YEA Lesson Library
A Broken Bottle
About This Lesson
Using the story of Mary washing Jesus’ feet and drying them with her hair, this lesson teaches students to honor God by obeying Him, praising Him in song, and learning about Him.
Scriptures
Psalm 34:18
Psalm 133:1-2
Proverbs 3:9
Proverbs 27:9
Matthew 26:6-13
Mark 14:3-9
John 12:2-8
Philippians 2:9-11
Hebrews 3:3
Revelation 4:11
Words to Know
WORTHY - having value, deserving
GLORY - great honor, praise
MUSEUM - a building where art or history pieces are kept on display
MONUMENT - something set up to help us remember
The Lesson
Mrs. Cooper’s second grade class was studying history. They were learning the names of the American Presidents. The class saw a video of Mrs. Cooper’s trip to Washington, D.C. The teacher stood in front of a very large building. She said it was the White House, where the President lives. Wouldn’t it be fun to play in the White House’s big green yard?
The video showed many museums and statues. The kids saw statues of past Presidents. The statue of Abraham Lincoln was huge. He was sitting in a chair. Next to it Mrs. Cooper looked very small. There was a very large pool. Wouldn’t that be a nice place to cool off? The kids saw a very, very tall, pointed building. Mrs. Cooper said it was the Washington Monument. It was to honor our first President.
Mrs. Cooper asked if the class had any questions. “Is it a long way to Washington,” someone asked? Someone else asked if she climbed to the top of the Washington Monument. Curtis asked if just anybody could have a statue in Washington.
“Statues and monuments honor special people,” said Mrs. Cooper. The ones in Washington honor our Presidents. They were great men. They deserve to receive honor.
Jesus was the greatest man who ever lived. He and His disciples went to Bethany. Some of Jesus’ best friends lived there. Simon asked Jesus and the disciples to have dinner with him. Jesus had healed Simon of a very bad sickness. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were also there.
After dinner, Mary left the room. She came back with a beautiful white box or bottle. What would she do with the bottle? Mary broke open the top of the bottle. A wonderful perfume smell filled the room. Then she poured perfume onto Jesus’ head and feet. Mary knelt down and wiped Jesus’ feet. She didn’t use a towel. She used her long hair!
Why did Mary do such a thing? The perfume and bottle were worth lots of money. Some thought Mary wasted the money. Judas said, “It should have been sold. We could have given the money to the poor.” Judas carried the bag of money for all the disciples. Sometimes he kept part of the money for himself. He was also the man who told Jesus’ enemies where to find Him. Do you think Judas really cared about poor people?
Jesus said, “Leave Mary alone. She did a good thing.” Mary wanted to show how much she loved Jesus. The perfume was the best thing she had. She was honoring Jesus.
Mary knew Jesus was going to die soon. How did she know that? Remember, Mary sat at Jesus’ feet and listened to Him teach. He told people He would have to die. Mary remembered what Jesus said. He was the only one worthy to receive her special gift. He deserved it!
Your memory verse says, “You, O Lord are worthy to receive glory, and honor and power.” Jesus has power to do miracles, like healing the sick. He has power to say no to Satan. And, God gave Jesus power to come alive again.
You can honor Jesus, too. You don’t have to give Him perfume. You can honor Him by obeying His commands. You can honor Him in songs. Coming to Sabbath School and learning your Bible verses honor Jesus. He deserves honor because He is God’s Son. He does many good things for us!
Student Prayer
Dear Father, Thank you for the story about Mary and how she honored Jesus. He is the One who is worthy of praise and honor. He deserves it! Help me to honor Him by obeying your commands and by coming to Sabbath School and reading and memorizing my Bible. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
Daily Devotions
Sunday: Matthew 26:7
Monday: Psalm 34:18
Tuesday: Proverbs 3:9
Wednesday: Hebrews 3:3
Thursday: Revelation 4:11
Friday: Psalm 133:1-2
Saturday: Proverbs 27:9
Objectives
At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
1. Define the word “worthy.”
2. Name some ways in which we honor people today.
3. Tell what Mary did to honor Jesus.
4. Give the reason why Jesus is worthy of honor.
5. Recite their memory verse.
Topics & Themes
Bethany
Disciples (Judas)
Honor God
Jesus, Anointing of
Jesus, God the Son
Judas
Lazarus
Loving God
Mary and Martha
Money
Obedience
Perfume
Praise
Worthy
Materials Needed
Bible, YEA Students’ and Teacher’s books, magazine pictures of Washington D.C. sights, perfume or fragrance oil, “milk glass” bottle or vase, shoe box, wrapping paper and bow, construction paper, scissors, crayons, songbook, CD or tape, music player, attendance and memory verse charts, stars or stickers
Preparation
As a teacher, you should be aware that your primary aged children are awkward and restless. They cannot sit quietly in one place for the entire Sabbath School class. They need opportunities to move around. If your room is small, you may try seating them on the floor for the lesson time, and allowing them to stand at a table for their craft time. When asking a question of the class, tell the children to stand to their feet if they know the answer, instead of raising their hand. Remind them that they must wait until called on to give the answer.
Varying your teaching methods, and giving children an opportunity to participate in an active way will help to keep their interest and attention. Since primaries are inquisitive, they enjoy handling objects. Use visual aids that are not easily broken. Allow the children to use their sense of touch, smell, and taste as well as their sight.
Bring a perfume bottle or fragrance oil for the children to smell. Be careful that they don’t spill it. If you can locate a “milk glass” bottle or vase it will be similar to the alabaster bottle.
For today’s lesson you should cut out and display magazine or travel folder pictures of various Washington, D.C. sights - including the White House, Lincoln Memorial, Washington Memorial, etc. Tell the children what these buildings are. Explain to them that many of them were built to honor a past President.
Today’s key word is worthy. The Presidents were worthy, or deserved to have a building named after them. Jesus was worthy, or deserved the very best that Mary had to offer.
Before class, separately gift wrap a shoe box and lid. Place a bow on top of the lid. Enlarge the patterns given on the pattern page in the center of this book and copy on construction paper.
How to Teach This Lesson
Jesus’ visit to Simon’s house - Jesus had often been to the town of Bethany, which was about two miles from Jerusalem. This time He was being entertained by a man named Simon. Jesus had previously healed Simon of the dreaded disease of leprosy. Mary, Martha and their brother Lazarus also lived in Bethany, and were present at this gathering. Ask: Do you remember a time when Jesus went to their house for dinner? Martha was busy cooking and cleaning. She was busy serving a meal. What was Mary doing? Mary sat a Jesus’ feet and listened carefully to every word Jesus taught.
Jesus is worthy - Mary sat at Jesus’ feet and listened very carefully. She didn’t want to miss hearing one word that He said. And when the meal was over, she wanted to do something special for Jesus. She wanted to honor Him with the very best that she had. Jesus is worthy of our worship and praise. He is worthy of our life and our service – the very best that we have.
Alabaster perfume bottle -The Bible dictionary describes the “box” in today’s lesson as a flask or bottle. It was made out of alabaster, which is a translucent white substance, sometimes having white lines running through it. (Show them the “milk glass”) It was filled with perfumed oil that was used to prepare bodies for burial. This bottle was sealed to preserve the fragrance, and often the neck of the bottle had to be broken in order to pour out the oil. (Open your perfume bottle and allow the children to smell the fragrance) It was very expensive, worth about a year’s wages. Once the bottle was broken, it could not be sold.
Judas didn’t like it - Judas was quick to accuse Mary of being wasteful. He made a great show of wanting to use the oil to help feed the poor. Ask: Why do you think he wanted Mary to sell the oil and give the money to feed the poor? Do you think he really cared about poor people? In truth, Judas was being greedy. It was his job to carry the bag of money. He would often help himself to some of the money that belonged to the other disciples. He felt that by anointing Jesus with the oil, she had taken something away from him.
Jesus helped Mary - He told the people that Mary had acted out of love. She knew that Jesus would soon have to die. She might not ever have another chance to give something to Him. The thing that she gave was the best that she had. She was trying to say, “You, O Lord are worthy to receive glory, and honor and power.” No one else was worthy of such a gift! Ask: What can you do or give to Jesus to honor Him? Allow the children to think of as many things as they can.
Review Questions
1. Who were Jesus’ friends who lived in the town of Bethany?
2. What did Mary do to honor Jesus?
3. Why did Judas scold Mary?
4. What does our memory verse mean when it says Jesus was worthy to receive honor?
5. How do we honor people today?
6. What can you do to honor Jesus?
Teacher-Directed Activity
Give each child a plain sheet of construction paper, and one that has the patterns printed on it (patterns are located on the pattern page in the center of this book). Explain that we are preparing a gift to give to God. Tell the children that they will all want to give something. They can do as many of the following things as time allows, and place them in the box. Make sure that they write their name on each item. When everyone has placed their gifts in the box, close it and keep it in a prominent place in your room. You can take something out of the box each week and ask if that person has remembered his or her gift to God. Trace their hand and cut it out - Showing that they will do things that are good, like helping their parents, or cleaning their room.
Trace their foot and cut it out - Showing that they will go to Sabbath School each week.
Cut out a mouth - Showing they will use their mouth to sing praises to God, to invite someone to Sabbath School.
Cut out a child praying - Showing they will talk to God every day.
Cut out the Bible picture - Showing they will read their devotionals each day and learn their memory verse each week.
Cut out the Ten Commandments - Showing they will do their best to obey God’s commands.
REACH Activity
Special Materials: yarn for hair, small bottle (like an empty perfume bottle or spice jar)
1. On heavy paper, have kids draw a picture of Mary washing Jesus’ feet. Starting with just an outline of the picture (don’t let them color it yet), they can glue on yarn pieces for Mary’s hair. Using construction paper, let them draw the shape of a broken bottle and use smaller pieces of paper for the broken parts of the bottle and glue those in place. Let the glue dry before continuing. Then they can use paint or chalk to complete the picture, adding details from the YEA lesson. This picture can be hung in their room or given as a gift.
2. Have kids read the Fifth Commandment that God gave us. Respect is another word for honor. Ask: How do you honor or respect your mother and father?
3. Children can make an invitation for a special friend to come over and share a meal.
4. Be a cartographer: Have children draw a map of Jerusalem and label surrounding cities, landforms, bodies of water, and points of interest. Use brown paper to make it look old and real.
5. Tell kids to write a biography poem about Mary, Martha, and Lazarus—a poem about their lives.
6. Have kids research the perfume that Mary used to wash Jesus’ feet. (Hint: Use a Bible dictionary.)
7. Kids should add to the lesson timeline that they began after lesson one.
8. Sing: “Oh How I Love Jesus” on page 66 of Kids Classics Collection. Ask: Can you add another verse to the song that tells why you love Jesus?
9. Tell children to write three things they could do to show someone how much they love them.
10. Have kids write three things they could do to show how important someone is.
11. Ask: Can you think of someone you love who is very important? Why do you love that person? Why is that person important? Children should plan to do something to show that person how much they love them and tell them why they are important.
12. Tell kids to write three reasons they should love Jesus.
13. Have kids ask their moms to find a small, empty bottle such as a spice bottle, or an empty perfume bottle. They should write their memory verse on a small piece of paper, roll it up and put it in the bottle. Then they can put the bottle on their dresser or nightstand to remind them to show Jesus honor in what they do each day, because He is worthy.
14. Sing: “Wonderful Words of Life” on page 43 of the CEM Hymnal. Ask: What beautiful thing happened to Jesus in Lesson 2? They should add it to the wonderful word section in their notebook. Learning to honor our Lord is good, right, and beautiful.
Song
“Praise Him, Praise Him” is on page 76 of the Kids Classics Collection.
Closing Prayer
Have one of the children lead in a prayer of praise.
Printable Pages
