VERSES: Matthew 9:9; 10:1-4; Mark 2:13-14; 3:13-19; Luke 5:27-28; 6:12-16; John 1:35-51
MEMORY VERSE: Matthew 10:1 "And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples..."
BOOK TO REMEMBER: Ephesians. Write "Ephesians" on small slips of paper to hand out at the end of class, so the students may memorize another book of the Bible at home.
PRAYER: Pray that we will be determined to follow Jesus, no matter what the cost. May we do and say things just like Jesus would.
SPECIAL SONG: Jesus Called Them One By One (see June 2015 - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #7 on this blog). and Jesus Taught By Parables And Miracles (see March - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #4 on this blog. Click orange circles to hear tunes.)
VISUAL AID: Divide the whiteboard or chalkboard into twelve squares and copy the Activity below.
LESSON POINTS:
- Last time, we studied about two sets of brothers who were fishermen who followed Jesus from the time that Jesus started preaching until His death on the cross. Their names were Peter, Andrew, James and John and they helped Jesus as He went around preaching to the people. But, there were eight more disciples who followed Jesus as well.
- There was a man who lived in the same city (Bethsaida) as Peter and Andrew named Philip. Jesus said the same thing to Philip as He said to Peter, Andrew, James, and John. He said, "Follow me." And Philip did.
- Philip went to find his friend, Nathanael, and told him that they had found the one that Moses and the prophets had written about--Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." But Nathanael said, "Can there be any good thing that can come out of Nazareth?" Philip told him to come and see. So they went to see Jesus. When Jesus saw Nathanael coming close to him, He said to Nathanael, "Look! An Israelite that has no guile or slyness." Philip was surprised and asked Jesus, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered him, "Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree." Then Nathanael knew that Jesus was the Son of God and he told Jesus that. Jesus said, "You now believe me because I said that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than that! You shall see heaven open up and the angels going up and down!"
- Matthew was another man who followed Jesus. Matthew wasn't a popular fellow around the town because he was a tax collector or, in Bible times, they were called publicans. People do not usually care much about someone who takes money from them even though that is their job. He collected their taxes and was actually doing that job when Jesus told him to follow Him. Matthew got up right then and followed Jesus from that day forward. Matthew was also called Levi.
- We have now learned about seven of Jesus' disciples, Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip,Thomas, Matthew, but there were five other disciples named Bartholomew, James the less, Simon, Thaddeus, Judas who followed Jesus, too. Not much said about the other five men, but we do know their names.
- Jesus could see great qualities in the men that He called, just as He sees great qualities in us. These twelve men were able to help Him in His ministry and stayed with Him for over three years. We will study about these men as we study about Jesus and the wonderful things He did during this time.
"Older Student" Tips:
- Here are a few more things we know about the twelve disciples:
- Peter was also called Simon, but usually referred to as Peter. Peter often spoke up before his eleven friends spoke. Sometimes he said the right thing, but not always. Peter was the first gospel preacher (Acts 2).
- Andrew's best quality was that he brought his brother, Peter, to Christ. Peter was the more outspoken one and we never ever read of Andrew resenting this.
- The Bible only records the death of two of Jesus' disciples--Judas Iscariot (Matthew 27:3-5) and James, the brother of John (Acts 12:2).
- Nathaniel must have another name, but he is listed in the names below, probably by the name of Bartholomew. (There is no verse in the Bible, however, to prove that Nathanael was Bartholomew; however, John refers to 'Nathanael' in his book and does not mention 'Bartholomew' at all; Matthew, Mark, and Luke refer to 'Bartholomew' and never mention 'Nathanael' one time.)
- Judas was the one who betrayed Jesus to the Roman soldiers by a kiss. He was paid thirty pieces of silver for telling the soldiers who Jesus was.
ACTIVITY: Jesus Called Them One By One
Materials needed: 12" x 18" any color construction paper, crayons.
- Hand out construction paper.
- Fold paper in half, width-wise.
- Fold paper in half, width-wise, again.
- Then, fold in thirds, forming twelve squares.
- At the bottom of each square, write the names of the twelve followers of Jesus.
- Draw twelve men, one in each square.
- Color men.
- In small letters, write what is known about each disciple. (Remember some squares will only have the disciple's name written in it.)
- Fold paper so only one square is showing.
- Write "Open To See Who Follows Jesus".
- Unfold so that three squares are showing.
- In middle square, write "Jesus Calls His Disciples."
- Unfold once more.
- Write "Matthew 10:1-4" in one of the squares.
- Fold the paper up into one square to take home.
