Advanced Level, Block 9—Jesus’ Closest Followers
Week 81
Where would you want to be?
Point to Emphasize: Would you have been with the 120 or just one who was part of the crowds?
Reference Reading: Acts 1:13-15; Matthew 14:14-21; 15:32-39
Memory Verse: …There was a group of persons gathered together, about a hundred and twenty. (Acts 1:15b)
Sample Story
I know that through children’s meetings and through your parents you have heard a lot of stories concerning what Jesus did during His time on the earth. You surely have heard that He fed 5,000 men along with women and children one time and 4,000 men along with women and children another time. You must also remember how the crowds followed Him all the time. What other stories do you remember? [Let the children answer—healing 10 lepers, calling the disciples, healing the blind and the paralyzed ones, Zacchaeus.] In so many occasions like these, there were crowds around, watching and listening to Jesus.
Now, let’s do some math. First, you have the 5,000 men. Let’s add in some women and children since we know some brought their families. [Let them consider what a fair number might be.] Maybe, we can guess 10,000 were there at that time. How many might have been there when 4,000 men were fed? [Let them consider.] If we were conservative in our guess, we’d say 8,000. So, just on those two occasions, we can already conclude that nearly 18,000 people had followed Jesus into the countryside to hear Him. [Show attached picture of approximately 20,000 people.]
Then, what about the crowds around Him when He visited city after city, village after village? And it seemed that there were often crowds around when He healed people. What can we estimate for all these crowds? [Let them discuss it. Maybe an estimation in the thousands would be close.] So, if we add our estimations together, we might say that over XXXX (30,000, 50,000, 100,000?) people had heard what Jesus spoke and witnessed what He did to care for the people. WHOA, that is a lot of people!!
Here is another question. After the Lord Jesus died and was raised from the dead, how many continued to be His close followers? [Let them guess.] We need to go to Acts 1:14-15. “These all continued steadfastly with one accord in prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother or Jesus, and His brothers… (there was a group of persons gathered together, about a hundred and twenty).“
Just about 120 were there as His close followers. What percentage does 120 represent of the crowds that listened to His speaking and saw how He healed people? [Let them work out some percentages.] 120 is less than one percent of all who had seen and heard Jesus. From all those crowds who saw Him and listened to Him, very few remained as His followers. I am sure that many more than 120 had believed that He was the One sent from God but only about 120 remained together after His death and resurrection.
Now, let’s ask the last question for today. If you were living at that time, would you have become a close follower, one of the 120, or would you be just one in the crowd? Well, you may object and say, “How can I know? I wasn’t there!” But I want to tell you that it is possible for you to know. From now on, each week, for nine weeks, we will see what the Bible tells us about the kind of people who became His close followers and not just those in the crowds. And each week we can talk to God and our parents about what kind of followers we want to be.
Picture of 20,000 people
