The Greatest Gift of All
Sunday School Lesson: Epiphany and the Gifts of the Magi
Receiving presents is, for children, a big highlight of Christmas and birthdays (or any occasion that calls for gifts). This lesson considers what it means to give and receive gifts. The visitation of the Magi at Epiphany reminds us that we should earnestly seek Jesus and think about what we can give Him in our lives. We also remember that the greatest gift we have ever been given is Jesus Christ and salvation in Him!
When we consider the story of Epiphany, there’s often great emphasis on the Magi, and with good reason: these men followed the star to seek out the Savior, sacrificing and bringing gifts along the way. However, it is important to remember that the true star was the Christ child. Jesus is the greatest gift of all, and we celebrate His coming to Earth as Messiah. God has sought us and made us His own, and we can celebrate that every day!
Passage: Matthew 2:1-12
Target Audience: Kindergarten-6th grade
Materials Needed: Construction paper; decorative supplies; glue; markers or crayons; tape; scissors; paper plate; containers/boxes; pictures of stars; maps; toy babies; Bibles.
Lesson Opening: This passage recounts the visit of the wisemen (Magi) to Jesus. They followed a star to the Christ child and brought special gifts. Celebrate the Epiphany with some fun games and crafts. To get students thinking and ready to learn, consider an activity opener along these lines:
- Find the baby: Hide a small baby toy in the classroom and invite students to look for it. For younger children, turn it into a “hot and cold” game by providing hints to get closer to the baby.
- Enjoy “king cake” in honor of the Magi. Hide a small bean or chocolate coin inside a cake, and celebrate the finder of the coin as “king” for the day.
- Star gazing: look at pictures of constellations or videos. Talk about stars and their uses throughout history to guide people, just as the Magi followed the star.
- Pin the star over the stable: While it might not have been to the stable in Bethlehem that the Magi came, they did visit the Holy Family, guided by the star. Have a manger scene (or other representation of Jesus), and invite kids to tape a star over it, while blindfolded.
- Name that gift: in honor of the gifts of the Magi, play a gift guessing game: wrap several items in gift wrap and have students guess what is inside each one.
- Gift grab relay: divide students into two teams and line them up to race. Have one student at a time run across a playing area to a spot that includes various presents. The student will unwrap the gift and bring it back to the line, tagging the next player to run for another gift. To add a layer of interest, have students on one side of the room re-wrap the presents and pile them back up.
- We three gifts: look at real-life examples of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and talk about what each gift would have provided.
Explain that the lesson reviews a special visit that Jesus had as a baby from some people who knew He was worth great sacrifice and effort. We can give good gifts to Jesus, too, because we know that He is the greatest gift we have been given by God.
Bible Lesson:
The passage in this lesson is a story that many children are likely familiar with, as it is told along with the Nativity account frequently. The visit of the Magi is interesting and significant, whether it goes along with the Luke 2 passage or is celebrated separately as part of Epiphany. This story is a fun one to act out, or it can simply be read for details. Have older students take turns reading, or read out loud for younger kids.
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” -Matthew 2:1-2
This passage gives us a little background on the Magi, although there are still plenty of details we don’t know. We see that they visited after Jesus was born (though we don’t know how much later), and that they came from the East (though we don’t know exactly where). They were some sort of scholars or astronomers who had seen an amazing star and understood it to have special meaning. They knew that the star they saw led to the king, though, and they had gone to great lengths in order to find Him. They traveled at great cost and danger in order to meet Jesus, even though they weren’t Jews and didn’t know everything about Him.
Ask: Who would you want to meet most of all? What would you be willing to sacrifice in order to meet that person?
When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’” -Matthew 2:3-6
Unfortunately, the Magi went to the wrong person. Herod was wicked and selfish, and he felt threatened at the thought that someone else would be king. First, he checked in to see what had been prophesied about a new king, and was upset to learn that it was said a ruler would come out of Bethlehem. The last thing he wanted was a new king coming, and he must have realized if these men had traveled to see him, others might be paying attention to him, too. It had been spoken that the Messiah would come out of Bethlehem, where Jesus was born.
Look: Take a look at a map to observe where the cities mentioned were in relation to one another (especially helpful for older students). Look at Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Nazareth, and Egypt (where Jesus had to live for a time when Herod came after Him).
Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” -Matthew 2:7-8
Herod sent the Magi on their way to find Jesus, but he certainly did not intend to worship Him. He wanted to know where the new king was so that he could kill him and eliminate any threat to his throne. Of course, the Magi didn’t know that (yet), and thought Herod was only helping them.
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
-Matthew 2:9-12
The Magi continued on their journey, which by this point had taken awhile but was nearing its end. They were very excited to find Jesus with Mary, and they worshiped Him. These men, remember, had come from far away and were not raised in the Jewish faith. Yet they knew that Jesus was worthy of worship, and they bowed down to Him. They presented their gifts to pay tribute to Him. Gold was valuable, and likely could have helped fund the journey to Egypt. Frankincense was sort of a perfume, but could also have been sold or used later. Myrrh was a special ointment that was actually used sometimes for burials. All of the items might seem strange to us today, but were precious and expensive gifts given out of generosity and worship.
Ask: What would you give Jesus if you went to visit Him as a baby? What are things we can give Jesus now?
This story reminds us of several important things. For one, we celebrate that Jesus is the light of the world, given and shining for us like the star that led the Magi. We also see how they brought special gifts to the Christ child, working hard to travel and meet Him. We also can seek the Lord and give Him our gifts, knowing that He gives us all things. In fact, Jesus Himself is our great gift, offering forgiveness of sins and life itself!
Close with prayer, thanking God for the coming of Jesus and asking for guidance to give Him the gift of our lives.