Pair 1
Begun
Week 5 of 6 · A New Beginning
Garden, tree, and “It is finished”
Led by Dibe · 2026-12-07
Where Adam fell in a garden, Jesus obeys in a garden. Genesis’ tragedy is completed at the cross.
Genesis reading
Genesis 2:8–17; 2:1–3; 3:1–24
John reading
John 18:1–19:30
Set the table
Genesis sets up
Eden is gift and test: a planted garden, a forbidden tree, a warning of death. Adam fails; exile follows; thorns and guarded ways mark the world. Yet Genesis also shows a God who finishes his creating work and rests — a pattern of completion that fallen humanity cannot restore.
John accomplishes
John takes us into another garden at night. Jesus does not grasp; he drinks the cup. Then he is lifted on a tree, and with “It is finished” the Second Adam completes the work Adam ruined. Burial follows like a strange Sabbath rest after a finished redemption.
Walkthrough
Leader guide — teach aloud or adapt.
1.Read Genesis 2–3 with garden language highlighted: place, tree, command, failure, exile. Then enter John 18:1–11. Jesus goes out to the place where he will be handed over. Ask the group to contrast Adam’s grasp with Jesus’ question: “Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”
2.At the cross, keep “tree” in view. Genesis’ tree of death and John’s crucifixion are not a cute parallel; they are the wound and the cure occupying wood. What Adam took, Jesus bears. What brought curse becomes the place life is won.
3.Spend real time on John 19:30. “It is finished” is fulfilment speech. Not “it is tragic.” Not “it is interrupted.” The work Genesis left bleeding is brought to completion in the obedient Son.
4.If you open the deeper pair, connect Genesis 2:1–3 to the tomb. God’s finished creating work led to rest; Jesus’ finished redeeming work leads to a body laid down. Rest here is not inactivity; it is completion before the first day of Week 6.
Core pairs
Walk each pair: Genesis → John → the accomplished line.
Pair 2
Begun
Teach notes
- Slow the garden scene. Silence after “Shall I not drink the cup?” can teach more than extra words.
- Name modern “trees” we reach for: control, appetite, image, self-justification.
- When you say “Second Adam,” define it: Jesus succeeds in the place Adam failed, for Adam’s children.
- Protect “It is finished” from vague inspiration. Ask what unfinished project each person is still trying to save themselves with.
- Leave the group hungry for Week 6 — finished work awaits first-day morning.
Watch for
- Turning the cross into only example (“be obedient like Jesus”) without accomplishment.
- Rushing past the garden to get to crucifixion details.
- Hearing “finished” as despair instead of completion.
Key takeaway
The cross is Genesis 3 answered and Genesis 2’s “finished work” redeemed.
Challenge
On one day this week, read Gen 3:1–15 and John 19:16–30 aloud. Pray only: “It is finished — so I stop striving to save myself.”
Discussion
- How does Jesus’ garden obedience reverse Adam’s garden rebellion?
- What unfinished guilt or self-salvation project needs to hear “It is finished”?
- Where are you still grasping at a tree instead of receiving a cup from the Father?
- How does finished work change the way we rest this week?
Closing prayer
Second Adam, obedient Son: thank you for the garden we failed and the tree you endured. Let your “It is finished” quiet our striving and steady our trust. Amen.
After the study
Week recap
Walk the published slide recap for Week 5 · led by Dibe.
Open recap