Then I’ll show you a cool trick with this plastic bottle Moses’ signs, authenticating and packet of ketchup. [Read the passage, then open in prayer.] before Pharaoh that he was God’s representative, Acts Today’s KEY VERSE: “[Jesus’] mother [Mary] said to the servants, ‘Whatever He says 7:36. Interestingly, the word to you, do it’ ” (Jn 2:5). “miracle” [dunamis] is never mentioned in John’s gospel Okay, ready for my trick? Behold! (Watch closely!) Whatever I say, this ketchup packet because John’s stated pur- will obey! pose in writing his gospel is not merely to show Jesus’ [Place the ketchup packet inside the bottle, and fill the bottle with water.] [Familiarize power but, rather, His deity. yourself with this simple object lesson here: https://youtu.be/OM6iC6N12xY If this This is why John uses the link is broken, search “Diving Ketchup – Sick Science! #063\" on YouTube.] word “signs” instead, authen- ticating the validity of Jesus’ At my command, this packet will obey: “Down to the bottom!” [Gently squeeze the claims as God. See Jn bottle until the packet reaches the bottom.] “Up to the top!” [Gently release the bottle 20:30,31.] till the packet is at the top.] “Down halfway! Down to the bottom! Up halfway! To the bottom!” etc. 3. See note under Additional Teacher Notes regarding wine in case the issue of Jesus condoning the drink- ing of alcohol comes up. 113

TRANSITION: Not impressed? Okay! But you can be sure the people in Jesus’ U_ L_ NOTES day were more than impressed with the SUPERNATURAL MIRACLES He performed. And this is our next mission. We are going to examine the SUPERNATURAL power that Jesus displayed when He was on Earth. Jesus merely spoke — and things happened. Storms calmed in an instant. Incurable diseases vanished. Dead people were raised to life. Whatever Jesus commanded, creation obeyed — immediately. Okay, let’s put the breaks on for a minute here. I expect some of you might be think- ing, “Miracles? Really? This sounds kind of like fairy tales.” 2+2+2 So let’s address this before we go any further. Two friends. Two questions. Two minutes per question: Miracles – Are they possible? If so, what’s their purpose? On your mark, get set, GO! [After about five minutes, bring the group back to discuss.] MINI-CHAT: TALKING POINTS — A) Miracles: Are They Possible? — • Many people struggle to believe that Jesus could perform miracles. They say that actions such as turning water into wine, healing incurable diseases, and raising the dead to life go against the laws of nature. And they’re absolutely right — they do! • BUT if Jesus is indeed God, which is who He claimed to be, then it’s only reasonable to believe that He has the power to overrule ANY law of nature — to go beyond the “natural” and do the “supernatural”. He has all the power of God and so is able to ac- complish all the will of God. DEMONSTRATION: Let me demonstrate. [Throw a rock up in the air a safe dis- tance away from the students, and let it drop to the floor.] Can anyone tell me what force, what natural law, was just at work here in front of us? [the law of gravity; the force pulling objects back to the earth] Now look again at the rock. [Hold it up in the air.] Has the law of gravity stopped working on this rock? No. Rather, a force STRONGER than gravity — my muscle power! — has OVERCOME the gravity acting on the rock and is able to hold the rock in the air. So the question is not, Do I believe in miracles, OR do I believe in the laws of nature and science? Instead, I should be asking myself, Do I believe there is a God who MADE the laws of nature and true science? If the answer is YES, then I can easily acknowl- edge that this same God is FAR GREATER than the laws of nature that He Himself created. And if He is greater, and stronger, than His creation, He is certainly able to exert His superior power over ANY part of creation to bring about what we like to call “a miracle”. The Creator God is ALL-POWERFUL over ALL of His creation! With all this in mind, we turn to our second question... 114

B) Miracles: What’s Their Purpose? — U_ L_ NOTES WHY did Jesus perform miracles? To show off His power? Absolutely not! There were many times when Jesus could have shown a mighty display of power and chose not to because He did not want people following Him for the wrong reasons. He was not interested in entertaining people or in using His power to become popular like WE might be tempted to do. Some, like Herod, wanted Jesus to perform a “magic show” for them, simply for the experience. But Jesus performed no miracle for people like him. That was not the purpose of His miracles (see Lk 23:6-12). The Bible says that real love does not “show off”. “Love does not brag, it is not arrogant” (1 Cor 13:4 NASB). Or do you think that maybe Jesus performed miracles in order to vindicate Himself, to prove once and for all that people were wrong about Him? No, because verse 11 tells us that this was only the “beginning” of His miracles. He hadn’t done any prior to this. So, for 30 years, many people thought Jesus was an “illegitimate child” (see John 8:41) because of the unusual circumstances surrounding His birth (Luke 1:30–38). Now He’s gathering a following of disciples, claiming publicly to be God’s Son, AND His own half-brothers think He’s crazy (Mk 3:21)! Surely He could put on some spectacular show and “prove Himself” to be exactly who He said He was. But no. In fact, He performed His first miracle more or less in secret! So what WAS the purpose of Jesus’ miracles? Something far greater and higher than any of these things. John explains. [Have a student read John 20:30,31 aloud.] We need to let this really sink in: Jesus performed miracles to provide solid evidence that He truly is God’s Son. Why? So that WE WOULD BELIEVE ON HIM — AND BE SAVED! As we step into this new unit and think about some of the amazing miracles Jesus performed, I pray that your hearts will be willing to accept that Jesus really did do these things. I’d like you to go off and complete an activity that explores this first miracle of Jesus. ACTIVITY: Complete the activity: “The Secret Lesson Behind the Secret Miracle” WHOLE GROUP: [Talking points for first question: Perhaps raise a dead man, near the temple in Jerusalem, during Passover or some other religious holiday, when thousands of people would be around to witness it? Maybe write His name in the stars for the world to see? Command a mountain to dis- appear…heal a deadly disease before big crowds? Well, Jesus did just the opposite. His first miracle was way up in Cana, in the region of Galilee, far north from Jerusa- lem. And it was not carried out in front of a large audience but in a back corner, wit- nessed only by His mother, His disciples, and a few servants.] It’s kind of surprising that Jesus chose to do His first miracle behind the scenes with very few people even knowing about it. But this helps us to understand an important lesson: Jesus IS all-powerful and IS able to do mighty things, but He calls US to place our faith in Him and to show the reality of our faith by obeying His word. We see this in each of these five miracles. 115

APPLICATION: We began by noticing that, when Jesus spoke, creation U_ L_ NOTES responded immediately. The question I want leave you with is this: Are you as quick to obey whatever Jesus says? Remember the words of Mary: “Whatever He says, do it!” These words were not spoken to nature. They were spoken to people. We, meaning every man, woman, and child, are called to “do wha- tever Jesus says”. We’ll also see that there is often a link between our obeying Jesus, in faith, and His working in remarkable ways. But you know what? Jesus wants to perform an even greater miracle — today, in this very room, IN YOU! This miracle is much greater than turning water into wine. [Hold up the glass representing the wine in the story.] Listen to the prophet Isaiah: “‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool’” (Isa 1:18). Jesus wants to do THAT to YOU! In Isaiah’s day, it was common practice to crush little worms, called “crimson worms”, after they had died. The powder that resulted from this crushing would be added to water and used to create a deep red dye for garments. People simply dipped their garments into this dye to stain them red. Similarly, our hearts are “dyed” by sin; they are terribly stained from all our wrongdo- ing against the perfectly holy God. In fact, we are so stained by sin that there is no hope for us to ever get rid of our stains on our own. So, what CAN you do? Well, you could try to do a whole lot of “good works”, or try to be super-religious. [Add more water.] But does that get rid of sin’s ugly stains? Not at all! And this is where the words of Jesus’ mother come in. What did she say? “Whatever He says, do it!” The ketchup packet in my opening exercise obviously wasn’t “doing whatever I said”. I was controlling it. But it’s different with Jesus. He gives us the abil- ity to choose and the opportunity to willingly obey or disobey whatever He says to us. What does Jesus say? He says, “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me — or at least believe on account of the works themselves” (Jn 14:11 BSB). “Be- lieve Me!” He says. Believe that Jesus really is God’s Son. Believe that He really died in your place. Believe that, by taking our punishment and paying our debt, He made it possible for God to forgive your sins. TWO REASONS YOU MIGHT REJECT THIS: 1. You don’t want to give up your current lifestyle. You think that Jesus is going to wreck all your fun. But did you notice this? When was the “best” wine typically served at weddings in Jesus’ day? See verses 9 and 10. [At the beginning of the reception] Yet what Jesus provided at the end was better than their best. Life application: Don’t be fooled into thinking this world can make you happy. What Jesus offers is better than even the very best this world has to offer. The world promises happiness — but it’s only temporary and leaves a bitter aftertaste of shame and regret. “The blessing of the LORD makes one [spiritually and eternally] rich, and He adds no sorrow with it” (Prov 10:22). 116

2. You don’t find any of this logical. Guess what! That’s probably exactly how the U_ L_ NOTES servants in our story felt: • “You want us to fill those waterpots with…water? But they didn’t run out of water; they ran out of wine!” • “You want us to carry enough water to fill those SIX waterpots — about 120 gallons — all the way back from the well?” • “You need grapes to make wine!” • “Wine takes time. Sure, I guess God does regularly turn water into wine, but not in a DAY! Certainly ot in a single MOMENT!” On and on those servants could have argued that Jesus’ way of doing things made no sense. But instead they simply obeyed His words. As with all these other miracles, WHEN people exercised faith in His Word and obeyed Him, the change — the miracle — happened. And so it will be for us. Here’s the point: Only when you admit you’re a sinner needing God’s forgiveness will the spiritual miracle happen: “your sins [which] are like scarlet…shall be as white as snow.” [Pour the bleach into the iodine water.] The Bible calls this “the obedience of faith” (cf Rom 1:5). It requires God’s Word to us, then our obedience to God’s Word. This is our ONLY hope, our only guarantee, of this miracle called salvation. UH OH... And what happens to those who don’t “obey” His word through faith? “[Jesus Christ] will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus” (2 Thes 1:8). To be perfectly loved by God but eternally lost is the most tragic thing possible! Imagine spending eternity rehearsing over and over in your mind the opportunities you had, like today, to receive God’s forgiveness and His gift of salvation and Heaven. All that was required from you was “to do whatever He says”, to take Him at His word and obey Him — but you chose instead to ignore Him. CONCLUSION: Who wants to guess how many miracles of Jesus were recorded by John? [Seven, plus the resurrection] How many miracles were recorded in total, including John and the other three gospels? [Thirty- seven] How many miracles did Jesus actually perform in His three years of public ministry? Hmmm… I need someone to read the very last verse of John’s final chapter. “And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen” (Jn 21:25). That’s A LOT of miracles! YET all those physical miracles which, if recorded, the entire world could not hold, cannot compare to the ONE spiritual miracle Jesus wants to record in the only Book that really matters — the Lamb’s Book of Life: “And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire” (Rev 20:15; see also 13:8; 21:27). Jesus wants to write YOUR name in HIS Book of Life! Have you allowed Jesus to perform the great miracle of washing your heart clean, as white as snow? Is your name written in His Book of Life? 117

ADDITIONAL TEACHER NOTES WHAT ABOUT THOSE WORKS: WHAT ABOUT THAT WINE: Did Jesus Really Performed Miracles? Did Jesus Really Encourage Social Drinking? Though there were no pictures or videos in Jesus’ day It would be easy for students to interpret this account to prove that His miracles really happened, there is as Jesus condoning the drinking of alcohol. Is this still plenty of evidence. What is it? true? First: Scriptures — Even the enemies of Jesus To be clear, the Bible never calls drinking alcohol a admitted that He did miracles: “Then the chief priests sin. However, drinking alcohol can very easily lead to and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, three dangerous sins: 1. Drunkenness (Gal 5:21; Eph ‘What shall we do? For this Man works many signs 5:18); 2. becoming enslaved to it (2 Pet 2:19); and, 3. [miracles]’” (Jn. 11:47). And what evidence is there causing a weaker Christian to stumble and be- outside of the Bible? come mastered by alcohol (Rom 14:13, 21). In connec- tion to these last two points, we would be wise to Second: Silence — There is no rebuttal, no denial, in heed the advice of R.A. Torrey: “If you can do without any early historical documents (“works of antiquity”) it, do without it for your brother’s sake. If you can’t do claiming that Jesus did NOT perform miracles. You without it, do without it for your own sake.” would think that all the haters (and there were many of them) would have done all they could to discredit It should also be noted that in Jesus’ day wine was the claims that Jesus performed miracles. But they generally more diluted and less potent than alcohol didn’t! In fact, just the opposite is true… today, an important fact when thinking through these issues. Third: Early Sources — WHAT ABOUT THAT TERM “WOMAN”: A) FIRST CENTURY: JOSEPHUS was a Jewish Did Jesus Really Call His Mother That? historian born in 37 AD, four years after Jesus died, so he grew up at a time when Christianity was just To our ears in western culture in the 21st century, this beginning. The life and miracles of Jesus were response sounds harsh — and even downright fresh in the minds of everyone in Judea. Josephus offensive. Vine’s Commentary explains: “‘WOMAN’ is said that this Jesus was a “doer of wonderful a term not of reproof or severity, but of endearment works”. or respect.” We can see the truth of this when noticing the other times Jesus used the term B) SECOND CENTURY: TERTULLIAN was a historian “Woman” when addressing a lady. For example: who lived about 120 years after Jesus died. He wrote that Jews of his day viewed Jesus as a • When speaking with His mother at the cross: “magician” because of His special powers. “Woman, behold your son” (Jn 19:26), when lovingly placing her into the care of John. C) THIRD to SIXTH CENTURY: THE TALMUD is a collection of Jewish writings from the THIRD to • When speaking with the Samaritan woman: SIXTH centuries. In it, Jesus is repeatedly referred “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you to as a “sorcerer”, and they said that He used will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, “magical healing”. Though they used these terms worship the Father” (Jn 4:21). He was not speaking in a negative way, they give clear evidence to His disrespectfully to her. In fact, the Lord lovingly supernatural powers. purposed to go through Samaria just so He could reach her with the gospel. Obviously, these miracles made a lasting impression. They were still being talked about and written about • When speaking with the woman caught in adultery 500-600 years after they occurred. and brought before Jesus by her accusers. After exposing THEIR sin, they left. Jesus looked up in tender compassion: “Woman, where are those accusers of yours?” (Jn 8:10). 118

ADDITIONAL TEACHER NOTES U_ L_ NOTES • When, after rising from the dead, speaking with Mary Magdalene at the tomb who was weeping because His body was no longer there: “Woman, why are you weeping?” (Jn 20:15). No disrespect here; in fact, just the opposite: Jesus honoured Mary by allowing her to be the first to see Him alive again. WHAT ABOUT THOSE WORDS: Did Jesus Really Speak Harshly? “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” Ouch! Did Jesus really speak that way to His mother? These words sound cold and callous to us, don’t they? The fact is, Jesus had to make something clear to Mary. Let me explain… The only glimpse we get of Jesus in His childhood was when He was in the temple having a conversation with the religious leaders. Following that, we read that Jesus returned to Nazareth and was “subject” to His earthly parents (Lk 2:51). In other words, while growing up, Jesus placed Himself under His parents’ authority. But here, by making this statement in John 2, Jesus marks a major shift in roles. Now, as He begins His public ministry, Jesus is exclusively under the direction of His heavenly Father and His timetable. Try to put yourself in Mary’s shoes: they are at a wedding (likely of relatives), and the wine runs out. This would be a public shame to the families hosting the event. Knowing her Son was God, Mary thought it very sensible to go directly to Jesus to fix the problem. Ah! Good idea! At the first sign of a problem, go directly to Jesus! “Go ahead and make wine for everyone to see!” Not only would this save the family some public shame, but it would also vindicate Jesus, Mary, and God — all by one grand display of His power. After all, though Mary had been informed by an angel that her child was God in the flesh, Jesus performed no miracles up to this point (2:11) that would validate that claim before an unbelieving world. As mentioned, others had believed Jesus to be an “illegitimate child” (Jn 8:41; Lk 1:30- 38), and His own half-brothers thought He was “out of His mind” (Mk 3:21). This would be a perfect opportunity for Him to put all those notions to rest. Humanly speaking, we can see why Mary thought this would be a good idea. But Jesus replied, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” In other words, “Your idea doesn’t fit my Father’s timetable.” He was making it known that what had been a Mother/Son relationship was now a Master/Servant relationship — He being her Master and she being His servant. Mary willingly and humbly put herself under HIS authority and urged the servants to do the same: “Whatever He says, do it!” Interestingly, no other words of Mary are recorded in all the rest of Scripture, and the only other time we see her is at the cross. She willingly faded into the background and allowed Jesus to fulfill the work He was sent to do. May we learn these valuable lessons from Mary: Go to Jesus when we have problems. Then sit back, and let Him do whatever He deems best. 119

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MISSION 4: JESUS’ SUPERNATURAL POWER — HE DID...WHAT? Preliminary Draft LESSON 2: THE REMOTE MIRACLE M4 L2 NOTES BIG IDEA: KEY TEXT:  “SECRET” POUCH CURRICULUM: M.K.4 Identify the relationship of Jesus to the Gospel and to one’s personal and present life; M.S.6 Make application of scripture to daily life; M.D.3 Obey God’s Word and follow Jesus; M.D.7 Choose to act upon or obey scripture in daily life TAKING AIM: APPLICATION: FAITH — Faith is taking God at His Word — even when it doesn’t make sense to us. PREPARE: 1. You will need to create a “secret pouch” inside a paper bag. Simply cut a paper bag in half vertically, as shown on the left, and glue it inside a full paper bag. See bag diagram at the end of this lesson. 2. Place a Kit-Kat (or another “flat” chocolate bar) inside the secret pouch. 3. Prepare a tray with the following items: cocoa powder (or hot chocolate powder), sugar, two single-serving dairy creamers, a Kit-Kat wrapper. 4. Each student will need scissors and a glue stick. OPENER: Ask, Do we have a Kit-Kat lover in the class by chance? [Select a willing participant to come up. Have the student look inside your paper bag. Be sure to hold it in such a way that the “secret pouch” containing the Kit-Kat cannot be detected.] Can you please report to the class what is in this bag? [Nothing.] [Hold up the bag so the entire class can see inside. Ask the student to place the Kit-Kat ingredients into the bag, one at a time. Be sure they avoid the GLUE BOTH SIDE PANELS secret pouch.] [Turn to the class and say]: What I’m about to demonstrate is what the Bible calls ‘faith’ — taking someone at their word, based on the trustworthiness of the person giving their word. Now, I’m not perfect, but I know that lying is a sin. So I’m asking [student’s name] to trust me: I am not lying when I say that I am now going to pull out of this bag an actual Kit-Kat chocolate bar. [Turn to the student]: [Student’s name], will you please take me at my word when I say I’m going to pull out an actual Kit-Kat? It will only work if you believe me. Will you believe me? [This object lesson is fool-proof. If the student says “No,” open up the bag to show only the ingredients, then choose another student who’s willing to believe you. At the point when a student declares they will take you at your word, pull the chocolate bar out of the secret pouch and give it to the believing student.] 121

TRANSITION: Today, I want us to really understand how important it is to M4 L2 NOTES take Jesus at His word. After Jesus met with the Samaritan woman (remember her?), He went back up to Cana in Galilee. Notice, this is His second trip to Cana. Jesus performed two miracles here (see John 4:54). In the first, he provided joy at a wedding (v.46), and in today’s story, He provides life to a dying boy. In these two miracles, we see the two-fold purpose for Jesus coming to this world: to bring us eternal life and to fill our daily experience with joy and purpose. “I have come that you might have life and life more abundantly” (Jn 10:10). Jesus removes sadness, like this son’s recovery, and adds gladness, like at the wedding. But please listen carefully. Both of these miracles happened because, in each case, someone simply took Jesus at His Word. Let’s read about the wedding. [Have a student read John 2:5-9.] Now let’s look more carefully at our second example of real faith, of someone simply taking Jesus at His Word. ACTIVITY: I know talking about the death of a loved one can be really hard, especially if we were close to that person. Today we’ll learn about a father whose son was really sick (John 4:46). In your activity, you’ll put together the pieces of this story to see what led that father on a journey to Jesus. [Have students work on activity sheet.] — ANSWERS — 1. Read the questions/clues at the right. 2. Determine the answer using the verse references and the Answer Key at the bottom. 3. Write each answer in its corresponding path piece. a) The Greek word for “child” used in v.49 [paidion, literally, “my little one”; possibly a newborn, see Luke 2:21, or a young boy, see Matthew 18:2] b) The distance between Capernaum and Cana; see if you can find a map to help [20 miles]. c) The word that indicates this man’s status in society [official – in other trans- lations: nobleman, royal official, government official, officer of the king's court] d) Three active verbs used to describe the father’s actions in verse 47 [He heard, went, and asked.] e) What the man asked Jesus to do, v.47 and v.49 [Come!] f) The verse with Jesus’ rather “rough” reply [verse 48] g) What Jesus did instead of going with the father, v. 50a [Jesus just spoke.] h) The discovery the father made when he heard the servant’s report: The boy was healed at…, vv.51-53 [the very moment Jesus spoke] i) What these other stories have in common with this one: see Matt 8:5-13; 15:21-28. Jesus healed these people… [from a distance] 122

WHOLE GROUP: Let’s go through your answers. Then, at the end, you’re going M4 L2 NOTES to ‘see’ something that you can’t see right now! A) Young child – Imagine how hard it would be for that father to leave his baby or young child who was “about to die”. We learn from verse 52 that the boy was burning up from a very high fever. B) 20 miles! – Plus, Cana sat about 1,250 feet (382 meters) above Capernaum (right beside the Sea of Galilee). Imagine walking uphill for 20 miles. This was at least one full day’s journey on foot — no cars, trains, or buses! This father was willing to go to great lengths to help his son. C) Official – This word is used in three other places (Acts 12:20, 21; James 2:8), all of which confirm that his man was a royal official and likely worked directly for King Herod Antipas. So he had likely already tried every remedy that power could demand and money could buy. But all else had failed. Jesus was his only hope! D) He heard, went, and asked. – This is what God’s Word says is needed for us to be healed from our sin disease. We hear God’s report: We are guilty sinners in need of God’s spiritual healing. Then we are to go to Him personally. This father didn’t send one of his many servants; he went himself. We must have a personal encounter with Jesus. Finally, we must ask Him for forgiveness of our sins. E) Come! – This man’s request reveals two misunderstandings about Jesus. The first misunderstanding is that Jesus needed to be physically with the boy to heal him (v.47). The second is that Jesus needed to help before the boy died, or it would be too late (v.49). A woman named Martha (John 11:21) later thought the same thing about her brother. But Jesus was capable even of raising the boy from death. F) Verse 48 – Jesus had just performed many miracles down in Jerusalem (see v.45; 3:2). And it seems the people were more impressed with what He did than they were with who He was. They needed to understand that Jesus is much more than a miracle-worker: He is God in human flesh! Yet we see that the father asked again, and again…showing that he honestly believed Jesus was his only hope and that He could heal his boy. In fact, the word “asked” is in the imperfect tense, which means that he kept on asking! G) Jesus just spoke. – Jesus was testing this man’s faith. Just like the people of Jesus’ day, people today say, ‘I’ll believe when I see…’ They base their belief on things they can see, like supernatural signs or miracles. But the Bible says that Satan is also able to produce certain miraculous signs and wonders, and he uses these to deceive people who don’t want to believe truth (see 2 Thes 2:9,10). We are not to base our faith on feelings, dreams, visions, or so-called miraculous events. We are to base our faith on God’s Word: “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Rom 10:17, NKJV). Jesus was giving this man the opportunity to prove his faith to simply take Jesus at His word, without any visible display of miraculous power. H) The very moment Jesus spoke – You may have people in your life who have made promises only to break them. Jesus, however, is 100% true to His word. I) From a distance – God isn’t bound by distance! The centurion in Matthew 8:8 understood this. It’s amazing that, though God runs the universe, He is, at the same time, “a God near at hand”…and “a God afar off” (Jer 23:23). 123

SURPRISE ENDING... M4 L2 NOTES Now that we’ve had a chance to dissect this story, I want to finish with a final activity to help you see the most important part of this lesson. 1. With a pair of scissors, cut out the path pieces. Lay them out so the letters a-i overlap the corresponding letters on the sheet entitled “Putting the Pieces Together”. The people of Jesus’ day wanted to see before they would believe. But Jesus says, in effect, I want you to take Me at My word because I am faithful. This is true faith. 2. After the students have finished, they will “see” the word “FAITH”. 3. Briefly recap each part of the story, and have the students write the words (from below: far/ask/instant/trusted Jesus’ word/household) in the white boxes beneath the letters: F: Far – The boy needing Jesus’ help was far from Jesus. Twenty miles is a long way when someone is about to die and you have to travel by foot, uphill! Perhaps, because of the sins you’ve committed, you feel very far from God. The truth is, because of our sin, we are ALL far from God. But the good news is that Jesus, God the Son, came to us! He travelled all the way from Heaven to Earth — a whole lot further than 20 miles! — to save us. Why? He wants to bring us near to Himself: “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Eph 2:13). How can we brought near to God, into His very family, in fact? A: Ask – This father was sincere in asking for Jesus’ help. Though he was wealthy and influential, those things could not fix this problem. He needed Jesus to step in, and he knew it. Similarly, nothing we are or have can fix our sin problem. We must ask for God’s forgiveness — personally, sincerely. “For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon You” (Ps 86:5). I: Instant – Note the father’s question to the servants: ‘When did he begin to get better?’ Perhaps he thought that the boy’s healing would be gradual. Or perhaps he was just confirming what he believed must be true. Sure enough, his boy was healed at the very instant when Jesus had spoken the word! And so it is when we ask God for forgiveness. It isn’t gradual; it doesn’t come through a lifetime of good works. Forgiveness is instantaneous for the one who believes. Listen to this promise. [Emphasize the word HAS as a present possession.] “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (Jn 5:24). T: Trusted Jesus’ Word – Notice, the man didn’t ask questions or doubt Jesus. As soon as Jesus spoke the word, “Go; your son will live,” the father believed, then went on his way, proving that he believed. In the NIV, verse 50 says, “The man took Jesus at His word…” Interestingly, we read again a few verses later that the father ‘believed’ when he heard the servant’s report. What does this mean? Did he believe a second time? No, but his faith grew deeper. This is God’s desire for us — not just that we would believe and be saved, but that our faith would continue to grow and deepen as we continually take God at His word and see Him work in our lives. 124

H: Household – “This event didn’t just impact that boy or his father. It impacted their M4 L2 NOTES entire household — the other family members and workers in the home. When they saw what happened, they also believed! The same holds true for us. We must never think that our life only impacts us. God is working in your life to draw you closer to Himself. But He is also working so that through you He might draw others to Himself. See Matthew 5:16. If you have experienced God’s spiritual cleansing through forgiveness, share that good news with others, and start with those closest to you. Can you imagine how happy that meeting would have been between the father and his son who had been made well? This is just a faint glimpse of what it will be like when God’s children reach Heaven and are reunited with their loved ones who have gone there too!” APPLICATION: Have you personally come to receive the Lord’s spiritual healing? ▪ There is one feature that I really admire about this father, something we all need: humility. We read at first that this father ‘asked’ for Jesus’ help. In the Greek, this particular word ‘ask’ was often used when someone was requesting a favor from someone who was their equal*. Remember, this man was a royal official. He was used to getting things he asked for on the spot. Perhaps he con- sidered his position in society as the reason he should receive this special favor. But by the end of the story, he no longer thinks of Jesus as his equal. Instead, he calls Jesus, “SIR” — a term of respect! This man had come to place himself under the authority of Jesus. Imagine a royal official humbling himself and asking a favor of a carpenter’s son! Ah! But Jesus is much more than a carpenter’s son. He is God! If we are going to be “healed” from our sin-disease, we must, like this man, first humble ourselves and admit that we are hopeless without Jesus, God’s Son! What about those of you who HAVE received forgiveness? Have you shared the good news with your family and friends? ▪ This nobleman had never personally seen Jesus perform a miracle. (The miracle at the wedding was known initially only by the servants and the disciples; then Jesus went to Jerusalem.) This father had only heard about Jesus. Was it from those at the wedding where Jesus turned the water to wine? Was it from Nathaniel, one of Jesus’ disciples, who also lived in Capernaum? Or had this father heard about the miracles Jesus had performed in Jerusalem (3:2)? We don’t know. But the fact is that this man had heard about Jesus from someone. Someone had planted a seed that eventually led this man to come to Christ. When we share the good news of God’s salvation with others, we are either plant- ing seeds or watering a seed that someone else already planted (see 1 Cor 3:6). And who knows? That seed may result in that person having their sins forgiven, entering into a relationship with God, and one day going to Heaven for eternity! * VINES: “more frequently suggests that the petitioner is on a footing of equality or familiarity with the person whom he requests. It is used of a king in making request from another king, Luke 14:32.” 125

CONCLUSION: This story had a happy ending. The boy received physical life M4 L2 NOTES from Jesus. Sadly, not every story ends this way. Maybe you prayed for a loved one to be restored to physical health but that didn’t happen. But we need to remember that Jesus had something much bigger in mind than only the boy’s physical health. Jesus desired to give the boy, his father, and all their household the eternal gift of spiritual life — which they gladly received. That is the real miracle! We all will die physically one day. That’s a fact. But are we prepared for what comes after death? Be sure that you take Jesus at His word and receive His forgiveness today! 126

PUTTING THE PIECES TOGETHER Capernaume START HERE Sea of 1. Read John 4:43-54. Galilee 2. Read the clues at the right. 3. Determine the answer using the verse a) The Greek word for “child” used in v. 49 references and Answer Key below. b) The distance between Capernaum and Cana; see if you can 4. Write each answer in its find a map to help. corresponding path piece. c) The word that indicates this man’s status in society c b h i f d) Three active verbs describing the father’s actions in verse 47 a g e) What the man asked Jesus to do, v. 47 and v. 49 127 d f) The verse with Jesus' rather “rough” reply g) What Jesus did instead of going with the father, v. 50a Cana h) The discovery the father made when he heard the servant's report: The boy Cana is approximately 20 miles southwest of Capernaum. was healed at…, vv. 51-53. — ANSWER KEY — i) What these other stories have in common with this one: see Matt 8:5-13; 15:21-28. Jesus healed these people… the very moment Jesus spoke He heard, went, and asked. Come! Jesus just spoke. 20 miles (32 km) from a distance Verse 48 “paidion” (“my little one”) “official” M4 U/2L:L23AACCTTIIVVIITY –(aA)

PUTTING THE PIECES TOGETHER NAME: THE BIBLE TERM FOR... “TAKING JESUS AT HIS WORD”: a c ef h d 128 b gi SUMMARY KEY WORDS M4 / L2 ACTIVITY – B U2:L3 ACTIVITY (b) So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17)

MISSION 4: JESUS’ SUPERNATURAL POWER — HE DID...WHAT? Preliminary Draft LESSON 3: THE SMORGASBORD MIRACLE M4 L3 NOTES BIG IDEA: KEY TEXT:  CURRICULUM: M.K.4 Identify the relationship of Jesus to the Gospel and to one’s personal and present life; M.S.6 Make application of scripture to daily life TAKING AIM: APPLICATION: AVAILABILITY — God isn’t looking for amazing superstars but available servants. PREPARE: To Get: If possible, cotton candy for all students; scrap paper for intro game; a delicious-looking loaf of bread. (Have some butter on hand in case you have time to give each student a piece to eat at the end.) To Do: Make six slices of bread out of paper, and glue each group’s activity inside each slice. Post the slices backwards on the board. See illustration as an example. OPENER: [Note: If you’re able, have some cotton candy on hand for all students as a prize for this game.] On a piece of paper, try your best to complete these three quotes. There will be a prize for each person who gets at least one correct. #1 “The only thing we have to fear is…[fear itself].” This is a quote from Theodore Roosevelt’s inauguration speech in 1933, though it can be traced originally to 16th century French writer Michel de Montaigne who said, “The thing of which I have most fear is fear.” #2 “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and... [ I learn]. At- tributed to Benjamin Franklin. #3 “Never let the fear of striking out keep you from... [playing the game]. Babe Ruth. #4 “That’s one small step for man, one…[giant leap for mankind].” This declaration was made by Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the moon. #5 “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting… [different results].” These words are credited to Albert Einstein, a world-famous physicist. [Hopefully, you can award everyone some cotton candy.] Now, while you’re enjoying your treat, here’s one more statement I’d like you to try to complete. It’s from the famous American actor, Jim Carey (“The Grinch”): “I wish that everyone could get rich and famous and have everything they ever dreamed of so that they would…” [Field answers from students, then reveal the real ending: “…so that they would know that’s not the answer.”] 129

TRANSITION: Did that final statement surprise you, coming from someone M4 L3 NOTES like Jim Carey? Why or why not? [Field responses.] Jim Carey is telling us that the things which the world says we should chase after really aren’t as satisfying as we think. Just like this cotton candy, the world’s pleasures can be really sweet and tasty — but they only last for a moment, and then they’re suddenly gone — forever! What’s more, a steady diet of cotton candy would prove terrible for your health, and — think about this — it will never actually satisfy your deep hunger. This was the lesson Jesus taught a crowd that He spoke to in John 6. In fact, this message, and the miracle Jesus performs with it, is so important for us to hear that God directed the men who wrote His Word to include it in ALL FOUR gospels — Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Jesus does not want us to miss this! So, what is it? We learn here that there are two kinds of hunger: physical hunger and spiritual hunger. Sadly, many people think they can satisfy their deep spiritual hunger by feeding and filling up on physical pleasures. But that’s just not true. Before we look at John 6, let’s take a minute to see what God calls this kind of wrong thinking. In Luke 12, God actually calls it “foolish”. There, we read of an incredibly rich man. The way he speaks tells us that he is trying to find satisfaction in physical things. Listen to his words as he literally talks to his own soul: “And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry’” (v19). [Draw an outline of a person. Then draw a circle where the heart would be.] This rich man thought he could satisfy his soul [point to circle] by satisfying his physical desires [point to everywhere outside that circle]. How did God respond? “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’ Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God” (vv 20-21, NLT). So what does Jesus say WILL fill our empty hearts and souls? Something called “The Bread of Life”. Any guesses what that might be? [Field responses.] The Bread of Life is none other than Jesus Christ Himself! Key Verse: “Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst’” (Jn 6:35). We might put it this way: Jesus said to them, ‘I am the Bread that GIVES life — satisfying, lasting, spiritual life.’ The bread we buy in the grocery store simply sustains physical life: it gets us through another day. But the life that Jesus gives satisfies our deep spiritual hunger and lasts for eternity. ACTIVITY: Let’s go into groups. I’ll give each group a “slice” of the story to consider. Read, discuss, and prepare to share your part of the story in point form or with pictures. Then we’ll meet back up and put our sandwich together. [Point to the bread sheets on the board.] I’ll provide the first and the last “slices”. [Turn over the first piece of bread.]: 130

1. THE PASSOVER: [Read as a class John 6:1-4.] M4 L3 NOTES Ask: Can anyone give us any information on this celebration called the Passover? About 1,500 years before Jesus came to Earth, God called a man named Moses to deliver His people, the Hebrews (Israel), out of slavery in Egypt, and to lead them through the wilderness into a land that God had promised to give them. The first Passover took place the night that God delivered His people. The death angel would pass through the land, and the firstborn in every home — of both people and animals — would die. BUT those who believed God and obeyed Him by putting the blood of a perfect lamb on their doorposts would be spared: the death angel would “pass over” their home, and their firstborn would live. After the Passover, Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt, told the Hebrews to leave, and they spent the next 40 years on a wilderness journey. Does anyone know what God fed them on this journey? Bread from Heaven! They called it manna, which simply means “What is it?” for they had never seen anything like it before. [Suggestion: On your slice of bread, draw several dots representing the 2.5 million Hebrews in the wilderness. Then draw tiny circles coming down from the sky, rep- resenting manna.] These people in John 6 were getting ready to celebrate this feast, the Passover. Since this story was now fresh on everyone’s mind, Jesus took the opportunity to teach them about the true bread from Heaven. OKAY, NOW IT’S YOUR TURN. [Divide the class into groups, and have them read their assigned text, discuss the information provided, and fill in their pieces of bread with bullet points or pictures to highlight the main point.] 2. THE PROBLEM: [Read vv 5-9.] There were a few different suggestions as to how to solve this problem. Read each passage, and match it to its corresponding description. Mark 6:35-36 “Send them away.” Let’s deal with the problem by not dealing with it! Let the people fend for themselves. John 6:5,7 Jesus tested Philip, “Where are we to buy food?\" Philip’s response? Human logic and wisdom. He does the calculations, hoping he can make it work. John 6:8-9 Let’s take what we have to Jesus and let Him solve the problem for us. Discuss: How are our responses to various problems that we face similar to these responses? [Teacher Note: How similar this is to us when it comes to the problem of our sin. We try to ignore the issue: Turn a blind eye, and maybe the problem will go away. Or we try to fix the problem ourselves in our own wisdom: Be a good person, do religious activities, help others, etc. Surely, God will be impressed! But the only way to properly deal with our sin problem is to do what Andrew did: Just come to Jesus. He alone can fix us!] 131

3. THE PROVISION: [Read vv 10-14.] M4 L3 NOTES How many people do you suppose Jesus fed that day? 5000? Close…well, not really. 1. Some other interesting “But that’s what the verse says!” Remember, three other men also recorded this manna facts: event. Matthew adds an important detail in Matthew 14:21. What is it? [There were • Described as “small” (Num also “women and children”.] With that added information, how many do you suppose 11:7 NLT; Jesus humbled Jesus fed that day? Himself and was made “small” in that sense, Phil [Teacher Note: If most of those men had wives, that would equal close to 2:5-8); “white” (Exo 16:31; 10,000. And if most of those couples had at least one child, it would total close Jesus is holy, 1 Jn 3:5); and to 15,000. So Jesus likely fed 15 to 20 thousand people! And not only did He “sweet” (Ex 16:31; Jesus is provide a “little” (see v 7); Jesus provided more than enough. (“And when they sweet to all who know Him, had eaten their fill”, v 12, there were12 baskets of leftovers, v 13.)] Psa 34:8). • Amazing! The whole plan This tells me that God has a big heart. In fact, His heart is so big that He invites of God’s salvation is seen in EVERYONE to come join Him in His Heavenly Home, not just to enjoy a meal, these descriptive words: but to enjoy HIM…forever! JESUS came from HEAVEN. Born in the House of Bread. 4. THE PICTURE: SMALL: He humbled Himself, came in human flesh, though After Jesus fed the crowd, they went away. But they all came back the next day. pure and sinless. For what Why? See John 6:26. [To get more bread!] purpose? To die and pay for our sins so God could accept [Teacher Note: Many people, like this crowd, “like” Jesus for all the great things us. And not only does He He can do for them. They see Him as a heavenly Fed Ex delivery man — the save us, but He satisfies one who brings the goods. This is the underlying thought of the verse. But us, like that sweet manna Jesus wants us to know and enjoy HIM!] satisfied those people. BUT, though this offer is extended What was Jesus’ response? [See v 27.] What do you think Jesus meant by these to everyone, only those words? who “receive” Christ enjoy eternal life. [“Don’t labour for the food that perishes…” In other words, there is something much 2. “One may say of books more important than satisfying your physical hunger. You have a soul hunger that in a library, ‘look at all that only I can satisfy.] knowledge.’ But this is not knowledge. It becomes so Jesus is going to teach these people an important lesson by using physical bread as only if the books are taken a picture of something greater: spiritual bread! inwardly by personal accept- ance” (J.P. Allen). The same is Read John 16:31-34. Jesus explains that manna was a picture of Him. The manna true of the Bread of Life: only satisfied the people physically and temporarily, but He is “the TRUE Bread” which when one receives Christ by satisfies the soul eternally.1 faith does He impart His life to you. Your challenge is to connect these two stories — God’s people eating manna in the wilderness [point to the slice of bread labelled PASSOVER] and Jesus presenting Himself as the True Bread — to see what they have in common. 1. Where did the manna of Exodus 16 come from? [Heaven, not man-made] Where did Jesus come from? (He mentions this seven times: 6:33, 38, 41, 42, 50, 51, 58.) 2. What else does God call manna? (v 31) [Bread] What is the meaning of Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus? [“House of Bread”] 3. Who benefitted from the manna? [Only those who ate it] Who benefits from the Bread of Life? [Only those who receive Jesus]2 132

5. THE PERSONAL APPLICATION: M4 L3 NOTES ▪ Read Matthew 14:20. Who ate the bread that day? Everyone who chose to receive the bread (ALL of them). ▪ Read John 6:11. How much did each person eat? As much as they wanted! ▪ How much did each person have to pay for their meal? Nothing. It was a free gift. ▪ Read John 6:13. How much food was left over? 12 full baskets. They was plenty for everyone, and then some! [After taking this up, say]: I want to read one more verse for you. [Read Matthew 14:16. Then explain]: I believe Jesus has given these words to me as your teacher! I don’t want you to go away without receiving the Bread of Life! But here’s the thing: I can present the Bread. But it’s up to you to receive it. Can anyone tell me from the text what Jesus did before He shared the bread with the people? [He gave thanks, John 6:11, 23.] This is what God in Heaven is waiting for you to do. In the quietness of your own heart, simply say “thank you” to God the Father for providing His Son as the Bread of Life. And then receive Him by accepting Him as your Savior. This means you need to get real with God by admitting that your heart is empty because of your sin. Nothing else can fill it, and nothing else can fix it. But when that sin is forgiven, God will replace it with His peace! Jesus died on the cross to make that possible. He took your sin and its punishment so that God could accept you by giving you His own righteousness! Jesus, “who knew no sin” was made “sin for us, that we might become the righteous- ness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). CONCLUSION: Until you settle this matter, your empty heart will remain empty. You’ll be like Jim Carey and the many others who try to fill their deepest longings with the temporary pleasures of this world — but whose hearts are never satisfied. ILLUSTRATION: Has anyone ever heard of the Great Chinese Famine? In 1958-1961, somewhere between 15 to 40 million Chinese starved to death. Some of them found a form of “edible clay”, so they ate it. Though it filled their stomachs, they still starved to death. Why? This so-called “food” had no life-sustaining nutrients. In fact, it literally became concrete in their stomachs. They died. This is such a sad story. But are you trying to do something similar, in a spiritual sense? Are you trying to satisfy your empty heart by eating the so-called “good food” of the world? It won’t work. It can’t work because the world’s pleasures contain no life-giving or life-sustaining spiritual nutrients. Those are only found in the Bread of Life, the Lord Jesus Christ. NOW… 133

For those of you who have received the Bread of Life, I want to finish with one more M4 L3 NOTES “P” word, a word of challenge. [Turn over the last slice of bread, which you’ve not handed out.] 6. THE PRIVILEGE: Jesus wants you to help Him! Did you know that Jesus invites you to do what the boy in this story did? That boy gave his lunch to Jesus, and then Jesus used his small gift to feed ALL those people. Maybe you think you don’t have much to offer. What difference would your little contribution make? The boy may have wondered the same thing. But notice these three “little” words: Lad = literally, a “little” boy Barley = the cheapest kind of grain (less valuable than wheat, 2 Kings 7:1); main source of food for the poor in Jesus’ day “Small” fish = sardine-like; not much meat at all! No doubt, that boy must have wondered, \"What can Jesus do with with the poorest of food and two small fish from a little guy like me?” Maybe you look at yourself in a similar way; you don’t see anything special. But when we simply place our ALL into God’s Hands, He can do wonderful things! Of course, the Lord didn’t need anything that was provided. He could have simply spoken the word, and food would have appeared on all the people’s laps — or even in their stomachs! But He wanted others to share a part in the blessing through His miracle. CONCLUSION Jesus delights in inviting us into His wonderful works! Imagine what God can do through YOU if: ▪ First, you receive Jesus as the Bread of Life to satisfy your spiritual longing for peace in your heart and the promise of Heaven. ▪ Place your whole life and God-given skills into His hands. He can use you to share this Bread of Life with others. Working with Jesus is the highest privilege you can experience. One man (named Charles Spurgeon) said, “If God has called you to be His servant, why stoop to be a king?” 134

THE PASSOVER THE PROBLEM THE PROVISION PASSAGE: Read John 6:1-4. PASSAGE: Read John 6:5-9. PASSAGE: Read John 6:10-14. SETTING THE STAGE: The Jewish Passover celebrated There were a lot of hungry people to feed! Look at the few Q: How many people do you suppose Jesus fed that day? suggestions as to how this problem might be solved. Read A: the time in Egypt when the Angel of Death“passed over” each passage, and match it to its corresponding description. the home of every Hebrew (Israelite) where the blood of a Interestingly, three other men also recorded this event. Passover lamb had been applied to the doorposts. That day, JOHN 6:5,7 • “Send them away.” Let’s deal with Q: What important detail did Matthew add in Matthew 14:21. after 400 years of slavery, God miraculously delivered them! MARK 6:35,36 They then travelled in a wilderness for 40 years to a land the problem by not dealing with it! A: God had promised them. BUT how would God feed them? JOHN 6:8,9 • Philip responds to Jesus's test Q: With that added information, how many do you suppose Read EXODUS 16:14-16. DRAW THE SCENE. Jesus fed that day? Illustrate this somehow on your “bread” sheet. using human wisdom and logic. Think about it: It’s Passover time again — but 1,500 years A: later, in Jerusalem! Here stands Jesus, God’s Son. There are a lot • Let’s take what we have to Jesus and of hungry people around. What might Jesus feed them? let Him solve the problem for us. Illustrate these 3 responses. If you have time, discuss how we often respond to our problems in similar ways. 135 THE PICTURE THE POINT THE PRIVILEGE PASSAGE: Read John 6:31-34. • Who ate the bread that day? Matthew 14:20 TRUE OR FALSE: The next day, the crowd went looking for Jesus again • How much did each person eat? John 6:11 1. Jesus NEEDED the boy’s lunch to feed the people. because they wanted more food (read John 6:26). Jesus 2. Jesus NEEDED the disciples to help distribute the food. taught them that manna was really a“picture”of Him. How? • How much did each person pay for their meal? 3. Jesus NEEDS us to help Him do His work. 4. Jesus WANTS us to help Him do His work. Your Challenge: Connect these two stories of God • How much food was left over? John 6:13 providing bread in the wilderness and Jesus offering There are three words in this story that show us So when Jesus presents HIMSELF as how dependent we are on Jesus to work through us. Himself as the Bread of Life to these people. The Bread of Life, what is the point He wants Connect the words / meanings, then illustrate: • The manna of Exodus 16:4 came from…? BREAD people to understand? DRAW IT. Jesus came from...? • Sardine-like; not much meat at all (John 6:33, 38, 41, 42, 50, 51, 58) THOSE WHO TAKE Lad Barley • The cheapest kind of grain (less valuable • Jesus also calls manna… (John 6:31)? HEAVEN “Small” fish than wheat, 2 Kings 7:1); main source of Bethlehem means \"House of…\"? food for the poor in Jesus’day • Who benefitted from the manna in Moses’day? • literally, a“little”boy Who benefits from the Bread of Life today?



MISSION 4: JESUS’ SUPERNATURAL POWER — HE DID...WHAT? Preliminary Draft LESSON 4: THE POOLSIDE MIRACLE M4 L4 NOTES BIG IDEA: KEY TEXT:  CURRICULUM: M.K.4 Identify the relationship of Jesus to the Gospel and to one’s personal and present life; M.S.6 Make application of scripture to daily life TAKING AIM: APPLICATION: DEPENDANCE — This “impotent” man met the Omnipotent Man. We are powerless without Christ. PREPARE: Have blank pieces of paper and pencils ready to distribute to each student. Also have a couple of raw eggs and a towel ready for your closing object lesson. OPENER: Today, we’re going to start our lesson a little differently. We’re going to draw! We’ve often heard it said that to live a good life, a life pleasing to God, we need to follow the Ten Commandments. Hand up if you agree that this is a good idea. Now, how many of these commandments do we know? [Field responses. If they have a hard time remembering them, you may wish to stress the point that it’s difficult to live the commandments if we can’t remember them. So…] I’m going to show you a super easy way to remember the Ten Commandments. [Hand out blank pieces of paper and pencils. Have the students draw ten empty boxes.] “In the middle of each box, we’re going to print the numbers 1 to 10. But you need to follow my lead. [Guide them through the process using the number designs at the end of this lesson.] [Read a commandment, explain it, then draw it and have the students draw along with you. Do the same for all ten.] 137

1: No other God before Me. [Turn the number 1 into an upward arrow pointing to M4 L4 NOTES the “ONE” God.] 2: Don’t make or bow down to idols. [Turn the 2 into a person bowing to an idol.] 3: Don’t use the Lord’s name disrespectfully. [Turn the 3 into lips with a speech bubble.] 4: Keep the Sabbath Day holy. (Spend time with the Lord.) [Turn the 4 into a Bible.] 5. Honor your parents.[ See picture for 5.] 6. Do not kill. [Turn the 6 into a gun.] 7. Do not commit adultery. (Remain faithful to your spouse.) [Turn the 7 into a breaking heart.] 8. Do not steal. [Turn the 8 into a robber’s mask.] 9. Do not lie. [Turn the 9 into a lying person.] 10. Do not covet. (Do not desire that which belongs to others.) [Turn the 10 into a pair of roaming eyes.] Okay, look these over carefully for 20 seconds, and try to memorize your pictures. [After 20 seconds, ask the students to turn over their papers. See if they can remember each commandment by drawing each of the pictures from memory.] Hand up if you were able to remember all ten. [If no one did, ask who remembered nine, eight, etc. Determine the winner(s). Award a simple prize such as a candy.] Now, a slightly harder test — and I’m calling for honesty here: Hand up if you’ve managed to KEEP all ten of these commandments your whole life up until now. What? No one? Really? Okay, how about nine. Any hands? 8? 7? …1? 138

Aha! As it turns out, you — and I … in fact, ALL of us — have something in common M4 L4 NOTES with the man we’re about to meet next in Jesus’ journey. We have to admit, some things that we really want to do, like perfectly live a good life, we are simply too “weak” 1. If you’re reading the ESV, to actually do! Remember the word ‘weak’ because it’s the theme of this lesson. you’ll notice the end of verse [On the board, print the word WEAK vertically in capital letters.] 3 and all of verse 4 are missing in some of the earliest manu- TRANSITION: Jesus is in Jerusalem. There is a pool here — actually, two pools scripts. There are different side by side — called Bethesda. It has five porches, and we see explanations of what is meant by the angel stirring the all kinds of sick people lying on these porches. The Bible uses the word “invalids”, waters, but the fact that the Bible doesn’t elaborate means which means “weak”. It looks like a very busy hospital ward! that this is not necessary for understanding the story. In a few minutes, you’ll read the story yourselves and discover that, from time to time, the waters in this pool would be ‘stirred’. When this happened, the first person to get in would be healed of their disease. The Bible doesn’t tell us what is meant by the “stirring” of the waters.1 But people from all over apparently knew about it, for many came to this pool, hoping to be healed. ACTIVITY: Jesus was about to meet one of these sick people. (The Bible doesn’t give his name.) Let’s divide into four groups and focus our attention on four important points in this story. [Allow enough time for the groups to read the passage and discuss their questions. Have one student from each group record their collective thoughts, and assign another student from each group to share their findings during the whole group discussion.] Group 1: WHY was this man there? — Read John 5:1-9. Put yourself in this man’s position. What made his situation so desperate? Group 2: EXAMPLE — Read John 5:1-9. How does this story compare to what we see being offered by the world’s many religions? Group 3: ASKED a Question — Read John 5:1-9. Why do you think Jesus asked a question with such an obvious answer? Group 4: KEY Lesson — Read John 5:1-9. What do you think is the main point Jesus was making with this miracle? WHOLE GROUP: TEACHER TALKING POINTS 1. Why? Why was this man there? 1. No health: WEAK = “to be weak, to be without strength” – The word is neurasthenia. Do you recognize the root word, neuro- ? These sick people all had a weakness of the neurons, or the nerves. Notice the three disabilities named in the passage: blind, lame (crippled, limping), and withered (paralyzed), all nerve-related problems. 2. No help: “I have NO MAN to help me.” – Share a personal story of when you needed help but no one was available. 3. No hope: Not only was his body paralyzed, so was his hope! At this time, Jesus was about 31 years old. This man had this illness for 38 years, meaning he had been sick longer than Jesus had lived on Earth! 139

So, like many other sick folks in his day, he spent his days, maybe even months or M4 L4 NOTES years, at the side of this pool longing for some way to get in and be healed. But notice how this system of “being first” in the water is a good… 2. Example of Religion ▪ This story gives us a good picture of religion. What I mean by “religion” is the many religious systems that we see throughout the world. They want us to be- lieve that “God helps those who helps themselves!” We can just hear the person who got in first and was healed: “I did it! I got to the water first!” They would soak up the credit for themselves. But think about it: This way of operating, just like empty religion, often benefits those who LEAST need help. For example, a person with a broken arm has a far greater advantage over someone whose body is full of disease. But which one needs more help “getting into the pool”? Similarly, religion is best suited to people who already basically live good lives, people who “aren’t too broken” or messed up. ▪ No, religion doesn’t offer much for sinners who have made a real mess of things. But these are precisely the people Jesus came to save — those who know they’re too weak to live up to His perfect standard like we see in the Ten Com- mandments. Listen to this: “And their scribes and the Pharisees complained against His disciples, saying, ‘Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?’ Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance’” (Lk. 5:30-32). ▪ Religion places the focus on what WE can DO to heal ourselves: work hard enough and long enough, and maybe, at the end life, God will be impressed enough to let you into Heaven. ▪ In other words, if only we can only “get ourselves into the pool”, we can “heal ourselves”. This was what that sick man thought. So Jesus… 140

APPLICATION: In closing, I’d like to illustrate this key — the big idea of our M4 L4 NOTES lesson — with help from a couple of volunteers. [Select a boy and a girl.] We’re going to put your strength to the test. I’d like you to crack this egg. Doesn’t sound too hard, does it? [Explain]: Placing your index finger at the top of the egg and your thumb on the bottom, crack an egg. [Though this is nearly impossible for even very strong people, add to the hype by having a volunteer hold a bowl underneath. And have a towel on hand, just in case.] [When they fail to do this, say]: Okay, I’ll make it a little easier. Place the egg in the palm of your hand, wrap your fingers all the way around and try to break the egg. [Important: Make sure the students are NOT wearing any rings.] So, what do you think? Keeping the Ten Commandments — that doesn’t sound too difficult, does it? But it’s actually impossible! Do you see this word “WEAK” we’ve been talking about? God uses the same word that describes these SICK people to describe — who do you think? — YOU AND ME! “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly” (Rom 5:6). We need to get this! All of those “weak” and powerless people around that pool? They picture US! Weak…no power, no ability, no means, to please God on our own. So God provided a solution. Romans 8 says, “For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh…” (v.3). He sent the only One who could actually keep the law perfectly — Jesus Christ (Mt 5:17). Then Jesus went to the cross where He willingly took OUR punishment for breaking HIS law! Notice one beautiful fact in verse 2 that’s easy to miss. This pool was near the Sheep Gate. Did you know that sheep were led through this gate to the temple where they were offered as sacrifices for the people’s sins? And here we see Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who would soon walk to the cross where He would die so that our sins could be forgiven! Religion, like this pool, demands: “DO! DO! DO!” But Jesus tells us that all the work for our spiritual healing is already “DONE! DONE! DONE!” We are made whole through God’s mercy, not by our own strength or actions. Interestingly, this pool was called Bethesda which means “House of Mercy”. How thankful we should be that God’s MERCY can forever heal our MISERY! CONCLUSION: Just like this man, we simply need to RISE! We need to exer- cise faith in Christ and take Him at His word. Acknowledge that you are like this man. You have NO SPIRITUAL HEALTH (as a sinner), NO HELP (nothing you or anyone else can do), and NO HOPE (without Christ). Then ask Him for forgiveness. The instant you do, you will be made spiritually new! You will be eternally saved and promised an eternal Home with Jesus in Heaven. But don’t stop there! Jesus then says to you, Take up your bed and WALK! Walk day by day, with the power He gives you, in a way that pleases Him. [See Ephesians 4:17-19; 5:1, 2.] 141

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MISSION 4: JESUS’ SUPERNATURAL POWER — HE DID...WHAT? Preliminary Draft LESSON 5: THE SPIT & MUD MIRACLE M4 L5 NOTES BIG IDEA: KEY TEXT:  CURRICULUM: M.K.4 Identify the relationship of Jesus to the Gospel and to one’s personal and present life; M.S.6 Make application of scripture to daily life; M.D.5 Give testimony to God’s working in their lives. TAKING AIM: APPLICATION: FEAR OF REJECTION — It cost this man to identify with Christ. But he gladly did! PREPARE: To Get: a blindfold; a hula-hoop; a card with the labels FRIENDS/FAMILY on one side and GOD’S PRESENCE on the other; a mask (or a picture of a mask), a magnifying glass, a balance scale, a gavel To Do: Display the four final objects from the above list. OPENER: Opener*: Invite two students to come up. Have them face the class, and blindfold one of them. Then read this riddle (point- ing to each student accordingly) and give the students a few minutes to discuss it with a partner. Picture two people: one blind and one not. But their true conditions are not what you thought: The blind one can see, and the seeing is blind. I wonder: Can you sort this out in your mind? Answer: This riddle is referring to spiritual sight/blindness, not physical sight/blindness. The Bible explains that we have two sets of eyes! It’s true. Obviously, we have eyes in our head that allow us to see physically. But the Bible says we also have eyes… in our heart! Of course, I’m talking about spiritual eyes. Ephesians 1:18 refers to “the eyes of your hearts” being “enlightened, that you may know…” (ESV). So, back to our riddle: The Bible teaches that it’s possible to be blind physically but to still be able to see spiritual truths — truths from God that someone who can see physically cannot see at all. As Jesus put it, “Seeing, they do not see” (Mt 13:13 NIV; cf 1 Cor 2:14). * Alternatively, you can show a picture of your students. Point out that we tend to look for ourselves first when looking at a group photo. Today, we are going to consider a true story that involves four people or groups of people. Your challenge: Look for yourself in this story. Write the four C words on the board and then the four people/groups on the other side.As you read each section, connect the C word with the char- acters. 143

ACTIVITY: We have learned that Jesus is the Light of the world. WHY did M4 L5 NOTES He come as the Light? So that WE might have SIGHT! 1. Remember, the three purposes [As you remove the blindfold from the student’s eyes, say]: If YOU are still spiritually of Jesus’ miracles: 1) to meet blind, Jesus desires to give spiritual sight to YOU — today. He declared: a physical need, 2) to teach a spiritual lesson, and 3) to prove KEY VERSE: “[God] has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the He was God’s Son.The Pharisees captives and recovery of sight to the blind” (Lk 4:18 NKJ). accused Jesus of claiming to be Someone who He truly was Sadly, we have an enemy named the devil. And guess what he desires? [Place the — God! blindfold on the other student and read]: “The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor 4:4, ESV). Happily, the choice is ours! We can choose either to remain blind or to receive spiritual sight. In today’s lesson, we’ll see someone receiving physical sight as a picture of receiving spiritual sight. But we’ll also see several people who, though they could see physically, chose to remain blind spiritually, meaning that they refused the light that was clearly presented to them. Today’s activity is called How Well Can You “C” JESUS? Jesus is about to perform His sixth miracle in John’s gospel, and He chose to do it in a most unusual way. To get started, let’s read the beginning of the story together and open in prayer. [Read John 9:1-5. Pray.] As you work through this activity, you’ll discover four responses to Jesus — four different ways the people in this account chose to “C” Jesus — and they all begin with the letter C. So, as you dig into this story, I want you to challenge yourself to “C” which of the four best describes you. ACTIVITY: TEACHER NOTES for WHOLE GROUP DISCUSSION Blind Man: CONVINCED (vv 6,7) | PICTURE: Balance Scale ▪ Trusted and obeyed Jesus immediately, even when His demands made little human sense (clay on eyes, wash at the pool) ▪ Received sight — How wonderful to see the faces of loved ones for the first time! To see creation! ▪ Finally had a chance to see Jesus face to face! He was convinced Jesus was God’s Son. He believed, and so he received spiritual sight. ▪ What did he “see”? ONLY Jesus could heal him because Jesus is God (v.33). Neighbors: CURIOUS (vv 8-13) | PICTURE: Magnifying Glass ▪ Asked questions: “Isn’t this…?” “How…?” “Where…?” ▪ But instead of seeking out Jesus for themselves, they brought the man to the religious leaders. ▪ We may have questions, but Jesus is more than a topic to be studied. He is a Person to be known. Come directly to Him through His Word. Pharisees: CONDEMNING (vv 14-17, 24) | PICTURE: Judge’s Gavel ▪ Like to interrogate people! — yet cared little for the man who needed help ▪ They hated Jesus; they determined that He was guilty for claiming to be God.1 144

▪ Even worse, they tried to prejudice everyone else regarding Jesus. Not only M4 L5 NOTES did they say Jesus was “not from God” (v.16), but they went as far as to say, “We know that this Man is a sinner!” (v.24). 2. Being put out of the syn- agogue refers to excommunica- ▪ Do you let other people’s opinions of Jesus shape how you “see” Him? Again, tion from the synagogue. Among the best place to learn about Him is in His Word (see Jn 5:39). the Jews there were two grades of excommunication: the one for Parents: CAUTIOUS (vv 18-23) | PICTURE: Mask lighter offences, of which they mentioned 24 causes; the other ▪ Knew the truth or, at the very least, thought Jesus may well have been telling for greater offences. The first the truth (or John wouldn’t have mentioned v.22), but were afraid of the excluded a man for 30 days consequences of testifying to the truth from the privilege of entering a synagogue, and from coming ▪ Feared being “put out” of the synagogue2 like the Pharisees later did to their nearer to his wife or friends than son, v.34 (this would put them in danger of losing their livelihood [income] and 4 cubits. The other was a solemn would have brought shame on their family); tried to cover their fear by deflecting exclusion forever from the wor- the question to their son ship of the synagogue, attended with awful maledictions and APPLICATION: As you evaluate your own heart today, which of these four curses, and an exclusion from groups would you most closely identify with? all contact with the people. This was called the curse, and so ▪ Like those neighbors, you have questions. There’s nothing wrong with that. But thoroughly excluded the person from all communion whatever if your questions lead you away from Jesus instead of to Jesus, you will remain in with his countrymen, that they were not allowed to sell to him the dark. anything, even the necessaries of life (Buxtorf). It is probable ▪ Like those Pharisees, you have no interest in Jesus. To you, He is just some man. that this latter punishment was what they intended to inflict if You prefer to focus on making a reputation for yourself by trying to impress anyone should confess that Jesus was the Messiah: and it was the others. If so, you too will remain in the dark. fear of this terrible punishment that deterred his parents from ▪ Like the parents of the blind man, you have some knowledge of the truth, but expressing their opinion” (Barnes’ Notes on the Bible).] you’re afraid of what others might think of you if you commit to Christ, just like they were afraid of being “put out of the synagogue” (v.22). [ILLUSTRATION: Being “put out of the synagogue” was a big deal to a Jew. Their identity was all wrapped up in their religious life. No more synagogue meant no more religion and no more friends, and maybe no more job or income, and maybe even no more family! Everything that mattered to them was on the line!] You’ve been learning about Jesus and what He wants to do in your life, and maybe you’ve come to realize that your sin is a barrier standing between you and God. But the one thing that is preventing you from dealing with your sin is what others will think of you. [Place a hula-hoop on the floor by the chalkboard. Step inside it, and post the label FRIENDS/FAMILY on the board.] You might, in one sense, be “put out” of your circle of friends. [Step out of hoop, then back in again.] In some parts of the world, people are even cast out of their families when they receive Christ as Savior. [Step out of hoop, then back in again.] But may I challenge you with this question? Yes, our families and even our friends may mean an awful lot to us, and we might love them dearly. But how does being cast out of ANY social circle compare to being cast out of GOD’S presence — forever? [Turn label around to read GOD’S PRESENCE. Step out of the hoop.] Revelation 20:15 says, \"And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire” — also called “the blackness of darkness” (Jude v.13). Now THAT’s eternal blindness! 145

This isn’t a happy thought, but we need to ask: What kind of people will be in Hell? M4 L5 NOTES Those who condemned Jesus and died in their stubborn rebellion, for sure, as well as those who couldn’t be bothered with Him and so gave Him no time nor thought. But there will also be many people in Hell who simply remained curious or cautious and who never stepped out and came to Jesus. But you know who won’t be in that horrible place? The blind man! — and all those like him who were convinced that Jesus is the only Way to Heaven and who, in simple faith, “stepped into” God’s family by receiving His forgiveness. [Step back into the hoop, and read the rest of the story: John 9:35-38.] WHAT ABOUT...YOU? I want to leave you with a clear picture of the pathway this blind man travelled as he allowed God’s light to open up his spiritual eyes and give him sight. Let’s SEE what he SAW. [Print these three letters on the board.] Situation was hopeless. Born this way. Could do nothing to fix it. Us: We have the very same problem: we are born in sin. “For I was born a sinner — yes, from the moment my mother conceived me” (Ps 51:5 NLT). How is this possible? A baby hasn’t done anything wrong! A baby isn’t a sinner because they sin. They sin because they are sinners. They are born with a sin nature, and so they com- mit acts of sin. Though this man’s blindness was not directly linked to any person’s sin (vv 2,3), it is true that all sin and all the trouble in this world can be traced back to the sin of our first parents, Adam and Eve, who sinned in the Garden of Eden (see Rom 5:12). “The fountainhead was polluted and ran down the river of time” (Anon). Their sin has infected all of humanity. All others failed! The religious Pharisees cared more about the trivial details of the law (which they, not God, had devised) than they did about this man. Even his parents couldn’t help him, nor the people passing by while he begged on the streets. Not even any Old Testament prophet had ever restored sight to a blind man. Surely this man had no hope for his healing. Us: Likewise, we can do nothing to fix our sin problem, and no other person can help us. Wonderful Opportunity! — Christ the Healer passed by, stopped, and restored this man’s physical sight. But, much greater, He opened this man’s spiritual eyes! This man simply responded to the light given to him about Jesus. First, he understood Jesus to be just a “man” (v.11). Then, he recognized that He must be a “prophet” (v.17), someone who had been given power by God to do miracles, like Moses and Elijah had done. The light grew brighter! In verse 33, he acknowledged that Jesus must be from God. Finally, he believed and declared Jesus to be “the Son of God” (vv 35-38). Us: You have been given a wonderful opportunity too! It’s called “Today”. “Today is the day to be saved!” (2 Cor 6:2, GNT). Christ has made His offer of healing available to you but your “today’ could turn into “too late’ if this opportunity ends up being your last, should you pass it up. 146

CONCLUSION: Maybe you’re wondering: “Does Jesus really love me? Does M4 L5 NOTES He really want to save me?” In closing, let me show you one thing you probably missed which highlights the amazing love of Jesus for sinners in need of Him... Turn back a chapter, to the end of John 8. (Remember, chapter and verse divisions were added to our Bibles later, by man, to help us find our way around.) Look at the end of the last chapter to see how much Jesus loved this man. In 8:59 we read, “Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.” And 9:1 – “Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth.” While others were trying to kill Jesus, He stopped to help this poor, blind beggar! What love and compassion! And He feels the same about each one of you. While He is busy holding the entire universe together, He is also here with us today. We might say, “He has passed by” in our very midst! Don’t “pass up” this opportunity, because it might be your last. You never know when you will pass from this life to the next — and then it will be too late. 147

Look at Jesus through the lenses of the different people in this story. Read the passages from MISSION 4 | LESSON 5 John 9, and share your thoughts below. Identify the “C” word that best relates to their views. NAME: BLIND MAN (Read 9:6,7) 2. NEIGHBORS (Read 9:8-13) CC 1. Describe this man’s response to Jesus’s unusual actions 1. The neighbors were full of questions! What were they? and request: 2. Read verses 35-38. Who did this man believe Jesus to be? 2. What question about Jesus stumps you? Think about it. CC — Group Chat Notes — H — Group Chat Notes — 1. Why did the parents word their response OW 1. How did these religious leaders feel so carefully the way they did? about Jesus? 2. What do you think v.22 meant to a Jew? WELL 2. What statements did they make about Him? v.16: Jesus is NOT… — Group Chat Notes — CANYOU v.24: Jesus IS… “C”J E S U S ? — Group Chat Notes — 4. PARENTS (Read 9:18-23) 3. PHARISEES (Read 9:14-17, 24) ANSWERS: CAUTIO S CURI US CONV NCED COND MNING

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