Dear Sisters and Brothers,Compared to Jesus’ public ministry the past three years, His arrest and trials were witnessed by comparatively few people. Many of those who observed what was happening to Jesus during and after His arrest, such as the Roman officials and soldiers, had only modest personal interest in the proceedings. The huge Passover crowds, who had five days earlier hailed Jesus as the “Son of David” Who would soon be crowned as Israel’s King, were waking up and eating breakfast when Jesus was being hustled from official to official as a criminal. By the time the rumors had spread that Jesus the Nazarene had been arrested and was being tried by the Roman governor, it was too late to organize any resistance.
Most people who had been convinced that Jesus was the Jew’s Messiah did not know what to make of Him being crucified. People were paralyzed by fear of the occupying soldiers and confused why their nation’s religious leaders were antagonistic toward Jesus and supported His execution. Perhaps there was something about Jesus the priests, scribes, and Pharisees knew which disqualified Him from fulfilling the role of “Messiah”. Regardless, Jesus was now nailed to a cross and there was nothing that anyone could do about it. Their lives would go on without Him – or so they thought.
When you complete this week’s reading in Sections 240 – 250 (pages 247 – 256), the Man Whom Pontius Pilate proclaimed to be innocent of any crime will be dead, buried, and yet was being seen alive again by a small number of women devotees.
In order for you to be prepared for this coming Sunday’s discussion please pre-read Section 240 (page 247) through Section 250 (page 256).
This week’s lesson title will be: Jesus Dies, Paying The Penalty For Believers’ Sins – Sections 240 – 250.
Here is a review of the lesson titles we have used and the Sections we have covered in previous weeks:
- Jesus Begins His Ministry With A “Bang” – Sections 27-42
- What Began With A “Bang” Begins To Have “Bumps” – Sections 43-56
- The “Bumps” Become A “Brouhaha”: The Sabbath Controversies – Sections 57-62
- The “Brouhaha” Becomes A Verbal “Barrage” – Sections 63-72
- Jesus’ “Barrage” Is Answered With A “Bomb” – Sections 73-92
- Their “Bomb” Causes Jesus To “Bifurcate” His Ministry – Sections 93-108
- Jesus “Begins” His “Break” With Contemporary Judaism – Sections 109 – 111
- Jesus “Broadens” His “Break With Contemporary Judaism – Sections 112 – 123
- Jesus “Brings” Their “Belligerence” To Jerusalem – Sections 124 – 129
- Jesus “Brings” Their “Belligerence” To Jerusalem, Part 2 – Sections 130 – 143
- Jesus “Beaconing” Becomes Even More “Blunt” – Sections 144 – 152
- Jerusalem Is Brought To The Boiling Point – Sections 153 – 164
- Jesus “Miracle-Bombs” Jerusalem Into Believing – Sections 165 – 172
- Jesus “Miracle-Bombs” Jerusalem Into Believing – Sections 173 – 183
- The Breach Over Jesus Brings Jerusalem To The Breaking Point – Sections 184 – 192
- Jesus Brutally Condemns The Willful Blindness Of Judaism’s Leaders – Sections 193 – 199
- Jesus Begins To Focus Beyond The Failings Of Israel – Sections 200 – 208
- Jesus Broadens His Apostles’ Beliefs For The Battle Ahead – Sections 209 – 214
- Jesus Broadens His Apostles’ Beliefs For The Battle Ahead – Part 2 – Sections 215 – 226
- Jesus Begins To Bear The Blame For My Sin – Sections 227 – 234
- Jesus Willingly Becomes My Substitute, Bearing My Sin – Sections 235 – 239
This week’s Table Discussion Question essentially asks, “For whom did Christ die?” This question may seem easy to answer, but it has implications about what Jesus actually accomplished on the cross, who benefits from His death, and who does not benefit from His death.
I Peter 2:24a states, “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree.”
Whose sins in particular did Jesus bear when He was being crucified?
Does the answer to this question really make any difference?
