VERSES: Matthew 13:24-30; 37-43
MEMORY VERSE: Matthew:13:37 "He that soweth the good seed is the Son of Man."
BOOK TO REMEMBER: 3 John. Write "3 John" on small slips of paper for the students to take home and memorize.
PRAYER: May we be one of the righteous ones that will shine as the sun in the kingdom of our Father in Heaven. Let us always obey God and read His Word.
SPECIAL SONG: Jesus Taught By Parable And Miracle (see March - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #4 on this blog. Click on orange circle to hear tune.)
VISUAL AID: Draw a picture of the Activity (see below) on the whiteboard or chalkboard.
LESSON POINTS:
- Jesus tells another parable and this parable is about tares. Tares are weeds. Jesus told the people a story about how the kingdom is like a man who planted good seed in his field. But, while his men slept, there was an enemy who came in and planted weeds in the wheat field and then went away. When the blades of wheat sprang up and produced fruit, there were also weeds all through the wheat field.
- The servants of the owner of the field went to the owner and told him what had happened. The servant asked the owner, "Didn't we sow good seed in the field? Where did all these weeds come from?" The owner of the field said, "An enemy has done this." When the servants asked the owner if he wanted them to go and gather all the weeds, the owner said, "No. When you gather the weeds, the good wheat will be pulled up, too. Instead, let the wheat and the weeds grow together until the harvest. Then, at harvest time, I will tell the reapers or the ones gathering the wheat to gather the weeds first and bundle them up and burn them, but put the good wheat in my barn."
- After Jesus had told many parables that day and all the crowds of people had gone home, the disciples came to Him and asked Him to tell them the meaning of the parables of the tares or weeds.
- Jesus said:
- The one who planted the good seed is the Son of Man.
- The field is the world.
- The good seed are the children of the kingdom.
- The tares or weeds are the children of the wicked one.
- The enemy that planted the weeds is the devil.
- The harvest is the end of the world.
- The reapers are the angels.
- Jesus went on to say that, at the end of the world, the weeds will be gathered together and burned up. He said that the Son of Man will send his angels and they will gather all the ones that offend or sin out of his kingdom and throw them into a furnace of fire. Then, all the righteous ones will shine as the sun in the kingdom of their heavenly Father.
- Jesus ended his meaning of the parable with "He that has ears, let him hear." He wanted everyone who had ears to listen to the parable and beware of the bad things that would happen to those who did not obey Him. He also wanted the ones who obeyed him, the righteous ones, to know that they would have a reward in heaven.
- Talk about how people who are not obeying God do not realize that they are in danger because they think they are having a good time enjoying the pleasures of this life. There is more to life than this world. We need to always obey God and do those good things because, at the end of this life, there will be a time when the disobedient will suffer the consequences of a worldly life. They will have no treasure in heaven like the righteous.
Materials needed: 9" x 12" brown construction paper, 6" x 12" dark green construction paper, 5" x 12" light green construction paper, scissors, staples, stapler, marker, crayons.
- Hand out brown construction paper.
- Fold up 2" at the bottom of the brown paper. This is the soil.
- Hand out dark green construction paper.
- Fold up 2" at the bottom of the dark green paper. This is the good seed.
- Hand out light green construction paper.
- Fold up 2 " at the bottom of the light green paper. This is the tares or weeds.
- Tuck dark green paper inside light green paper.
- Tuck light green paper inside brown paper.
- Staple at the bottom of all three papers, securing all three layers.
- Cut through both green papers like grass.
- Write "The Parable Of The Tares" and "Matthew 13:24-30; 37-43" at the top of the brown paper.
- Write "Man who planted good seed is the Son of man," "Field is the world," "Good seed are children of the kingdom," "Tares are the children of the wicked one," "The enemy is the devil," "The harvest is the end of the world," and "The reapers are the angels" on the brown paper.
