Discussion Questions


  1. Have you experienced a moment where someone did such a meaningful act of love or service for you, that it left you feeling loyal or indebted to them? If so, why was that act powerful to you?
  2. Jesus allowed Himself to be sentenced to death and nailed to the cross on our behalf. How does this show Jesus’ power, and how does power in the Kingdom of God differ from power in the world?
  3. This quote is about the early Church in the 3rd century in the middle of a deadly pandemic. Read the quote below:
Most of our brother Christians showed unbounded love and loyalty, never sparing themselves and thinking only of one another. Heedless of danger, they took charge of the sick, attending to their every need and ministering to them in Christ. . . . Many, in nursing and curing others, transferred their deaths to themselves and died in their stead.”

How does this show what power looks like in the Kingdom of God?’

4. In what ways can we show this type of power to our neighbors and friends who don’t know Jesus?

READ MARK 15:1-15, THEN ANSWER THE QUESTIONS BELOW

  1. What does this passage tell me about God and about people?
  2. If I believe today's teaching is from God and that He loved me so much He sent Jesus to die for me, what is the appropriate way to respond in my everyday life?
  3. Who can I talk to more about this or share this with?

Spend time sharing prayer requests as a group, and close your time in prayer together.

This Sunday, we looked at Jesus on trial before the religious and political powers of His time, and we saw that the only one who wielded true power in this situation was Jesus. Jesus proved this by having the power to lay down His own authority and freedom, which amazed Pilate, who knew Jesus was innocent. Jesus knew the testimony against Him was false, and He could have used His power to escape from His impending death at any point, but He shows to us that true power is in surrender.
We see this in the early church. The early church was persecuted and many early Christians were killed for their faith, and yet it kept growing and growing in popularity, until eventually it became the single dominant religion of the Western world. How did this happen? This happened because the early church was immensely popular among people on the margins of society. One prominent example is during a pandemic in the 3rd century, when the sick were abandoned by society. Christians were known as the only people who took in the sick and nursed them back to health, often exposing themselves to the pandemic in the process. Sometimes that cost Christians their lives. But this was such a powerful testimony of the love of Christ, that it helped spark millions more to join their cause. That is true power, the power of surrender, and that is what power looks like in the Kingdom of God. 

Quote of the Week

The opposite of radical self-sacrifice is pride and self-preservation. It is putting up your walls and saying you can’t tell me what to do, and I have to protect what is mine. When we start focusing on self and living in fear, then we have lost this power, the power to live and love like Jesus. What Jesus teaches us is that true power is about surrender. True power is not exercising authority or freedom, but to have the strength to surrender that authority and freedom completely. When Christians do this, it is a powerful testimony, and that is how the Christian movement started, and that should still mark Christians today! - Pastor Ryan Bogert

Scripture


Mark 15:1-15 (NIV) - Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, made their plans. So they bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate. 2  “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate. “You have said so,” Jesus replied. 3  The chief priests accused him of many things. 4  So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.” 5  But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed. 6  Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested. 7  A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. 8  The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did. 9  “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate, 10  knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. 11  But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead. 12  “What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them. 13  “Crucify him!” they shouted. 14  “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!” 15  Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

Mark 14:53-65 (NIV) - They took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, the elders and the teachers of the law came together. 54  Peter followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. There he sat with the guards and warmed himself at the fire. 55  The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any. 56  Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree. 57  Then some stood up and gave this false testimony against him: 58  “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with human hands and in three days will build another, not made with hands.’” 59  Yet even then their testimony did not agree. 60  Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” 61  But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” 62  “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” 63  The high priest tore his clothes. “Why do we need any more witnesses?” he asked. 64  “You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?” They all condemned him as worthy of death. 65  Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, “Prophesy!” And the guards took him and beat him.

Mark 14:66-72 (NIV) - While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came by. 67  When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked closely at him. “You also were with that Nazarene, Jesus,” she said. 68  But he denied it. “I don’t know or understand what you’re talking about,” he said, and went out into the entryway. 69  When the servant girl saw him there, she said again to those standing around, “This fellow is one of them.” 70  Again he denied it. After a little while, those standing near said to Peter, “Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.” 71  He began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know this man you’re talking about.” 72  Immediately the rooster crowed the second time. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows twice you will disown me three times.” And he broke down and wept.

Mark 14:30-31 (NIV) - “Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “today—yes, tonight—before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times.” 31 But Peter insisted emphatically, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the others said the same.