Here are some questions based on last Sunday’s sermon text (John 11:45-54), in case they’re helpful to you for personal growth or group discussion…

• [47-50] Sin has God as its ultimate reference point—it is primarily a problem with a person’s relationship with God, which then has its effects on our relationships with each other. If those with worldly power (whether cultural, political, or religious) are morally representative of sinful humanity, how does that make you think of such people as have been in the news lately at the center of moral scandals? In what ways does the Good News of Jesus Christ change the way you think of them?

• [50-51] In a display of God’s ironic sense of humor, Caiaphas prophesied in spite of himself. Why is this irony humorous (comic) rather than tragic?

• [51] Jesus dies “for” others, as their substitute, in their place, on their behalf. He is the representative we need. Why? How does this vicarious atonement “work”?

• [51-52] Who are these “children of God”? Into what are they gathered? What gathers them? What role might you, as a believer, play in this gathering?