Chapter 1—The Hated Crutches
Questions to Think About and Discuss
1. Sacrificing animals in the Jerusalem temple was a messy and bloody job. Why do you think Nathan wanted so badly to be a priest?
2. When Ben and Nathan set off to find Jesus, did they believe Jesus could and would heal Nathan’s legs?
3. Nathan asked a man to let him through the crowd to see Jesus. What does this show about Nathan?
4. Why do you think Jesus didn’t touch Nathan’s legs to heal them—as Nathan expected?
5. If you were Nathan, do you think you would have turned away to try out your new legs by running and forgot to thank Jesus? Why do you think Nathan did that?
Activities
1. Jesus as portrayed in the Chapter 1 illustration:
Where you surprised at the way Jesus is described and pictured in The Temple Curtain?
We have no drawings or photographs of Jesus. Artists have to imagine what Jesus may have looked like. Here are the things we know:
1. Jesus was about 33 years old at the time of his death.
2. Jesus spent a lot of time outside preaching and healing in a sunny, warm climate.
3. Jesus came from the line of King David. He was Jewish, an Israelite. People of mid-eastern descent are usually darker skinned than those of northern European descent.
4. Jesus was the Son of God. He was bold and courageous.
The description and illustrations of Jesus in The Temple Curtain were inspired by the artwork or Elsie Anna Wood, who chose to depict Jesus in the saffron-colored robe of a teacher. Wood traveled to the Holy Land to study its people, their dress, the colors of the landscape, and the way light behaved in that country to make her paintings authentic. For her picture of Gethsemane, she sat outside at night to study and sketch.
Do you have a favorite depiction of Jesus?
Below are names of some artists who have painted Jesus:
You can look up these artists on the internet and see paintings of Jesus that they have done.
Which artist's work do you like best? Why? Share your reasons with your classmates.
If your whole class does this activity, make a graph showing the names of the artists and the number of students in your class who chose each artist.
Elsie Anna Wood (The Bible Illustration blog has a great picture of Jesus with children - the 3rd one.)
Richard and Frances Hook
Warner Sallmen
Harold Copping
Spencer Williams (Specify "artist" after his name)
Leslie L. Benson (Put "Leslie L Benson images for Jesus" to find a gallery of dozens of artists and their pictures of Jesus.)
If you are interested in art, do a report for your class on an artist who did pictures of Jesus and his life.
If you like to draw and/or paint, making a painting of how you think Jesus might have looked.
Creative Writing
We know that Jesus healed many people during his three years of ministry, and they are not all recorded in the Gospels.
Imagine that you are a Jewish boy or girl living in Palestine in the 1st century A.D.
How old are you? Who are the members of your family? What is your father’s job?
Something is wrong with you and you need to be healed by Jesus.
Are you blind? Deaf? Sick? Crippled? Perhaps you even have leprosy!
The first chapter of The Temple Curtain could be a story by itself.
Write the story of how Jesus healed you and share it with someone.
Answer these questions in your story:
How do you hear about Jesus?
Where do you find him? Who takes you to Jesus? Or does Jesus find you?
Who are you with when you are healed or are you by yourself?
What does Jesus say and do when you come to him for healing?
How do you feel before and after you are healed?
What is the first thing you do after you are healed?
How does your family respond to your healing?
Now share your story with someone else or with your class.
Drama
Act out the conversation that Nathan and Ben have after school.
Bible Study
Choose one of the four gospels. Make a chart of all the times the writer tells about Jesus healing someone. Use the headings listed below. (If a friend does a different gospel, you can compare your charts when you are finished.)
Who was healed?
What was wrong with him or her?
Where did Jesus heal that person?
How did Jesus heal that person?
How did the healed person react?
How did others who saw the healing react?
Did Jesus give the person any instructions after the healing?
Questions to Think About and Discuss
1. Sacrificing animals in the Jerusalem temple was a messy and bloody job. Why do you think Nathan wanted so badly to be a priest?
2. When Ben and Nathan set off to find Jesus, did they believe Jesus could and would heal Nathan’s legs?
3. Nathan asked a man to let him through the crowd to see Jesus. What does this show about Nathan?
4. Why do you think Jesus didn’t touch Nathan’s legs to heal them—as Nathan expected?
5. If you were Nathan, do you think you would have turned away to try out your new legs by running and forgot to thank Jesus? Why do you think Nathan did that?
Activities
1. Jesus as portrayed in the Chapter 1 illustration:
Where you surprised at the way Jesus is described and pictured in The Temple Curtain?
We have no drawings or photographs of Jesus. Artists have to imagine what Jesus may have looked like. Here are the things we know:
1. Jesus was about 33 years old at the time of his death.
2. Jesus spent a lot of time outside preaching and healing in a sunny, warm climate.
3. Jesus came from the line of King David. He was Jewish, an Israelite. People of mid-eastern descent are usually darker skinned than those of northern European descent.
4. Jesus was the Son of God. He was bold and courageous.
The description and illustrations of Jesus in The Temple Curtain were inspired by the artwork or Elsie Anna Wood, who chose to depict Jesus in the saffron-colored robe of a teacher. Wood traveled to the Holy Land to study its people, their dress, the colors of the landscape, and the way light behaved in that country to make her paintings authentic. For her picture of Gethsemane, she sat outside at night to study and sketch.
Do you have a favorite depiction of Jesus?
Below are names of some artists who have painted Jesus:
You can look up these artists on the internet and see paintings of Jesus that they have done.
Which artist's work do you like best? Why? Share your reasons with your classmates.
If your whole class does this activity, make a graph showing the names of the artists and the number of students in your class who chose each artist.
Elsie Anna Wood (The Bible Illustration blog has a great picture of Jesus with children - the 3rd one.)
Richard and Frances Hook
Warner Sallmen
Harold Copping
Spencer Williams (Specify "artist" after his name)
Leslie L. Benson (Put "Leslie L Benson images for Jesus" to find a gallery of dozens of artists and their pictures of Jesus.)
If you are interested in art, do a report for your class on an artist who did pictures of Jesus and his life.
If you like to draw and/or paint, making a painting of how you think Jesus might have looked.
Creative Writing
We know that Jesus healed many people during his three years of ministry, and they are not all recorded in the Gospels.
Imagine that you are a Jewish boy or girl living in Palestine in the 1st century A.D.
How old are you? Who are the members of your family? What is your father’s job?
Something is wrong with you and you need to be healed by Jesus.
Are you blind? Deaf? Sick? Crippled? Perhaps you even have leprosy!
The first chapter of The Temple Curtain could be a story by itself.
Write the story of how Jesus healed you and share it with someone.
Answer these questions in your story:
How do you hear about Jesus?
Where do you find him? Who takes you to Jesus? Or does Jesus find you?
Who are you with when you are healed or are you by yourself?
What does Jesus say and do when you come to him for healing?
How do you feel before and after you are healed?
What is the first thing you do after you are healed?
How does your family respond to your healing?
Now share your story with someone else or with your class.
Drama
Act out the conversation that Nathan and Ben have after school.
Bible Study
Choose one of the four gospels. Make a chart of all the times the writer tells about Jesus healing someone. Use the headings listed below. (If a friend does a different gospel, you can compare your charts when you are finished.)
Who was healed?
What was wrong with him or her?
Where did Jesus heal that person?
How did Jesus heal that person?
How did the healed person react?
How did others who saw the healing react?
Did Jesus give the person any instructions after the healing?