03.02.08
Small Group Plan - March 2, 2008
“Acclaim & Authority”
The Road to Grace
Small Group Plan
March 2, 2008
Dear Small Group Leader,
As we begin “The Road To Grace” ending on Easter Sunday, we want to walk side by side with Jesus through each day of His last week. We want to feel His joy and frustration. We want to listen as He answers His critics. We want to watch as He heals the hurting. We want to learn from His quiet rest in the middle of the week. And we want to understand His warning to the religion of His day. Sunday and Monday begin His week with warning and teaching. May we open our hearts and minds to His words and example.
OPEN IT / INTRODUCE IT …
· How do you feel when your convictions disappoint others?
· How do you usually respond to the expectations of others?
· Why do Matthew, Mark, Luke and John give us so much detail about Jesus’ last week?
LOOK AT IT / STUDY IT …
Sunday – Day of Acclaim
Mark 11:1-11
1 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’” 4 They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, 5 some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” 6 They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. 7 When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. 9 Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” 10 “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” “Hosanna in the highest!” 11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.
· What was the crowd expecting from Jesus?
· Why did they take off their cloaks and spread them on the road?
· Why did they say “Hosanna” which means, “Save Now” ?
· Why did Jesus choose to ride into Jerusalem on a colt (donkey Mt. 21:2)?
· Why did Jesus go to the Temple rather than the Roman fortress?
· What were the Twelve thinking during this time?
Monday – Day of Authority
Mark 11:12-19
12 The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13 Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. 14 Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it. 15 On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, 16 and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. 17 And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: “‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’” 18 The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching. 19 When evening came, they went out of the city.
· Why did Jesus curse the fig tree?
· What did Jesus see in the Temple the night before that prompted his anger?
· What does the Temple story teach us about anger?
· Jesus saw a physical barrier (see attached pictures), but he also saw other walls. What were they, and how did they affect the Temple relationships?
USE IT / APPLY IT …
· Edwin Poteat wrote the following poem about Sunday, Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. Discuss the messages you see in the story and in the poem.
They Pluck Their Palm Branches And Hail Him As King,
Early On Sunday;
They Spread Our Their Garments, Hosannas They Sing,
Early On Sunday.
But Where Is The Noise Of Their Hurrying Feet,
The Crown They Would Offer, The Scepter, The Seat?
Their King Wanders Hungry, Forgot In The Street,
Early On Monday.
· Dr. Herbert Lockyer also wrote a poem. It’s message moves from fig tree to temple to church. What applications can we draw from it?
The Master came to the fig tree, and saw the foliage there
Of thick and shady branches, to hungry eyes so fair.
But He found that it was barren, and bore no luscious fruit,
For life was gone, and even ‘twas withered from its root.
The Master came to the temple, and saw the worship there,
The ritual and the customs, to Jewish eyes so fair;
But to Him ‘twas all corruption, his house a den of thieves,
And all its boasted glory, was fruitless, only leaves.
The Master comes to the churches, and sees our service here,
The busy nightly meetings, to worldly hearts so dear.
And still He probes the motive, and still His Spirit grieves,
To find our modern methods so fruitless — mostly leaves.
· How should we respond to corrupt religion?
· How should we react when God places us a situation that we don’t completely understand?
· Where are you in the “Temple Cleansing” stages mentioned on Sunday: (1) Take inventory. (2) Count the cost. (3) Begin. (4) Let Him do the cleansing.
Close by asking God to enter the temple of our hearts and show us what He sees.
HERODIAN TEMPLE
The Jerusalem Temple Warning Inscription
Two copies of this inscription have been found. The first copy, shown below, was discovered in 1871. Discovered in 1935, the second copy pictured on the following page, is a fragment from the center of the inscription, showing partial words on six lines.
|
MHQENA . ALLOGENH . EISPO |
No outsider shall enter |
