Coming On Our Knees
Pray: Lord as we come to this study today we ask that you would give us eyes to see, ears to
hear, and a heart that is receptive to what it is that you are speaking through your Word and
through your people today. Amen
Connecting with One Another:
Who is the most self-sacrificing person you personally know and why do you think they are selfsacrificing? If you can’t think of anyone personally, think of a profession that is self-sacrificing
and tell why you think it is.
Listening to the Word:
Read aloud: John 18:1-14
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As you read through this passage what are some of your initial thoughts and emotions
that you had? What do you feel the overall tone of the passage is?
Looking at Verses 1-3
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Where is the arrest of Jesus taking place?
Why do you think that Jesus went to a familiar place where he certainly knew he would
be found?
When the Jewish and Roman officials came to arrest Jesus why did they come with such
a large, heavily armed group?
Read Verses 4-9
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What is the significance of Jesus saying , “I AM he”? (vs.5)
Why did people fall to the ground when Jesus said this?
Their reaction, whether voluntary or involuntary, mirrors what people in the Bible do when
coming face to face with God. –N.T. Wright
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Why is I AM such a powerful name? See Exodus 3:14 and John 8:58
What other garden in the Bible can you think of? (Genesis 3:8-9)
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What lessons can be found in the garden about fellowship with God, sin, and broken
fellowship/separation from God? What is the signifance of Jesus in the garden in John
18?
Read John 18:10-14
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Why did Peter draw his sword and begin to use it?
Why did Jesus command Peter to put away his sword?
What would be your reaction in this scene?
Read the following teachings of Jesus that Peter would have heard first hand: Matthew 5:9; 39;
44 and Luke 6:28
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Have you every acted out like Peter in a way that you knew was counter the way of
Jesus?
In verse 11
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What cup is Jesus talking about? What does it mean?
How is victory achieved if it isn’t by the sword?
What is the wrath of God?
“God’s wrath in the Bible is never the capricious, self-indulgent, irritable, morally ignoble thing
that human anger so often is. It is, instead, a right and necessary reaction to objective moral
evil” –J.I. Packer
So we learn that when Jesus drinks the cup of wrath it means he is taking upon Himself the full
and just punishment for the world’s sin.
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In what space in life right now is Jesus asking you to remember the Garden?
In what space in life right now is Jesus asking you to put away the sword?
Responding in Prayer
Isaiah 53:5-6 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our
iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are
healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Coming up next week
Next weeks sermon will be based on the following passage:
John 18:15-27- “Jesus on Trial/The Rooster Crows”