Getting to Know You: Have you ever felt ditched, abandoned, or like someone has turn their back on you? Have you turned your back on someone before? What would you be willing to give up to avoid reliving [or living for the first time] that experience?
Getting to Know the Bible:
Read Matthew 27:45-54
1) What strikes you? What challenges you? What encourages you? What questions does the passage raise for you?
2) What do you think it means for a father to abandon his son? What do you think it meant for God to abandon Jesus?
3) What sort of man is this Jesus portrayed in this passage? Who do people say that He is after this experience? [see vs. 54]
4) What do you make of verses 51-53? What do you think those incidents have to do with God the Father abandoning Jesus? What do they say to you about the new world we live in after Jesus conquered death and rose again?
Applying Yourself to this Message:
5) How does verse 46 make you feel about God the Father?
6) Have you ever turned your back on Jesus in anyway? How does this story speak to you about your behavior and God's response to it?