Jesus Washes His Disciples Feet Sunday School Lesson

Teaching children to be humble can be hard. We all want our children to be proud of what they accomplish, yet being too proud can lead to the opposite of humble! Think about the children you see on the playground, on the ball field, at competitions.

Many children nowadays tend to be arrogant. All too often, I hear the words, "Your going to lose.", "You can beat me!" or "I'm better at this than you'll ever be."

These are not words Jesus wants us to say to others.

Teaching our Sunday school class about being humble and how Jesus was humble is a step in the right direction. Talk to them about putting others first, thinking of others feelings, and helping others when they need help. Of course, teaching them to compliment and encourage others isn't a bad thing either.

Jesus Washes His Disciples' Feet

Being by talking to your class about what the word humble means.

As you being this Sunday school lesson, talk about how wonderful Jesus is. Have the kids think about all the wonderful things Jesus did while he was here on earth.

They may come up with words like:

• perfect
• loving
• kind
• mighty
• powerful
• famous
• forgiving
• tender
• miracles or miraculous
• and many others

Be sure to compliment their words and encourage them to think of more. You may even want to have a few of your own written down to add to their list.

After they have finished thinking of words that describe Jesus, say, "There is one word we are forgetting - humble." (More than likely, they will not think of this word to describe Jesus.)

If your class consists of older children, have them turn in the bible to John 13:4-9 (KJV below) and let them take turns reading the verses below. After each verse, tell about what the verses mean so they grasp the story more fully (see below the verses for more).

⁴ He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.⁵ After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.
⁶ Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?
⁷ Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.
⁸ Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.
⁹ Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.

Verse 4

We see in verse 4 that Jesus is setting at supper with his disciples - The Last Supper. Jesus laid aside his garments which simply means he removed his robe. Taking a towel, he placed it in his belt.

Verse 5

Jesus poured water into a bowl and stared to wash and wipe the dirt with the towel from each of the disciples' feet.

Verse 6

When he was ready to wash Simon Peter's feet, Simon Peter asked Jesus why he was washing his feet. Peter didn't understand.

Verse 7

Jesus tells Simon Peter that there is more to what he was doing than just washing feet. Even though Simon Peter didn't fully understand what was going on and why Jesus was doing this, he would soon enough.

Verse 8

Simon Peter then objected to Jesus washing his feet! He goes so far as to say never! Jesus calmly tells him that if he does not wash his feet, then he will have no part of him.

Verse 9

Simon Peter loved Jesus. He wanted to be with Jesus and be a part of him and changed his mind quickly. He thought that if he could be with Jesus and be a part of him just by having his feet washed, then he wanted Jesus to wash his whole body too!


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Meaning of Foot Washing

In bible times, there were no roads or sidewalks. People wore sandals and the dirt on the roads made their feet really dirty and dusty. When someone would enter into another person's house, a servant would normally wash the guest's feet.

Since Jesus had a room prepared to eat the last supper alone with his disciples, there were no servants there.

This was all a part of Jesus' plan. Keep reading....

Dig a Bit Deeper

Think of this first...why didn't one of the disciples think about washing the other's feet? Did they think they were too good to do it? Would they have been embarrassed? Did they worry about what the other disciples would think of them and didn't want to be ashamed?

Thankfully, Jesus showed his disciples, and us, that we should be humble and not ashamed to wash someone else's feet. It also shows us that we should never be ashamed and always be humble when it comes to doing things for the Lord.

Of course, there was more to the feet washing than this.

When we dig a bit deeper, we see that to be washed means to be saved. When you ask Jesus to come into your heart to live forever, the bible tells us that you will be washed as white as snow!

Psalm 51:7 KJV

⁷ Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Even though Jesus washed the disciple's feet to show humility, their feet became dirty again when they left the room. But, when we are washed white as snow from our sins, we never have to worry about being washed again!

Once you are saved, you never have to worry about not being saved again!

You can rest assured that you will one day be in heaven forever! Jesus died for our sins so that we could live in heaven forever! All we need to do is not be ashamed and step forward to ask Jesus into our hearts.

Leading Children to Christ

Have the kids to close their eyes.

Ask if anyone in the room would like to have Jesus in their hearts. This is what we as Sunday school teachers are there for. To help lead little ones to Christ.

Be sure to read Romans 10:9-10 KJV to prepare yourself for this lesson.

⁹ That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
¹⁰ For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

With the Lord's help, you can lead a lost child to Christ.

Before teaching this Sunday school lesson, pray that God will open the hearts and minds of the children in your class and that he will help you say what needs to be said to teach his word.


May God bless you.


Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons, Patricia Sobrino Hoyos
 

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Jesus Birth: The Christmas Story - Sunday School Lessons

So many Christmas traditions surround the holidays that often the true meaning of Christmas gets lost in the shuffle. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Christmas? Is it the lights, the presents, the hustle and bustle of Black Friday deals, getting together with family, Santa Claus, Christmas music, or old Christmas movies?

The list could go on and on, but the first thing that should pop into our heads (and stay there) is the birth of Jesus.

 

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Before beginning the Christmas story with your kids, set the scene a bit. Maybe you could say something like this:

Imagine, it's a dark night and you are alone in your bed. You are awoke by a bright light. As you look around, you see someone in your room whom you've never seen before - an angel. You are scared. What should you do? Should you run or scream?

The angel begins to speak to you and you calm down and know that this angel is bringing you a message from heaven - a message from God.

This is what happened to Mary, Jesus' mother. She was scared, but thankfully she didn't run away.

The Christmas Story

Just like the scene above, Mary received a surprise visit from the angel Gabriel. The angel had come with a message from God.

Gabriel first told Mary, 'Don't be afraid. I have good news for you'.

You see, Mary was very special to God and needed her to be the mother of Jesus. Gabriel had come to tell her the news. Imagine - out of all the women (or girls) in Israel, Mary was the chosen one.

Mary didn't understand how she could have a baby right now.

Gabriel said, 'For with God, nothing shall be impossible!' (Luke 1:37 KJV)

Mary didn't argue or say she didn't want to right now. Instead, she said, 'Whatever you say, I'll do.' (Luke 1:38 KJV)

If only we would say, "Yes Lord, whatever you say, I'll do it." It can be hard especially if it means being nice to another child at school, minding mom or dad, or even not arguing with your brother or sister. We should all try to be more like Mary and do what God needs us to do.

Gabriel also told Mary that her cousin, Elisabeth, was also going to have a son. This was also a miracle because Elisabeth was old and had never had any children. The bible tells us that Elisabeth's son was to be called John (later known as John the Baptist). His job from birth was to tell others about the coming Messiah (Jesus).

Mary wanted to visit her cousin Elisabeth and set out on the journey to see her. Mary stayed three months before journeying back home to tell Joseph about the coming baby.

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What Will Joseph Do?

When Mary told Joseph about the angel's message from God and about the coming baby, Joseph was unsure of what to do.

Should he still marry her?

Joseph worried. One night while Joseph slept, Gabriel came to him in a dream. The angel told him not to be afraid to make Mary his wife. This dream was all it took for Joseph to marry Mary. You see, Joseph was to help Mary raise Jesus.

The Road to Bethlehem

During this time, Caesar Augustus decided that everyone that was under his rule should come to Bethlehem to be counted so that they could be taxed. (Be prepared to explain this if children ask what taxing or counted means.)

Inside Bethlehem
Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

So, Joseph and Mary set off on their long journey to Bethlehem.

When they arrived at the city, it was crowded because of all the other people who had traveled there to be counted. Every place was full. The bible tells us that there was no room for them in the inn.

Where would they sleep? It was time for Mary to have baby Jesus. There were no hospitals. There wasn't even a room inside a house where she could lay. What would they do?

Because there was no room in the inn, Mary delivered baby Jesus, wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger. We don't know if she was in a stable or a cave of some sort which was where stables normally were in those days. We believe this may have been the case, but the bible does not say. She may have given birth out under the stars.

What We Can Learn

The story of the birth of Jesus is surrounded with many wonders which goes along with the wonders of the Christmas holidays. There is so much we can learn, but for younger kids stick to the basics (below). For older kids, you can dig a little deeper into the story.

We learn that no matter how scared we are if God needs us, we should be willing to obey - just like Mary. We also find that Jesus wasn't born in a fancy house or expensive hospital. He was born and laid in a manger. A manger is a place where the animals eat their food. It probably was dirty and smelt bad.

Mary didn't have a warm soft blanket to wrap Jesus in either. Instead, she wrapped him in swaddling clothes. Swaddling clothes are strips of cloth that often were used to wipe down the animals with. Jesus didn't have expensive clothes. We often think we have to have the best clothes or the newest styles. If Jesus didn't have to have expensive clothes, we sure don't either.

This holiday season, don't focus on how many toys or clothes you get. Instead, focus on the birth of Jesus and how many people you can tell the story to.
 

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Jesus Christ and the Fishers of Men Sunday School Lesson

It's important for you to know as a Sunday school teacher that this bible story happened near the beginning of Jesus' ministry. He was only now calling the first of his 12 disciples. This true story happened not long after he was baptized by John the Baptist.

Simon Peter cast out his fishing net just as Jesus said.
Photo: Oxfordian Kissuth, Wikimedia Commons

Fishers of Men Sunday School Lesson

At the beginning of this Sunday school lesson, Simon Peter, Andrew, James, and John were on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. They had been fishing all night long and their large fishing nets needed to be washed.

You see, these four men were fisherman. It's not like when we go fishing to catch fish. It's not like when mommies or daddies go fishing for the weekend. This was Simon Peter, Andrew, James, and John's job. Fishing is how they made money.

Each night, they would go out onto the sea, drop their huge nets into the water and pull the fish back in. The next day, they would take the fish they caught into town to sell them.

On the night when this bible story happened, the four fishermen had worked all night long to catch fish and hadn't caught even one.

As they were working to wash out their fishing nets, Jesus came walking along the shore. He wasn't alone though. Many, many people were following him hoping to hear him teach and to preach.

When Jesus came near Simon Peter's boat, he walked right up to it and stepped inside.


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He told Peter to push his boat out a little ways into the water and Simon Peter obeyed.

That's when Jesus began to teach. He taught all those people sitting in Simon Peter's boat on the Sea of Galilee. After Jesus was finished, he told Simon Peter to take his boat out into the deep water of the sea and let down his net again.

Remember, these men had fished all night long without catching a single fish. They were probably tired and disappointed. They probably didn't want to try again, but because Jesus told him too, Simon Peter obeyed.

When Simon Peter let down his net into the water, the bible tells us that they caught a great multitude of fishes. It was so many their nets began to break. They called the other men on the shore and told them to come and help. When the men arrived in their boats to help, the bible says there was so many fish that both boats were so filled they began to sink.

Simon Peter, Andrew, James, and John was so astonished, they realized right then they were standing in the presence of the Messiah.

Jesus told them to not be afraid. He also told them they were to not catch fish anymore.

They were to be fishers of men.

This meant instead of working day in and day out to catch real fish, they were to go out into the world to tell people about Jesus Christ so they might be saved and go to heaven one day.

 

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What We Can Learn from this Sunday School Lesson

 

We learn that just like Simon Peter, we need to obey God in whatever he says to do. Simon Peter could have told Jesus there was no fish in the sea and went about his business. Instead, he obeyed Jesus and caught more fish than ever before.

Sometimes, we may not understand what God needs us to do or why, but we don't have too. We only need to obey because God knows best.

Second, we learn that we are to be fishers of men just like the men in the story.

We should tell everyone about Jesus and how he died on the cross for us. We should let them know they can be saved and go to heaven one day if only they accept Jesus into their hearts.

When we tell others about Jesus, we are being fishers of men.


 

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Miracles of Jesus - Jesus' First Miracle

In this Sunday school lesson, we are going to be talking about Jesus' first miracle - Jesus turns the water into wine. After Jesus was baptized by John and tempted in the wilderness by Satan, he began calling his disciples.

During this time, he along with his mother was invited to a wedding. Our Sunday school lesson begins here.

Miracles of  Jesus
Sunday School Lessons
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Miracles of Jesus - Water Into Wine

Ask the children, "How many of you have ever been to a wedding?"

Wait for answers.

Weddings today normally last a few hours or, in some cases, the better part of a day. In bible times, weddings would last several days even a week. Those getting married would be in charge of food and drinks for all the guests for all the days the wedding lasted. It must have been a lot of hard work.

At one particular wedding, Jesus was invited. He along with his disciples and his mother attended the wedding.

There must have been quite a few people there because all of the wine the guests were drinking at the wedding had been drank long before the wedding feast was over.

A feast is sort of like a huge party with lots of food and drinks. Today, we would call it the reception.

Mary, Jesus' mother, overheard the servants talking about the wine being gone.

She immediately went to Jesus to tell him so that he could fix the problem. When Mary told him the wine was gone he said, "Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come." (John 2:4 KJV)



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Jesus' First Miracle Maze

 

When Jesus called his mother 'woman', he was doing it out of respect.

Then, Jesus' mother went to the servants. She told them to do whatever Jesus told them to do. (John 2:5 KJV)

Nearby, six very large stone water pots sat. In those days, it was custom to wash your guest's feet. These water pots had held the water the servants had washed the guest's feet with, but now they were empty.



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Jesus told the servants to take the water pots and fill them with water again. The servants did as Jesus
said. They took the pots and filled them up to the brim with water.

Then, a miracle happened. It was Jesus' first miracle that we are told about in the bible. Here is what happened...

Jesus told the servants to dip from the pot and take it to the governor of the feast to drink. The servants did as they were told. When the ruler tasted the water, it wasn't water at all! Jesus had turned it into delicious wine.

The servants, Jesus' mother, and his disciples knew that he had performed a miracle.

This was the first miracle of Jesus, but not the last. While Jesus was here on earth, he perform many, many miracles.






 

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Temptation of Jesus Christ | Sunday School Lessons

The temptation of Jesus Christ should be used
as an example to resist temptation using the
Word of God.
Photo: Percita, Wikimedia Commons

Many children don't know that Jesus Christ was tempted by the devil while he lived here on earth.

In Sunday school, kids learn about the many wonderful things that Jesus did while he was here - turning the water into wine, making the blind man see, walking on water, dying on the cross, rising from the dead, and many, many other miracles.

But, not too many teachers teach the temptation of Jesus. I've often wondered why.

This is a great Sunday school lesson to teach kids. Knowing that even Jesus Christ himself was tempted by the devil just as we are each and every day reassures me - I am not alone.

It also gives me a better sense of understanding what I need to do to resist him. Jesus knew the scriptures and used the verses within the scriptures against the devil. We need to learn and teach the scriptures to our class to help them fight the evils of this world too.

Temptation of Jesus Christ Sunday School Lesson

After the baptism of Jesus, he was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil (Matthew 4:1 KJV). He was in the wilderness forty days and forty nights and the bible tells us that he fasted during that time.

Fasting means to not eat anything.

Ask the kids, "How long have you went without eating?"

Wait for answers.

Many kids will only have gone a few hours while others may have gone a day or two if they have been sick or practice fasting themselves.

It will be hard for young children to imagine not eating forty days. This is okay as long as you get the point across that he was very, very hungry after not eating for so long.

First Temptation of Jesus Christ

The bible tells us that the 'tempter', who is the devil, came to Jesus and said, "If you really are the Son of God, turn these stones into bread so you can eat them.

 

Of course, Jesus could have quickly turned the stones into bread and eaten them because he was so hungry, but he didn't. Instead, he said back to the devil, "Man doesn't live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."

Jesus was quoting this scripture from the book of Deuteronomy 8:3 KJV. He meant that bread may keep you alive here on earth, but without God you can't have eternal life. We need to feed our spiritual part too. How do we do that? By coming to church, Sunday school, reading and memorizing the bible, and praying.

Second Temptation of Jesus Christ

Then, the devil took Jesus to the top of the temple. He said to Jesus, "If you really are the Son of God, throw yourself down off this temple. Then, the devil did something that we don't realize he can do - he quoted the scriptures.

He said, "It is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone." (Psalm 91:11-12 KJV)

Ask the kids, "Did you know the Devil knew the scriptures?"

Wait for answers.

The devil wanted Jesus to jump or throw himself off the temple then call his angels to catch him so he wouldn't get hurt.

Again, Jesus did not. Instead, he counters the devil with another verse of scripture, "It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God."

Third Temptation of Jesus Christ

The last time Jesus is tempted the devil takes him to a high mountain. He shows him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.

The devil says to Jesus, "If you will bow down to me, I will give you all that you see."

Then, Jesus replied, "Get away Satan. For it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve."

The devil left him and the angels came to him.

What We Learn from this Sunday School Lesson

We learn a lot from this Sunday school lesson and it may be hard to teach younger children it all. So, for this lesson we will focus on some important details kids can relate to.

First, when Jesus lived here, he was just like us. He got hungry. He go thirsty. He was tempted to sin. He chose not to sin just like we can choose not to sin. It is a choice and we need to make the right choice.

Second, Jesus knew the scriptures by heart. When faced with doing something he shouldn't, he quoted the verses of scripture to help him through. The devil knows them too.

Third, we need to learn bible verses to help us through each day. Kids may not realize the importance of learning verses and may feel it is too much like 'school'. Don't let that stop you as a teacher. You will just have to find new creative and fun ways to get them learning.

Bible verses can be taught by playing games, having contests, repeating them each time you meet, and many other ways.

Fourth, we are to worship God only.

Fifth, we learn that with God nothing shall be impossible. We need only to lean on him when we are tempted and he will help us through.

Talk to the kids about ways they are tempted in their lives: lying, cheating, stealing, disobeying, or other things your kids may be going through.

Good luck and may God bless you as you teach the word of God.


 

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