Matt Zainea Rockford Campus November 20, 2022
WHAT IS TRUTH
SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION GUIDE
REMINDERS
- Let’s Chat! I’d love to continue to grow in knowing you Let me buy you a coffee or a meal and let’s chat soon! Reach out to Trent [email protected] or Kathryn [email protected]
- Happy Thanksgiving! Praying that you are able to be with loved ones this holiday and celebrate in gratitude the many ways that God has blessed us as a nation and as a church.
TOGETHER IN LIFE
**Since Thanksgiving is this week, spend some time sharing something about your Life Group that your thankful for this year.
TOGETHER IN THE WORD
Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor’s headquarters. 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. So Pilate went outside to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” They answered him, “If this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered him over to you.” 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.” This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to show by what kind of death he was going to die.
So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?” 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.” 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.” 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. 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?” They cried out again, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber. John 18:28-40
John uses a writing technique to make it seem like there is only two people in the conversation and everyone else has fallen away. When John uses this technique, it reminds us to put ourselves in the conversation with Jesus. John uses this technique with Nicodemus, The Woman and The Well and now with Jesus and Pilate.
God is sovereign. We go through many hard times, but it’s vital to trust God and His sovereignty in the middle of it.
QUESTION: Even though it was not lawful for the Jews to put anyone to death, they wanted Jesus the son of God dead. They thought they could remain ceremonially clean by plotting to have the government kill Jesus instead of killing him with their own hands. They completely missed the fact that they were still responsible for his death. Matt reminded us that we do this all the time. We fixate on the little rules we can obey while missing the bigger picture to love one another. He used the election as an example. Can you think of other examples of how we do this?
In his conversation with Pilate about kings and kingdoms, Jesus uses the same words that Pilate uses, but he means something completely different. They’re not on the same wave length. Jesus does the same with Nicodemus about being born again and the Woman at the well regarding living water.
Jesus – my kingdom is not of this world.
Pilate’s understanding of kings and kingdoms it woefully insufficient, as is ours. We underestimate who God is and what He’s about. We think our faith is separate from our circumstances. We fail to connect our faith to all the turmoil that’s going on in our lives. We pursue things with great passion without even thinking about God. If we understood God’s kingdom, we would bring our relationship with Christ into the center of all our circumstances. That’s the type of king He is.
QUESTION: What areas of your life do you keep separate, or are tempted to keep separate from your relationship with God?
We all have our own little kingdoms where we’re in charge and we get things our way. Jesus wants to blow apart our tiny understanding of what a kingdom is.
QUESTION: Please share with the group about your own little kingdom and how you’re tempted to rule it?
Pilate – What is truth?
Pilate is afraid – it’s a political fear. He wants to maneuver this situation to keep everyone happy.
QUESTION: I don’t know about you, but over the last few years I’ve found it more and more difficult to keep everyone happy. With the state of our world today, it feels more and more risky to share an opinion on anything, even minor things. Are you ever tempted to walk the tightrope of people pleasing that Pilate was attempting to walk in order to keep the peace? If so, please share how this effects your every day life.
TRUTH
Jesus – the reason I am here on this earth is to testify to the truth.
In our modern world, truth is reduced to these explanations: facts, power, accuracy, and majority. These descriptions aren’t bad by themselves, but none of them are big enough to hold the full concept of the truth. We reduce our world in a way that “disenchants” it. We take away the wonder.
Jesus – I have come to “re-enchant” the world to restore the wonder of your world.
How does truth lead us to wonder?
TRUTH about Himself
- The bread of life – (6:35) “I alone can sustain you”
- The light of the world – (8:12) “You can only comprehend life when you view it through me”
- The door – (10:7) “I’m the way to get to the life you long for”
- The good Shepard – (10:11) “I will care for you perfectly”
- The resurrection and the life – (11:25) “I get the final word”
- The way, the truth and the life – (14:6) “Stop looking to other things, my life is the roadmap”
- The true Vine – (15:1) “You want to bear fruit? You can only do that if you’re connected to me.”
QUESTION: Considering the previous statements that Jesus makes about Himself, which one do you need to connect to most right now? If you’re willing, please share with the group why your drawn to that particular “I am” statement right now.
TRUTH about the world
- Col 1:15-17
QUESTION: Matt asked us these questions, “Do you really want a universe without a creator that fills you with wonder? Do you really want to be the one who’s holding the whole universe together?” Share your thoughts with the group as you ponder these questions.
TRUTH about us
- Col 1:22-23
- If you don’t know Christ, you are alienated, hostile in mind, do evil deeds vs when you know Christ, you’re holy and blameless, above reproach.
- We shift from hope to hope – Pilate shifts from hope to hope, we do the same thing. We allow things or circumstances to fuel our hope. We keep having to hop to the next thing because they our small “hopes” never work. We don’t have to do this. Our first and primary hope is in Jesus.
- Without Christ – We’re an enemy of God. We gain Christ through faith alone and because of that we’re declared righteous. Yes, eternally, but not just eternally, it has an immediate effect on our daily life. We don’t hop from hope to hope because we know the truth.
QUESTION: Can you ever feel yourself shifting from hope to hope? As a young person, I can remember dreaming about how great it would be to graduate from high school, only to hop to wanting to be engaged, then married, and pregnant, etc. Of course dreams can be good, but do you find yourself looking to your next thing to make you happy or fulfill a longing that only God can fill? Please share what this looks like for you.
TRUTH about the future
- Zephaniah 3:17
- The truth is a person – “I’m in your midst.”
- Rejoice over you with gladness – Do you ever feel like nobody appreciates you? He will rejoice over each and every one of us.
- Quiet you with His love – All our worries. Jesus says, “Don’t worry, you can feel safe, I got this, trust me. You’re going through a lot, I know I went through a lot too.”
- He will exalt over you with loud singing – He’s written a song about you. His song is better than any rock song written about your name. His song is loud and perfect pitch.
Zephaniah 3:17-20
TOGETHER IN ACTION
When you examine your life, what definition of truth are you drawn to?
What’s something from TRUTH of who Jesus is that could help you recapture the wonder that Christ offers?
