JOHN 11:45-54
GETTING RID OF JESUS
Application Guide
READ THE TEXT
45 Therefore, many of the Jews who came to Mary and saw what he did believed in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.
47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and were saying, “What are we going to do since this man is doing many signs? 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
49 One of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all! 50 You’re not considering that it is to your advantage that one man should die for the people rather than the whole nation perish.” 51 He did not say this on his own, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but also to unite the scattered children of God. 53 So from that day on they plotted to kill him.
54 Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews but departed from there to the countryside near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and he stayed there with the disciples.
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
In general, was there anything that stood out to you from the sermon or the reading of the text? Was there anything you were encouraged or confused by?
The religious leaders said they wanted to get rid of Jesus because if they didn’t, they would lose their place and their nation. Discuss why you think this mattered to them.
Many of us would never claim to want to kill Jesus, but what are some other ways we might find ourselves dismissing Him and His message?
What are some earthly things we are tempted to try and hang on to, even at the cost of missing out on what Jesus is doing in the world (individually and corporately)?
What should our response be when we find our thoughts or lives at odds with the life and message of Jesus?
How does community help us see more clearly what really matters?
How was the gospel and the work of Jesus magnified through the text or sermon?
Is there anything the Spirit is calling you to obey as an individual or as a group?