The Gospel Project® for Adults

Leader Guide CSB, Unit 21, Session 1

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REJECTION OF THE MESSIAH

SESSION OUTLINE

1. Jesus is the Messiah bringing good news to Israel (Luke 4:16-21).
2. Jesus is the Prophet bringing grace to the world (Luke 4:22-27).
3. Jesus is the Son experiencing rejection by His own (Luke 4:28-30).

Background Passage: Luke 4

WHAT WILL MY GROUP LEARN?

Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah
who came to bring good news to all people.

HOW WILL MY GROUP SEE CHRIST?

God’s plan of salvation involved the nation of Israel,
but it was not restricted to them.
Jesus would be rejected by His own, ultimately resulting in the cross,
the means by which Jesus fulfilled God’s plan.
All who trust in Jesus are forgiven and accepted by the Father.

HOW SHOULD MY GROUP RESPOND?

Because we are no longer estranged from God
but are now accepted by Him through Christ,
we seek to live in peace with all, forgiving greatly as we have been forgiven.

GROUP TIME

INTRODUCTION

Click on the link or scan the QR code for a reproducible handout of this session’s Scripture passages:

Setting:

With a view toward presenting proof of messiahship, Luke presented an orderly account of
the life of Jesus through his Gospel.
Filled with connections to the Old Testament,
the Gospel of Luke recounts the power of Jesus, the Christ,
and affirms the prophecies fulfilled in the events that unfolded throughout His life.
Jesus began His public ministry in the insignificant village of Nazareth, His hometown.
Here an incredible moment occurred. Jesus attended a local synagogue service,
as He had many times before. But in this particular service,
Jesus, the son of Mary and Joseph, would claim to be the long-awaited Savior
and turn this small town on its head.

Instruct:

Waiting is hard for everyone.
Reflect on a moment, achievement, or new season of life
for which you had to wait a long time before it arrived.

Discuss:

• How long did you have to wait, and did you at any point begin to think that it may never happen?
• (wait for a group member to respond first; only share your response as a conclusion to the discussion)

Transition:

The waiting seasons of life can be difficult ones.
Oftentimes we can become so hyper-focused on a specific thing we want
that we can miss the answers to prayer right in front of us.
Unfortunately, many people in Jesus’s day, including those most close to Him,
missed the message and Messiah for whom they had been watching and waiting.
For over four hundred years, the Jews longed for God to break His silence.
But when He did, it was not what they expected.