Daily Lesson for Sunday 15th of December 2024

In John 18:28-32, the trial of Jesus is not described in detail. The focus is on Jesus brought before Pontius Pilate.

The governor asks Jesus if He is the king of the Jews (John 18:33). It is the first reference to this title but will not be the last. Jesus asks Pilate if he is asking this on his own or did others say that He was. His question turns the tables on the governor, querying if he understands to whom he is speaking. The reader already knows that Jesus is the King. Will the governor?

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Pilate responds with his own query: “ ‘Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?’ ” (John 18:35, NKJV). It was an evasion, rooted in irritation at the close application of Jesus’ question. It was the governor’s first step away from the truth, letting prejudice block his perception.

Jesus responds that His kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). Pilate then perceptively deduces that Jesus does claim to be a king (John 18:37). This leads to Jesus’ important explanation that He was born to bear witness to the truth and that every person who is “ ‘of the truth’ ” hears His voice (John 18:37).

Pilate then asks, “ ‘What is truth?’ ” (John 18:38, NKJV). But he doesn’t wait for the answer. Instead, he goes outside to try to save Jesus from the crowd.

Truth is a theme in John’s Gospel. As the eternal Word (logos, John 1:1-5), Jesus is the Light and the Truth. All this is in contrast to darkness and error. He is full of grace and truth (John 1:14). Grace and truth came through Him (John 1:17). John the Baptist bore witness to the truth (John 5:33). Jesus affirmed that His Father is “true” (John 7:28). Jesus Himself heard the truth from His Father (John 8:40). Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). The Word of God is “truth” (John 17:17). Despite his question, Pilate missed his opportunity to know the truth because of his prejudice, his earlier decisions, and the pressures upon him.

<–Sabbath Monday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24d-12-what-is-truth/

Daily Lesson for Sabbath 14th of December 2024

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Read for This Week’s Study: John 18:33-40; John 19:1-5; John 19:17-22; John 19:25-27; Luke 2:34-35; John 20:1-18; 1 Corinthians 15:12-20.

Memory Text:

“Then Pilate said to him, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice’ ” (John 18:37, ESV).

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.

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.

*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, December 21.

Sunday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24d-12-the-hour-of-glory-the-cross-and-resurrection/

Our Sabbath School program has always been linked to the support of the Seventh-day Adventist Mission program. This video provides a little insight into this important work.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/mission-spotlight-for-december-14/

I challenge you to set aside about 50 minutes to gain a blessing by watching this video by Dr Jo Ann Davidson, Professor of Theology at Andrews University. This  presentation focuses on the triune nature of our God, and I hope you can also experience some of the awe and delight in God that Dr. Davidson projects in her presentation. (Cf. Ps 37:4) .

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/our-unique-three-in-one-god/

Inside Story for Friday 13th of December 2024

By Andrew McChesney

Samuel declared that he had no interest in Bible studies. “But you marked that you were interested on a Bible-study interest card,” said the caller, a Bible worker from the Dallas First Seventh-day Adventist Church in the U.S. state of Texas. He and other Bible workers were following up on cards distributed by the church. “Well, I’m not interested,” Samuel said.

The caller placed the Bible-study interest card aside.

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A week later, another Bible worker called Samuel.

“I’m not interested,” Samuel said.

The next week, the Bible worker called again.

“How much will the Bible studies cost?” Samuel asked.

“Nothing.”

At the first Bible study, Samuel said he and his wife had been looking for a church. Their son had invited them to his church, but they had been offended by a sermon about the pope and the seventh-day Sabbath. “I’ll never set foot inside a Seventh-day Adventist church again,” Samuel said.

The Bible worker prayed silently and continued the Bible study.

After several weeks, the Bible worker invited Samuel to evangelistic meetings at the Dallas First Seventh-day Adventist Church. He wondered what Samuel would say. Samuel agreed to go.

At the first meeting, Samuel looked around the church with great interest. The building had a unique architecture, with a rounded sanctuary, a rounded ceiling, and pews curved around the platform. Samuel sought out the Bible worker. “I need to talk to you,” he said. The Bible worker was helping to prepare for the meeting, and he asked Samuel if he could wait. Samuel agreed and sat down. He listened attentively to the evangelist’s sermon about Daniel 2:1-49. Afterward, he found the Bible worker and blurted out, “I want to be baptized!” The Bible worker was shocked and exclaimed, “What?”

Samuel said he had had a dream 18 years earlier. “In the dream, Jesus led me to a church and said, ‘This is My church,’ ” he said. “When I walked into the church this evening, I recognized it immediately. Finally, I’ve found the church from my dream. I want to be baptized.”

The Bible worker took Samuel to the evangelist, who was equally surprised to hear about the dream. What made the story even more remarkable was that the church had burned down and a new building had been constructed 13 years earlier. Samuel had seen the new church in his dream five years before it was constructed.

“Everything is possible when we cooperate with God in His mission,” said the evangelist, Slavik Ostapenko, now pastor of the Spokane Slavic Seventh-day Adventist Church in Washington State.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24d-11-inside-story-a-dream-in-dallas/