30 Days In The Gospel Of MarkSample

Thought:

The people who arrested Jesus were sneaky and cowardly. They came at nighttime, armed with swords and clubs, when they easily could have arrested Jesus in daylight as He taught the people. One of Jesus’ 12 disciples, Judas Iscariot, betrayed Jesus. He showed the armed people who Jesus was. Not only did Judas betray Jesus, but he did it with a gesture of love. Imagine if one of your friends betrayed you by giving you a hug! Judas’ betrayal probably made Jesus very sad. He loved Judas very much. The other disciples deserted Jesus, too. They all got scared and ran away. One man was so afraid that he ran away naked! As Jesus headed towards His death on the cross, He was even more alone than He had been while He prayed the night before.

1. Who went with Judas to Gethsemane and what did they do there?

2. How did Jesus respond to His arrest?

3. What did the other disciples do when Jesus was arrested?

4. How do you think Jesus felt when He was betrayed and arrested?

Engage:

Jesus had to go through many hard things to save us. One part of His suffering was His loneliness and the ways He was hurt by the people around Him. One of Jesus’ closest friends gave Him up to be killed. On top of that, the rest of His friends (who had just promised to stand by Him, no matter what!) deserted Him. When we are hurt by the people in our lives, Jesus understands. He has experienced betrayal and loneliness. He has been left by His friends. We can go to Jesus in prayer and talk to Him about it when people hurt us. Jesus also forgave all the people who hurt and abandoned Him. He died on the cross to pay the price of their sins. Jesus helps us to forgive the people who hurt us even when they don’t deserve it. Who is someone (a friend, a family member, someone at school, etc.) who has hurt you? Talk to Jesus about it today. Allow Him to listen to you and comfort you, and ask Him to help you forgive them.

Deeper Waters:

Read Matthew 26:50-54, which tells the same story of Jesus’ arrest. What new details do you notice? At first, one of Jesus’ other disciples tried to fight the captors off, but Jesus stopped him. He went willingly. Jesus understood that what God said in the Old Testament needed to come true. He did not have to be arrested and go to the cross; He had the power to set Himself free. However, Jesus loves us so much that He freely chose to be arrested and die on the cross so that He could save us.