After Jesus was arrested and falsely tried before Jewish leaders, He was sent to be tried before Pilate, who had Roman jurisdiction. The Savior meekly submitted to the Romans and was painfully scourged and sentenced to death. This lesson is intended to help you learn more about the Savior’s love for all and His perfect character and how you can better follow His example.
Giving students choices. It can be helpful to allow students to choose what they want to study. This can be done by providing several similar stories to study, questions to answer, or activities to choose from.
Student preparation: Remind students that a person’s character consists of the moral attributes that make up and distinguish them as an individual. Invite students to ponder Jesus Christ’s character and to think about which of His traits they would like to more fully develop. Invite students to come to class prepared to share at least one of Jesus Christ’s characteristics and why they feel that characteristic would be a good one to possess.
Possible Learning Activities
Feeling mistreated
Invite students to brainstorm answers to the following questions:
What are some common situations in which a teenager may be mocked, falsely accused, or mistreated?
What are some ways a typical teenager might respond to such treatment?
This activity is meant to give students an opportunity to discuss common examples of mockery, being falsely accused, or being mistreated. If students mention physical or sexual abuse, make it clear that abuse is not acceptable and that we should not submit to it but should seek help from trusted adults immediately. If students mention personal experiences with physical or sexual abuse, speak with them after class and involve their Church leaders immediately.
The Lord can be with us and help us grow from difficult experiences. He can help us respond to hardship and opposition in Christlike ways. Think about your own personal experiences of being mocked, falsely accused, or mistreated, including how you responded and why.
As Jesus Christ approached the final events of His life, He was mocked, falsely accused, and mistreated. As you study these final events of the Savior’s life, look for character traits that helped Him faithfully endure and complete His mission. Also prayerfully consider how you can follow His example.
Jesus is unjustly tried and condemned to death
Display, summarize, or briefly share the following information:
After Jesus suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane, He was arrested, and Jewish leaders (the Sanhedrin) unjustly tried Him and condemned Him to death. However, because Israel was under Roman rule, execution could only be authorized by the Romans. For this reason, the Jews sent Jesus to Pilate, the Roman leader over Judea, accusing Him of rebellion against the Roman government for claiming to be “the King of the Jews” (see Mark 15:2). Pilate sent Jesus to Herod Antipas, who was in Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover, hoping Herod would try Him in Galilee, but Herod sent Jesus back to Pilate.
Consider assigning students accounts to read to ensure that all accounts are read.
Read two or more of the following accounts, which recount how Jesus was unjustly accused and ultimately condemned. As you read, look for how Jesus responded in each of these situations. Remember that He had the power to free Himself from these circumstances (see Matthew 26:52–54).
Jesus is questioned by the Sanhedrin. Read Matthew 26:57–68, or watch the video “Jesus Is Tried by Caiaphas, Peter Denies Knowing Him” from time code 0:00 to 1:39. This video is available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
Jesus is questioned by Pilate. Read John 18:33–40, or watch “Jesus Is Condemned Before Pilate” (3:19), available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org, for one portrayal of the trial before Pilate.
An additional video option for this event is “To This End Was I Born,” located at ChurchofJesusChrist.org. Watch from time code 0:00 to 4:03 and from time code 11:31 to 13:54.
Jesus is scourged by Roman soldiers and later questioned by Pilate a second time. Read John 19:1–16, or watch “Jesus Is Scourged and Crucified” from time code 0:00 to 2:03, available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org. It may be helpful to know that a scourge was a whip that often included sharp objects (such as pieces of rock, metal, or bone) woven into several of the strands. Many people did not survive being scourged because of the severe physical trauma it caused.
Additional video portrayals of this event include “To This End Was I Born” (watch from time code 13:54 to 17:22) and “Finding Faith in Christ” (watch from time code 20:44 to 21:45), available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
As students share answers to the following questions, try to include answers from students who have read different accounts.
How did the Savior respond in these situations?
Why do you think the Savior may have responded that way?
Jesus Christ’s character
Read 1 Nephi 19:9 and the following statements, looking for insights into the Savior’s character.
Elder Robert D. Hales (1932–2017) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shared the following:
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Elder Robert D. Hales
To respond in a Christlike way cannot be scripted or based on a formula. The Savior responded differently in every situation. When He was confronted by wicked King Herod, He remained silent. When He stood before Pilate, He bore a simple and powerful testimony of His divinity and purpose. …
Some people mistakenly think responses such as silence, meekness, forgiveness, and bearing humble testimony are passive or weak. But to “love [our] enemies, bless them that curse [us], do good to them that hate [us], and pray for them which despitefully use [us], and persecute [us]” (Matthew 5:44) takes faith, strength, and, most of all, Christian courage.
Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:
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Elder David A. Bednar
Consider also how the Master was accused and condemned before Pilate to be crucified [see Matthew 27:2, 11–26 ]. … The Savior’s meekness is evidenced in His disciplined response, strong restraint, and unwillingness to exert His infinite power for personal benefit.
What did you learn about the Savior from the way He responded during these difficult circumstances?
How did the Savior’s actions show His “loving kindness … towards the children of men”? (1 Nephi 19:9).
How might knowing that Jesus Christ has these attributes help you love and trust Him more?
It is important to note that on many occasions the Savior has boldly held others accountable for their actions (see Mark 11:15–17, John 2:13–16, Doctrine and Covenants 133:48–51). As followers of Jesus Christ, we want to respond to mockery, false accusations, or mistreatment with love, courage, and meekness. However, this does not mean we should allow others to abuse or harm us. “The Lord condemns abusive behavior in any form—including neglect and physical, sexual, or verbal abuse” (First Presidency letter, “Preventing and Responding to Abuse,” Mar. 26, 2018). If we have been abused, it is important that we seek help from a trusted adult immediately.
Think back to when you felt mocked, falsely accused, or mistreated. Seek Heavenly Father’s help through the Holy Ghost to know appropriate Christlike ways you could respond to this situation. Write down what you did well and how you may want to improve.
Write down two examples of times or circumstances in which remembering Christ’s character has helped or could help you. How might your life be different if you consistently try to develop Christlike characteristics?
Select one Christlike characteristic you would like to develop more fully. Think about times in your day when you could practice using this characteristic.
Invite willing students to share with the class what they wrote. Offer encouragement and consider sharing personal testimony that as students turn to Jesus Christ, He will help them develop the Christlike characteristics they identified.
Commentary and Background Information
John 18:36. What is the kingdom Jesus was speaking about?
Elder D. Todd Christofferson taught:
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Elder D. Todd Christofferson
When Daniel interpreted the dream of Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar, making known to the king “what shall be in the latter days” [Daniel 2:28], he declared that “the God of heaven [shall] set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all [other] kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever” [Daniel 2:44]. The Church is that prophesied latter-day kingdom, not created by man but set up by the God of heaven and rolling forth as a stone “cut out of the mountain without hands” to fill the earth [Daniel 2:45; see also verse 35].
Its destiny is to establish Zion in preparation for the return and millennial rule of Jesus Christ. Before that day, it will not be a kingdom in any political sense—as the Savior said, “My kingdom is not of this world” [John 18:36; emphasis added]. Rather, it is the repository of His authority in the earth, the administrator of His holy covenants, the custodian of His temples, the protector and proclaimer of His truth, the gathering place for scattered Israel, and “a defense, and … a refuge from the storm, and from wrath when it shall be poured out without mixture upon the whole earth” [Doctrine and Covenants 115:6].
(D. Todd Christofferson, “Why the Church,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2015, 111)
Supplemental Learning Activities
Alternate student study option
Consider dividing the class into groups of four. Assign each member of the group one of the following accounts: Matthew 27:11–31; Mark 15:1–20; Luke 23:1–25; or John 18:28–40; 19:1–16. Ask students to look for important details as they read. They could compare accounts and see what each author included or omitted. (Remind students that the gospel writers did not always record events in the same order.) Ask about how having multiple writers provides a better picture of the Savior.
Comparing Jesus and Pilate
Consider inviting students to read Matthew 27:11–31 and to compare how Jesus responded when faced with opposition with how Pilate responded. Invite students to consider how they could follow the Savior’s example and stand for truth.