What is taught must be in accordance with the locally agreed syllabus; (If your school is outside of Cambridgeshire: the S.C.A.A Model 2 syllabus has been included to help in matching this lesson plan with your local Agreed Syllabus).
Cambs Agreed Syllabus:
PE (People)
Enable pupils to:
learn about the life and teaching of Jesus in his historical context using the Bible and other appropriate resources.
Pupils should consider this:
Is there a special person / special people who you look up to, or whose example you follow?
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S.C.A.A. Model syllabuses:
KEY TEACHINGS / FOCUS:
JESUS
Events in Jesus' life as told in the Gospel stories & put into a historical context.
AT1 Place the life of Jesus in a historical context.
AT2 Discuss the answers offered by Christianity to questions of meaning & purpose in life.
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RESOURCES:
Either a long, or wide board to do a time line of historic events. It may be best to draw it first to get the correct divisions! It should run from 2500 BC to 2000 AD, with 500 year divisions.
There is also a worksheet which has got cut out items for the children to colour & stick onto their own time lines.
STARTER:
Q. Is there anybody in history who you look up to, anybody who interests you?
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How about Robin Hood, King Arthur & the Round Table, Oliver Cromwell, a King or a Queen, ....?
Some of the stories about these people may have some truth in them, others may be totally true & some may be a total myth.
Q. How do we know if someone from history was a real person, & whether what they did was real & true?
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We have to look for 'evidence'.
An illustration:
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Police at the scene of a crime look for tell tale signs that the criminal has left behind. For example; a footprint, finger prints, a torn bit of clothing, etc. All this is known as 'evidence'.
So when we look at someone in history, we look for evidence. This would include the persons own writings, & other people's writings about them, & also whether their name occurs in any 'official' documents from that time.
MAIN TEACHING:
Most Historians would agree that Jesus Christ was a real historic figure.
There is 'evidence' from 2 non-Christian writers who included Jesus in their writings shortly after the events had happened. (The Roman historian Tacitus & Pliny the Roman governor of Bithynia in Asia Minor).
There is also evidence from another non-Christian who wrote of Jesus about a century later. (The Greek satirist, Lucian of Samosata).
(Teachers note: For more detail on these & for the overwhelming proof of the ancient Bible manuscripts see the Home page of this site & follow: "What historic evidence is there for Jesus Christ of Nazareth?").
There are the four eye witness accounts of what Jesus said & what He did, written by Matthew, Mark, Luke & John, (as recorded in the first four books of the New Testsment).
Then there are the writings of Peter (often known as: Simon Peter), James & Jude, who were also eye witnesses, (found near the end of the New Testament).
Lastly there is the writings of Paul, who wrote most of the letters in the New Testament to Churches, just a few years after Jesus.
Many of these people mention real, historical figures of that time; King Herod, Pontius Pilate, etc, who fit in with that time in history.
There is just too much 'evidence' to try to pretend that He didn't exist.
Let's see where Jesus Christ fits in with the rest of history:
(Teachers note: Draw a line, either horizontally or vertically, representing 2500 BC to 2000 AD. Mark off the line in divisions of 500 years.)
We are living at this point.
The Egyptian pyramids were built in this long period: (2500 to 1650 BC)
A volunteer to mark this on the time line.
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(Teachers note: Choose some more events & people to put on the time line from this list):
Oliver Cromwell: (born 1599)
Mohammed: (born 579)
Robert the Bruce: (approx 1300)
Robin Hood: (approx 1200 -1300 ??)
Julius Caesar's first invasion attempt on Britain: (55 BC)
The first ever 'marathon runner': (490 BC)
The Vikings with their long boats: (800 to 1066)
Samuel Pepys: (born 1633)
Queen Boadocia: (60 AD)
William Shakespeare: (born 1564)
King Arthur: (approx 500)
Winston Churchill: (born 1874)
The Saxons: (450 to 1066)
Moses: (born approx 1500 BC)
Noah: (approx 2500 BC)
Joseph: (approx 1700 BC)
Abram, later called Abraham: (approx 2000 BC)
King Solomon: (approx 1000 BC)
Daniel the prophet: (approx born 600 BC)
Q. Where does Jesus Christ's life on Earth appear on our time line?
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He is round the zero mark, between BC & AD.
A monk had worked out a new system for numbering the years, based on the birth of Jesus Christ representing zero. Therefore all years before that were classed as B.C. which means 'Before Christ'. & all dates after that were to be A.D. which was 'Anno Domini' which means "In the year of our Lord" in Latin.
But the monk had miscalculated by a number of years, so Jesus was actually born about 4 or 5 BC.
So all through this BC period on our time line the prophets were predicting that the 'Christ' would come, & then Jesus came. Christians believe that Jesus is the One who is predicted in the Old Testament.
In the world now, there are millions of Christians.
The number of active Christians is a minority in Britain, but in a number of other countries there are vast numbers.
In some countries Christians are often killed because they believe in Jesus.
Let's look at what made Him so well known throughout history, & even now:
The numbers of people that listened to Him preach are sometimes recorded:
For example, on one occasion the crowds had gone a long way out into the countryside to listen to Him teaching & it tells us:
"The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children." Matthew 14:21 (NLT)
Q. So how many people were there?
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We don't know. There were 5000 men, plus women & children.
Q. It would have been very difficult to have had more people than that. Why?
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Because there was no stage, no ampliphers, no microphones & no loudspeakers, & most of the time He spoke outdoors.
With such large crowds following Him, it became very squashed when He spoke in a house!
On one occasion, on returning home, people filled the house & were pressing around the doors & windows to try & listen to what He was saying. Then some people tried to get to Jesus who were carrying a stretcher with a crippled man on it, but they couldn't get anywhere near Jesus. So they managed to get up on the roof & they dug a hole throught it! Then they lowered the crippled man down with ropes, while he was still on the stretcher so that Jesus could heal the man! (Mark 2:1-4)
On another occasion the Bible tells us:
"Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore." Matthew 13:2 (NIV)
But it was not only His teaching that drew the crowds, He did miracles as well:
He was teaching in a synagogue (which is like a Church) & there was a man there who had a shriveled right hand. The Religious leaders were jealous of Jesus so they watched Him closely to see if He would heal on the Sabbath, because the Jews do not do any work on that day, & they would say that healing someone was work!
"But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand,
"Get up and stand in front of everyone." So he got up and stood there.
Then Jesus said to them, "I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?"
He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."
He did so, and his hand was completely restored.
But they were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus."
Luke 6:6-11 (NIV)
Jesus healed people & did miracles to show His love & concern for people, but also to prove that He is the Son of God & that His teaching could be trusted.
He is also remembered through history, because Christians believe that He rose back to life from the dead:
Jesus used to tell His closest followers that He was going to die, but that He was going to be raised back to life & that He was going to return to His Father (God) in heaven.
So Jesus allowed Himself to be betrayed (knowing that it was Judas - one of His followers).
He was given over to the Roman authorities by His own people, to be crucified upon a wooden cross.
The ones who were jealous of Jesus & who hated Him, watched Him die upon the cross. Before His body was taken down, the Roman soldiers pierced Him with a spear to check that He was really dead.
His friends then took Him down & put burial spices on Him, & wrapped His body in a white sheet. His body was then put in a cave with a large rock rolled against the entrance, (that was how they buried people then, in that country).
The ones that hated Jesus had asked for some soldiers to guard the entrance, so that no-one could remove the body.
But there was an earthquake & Jesus walked out of the cave alive!
For 40 days He kept appearing to many people, then He returned to heaven.
There have been countless people who have believed in Jesus Christ, & there are millions of people now in the world who choose to obey Him.
Q. Would believing in Jesus Christ give a different meaning & purpose to life? Discuss.
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PLENARY:
Q. Is there anybody you look up to, who influences how you live your life?
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Either take a short time to discuss this, or leave it with them.
(Teachers note: The timeline worksheet has historic events & people to cut out. The children will need to draw a timeline from 2500 BC to 2000 AD, with 500 year divisions. All this can be coloured & glued into the correct order! )