Bible Studies, Inspired by Faith and Science

Revisiting the Passion – And Beyond 1.        At the end of the last study, there wasn’t much doubt about the fact that Jesus had died. But crucifixion could take days. Why did he die so quickly? Read Mark 15:44 2.        Crucified bodies were often left on display to discourage crime. Why was Jesus buried so quickly? Read Mark 15:42 3.        Who witnessed Jesus’ death? Who witnessed his burial? Read Mark 15:42,47, John 19:39 4.        Who witnessed his resurrection? Read Matthew27:62-66, 28:4,11-15 5.        How did the Roman soldiers respond to the resurrection? Do you think they believed what they’d seen? Do you think they convinced themselves of the story they told? How easy is it to talk ourselves out of supernatural experiences? 6.        How did the priests and elders respond...

Revisiting the Passion – Road to Resurrection 1.        We looked briefly at the 14 “stations” of the cross last week. This week we’ll look at them more closely. First, Jesus is condemned (1). In human, historical terms, who condemns him, how, when, where, and why? What about in Spiritual terms? 2.        Prisoners who were to be crucified were often scourged beforehand, especially if the death was not required to take too long. Do you know which gospel doesn’t mention Jesus being scourged? Read Matthew 27:27-31, Mark 15:16-20, John 19:1-4. What is different in John’s account? How is John’s emphasis different? 3.        Biblically, Jesus is condemned, given his cross (2) and led away. In the space of a few verses, someone else is compelled to carry the cross (5); Simon of Cyrene, father of Alexander and Rufus. Read Matthew 27:32, Mark 15:21, Luke 23:26. Why do you think an event...

Galilee's Gift is now out in ebook form. Look for it at: Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Galilees-Gift-Five-Minute-Testament-Stories-ebook/dp/B00JWYO3IU/ Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/432037 Barnes and Noble: coming soon. Meanwhile, here are my continuing study notes as I work on Jerusalem Journey Revisiting the Passion – Road to the Cross 1.        Last week we looked at Christ on trial. Can you remember which different venues Jesus was questioned in? What sort of times and places might we expect to be questioned about our faith? 2.        Can you remember what grounds were used for rejecting Jesus’ claim to be the Messiah? What grounds are used to reject his claim today? 3.        Read John 18:14. What was Caiaphas’ reason for rejecting Jesus’ claim? When might we use the same sort of logic to justify our actions? 4.     ...