Here are some questions based on last Sunday’s sermon text (John 18:28-40), in case they’re helpful to you for personal growth or group discussion…

• [28-35] Case Study… A friend says it is anti-Semitic for John (or the other Gospel writers) to portray the Jews as those behind the murder of Jesus. This person also cites anti-Semitism in the church’s history, as a reason to distance oneself from the church. How do you address this concern in a Christ-centered way?

• [36-37] Case Study, continued… This same friend has devoted his/her life to political activism toward racial reconciliation and social justice. He/she frequently speaks in angry tones about the outrage felt toward people considered to be political enemies. Your friend alternates between optimism that political efforts really can make a difference, and despair that society will never truly change. How are Jesus’ words to Pilate applicable to your friend?

• Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” He’s saying the nature of his kingdom—its foundations and goals and means for achieving those goals—is utterly unlike the nature of all earthly kingdoms. So… what is his kingdom? What are its foundations and goals and means for achieving those goals? In what ways are these different from those of earthly kingdoms? What does (or will) it look like when his kingdom comes?

• [38-40] “Barabbas,” quite ironically, means “son of the father.” Barabbas was a “robber” (40), a “notorious prisoner” (Matthew 27:16), an insurrectionist “who had committed murder” (Mark 15:7; Luke 23:19). How do you feel about him going free while Jesus—the true Son of the Father—went to the cross? Are you scandalized by the injustice of it, or do you see it as a picture of your own salvation?