Youth Group BIble Survey Week 4: Jesus Arrives (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)

Session Overview

After 400 years of silence, God breaks in—Jesus is born, teaches, performs miracles, and begins to fulfill prophecy.

Key Books/Passages

• Matthew: Jesus as King; genealogy; Sermon on the Mount

• Mark: Jesus as Servant; action-packed; fast-paced

• Luke: Jesus as Savior; parables; mercy emphasized

• John: Jesus as God; "I am" statements; deep theology

Major Themes

• Jesus is God in human form

• Jesus teaches radical love, grace, and kingdom values

• Jesus performs miracles showing His power

• Jesus begins to reveal His mission (death & resurrection)

Opening Recap (2 minutes)

"For 400 years, Israel waited. Then Jesus was born. He's not what most people expected—not a military king, but a teacher who heals, loves, and challenges everything. This is the center of the entire Bible."

Story/Teaching Outline (10 minutes)

1. Birth & early life (Matthew 1-2, Luke 1-2) — Announced by prophets; born in Bethlehem; visited by wise men

2. Baptism & temptation (Matthew 3-4, Mark 1, Luke 3-4) — John baptizes Jesus; Holy Spirit descends; Jesus is tempted in wilderness

3. Teaching & miracles (all four Gospels) — Sermon on the Mount; parables; healings; feeding of 5,000; walking on water; raising the dead

4. Who is Jesus? — He claims to be God's Son; performs acts only God can do; forgives sins; claims to be the way to the Father

5. Building toward the end — Jesus predicts His death and resurrection

Key Verse: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." — John 3:16 (ESV)

Script [If you want] Story/Teaching (10 minutes)

"Four hundred years. That's how long Israel waited. No prophets. No word from God. Just silence. And then—Jesus is born.

The birth of Jesus. Matthew and Luke give us the accounts. Matthew focuses on Jesus' genealogy—His family line. And guess what? It goes all the way back to Abraham. Jesus is the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham. Luke tells us about Mary, a young woman who's visited by an angel named Gabriel. The angel says, 'You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.'

Mary is confused. She's not married. But the angel says, 'The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.'

Jesus is born in Bethlehem—exactly as the prophet Micah predicted 700 years earlier. Wise men from the east follow a star and come to worship him. Shepherds are told by angels that the Savior has been born. It's an incredible entrance into the world.

Jesus grows up, and then—at about age 30—His ministry begins. John baptizes Jesus in the Jordan River. As Jesus comes up out of the water, the Holy Spirit descends on him like a dove, and a voice from heaven says, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.'

Right after that, Jesus is led into the wilderness for 40 days. And Satan tempts him. 'If you're the Son of God, turn these stones into bread.' 'If you're the Son of God, throw yourself off the temple.' 'If you worship me, I'll give you all the kingdoms of the world.' But Jesus resists every temptation. He quotes Scripture. He says, 'It is written... The Lord your God shall you worship, and him only shall you serve.'

Jesus begins teaching. And His message is revolutionary. In Matthew 5-7, we have the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus says things like: 'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn. Blessed are the meek. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Blessed are the merciful. Blessed are the pure in heart. Blessed are the peacemakers.'

He teaches about loving your enemies. 'If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.' 'If someone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.' 'Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.'

He teaches about forgiveness. 'Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.' He teaches about not judging others. 'Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?'

This is radical. This is counter-cultural. This is different from what the religious leaders are teaching.

Jesus tells parables—stories with spiritual meaning. The parable of the sower: A farmer scatters seed. Some falls on the path and birds eat it. Some falls on rocky ground and withers. Some falls among thorns and gets choked out. Some falls on good soil and produces a crop—thirty, sixty, even a hundred times what was sown. Jesus is teaching that His word goes out to everyone, but people respond differently based on the condition of their hearts.

The parable of the prodigal son: A man has two sons. The younger one demands his inheritance early, leaves home, and wastes it all on wild living. When famine comes, he's broke and desperate. He decides to go home and ask his father to hire him as a servant. But when his father sees him coming, he runs out, embraces him, and throws a party. The older son is angry—he stayed faithful and never got a party. But the father says, 'Your brother was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' Jesus is teaching about God's extravagant grace and forgiveness.

The parable of the good Samaritan: A man is beaten and left for dead on the road. A priest passes by. A Levite passes by. But a Samaritan—a person from a group the Jews hated—stops, helps him, and pays for his care. Jesus is teaching that love and mercy cross all boundaries.

Jesus performs miracles. He heals the sick. He casts out demons. He feeds 5,000 people with just five loaves and two fish. He walks on water. He calms a storm with a word. He raises people from the dead.

One of the most powerful miracles is the raising of Lazarus. Lazarus is the brother of Mary and Martha, and he dies. By the time Jesus arrives, Lazarus has been dead for four days. Martha says, 'Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.' Jesus says, 'I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.' Then Jesus goes to the tomb and says, 'Lazarus, come out!' And Lazarus walks out—alive. People who see this are amazed and many believe in Jesus.

But here's the thing: Jesus claims to be God. In John 8, Jesus says, 'Before Abraham was born, I am!' 'I am' is the name God gave Himself to Moses at the burning bush. The religious leaders are furious. They try to stone him for blasphemy.

In John 10, Jesus says, 'I and the Father are one.' Again, the leaders want to stone him.

Jesus also forgives sins. In Mark 2, a paralyzed man is brought to Jesus. Jesus says, 'Son, your sins are forgiven.' The religious leaders think, 'Who can forgive sins but God alone?' Jesus is claiming to be God.

The religious leaders don't like this. The Pharisees and Sadducees are threatened by Jesus. He challenges their authority. He breaks their rules—He heals on the Sabbath, He eats with tax collectors and sinners, He questions their traditions. They start plotting to kill him.

But before that happens, Jesus prepares His disciples. He pulls them aside and tells them what's coming. In Matthew 16, Jesus says, 'The Son of Man must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.'

Peter is shocked. He says, 'Never, Lord! This shall never happen to you!' But Jesus says, 'Get behind me, Satan! You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.'

Jesus is telling them: I'm going to die. And it's going to seem like the end. But it's not. I'm going to rise again on the third day.

Here's what Week 4 shows us: After 400 years of silence, God breaks in. Jesus is born. He teaches with authority and compassion. He performs miracles that show His power over nature, sickness, and even death. He claims to be God. And He's preparing everyone for what comes next—His death and resurrection, which will change everything.

The question everyone has to answer is: Who is Jesus? Is He just a good teacher? Is He a prophet? Or is He really God's Son? That's the question that's going to drive the rest of the story."

Discussion Questions (8 minutes)

Lighter/Engaging:

• If Jesus performed one miracle today, what would you want it to be and why?

• Which of Jesus' parables (stories) stands out to you? Why?

Deeper/Reflective:

• Jesus taught about loving your enemies and forgiving people. How is that different from what the world teaches?

• What do you think it would have been like to be one of Jesus' disciples? Would you have understood who He was?

Activity: "Miracle Analysis" (8 minutes)

Materials: Paper, pens, optional: index cards with different miracles

Instructions:

• Divide into pairs or small groups

• Assign each group one of Jesus' miracles (healing the blind, feeding 5,000, calming the storm, raising Lazarus, etc.)—or let them choose

• Groups have 3 minutes to discuss: What does this miracle reveal about Jesus? Why would it have amazed people?

• Groups share their insights (1 minute each)

• Debrief: "Jesus' miracles weren't just magic tricks—they showed His compassion and His power over nature, sickness, and death."

Closing (2 minutes)

"Jesus teaches us about God's love and shows us His power. But He also predicted something hard—His own death. Next week, we see why that death matters so much."

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