BIBLE STUDIES

GRADE 3

SD Shalom Christian
Primary School
 LESSON 1
ZACCHAEUS
Luke 19:1-10

INTRODUCTION. Nobody likes taxes! The Jews

deeply resented paying the taxes required of them by
their Roman conquerors. There were taxes, taxes, and
more taxes! The Roman governors were in charge of all
financial matters. The general or direct taxes were
collected by Roman officers as a part of their official
duties. These taxes went into the imperial treasury and
were very heavy. A census was taken by the Romans in
Egypt, and thus perhaps throughout the whole empire,
every fourteen years. The purpose of the census was to
levy a poll tax–a tax for the privilege of existing! An
example in the New Testament of this enrollment or
census for the purpose of taxation occurred when Joseph
and Mary journeyed to Bethlehem at the time of Jesus'
birth (Luke 2:1-5).

In addition to the general taxes, customs or tolls were

imposed upon merchandise exported and imported, and
upon the goods of the merchants traveling through the
country. The Romans required a certain amount of
customs or tolls from a specified area. The right to
collect these taxes was sold to the highest bidders called
publi cans. These publicans or tax collectors paid to
Rome the required amount of taxes and then could keep
for themselves anything they collected over that amount.
"There was an import and an export tax on everything
which came into and went out of the country. There was
a tax for entering a walled town, a market or a harbour.
There was a tax for crossing a bridge. There was a tax
for using main roads, for possessing a cart, on each
wheel of the cart and on the animal which drew it. The
tax collectors could stop a man anywhere and make him
undo his bundles and de mand tax on this and that article
in them").

Naturally these publicans were extremely unpopular as

many were dishonest and made their living by extorting
high taxes from the citizens. Those publicans who were
Jews were doubly despised by their fellow countrymen
for selling themselves to the Romans. They were
considered as sinners and renegades.

One day when Jesus was passing through Jericho,

Zacchaeus, a publican, wished to see him. Zacchaeus
was a rich publican. He was eager to see Jesus and
received him joyfully into his house. Jesus' visit resulted
in the conversion of this publican. Zacchaeus stood and
said he would give half his goods to the poor and restore
fourfold to any man he had cheated. The restitution
announced by Zacchaeus was evidence of his sincere
repentance. Jesus pardoned him and granted salvation to
him that day.

A. ZACCHAEUS, THE PUBLICAN

1. What two things are said about Zacchaeus? (Luke

19:1-2)

2. Why was Zacchaeus unable to see Jesus? (Luke 19:3)

3. What did he do in order to see Jesus? (Luke 19:4)

4. What did Jesus say to Zacchaeus when He came to the
place where Zacchaeus was? (Luke 19:5)

5. How did Zacchaeus receive Jesus? (Luke 19:6)

6. What did the crowd call Zacchaeus? (Luke 19:7)

7. What two things did Zacchaeus tell Jesus? (Luke 19:8)

8. What did Jesus say had come to Zacchaeus' house?

(Luke 19:9)

9. What did Jesus come to do? (Luke 19:10)

B. THE LAW OF MOSES REGARDING FALSE

DEALINGS.
The Law of Moses required a Jew who dealt falsely with
his neighbor in matters of money or property to make
restitution (Lev. 6:1-5).
1. If a soul sins he commits a trespass against whom?
(Lev. 6:2)
2. There are five sins listed in Lev. 6:2-3, and they are
summarized in verses 4-5. The sins are: (1) dealing
falsely or lying with a neighbor regarding something
deposited or delivered to him to keep; (2) dealing
falsely or lying regarding a bargain or pledge
(fellowship, KJV); (3) robbery or violence; (4)
oppression of a neighbor (deceit, KJV); (5) swearing
falsely or lying regarding something found that was
lost. What was the law of restitution regarding
thesesins? (Lev. 6:5; Num. 5:7)

3. In the matter of a stolen ox or sheep, what was the law

of restitution? (Ex. 22:1)

4. Did Zacchaeus intend to keep the law? To what

amount? (Luke 19:8)

C. ZACCHAEUS AND THE RICH YOUNG RULER

1. How were Zacchaeus and the rich young ruler alike?

2. How were the two different?

 LESSON 2
JESUS ANOINTED BY MARY
Matt. 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9; John 12:1-11

INTRODUCTION. Bethany was a small village less

than two miles from Jerusalem. The Bible records two
occasions that Jesus visited with his friends, Mary and
Martha, who lived in this village. In addition Jesus
journeyed to Bethany with his disciples when He raised
their brother Lazarus from the dead.

The first incident which occurred about four months

before Jesus' crucifixion pictures the contrast between
Martha and Mary. Both sisters honored Jesus at that
time–Martha honored him as a guest, while Mary
honored him as a teacher (Luke 10:38-42).

The second incident was a feast which took place six

days before the Passover just prior to Jesus' crucifixion
(John 12:1-11). Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the
dead (John 11:1-46), sat at meat with Jesus while Martha
again served. Mary anointed Jesus' feet with an
expensive ointment of pure nard. Nard was a perfume
made from a plant called nard or spikenard with the
finest plants coming from India.

Mary's ointment was sealed in a flask or alabaster box,

also a costly object. The Roman denarius (pence, KJV;
shilling, ASV) was worth about seventeen cents, the
amount of one day's wage in New Testament times. Thus
300 denarii, the value of the ointment (John 12:5), would
be about $51.00 or the wages for almost one full year.
The quantity of ointment, a pound (John 12:3), in our
weights and measures would be equivalent to twelve
ounces.

In this second incident Mary again honored Jesus. Her

act in anointing Jesus' feet and wiping them with her hair
showed great love, gratitude, and humility. Judas
objected to Mary's act, not because he felt compassion
for the poor, but because he was covetous and a thief.
Jesus answered Judas by defending Mary, stating she
had anointed him in anticipation of his death and burial.
A. THE FEAST AT BETHANY
1. In what village did Mary and Martha live? (John 11:1)

2. Who was their brother? (John 11:1-2)

3. Regarding Lazarus, what had Jesus done? (John 12:1)

4. When Jesus visited Bethany just prior to the Passover,

what did Martha again do? (John 12:2)

5. What did Lazarus do? (John 12:2)

6. What did Mary do? (John 12:3)

7. How does John describe the ointment? (John 12:3)

8. How does John describe Judas? (John 12:4)

9. What reason did Judas give for objecting to what

Mary had done? (John 12:5)

10. What was the real reason that Judas objected? (John
 12:6)

11. Jesus said Mary had done this deed against (in
advance of) the day of what? (John 12:7)

12. Wherever the gospel would be preached in the world,

this deed that Mary had done would be spoken about
her as what? (Mark 14:9)

13. What did Jesus say about the poor? (John 12:8)

14. Why had many people come to Bethany? (John 12:9)

15. Why did the chief priests want to put Lazarus to

death? (John 12:10-11)

B. THE CHARACTER OF MARY VERSUS THE

CHARACTER OF JUDAS
1. In this incident Mary showed her love for Jesus by
anointing his feet with the expensive ointment. How
had Mary demonstrated her love for Jesus in the
 previous incident? (Luke 10:39)

2. What does Matthew say about Judas? (Matt. 10:4)

3. Who entered the heart of Judas? (Luke 22:3; John

13:2)

4. What did Jesus say about Judas? (John 6:70-71)

5. What did Judas receive for betraying Jesus? (Matt.

26:14-15)

6. What is the root of all evil? Was Judas guilty of this?

(I Tim. 6:9-10)
 LESSON 3
THE WIDOW'S OFFERING
Mark 12:41-44; Luke 21:1-4

INTRODUCTION. In the temple court of the women,

under the shelter of porticoes, there were thirteen chests
with trumpet-shaped openings into which the
worshippers cast their gifts and contributions. One day
near the end of his ministry on earth, Jesus sat in this
court near the treasury and observed the people
depositing their money in the receptacles.

As Jesus observed the wealthy casting their money into

the treasury, He saw a widow casting in two mites. The
mite or lepton was a small copper coin, the smallest
Jewish coin, and valued at 1/128th part of the Roman
denarius; two mites or lepta made a quadrans (W. E.
Vine). The Roman denarius was the amount of one day's
wage in New Testament times or about seventeen cents.
Two mites would therefore be about ¼ of a penny.
Each Sunday in our worship service we take an offering.
Do you think Jesus is interested in how much money we
put in the offering plate?

The Bible says that one day, Jesus went to the temple
and sat down near the place where the offerings were
placed. He sat and watched the people as they came by
and put in their offerings. Many rich people, dressed in
fine robes, came by and put in a lot of money. Then, a
poor widow came by and put in two small copper coins
that weren't even worth a penny.

Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "This woman

has given more than anyone. The others gave out of their
wealth, but this woman gave all that she had." You see,
Jesus is more interested in what is in the heart of the
giver than he is in the size of their gift.

I have a small coin purse. Let's see how much money is

in it. Hmm...fifty-seven cents. Well, that isn't much
money, but this morning I want to tell you the story of a
little girl named Hattie and how her gift of fifty-seven
cents helped to build a great church.
One Sunday morning, the pastor of a church went
outside to find a group of children who were unable to
get in to go to Sunday School because the building was
too crowded. One of those children was a six year-old
named Hattie. When the pastor saw her, he lifted her up
in his arms, put her up on his shoulder, and carried her
into the church where he found a place for her to sit in
the Sunday School class.

The next morning as he walked to church, the pastor saw

Hattie again and stopped to talk to her. He told her that
he hoped that some day the church would be able to
build a building that was large enough so that there
would be room for all the children who wanted to attend.

Two years later, little Hattie died and the pastor was
asked to preach the funeral service. After the service,
Hattie's mother handed the pastor a small purse
containing fifty-seven cents. She told him that Hattie had
been saving her pennies to help the church build a new
Sunday School building. The pastor took the fifty-seven
cents back to his church and told the people about the
little girl who had been saving her pennies to help them
build a new Sunday School building. The people were so
inspired by Hattie's gift, that they gave faithfully until
they built a wonderful new building with plenty of room
for all of the children who wanted to attend.

I am sure that Jesus would say that Hattie gave more

than anyone to build this great church. She gave all that
she had.

Dear Father, everything we have is a gift from you. Help

us to remember that we should give back to you with a
cheerful heart.  In Jesus' name we pray.  Amen.

A. THE OFFERINGS
1. As Jesus sat near the treasury chests, what did He
observe the rich doing? (Mark 12:41)

2. What did a poor widow cast into the chest? (Mark

12:42)

3. Why did Jesus tell his disciples the poor widow had
cast more into the treasury than all the others? (Mark
 12:43-44)

4. By giving all she had, the widow demonstrated her

love of God and faith in him. She trusted God
completely to provide for her needs. Truly Jesus'
admonition describes this poor widow woman. "But
seek ye first the ____________________________
___________________________________________
________________; and all these things shall be
added unto you." (Matt. 6:33)

B. JESUS WATCHES

1. When Jesus said our giving of alms should be done in

secret, what did He say about the Father? (Matt. 6:3-
4)

2. All things are _________________________ to the

eyes of him (God) with whom we have to do (give
account). (Heb. 4:13)

Note. We are admonished to hide our giving of alms

from others, but we cannot hide our giving from the
Lord. Jesus watches.

3. The story of the poor widow is not the only instance

recorded in the Bible that indicates the Lord watches
our giving.

a. Whose prayers and alms (gifts) went up for a

memorial before God? (Acts 10:1-4)

b. What man and his wife lied to the Holy Spirit and God
about their giving? (Acts 5:1-10)

C. JESUS JUDGES
1. How did Jesus judge or grade the giving of the rich?
(Mark 12:44)

2. How did Jesus judge or grade the giving of the poor

widow? (Mark 12:44)

3. Who gave more according to Jesus? (Mark 12:43)

4. How did God judge or grade the offerings of Cain and
Abel? (Gen. 4:3-5)

5. One time the Lord sent a plague upon Israel because

of a sin committed by David, the king. After David
repented, acknowledging his sin to God, he came to
Araunah, the Jebusite, to buy his threshing floor in
order to build an altar to the Lord. Araunah would
have given David, the king, all he needed for his
offering–oxen, threshing instruments, the yokes of the
oxen for wood.

a. What did David tell Araunah? (II Sam. 24:24)

b. How did the Lord judge or grade David's sacrifices?

(II Sam. 24:25)

6. When Solomon became king, he offered a thousand

burnt offerings at Gibeon and humbly asked the Lord
to give him an understanding heart to judge Israel.
How did the Lord judge or grade Solomon's
offerings? (I Kings 3:10-13)
7. How did God judge or grade the offerings of the Jews
during the days of Malachi? (Mal. 3:8-9)

8. What does God require of us–how does He judge or

grade us–in our giving?
a.He that sows sparingly shall reap also
____________________; he that sows bountifully
shall reap also ____________________. (II Cor. 9:6)
b. Let every man give as he purposes in his heart, not
_________________ nor of __________________,
for God loves a cheerful giver. (II Cor. 9:7)
9. What about the eyes, ears, and face of the Lord? (I
Pet. 3:12)

CONCLUSION. Jesus watched the widow cast into the

treasury all that she had,even all her living. Jesus
watched the wealthy cast in of their abundance
(surplus).Jesus watches as we give what we purpose
(plan) in our hearts. Jesus watches ifour giving is done
cheerfully or grudgingly. Jesus watches if we rob God of
ourmoney, time, and talents. Like the poor widow, we
need to seek first "the kingdom ofGod, and his
righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto
you. Taketherefore no thought for the morrow: for the
morrow shall take thought for the thingsof itself.
Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof" (Matt. 6:33-
34).
 LESSON 4
MIRACLES OF Jesus
I. THE MARRIAGE AT CANA
John 2:1-11

INTRODUCTION. The beginning of Jesus' miracles

occurred apparently three days after Philip and
Nathanael became his disciples (John 1:43-51; 2:1).
Jesus and his disciples (those five He had called in John
1:35-51) were invited guests to a wedding in Cana of
Galilee. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was also present.
Since Joseph is not mentioned here or any time after
Jesus began his ministry, it is assumed he had died.

There were two stages to a Jewish marriage. First there

was the betrothal which was a promise of marriage and a
binding agreement. Although the betrothed couple did
not live together, they were considered legally married.
Breaking the agreementrequired a bill of divorcement.
Unfaithfulness was considered adultery (Deut. 22:23-
24).
The second stage was a ceremony that involved
"bringing home the bride." The bridegroom's friends
escorted the bride and her attendants from the bride's
home to the home of the groom. Generally the
procession occurred at night with the partici pants
carrying torches. As the procession wound along the
streets of the city or village, the onlookers would shout
with joy.

After the wedding party entered the groom's house, a

marriage supper followed.The festivities continued for a
week with the bride and groom treated as royalty,
wearing their finest clothes and doing no work. Love
songs were sung, speeches were made in honor of the
couple, and elaborate feasts were prepared for the guests.
The exact location of Cana is not known. It is west of the
Sea of Galilee. It is close enough to Nazareth and the
area around the Jordan that Jesus, his mother and Jesus’
disciples were all guests at the wedding.

The feast was a big part of the wedding custom. It would

have been shameful for the host to run out of wine for
his guests. Mary must have been well acquainted with
the host because she saw it as her responsibility to help
with the problem. She also seems to have charge over
the servants since she gave them orders to obey Jesus.
Perhaps this was a relative or even another of Mary’s
children (Jesus’ sibling) who was getting married.

It is interesting that Mary trusts Jesus to fix the problem.

We know that he has not performed a public miracle
before this time (verse 11). In what way did Mary know
that Jesus would solve the problem? She may or may not
have expected him to perform a miracle. Jesus knew that
his power was not given to him for his own gratification.
He reminds Mary that what she is asking him to do is not
of the magnitude that his purpose on earth was.

Whatever Mary’s expectations might have been, they

were surpassed. Jesus miraculously produced some more
wine. He ordered the servants to fill six stone water jars
with water. These were not special jars. They were used
to hold water used in ceremonies. The text says that the
jars were quite large (verse 6).
Jesus then ordered the servants to take a sample from the
jars. This was to be given to the man in charge of the
banquet. When he tasted it – it was wine! The water had
been miraculously turned to wine!

It was not just any wine – it was excellent wine. Usually

guests were served the best wine at the beginning of the
banquet. After they had been satisfied with wine then
their taste was dulled. That is when the inferior (cheaper)
wine was brought out. In this case the person in charge
thought the bridegroom might have made a mistake. The
wine that Jesus had produced was the best wine of the
night.

The lesson from this miracle is more than just

turning water to wine. Jesus used old containers
that were used in ceremonial purification (verse 6).
He filled the containers with something totally new
and good. This was a good way for him to introduce
the purpose of his ministry. The Jewish nation was
the container by which the Messiah would be
poured out to the world.
A. THE MIRACLE
1. In what village did a wedding occur? (John 2:1)

2. Who attended the wedding? (John 2:1-2)

3. What did Jesus' mother say to him? (John 2:3)

4. What was Jesus' reply? (John 2:4)

Note. Jesus, by this statement, appears to mildly rebuke

his mother. The time for Jesus to manifest (show or
reveal) his glory as the Son of God was not for his
mother to determine, but rather for him to decide the
appropriate occasion.

5. What did Jesus' mother tell the servants? (John 2:5)

6. How many waterpots were there? (John 2:6)

Note. A firkin (KJV, ASV) is variously described as

eight to twelve gallons. The waterpots, therefore, would
hold approximately twenty to thirty gallons each. The
water was for the purpose of "purification," that is, for
washing the hands and utensils (Mark 7:3-4).

7. What were Jesus' instructions to the servants? (John

2:7-8)

8. What did the ruler taste? (John 2:9)

9. What comment did the ruler make to the bridegroom?

(John 2:10)

10. What miracle or sign of Jesus was this? What did the
miracle show? What effect did it have on his
disciples? (John 2:11)
 LESSON 5
II. THE DRAUGHT OF FISHES
Luke 5:1-11

INTRODUCTION. In this story Jesus calls four

disciples to him. Earlier at least three of the four (Peter,
Andrew, and probably John) had followed Jesus and
"abode with him that day" (John 1:35-42). Now the four
are called and this time they left all and followed Jesus
(Luke 5:11). Matthew and Mark probably refer to this
same event but do not relate the miracle (Matt. 4:18-22;
Mark 1:16-20).

The scene takes place at the Sea of Galilee, sometimes

called in the New Testament the Lake of Gennesaret
(Luke 5:1) and the Sea of Tiberias (John 6:1). The sea is
in a valley, 685 feet below sea level, surrounded by
mountains, and is about thirteen miles long and over
seven miles across at its widest point. The depth of the
sea ranges from 80 feet to 160 feet. The water is clear
and sweet and such a beautiful, deep blue that during the
season when the hills are green, the sea has been
described as a sapphire in an emerald setting.

The Sea of Galilee has an abundance of fish of many

varieties, and commercial fishing was an important
industry in the time of Christ. Various methods of
fishing were used.

A cast net was a circular net of fine mesh with the open
edge of the net weighted with bits of lead. The
fisherman, holding the net in the center, would cast it
from the shore into shallow water so that it would fall
flat on the surface and enclose a school of fish. He would
then draw the net towards him. Another method used a
drag net.

This was a net several hundred yards long with lead

weights on the bottom edge and floats or corks on the
top edge. Sometimes the fisherman fastened one end of
the net on shore, then pulled the other end with the boat
around in a semicircle back to the shore. Other times the
net was drawn between two boats to catch the fish which
were then gathered into the boat. When the fishermen
returned to the shore, they sorted the fish by size and
variety, keeping the good and throwing back thebad.

Nets were homemade by the fishermen. Many hours

were spent making new nets, repairing old ones,
washing, spreading and drying them.In this story Peter
and his companions had been fishing all night with no
success.When Jesus came near, they were out of their
boats mending their nets.

THE MIRACLE
1. What were the fishermen doing while the people
crowded about Jesus?(Luke 5:1-2)

2. Jesus saw two boats on the shore and entered one

belonging to whom?(Luke 5:3)

3. What did He do while He was in the boat? (Luke 5:3)

4. What did Jesus tell Simon to do? (Luke 5:4)

5. What was Simon's reply? (Luke 5:5)

6. What miracle occurred? (Luke 5:6)

7. What did the fishermen do when the miracle

occurred? (Luke 5:7)

8. What did Peter do? What did he say to Jesus? (Luke

5:8)

9. Who were Simon Peter's partners? (Luke 5:9-10)

10. What new assignment did Jesus give to Peter? (Luke

5:10)

11. What did all the partners do? (Luke 5:11)

12. Matthew and Mark do not tell of the miracle in their

accounts of this incident,but they name a fourth
man. Who is the fourth man? (Matt. 4:18-22; Mark
1:16-20)
 LESSON 6
III. STILLING THE STORM
Matt. 8:23-27; Mark 4:35-41; Luke 8:22-25

INTRODUCTION. The Sea of Galilee lies in a deep

basin over 600 feet below sea level. In the surrounding
hills there are many ravines and deep gorges which open
into the sea. Cool winds blowing down from the
mountains rush through these ravines and gorges and
then over the water, creating violent tempests and raging
seas. These storms are sudden, frequent, and very
dangerous to small boats. Within minutes the air can
become thick with mist, and the calm, peaceful water as
a roaring, boiling cauldron or pot.

One day Jesus sat in a boat and taught parables to the

people who were gathered on the shore. When evening
came, He sent the multitudes away and entered a ship
with his disciples to cross to the other side of the sea. As
they were sailing, one of the sudden squalls arose and
the disciples feared for their lives.
After Jesus fed the 5000 miraculously, the people were
about to take him by force to make him king (John 6:15).
He then "constrained" (compelled or forced) his disciples
to get into the boat to go to the other side of the sea
(Matt. 14:22; Mark 6:45). After He dismissed the
multitude, Jesus went alone into a mountain to pray.

Storms on the Sea of Galilee are frequent and sudden. As

the disciples attempted to row across the sea, a great
contrary wind arose whipping the waves and tossing the
boat. By the fourth watch of the night (3:00 a.m. to 6:00
a.m.), they had gone only 25 to 30 furlongs (three to four
miles) and were about in the center of the sea. It was at
this time that Jesus came to his troubled and frightened
disciples.

This miracle can have a special meaning for us.

Oftentimes trials and temptations are referred to as
"storms of life." The sea is often used to represent
worldly sin, and the wicked are pictured as sinking in the
miry depths of sin (Isa. 57:20). Peter, who momentarily
doubted and lost his faith in Jesus' power, began to sink
in the wind whipped sea. When he humbled himself and
cried to Jesus to save him, Jesus lifted him up and
delivered him from the restless waters. In the same
manner, when a sinner humbly comes to Jesus and obeys
him, Jesus will lift him out of the engulfing sea of sin to
safety and peace.

A. THE MIRACLE
1. What did Jesus say to his disciples one evening?
(Mark 4:35)

2. Whom did they send away? (Mark 4:36)

3. What happened as Jesus and his disciples crossed the

sea? (Mark 4:37)

4. What was Jesus doing as the storm arose? (Mark 4:38)

5. What did the disciples say to Jesus? (Mark 4:38)

6. How did Jesus deliver the ship from danger? What did
He say? (Mark 4:39)
7. After the storm was calmed, what did Jesus ask his
disciples? (Mark 4:40)

8. What did they say to each other? (Mark 4:41)

B. THE LESSON
This miracle can have a special meaning for us.
Oftentimes trials and temptations are referred to as
"storms of life."
1. When storms beset us, that is, trials and temptations,
to whom should we turnand why? (Ps. 46:1)

2. Those who are in Christ (believers and followers) are

promised the peace ofGod. Describe the peace of
God. (Phil. 4:7)

3. What does the prophet say about the wicked? (Isa.

57:21)
 LESSON 7
IV. THE FIVE THOUSAND FED
Matt. 14:13-21; Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9:10-17;
John 6:1-14

INTRODUCTION. This miracle of Jesus, feeding the

5000, is the only miracle recorded by all four gospel
writers. (Although the incident regarding Malchus’ ear is
found in the four gospel accounts, only Luke relates the
healing). According to Mark and Luke, the disciples had
just returned from the mission upon which Jesus had sent
them. They related to Jesus all things, both what they
had done and what they had taught (Mark 6:12-13, 30;
Luke 9:6, 10).

Mark continues by stating that Jesus bid the disciples to

go to a desert place where they might rest and eat apart
from the crowds (Mark 6:31). Then according to
Matthew, Mark, and John, they departed by ship to a
desert place which Luke states was near Bethsaida (Matt.
14:13; Mark 6:32; Luke 9:10; John 6:1). However, the
people saw them leaving and followed by land, running
by foot out of the cities along the shore and arriving
ahead of the boat carrying Jesus and his disciples (Mark
6:33). John states that the multitude followed because of
the miracles Jesus performed on those that were diseased
(John 6:2). Jesus then taught many things to the people
about the kingdom of God, and healed those in need
(Matt. 14:14; Mark 6:34; Luke 9:11).

Jesus had sent the twelve disciples out into the country
and gave them the power to heal sick people and tell
others about God's love.  When the disciples returned,
they met with Jesus to tell Him about all the people they
talked with and had healed.  They were all very excited
to tell Jesus about their adventures.

The problem was, people followed the disciples so they

could find Jesus.  They had seen the miracles He had
done and wanted to see more.  But Jesus knew the
disciples wanted to talk to Him. They hadn't even had a
chance to eat yet, so He said to them, "Come with me
and we will find a quiet place to talk and get some rest."
So they went away by themselves in a boat to a quiet
place.  But many people saw them leaving and
recognized them and ran after them on land.  The boat
Jesus and the disciples were in was slowed down
because of wind, so the people actually got to the other
side of shore before them.

When Jesus and the disciples arrived, they noticed the

large crowd.  Jesus felt love for these people because He
knew they needed a teacher and someone to believe in. 
He knew that the disciples would understand, so He
began teaching the large crowd many things.

It was starting to get late in the day and none of the

people had supper yet.  The disciples came to Jesus and
said, "There is no food around here and its already
getting late.  Maybe we should send the people away so
they can go to the surrounding towns and get themselves
something to eat."

But Jesus replied, "You give them something to eat." 

The disciples didn't think that they understood Jesus
right and said, "We can't feed all these people, we would
have to work almost a year to pay for all the food!" 

While the disciples were talking to Jesus, one of the

disciples named Andrew noticed a small boy walking by
with a small lunch.  He stopped the boy and asked him
what he had.  He quickly ran over to where the disciples
were talking to Jesus and said, "Here is a boy with five
small loaves of bread and two small fish, but how far
will they go among so many people?"

Jesus smiled and said, "Ask everyone to sit down." 

There was lots of grass to sit on so everyone was seated

-- all five thousand of them.  After everyone was seated,
Jesus took the loaves of bread and thanked God for it. 
Then the disciples passed around the bread and everyone
could take as much as they wanted.  He did the same
with the fish.

Remember, these were five small loaves of bread and

two small fish, only enough for a boy to eat.  There were
five thousand people all eating from this boy's small
lunch, and they could eat as much as they wanted.  There
are probably more than five thousand people at your
church or school, it's a lot of people!

After everyone was full, Jesus asked the disciples to

gather all the food that was leftover so nothing would be
wasted.  After they gathered all the baskets of food, they
counted them up.  There were twelve baskets still full
with some bread and fish from the little boy's small
lunch.

His small lunch probably barely filled one of the baskets

before Jesus touched it, and that is a miracle!  After the
people realized what had happened, they said to each
other, "This must be an important person sent from
God."  He was much more than that!

THE MIRACLE
1. Where did Jesus take his disciples? (Mark 6:32)

2. This was near what city? (Luke 9:10)

3. What did the people do? (Mark 6:33)

4. Why did the multitudes follow? (John 6:2)

5. Jesus compared the people who followed him to what?

(Mark 6:34)

6. When evening came, the disciples wanted Jesus to do

what? (Mark 6:35-36)

7. What did Jesus say to Philip and why? (John 6:5-6)

8. What was Philip's answer? (John 6:7)

Note. The coin mentioned is sometimes translated penny,

shilling, denarius (denarii is the plural form). This was
worth about 17¢ or one day's wage at that time.Two
hundred denarii, then, would be the wages for more than
six months.

9. What did Andrew tell Jesus? (John 6:8-9)

10. What did Jesus command the disciples? (Mark 6:39-
40)

11. What did Jesus do before He gave the food to the

disciples to distribute to the people? (Mark 6:41)

12. How many baskets of fragments did the disciples

gather when the people were filled? (Mark 6:42-43)

13. How many people were there? (Matt. 14:21)

14. What did those who saw the miracle say? (John 6:14)
 LESSON 8
V. THE FOUR THOUSAND FED
Matt. 15:32-38; Mark 8:1-9

INTRODUCTION. In this story Jesus and his disciples

had gone to the area known as Decapolis which is east of
the Sea of Galilee (Mark 7:31). The region was called
Decapolis (Gr. deka–ten, polis–city) as ten cities of the
area had formed an alliance to guard their frontier that
was exposed to open and unprotected desert area. The
region was part of the tetrarchy ruled by Herod Antipas
although most of the people were Gentiles.

While Jesus was in Decapolis, the multitudes brought

many lame, blind, mute (dumb), and others to him to
heal (Matt. 15:30; Mark 7:32-35). Jesus had compassion
on the multitude, for He feared if He sent them away
with nothing to eat, they would faint along the way.

It had been an exciting camp meeting! Hundreds of

families, men, women, and children, from all over the
country around Lake Galilee had heard that the Prophet
of Nazareth was coming to share the love of God with
them. All their sick were brought and laid at his feet…
the blind, the lame, the mute, the maimed, and those with
many other kinds of dreadful diseases. And with a tender
heart of compassion, Jesus healed them all! On this
occasion Jesus had been teaching the people for three
long days near Lake Galilee. Jesus could see they were
weary and hungry. He was afraid some were faint of
heart by this time. They had been a very receptive and
attentive group… hanging spellbound for hours and days
on His every word! What a preacher! What a Savior!

It was nearing evening of the third day and Jesus asked

his disciples to collect what food they could scrape
together and feed them. The disciples started an intensive
search and only came up with 7 little biscuits and a few
little fish. That was all they could scrounge. Why that
was not enough to feed one of two people! It would have
been impossible to give just a small crumb to each one in
this crowd of several thousand! It would empty the bread
shelves of all the merchants in many towns and two or
three boatloads of fish to feed such a mob! What were
they to do? 

Jesus said, “Have them all sit down in groups on the

grass." Then He blessed the bread, broke it into hearty
portions, handed it by the heaping baskets full to all of
his apostles and the other disciples to distribute to each
family until they were stuffed! Then Jesus said, “So that
nothing is wasted, move among the people and pick up
all the left-over scraps!” To the amazement of everyone
there were 7 baskets full left over! What a day! All their
bad diseases and sicknesses had been healed!. All had
been fed three days lavish portions of spiritual food for
their souls and now invited to the physical banquet table
of the LORD and KING of their lives! They would never
forget these three glorious days and these three great and
grand blessings! 

This is the twenty-second recorded miracle of Jesus. 

Application 
The feeding of the 5,000 had whet the physical and
spiritual appetites of 5,000 near here a few days
earlier….and now another feast had “filled their cup” to
overflowing! The GOOD LORD does that same thing
for all his people in every generation! He is the great
Healer, the great Physician who heals all our diseases
physically and spiritually day after day and year after
year, and forgives all our sins! Praise God for His
compassion and mercy to us every day of our lives! Did
Jesus amaze you with such a miracle? How did He do
that? Did He depend on His Father to honor Him in
multiplying the bread and the fish on this occasion? 

Will you share with your family and friends some of the
blessings God has given you?

A. THE MIRACLE

1. How long had the people been with Jesus? Why did
He not want to send them away? (Matt. 15:32)

2. What did the disciples say to Jesus? (Matt. 15:33)

3. How much food was available? (Matt. 15:34)

4. After He commanded the people to sit on the ground,
what did Jesus do? (Matt. 15:35-36)

5. What was gathered after the people were filled? (Matt.

15:37)

6. How many people ate? (Matt. 15:38)

B. THE LESSON

There is no way to explain these two miracles other than

they were a demonstration of the compassion and Divine
nature of Jesus.

1. What effect did feeding the 5000 have on the people

who witnessed the miracle? (John 6:14-15)

2. The prophet referred to was the one prophesied by

Moses. What had Moses prophesied? (Deut. 18:15,
18)
3. Why were these stories about Jesus written? (John
20:30-31)
 LESSON 9
THE TRIBUTE MONEY, TEMPLE TAX
Matt. 17:24-27

INTRODUCTION. When the Law of Moses was

delivered to the children of Israel at Mt. Sinai and the
people were numbered, every male twenty years old and
upward was required to give a half-shekel offering to the
Lord. This money was used for the service of the
tabernacle (Ex. 30:11-16).

At first it does not appear that this was an annual

payment, but by New Testament times a yearly tax for
support of the temple was indeed the custom.
Nevertheless, there was disagreement among the Jews
whether this tax was voluntary or compulsory, and
certainly there was no means to enforce payment.

The half-shekel (Gr. didrachma, two-drachma) was a

Jewish coin worth about thirty cents, approximately the
amount of wages for two days at that time. This temple
tax was strictly a Jewish concern and should not be
confused with the taxes required by the Romans for the
support of the Roman Empire.

The setting for this miracle is Capernaum, and Peter is

asked by those who gathered the temple tax if Jesus had
paid the half-shekel. Peter quickly answered, "Yes."
Jesus then used the occasion to teach Peter a lesson
regarding the relationship of Jesus Christ the Son to God
the Father.

Note. Strangers in this passage does not mean foreigners,

but those who are not members of the king's family.

Note. Jesus instructed Peter to pay the tax, for He did not
want the people, who did not yet understand that He was
the Son of God, to think that He and his disciples
despised the temple and its service. The coin Peter would
find in the mouth of the fish, the shekel (Gr. stater, equal
to four drachmas), would be enough to pay the tax for
both Jesus and Peter.
A. THE MIRACLE
1. When Peter was asked if Jesus had paid the half-
shekel tax, what was his response? (Matt. 17:24-25)

2. When Peter came into the house and before he could

speak, Jesus asked him three questions. The first
asked for Peter's opinion. What were the other two
questions? (Matt 17:25)
a. from whom do the kings of the earth take
_________________________?
b. from their ________________________________
__________________________________________?

3. What was Peter's answer? (Matt. 17:26)

Note. Strangers in this passage does not mean foreigners,

but those who are not members of the king's family.

4. What was Jesus' response? (Matt. 17:26)

Note. Since the sons of kings are not required to pay

tribute or tax, then Jesus is free from the payment of the
tax for the service of God, for He is the Son of God.

5. What did Jesus tell Peter to do? (Matt. 17:27)

Note. Jesus instructed Peter to pay the tax, for He did not
want the people, who did not yet understand that He was
the Son of God, to think that He and his disciples
despised the temple and its service. The coin Peter would
find in the mouth of the fish, the shekel (Gr. stater, equal
to four drachmas), would be enough to pay the tax for
both Jesus and Peter.

B. THE LESSON
Jesus demonstrated his authority over nature in this
miracle by producing the proper coin in the fish–the first
fish out of the entire sea that Peter would hook. He
proved to Peter He was the Son of the great King. This
incident also teaches us that Jesus complied with the
Law of Moses and paid the required taxes. It is our
responsibility, also, to support the church and our
government.
1. How are we to contribute to the Lord's work? (II Cor.
9:7)

2. What is our responsibility to our government? (Rom.

13:1, 7)
 LESSON 10
THE WITHERED FIG TREE
Matt. 21:18-22; Mark 11:12-26

INTRODUCTION. Fig trees are cultivated all over the

land of Palestine and especially in the mountain areas.
The trees grow generally 10 to 15 feet high, and their
thick foliage provides dense shade in the summer. In
warm climates such as Israel, the fig tree produces two
crops each year, an early one which is ripe about June,
and a later, more important one which is ripe about
August.

By December the leaves of the fig tree have shed and the
trees are bare until the end of March when the leaf buds
begin to appear. At the same time, tiny figs begin to
grow. When they reach the size of a cherry, most of
them fall to the ground.

These "unripe" and "immature figs" are called taksh and

may be and are eaten as they fall. Some of these
immature figs remain on the tree, ripen to perfection
about June, and are then known as "early figs" or "first-
ripe" (Isa. 28:4; Jer. 24:2; Hos. 9:10). The first-ripe figs
are greatly desired for their delicate flavor (Mic. 7:1).

This story took place during the Passover season which

corresponds to our March/April. Every fig tree that
produced fruit would have some taksh or immature figs
upon it by then. The fig tree in the story already had its
leaves–a sure sign the tree had immature figs since the
taksh develops ahead of the leaves.

This was the final week Jesus was on earth. On the first
day of the week, Jesus had ridden to Jerusalem on a
donkey in a triumphal procession. Many of the people
came from the city to meet him, while others from the
countryside followed, shouting their praises and
declaring him as their king. The next day when He
journeyed again to the city, He hungered (Matt. 21:18;
Mark 11:12). Seeing a fig tree, He came to it but found
no fruit, only leaves.
A. THE MIRACLE
1. Describe the fig tree that Jesus saw. (Mark 11:13)

Note. The expression "for the time of figs was not yet,"
or "it was not the season of figs," meant it was not the
season (June) for gathering the "early" or "first-ripe"
figs. Since it was springtime, and the tree had leaves, the
immature figs or taksh should have been present.

2. What did Jesus say to the fig tree? Did his disciples
hear what He said? (Mark 11:14)

3. How did the fig tree appear on the following morning

(the third day of the final week)? (Mark 11:20)

4. When Peter called attention to the withered tree, what

did Jesus say? (Mark 11:21-22)

5. The disciples would need great faith to preach the

gospel after Jesus left them and returned to heaven.
They could not _______________ in their heart, but
must _______________. (Mark 11:23)
6. In order for the disciples to have the kind of faith they
would need, it was necessary for them to do what?
(Mark 11:24)

7. What else must they do when they prayed? (Mark

11:25-26)

B. THE LESSON
In this story of the withered fig tree, Jesus performed a
miracle of judgment. Jesussaw a tree with leaves–an
indication the tree was healthy and producing fruit.
Butthe tree was barren–it bore no fruit; therefore, the tree
was worthless. Jesus cursedthe tree and it withered away
from the roots.

This fig tree was deceptive in its appearance, and its

signs were false. In the samemanner, the hypocrite
appears to worship God and pretends to serve him, but
theheart of the hypocrite is barren and produces no fruits
of righteousness.
Jesus taught his disciples a lesson on faith. The disciples
were soon to be facedwith the task of preaching the
gospel to the whole world which would seem as difficult
as removing mountains. The idolatry and immorality of
the heathen world andthe prejudices of the Jews would
be immense obstacles to overcome. Jesus assured the
disciples that if they asked without doubting, if they had
a forgiving spirit,they would receive the faith they
needed to sustain them in their mission.
 This Bible story tells us about our wonderful God
whomade us and who wants us to know Him.God knows
we have done bad things, which He calls sin.The
punishment for sin is death, but God loves us somuch He
sent His Son, Jesus, to die on a Cross and bepunished for
our sins. Then Jesus came back to life andwent home to
Heaven!
If you believe in Jesus and askHim to forgive your sins,
He will do it! He will come andlive in you now, and you
will live with Him forever.
If you want to turn from your sins, say this to God:Dear
God, I believe that Jesus died for me andnow lives again.
Please come into my life andforgive my sins, so that I
can have new life now,and one day go to be with You
forever. Help meto live for You as Your child.
Amen.Read the Bible and talk with God every day! John
3:16