The Official’s Son Healed Preschool Lesson
Preschool lesson (ages 3–6, 20 minutes)
1. Welcome (3 min)
Sit in a circle, greet every child by name and show one thing from the story to touch.
2. The little story (5 min)
Teach the refrain first: “The man believed what Jesus said.”
Capernaum was a town by the big lake. In the town of Capernaum lived an important man. He worked for the king. He had a son. His son was very sick. He had a fever. A fever is when your body gets very hot because you are sick.
The boy was so sick that he might die. The father loved his son very much. He was so worried. What could he do?
Then the father heard news: Jesus had come back to Galilee! People said Jesus had done great things in Jerusalem. Jesus was in the town of Cana. Cana was where Jesus had made the water into wine.
Cana was a long way off, up in the hills. It was a whole day’s walk. But the father went to Jesus. Up, up the hills he went. Step, step, step. Can you walk in place with him?
He begged Jesus to come down and make his son well. To beg means to ask again and again, very much. An important man, begging! He loved his son so much.
Jesus answered him. “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will in no way believe.” Signs and wonders are amazing things that only God can do. Jesus wanted people to believe, even without seeing wonders.
But the father said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” He did not give up.
Jesus said to him, “Go your way. Your son lives.” That was all Jesus said. That means: your son is alive and well. The man believed what Jesus said.
Jesus did not go with him. Jesus just said the words. The man did not ask again. He turned around and went his way. He trusted Jesus’ word. He did not see his son get well. But he believed.
It was a long way home. Down, down the hills he went. Maybe he walked all through the night. Step, step, step. The man believed what Jesus said.
On the way, his servants came to meet him. Can you guess what they said? “Your child lives!” they said. Can you say it with them? “Your child lives!”
The father asked them when the boy began to get better. They said, “Yesterday at the seventh hour, the fever left him.” The seventh hour was about one o’clock in the afternoon. Can you count to seven?
The father thought about it. That was the very hour when Jesus said, “Your son lives.” At that very hour, far away, the boy got well! The father knew it was Jesus who had made his boy well. The man believed what Jesus said.
The father believed, and his whole family believed too. Everyone in his house, big and small! They all believed in Jesus.
This was the second sign that Jesus did in Galilee. The first one was at the wedding, when he made the water into wine.
Jesus’ word is strong, even from far away. He can make people well, near or far. The man believed what Jesus said.
3. Talk together (3 min)
- How do you think the father felt on the long walk home?
- What do you think the boy said when his father came home?
4. Move (3 min)
Refrain Freeze: move around the room; when you say the refrain, everyone freezes and says it together.
5. Make (4 min)
Draw a line to who said it.
6. Verse and prayer (2 min)
“Go your way. Your son lives.” — John 4:50 (Go your way → walk in place; Your son lives → open your arms wide and smile)
Dear Jesus, thank you that your word is so strong. Thank you that you hear us, even from far away. Amen.
Lesson for older kids (ages 6–10)
Big idea: Jesus hears every prayer
Memory verse: “Jesus said to him, "Go your way. Your son lives." The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.” — John 4:50 · WEB
The Bible story
A worried royal father runs to Jesus begging help for his very sick boy at home, and one gentle promise fills his whole heart with hope.
Talk about it
- What important job did the man in the story have? — A royal official
- What was wrong at the start of the story? — His son was very sick
- What news did the official hear? — Jesus had come to Galilee
- What did the father do when he heard about Jesus? — He went to find Jesus
- What did the father beg Jesus to do? — Come and heal his son
- What did Jesus say to the worried father? — "Go, your son lives"
Where is Jesus in this story?
The official had to trust Jesus without seeing, and his boy was healed from far away, at the very hour Jesus spoke. This shows us how strong and loving Jesus really is: His words have power over sickness, over distance, and over anything that frightens us. Jesus came into the world to bring healing and hope, and one day He would give up His own life and rise again so that all who believe in Him could live forever. Just as one gentle promise healed a little boy, Jesus' promises are always true, and His love always reaches us wherever we are.
What God wants to tell us
This story shows us that Jesus cares about the things that worry us most, even the ones too big for us to fix. The official could not heal his son, but he ran to Jesus for help, and Jesus met him with love. Jesus did not have to be near the boy to help him, because His love and power reach everywhere, no matter how far apart we are. When we ask God for help and trust His word, we can carry a quiet peace inside us, just like the father walking home before he had even seen the good news.
Prayer
Thank You, God, for loving me and for hearing every prayer I pray. When I am worried or sad, help me to run to You and trust Your words, just like the daddy in this story. Thank You that Your love can reach me no matter where I am. Please take care of the people I love. Amen.
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