Lesson 3: Jesus Eats With Sinners at Matthew's House

Welcome

            Thank kids for coming.

            Just for fun, have kids high-five three of their friends.

            Make announcements.

            Introduce new kids.

            Celebrate birthdays by having kids whisper the “Happy Birthday” song.

            Collect the offering.

Introduce the Lesson

            Say: Today we’ll learn about a time Jesus ate at the house of a tax collector named Matthew with a group of Matthew’s friends—even though a lot of people didn’t like Matthew or his friends. We’ll see that Jesus came for everyone—even unpopular people.

Share

            Say: Each one of us is different, but we all have things in common, too—like the fact that Jesus came for all of us.

            Tell about something you have in common with a friend or co-worker and something that’s different from that person.

            Have kids get in pairs and find one thing they have in common with their partner and one thing that’s different.

Summarize

            Open a Bible, and say: No matter how different we are, Jesus came for everyone. Today we’ll dig into the Bible to find out about that. One way God talks to us is through the Bible—his special book. God is here right now, ready to talk to you!

            Pray, thanking Jesus that he came for everyone.

Tip 

Sing Songs to God

          Sing the three songs in any order.

Make a Pattern

            Say: Jesus came for everyone. He even ate dinner with people known as “sinners.” He hung out with unpopular people. We’re going to make place mats to remind us of that dinner.

            Give everyone a piece of 11x17 card stock. Have kids draw an outline of a fun pattern or picture. They can do something abstract, such as swirls, or they can do something more specific, like the shape of a heart. At the top or bottom, have them write, “Jesus came for everyone.” Make sure kids don’t fill in their pictures or shapes—those will be filled in later with fingerprints. Kids can use pencils to sketch and then go over the sketches with markers. Show kids the sample you made.

Collect Fingerprints

            Say: Each one of us is different. And that’s okay because Jesus came for everyone. One way we can see differences is through our fingerprints. We all have different fingerprints. You’re going to dip your finger in the washable ink and then make fingerprints within the drawing of other people’s place mats. You’ll end up with a place mat made by all kinds of different people Jesus came for.

            Allow time for kids to fill in their shapes with everyone’s fingerprints. Then have kids wipe off their fingers.

            To finish, kids will laminate their place mats by covering them with clear contact paper, front and back. Older kids will need to help younger kids with this. The best way to do this is to lay the contact paper facedown and peel the backing off just enough to cover one side of the place mat. Then kids can set their place mats on the sticky part, smoothing out the wrinkles. Finally, kids will peel off the backing to expose enough contact paper to cover the other side of the place mat and fold it over.

Talk About It

            Ask: • What differences are there between you and your friends?

            • How can Jesus help you love people who are different from you?

            Say: The religious leaders thought Jesus should hang out with only certain people—really religious people. But Jesus came for everyone, and he spent a lot of time with people who weren’t really religious. No matter what you’re like, how different you are, or how other people treat you, Jesus came for you!

            Have kids take their place mats home as a reminder that Jesus came for everyone.

Find Differences

            Have kids form groups of about four. Say: Today we’re exploring that Jesus came for everyone. That includes people who are very different from us. Sometimes it can be hard for people to hang out with others who are different. So let’s start by finding differences. See if each person in your group can find two things about himself or herself that are not true of anyone else in the group. For example, maybe only one of you has a brother. Start by sharing two things about yourself that probably aren’t true of the kids. Then allow time for groups to find their differences.

            Ask: • What were the differences you found?

            • What kinds of differences make it hard for you to like someone?

Collect Taxes

            Say: The differences you found probably don’t make you like each other any less. But what if you found out someone had stolen money from you? That might change your view of that person! Our Bible story is about a tax collector. For you to understand why people didn’t like him, let’s see what tax collectors did in Bible times.

            Give each child a handful of pennies. Not everyone needs the same amount, but everyone should get at least two.

            Sit in the chair under the sign you made. (If you have a large group, have other leaders help you collect taxes.) Say: Okay, I’m a tax collector. Taxes are how the government gets money to pay for things like roads and schools. People still have to pay taxes today. But back then, taxes were collected by people who sat in booths along the side of the road. I’m Matthew the tax collector. You can see from my sign that you each owe me two cents, so come pay your taxes.

            As kids come up, continually bend the rules to take more than two cents from kids. For example, you could tell kids that if they have more than five pennies, they owe four cents instead because of higher tax rates for the wealthy. You could tell kids there’s a secret tax on people wearing red shirts or people with an “a” in their name. Have fun with it, and extort as much money as possible. Then have kids sit back down.

            Say: Now what if I told you that none of those rules I just gave are actually from the government? All I have to give my boss is two cents per person, and I get to keep all the extra money I collected. And this is the way a lot of tax collectors did their job.

            Ask: • What do you think of that method of tax collecting?

            • Why would it be wrong?

            • Based on what you just experienced, why do you think tax collectors were so unpopular?

            Read Matthew 9:9.

            Ask: • Knowing what you know about tax collectors, what do you think about Jesus’ choice?

Have a Dinner

            Say: It may seem weird that Jesus chose a tax collector to follow him when tax collectors were known for cheating people! But Jesus came for everyone. Let’s see what happened next with Matthew.

            Read Matthew 9:10.

            Say: Jesus was hanging out with Matthew the tax collector and a bunch of people who were known just for all the things they did wrong! That might not seem like Jesus’ kind of people, but Jesus came for everyone. Let’s think of what kinds of people might have been at that dinner by thinking of kinds of people who do wrong things. For example, maybe there was a robber. Write “Robber” on a name tag, and ask a child to come up and sit at the table wearing that name tag. Also have a child be a tax collector, and give that child a name tag.

            Get more ideas from kids of the kinds of people at the dinner and write each one on a name tag, inviting kids to come up and be these characters until the table is full. For example, kids might say cheaters, liars, or bullies. Also choose one child to wear a name tag that says “Jesus.”

            Say: Earlier we found differences among ourselves. But this group having dinner is certainly a case of “one of these things is not like the others.” We have a bunch of imperfect people who are known for their sins, and we have Jesus—who’s perfect. Jesus came for everyone—even all these people! Gesture to the table.

            Some people in the Bible saw this and didn’t think it was a good group for Jesus to be with. Read Matthew 9:11.

            Say: We’re going to talk about a hard thing to share, so it’s important to listen in love and show kindness and respect like Jesus would.

            Tell kids about a time you felt unpopular. Then have kids share in groups of four about their own experiences feeling unpopular.

            Say: Thank you for sharing about that. Most people want to hang out with the most popular people. Let’s think about why Jesus would hang out with unpopular people. One at a time, have kids at the table stand up as the rest of the kids try to answer the question posed to the disciples: “Why does Jesus eat with such scum as [read the child’s character on the name tag]?”

Make Paths

            Say: Thanks for thinking about why Jesus would eat with people like this. Let’s see what Jesus had to say.

            Read Matthew 9:12-13.

            Say: That’s an odd statement! Jesus isn’t a doctor. What did he mean? It means Jesus came for everyone—especially people who have sinned the most. Let’s think this through with some index cards.

            Give each “sinner” at the table enough index cards to make a path all the way across the room by placing the cards on the floor. Have the other kids help the sinners each make a path.

            Say: Let’s say one side of the room represents us, and the other represents God. Without having done anything wrong, if we’re totally perfect, we have a direct path to God. But the problem is, all of these people have done wrong things. Make up a number of sins for each character, and have the sinners each pick up one index card per sin from their path. For example, you might say the tax collector ripped off 10 people, and a robber stole from three people, and each instance is a sin. Try to make some of the paths very short, and make others more medium-length.

            Say: Jesus came for everyone. He died on the cross so that he could repair our broken paths.

            Ask: • Looking at the paths, which person in our group needs the most help from Jesus?

            Tell kids just to think silently about this question.

            Ask: • What do you think your path looks like?

            Say: We sometimes try to rank sins. We might say that disobeying our parents isn’t as bad as stealing. But really—Jesus sees all our sins the same. If we’ve sinned, our path is gone.

            Have kids remove the remaining index cards so all the paths are gone.

            Say: The religious leaders thought they were the type of people Jesus would hang out with. They thought they hardly did anything wrong. They didn’t know they needed Jesus! But they were sick, too; it was just less obvious to other people. They needed Doctor Jesus as much as the tax collectors did. The tax collectors just realized their need for Jesus more. Jesus came for everyone—including you, people who you think are really good, and people who you think are really bad. Jesus came for everyone, and we need to realize our need for him.

            The Bible says in Romans 3:23, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” Take a minute to talk to Jesus about why you need him. Allow time.

            Pray: Thank you, Jesus, that you came for each of us. In your name, amen.

Tip 

Discuss and Watch “Spying on Jesus”

          Ask: • Have you ever spied on someone? Maybe you spied on your brother or sister or sneaked around to listen in on what your parents were saying. For me…Tell about a time you spied on someone. Try to keep your story humorous to set the tone for what you expect kids will share when it’s their turn.

          After you share, ask: • What about you? Tell about a time you spied on someone. What happened?

          Have kids share in groups of three, and after a few minutes, invite a few children to share their stories with the larger group.

          Say: In the Bible story, a group of people called Pharisees were upset that Jesus was eating and spending time with sinners—people who did wrong things. The Pharisees thought that Jesus should spend time only with people who tried their best to be good. But since Jesus came for everyone, he also came for people who don’t even know about God. Let’s see what might have happened when the Pharisees spied on Jesus to see what he was doing.

          Watch “Spying on Jesus.”

          Ask: • What did you think was funny about this video?

          • Why do you think the Pharisees were so worried about what Jesus did and who he hung out with?

          Say: The Pharisees were always watching Jesus to see if he would make a mistake. They kept trying to trap him doing or saying something wrong. But their plans never worked. This time, Jesus told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.”

          Ask: • What do you think that means?

          Say: Jesus came for everyone, not just people who are always good. And that means Jesus came for each of us! That’s great news!

Set Up the Experiment

            Say: The Pharisees didn’t think Jesus should eat dinner with the tax collectors or other people they thought were bad, but Jesus came for everyone. Let me show you what I mean.

            Have each mixed-age group of 10 gather around their set of 6 cups. Have them arrange the 5 cups with water in a circle, and have them put the empty cup in the center of the circle. (They’ll want the cups close together.)

            Say: First of all, Jesus came for you. He loves you personally! One of the cups in your circle will represent you all. Have an older child in each group add about four drops of red food coloring to one of the cups of water and stir it.

            Repeat this process, making each cup of water represent a different group with a different color: friends (yellow), family (blue), people who have hurt us personally (orange, made by using some red and some yellow), people who have done some of the things we think are the worst things people could do (green, made by using some blue and some yellow).

Watch the Water Move

            Give each group five quarter-sheet paper towels. Have five children in each group fold a paper towel into fourths the long way.

            Say: Your center cup represents Jesus. He wants everyone to come to him—you (have groups place a folded paper towel in the red and put the other end in the empty center cup), your friends (have groups place a folded paper towel in the yellow and put the other end in the empty center cup), your family (have groups place a folded paper towel in the blue and put the other end in the empty center cup), people who have hurt you (have groups place a folded paper towel in the orange and put the other end in the empty center cup), and even people who have done really bad things (have groups place a folded paper towel in the green and put the other end in the empty center cup). Jesus came for all these people.

            Keep an eye on your cups as we talk.

            Point to the red cup. Share a good quality about yourself, and then ask the children to share good qualities about themselves with their groups.

            Point to the yellow cup. Share a couple of good qualities about one of your friends. Ask: • What are good qualities your friends have?

            Point to the blue cup. Share a reason you love your family. Ask: • What are reasons you love your family?

            Point to the orange cup. Briefly share a way someone has hurt you (without giving a name). Ask: • What’s a way someone has hurt you? Avoid specific names.

            Point to the green cup. Ask: • What are some of the worst things that people do? If children have trouble thinking of ideas, you might ask what kinds of things people go to prison for.

            By this time, you’ll see the water traveling into the center cup from all of the other cups of water.

            Ask: • In this experiment, all the water was “equal.” Does that seem fair to you, knowing the different kinds of people represented? Explain.

            Say: Just as you can come to Jesus, all the other people can come to Jesus. Matthew and his friends could come to Jesus, even though some people didn’t think they were good enough. That’s because Jesus came for everyone.

Stick Together

            Give kids two different colors of construction paper, and have them use a thin layer of glue to stick their pages together. Then have kids rub the papers between their hands until you tell them to do otherwise.

            Tell kids about a time you had a friend encourage you to do something wrong. Or tell about a time you encouraged a friend to do something wrong.

            Have kids also share about times that they were influenced by or influenced others to do something wrong. They should continue to rub their papers as they talk.

            Say: There’s a saying that “one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch.” Let’s read a verse in the Bible that kind of says the same thing.

            Read aloud 1 Corinthians 15:33.

            Ask: • What’s a way bad company could corrupt—or make bad—someone who is trying to do good?

            Say: In the Bible today, some religious leaders named the Pharisees thought Jesus was awful because of who he was spending time with. Were they right? Is it bad to hang out with non-Christians? Let’s dig into that.

Dig In

            Kids should still be rubbing their papers.

            Say: To start, let’s review what happened in the Bible story. Here’s what the Pharisees asked Jesus.

            Read aloud Matthew 9:10-11.

            Ask: • What do you think about Jesus spending time with people who were “disreputable sinners”?

            • Tell about a time you were criticized for who you hung out with.

            Read aloud 1 Corinthians 15:33 again.

            Ask: • Based on this verse, do you think the Pharisees were right?

            Say: Let’s see what happens when we hang around different people—whether they’re Christians or not.

            Have kids peel apart their papers. Some of the color on one paper will be on the other paper. Talk to kids about what happened, and then say: The Bible is clear that if people have bad character or do wrong, they can rub off on us.

            Ask: • Do you think the bad people would rub off on Jesus? Why or why not?

            Say: Let’s see what Jesus said to his critics.

            Read aloud Matthew 9:12-13.

            Ask: • What does Jesus’ answer mean for how you can treat non-Christians?

            • What’s the difference between letting people rub off on you and helping people come to Jesus?

            Say: Take a look at your papers again. One paper rubbed off on the other one more than the other paper. Jesus came for everyone, but we need to be careful not to let people who do bad things encourage us to be like them. Instead, let’s be like Jesus—the kind of people who rub off in good ways on the people around us. We can show the people around us that Jesus came for everyone.

Tip

• If you used the Music Video block, consider repeating the songs from today’s lesson during the game. You can find the album here.

Recommended for 6 or more kids.

Play a Version of Blob Tag

            Choose an older child to be the Tagger.

            Have the rest of the kids scatter throughout the room.

            Start the game by calling out a color of clothing—such as red, green, or blue. Only people wearing that color can be tagged until another color is called.

            When a child is tagged, have him or her link arms with the Tagger and help tag other kids wearing the last color that was called.

            Randomly add different colors of clothing throughout the game until all the kids can participate.

            If you have time, play the game again starting with a new Tagger and a new color of clothing.

Talk About It

            Ask: • How did you feel when a color was called that you aren’t wearing?

            • How did it feel when a color was called that you are wearing?

            • What makes some people want to leave others out?

            Say: In the same way the Tagger could tag only certain people during the game, the religious leaders in our Bible story thought Jesus came only for certain people. They thought he came only for people like them. So they wanted Jesus to leave others out. But Jesus really did come for everyone, so everyone’s included!

Tip

• If you used the Music Video block, consider repeating the songs from today’s lesson during the game. You can find the album here.

Create Machines With Their Bodies

            Have children form groups of five.

            Without letting other groups hear you, assign each group a machine or appliance—such as a car, airplane, blender, sewing machine, or alarm clock. Play upbeat music while kids work on their creations (optional).

            Give all the groups one minute to create their assigned machines with their bodies, making sure every person in each group is included in making the machines.

            Turn the music off or call time at the end of one minute.

            Have each group demonstrate its machine while the other groups guess what the machine is.

            Play a second round by assigning each group a new machine to create.

            If you have time, play a third round by having groups think of their own machines to create.

Talk About It

            Have children sit where they are.

            Say: In this game, you had to include everyone in your group to create your machines.

            Ask: • Explain whether it was hard to include everyone in your machine or not.

            • Why is it sometimes hard to include other people?

            Say: It isn't always easy to include people. Sometimes it’s because we want to do something by ourselves or with just a few friends. Other times, it’s because someone acts or looks different than we do. Either way, it hurts when you’re the one who doesn’t feel included. But just as you included everyone in making your machine, Jesus came for everyone! That means he invites everyone to be a part of his family—including you!

Be Sorted

            Sort the kids into groups based on colors and/or patterns on their clothing. For example, all of the kids wearing red shirts could be a group. Try to avoid groups larger than six kids, and make sure no one is alone.

            Say: Jesus came for everyone. He came for you and for the people you like. Tell your group about someone you know who’s easy to love. Then pray together for those people. Allow a couple of minutes.

Talk About Differences

            Say: It’s easy to remember that people came for us and for people like us. Sometimes we forget that Jesus came for everyone.

            Ask: • What if I always kept you in groups based on the way you dressed? Why would that be silly?

            Say: It’s great to have things in common with others, but there are special things about the way God made you different from other people. When we remember that, it can help us remember that Jesus came for everyone.

Mix It Up

            Have the children regroup by finding partners from other groups.

            Have the children sit with their new groups and think of someone who’s hard to love. Have them silently pray for those people and try to picture them the way Jesus sees them.

            Close in prayer, and then say: Jesus came for each of you, and I’m glad you all came today. This week, if you come across someone who is different from you or hard to love, remember that Jesus came for everyone.

           Distribute a copy of the “Dig In @ Home” handout to kids as they leave, or email it to parents during the week.