Free Bible lesson for kids · Ministry in Galilee

The Pool of Bethesda

A man had been sick for thirty-eight years, lying by the pool of Bethesda. Jesus asked him, “Wilt thou be made whole?” and told him to rise, take up his bed, and walk.

Teach this lesson: film, sheets and guide Print the coloring page

Bible passage: John 5:1–15
Big idea: Jesus has power over every sickness.
Memory verse: Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. John 5:8 (KJV)
Ages: Preschool to preteen (3 to 12), with tips for each age
Time: About 45 minutes
Included, free: Animated story film, coloring page, class sheet, teacher guide, questions and answers, a game

The story

In Jerusalem there was a pool called Bethesda, with five porches (John 5:2). Many sick people lay there, waiting for the water to move (John 5:3). One man had been sick for thirty-eight years. Jesus saw him and asked, “Wilt thou be made whole?” (John 5:5–6). The man said, “Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool” (John 5:7).

Jesus said, “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk” (John 5:8). At once the man was made whole, took up his bed and walked (John 5:9). It was the Sabbath, and some people said he must not carry his bed (John 5:10). Later Jesus found him in the temple and said, “Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more” (John 5:14). The man went and told them it was Jesus who had made him whole (John 5:15).

Read it in the Bible: John 5:1–15 (KJV)

¹After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ²Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. ³In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. ⁴For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. ⁵And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. ⁶When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? ⁷The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me. ⁸Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. ⁹And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath. ¹⁰The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed. ¹¹He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk. ¹²Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk? ¹³And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place. ¹⁴Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. ¹⁵The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole.

Questions to ask

How long had the man been sick?
Thirty-eight years.
What did Jesus ask him?
“Wilt thou be made whole?”
What did Jesus tell him to do?
Rise, take up his bed, and walk.

What this story teaches

Jesus sees people who are hurting and alone (John 5:6–7).
Jesus can help when no one else can (John 5:7–8).
Jesus’ word has power to make people whole (John 5:8–9).
Jesus wants us to stop sinning, not just get well (John 5:14).
We should tell others what Jesus has done for us (John 5:15).

Jesus Gives Everlasting Life

Jesus made the man whole with just a word. Whoever hears Jesus’ word and believes God, who sent Him, has everlasting life.

John 5:24

A 45-minute lesson plan

5 min	Welcome and pray. Greet each child by name and pray: Pray for someone who is sick.
10 min	The story. Play the story film: each verse appears on screen in the King James Version while the scene plays. Pause to ask what happens next.
10 min	Talk about it. Ask the three questions below. Then ask: “Jesus has power over every sickness.” What does that mean for us?
5 min	Memory verse. Say John 5:8 together, covering one word at a time until the children can say it alone.
10 min	Activity. Younger children color the coloring page while you retell the story; older children do the class sheet (memory-verse fill-in, word search and questions).
5 min	Pray and send home. Pray together and send the sheet home so families can talk about the first question this week.

Preschool: keep it short and physical. Act out the story, use a simple prop, and repeat the big idea in one sentence.
Elementary: let children find the passage in their own Bibles. Ask “who, what, where” questions first, then “why.”
Preteens: read the verses before and after the passage, and ask how this story fits the whole story of the Bible.

Game time

For kids · game · indoors · about 8 minutes

Rise and Walk

You need: A towel or mat for each child, a blue sheet for the pool

Everyone lies on their mat around the “pool”.
When the leader calls “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk!”, kids jump up, roll their mat and carry it to a new spot.
When the leader calls “The water is stirred!”, everyone rushes to touch the pool and back.

The man had been sick for thirty-eight years. Jesus spoke, and he rose up and walked.

For youth group · game · indoors · about 15 minutes

Thirty-Eight Seconds

You need: A timer, cups, ping-pong balls, a Bible

Set up quick challenges, each one done in 38 seconds: stack 10 cups and unstack them, bounce a ball into a cup, say the books of the New Testament, find Psalm 23.
Teams send a player to each challenge.
Talk: thirty-eight seconds is short. Thirty-eight years is a long time to wait.

Jesus asked, “Wilt thou be made whole?” He can change in a moment what we’ve carried for years.

Pray

Pray for someone who is sick.