Free for small groups · 6 weeks

Easter Bible study

Six weeks to the empty tomb: the Passover lamb, the servant who bore the sins of many, the psalm Jesus prayed on the cross, then his last night, his death and his rising in Matthew. Each week your group reads one chapter, with its meaning, its line to Jesus and three questions to talk about.

Start six weeks before Easter Sunday, so the last week falls on Easter.

Week 1

Exodus 12: When I see the blood

Read Exodus 12:1-51 before you meet.

The Passover made the month Israel left Egypt the first month of the year (12:2). The blood on the door was a sign for Israel, and the LORD passed over every house where he saw it (12:13). No angel of death is named: the LORD struck, and the destroyer was kept from the marked doors (12:23). Paul says, "Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed in our place" (1 Corinthians 5:7).

“The blood shall be to you for a token on the houses where you are. When I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.” Exodus 12:13

A note for leaders: this chapter includes the death of the firstborn in Egypt (12:29-30). Read it ahead, especially with children in the group.

To talk about

  1. 1. The Passover was built so children would ask, "What do you mean by this service?" What has God done in your life that you would want the next generation to hear about?

  2. 2. On that night, what the LORD looked for on each house was the blood (12:13). Paul writes, "Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed in our place." What does that mean to you this week?

  3. 3. Israel ate the first Passover dressed to leave, sandals on and staff in hand (12:11). What would it look like for you to be ready to follow wherever God leads?

Week 2

Isaiah 53: He bore the sins of many

Read Isaiah 53:1-12 before you meet.

The New Testament gives words from this chapter, from its first verse to its last, as it speaks of Jesus: 53:1 in John, 53:4 in Matthew, 53:7-8 in Acts, 53:9 in 1 Peter and 53:12 in Mark. In Hebrew the WEB's "laid on him" (Isaiah 53:6) and "made intercession" (Isaiah 53:12) are one verb, and 53:6 begins and ends with one word, kullanu.

“But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought our peace was on him; and by his wounds we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5

A note for leaders: this chapter speaks of the servant's suffering and death (53:3-12). Read it ahead, especially with children in the group.

To talk about

  1. 1. In 53:4 the voice says, "we considered him plagued, struck by God, and afflicted" (53:4), and in the next verse, "But he was pierced for our transgressions" (53:5). What difference does that *our* make to how you read the chapter?

  2. 2. The man of Ethiopia said, "How can I, unless someone explains it to me?" (Acts 8:31). Who has helped you understand the Bible, and how did they do it?

  3. 3. Peter gives 53:9's words of Christ, who suffered "leaving you an example, that you should follow his steps" (1 Peter 2:21). What in the servant's way in 53:7-9 would you most want to learn?

Week 3

Psalm 22: My God, my God

Read Psalm 22:1-31 before you meet.

The psalm turns on one word: in Hebrew "you have rescued me" (22:21) is the verb of "you don’t answer" (22:2), and praise follows. And the New Testament sets three of its lines at Jesus: its first cry (Matthew 27:46), the lots for his clothing (John 19:24), and its praise among his brothers (Hebrews 2:12).

“For he has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, neither has he hidden his face from him; but when he cried to him, he heard.” Psalm 22:24

To talk about

  1. 1. The psalm asks, "why have you forsaken me?" (22:1), and still calls God "My God" in the same breath. Have you ever prayed that honestly? What helps you keep speaking to God when he seems far away?

  2. 2. "He trusts in the LORD. Let him deliver him" (22:8). When has your trust in God been questioned, by other people or by your own thoughts? What did you do with it?

  3. 3. The psalm ends with people not yet born being told "for he has done it" (22:31). Who first told you about the Lord, and who might hear it from you?

Week 4

Matthew 26: Your desire be done

Read Matthew 26:1-75 before you meet.

Matthew's own telling says Peter "denied it" twice (26:70, 26:72); three times is Jesus's word, the word Peter remembered (26:75). And of the four Gospels, only Matthew gives Jesus's words over the cup as "for the remission of sins" (26:28).

“He went forward a little, fell on his face, and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from me; nevertheless, not what I desire, but what you desire.”” Matthew 26:39

A note for leaders: this chapter tells of the plot to kill Jesus, his betrayal and his arrest. Read it ahead, especially with children in the group.

To talk about

  1. 1. His disciples asked, "Why this waste?" (26:8), and Jesus said of the woman, "She has done a good work for me" (26:10). What is one thing you could give to Jesus this week, even if others might not understand it?

  2. 2. Jesus prayed, "nevertheless, not what I desire, but what you desire" (26:39). What makes that prayer hard to pray, and what helps you to pray it?

  3. 3. Peter said, "Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you" (26:35), and when the rooster crowed he remembered Jesus's word and "wept bitterly" (26:74-75). What do you take from Peter's story here for your own walk with Jesus?

Good Friday week

Matthew 27: Innocent blood

Read Matthew 27:1-66 before you meet.

Judas said, "I betrayed innocent blood" (27:4), and Pilate said, "I am innocent of the blood of this righteous person" (27:24). In the Greek the WEB translates, innocent is the same word in both, and the New Testament has it nowhere else. Then the centurion and those with him said, "Truly this was the Son of God!" (27:54).

“Now the centurion and those who were with him watching Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were done, were terrified, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!”” Matthew 27:54

A note for leaders: this chapter tells of Judas's death (27:3-5), and of Jesus flogged (27:26) and crucified. Read it ahead, especially with children in the group.

To talk about

  1. 1. When Judas came back, they answered, "What is that to us? You see to it." (27:4). When someone comes to you carrying something heavy, what would it look like to answer differently?

  2. 2. Joseph, "who himself was also Jesus’ disciple" (27:57), "went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body" (27:58), and laid it "in his own new tomb" (27:60). What is one way you could serve Jesus this week?

  3. 3. "Many women were there watching from afar, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, serving him" (27:55). What helps you keep following Jesus when it is hard?

Easter week

Matthew 28: I am with you always

Read Matthew 28:1-20 before you meet.

The stone that had been sealed (27:66) was rolled away by an angel of the Lord, who sat on it (28:2), and he told the women, "He is not here, for he has risen, just like he said" (28:6). Jesus's last words in Matthew are "Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (28:20).

“teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.” Matthew 28:20

To talk about

  1. 1. At the tomb the angel says, "Don’t be afraid" (28:5), and Jesus says it again (28:10). Where do you most need to hear those words this week?

  2. 2. The women "departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring his disciples word" (28:8). When has good news about Jesus been something you couldn't keep to yourself?

  3. 3. Jesus's last words in Matthew are "Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (28:20). How might your week look different if you carried that promise into it?