Category: Sunday School

Sunday School Lesson – “In the Beginning | The Creation Story” Genesis 1:1-27

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VERSE DISCOVERY: Genesis 1:1-27 (KJV, Public Domain)

Taking in the world view as a whole, we will see that all that is before us has a starting point. Every person we see began at the time of conception. Every leader had a first step that led to their position. Every nation had the birth of its people coming together as unified persons. Every plant started with a seed. And every building with a first brick being laid.

Creation has its origin as well. And it does not start with a cosmic bang. The wisdom, intelligence, plan, and sovereignty of God, thought through, designed, and put together all of the creation story.

How it All Started

Genesis 1:1, 2 “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”

“In the beginning” is not only the lesson/series title but also the biblical designation of when everything that follows these words actually occurred.

From the start, we are told about the start, and how it all began with “God.” (visit “God the Main Character” and “This Was God’s Doing | God is the Creator of All” found on site for further reading)

God, Himself, has no origin, as Isaiah verifies. Still, He is responsible for the origination of all: “Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding” (40:28).

From His eternal nature and wisdom, all the creation story below starts with God for He “created the heaven and the earth” (see also Job 26:7). All the history of all the beginnings has its foundations laid by our Heavenly Father: “And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands” (Hebrews 1:10; see also Deuteronomy 10:14).

The whole scope of every part of creation is attributed to God alone (Genesis 2:4; Psalms 102:25; Isaiah 44:24; Revelation 14:7). Everything our eyes can see and not see, is in existence because the breath of God spoke it here; because He fashioned it: “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth” (Psalm 33:6), and by faith, it is to be believed: “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear” (Hebrews 11:3).

Nothing was anything before God created it: “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?” He asked Job, “declare, if thou hast understanding” (38:4). “Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?  Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;” (Job 38:5,6; I suggest reading Job 38 entirely).

Even the “earth” itself was “without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep” (see also Jeremiah 4:23). “He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heaven by his understanding” (Jeremiah 51:15).

After the complete declaration of verse 1, accrediting God alone as Creator of all, the complexities and intricacies of all that it entails begin to come to life, starting with the state of the earth itself.

Originally called into creation, there was nothing there. But out of this nothingness, something beautiful would form from the formless. That without content and composure would be permeated with the purpose of God’s design.

As of yet, it lay empty in its state without the specifics of creation, but God was getting ready to change it into something more: “And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”

Psalm 104:30 says, “Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.” God as One, shows every part of Himself (Father, Son, and Spirit) being present at the time of creation (see also John 1:1-3).

The same “Spirit,” with a capital S, found throughout the Bible as the promised Comforter (John 14:6), the “Spirit of truth” (John 14:7), the One who filled believing men and women, and in Paul’s prayer for strength in the inner man (Ephesians 3:16), is the same Spirit at work at creation in the beginning.

Day #1

Genesis 1:3-5 “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.”

“And God said.” Each day of the six days of creation began with these three words. By God’s design and by His word, the voice of God broke through the nothingness, took authority over the creation story, and spoke His divine will for each day.

And for day one, the command was, “Let there be light.” One of my favorite games to play as a child was focused on light: “Spotlight Tag.” It was played at night when it became dark enough outside. It was a game somewhat like hide-and-seek except the finding and tagging was done with flashlights. When the children hid, they could only be found when the person that was “it” shone a light on them, saying, “Spotlight on ________ (whoever it was).”

Light is pivotal when one wants to illuminate something.

On day one, light was created and entered the world. Although not noted by a specific source as the flashlight was at this point, it still came with the purpose of adding illumination and delineation from the present darkness where none existed before.

And the light was considered “good” by God. Now there was a defining separation. Light and darkness could not cohabitate, rather they are given their own special designations with God calling the light “Day” and the darkness He called “Night.”

 Day #2

Genesis 1:6-8 “And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.”

On day two the heavens were created, referred to as “firmament,” or as we know it, the sky. In verse two, we see there was no distinction between the waters that were upon the earth, no space between the waters that were above or below (v. 7), The firmament provided this space of separation. It set boundaries and these boundaries were called “Heaven” (v.8). There is now a visible sky with clouds floating upon the waves of the atmosphere. The Bible tells us, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork” (Psalm 19:1).

Day #3

Genesis 1:9-13 “And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the third day.”

Day three was particularly active in that we see more form come to that which was formless. We see God’s design begin to come alive more vividly as the putting together of different aspects of creation takes on more definition and purpose.

Now the waters under the heavens are called to move into more defined spaces, gathering into “Seas.” And out of these Seas, “dry land” was called forth and recognized as “Earth.”

Although we refer to the whole planet as Earth, in the beginning, it was the designation of the ground beneath the feet.

If you find yourself in the privileged position to stand on the shore of any massive body of water where the land and seas meet, take a moment while looking out at the vastness of it all and appreciate the fact that this is here because the voice of God commanded it to be (see also Psalm 95:3-5).

“And so it was” reminds us that whatever God speaks must happen and obey as He commands.

Then, the earth was called to bring “forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth.”

Every imaginable and unimaginable plant, tree, herb, and seed was called into existence. The apple you eat today was originally called to inhabit the earth by the voice of God.

When they were called into existence, all types, be they perennials, annuals, weeds, fruit, or what have you, they came forth and followed the marching orders of God and took up residence and established roots of fruitfulness upon the once barren dry land.

Every conceivable produce has ancestor heritage in one form or another that goes back to the time of the beginning, and many reappear through Scripture attached with significant meaning.

Day #4

Genesis 1:14-19 “And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.”

On day one light was called, here specific “lights” (with an s) are created “in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night.”

The day will come when there will be no longer a need for these specific lights (Rev. 22:5; Is. 60:19), but while they are here, they help us manage the telling of times and seasons (Psalm 104:19).

They not only illuminate the sky in their given tasks, but they give us points of reference in our grand scale of living.

The “two great lights” we refer to as the sun and moon are given the charge to rule over the day and night (compare Psalm 74:16). Worshipping these objects of creation has been a downfall of humanity since the beginning. While we don’t do that, we can be appreciative of these huge visible reminders of God’s handiwork throughout history from the start of it all.

When you feel the warmth of the sun on your face or you view the moon rising in the star-lit sky, you can thank God for what He has done then, and what He can and will do now, and in the times to come.

“He made the stars also.” Scientists may attribute the stars in the sky to an extremely complex process of gas and dust, but in the beginning, we are assured that the significance of their presence high above is because God made them also regardless of their makeup, and He knows each one individually: “He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names” (Psalm 147:4).

Using the simple process of His authoritative speech and power over all creation, in the same way He called everything else forth, is the same way the stars arrived in the skies above.

“God set them in the firmament.” God specifically placed them in the right place to perform their jobs perfectly. Careful planning indeed.

In our homes, we place ornaments and knick-knacks in precisely the best location for style and aesthetics, but the carefulness of God’s placement of these lights was for neither style nor aesthetics, they were divinely purposed (compare Jeremiah 31:35).

In Psalm 104:2 we see the psalmist attributing to God as the one “who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain.” Can a man even fathom to catch one star that falls from the sky, let alone stretch out the heavens with galaxy upon galaxy and universe upon universe?  God can.  As a matter of fact, in His wisdom in the beginning all He had to do was speak a word and creation obeyed and came into existence.  All in the sky that looks to be stretched out as a cosmic curtain twinkling above our heads is because God is the one who made it to be so.

Side Note: With such carefulness and attention to detail in the creation of this world, do not think that your life is any less purposed or carefully planned by God’s divine plan as well: “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?” (Psalm 8:3,4). I’m so glad He is mindful of us.

Day #5

Genesis 1:20-23 “And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.”

Life appears. Living and moving creatures come forth. The existence of sea life begins to swim and move in the waters. Imagine them taking their places, setting up habitats among the reefs, and going about their business as if they had always been.

Psalm 104:25-26 tells us, “So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts.  There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.” “Innumerable” creatures come to life by God’s design.

For every creature dwelling there we know nothing about, God knows the makeup of their design from the inside out. He knows their identity. He knows the places they swim and hide. What seems impossible to explore and uncover all the intricacies of all life that may dwell in the deepest of the waters, God already understands their mysteries and purpose.

On this same day, birds take to the sky. Wings spread and life begins to soar. Dipping and diving below the clouds, they test their created abilities to new heights and just fly. Amazing! (Check out this poem I wrote about a bird and be encouraged by God’s design.)

Oh, the beauty that must have been in the Heavenly Father’s sight as He witnessed all this new life take off and begin to inhabit the places He created.

“It was good.” You know that space in your house that you finally got decluttered and organized, and now you don’t have to cringe when walking by it anymore? In fact, you go out of your way to look at the transformed space it has become, and you think to yourself, how wonderful and good it is.

My friend, God’s good is so much more.

“God blessed them.” God did something He had not done with the previous days of creation. He commanded a blessing over life: “Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.” Life is of utmost importance to God and protecting life that it continues was in the grand scale of His perfect plan.

Day #6

Genesis 1:24-27 “And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”

“The living creature.” As the sea life and birds populated the waters and sky, so too did these come forth to inhabit and populate the earth.

Notice there is no discrepancy in the creation story. No parts are left unfinished or wanting. All are in His mind, and all come to fruition in His story.

“And it was so.” The course of the creation story continued to follow the protocol it was given. Every being formed, gained breath, and became everything God designed them to be. As they entered the realm of creatures that are now living, they entered fulfilling divine purpose: “I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm…” (Jeremiah 27:5).

“After their kind.” Today, through years of studies by many professionals, we recognize the specific genetic makeup of the various beings that dwell on this earth. Interestingly, and encouraging for the believer, is that we recognize the hand of God in authoring these specific genetic makeups.

Every living creature had the built-in ability to reproduce after its own kind, or its own genetic makeup. From the beginning, it has always been so.

Therefore, there are no needed discussions for evolutionary this and that. What it is, is what it produces. Outside of the interference of man, what it is, is what it will keep producing.

“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” Evolutionary experts will try to take you through billions of years of history to explain the origin of life, civilization, and this world, which they have never known or seen. But “theory” tells them they are right.

Yet, there is a God who has always been and always will be who recorded our earth’s history for us, letting us know that we are a beautiful part of His holy plan.

Here’s the thing, both require some sort of leap of faith. But the walk of faith we have seen played out in the historical, written record of the Bible, along with other non-biblical texts that support its work, in addition to great archeological discoveries doing the same, tells us, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that their theories are wrong, and our God is right: “Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us?…” (Malachi 2:10).

Therefore, in the beginning, this is how it all went down according to the authority of God’s written record, the Holy Bible, which says, “Thy hands have made me and fashioned me…” (Psalm 119:73; emphasis added).

And I assure you, my friend, on that same authority, “God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”

I have only touched on the creation of man here because I have an entire lesson dedicated to that subject, along with the seventh day of rest in part two of the “In the Beginning” Series.

“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” Romans 1:20

PDF Printable Sunday School Lesson Pack (With easy to read instructions following the P.E.A.R.L. format on how to conduct each lesson with areas for adding personal notes): Sunday School Lesson – In the Beginning – Part 1 The Creation Story

Suggested Activities:

Lesson Prep Opening Idea: “In the beginning…” As our lesson will state, everything has a beginning except for God who is from “everlasting to everlasting” (Psalm 90:2). Therefore, in the beginning of the world and the universe as we know it today, God was already there, orchestrating events and the particulars of the creation story.

Every day of creation began with “And God said.” To demonstrate this as an opening object lesson, set up a row of dominoes in whatever configuration you would like. The first domino is the “beginning” domino, and when it falls over, at its moving, all the other parts of the configuration will move and fall as well.

During the days of the creation story, whenever God, in the beginning, spoke, that part of creation came to pass and fell into its proper place (topple the first domino and watch the effect take place).

Journaling: Tonight, if the skies are clear (or on the next clear night), take a few minutes to stargaze and/or take out your cell phone and photograph the wonders above that you see.  Allow yourself a few minutes to reflect on the greatness of God based on what you have observed.  Jot down what you see or feel on this Blank Journal Page and let the awe of God wash over you as you reacquaint yourself with the majesty of His power and wisdom in the creation story.

Or as Day #3 in the lesson suggests, if you find yourself in the privileged position of standing on the shore of any massive body of water where the land and seas meet, take a moment while looking out into the vastness of it all and appreciate the fact that this is here because the voice of God commanded it to be, and record your thoughts and inspiration (this can be done with any or all days or points of the creation story).

Further Journaling Options:

Adult Journal Page: Adult Journal Page – The Creation Story

Kids Journal Page: Kids Journal Page – The Creation Story

Earth Mobile Craft: Using a hanger, wooden rod, or stick, students can attach the earth printable to remind them of God’s power displayed in the creation story. Color and cut the printable and duplicate the smaller circles until you have seven (one for each day). In the smaller circles, draw pictures or write words describing what occurred during that particular day in the beginning. Note: While we may have to hang a paper earth on something to keep it up, God hangs the real earth on nothing but His power to keep it up (Job 26:7). PDF: The Creation Story Earth Mobile Craft

 

Apple Stamp Picture: Regarding day 3 of the creation story, I wrote in the lesson, “The apple you eat today was originally called to inhabit the earth by the voice of God.” As a reminder that everything was called by God, make an apple stamp picture. Cut apples in half, dip in paint, and allow students to make and decorate apple stamp pictures. Attach or write Genesis 1:11 “And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.”

(Something similar can be done with day 4 using star stickers on a page for decorating with the corresponding verse from Genesis 1:16 “He made the stars also.”) As a side note, any day of creation can be pinpointed and punctuated with corresponding pictures and verses.

Memory Verse Game: Using an inflatable globe (or ball as a substitute), teach students the memory verse by having them rehearse the verse every time the ball lands in their hands. Put the ball into play in whatever form you like (ex. Toss it in the air and whoever catches it repeats the memory verse. That one, in turn, can toss it into the air or to another student, then they too must repeat the verse, and so on.)

Another version of this is to play music. As the globe or ball is passed around the circle of students, when the music stops, whoever has the globe or ball is to say the memory verse. What a fun way to remember God created all.

Word Search: The Creation Story Word Search  Answers: The Creation Story Word Search Answers

Crossword: The Creation Story Crossword  Answers: The Creation Story Crossword Answers

Word Scramble: The Creation Story Word Scramble  Answers: The Creation Story Word Scramble Answers

Memory Verse: The Creation Story Memory Verse

How Many Words: The Creation Story How Many Words

Text Free Top Image by WikiImages from Pixabay

Sunday School Lesson Series: “The Book of James”

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“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him” (James 1:5) is written in the opening chapter of this small, yet power-packed book, and in it James provides just that, wisdom that can be used in one’s daily life.

Practical living according to Scripture is the best way I would sum up the book of James. Although Christians may face many challenges and adversities, it does not exempt them from taking responsibility for their personal actions. If anything, it shows more who they are or are not.

From the attitudes we carry to living out the Word in our lives through its application and service toward others, to how we speak and view others – all of these take their proper place in the whole of the Christian’s walk of faith, and all of it matters.

What we profess must match what we live.

Previously I wrote: “What people witness in your life resounds more than the words that are coming out of your mouth… Your faith matters in this world.  More importantly, your faith on display matters to those around you so much that one should not have to speak up or testify for you, all they should be able to do is look at your faith in action and mark you as a person of faith.” (Your Faith Speaks More Than Your Words/©Word for Life Says)

And what better way to do this than through our practical, day-to-day living.

In this new series, I have grouped together some holy reminders for this practical living from the book of James to be used as individual lessons, or as the title suggests, grouped in a series. I am working on more lessons to add to this series and plan to update you as each becomes available.

As always, while I provide resources and activities for lessons and lesson development, I encourage you to do your own personal studies as well.

To access the lessons, simply click on the links below. Enjoy!

“Count it All Joy” – James 1:1-12

Why do we count it all joy? Because what we’re going through is producing a beautiful character in us. Because God will give us, in faith, the wisdom to deal with it all. And because we have a sure reward when this is all over with.

“Doers of the Word” – James 1:19-27

There are enough hearers, observers, and viewers of the faith.  God needs some action heroes that will allow the Word to work in their lives.  God needs more “doers!”

“No Respect of Persons” – James 2:1-13

How we treat people matters. We are called to love people more.

“Faith Without Works is Dead” – James 2:14-26

Faith is not silent. Faith is full of action. Faith is alive. Faith is shared through works to testify of its genuineness and sincerity. Faith does more than move mountains. If it is lived out in the lives of the men and women of God, it can help move hearts toward salvation!

“4 Ways to Use Words Better” – James 3:1-12; Isaiah 50:4

Our words are powerful!  As this lesson shows, they can be used to hurt or to heal; to edify or to tear down.  James wants us to choose life with the words that we speak.

Sunday School Lesson – “No Respect of Persons” James 2:1-13

VERSE DISCOVERY: James 2:1-13 (KJV, Public Domain)

We all remember those playground days when the team captains stood in the front of the group declaring in order the people that were worthy to be on their team.  One by one they would call out the names, from the greatest to the least that would help them win the game.  Sometimes this decision was not made on ability so much as favoritism.  Some in the crowd dared not look up, afraid of the desperation showing in their eyes of not being called last again.

This playground mentality humiliated some for the benefit of others, something James would not let Christians get away with in the church. 

In light of one verse that says, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Is. 64:6a), how would we feel if God looked at our sin-stained status and judged us unworthy to receive His favor?  Let’s get into this lesson so that we may learn to appreciate all that God has done for us and that we might learn to express kindness toward one another by not yielding to the unfair preference of some while willfully neglecting others.

Favoritism is Not Allowed

James 2:1 “My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.”

“Have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . with respect of persons.”  Let us view our “faith” in light of what it really is.  We were no good before Christ or had any goodness of our own to speak of or rely on.  We have no righteousness of our own, Philippians 3:9.  Our world before our faith in Christ is described as “dead in trespasses and sin,” (Eph. 2:1).  We were not fit for a heavenly home.

But, “He was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification,” (Rom. 4:25).  Christ is He “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on a tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed,” (1 Pet. 2:24).  Knowing what He did for us and where He brought us from, we are commanded not to use our faith as an occasion to have “respect of persons.”  One is not to use their time of assembling together to belittle some and exalt others through outward-appearing preferences of whom we count worthy or not.

James 2:2-4 “For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?”

The word “partial” speaks of prejudice.  Prejudices come in all shapes and forms.  Regardless of how it comes, it seeks to pass judgment on another based on what one sees or perceives on the outside without knowing the person, their inside story, or their situation.

In this lesson, “partial” or the prejudices spoken against revolve around the unfavorable preference for those who are rich over those who are poor.

“Goodly apparel” versus “vile raiment.”  These were the precursors James is addressing by which men “become judges of evil thoughts.”  Outward appearances became the criteria by which one determines where one is worthy to be seated.  If this is the case, then those to whom James is writing can themselves be classified as one who shows that in their way of thinking they are “then partial in yourselves.”  A wrong spirit of dividing and categorizing people based on a superficial standard dwells in them.

It is so easy, by human standards, to fall into the trap of viewing with the eyes and judging one’s status.  This is called “stereotyping,” when one thinks they know you by how you appear on the outside and places you in a certain category and determines for themselves, based on nothing else, that is where you belong.

Even the prophet Samuel fell into this dangerous mindset in searching for the next king of Israel.  Judging by the mighty men before him, one of these, all appearing to fit the outer criteria, had to be the one.  God rebuked such notions and told him, “Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart,” (1 Sam. 16:7).

With such a profound biblical example of exactly what James is teaching, let us take heed to this warning found in Leviticus 19:15 which says, “Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, no honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbor.”  Our fair and just God wants us to mimic His holy character and treat others fairly without personal preferences.

Our faith is founded in Christ, who Himself said, “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment,” (Jn. 7:24).  Place seating, such as was the case that James is confronting, according to “goodly apparel” versus “vile raiment” is judging “according to appearance.”  It is sizing up people according to what they can afford to buy or do for another.

This is unjust thinking.  God wants equal opportunity Christians for God Himself shows no partiality, Romans 2:11.  His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, came and died so that the whole world, not just some specific groups whom others count worthy, might be saved, John 3:16.  When one goes against His basis of salvation and is biased in showing partiality according to what is seen on the outside of a man, they “become judges of evil thoughts.” 

Fulfill the Royal Law

James 2:5 “Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?”

“Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom?”  Jesus once taught, “The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment” (Luke 12:23).  Yet, these temporary things are what people strive for the most to achieve.  One can have all the treasures in the world and “is not rich toward God,” (Luke 12:21).  These persons shall never inherit His “kingdom” in that coming day.

Those whose boast is in their material wealth, those whose pride rests in all they have acquired, are lacking the most important thing to enter that kingdom: a “love” relationship with “Him.”  Revelation 3:17 shows how the accumulation of things will never satisfy that holy requirement: “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.”

In other words, according to the world’s system of judging success, these individuals thought they had what it takes to enter that “kingdom.”  Yet, they were really the ones who lacked the most.  Jesus’ instructions were, “I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich…” (Rev. 3:18).  Jesus is and has been proven to be the only way to enter that “kingdom” and He wants people to depend on a “love” relationship with Him, not material possessions.

Matthew 5:3 also tells us, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  Those who recognize their depravity are prone to be more dependent on the grace of another, be it in the natural or spiritual.  The natural poor have nothing great to boast of, no apparent accumulation of goods and accolades to give just cause to receive favor.  The same is true for the spiritually poor.  These are usually the ones marked as being “rich in faith” because they depend on what God can do and has done for them, and not their own selves or riches.

James 2:6-7 “But ye have despised the poor.  Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?  Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?”

James drew his readers in to really examine their unjust actions.  Their inequality of treatment toward the “poor” was wrong and they did their fellow man a great disservice by despising them.  This treatment of being “despised” for their lack goes beyond just making them feel rejected; rather, through their preference for the rich they are showing hatred toward the “poor.” 

To James, this made no sense because it is the rich who are always at enmity with them.  He questions them, “Do not the rich oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?”  This, to him, was all backward thinking.

Those in power and authority often act with great contempt toward the common man and sometimes toward God also, thinking their status in life affords them special privileges above others.  They would “oppress” their fellow man and take them to court, using their wealth to gain favor not normally available to the poor.

If you will allow me to paraphrase, James said, “Not in here.  Not in the church.”  This is a place for all humanity to humbly submit in worship before the Lord and no partiality is allowed, no respect of persons.  When they come into this building, the only thing that matters is what the inner man possesses and professes, and not their outward possessions.

James 2:8-9 “If ye fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love they neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.”

“If ye fulfill the royal law according to scripture.”  One day, a lawyer thinking to trip Jesus up on His words, asked, “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?” (Mt. 22:36).  Jesus took no time in answering him and immediately said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  This is the first and great commandment,” (Mt. 22:37-38).

But Jesus did not stop there.  This was a prime teaching opportunity to let them know how they treat people matters.  Therefore, He went on to say, “And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thy self” (Mt. 22:39), words James also reminds them of.

Treat people as you would want to be treated.  The Bible tells us “God is love” (1 John 4:8), therefore, those that belong to Him should operate in love also.  Love is an energy that supplies the deepest crevices of man, filling a longing that has been present since conception. Everybody wants to be loved, no matter their status in life, and the church should be a supply source of His great love.

“But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin.”  In Matthew 22, when Jesus listed these two greatest commandments He also stated, “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets,” (vs. 40).  How we treat people really does matter.  Showing “respect” to one who seems more affluently endowed could cause unfair actions toward those who are not, thereby committing sin.

Think about it.  One of the greatest commandments spoken by our Lord was focused on how we treat others.  To go against that grain of the love that He lived and died for is to go against Him.  When one chooses to side with the rich (or any unjust group), they choose to partake in the characteristic of oppression that exudes from that individual.

James 2:10-11 “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.  For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill.  Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.”

Sin is sin!  If one treats his fellow man wrong in any of the ways the Word of God lists, he is just as guilty as if he had committed any other sin.  Therefore, he is teaching Christians to avoid it.  Don’t do it.  Do not behave in or mimic these practices.  It is not just an unpleasant way of acting – it is a sin!

One can cross every supposed “T” and dot every “I” of the law, but if “they offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”  “All unrighteousness is sin,” exclaims 1 John 5:17.  If it goes against God’s commands, it is sin no matter how small or large we may view it.  “For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee,” the psalmist said in Psalm 5:4.  God hates all sin, Psalm 11:5.

Mercy Receives Mercy

James 2:12-13 “So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.  For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.”

One day judgment is coming and how we treat others will be compensated, for good or bad.  If no “mercy” was shown toward one’s fellow man then don’t expect “mercy,” James taught.  In other words, he was teaching them the same way they judged whether one was worthy to sit here or there is the same way they will be judged.  “For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again,” (Mt. 7:2).  All decisions have repercussions.  Measure for measure, payday is coming.  There are eternal rewards or judgments for how we treat one another.

PDF Printable Sunday School Lesson Pack (With easy to read instructions following the P.E.A.R.L. format on how to conduct each lesson with areas for adding personal notes): Sunday School Lesson – No Respect of Persons

Suggested Activities:

Blank Journal Pages: These pages, one designed for adults and one for children, can be used to bring out, remember, or write a particular part of the lesson you wish for you and/or your class to focus on.  Click>> Blank Adult and Kid’s Journal Pages to access the journal pages.

Unity Craft: Use my Outlines People Template to trace a Unity Chain of people. Print the template onto cardstock and cut it out.  Use the template as a tracing pattern on any paper you choose to make your chain of people as long as you want it to be.  Then, cut it out and decorate to represent many people from all walks of life.  Or, you can use them as shown in the Better Together Craft below.  Just decorate your people however you wish.

Better Together Craft:  Although this was originally used for an Adam and Eve lesson for husbands and wives, I think it can be used here as well, because uniting people together will demonstrate that we are better together (similar to the chain craft above, but with words).  Decorate as you wish.  Using the Better Together Craft pdf template, create this craft following the directions as a reminder of God’s great design.

Try Me on for Size Shoe Game: This is an interesting game I created. Pile everyone’s shoes in a pile in the middle of the room.  Take a blindfolded volunteer to rummage through the shoes and try to put on the first shoe they pick up.  While still blindfolded ask does it fit?  Is it too big or too small?  What can you tell about this person who wears this shoe, and so on?  Literally, they are putting themselves in another’s shoes.  Teach them this is how James wants us to relate to others.  We are to go beyond what we think we see and consider individuals a little more closely.  Then, give another student a chance to go.  When the new volunteer is blindfolded, mix the shoes up, and start again.

Word Search: No Respect of Persons Word Search  Answers: No Respect of Persons Word Search Answers

Crossword: No Respect of Persons Crossword  Answers: No Respect of Persons Crossword Answers

Word Scramble: No Respect of Persons Word Scramble  Answers: No Respect of Persons Word Scramble Answers

Draw the Scene: No Respect of Persons Draw the Scene

Memory Verse: No Respect of Persons Memory Verse

 

 

Sunday School Lesson – “Ezekiel Sees a Life-Giving River” Ezekiel 47:1-12

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VERSE DISCOVERY: Ezekiel 47:1-12 (KJV, Public Domain)

One day, Jesus, walking with His disciples, felt compelled to go through Samaria (John 4:4).  Resting on a well while His disciples proceeded into the city to buy food (v.8), He had an encounter with a woman from Samaria who came seeking water (v.7).  Seeing her intent, Jesus asked, “Give me to drink.”

Her response was nothing unusual for the days they lived in.  Knowing the animosity that was between the Jews and the Samaritans, she stated what was to her a normal fact: “How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans” (v.9).

Jesus, bypassing her hesitation to reach her heart, said to her, “If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.  But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:10, 14; emphasis added).

Water is life-sustaining.  No matter what climate or environment one dwells in, water is a mandatory need that must be met to thrive physically.  For Jesus, to identify what He has to offer as “water springing up into everlasting life” is triumphal.  It meets the soul’s deepest need and satisfies all that is required spiritually for one to enter life everlasting.

Living water springing up into everlasting life is picturesque of this lesson.  In this portion of Ezekiel’s visions (for he had many), there is a life-giving river that flows from the sanctuary of God, healing all it touches much like our Lord promised the woman at the well of Samaria.

The Beginning Flow

Ezekiel 47:1, 2 “Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar.  Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side.”

When traveling through uncharted, unfamiliar territories, places where your feet have not stepped before, nor have your eyes seen, it is always wise to have someone along who can lead the way and show you things you may miss or not understand.

During this vision, Ezekiel has such a person to help him navigate and understand what he is witnessing.  The one escorting him is simply referred to as “the man” (Ezekiel 40:1-4), or “he” here in verse 1. 

The Bible does not clarify who “the man” is, but he has walked with Ezekiel through several visions, unfolding the truth of each one along the way.

Whoever “the man” was, he knew his way around and he knew what he was talking about.  Therefore, Ezekiel, in faith, continued to follow his lead, learning what God wanted him to learn along the way.  Truths for himself.  Truths for the people of the day.  And truth for us as well.

In this lesson, he is brought back to the door of the temple, or “house.”  It was here that he saw something unusual and out of the ordinary.  Water was flowing from under the threshold of the door of the temple.  This was a sight to see for Ezekiel, but even more so for us being that other verses of the Bible speak of the same thing occurring.   

Joel 3:18 speaks about “a fountain shall come forth out of the house of the LORD.”  And Zechariah 14:8 tells us, “living waters shall go out from Jerusalem.”

Traveling to the end of the Bible, there is a very vivid picture of this life-giving river and its source which was “Proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb” (Revelation 22:1). 

Ezekiel became an eyewitness to a phenomenon of God.  A miracle was unfolding before his eyes, reminding us of what the prophet Isaiah once wrote: “Every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters…” (55:1). 

There is a miracle unfolding in the house of God for all who will come to Him.

The man had taken Ezekiel out of the north gate and brought him around to the gate that “looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side” (v. 2).

Some may ask why they traveled this path?  Why not just go directly out the east gate to witness this phenomenon?

Let us travel back in history a bit to find out.

First, let’s talk about Ezekiel and why he was having these visions in the first place.  He was a prophet/priest who was ministering God’s word to the captives in Babylon, and unfortunately, they were noted as being rebellious people (Ezekiel 2:3,7).

Through many demonstrations and illustrations, God relayed His message through Ezekiel to the people.  Then, we reach Ezekiel 8, where in another vision, Ezekiel is shown the following: “Son of man, seest thou what they do? even the great abominations that the house of Israel committeth here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary?…” (Ez. 8:6). 

Reaching Ezekiel 10, he then saw God’s glory depart from the temple because of the wickedness of the people.

By the time we reach Ezekiel 43, and after much goings on in between the two references, the Bible tells us, “And the glory of the Lord came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east” (Ez. 43:4). 

Because of this, Ezekiel 44:2 says, “Then said the Lord unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the Lord, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut.”  So, no man can tread through there.

The Increasing Flow

Ezekiel 47:3-5 “And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles.  Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins.  Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.”

After coming out of the gate and witnessing the “waters on the right side” (v. 2), our focus is then brought back to “the man” who was leading Ezekiel through this vision, and who now has a measuring “line in his hand.”

Moving “eastward,” in the same direction as the water flow, the man began to take measurements.  Marking out “a thousand cubits” following the water flow, they found the waters to be to the “ankles.”

Measuring in “cubits” was the normal practice of the day.  It was usually the length of a man’s elbow to the top of his middle finger, or approximately 18 inches long.

The man repeats his measurements of “a thousand cubits” three more times.  Going through the waters till we see the measurements and the depth of the water reach the “knees,” the “loins,” and lastly, until the waters are too deep for wading and the only choice left was to “swim” in it.

Although we are not given specifics for the growing depth and spreading of the waters, we fully appreciate all they touch and the effects they produce.

The Healing Flow

Ezekiel 47:6-10 “And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river.

Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other.

Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.

And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh.

And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.”

The man, addressing Ezekiel asked, “Son of man, hast thou seen this?”

In previous visions, when he witnessed the wickedness of the people and their abominations of worship, he probably wished he could unsee and forget that horrible sight.  But now, what he sees is so wonderful and so refreshing, because what he is witnessing is a testament to what God wants to do through His mercy and restoration power.

The Bible says, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).  Yet, God allowed Ezekiel this illustrative preview of the glorious.

God has stuff in store that will blow your mind, and you want to be very attentive to see every bit of it.

“Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river.  Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other.”  Where the water flowed, vegetation appeared in abundance.  Both sides of the river were thick with “trees.” 

Trees that are planted by water tend to do great in their growth.  All they absorb from the river gives them the nutrients to not only develop and increase, but to thrive (compare Psalm 1:3).  One may assume that’s why there are “very many” of them present in the vision.

“Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.”  No wonder there are so many trees.  “These waters” are healing waters.  This is the result of flowing from the sanctuary.  Anything that flows from where God resides must be healed or made whole.

That little trickle that started at the threshold impacted everything it touched, and what follows is abundance.  They are experiencing an outpouring of the bounty of God’s power in action.  God has the cure for everything that needs to be restored!

“And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh.”  Don’t you love it when you see the word “shall” attached to the promises and blessings of God?  It speaks of the authority of the author of the words to make happen what was said to happen.  It is essentially a command word, and here the command is to “live.”

Wherever “these waters” flow, life flows with it.  Whatever the river touches, it will be penetrated by the power of God.  Wherever the currents move –  life, restoration, and healing will be stirred in the ripples of it.

Why?  “For they shall be healed.”  Since we’ve already discussed the healing of the waters in the previous section, let’s focus on what occurred after the waters moved through these rivers.

One thing we noticed is that now, as opposed to its previous condition, “there shall be a very great multitude of fish.” 

A significant note indeed, considering the body of waters being referenced is none other than the Dead Sea, whose extremely high salt content makes it impossible for life to exist there.

But when the waters that flow from the sanctuary touch that which was dead, life springs forth anew.  Fish are not only able to inhabit that which was considered uninhabitable, but they thrive “because these waters shall come thither.” 

“Fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim” and cast out their nets with guaranteed results of a good catch.

Today, there are myriad ways for people to catch fish.  Some launch out in boats.  Some have waterproof bibbed overalls that equip them to walk deeper in the water where the fish are.  Visiting beach areas you may find some positioning themselves on a pier or a bridge to let down their lines into the waters.

Depending on the type of fishing and fish one is looking for, methods such as airboats, sonar, different baits and bobbers are used to guarantee a good catch.  But none of those tricks and tactics would be needed in this river.  Put away your new-fangled gadgets and gizmos, because all they had to do was stand on the side, and fish. 

A fisherman’s paradise, if you will, because of the abundance.

So.  Many.  Fish.  This wasn’t a man-made, pre-stocked pond that made catching easy.  Nor was it a catch-and-release program.  The abundance experienced here was because of the miracle flowing from the sanctuary.

Not only was there abundance in numbers, but there was abundance in “kinds,” or species of fish: “Their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.”

Science has tried to put a number on the many species of fish that may swim in this planet’s waters.  But they are only what is known to us.  It seems the more we explore, the more we find out.  I don’t know how many different species of fish swimming in these waters in this lesson are, but it was so much that it was noted here: “exceeding many.”

Ezekiel 47:11 “But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt.”

God, on purpose, let an area remain unaffected by the flow of healing waters.  There are many speculations about why it goes untouched, but none substantiated by the Word.  For His reasons, God commanded it to remain as is.  This really exemplifies the sovereignty of God at work in all areas of life.  If He commands healing, then it shall be healed.  If He commands a condition to stay in the state that it is, then we can rest knowing that it is still a part of His perfect plan and that there must be a divine purpose at work even if we don’t know why.  Romans reminds us, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (8:28). 

Ezekiel 47:12 “And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.”

We see nearly the exact thing written by John in Revelation 22:2 where it says, “In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”

In both instances, there are the trees with fruit every month, and leaves adorned for healing or “medicine.”  All because of those life-giving waters that support them.

The culmination of all that God is doing and touching is with the end result of healing and restoration; to bring new life.

Is this not what Jesus promised the woman at the well?  “The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14). 

Everlasting life.  Does that not speak of being wholly restored and healed for all eternity?  Does that not reverse the curse of sin and bring life to the place that was dead?

Let us take heed to the call of Isaiah: “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters,” (55:1).  There is life, the power of His Spirit, waiting to touch and heal all that come.  “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord,” (Romans 6:23).

PDF Full Printable Sunday School Lesson Pack (With easy to read instructions following the P.E.A.R.L. format on how to conduct each lesson with areas for adding personal notes): Sunday School Lesson – Ezekiel Sees a Life-Giving River

Recommended Activities:

Water Bottle Verse:

Water is life-sustaining.  There is no hiding the value it has for our physical health.  But what about our spiritual health?

Jesus told the woman of Samaria, “If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.  But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:10, 14).

Copy, cut out, and attach/tape these verses to your water bottles (disposable or other) throughout this week.  These verses will not only serve as a reminder of what Christ offers us, but they can also be used as a witnessing tool to others. Click here for a free water bottle verse printable ► Water Bottle Verse

  • Game Idea for younger students: To the tune of “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” sing this modified version indicating the flow of the increasing, healing waters found in Ezekiel’s vision. Sing:

“Ankles, knees, hips, and shoulders,

Hips and shoulders.

Ankles, knees, hips, and shoulders,

Hips and shoulders.

Healing the trees,

And fish,

And waters.

Ankles, knees, hips, and shoulders,

Hips and shoulders.” © Word for Life Says

Adult Journal Page: Adult Journal Page – Ezekiel Sees a Life-Giving River

 

Kid’s Journal Page: Kid’s Journal Page – Ezekiel Sees a Life-Giving River

Blank Journal Page: These pages, one designed for adults and one for children, can be used to bring out, remember, or write a particular part of the lesson you wish for you and/or your class to focus on.  Click>>Blank Adult and Kid’s Journal Pages to access the journal pages.

Draw the Scene: Ezekiel Sees a Life-Giving River Draw the Scene

Simple Coloring Sheet: Ezekiel Sees a Life-Giving River Simple Coloring Sheet

Leaf Lace-Up Craft: This simple craft connects the children with the effects this life-giving river has on the fruit and the leaves of the trees.  Use PDF: Ezekiel 47 12 Lace Up Leaf to put together this simple, yet fun activity.  Print out on cardstock and use a hole punch to put holes around the leaf.  Use any materials you have lying around for lacing: yarn, string, pipe cleaners, etc.  I used crumbled party streamers.  Go figure!  Enjoy!

My Project 320-001

Ezekiel 47 12 Lace Up Leaf-001

Word Search: Ezekiel Sees a Life-Giving River Word Search  Word Search Answers: Ezekiel Sees a Life-Giving River Word Search Answers

Crossword: Ezekiel Sees a Life-Giving River Crossword  Crossword Answers: Ezekiel Sees a Life-Giving River Crossword Answers

Word Scramble: Ezekiel Sees a Life-Giving River Word Scramble  Word Scramble Answers: Ezekiel Sees a Life-Giving River Word Scramble Answers

Text Free Image Above by 15079075 from Pixabay

Sunday School Lesson – “The Shepherd and His Sheep” Psalm 23

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VERSE DISCOVERY: Psalm 23 (KJV, Public Domain)

Psalm 23 is probably the most famous chapter in the entire Bible.  It’s one that children learn to recite from an early age.  Yet, let’s not take it for granted because of its familiarity.  Rather, with child-like faith let us grasp the beauty of those blessed words that unfold before us in those six verses as David’s description of God and His relationship with His people is made known in this poetically beautiful psalm.

The LORD is My Shepherd

Psalm 23:1a “The Lord is my shepherd . . .”

As a teenager, David knew exactly what it was to be a shepherd.  His profession was to tend to his father’s sheep (see 1 Samuel 16:11).  Before the anointing oil from Samuel’s flask dripped upon his head, his life was spent walking through the valleys and hills of the land, caring for, finding food for, and protecting the sheep that were put under his charge.

Now, no longer a teenager, but a king, David could look back at those experiences he had, his job, and his relationship with the sheep, and compose a beautiful song that celebrates God’s ultimate care for us using the same Shepherd/sheep analogy.  Words that will inspire the believing heart to see God as everything we could ever need no matter what life throws at us.

With that, David opens this psalm by penning the words, “The LORD is my shepherd.”  As with David’s pre-king occupation, a shepherd’s job and life were spent in a selfless manner.  The sheep dominated his day-in and day-out thinking.  How to provide for them?  Where to lead them?  Are there any dangers ahead or behind them?  The shepherd’s life was also pretty much isolated.  Leading the sheep often meant time away from home.  Perhaps, when Samuel came to see and anoint this future king, that’s why David’s family forgot about the boy in the fields.  He was always working and caring for the sheep and maybe he was hardly seen in their presence.

Looking back on those days it wasn’t hard for David to see God as the ultimate Shepherd and himself counted as a sheep who is totally dependent on the care and the protection of the Shepherd.  The description of God in the role as a shepherd actually predates David’s time and is seen in books of the Bible in the time of Genesis (see Genesis 49:24).  So, David’s thinking along those lines is right up the alley with the patriarch Jacob/Israel when he too saw God in this fashion and referred to Him as such when discussing God’s protection over Joseph when he was attacked by those who hated him.

As sheep, if left on their own, they will fall prey to so many elements of this world, be it animals who wanted to eat them, circumstances and weather that may threaten them or the lands where they graze.  They are docile animals awaiting the leadership of the shepherd.  As such, David too saw his own relationship with the Lord in the same manner.  “LORD” in all caps stands for Yahweh, the name Israel identified as the holiest of all in reference to the only true God alone.  So, there is no mistake about who David says is his true Shepherd.  “My shepherd,” he says, is God alone (80:1; 100:3; Ezekiel 34:11-12).

I Shall Not Want

Psalm 23:1b-6 “. . . I shall not want.  He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.  He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.  Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.”

Here, my friends, is where we get to savor the sweetness found in this holy relationship.  This is where our desire should be increased for Him as the former shepherd turned king whets our appetites with this description of God’s abundant love over us both now and forever.

This short, but powerful psalm, inspires us to see ourselves physically under the spiritual promises written within.  These illustrations that David paints with his words give us these vivid pictures of God’s tender loving care, in action, over His sheep.

“I shall not want,” David speaks, showing us the extension of the Shepherd’s nurturing watchfulness for His flock of sheep.  Being a member of the Shepherd’s divine keep, David saw there is nothing lacking in God’s provision for His people or in our relationship with Him.  Did not the Apostle Paul state in the book of Philippians, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus,” (4:19).  It is by the hand of the Lord that we are sustained and maintained.  It is by His loving care we are thoroughly and completely cared for and provided for.  The Bible says, “No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly,” (Psalm 84:11).  Anything we NEED (not our wants, as many seem to think) for our Christian journey, God is our unfailing provider.  God is for His people – Always!  We do not serve a God of lack.  He will provide!  Whatever you NEED, God’s got it!  God is attentive to the state of His people, His sheep.  He does not leave them wanting for care.  He not only provides, but He does so much more . . .

“He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.”  In this reference, David saw in one’s relationship with God, peace that can’t be found anywhere else.  The phrases “lie down” and “still waters” show the sheep being unafraid due to the shepherd’s attentive leading.  Sheep are naturally fearful animals, but these references show the sheep are at rest, at peace in His presence.

The Bible gives us many references to the peace that we find in our relationship with God.  Some of my favorites are:

    • Isaiah 26:3 “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”
    • John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
    • John 16:33 “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
    • Philippians 4:6-7 “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

All of these solidify the type of relationship the sheep have with the shepherd, the type of relationship we experience in Jesus Christ, our ultimate Shepherd (John 10:11).  Many are grasping at various things and pursuits to fill their life with peace.  This peace and serenity can only be found under the protection of the Shepherd.

“He restoreth my soul.”  The need for restoration means one’s energies have been spent.  This life can wear people down, especially when they are insistent on going their own way.  As the shepherd leads his sheep to refreshing places, God stands ready to replenish the weary and broken soul.  Often in life, as Isaiah put it, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way . . .” (Isaiah 53:6), and the soul is in need of being restored.

David knew personally and could speak from experience what it was to wander away from the Shepherd spiritually and to feel the need to be brought back into a correct soul position with God.  He prayed in Psalm 51, “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit” (v. 12) after he was confronted about his sin involving Bathsheba.  Our ultimate restoration of the soul can only be found in Jesus Christ, our Good Shepherd.

“He leadeth me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”  God will guide the soul that chooses to follow Him to the right path.   When we were children, most of us know what it was like to partake in a good game of “Follow the Leader.”  Anything the leader does or says is to be matched by the other participants.  God gives direction for the purpose of leading His people who will choose to follow Him on the right path that will lead to glory for, “All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies,” (Psalm 25:10).

Finding rest for your soul doesn’t just happen by being in green meadows, but it happens by staying on the true and tried course already laid out for us through God’s Word.  Jeremiah 6:16a says, “Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. . .”  Righteousness is the good way.  Righteousness is the path walked before by others and it is the path that will lead us to life eternal.  Unfortunately, for those whom Jeremiah spoke to, the latter part of that verse says, “But they said, We will not walk therein,” (Jeremiah 6:16b).  They chose to butt up against the Lord’s leading like stubborn goats instead of following His shepherding as faithful sheep should.

This type of combative attitude will not lead one to glory, nor will it bring glory to His “name.”  God’s name is to be glorified in our lives (see Psalm 29:1-2; Romans 11:36; 1 Corinthians 10:31; 1 Peter 4:11).  His name is honored when we live for Him.  Previously, I wrote:

“Too many go through their day without ever considering the fact that, Hey, He is God, and He should be before all others. With that realization in hand, I want my life to reflect that great truth. I want every word, every action, and every thought to magnify the greatness of who He is and all of His glory. When I go about my day, I want people to see Him in me. Do I make mistakes? Oh, yeah! But I have a goal. I aspire to do better and to be better every day. God has been so good and wonderful to me, and I feel that as His child the least I can do is show Him the honor due Him.” (Honor God/Word for Life Says).

David recognized that as a sheep, he depended on the Shepherd to keep his feet walking on the right path.  And as such, there is no “fear” in this sheep/Shepherd relationship.  When the ways get dark and hard to travail; when the path becomes treacherous and enemies hide in crevices to try to attack – God, as the Shepherd, stands in protection mode over His sheep/people.

Once again, David could look back over his own life and see where God had previously delivered him.  There was more than one time when David was being pursued by King Saul who hated him and wanted to kill him.  Through the course of that running, David, in the time of his afflictions, wrote in Psalm 34, “I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears” (v. 4).  When he was on the run from his own son Absalom, who sought to take his life and his throne, David expressed confidence in God, saying, “I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about,” (Psalm 3:6).  He may have been on the run from men at various times, but he was never far from God, he was never far from the Shepherd.  His trust is in God who makes him feel safe no matter what is going on around him.

So, he says, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me.”  The attendance of the Shepherd, even in the darkest of places, makes the sheep feel undeniably safe.  “The LORD is my light and my salvation,” David proclaims in Psalm 27, “whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (v. 1).

Then, he goes on to say, “Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”  The shepherd’s rod and staff were used as tools of protection from enemies and for the sheep themselves.  He could use it to defeat a ravenous creature that set its sights on having sheep for dinner, or he could use the hook of the staff to save the sheep when he himself wandered where he shouldn’t and fell.  It has been proven throughout David’s life repeatedly that he could depend on God’s loving care in the same manner.

“Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.”  When the Shepherd is on guard (which God always is), it doesn’t matter who snarls at the sheep.  The Shepherd not only is the comfort of His people, but He goes “before” them to protect them and to provide for them.  Any good shepherd will not let his sheep wander into places without first checking the landscape ahead of them.  He goes and examines the land and areas to not only abundantly provide for them but to also take stock if there is anything there that could cause harm to the sheep.

Please note: Some, when studying this passage, switch the way they view these remaining two verses from the picture of a shepherd to that of a host laying out a banquet table, which could easily be applied to this lesson as well.  I will choose to stick along the lines of the shepherd analogy, keeping in line with David’s opening subject of God identified as the Shepherd and with this subject’s theme.  Both support the text, and both can be viewed along the veins of God being a wonderful provider who gives extraordinary care to His people.

The phrase, “Thou anointest my head with oil;” depending on how you viewed the first part of this verse, its meaning would vary.  In the hospitality-based culture of the ancient Hebrews, it was customary to anoint one’s head with oil, amongst other practices.  Look at Jesus’ response when He went to Simon’s house and Simon failed to do the duty that was expected:

“And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.  Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.  My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.  Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.” (Luke 7:44-47).

These were ways to express honor and respect and help refresh one when coming into a house, particularly to a dinner or feast.  But if we look at the anointing oil from the standpoint of being used by the shepherd instead of a host, it could be seen as being used for medicinal purposes and in other areas of care for the sheep (ex. as an insect repellent).

Either way you look at it, the “oil” represents care and devotion to the one to whom it is applied, which is what God does for His people.

“My cup runneth over” gives the impression of providing in abundance.  God loves His people and has no problem supplying what they need.  God never waivers in the care of His people and can be seen as a constant source of trust and rest.

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life” expresses the idea of God’s faithful care in this life.  God’s mercy, grace, and every loving attribute we can align to His holy name shows His “goodness” is alive and active even in our broken days.  If you are reading this, you have experienced God’s goodness today.  If you are hearing these words being taught to you, you have been a partaker of the gift He has blessed humanity with.  God’s goodness leads one down the path closer to Him if they will but trust and follow it (Psalm 25:8).

God is good (see Psalm 100:5; Nahum 1:7; Matthew 19:17) and God does good (see Psalm 119:64; Genesis 1)!  God cannot separate Himself from who He is and what He does!”

And in dealing with the life to come, David said, “I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever” which speaks of the assurance he has in God, knowing that as His child, as His sheep, as His people, he could look forward to spending eternity in the presence of God.  There is a blessed future for the people of God.  Whether you view God as a great and gracious host welcoming one to a banquet supper (compare Revelation 19:7-9) or as the Shepherd leading His people to quiet waters (compare Revelation 7:16-17), both speak of an eternity of being where He is, and the faithful followers of Christ are secured in that coming day because of His care for His sheep.

“He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.” Isaiah 40:11

PDF Full Printable Sunday School Lesson Pack (With easy to read instructions following the P.E.A.R.L. format on how to conduct each lesson with areas for adding personal notes): Sunday School Lesson – The Shepherd and His Sheep

Suggested Activities:

Opening: 

  • Prepare yourself to be knowledgeable about the shepherd/sheep relationship. Research the many ways of the farmer/shepherd and the care they have for their sheep.  What happens if one gets lost?  What happens if one falls on their back?  What is the best way to lead a sheep, feed them, and care for them?
  • Present either digital or printed pictures to support any facts or answers to any of the questions you may have found. Students will then have a clearer understanding of not only what a farmer/shepherd does for the sheep and the nature of the sheep themselves, but it makes for an easy transition into the lesson.
  • Alternatively, or in conjunction with, bring into the class wool yarn, wool laundry balls, a blanket, jacket, etc. made of wool. Ask students about its materials, what and how it is made, and wait for answers.

If you are familiar with the art of crocheting, knitting, or weaving, a live demonstration may be a nice addition to the lesson, especially if the hands of your students are interested in participating and learning.

Game: Leading the Sheep Golf Game – Play like you would golf but instead of holes in the ground, use shoeboxes or other small cardboard boxes with holes cut in the front (resembling a cartoon mouse hole). Boxes can be decorated and marked to show how many points each one is worth (also consider decorating or naming the boxes with examples from the lesson such as: green pastures, still waters, table of abundance, overflowing cup, or the house of the Lord).

To play the game, use wool laundry balls (to represent the sheep) and a plastic golf club, baseball bat, or something similar (to represent the shepherd’s staff).  Each participant’s job is to lead/golf the sheep into one of these desired places.  The player with the most points at the end of the game is the winner.  But please note, we are all winners when we decide to follow Jesus, our ultimate shepherd. Make this game as simple or as elaborate as you like.

Craft Idea: Younger students can also design a paper bag puppet to look like a shepherd. Use a pipe cleaner to shape into the design of the staff.

Adult Journal Page: Adult Journal Page – The Shepherd and His Sheep

Kid’s Journal Page: Kid’s Journal Page – The Shepherd and His Sheep

Blank Journal Pages: These pages, one designed for adults and one for children, can be used to bring out, remember, or write a particular part of the lesson you wish for you and/or your class to focus on.  Click>>Blank Adult and Kid’s Journal Pages to access the journal pages.

Draw the Scene: The Lord is My Shepherd Draw the Scene

Memory Verse: The Lord is My Shepherd Memory Verse

Coloring Page: The Lord is My Shepherd Coloring Page

How Many Words: The Lord is My Shepherd How Many Words

Wordsearch: The Shepherd and His Sheep Wordsearch  Answers: The Shepherd and His Sheep Wordsearch Answers

Crossword: The Shepherd and His Sheep Crossword  Answers: The Shepherd and His Sheep Crossword Answers

Word Scramble: The Shepherd and His Sheep Word Scramble  Answers: The Shepherd and His Sheep Word Scramble Answers

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Sunday School Lesson – “Raising Lazarus: Jesus’ Authority Over Death” John 11:38-44

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VERSE DISCOVERY: John 11:38-44 (KJV, Public Domain)

Have you ever watched a dramatic movie just to get that knot in your throat when the scene turns too intense? You know what’s on the screen is not real, yet unbidden tears begin to form in the corner of your eyes.  You wipe and wipe, hoping nobody else sees you crying over a movie, but they just won’t stop flowing.

Quite possibly, you have seen this movie before and you know the story will turn out for good, but your heart was just so touched by what was before you that you cannot help but let the emotions of the scene get to you.

In today’s lesson, we come upon a scene that takes a dramatic turn and puts a knot in the throat of our Savior. This does not only become a scene where He shows His undying compassion for those He loves by the shedding of His own tears, but He also shows His complete authority and victory over death and the grave before He ever went to the cross.

Jesus Comes to the Grave

John 11:38 “Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.”

Jesus was out of the area when He received the summons that something terrible had happened to a very good friend of His. Lazarus was sick and the situation did not look good.  His sisters Mary and Martha sent a messenger to the Lord, saying, “He whom thou lovest is sick,” (John 11:3).

The first response when one hears news of a dire emergency occurring with a family member or a friend is to hurry and get to where that individual is, to offer any support and aid that one can to help remedy the situation. This may be the reason his sisters sent for Jesus in the first place.  As we learn, things did not work out as they had planned, but the situation was not out of the control of God.  His plan would be made manifest, and glory would be rendered to Him at the outcome of it all.

When He received the news about Lazarus, Jesus spoke without wavering, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby,” (John 11:4). Therefore, the Bible tells us He waited and did not immediately run to his side.

Some may think this is heartless. Not so, and if you read carefully, you will see that Jesus loved these people greatly (see John 11:5).  God was on the verge of transitioning the faith of those who would witness this great miracle to a brand-new level of belief in Jesus Christ, His Son.  Lazarus’ death would be the tool that would do just that.  So powerful was the event that is about to take place that later “the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death; Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus,” (John 12:10-11).

So, Jesus waits two more days before He made His way to where Lazarus was (see John 11:6). When He arrives, no surprise to Him, but just for narrative purposes we are told in the Bible that Lazarus has been in the grave “four days already,” (John 11:17).

Martha, upon finding out of the Lord’s arrival ran to Him and said, “Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died,” (John 11:21). She knew that while Lazarus was still alive if Jesus had intervened death, all of this could have been avoided, and they would not be having this conversation today.

With no great, flowery words we often hear as sentiments of condolences at the passing of a loved one, Jesus simply stated, “Thy brother shall rise again,” (John 11:23). Martha knew of the resurrection, and she had that kind of faith in Jesus for the “last day” (see John 11:24), but today she still stands in grief wondering why Jesus hadn’t come on time.

When Mary was called to join them, she expressed the same sorrowful sentiment, “Lord, if thou hadst been here my brother had not died,” (John 11:32). Seeing His friends weeping and this whole sad scene playing out before Him, it caused Him to “groan in the spirit,” and He was “troubled” (John 11:33).  His own tears began to flow.

Looking at Him, and seeing His love for the one who was dead, people began to question, “Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died,” (John 11:37)? At this point, many of them still saw Jesus as just a “man.”  And as a man, they were looking at what Jesus could’ve done while Lazarus was alive as opposed to what He can do now even in his death.  In their humanity, they focused on what could have been prevented, instead of Jesus as the Savior who has the power to overcome it.

Arriving at the text of our lesson, verse 38 tells us, “Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave.” Here, Jesus is at the graveside of Lazarus and despite His all-knowing nature, He still groans again.

The fact of the matter is Lazarus was a friend of His and this tragic event touched Him on a personal level. Could it be that although He is fully God, that even in His humanity here on earth grief hit hard?  He was surrounded by weeping friends, and one is laying lifeless in the grave.  He was going to gain victory over it all, but for now, He groaned.

The Bible says that Jesus was “touched with the feeling of our infirmities,” (Hebrews 4:15). What that means is He knows what this human life is all about, the good times and the sad.  He feels what we feel.  He understands the hardships we face in the flesh; therefore, He groans.

Once I wrote, “Isn’t it nice to know that not only do we NOT carry our burdens alone, but we have a Savior that knows what those burdens feel like? Out of the depths of sorrow and pain – He knows.  Through the roads of striving and the paths of hatred – He knows.  During the darkness of nights, He already knows.  Our weaknesses have become His; He knows them, has lived through them, and has borne them.  Jesus knows!” (Jesus Knows/Wordforlifesays.com).

Jesus Says Take the Stone from the Grave

John 11:39 “Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.”

“Take ye away the stone.” The scene was heart-wrenching and troubling; now Jesus asked what may seem to be an unthinkable and irrational request to some.

Unthinkable?  Maybe for another, but not for Jesus.

Irrational? Not at all.  Jesus was asking permission to gain access to the problem.

There are steps of faith and participation Jesus asks His followers to take. If you will remember back in 2 Chronicles 20:17 the people were told to get battle ready and go out against their enemy even though they would not need to fight in that battle.  We have the responsibility to activate our faith in Him by following through on His requests even if it seems irrational.

By removing the stone, they would not only be giving Jesus access to Lazarus, but they were giving Him access to their faith. When one opens their faith, they give Jesus a chance to speak life into it and do the impossible.

“Lord, by this time he stinketh.” Martha spoke up at the thought of it all. One did not just go around opening the graves of dead people except to add more dead people to it.  Little did she know Jesus wanted to free him that was dead and deliver him from that situation.

It should not be surprising that Martha is the one that spoke up. She was the worrier of the family.  When Mary spent time at the feet of Jesus, taking in the words He spoke and strengthening her faith, Martha was busy worrying about the things of this life (see Luke 10:38-42).

“For he hath been dead four days.” Four days gives us the impression that decay could have possibly started to set in in Lazarus’ body. For the human eye, this may look like a point of no return.  But for Jesus, it’s not too late.

Jesus’ power and authority over death are not restricted because Lazarus is in the grave and in a possibly decomposing state (think of the valley of dry bones in Ezekiel 37).  Lazarus’s sister wanted to confine the possibility of Jesus being able to do something about his condition within a certain time frame.  Once that time expired, to her, all hope expired with it.

Earlier she and her sister both expressed to Jesus, “Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died,” (John 11:21, 32). But now, she sees the situation as past the point of remedy.  She believes it is too late.

There is nothing that God cannot do: “For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone,” (Psalm 86:10).  Jesus can “do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think,” (Ephesians 3:20).  Jesus didn’t need her to rehearse how many days have passed.  For Him, it’s never too late!

John 11:40 “Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?”

Before this moment of questioning, there was given a promise. Jesus assured her then, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.  Believest thou this?” (John 11:25-26).

Her response then was, “Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world,” (John 11:27). She was most likely concerned with the hereafter when she made her declaration of faith.  But Jesus was ready right now to do the impossible.  He was ready now to manifest “the glory of God.”

How do we see the glory of God manifested in our own life? By believing.

In an article titled, “Do More Than Pray – Believe!” I wrote:

“Sometimes in life, I think we tend to downplay the importance of our faith and what we believe. We hear about it so much that I think as Christians we have become desensitized to its power in both our spiritual and our natural lives.  This is not what it should be since we are told in four verses of the Bible, “The just shall live by his faith,” (Hab. 2:4; Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:38, KJV).

Our faith, our belief should be the marker for everything in our lives. Not just for salvation, but for every action and prayer.  We know all the right words to say and all the proper “Christian” motions to make, but is our faith alive and put into full force action?” (Wordforlifesays.com)

What Jesus was asking her was to believe beyond what she can see now, and she will have access to witnessing something truly miraculous taking place.  She was to put her faith “into full force action.” As Christians, we too are called to put our faith on display and let Jesus have access to the dead things so that He can raise them to life again.

Previously in John 11:4, when first called to come to Lazarus’ aid, Jesus spoke, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.” Knowing the power He would soon exhibit, He stated confidently again in verse 11, “Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.”

God’s glory was about to shine for the whole world to see.

The Grave is Opened and Jesus Prays

John 11:41-42 “Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.  And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.”

With the stone rolled away from the grave, “Jesus lifted up his eyes.” What a beautiful picture this depicts, the King of all creation standing humbly with the naysayers while His whole focus is on heaven. He intercedes and approaches heaven where His Father sits attentively upon His holy throne.  A privilege, mind you, that He has now given to all His children (Hebrews 4:16).

“And said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.” To me, this is one of the most special phrases in the Bible. Aloud, Jesus let us know that our prayers do not fall on deaf ears.  Repeatedly we are taught that God hears when we pray, and here in this moment, Jesus gives us an exact illustration of the faith we too can have when approaching the throne of grace.

“God has so many wonderful characteristics and attributes, but one of the things that always strike me as impressive is the fact that He hears my prayers, Psalm 54:2. In all lowliness of mind and heart, we come before Him freely. The Sovereign of the universe becomes attentive to us, and to our needs, and bows down His ear to take on our concerns and needs. He doesn’t have to, but He is mindful of us, Psalm 8:4. He centers Himself to focus wholly and completely on us.” (Know that God Hears/Wordforlifesays.com).

That’s amazing!

When Jesus approached God in prayer, He went in expectation, totally sure “that thou hearest me always.”

When one prays, expect to receive an answer, expect to see some sort of fulfillment come from your prayers. Look for something to happen because of your praying.  Even if the answer doesn’t look the way you imagine it should, your prayers do not fall on deaf ears.  Be confident that God hears you.  God is attentive to you.  God does not leave you in a state of wanting.  David said, “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want,” (Psalm 23:1).  There will be results.

Believe in the goodness of God. Believe in your relationship with Him as a child of the heavenly Father.  Believe that He always seeks to give you His best (ex. John 3:16).  I often refer to God in my personal prayer as the Good Father who gives good gifts to His children (Matthew 7:11).  It’s something we must hold on to and depend upon.  Believe that God knows how to answer our prayers.

“That they may believe that thou hast sent me.”  Jesus wanted to show the people through His prayer, and through what was to follow, that He and His Father were hooked up together in this.  He wasn’t some rogue man seeking to attract crowds for self-sake.  He was the Son of God, working with God and His approval, seeking to convince as many as possible to believe in Him, to believe in the mission He came to accomplish on this earth, with the end result of saving their souls, not just raising Lazarus from the dead. He spoke, “That they may believe.”

Jesus Calls Lazarus Out of the Grave

John 11:43-44 “And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.  And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.”

Jesus, before He ever went to the cross, proved His authority over death once again. On previous occasions, others who tasted death were brought back to life (see Matthew 9:25 and Luke 7:15).  Lazarus’s death, and the miracle of life being restored to him would be far more convincing of the power of Christ because he had been dead for a longer period.

Jesus once spoke, and said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation,” (John 5:25, 28-29).

What Jesus was doing with Lazarus now was just a small example of His power and what He will do in that day to come. Therefore, He called Lazarus by name and commanded him, “Come forth.” The Bible then tells us, “And he that was dead came forth.”

Even in death, those who were and are in Christ Jesus, are secured. “Loose him, and let him go,” Jesus commanded.  The one who has been raised need not be bound any longer.  Graveclothes are for the dead, of which Lazarus was not anymore.  Therefore, they were commanded to be taken off him.  Lazarus was made totally free.

In conclusion, we can have faith, because we see:

Jesus showed His authority over death before the cross: as seen here in this lesson and through other death-raising miracles.

He showed His authority over death during His process of going to the cross: When Pilate spoke of his power to crucify Him, the Bible says, “Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above,” (John 19:11, emphasis mine).  Previously, when He spoke of His life to others He said, “No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again,” (John 10:18, emphasis mine).

He showed His authority over death on the cross: “When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost,” (John 19:30, emphasis mine; see also Matthew 27:50 and Luke 23:46).

He showed His authority over death when He rose on the third day: “And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures,” (1 Corinthians 15:4, emphasis mine).

And He has authority over death forevermore: “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death,” – Revelation 1:18, emphasis mine).

PDF Full Printable Sunday School Lesson Pack (With easy to read instructions following the P.E.A.R.L. format on how to conduct each lesson with areas for adding personal notes): Sunday School Lesson – Raising Lazarus: Jesus’ Authority Over Death

Suggested Activities:

Lesson Opener: “Resurrection Power” (see the attached lesson pdf link above for details on an activity to open this lesson)

Adult Journal Page: From the lesson of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11:38-44), we are reminded of many wonderful truths, such as Jesus’ love and compassion for people (Jesus wept), activating our faith through believing His promises and acting upon them (rolling away the stone), squashing doubts about what Jesus can do (“Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?” (v. 40)), to believing for the impossible, and God hears our prayers.  These, and many more truths come alive in this story.  Which part or parts are the most encouraging to you, and why?  Write your response on the Adult Journal Page – Raising Lazarus

Kid’s Journal Page: Kid’s Journal Page – Raising Lazarus

Blank Journal Pages: These pages, one designed for adults and one for children, can be used to bring out, remember, or write a particular part of the lesson you wish for you and/or your class to focus on.  Click>>Blank Adult and Kid’s Journal Pages to access the journal pages.

Draw the Scene:  Raising Lazarus Draw the Scene

How Many Words:  Resurrection Power How Many Words

Memory Verse: Raising Lazarus Memory Verse

Word Search: Raising Lazarus Word Search  Answers: Raising Lazarus Word Search Answers

Crossword: Raising Lazarus Crossword  Answers: Raising Lazarus Crossword Answers

Word Scramble: Raising Lazarus Word Scramble  Answers: Raising Lazarus Word Scramble Answers

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Sunday School Lesson – “The Rich Young Ruler” Mark 10:17-31

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VERSE DISCOVERY: Mark 10:17-31 (KJV, Public Domain)

Investments.  They tell a lot about what is on the inside of a person.  Where one places their efforts, time, resources, and value can show you more of the makeup of an individual than the most moving speeches.

Concerning where one places their value, Jesus said, “Lay not up for yourselves treasure upon the earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven . . . For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).

Being that one’s treasure is a revealer of the heart, today’s lesson explores one man’s struggle with where to invest: in the here and now or in eternity to come.  Although the personal decision for each of us may not revolve around riches, all of us must make that decision for eternity.

Moving Toward Jesus

Mark 10:17-18 “And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?  And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.”

Jesus was not new at disrupting what people accepted as the norm.  In this chapter alone, when questioned and tested about divorce, He gave them an answer that may have stirred their pots of belief the wrong way, saying, “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (10:9).  And when parents brought their children to be touched by Jesus only to be turned away by the disciples, Jesus was displeased and spoke something that would flip their own way of thinking about the kingdom of God.  He said, “Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.  Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein” (10:14-15; that lesson is available here).

Then, to solidify His point, Jesus so beautifully and tenderly “took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them” (10:16).

Leaving that scene and having “gone forth into the way,” a man approaches Jesus, who had become a living example of where one’s trust should truly lie and the hindrances that can stand in the way of a life of faith.

The Bible, in other passages, gives a little more background information on this man.  From the verses found in Matthew 19:16-30 and Luke 18:18-30, he has been dubbed as the rich young ruler, revealing his age and status in life.  He is the one, who came “running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”

Though his posturing was one of respect, was his heart really moving toward Jesus as fast as his feet were?  Was he ready to bow to the true answer Jesus would reveal after his questioning?  We will explore this further in the last section of this lesson covering verses 23-31.

Eternal life should be at the forefront of everyone’s mind, though it is not.  As the verses in the introduction indicate, it’s not what one accumulates here that really makes a difference toward one’s eternal future.  That which has been laid up in heaven is what matters the most.  With that, the rich young ruler asks what he must do to gain an eternal inheritance.

Jesus’ first response was not to his question but rather his addressing of the Lord by calling Him “Good Master.”  Although the young man meant it as a sign of respect, again, did he really understand whom he was addressing?

Jesus said, “Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.”  There are many verses in the Bible that express God is the One that is good.  For example:

  • In Exodus 33:19, He told Moses, “I will make all my goodness pass before thee . . .” (emphasis mine).
  • In Psalm 31:19, we see David praising, saying, “Oh how great is thy goodness. . .” (emphasis mine).
  • Nahum 1:7 exclaims with trust, “The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble . . .” (emphasis mine).
  • And Psalm 25, along with many more references, David once again declares, “Good and upright is the LORD . . .” (vs. 8, emphasis mine).

What was the rich young ruler truly saying regarding Jesus when he addressed Him as “Good Master?”  Was he connecting the spiritual dots between the deity of Jesus and God, the Father?

Jesus then speaks, leading the young man to recognize truths he should already know.

Moving Away from Jesus

Mark 10:19-22 “Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.  And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.  Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.  And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.”

“Thou knowest the commandments.”  Every Jewish child was brought up to know and revere God’s law.  Deuteronomy 6:7 instructed parents regarding the holy commands to “teach them diligently unto thy children . . .” This, they were to do with every opportunity given.  From even a young age, Jesus knows that this rich young ruler would have known the “commandments,” so Jesus begins to quote some of them to him.

God’s word is a revealer of hearts.  Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”  When faced with God’s word, it will show us things about ourselves if we listen.

Listening to Jesus’ listing of these commandments, the young ruler probably thought to himself, check, and check.  Possibly thinking he had this in the bag, so to speak, he tells Jesus, “Master, all these have I observed from my youth.”  In his personal opinion of how he viewed himself, he saw no lack.  Desiring eternal life, he saw no areas of a hindrance.

But, as 1 Corinthians 10:12 warns, “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.”  True humility in moving toward Jesus will admit that there may be something in this flesh that needs to be worked on.  And if it is eternal life that we are seeking, there is a closer inspection of oneself we need to look at.  There may be some adjusting in a way we thought we were okay according to the norms of our day.  In moving toward Jesus, there may need to be some plucking out of old ideas and replacing them with more of what our Lord wants for our lives.

Jesus saw something that should give this young man pause in his own evaluation of himself; something that if he really came to hear what Jesus had to say about eternal life, it would move him even closer to Jesus, but as we will read, he turns away from our Lord.

The text reads, “Jesus beholding him, loved him . . .”  This gives the impression that Jesus was intently looking at him with love because He saw the desire of the young man for eternal life – but He also saw an obstacle to his faith: his possessions.

So, He speaks, “One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give it to the poor . . .” (vs. 21).  This is where his problem lies (emphasis on “his,” which may not be everyone else’s particular issue).  His stuff and his possessions have put a wedge between his relationship with God.  That wedge created space for lack.  In this area of lack, his oneness with God was not whole.  For him, this was the missing link he couldn’t see in himself.

In His statement, Jesus was basically asking him to rely less on himself and all he has acquired and to disperse the objects of his affection (his wealth) to the less fortunate and turn wholly to God with complete abandon and trust.  He was to prepare himself to “take up the cross, and follow” in Jesus’ footsteps who, as we are reminded, gave up everything in an effort to gain victory for the whole world.

The rich young ruler thought he had crossed every “t” and dotted every “i” of the things necessary to gain eternal life, but his wealth became a stumbling block that he couldn’t seem to overcome.

“And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.”  Those two words, “sad” and “grieved,” remind me of someone who attends a funeral, as if mourning is involved.  When feeling overwhelmed and exasperated over circumstances, I often hear people use phrases like, “You’re killing me!”  Could it be the thought of giving away everything he owned was just as damaging to him with unthinkable sorrow?

This definitely gives us pause for reflection when we really consider what Jesus was saying here and what He said in Matthew 16:26.  There, trying to teach one to tear their focus away from the unprofitableness of the things in this world, He says, “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”

Just as we see this rich young ruler walk away from Jesus because he could not fathom giving up his possessions, everyone must earnestly and honestly look at themselves to see if we have some blockade to our faith as well.

Eternity waits for no man or woman.  When one’s time is up, it’s up.  Where will we be found?  The Apostle Paul once wrote, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves . . .“ (2 Corinthians 13:5).  We all have areas that need improvement, things we can do better.  Sometimes a close, personal examination is the only thing that will draw it out of us, to see “whether ye be in the faith.”  The rich young ruler’s initial reason for coming to Jesus was a question regarding eternal life.  Jesus then exposed something in him he did not know was there.  What about us?

The Answer is Found in Jesus

Mark 10:23-27 “And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!  And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!  It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.  And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved?  And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.”

The rich young ruler’s disappointing response gave Jesus an opportunity to teach His disciples a lesson and to set right some cultural misunderstandings concerning wealth and God’s favor.  This is a good lesson I think much of our generation can benefit from as well.

Jesus said, “How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!”  In Jesus’ day, as well as our own, there remains this idea that if one has wealth and influence somehow or another God has blessed them, and they are favored more.

If you think I am wrong, I’m sorry to say, just look at what much of the preaching and sermons are based on even in our mainstream Christian media forums.  I like blessings and to hear about them just as well as the next person, but that IS NOT the focus of Christianity.  Gaining the greater treasure of eternal life (again, the rich young ruler’s original question) is the most important.

1 Timothy reminds those that are rich in this world to “Be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God . . .” (6:7).  Then, he goes on to teach one to use those resources for good works and on “laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life,” (1 Timothy 6:18-19).

Paul, the author of 1 Timothy, taught that the greater treasure to be had is eternal life.  This is the path Jesus was trying to encourage the rich young ruler to walk.  Now, Jesus teaches how hard it is for one in his position to do so.  Jesus and Paul equally knew that the issue of faith in both instances revolved around the “trust in riches.”

We must know that all things outside of Christ that one accumulates while living here on earth amounts to nothing in the end.  All successes, wealth, and accolades perish along with the bearer of these things.   Too often, the whole of one’s life is measured by the temporary things that bring brief satisfaction while keeping the soul thirsty for eternity.

Using the pattern of those who are wealthy (by the way, most of us are wealthier than we think we are from an overview of the world’s economy), Jesus knows it is hard for them to take their eyes off of their own resources – give it up, and follow Him.

Following those same lines of popular cultural thinking that wealth meant more of God’s favor, Jesus’ disciples “were astonished at his words.”  This blew their way of thinking out of the water.  If the rich, who appeared to be favored and blessed on the outside, are not in a better position with God, then what hope have others?

Salvation is not complicated.  It begins in the heart, and the heart of faith is found in the one who can let go and let God.  The one who recognizes it’s not about what I have done or accumulated.  It’s not about who I appear to be.  It’s all about the Father.  It’s all about submitting my all to Him in full reliance.  It’s laying me and mine at His feet and walking forward toward Jesus in faith.

For the young rich man who walked away from Jesus, and those who are rich of themselves (promoters of self), Jesus taught, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”  With the absurdity this picture presents, it really tells us just how incredibly hard it is for one who is used to leaning on their own strength and ability (here noted as the wealthy) to turn and lean on a God whom they cannot see.

When was the last time you may have tried to thread a needle?  How hard was it?  It can be incredibly challenging, especially as our eyes get older.  But it will never be as challenging as trying to get an animal as huge as a camel to walk through the eye of a needle – ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE!

Perhaps this is why they asked, “Who then can be saved?”  If they that are in better financial situations are still found lacking, what of the rest?  It seemed, as with Jesus’ illustration, to be literally impossible.  But Jesus righted their wrong thinking, saying, “With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible,” meaning their trust must be fully in God and God alone over all else.

The things we use as markers towards outward forms of success are not the same measurements by which God measures one’s faith.  As always, He knows what’s on the inside of a person, and what’s on the inside tells where their true faith lies.  Trusting in God alone makes salvation and eternal life possible, the step the young man missed by walking away from Jesus when Jesus was the answer he was looking for.

Mark 10:28-31 “Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee.  And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.  But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.”

The rich young ruler walked away from Jesus, disappointed in all that he would have to give up to obtain eternal life.  But the disciples have put their personal lives and families on hold, left nets from fishing, left their father’s businesses and such, and followed Jesus, knowing that He was the answer they all needed.

In John, there was a day when Jesus’ teachings became too hard to digest for some in the crowd, and the Bible tells us, “From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him (John 6:66).  Jesus then turned to the twelve and asked, “Will ye also go away?” (6:67).  Just as in the above verses, Peter is the one who spoke up, saying, “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.  And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God” (6:68-69).

They found the answer to eternal life in Jesus (except one which Jesus addresses in John 6:70-71).  The rich young ruler came to Jesus for just that but left His presence without it.

He or she that walks away from the comfortable (metaphorically speaking) to submit to a life of living in light of His way and working toward the spreading of the gospel – God will bless spiritually “now in this time . . . and in the world to come eternal life” (see also Matthew 19:29 and Luke 18:30).  We are told, “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal” (John 12:25), pointing us back to the main idea, that it is living a life of faith in God, not in the world and its trappings, that leads to eternal life.

Of that, the rich young ruler’s thinking was backward, as many others are as well. But Jesus corrects this also, saying, “Many that are first shall be last; and the last first.”  Many will be surprised on that day how God’s perspective of real success (a lesson He had previously taught His disciples when they argued about who would be the greatest, Mark 9:34) is not the same as the norm we have become accustomed to.  Just as in this verse, Jesus lets them know, “If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all,” (Mark 9:35).  Those who think they are on top will find out something different, and those who the world thinks amount to nothing, may be the greater (see also Matthew 20:1-16).

It is our faith in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, not the world’s status and possessions that leads to eternal life.  Therefore, keep walking toward and with Jesus.

PDF Full Printable Sunday School Lesson Pack (With easy to read instructions following the P.E.A.R.L. format on how to conduct each lesson with areas for adding personal notes): Sunday School Lesson – The Rich Young Ruler

Suggested Activities:

Adult Journal Page: The young man in today’s lesson held tightly his possession in his heart and it hindered him from having a full relationship with Jesus Christ.  Our hearts need daily check-ups with Jesus so that nothing will get in the way of our relationship with Him.  Using the Adult Journal Page below, finish the prayer prompt using your own words.  (PDF: Adult Journal Page – The Rich Young Ruler)

Kid’s Journal Page – Kid’s Journal Page – The Rich Young Ruler

Blank Journal Page: These pages, one designed for adults and one for children, can be used to bring out, remember, or write a particular part of the lesson you wish for you and/or your class to focus on.  Click>>Blank Adult and Kid’s Journal Pages to access the journal pages.

Craft/Activity/Object Lesson: “Hearts in a Jar” To prepare for this, take a clear jar and tape a red heart to the front of it. Next, tape a bigger heart to the lid of the jar. Then, using smaller hearts, have children write the different things they love on the hearts and put them into the jar.

Once all the hearts are in the jar explain:  We have a whole lot of things that we hold dear to us, and we seal all those things in our hearts (seal the jar with the lid that has the big heart).  The rich young ruler in today’s lesson became sad when Jesus asked him to empty himself of his possessions (dump the jar out) and follow him (reseal the empty jar with the lid and write JESUS on the heart) because Jesus was the main thing he needed in his life and not the stuff he had.

Sadly, the man did not join Jesus and his disciples, and he walked away.  He liked all his stuff too much (refill the jar with the hearts) and left Jesus out of his life (take the JESUS heart off the lid and reseal the jar). 

We must ask ourselves are we doing the same as this man?  Are we filling our hearts with a lot of stuff and leaving Jesus out?  Or have we made Jesus the Lord of our lives over it all (replace the JESUS heart on the lid)?

This is great for a class activity or object lesson, but it can also be used as individual crafts for students.  Give each student their own jar or empty water to design and fill with hearts to help them remember the main point of this lesson: the most important thing we need in our hearts and lives is JESUS.

Draw the Scene: The Rich Young Ruler Draw the Scene

Memory Verse: The Rich Young Ruler Memory Verse

Word Search: The Rich Young Ruler Word Search  Answers: The Rich Young Ruler Word Search Answers

Crossword: The Rich Young Ruler Crossword  Answers: The Rich Young Ruler Crossword Answers

Word Scramble: The Rich Young Ruler Word Scramble  Answers: The Rich Young Ruler Word Scramble Answers

Camel Flag Craft: Camel Flag Craft (Simply print out Camel Flag Craft paper, cut and glue on colored construction background for a decorative border, color, and decorate.  Tape it to a dowel rod and there you have your flag reminding you that With God All Things Are Possible!  Or, just use it as a coloring sheet.  Enjoy!)

Camel Flag Craft Word For Life Says

Camel Flag Craft-001

Copyright © Word For Life Says.com (Sharing any posts or lessons can only be done through the share buttons provided on this site from the original posts, lessons, and articles only. You can reblog from the original posts only using the reblog button provided, or share using the share buttons provided from these social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest, etc., and they must be shared from the original posts only. All other repostings are prohibited. Posts and other items of interest found on this site MAY NOT BE COPIED AND PASTED, downloaded, uploaded, etc to another website or entity not listed (physical or electronic).  See COPYRIGHT PAGE for more details.

Please Note: Ads below or referenced on this site are prefabricated and mass-produced (of which I currently have no control over) and DO NOT necessarily represent the views and/or beliefs of this site and its admin.

 

 

Sunday School Lesson – “When God Called Moses” Exodus 3:1-12

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VERSE DISCOVERY: Exodus 3:1-12 (Public Domain)

1) “Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.

2) And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

3) And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.

4) And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.

5) And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

6) Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.

7) And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;

8) And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

9) Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.

10) Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.

11) And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?

12) And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.”

 Lesson Introduction:

Going back into history a little more, Moses’ path in life was far from ordinary.  From the time of his birth, he was deemed a “beautiful child” (Ex. 2:2).  When she could no longer hide him from the Egyptians who oppressed her people, Moses’ mother went to great lengths to save his life, leading him to become Pharaoh’s daughter’s child (Ex. 2:5-10).

Being raised in the house of Pharaoh did not block his view of the suffering of his people.  Taking matters into his own hands at one point caused him to flee for his own life, beginning the next leg of his life’s journey in Midian (Ex. 2:1.1-15).  There, he established a new life.  He even married and had sons in the process (Ex. 2:21-22; 18:3-4).

Time went by, but the problem in Egypt remained.  The Bible says, “The children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.  And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob,” (Ex. 2:23b-24).  God was ready to deliver His people from bondage.  For that, He would raise up a man, a prophet, to lead them.  And this man’s name, as we have already been focusing on, was Moses, the subject figure of this week’s lesson.

Lesson Summary:

For Moses, an ordinary day turned extraordinary.  The mundane task of tending the flock of his father-in-law took a dramatic turn, one that would change the course of his life forever.

It all started when “Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.”  By this time in his life, Moses is at the ripe old age of 80.  Any of those terrible thoughts of his previous life in Egypt have probably faded as he has been settled for some time in his new life of shepherding his father-in-law’s flock.

His goal for that day when he woke up and ventured out was to find the best pasture for the flocks to graze and feed.  That’s it.  His ambitions didn’t go any higher than that.  The simple life is what he lived and what he had grown accustomed to.  No drama.  No hardness.  No dealing with extraordinary circumstances that were beyond his control.  Simply, find pasture, feed the flock, and get on with the day as usual.  The furthest thing from his mind on that day was a personal encounter with God.

Please Note: God never has to ask our permission when He wants to call us into service.  He doesn’t focus on our convenience or acceptance of the call.  He calls us according to His perfect timetable and empowers us with His Spirit to follow through on the course He has laid out for us.  Be it an ordinary day or not, when God is ready, He will reveal Himself to us.  In that, He asks us to trust Him and follow His lead.

While going about his daily routine, his mundane tasks, his inconsequential chores on the “backside of the desert” on “the mountain of God, even to Horeb” (later to be referenced to as Mt. Sinai, the place where Moses will receive the Ten Commandments), his day was interrupted by a sight he had never seen before.  There, before him, was a “bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.” 

The Bible describes the event as something divine in nature going on.  God was getting ready to not only change Moses’ everyday course forever, but He was ready to speak a new calling into his life.  He was going to take him from the ordinary shepherd that he was today and make him a notable instrument in freeing His people from the bondage of Egypt for a better tomorrow.  But first, He had to get his attention.  With that, an “angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush.” 

For Moses, at that time, all it appears he is fascinated with is the fire that does not affect the bush that is set to flames.  This miraculous occurrence is intriguing to him, and in his curiosity, he is resolved to find out more and investigate the matter thoroughly.   He said, “I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.”  Seeing a bush on fire in the heat of the desert is nothing new.  Seeing a bush on fire in the heat of the desert that doesn’t burn up, well that’s a whole other story worth finding out about more.

“When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush and said, Moses, Moses.”  If the last thing he expected to see on this unusual day was a burning bush that was not consumed, then surely, he would have never imagined hearing a voice coming “out of the midst of the bush” saying his name, “Moses, Moses.” 

What a frightful and awesome experience it must have been to hear the words of the living God being uttered in His powerful and true oration.  And to not only hear His words but to hear Him call you by your name, personally.  But that’s how God is.  He knows us wonderfully.  He knows us completely.  He knows us each, individually, on a one-on-one basis.

Jesus even spoke in the New Testament, saying, “He calleth his own sheep by name,” (John 10:3).  To Him, you are somebody.  To Him, you are valued.  To Him you are important.  To Him, you are not invisible.  He knows you.  He knows your name.  How wonderful is that?  We serve a personal God!  Hallelujah!

To the calling of his name out of the flames, Moses’ response was, “Here am I.”  This is the same way Samuel responded when he thought Eli was calling him.  Turns out the voice he was hearing was from God as well, and he was instructed to respond to Him, saying, “Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth” (see 1 Samuel 3:4-10).

When God calls, we must be responsive to answering His call.  He’s not calling without purpose.  He doesn’t want to deal with inactivity or an indifferent attitude.  We must be willing to hear and receive from Him and follow through on what He instructs us.  This is something Moses would initially struggle with, but through God’s working and leading, he became a powerful leader of God’s people with his name etched in history forever.

“And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.”  As Moses was coming nearer to the object of his attention, the burning bush, God stopped him from proceeding farther.  One cannot tread the presence of God with a heavy foot.  We must recognize the severity of being in the presence of the true and living, holy God.  He is omnipotent. He is the Sovereign of the universe, the Creator of all. He is divine all by Himself. He is God all by Himself. He declared in Isaiah, “Before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no savior . . . ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God,” (43:10-12).

Being the awesome God that He is, required, and still requires respect before drawing nigh unto His indescribable presence. “Put off thy shoes!” Recognize where you are and who you are approaching!  This is a sacred place.

“Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”  God introduces Himself (compare to Genesis 15:7) to Moses and identifies exactly Who it is that is speaking to him from the midst of the bush.  Referencing his own father and the patriarchs, God identifies Himself as the same God who is and has been in covenant relationship with His people Israel.  He is the same God of the Hebrews that initiated with Abraham this awesome promise and carried it through his lineage and down the line to where Moses and his people are today.  The years have not whittled away that covenant.  It is still intact, and God was ready to show up and show out on His people’s behalf.

“And Moses hid his face for he was afraid to look upon God.”  Rightly so!  The presence of God is awesome and terrible all at the same time.  At this present time, Moses has yet to enter the intimacies of being in a personal relationship with God.  One where he becomes familiar with God and God refers to him as a friend (see Exodus 33:11).  Even still, when Moses did gain the boldness to ask God, “I beseech thee, shew me thy glory,” (Exodus 33:18) God’s response was, “Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live,” (Exodus 33:20).

God then begins to talk to Moses about the situation at hand: “the affliction of my people which are in Egypt.”

God’s people weren’t always “afflicted” in Egypt.  Earlier, when Joseph, through much historical detail (read Gen. 39-47 for full details), helped not only the Egyptians through a harsh time of famine but also his own family, the family of Jacob through whom the promises of God flowed, they all enjoyed a time of favor in Egypt.  Pharaoh told Joseph, “Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee: The land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell” (Gen. 47:5-6).

But, when that Pharaoh died, this “affliction” they now faced was spurned by the fears of a new Pharaoh (Ex. 1:8-11).  The children of Israel now suffered mightily and served as slaves for the Egyptians.  Over 400 years have gone by, and God says He has, “heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows.”

Though, throughout their history, their lives went from fantastic to fearful, God’s ears were opened and attentive to their cries the whole time.  In a time after this, David will also acknowledge the God who hears his cries, saying, “In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even unto his ears,” (Ps. 18:6).  The point is God always sees and hears the troubles of His people and He knows “their sorrows.”

“I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians.”  Our God is a God of action.  God gets involved in the situation.  Dear friends, you are never left to fight through this world alone, no matter how you feel or how dark the days may seem.

God not only sees and hears, but He also initiates a plan for their deliverance.  Those who are currently in Egypt have never tasted freedom before.  It is something they have only ever dreamed about.  They know nothing about life outside of slavery.  God was going to change it all and “deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians.”  The Egyptians may have a tight hold on them now, but God was going to snatch them out of the hand of the enemy.

In other words, God came to meet them in their deepest time of need, at a time when the stripes of the taskmasters were too much to bear. God will come to meet you in your time of need to bring you out!  You may think you are in the worst place possible, but rest assured, wherever you are, you will never be out of the reach of God.

“To bring them up out of that land . . . unto a land flowing with milk and honey.”  God’s purpose was not only to deliver them from the evil clutches of the Egyptians but to “bring them” unto something better: their Promised Land, the land that was given as a promise to Abram [Abram was Abraham’s name at that time] (for the promise see Genesis 12:7; 13:14-15; 15:18; 17:2, 7-8).  The land may have been currently inhabited by the “Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites,” but that same land has been allotted to the people of God as part of their covenant/promise heritage (refer to Genesis 15:18-21; Psalm 105:6-11).  When God delivered His people, these evil nations would be evicted from inhabiting their promise, and that land of prosperity would be given over to His people (compare Deuteronomy 6:3; 11:22-25; Psalm 105:44).

“Behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me.”  Here is a reiteration that God hears their “cry.”  He also is noted as seeing “the oppression.”  He sees the harshness of their situation.  It has “come unto” Him.  It does not escape His knowledge!  God is closely knit to His people.  What we feel, He feels.  What we experience, He knows all about it.  Even today, the Bible assures us, “We do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses” (Hebrews 4:15a).

One of the greatest lies of the enemy is to speak against the faithfulness of God by trying to convince people that God doesn’t care; by persuading them that He has turned a blind eye to the troubles we face.

Nay, but God sees it! Your battle and your scars are not invisible to God. You are not invisible to God! He is paying attention to each and every one of us. “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?” David asked, knowing the true insignificance of man compared to all of creation in Psalm 8:4. Yet, God is mindful; He is paying attention!

Not only has He seen, but all His senses are put on high alert, and He has heard. Did not the psalmist declare, “I called on the LORD in distress; the LORD answered me and set me in a broad place” (Psalm 118:5; NKJV)?

“I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people.”  God’s purpose for appearing and speaking to Moses wasn’t for naught.  He had an assignment for him.  Moses is going to be a key in the deliverance of God’s people from the Egyptians.  This is his calling.  This is the ministry God has ordained for his life.  Moses is being sent in as the man for the job.

His mission would entail him going before Pharaoh and bringing God’s groaning people out through signs and wonders performed in Egypt, the going through of the Red Sea, and even through their 40 years of wilderness wanderings, Acts 7:35-36; thus fulfilling more of His faithful promises to Abraham: “they shall come out with great substance,” (Gen. 15:14) and “in the fourth generation they shall come hither again,” (Gen. 15:16).

With such a heavy calling, Moses asked, “Who am I?”  If anyone felt inadequate about a task before him, Moses did.  To find out that God wanted to use him personally in such an extraordinary way was a little more than he could take in.  “Who am I?”  Moses spent the last 40 years shepherding animals and now God suggested that he would begin to shepherd His people “out of Egypt.”

“Certainly I will be with thee,” was God’s promise to him.  God never called anyone to a task and abandon them.  Later, after Moses passes off the scene God will have to reassure his successor, Joshua, in the same way, saying, “For the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest,” (Joshua. 1:9).  There is comfort that comes with knowing that God is in the midst no matter how overwhelmed we may feel by the job He has given us.

“And this shall be a token unto thee.”  Not only did God’s promise simply say that He would be with him, but God also backed it up with action.  He said, as proof, “When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.”  And, when they reach that point, they will realize that it was not their own hand that delivered them. They were brought out because God was with them the whole time, thus fulfilling His promise.

Lesson Conclusion:

Moses was a prophet that was chosen by God for the specific ministry of leading His people out of bondage and shepherding them through their time in the desert.

Jesus had a definite calling for His life; He had a mission.  That mission was prophesied of in the Old Testament and fulfilled in the New Testament.  Moses once spoke of Him, and prophesied, “The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken,” (Deuteronomy 18:15).  Jesus Christ would be the fulfiller of that prophesy and so many more, and He would become the ultimate Shepherd of God’s people (John 10:1-15).

What is God calling us to do?  What areas do we feel Him nudging us into service?  Has the call been answered?  These are questions we must ask and answer for ourselves.

PDF Full Printable Sunday School Lesson Pack (With easy to read instructions following the P.E.A.R.L. format on how to conduct each lesson with areas for adding personal notes): Sunday School Lesson – When God Called Moses

SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES:

House of Cards Object lesson: When God calls someone to service, it requires us to lay down our will and build upon His will. When we follow God’s will and ways, we build upon a firm foundation (you can use sturdy children’s blocks that interlock to demonstrate this, or something similar).  But going our own way is like trying to build a house with a deck of cards (demonstrate).  They are flimsy and not very strong.  When the least little bit of breeze comes through, the house falls, and you must rebuild it again.

Note: The parable of the wise and foolish builders can also help demonstrate this (Matthew 7:24-26).

Moses, in today’s lesson, opened himself to hear and receive God’s will for his life when he said, “Here am I.”  Although he felt unqualified, God knew he was the man for the job.  Let’s get into it and learn more about When God Called Moses.

Game: Following the call of God requires that we lay down our will and pick up God’s will. Sometimes, people have a hard time with this, and they want to do their own thing.  This idea can be demonstrated by playing a game of Tug of War. Put a flag or a marker in the middle of the rope.  Attach a paper or a ribbon with the words “God’s Ways” on one side of the rope and on the other side, attach one with the words “Our Way.”  Proceed to play the game as usual, noting this is not what’s supposed to happen when God asks us to get on board with His plans.  Jesus, when faced with the tough job of going to the cross, said, “Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Thine be done” (Luke 22:42).

Craft Idea: The Prince and the Shepherd: Find pictures of a prince and one of a shepherd for students to color and cut out. Once they have finished that, they can glue them onto craft sticks to use as puppets in the retelling of Moses’ story.  It would be a bonus idea to add a sheep to it as well to help reenact the lesson.

Adult Journal Page: Adult Journal Page – When God Called Moses

Kid’s Journal Page: Kid’s Journal Page – When God Called Moses

Blank Journal Page: These pages, one designed for adults and one for children, can be used to bring out, remember, or write a particular part of the lesson you wish for you and/or your class to focus on.  Click>>Blank Adult and Kid’s Journal Pages to access the journal pages.

Draw the Scene: When God Called Moses Draw the Scene

Memory Verse: When God Called Moses Memory Verse

Word Search: When God Called Moses Word Search  Answers: When God Called Moses Word Search Answers

Crossword: When God Called Moses Crossword  Answers: When God Called Moses Crossword Answers

Word Scramble: When God Called Moses Word Scramble  Answers: When God Called Moses Word Scramble Answers

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Sunday School Lesson – “The Resurrection Message” Luke 24:1-9, 44-48; Acts 2:36

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VERSE DISCOVERY: Luke 24:1-9, 44-48; Acts 2:36 (KJV, Public Domain)

In describing Himself as the Good Shepherd to His disciples, Jesus once taught them, “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.  No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father” (John 10:17-18). 

When Jesus stood before Pilate, he marveled that Jesus would not speak up for Himself or answer the charges of His accusers (Mark 15:3-5), or beg for His life.  And at one point during His trial, Pilate told Jesus, “Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?” (John 19:10). 

Pilate fancied himself to be in charge of the affairs that day, but Jesus quickly schooled him on his supposed power.  Jesus said, “Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above. . .” (John 19:11).

Before He ever faced Pilate or any of the illegal trials that took place on that night, when the band of men arrived in the Garden of Gethsemane to arrest Jesus, and Peter drew his sword and cut off the ear of one of the servants of the high priest (Matthew 26:51), Jesus spoke these words: “Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?  But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?” (Matthew 26:53-54; emphasis mine, more on this later).

Jesus always had the power to avoid that painful moment.  Although man was the instrument that would lead Him to the cross, none of them: not Judas Iscariot, not the chief priests and scribes, and not even Pilate, had the power to put Him on the cross.  That power remained under Jesus’ full control, and with that power at His disposal, harnessing great restraint against using any of it for His personal benefit, relief, or escape, He laid Himself down on the cross: “I lay it down of myself” (John 10:18).  He allowed the crucifixion to take place so that, “the scriptures be fulfilled” (Matthew 26:54; Philippians 2:6-8).

Thus, Jesus laid Himself down and became the sacrificial Lamb once and for all (click here for more information on that subject from previous lessons).

But this story did not end with Jesus in the tomb permanently.  Remember the words He spoke: “I have the power to lay it down, and the power to take it again” (John 10:18; emphasis mine).

Several times, Jesus foretold His resurrection (see Matthew 8:31; 9:9, 30-32; 12:40; 16:21; John 219-22).  Sometimes, Jesus used very exact and descriptive words to tell what would occur: “Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles: And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again” (Mark 10:33-34). 

The third day is here, my friends!  That moment in history that all were waiting for, even if they didn’t know they were waiting for it, has arrived.

Jesus Christ has RISEN!  And because He is risen, we have this promise that we who believe one day shall be raised also (2 Corinthians 4:14; read 1 Corinthians 15:12-26).  Because He is risen, the message for the whole world now is that we have an eternal hope (1 Corinthians 15:19-20) which is found in our true King, Christ Jesus our Lord.

 The Angels’ Resurrection Message: “He is Risen!”

Luke 24:1 “Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.”

The women carefully watched where and how the body of Jesus was laid (Luke 23:55).  There was no time now.  The day of preparation was here, and the Sabbath would soon be upon them (Luke 23:54; John 19:42), but they would be ready on the third day to do for Jesus’ body according to custom.

Joseph of Arimathea already carefully dislodged the body of Jesus from the cross, wrapping Him in linen, and laid Him in a new tomb (Luke 23:50-53).  Nicodemus also was with him.  He was the same one who asked Jesus, “How can a man be born when he is old?” (John 3:4), and Jesus spent time teaching him of the love of God for the world (John 3:16) and of His death (John 3:14), and much more.

This Nicodemus brought his own contribution to the burial of Jesus.  He “brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight” (John 19:39).

There, in that place of a garden, where He was crucified, they laid Jesus (John 19:41-42), and the women watched, then went home, prepared, and waited for the third day.

Now, “the first day of the week,” Sunday, was here.  The third day has come and “very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre.” 

Why did they come to the sepulchre?  Because that’s where Jesus was laid.  That’s where you go to find the dead.  At the “sepulchre” is where they fully expected to find the lifeless body of Jesus and do for Him as was their custom, “bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.”

As they were coming, they wondered, “Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?” (Mark 16:3).  To get to the body of Jesus, they had to get behind the stone.  Being possibly about a ton in weight, the stone would be a hindrance to the love they wanted to bestow on the body of Christ.  These few women would not have the muscle or might to undo what took many men to put into place.

So, they wondered, and in their wondering, they kept moving, in hope, toward the place where they saw Jesus was laid.

Luke 24:2-3 “And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.  And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.”

They didn’t have to wonder at the performance of such a feat for very long because heaven already responded: “And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it” (Matthew 28:2).

The issue of the stone was taken care of and there would be no issues with the “keepers” either.  For, when they saw the countenance of the angel, they were overcome with “fear” and fell down like “dead men” (Matthew 28:3-4).

When the women arrived at the tomb, “they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.”  No obstacles remained before them and they easily “entered in.”

I wonder what that was like for them, to enter the tomb of Jesus.  In that day, and in that culture, they may have had the opportunity to enter tombs before.  But this was Jesus’ tomb.  Were they nervous?  Were their hearts filled with trepidation over what they were about to see?

As they stood outside, and then “entered in,” had the sorrow they felt developed a knot in their throats over what was ahead inside?  Regardless, none of those feelings would stop them from honoring the Lord’s body.

They went in for the Lord’s body, but once in, they found nobody.  Literally, they “found not the body of the Lord Jesus.”  The women didn’t understand what they saw or didn’t see, I should say.

John even tells us that poor Mary Magdalene was utterly distraught when she was faced with the reality of what occurred at the tomb.  She ran to Peter and John and said, most likely, in a hysterical fashion, “They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him” (20:2).

Luke 24:4-9 “And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?  He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.  And they remembered his words, And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest.”

“Perplexed” about the lack of the Lord’s body, the women realized quickly they were not alone: “Behold, two men stood by them in shining garments.”  These “men” were verified to be angels when these verses are cross-referenced with the parallel accounts found in Matthew 28:2-5 and John 20:12.

Here, in Luke’s account, they were described as having “shining garments.”  The other gospels support this with their descriptions: “His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow” (Matthew 28:3); “clothed in a long white garment” (Mark 16:5); and John’s version says, “two angels in white” (John 20:12).

Viewing this, “they were afraid.”  Their appearance was a frightening thing to behold (compare Matthew 28:4 and Mark 16:5).  The sight of angels often had this effect on people.

The angels then speak, “Why seek ye the living among the dead?”  But that’s just it, isn’t it?  The women came to the tomb to seek the dead among the dead.  Their eyes witnessed His death and burial.  Coming to the tomb, their eyes were also planning on seeing the dead body of Jesus, but this third-day experience was already turning out to be something extraordinarily special.

“Why seek ye the living among the dead?”  That question, along with emphasis on that word “living” – could it be?  Are they saying what we’re hoping they are saying?

The message of the angels is, Jesus is ALIVE!  To be alive means there is life.  To have life means one is “living.”  This is the opposite of the death they came to see.  They came to prepare a body to stay dead in the grave.  They came to say their final goodbyes to the man in the grave.  But the Bible tells us that it was not possible for death to hold H+im (Acts 2:24).  They came with spices for the flesh, but His flesh would see no corruption (Acts 2:31) as was prophesied in Psalm 16:10.

“O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:55).

To the women, they speak, “He is not here, but is risen!”  While the women were still trying to grasp the situation and form a response to the angels’ question, the angels themselves gave the answer.  You cannot find Him here, because “He is not here.”  The place of the dead was meant to hold the dead but, “He is risen.” 

In the introduction of this lesson, I listed verses where Jesus foretold of His resurrection.  Here, the angels say to the women, “Remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.”  By pointing out that He is “risen,” the angels were verifying that since everything else occurred as Jesus said it would, the resurrection portion He foretold them of, had also come to pass.

He is RISEN!  The promise of the resurrection of Christ has been fulfilled!  As He told Martha previously, “I am the resurrection, and the life. . .” (John 11:25).

Their understanding wasn’t long in coming.  “They remembered his words.”  Hearts were enlightened as the flood of memories, the flood of “his words” came back to them.  Jesus promised His disciples earlier, “These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.  But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:25-26).  When time is spent listening to Jesus, those words, “his words,” will come back as a source of promise, revelation, and comfort when needed the most.

To the “eleven” remaining disciples (minus Judas Iscariot), “and to all the rest,” the women delivered the message of the angels, this Good News (Romans 1:1-4).  Jesus is alive!  Jesus has risen just like He said He would!

Jesus’ Resurrection Message, pt.1: “All Things Must Be Fulfilled”

Luke 24:44-45 “And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.  Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,”

Along with the testimony of the women, others had the privilege of experiencing seeing the resurrected Christ.

Two fellows, walking on the road to Emmaus, encountered the risen Lord.  They walked with Jesus and talked with Jesus without the understanding of who this was in their midst (Luke 24:13-29).

It wasn’t until they sat to eat with Jesus, did they recognize Him by the actions of His breaking the bread (Luke 24:30-31).  Within that same hour, they rose and returned to Jerusalem to tell the disciples (Luke 24:33) this Good News: “The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon” (Luke 24:34; see also 1 Corinthians 15:1-5; more on the Emmaus Road trip can be found in the Explore section of the PDF or by searching “Recognizing Jesus” on-site).

Then, Jesus, Himself, appears to the disciples (Luke 24:36).  After encouraging their hearts that He wasn’t a spirit (Luke 34:37-43), He delivered His own message to His disciples.

As the women were called to remember the words Jesus had spoken previously, here Jesus wants to draw His disciples’ hearts to the understanding of what He taught them “while I was yet with you.”

“All things must be fulfilled,” He said.  The word “must” is a key component here.  Like a command, it is sent out to fulfill the instruction it was given.  It had to happen!  As horrific as the cross was, it came to produce a glorious salvation, with a glorious message.  These men, who would be responsible for carrying the gospel message to the world, had to know and believe, that every step of the way, God was sovereignly in control.

The events that occurred were according to His holy timetable until they reached the point of manifestation on the cross.  Whatever God says, it will happen: “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19; see also Numbers 14:35; Psalm 89:34; 110:4; Isaiah 40:8; 55:11; Hebrews 6:18).

From the time of the Fall of man, God has spoken of the Messiah who would come and free mankind from the tyranny of sin.  In Genesis 3:15, God speaks, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”  These, and many more promises like it, with many more references and prophecies about the Messiah, “were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.”

So, Jesus “opened their understanding.”  Forever the teacher, Jesus does not leave them confused and frustrated with a lack of understanding.  He delves into it with them.  He spends time with them, with the Word, “that they might understand the scriptures.”

For them to become the powerhouses of being the first Church leaders, they themselves would need to be fully enlightened.  The baton was being passed.  His mission would become their mission and they needed to know all the who’s, what’s, where’s, when’s, how’s, and why’s.  They needed to know how prophecy became fulfilled in Christ and be readily able to teach it to others.

Jesus’ Resurrection Message, pt.2: “Repentance and Remission Should Be Preached in His Name”

Luke 24:46-48 “And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.  And ye are witnesses of these things.”

“It behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day.”  Now, people have a chance to be free from their sins.  The story of the cross speaks of the fulfillment of everything Christ did for humanity.  Pass it on.

“That repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name.”  When one is talking of “repentance” they are basically speaking of making a U-turn in life.  You are sorry for the sin and have determined to turn away from it, denouncing it, and the wrong attached to it.  Then, redirecting oneself purposely towards what is right in God’s eyes.  It is making a complete change in one’s life, actions, heart, and mind.  This is part of the message they would preach.

Another focus of their preaching would be the “remission of sins,” or forgiveness.  In Christ, God forgives: “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7; along with many more verses).

All of Isaiah 53 prophesied of this Messiah by whom sins would be forgiven: “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him . . . thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin. . .” (Isaiah 53:10).

They were instructed to carry this message “among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”  God’s intention was always for all the families and peoples of the earth, all ethnicities, and backgrounds, be exposed to this offer of salvation (see Genesis 12:1-3).  “It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6; compare Matthew 28:18-20).

“And ye are witnesses of these things.”  As eyewitnesses by walking with Jesus for these past three years, the apostles could not only relate the words of Jesus but the experience of being with the Lord.  The truth, mixed with that experience, along with the witness of the resurrection, would cause these men to turn the world upside down in spreading the faith of Jesus Christ.  They would go forward, never turning back.  Most would lose their own lives in the process of the preaching.  But Jesus’ resurrection message was too important to keep to themselves: “repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name.”  Souls were out there.  And those souls needed to hear the gospel and be saved.

Peter’s Resurrection Message: “Jesus is Lord!”

 Acts 2:36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

On the day of Pentecost, after being filled with the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4), Peter preached a powerful message supporting the Kingship of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Testifying of Jesus of Nazareth and the “miracles and wonders and signs” He did (Acts 2:22), Peter, with all the boldness of the Holy Spirit in him, also testified against those wicked men whose hands have “crucified” the Lord (Acts 2:23).

But God would have the final say: “Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it” (Acts 2:24; emphasis mine).  The same one that God “raised up” is the same one who occupies the throne of David as King forever, as was prophesied from Psalm 110:1 (compare Acts 2:34-35).

Peter pointed out also that David, who wrote these particular psalms/prophecies referenced here, had long been dead.  But, before he died God gave him a promise “that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne” (Acts 2:30; emphasis mine).  This is seen in Psalm 132:11, where identical wording is used, saying, “The LORD hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne.”  A promise, Peter declared, was fulfilled by Jesus (compare and read Acts 2:22-36).

The long-awaited Messiah, the true King forever, was expected to come by that covenant promise given to David (read 2 Samuel 7:1-16): “And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever” (2 Samuel 7:16).  Peter presented his case that Jesus Christ completely fulfilled and filled all the requirements as the risen King, saying, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

Because He is Lord, and because the people needed to know what to do now that their hearts were “pricked” with this message (Acts 2:37), Peter went on to preach the same resurrection message Jesus instructed His disciples to deliver, “repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name” (see above notes), by saying, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38).

The Lamb who was slain has risen as King, and the message still stands today, the Good News, all who seek Him, who believe, and accept Him as their Savior, can find forgiveness from their sins and a chance to walk in a new life through our risen Lord, Jesus Christ our King.  That’s the resurrection message!

PDF Full Printable Sunday School Lesson Pack (With easy to read instructions following the P.E.A.R.L. format on how to conduct each lesson with areas for adding personal notes): Sunday School Lesson – The Resurrection Message

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Adult Journal Page:  Adult Journal Page – The Resurrection Message

Kid’s Journal Page:  Kid’s Journal Page – The Resurrection Message

Blank Journal Pages: These pages, one designed for adults and one for children, can be used to bring out, remember, or write a particular part of the lesson you wish for you and/or your class to focus on.  Click>>Blank Adult and Kid’s Journal Pages to access the journal pages.

Acrostic Poem: He is Risen Acrostic

Draw the Scene:  The Resurrection Message Draw the Scene

He is Risen Draw the Scene: The Resurrection Message Draw the Scene 2

Coloring Page: The Ressurection Message Coloring Sheet

Activity Page:  The Resurrection Message Activity Page

Memory Verse:  The Resurrection Message Memory Verse

Word Search:  The Resurrection Message Word Search  Answers:  The Resurrection Message Word Search Answers

Crossword:  The Resurrection Message Crossword  Answers:  The Resurrection Message Crossword Answers

Word Scramble:  The Resurrection Message Word Scramble  Answers: The Resurrection Message Word Scramble Answers

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Sunday School Lesson – “The Passover Lamb is Crucified” Luke 23:33-46; John 3:16

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VERSE DISCOVERY: Luke 23:33-46; John 3:16 (KJV, Public Domain)

At twilight, at six o’clock that evening (being the time the Jewish day started), the celebration of Passover would begin, and the lamb of the Last Supper would have been killed for the feast (compare Matthew 26:17-19; Mark 14:12-16; Luke 22: 7-13).  Before twenty-four hours would pass, before this very time the next day, Jesus Christ would hang on the cross and be sacrificed as the Passover Lamb once and for all: “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2).

Many things have happened between Jesus’ last Passover with His disciples and His journey to the cross.  Following Luke’s account, not long after that Last Supper, after exposing there is a betrayer among them and squashing arguments of who is the greatest (Luke 22:24), Jesus soon found Himself on the Mount of Olives, in that garden called Gethsemane, where He battled in prayer (Luke 22:39-46).

Soon after, the betrayer arrived in the garden with “a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees” (John 18:3).  The price had been paid, and Judas Iscariot would fully follow through on his part as an informant for the enemy, double-crossing Jesus with a kiss (Luke 22:47-48).

After His arrest and the desertion of His disciples (Matthew 26:56), and the denial of Peter (Luke 22:54-62), Jesus stood before Pilate, a man condemned, and yet not condemned.  Not condemned, because there was no sin attached to Jesus or in Jesus that would condemn Him (Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 2:22; 1 John 3:5).  Even Pilate’s own mouth voiced His innocence with these words: “Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the people: and, behold, I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him:  No, nor yet Herod: for I sent you to him; and, lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him” (Luke 23:14-15).

Yet, the Bible tells us, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).  For that to happen, the Passover Lamb had to be crucified.

Pilate passed his sentence and condemned to death (Luke 23:24) He that came to bring life (John 10:10). 

Stripped and beaten, crowned with thorns and spit upon, scourged and mocked (Matthew 27:27-31; Mark 15:16-20; John 19:1), he “Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away.  And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha” (John 19:16-17).

Jesus and the Cross

Luke 23:33-38 “And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.  Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.  And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God.  And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar, And saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself.  And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, This Is The King Of The Jews.”

This was His destiny if we want to call it that.  This was the appointed time for Jesus to arrive at this place, this place called “Calvary”, this place in history.

“Calvary” was more than a lovely thought in the hymns we sing and the story we pass down, it was a real place, where real pain and sacrifice were experienced.  It was a real place where love would win the ultimate victory.

Before He left heaven, this place, carrying out this plan of salvation was already determined: “But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world…” (1 Peter 1:19-20; see also Acts 2:23; Hebrews 9:26; Revelation 13:8).  The very details of His crucifixion were recorded in Psalm 22 many years before it happened.

Calvary would be the place where God would satisfy the greatest need humanity has ever known: salvation.  Calvary is the place where “they crucified him,” where Jesus laid down His life on the cross (John 10:18).

Submitting to the Father’s will on the cross would mean things would forever be different.  He had done more than come to change the world, He had come to change the hearts and lives of men.  He had come to “seek and save that which was lost” (Luke 19:40).  He had come to reconcile broken humanity back to the Father (Colossians 1:20; 2 Corinthians 5:18).  The cross made the way for that to happen.

With that, the act of crucifixion commenced.  As His body was forced to lie on that rugged beam, being held in place, the nails were driven in His flesh to secure Him, to punish Him, to kill Him.  Being lifted high, with the weight of His body pulling and being jarred against the tearing of flesh and the pain of the wound of the scourging, He was hung between two “malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left” (we will talk more on them later).

This symbol of our Lord’s cross, posted between two others, is another real symbol in history testifying to the realness this moment demanded.  Our Lord’s death is not a fairy tale or a wonderful read of something lovely someone did for us.  His story is real, with incredibly real details that support the account of what He did for you and me.

Hanging there, Jesus wastes no time in speaking His first words from the cross: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”  Jesus refuses to let pain speak for Him.  He refuses to let resentment, bitterness, or anger have a word here.  Instead, love speaks.  The same love that drove Him to the cross (John 15:13) is the same love that is pleading for their forgiveness.  When the course of these events is over and Jesus ascends back to the Father, all who believe in Him will find life and forgiveness (John 14:6; 3:16; Acts 3:19; 2:38).

Earlier, Jesus prayed for His disciples (John 17), and here He prays for the executioners, the nailers, the mockers, the whippers, and for them who yelled, “Crucify Him!” (Luke 23:21).

In an article I previously published titled, Focus Shift, I wrote:

“Instead of ranting and raving, Jesus, in His agony and pain sought the betterment of the very ones who were killing Him.  He knew He would die.  He knew the pain would not cease until He did.  This plan was going to go forth.  Yet, He focused on the needs of others rather than Himself.

How awesome is that?  Often, we hear these words during a Seven Last Words service on Good Friday, but can we even begin to imagine the strength and willpower it took for Jesus not to focus on Himself during that time?  For Him to look beyond what He was currently going through to care for and about others?  I don’t think we have a clue.  He immediately pleaded with the Father for their forgiveness.” (©WordforLifeSays)

So, thus, He prayed.

As they “cast lots” for His garment, fulfilling even more prophecies (Psalm 22:18), the response of the very people Jesus just prayed for while in agony was startling.  They “derided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God.”

The “soldiers” too “mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar.”  That old phrase, “rubbing salt into an open wound,” comes to mind when I read these words.

Love lays down on the cross.  Love prays for His transgressors.  Love bleeds in the place of man.  Yet, love is scorned and mocked with wagging heads (Matthew 27:39; compare Psalm 22:7-8), tormenting Jesus with more than the nails in His flesh.  The hurting words of the people must have pierced His heart in a way a sword never could.

Yet, He refused their taunts.  He refused the temptation to leave this appointed place.  He refused to save Himself from this hour (John 12:27).  Remember what He said in the garden?  “Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?  But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?” (Matthew 26:53-54).

Therefore, He hung, with Pilate’s “superscription. . . over him”, written in “Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

Why was Pilate so adamant about keeping his superscription as it was?  The Jewish leaders insisted that he revise the wording by saying, “Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews” (John 19:21).  But Pilate refused and stated, “What I have written I have written” (John 19:22).  What was meant to be a written charge of the condemned became a written testimony for all to see.

Pilate knew they handed Jesus over by unjust means (Matthew 27:18), and they had no real evidence to condemn Him.  Even more startling was his wife’s interruption of the proceedings to send a private message to him, straightly telling him, “Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him” (Matthew 27:19).

He spoke twice in Luke, “I find no fault in him” (Luke 23:4, 14).  Was his conscience bothering him?  That, mixed with the warning from his wife, could have stirred something inside of him, but not enough to totally release Jesus from this fate.

Was he making a point?  Who really knows his thoughts behind the process, but the words of the superscription, written in the three main languages of the day and region, would stand to proclaim, “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

Jesus and the Thief

Luke 23:39-43 “And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.  But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?  And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.  And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.  And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.”

So, there Jesus hung in between the two thieves (Mark 15:27), fulfilling scripture once again, being “numbered with the transgressors” (Mark 15:28; Isaiah 53:12).

Originally, both thieves had a thing or two to speak out against and challenged our Lord, and “reviled him” (Matthew 27:44; Mark 15:32).  Jesus was truly taking a battering on the cross.  There would not even be a camaraderie with His fellow condemned.  As His body bled and writhed in agony, would He be forsaken by all?

The challenge picked up in intensity as the pain and feeling of hopelessness crept in for one of the thieves.  He “railed. . . If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.”  In his railing against the Lord, he probably wasn’t as much concerned with Jesus and His claim to deity, and saving Himself, as he was for his own life being spared.  Out of fear for his life and his own pain, he made this selfish request.

But, challenging his challenge, the other thief spoke up, “Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?”  Being this close to the end of his life may have awakened a reality in this man that the other seemed to miss.  None of them would leave these crosses alive.  The Roman soldiers would make sure of that (John 19:31-34).  All of them faced the same outcome.  Or did they?

Was there no fear of God in the first thief, even in this late hour of life?

As the prodigal son did in the pigpen (Luke 15:17), had this second thief finally come to himself and realize the wrongs that undid his life?  Did he question the choices he made that led him to Calvary as well?  Did he see something in Jesus, even in this late hour of his own life –  the man who speaks forgiveness from the place of pain, that he wanted for his own life, what little of it was left?

We don’t have all the answers to the questions or thoughts this man was struggling with on the cross, but we do know that he recognized two things.  First, he recognized his own undone state, that he “justly” was suffering for his “deeds.”  Recognizing personal sin is the first step to true repentance.  Jesus may have been nailed next to him, but he knew what Pilate and Herod already knew: “this man hath done nothing amiss.”

I don’t know how much of Jesus this thief could see physically with his eyes, but with his heart, it appears he had seen enough to believe that even now something better can come from his wasted life.  “And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.”

Others were jeering, mocking, and cursing Him, but this dying thief recognized Jesus by what others missed, addressing Him as “Lord.”  He would die as a consequence of his actions, of this, he was sure, and he accepted that.  At the same time, he also accepted that the One who hung next to him was “Lord.”

To the “Lord” he prayed, “remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.”  He didn’t rile.  He didn’t even suggest to Jesus to be released from his cross.  But when his story was done on this earth, he wanted to be where Jesus was, in His “kingdom.”  As the minutes passed, and the struggle to breathe and endure the pain and humiliation of the cross were getting extremely harder, this thief was looking ahead, with hope, for something better.

His late hour faith in Christ was rewarded with these words from our dying Lord: “Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.”  Today, Jesus promised him, this will all be over.  Today, this man would be saved once and for all.  Today, Jesus would carry this precious soul to heaven with Him.

Jesus and the Father

Luke 23:44-46 “And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.  And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst.  And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.”

Earth responded to the Lord being crucified.  From noon, “the sixth hour”, to three o’clock in the afternoon, “the ninth hour”, “darkness” covered the “earth” (see Amos 8:9).

At this “ninth hour” Jesus cried out from the cross, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46).  The nails, the taunts, the pain were incomparable to this feeling of separation between Himself and the Father, a feeling He had never experienced before.  These very words were prophesied to be voiced at this time (Psalm 22:1), as the sin of the world laid literally on the shoulders of Jesus.

Heaven also responded to the crucifixion of our Lord when “the veil of the temple was rent in the midst.”  The need for further sacrifices was no longer there.  Through Jesus Christ, God was making a new way for believing souls to gain access to Him.

Before the cross, Jesus taught that He was the “way” (John 14:6) and the “door of the sheep” (John 10:7).  In John 10:9, Jesus says, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”  There was no longer the need for “the veil of the temple.”  The Good Shepherd gave His life for the sheep (John 10:11), and heaven tore the “veil” because the way has been made:

“God made a way through the life and death of our Lord Jesus Christ.  To the life that will turn their heart and soul over to Him, He made a way.  “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me,” (John 14:6).  He is our access key.  He is the one who paved the pathway for us in righteousness and through His blood provided a space for us in His heavenly realm.  If we are His and have turned to Him, there is a place with your name on it in heaven.  A place waiting and wanting to be filled by you, but you must come through Jesus Christ only.” (God Made a Way/WordforLifeSays.com)

Seeing that all was done, every prophecy and command fulfilled, Jesus, spoke, “It is finished” (John 19:30).  Then, to the Father, Jesus cried out, echoing the words of Psalm 31:5, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.”  There was nothing left for Him to do.  This portion of His story was written, and written perfectly well, and now it was time for the ending.  The work of the cross was finished.  The Passover Lamb had been crucified.  The price for sin has been paid (Romans 5:8; 6:23; Hebrews 9:12; 1 Peter 1:18-19).

Jesus and the World

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

John 3:16 isn’t just a wonderful sentiment.  It’s more than a good word spoken to a seeking man by the name of Nicodemus.  John 3:16 was the expressed saving power of God on display in one verse, and Jesus knew that when He died on the cross, when He was lifted “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness” (John 3:14), through His sacrifice, those who believe will find “eternal life” (John 3:15) in Him.  “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” (John 3:17).

Why?  Because, “God so loved the world.” 

Love is God’s great motivation for everything.  From the calling of everything into existence to His moving through history, in all of it, God has operated in the sphere of love.

There is a popular quote that you may have heard before touting, “Love makes people do strange things.”  While love, or man’s idea of love, may have tripped people up and caused confusion over what love really is or how to respond to it, God never had any misgivings.  Anything and everything He did for love was an on-purpose act with a direct point of what He wanted to accomplish, even the death of Christ on the cross.

Love doesn’t make God do strange things.  God’s love does impossible things that only His perfect heart can do.  Although some may not understand the act of sacrificing Your perfect Son for the most unworthy of people, and they may view it through the eyes of limited human knowledge, thinking it strange, God sees it as the only way out for mankind to have a renewed relationship with Him.  God knows that for any man, woman, or child to be redeemed, they need to be reconciled to Him.  Only what Jesus did through the cross, as our Passover Lamb, can do this.  Only God’s love put Jesus there for us, for the “world”, to hang on Calvary’s tree: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life,” (John 3:16; emphasis mine).

Because of what Jesus Christ has done, we now have “access by faith into this grace,” and we have a reason to “rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:2).  Through His sacrifice of blood, He bought the key that would give us an open door to our heavenly Father.  And with everything we face in this life, our promise through Christ stands, and we who “believeth in him” shall have “everlasting life.” 

Thank God for the Lamb!

“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.” Acts 3:19

“Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” 1 Peter 2:24

“Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us” 1 Corinthians 5:7

PDF Full Printable Sunday School Lesson Pack (With easy to read instructions following the P.E.A.R.L. format on how to conduct each lesson with areas for adding personal notes): Sunday School Lesson – The Passover Lamb is Crucified

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