lazarus

© 2016 Sharefaith Inc. All Rights Reserved. Duplications and Distribution of this resources without prior permission from Sharefaith Inc, is strictly prohibited. 1

L A Z A R U SJ O H N 1 1 :1–4 4

GOAL w

CHARACTERS w

To help children to understand that God is all-powerful, including the ability to bring

dead people back to life!

Jesus: After learning that His friend Lazarus had died, Jesus raised him from the dead.

Lazarus: Jesus' friend who became sick and died. Jesus raised him from the dead.

Mary and Martha: Friends of Jesus' and sisters of Lazarus. They asked Jesus to come heal

their brother.

John 11:25-26: Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me,

though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.”

Read John 11:1-44: One day, Jesus' friend Lazarus got sick. Instead of rushing to heal him,

Jesus waited. After Jesus learned that Lazarus had died, He went to visit the mourning

family. When He arrived, Lazarus had been dead for four days. Jesus went out to Lazarus'

tomb, had the stone rolled away, prayed, and then called for His friend to come out of the

tomb. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.

MEMORY

VERSEw

OVERVIEW w


This story shows Jesus' power and how it helped many people to believe that He is the Son

of God. It also gives us a good example of how God uses bad things for good.

1. Jesus has power over everything: Mary and Martha didn't ask Jesus to come heal their

brother because they knew Jesus could heal Lazarus from anywhere. But when Jesus finally

arrived and Lazarus had already died, everyone treated His presence as if it were too little too

late. Everyone underestimated Jesus' power.

2. Jesus knows everything: Jesus knew that Lazarus was sick before Mary and Martha even

sent a letter to let Him know. He knew that Lazarus had died before He had received the news.

He knew that letting Lazarus die would be very hard for his sisters. He knew that His disciples

and the people in the village would be amazed by His power to bring Lazarus back from the

dead. Healing Lazarus would save one life, but letting him die so that Jesus could bring him

back to life allowed Jesus to save many people as they put their trust and faith in Him.

3. Jesus has a purpose for everything: God does not cause bad things to happen. Evil entered

the world when Adam and Eve sinned. Since then, bad things have happened to good people.

Jesus used this tragedy as an opportunity to glorify God and to lead more people to believe

in Him.

SUGGESTIONS w


MEMORY

VERSE

MEANING

w

PRE-LESSON

ACTIVIT Y

w Lazarus Paper Doll | Supplies: printed doll patterns, markers, crayons, art supplies,

yarn or ribbon.

Give each student a paper doll, and tell them that it represents Lazarus. Have the students

color their Lazarus figure. Then, provide each student with yarn or ribbon that they can use

to wrap around their Lazarus figure to reenact his resurrection.

Memory Verse Application

John 11:25–26: Someday, our lives on Earth will come to an end. Everyone dies, but everyone

who believes in Jesus gets to live forever in heaven.

Wrapping Up Lazarus | Supplies: several rolls of toilet paper.

Divide the class into teams. Give each team several rolls of toilet paper. Instruct the teams

that when you say go, they should wrap up a selected student with the toilet paper. The first

team to completely wrap up their "Lazarus" wins Round 1. Once each team has completely

wrapped up their Lazarus, call out, "Lazarus, come out!" The first "Lazarus" to get out of all of

the toilet paper wrapped around him or her wins Round 2 for their team. Finally, say "Clean

up!" Students should then work together to collect all of the discarded toilet paper from

their "Lazarus" and throw it in the trash. The first team to finish cleaning up wins Round 3.

POST-LESSON

ACTIVITY

w


Even though Jesus knew what was going on and had the power to stop it, Lazarus, Mary, and

Martha suffered. When we face difficulties, we can have confidence and courage because,

like we saw in this story, we know that no matter what, there is purpose for it and God will

use it for good.

1. Jesus has power over everything: Jesus is in control of everything—even death. We should

come to Him in prayer about everything.

2. Jesus knows everything: He knows what we are going through and He even understands

what it's like to experience the emotions we feel when we go through our struggles.

3. Jesus has a purpose for everything: Standing in faith through difficult situations glorifies

God. When we believe that God will get us through something, and He does, we have an

amazing story to tell others. Stories like this have a similar effect as when Jesus brought a dead

man back to life—it helps people see the glory of our fantastic God, and they put their trust in

Him. We may not always know why we had to go through something, but we can be sure that

God did or will use it for good.

Even though Jesus has the power to stop anything we are going through, sometimes the

answer is no. This happens because Jesus has full knowledge of the situation, how it affects

us and others now and in the future. When things don't turn out the way we wanted, that

means that God has a much better outcome than we could ever think of or imagine.

TAKE

HOME

w


QUESTION & ANSWER

Q1a: Besides healing, feeding, and teaching people, what

did Jesus do during His ministry?

A1: He rested and spent time with friends.

Q1b: Do you enjoy spending time with a particular person

or group of people?

TN: Every aspect of Jesus' life is meant to serve as an example of how we are to live our lives.

Here, Jesus is showing us how important it is to have friends and spend time with them.

Q2a: Who did Jesus learn had become ill?

A2: Lazarus

Q2b: Have you ever visited a sick friend or relative in

the hospital?

TN: In such situations, we often feel helpless and awkward. Even though such visits may

feel uncomfortable for us, we should remember that being very sick can be scary. Visiting

our loved ones gives them encouragement. Knowing that someone cares and is praying for

them can be as helpful as medicine.

SLIDE 1

QUESTION & ANSWERQUESTION & ANSWER

SLIDE 2


QUESTION & ANSWER

Q3a: What didn't the disciples understand?

A3: That Jesus was more powerful than death, and He

could raise Lazarus from the dead.

Q3b: Would you believe a friend's claim that she could

run a mile in under a minute?

TN: That's a pretty big claim. Most of us would want to see it to believe it. The same is true for

Jesus' disciples and the people living at this time. While many people had seen Jesus heal

people, He had never brought anyone back from the dead. To our human minds, something

like this is impossible; therefore, we rarely think to hope for such a miracle. We are limited

by our imaginations and understanding of life and nature, but God can do much more than

we can think or imagine. Jesus knew that He could bring Lazarus back to life. This display of

power convinced even more people to believe that Jesus was the Messiah.

Q4a: When Jesus arrived, how long had Lazarus

been dead?

A4: Four days

Q4b: Why didn't Jesus heal Lazarus and prevent him and

his loved ones from suffering?

TN: God is all-knowing and all-powerful, which means He knows of our suffering and is

completely capable of preventing or ending it. Unfortunately, knowing and loving God

does not make us immune to bad things in this world. Christians get sick. Christians face

hardships. Christians die. Jesus tells us in John 16:33 that in this life we will face suffering and

tribulations. However, just as we can count on experiencing suffering during our lives, we

also can count on God's eternal love for us and a promise found in Romans 8:28: "And we

know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called

according to his purpose." While we don't understand why bad things happen to us, we

can rely on God to make something wonderful happen because that bad thing occurred.

Allowing Lazarus to die was very sad, but it provided Jesus with an opportunity to glorify

God by showing His power and revealing that He was the Son of God.

SLIDE 3

SLIDE 4


QUESTION & ANSWER

Q5a: What did Jesus command when standing outside

of Lazarus' tomb?

A5: He commanded that the stone be rolled away from

the tomb.

Q5b: Have you ever seen a movie in which the characters laughed after something bad

happened to them?

TN: This reaction is especially strange when it comes after a number of bad things have

happened. What is so funny about having difficulties? Jesus weeping outside of Lazarus'

tomb may seem equally confusing. Jesus was the only person there who knew that Lazarus'

death was temporary, so shouldn't Jesus have been joyful? But the same can be said of us

when we lose a loved one. If our loved ones believed in Jesus, they are in heaven, and we will

see them again. Knowing that doesn't make our temporary loss any easier to bear. When

Jesus lived as a man, He experienced everything life has to offer, both good and bad. When

we read the stories about His life and see what He went through, we can see that no matter

what happens to us, He can relate. In this story, Jesus lost a friend. Even though He knew

that in a matter of moments He would raise Lazarus from the dead, He experienced grief

with Lazarus' loved ones.

QUESTION & ANSWER

SLIDE 5


QUESTION & ANSWER

Q6a: What did Jesus shout after He finished praying?

A6: Jesus said, "Lazarus, come out!"

Q6b: Have you ever not gotten something you

really wanted?

TN: Mary and Martha really wanted Jesus to heal their brother, but they didn't get that.

Instead, they got to see the magnificent power of God bring their brother back to life.

Sometimes we pray for things that we want, but we don't understand that what we want

isn't the best possible thing for us. God knows what is best for us. So when we pray for

something and it doesn't happen, it doesn't mean that God isn't listening or that He doesn't

care, it means God has better plans for us.

Q7a: What was the result of this miracle?

A7: Lazarus was brought back from the dead and many

people believed in Jesus because of what He did.

Q7b: What helped or would help you to believe in Jesus?

TN: Students can relate stories about how they came to believe in Jesus. If students aren't

sure that they believe that Jesus is their savior, talk to them about what is holding them

back from believing. You shouldn't feel pressured to bring this child to Christ today, and the

student shouldn't feel pressured to believe today. This is just an opportunity for you to talk to

your students about their personal faith and help them to overcome any obstacles.

SLIDE 6

SLIDE 7


MEMORY

VERSE

w

BIG IDEA w

CLOSING

PRAYER

w

John 11:25-26: Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me,

though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.”

If we believe in Jesus, we will live forever in heaven with Him.

Dear God, Your power is so amazing that You made dead people come back to life! Thank

You for comforting us through times of trouble and sorrow. Please help us to glorify you

through the stormy seasons of our lives. We ask these things in Jesus' name, Amen.


LESSON TRANSCRIPT

During Jesus' ministry, He did more than just heal, feed,

and teach people; He also took time to rest and spend

time with friends. Three of His closest friends were

Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, two sisters and their brother.

Jesus spent time at their home in the village of Bethany,

enjoying meals, conversation, and wonderful fellowship.

While Jesus was far away with His disciples, He received

news that Lazarus had become very ill. Jesus was

saddened by this and learned that Mary and Martha

were hoping that He would come back and heal Lazarus.

Though Jesus loved Lazarus, He decided not to go.

Two days later, Jesus still did not go to Lazarus. Then,

more news came that Lazarus had died. Everyone was

sad, especially Lazarus' family. Jesus was deeply sad as

well, but because He was the Son of God, He knew that

He could easily heal Lazarus even if he was dead. Jesus

told the disciples that Lazarus was just asleep. Jesus was

trying to explain to them that He was more powerful

than death, but the disciples could not understand it. In

the end, they went to Lazarus' home.

SLIDE 1

SLIDE 2

SLIDE 3

LESSON TRANSCRIPT


LESSON TRANSCRIPTLESSON TRANSCRIPT

When He finally arrived at the house, Jesus learned that

His dear friend Lazarus had been dead for four days.

Many friends and family members were there grieving

with the sisters. Mary and Martha were mourning their

brother, weeping and wishing that Jesus had come

sooner. “If you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have

died!” Martha sobbed when she saw Jesus. Jesus spoke

to her tenderly, “Your brother will rise again. I am the

resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will not

die but live.” Jesus, along with the crowds of mourners,

went to Lazarus’ tomb.

When He arrived at the spot, Jesus wept. As the onlookers

saw Jesus weeping, they knew that He loved Lazarus

deeply. Jesus was sad for Lazarus, but more so, He was

sad that these people had so little faith. He was going to

show them again that with God anything was possible.

So, Jesus stood in front of the tomb and commanded,

“Take the stone away!” Martha protested, “Lord, there will

be an odor, for he has been dead four days!” Jesus looked

at her, “Believe! You will see the glory of God!”

Then Jesus prayed to God and shouted, “Lazarus, come

out!” Then Lazarus, still bound up with his burial attire,

came out of the tomb. The crowd reacted in absolute

surprise. Jesus had just commanded the dead to come

to life!

SLIDE 4

SLIDE 5

SLIDE 6


LESSON TRANSCRIPT

The family was reunited. Lazarus, who had become sick

and died, now emerged from the tomb as healthy as any

other man. It was true—Jesus is the resurrection and the

life! That day, as a result of what Jesus did, many people

believed in Him.

SLIDE 7

lazarus

Documents