“Tell us if you are the Christ!”
As Jesus neared the final moments of his earthly ministry and was subjected to fabricated charges, mockery, and scorn by his opponents, the high priest asks him a pressing question that had been building all along:
And the high priest stood up and said, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?” But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.”
Matt 26:62
Jesus’s answer is the final straw, and the religious establishment moves forward with the Roman political machinery to crucify Jesus.
From March 17 through April 28, we re-engaged the story of the trial, death, and resurrection of Christ as told by the evangelist Matthew.
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Reflection Questions
The questions below are great to use in a small group or for personal application. Click on the arrow or heading to expand and show the questions.
The Christ Sends (Matt 28:16-20, April 28)
- What sphere of your life are you having a difficult time yielding to the authority of Jesus? family? politics? finances? recreation? etc. What inhibits your submission to Christ’s authority in certain areas of your life?
- Discuss what implementing an intentionally mission-focused sphere of life (family, work, community, etc.) would look like. How can you cultivate a greater sensitivity to the Great Commission in your life?
- How does the presence of God in Christ (“I will be with you always…”) impact how you think about disciple-making? How does the resurrection of Christ affect how you think about disciple-making?
- Resource: When Mission Gets Real
The Christ is Alive (Matt 27:62-28:15, April 21)
- What are some ways you are tempted to or have embraced a bad lie instead of a hard truth? What makes this such a temptation? What is a hard truth that God has recently been exposing to you?
- How does your pride and stubbornness continue to affect your faith? What can you do to develop a greater humility toward the Lord and toward Christian teaching and doctrine?
- How does the resurrection of Christ impact how you live today? How does the resurrection shape how you treat others? Your spouse? Children? Parents? Co-workers?
The Christ is Crucified (Matt 27:27-61, April 19)
- Where do you find it easiest to have selfish expectations of Christ in your life?
- How have you experienced afresh this year the shocking reversal of expectations, where Christ takes on the wrath you deserved?
- Resource: Christ’s Words of Dereliction
The Christ is Condemned (Matt 27:1-26, April 14)
- How does the clear innocence of Jesus before his accusers bring to clearer light the depths of your own lack of innocence? Read 2 Cor. 5:21 and reflect of the way God balances the equation of his own justice.
- Why is it significant that, in Christ, you are not only forgiven but declared righteous? Where are you tempted to earn your atonement before God?
- Where do you habitually beat yourself up with your guilt/shame rather than embracing what Christ has done for you…and in you?
- Resource: We Are Barabbas
Baptism and the Lord's Supper (Matt 26:26-30 and 28:16-20, April 7)
- Discuss your own baptisms. How does remembering your own baptism and the promises which God made to you then strengthen your faith? If you are a parent, how can you strengthen the faith of your children through the baptism of others?
- Discuss your own first communions. How does the Lord’s Supper give you assurance of your faith? What do the sacraments (which are only rightly administered through the church) teach us about how to approach and deal with doubt and struggles with faith? When you struggle with doubts, where do you tend to look for distractions or answers?
- Resource: How the Lord’s Supper Reminds Me of the Lord’s Grip
The Christ is Betrayed, Judged, Denied (Matt 26:47-75, Mar 31)
- How does knowing that the Lord is in control of even the most challenging and difficult circumstances help you? What does faith in the Lord’s sovereignty, even during difficulties, look like in your life? What does the absence of faith look like in your life?
- What are ways you find yourself “betraying” or “abandoning” Christ before others? What causes this? What strengthens your resolve?
- In what ways do you “predetermine verdicts in search of evidence?” In your doctrine? Your relationships? What causes this?
- Do you overestimate your resolve and strength of character? How does it come out? What is the solution?
- Resource: You Can Believe in God’s Sovereignty and Still Cry
The Christ Submits (Matt 26:30-46, Mar 24)
- Discuss and reflect upon WSC #7
- Q – What are the decrees of God?
- A – The decrees of God are, his eternal purpose, according to the counsel of his will, whereby for his own glory, he hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass.
- How does this impact how you view the tragedies in your lives? What does believing this truth look like in the midst of difficulties? How can you communicate this well to others? To your children?
- What do you tend to go to when facing challenges? Distractions? Complaining? Isolation? How can you better cultivate a greater dependence on the Lord?
- Where is God demanding difficult dependence for you? What might it cost you to fully depend on the Lord?
- Resource: God’s Eternal Decree and Man’s Evil Deeds
The Christ Prepares for Betrayal and Burial (Matt 26:1-25, Mar 17)
- How can the fact that the darkness of Jesus’s death is part of God’s eternal plan (e.g., “as it is written” in Matt 26:24) help you think about the dark days in your own life?
- Does your life reflect the immeasurable worth of Christ’s work for you? Where/when is this easiest for you (i.e. at church)? Most difficult (i.e. at the ER)?
- What would it look like for you to take what is most valuable to you and pour it over the head of Jesus in worship?
- Resource: Jesus’ Anointing at Bethany
Preparing for the Easter sermon series
- Read Matthew 26-28. What are the key themes of the suffering of Jesus that Matthew appears to be emphasizing?
- If you have read it before, what new things did you learn on this re-reading? What details have you missed that you would like to explore further?
- Why does the priest ask Jesus to answer whether he is truly the “Christ”? How does Jesus answer? What does it mean for him to be “the Christ”?
- Where has the story of the passion and resurrection of Jesus grown stale for you? What are some steps you can take over these two months to reengage the saving work of Christ afresh?
