Truth for the week:

JESUS SUFFERED ON OUR BEHALF AND DIED IN OUR PLACE.

Verse for the week: 

God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

1. Share of a time in your life when it felt as if God was absent? What got you through it?
2. It was said on Sunday that the Bible is filled with stories of God working in and through difficult situations to accomplish his kingdom purposes. Share of some of these stories from Scripture.
3. Read Luke 23:26. Why wasn’t Jesus able to carry his cross? Who is chosen to carry Jesus’ cross to Calvary? Explain how Jesus helps this man who helps him?
4. Give personal examples of how God uses hard providences for his gospel purposes. Share a story of someone coming to saving faith in Jesus as the result of a tragedy in life.

For Kids: Read Luke 23:26. Why wasn’t Jesus able to carry his cross? Who is chosen to carry Jesus’ cross to Calvary? Explain how Jesus helps this man who helps him? (See answer to question 3)

Prayer:  Father we praise you for your great work of providence. We praise you for how you work through people both good and bad—circumstances both right and wrong to accomplish your purposes. Help us to trust you when times get tough, and our days get dark.

Answers: 3) Simon of Cyrene. Scripture hints at the fact that Simon became a committed Christ-follower and all those in his household benefited from the saving work of Jesus at the cross.

Truth for the week:

JESUS SUFFERED ON OUR BEHALF AND DIED IN OUR PLACE.

Verse for the week: 

God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

1. Read Luke 23:27-31. Explain Jesus’ sermon. What is the point of him preaching this sermon to these women in mourning?
2. Explain what the judgment Jesus endured should teach us and how it should lead us to repentance and faith in him.
3. It was said on Sunday that God’s judgment is coming soon. What must we do to be prepared?

For Kids:

Read Luke 23:34. What did Jesus say about those who crucified him? What did our forgiveness cost Jesus? (It cost him his life; he took on himself the punishment that we deserved for our sins.)

Prayer: Father may the judgment your Son endured at Calvary be a constant reminder to us of your great and terrible day of judgment to come. Work in the hearts and lives of the hearers of this message and prepare them for Christ’s return. Bring them to repentance and faith in him so they will be spared from your judgment.

Answers:

1) Jesus calls for them to not feel sorry for him, but for themselves. He explains to them that because he was not spared from the judgment of the Romans and was innocent, they would not be spared from Roman judgment when they are guilty of rebellion. He is telling them of the judgment to come so they would look to him and trust in him to be spared from God’s final judgment. 2) Jesus endured divine judgment from God as a reminder to us that we deserve divine judgment. He rescues people from divine judgment when they are broken over their sin and turn from their wicked ways and trust in him. 3) The only protection from that great and terrible day is Jesus Christ. One must repent of sin—and believe on Jesus to be saved. Those who do not will perish.

Truth for the week:

JESUS SUFFERED ON OUR BEHALF AND DIED IN OUR PLACE.

Prayer: Father we praise you for your great work at Calvary. Show us your hand in these events that we may praise you for your great salvation you accomplished for us through your Son Jesus.

Answers: 1) He died a criminal’s death with criminals. He died by crucifixion. They cast lots for his garments. 2) History tells us that because of the scourging and beating of those being crucified and because many were paralyzed with fear because of the cross, it was not uncommon for one to be carried to the place of his crucifixion. Jesus wasn’t drug or driven, he was led. He didn’t go against his will but went without resistance. This fulfills what the prophet Isaiah said hundreds of years before Christ’s crucifixion at Calvary. Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Isaiah says when the Messiah goes to his death “like a lamb he will be led to the slaughter.” 3) We learn in Exodus 29 that sin offerings were to be offered outside the camp. We are told this in Leviticus 4:12 and 16:27. Repeatedly, God reminds his readers that sin offerings are to be taken outside the camp. Jesus Christ is the ultimate sin offering. He was taken outside the camp as a sacrifice for sin.

Truth for the week:

JESUS SUFFERED ON OUR BEHALF AND DIED IN OUR PLACE.

1. Read Luke 23:32-33. Read Isaiah 53:12. We learn in the story of the crucifixion that Jesus was crucified between two criminals. Explain how that fulfills Scripture.

   Read Luke 23:33. Read Zachariah 12:10 and Psalm 22:16. Explain how Luke 23:33 fulfills Scripture?

2. There were hundreds of messianic prophecies fulfilled during Jesus’ earthly ministry. What should that tell us?
3. Read Luke 23:35-37. If Christ would have come down from the cross, do you think they would have bowed the knee to King Jesus? Why did many of the religious leaders refuse to believe in Christ even after the resurrection?

For Kids: Read Luke 23:39-43. What did Jesus say to the criminal who called out to him? What lesson do we learn from the salvation of the thief on the cross? (Jesus said he would be with him in paradise—in heaven. We learn that any who repent and believe in Jesus are saved even if it happens in the last hour of their life.

Prayer: Father we praise you for the incredible work you did for us through your Son at the cross. Lord Jesus, we praise you for taking our sin on yourself. You endured divine wrath for us so that we could be made righteous. Thank you, Jesus, for laying your life down to give us life eternal.

Answers: 1) Isaiah prophesies that the Messiah will die a criminal’s death for the sake of criminals. 2) Jesus died a Roman death. He died by crucifixion. In Zechariah 12 and Psalm 22, it is prophesied that the Messiah will be pierced—both his hands and feet. 4) They were calloused in their hearts. They were committed to their unbelief. They refused to bow.

Truth for the week:

JESUS SUFFERED ON OUR BEHALF AND DIED IN OUR PLACE.

Verse for the week: 

God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

1. Read Luke 23:38 and John 19:19-22. Why did the sign that Pilate placed above Jesus upset the Jewish religious leaders? How does Pilate go out of his way to make sure the message is read? While Pilate’s words written on the placard were done so in a mocking way, was there anything false about that statement? What was Pilate declaring inadvertently from the cross?

2. How does Jesus respond to his persecutors? Read Luke 23:34.

3. While we are told that those crucified with Christ also reviled him, one has a change of heart. What happens to the thief on the cross? Read Luke 23:39-43. What do we learn of God’s great mercy and love from the thief at Calvary?

For Kids: Why is “now” the only good time for someone to place their trust in Jesus? (We don’t know how long we have to live. Only God knows how long a person will live. If someone offered you a valuable treasure, you would want to take it right away. You wouldn’t wait. Jesus is the most valuable of all treasures, so why should we wait to place our trust in him?)

Prayer: Father thank you for your mercy and love toward us. Lord Jesus thank you for your forgiveness and compassion on us even when we were set against you in sin. Draw hardened hearers of this message to their knees in repentance and to your feet in faith.

Answers: 1) The sign angered the religious leaders because of what it said of them. It said they were crucifying their king. It was written in Latin (the language of the Romans), in Aramaic (the language of the Jews), and in Greek (the language of everyone at this time). While Pilate is being cynical and sarcastic, this true inscription tells the world the Jews have crucified their king. The gospel is being declared with this sign because the heart of the gospel message is the crucifixion of Jesus. 2) Jesus responds in mercy and love toward his persecutors as he prays for them to be forgiven. 3) Any who repent and believe in Jesus are saved even if it happens in the last hour of their life.