Jesus the incarnation
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain Christian beliefs about Jesus as the incarnation of God and how this belief is shown in the Bible.
Key learning points
- Incarnation means to be 'made flesh' and most Christians believe that Jesus is the incarnation of God.
- Most Christians believe that Jesus is both fully human and fully divine, and a person of the Trinity.
- Most Christians interpret Isaiah’s Old Testament prophecy as predicting the arrival of Jesus as the incarnation.
- The New Testament shows Jesus as fully human through his humble birth and his ability to feel emotion and pain.
- The New Testament shows Jesus as fully divine through his mother, the Virgin Mary, and his miracles and resurrection.
Keywords
Divine - of or like God, or a god/goddess
Humble - ordinary; not special or very important
Incarnation - to be 'made flesh'; God or a god/goddess in human form
Miracle - extraordinary acts or events that defy the laws of nature
Prophesied - when a prediction about the future has been made
Common misconception
All Christians believe in the incarnation.
There are a small number of Christians who do not believe that Jesus was God. For example, many of Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe in the incarnation.
Teacher tip
You may wish to remind students of the story of Jesus' birth during slide 7.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of sexual content
Supervision
Adult supervision required
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match these words to the correct definitions.
‘anointed one’; chosen by God to bring a new age of peace
in Christianity, this refers to Jesus saving humanity from sin
four books in the New Testament that cover the life of Jesus
Q2.What do Matthew and Mark try to show about Jesus?
Q3.What do Luke and John try to show about Jesus?
Q4.Who do the Gospels say Jesus is the saviour of?
Q5.In the Old Testament, what were the Jewish people waiting for to liberate them?
Q6.What word means an account of what is to come?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the keywords to the correct definitions.
of or like God, or a god/goddess
ordinary; not special or very important
to be 'made flesh'; God or a god/goddess in human form
extraordinary acts or events that defy the laws of nature
when a prediction about the future has been made
Q2.Which event in Jesus' life does the incarnation refer to?
Q3.What does the incarnation show?
Q4.Who believes in the incarnation?
Q5.Which emotions does Jesus show when he turns over the tables of the money changers?
Q6.How did Jesus’ birth show that he was divine?
To help you plan your 8 religious education lesson on: Jesus the incarnation, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 8 religious education lesson on: Jesus the incarnation, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 religious education lessons from the Jesus: how do Abrahamic faiths view Jesus differently? unit, dive into the full secondary religious education curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.