JESUS WELCOMES ALL PEOPLE

CONTENT

• JESUS AND THE ELITE: NICODEMUS [ JOHN 3:1-17]
• THE ADULTEROUS WOMAN

JESUS AND THE ELITE: NICODEMUS [JOHN 3:1-17]                               

When Jesus told Nicodemus that one has to be baptised with both water and spirit for one to enter the kingdom of God, he was disturbed and wanted to know more. Jesus was surprised that an educated man like Nicodemus did not understand or believe the simple examples he had been given. Jesus wondered how he could understand and believe heavenly or spiritual things. Jesus further told Nicodemus that as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so would he be lifted up and that only those who believed in him would have eternal life. Jesus then told him that God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. This led to his teaching on judgement. He told Nicodemus that God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to make the world good and safe.

EVALUATION

Narrate the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus

MORAL LESSONS

There are numerous lessons one can learn from what happened between Jesus and Nicodemus. One of such was that Nicodemus wanted to know more. He had heard about the teachings of Jesus because he is a Pharisee. The Pharisees are the teachers of the law. Yet, Nicodemus wanted to know more. This shows that there is no limit to human knowledge. So, Christians should seek to know more about the word of God. Another lesson is that we should share our knowledge with others. Jesus knew who Nicodemus was; yet, he welcomed him, listened to him and taught what he did not know. Another would have dismissed Nicodemus, for he would have thought, quite wrongly, that he had come to tempt him rather than to learn from him. So, when anybody comes to us to explain things which will help him understand more, we should always try as much as possible to help him. Also, one of the lessons is that of a rebirth, that is, a kind of change of heart or repentance, a new life, guided by the Holy Spirit. It is only with these that any man could hope to enter into the kingdom of God.

EVALUATION

Discuss the lesson you gained.

THE ADULTEROUS WOMAN

Jesus was in the temple and all the people came to him and he taught them. The Pharisees and the Scribes brought a woman who had committed adultery, placed her in the midst of the congregation and asked Jesus, “Teacher, this woman had been caught in the act of adultery. Now, in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such, what do you say about her? They asked this question to test him, so that they might find some charge to bring against him and get him arrested, tried and killed. Jesus bent down and wrote something with his finger on the floor of the temple. As the people waited, he stood up and said to them, “Let him which is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her”. He bent down again and started writing on the floor with his fingers. None of them was able to stone the woman. They went away one by one, from the eldest to the youngest, until Jesus was left in the temple, with the woman before him. Jesus looked up the woman and said,” Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? When the woman answered,” No one, Lord”, Jesus assured her that he too had not condemned her and asked her to go away and sin no more.

EVALUATION

Narrate the story of Jesus and the adulterous woman.

MORAL LESSON

There are so many lessons to be learnt in this story. One of them is that one must not plan evil against others. The Pharisees had set a trap or a plot to accuse Jesus so as to get him arrested, tried and killed. But, their plan failed because Jesus knew their aim well in advance. So, it is wrong to plan evil against others. Also, Christians should know that if anybody plans any evil against them, God is always able and willing to help them out. Another lesson is the need for a change of heart. Jesus in his dialogue with the woman said to her, “Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no again”.

GENERAL EVALUATION/REVISION QUESTIONS

1. What was written in Mosaic Law concerning adult?
   1. What should be our attitude to sinners?

3.   Compare the attitude of Jesus and the Pharisees/Scribes.

4.List the books that make up the gospel and underline the synoptic gospel

READING ASSIGNMENT

• Christian Religious Knowledge for JSS BK 2 by I. O. Adeyemo
• R.S.V. Bible Read John 8:1-11
• Christian Religious Knowledge, made simple for J.S.S. by Pastor A.F. Bello.pgs 179-180.

WEEKEND ASSIGNMENT

1. Let him who is without sin among you be the first to cast a stone at her”.  This statement was made by _____. (a) the Pharisees (b) Jesus Christ (c) the scribes (d) the Herodians
2. Which of the following is not correct? Nicodemus was ____. (a) Jew (b) a Pharisee (c) a theologian (d) an enemy of truth.
3. Which of the following is most correct? “God so loved the world so much that he gave his only Son_____” (a) so that he might heal them whenever they were ill (b) so that he might preach to them (c) that he might baptise them with water and with the Holy Spirit (d) that whosoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life
4. The Pharisees belonged to the Jewish _____ class. (a) peasants (b) middle-class

(c) elite (d) military

• The woman that was to be stoned was accused of_____. (a) stealing (b) adultery

(c) witchcraft (d) rebellion

THEORY

1.   Describe the attitude of the woman caught in adultery to her sinfulness.

2.   “Him who is without sin among you should be the first to throw a stone at her?  What happened after?