The Promise of a Healer who gives Living Water

Scripture quotations are from the EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2018, 2024 – UK Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.easyenglish.bible 

Isaiah 35: 5-6  

(The book of Isaiah comes from the Old Testament. It was written many hundreds of years before Jesus came to Earth. These verses are known as ‘prophecy'* because they spoke about things that would happen in the future.)

5 At that time, he will open the eyes of blind people. Deaf people will hear again.

6 People with weak legs will jump like deer. People who cannot speak now will shout with joy. Water will pour from springs in the desert. Streams of water will run in the wilderness.

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Matthew 11: 2-6

(The readings below come from the books of Matthew and John in the New Testament. They were written after Jesus died and rose again. The people who knew Jesus and followed Him, wrote about Him because they, and many others knew Him well and saw Him come back to life again. They wrote, because they wanted everyone to know the truth)

2 At that time, John the Baptist * was in prison. But people told him about all the things that Jesus the Messiah *  was doing. So John sent some of his own disciples to ask Jesus some questions. 

3 They said to him, ‘John wants to know this: Are you the special person that God has promised to send to us? If not, should we look for someone else?’

4 Jesus replied, ‘Go back to John. Tell him what you have been hearing. Also, tell him what you have been seeing. 

5  Blind people can now see again. People who could not walk can now walk again. People who had a bad skin disease are now well again. Deaf people can now hear again. People who had died now live again. Poor people are hearing God's good news. 

6 If anyone believes in me and he does not turn away, he will be truly happy.’ 

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John 7: 37 - 39

37 The last day of the festival*  was the most important day. On that day, Jesus stood up and he spoke with a loud voice. He said, ‘If anyone is thirsty *, he should come to me so that he may drink. 

38 It says in the Bible, “God will cause streams of water to pour out from anyone who believes in me. Water that gives life will come out from inside that person.”  

39 Jesus was speaking about God's Spirit, who would come to people some time after that.

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Important Vocabulary to Learn 

(Some of these words come from the readings above, and some come from the glossary and the questions below that.)

1. Words from the first 1000 high frequency General Service Word List

believes, country, died, drink, faith, flag, future, hear/hearing, important, language, large, person, poor, promised, real, speak, special, streams, truly/truth, turn (away), questions, water

(And all the words in the reading that are not listed in numbers 2 to 4 below.)

2. Words from the second 1000 high frequency General Service Word List 

copy, deaf, deer, disease, inside, information, jump, legs, life, loud, messenger, offend, pour, prison, shout, spirit, skin, title, weak 

3. Off List Words  

disciples, festival, thirsty, wilderness

4. Glossary

Baptist - This word is part of the title of John the Baptist. John was a messenger from God who spoke to the people of Israel just before Jesus started his work. The noun 'Baptist' (and the verb ‘to baptise’) comes from the Greek word ‘baptista’ which means 'to place in water'. John the Baptist told people to turn away from sinning (doing wrong things). To show that they were doing this from their hearts (that is, to show they had repented *), John used the water in the River Jordan * to wash their bodies. This ‘baptism’ (which is the noun for the action of baptising) in water was to be a sign to all that they were going to live a new life because God had washed their hearts clean from sin.

Greek - Someone (e.g. a Greek person) or something (e.g. a Greek flag) that comes from the country of Greece. The language of Greece is also called Greek. The writers of much of the New Testament used the Greek language.

Messiah (noun) - This term is used in the Bible to talk about the person God sends to Earth to save those who trust in Him.

Repented - (past form of the verb ‘to repent’) - To be deeply sorry for doing wrong actions (sins) that offend God, and to have a real change of heart. A person shows they have repented by turning away from living in a wrong way, to following Jesus and living life in a completely new way. They turn away from pleasing themselves, to wanting to please God in all ways. The Bible teaches us that repentance (noun) and faith are gifts of God to those who seek Him with all their heart. 

River Jordan  - an important long river that forms a border between Israel and the nation of Jordan. Because it is so long, it is also a border between other countries in this part of the Middle East.

Prophecy (noun) - A message (or messages) from God that tells us what will happen before it happens. The message comes from someone that God chooses and sends to be His 'prophet' (a person). A prophecy teaches us what God will do, and what He expects of us. Some examples of prophets in the Old Testament were Isaiah and Elijah. Jesus showed through His life and death how many Old Testament prophecies pointed to Himself. He also prophesied about the future through His teachings. (Note: The verb uses the same form as the noun. ‘To prophecy’ but be careful with the spelling. It uses the letter ‘s’ in the past tense (e.g. prophesied).) 

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Learning Questions and Activities 

1. Remembering - When John the Baptist was in prison, what did he want to know? How did Jesus answer His questions?

2. Understanding - When Jesus talked about the healing of blind and deaf people in answer to John’s questions, what was He trying to show?

3. Applying - Do you believe that Jesus was the ‘special person’ sent by God, that was promised in the book of Isaiah? If you do, what makes you sure? If you are not sure, what would help you to be sure? If you do not think Jesus was the person God promised to send, why not? What might change your mind?

4. Analysing -  What is the real meaning of the word ‘thirsty’ in John 7:37? What is the reading really telling us about the ‘water’ described in Isaiah 35: 6 and John 37:38? How else could you describe this water? In what ways is the gift of God’s Holy Spirit like water?

What does it mean to be blind or deaf (in our body)? What does it mean to be blind or deaf in our spirit? How can believing in Jesus change us, so that we can 'see and hear' with the eyes and ears of our spirit?

5. Evaluating - Why is real water (H2O) important to us? What will happen to us if we don’t have any water? Why is God’s ‘living water’ (His Holy Spirit) important in our lives? What will happen if we don’t have God’s living water?

6. Creating - An active story

1. Make some notes about the information in the readings above. Remember to write down when each reading was written (before or after Jesus came Earth). 

2. Use your notes to help you practice saying this information in your own words. Make sure you don’t miss anything important. You could work with a friend, or a person in your class as you do this.

3. Next, print out (or draw) a large copy of the picture of the water and the cup below.

4. Pin the picture up on the wall or some other place where it is easy to see. 

5. Get two or three long pieces of cloth to use as blindfolds (as you can see in the picture below).