Beholding Glory: "Meekness Over Fear" - John 18:28-19:16

Speaker: Lester Cruzat

​By willingly submitting to an unfair trial and accepting a guilty verdict He did not deserve, Jesus’ meekness exposes and shatters our desperate need for self-preservation, freeing us to a life of self-giving love towards others.

Discussion Questions:

1. The sermon mentions that outrage culture is often fueled by our own fears and projections. When we are quick to judge others, what are we usually trying to "protect" or "preserve" within ourselves?​
2. The crowd chose a violent revolutionary over a peaceful King. Why are we often more attracted to "Barabbas-style" solutions (force, aggression, power) than the "meekness" of Jesus when we feel threatened?
   
3. It was shared that using "numbness" as a survival tool eventually blocked intimacy. What is one "survival tool" you developed earlier in life (numbing, perfectionism, control, aggression) that served you then but is currently "displacing" Jesus and your loved ones now?
4. When your "field of vision narrows" due to fear, you stop seeing people as humans and start seeing them as "threats or resources." How has this "narrow vision" affected your marriage, your parenting, or your friendships in the past?
5. The sermon states, "Self-preservation usually comes at a deep cost—the sacrifice of those closest to us." Can you identify a time when your attempt to protect your own peace, ego, or safety actually hurt someone you love?
6. ​Meekness is "strength under restraint for the benefit of others." Think of a person in your life who is currently acting out of fear or aggression. How would responding with "directed strength" (patience and kindness) rather than a form of retaliation change the economy of that relationship?
7. We often think self-preservation is a way to stay alive, but the sermon suggests it’s actually a 'spiritual dead end.' Which part of your 'self' are you most afraid to let die?
8. The GOMBURZA story shows how a wrongful execution led to a nation’s awakening. How does Jesus’ "wrongful execution" give you the courage to stop "assimilating" to the world’s way of self-preservation?