Tent Time Devotions
Hop Into the Greatest Story Ever Told
Lesson 2
Do You Have Eyes to See?
Get Ready
Gather Bible andTent Time Devotion, pitch your tent, bring any other items you would like to use to make this family time special.
- Take off your shoes
- The “password” to enter is to tell God something you are thankful for.
- Once everyone has entered, give God a compliment! Praise Him!
- Open in prayer. Keep it simple. Something like…
Dear God we thank you for this time that our family has come together to worship you. We invite your Holy Spirit to join us here in this tent.
Please give us eyes to see you and know more about you as we look at your Word today. We love you! Amen
Listen to God’s Word – This portion of our devotion is to tell the story or set the stage to what is happening. You can read this to your children or have them read some to you. Feel free to also tell the story in your own words or just read part of the Scripture depending on their ages.
A little bit of history.
Remember that we are talking about the time in Jesus’s life when He has been teaching those who would listen about God’s love and how He was the Son of God. It had been promised many years before that God would send His son to save the world from their sins. Some people followed Jesus because He did great miracles and was a wise teacher. Others believed that He was a liar and they wanted to kill Him. Few knew and loved Jesus for who He really was but they sometimes had trouble seeing how everything would work out.
1. The disciples see miracles with their eyes but not with their hearts.
Mark 7:30-52, John 6:1-15
We have all heard of the miracle of the loaves and the fish. Jesus was teaching a large crowd of people in a part of town that was far away from everything else. The people were hungry and didn’t have anywhere to get food. Jesus took a boys lunch and turned five loaves of bread and two fish into enough food to feed 5,000 people. There was no doubt that this was a miracle! The disciples even went and collected 12 baskets of left overs.
Later that same day Jesus told the disciples to go to the next place they were headed and He would meet them there. The disciples got in their boat and started to sail to the other side of the lake. Jesus went up on a mountain top to pray for a while. The wind began to pick up and Jesus could see His men struggling to steer their boat. So, He decided to walk out to meet them. YEP! He walked on the water to get out to the boat.
Do you think the disciples were excited to see Jesus coming?
But when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost.
They cried out, because they all saw him and were terrified. Mark 6:49-50
Why did they think Jesus was a ghost? They had seen Him do many miracles before. They had seen Him calm a great storm on the lake and marveled that the winds and the waves obeyed Him. He had healed people of horrible diseases, made blind eyes see and lame people walk. He had even raised a little girl up from the dead! Why would they think that He must be a ghost if He was walking on water?
They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened. Mark 6:52
The disciples had seen Jesus perform the miracle with the loaves with their eyes, but they still didn’t SEE (understand with their hearts) what was happening. Sometimes when we can’t explain things or don’t understand them, we just tell ourselves that it is not real. Even though the disciples saw Jesus do so many great things, sometimes they had a hard time believing it was real.
2. There was a man that saw who Jesus was even though he was blind.
Jesus and His followers were headed to Jerusalem. Jesus knew that His time on earth was coming to an end. As they passed through the town of Jericho a blind man named Bartimaeus begin to call out to Jesus. Many people told him to stop and be quiet but the man just kept calling to Jesus louder and louder; “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” By calling Jesus the Son of David, Bartimaeus was proclaiming that Jesus was the Promised One that God had sent to save the world.
Even though he could not see with his eyes, Bartimaeus saw the truth with his heart and believed all the things he had heard about Jesus. Jesus called for him and asked what he wanted. Bartimaeus said he wanted to see with his eyes.
And Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road. Mark 10:52
3. Simon the Pharisee and the woman with the alabaster box.
Luke 7:36-50 and Mark 14:1-9
Jesus was invited to dinner at the house of Simon the Pharisee, (a religious leader in the church). While they were having dinner a lady came into the house that was known around town for making bad choices. She took out a bottle of very expensive perfume and poured it over Jesus’s head. Then she kissed and cleaned His feet with her hair and tears.
Some of the guests were angry because they thought she was being wasteful and should have given her expensive perfume to the poor. Simon said if Jesus was a prophet (someone who could hear God speak) then He would know that this was a bad woman and would make her stop touching Him.
Which person in this story saw Jesus for who he really was?
Simon didn’t see Jesus as the Son of God in the first place. He just thought Jesus was a prophet or a good teacher and probably only asked Him to come to dinner so he could ask Jesus questions or make himself look good. Simon did not even treat Jesus like a good guest. He didn’t give Jesus any water to wash off His feet from the dusty roads.
The woman poured special oil over Jesus’ head, washed His feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. She was showing her love for Jesus and believed that He was the one who could forgive her sins.
Discussion – Use this time to talk about what you have read. How did the story make you feel? What was happening or not happening?
Which people in this lesson were confused about who Jesus was?
The disciples believed Jesus was the Son of God but they had a hard time seeing the whole picture. When they didn’t understand the things Jesus was doing or saying, they would get confused and forget who Jesus really was. They wanted to see and believe but sometimes they were afraid.
How do you think you would feel if you had seen Jesus do all those miracles? Would you have believed him and followed him?
Which people from this lesson really saw Jesus and believed in him with all their hearts?
Blind Bartimaeus – Even though Bartimaeus couldn’t see Jesus at all with his eyes, he saw and believed Jesus was the Son of God who had come to save the world with his heart. He had great faith that Jesus could heal his eyes and when Jesus did…he got up and followed him.
The woman with the box of perfume – This woman certainly saw that Jesus was the Son of God and was the one who could forgive her from all she had done wrong.
Jesus told Simon that people who know they need to be forgiven love Him more than those who think they have done nothing wrong.
Application – What can we learn from this story? How can we take what we learn and use it to make a difference in our family?
What do you see?
When you read about the great stories that Jesus did in the Bible, do you find them hard to believe or exciting?
If Jesus did so many great miracles back then do you still think He will do them today?
Bartimaeus and the woman with the box both had something in common that allowed them to see Jesus better than others. Do you know what that was?
They both needed Him! They both new that He was the only one who could help them out of their bad situation.
God doesn’t cause bad things to happen to us but when they do, He uses those times to encourage us to call out to the One who can help us, Jesus!
Have you ever had a hard time when you called on Jesus for help?
What about times when you were sick, afraid, or lonely?
When we see ourselves as one who needs His help, then we will see how great Jesus really is!
When we understand that we have done wrong things and that our sins are what separate us from God, we understand that we need Jesus and His forgiveness.
The woman knew that Jesus was the only one who loved her and could save her from the wrong she had done. She really needed Him! So she really loved Him!
Pray and Watch – Spend a quiet moment in prayer and ask God to let you see Jesus in a new way.
Spend just a minute in prayer and ask God to let you see if there are things in your life that you need to be forgiven for or need help with. Then ask Him to let you see that Jesus is the only one who can forgive you because He is the one who died on the cross for you. Tell Jesus that you believe all that He said was true and trust in Him to help you with your problems.
If your child has never asked Jesus to be the Lord of their life this is a great time to start the discussion. Don’t pressure them to make a decision or put words in their mouths. Be in prayer throughout these devotions; pray and expect the Holy Spirit to do a great and lasting work.
Closing – From now until you meet again.
There are several ways you can close your Tent Time Devotions. Use all of these options or choose the way that is best for your family.
- You can end with a time of sharing what you heard.
- Encourage each person to write down what God told them in a journal.
- Sing a praise chorus together.
- Share prayer request with one another.
- Ask if any member of the family needs help with something. How can you serve them?
- Speak a blessing that God would give each person “Eyes to See”.
A disappearing act – Encourage your kids to look at this story on their own sometime this week.
Did you know about a time after Jesus came back from the dead that He joined two men that had known Him on a journey walking to another town? He walked and talked with them the whole way and they didn’t know who He was. You have to read what they were talking about! When they finally recognized Him, an amazing thing happened. You should really check it out!
Luke 24:13-32
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