It Is Finished

In one paragraph

This was a Monday evening study through John 19:16-42, the account of Jesus' crucifixion, death and burial. The pastor walked the room through what he called the passion of the Christ, urging the group not to skip ahead to resurrection Sunday without first feeling the full weight of Good Friday. The theme he kept returning to was belief, and the evidence that Jesus truly loves us. the pastor...

Read together

1. John 19:16-42 main passage read aloud verse by verse as the text for the evening
2. Luke 9:23 quoted as Jesus telling his disciples to give up their own way and take up their cross daily and follow him

Talk about it

1. The pastor said it is important to feel the weight of Good Friday and not just skip ahead to the resurrection. Why do you think it matters to sit with the suffering of the cross, and have you ever found yourself rushing past it?
2. Jesus told his disciples to take up their cross daily, and then he literally carried his own cross to Golgotha. What does that connection between his teaching and his action mean to you personally?
3. The pastor said the sign Pilate wrote in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek was purposeful because people from all over had come to Jerusalem for Passover. What do you think God was doing in that detail?
4. Even while dying on the cross, Jesus made sure his mother would be cared for by the disciple he loved. What does that moment tell you about who Jesus is?
5. The pastor said the theme of John is belief, and that Jesus did all of this for all who would believe. What does it mean to you, in a real and personal way, that Jesus went through this for you?