Lesson 2A: JESUS WANT US TO BE WISE

Bible Story: On the Road to Emmaus

Lesson Scripture:
Luke 24:30-31
“When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.

MEMORY VERSE:
Luke 2:52
“And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”

Specific Objectives:

• After this lesson the students will be able to:
• Tell the meaning of wisdom;
• Determine how to make a wise decision or choice;
• Identify the benefits of wisdom and also distinguish between wisdom and the lack thereof;
• Help each student set a good example for others by following the example of Jesus;
• Tell about the experience of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus;
• To recite the memory verse.

Clearing of Difficulties
Terms to Remember (Have these words written in big print for children to remember.)

1. Wisdom – the ability to discern or judge what is true and right. It is a gift from God.
2. Choice – an act of selecting or making a decision when faced with two or more possibilities.
3. Emmaus – a village from Jerusalem, where Jesus had aninterview with two of his disciples on the day of His resurrection
4. Example – one that is representative of a group as a whole

PRE-SESSION ACTIVITY

PUZZLE FUN
Separate the puzzle pieces and let one or more children work together to complete the puzzle.

FOOSTEPS ON THE ROAD
Give the student the handout activity for them to look at all the footsteps on the road and
choose which ones lead to a place called Emmaus

LESSON PROPER

A. PREPARATION and MOTIVATION
Teacher, review lessons about when Jesus was a child and Jesus at the temple.

1. What is the place where Jesus was born? Bethlehem, Judea
2. Where did Jesus grow up? Nazareth
3. Why did Jesus’ parents go to Jerusalem? To celebrate the Festival of Passover
4. How old was Jesus when he stayed behind in Jerusalem? Twelve years old
5. Where did Mary and Joseph found Jesus? At the temple courts
6. Who were amazed by Jesus understanding and answers to them? Teachers
7. Jesus grew in what aspects? Mentally, physically, spiritually & socially

Teacher:
So far, we have learned about when Jesus was a child and how He grew up. And for today’s lesson we will be focusing on one of the aspects when Jesus was a boy, which is “wisdom”.

B. INTRODUCTION
Jesus wants us to be wise. To be wise, we need to trust and follow Him. We need to understand what Jesus is telling in the Bible. Our lesson today will tell us that Jesus can reveal Himself to His followers.
Teacher before you start the Bible story, ask the children to close their eyes and listen to you as you say the following statements and figure out who you are talking about.
SAY: Tell me who I am. I was born in Bethlehem. I am God’s son. I rose from the dead.
SAY: “Jesus” is the right answer. You knew the answers even though you did not see me. Sometimes we cannot see someone or something very clearly because of lack of wisdom. For today’s lesson we will identify and discover what does wisdom means and how this aspect will help us.

WHAT IS WISDOM?
Wisdom isn’t simply intelligence or knowledge or even understanding. It is the ability to think and act in such a way that common sense prevails and choices are beneficial and productive. What we learn from experience gives us the wisdom whether to try a particular thing or make a certain choice or not. Wisdom begins and ends with the fear of the Lord (Proverbs 9:10). True wisdom is found in obedience to God, fearing Him and His Word, in the Word of God and by praying or asking for it. Wisdom is the application of knowledge; it is not the knowledge itself. The Bible tells us that God possesses both “wisdom and knowledge” (Rom. 11:33).

JESUS WISDOM
Jesus was said to be “full of wisdom” (Mark 6:2) by those who heard Him and as a young child He grew in wisdom rapidly (Luke 2:40; 52). Jesus experienced a natural maturing process similar to any growing boy, but He was especially endowed with God’s Spirit and grace from birth so that He was far advanced beyond other 12-year-olds when it came to grasping the Word of God.
(Show pictures to students)

BENEFITS OF WISDOM:
•Victory
•Safety/Protection •Understanding •Knowledge
•Discretion: Understanding of right/wrong •Guidance/Direction

WISDOM
I need to make wise choice. So I will… a. Trust and follow Jesus b. Spend time getting to know God c. Do whatever God says d. Discover God’s unique plan for my life

IF/THEN
If… we accept God’s word and obey If… we listen for wisdom and search for it If… we understand that wisdom is like a great treasure Then…we will respect God and know Him well.

C. LESSON
Read today’s story aloud from the Bible, or by showing pictures, or tell the story in your own words.

On the Road to Emmaus
After Jesus was crucified and risen from the grave, two of his followers were walking on the road that led to a town called Emmaus. They were sad and were talking about what had happened to Jesus. Suddenly, Jesus joined the disciples and walked along with them, but they did not know who he was because God kept them from recognizing him.
“You seem to be having a very serious discussion. What are you talking about?” Jesus asked them.
One of the men answered, “You must be the only person in Jerusalem that doesn’t know what has happened the past few days,” Then they told them about how Jesus had been crucified, and buried, and that some women had gone to his tomb, but the tomb was empty. “We have heard that he is alive,” they said, “but we have not seen him.”

“Do you find it so difficult to believe what was written by the prophets in the Scripture?” Jesus asked. “It was predicted by the prophets that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his time of glory.” Then Jesus quoted passages from the writings of the prophets, explaining what the Scriptures said about himself.
By this time, they had come to Emmaus and the disciples invited Jesus to stay with them since it was getting too late in the day to travel. So Jesus stayed with them and when they sat down to eat, Jesus took the bread and blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them. Suddenly, their eyes were opened and they saw that it was Jesus. Then just as quickly as he had appeared to them, Jesus disappeared.
They were so happy and excited to have seen Jesus that they ran back to Jerusalem to tell the others that they had seen Jesus.

Summary of Today’s Story
On the day that Jesus’ tomb is found empty, Cleopas and his companions, who were followers of Jesus, are on their way to a village called Emmaus. They are talking about the events of the past few days, including the rumor that Jesus had been seen alive. Jesus meets up with them and begins talking with them and teaching them about the fulfillment of the Scriptures, “beginning with Moses and all the prophets” all the way to himself. When they come to the village, the two people urge Jesus to stay and have supper with them. As Jesus takes the bread, blesses and breaks it and gives it to them, they suddenly recognize him. And then he vanishes.

MEMORY VERSE
Luke 2:52
And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

QUESTIONS TO PONDER

1. Who did Cleopas and his friend meet on the road to Emmaus? (Jesus)
2. When did the two men recognize the man walking with them was Jesus? (After Jesus gave thanks and broke the bread)
3. What did the men say had happen to Jesus? (that Jesus had died but now was alive)

LIFE APPLICATION

Ages 4-6
Sometimes students simply listen without understanding because their mind is busy with other thoughts. Also, they are distracted by what they see around and their eyes begin to focus on their classmates, then tempted to fool around and miss the lesson of the teacher. It is not wise to fool around and ignore the Bible lesson. You will become slow in learning. But Jesus wants you to understand well and be wise. It is a wise choice to listen to your teacher than fool around and distract the class.

Ages 7-12
Sometimes we are pre-occupied that we do not even realize that Jesus is with us. Even in the midst of what is wrong with us, it shows us how to live. It shows us what will happen if we follow on that road and on that journey with Him. It is always wise when we ask God’s guidance before we made any decision.

ACTIVITY

Craft Road to Emmaus

CLOSE IN PRAYER

Lord Jesus Christ, you always meet us where we are, and you walk with us wherever we go. Be with us always and help us to see you and meet you every day, and in every person we see. Amen.