Fellowship Group Notes – July 13/14 - Luke 22v66 – 23v25 – Jesus before Pilate and Herod

22v70 – Jesus clearly states that he is the Son of God. The religious leaders call for Jesus to be crucified on the grounds of blasphemy. Jesus uses the words “I am” a familiar title for God in the OT (Exodus 3:14).

23v2 – What three things do the Sanhedrin accuse Jesus of? Which of these were true or partly true? 

23v25 – What else do they accuse Jesus of doing? Notice the irony that this is the same charge that Barabbas has been found guilty of and yet he ends up being freed! (see 23v25)

23v6-12 - Passing the buck! Pilate sends Jesus to Herod Antipas (who had had John the Baptist beheaded) ... why? ... because Jesus comes from Galilee which is under Herod’s jurisdiction, and probably in an attempt to patch the difficult relationship up between Pilate and Herod ... which it does (see 23v12). 

Why do you think Jesus remains silent at this point? (See also Isaiah 53:7) Could this be a lesson for us? In what situations might we remain silent? In 1 Peter 2v20b-25 we see that Peter learned from Jesus’ example how to react under persecution – what was Jesus’ reaction to persecution?  

But despite Herod’s curiosity and mocking, Herod sends Jesus back to Pilate with his verdict “not guilty.”

Here we see two different kinds of reaction to Jesus ... some react with open hostility (Herod, his Soldiers v11, and later the crowd v21, 23) and others are ‘non-committal’ (Pilate) ... do we see these same attitudes today amongst unbelievers? How and where? Share some examples and how should we react and share the gospel with those who display these attitudes? 

23v13-17 - A man under pressure! Pilate was not a popular man amongst the Jews ... having upset them on several occasions (ie. in murdering Galileans (Luke 13v1), through taking money from the temple treasury to build an aqueduct, and by bringing back imperial images into the city which insulted the Jewish religion). Fearful of a complaint being lodged to Rome and being removed from his post (see John 19:12) ... he now faces the decision on whether to give into the Jews demands that he crucify an innocent man. 

Standing up for what is right when under pressure from others. What may have happened to Pilate had he decided to release Jesus? Have there been moments in your own life where you have felt under pressure to compromise your faith rather than take a stand? Potentially what might happen to us in difficult decisions we may face in making a stand for our faith? Are we prepared for this?

Jesus was tried six times by both Jewish and Roman authorities but was never convicted of a crime that deserved death. Think of what this means ... it proved that Jesus was telling the truth! ... why do you think is it then that people still refuse to believe that Jesus was who he said he was ... the Son of God? 

v24 - In the end Pilate sees Jesus as a political threat rather than a human being with rights and dignity.

Think of Barabbas – a guilty man set free because Jesus died in his place! Interestingly the name Bar-abbas means “son of Abba” (or “son of daddy”), which means that he could have been anybody’s son. The point being that he represents ‘anyone’ ... we are all guilty and deserve death, yet Jesus has died in our place and we have been set free.

Take comfort in the fact that although it seems that the authorities and worldly powers were in control of this situation in reality they weren’t God was ... it had been his plan all along ... what passages in the Bible point us to this fact? 

Prayer Points
- Summer Activities - Especially various youth camps, events and SC Holiday Club. 
gmr