God's Eternal Plan - Lesson 8

By Stafford North

The Teachings

Background Information for the Teacher

Objectives:

  1. The student can list four key teachings about the coming kingdom.
  2. The student can explain how God's relationship with the Jews was coming to an end.
  3. The student can tell at least three principles by which Christians are to live.
  4. The student can tell about Jesus' teachings on the final judgment.
  5. The student can explain Jesus' teaching about the coming of the church.

Preparation:

  1. Each student should have a Bible.
  2. Be prepared to write some key words on the board as the lesson moves along.
  3. Have ready the Written Review on Lesson 7 and the Worksheets on Lesson 8
  4. Be ready to sing "Footprints of Jesus" and "I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord" if you have time for singing.
  5. There is more material in this lesson than a teacher could typically cover in a class session of thirty or forty minutes. That means you may need to select in advance the items you wish to study rather than just "running out of time."Choose what you think will best illustrate to your class that Jesus was a great teacher who taught about things we must know. You may need to redo the worksheet to fit your lesson or at least be prepared to give quick answers to items you are not planning to spend time discussing.

Theme:

Primarily Jesus was a teacher. He taught about the coming kingdom and the ending of God's special relationship with the Jews. He taught how His disciples were to live and that a final judgment was coming. He also taught about the coming of the church.

Lesson Plan for Teaching the Class

Introduction:

  1. Introduce all visitors. Make them feel welcome.
  2. Sing "Footprints" of Jesus if you have time.
  3. Give answers to written review.
  4. Repeat together the titles of the lessons so far.

Learning Experiences:

  1. Jesus has been called "the master teacher" because he used such effective teaching techniques. Q: What are some of the special ways He taught? A:Parables that are memorable, short easy statements like the beatitudes, strong figures like "cut of your hand" and "pluck out your eye," comparisons like"sheep on the right," and "goats on the left," specific commands like "go into all the world," etc.
  2. Q: What was the major theme of Jesus' teaching? A: The coming kingdom.Read Daniel 2:44. Q: How does this prophecy relate to the work of Jesus? A: Daniel prophesies that in the fourth of the kingdoms he describes (which is the Roman Empire), God will establish a kingdom. Jesus came at that time to teach about the kingdom.
  3. We want to note four truths Jesus taught about the kingdom. Read Matthew 4:23and Mark 9:1. Q: From these verses, what would you conclude about the kingdom? A: That it would be coming soon, even in the lifetimes of those Jesus was teaching. Q: What do some teach today about the coming of Jesus' kingdom? A: That it has not yet come and will come when He returns to reign on earth for a thousand years. This does not fit Jesus' timing or the nature of His kingdom. Read John 18:36. Q: What does this passage teach about the nature of Jesus' kingdom? A: That it was a spiritual kingdom rather than a physical kingdom. Read Matthew 13:19, 23. Q: What do we learn about the kingdom? A: That it is spread by teaching the word of God. So, we can share in spreading the kingdom if we tell others about it. Read John 18:37. Q: What does this verse tell about the kingdom? A: That Jesus came to be a king and would achieve this goal. He would not be in competition with the Roman Emperors but would have a following among those who chose to come to Him.
  4. Jesus also taught about the Law of Moses. Read Matthew 5:17. Q: What does this passage teach about the law and the prophets? A: That Jesus will not destroy the law but He will fulfill it. Fulfilling it means that it will have accomplished what God wanted to do with it so it can be replaced. Read Hebrews 10:9. Q: What does this passage add? A: That with the Law having fulfilled its purpose, God will replace it with a new covenant, the covenant Jesus will establish. Q: What have we studied before about the purpose of God's having a nation with its laws and worship? A: That God wanted to teach two things: no one could be good enough to be saved by a law that required perfection and that obedience brings good consequences and disobedience brings bad consequences. Q: So are we under any of the old law? A: No. We have a completely new covenant. We are not even under the ten commandments. (See Romans 7:1_7 for more on this point.) Some of the moral principles and other teachings of the Law are included in the New Covenant, justas the new tax code may include some of the measure in the old tax code, but we are entirely under the new tax code and not at all under the old one. Jesus discusses this in the Sermon on the Mount when He says, "You have heard that it was said, but I say." Sometimes he incorporates an old covenant teaching like-do not murder-and adds more saying "do not hate." Sometimes He changes it as when He says the Old Covenant said "perform your oath" but He says, "Do not swear at all."
  5. Another theme of Jesus' teaching is how His followers are to live. He calls us to a very high standard.
    1. Read Matthew 6:6, 9_12. Q: What does Jesus teach us about prayer? A: To pray with the right motive, give praise to God, ask Him for good things to happen, offer our requests.
    2. Read Matthew 6:19_21. Q: What principle for living should we draw from this passage? A: To put spiritual matters above the physical ones. To put spiritual service above material gain.
    3. Read Matthew 22:29. Q: What does it mean to love your neighbor as yourself? A: It means to be unselfish toward others, to put their good ahead of ours. To help someone even if it means interrupting something we wanted to do. (Teacher: ask the class for examples they know of people who have done this.)
    4. Read Matthew 5:27_30. Q: To what standard does Jesus call His followers in these verses? A: To a standard in which not only does not commit adultery (have sex outside of marriage), but that people do not engage in those behaviors that would start them down the road into such activities. "Pluck out your eye" means be careful what you see, and "cut off your hand" means be careful about physical contact. These things are often the prelude to sexual relations and Jesus says don't start down a road you are not supposed to travel.
  6. Read Matthew 25:31, 46. Q: What conclusion would you draw from these verses? A: There will be ultimate accountability when we stand before a final judgment. Some will be approved and will go to eternal life while others will be condemned and will go into eternal punishment. In His teaching, Jesus clearly teaches a final judgment when all will be called to account.
  7. Read Matthew 16:15_19. Q: What do we learn from this passage about Jesus' teaching on His church? A: It had not yet been started-He says "will build." It will be built on the foundation of what Peter said-that Jesus is the Christ, theSon of God. It was not built upon a fallible human being like Peter. But He will give Peter the keys to the kingdom in the sense that He will let Peter "open the door" to His kingdom, which here is the same as His church. That means Peter will get to be the first to preach the full gospel message which he did later on Pentecost after Jesus' resurrection.
  8. If you have time, study the words to "I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord" and see what it teaches about the kingdom. Then sing the song.
  9. Read John 3:36; 8:24; and 14:6. Q: What do we learn about Jesus from these three readings? A: That He taught that He was the person the prophets had foretold. He also said that without Him, one cannot be saved. Q: What do these claims mean for us? A: We must make a decision about Jesus. If His claims are true,then we must come to Him as Savior but if they are false then we should not depend on Him. The position that says He was a good man and a good teacher and let's pick out of what He said based on what we like, is not a tenable position. If He is not the Son of God, as He claimed, then He is an impostor and fraud.

Application:

  1. You will need to make applications of the teachings you choose to cover as you go along. All of these speak to our daily living.

Evaluation and Assignment:

  1. Use your worksheet to prepare for the next written review.
  2. Use your worksheet to think about some of the teachings of Jesus that you believe you particularly need right now.

WORKSHEET

LESSON 8

  1. Jesus often taught in _____. Sometimes he used memorable statement like in the ______. Sometimes he used strong______.
  2. The major theme of Jesus' teaching was the coming ____. Daniel's prophecy about the ____ kingdom in the image refers to the_____ ______.
  3. Jesus taught that the kingdom 
    1. That it would be coming __.
    2. That it would be a ___ not a ___ kingdom.
    3. That it would be spread by teaching the _ of God.
    4. That He came to be a __ and would achieve this goal.

  1. Jesus also taught about the Law of Moses.

    1. Jesus will not ____ the law but will ___ it. Since it will be fulfilled, it is no longer needed.
    2. Hebrews 10:9 says that God will replace it with a new ____.
    3. Through "the nation," God had taught that no one could be ___ enough to be saved by a law that required _____ and that _____ brings good _______ while disobedience brings ___ consequences.
    4. Romans 7:1_7 teaches that those once "married" to the law are released because that law has ___. This allows them to be married to a different____.
      1. Another theme in Jesus' teaching is how His followers are to ___.
      2. We should pray with the right ___ and give ___ toGod.
      3. We are to put _____ matters above ____ ones.
      4. We are to __ our ______ as ourselves.
      5. We are not only to stay away from immoral actions, we are to avoid those things that would ____ us in that direction.
      6. Jesus teaches that there will be a ___ judgment when all will be held______.
      7. Jesus taught that He would ___ His church upon the truth which___ confessed, that Jesus was the ___, the __ of the
        8. living God.
      8. Jesus claimed He was the one about whom the ____ had spoken and that without Him no one can be ____.

WRITTEN REVIEW OVER LESSON 8

To be used with Lesson 9

    1. Jesus often taught in _______. He also used strong______ of speech to make His points.
    2. The major theme of Jesus' preaching was the coming ______.
    3. He taught that the kingdom would be coming ___ and that it would be a ______ kingdom.
    4. Jesus taught that the Law of Moses had been _____ and so was no longer needed. Paul taught that those "married" to the law were free from it because it had __, and they were now free to "marry" the law of__.
    5. By the Law, God wanted to teach that no one could be __ enough to be saved and that ______ was better than _______.
    6. Jesus taught that we should ___ our _______ as ourselves.

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