Preschool Object Lesson: Jesus Heals 10 Men of Leprosy

In this object lesson, preschoolers see an experiment with water and colors as they discover how Jesus healed 10 men who had leprosy.

Scripture: Luke 17:11-19

You’ll need:

Bible
4 identical clear glass bottles with a mouth opening at least 1 inch wide (we used Starbucks Frappuccino glass bottles)
container of ice water
thermos of hot water
blue and yellow food coloring
2 playing cards
paper towels

Easy Prep

Practice this object lesson ahead of time once or twice so you’re proficient at placing the bottles together without them leaking too much water.
Place 2 or 3 drops of yellow food coloring into each of 2 glass bottles. Place 2 drops of blue food coloring into each of the other 2 glass bottles.
Immediately before the object lesson, fill the 2 bottles with yellow food coloring completely to the top with hot water. Then fill the 2 bottles with blue food coloring completely to the top with the cold water, making sure none of the ice transfers to the clear bottles.

Separation of Colors

Gather children. Read Luke 17:11-19.

Say: One time Jesus met 10 men who were sick. Their skin was covered with many sores. Since other people didn’t want to get sores on their skin like the men had, the 10 men had to stay away from everyone else. Let’s be scientists and do an experiment to help us think about this true story from the Bible.

Set out one bottle filled with blue water and one bottle filled with yellow water. Explain to kids that even though the liquids are different colors, both bottles are filled with water. Place a playing card over the mouth of the bottle filled with yellow water. Hold the card in place and turn the bottle upside down and rest it on top of the bottle with blue water. The bottles should be positioned so they’re mouth to mouth with the card separating the liquids. Keep paper towels close by in case of spills. Carefully slip the card out from in between the two bottles while holding on to the top bottle as you remove the card.

Point out to kids that the two colors don’t mix even without the card in place. Allow time for them to look at the two bottles.

Ask:

Tell about a time you didn’t get to be with someone you love.

Say: The colors stayed separate from each other, kind of like how the 10 men with sores on their skin had to stay separate from other people. The Bible says that when the 10 men talked to Jesus, they even stood far away from him. Show kids what you mean by standing across the room from them.

The 10 men stayed away from Jesus and the others who weren’t sick just like our two colors of water are doing.

Mix Up the Colors

Say: But when Jesus made the men better, he made it so they didn’t have to stay apart from their friends and families anymore. He made it so those 10 men could live with and be with other people again.

Take the other bottles of blue and yellow water. This time, place the index card on top of the bottle with blue water before flipping it upside down to rest on the bottle with yellow water. Again, carefully remove the index card and allow time for kids to watch as the two colors of water mix.

Point to the bottles with the colors that aren’t mixing.

Say: This reminds us of how the 10 men had to stay away from people because they were sick. Point to the bottles with the colors that are mixing. This reminds us of how Jesus made the men better so they could be with all the other people. They didn’t have to stay separate anymore. And that made one man so happy that he ran back to Jesus and thanked him!

Talk About It

Ask:

Remember the person you love who you thought of earlier? Tell what you did when you finally got to be with that person.

Say: Jesus didn’t just make the 10 men feel better when they were sick. He made it so they could be with the people they loved. That’s why one man came back to Jesus to thank him. Jesus deserved his thanks because he helped him in a big way! Jesus deserves our thanks, too. Jesus loves us and takes care of us every day!

This object lesson comes from Sciency-Fun WOWS!: 54 Surprising Bible Object Lessons (ages 3-7). You’ll find engaging ideas where kids experience science fun that points to Jesus. There’s also one for ages 8-12!

Looking for more object lessons? Check out these posts!