Encounter Christianity: In Questions about Jesus lesson plan 4

Lesson four - Jesus prepares for his mission (pages 8-9)

Aims for the book

To introduce pupils to key events from the life of Jesus and the way in which these raise questions about the person of Jesus.
To enable pupils to understand the importance of these events at the time of Jesus.
To enable pupils to reflect on the relevance of these events for Christians today.
To encourage pupils to raise questions about these events in the light of their own experience.

Learning objectives

Pupils will:

develop understanding of the mixed emotions brought about by pressure from others to act as they want you to;
develop self assurance;
show empathy for Jesus through exploring the events of the Temptation.

Text from the book

What are you tempted by? What is hard to resist? What is easy to resist?

Jesus of Nazareth chose to go into the desert for forty days. He wanted to be alone. He wanted time to think about his future and what he should do. The Bible describes how the devil came to tempt Jesus. He wanted Jesus to work miracles so that people would believe he was the Son of God. Jesus rejected the devil’s temptations. He wanted people to make up their own minds about who he was.

Background

The temptation story touches on a number of Bible stories. Forty is a powerful number. Noah watched it rain for forty days and nights and the Israelites were in the wilderness for forty years before entering the Promised Land. Jesus’ forty days was a time of reflection and preparation before he began his mission. He too was in the wilderness, like Israel. He used the time to reflect on how he should carry out God’s promise once his ministry started. He rejected the temptations of the devil who invited him to perform wonders: turn stones to bread; throw himself off the pinnacle of the Temple; bow down to the devil in return for receiving the kingdoms of the world.

Ways of using the picture

Reflect with the pupils on how they think about and plan for the future.
Read the story of the Temptation. What was Jesus trying to reject? Do the pupils think of the devil as a real person, or was it all happening in Jesus’ mind? Use Stanley Spencer’s painting to start the discussion.
What temptations do the pupils have? Do they, can they, control them?

Bible references

Luke 4.1-13, Matthew 4.1-11, Mark 1.12-13

Key words

Temptation
Resist
Devil
True
Miracles
Pure
Deny
Honest
Modest

Activity

Study closely the expression on the face of Jesus in the painting by Stanley Spencer. Discuss why his face is presented like this.

Read the Bible extract in full to appreciate Jesus’ modesty and composure. Pupils can consider times when they have had to remain composed and resist showing off or boasting.

Design a set of story boards which show the events in the five scenes in the story. Using these graphics, devise a mime to show each episode of the story from Jesus’ viewpoint. Extend beyond mime to use music instead of body movements to capture the feelings of Jesus.

Learning outcomes

Pupils will have:

produced a story board, set to music, that reflects the feelings Jesus may have experienced through the Temptation narrative.

Extension work

Pupils can explore the many influences on their own behaviour and the

responsibility to themselves and others to be true to themselves.

Web site links

http://www.cookham.com/spencerindex.htm
A list of links for Stanley Spencer are given in the lesson plan for the twelfth page of In Creation. These are:

http://www.tate.org.uk/home/default.htm
Another modern artist who has explored the theme of 'being in the desert' is James Janknegt. His vibrant paintings can be seen at http://www.wesleysem.edu/CAR/janknegt.htm or http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~janknegt/

Top of the page