Bible Study: John 12:20-36

Here are the questions for this week on John 12:20-36:

For Starters

1. When did you first encounter the idea of the cross – and can you remember what you thought of it?

Read John 12:20-36.

2. Look back at John12:12-19. Jesus is in Jerusalem, having arrived on a donkey as the king promised by the prophet Zechariah. What do you think the crowds expected Jesus to do after entering into Jerusalem?

vv.23-26

3. How does Jesus describe ‘the hour of his glorification’ in vv.23-24? How might his disciples have reacted to this? How might the crowd have reacted?
4. Look at vv.25-26. Jesus links his approaching death with the life his followers can expect. What is daunting about how Jesus describes a life lived for him? What is encouraging about it?

vv.27-30

5. God the Father spoke directly to or about Jesus his Son in two earlier instances in Jesus’ life – at Jesus’ baptism (see Mark 1:10-11) and Jesus’ transfiguration (Mark 9:7). What do we learn about the relationship between God the Father and God the Son from these two episodes?
6. What do we learn about the relationship between God the Father and God the Son in these verses in John 12?

vv.31-33

7. Jesus describes the cross in these verses as both a time of God judging sin (v.31) and saving a people for himself (v.32). Why do those two truths belong together at the cross?

Think it through...

8. What has struck you most about the cross after looking at this passage?
9. Are you ready to be mocked and misunderstood as you trust in Jesus’ death for you?
10. In your life at the moment, what do you most need to remember about the cross of Jesus and what it achieved?
11. Spend some time praying for one another.