In Pursuit of Jesus - Week #5 Jesus & His Family

There’s No Place Like Home

Take a moment to choose the TV or film family that best reminds you of your family of origin – the family you grew up in as a child. If you don’t find one that kind of fits, think of a family from a TV show or film that does remind you of your family. Here are some examples:

• The Brady’s (The Brady Bunch)
• The Simpsons (The Simpsons)
• The Huxtables (The Cosby Show)
• The Waltons (The Waltons)
• The von Trapps (Sound of Music)
• The Addams (The Addams Family)
• The Camdens (7^th Heaven)

Jesus and His Families

Remember our overarching pursuit – to answer Jesus’ question to us: “Who do you say I am?”

You can lean a lot of about people by getting to know their family. (Read through the Family Matters stories and choose one to share with the teens and then reference the context of the story from the Bible.)

• Jesus’ Genealogy (Matthew 1:1-17) What names do you recognize, and what do you know about those people?
• Jesus Stays Behind at the Temple (Luke 2:41-52)
• Jesus Turns Water into Wine for His Mother (John 2:1-5)
• The Cost of Following Jesus Includes Family Obligations (Matthew 8:18-22)
• Jesus Comes with a Sword, Not Peace (Matthew 10:34-39)
• Who Are My Mother and Brothers? (Matthew 12:46-50)
• Jesus Creates a New Family (John 19:25-27)

Discuss the following questions in reference to your story:

- What can you learn about Jesus’ relationship to family? In other words, what can you learn about the nature of his family relationships – his attitude toward family and his definition of family?

- What can we say (broadly) about Jesus’ relationship to family? How would you sum up what we’ve discovered?

Grafted into Jesus’ Family

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” John 15:5-8

"If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot,

have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the

olive root, do not boast over those branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, 'Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.' Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!" (Romans 11:17-20, 24).

The Process of Grafting

The is how the professionals who work for nurseries describe the process and requirements for grafting…

1. First you need a hardy “root stock”. This plant is vigorous and full of life energy.

2. When you graft, you typically choose a weaker or less hardy plant to graft into the stronger and acclimated root.

3. Professionals typically use grafting only when they want to make a hybrid plant; “a new creature”. For example, they might create a unique plant that can live and thrive in a particular climate with stronger roots than the original plant’s natural ones.

4. Grafting is an art. It’s not easy to make a graft work. You need to know what you’re doing and exercise a lot of patience. If you approach the process quickly or haphazardly, the graft won’t take.

5. When you graft, you cut a branch from the weaker plant or tree. Then you join that open cut to an open cut on the stronger or root tree. This is an intimate process. It reminds us of what Jesus said: “I am the bridegroom, you are my bride.” “I am the vine, you are [my grafted] branches.”

6. Finally, over time, the life of the grafted branch becomes part of the life of the strong plant or tree. Often, the weaker graft actually falls away after a successful graft. Its life is transferred to the root – hidden in it and part of a new species.