VERSES: Luke 10:25-37
MEMORY VERSE: Luke 10:29 "...who is my neighbor?"
BOOK TO REMEMBER: Deuteronomy. Write "Deuteronomy" on small slips of paper, so the students may take them home and memorize it.
PRAYER: Pray that we will always be kind to our neighbors and treat everyone just the same.
SPECIAL SONG: Be Patient And Kind (see April 2014 - Lesson - Joseph Meets His Brothers Who Hated Him on this blog. Click on orange circle to hear tune.)
VISUAL AID: A Large Activity (see below)
LESSON POINTS:
- As Jesus stood in the middle of the crowd, a lawyer also stood up and tested Jesus by asking Him, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus asked Him, "What is written in the law? How do you read it?" The lawyer answered, "You shalt love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and love your neighbor as yourself." Jesus said, "You have answered correctly. Do this and you shall live." But, the lawyer, trying to make himself look like he was living right, asked, "And who is my neighbor?" As an answer, Jesus told the lawyer a parable.
- A man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and as he traveled, robbers robbed him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him wounded on the side of the road. They left him half dead!
- As it happened, there was a priest who also traveled down that same road and saw the man laying wounded on the side of the road. He should have stopped and helped him, but he passed by on the other side of the road and did not help.
- Next, a Levite came by that same place where the wounded man was laying and he, too, looked at the man, but, instead of helping, passed by on the other side of the road and did not help.
- Finally, a Samaritan man traveled down that same road and saw the wounded man laying on the road. The Samaritan had compassion on him and doctored up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them and putting bandages on his wounds. He put the wounded man on his own animal and took him to an inn, trying his best to take care of the hurt man. The next day, the Samaritan left, but he gave money to the innkeeper and told him to take care of him and, if the innkeeper needed more money, then he would repay him when he came back by.
- Jesus then asked the lawyer, "Which of these three men--the priest, the Levite, or the Samaritan--was the neighbor of the man who was robbed?" The lawyer said, "The one who showed mercy or kindness to him." Jesus told the lawyer to go and do the same.
- Who is our neighbor? Who should we show mercy to? Who should we be kind to? Everyone!
- It is interesting to note that Jesus spoke the truth with all of His parables, even with small details like the direction the wounded man was traveling. Jesus said he was traveling 'down' from Jerusalem to Jericho which is a true statement. The seventeen-mile road from Jerusalem to Jericho was a very dangerous, steep road. People usually traveled the road in groups because of robbers who were lurking about, waiting for innocent people to walk by and then they would rob them.
- Jews never considered Samaritans as their friends; in fact, Jews thought of Samaritans as a lower class than they. This parable makes it clear that the priest and Levite, who were Jews and knew the law, should have helped the Samaritan, but they chose not to help. On the other hand, the Samaritan had a good heart and helped a man who was half dead and was even a Jew.
ACTIVITY: The Good Samaritan
Materials needed: 12" x 18" black construction paper, 9" x 12" white construction paper, 4"x 4" brown construction paper, 2 tiny band-aids, scraps of leftover paper, glue, scissors, staples and stapler, marker.
- Hand out black paper.
- Cut two long 2" strips off of black paper.
- Staple both long black strips together to make a circle. Set aside.
- Fold remaining black paper in half.
- Cut corners so they are rounded like rocks. This is the background.
- Unfold paper.
- Fold the same black paper again in thirds. Folding the paper will make the rocks stand up.
- Unfold paper.
- With white crayon, write "Parable of the Good Samaritan" and "Who Is My Neighbor?" in the middle top of the rocks (see picture).
- On the left side of the rocks, write "From Jerusalem to Jericho" with white crayon.
- On the right side of the rocks, write "Luke 10:25-37" with white crayon.
- Hand out white paper.
- Draw, cut out, and color six men.
- Label men "Robber," "Robber," "Wounded Man," "Priest," "Levite," "Samaritan" at the bottom of the men's robes.
- Hand out brown paper.
- Draw, cut out, and color donkey.
- Cut .5" x 2" piece of scrap paper. This is the donkey's blanket.
- Fold donkey's blanket in half.
- Glue blanket to both sides of donkey.
- Insert two bandages into the donkey's pocket.
- Staple or glue Good Samaritan and Donkey to black circle where staples meet.
- Staple or glue priest to the other side of the black circle where staples meet.
- Staple or glue two robbers in the middle of the black circle halfway between the donkey and the priest. When stapled in this manner, the men are in the right sequence to tell the parable.
- Cut small rectangle and place between robbers. This is the wounded man's clothes.
- Staple or glue Levite in the middle of the black circle halfway between the Samaritan and the priest.
- Cut .5" x .5" piece of scrap paper. This is the donkey blanket's pocket.
- Lightly glue three sides of pocket and place at bottom edge of blanket.
- Insert two tiny band-aids in pocket.
- Glue wounded man at the bottom of the rocks.
- Place rocks in the middle of the circle.
- As student tells the parable of the Good Samaritan, beginning with the robbers, the robbers, priest, Levite, and Good Samaritan travel in a circle in front of the wounded man. The student tells how each treated the Good Samaritan as they pause by the wounded man.
- Answer the question: "Who is my neighbor?" Everyone is our neighbor!
