Today's passage: Matthew 28:16-20

Helpful thoughts:

• The disciples either worshiped Jesus upon seeing Him…or still doubted.  All believed afterward.
• Jesus has all authority.  He is God the Son.  He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
• The last time the disciples were commissioned to go, it was to the House of Israel (Matthew 10:5-6).  Now they (and we) are to go to the world.
• A disciple is a follower.  Making disciples is results in seeing people become genuine followers of Jesus Christ.
• Baptism in the “Name” means we are identifying with God.  Baptism is a public testimony, a profession of faith.
• The Lord of all authority is with us as we go.
• Evangelism is something we do because we love Jesus and it naturally comes out of us when we talk with others. And, evangelism is something we plan to do, in specific places with specific people.  We share as we go and we go to share.

Questions to consider:

1. How does the Great Commission help us to see evangelism biblically?  What should be the fruit we are seeing when someone believes?
2. From where does Jesus encourage the disciples to get their confidence and courage for the task?  Why can we share the Gospel and point people to Christ with complete confidence?
3. Who could you go to today/this week/etc. with the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

Today's passage: Matthew 28:11-15

Helpful thoughts:

• The soldiers were risking much in exchange for the money.  They could have been executed for their failure to guard the tomb.
• The chief priests and elders heard the report, came up with a lie and paid soldiers (Probably a great deal of money) to spread it.  They didn't even try to refute the truth!
• Even though the chief priests and elders knew that Jesus was no longer in the tomb and that a miracle had happened, they refused to believe. (2 Corinthians 4:4)

Questions to consider:

1. Can you think of some reasons that the story of the disciples stealing Jesus' body would be ridiculous?  Was it just the chief priests and elders who refused to believe?
2. Why didn't these Jewish leaders believe?  What was their mission?
3. How should their rejection of the obvious encourage us to share the Gospel with the lost?  Who has to be on our side for our witness to be effective?

Today's passage: Matthew 28:1-10

Helpful thoughts:

• The Roman soldiers were not sleeping on the job.  They saw the angel and passed out!  If they failed to protect the grave, their lives could be on the line, and they were no match for this angel.
• The stone was rolled away so that the women (and the disciples) could go in and see that Jesus' body was gone.  Jesus was already gone.  The stone could not hold Him.
• The ladies were told to go and see, and then told to go and tell.  Jesus allows them to see Him first!  Then instructs them to go and tell.
• For information on the importance of the resurrection, read 1 Corinthians 15!
  • If Jesus was still dead, He is:
    • A false prophet
    • A liar or a lunatic
    • Powerless
    • NOT our Savior and Lord.
  • If Jesus was still dead, we are:
    • Not saved
    • Still looking for a messiah
• Jesus is alive!

Questions to consider:

1. What emotions did the women go through as they saw and processed all they were seeing and hearing?  Which emotion ended up ruling them all?
2. What response did they give when they saw Jesus?
3. Why is the resurrection so important?  Why must a person believe it to be saved?
4. Since Jesus is risen from the dead, and because you (If you are in Christ) will be raised together with Him, what is the worst mankind can do to you?  What do we all have to look forward to?  What will we do when we see Him?  How long is eternity?
5. How does knowing of the resurrection and what is to come change the way we view today?  In light of all that is to come, how should we live today?

Today's passage: Matthew 27:57-66

Helpful thoughts:

• A rich man became a disciple…because with God, anything is possible.  (Matthew 19:23-26)
• Jesus burial in Joseph's tomb fulfilled prophecy (Isaiah 53:9).
• The account of Joseph's work for burial and the two Marys being present gives validation/eye witness account of the death of Jesus Christ.  He did not swoon. He did not resuscitate.  He was dead.
• The Jewish leaders knew of the prospect of the resurrection, or at least the attempt at an appearance of resurrection (Matthew 12:38-40). So, they were given permission to take away any possibility of interference.  Jesus' body was well guarded and sealed by Rome.
• The Jewish leaders were also well aware of the possible ramification if a resurrection story got out.  People would believe.

Questions to consider:

1. Why is it important for Matthew to have shared all of this information?  Why would he name names and mention eyewitnesses?  Why would he share about the added security and the motives of the chief priests and Pharisees?
2. Is it OK for people to call the Bible “religious material” and therefore not acceptable for historical proof?  Why or why not?  Should we always eliminate sources of historical events because the writers actually believe the events they recorded happened?
3. How should all of this information and the efforts of the unbelievers to prevent a hoax encourage our faith?  How should the eye witness accounts throughout the writers of the NT encourage our faith?

Today's passage: Matthew 27:45-56

Helpful thoughts:

• There is no mention of Jesus crying out or wailing in pain until this passage.  The greatest pain Jesus suffered that day was God's wrath against our sin.
• In the midst of all the mockery, the people watching acknowledged that Jesus had done miracles and believed there was a chance Elijah could come and get Him.
• The veil in front of the Holy of Holies in the Temple was at least 60 feet tall and 30 feet wide.  It is said to have been 4 inches thick.  It took many men to get it hung in its place.  For it to rip from top to bottom was a miracle.  Mankind no longer is separated from God.
• 1 Corinthians 15:20 says Christ was the first fruits of the resurrection.  And after His resurrection, others were raised as well and made appearances in Jerusalem.  It wasn't just Jesus who was raised from the dead that week.

Questions to consider:

1. After seeing all that had transpired, what did the Roman Centurion and his soldiers come to believe?
2. Why do we no longer need the Holy of Holies and the Temple?  What did Christ accomplish once and for all?
3. Have you put your faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ? Have you believed in His name? Is the Son of God your Lord and Savior?

Today's passage: Matthew 27:27-44

Helpful thoughts:

• Jesus was mocked by an unjust set of trials.  Now He is mocked by the Roman soldiers, passers by, the chief priests, scribes and elders, even as He hangs on the cross.
• In their efforts to mock Jesus, they fulfilled scripture. (Psalm 22)
• For information regarding the details of the crucifixion process (and other events leading up to the crucifixion), check out this article.
• Gall was given to numb the pain and settle the person down for the crucifixion process.  Jesus refused it.

Questions to consider:

1. Do you think these mockers would have believed if Jesus had taken Himself off of the cross?  Even if they believed, what would have been their fate if Jesus refused to die?
2. Since we know that one of the robbers being crucified next to Jesus was promised to be with Jesus in paradise, what had to have happened between the beginning of the crucifixion and prior to their death?
3. Why do we sometimes take the love of God for granted?  What does preaching the Gospel to ourselves (including the cost!) do to help us keep our eyes and hearts fixed on Him?

Today's passage: Matthew 27:11-26

Helpful thoughts:

• The crime which the Sanhedrin accused Jesus of before Pilate was treason.  They accused Jesus of trying to be King of the Jews.
  • Remember, the crime they wanted to see him pay for was blasphemy; Calling Himself the Son of God.
  • Pilate's response to Jesus shows that he had little concern over Jesus' attempt at a revolution.  If Pilate viewed Jesus as a threat, he would not have offered to let Him go free.
• Pilate attempted to release Jesus.
  • He never declared Him guilty.
  • He tried to offer Barabbas as the other option for release thinking that Jesus would have been the easy choice.
  • He even symbolically washed his hands after the decision was made in an attempt to show that he was not responsible.
• Ultimately, (In his mind) Pilate went forward with the crucifixion in order to prevent the Jews from breaking out into a riot.

Questions to consider:

1. How did Jesus handle Himself in the midst of these events and the questioning?
2. Who suggested crucifixion?
3. What was the response of the Jewish people when Pilate asked for a specific crime worthy of crucifixion?
4. Did the Jewish people try to avoid the charge of being responsible for Jesus' crucifixion?  What did they say?
5. Why shouldn't we be judgmental toward the Jews for this?  What would you have done?  What did Peter and the rest of the disciples do?

Today's passage: Matthew 27:1-10

Helpful thoughts:

• The chief priests and the elders had to wait until the sun came up to officially convict Jesus.  All of the previous aspects of the trial were against their rabbinical law because it all occurred at night.
• The Romans had taken away the right of the Jews to execute on their own.  The Romans would now have to be convinced that Jesus was deserving of the death penalty.
• The word used to denote Judas' change of mind is not the word used for repentance, only sorrow.  Judas felt the guilt of his grievous sin, but he did not repent.
• When Judas threw the money back to the priests in the Temple, he was not giving it to charity.  The money represented his guilt.  He was trying to remove his guilt and place it on those who “hired him”.  He tried to get out from under his guilt his own way.
• The prophecy about the Potter's Field is actually in Zechariah 11, not Jeremiah.  But, the books of the prophets were often called “Jeremiah” because his book was listed first.  (They also often called the entire unit of the books of poetry the “Psalms”).

Questions to consider:

1. Why would the priests remember to follow the law as it pertained to the blood money and yet have no problem violating their law repeatedly as it pertained to the trial of Jesus?  How does this inconsistency follow the pattern of which Jesus had accused them?
2. How does Judas' suicide confirm that he had not repented?  How was we trying to take away his feeling of guilt? Why would that not have worked?
3. Judas was with Jesus for three years and saw and heard more than anyone else on the earth, save the other eleven disciples.  Yet, he didn't believe.  He didn't repent. He still tried to do things his own way even after he felt that incredible weight of guilt.  What can that teach us?

Today's passage: Matthew 26:69-75

Helpful thoughts:

• The people pointing out Peter were servant girls and bystanders.  Not one of them had the authority to do anything.
• Peter's denials were increasingly extravagant and violent, even though the same people were probably not around to hear them more than once.
• Peter had adamantly insisted he would ever deny Jesus Christ just the day before.

Questions to consider:

1. What would have been Peter's motivation to deny Jesus?  What was he avoiding?  What are some things that could have been troubling him throughout the night?
2. How could it have been so easy for Peter to promise Jesus his loyalty and then curse and swear against him in another setting with different circumstances?
3. What kinds of circumstances make it the hardest for you to be faithful to your Lord?  What do those times of failure reveal about the desires of our hearts?
4. Praise God for His grace and mercy toward us!  What is the proper response when we fall? How do we prepare for success in the future?  Who do we esteem the most?

Today's passage: Matthew 26:57-68

Helpful thoughts:

• See the Law concerning trials of this sort:
  • Deuteronomy 16:18-20
    • The requirement for a fair trial
  • Deuteronomy 19:16-19
    • False witnesses were to receive the punishment desired for the accused
• According to Rabbinical law:
  • Death sentences could not be carried out for three days after the verdict.
  • Confession by the defendant was not enough to prove guilt.  There had to be external evidence.
• Jesus' official crime was calling Himself the Son of God/The Son of Man.  His assertion was called blasphemy.

Questions to consider:

1. Was Jesus given a fair trial?
2. Were the false witnesses punished?  Who put them up to it?
3. Was the death penalty scheduled for three days out?
4. What was true of Jesus' “crime”?
5. Why were the Sanhedrin able to accomplish this guilty verdict and deliver Jesus to Pilate?  Who was victorious this night?