Elementary Lesson Year Two, Quarter Three, Lesson Eleven SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON The Life of Jesus AIM: to teach my class that Jesus always knows what is best for us. OBJECTS TO HAVE: Pictures of people that you love to go and visit Letters or postcards from someone who lives in another town, state, or country A handkerchief, for crying A sheet, to show what grave clothes are made of A picture of a cave A picture of a big stone Your Bible POINT OF CONTACT: I have friends who live in towns that are far away from here. I don t get to see them very often, but every time I am in their area I stop by to visit them. Sometimes I like to call them on the phone. Sometimes I will write them letters. And sometimes they write letters to me. Do you have a friend or a cousin that lives somewhere far away, and sometimes you get to go visit them? Tell me about somebody like that whom you know. STORY: Jesus had friends like that also. Of course, Jesus spent His life traveling from town to town and from city to city. Jesus never spent very long in one city, because He needed to move on to the next town to tell people how to go to heaven. But everywhere that Jesus went He made new friends. So when Jesus would be in a town where one of His friends lived, often they would invite Him to come eat with them. One town where Jesus had some friends was the town of Bethany. In Bethany lived two sisters and a brother who were very good friends with Jesus. The sisters were named Mary and Martha, and their brother was named Lazarus. It was Jesus who had told Mary, Martha, and Lazarus how to be saved, and Jesus had done many good things for them. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus loved Jesus very much. Whenever Jesus was anywhere near the town of Bethany, He would stop at the house of Mary, Martha and Lazarus to visit with them. Jesus loved to visit with them, and they loved to serve Jesus, and to sit and listen to Him talk. Since Jesus was so close to Mary, Martha and Lazarus, they knew that any time that they had a need or a problem, Jesus would be there to help them with it. That is why what happens in the story that I am going to tell you today did not make much sense to Mary and Martha, or to Jesus disciples. You see, one day while Jesus was preaching in a town far away from Bethany, Lazarus became very sick. Mary and Martha were very concerned about their brother Lazarus. They had never seen him this sick before. They knew that the one person who could help Lazarus was Jesus. But they also knew that Jesus was preaching very far away from their town. So Mary and Martha sent a messenger to Jesus. They told the messenger, Go find Jesus, and tell Him that His friend Lazarus of Bethany is very sick. That messenger began to search for Jesus. It wasn t long before the messenger found Jesus, and he gave Jesus the message: Mary and Martha sent me to tell you that their brother Lazarus is very sick. They think that he might die. Jesus simply said, Thank you for the message. Jesus disciples thought that Jesus would say, Let s go! We ve got to get to Bethany right away. But He didn t. Instead Jesus said, Lazarus will not die of this sickness. He is only sick so that people will know that I am the Son of God. And then, Jesus stayed in the town where He was for two more days! After two days Jesus said, Lazarus is dead now. Let s go to Bethany. One of Jesus disciples, named Thomas, said, Why go now? He s already dead. We can t do anything now! By the time Jesus and His disciples arrived in Bethany, Lazarus had been dead and buried for four days. They had wrapped his body in grave clothes and buried him in a cave. Many people were gathered at Mary and Martha s
house, to try to comfort them about the death of their brother. Someone came into the house and whispered to Martha, Jesus is coming to see you. Martha got up and went out to meet Him. When Jesus came to Martha, she said, Lord, if you had been here, Lazarus would not have died. Jesus explained to Martha that He had the power to bring Lazarus out of the grave. Martha said, Lord, I know that that will happen some day, when his body will rise from the grave and we will all be in heaven together. That is called the resurrection. Jesus said, 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. Then He asked Martha, Do you believe that? Martha said, Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Son of God. Then immediately, Martha went back in the house and got Mary. Mary came out and found Jesus. She fell at His feet and said the same thing that Martha had said: Lord, if you had been here, Lazarus would not have died. Then Mary began to weep and cry. Behind Mary came many of the friends of the family, and they were also weeping and crying for their friend, Lazarus. Then Jesus said, Where is Lazarus buried? They walked toward the burial place and said to Jesus, Come, we will show you. Jesus followed them to the grave, which was a cave like this one, with a stone rolled in front of the door. As Jesus looked at the spot where his friend Lazarus was buried, Jesus wept. Everyone around Jesus said, Jesus really loved His friend Lazarus. But if He loved Lazarus so much, I wonder why He was not here to heal Him. This is the man who heals so many people. Why didn t He come to heal His own friend? Then Jesus said, Move the stone away from the door. Martha said, Jesus, he s been buried for four days. If you go in there, the smell will be awful. Jesus said, Martha, didn t I tell you that I am the resurrection and the life? The men moved the stone away from the door of the cave, and Jesus looked to heaven and began to pray loudly: Father, thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. I pray that you will show all of the people standing here that you sent me. Then Jesus looked at the cave and said, LAZARUS, COME FORTH. Suddenly, the body of Lazarus appeared in the doorway of the cave. The people could not believe their eyes! They watched as Lazarus walked out in his grave clothes. Then Jesus said, Loose him and let him go. The people took the grave clothes off of Lazarus, and they watched as Lazarus, raised from the dead, came and worshipped Jesus, and hugged and kissed his sisters. The Bible says that many people got saved that day because of the amazing miracle that they saw. Now kids, I want you to think about something. None of these people could understand why Jesus did not come to heal Lazarus before he died. But what would have been a more amazing miracle: for Lazarus to be healed of his sickness, or for him to die and then be raised from the dead? That s right, to be raised from the dead. So when Jesus waited before He came to Bethany, He knew what He was doing, didn t He? He knew that He had to wait, so that the city of Bethany could see an even greater miracle. And He also taught Mary and Martha to trust God more than they did. Many times things happen and people say, Why would God allow that to happen? But I want you to remember this: GOD ALWAYS KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING. You and I are not smart enough to know what needs to be done in every situation. But God knows. GOD ALWAYS KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING. Say that with me, ready: GOD ALWAYS KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING. Again: GOD ALWAYS KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING. When things happen in life that make us cry, GOD ALWAYS KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING. When we are disappointed by something that somebody does, GOD ALWAYS KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING. When things don t go like we want them to, GOD ALWAYS KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING. And even when it seems like God hasn t been fair, GOD ALWAYS KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING. And He will always do what is best and what is right. It is our job to keep believing Him and keep obeying Him. He will always make things turn out right. Let s learn our memory verse: John 11:25 - Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.
Teen and Adult Lesson Year Two, Quarter Three, Lesson Eleven SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON The Life of Jesus Teacher, choose one of the following truths to expand upon in teaching this portion of Scripture to your teen/adult class. Teach and apply the truth that you choose using statements and illustrations that are most helpful and applicable to your students. I. GOD KNOWS ALL ABOUT EVERY PROBLEM WE FACE BEFORE WE BEGIN TO EXPERIENCE THE PROBLEM. 11:4. When we face a huge hardship in life, there is always that moment when we first become aware of the hardship a phone call, a text, a letter, a message that the boss wants to see you in his office, or the doctor saying, There s something we need to discuss. We look back at those devastating moments as moments that instantly changed our lives, moments that we didn t see coming. But not only does God know those moments are coming, He knows everything about the problem, its purpose, its solution, and its potential to bring us good. If we will simply strive to get God involved in the problem, He will take it from there. II. EVERY PROBLEM I HAVE HAS TO POTENTIAL TO BRING GLORY TO GOD. 11:4, 41-45. God is the ultimate problem-solver. There is no problem that is too big for Him. He may not work it out the way we expect Him to or want Him to, but His solutions are better than what we might imagine. When God does solve a problem, it reveals His great character and power to everyone who is watching. We must let God be our problem-solver, so He can bring people closer to Himself. III. GOD DOES NOT VIEW DEATH THE SAME WAY THAT WE VIEW DEATH. 11:11-16. Jesus disciples, along with Mary and Martha, viewed death as final and hopeless, as something that is even beyond God s jurisdiction. Jesus viewed death as something completely under God s control, which He can use for the very best purposes. Our faith is strengthened when we learn to view things that way God views them, including death. IV. WHEN WE BEGIN TO BLAME GOD FOR NEGLECTING US, OUR FAITH HAS WEAKEND. 11:21, 32. Mary and Martha s words are exactly the same, which indicates that they had been discussing this matter among themselves. Their words imply that it is too late for Jesus to do any good. They are some of Jesus closest friends, yet their faith has reached a limit. True faith trusts God no matter what the circumstances are telling us. V. GOD GRIEVES WITH US WHEN WE GRIEVE. 11:33-35. The classic question about John 11:35 is that, if Jesus knew He was about to bring Lazarus back to life, why did He weep. The answer is simple and wonderful: Jesus wept because the people He loved were weeping. Even though Jesus know that something great was about to happen, His close friends had been grieving for four days, and He loved them so much that He wanted the grieve with them. He did not let His own faith be demonstrated as, I m better than you and I have more faith than you have. He shows us how to love others who may not see hope as clearly as we do.
The Raising of Lazarus John11:1-46 Jesus, the Answer I. JOHN 11:1-16 Jesus Disciples Question His Decision Don t go right now, it s too dangerous! II. JOHN 11:17-32 Jesus Friends Question His Timing If you had come sooner, you could have helped! III. JOHN 11:33-37 Jesus Critics Question His Power I thought you were the big Healer! IV. JOHN 11:38-44 Jesus Actions Answer All Their Questions To His disciples: If I can deliver from death, who can hurt you? To His friends: If I am the Resurrection, when is too late? To His critics: What is your reason for not believing now? V. JOHN 11:45-46 Everyone Responds Accordingly Believers will believe; critics will criticize. Adult Bible Class
Jesus friend Lazarus had died, but Jesus came and raised Lazarus from the dead. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. John 11:25
Unscramble the key words and phrases from today s Bible lesson. SAULZAR ARMY ARTHAM HANBETY DERFIN SENTURRRECIO VEARG ETONS MECO FTHRO ISDARE MORF HET EDAD Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. John 11:25
The answers to this week s puzzle SAULZAR ARMY ARTHAM HANBETY DERFIN LAZARUS MARY MARTHA BETHANY FRIEND SENTURRRECIO RESURRECTION VEARG GRAVE ETONS MECO FTHRO ISDARE MORF HET EDAD STONE COME FORTH RAISED FROM THE DEAD