Innocent - One: Questioned
Opening Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
God of grace and mercy,
In Your Son we see the extent of Your love for us and for this world.
In the Messiah we encounter the one through whom all things are made You.
In the commandment to love others we find the way to love You and experience Your love in its fullness.
So Lord, we ask You to show us each how to love, show us each how to live, and show us together how to be Your redemptive people in Your world, for the sake of all people.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Key Scriptures:
“15 Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. 16 They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. 17 Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?”
18 But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? 19 Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, 20 and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”
21 “Caesar’s,” they replied.
Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
22 When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.
Marriage at the Resurrection
23 That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. 24 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for him. 25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. 26 The same thing happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh. 27 Finally, the woman died. 28 Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?”
29 Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. 30 At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. 31 But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”
33 When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.
The Greatest Commandment
34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Whose Son Is the Messiah?
41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”
“The son of David,” they replied.
43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says,
44 “‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies
under your feet.”’
45 If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” 46 No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.”
Summary:
In the lead up to Easter this year we are walking through the week leading up to the crucifixion and resurrection, focusing on the experiences of the ‘innocent Jesus’ through this final week. You can find a summary of Sunday’s talk below:
Questions to Consider:
How much of ourselves do we give to the world around us and how much to God?
How does the question about taxes help inform this?
Is it important to know the story of the whole bible?
How does the question from the Sadducees help inform this?
With so much to do in life, what should we prioritise?
How does Jesus’ answer to the greatest commandment help inform this?
What point does Jesus in his question to the Pharisees?
What could Jesus be saying to you?
How is your whole of life worship going?
Could there be an invitation to go deeper in the story of God?
How is Jesus asking you to prioritise your life right now?
Practices to Consider:
What urgent questions would you want to ask Jesus?
Spend some time drafting your questions for Jesus. Then come together as a group, pose your questions to each other and investigate what scripture says as an answer.
Prayer Prompts:
Pray for our people overseas.
Additional Resources:
What does it mean to give to God what is Gods?
https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/image-of-god/?utm_source=web_social_share&medium=shared_video
Going Deeper in the Story of God:
https://bibleproject.com/explore/category/how-to-read-bible-introduction/
You can find a Printable version of this guide - here