Preparation
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Read, ponder, and pray about the following scriptures:
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a. Matthew 26:47–75; Mark 14:43–72; Luke 22:47–71; John 18:1–27. Shortly after his agony in Gethsemane, Jesus is betrayed by Judas, who appears with chief priests, Pharisees, and soldiers. Jesus submits himself to his captors, who take him from the garden and subject him to a Jewish trial. He is questioned first by Annas, a former high priest, and then by Caiaphas, Annas’s successor and son-in-law. The chief priests and elders who are present spit on Jesus, mock him, bind him, and accuse him of blasphemy, an offense punishable by death. Outside Caiaphas’s palace, Peter denies that he knows Jesus.
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b. Matthew 27:1–26; Mark 15:1–15; Luke 23:1–25; John 18:28–19:16. Because the chief priests and elders do not have power to sentence Jesus to death, they send him to be tried by Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor in Judea (Bible Dictionary, “Pilate,” 751). Before Pilate, Jesus is accused of being an enemy to Caesar. Learning that Jesus is from Galilee, Pilate sends him to Herod, a governor over Galilee. Herod refuses to judge Jesus and sends him back to Pilate, who yields to the crowd’s demands that Jesus be crucified.
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c. Matthew 27:27–66; Mark 15:16–39; Luke 23:26–56; John 19:17–42. Jesus is scourged and crucified. On the cross he experiences great agony while offering himself as a sacrifice for mankind.
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Additional reading: Isaiah 53; Mark 15:39–47; John 3:16; 15:13; 1 Nephi 11:32–33; 19:7–9; 2 Nephi 9:21–22; Bible Dictionary, “Crucifixion,” 651.
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Prepare the seven wordstrips described on page 110 (or prepare to write the statements on the chalkboard).
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If the following materials are available, use them during the lesson:
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a. The pictures The Betrayal of Jesus (62468; Gospel Art Picture Kit 228); Peter’s Denial (62177; Gospel Art Picture Kit 229); and The Crucifixion (62505; Gospel Art Picture Kit 230).
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b. “To This End Was I Born,” a sixteen-minute segment of New Testament Video Presentations (53914).
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Suggestion for teaching: When teachers and class members are reverent, they invite the Spirit to be present. Class members should be “free to discuss, free to speak, free to participate in classwork, but no member of the class has the right to distract another student by jostling or making light and frivolous remarks” (David O. McKay, Gospel Ideals [1954], 224). Set an example of reverence toward God and respect for each class member.