“Jesus Kept the Sabbath Day Holy”

Preparation

Print the Sabbath Story Pictures. Tape the pages together along the back bottom edges in the order they were printed. Roll the pictures into a scroll. Tie the scroll with a piece of yarn or string. (Optional Ideas: tape a dowel rod to the top edge and to the bottom edge of the scroll. You could also print off the numbered words below and glue them to the back of their matching picture. This makes it easier to read the words as you show the pictures. )

Scripture Story 

Unroll one side of the scroll until the first picture is showing. Read the words to the family that go with each scroll picture (see below). When finished with one page, roll up the top roll with one hand as you unroll the bottom roll with the other hand until you get to the next picture.

1.    When Jesus lived on the earth he honored the Sabbath day. The bible tells us how he kept it holy. On the Sabbath Jesus went to the synagogues (churches) to worship and teach.

2.    One day when Jesus was in a synagogue he saw a man whose right hand was crippled. He also saw some Jewish leaders called Pharisees. The Pharisees were a people who opposed Jesus because they thought he would take away their power and authority from them. They tried to trap him into saying things that were wrong or against the law. They asked Jesus if it was against the law to heal someone on the Sabbath day. They thought it was.

3.    The Jews in Jesus’ time were not living the Sabbath as they had been commanded. They had made up strict rules that did not help them worship Heavenly Father. For example, it was forbidden to set a broken bone or reset a dislocated joint on the Sabbath. Another of their strict rules was that a knot which could be untied with one hand was lawful to tie on the Sabbath, but if it required two hands to untie, it was not lawful.

4.    Jesus taught the Jews that these rules were wrong. Jesus answered their question concerning the unlawfulness of healing on the Sabbath by asking them what they would do if one of them had a sheep and it fell into a hole on the Sabbath. He asked if they would lift it out. When none of the Pharisees answered him, Jesus continued by saying how much better a person is than a sheep.

5.    He then called to the man with the crippled hand. Jesus asked the man to stand and hold out his hand. As the man did so, Jesus healed his hand.

 

Review Questions

Where did Jesus go on the Sabbath? (To church)

Why did Jesus go to church? (To worship and teach)

What else did he do? (He healed a man with the crippled hand)

Tell the family that if it is something that Jesus would do on the Sabbath, such as giving blessings to the sick, attending church, worshiping, and teaching the gospel, it is a good thing to do on the Sabbath Day.