“Oh death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”-- 1 Corinthians 15:55-57
Opening Thought
Get out of Jail Free
In the game of Monopoly, you need that card. But in real life, the issue is so much deeper, all the way down into your heart. Separated from God by sin, no way to account and pay for your sin other than eternity in hell – you need the Savior! Every one of us, trapped in our sin, have no way to escape apart from the redeeming work of Christ on the Cross.However, through the final excruciating week of Jesus’ life on earth, we see that He had so much more in store for us. His death, the gift of salvation, is not just a get out of jail card, not just “life insurance” to escape hell. It is the opening to an abundant life, here on earth, and through all eternity.
He wants to us to know Him, to understand His character, and to begin the process of reflecting that character in our lives – to be Christlike. Our studies thus far have been seeking to look into the life of Christ and observe how He expressed godliness in His interactions and ministry with people. In the next few studies, we will begin to study more directly the disciplines of Christlikeness, seeking to understand the processes required of each of us to follow in Christ’s steps. However, right now, let’s just reflect once more on the awesome beauty of the character of Christ as it is revealed in all its glory through these events leading to the Cross and beyond.
Study Notes
Why is this night so different?”
1. Pesach has always been the most popular of the Jewish holidays, celebrated more than the other than the other Jewish feasts
2. The Day of Atonement, yom kippur, the 10th day of the 7th month; recall images of the High Priest approaching the Mercy Seat in the Holy of Holies, the two scapegoats.
- Review Leviticus 16 to recall more of the special activities involved in this holy event
- The only national day declared by Jewish law, a day of national humiliation
- These activities were designed by God to demonstrate propitiation and expiation, the acts which clear a debt, remove all indication of guilt or liability.
4. When the disciples gathered with the Lord in the Upper Room, perhaps these questions burned in their mind in a way they could have never anticipated. Certainly no night had ever been so different. The foreboding awareness that something remarkable and terrible, from the hand of God no less, hung over the room just as that night 1450 years ago in Egypt.
5. Read Exodus 6:6-7 and look for four expressions of redemption
- Freedom
- Deliverance
- Redemption
- Release
6. The Last Supper the Lord had with His disciples followed the seder sequence of the Passover meal, which included 4 cups, the same sequence of redemptive expression (using a Harmony of the Gospels might help you separate these events)
- Luke 22:17, the First Cup, Cup of Blessing
- Luke 22:19, the Second Cup, breaking of Matzoh
- Luke 22:20, the Third Cup, of Redemption
- Matthew 26:27-30, the 4th Cup; the Hallel Psalms are traditionally sung and/or read (Psalms 115-118) at the conclusion of the Passover meal
7. Jesus the Messiah is our Pesach, our Redeemer, our sacrifice.
- Read 1 Corinthians 5:7
- The Hebrew “pasha” means “to pass over”; the English “paschal” is derived from this word, and is linked in early Christian tradition to the Greek word for “passion”, the work of Christ on the Cross.
Jesus' Ministry to Others in the Midst of Turmoil
Seeing Jesus in the Upper Room gives us one more glimpse before the Cross of His constant ministry to others as they face life’s struggles.
1. Jesus and Peter
- John 13:36-38; Luke 22:31-34 – look where this sad prediction has its roots: Peter still doesn’t fully see the reality of Christ’s mission, he hasn’t been hearing clearly
- Luke 22:54-62 – Before the cock crows…Graciously for Peter and for each of us in our own way, the story doesn’t end there. John 21:15ff shows the tender ministry of Jesus to Peter in pointing him to rich ministry as well as suffering for Christ’s sake.
2. Jesus and the Crowds
- Matthew 27:15-26
- For three years the crowds had been following Him, pressing in on Him, calling for Him to be King, seeking His healing and providing touch.
- Now, stirred up with fear, the masses have their say -- “Crucify Him!” Let’s be done with this confrontation, let us have our indulgence.Later on the Cross, however, Jesus looks out on those around Him and around the world, and speaks for them to the Father – “forgive them”.
- Later on the Cross, however, Jesus looks out on those around Him and around the world, and speaks for them to the Father – “forgive them”.
3. Jesus and the Repentant Thief
- Luke 23:39-43
- Concerned with His own suffering and loss? Resentful of being placed on a Cross just like these guilty men beside Him? No, still focused on His mission of Redemption, He faithfully communicates the message of grace one more time – “You shall be with Me in Paradise.”
4. Jesus and Mary Magdalene
- John 20:11-18
Mary Magdalene, a tender woman who has come out of a life of misery and sin, has her heart broken at the loss of her Lord and Savior. All she could do was bow at the tomb and weep. Then out of the clouds of her sorrow, she realizes the glory of God speaking to her – “Why are you weeping?”
- Turning the other way as she senses movement, she sees this man, remarkably familiar yet different. But then He speaks to her – “Mary!” And all she could reply was the truth of her relationship with her Savior -- Raboni!, which means “master teacher”.
5. Jesus and the Emmaus Travelers
Luke 24:13-32
Were not our hearts burning within us?
I once was lost... 
Jesus has ministered to each of us in the same way He ministered to others while on the earth. Reaching out where we are, in the midst of our sin and selfishness, He draws us to Himself in grace.
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound
that saved wretch like me;
I once was lost but now am found,
was blind but now I see!
For further study...
1. As we begin to study how we can pursue Christlikeness, reflect on how the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) guides us to show the character of Christ.
2. Is it realistic for you to have each of these fruit? Some more than others? Is there one or more that seems “impossible”? Why? Anything you can do about it?
3. Is it your earnest desire to be like Christ?
