Bible Study for November 24, 2024

Hi everyone,

This upcoming Sunday, we end our Church Calendar with our "not so old" traditional "Christ the King" Sunday.  Started in 1925 by Pope Pius XI to counter the destructive forces of the modern world, this festival of Christ the King was originally celebrated at the end of October to coincide with the Protestant celebration of the Reformation.

With Vatican II, the festival of Christ the King moved to the last Sunday of the church year and became more of an "ecumenical" event.

This Sunday  we celebrate Christ as our King, with the 3 year lectionary cycle of the Gospel presenting Christ as the Son of Man (Year A), confronting the rulers of this world (Year B as attached) and reigning from the cross (Year C).

Pastor Tim

"God has led you to the desert, and spoken to your Heart."

Mount of Olives Lutheran Church

3546 E. Thomas Rd

Phoenix, AZ 85018

602-956-1620 office

Bible Study for November 24, 2024

Opening Prayer:

Creator of all, we thank you for the opportunity to gather in study. Open our minds and hearts. By the power of the Holy Spirit, unite us in faith, hope, and love. Help us to be faithful to the gospel and to walk humbly with you. Grant us your peace as we grow in wisdom and understanding. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

John 18:33-37 How do you view Jesus as King?

During the great pilgrimage festivals such as Passover, when Jerusalem swelled to several times its normal population, the city seethed with anti-Roman sentiment. The crowds met Jesus waving palm branches, a sign of Jewish nationalism. Hearing Jesus say that He would be “seated at the right hand of power,” the Jewish authorities charged him with blasphemy (claiming power held only by God.) 

In a gesture to Rome, they brought Jesus to Pilate. The interrogation of Jesus took place inside the Praetorium, which included the governor’s palace. The Jewish leaders waited outside so they would not be defiled by contact with Gentiles before the Passover feast. Pilate’s back-and-forth movement between the Jewish leaders and Jesus illustrates the complex political situation. The high priest Caiaphas owed his job to Rome, and Pilate relied on the Jewish leaders to help keep order. Yet the Jews hated the Romans, and Pilate despised them. 

In their conversation, Jesus asserted that His authority came not from the coercive power of earthly rulers but from his relationship with God. By showing Jesus unafraid in his witness before Pilate, the Gospel writer strengthened the members of his community who were facing persecution for their testimony. Jesus said, those who “belong to the truth,” who “listen to my voice,” understand. 

Revelation 1:4b-8 How do you serve as a witness to Christ in your life?

The Revelation of John is an apocalypse containing letters to seven churches in Asia Minor that were experiencing severe persecution. Threatened with imprisonment and death, these Christians in crisis needed reassurance that God controlled history and that Christ, who had suffered, was victorious. The strong imagery and symbolic language of apocalyptic writing stirred the hearer’s emotions and gave them comfort. God is named as “him who was and is to come,” a phrase that echoes Exodus 3:14. “Who is to come” stresses God’s future action of vanquishing evil and redeeming the faithful. The “seven spirits” around the throne were viewed as “guardian angels” for the seven churches. Our English word martyr is derived from the Greek word meaning “witness.” The witness of Jesus in this passage encompasses death, resurrection, and sovereignty.