Jesus said what?! — Weekly Christian ed lesson

Lesson background

Jesus’ words are not always straightforward and clear to young people. “Feed my sheep.” (Does he mean real sheep or is this a metaphor?) “Love your neighbor.” (Who’s my neighbor? Does Jesus mean the person who lives next door or someone else?) “The bread I will give is my flesh.” (Is Jesus encouraging cannibalism?)

Setting aside the fact that these words were spoken in a different language to people living in a different place and time, Jesus doesn’t always use concrete language to express ideas. His words are meant to be wrestled with, reflected upon, and discussed. Some Bible stories – such as a discussion recounted in John 6:51-58 – demonstrate this point. In this lesson, children will explore this text and will practice wondering about the big ideas Jesus offers his followers.

What you’ll need

• A Bible
• What Does It Mean? game pieces, a bowl or bag, a timer, scrap paper and pens or pencils.
• Bread and Juice and Our Senses: a loaf of bread, small cups and grape juice. Place the bread and juice on the table (optional)
• Jesus’ Big Ideas: chart paper or a whiteboard and markers (optional)

Starting out

Greet the children as they arrive.

What Does It Mean? Game

Prior to the lesson, download and print the What Does It Mean? game pieces. Cut the pieces along the solid lines so that there is one word per game piece. Fold each piece of paper in half and place the folded pieces in a bowl or bag.

Divide the group into two teams. Ask each team to select a recorder (the person who will write down the group’s answers). Give each recorder a piece of scrap paper and a pen or pencil.

Explain how the game works: The adult leader will pull a word from the bag/bowl and will read it out loud. Each word has multiple meanings. As soon as the word is read, your team will have 30 seconds to come up with as many definitions for the word as you can. You may talk to one another, but only the recorder can write down your answers. At the end of the session, each group will read their definitions aloud. For each correct definition, the team will get one point. We will play several rounds. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins.

Play several rounds of the game.

After the group is done playing, ask:

• Why do you think some words have more than one meaning?
• Can words with multiple meanings confuse conversations? If so, how?

Hearing and exploring the story

Prepare to read aloud John 6:51-58.

Provide the children with context for the reading:

• This story comes from the New Testament Gospel of John.
• Prior to this story, Jesus performed a miracle. He transforms five loaves of bread and two fish that a young boy brought to eat into enough food for more than 5,000 people to eat. The people follow Jesus asking him why left them after the meal. Jesus begins teaching them about what he calls “the bread of life.”
• The story mentions that “the Jews began to argue.” The author is referring to religious leaders at the time when Jesus was alive. What Jesus was doing and saying was different than what they believed. They were concerned that he was teaching different ideas about God than they were. The writer is not saying that people who are Jewish argue about Jesus.
• Jesus talks about a bread from heaven that the people of God ate during previous times. He is referring to manna, a flaky substance that God sent to the people of God while they were seeking the land God promised would be theirs forever. Because they were traveling through areas where they could not find food, God sent them manna to keep them alive.
• Jesus talks about things in this story that sound a lot like communion or the Lord’s Supper. At the time that this story takes place, Jesus hasn’t yet told his disciples that they should eat bread and drink wine to remember him.

Read aloud John 6:51-58.

After reading, ask the children:

• Why are the religious leaders in the story concerned about Jesus saying his “flesh” is the “bread for the life of the world”?
• Based on what you know about communion or the Lord’s Supper, what do you think Jesus was trying to tell the people when he said they could eat his flesh and blood?
• How do you think you would have reacted if you were one of the people hearing Jesus say this?
• How do you think that the disciples felt when they heard Jesus say these words?
• What do you think the crowd that was gathered to hear Jesus teach might have thought when they heard Jesus say these words?

Responding to the story

To help the children connect the story to their own lives and experiences, invite them to engage in one or more of the following activities:

• Bread and Juice and Our Senses Gather the materials you’ll need for this activity: a loaf of bread, small cups and grape juice. Place the bread and juice on the table. Ask the children what they associate with these items. Note these are the ordinary items we use to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. We use many of our senses to experience the juice and the bread, but we don’t always notice these experiences because we don’t have time to reflect on these experiences. Tell the children that they will have the opportunity to consider the bread and the juice using all of their senses. Give each child a piece of bread and a small cup of juice. First, invite them to use their sense of smell to explore the elements. Have them share what they notice. Next, invite them to use their sense of sight to consider the elements, sharing what they notice. Repeat this process with the sound (this one is a bit tricky), touch, and finally taste.
• Jesus’ Big Ideas Gather the materials you’ll need for this activity: chart paper or a whiteboard and markers. Remind the children that one of the big ideas Jesus introduces to his followers in the text is they will be connected forever to God by drinking his blood and eating his flesh (what we know as the Lord’s Supper or communion). Ask the children to share other big ideas that Jesus shared with his followers. Record these on the whiteboard or chart paper. Then, ask them which of these ideas is difficult to understand. Have them explain why it is difficult to grasp or to follow. Ask them to reflect on why Jesus thought this was a big and important idea for the world to embrace.