Interfriends
Bible Studies
(click on a study, copy and paste it---and it's yours)The Story of the World (and Us) Part 4c: The Death and Resurrection of Jesus (leader)
A. John 5:16-18 The plan to kill Jesus
Jesus was (healing people) on the Sabbath day. So the Jews began to oppose him. Jesus said to them, “My Father is always doing his work. He is working right up to this very day. I am working too.” For this reason the Jews tried even harder to kill him. Jesus was not only breaking the Sabbath. He was even calling God his own Father. He was making himself equal with God.
B. Matthew 26:17-30 Jesus says goodbye to his disciples (p. 1059 NIrV)
- What is the “Passover meal?” —Mt. 26:17 (See Part 3a. While in Egypt, God told the Jewish people to kill a lamb and sprinkle its blood on the outside door of their houses. When the angel of death saw the blood of that lamb, he would “pass over’ that house and all who were inside were saved from death. A meal of lamb and other foods celebrated that day of
salvation and freedom. It was called the “Passover Meal.”) - What distressing news does Jesus give to his disciples? —Mt. 26:20 (One of them was going to betray him and hand him over to his enemies.)
- How do they reply? (Not me!?)
Would we say that today? (Probably)
- During the Passover meal, Jesus took bread. What did that bread signify? (Jesus’ body, his life, everything about him)
- What 3 things did Jesus do with that bread?
a. (He gave thanks for it)
b. (He broke it)
c. (He gave it to his disciples)
- What did he say? —Mt. 26:26 (Take this and eat it. Jesus offers himself to us as the Lamb of God; we receive him into our lives and are saved from death.)
- What did Jesus do with the cup? (Gave thanks and told his disciples to drink it.)
- What does he mean by the “blood of the new covenant?” (Remember when the old covenant was made—Exodus 24:3-11, Part 3a. Then blood united the Jewish people and God in a committed partnership. And they celebrated that covenant with a meal. As we have seen, that old covenant failed because the people didn’t do what they had promised. God, however, promised to form a new community and make with them a “new covenant.” He would forgive their sins and help them to be faithful to it. Jesus’ death—his blood—would unite his disciples and God into a new committed partnership bring God’s blessings to all the peoples of the earth.)
C. Matthew 26:36-46 Jesus talks with his heavenly Father
- Why was Jesus so sad and troubled? (He knew that he was about to die and he knew that in death he would be separated from his heavenly Father.)
- What did he ask his 3 trusted disciples to do? (To accompany and support him.)
Why? (When we are facing great difficulty, we want and need friends to be with us.)
- What did Jesus say to his Father? (“My Father, if it is possible, take this cup of suffering away from me.” See the prayer that Jesus teaches us: “Lead us not into temptation/trial, but deliver us from the evil one.”)
- What does “this cup of suffering” refer to? (The cup filled with sins that sinners deserve to drink. Jesus in his mercy and out of his love agreed to drink it instead of us having to drink it. But it was not an easy thing for him to do.)
- Why would this cup be particularly difficult for Jesus to drink? (He is totally innocent of all wrongdoing. The cup was filled with Israel and the world’s sins, not Jesus’. He didn’t deserve to drink it.)
- When Jesus returned to his disciples what did he find? (They were asleep!)
- Why was that upsetting to Jesus? (He wanted his friends to be there to support him, but he also knew that the danger coming his way was coming their way too. He was preparing for it by praying and talking to his heavenly Father. But his disciples weren’t praying and therefore wouldn’t be prepared.)
- How does Jesus end his prayers? (Let what you want be done, not what I want. Again, think of the prayer Jesus teaches us to pray: “Your will be done.” Jesus himself prays that prayer too.)
- What does that say about Jesus? (He lived what he taught. See Matthew 6:33, where Jesus tells us: “Put God’s kingdom first. Do what he wants you to do.” That is what Jesus now does.)
D. Matthew 26:57-68 Jesus is tried and condemned to die
- The religious leaders couldn’t find anything to charge Jesus with, so they finally demanded that he answer what question? —Mt. 26:63 (Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God!)
- What is Jesus’ answer? (“Yes.” But then he adds something: “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One. You will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven!”)
- Who is the “Son of Man?” —see Part 3b (According to Daniel 7:13-14, the Son of Man is the one to whom God will give power and glory and all authority over heaven and earth. He will rule over them forever. Jesus is saying that he is this Son of Man.)
- How do the religious leaders respond? —Mt. 26:65-68 (They decide that Jesus must die.)
E. Matthew 27:32-44 Jesus is executed
- What sign was placed on the cross above Jesus’ head? (This is Jesus, the King of the Jews)
Was it true? (Yes. See Matthew 1-2)
- What did the people passing by say to Jesus? —Mt. 26:39-40 (“Save yourself! Come down from the cross if you are the Son of God!”)
- What did the religious leaders say to Jesus? —Mt. 26:41-43 (“He saved others but he can’t save himself! Let him come down from the cross; then we’ll believe in him! He trusts in God; let God rescue him! He’s the one who said, ‘I am the Son of God!’”)
- Could Jesus have saved himself and come down from the cross? (Yes)
- Why didn’t he? (He was willing to pay the penalty for our sins and enter death in order to defeat it for us. Jesus thereby frees us from our sin and from death.)
F. Matthew 27:45-56 Jesus’ last words and death
- Why did Jesus feel deserted by God? —Mt. 27:46 Remember the partnership! (In the Old Testament, Psalm 1 states a rule of the partnership between God and his people: God-loving people will be blessed; sinful people will be punished. God watches over the lives of those who love him and makes sure that they are protected and blessed. In Psalm 22 a God-loving person is suffering and thinks that God isn’t watching over him but has abandoned him. Jesus is deeply God-loving and innocent of all wrongdoing. But now Jesus is on a cross, being killed by his enemies. As a member of the Partnership on our side, he uses the words of Psalm 22 to wonder why God hasn’t rescued him.)
- Did God abandon Jesus? (No! He raised Jesus from the dead.)
- In the Temple in Jerusalem, a large curtain kept everyone but the high priest out of the presence of God. When Jesus died, “the Temple curtain was torn in two from top to bottom.” —Mt. 27:51 What is meant by that? (Now, thanks to Jesus death on our behalf, taking away our sins, we can enter into the presence of God ourselves.)
- What consequences did Jesus’ death have according to verses 51-53? Were they destructive or liberating consequences? (Tombs were opened and dead people came to life!)
- What was the Roman commander’s conclusion to what he saw? —Mt. 27:54 (“He was surely the Son of God!”)
G. Matthew 28:1-10 Jesus is alive again!
- What day is it? (The first day of the week—Sunday)
Who goes to Jesus tomb? (Two women: Mary Magdalene and another Mary)
Why only two? (The others might have been afraid, or too sad to go.)
- What happens!? —Mt. 28:2-4 (The stone that sealed the tomb was rolled away and an angel sat on it. The soldier guards were so afraid of the angel that they fainted.)
- What does the angel first say to the women? (“Don’t be afraid!” The angel isn’t an enemy but a friend who has come to tell them good news.)
- What is the great news he then tells them? —Mt. 28:6 (“Jesus is not here! He has risen, just as he said he would.!”)
- What does the angel tell the women to do? —Mt. 28:7 (“Go quickly! Tell Jesus’ disciples that he has risen from the dead!” Jesus is alive!)
- As the women do what they were told, who meets them? (Jesus!)
- What do they do? (They fall to the ground and worship Jesus)
Why would they “worship” Jesus? (As Jewish women, they knew that they could only worship God. Now they recognize Jesus to be God.)
- Why would Jesus tell them, “Don’t be afraid?” (Jesus might mean, “Don’t be afraid of people like the ones who killed me. They can’t do you permanent harm.” Or Jesus might mean, “Don’t be afraid of me, now that you know that I am divine. I am still your friend.” Other??)
H. Why did Jesus die? What the Bible says:
- God is love. How did God show his love for us? He sent his one and only Son into the world. He sent him so we could receive life through him. What is love? It is not that we loved God. It is that he loved us and sent his Son to give his life to pay for our sins. 1John 4:9-10
- Death, where is the battle you thought you were winning? Death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin. And the power of sin is the law. But let us give thanks to God! He wins the battle for us because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done. 1 Corinthians 15:55-57
- At one time you were dead in your sins. Your sinful nature was not cut away. But God gave you new life together with Christ. He forgave us all of our sins. He took away the weapons of the powers and authorities. He won the battle over them by dying on the cross. Colossians 2:13, 14
- At just the right time Christ died for ungodly people. He died for us when we had no power of our own. It is unusual for anyone to die for a godly person. Maybe someone would be willing to die for a good person. But here is how God has shown his love for us. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. The blood of Christ has made us right with God. Romans 5:6-9
- Anyone who believes in Christ is a new creation. The old is gone! The new has come! It is all from God. He brought us back to himself through Christ’s death on the cross. And he has given us the task of bringing others back to him through Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17-18
- We are waiting for Jesus Christ to appear in all his glory. He is our great God and Savior. He gave himself for us. By doing that, he set us free from all evil. He wanted to make us pure. He wanted us to be his very own people. He wanted us to long to do what is good. Titus 2:13-14
- Christ died for sins once and for all time. The One who did what is right died for those who don’t do right. He died to bring you to God. His body was put to death. But the Holy Spirit brought him back to life. 1 Peter 3:18
- Everyone has sinned. No one measures up to God’s glory. The free gift of God’s grace makes all of us right with him. Christ Jesus paid the price to set us free. God gave him as a sacrifice to pay for sins. So he forgives the sins of those who have faith in his blood. Romans 3:23-25