GROW GUIDE | March 26, 2023

Carry On - 5th Sunday of Lent

Matthew 25:31-46

Connecting Questions

Where do you find joy in service? How do you serve in your daily life (you may not be aware of the many ways you serve others each day!).

What have you been taught about Jesus’ final return in judgment and glory? Has your thinking about this changed over the years?

Context

We’re in the fifth week of the liturgical season of Lent and continuing a sermon series called “Carry On.” The title comes from the mission statement of Easter Lutheran Church to “grow in faith and carry on the work of Jesus Christ.” Throughout the five Sundays in Lent, and the Wednesday midweek services, we will reflect on what we’ve learned from Jesus, the Great Teacher, and how we can apply it to our lives. What will we do to carry on the work of Jesus in our daily lives—both as individuals and as a faith community?

This week we’re focusing on the ways Easter lives out its mission statement through worship. As we move toward Palm/Passion Sunday on April 2, Jesus’ words and actions intensify in our readings. Jesus has recently entered Jerusalem, cleansed the temple, shared challenging parables, and denounced the religious authorities. This week, we focus on Jesus’ last teaching to his disciples before he is betrayed and arrested; it calls back to the Sermon on the Mount in chapters 5-7. The kingdom of heaven reverses all we believe about status, importance, and who is centered in this world. This is the God we worship.

Look at the Book

• Read Matthew 25:31-46.

  • What stands out to you in this text today? What challenges you? What delights you?

  • Look at the parallel comparisons Jesus makes about the sheep and the goats.

    • List the actions Jesus names in verses 35-36 and 42-43. What do you notice about them?

      • What do you think of the way Jesus orders them (hungry and thirsty first, prison last)? Would you order them the same way?

      • Would you add anything to this list of righteous actions?

      • Which action is most challenging for you?

    • List the responses in verses 37-39 and 44-45.

      • How many times are these actions (or lack of action) named in this reading? Why do you think they are repeated so many times?

• Look at the word “nations” in verse 32. Jesus may be naming the people throughout the world who have never heard of him, who live lives of service. Anywhere people are suffering, Jesus is present in them, and when they are cared for, Jesus brings blessing.

  • This may be a way Jesus creates salvation for those who do not know him.

    • What do you think of this interpretation?

  • At the same time, those who know Jesus need to be careful about doing service to achieve status or earn salvation. We serve because Jesus is present in the most vulnerable people and situations. When we serve, we are gifted with Jesus’ presence.

• We’re focusing on the way we worship at Easter this week. How does worship at Easter encourage lives of service and caring for others? Are there ways we can better emphasize Jesus’ call to serve in our worship?

• How is this final teaching of Jesus a fitting conclusion to all his teaching throughout the book of Matthew? (Look at Jesus’ first teaching—The Beatitudes—in Matthew 5.)

Taking it Home

You identified the places and ways you find joy in service in the connecting questions of this study. In what ways will you find joy in service this week?

As you worship at Easter, notice the ways the worship service encourages and challenges everyone to live lives of service while also sharing Jesus’ love and grace. We serve because Jesus is present in those who suffer. Where do you see this emphasis?