Joyful Moments in Christ

This Bible study lesson is for people who are learning English (ELL or ESL students). It is made for advanced beginner and intermediate English learners. Children who speak English or adults who prefer easy English may also enjoy it and learn from it.

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Lesson Icebreaker Question

Have you ever been very sick or known someone who was very sick? How did you feel?

Lesson Highlight

In this lesson, we will learn about two people who needed Jesus’ help. One was a very sick woman, and one was a father with a very sick daughter. We will see how Jesus cares for people and has the power to heal.

Vocabulary List (GNT)

1. Afraid — Feeling scared.
2. Arrive — To come to a place.
3. Astounded — Very surprised.
4. Be Well — To be healthy and okay.
5. Believe — To trust that something is true.
6. Bleeding — When blood comes out from the body.
7. Bother — To trouble or worry someone.
8. Child — A young boy or girl.
9. Cloak — A long, loose piece of clothing worn over other clothes.
10. Command — To give a strong order.
11. Cried — Made tears come out of the eyes.
12. Crowding — Many people standing very close together.
13. Cure — To make someone healthy again.
14. Daughter — A girl who is someone’s child.
15. Dead — No longer alive.
16. Denied — Said something was not true.
17. Died — Stopped living.
18. Doctor — A person who helps sick people get better.
19. Don’t Cry — A way to tell someone not to be sad.
20. Dying — Very close to death.
21. Edge — The outside line or border of something.
22. Everybody — All the people.
23. Faith — Believing and trusting in God.
24. Found Out — Discovered the truth about something.
25. Get Up — To rise to your feet or stand up.
26. Go In Peace — A way to say, “Go calmly and without worry.”
27. Happened — Took place; something that occurred.
28. House — A building where people live.
29. Knew — Already understood something.
30. Lake — A large area of water with land all around it.
31. Life Returned — Became alive again.
32. Local — Belonging to a nearby area.
33. Made Fun — Laughed at someone to be unkind.
34. Master — A respectful name for a teacher or leader.
35. Messenger — A person who brings a message.
36. Mourning — Feeling very sad after someone dies.
37. Official — A leader in a town or group.
38. Only — No more than one.
39. Order — To tell someone what to do.
40. Other Side — The place across from where you are.
41. Parents — A mother and father.
42. People — A group of men, women, or children.
43. Power — Strong ability to do something.
44. Return — To come back.
45. Severe — Very bad or strong.
46. Sleeping — Resting with your eyes closed.
47. Something To Eat — Food.
48. Spent — Used money or time.
49. Suffer — To feel pain or hurt.
50. Synagogue — A place where Jewish people meet to pray and learn.
51. Tell — To say something so others know it.
52. Threw Himself Down — Fell quickly to the ground.
53. Touch — To put your hand on something.
54. Trembling — Shaking a little because of fear or nervousness.
55. Waiting — Staying in a place until something happens.
56. Went Along — Traveled or moved together with others.
57. Welcome — To be happy when someone arrives.

Summary of the Passage

This passage tells us about two people who needed help from Jesus. A man named Jairus came to Jesus because his young daughter was very sick. She was so sick she was about to die. Jairus begged Jesus to come to his home and help his daughter.

As Jesus walked to Jairus’ house, many people were in the crowd around him. In that crowd was a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years. She had seen many doctors, but no one could help her. She believed that if she could just touch Jesus’ clothes, she would be healed. She touched his cloak, and right away, she was made well. Jesus stopped and asked who had touched him. The woman came to him, shaking with fear, but Jesus spoke kindly to her and said her faith made her well.

While this was happening, someone came to tell Jairus that his daughter had died. But Jesus told Jairus not to be afraid, but to believe. Jesus went to the house and told the people the girl was only sleeping. The people laughed at him because they knew she was dead. But Jesus took her hand and told her to get up. Right away, she came back to life. Jesus told her parents to give her something to eat.

This passage shows us that Jesus cares about people’s pain and sadness. He has great power to heal and bring life. It teaches us to have faith in him, even when things seem impossible.

Read The Passage

Jairus’ Daughter and the Woman Who Touched Jesus’ Cloak
40 When Jesus returned to the other side of the lake, the people welcomed him, because they had all been waiting for him.
41 Then a man named Jairus arrived; he was an official in the local synagogue. He threw himself down at Jesus’ feet and begged him to go to his home,
42 because his only daughter, who was twelve years old, was dying.
As Jesus went along, the people were crowding him from every side.
43 Among them was a woman who had suffered from severe bleeding for twelve years; she had spent all she had on doctors, but no one had been able to cure her.
44 She came up in the crowd behind Jesus and touched the edge of his cloak, and her bleeding stopped at once.
45 Jesus asked, “Who touched me?”
Everyone denied it, and Peter said, “Master, the people are all around you and crowding in on you.”
46 But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I knew it when power went out of me.”
47 The woman saw that she had been found out, so she came trembling and threw herself at Jesus’ feet. There in front of everybody, she told him why she had touched him and how she had been healed at once.
48 Jesus said to her, “My daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”
49 While Jesus was saying this, a messenger came from the official’s house. “Your daughter has died,” he told Jairus; “don’t bother the Teacher any longer.”
50 But Jesus heard it and said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; only believe, and she will be well.”
51 When he arrived at the house, he would not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John, and James, and the child’s father and mother.
52 Everyone there was crying and mourning for the child. Jesus said, “Don’t cry; the child is not dead—she is only sleeping!”
53 They all made fun of him, because they knew that she was dead.
54 But Jesus took her by the hand and called out, “Get up, child!”
55 Her life returned, and she got up at once, and Jesus ordered them to give her something to eat.
56 Her parents were astounded, but Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone what had happened.

Luke 8:40-56 (GNT)

Most English learners should use the New International Reader’s Version (NIRV) or the Good News Translation (GNT) because they are easy to read. If you want to try something harder, you can read one of the other Bible versions:

• Very Easy: New International Reader’s Version: Luke 8:40-56 (NIRV)
• Easy: Good News Translation: Luke 8:40-56 (GNT)
• Medium: New Living Translation: Luke 8:40-56 (NLT)
• Hard: New International Version: Luke 8:40-56 (NIV)
• Very Hard: English Standard Version: Luke 8:40-56 (ESV)

Comprehension Questions

1. Where did Jesus go in this story?
2. Who was Jairus, and what did he ask Jesus to do?
3. What happened to the woman in the crowd?
4. How long had the woman been sick?
5. What did the woman do to be healed?
6. How did Jesus know someone had touched him?
7. What did Jesus say made the woman well?
8. What bad news did Jairus receive while Jesus was talking?
9. What did Jesus tell Jairus when he heard the bad news?
10. Who went into the house with Jesus?
11. What did Jesus say about the girl when the people were crying?
12. What did the people do when Jesus said the girl was only sleeping?
13. What did Jesus do for the girl?
14. What did the girl do after Jesus helped her?
15. What did Jesus tell the parents not to do?

Application Questions

1. When you are afraid, who do you ask for help?
2. Why do you think the woman believed she would be healed if she touched Jesus?
3. How does it feel when someone cares about you when you are sad or sick?
4. What does this story teach us about faith in hard times?
5. How can we remember to trust God when we feel scared or worried?

Theological Insights

1. Jesus has the power to heal sickness and even bring the dead back to life.
2. Faith in Jesus is powerful, even when things seem hopeless.
3. Jesus cares about people who are hurting, no matter who they are.
4. Sometimes people laugh or do not believe, but Jesus can still do great things.
5. God wants us to trust him and not be afraid.

Closing Prayer

Dear Father, thank you for loving people who are sick, sad, and afraid. Help us to trust you when life is hard. Thank you for Jesus, who heals and brings life. Amen.

ELL Resources for the Gospel of Luke

More ELL Resources

You can find more Bible lessons for English learners on the main ELL page.

Scripture quotations marked (GNT) are from the Good News Translation in Today’s English Version- Second Edition Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.