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 had to tell someone hard news? How did you feel when you told them?

Lesson Highlight

In this lesson, we will learn how Jesus told his friends about something very sad and very good that would happen to him. Jesus was going to die, but he would come back to life. We will learn how God’s plan saves people.

Vocabulary List (GNT)

1. Disciples — The special friends and followers of Jesus.
2. Gentiles — People who are not Jewish.
3. Handed — Given or put into the control of another person.
4. Hidden — Kept secret or not easy to see or understand.
5. Insult — To say something mean or unkind to someone.
6. Jerusalem — A big, important city where the temple was and many Bible stories happened.
7. Kill — To take a person’s life and make them die.
8. Make Fun Of — To laugh at someone or say mean things to hurt their feelings.
9. Prophets — People chosen by God to tell his message to others.
10. Rise To Life — To live again after being dead.
11. Son Of Man — A name Jesus used to talk about himself.
12. Spit — To push liquid from the mouth out onto something or someone.
13. Whip — To hit someone with a long, thin piece of rope or leather.

Summary of the Passage

This passage tells about a time when Jesus spoke to his closest friends, the disciples. They were traveling together, and Jesus wanted to tell them something very important. Jesus said they were going to a big city called Jerusalem. There, something very sad would happen to him. He would be hurt by people who did not believe in him. They would laugh at him, say mean things to him, and hurt him badly.

Jesus told them that after he was hurt, he would be killed. But Jesus also said something wonderful. After three days, he would come back to life. This is a big part of God’s plan to save people from sin.

The disciples, who were Jesus’ close friends, did not understand what Jesus was saying. They could not believe that something so sad would happen to Jesus. They also did not understand how Jesus could rise to life again after dying.

This passage teaches us that God had a plan for Jesus, even though it was hard to understand. It reminds us that even when life is hard or confusing, God’s good plan is still at work.

Read The Passage

Jesus Speaks a Third Time about His Death
31 Jesus took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, “Listen! We are going to Jerusalem where everything the prophets wrote about the Son of Man will come true.
32 He will be handed over to the Gentiles, who will make fun of him, insult him, and spit on him.
33 They will whip him and kill him, but three days later he will rise to life.”
34 But the disciples did not understand any of these things; the meaning of the words was hidden from them, and they did not know what Jesus was talking about.

Luke 18:31-34 (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 18:31-34 (NIRV)
• Easy: Good News Translation: Luke 18:31-34 (GNT)
• Medium: New Living Translation: Luke 18:31-34 (NLT)
• Hard: New International Version: Luke 18:31-34 (NIV)
• Very Hard: English Standard Version: Luke 18:31-34 (ESV)

Comprehension Questions

1. Where were Jesus and his disciples going?
2. What did Jesus say would happen to him in Jerusalem?
3. Who did Jesus say would hurt him?
4. What did Jesus say would happen after three days?
5. Did the disciples understand what Jesus was saying?

Application Questions

1. Has there been a time when you did not understand something until later?
2. Why do you think Jesus told his friends about his death ahead of time?
3. How does it feel to know that God has a good plan, even when life is hard?

Theological Insights

1. Jesus knew about his death and chose to obey God’s plan.
2. Jesus’ death was part of God’s plan to save people from sin.
3. Even when hard things happen, God is still in control.
4. Sometimes we do not understand God’s plans right away, but he is always working for good.

Closing Prayer

Dear Father, thank you for your good plan to save people. Help us trust you, even when we do not understand everything. Thank you for Jesus and his great love for us. 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.