Third Week of April

Printable Guide

We Read…

In his last moments on earth, Jesus offers comfort to the second criminal on the cross. As he is dying, Jesus continues to show up for the people who need him—can you imagine what this moment would have been like? It is a beautiful picture of God’s grace and mercy for us. The criminal didn’t earn Jesus’s love and forgiveness, but Jesus gave it anyway. This is a common theme for our verses this week. 

Through our passages, we are reminded that God loves us, God helps us, and God saves us. Even in difficult moments, we can trust that God will be near to us. Philippians 2 shows us the heart of Jesus, who humbled himself in the greatest way to be near to us. He was willing to come to earth as a baby, live as a normal man, teach anyone who would listen, and go through human emotions and experiences, all for us. And in his last hours, Jesus still chose love, grace, and mercy for anyone who asked. This is good news for us today!

Isaiah 50:4-9a

4 The Lord God 

gave me an educated tongue 

to know how to respond to the weary 

with a word that will awaken them 

in the morning. 

God awakens my ear 

in the morning to listen, 

as educated people do. 

5 The Lord God opened my ear; 

I didn’t rebel; I didn’t turn my back. 

6 Instead, I gave my body to attackers, 

and my cheeks to beard pluckers. 

I didn’t hide my face 

from insults and spitting. 

7 The Lord God will help me; 

therefore, I haven’t been insulted. 

Therefore, I set my face like flint, 

and knew I wouldn’t be ashamed. 

8 The one who will declare me innocent 

is near. 

Who will argue with me? 

Let’s stand up together. 

Who will bring judgment against me? 

Let him approach me. 

Psalm 31:9-16

9 Have mercy on me, Lord, 

because I’m depressed. 

My vision fails because of my grief, 

as do my spirit and my body. 

10 My life is consumed with sadness; 

my years are consumed with groaning. 

Strength fails me 

because of my suffering; 

my bones dry up. 

11 I’m a joke to all my enemies, 

still worse to my neighbors. 

I scare my friends, 

and whoever sees me in the street runs away! 

12 I am forgotten, like I’m dead, 

completely out of mind; 

I am like a piece of pottery, destroyed. 

13 Yes, I’ve heard all the gossiping, 

terror all around; 

so many gang up together against me, 

they plan to take my life! 

14 But me? I trust you, Lord! 

I affirm, “You are my God.” 

15 My future is in your hands. 

Don’t hand me over to my enemies, 

to all who are out to get me! 

16 Shine your face on your servant; 

save me by your faithful love! 

Philippians 2:5-11

5 Adopt the attitude that was in Christ Jesus: 

6 Though he was in the form of God, 

he did not consider being equal 

with God something to exploit. 

7 But he emptied himself 

by taking the form of a slave 

and by becoming like human beings. 

When he found himself 

in the form of a human, 

8 he humbled himself by becoming 

obedient to the point of death, 

even death on a cross. 

9 Therefore, God highly honored him 

and gave him a name above all names, 

10 so that at the name of Jesus everyone 

in heaven, on earth, 

and under the earth might bow 

11 and every tongue confess 

that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

Luke 23:1-49

The whole assembly got up and led Jesus to Pilate and 2 began to accuse him. They said, “We have found this man misleading our people, opposing the payment of taxes to Caesar, and claiming that he is the Christ, a king.” 

3 Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” 

Jesus replied, “That’s what you say.” 

4 Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no legal basis for action against this man.” 

5 But they objected strenuously, saying, “He agitates the people with his teaching throughout Judea—starting from Galilee all the way here.” 

6 Hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean. 7 When he learned that Jesus was from Herod’s district, Pilate sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time. 8 Herod was very glad to see Jesus, for he had heard about Jesus and had wanted to see him for quite some time. He was hoping to see Jesus perform some sign. 9 Herod questioned Jesus at length, but Jesus didn’t respond to him. 10 The chief priests and the legal experts were there, fiercely accusing Jesus. 11 Herod and his soldiers treated Jesus with contempt. Herod mocked him by dressing Jesus in elegant clothes and sent him back to Pilate. 12 Pilate and Herod became friends with each other that day. Before this, they had been enemies. 

13 Then Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers of the people. 14 He said to them, “You brought this man before me as one who was misleading the people. I have questioned him in your presence and found nothing in this man’s conduct that provides a legal basis for the charges you have brought against him. 15 Neither did Herod, because Herod returned him to us. He’s done nothing that deserves death. 16 Therefore, I’ll have him whipped, then let him go.” 

18 But with one voice they shouted, “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us.” (19 Barabbas had been thrown into prison because of a riot that had occurred in the city, and for murder.) 

20 Pilate addressed them again because he wanted to release Jesus. 

21 They kept shouting out, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” 

22 For the third time, Pilate said to them, “Why? What wrong has he done? I’ve found no legal basis for the death penalty in his case. Therefore, I will have him whipped, then let him go.” 

23 But they were adamant, shouting their demand that Jesus be crucified. Their voices won out. 24 Pilate issued his decision to grant their request. 25 He released the one they asked for, who had been thrown into prison because of a riot and murder. But he handed Jesus over to their will. 

26 As they led Jesus away, they grabbed Simon, a man from Cyrene, who was coming in from the countryside. They put the cross on his back and made him carry it behind Jesus. 27 A huge crowd of people followed Jesus, including women, who were mourning and wailing for him. 28 Jesus turned to the women and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, don’t cry for me. Rather, cry for yourselves and your children. 29 The time will come when they will say, ‘Happy are those who are unable to become pregnant, the wombs that never gave birth, and the breasts that never nursed a child.’ 30 Then they will say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ 31 If they do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?” 

32 They also led two other criminals to be executed with Jesus. 33 When they arrived at the place called The Skull, they crucified him, along with the criminals, one on his right and the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing.” They drew lots as a way of dividing up his clothing. 

35 The people were standing around watching, but the leaders sneered at him, saying, “He saved others. Let him save himself if he really is the Christ sent from God, the chosen one.” 

36 The soldiers also mocked him. They came up to him, offering him sour wine 37 and saying, “If you really are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” 38 Above his head was a notice of the formal charge against him. It read “This is the king of the Jews.” 

39 One of the criminals hanging next to Jesus insulted him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 

40 Responding, the other criminal spoke harshly to him, “Don’t you fear God, seeing that you’ve also been sentenced to die? 41 We are rightly condemned, for we are receiving the appropriate sentence for what we did. But this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 

43 Jesus replied, “I assure you that today you will be with me in paradise.” 

44 It was now about noon, and darkness covered the whole earth until about three o’clock, 45 while the sun stopped shining. Then the curtain in the sanctuary tore down the middle. 46 Crying out in a loud voice, Jesus said, “Father, into your hands I entrust my life.” After he said this, he breathed for the last time. 

47 When the centurion saw what happened, he praised God, saying, “It’s really true: this man was righteous.” 48 All the crowds who had come together to see this event returned to their homes beating their chests after seeing what had happened. 49 And everyone who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance observing these things. 

We Think…

• What stands out to you in these verses? Does anything confuse you or not make sense?

• How do these verses compare to your own experience in life or the church? What are you considering? What questions come to mind?

• Why did Jesus choose to humble himself for us? How does this impact our understanding of God?

• Why do you think the crowd asked for Barabbas to be released instead of Jesus?

We Feel…

• What emotions are you experiencing today? How are you making space for these feelings?

• Where have you seen God today or this week? What is pointing you to God (maybe it is something in creation, a friend or adult that cares for you)?

• What has God made new in your life? In your heart? 

• When have you been confident that God will or has helped you? When has it been harder to trust that God will be there for you?

• How does the story of the two criminals (Luke 23) make you feel?

We Believe…

We believe in a God who loves us so much that God came to live beside us, live like us, and live for us. God could have chosen to come to earth as a powerful ruler or wielding an army of angels! God could have silenced anyone who disagreed or sided with those who had money and prestige. Instead, Jesus came as a baby, was willing to be raised by human parents, experienced a full range of human moments, cried real tears, was vulnerable, hurt, was near us, and chose us. This is the picture of our God! The God who loves us deeply. The God who brings good news to the poor and broken. We believe this is who God is and that we should live our lives as reflections of this image.

We Practice…

Jesus chose to humble himself when he came to earth. 

• How can we imitate the life of Christ in our day-to-day living? 

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• What is one way that you can practice putting someone else first this week? 

Maybe this is taking on a household chore without being asked; maybe it is going out of your way to care for a friend or helping a teacher or pastor. It is really easy to get caught up with everything in our lives, so take a minute to reflect on how you can care for others this week.