Fifth Sunday of Lent
Fifth Sunday of Lent:
April 2, 2006
Jeremiah 31:31-34
Psalm 51:1-12
Hebrews 5:5-10
John 12:20-33
I spent much time reading the lectionary readings and then discussing the development of this lesson with some of my confidants how to best focus these verses for children. The four selections for this, the Fifth Week of Lent, were read through, considered, reflected upon, and otherwise just talked about in terms of how to best communicate these ideas, concepts, and truths to early childhood- and elementary-aged children. Specifically, the debate revolved around the issue whether or not it is ever practical to present more than two passages of Scripture during any given class. Does it ever make sense to do more than read a portion of a psalm and then read the verses that correspond to whatever moral lesson (or hopefully, a Scriptural truth) the teacher/author wants to convey to students in a classroom?
Conventional wisdom says that it doesn’t make sense, but I want to take issue with the over-simplification inherent and assumed to be necessary for a Sunday School/Children’s Church lesson. Now, having taught many Sunday School classes and used different curriculums in the teaching of children (both in Sunday School and “regular” school classrooms), I am aware of the measures a teacher must use to excite and interest a class with the material being presented. Children have the uncanny ability to disrupt (and often with the best possible intentions) anything that their teacher might be attempting to initiate and/or achieve in the classroom. However, the teacher must not subvert and weaken the depth of any lesson to expedite the conclusion of a lesson, simply because the kids are rowdy, daydreaming, or just seemingly not paying attention to the teacher.
Do I think that teachers and curriculum writers do this intentionally? No, I don’t, but I do believe that they often set their sights on meeting the needs and keeping the attention of the “lowest common denominator” amongst the students in their classes. Thus, while these lessons do call for the teacher to read a segment of one psalm before reading through only one section of verses connected to the lesson to be taught, I hope to provide something of substance for all students, especially the teacher, since I feel that a good teacher should be a perpetual student. And on that note – enjoy!
The Son of Man Must Be Lifted Up – John 12:20-33
The first thing that one should notice when reading through this passage is the composition of the crowd whom Jesus is addressing. Most, if not all, of the commentaries and study Bibles that I studied when writing made specific note that it is a group of Gentiles (Greeks, to be precise) that are listening to Jesus predict his own death. These “God-fearers” came first to Jesus’ disciple Philip, mostly due to Philip’s name being Greek and, due to his being from Bethsaida (a town quite involved in Gentile trading circles), the possibility that Philip had Grecian trade contacts. (IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, p295) Philip talked to Andrew about these Gentiles’ request, the two disciples both brought the appeal to Jesus, and then, in response, Jesus talked to them personally.
From here, Jesus launches into his first public declaration of the impending scenes that are about to unfold in his life. Moreover, he begins to discuss why he is doing what he is doing and how any disciples should be responding to such news. Of course, as was typical, such news and such speeches tend to confuse Jesus’ listeners, but to hear their rabbi talk openly about being glorified (v23) and being lifted up (v 32) probably confounded his followers even more than usual. However, if I had been one of those Greeks who had asked to talk to Jesus, I would have been rather bemused by his tone of conversation, especially since they were probably only hoping to talk to this seemingly novel Jewish teacher who had been raising the ire of the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin. They most likely came away from this scenario not realizing the true depth of what they had just heard.
But when I start reading through how Jesus is talking about being “glorified” and “lifted up,” it seems that his definitions of those actions are rather backwards. Jesus had been turning the tables on human behavior during the course of his whole ministry, beginning with the “Sermon on the Mount” (Matthew 5-7). Thus, while they rarely understood him, his followers were most likely used to hearing such provocative statements about the state of the human condition. But to hear Jesus talking about falling on the ground and dying (v24) and hating his life in this world (v25) had to have a rather chilling effect upon how they viewed their rabbi.
Jesus compares himself to a seed that falls to the earth and dies (v24), declares that his soul is troubled and needs saving (27), and states that he’ll have to leave the earth in order to draw all people unto him (v32). Again, I would imagine that the twelve disciples, the multitudes that normally followed him, and the Greeks that came to talk to him would have been befuddled and perplexed to hear Jesus talk in this manner. The actions and scenarios that Jesus was describing would happen ran totally contrary to how humanity has predictably viewed what a leader of a movement does in order to impact the world around them. A leader traditionally doesn’t leave right when things are getting started and they certainly don’t look to get themselves killed before their words begin to really have any impact.
To top it off, Jesus starts talking about how his servants should also follow him, not just serve in the traditional master/slave relationship. Customarily, observant Jews as a rule centered their religious and everyday lives on a certain Rabbi’s (living or deceased) or sectarian interpretation of the Torah. But with the exception of maybe Judas Maccabeus in 167 BC or eventually the Essenes in Petra in AD 70 (I think), Rabbis (and certainly not the Pharisees or Sadducees) never talked about laying down their lives for their beliefs in order to see those beliefs perpetually disseminated. To hear Jesus speak in this manner ran contrary to anything Jews or Gentiles had ever heard.
“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” (John 12:32, ESV)
I must take note here of Jesus words and how they were being heard by Gentiles. Granted, the Greeks who were present were those who were in Jerusalem to celebrate and worship the Jewish God (though they were most likely not true proselytes), but their status as non-Jews is very much worth mention. Jesus knew that these people were in the audience and that they would have an even clearer perspective on what “all people” actually meant, compared to the average, religiously-xenophobic Jew in the audience. Again and again, Jesus makes it known that he has come for everyone, not just the Jewish people, and that he expects his first disciples (who were all Jews) would be the ones responsible for spreading the Gospel throughout the world.
“He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die.” (John 12:33, ESV)
John adds these words himself, in an attempt to clarify to any of his readers exactly what Jesus was referring to as he made these seemingly bizarre statements. Granted, John was writing long after they were first said, long after Jesus died, was buried, rose again, and ascended into Heaven, and during the initial spread of Christianity around the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea, but the fact remains that John felt that he had to include them anyway. It’s as if John had to constantly remind his readers and the “second-generation” Christians that Jesus was exactly who he said he was and that he did exactly what he said he would do. We might think that John was being a bit superfluous in writing these words, but human nature as it is, reminders can be rather wonderful things.
Thus, while reading through this passage in our present, we should be able to intuit quite easily what Jesus is describing with his words here in John 12:20-33 about dying and being lifted up. Accordingly, as we journey through Lent, we must become acutely aware of Jesus’ suffering on our account, since it is he that begins openly discussing these events. His tortured prayers in the Garden of Gethsemane, the scourging, the crown of thorns, the carrying the cross down the Via Dolorosa, the lifting up of Jesus’ impaled body on the cross on Golgotha, his death, his burial, his resurrection, and his ascension were all topics of conversation during the last year, weeks, and days of Jesus’ life, conversations that Jesus himself initiated. These verses here are both the beginning of Jesus’ attempts to communicate this timeline of pain and eventual triumph to his disciples and the means through which we in the twenty-first century can launch into our own voyage to the cross of our Saviour.
Teachers: Read through the portion of Psalm 51 given for this week. If you remember, this was also the psalm for the First Week of Advent; however, we can now see how it is Jesus who is the one who can lift us out of our lives of sin. David could petition God directly, but he still would have had to follow Levitical law concerning sacrifices and the rolling ahead of his sins. It is only with the coming of Jesus that humans could directly appeal to their Creator through their Mediator Jesus and have their sins forgiven eternally. But don’t worry about communicating those thoughts to your class; just read the Psalm.
Read through the passage entirely and then ask the kids what they think about those words. After they respond, read verses 23-26 and 30-32 again, and then ask them what they think those verses mean. See if they can make ties between Jesus’ words and what they might know about the Crucifixion and Resurrection. Talk to your class about how Jesus knew what was going to happen to him, and, as sad and scary as it may have been, how he was willing to die for everyone in the whole world’s sins. The kids will be seeing a greater and more complete picture of these events as we read through the verses for Lent, but many of them might already be somewhat familiar with what Jesus will go through. Take advantage of any child’s prior knowledge and ideas and incorporate them into the lesson.
April 2, 2006
Jeremiah 31:31-34
Psalm 51:1-12
Hebrews 5:5-10
John 12:20-33
I spent much time reading the lectionary readings and then discussing the development of this lesson with some of my confidants how to best focus these verses for children. The four selections for this, the Fifth Week of Lent, were read through, considered, reflected upon, and otherwise just talked about in terms of how to best communicate these ideas, concepts, and truths to early childhood- and elementary-aged children. Specifically, the debate revolved around the issue whether or not it is ever practical to present more than two passages of Scripture during any given class. Does it ever make sense to do more than read a portion of a psalm and then read the verses that correspond to whatever moral lesson (or hopefully, a Scriptural truth) the teacher/author wants to convey to students in a classroom?
Conventional wisdom says that it doesn’t make sense, but I want to take issue with the over-simplification inherent and assumed to be necessary for a Sunday School/Children’s Church lesson. Now, having taught many Sunday School classes and used different curriculums in the teaching of children (both in Sunday School and “regular” school classrooms), I am aware of the measures a teacher must use to excite and interest a class with the material being presented. Children have the uncanny ability to disrupt (and often with the best possible intentions) anything that their teacher might be attempting to initiate and/or achieve in the classroom. However, the teacher must not subvert and weaken the depth of any lesson to expedite the conclusion of a lesson, simply because the kids are rowdy, daydreaming, or just seemingly not paying attention to the teacher.
Do I think that teachers and curriculum writers do this intentionally? No, I don’t, but I do believe that they often set their sights on meeting the needs and keeping the attention of the “lowest common denominator” amongst the students in their classes. Thus, while these lessons do call for the teacher to read a segment of one psalm before reading through only one section of verses connected to the lesson to be taught, I hope to provide something of substance for all students, especially the teacher, since I feel that a good teacher should be a perpetual student. And on that note – enjoy!
The Son of Man Must Be Lifted Up – John 12:20-33
The first thing that one should notice when reading through this passage is the composition of the crowd whom Jesus is addressing. Most, if not all, of the commentaries and study Bibles that I studied when writing made specific note that it is a group of Gentiles (Greeks, to be precise) that are listening to Jesus predict his own death. These “God-fearers” came first to Jesus’ disciple Philip, mostly due to Philip’s name being Greek and, due to his being from Bethsaida (a town quite involved in Gentile trading circles), the possibility that Philip had Grecian trade contacts. (IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, p295) Philip talked to Andrew about these Gentiles’ request, the two disciples both brought the appeal to Jesus, and then, in response, Jesus talked to them personally.
From here, Jesus launches into his first public declaration of the impending scenes that are about to unfold in his life. Moreover, he begins to discuss why he is doing what he is doing and how any disciples should be responding to such news. Of course, as was typical, such news and such speeches tend to confuse Jesus’ listeners, but to hear their rabbi talk openly about being glorified (v23) and being lifted up (v 32) probably confounded his followers even more than usual. However, if I had been one of those Greeks who had asked to talk to Jesus, I would have been rather bemused by his tone of conversation, especially since they were probably only hoping to talk to this seemingly novel Jewish teacher who had been raising the ire of the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin. They most likely came away from this scenario not realizing the true depth of what they had just heard.
But when I start reading through how Jesus is talking about being “glorified” and “lifted up,” it seems that his definitions of those actions are rather backwards. Jesus had been turning the tables on human behavior during the course of his whole ministry, beginning with the “Sermon on the Mount” (Matthew 5-7). Thus, while they rarely understood him, his followers were most likely used to hearing such provocative statements about the state of the human condition. But to hear Jesus talking about falling on the ground and dying (v24) and hating his life in this world (v25) had to have a rather chilling effect upon how they viewed their rabbi.
Jesus compares himself to a seed that falls to the earth and dies (v24), declares that his soul is troubled and needs saving (27), and states that he’ll have to leave the earth in order to draw all people unto him (v32). Again, I would imagine that the twelve disciples, the multitudes that normally followed him, and the Greeks that came to talk to him would have been befuddled and perplexed to hear Jesus talk in this manner. The actions and scenarios that Jesus was describing would happen ran totally contrary to how humanity has predictably viewed what a leader of a movement does in order to impact the world around them. A leader traditionally doesn’t leave right when things are getting started and they certainly don’t look to get themselves killed before their words begin to really have any impact.
To top it off, Jesus starts talking about how his servants should also follow him, not just serve in the traditional master/slave relationship. Customarily, observant Jews as a rule centered their religious and everyday lives on a certain Rabbi’s (living or deceased) or sectarian interpretation of the Torah. But with the exception of maybe Judas Maccabeus in 167 BC or eventually the Essenes in Petra in AD 70 (I think), Rabbis (and certainly not the Pharisees or Sadducees) never talked about laying down their lives for their beliefs in order to see those beliefs perpetually disseminated. To hear Jesus speak in this manner ran contrary to anything Jews or Gentiles had ever heard.
“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” (John 12:32, ESV)
I must take note here of Jesus words and how they were being heard by Gentiles. Granted, the Greeks who were present were those who were in Jerusalem to celebrate and worship the Jewish God (though they were most likely not true proselytes), but their status as non-Jews is very much worth mention. Jesus knew that these people were in the audience and that they would have an even clearer perspective on what “all people” actually meant, compared to the average, religiously-xenophobic Jew in the audience. Again and again, Jesus makes it known that he has come for everyone, not just the Jewish people, and that he expects his first disciples (who were all Jews) would be the ones responsible for spreading the Gospel throughout the world.
“He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die.” (John 12:33, ESV)
John adds these words himself, in an attempt to clarify to any of his readers exactly what Jesus was referring to as he made these seemingly bizarre statements. Granted, John was writing long after they were first said, long after Jesus died, was buried, rose again, and ascended into Heaven, and during the initial spread of Christianity around the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea, but the fact remains that John felt that he had to include them anyway. It’s as if John had to constantly remind his readers and the “second-generation” Christians that Jesus was exactly who he said he was and that he did exactly what he said he would do. We might think that John was being a bit superfluous in writing these words, but human nature as it is, reminders can be rather wonderful things.
Thus, while reading through this passage in our present, we should be able to intuit quite easily what Jesus is describing with his words here in John 12:20-33 about dying and being lifted up. Accordingly, as we journey through Lent, we must become acutely aware of Jesus’ suffering on our account, since it is he that begins openly discussing these events. His tortured prayers in the Garden of Gethsemane, the scourging, the crown of thorns, the carrying the cross down the Via Dolorosa, the lifting up of Jesus’ impaled body on the cross on Golgotha, his death, his burial, his resurrection, and his ascension were all topics of conversation during the last year, weeks, and days of Jesus’ life, conversations that Jesus himself initiated. These verses here are both the beginning of Jesus’ attempts to communicate this timeline of pain and eventual triumph to his disciples and the means through which we in the twenty-first century can launch into our own voyage to the cross of our Saviour.
Teachers: Read through the portion of Psalm 51 given for this week. If you remember, this was also the psalm for the First Week of Advent; however, we can now see how it is Jesus who is the one who can lift us out of our lives of sin. David could petition God directly, but he still would have had to follow Levitical law concerning sacrifices and the rolling ahead of his sins. It is only with the coming of Jesus that humans could directly appeal to their Creator through their Mediator Jesus and have their sins forgiven eternally. But don’t worry about communicating those thoughts to your class; just read the Psalm.
Read through the passage entirely and then ask the kids what they think about those words. After they respond, read verses 23-26 and 30-32 again, and then ask them what they think those verses mean. See if they can make ties between Jesus’ words and what they might know about the Crucifixion and Resurrection. Talk to your class about how Jesus knew what was going to happen to him, and, as sad and scary as it may have been, how he was willing to die for everyone in the whole world’s sins. The kids will be seeing a greater and more complete picture of these events as we read through the verses for Lent, but many of them might already be somewhat familiar with what Jesus will go through. Take advantage of any child’s prior knowledge and ideas and incorporate them into the lesson.
posted by APN | 2:00 PM
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