Craft

Jesus Heals the Paralyzed Man Craft for Kids

An easy Jesus heals the paralyzed man craft for kids in three levels. Pull the yarn to let the bed down through the hole in the roof. Free printable template.

Preschool–Grade 5

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⬇ Craft template + instructions (PDF) · 5 pages

Free to print and copy for your church, classroom, VBS and home. Please don't resell or re-post our files; link to the page instead.

Ages: Preschool (3–5), Early Elementary (K–2), Upper Elementary (3–5)
Time: 15 to 30 minutes
Scripture: Mark 2:1–12; Luke 5:17–26
Bible story: The Man Let Down Through the Roof

What you need

The printed template (page 2), one per child (cardstock is sturdiest)
Crayons or markers in brown, yellow, orange, blue and green, plus any colors for drawing the men
2 pieces of yarn, each about 12 inches long, for each child
Clear tape, scissors and a glue stick
The printed tile cover page (page 3), one per child, plus a red crayon (harder level)

Steps

Color the card: the roof brown, the room wall yellow, and the floor and the door orange. Color the bed blue and the pull tab green. Leave all the windows white.
In each of the four roof windows, draw one of the four men who carried the bed (Mark 2:3). In the bed's window, draw the man lying on his bed.
Cut out the card, the bed, the pull tab and the verse strip on the dashed lines. Cut out the hole in the roof too. Help younger children with the cutting.
Turn the bed over. Tape one piece of yarn to the back of the bed at each end.
Lay the bed on the dotted spot in the room. Bring both pieces of yarn up through the hole in the roof to the back of the card, and tape both ends to the pull tab.
Glue the verse strip on the back of the card, low down, so the yarn can still slide. Read it together.
Tell it: pull the tab down behind the card, and the bed goes up to the roof. Let the tab go slowly, and the bed comes down into the room: "they let down the bed" (Mark 2:4). Then say what Jesus said: "Arise, and take up thy bed" (2:11).

This Jesus heals the paralyzed man craft turns one printed page into the house where Jesus was preaching, so full that there was "no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door" (Mark 2:2). Kids draw the four men on the roof and the sick man on his bed, then pull a yarn tab to let the bed down through the hole in the roof, because "they uncovered the roof… they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay" (2:4). The memory verse is on the back. It costs under 50 cents a child, takes about 20 minutes and comes in three levels, from preschool to 5th grade.

The finished craft, easy and medium level

The finished craft, harder level

What it looks like finished: easy and medium (first photo) and harder (second photo).

Why this craft works

Cheap and simple: one printed page, two pieces of yarn, tape, crayons, scissors and glue.
Kids act out the story: the bed really comes down through the roof into the room, the way the man was let down "into the midst before Jesus" (Luke 5:19).
It shows the four men: every child draws the four who carried the bed, because he was "borne of four" (Mark 2:3).
It points to Jesus: the bed comes down to the spot before Jesus, who said, "Son, thy sins be forgiven thee" (2:5). Jesus is not drawn.
It carries the verse home: Galatians 6:2 (KJV), "Bear ye one another’s burdens," is glued on the back of the card.

Three ways to make it

Easy (preschool, ages 3–5): you cut out the pieces and put the yarn on. Kids color, draw the men and let the bed down. No scissors.
Medium (grades K–2): the craft in the first photo. Kids color, draw, cut out the pieces and tape on the yarn.
Harder (grades 3–5): the craft in the second photo. Kids also add a red tile cover from page 3 that swings open over the hole: "they uncovered the roof" (Mark 2:4).

Questions to ask

While kids work, ask why the men couldn't use the door (Mark 2:2–4), how many carried the bed (2:3), what Jesus saw and said first (2:5), who can forgive sins (2:7) and what the man did when Jesus said, "Arise, and take up thy bed" (2:11–12). Then read Galatians 6:2 together.

Tips for the classroom

For preschoolers, cut out the pieces and tape the yarn on ahead of time, so all they do is color, draw and let the bed down. Cardstock makes the card stiff enough for the yarn to slide well.

Teaching the story first? Use the free Jesus heals the paralyzed man lesson and the word search.

Frequently asked questions

How do you make a simple Jesus heals the paralyzed man craft for preschoolers?

Cut out each child's card, bed, pull tab and verse strip ahead of time, and tape the yarn on for them. Preschoolers color the pieces and draw the men in the windows. Then they pull the tab and let the bed down through the hole in the roof. It takes about 15 minutes with no cutting by the kids.

How much does this hole in the roof craft cost?

Under 50 cents a child: one printed page, two short pieces of yarn, a little tape and glue, and crayons you already have. The template is free to print. The harder level adds a second page.

What Bible verse goes with this craft?

Galatians 6:2 (KJV), "Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ." It is printed on the verse strip that kids glue on the back of the card, because the four men carried the sick man to Jesus (Mark 2:3).

How can older kids make this craft harder?

Use the harder level for grades 3–5. Kids also add a red tile cover from page 3 that closes over the hole in the roof and swings open, because "they uncovered the roof" (Mark 2:4) and let him down "through the tiling" (Luke 5:19).