Winning souls of guilty disciples
Introduction
In this session, chap 18: 12-27, The night prayer meeting for Jesus and his disciples was interrupted by evil men who Judas guided. Some disciples were scattered and ran away. Others like Peter and John followed Jesus at a distance until they arrived at the High Priest’s home, where an illegal court case was conducted. At this point, Peter warms himself at the strange fire, denies Jesus three times, and later wept bitterly due to his guilt and conscience. Winning the soul of the guilty believer is not an easy engagement, but it is possible by the grace of a higher office.
Objectives
By the end of this session, the learner will have:
- Understood how Jesus acted during religious illegal night court cases from the text provided
- Understood how Peter denied Jesus, who he loved
- Warned not to warm yourself in a strange fire, fellowship
Outline
- Peter uses a sword to defend Jesus
- Illegal Court case charges, Jesus’ response
- Peter’s denied faith and Jesus
- Peter warming at a strange fire
- Peter’s guilty
Group Study Time
John 18:12-27
Connecting
- Gather with two or more people for a community discovery bible study session.
- Start with a heartfelt prayer, inviting God to guide and bless your understanding.
- Explore the passage by reading it at least twice, using different Bible versions if available, then retell the story together as a group.
- Reflect and share the challenges and blessings you experienced from the previous study.
Comprehending
- Read John 18: 12-18. Jesus faced 6 court sessions within less than 12 hours. The first three courts were Jewish, and the last three were Roman courts. Identify the first court Jesus was taken after he was arrested during the night of prayer? When was the case conducted? Who was the judge? What happened to Jesus and Peter during this court session?
- Read John 18: 19-23. What was Jesus questioned about in the first court session? What was his answer?
- What is guilt? Who is a guilty believer? How does guilt affect our service to Jesus and other people? What happened to Peter in the second court session? Read John 18: 24-27
Committing
- Engage with the Bible—read, study, memorize, meditate, pray, listen, and live it out.
- List three lessons you have learnt as an agent of change that you would like to put into practice and teach others about.
- Take time and worship Jesus with the attributes revealed about Christ.
- Use the SPACEPETS model, to assist you in putting God’s word into practice. Look for:
- Sin to confess
- Promise to claim
- Attitude to change
- Command to keep
- Error to change
- Prayer to make
- Example to copy
- Truth to obey and
- Something praiseworthy
Communicating
- Identify one person you can connect with and share the valuable insights and lessons you gained from this session.
- Reach out to a new believer—either in person or by phone—and pray with them to support them through their challenges, including any concerns about attending church.
- Create a new group and guide others through this study to help them grow in their understanding.
Post Lesson Teaching Summary
Great job completing the study! Take a moment to listen to this summary to reinforce your group’s understanding of the text and ensure you’re all on the same page. We’re here to support your learning journey!
Winning souls of guilty disciples
John 18:12-27
Audio Summary
John 18:12-27
- Context:
- Bible study engages the Word through reading, meditating, memorizing, praying, applying, and sharing; it brings light to the soul.
- Last night before Jesus’ crucifixion was traumatic for disciples—confused, hopeless, expecting Roman liberation, not His death.
- Jesus encouraged them: His departure benefited them, promising the Holy Spirit to comfort, teach, and guide (John 14-16).
- Jesus’ Assurance:
- Jesus affirmed disciples as friends and sons, not slaves, tied to God the Father; warned of hatred but prayed for unity (John 17).
- Took them to Gethsemane to pray for themselves, but they slept; His arrest followed (John 18:1-11).
- Peter’s Guilt (John 18:12-27):
- After Jesus’ arrest, disciples fled; Peter and John followed at a distance to the high priest’s courtyard.
- John entered; Peter, initially barred, was let in but faced three denials:
- First: “You are not one of His disciples, are you?”—“I am not.”
- Second: Warming by the fire, “You are not one of them, are you?”—“I am not.”
- Third: A relative of Malchus (whose ear Peter cut) asked, “Did I not see you in the garden?”—Peter cursed, denied again.
- Cock crowed; Peter left, weeping bitterly, overwhelmed by guilt.
- Understanding Guilt:
- Guilt: Realizing failure to meet God’s standards or crossing boundaries (e.g., sin like stealing).
- Positive guilt (godly sorrow): Leads to repentance.
- Negative guilt: Drives despair, as with Judas, who betrayed Jesus, returned the money, and killed himself (Matthew 27).
- Peter’s guilt initially mirrored Judas’—negative, isolating him from the cross, unlike John and the women.
- Impact of Guilt:
- Guilt disrupted Peter’s productivity, service, and calling to bear fruit (John 15); once bold, he was broken this night.
- Peter’s names: Simon (“God hears/listens”) became Peter (“rock”); he leaned on boldness, not listening, resisting Jesus’ predictions of death and his own denial.
- Jesus Winning Peter:
- Jesus foretold Peter’s denial and prayed for him (Luke 22:31-32), not stopping the sifting but ensuring restoration.
- Post-resurrection, Jesus recommissioned Peter to feed His sheep (John 21), redeeming him from negative guilt to repentance and purpose.
- Peter’s rock-like role emerged later, foundational to the church (Ephesians 2:20), balanced with hearing God.
- Application:
- Jesus wins souls from guilt’s despair, turning it to godly sorrow for productivity; believers must hear and trust Him amidst failure.