“Matthew 14; Mark 6; John 5–6,” New Testament Institute Teacher Manual (2025)
Lord Save Me, by Eva Koleva Timothy
Matthew 14; Mark 6; John 5–6
After healing a man who had an infirmity for 38 years, the Savior taught that those who believe and follow Him will have everlasting life. He miraculously fed five thousand people and taught that He is the Bread of Life. When Jesus walked on a stormy sea, Peter had the faith to step out of the boat to join Him. But Peter became afraid and began to sink. He cried out for the Savior, who rescued him.
Additional Resources
Scripture Helps: New Testament, “Matthew 14; Mark 6; John 5–6”
The “Introduction to the Course” provides guidance on how to use the four standard lesson elements that follow.
Encouraging Personal Study
Before class, consider sending students one or more of the following messages or some of your own:
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We will all someday face the pain and sorrow that comes when a loved one dies. What can you learn from the Savior in Matthew 14:10–14 about coping with grief and adversity?
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When is the last time you felt fear or doubt? Ponder what you can learn about overcoming fear and doubt as you read Matthew 14:21–33.
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Are you waiting for some kind of healing in your life? Imagine what it must have felt like to be the man in John 5:1–9.
Questions and Sharing
Provide time for students to ask questions and share insights and truths they discovered in their personal study of Matthew 14; Mark 6; John 5–6.
Skill Training
Matthew 14:1–23 might be a helpful place to use the skill “Understanding the Scriptures in Context” in Scripture Study Skills.
Learning Activity Options
Multiple learning options are provided for you and your students. Prayerfully choose which option or options will be most meaningful for your class.
What can I learn from Jesus Christ about responding to adversity?
You might point out that understanding the context of the Savior feeding the five thousand can change how we read the story. To help students practice the skill “Understanding the Scriptures in Context” in Scripture Study Skills, you might do the following:
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Display the following image and ask students what they know about the relationship between Jesus Christ and John the Baptist. (For example, they were relatives [see Luke 1:36]. John prepared the way for the Savior’s mortal mission.)
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Invite students to read in Scripture Helps: New Testament the entry “Matthew 14:1–5. Why was John the Baptist imprisoned by Herod? (Compare to Mark 6:14–20.)” Or you could summarize the circumstances that led to John’s imprisonment and death (see Matthew 14:1–12).
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Invite students to imagine what it might have been like for the Savior to learn that Herod had beheaded John. You might point out that after learning about John’s death, Jesus went to be alone (see Matthew 14:13).
Invite students to study Matthew 14:13–21, looking for how Jesus responded to a growing crowd while still grieving the death of John. As students share their insights, some of the following questions may help deepen their learning:
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How does understanding the context of John’s death influence how you read the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand?
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What can we learn about coping with difficulties and grief from the Savior’s actions? (Students may identify a truth similar to the following: We can follow the Savior’s example by showing compassion and serving others while we experience adversity.)
Consider sharing the following statement by Elder Moisés Villanueva:
Jesus Christ showed us that during times of trial and adversity, we can recognize the difficulties of others. Moved with compassion, we can reach out and lift them. And as we do so, we are also lifted by our Christlike service. President Gordon B. Hinckley stated: “The best antidote I know for worry is work. The best medicine for despair is service. The best cure for weariness is the challenge of helping someone who is even more tired” [Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Gordon B. Hinckley (2016), 205]. (“Favored of the Lord in All My Days,” Liahona, Nov. 2021, 46)
Invite students to ponder experiences they have had with this principle—either giving or receiving service. As students think of their own experiences, consider watching together the video “God Will Lift Us Up” (4:59) or the video “Faith Murray’s Story: Overcoming Adversity through Service” (4:52). Consider providing students with time to share their experiences in small groups.
You could conclude this learning activity by inviting students to reflect on how they can be more like the Savior and look for ways to serve others when they experience grief, loss, or pain.
How can my faith in Jesus Christ help me overcome doubt and fear?
Consider inviting students to think about and record some things that cause fear and doubt in their lives. It may be helpful to discuss what effects doubt and fear can have on our thoughts, actions, and choices.
Invite students to read Matthew 14:22–31, or watch “Wherefore Didst Thou Doubt?” (2:10). Ask them to look for what caused Peter to sink. You could encourage students to imagine what it would have been like to walk on water (see “Visualizing the Scriptures,” in Scripture Study Skills).
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What words and actions of the Savior can help us when we experience doubt or fear?
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What can we learn about fear and faith from Peter’s experience walking on the water? (Students may identify a variety of truths, including the following: If we maintain our faith in Jesus Christ, we will not be overcome by our fears.)
Consider sharing the following statement by President Jeffrey R. Holland:
While his eyes were fixed upon the Lord, the wind could toss his hair and the spray could drench his robes, but all was well—he was coming to Christ. Only when his faith and his focus wavered, only when he removed his glance from the Master … did he begin to sink. …
… I regret that we seem quick to criticize Peter for that fear, for losing his faith, and for faltering in this remarkable moment. … We owe Peter our greatest admiration and commendation for (a) wanting to, for daring to do as his master did, to walk on the water, and (b) actually succeeding in doing so. …
I say this because we need to celebrate faith and encourage faith wherever and whenever we find it, even if it is partial, piecemeal, and inadequate. None of us has the complete, grand faith we ought to have, but we can cherish the faith we do have and commend that which we see in others. (Our Day Star Rising: Exploring the New Testament with Jeffrey R. Holland [2022], 32–34)
You could invite students to share examples of faith in Christ they have experienced or seen—even if they appear to be “partial, piecemeal, and inadequate.”
Invite students to select one of the following sets of questions and to record their responses to them:
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What has helped you or those you know to maintain faith in the Savior? What is something you could do in your everyday life to increase your faith in Him?
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What is distracting you from focusing on the Savior? What can you do to remove this distraction?
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In what ways might you be spiritually sinking? How can you reach out to the Savior and receive His rescuing hand?
You could conclude by sharing your testimony of the Savior or inviting a student to share their testimony. Or you could watch “Be Not Troubled” (4:30) or “Live by Faith, Not by Fear” (1:09).
How can I receive healing in my life?
You could begin by showing the following picture of the man with an infirmity at the pool of Bethesda and reviewing the tradition surrounding the healing powers of these waters (see “John 5:2–9. What was the tradition about the pool of Bethesda?” in Scripture Helps: New Testament).
Invite students to think about the following questions. They could also discuss them with a partner or in small groups:
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What might it have been like to be the man who had an infirmity for 38 years?
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Who do you know who has been hoping and waiting for healing in their lives?
Invite students to read John 5:1–9, or watch the Bible video “Jesus Heals a Lame Man on the Sabbath” (2:24), looking for what we can learn about the Savior from His encounter with the man. You might point out that Bethesda can be translated as “house of mercy.”
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What can Jesus’s encounter with this man teach us about the Savior? (Students might identify a truth like the following: Jesus Christ is merciful and provides hope and healing to us.)
You might share the following statement by President Jeffrey R. Holland:
How long do we wait for relief from hardships that come upon us? What about enduring personal trials while we wait and wait, and help seems so slow in coming? Why the delay when burdens seem more than we can bear? …
… Faith means trusting God in good times and bad, even if that includes some suffering until we see His arm revealed in our behalf. (“Waiting on the Lord,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2020, 115–16)
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What are some ways we can trust in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ as we wait to receive mercy and healing?
Give students time to write about the types of healing they are waiting for. Encourage them to write about the hope and healing they can find through Jesus Christ. They might list a few ways they can trust in the Savior while seeking and waiting for His healing.
Where can I go to satisfy my spiritual hunger?
Consider displaying the following questions, and provide students time to reflect:
In the last 24 hours, what specific things have you done to nourish your body? What about your spirit?
Invite students to reflect on what they are doing to daily nourish their souls as they study the Savior’s Bread of Life sermon.
Point out that after Jesus fed the five thousand, the Savior left them and crossed the Sea of Galilee. Invite students to read John 6:25–26, looking for why the people came to find Jesus. Ask students to also look for what the Joseph Smith Translation of John 6:26 (in John 6:26, footnote a) adds to their understanding.
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What do you think about the people’s reason for seeking the Savior?
You could provide each student with the following handout and invite them to use it to look for reasons for seeking the Savior.
After giving students time to prepare, invite each student to find a partner and share how they would teach about the spiritual nourishment we can receive from the Savior. (Students may articulate a principle like the following: As we partake of the Bread of Life, which is Jesus Christ, we will be spiritually nourished and have everlasting life.)
After giving students time to share, you could conclude by watching “Daily Bread: Pattern” (2:51) and inviting students to reflect on what they are doing daily to receive spiritual nourishment from the Savior.
What should I do if I don’t like something taught by the Lord or His servants?
Improving Our Teaching and Learning
Refrain from judging. One way we can foster a sense of belonging is to be patient and understanding when students struggle with accepting a teaching of the gospel. As students share what they find challenging, strive to understand rather than judge. As you bear testimony of a truth someone may be struggling to accept, do so in a way that is encouraging and not condemning.
Write the following on the board: “This is an hard saying; who can hear it?”
Read John 6:59–60 with students, and invite them to identify who asked the Savior this question.
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What did some of His disciples find to be hard or difficult sayings to accept? (If needed, you or a student could summarize what Jesus taught in the Bread of Life sermon [see John 6:26–56].)
Invite students to read John 6:60–69, looking for what we can learn about responding to difficult teachings from the Savior.
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What reason did Peter give for not walking away? What can we learn from Peter’s answer? (Students could identify a truth similar to the following: A testimony of the Savior can help us remain faithful to Him when we encounter teachings we find hard to accept.)
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How has your testimony of the Savior helped you remain faithful when facing a difficult teaching?
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Why is it important to seek the spirit of revelation when we encounter difficult teachings? (see John 6:63, 65). How have you been blessed by remembering the spiritual experiences that established your testimony of the Savior?
You might display or provide each student with the following statement by Elder Neil L. Andersen. Or you could watch “You Know Enough” (2:06).
Challenges, difficulties, questions, doubts—these are part of our mortality. But we are not alone. As disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, we have enormous spiritual reservoirs of light and truth available to us. … In our days of difficulty, we choose the road of faith. Jesus said, “Be not afraid, only believe” [Mark 5:36].
Through the years we take these important spiritual steps over and over again. We begin to see that “he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day” [Doctrine and Covenants 50:24]. Our questions and doubts are resolved or become less concerning to us. Our faith becomes simple and pure. We come to know what we already knew. (“You Know Enough,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2008, 14)
In small groups, students could discuss how “spiritual reservoirs of light” or “important spiritual steps” have helped or could help them to remain strong when challenged with “hard saying[s]” (verse 60).
To conclude, you or a student might share testimony of what has kept you or them faithful when facing “hard saying[s].”