Here are some ideas for learning and teaching some of the great principles in Matthew 9-10, Mark 5, Luke 9. And while you’re here, I recommend you check out my free online course, “Seeking Jesus.”
Short Clips from The Chosen
The Chosen clips for this week are so good. Watch them all! See this page for tips on teaching with “The Chosen.”
Matthew 9:9, Jesus Calls Matthew
Matthew 9:10-13, Jesus Eats with Sinners (including Matthew)
Matthew 9:14-17, Luke 5:33-39, New wine into new wineskins
Matthew 9:18-25, Mark 5:21-43, Luke 8:41-56, Jesus raises Jairus’s daughter from the dead
Matthew 9:20-22, Mark 5:25-34, Luke 8:43-48, Jesus heals the woman with an issue of blood
Matthew 9:18-25, Mark 5:21-43, Luke 8:41-56, Combined clip of Jesus raising Jairus’s daughter from the dead and the woman with an issue of blood.
Matthew 10:1–14, Mark 6:7–11, Luke 9:1-6, Jesus sends out the Twelve
Luke 9:51-56, Jesus, James, John and the Samaritans
Short Clips from Seeking Jesus
I’ve pulled out short clips from the “Seeking Jesus Course” connected to this week’s readings that you could use as a morning devotional or spiritual thought.
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Ideas for Teaching Matthew 9-10, Mark 5, Luke 9
***An Object Lesson on Matthew 10:28***
My dear friend and former mission companion Adam Miller did an object lesson at EFY that has always stuck with me. He did this with a large group of teenagers, but you could modify this for whatever group you’re teaching.
He invited a strong male teenager to come to the front, along with a female. He said, “Imagine that the two of you are on a date and you’ve gone out to dinner. You’ve had a great conversation and are walking out of the restaurant when suddenly a strange man grabs your date and starts dragging her away. What are you going to do?”
The teenage boys were always brave and said that they would go and attack the man…they were not going to let anyone physically harm their date!
Adam would then share Matthew 10:28 with students, where Jesus says, “Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Adam would ask, “You would be so heroic to protect your date physically–will you also protect your date spiritually?”
We could see a similar idea for parents in children. A parent would do anything to protect a child physically. Are we similarly engaged in protecting our children spiritually?
***When Jesus Said No***
Has there ever been in a time in your life when you asked for something and God said no? In retrospect, can you see wisdom in why God said no? Or still not yet?
In Mark 5 Jesus performs an amazing miracle where he casts out a legion of demons who had possessed a man. After this miracle, the people were so astonished (partly because of the pigs who had been killed) that they asked Jesus to leave the area.
As [Jesus] was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might go with him. But Jesus said no.
Isn’t that interesting? This man wants to do something that’s righteous, “Jesus, I want to join your team!” and Jesus says no. Instead, Jesus told the man, “‘Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you.’ And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed” (Mark 5:19-20 (NRSV)).
One powerful lesson from this healing is that even when we have a righteous desire, like getting in the boat to follow Jesus, sometimes Jesus says “No, I don’t need you doing that part of my work. I need you doing something else.” This man didn’t get the mission he wanted. But he took the mission Jesus gave him.
When Jesus or God tells us no, will we listen and acknowledge that they see a bigger picture than we do?
***Jesus Went With Him***
Imagine you’ve had a really hard day. You get home, completely exhausted and you’re looking forward to relaxing for just a few minutes. But the moment you get home your child (or sibling, if you’re teaching teenagers) rushes up to you and begs you for your help. What do you do?
Jesus has had a busy day. He had cast out demons from a man (see above) and then travels across the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum. Notice the setting in verse 21, “And when Jesus was passed over again by ship unto the other side [meaning to Capernaum], much people gathered unto him: and he was nigh unto the sea” (Mark 5:21). “Nigh unto the sea” means that he had barely gotten off the boat.
Maybe he was tired and thinking, “I can’t wait to go back to my house. Peter has patched the roof up, I think I’ll take a nap and relax a little bit.” But people start crowding around him.
In verse 22, a leader of the synagogue named Jairus came up to him. “When he saw [Jesus], [Jairus] fell at his feet and begged him repeatedly, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live” (Mark 5:22-23 (NRSV)). And “Jesus went with him” (Mark 5:24).
President Howard W. Hunter taught, “The words, “and Jesus went with him” follow. We would not suppose that this event had been within the plans for the day. The Master had come back across the sea where the multitude was waiting on the shore for him to teach them. “And behold”—suddenly and unexpectedly—he was interrupted by the plea of a father. He could have ignored the request because many others were waiting. He could have said to Jairus that he would come to see his daughter tomorrow, but “Jesus went with him.” If we follow in the footsteps of the Master, would we ever be too busy to ignore the needs of our fellowmen?”
Will we follow Jesus’s example and go with those who need us?
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I hope these resources are helpful to you in your learning and teaching this week!
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