King’s Cross by Timothy Keller – Chp 14 – The Feast

Opening prayer

Read the italicized passages of Scripture in Chapter 14.

Questions

1. In early in Chapter 14, Timothy Keller writes, “After sending many plagues to Egypt to loosen the pharaoh’s grip on Israel, one night God sent the final plague; he unsheathed the sword of divine justice.  And this justice would fall on everyone.  It could not “pass over” the Jews simply because they were Jews” (163).  In what ways does the sword of divine justice fall on everyone today, whether they are followers of Jesus or not?
2. Referring to the Passover meal, Keller asks the question, “Why in the world would the sacrifice of a woolly little quadruped exempt you from justice?” (164)  How would you answer that question?
3. How does Timothy Keller’s understanding of the Last Supper deepen your own understanding of what happened the night Jesus celebrated the Passover meal with his followers (164-167)?
4.  What is the new covenant that Jesus has established between God and us?  How did Jesus establish that new covenant?  What does the new covenant mean for us?
5. Timothy Keller repeats a statement he made in a previous chapter:  “All love, all real, life-changing love is substitutionary sacrifice” (168).  How does Jesus’ substitutionary sacrifice mean that divine justice has passed over us forever?
6. Keller gives two examples from real life of how loving a hurting person requires substitutionary sacrifice.  Can you come up with another illustration on your own?
7. The Lord’s Supper is multi-faceted in what it communicates to us (170-171).  What does it mean to “take in” the death of Christ for yourself?
8. In Middle Eastern cultures, even today, sharing a meal together is the highest form of hospitality that one person could ever offer to another.  Sharing in the Lord’s Supper connotes fellowship with Jesus and fellowship with other believers around a meal.  What is the significance of this vertical and horizontal fellowship?
9. Keller indicates that the Lord’s Supper also “…points toward our future with Jesus” (171).  How would you describe completion of the beautiful future that was begun by the sacrifice of the ultimate Passover Lamb?
10. In closing, read aloud the last three paragraphs of Chapter 14.

Closing Prayer