Queen's Road Cell

16. The rulers, soldiers, and first criminal talk about the Christ and salvation several times in 23:35-39. What does their scoffing imply they believe about...  What it means to be the Christ?   It is to have the power to save yourself and others. This might mean miraculous abilities or earthly resources. It is to have  special divine favour. Yet his power was used to stay on the across, not to come down from it.   What salvation means?  Relief from physical, emotional and social suffering   Spiritual power has little to do with comfort and privilege. It has to do with strength of character to do the will of God. It is not to have earthly support and supporters     17. What do Jesus' responses to the second criminal (23:43) and to the sneering crowd tell you about Him? Reassuring ('truly') Graciously rewarding faith ('with me in paradise')  Assured ('today' 'you will')   Describe the second criminal's attitude toward Jesus (23:40-...

 11. Notice how the elders accused Jesus to the Roman governor (23:2). Were their charges just? How do you know? (Lk 20:20-26, 22:49-52; Jn 18:36) There were 3 charges and one additional comment: 'misleading our nation' ( = inciting revolt, sedition) 'forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar' 'saying that he himself is Christ, a king' 'He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place' Pilate’s first question (lit "You are the king of the Jews?") of Jesus is identically worded in all four Gospels and in all four his 'you' is emphatic (Morris) Jesus could not say 'no'. Nor could he say, 'yes'. 12. Why did Pilate pronounce Jesus innocent? (Lk 23:4, 13-15)? How did Pilate interpret the elders' accusation and Jesus' words (23:1-4)? "You have said so.” parallels the “You say that I am.” of 22:70   Jesus did not defend Himself (Mt 27:12) - not the action of a desperate rebel. ...

6. What happens to Peter in the courtyard after Jesus is taken inside for interrogation (see 22:56-62)? Peter’s threefold denial of Jesus is recorded in all four Gospels. The Synoptics record them all together, but John interpolates an examination before Annas between the first and second. All four Gospels agree that the first challenge came from a slave girl, John adding that she was the doorkeeper. She looked hard at Peter (gazing at him means ‘staring at him’; it indicates a close scrutiny). But this is likely because of narrative priorities There must have been intervals (cf. 58–59) and things would have happened during those intervals. Another problem is that, after the first occasion, different people are said to challenge Peter. In Mark the second denial appears to be elicited by a question from the same slave girl, in Matthew from a different slave girl, in Luke from a man and in John from a number of people. A question once posed is likely to have been taken up by...

1. Explain Jesus' prayer in 22:42. What does it reveal about Him? Jesus had a human will. Jesus willingly, freely, consented to death, unlike the sacrifical animals of the OT with no say in the matter. He had a choice. We, too can choose to be obedient to do the will of the Father when we are faced with difficult choices. The 'cup' speaks of suffering and God's wrath (cf. Ps. 11:6; Isa. 51:17; Ezek. 23:33) The custom of the time was to pray standing with the eyes raised to heaven (cf. 18:11, 13), but here Jesus knelt down. He 'fell on his face' (Mt 26:39).   The word 'agony' (Gk agonia ) is found here only in the New Testament. Jesus not only faced death, but the bearing of sin (2 Cor. 5:21) and abandonment by His Father (Mark 14:34) . The bloody sweat may or may not be literal .   Luke tells us that he first instructed the disciples to pray, 'that you may not enter into temptation'. This last word may mean temptation to sin, or, as some take it...

 12 a. What do you learn from chapter 22 about Satan's plan for... Jesus (22:3-6) His b etrayal (cf. Jn 13:2, 27) But contrast Satan's actions at the Temptation  (4:1-13). There has been a change of strategy: if the Son of God can be persuaded to avoid the Cross and submit to him, He should be made to do so. Now, when it is clear that Jesus will not submit and is destroying his work (10:18, 11:18, 13:16), Satan determnines to destroy His ministry.    Did Satan know what would happen at the Cross? Through Peter Satan tried to dissuade Jesus from suffering, dying and being raised again (Mt 16:22). Satan may have grasped the fact that God had a plan at the Cross, but he would not have known the full consequences of Christ's work there in completely destroying his work ( ...by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triump...

 In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev. 2 Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech and their men to entreat the favor of the Lord, 3 saying to the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts and the prophets, “Should I weep and abstain in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?” 4  Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me: 5  “Say to all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth month and in the seventh, for these seventy years, was it for me that you fasted? 6  And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves? 7  Were not these the words that the Lord proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous, with her cities around her, and the South and the lowland were inhabited?’” 8  And the word of the Lord ...