Home-Study Lesson: Luke 18–John 1 (Unit 12)

“Home-Study Lesson: Luke 18–John 1 (Unit 12)” New Testament Seminary Teacher Manual (2016)

“Home-Study Lesson: Unit 12,” New Testament Seminary Teacher Manual

Home-Study Lesson

Luke 18–John 1 (Unit 12)

Preparation Material for the Home-Study Teacher

Summary of Daily Home-Study Lessons

The following summary of events, doctrines, and principles students learned as they studied Luke 18–John 1 (unit 12) is not intended to be taught as part of your lesson. The lesson you teach concentrates on only a few of these doctrines and principles. Follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit as you consider the needs of your students.

Day 1 (Luke 18–21)

In this lesson students studied the parables of the unjust judge and of the Pharisee and publican. They also read about a blind man who sought the Lord’s help and about Zacchaeus. From these accounts students learned that if we are sincere and persistent as we exercise faith in the Lord, we can obtain His mercy.

Day 2 (Luke 22)

As students read about the Lord’s counsel to Peter, they learned that when we are converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ, we can strengthen others. Students also learned the following truths as they read about the Savior’s suffering in Gethsemane: If we are willing to obey Heavenly Father, He will give us the strength to do His will. Jesus Christ sweat great drops of blood as He suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Day 3 (Luke 23–24)

In this lesson students read about the Crucifixion, burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. They learned the following truths: We can follow Jesus Christ’s example by choosing to forgive those who mistreat us. The spirits of all people enter the spirit world at the time of their death. Jesus Christ has a resurrected body of flesh and bones.

Day 4 (John 1)

As students studied the words of John the Beloved and John the Baptist, they learned that Jesus Christ was with God in the beginning, that all things were made by Him, and that He is the Light of the World. As students read about how some of the disciples came to know Jesus Christ, they learned that as we accept the invitation to learn of and follow Jesus Christ, we will receive our own witness of Him.

Introduction

This lesson can help students understand how to invite the Holy Ghost to teach them of Jesus Christ. Additionally, they will learn that Jesus Christ is a resurrected being with flesh and bones.

Suggestions for Teaching

Luke 24:13–32

The risen Lord speaks to two disciples on the road to Emmaus

Ask students to ponder whether they have ever struggled to know whether a gospel concept is true.

Explain that in Luke 24:13 we learn that two disciples left Jerusalem the same day that a group of women found Jesus’s empty tomb. They traveled about 6–7.5 miles (10–12 kilometers) “to a village called Emmaus.” Studying their experience on the road to Emmaus can help us know how to strengthen our testimonies of Jesus Christ and His gospel.

Invite a student to read Luke 24:14–17 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for who joined the two disciples as they walked.

Who joined the disciples as they traveled to Emmaus?
Why did the disciples not recognize Jesus? (Explain that the word holden in Luke 24:16 means restrained or covered.)

Invite students to take turns reading aloud from Luke 24:17–33. Ask the class to follow along, looking for what the disciples learned from Jesus as they walked with Him without recognizing who He was.

What did Jesus teach the disciples?
What tool did He use to teach about Himself? (The scriptures.)
In verse 32, what does it mean that the disciples’ hearts burned within them? (The Holy Ghost testified that the teachings about Jesus in the scriptures were true.)

Invite students to ponder what the disciples might have learned from Jesus’s using the scriptures to teach them rather than simply revealing who He was. You might ask a few students to share their thoughts.

What principle do these verses teach about the effects of our own scripture study? (After students respond, write the following principle on the board: As we study the scriptures, we invite the Holy Ghost to teach us of Jesus Christ.)
Besides a burning in our hearts, how else would you describe what we might experience as the Holy Ghost testifies of Jesus Christ?

Ask students to locate a scripture that has helped them feel the Holy Ghost teaching them about Jesus Christ. Invite them to share their scriptures and the effects of what they have felt. You may also want to share a scripture that has helped you personally.

Remind students that even though it is important to read the New Testament for seminary credit, it is even more important to study the scriptures in a way that invites the Holy Ghost to strengthen their testimonies of the Savior.

If possible, provide copies of a bookmark with the following statement by Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, or invite students to write the statement on a blank piece of paper or cardstock that can be used as a bookmark. (A printable PDF sheet with multiple bookmarks is available in the online version of this lesson.)

New Testament Seminary Teacher Manual—Home-Study Lesson (Unit 12)

“The central purpose of all scripture is to fill our souls with faith in God the Father and in His Son, Jesus Christ. …

“… Faith comes by the witness of the Holy Spirit to our souls, Spirit to spirit, as we hear or read the word of God. And faith matures as we continue to feast upon the word. …

“… Study the scriptures carefully, deliberately. Ponder and pray over them. Scriptures are revelation, and they will bring added revelation” (D. Todd Christofferson, “The Blessing of Scripture,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2010, 34–35).

Invite a student to read the statement by Elder Christofferson aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for ways in which they can improve their personal scripture study.

Invite students to set a goal to study their scriptures in ways that invite the Holy Ghost to increase their faith in and knowledge of Jesus Christ. You might suggest that they write this goal on the back of the bookmark so they can use it as a reminder during their scripture study.

Luke 24:36–39

Jesus appears to His disciples and shows them His resurrected body

Explain that the disciples who were with Jesus on the road to Emmaus immediately returned to Jerusalem and related their experience to the Apostles and other disciples (see Luke 24:33–35).

Invite the class to read aloud in unison the scripture mastery passage in Luke 24:36–39, looking for what happened while the disciples reported their experience to the disciples.

What happened while the disciples reported their experience?

Display the picture Jesus Shows His Wounds (Gospel Art Book [2009], no. 60; see also LDS.org).

What did Jesus invite His disciples to do to help them understand that He was not merely a spirit but had a physical body?
What doctrine can we learn from these verses? (Students may identify a variety of doctrines, but be sure to emphasize that Jesus Christ is a resurrected being with a body of flesh and bones. Write this doctrine on the board; see also D&C 130:22.)

Invite a few students to share their testimonies of the Savior’s Resurrection and to explain why this doctrine is important to them, or invite them to share what they wrote in their scripture study journals for assignment 3 from the Unit 12: Day 3 lesson. Conclude by testifying of the reality of Jesus Christ’s Resurrection.

Next Unit (John 2–6)

Explain to students that as they study John 2–6, they will learn the answers to the following questions: What was Jesus’s first public miracle? How did it help His mother? Why did He cleanse the temple? To whom did Jesus first declare that He is the Messiah? What did He reveal to this woman about her life that only He could know? Why did the Savior refer to Himself as living water and the Bread of Life? Students will also read about Jesus Christ ministering in majesty and power.