FIRST TERM SCHEME OF WORK FOR SS3

2018/2019 ACADEMIC SESSION

FIRST TERM SCHEME OF WORK

WK1-BAPTISM OF JESUS CHRIST
WK2- THE TEMPTATIONS OF JESUS
WK3-CALL TO DISCIPLESHIP
WK4- DEMAND FOR DISCIPLESHIP
WK5-MISSION OF THE APOSTLES
WK6- MISSION OF THE SEVENTY
WK7- THE ARREST AND TRIAL OF JESUS
WK8- THE DEATH ,BURIAL AND RESSURECTION OF JESUS

WEEK 1
THE BAPTISM OF JESUS CHRIST (Matt 4:1-11, Mark 1:9-19, Luke 4:1-4)
Baptism is a sacrament which washes away the original sins and marks the transition into
a new kingdom which is the family of God. The practice of baptism or ceremonial
cleansing as we do today was part of the Jewish tradition .This practice started during
the time of John the Baptist and this was the baptism which Jesus partook in as a means
of identification with the people and to fulfill all righteousness. John the Baptist was
preaching and carrying out his baptismal ministry when Jesus visited him to be baptized.
The accounts of the synoptic gospels of the baptism of Jesus Christ are identical.
According to Matthew and John, the Baptist who was preaching the gospel of
repentance refused to baptize Jesus when he requested to be baptized. This was
because he believed that Jesus was greater than him and also sinless or righteous and as
such had no need for baptism. However, Jesus pleaded with him to baptize him in order
to fulfill all righteousness. And John consented and baptized him.
As Jesus was coming out of the water, the heavens opened and the spirit of God came
down in form of a dove and rested on him and a voice came from heaven saying “This is
my beloved son with whom I am well pleased”.
There are differences among the synoptic gospels as regarding to the time the dove
descended on Jesus Christ. According to Matthew and Mark, the dove came down as
Jesus was being baptized while Luke said it descended after the baptism as Jesus prayed.
Luke 3:21-
Secondly, only Matthew recorded John’s reluctance to baptize Jesus. Others did not
report it.
Significance of Jesus Baptism
(1) The coming down of a dove signifies the Holy Spirit in Christendom and shows that
Jesus is a member of the holy trinity.
(2) The baptism publicly confirmed that Jesus is the messiah and only son of God.
(3) The baptism of Christ also shows that baptism is important in the lives of Christians.
(4) John’s reluctance to baptize Jesus shows that he is aware that Jesus is righteous or
sinless.
(5) Jesus’ baptism was to fulfill all righteousness or divine plan.
(6) The baptism also revealed the humility of Jesus.
WEEK 2
THE TEMPTATION OF JESUS (Matt 1:12-13, Luke 4:1-12)
The synoptic accounts of Jesus temptation are similar. They all recorded that after His
baptism, the spirit led Him to the wilderness where he fasted for forty days and forty
nights being ministered unto by the angels. And the devil also tempted him.
However there is disagreement among the synoptic accounts regarding to the order of
the three temptations. Mark did not give information of the order at all nor describe the
nature of the temptation.
Matthew and Luke had more detailed account of the temptation. The two synoptic
gospels detailed that Jesus Christ was tempted three times.
According to Matthew, the first temptation of Jesus came when he was very hungry
after fasting for forty days and forty nights. The devil used the opportunity to know if he
will use his spiritual power to satisfy his material needs. So he asked him to “Turn stone
into bread if he’s truly the son of God”. But Jesus replied “It is written man shall not live
by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God”.
The second temptation according to Matthew took place in Jerusalem at the pinnacle of
the temple. There the devil told Jesus to jump down for the lord has given his angels
charge over him, to bear him in their hands, so that he will not strike his foot against a
stone. Jesus replied, “You shall not tempt the lord your God.
Thirdly, the devil took Jesus to the high mountain and tried to entice him with worldly
things. The devil said “These beautiful things will belong to you if you fall down and
worship me”. Jesus replied “Be gone for it is written, you shall worship only the lord your
God and only him shall you serve”.
The three synoptic gospels recorded the temptation of Jesus but mark did not mention
the order at all neither did he describe the nature of the temptation. Luke placed
Matthew’s second temptation as the third.
At the end of the temptation, Matthew and Mark reported that the angels came to serve
Jesus and rejoice over his victory over Satan.

The significance of Jesus’ Temptation or Lessons to be learnt from them

(1) We can overcome temptation if we trust in God and pray always.
(2) The first temptation was to force Jesus to place his physical or material need over his
spiritual need which is the word of God.
(3) The second temptation was to make Jesus reduce himself to a magician or a wonder
worker but he overcame.
(4) The temptation of Jesus shows that no one is above temptation but we must try to
overcome it.
(5) If Jesus had bow down to Satan in order to own the world he would have become a
political messiah.
(6) We can overcome the devil by challenging him with the word of God as Jesus did.
(7) We should always be contented with what we have because over ambitiousness can
make us fall to temptations.
Comparison of the synoptic accounts of the temptation
Matthew, Mark and Luke agreed that Jesus was tempted after his baptism and before his
public ministry.
Mark only said that “the spirit drove him out into the wilderness where he stayed and
fasted for forty days and forty nights, tempted by the devil and the angels also
ministered to him.
Mark has no record of the three stages of temptation.
Matthew states that Jesus was tempted in the order below:
(1) To turn stone into bread.
(2) To fall from the pinnacle of the temple.
(3) To worship Satan.
Luke’s account is as follows:
(1) To turn stone into bread (2) to worship Satan (3) to fall from the pinnacle of the
temple.

WEEK 3
CALL TO DISCIPLESHIP (Matt 9:1-13, Mark 2:13-17, Luke 5:1-11)
The call of the first disciple according to Matthew and Mark started as Jesus was walking
around carrying out his heavenly ministry, he met two brothers named Simon Peter and
Andrew and both of them were fishermen. Jesus said to them “follow me and I will make
you fishers of men”. The two of them left their fishing nets immediately and followed
him.
As Jesus moved on he saw two other brothers named James and John with their father
Zebedee in the boat repairing their nets. He called them and they left their boat and
followed him.
The next disciple Jesus called was Matthew the tax collector who was sitting in his office.
Jesus called him and he immediately followed him. The tax collector was also called Levi
the son of Alphaeus according to Mark.
The account of Luke differs from that of Matthew and Mark. According to him, as Jesus
was preaching at the Shore of Gennesaret Lake, there he noticed two empty boats. He
entered one of them which happened to belong to Peter. After his preaching, he told
Peter to throw his net into the sea but Peter refused saying he had toiled all night
without success. However, he later obeyed and was surprised by the multitude of fishes
he caught. He fell down on his knees and said “depart from me for I am a sinful man, o
lord”. Jesus told him and his brother to follow him and become fisher of men.
According to Luke James and John after witnessing this great miracle also decided to
follow Jesus.
It is true these accounts differ in one way or the other but the most striking is that Jesus’
teaching and invitation to the disciples were irresistible because they all abandoned
everything they have and followed him.
According to Matthew, after Matthew had followed Jesus, he invited him to his house
and made him a feast. When the Pharisee saw Jesus in the company of tax collectors and
sinners, eating with them, they queried the disciples of Jesus asking why he should
associate with them. Jesus on hearing this said “those who are well have no need for a
physician but those who are sick”. He further explained that he came not for the
righteous but for the sinners.

Significant Points and Lessons

(a) God can call us anytime to help us no matter our profession.
(b) We should not postpone giving our lives to Christ God because tomorrow may be too
late.
(c) The repentance of sinners is important in the ministry of Jesus.
(d) Jesus association with sinner shows that he has purposely to save them.
(e) We should be ready to suffer for Christ and renounce our earthly possession as Peter
and others did.

WEEK 4
DEMAND FOR DISCIPLESHIP (Matt 8:18-22, Luke 9:57-63, 14:25-33)
For everything we want to do in life we must at one point or the other sacrifice a thing
very costly before we can achieve our goal. So is applicable to following Jesus. Jesus said
that the demands of a discipleship are even harder.
Matthew and Luke gave account of the three would be disciples who later declined to
follow Jesus upon hearing the hard demands which discipleship entails.
The first was a scribe who came to Jesus and said to him “teacher, I will follow you
wherever you go” and Jesus replied “foxes have holes and birds have nest, but the son of
man has nowhere to lay his head” (Matt 8:20) and the man withdrew from him. This was
because he was not physically prepared for the task ahead.
The second would be disciple declined to follow him saying he should wait for him so
that he would bury his father after which he would follow him. He said to Jesus “Lord I
will follow you but let me go and bury my father first”. Jesus replied “let the dead bury
their own dead”. Here Jesus meant that whoever did not receive the gospel was
spiritually dead and therefore they should attend to the physically dead. He also meant
that Christians should put God first in everything they do.
Another would be disciple said “Lord I will follow you but first let me say farewell to
those at my house” but Jesus said “no one who puts his hand on a plough and look back
is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). Here Jesus meant that service to God
demands absolute loyalty. That is to say that if we decide to serve God, we should not
allow earthly things to distract us from God’s work.
Jesus went further to explain that discipleship is not a bed of roses but needed
commitment and loyalty. He said that we should first of all consider the cost or demand
of discipleship before venturing into it. He used the following illustration to teach them
(a) A builder who costs his house first before building.
(b) A warrior who assesses his strength against his enemies before declaring war.
Significant points and lessons
(a) Discipleship requires self denial and abandonment of worldly things.
(b) We should respond promptly to God’s call whenever we are called to serve him like
the first apostles did.
(c) Serving God sometimes may demand abandoning our loved ones and professions.
ASSIGNMENT
(1) Highlight Jesus encounter with Matthew the tax collector
(2) What three lessons can be drawn from the encounter

WEEK 5
MISSION OF THE APOSTLES (Matt 10:1-15, Mark 6: 7-13, Luke 19:1-16)
Jesus after teaching his disciples both privately and publicly sent them on an evangelical
mission. This is to enable him determine the extent to which the disciples had learnt his
instructions and how they would operate independent of him.
According to Matthew, Jesus sent Peter, Andrew, John, James, Matthew, Philip,
Bartholomew, Thomas, Judas Iscariot, John the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Cananaean
and Thaddeus. Jesus before sending them out, gave them power over unclean spirits,
and to heal all manner of diseases and infirmities
He also gave them a code of conduct or instructions that will guide their work and they
are:
(a) They were to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the leper and cast out demons.
(b) They were to go without bags, sandals, copper, silver, gold, and staff.
(c) They were to stay with anybody that accepted them, until their departure.
(d) They were instructed to release their blessing of peace on any house that receives
them but to go with their peace from a family that refused to receive them. They were to
shake off the dust from their feet as a testimony against those that rejected them.
(e) They were to go nowhere among the Gentiles and not to enter Samaria but to gather
the lost sheep of the children of Israel.
This topic is mainly to educate those intending to be ministers, evangelist, ministers of
God, etc on the type of sacrifice and work expected of them as God’s instrument.
Differences in the synoptic accounts of the mission of the twelve
Only Matthew mentioned the names of the disciples sent on the mission. It is only
Matthew that recorded that Jesus instructed his disciples to go nowhere among the
Gentiles and not to enter any house of the Samaritans but to go for the lost sheep of the
house of Israel.
Mark records that the disciples were sent out in twos. Luke and Matthew did not point
this out.

Similarities in the synoptic accounts

All of them recorded that the twelve disciples made great achievement in their mission
as demons were cast out, the sick healed, etc all in the name of Jesus Christ.

WEEK 6
MISSION OF THE SEVENTY (Luke 10:1-24)
The account of mission of the seventy was recorded by Luke. He said that Jesus after
sending the twelve apostles also selected seventy disciples and sent them out in twos
and told them to carry out his evangelical and salvation ministry to the whole towns and
places where he himself will go later.
He told them that “The harvest is plentiful but the labourers are few, pray therefore the
lord of harvest to send out labourers into his harvest”. He also told them he was sending
them out as a lamb in the midst of wolves.
As in the mission of the twelve, they were charged to go without purse, bag and sandals
and not to salute anyone on the road. He also instructed them to give their blessing of
peace to any worthy house they enter. To eat and drink whatever they offered them
because a labourer deserved his wages. However, they were instructed to wipe off dust
on their feet whenever they were rejected so that it will stand as a testimony against
them because such town would suffer more than Sodom on the judgment day.
They were also to heal the sick and preach the good news because the kingdom of God
is at hand. Jesus concluded by informing them that whosoever rejected them rejected
him and whosoever accepted them accepted him.
Achievement of the seventy
They recorded a huge success and returned with joy. They reported that demons are
subject to them in the name of Jesus. Jesus concluded by telling them that they were
given power or authority against serpents and scorpions and over the powers of the
enemy without being hurt. He also told them to rejoice because their names were
written in heaven.
Differences between the mission of the twelve and the mission of the seventy
(a) The seventy were instructed not to greet anybody on the road and that shows that
their mission needs serious and urgent attention.
(b) The mission of the twelve represents a mission to the Jews while the mission of the
seventy represents a mission to the Gentiles.

Significant points/lessons from the mission of the twelve and mission of the seventy
(1) We should be ready at all times to answer God’s call because God can call us at any
time.
(2) Learning is more effective when there is room for practice and that is why Jesus sent
them to be sure they can operate independent of him.
(3) Jesus transferred the authority to do wonders and to cast out demons to his disciples
and it is still effective today.
(4) Christians should all have faith in God for divine providence or provision.
(5) Christians should be prepared to face stiff challenges or persecution in the
evangelical work because they are like sheep in the midst of wolves.
(6) The work of God involves a lot of sacrifices but at the end we will be rewarded
because our name is in the book of life.
(7) When God uses us to heal somebody, we should return all glory to him.

WEEK 7
THE ARREST AND TRIAL OF JESUS
JESUS CHRIST BEFORE THE HIGH PRIEST (MATT 26:36-75)
Jesus after celebrating the last supper with his twelve disciples chose Peter, James and
John. The three chosen disciples went with him to the garden of Gethsemane. There he
instructed them to watch and pray after revealing to them that his end is near and how
sorrowful he was. He went further and prayed thus “My father, if it possible, let this cup
pass from me, nevertheless, not as I will but as thou will.
On three occasions he returned and met them sleeping. He warned them to watch and
pray, so that they might not fall into temptation, since the spirit was willing but the flesh
was weak. As he was speaking with them Judas Iscariot one of his disciples appeared
with a crowd and kissed him thus identifying him to those who came to arrest him.
Jesus willingly followed them but Peter one of his disciples in defense angrily cut off one
of the ear of the servant of the high priest. But Jesus rebuked him and finally
miraculously replaced the man’s ear. This made his disciples to flee for their lives except
Peter who followed them from a distance.
Jesus was led to Caiaphas the high priest for trial. There they arranged two false
witnesses against him in order to find reasons to put him to death.
Firstly, they claimed that Jesus said that he would destroy the temple of God and rebuild
it in three days. To this allegation, Jesus refused to give the high priest any reply. Again
the high priest asked Jesus if he was the Christ and son of God. And Jesus answered;
you have said so ,meaning that he was indeed the Christ. Jesus also told them that very
soon they will see the son of man seated at the right hand of power and coming down
on the clouds of the heaven.
On hearing this, the high priest tore his dress because to him, the statement was
blaspheming and enough reason to condemn him to death. Having condemned Jesus,
the people were happy and immediately spat on his face. Some beat him while others
mocked him.
At this point the cock crowed the third time and as predicted by Jesus, Peter had denied
knowing Jesus three times. The first and second denials were before two maids who
identified him as Jesus follower. The third one was before a bystander who told Peter
that he was very sure that he is one of Christ’s followers. This betrayal made Peter to go
out immediately and weep bitterly.
Later Jesus was taken to Pilate and other Roman authorities because as a roman citizen
the Sanhedrin and high priest had no authority to condemn him.
JESUS BEFORE PILATE AND OTHER ROMAN AUTHORITIES (MATT 27:11-31)
Pilate, after Jesus was presented to him, asked him “are you the king of the Jews”. Jesus
replied, “You had said so”. This is because the people accused Jesus of claiming to be
their king. To other accusation, Jesus refused to make any further response. At the end,
Pilate the governor found Jesus not guilty of any offence.
However, as a result of pressure from the angry mob Pilate presented Barabbas and
Jesus to them to choose a person he would release because it is customary for him to
release any criminal of their choice during their feast. To his greatest surprise the people
chose Barabbas a notorious criminal. As a result of the warning given to him by his wife
not to be involved in condemning a righteous man coupled with the fact that he did not
find Jesus guilty of any offence, he washed his hands before the crowd and declared “I
am innocent of this man’s blood”. He immediately handed him over to the crowd. All the
people shouted was “let the blood be on us and our children”.
JESUS BEFORE HEROD (LUKE 23:6-12)
Luke was the only person that gave the account of the trial of Jesus before Herod.
According to him, Pilate having found Jesus not guilty of the accusations or charges
against him and having discovered that Jesus was a Galilean and under the jurisdiction of
Herod who was then in Jerusalem sent him to Herod for trial.
This is because he had realized that the Jews wanted Jesus dead because they hated
him. So in order to wash his hands off his blood he sent him to Herod.Herod asked
expected to see Jesus to perform wonders for him having heard much of him but he was
disappointed because neither did Jesus answer his question nor perform any miracle in
his presence.
This made Herod and the soldiers to mock him and dress him in an expensive clothe and
sent him back to Pilate.
Finally, Pilate decided to cane him only and released him since neither him nor Herod
found him guilty of any offence but the angry crowd insisted that Jesus must be
crucified. And having no other option, Pilate released Jesus to them to be crucified.
The significance of the trial of Christ and lessons to learn from it
(a) Jesus calmly accepted his fate so that God’s words will be fulfilled.
(b) Like Jesus did, we should always seek for God’s guidance and protection whenever
we are in trouble.
(c) As Christians we must face persecution as Jesus did but the joy of it all is that God
had promised us victory at last.
(d) We should always accept the will of God for us because his thought for us is that of
good and not of evil.
(e) As leaders we should stick to doing what is right instead of doing evil in order to
please our followers.

WEEK 8
THE DEATH, RESURRECTION AND ASCENSION OF CHRIST (Matt 28:1-10, Mark 16:1-
14, Luke 24:1-35)
After Jesus’ trial, he was handed over to the soldiers who mocked and tortured him on
the way to the place of skull called Golgotha. As a result of the degree of the torture and
physical exhaustion, he was unable to carry the cross as expected so the soldiers forced
a man called Simon of Cyrene to carry the cross behind Jesus. A great multitude
according to Luke followed them including the women who were wailing. But Jesus
turned to the women and said “daughters of Jerusalem do not weep for me but weep for
yourself and your children”.
On getting to Golgotha, they gave him wine mixed with gall to drink because he was
thirsty. But Jesus tasted it and refused to drink it. They crucified him and shared his
garment among themselves by casting lots.
Over his head they put the charge against him “this is Jesus, the king of the Jews”. This
was meant to mock him as they claimed he cannot save himself.
Jesus was crucified in the midst of two robbers. The one at the left hand mocked him but
the robber at the right hand side said that Jesus is not a sinful man and requested to be
remembered when Jesus gets to his father’s kingdom and immediately Jesus replied
“today, you will be with me in paradise”.
At about the sixth hour, darkness covered the whole land and about the ninth hour Jesus
cried with a loud voice saying “Eli, Eli la’masabathani”, and this means “my God, my God,
why have thou forsaken me”? To this the people mocked him saying that he was calling
Elijah to save him.
According to Luke, Jesus’ death was preceded by a loud cry, “father, into thy hands I
commit my spirit”. Those who witnessed these said truly this man is the son of God. The
curtain of the temple was torn into two from top to bottom.
The women that followed Jesus from Galilee were
(a) Mary Magdalene (b) Mary the mother of James and Joseph (c) the mother of the sons
of Zebedee (d) Salome

THE BURIAL OF JESUS

After the death of Jesus, one of his disciples who also happened to be a friend of Jesus
called Joseph of Arimathea approached Pilate to allow him take the body of Jesus and
bury it in his own tomb. This was witnessed by Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary
Magdalene and other friends of Jesus.
The words of Jesus on the cross
(a) “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani”? My God, My God, why have thou forsaken me? (Matt
27:46)
(b) “Father forgive them for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34)
(c) “Truly, I say unto you, today, you will be with me in paradise”.
(d) “Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit”.
(e) “Mother behold your son, son behold your Mother”.
(f) “I thirst” (John 19:28)
(g) “It is finished” (John19:28)
THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS (Matt 28:1-8, Mark 16:1-8, Luke 24:1-11)
On the third day after the death of Christ which happens to be Sunday, Jesus after a
great earthquake resurrected as promised. But unknown to the disciples, these women
from Galilee; Mary Magdalene, Salome, Mary mother of James and John went to his
tomb to anoint his body with some spices.
There they were amazed to meet his tomb open and empty. As they were still
questioning themselves an angel in form of a young man in dazzling apparel appeared to
them and said “do not be afraid. You seek for Jesus of Nazareth, He has risen, he is not
here. See the place where they laid him. Go and inform his disciples and Peter that he is
going before you to Galilee, there you will see him as he told you”.
THE ASCENSION OF JESUS
After the resurrection of Jesus and his appearance to some of his disciples, he gathered
his apostles in one place. There, one of his apostles asked him if he will at that point
restore the kingdom of Israel but Jesus replied that it is only his father that knows the
time and season such will happen.
Later he promised them that they will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon
them. The presence of the Holy Spirit will give them boldness to be his witness in
Jerusalem and unto the end of the earth.
After promising his disciples the coming of the Holy Spirit the disciples were looking on
as he was lifted up and a cloud covered him out of their sight. As they were looking into
heaven, two angels in form men clothed in white dress appeared to them saying “men of
Galilee, why do you stand gazing into heaven? This Jesus who was taken up from you
into heaven will come in the same manner as you saw him go into heaven. (Act 1:11).
Significant points and lessons
(a) We should always forgive those who offended us as Jesus did.
(b) No time is too late for us to repent.
(c) His resurrection shows power and victory over death and assures Christians of their
resurrection on the last day.
(d) The great commission shows that evangelism is a continuous process so it is the duty
of today Christians to preach the gospel always.
(e) Jesus’ appearance after resurrection gave Christians strong conviction that he is alive.
(f) The tearing of the temple curtain shows that believers have direct access to God
unlike in the past.