“Luke 12–17; John 11,” New Testament Institute Teacher Manual (2025)
Luke 12–17; John 11
The Savior warned of hypocrisy, self-righteousness, and covetousness. He emphasized the need for repentance and to prepare for His Second Coming. He taught several parables, including the parables of the great supper, the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son. He healed ten lepers and raised Lazarus from the dead.
Additional Resources
Scripture Helps: New Testament, “Luke 12–17; John 11”
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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Do you ever find yourself making excuses for not fully living the gospel? As you study Luke 14:15–33, consider what it means to be a fully committed disciple of the Savior.
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Think of a time you have felt lost, neglected, isolated, or forgotten. Read Luke 15:1–10, looking for a message of hope. You could also watch “The Hope of God’s Light” (6:46).
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Some people feel that God can never forgive or love them because of their sins. What messages of hope do you find in Luke 15:11–32 that could help someone who feels this way? You could also watch “The Prodigal Son” (5:36).
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How often do you express gratitude to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ? As you study Luke 17:11–19, ponder how expressing gratitude to God can increase your faith in Him.
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John 11:35 (“Jesus wept”) is the shortest verse in the scriptures. Read John 11:1–46 to learn why Jesus wept. What do you learn about His character and attributes?
Questions and Sharing
Provide time for students to ask questions and share insights and truths they discovered in their personal study of Luke 12–17; John 11.
Skill Training
John 11:1–46 might be a helpful place to use the skill “Listening with Love” 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 excuses may be keeping me from following the Savior?
Consider writing the word Excuses on the board. You could invite students to come to the board and write examples of excuses people may give for not attending church, fulfilling callings, or ministering to others.
Explain that Jesus shared the parable of the great supper while eating a meal at the house of a Pharisee. You could read the parable in Luke 14:16–24 and ask students to look for how people responded to the man’s invitation to attend the supper. Invite students to share lessons they learn from this parable. You could ask questions like the following:
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How is the gospel of Jesus Christ like a great feast?
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What can we learn about ourselves from the excuses we make for not doing the Lord’s work?
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What do these verses teach about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ?
Point out that in Luke 14:25–33, the Lord taught what He expects of His disciples—those who have accepted the invitation to attend His supper. You could read all of these verses if you have time, or you could read verse 33 only. (If students struggle to understand Luke 14:26, you could review “Luke 14:26. What is meant by the word ‘hate’?” in Scripture Helps: New Testament.) After reading, you could display the following principle: As disciples of Jesus Christ, we must be willing to forsake all things to follow Him.
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What are some examples of things we can forsake or sacrifice to follow Jesus Christ?
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What are common excuses that can keep us from following the Savior?
Invite students to ponder what they might find difficult to forsake, or give up, if the Savior asked them to. You could also invite students to share examples of people who have made sacrifices for the Lord.
To help students apply what they are learning, invite them to write about the following:
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An experience when they made a sacrifice to follow the Savior
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An experience when they made an excuse that kept them from following the Savior
Encourage students to think about what they will do when they find themselves wanting to make an excuse that will keep them from following the Savior.
How does the Savior feel about those who are lost?
You could write on the board the words lost, neglected, isolated, and forgotten. Invite students to briefly share some reasons people can feel this way. Encourage students to think of someone they know, perhaps including themselves, who may be experiencing these feelings. Invite them to consider how truths taught in the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin can help them or people they know.
Point out that the Savior shared these parables when the Pharisees criticized Him for associating with publicans and sinners—people they viewed with contempt and considered spiritually lost.
To prepare students to study these parables, consider displaying the following images:
Rescue of the Lost Lamb, by Minerva Teichert
The Lost Drachma, by James Tissot
Students could work in small groups and read together Luke 15:4–10. (You could also watch “Jesus Declares the Parable of the Lost Sheep” [2:20] to help students visualize the parable of the lost sheep.) Invite them to look for what they can learn about Jesus Christ from these parables.
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What can we learn from the similarities and differences between these two parables?
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What do the actions of the shepherd and the woman teach us about Jesus Christ? (Students may identify a truth similar to the following: Jesus Christ seeks us out when we are lost.)
To help students learn more about the Savior from these parables, display and discuss the following statement by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf:
Over the centuries, this parable has traditionally been interpreted as a call to action for us to bring back the lost sheep and to reach out to those who are lost. While this is certainly appropriate and good, I wonder if there is more to it.
Is it possible that Jesus’s purpose, first and foremost, was to teach about the work of the Good Shepherd? …
Our Savior, the Good Shepherd, knows and loves us. He knows and loves you.
He knows when you are lost, and He knows where you are. He knows your grief. Your silent pleadings. Your fears. Your tears. …
Because He loves you, He will find you. He will place you upon His shoulders, rejoicing. (“He Will Place You on His Shoulders and Carry You Home,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2016, 102)
Consider inviting students to share experiences when they have felt lost, neglected, isolated, or forgotten and the Savior has helped them. Explain that the Savior often helps us and answers our prayers through other people. To conclude, invite students to ponder the following questions:
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How can I show my gratitude for the Savior’s willingness to rescue me?
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Who may need to feel the Savior’s love and concern through me today?
How does Heavenly Father feel about those who return and repent?
Invite students to share how they might feel if a close friend or family member said to them, “After what I have done, there is no way God loves me anymore or would ever want me back.” Invite students to look for truths in the parable of the prodigal son that could bring hope to someone who feels this way.
Write on the board the words father, prodigal son, and brother. Invite students to form groups of three people and to each select one of the people written on the board. Have students read together Luke 15:11–32, viewing the parable through the eyes of the person they selected. After students have finished reading, have each group member take a turn and share their thoughts about the parable.
Point out that in this parable, the father represents Heavenly Father. Consider asking the following questions:
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What do we learn about Heavenly Father by how the father in the parable responds to each son?
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What did you learn from this parable that could help those who feel they are not worth saving? (Students may identify a truth like the following: Heavenly Father compassionately rejoices over and forgives all those who repent.)
You could read and discuss the following statement by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf:
No matter what may have happened in your life, I echo and proclaim the words of my beloved friend and fellow Apostle Elder Jeffrey R. Holland: “It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s [atoning sacrifice] shines” (“The Laborers in the Vineyard,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2012, 33).
Though choices may have taken you far away from the Savior and His Church, the Master Healer stands at the road that leads home, welcoming you. …
It is my prayer that each one of us may hear, in this profound parable, the Father’s voice calling us to enter the road that leads home—that we may have the courage to repent, receive forgiveness, and follow the path that leads back to our compassionate and merciful God. (“The Prodigal and the Road That Leads Home,” Liahona, Nov. 2023, 88)
You could discuss how this parable could be a message of hope for someone who feels they could never be loved or welcomed back by God.
Allow students time to record thoughts or spiritual impressions they have had throughout this learning activity. Invite some students to share what they have learned or felt about Heavenly Father during your discussion.
How can expressing gratitude strengthen my faith in Jesus Christ?
Improving Our Teaching and Learning
Encourage students to use self-assessments. A self-assessment can be an important tool to help learners think more deeply about how they are living a gospel principle. When introducing self-assessments, reinforce that they are opportunities for growth and not tools for self-criticism.
You could display the handout “Gratitude Self-Assessment” or provide it to students.
Invite each student to consider what they can do to become a more grateful person as they study the story of the ten lepers.
You could begin by watching “Leprosy” (0:55) or by briefly reviewing what the disease was and how lepers were treated in biblical times (see Guide to the Scriptures, “Leprosy,” Gospel Library).
Invite students to carefully study Luke 17:11–19 and look for the relationship between gratitude and faith in God. Encourage them to record a principle that summarizes what they are learning.
After allowing time for study, invite students to share the principles they recorded. (They may identify a principle like the following: Expressing gratitude to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ is an important way to demonstrate our faith in Them.) As students share, consider asking some of the following questions to help deepen their understanding:
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How could expressing gratitude to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ strengthen your faith in Them? (To help students recognize other ways God can bless them for expressing gratitude, consider watching some or all of “President Russell M. Nelson on the Healing Power of Gratitude” [11:38].)
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What can help you feel more gratitude for Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ? What are ways you can show your gratitude to Them?
You could invite students to take a few minutes each day over the next week to record at least one way Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have blessed them that day. You could invite students to send each other reminders during the week. It may be helpful to provide a way for them to report on their experience.
What can we learn from the Savior about dealing with death and grief?
Consider displaying the picture below and inviting some students to briefly share challenges that come when a loved one dies.
You could share the following statement by President Henry B. Eyring:
Each of us will be tested by facing the death of someone we love. The hardest part of that test is to know what to do with the sorrow, the loneliness, and the loss that can feel as if a part of us has been lost. Grief can persist like a chronic ache. And for some there may be feelings of anger or injustice. (“Face Life’s Tests with the Savior’s Help,” New Era, Apr. 2019, 4)
To prepare students to discuss what we can learn from the Savior about dealing with death and grief, consider summarizing the events in John 11. You could do this by having students read the chapter heading for John 11. Or you could invite a student who is familiar with the chapter to summarize it in their own words. You could also watch “Lazarus Is Raised from the Dead” (7:53).
Divide students into small groups. Invite them to read one of the columns from the handout “What Can We Learn from the Savior about Dealing with Death and Grief?” Then invite them to discuss what they learn from the Savior about death and grief. (In the activity, students are encouraged to practice the skill “Listening with Love” in Scripture Study Skills.)
You could invite students to share how one of the principles they discovered has or could help them or someone they know when dealing with death and grief. Encourage students to share what they have learned with someone they love.