The Road to Easter – Week 3 – John 18:28-40 – Livestream for 4/2/23

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Small Group Guide:

Open with prayer.

Go around and give everyone a chance to share about how the past week has been. What’s one highlight? What’s one lowlight?

If your small group has talked about it before, feel free to use this time to hold people accountable to what they’ve asked to be held accountable for previously, and go through the “missional” part of this discussion guide.


John 18:28-40

Jesus Before Pilate

28 Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor’s headquarters.[f] It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor’s headquarters, so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover. 29 So Pilate went outside to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” 30 They answered him, “If this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered him over to you.” 31 Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” The Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death.” 32 This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to show by what kind of death he was going to die.

My Kingdom Is Not of This World

33 So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” 35 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?” 36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” 37 Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” 38 Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”

After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in him. 39 But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” 40 They cried out again, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber.[g]

Message Outline:

In this passage of God’s Word, we see the religious leaders of Israel handing over Jesus to the Roman officials. Israel was not permitted to use the death penalty, so in order to kill Jesus, they handed Him over to the Romans. By taking a look at this story, we can see what mistakes the Israelite religious leaders made, and how we can avoid making those same mistakes.

Mistakes of the religious leaders:

  1. Caring about outward actions over God

John 18:28-30, Matt. 23:23-36, 2 Tim. 3:5, Titus 1:16, Matt. 6:5

  1. Not taking God’s Word seriously

John 18:31-32, 2 Tim. 3:16, Is. 7:14, 11:10, 35:5-6, 40:3-4, 53:3, Mic. 5:2, Ps. 22:18, 31:5

  1. Putting selfish desires over God’s will

John 18:38-40, Ps. 40:8, John 6:38, Luke 22:42, Phil. 2:19-21, Jam. 4:1-2


Reflection Questions:

  1. Had you ever heard this taught before, specifically Luke 19:41-44? What stood out to you?
  2. Have you ever thought about this story from the Israelite religious leaders’ perspective before? What do you think motivated them to do what they did?
  3. Of the 3 mistakes of the religious leaders that we discussed, which one do you have the most difficult time with? Why?
  4. How can you help other believers to avoid these 3 mistakes that the religious leaders made?
  5. What is your biggest take away about how this passage affects your life? What do you need to work on? Who can you share this with and ask you to keep you accountable to accomplishing this?

Prayer Time:

Pray for each other in your small group to be faithful take the step(s) that you shared above. Pray for each other and the interactions that they have with those who don’t know Jesus. Pray that God would soften the people’s hearts to what He has for them. Pray that God would give everyone opportunities to share the Gospel.

Staying Missional:

Share spiritual/missional conversations you’ve had where you live, work, and play:

Who did you have a conversation with that took a spiritual/missional turn this week?
What questions did you ask to discover where God is at work in their life, even if they are not aware?
How were you able to share your story of life change or how you have experienced Jesus?
How can you be intentional this week with people where you live, work, and play to have spiritual/missional conversations if the opportunity arises?
Who in your life do you think could be discipleable or open to spiritual/missional conversations?

What’s next?

Discuss the next step for your small group. When will we gather again and what purpose will it fulfill?