Themes in the Gospel of John
The Hour of Glory: The Cross and Resurrection
Lesson #12 for December 21, 2024
Scriptures:John 18:33-40; 19:1-5,17-27; 20:1-18; Luke 2:34-35; 1 Corinthians 15:12-20.
- This lesson covers the time from Jesus’s appearance before Pilate until He revealed Himself to Mary after His resurrection.
[From the Bible study guide=BSG:] Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection are the climax of John. The first ten chapters cover roughly three and a half years; chapters 11–20, in contrast, cover about one to two weeks.―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Sabbath Afternoon, December 14.†‡
- Each of the four Gospels has a different emphasis.
[BSG:] The four Gospels present the death of Jesus in different ways. Though their accounts are compatible, each author emphasizes key points that especially resonate with the themes of his Gospel. Matthew emphasizes the fulfillment of Scripture; Mark emphasizes the parallel between the baptism of Jesus and the Cross; and Luke focuses on the Cross as healing and salvation (the story of the thief on the cross).
But John presents the Cross as the enthronement of Jesus, particularly tied to the idea of the hour, which is referred to numerous times throughout the book (John 7:30,John 8:20,John 12:27). This idea of enthronement is an ironic picture since crucifixion was the most ignominious and shameful way to die that the Romans used. This contrast points to the deeply ironic depiction that John presents: Jesus is dying in shame, but it is, at the same time, His glorious enthronement as the Savior.―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Sabbath Afternoon, December 14.†‡§
- Throughout the Gospel of John, we have seen that Jesus represented truth and light.
- Repeatedly, Jesus had said to His followers that His time had not yet come. (John 7:30;John 8:20;John 12:27) But, now, after His arrest, His time had come! After grilling Jesus through five trials, the Jewish leaders took Him to Pilate early in the morning.
- After the Jewish leaders indicated that they thought Jesus deserved to die, Pilate asked Jesus if He was King of the Jews, indirectly questioning why the Jews were bringing Jesus to him for trial.
John 18:33-38: 33 Pilate went back into the palace and called Jesus. “Are you the King of the Jews?” he asked him.
34 Jesus answered, “Does this question come from you or have others told you about me?”
35 Pilate replied, “Do you think I am a Jew? It was your own people and the chief priests who handed you over to me. What have you done?”
36 Jesus said, “My kingdom does not belong to this world; if my kingdom belonged to this world, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish authorities. No, my kingdom does not belong here!”
37 So Pilate asked him, “Are you a king, then?”
Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. I was born and came into the world for this one purpose, to speak about the truth. Whoever belongs to the truth listens to me.”
38 “And what is truth?” Pilate asked. [Wouldn’t you love a video of that?]
Then Pilate went back outside to the people and said to them, “I cannot find any reason to condemn him.”—American Bible Society. (1992). The Holy Bible: The Good News Translation* (2nd ed.,John 18:33-38). New York: American Bible Society [abbreviated as Good News Bible].†‡
- Why do you suppose Pilate was anxious to find out if Jesus was a king? Those of us who have read the book of John already know the answer to that. Jesus tried to get a little deeper into the conversation; but, Pilate responded with an evasion.
[BSG:] In the brief but significant interaction between the two, Jesus told Pilate that He had come to this world to “ ‘bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice’ ” (John 18:37, NKJV). The vacillating Pilate had never heard anyone talk about the truth in such a certain and authoritative manner. In response, Pilate then asked this timeless question: “ ‘What is truth?’ ” (John 18:38). Pilate, however, did not wait for Jesus’ answer to that crucial question. We can only imagine what Christ’s answer might have been if He had had the opportunity to answer.―Adult Teachers Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* 158.‡§
- What do you think? Did Pilate really believe that Jesus was some kind of king? He certainly disagreed with the evaluation of the Jewish religious leaders.
[BSG:] Could it be that we emulate Pilate’s impatience? We ask God some good questions, but we frequently do not wait for His answers. How different our lives would be if we would listen more to what God has to say. Unfortunately, we are too often self-focused and not Christ-centered. Imagine all the helpful insights God might give us if we would simply be still and listen to Him more.―Adult Teachers Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* 158.†‡ [How often do we give God a chance to answer our most important questions?]‡
- After their conversation, Pilate did his best to try to figure out how to get Jesus released. He certainly had the authority to just say that Jesus was innocent and release Him. But, he played with the Jewish leaders because he did not want to offend them. Thus, he lost his advantage. At that point, the mockery and shaming of Jesus began. They placed a crown of thorns on His head and put a purple, kingly robe on Him. They greeted Him as if He were the emperor.
- Unfortunately, the Jewish religious leaders had set up the mob. Incited by their leaders, the mob began to cry for Jesus to be crucified.
John 19:6-16: 6 When the chief priests and the temple guards saw him, they shouted, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
Pilate said to them, “You take him, then, and crucify him. I find no reason to condemn him.”
7 The crowd answered back, “We have a law that says he ought to die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”
8 When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid. 9He went back into the palace and asked Jesus, “Where do you come from?”
But Jesus did not answer. 10Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Remember, I have the authority to set you free and also to have you crucified.”
11 Jesus answered, “You have authority over me only because it was given to you by God. So the man who handed me over to you is guilty of a worse sin.”
12 When Pilate heard this, he tried to find a way to set Jesus free. But the crowd shouted back, “If you set him free, that means that you are not the Emperor’s friend! Anyone who claims to be a king is a rebel against the Emperor!”
13 When Pilate heard these words, he took Jesus outside and sat down on the judge’s seat in the place called “The Stone Pavement”. [sic] (In Hebrew the name is “Gabbatha”. [sic]) 14It was then almost noon of the day before the Passover. Pilate said to the people, “Here is your king!”
15 They shouted back, “Kill him! Kill him! Crucify him!”
Pilate asked them, “Do you want me to crucify your king?”
The chief priests answered, “The only king we have is the Emperor!” 16Then Pilate handed Jesus over to them to be crucified.—Good News Bible.*†‡
[BSG:] How scary—a pagan ruler wants to release Jesus while the spiritual leaders of the nation, who should have recognized Him, wanted Him crucified instead! What lessons can we take from this for ourselves?―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Monday, December 16.‡
- How could this situation apply to us? Are we ever tempted to submit to peer pressure—the pressure from our associates—instead of standing firm for the truth?
- At least Pilate was firm enough in his convictions that he refused to be bullied any further by pressure from those religious leaders regarding the sign placed on Jesus’s cross.
John 19:17-22: 17He [Jesus] went out, carrying his cross, and came to “The Place of the Skull”, [sic] as it is called. (In Hebrew it is called “Golgotha”. [sic]) 18There they crucified him; and they also crucified two other men, one on each side, with Jesus between them. 19Pilate wrote a notice and had it put on the cross. “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews”, [sic] is what he wrote. 20Many people read it, because the place where Jesus was crucified was not far from the city. The notice was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. 21The chief priests said to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews’, [sic] but rather, ‘This man said, I am the King of the Jews.’ ”
22 Pilate answered, “What I have written stays written.”—Good News Bible.*‡
[From the writings of Ellen G. White=EGW:] A higher power than Pilate or the Jews had directed the placing of that inscription above the head of Jesus. In the providence of God it was to awaken thought, and investigation of the Scriptures. The place where Christ was crucified was near to the city. Thousands of people from all lands were then at Jerusalem, and the inscription declaring Jesus of Nazareth the Messiah would come to their notice. It was a living truth, transcribed by a hand that God had guided.—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages* 745.4.†‡ [How many people could read all three languages?]‡ [https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p130.3686&index=0]‡
- While there were several of the faithful female followers of Jesus at the cross, where were most of His disciples?
[BSG:] Among those standing at the foot of the cross that day were John, the beloved disciple, along with Mary, the mother of Jesus, and others. Many years before, Simeon had predicted this very experience when Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to the temple to dedicate Him (compare withLuke 2:34, 35). Now in His dying moments, Jesus speaks to His mother: “ ‘Woman, behold your son!’ ” To John He says, “ ‘Behold your mother!’ ” (John 19:26, 27, NKJV).―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Tuesday, December 17.‡§
- When Jesus on the cross said, “It is finished,” what was it that was finished? What did Jesus actually come to this earth to do? As we have suggested on several occasions, His primary task was to represent God the Father correctly not only to us, but also to the entire universe. Jesus came to answer questions that had been raised in the Garden of Eden after having been raised in heaven prior to Lucifer’s open rebellion.
Ephesians 1:7-10: 7For by the blood of Christ we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven. How great is the grace of God, 8which he gave to us in such large measure!
In all his wisdom and insight 9God did what he had purposed, and made known to us the secret plan he had already decided to complete by means of Christ. 10This plan, which God will complete when the time is right, is to bring all creation together, everything in heaven and on earth, with Christ as head.—Good News Bible.*†
Colossians 1:19-20: 19For it was by God’s own decision that the Son has in himself the full nature of God. 20Through the Son, then, God decided to bring the whole universe back to himself. God made peace through his Son’s blood on the cross and so brought back to himself all things, both on earth and in heaven.—Good News Bible.*† [This was not just for humans!]‡
- What could the universe have learned from the death of Jesus? See SDA Bible Commentary,* vol. 6, 1074.2 (https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p95.278&index=0)
and SDABC,* vol. 7, 950.6. (https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p96.680&index=0)
- We need to go back to the Garden of Eden and see how this all developed on this earth.
Genesis 2:16-17: 16 “You may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden, 17except the tree that gives knowledge of what is good and what is bad. You must not eat the fruit of that tree; if you do, you will die the same day.”—Good News Bible.*
- God is the only Source of life. When we sin, we are choosing to separate ourselves from that only Source of life. The final result of that separation is called the second death.
Isaiah 59:2: It is because of your sins that he doesn’t hear you. It is your sins that separate you from God when you try to worship him.—Good News Bible.*†
- Do you agree with the Bible study guide, regarding what the mission of Jesus was? Or, was His mission much deeper than that?
[BSG:] Jesus’ mission was to be sacrificed as the Paschal Lamb, slain from the foundations of the world. He was born to die, but His death did not need to be at the hands of Pilate. Pilate’s final words to the crowd were “ ‘Behold the Man!’ ” (John 19:5, NKJV).―Adult Teachers Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* 159.†‡§
- Many people believe that Jesus came to this earth to die on the cross to pay the price for our sins. To whom would He pay it? If that is true, then what Jesus said in His prayer to His Father as recorded inJohn 17:4 cannot be true because He had not yet “paid the price” by dying; thus, in that view, He had not yet finished the work that the Father had given Him to do!
- The Bible tells us clearly that God’s wrath/anger is His turning away in loving disappointment from those who do not want Him anyway; thus, leaving them to the inevitable and awful consequences of their own persistent, rebellious choices. See the handout on Theox.org:
https://www.theox.org/images/uploads/bbk/KHart_BTGG_PDF_Gnrl_Gods_Wrath_or_Anger_16.pdf What actually happens when one experiences God’s wrath or God’s anger?
- Jesus died the death which is a direct result of sin. He did not die of beatings, blood loss, a heart attack, a stroke, or cancer. He died the death that sinners will die in the end if they refuse to separate from their sins. It was the death that Adam and Eve had been warned about back in the Garden of Eden. (Genesis 2:17)
[EGW:] …. The wrath of God against sin, the terrible manifestation of His displeasure because of iniquity, filled the soul of His Son with consternation. All His life Christ had been publishing to a fallen world the good news of the Father’s mercy and pardoning love. Salvation for the chief of sinners was His theme. But now [on the cross] with the terrible weight of guilt He bears, He cannot see the Father’s reconciling face. The withdrawal of the divine countenance from the Saviour [sic-Br] in this hour of supreme anguish pierced His heart with a sorrow that can never be fully understood by man. So great was this agony that His physical pain was hardly felt. [This was one of the most important battles of the great controversy: God and His angels on one side and Satan and his angels on the other, facing each other!]
Satan with his fierce temptations wrung the heart of Jesus. The Saviour [sic-Br] could not see through the portals of the tomb. Hope did not present to Him His coming forth from the grave a conqueror, or tell Him of the Father’s acceptance of the sacrifice. He feared that sin was so offensive to God that Their separation was to be eternal [i.e., the second death!]. Christ felt the anguish which the sinner will feel when mercy shall no longer plead for the guilty race. It was the sense of sin, bringing the Father’s wrath upon Him as man’s substitute, that made the cup He drank so bitter, and broke the heart of the Son of God.—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages* 753.1-2.†‡
[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p130.3718&index=0]‡
- Look carefully at these words. Jesus did not say: “God, why are you killing me?” Instead, Jesus cried out:
Matthew 27:46: “My God, my God, why did you abandon me?”—Good News Bible.*†
- Did God the Father abandon Jesus at the cross?
- We turn to consider the universe-wide implications of Jesus’s death. On the cross, Jesus was experiencing separation from God. That is what broke His heart and killed Him. That is exactly what will kill the wicked in the end. Although God was right there at the cross, Jesus could not see Him or feel Him in the way He had seen and felt God’s presence throughout His life. That was separation from God!
- Jesus, of course, was not a sinner. However, God realized that He must demonstrate to us the seriousness of sin so that we can make right choices in our lives. The death that results from sin is called the second death. If any of us die that death, we will be dead for the rest of eternity. However, because of His divinity, Jesus was able to arise after dying that awful death. Thus, we have had demonstrated just how serious sin is.
- So, the life and death of Jesus give us a choice: (1) We can choose to follow His example in life and live forever. Or, (2) we will die the way He died, not of beating, or crucifixion, but of separation from His Father. If we die that second death, we will be dead forever.
- Eventually, God must allow the wicked to reap the natural results or consequences of their own evil choices. He cannot allow sinners to enter heaven because: (1) They would just start the great controversy over again; and (2) For the wicked to live in heaven would be torture!
[EGW:] Could those whose lives have been spent in rebellion against God be suddenly transported to heaven and witness the high, the holy state of perfection that ever exists there,—every soul filled with love, every countenance beaming with joy, enrapturing music in melodious strains rising in honor of God and the Lamb, and ceaseless streams of light flowing upon the redeemed from the face of Him who sitteth upon the throne,—could those whose hearts are filled with hatred of God, of truth and holiness, mingle with the heavenly throng and join their songs of praise? Could they endure the glory of God and the Lamb? No, no; years of probation were granted them, that they might form characters for heaven; but they have never trained the mind to love purity; they have never learned the language of heaven, and now it is too late. A life of rebellion against God has unfitted them for heaven. Its purity, holiness, and peace would be torture to them; the glory of God would be a consuming fire. They would long to flee from that holy place. They would welcome destruction, that they might be hidden from the face of Him who died to redeem them. The destiny of the wicked is fixed by their own choice. Their exclusion from heaven is voluntary with themselves, and just and merciful on the part of God.—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy* 542.2.†‡ [Heaven would be “hell” for the wicked!]‡
[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p132.2459&index=0]‡ [Compare Acts of the Apostles 273.2. https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p127.1205&index=0]‡
[EGW:] This is not an act of arbitrary power on the part of God. The rejecters of His mercy reap that which they have sown. God is the fountain of life; and when one chooses the service of sin, he separates from God, and thus cuts himself off from life. He is “alienated from the life of God.” Christ says, “All they that hate Me love death.”Ephesians 4:18; Proverbs 8:36. God gives them existence for a time that they may develop their character and reveal their principles. This accomplished, they receive the results of their own choice. By a life of rebellion, Satan and all who unite with him place themselves so out of harmony with God that His very presence is to them a consuming fire. The glory of Him who is love will destroy them.—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages* 764.1.†‡
[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p130.3781&index=0]‡ [Compare Last Day Events 242.1.]‡ [https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p39.1572&index=0]‡
- Returning to Jesus’s death on the cross: What an irony! The greatest war ever fought in the universe was won by the death of the Champion! Is it possible to win a war by dying?
[BSG:] It is interesting to note that the Crucifixion, the most shameful and humiliating death, is presented by John as a most glorious event. By His death Jesus, as the Second Adam, defeated Satan, accomplishing the mission of saving sinful humanity. With Jesus’ mission of salvation accomplished, His Father accepted His sacrifice and made it possible for all who believed in His Son to be saved.―Adult Teachers Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* 158.‡
- Soon after the death of Jesus, the women and others went home to prepare for the Sabbath.
Luke 23:56: Then they went back home and prepared the spices and perfumes for the body.
On the Sabbath they rested, as the Law commanded.—Good News Bible.*
Mark 16:1: After the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices to go and anoint the body of Jesus.—Good News Bible.*
- The Romans soldiers were guarding the tomb, allegedly to prevent the disciples from stealing His body and saying that He had been raised to life. At Jesus’s grave, the contingent of Roman soldiers saw the angels descend from heaven, and they fell like dead men. We do not know if the soldiers actually saw Jesus come forth from the tomb. But, they fled.
[EGW:] When the voice of the mighty angel was heard at Christ’s tomb, saying, Thy Father calls Thee, the Saviour [sic-Br] came forth from the grave by the life that was in Himself. Now was proved the truth of His words, “I lay down My life, that I might take it again.... I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.” Now was fulfilled the prophecy He had spoken to the priests and rulers, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”John 10:17, 18; 2:19.—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages* 785.2.†‡
[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p130.3866&index=0]‡
- And then, the empty tomb!
John 20:1-7: 1 Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been taken away from the entrance. 2She went running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, whom Jesus loved [John], and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
3 Then Peter and the other disciple went to the tomb. 4The two of them were running, but the other disciple [John] ran faster than Peter and reached the tomb first. 5He bent over and saw the linen wrappings, but he did not go in. 6Behind him came Simon Peter, and he went straight into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there 7and the cloth which had been round Jesus’ head. It was not lying with the linen wrappings but was rolled up by itself.—Good News Bible.*‡
[BSG:] Jesus died late on a Friday afternoon and rose early on Sunday. Because the Sabbath was near when He was buried (John 19:42), the burial process was done hastily and not completely. However much they loved Jesus, His followers kept the Sabbath day and did not go to the tomb (compare withMark 16:1,Luke 23:56). After the Sabbath, a number of women bought spices [and took the spices] to the tomb on Sunday morning. To their shock, the stone was rolled away, and the tomb was empty.―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Wednesday, December 18.‡§
[BSG:] The resurrection of Christ from the tomb very early on the first day of the week was indispensable to the faith of His followers. Christ must rise from the grave as He had said and as the Old Testament predicted. No evil power could keep Him in the ground. At His Father’s mighty command to rise, the forces of evil were totally vanquished. The apostle Paul, in1 Corinthians 15:17, states, “And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!” (NKJV). Moreover, in1 Corinthians 15:19, he continues, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable” (NKJV).―Adult Teachers Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* 160.†‡§
- If you had arrived at the tomb early on Sunday morning before any other of the disciples had arrived, what would you have concluded?
John 20:8-10: 8Then the other disciple [John], who had reached the tomb first, also went in; he saw and believed. 9(They still did not understand the scripture which said that he must rise from death.) 10Then the disciples went back home.—Good News Bible.*‡
[BSG:] Mary Magdalene was one of those who came early to the tomb. She ran to tell Peter and John what she saw. The two men ran there. John outran Peter and arrived first. Stooping down, he looked inside and saw the linen cloths with which Jesus had been wrapped. But he did not go in.
Peter, however, went inside and saw the linen cloths lying there. He saw, too, the face cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, but it was not with the rest of the cloths. It was folded up and sitting apart.―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Wednesday, December 18.‡
[BSG:] After Peter entered the tomb, John also entered.John 20:8 says that he went in, saw, and believed. Why would seeing the grave cloths lying there and the face cloth lying separately, folded up, lead John to believe Jesus had risen from the dead?
To answer this question, it is necessary to ponder why the tomb would be empty in the first place. The most typical answer would be grave robbers. But this explanation fails for three reasons. First, Matthew tells us that the tomb was guarded (Matt. 27:62–66), making grave robbery unlikely. Second, grave robbers typically steal valuables, not rotting bodies. Third, grave robbers are in a hurry and do not fold up grave cloths. No wonder, then, that when John saw the face cloth folded, he believed that Jesus had risen from the dead.―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Wednesday, December 18.†‡§
- After His resurrection, the first person that we know who actually saw Jesus was Mary. She had been to the tomb, found that it was open, but did not know for sure what had happened. She raced to tell Peter and John. They returned to the tomb, followed by Mary. When those two went back to tell the other disciples, Mary lingered at the tomb. She was weeping and crying. She bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels dressed in white. They had been His lifelong guardian angels. She asked them what they had done with the body of her Lord.
John 20:14-16: 14 Then she turned round and saw Jesus standing there; but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 “Woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who is it that you are looking for?”
She thought he was the gardener, so she said to him, “If you took him away, sir, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!”
She turned towards him and said in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (This means “Teacher”. [sic])—Good News Bible.*‡
- Mary was thrilled to see Jesus.
John 20:17-18: 17 “Do not hold on to me,” Jesus told her, “because I have not yet gone back up to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them that I am returning to him who is my Father and their Father, my God and their God.”
18 So Mary Magdalene went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and related to them what he had told her.—Good News Bible.*
- The death of Jesus had wide meanings not only for us on this earth but also for the rest of the universe.
[EGW:] Christ did not yield up His life till He had accomplished the work which He came to do, and with His parting breath He exclaimed, “It is finished.”John 19:30. The battle had been won. His right hand and His holy arm had gotten Him the victory. As a Conqueror He planted His banner on the eternal heights. Was there not joy among the angels? All heaven triumphed in the Saviour’s [sic-Br] victory. Satan was defeated, and knew that his kingdom was lost.
To the angels and the unfallen worlds the cry, “It is finished,” had a deep significance. It was for them as well as for us that the great work of redemption had been accomplished. They with us share the fruits of Christ’s victory. [Remember that “the angels and unfallen worlds” were not sinners!]
Not until the death of Christ was the character of Satan clearly revealed to the angels or to the unfallen worlds. The archapostate had so clothed himself with deception that even holy beings had not understood his principles. They had not clearly seen the nature of his rebellion.—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages* 758.1-3.†‡
[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p130.3743&index=0]‡
[EGW:] [At the time of Lucifer’s rebellion and the war in heaven:] God could have destroyed Satan and his sympathizers as easily as one can cast a pebble to the earth; but He did not do this. Rebellion was not to be overcome by force. Compelling power is found only under Satan’s government. The Lord’s principles are not of this order. His authority rests upon goodness, mercy, and love; and the presentation of these principles is the means to be used. God’s government is moral, and truth and love are to be the prevailing power.—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages* 759.1.†‡
[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p130.3749&index=0]‡
- The final result of Jesus’s ministry, death, and resurrection affected many Jewish religious leaders in a positive way. There were a number of Pharisees and even Sadducees who later became faithful believers with the disciples. For example, think of Nicodemus, Saul/Paul, Simon the former leper, and Joseph of Arimathea.
Acts 6:7: And so the word of God continued to spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem grew larger and larger, and a great number of priests [mostly Sadducees] accepted the faith.—Good News Bible.*‡
Acts 15:5: But some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and told to obey the Law of Moses.”—Good News Bible.*†
[EGW:] Many minds were busy with thoughts started by the scenes of Calvary. From the crucifixion to the resurrection many sleepless eyes were constantly searching the prophecies, some to learn the full meaning of the feast they were then celebrating, some to find evidence that Jesus was not what He claimed to be; and others with sorrowful hearts were searching for proofs that He was the true Messiah. Though searching with different objects in view, all were convicted of the same truth,—that prophecy had been fulfilled in the events of the past few days, and that the Crucified One was the world’s Redeemer. Many who at that time united in the service never again took part in the paschal rites. Many even of the priests were convicted of the true character of Jesus. Their searching of the prophecies had not been in vain, and after His resurrection they acknowledged Him as the Son of God.—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages* 775.1.†‡ [https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p130.3823&index=0]‡
- Did Jesus die “in our place” as the Bible study guide suggests? Or, did He die for more important—much larger—reasons?
[BSG:] Why did Jesus have to die in our place? Why did He have to be our Substitute? Why was His death necessary if we were to have salvation? What Scripture passages support your answer?
What is the relationship between Scriptural evidence and historical evidence when it comes to belief in Jesus’ resurrection? That is, what is the historical evidence that powerfully confirms Jesus’ resurrection?―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Friday, December 20.‡
©2024, Kenneth Hart, MD, MA, MPH. Permission is hereby granted for any noncommercial use of these materials. Free distribution of all or of a portion of this material such as to a Bible study class is encouraged. *Electronic version. †Bold type is added. ‡Brackets and content in brackets are added. §Italic type is in the source. [sic-Br]=This is correct as quoted; it is the British spelling.
Last Modified: November 13, 2024 Email: Info@theox.org