The gospel of Matthew 2:13-23 tells a haunting story of the escape of Mary, Joseph and Jesus from a tyrant who is seeking to find and kill the child. The family finds refuge in Egypt after escaping from the child’s birthplace of Bethlehem in Judea.
Students can explore this tale of danger, refuge and rescue as it is played out in Matthew’s account. The stories are not appropriate for younger children, especially the stories of the slaughter of the young children in Bethlehem by King Herod the Great. Teachers should be cautious about how they approach this contentious material with their students.
This unit of work provides a number of pathways into the story in Matthew’s gospel. Students read the text, analyse it, write their own responses, research the background and role of key characters. This gospel incident is an important, even if unsettling, aspect of the Christmas story.
Some discussion of the present state of refugees and policies regarding shelter and re-settlement are likely to arise for students in this topic. Some teaching and learning materials are provided here to assist teachers to pursue these issues and to make connections between the gospel story and the present context.
Students can explore this tale of danger, refuge and rescue as it is played out in Matthew’s account. The stories are not appropriate for younger children, especially the stories of the slaughter of the young children in Bethlehem by King Herod the Great. Teachers should be cautious about how they approach this contentious material with their students.
This unit of work provides a number of pathways into the story in Matthew’s gospel. Students read the text, analyse it, write their own responses, research the background and role of key characters. This gospel incident is an important, even if unsettling, aspect of the Christmas story.
Some discussion of the present state of refugees and policies regarding shelter and re-settlement are likely to arise for students in this topic. Some teaching and learning materials are provided here to assist teachers to pursue these issues and to make connections between the gospel story and the present context.
Something went wrong, please try again later.
This resource hasn't been reviewed yet
To ensure quality for our reviews, only customers who have purchased this resource can review it
Report this resourceto let us know if it violates our terms and conditions.
Our customer service team will review your report and will be in touch.
£3.00