Saturday, February 15, 2014

Betrayal & arrest, trial, denial

This is the lesson from 2014-01-26. It has been so long that I don’t remember how closely I was able to follow this outline.

Betrayal & arrest

  • Read 18:1–3
  • Read 18:4–8
    • Weirdness — at least it seems weird to me — v. 4: “knowing all that would happen to him.”
      • READ John 10:18
  • Read 18:9–11
      1. 9: “to fulfill the word he had spoken” in 17:12.
      1. 11: “shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?” — a reference to the “other” prayer as recorded in Matthew 26:39, Mark 14:36, Luke 22:42.
    • SAY The Gospels don’t give identical accounts. ASK Is this a weakness? (No! It’s a strength: It’s like eyewitness accounts of anything: Everyone’s perspective is different, and the different accounts combine into a complete picture.
  • Read 18:12-14
    • SAY Annas used to be the high priest, but the Romans wouldn’t allow him to continue in office, probably to prevent him from accumulating power.
    • One way or another, Annas’s son-in-law, Caiaphas, had become the high priest, but the real power among the Saducees remained with Annas, so Annas gets the first crack at Jesus.

Denial

  • Read 18:15–16
    • The “other disciple” may have been John, may have been someone else.
      • John usually refers to himself as “the disciple Jesus loved.”
      • A fisherman from Galilee might be known to the high priest.
      • Doesn’t matter.
  • Read 18:17–18
  • Read 18:25–27
    • Earlier the same night, Peter had said, “I will lay down my life for you” (13:37)
    • We read above that he whacked off the servant’s ear. (18:10)
    • Now he’s denying that he even knows Jesus.
      • SAY Don’t be too hard on Peter: It’s easy to be like him. Acknowledging Jesus and proclaiming yourself to be on his side when it’s safe. But it’s something altogether different when there’s real opposition.
      • ASK How can we be stronger so that when push comes eventually to shove, we don’t deny Jesus, but stand up and are counted for him?
        • Knowing the Bible
        • Prayer
        • Worship
        • Fellowship

Trial

  • Read 18:19–21
  • Read 18:22–24
  • People who study this stuff say that there was a certain order to the way the trial should have been handled, but Jesus knew they weren’t following the order, and when he said to call witnesses, he was trying to get them to follow their own procedures.

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