This week, let’s consider how the last week of Jesus’ life affects us all year long. Take time, even if your Life Group doesn’t meet, to meditate on the events that changed everything.
What you will need: A Bible or your Bible app, a notebook, pen, and highlighter. The verses highlighted below are linked so that you can easily access them during your study time.
1. Gathering. Read Luke 22:14-20. What traditions or Communion practices are part of your spiritual tradition? In what way do you understand Jesus better because of the Lord’s Supper? Is there a special memory you have of Communion with someone you love or in a place that affected you profoundly? Why do you think Jesus asked us to remember Him in this way?
Leader’s Note: Allow time for meditation and reflection. Be ready to answer questions about the meaning of the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper. Also, at The Cove, we have “open Communion,” meaning any believer is welcome to join in this celebration with us, though we urge self-examination and repentance before you join in, as instructed in 1 Corinthians 11:27-30.
2. Garden. Read Matthew 26:36-46. Do you consider yourself a Jesus-follower, yet like the disciples in the garden, struggle to obey Him? Is it hard to avoid the temptation of sleep instead of prayer or having a quiet time? Or ease instead of sacrifice? Read Mark 14:40. Do you sometimes feel shame for failing Jesus, or have no words to approach Him in prayer? Jesus used these three sleepy, weak-willed disciples to change the world. And He will use you!
Leader’s Note: We are all “Peter, James, and John” in that garden. Like them, we are embarrassed by our failures and don’t know how to pray or repent. But Jesus knows and loves us, even when we are not faithful. Jesus is always faithful to us. He used the flawed-but-beautiful hearts of Peter, James, and John to spread the Good News of God’s Kingdom after His death and Resurrection. Despite their failures, God saw them as instruments of His work and ambassadors of His promise, and He sees us that way, too! You and I can bring what we have to God, as imperfect as it is, and He can use it for Kingdom good.
3. Golgotha. Read Matthew 27:32-37 and 45-50. Read also Psalm 22. List any similarities and / or prophesies fulfilled at Golgotha. Imagine what Jesus’ words would have meant to those around Him at the cross. If you can, put yourself in the shoes of His friends, His mother, the centurion, the other Roman soldiers, and the religious elite. How would His quoting of Psalm 22 have hit differently to each of those audiences? How do His words affect you today?
Leader’s Note: In the time of Jesus, Jewish people learned to recite Scripture from infancy. Observant Jews would know it backwards and forwards and have it memorized. Just hearing the first verse would call to mind the rest of the passage. On the cross, at the hour of His death, about 3 pm, Jesus cries out, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” or “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46, ESV). It would’ve sounded like desperate gibberish to the Romans present, but to any Jews at the foot of the cross, the entire Psalm would have come to mind.
Take special note of Psalm 22:6-7; compare vs 8 to Matthew 37:43; compare Psalm 22:16-8 to Matthew 27:35. Note that King David and Jesus find comfort and hope in God at the end of Psalm 22 (see verses 21 and 24).
4. Glory. Read Matthew 28:1-10. Can you imagine (or do you know) the pain and disorientation of deep grief? Have you noticed that the women were the last to leave the foot of the cross and the first at the grave? Have you personally experienced the Risen Lord? If you wish, share one such experience with your group, whether that’s your salvation story or a more recent encounter with Jesus. Also read Romans 6:4. How have you experienced death and spiritual rebirth that leads to new life?
Leader’s Note: Be ready to share the plan of salvation in your group. If you have any idea that you have unbelievers in your Life Group, share and “draw the net in.” Don’t be ashamed or worried. A car salesperson is not there to pressure, but to help you find the car you really need. In the same way, people need the opportunity to choose Jesus, but they have to be presented with a clear path and choice.
For a simple reference tool, use Find Peace with God from the Billy Graham Association.