(10 minutes, moderate set-up)
Students will discuss the meaning and significance of the title Messiah.
Provide three Bible dictionaries or three study Bibles. Be sure that these resources contain the meanings for the following words: Word (or logos), Savior, and Messiah. Also bring paper, pens, and a dry erase board and marker.
Learning Goal: Students will examine how Scriptures from both the Old and New Testament point to Jesus as the Messiah.
Call on a volunteer to read John 1:1–18 dramatically, as though a proclamation is being made. Afterward, explain that there are several words that have been used in this lesson that may need more study.
Write the words Word (or Logos), Savior, and Messiah in three columns on the dry erase board. Then, divide students into three groups. Assign one of the three words from each column to each group. Give them five minutes to look up their assigned words on the Internet, or in the Bible dictionaries or study Bibles and to develop an agreed-upon definition. (Possible answers: Word (or Logos)—Greek, meaning “word” or “expression” since Jesus is the expression or revelation of God; Savior—“deliverer” or “preserver” because God sent His Son, Jesus, to save and deliver us from sin and death; Messiah—the Greek version of this Hebrew word is Christos, also translated as Christ, meaning “anointed one,” a more perfect king than David.)
Last, call the groups back together and instruct someone from each group to write or illustrate their definitions beneath the word in the correct column. Call on each volunteer to offer an explanation of the definition or illustration. After each group has shared, emphasize that this passage uses the Greek word logos to clearly indicate that Jesus was the revealed Savior and Deliverer that God had promised. Ask: What meaning do these ancient words have for us today? Allow for a few minutes of discussion, highlighting Jesus’ identity as the One who was God’s plan to save His people.