Lesson 3: The sign of Jonah.
Passage: Matthew 12:38-42 - Some of the religious leaders came to Jesus demanding a sign from him, but Jesus refused to give them any sign except for the sign of Jonah. He said that just as Jonah spent three days in the belly of the whale, so would he spend three days buried in the ground before coming back again. He also said that the people of Jonah’s day would come back in judgement because they listened and repented at Jonah’s teaching, but now someone even greater than Jonah was here.
Big Idea: Keeping our hearts open.
For Teachers:
Lesson plan.
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Welcome — Activity Leader
Have the children sit in a circle on the circle time rug. Welcome them to class.
Warm Up Activity: — Activity Leader
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
For the last two Sundays, we’ve been talking about some of the different times in the Bible when Jesus was being challenged. We talked about how a challenge can be something hard that you have to do, like a test, or it can be when someone is trying to fight against you and challenge you.
The first story we heard about about how the Villain, the enemy of God, challenged Jesus by testing him three times. Then we learned about how Jesus was challenged by the people in his own hometown who didn’t believe in him. And today we’ll be learning about another time when Jesus was challenged by some religious people - those are the people who believed in God and taught everyone about God, but they also didn’t believe in Jesus.
The story goes like this…
Some of the religious leaders came to Jesus and said to him, “Teacher, give us a sign to show us that you really are the Son of God and that your teachings are true.” But Jesus didn’t like that. He said, “It was wrong for you to ask me for a sign, and I will not give one to you, except for the sign of Jonah.” (Jonah was one of the messengers of God who got swallowed by a big whale). Then Jesus said, “Just like Jonah spent three nights in the whale’s belly, so will I spend three nights buried in the ground. But the people in Jonah’s time will come back and judge you because they listened to Jonah, but now someone even greater than Jonah is here, but you won’t listen to me.”
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Why do you think Jesus didn’t like that the people were asking him for a sign?
Then Jesus said he wouldn’t give them a sign, except the sign of Jonah. Does anyone remember who Jonah was?
And Jesus said that just like Jonah was in the whale’s belly for three days, Jesus would also spend three days buried in the ground. What do you think that means?
Lastly, Jesus told them that the people in Jonah’s time would come back and judge them because they listened to Jonah but these people wouldn’t listen to Jesus. Why do you think it was so hard for them to believe Jesus?
Do you think it’s easy or hard for you to trust in Jesus? Why?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
“Dear God, thank you for the story we heard today about how Jesus was challenged by the religious leaders who were asking him for a sign. Thank you that even though a lot of people challenged Jesus and didn’t believe in him, we know that Jesus kept on going and teaching people the truth about God’s good news. Thank you that we have a choice whether to believe in you or not, and we pray that you will help us to put our trust in you as we keep on learning more and more about you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Activity: Whale Craft — Activity Leader
Kids will glue a whale cut-out onto construction paper, decorate it with markers, and use dot stickers to add bubbles around it.
If a child is uninterested in the activity, allow them to move to free play.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
-
Welcome — Activity Leader
Have the children sit in a circle on the circle time rug. Welcome them to class.
Warm Up Activity: — Activity Leader
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
For the last two Sundays, we’ve been talking about some of the different times in the Bible when Jesus was being challenged. We talked about how a challenge can be something hard that you have to do, like a test, or it can be when someone is trying to fight against you and challenge you.
The first story we heard about about how the Villain, the enemy of God, challenged Jesus by testing him three times. Then we learned about how Jesus was challenged by the people in his own hometown who didn’t believe in him. And today we’ll be learning about another time when Jesus was challenged by some religious people - those are the people who believed in God and taught everyone about God, but they also didn’t believe in Jesus.
The story goes like this…
Some of the religious leaders came to Jesus and said to him, “Teacher, give us a sign to show us that you really are the Son of God and that your teachings are true.” But Jesus didn’t like that. He said, “It was wrong for you to ask me for a sign, and I will not give one to you, except for the sign of Jonah.” (Jonah was one of the messengers of God who got swallowed by a big whale). Then Jesus said, “Just like Jonah spent three nights in the whale’s belly, so will I spend three nights buried in the ground. But the people in Jonah’s time will come back and judge you because they listened to Jonah, but now someone even greater than Jonah is here, but you won’t listen to me.”
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Why do you think Jesus didn’t like that the people were asking him for a sign?
Then Jesus said he wouldn’t give them a sign, except the sign of Jonah. Does anyone remember who Jonah was?
And Jesus said that just like Jonah was in the whale’s belly for three days, Jesus would also spend three days buried in the ground. What do you think that means?
Lastly, Jesus told them that the people in Jonah’s time would come back and judge them because they listened to Jonah but these people wouldn’t listen to Jesus. Why do you think it was so hard for them to believe Jesus?
Do you think it’s easy or hard for you to trust in Jesus? Why?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
“Dear God, thank you for the story we heard today about how Jesus was challenged by the religious leaders who were asking him for a sign. Thank you that even though a lot of people challenged Jesus and didn’t believe in him, we know that Jesus kept on going and teaching people the truth about God’s good news. Thank you that we have a choice whether to believe in you or not, and we pray that you will help us to put our trust in you as we keep on learning more and more about you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Activity: Jonah and the Whale Craft — Activity Leader
Kids will decorate a pop-up whale and draw a picture of Jonah in the whale's mouth.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
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Welcome — Activity Leader
Introduce yourself and welcome the kids to class.
Warm Up Activity: — Activity Leader
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today is our third week of our series called Challenger, which is all about the different times when Jesus was challenged by those around him.
So far we’ve learned about how Jesus was challenged by the Villain, the enemy of God, who tested him three times in the wilderness, and how he was challenged by the people in his own hometown, who didn’t believe in him.
Today we’ll learn about a time when Jesus was challenged by the religious leaders of his time - those were the people who knew all about God and the Bible, and they taught others about God too. But even though they knew a lot about God, they didn’t believe in Jesus. The story goes like this…
Some of the religious leaders came to Jesus and said to him, “Teacher, give us a sign to show us that you really are the Son of God and that your teachings are true.” But Jesus didn’t like that. He said, “It was wrong for you to ask me for a sign, and I will not give one to you, except for the sign of Jonah.” (Jonah was one of the messengers of God who got swallowed by a big whale). Then Jesus said, “Just like Jonah spent three nights in the whale’s belly, so will I spend three nights buried in the ground. But the people in Jonah’s time will come back and judge you because they listened to Jonah, but now someone even greater than Jonah is here, but you won’t listen.”
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Why do you think that the religious leaders asked him for a sign? And why was Jesus upset about it?
Why do you think it was so hard for them to believe in Jesus, even though they’re supposed to be the ones who know the most about God?
Do you think sometimes it’s harder for people who think they know a lot and who have strong beliefs, to change their minds about things when someone tells them something different from what they’re used to?
What’s the importance of Jonah in the story?
Do you find it easy or hard to believe in Jesus? What are some things that you find hard or easy to believe? What do you think you can do when you have doubts or questions?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
“Dear God, thank you for what we’ve been learning these past weeks about how Jesus was challenged by those around him. Even though he was the Son of God, he still faced rejection and disbelief. At the end of the day, we know that we all have a choice whether or not to believe in Jesus. Please help us to grow in our faith, and to feel free to come to you or to others with our questions and doubts. And as we do, please help us to keep our hearts humble and open to learning from you, rather than hardening our hearts like the religious leaders who weren’t willing to listen or believe, but kept challenging and testing Jesus instead. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Activity: Jonah and the Whale Craft — Activity Leader
Kids will decorate pop-up whale and draw Jonah in the whale’s mouth.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
For Parents:
Follow-up questions.
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What was the story you learned about in class today?
What do you think was wrong with the people asking Jesus for a sign?
Do you think asking for a sign is different than just asking questions when you don’t understand something?
Do you think it’s easy or hard to believe in Jesus’ teachings? Why?
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What was the story you learned about in class today?
What do you think was wrong with the people asking Jesus for a sign?
Do you think asking for a sign is different than just asking questions when you don’t understand something? Why?
Do you have any questions about God that you’re wondering about?
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What was the story you learned about in class today?
Why do you think the religious people had such a hard time with Jesus’ teachings?
What do you think was so wrong with them asking for a sign? Do you think that’s different from just asking questions when you don’t understand something? Why?
What do you think is the main takeaway from the story?
