Aim to understand God’s plan for Jesus
Aims
* to understand God’s plan for Jesus
* to understand why it failed
Materials
* Outline of the Principle Level 4. chapter 13 – Jesus in the History of Restoration
* Bible passages – Luke 1:17, John 1:23, Malachi 4:5, Matthew 11:14, Luke 1:65-66, Luke 3:15, John 1:29-34, Matthew 11:2-3, John 1:21, Matthew 17:13, Matthew 11:11
* Visual aids – an angel visits Zechariah, Elijah in a chariot of fire, John the Baptist preaching, John baptizes
* Children’s worksheet
* Chart – showing progress of restoration from Abraham, to Moses and Jesus
Lesson Outline
1. Review restoration history
2. God’s plan for Jesus
3. Questions
4. Worksheet
5. Review the aims
6. Prayer
1) Review restoration history
* God’s purpose in history is to restore human beings to the original unfallen state so that we may fulfill the purpose of creation.
* But fallen man is in the midway position between God and Satan. To cut off from Satan each person must restore himself to the level Adam and Eve had grown and then receive the Messiah, to be fully restored.
* In order to receive the Messiah we must first separate ourselves from Satan by making two indemnity conditions: the foundation and faith and substance, which reverse the mistakes of the Fall.
* The foundation of faith is to restore Adam and Eve’s lack of faith in God’s word, by making a symbolic offering
* The foundation of substance is to restore their failure to perfect their character and develop a Godly nature, by getting rid of fallen nature
* The history of restoration has passed from Cain & Abel , Noah & Ham, Abraham & Isaac, Jacob & Esau, and Moses & Joshua.
* Now Jesus must follow the model courses of Jacob & Moses to win over Satan
2) God’s plan for Jesus
After many years of preparation the Messiah had finally come to the chosen people of Israel, but first a foundation had be made to receive him
a)The Foundation of Faith
1. Central Person – John the Baptist
* At the time of Moses the Israelites repeatedly fell into faithlessness. God sent many prophets, especially Elijah, to teach the Israelites to keep faith. But not even Elijah could succeed. However,
God said he would send Elijah again to prepare people to receive the Messiah. John the Baptist was the Elijah and the central person for the foundation of faith. Bible passages that show John was Elijah. Ask the children to read them.
*LUKE 1:17 – And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
* JOHN 1: 23 – John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’ “
* MALACHI 4: 5 – “See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.
* MATTHEW 11.14 – And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. (Jesus)
2. Time Period – 400 years
A 400 year period of preparation established a faithful people. During this time God sent many prophets to the Israelites telling them that a saviour or Messiah would come. At the time of Jesus, the people were expecting the Messiah to come
3. The Offering – ascetic life
John lived an ascetic life in the wilderness, praying, fasting, and living on locusts and honey. It was an exemplary life of faith.
The Foundation of Faith was successfully made
b)The Foundation of Substance
1) Abel position – John the Baptist
2) Cain position – people of Israel
Everyone knew John was a great man of God. Many people thought he might even be the Messiah. Through their respect for him, the people of Israel (in the Cain position) united with John (in the Abel position)
Below are Bible passages that show this. Ask the children to read them.
* LUKE 1:65-66 – The neighbors were all filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking,
“What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.
* LUKE 3:15 – The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ.
The Foundation of Substance was successfully made
c) The Foundation for the Messiah
Although John initially testified that Jesus was the Messiah, he later doubted this, and didn’t follow him. Jesus said John was the Elijah. John denied this. This confused people and blocked the way for people to come to Jesus. There was no foundation to receive the Messiah, so all the preparation was lost. John also lost God’s protection, was put in prison and was executed by King Herod.
The Bible passages below show this. Ask the children to read them.
* JOHN 1:29-34 – The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.” Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.”
*MATTHEW 11:2-3 – When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?”
* JOHN 1:21 – They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.”
* MATTHEW 17:13 – Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.
* MATTHEW 11:11 – I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he
3) Questions
The Foundation for the Messiah was not successful
Before completing the worksheet, ask the children to answer these questions
*Who came as the second Adam? – Jesus
*Jesus followed the model courses of who? – Jacob & Moses
*Who lost their faith under Moses? – The Israelites
*For Jesus to stand in the position of the Messiah, what two things were needed? – a Foundation of Faith & a foundation of Substance
*What was special about John the Baptist? – He was the central person to lead the people to Jesus
*Why did John fail in his mission? – He didn’t understand his mission. He denied being the Elijah.
4) Worksheet
Because Adam and Eve fell, Satan has dominated this world. Jesus came as the second Adam to win over Satan and establish the Kingdom of God. To do this he followed the model courses of Jacob and Moses But, just as the Israelites under Moses lost their faith, so did the Jews at the time of Jesus. As a result, Jesus, like Moses, had to go through three courses.
Jesus came as the Messiah, but first a foundation of faith and substance had to be made John the Baptist was the central person to lead them to the Messiah. He dedicated his life to God and the Jews greatly respected him. Unfortunately, John didn’t understand his mission. He doubted Jesus was the Messiah and he blocked the way for the people to come to Jesus. The first attempt ended in failure.
5) Review the aims
* to understand God’s plan for Jesus
– Jesus had to follow the model courses of Jacob & Moses to win over Satan.
– He came as the Messiah, but for the people to receive him a F/F and F/S had to be made.
– John the Baptist was the central person to make a F/F and F/S
* To understand why it failed
– John successfully made a F/F and F/S , but he didn’t understand his mission. He denied being the Elijah, which blocked the way for people to come to Jesus.
6) Prayer
