STUDY 14

6th Sunday in Lent (Palm Sunday)		April 5 2020
THEME:	IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST
SUB-THEME:	The Humanity of Christ (6)
TOPIC:	His Passion and Agony
TEXTS:	Matthew 27:27-49

²⁷ Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers.

²⁸ And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe.

²⁹ And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!

³⁰ And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.

³¹ And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.

³² And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.

³³ And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull,

³⁴ They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink.

³⁵ And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.

³⁶ And sitting down they watched him there;

³⁷ And set up over his head his accusation written, This Is Jesus The King Of The Jews.

³⁸ Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left.

³⁹ And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,

⁴⁰ And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.

⁴¹ Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,

⁴² He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.

⁴³ He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.

⁴⁴ The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth.

⁴⁵ Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.

⁴⁶ And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

⁴⁷ Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias.

⁴⁸ And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.

⁴⁹ The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him.

INTRODUCTION:

Today, being Palm Sunday, we focus attention on the passion and agony of Christ. The historical record and the reality of Jesus’ passion from Gethsemane to the Cross where He was crucified remain concrete fact that He actually suffered in the flesh. His suffering was never taken over by any celestial being but by Himself. A careful study of the agony and passion of Christ will help us appreciate His humanity the more.

STUDY GUIDE/QUESTIONS:

1. What do these two words – “Passion” and “Agony” mean to you?
2. Discuss the passion and agony of Christ from the following passages: Matthew 26:47-56; Mark15:16-25,33-37; Luke22:39-44

3. How did Jesus handle His agony and passion, and how can we similarly handle ours when we experience them?Luke23:33-34;Heb.12:2

CONCLUSION:

Jesus endured the Cross; bore the pains and agony in order to save mankind. He died for sins He did not commit. Let us not crucify Him a second time by living wayward and offensive lives. Moreover, Christ submitted fully to the will of God in His passion and agony through prayerful dependence, and the result was a resounding victory on the cross. We must learn from this example in our hour of trial to guarantee our victory as well.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Total submission guarantees absolute victory in the hour of trial

MEMORY VERSE: Luke22:44“And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground”.