Bible Study: Pontius Pilate (Matthew 27:11-54)

Getting started

Think back to a time when you felt as though God were absent from your life. What happened to make it work out?

Exploring God’s word

1    What is Pilate’s first question to Jesus? What answer does he receive? What do you think is Pilate’s opinion of Jesus? How does he attempt to secure a discharge for Jesus? Why is he thwarted in his efforts?

2    What do the soldiers do to Jesus? What do you think lies behind their desire to humiliate him? What happens on the way out of the city? Why do the soldiers offer Jesus the wine and gall mixture? How does Jesus respond to this? What do you suppose is the reason behind his refusal?

3    Once Jesus is on the cross, how do the soldiers occupy their time? What is the official charge against Jesus? What are the taunts yelled at him from the passers-by and the religious officials? Can you detect an irony in them?

4    Trace the events that take place beginning at the sixth hour (noon). What effect do they have on the centurion and the other guards?

5    How do you suppose the women felt as they watched from a distance? Which of these events makes the deepest impression on you?

For further thought and action

St Paul spoke of Christ crucified as “a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called … Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:23,24). How does this work out in your life today?

Bible Study: Martha, Mary & Lazarus (John 11:1-44)

Getting started

What hymns and Bible passages would you like included at your funeral? Why these in particular?

Exploring God’s word

1    Read John 11:1-16. What is the state of affairs as the passage opens? How does Jesus respond to the sisters’ message? Why do you suppose he chose not to go and see Lazarus immediately?

2    Move on to verses 17 to 27. What had happened when Jesus arrived at Bethany? With what plea does Martha approach Jesus? What reply does Jesus give her in verse 23? How does Martha understand these words? What do you think Jesus meant by his answer?

3    What does Jesus reveal about himself in verses 25 and 26? How does this address Martha’s statement in verse 24? How does Martha’s declaration of faith compare with Jesus’ own words about himself? What do you think he wanted her to grasp?

4    Continue with John 11:28-44. How does Jesus react when he comes to Lazarus’ grave? What would you say was the cause of these tears? Compare Mary’s meeting with Jesus with that of Martha. What response does this prompt in him?

5    What does Jesus do as he stands at the entrance to Lazarus’ tomb? What does Martha have to say about this? What would you have done in these circumstances? What was the final outcome?

For further thought and action

What important lessons may we learn about Jesus—particularly about aspects of his divine and human nature—from this passage?

Bible Study: A Blind Man (John 9:1-41)

Getting started

Try to imagine what life would be like for you if you were unable to see.

Exploring God’s word

1    Read John 9:1-12, assigning parts for the disciples, Jesus, the neighbors and the blind man. What question does seeing the blind man prompt among the disciples? Why would they think this way? What is the problem with this kind of reasoning?

2    What does Jesus have to say about the man’s disability? How do you interpret his statement? What does he mean by “day” and “night”? What claim does he make for himself?

3    What does Jesus do for the man? What part do you consider faith may have played in his healing? How does he demonstrate his faith?

4    Continue with verses 13 to 34. Why did the Pharisees have a problem with the man’s healing? To what conclusion about Jesus did this lead some of them? To what conclusion do they try to force the man who had been blind in verse 25? What can we learn from his response?

5    Turn to verses 35 to 41. Take a moment to trace the development of the blind man’s awareness of Jesus. How does Jesus interpret this whole incident in verse 39? How would you define spiritual blindness? What makes it so dangerous?

For further thought and action

Do you think it is possible for Christians to be spiritually blind? How does this happen? What is the remedy?

Bible Study: A Samaritan Woman (John 4:1-42)

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Getting started

      Where is the place that you would least want to go for a vacation? Why?

Exploring God’s word

1    Once again, appoint members of the group to read the passage as a dialog. Locate Judea, Galilee, Samaria and Sychar on a map. Because of the hostility between Jews and Samaritans, it was customary to take a detour around Samaria when traveling between Judea and Galilee. Why do you think Jesus “had” to go through Samaria (verse 4)? What evidence of Jesus’ humanness does John give us in verse 6?

2    Why is the Samaritan woman surprised by Jesus’ request? How does Jesus reply to her? How does the woman understand his words about “living water”? Even after Jesus clarifies what he is talking about in verses 13 and 14, what continues to be her frame of reference?

3    What new dynamic does Jesus introduce into the conversation in verse 16? Why do you think he chose to do this? How does the woman seek to redirect the conversation in verse 19? How does Jesus respond to her objection? What claim does Jesus make for himself in verse 26?

4    Looking at verse 27, what lay behind the disciples’ surprise? Why do you suppose they didn’t express this to Jesus? Why didn’t Jesus bother to eat the food the disciples had bought? What was it that sustained him?

5    How did the woman react to her conversation with Jesus? How did the people in the village respond to her testimony? What made her witness so effective? In the end, what was it that brought the villagers to faith?

For further thought and action

How can we use the “accidental” encounters that God places in our life to share the living water?

Bible Study: Nicodemus (John 3:1-21)

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Getting started

How do most people in our society regard Jesus today?
How would they describe him?

Exploring God’s word

1    Try having two members of the group read the passage as a dialog between Jesus and Nicodemus. What was Nicodemus’ position in the community? Do you think there was a reason why he came to Jesus at night? How does Nicodemus address Jesus? What might his use of the pronoun “we” suggest?

2    How does Jesus respond to Nicodemus? What do you think Jesus was getting at in answering the way he did? Why does Nicodemus fail to get the point?

3    How does Jesus clarify what it means to be born again? What do you think it means to be “born of water and the Spirit”? How does Jesus’ metaphor of the wind help to make sense of this?

4    Why do you suppose Nicodemus is still mystified in verse 9? What accusation does Jesus level against Nicodemus (and his fellow Pharisees) in verses 11 and 12? What does he claim for himself in verse 13?

5    For the background to verses 14 and 15, see Numbers 21:4-9. How does Jesus use this story from the Old Testament to reveal something about himself? What would you identify as the central theme of the verses that follow? Why do people react to light and darkness as they do?

For further thought and action

If you had been in Nicodemus’ shoes, what would have been going through your mind and heart at the end of this conversation? How can we communicate effectively with people who have genuine problems with Christian faith?

Bible Study: Satan (Matthew 4:1-11)

Here is an inductive Bible study to help you or a group think about this coming Sunday’s Gospel reading.

Getting started

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      The devil is often humorously characterized as a horned figure in red long underwear. What is your understanding of Satan?

Exploring God’s word

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1    When does this incident occur in relation to Jesus’ life and ministry? Why do you think it should occur at this particular time?

2    In what way did Satan seek to lead Jesus astray with the first temptation? How does Satan tempt you in similar ways? How does Jesus address this temptation?

3    In what ways was the second temptation both similar to and different from the first? What particular ruse does Satan employ to trick Jesus? How can we stand our ground against seemingly pious arguments for doing wrong?

4    To what within Jesus does Satan appeal with his third approach? How does this reveal the true goal underlying all of his temptations? What do you think Satan’s desire is for you?

5    What happens after Jesus rebuffs Satan for the third time? How has God ministered to you at vulnerable points in your life?

For further thought and action

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What can we learn from this passage about the nature of temptation and how to withstand it?