Guide. Our. for little ones IN THE SUNDAY SCHOOL

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1 Our Guide Published by the Protestant Reformed Sunday School Association Writer: Don Doezema Artist: Connie Meyer Designers: Judi Doezema & Brenda Brands for little ones IN THE SUNDAY SCHOOL Luke 18:1-8 The Persistent Widow Do you remember what Jesus did when a messenger from Mary and Martha came from Bethany to tell Him that His friend Lazarus was sick? Jesus didn t hurry to Bethany. And Lazarus died. To Mary and Martha it must have seemed as if things had gone oh so wrong. But then they learned that that wasn t true at all. Things had not gone wrong. If Jesus had come earlier, they would have missed the great opportunity to learn more about the one who meant more to them than life itself. Memories so precious were these that they would not have traded them for anything. So the delay, which Mary and Martha had thought was so grievous, had worked out for their good. Now, think: Is Lesson 31 that always true, for all of God s people? Or did things just happen to work out well for Mary and Martha because Jesus was with them, and because what He wanted to do happened to be the same thing that they wanted Him to do? Do God s people today sometimes pray and pray and pray and get no answer? Do they sometimes think, Why even pray? For God does not seem to hear? We must never think that. God s clock, God s time, is different from ours. And His is better. Mary and Martha found that out. And it s always true: God s time is better. Note to Parents: These papers are intended for the younger Sunday School students grade 3 and below. Vocabulary and concepts are such that children in this age group, even the 3rd graders, will profit most if the stories are read to them, not by them. Most lessons have two stories, for two sittings if that proves to be beneficial. Our hope is that parents will find these lessons to be useful tools in the teaching of Bible stories and Bible truths to their children in the off season.

2 Lesson 31 2 Is that something that s easy to remember and to believe? No, it isn t. Jesus knew that. That s why He told the parable of the persistent widow to teach us that we should always pray, and never become discouraged. There was in a city, Jesus said, a judge who feared not God, and cared not at all about man. A judge, you know, is one who must decide for people what is right and what is wrong. And if someone does wrong, the judge must insist that he make it right. If, for example, a man were to take one of his neighbor s sheep, and the neighbor would complain to the judge, the judge must see to it that the sheep is given back to its rightful owner. A judge must help those who are right and punish those who are wrong. It was very important, therefore, that a judge be a good man, a man who wants people to obey God s law and who feels sorry for one who has been harmed by somebody else. The judge in Jesus parable was not a good man. He did not care about God. He did not care about people. He cared only about himself. In this same city was a widow. She had an adversary, an enemy, one who did her wrong. And, being a widow, she had no one to protect her or to help her. So she went to the judge and pleaded, Avenge me of my adversary. It was probably easy for the judge to see that the widow was right, that someone had wickedly done wrong to this poor woman. For some reason, however, this judge did not want to get involved in this case. It was better for him to do nothing. He did not care that God s law had been broken. He did not feel sorry for the woman. And she was just a widow. She could never do anything for him. So the judge did nothing. But then, lo and behold, this widow dared to come back. Not just once, or twice, but repeatedly. She kept hounding him to avenge her of her adversary. Finally the judge said to himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man, yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. Perhaps Jesus paused for just a moment, and then He asked, Did you hear that? Did you hear what the unjust judge said? Will not God avenge His own elect, who cry day and night unto Him though He bear long with them? That s the point of Jesus parable. There is a huge difference between the judge in that parable and God. Think of this: the judge was a wicked man who cared not at all about what is right... while our God is a just God. And: to the judge, the woman was not only a stranger but a pest... while God is not only our Father but also our Friend. And: the judge didn t want to help the woman, in fact he must have told her not to bother him... while, far from telling us not to

3 bother Him, our God tells us to keep coming back. The widow kept coming back and coming back and coming back to the judge. Now, will such a judge at last say, Okay, I ve had enough, I ll give you what you want so that you won t bother me anymore? Jesus hearers would have said, Yes, that s the way people are. Pester them long enough, and you ll finally get your way. That s true. And that s exactly what Jesus wanted the people to think. Why, then, Jesus asks, would they ever give up in praying to God? Why would they keep going back to an earthly, unjust judge but give up on God when He doesn t answer them as quickly as they think He should? But, alas, that s what we do! And that was why Jesus told this parable to teach us that we ought always to pray and not to faint (to give up). That s right, God s people should not give up on Him though He bear long with them. That s what Jesus said. What did He mean by that? He meant that God does not always answer our prayers as quickly as we would like Him to. But does that mean that God is slow in answering our prayers? No, Jesus said, He answers them speedily. Just think of Mary and Martha. They thought, first, that Jesus came to them four days too late. But they learned that that wasn t true. Jesus had waited for their good. He came at just the right time. And so it is also with all of God s people. He answers at just the right time. 3 May we ever be like the persistent widow. She kept coming though her only hope was that the judge would finally get sick of seeing her. May we keep coming to God in prayer knowing that He delights in our prayers, and that He not only hears but surely answers our prayers speedily. How Well Did You Listen? 1. Was it good for Mary and Martha that Jesus did not come to Bethany till after Lazarus died? Is it good for us when God does not answer our prayers as quickly as we would like? 2. In Jesus parable, somebody did something bad to a poor widow. Where did the widow go for help? 3. When the widow did not at first get help from this man, what did she do? 4. How should we be like the widow in Jesus parable? God Be Merciful Luke 18:9-14 In the parable of the persistent widow, Jesus taught that His people should be a praying people. Listen now as Jesus tells us how we ought to pray. Two men, Jesus said, went up to the temple to pray. One of them was a Pharisee and the other was a publican. You remember who the Pharisees and publicans were, do you not? We right away think of the Pharisees as being bad people, people who hated Jesus and were even plotting to kill Him. But what we must remember, in order to under-

4 stand this parable of Jesus, is that all the people thought that the Pharisees were especially good. The Pharisees knew the laws of Moses and were very careful to obey all of them. They could make long prayers to God, and, in fact, they prayed even on the street corners. Of all of the people in the land, the Pharisees were thought to be the most holy, the most pious, the most spiritual. The publicans were at the other end. They were tax collectors. Bad enough, it was, that they collected taxes for the Romans. But many of them were also dishonest. So, of all the people in the land, the publicans were thought to be among the worst. Not all Pharisees were alike, of course. Nor were all publicans alike. But that s the way the people saw them. And that s the way most of the Pharisees saw themselves and others. They saw themselves as being righteous, and they despised others. There were Pharisees listening to Jesus that day. Jesus spoke this parable to them. He will tell them, to their faces, what God thinks of all their righteousnesses. Let s listen to what Jesus said. The Pharisee went to the temple to pray. So did the publican. Jesus will tell us what they prayed. But before these men said a single word, we see a big difference in how they acted. The publican went to a far corner. That s a far corner of the temple court. Neither he nor the Pharisee could go into the temple itself, the sanctuary. Only the priests could 4 Lesson 31 enter there. The publican didn t even dare to get close to the sanctuary. What right did he have, as a mere publican, to come close to where God dwelled? So he stood afar off. And when he prayed, he didn t dare even to lift his eyes toward heaven. He looked down instead. He was a sinner. He knew it. Why would the holy God even hear the prayer of such a one as he? That s what the publican thought of himself. Then there was the Pharisee. Jesus did not say what the Pharisee did. The people knew what the Pharisee did. It was the opposite of what the publican did. This Pharisee must have marched through the temple court and got just as close as he could to the sanctuary. Surely, he deserved to be close to God. He then lifted up his eyes, and most likely also his hands, to heaven. Everybody could see this pious man offering his prayer to God. Which was exactly what the Pharisee wanted. Now let s hear what he said. God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. He starts, you see, with God, and he even thanks God. But for what? He thanks God that he is so much better than other people. And what makes him better? Here it is: I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And a Pharisee would have gone on and on. I, I, I. He not only did better than everyone else, he did more than the law of God required of him. The

5 Pharisee asked God for nothing because he didn t feel a need for anything. He was righteous. And what was his righteousness? His works! He can list them. Men should admire him. And God should be so very pleased with him. Now listen to the prayer of the publican. It s short. God, be merciful to me the sinner. That s all. But it says everything. Like the Pharisee, the publican had compared himself to others and he couldn t think of anybody worse than he. Like the Pharisee, he had examined his works and he couldn t find a single good one. Of nothing that he had ever done could he say, God will surely be pleased with this! The publican knew that if he will ever be saved, it will only be because of God s mercy. God be merciful to me. That was his one and only petition. Did the publican know that there was hope for sinners for sinners as bad as he? Ah, that s why he had come to the temple to pray. The temple, the priests, the sacrifices all these, you see, were pictures of the promised Savior. And the publican knew that that was his only hope. Only the Savior. Only God s mercy. God be merciful to me, the sinner! And what about the Pharisee? He knew nothing of that. Oh, he came to the temple all right. And he came to pray. But not for mercy. Not for pardon for sin. Only as part of his righteousnesses. Here, Lord, he says, here are my tithes, my fastings, my prayers. See how much better I am than others. 5 Lesson 31 We would never think like that would we? We would never look at what we do and think that we re really quite a bit better than other people would we? Remember, Jesus wasn t thinking, in His parable, only of Pharisees. The sin of the Pharisee was pride. And that s something that lurks in the heart of every child of God. God be merciful to me, the sinner is not a prayer that we like. We don t like to think that we are the worst of sinners. We like to think that we re really pretty good. It s only by the grace of God that the prayer of the publican comes from our hearts. One of the two men in Jesus parable went home with peace in his heart. Do you know which one that was? Think about this. The Pharisee came to the temple to tell God about his own righteousness. What did that mean? It meant, I don t need a Savior. The publican came with nothing to offer to God. He asked only for mercy. What did that mean? It meant, I need a Savior. I tell you, Jesus said to the Pharisees in His audience, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other. How Well Did You Listen? 1. In Jesus parable there was a Pharisee and a publican. Which one of those two would the people think was a good man and which one was a bad man? 2. Why did the Pharisee and the publican go to the temple? Where in the temple did the publican go? 3. Why did the Pharisee not ask for the

6 Lesson 31 6 forgiveness of his sins? 4. What was the prayer of the publican? 5. Which of the two men went home with peace in his heart? How Well Do You Understand? 1. If the unjust judge in Jesus parable refused to help the widow, why did the widow keep going back to him? 2. Why do the people of God have more reason to keep praying than the widow had for going back again and again to the unjust judge? 3. If one could see, but not hear, the Pharisee and the publican in the temple, how could he tell which was the proud man and which was the humble man? 4. In the mind of the Pharisee, what was it that made him better than other people? 5. What did the publican think about himself, as compared to others? What did the publican pray for? 6. How can we sometimes be like the Pharisee? 7. Do you know why the publican went home with peace in his heart? Memory Verse Luke 18:13b God be merciful to me a sinner. Follow the dots and color the picture. What might this person be doing?