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Life is full of surprises, both good and bad. It’s true today as well as 2,000 years ago. Leading up to the first Easter, Jesus amazed and astonished people in profound ways. He also did some strange and disorienting things. When He was crucified, we know it shocked His followers, who thought there was no way their Messiah would die, let alone a criminal’s death at the cross. And when He rose again, nobody expected it, either. Jesus loved breaking the script then, and He’s doing the same today. He’s calling us to live and love in unexpected ways.

• Talk about your memories of Easter growing up. What traditions and activities shape the script of what Easter looks like each year for you?
• Share a happy surprise moment in your life—a time when someone or a group of someones showed you love in a way you weren’t expecting at all.

Discuss Together 

Read Mark 7:37.

• Mark describes how people were “overwhelmed with amazement” when they interacted with Jesus. From what you know of Jesus, why do you think He astonished people so much? How did He shatter their expectation of who God is?

Now, read Matthew 16:21 and 27:38-50 together.

• Even though Jesus said He would die and rise again at least three times to His disciples, nobody was waiting at the tomb expecting His resurrection. Why do you think they missed the message?
• In His final weeks and days, Jesus said and did a lot of things that were unexpected and hard to understand for His followers. Have you ever expected God to do something, but He didn’t? How did that affect your faith?

Finally, read Romans 6:4.

• Why did Jesus have to die, and why does it matter that Jesus rose from the dead?
• Let’s take this to a more practical level. How does the reality of the resurrection impact the way you will approach your life this coming week—the way you interact at work, handle key relationships, see yourself, deal with worry, or anything else?
• God loves us, and we’re called to love other people. But there are lots of definitions of love. How would you define it?
• In service, a few people randomly received $100 and were told to use it creatively to love in an unexpected way. If you had received the $100, what would you have done with it?
• Jeff challenged all of us to ask and answer this question when we think about how we love and serve others: “How can we take this to the level of unexpected?” People in our lives should, hopefully, expect that we love them. But how can you take it to the level of unexpected when it comes to your family, neighborhood, co-workers, strangers in the community, or a particular group of people?