Leader Guide 6-22-08 / Luke 22:54-62

Small Group Leaders Guide
June 22, 2008

Under Pressure
Luke 22:54-62

Getting Started:
1. If someone used the expression, “scared the pants off of me,” how scared do you think that person was? Read Mark 14:51. How scared do you think the “young man” was?

Going Deeper:
2. In Luke 22:53, Jesus says, “darkness reigns.” What do you think He means by that? How is darkness reigning in the passages that follow? Read John 9:4.

3. Read Luke 22:31-32. What does it mean that Satan “asked?” Where in the Bible is another occasion where Satan “asked?” In both cases there were constraints placed on him. How are the two similar? Different?

• We can be certain that the old snake didn’t check in with God out of politeness or protocol. He had to get permission, and this means the devil operates under constraints. He can't do what he wants, whenever he wishes. He has to clear it with God. God must control evil. And He does so because He is good. If not, the devil would be without constraints, free to do whatever he pleased. This means the world would be much worse than it is. Evil can raise its ugly head only when God deliberately backs away for a specific and intentional reason. God permits what he hates in order to achieve what he loves. It’s just that most of us wont see it until the other side of eternity.

4. Read Luke 22:54-55 and notice the use of the words, “they” and “them.” Who is being referred to with those pronouns? How does Peter interact with the “they?” How does he interact with the “them?” Why the change?

• Peter follows “they” at a distance. Why? Because Jesus is with them and he is afraid of being punished with Him.
• Once the fire had been lit, Peter sat down with “them.”
• So, we see that when Jesus was being taken away, Peter did not want to be identified with Him. However, when there was a fire to gain warmth from, Peter didn’t seem to mind being identified with “them.” In fact, just to reinforce the point, he vehemently denied even knowing Jesus.

5. In this passage, it may be easy to make a list of negative character traits displayed by Peter. What positive trait or traits do you see here?

• Even though Peter is in fear for his own life, he doesn’t completely abandon Jesus. He stayed close even when it looked like he may be identified as one of the followers of Jesus.
• Peter’s tears reveal something about him also. He was overcome at his inability to endure the pain required to remain true to Jesus. His bitter tears reveal his disappointment in, if not hatred of, himself for the way he was responding to what was happening.
• In Mark 14:38, Jesus said that the spirit was willing but the body was weak and that they should be praying that they will not fall into temptation. Peter was experiencing this weakness and persevering through it in his own imperfect way.

6. When the cost of following Jesus increases, do you find yourself “following at a distance?” Peter clearly drew a line in the sand when the cost of following meant a beating and possibly death. Have you ever drawn a similar line? Discuss this line in your groups.

7. What does it look like to follow Jesus at a distance in our day and age? Is it even possible for a person to call oneself a follower of Jesus, when keeping distance between him/herself and Jesus?

8. As Jesus prepares for an excruciatingly brutal, painful, and humiliating death, what seems to be His main concern in the following passages: Luke 22:31-32, Luke 23:28-31, Luke 23:34, John 13:1-17, John 14:1-4, John 17:6-19, John 17:20-26, John 18:4-8, John 19:25-27.

9. How do you think Peter’s experience in these “dark” times changed him? Do you think what he went through proved to be a part of his divine training?

10. In Luke 22:61-62, Jesus turned to look straight at Peter. What was Peter’s reaction? Have you ever felt that you let Jesus down in such a way as to be unforgivable? Was Peter ever forgiven for his denials of Christ? Read John 21:15-19.

11. Let’s say someone came up to you said, “I know Christ can forgive, but I’ve messed up so much, I don’t know if He will.” What would you say to him/her?

Putting it into practice:
12. As a follower of Christ, in what way could you close the “distance” between yourself and Jesus? Pray about this in your groups.
13. On Sunday, we talked about Christ’s dying for our sins, once and for all. Do you struggle believing that Christ can fully forgive you? If so, share that in the group.

Quote Of The Week:
Mishaps are like knives, that either serve us or cut us, as we grasp them by the blade or the handle.
--James Russell Lowell