Jesus Was Questioned - Sunday October 11, 2020

Sunday October 11, 2020 (Vol 9, Unit 26, Session 2)

Hi-there parents! Welcome back! Or if you're new here, welcome! The following blog is here to be a tool for you to help your kids grow in their faith while Children's Church is not meeting. Please feel free to use as much of it as you choose. You know your kids and are the best possible teacher for them. God has given you the power of the Holy Spirit to enable you to do more than you think possible (Eph 3:20).  

Parent Devotional: This week’s lesson is found in Matthew 22; Mark 12; Luke 20

The religious leaders despised Jesus. He was a threat to their power, and they didn’t believe He was the Messiah. The Jews decided to confront Jesus with questions. Perhaps He would misspeak, and they could trap Him with His words. The Pharisees’ disciples asked Him, “Teacher, is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

As far as these men were concerned, Jesus could not give a satisfactory answer to this question. If Jesus said God’s law required them to pay taxes to Caesar, they could get the Jewish people—who hated paying taxes to the Romans—to turn away from Jesus. If Jesus said God’s law did not require them to pay taxes to Caesar, they could convince the Romans to arrest Jesus. But Jesus answered wisely: “Give … to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Matt. 22:21). The men were speechless, and they left.

Then an expert in the law asked Jesus which command in God’s law is most important. The Pharisees knew the law well and felt prepared to argue. Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy 6:5: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” Then He emphasized a second command: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev. 19:18). These commands summarize the rest of the law, and the Pharisees could not object.

Jesus turned the tables and asked the Pharisees about the Messiah: “Whose son is he?” The Pharisees recognized the Messiah as the son of David. Jesus referred to Psalm 110, in which David calls the Messiah “Lord.” Why would he do that? The Pharisees had no answer. As fully man, Jesus is the son of David. But as fully God, He is greater than David; He is Lord. No one dared to question Jesus again.

When the religious leaders questioned Jesus, He answered with wisdom and power. Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. He has authority in heaven and on earth.

As we begin to explore this week’s lesson, take a moment to remember the verse from Deuteronomy about teaching your children the scriptures. Deuteronomy 6:9 says: "You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." Maybe you don't have time to sit and have an hour of Bible time all at once, or maybe your children are to young to sit for that long. Take the key points and ask God to give you opportunities to speak them into the hearts of your children throughout the week. Let the Bible become a part of your day to day. Be blessed this week my friends!  

Each week we include songs, activity pages, the bible lesson video, memory verses and possibly a craft or 2. We pray this will help you find ways to engage your kids spiritually. It is written in script form from the K-2nd grade lesson so you can read directly from it or change it up to suit your children. Take a few moments to look at and print the activity pages as well as the additional activities and information (found in the links at the bottom of the page) also to review the lesson so you can make adjustments as needed. I have included the Bible and Discussion questions along with a breakdown of the Gospel in the Older Kids Activities pages and loads of activities and crafts on the Preschool Extra Activity Pages. Once you are ready, go ahead and start with these songs if you'd like or pick some of your favorite worship songs and then jump right in! Have fun! And remember, this does not need to be done in one sitting! Feel free to break it up over the course of the week. Please contact me if you have any questions or suggestions. I'd love to hear from you!

So, let's get started. I like to begin each week with Blessings and Bummers. Tell me, what have you seen the Lord doing in your lives this week? What have your greatest blessings been? How about your biggest bummers? 

Parents share your blessings and bummers and encourage the kids to do the same. 

Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father God, Thank you. Thank you for providing for our needs. You are so good to us even though we don't deserve it! Thank you for continuing to bless us Lord. Thank you for being patient with us. Thank you for our friends as well as our families. Help us to appreciate all you do for us and to look to you in all that we do. In Jesus name, Amen. (please add to or customize prayer time to fit your family)

Praise the Lord for hearing our prayers! 

Prompt kids to share stories about a time they had to answer a hard question at school. How did they figure out the answer?

Say • We all face many questions that are tricky or difficult to answer. Thankfully, God is perfectly wise, and His Word helps us know the answers to many of life’s most difficult questions. Today, we will hear about a time the religious leaders asked Jesus very difficult questions to trick Him into saying something wrong. Do you think their plan worked?

Optional Session Starter Activity Pick one of two options, or do both, this is your party. These are found in the activity pages attached below. 

As we talk about our story, it’s good to have a big picture question to guide our thinking. Right now, our question and answer is: What did Jesus do to save us? Jesus lived a sinless life, died on the cross, and rose from the dead. Each part of that answer is important. If Jesus had not lived a perfect life, then His death couldn’t have paid for our sins. Had Jesus not died, then the punishment for our sins would still fall on us. Had Jesus stayed dead, then we would have no hope of eternal life with God. Jesus did all three things to save us from sin and death.

Jesus is God’s Son. He came to earth as a human and traveled Israel teaching about God and His kingdom, performing miracles, healing people, and even raising people from the dead. Jesus’ ministry made Him very popular with the people and very unpopular with the religious leaders. Last week we learned that people welcomed Jesus to Jerusalem as their King. This week, we will learn about the beginnings of the religious leaders’ plan to put a stop to Jesus’ ministry.

Wow! Those were some tricky questions. I know for a fact that I wouldn’t have been able to answer them. However, Jesus spoke with wisdom and authority. No matter what kind of question Jesus’ enemies asked, He had just the right answer. 

The questions they asked were about things that could have easily caused anger if Jesus hadn’t been perfectly wise to answer them. Taxes are the money governments charge people to pay for things like roads and armies. No one really likes paying taxes, but the Jews in Jesus’ time especially disliked paying taxes to Rome. Rome was an enemy living in their land, and the Jews pay them taxes! The religious leaders were hoping that Jesus would say one of two wrong things. 

If Jesus had said, “Yes, it’s good to pay taxes to Caesar,” the religious leaders would have accused Jesus of being an enemy of God and His people. If Jesus had said, “No, we should not pay taxes,” the religious leaders would have tattled on Jesus to the Romans. Jesus’ answer was perfect. He showed that governments do have the right to charge some taxes, but we all have a responsibility to live generously toward God and His people. No matter what question they asked, Jesus had the right answer.

When Jesus finally asked a question of His own, the religious leaders saw that they were outmatched for sure. They thought they had a great understanding of Scripture, but Jesus showed them they understood much less than they thought. The Messiah is both the son of David—because Jesus was a descendant of David—and the Son of God—because He was born to Mary alone and God is His true Father. 

When the religious leaders questioned Jesus, He answered with wisdom and power. Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. He is the Word of God, who came to show us exactly what God is like. Jesus has authority in heaven and on earth. 

Bible Time! 

Distribute a Bible to each kid. Help kids find Mark 12. Remind them they can use the table of contents to find Mark, and that the large numbers represent the chapters. For the first three questions, ask the kids to find a verse that proves their answer. Consider showing a New Testament Israel Map to point out where Jerusalem is. 

 Ask the following questions. Lead the group to discuss:

Why did the religious leaders come to ask Jesus difficult questions? (to trap Him in His words, catch Him saying something wrong; Mark 12:13)

Whose image was on the coin Jesus asked to see? (Caesar’s, Mark 12:16)

What are the greatest and second greatest commandments? (to love God with all we have and to love others as ourselves, Mark 12:29-31)

How was Jesus able to answer those tricky questions so well? Guide kids to think about Jesus’ identity. Remind them that, though Jesus is fully human, He is also fully God. Jesus has all the wisdom and authority of God and was able to see through the religious leaders’ schemes. 

How can we answer with wisdom if people challenge our knowledge of God or the Bible? Help kids see that the source of wisdom is God Himself. Remind them that God gives wisdom generously to all who ask Him for it in faith. [See James 1:5.] Explain that we gain wisdom by studying God’s Word, praying, gathering with other believers, and following the Holy Spirit’s guidance.

When is it difficult to trust Jesus’ wisdom and authority? Guide kids to speak honestly about their lives. Acknowledge the difficulty of trusting Jesus in hard or sad times. Help them see that we can trust Him even when we do not understand His plan or why difficult things are happening.  

Say • The religious leaders wanted to catch Jesus saying something wrong so they could get Jesus in trouble or get the people to turn against Him. But Jesus spoke with wisdom and authority.

Let's move on now and take a look at our memory verse. 

When sin entered the world, God would have been perfectly just to destroy Adam and Eve. God showed His wonderful love and mercy by working out His perfect plan to save people from sin. Jesus obeyed God perfectly. He left His home in heaven and came to earth. He lived a perfect life and still allowed His enemies to kill Him as though He were a criminal. Jesus’ obedience to God’s plan made the way for us to be saved from sin.

Optional Memory Verse Activity: Print the “Key Passage Flip Cards” printable (located in the K-2 Options tab at the bottom of the page) double sided and cut them apart. Ask the kids to start at level one and fill in the missing words of the key passage. After completing each level, challenge the kids to fold the card so previous levels are hidden and play the next hardest level.

Say • Our key passage comes from a letter written by the apostle Paul. Paul’s writing helps us understand the wonderful nature of Jesus’ sacrifice. Jesus is God’s Son. He obeyed God’s plan to become human and die a death He did not deserve so that we can have life with God forever. Jesus’ humility and love provides our hope for forgiveness and our perfect example of how to live. 

 That's it for this week!

Let's pray:    Father, thank You for Your love. We know that Jesus is Your Son—perfect in wisdom, power, and authority. Help us have faith in Him. Amen.

 Thanks for joining us! I hope to meet you here again next week!

 This bog is published using Lifeway's Gospel Project materials with their permission. 

Additional Activities and Information