Bible Study - Sabbath School Podcast

Read  John 21:20–22 . What question led Peter down a wrong path? How did Jesus straighten the path? Jesus had just restored Peter to ministry and told him, “Follow me” ( John 21:19 ). It was probably an actual physical following of Jesus down the beach. And that is because Peter turns and sees John following Jesus as well, and he inquires about John. “ ‘But Lord, what about this man?’ ” ( John 21:...

Read  John 21:1–19 . What crucial truths are revealed here, especially about God’s grace—and human humility? John 20  ends with the purpose of the book, which would be the logical place to conclude, but there is one more chapter. Chapter 21 begins with some of the disciples back in Galilee, with Peter suggesting a night on the lake. It looks as though old times have returned, and the disciples are...

Read for This Week’s Study John 21; John 11:9, 10; John 8:42–44; John 4:46–54; 2 Tim. 3:16; John 15:1–11 . Memory Text: John’s Gospel, like Mark’s, ends with a meeting in Galilee. This final lesson on John deals with that meeting but integrates it with the theme of how we know Jesus and the Word of God—a concept that runs through the fourth Gospel. Though they were with Jesus more than three years...

Read Ellen G. White, “ ‘It Is Finished,’ ” pp. 758–764; “ ‘The Lord Is Risen,’ ” pp. 779–787; and “ ‘Why Weepest Thou?’ ” pp. 788–794, in The Desire of Ages. See also, Clifford Goldstein, Risen: Finding Hope in the Empty Tomb (Nampa, ID: Pacific Press, 2020). “Pilate longed to deliver Jesus. But he saw that he could not do this, and yet retain his own position and honor. Rather than lose his world...

Read  John 20:11–13 . What happened here that shows why Mary Magdalene still did not understand the meaning of the empty tomb? The last reference to Mary in the text before this one is her telling Peter and John about the empty tomb  ( John 20:2 ) . They ran to the tomb, and she came back there a little later. After Peter and John inspected the tomb, they left it. But Mary returned and, weeping, l...

Read  John 20:1–7 . What is the importance to us about what is depicted in these verses? 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 with  Mark 16:1, Luke 23:...

As  John 19:17–22  shows, Pilate wrote an inscription in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew that said, “ ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews’ ” ( John 19:19, ESV ). The religious leaders wanted it changed. Pilate would have none of it, and the inscription remained, a mute witness to the truth about Jesus and one of the markers that Jesus is enthroned on the cross as the King. Here was Jesus, truly thei...

Read  John 18:38–19:5 . How did Pilate try to persuade the people to ask for Jesus’ release? Pilate did not wait for an answer from Jesus concerning truth. Instead, he went back out to try to persuade the people. By dialoguing with them instead of just letting Jesus go free, Pilate placed himself at a disadvantage. The religious leaders recognized that they could manipulate the governor through th...

In  John 18:28–32 , the trial of Jesus is not described in detail. The focus is on Jesus brought before Pontius Pilate. Read  John 18:33–38 . What did Pilate and Jesus talk about? 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...

Read for This Week’s Study John 18:33–19:5; John 19:17–22; John 19:25–27; Luke 2:34, 35; John 20:1–18; 1 Cor. 15:12–20 . Memory Text: 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 a...

Read Ellen G. White, “ ‘Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled,’ ” pp. 662–680, in The Desire of Ages; “Additional Note on [John] Chapter 1,” The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 5, pp. 911–919. In assessing who Jesus is, His opponents judged by human standards “ ‘according to the flesh’ ” ( John 8:15, NKJV ). This is probably even worse than judging “by mere appearances” ( John 7:24, NIV ). Here they resorted...

John 17  is sometimes called the high priestly prayer of Jesus. It concludes the farewell discourse. Jesus came to this earth so that humanity might be restored, ultimately, to its original personal relationship with God. He faithfully performed the signs that God gave Him to do. In words and acts, He communicated God to the people. Jesus would soon be leaving this earth. He desired to share once...

The Holy Spirit is not as prominent in the Gospel of John as the Father and the Son are. Yet, His role is crucial to the success of Jesus’ mission. Read  John 1:10–13 . What does this text teach us about the importance of the Holy Spirit for conversion? In the first chapter of John, we can see just how central the role of the Holy Spirit is. John tells us that as many as received the Word (that is...

Throughout the Gospel of John, the apostle describes how Jesus, the Son, does activities that point to the Father. Jesus explains who the Father is and shows what His relationship to our world is. This is all in keeping with  John 1:18 , which says that He makes the Father known (Greek exēgeomai: to explain, interpret, exposit). Again and again Jesus does this. The word Father (patēr) appears 136...

We were created by the Godhead for a personal relationship with Them ( Gen. 1:26, 27 ). Yet, because of sin, that relationship was radically disrupted. We can see the immediate impact of this disruption in the Garden of Eden story. Read  Genesis 3:7–9 . How does this reveal the breach that sin caused, and what does it mean that it was God seeking them out, not vice versa? The intention of the Godh...

The Gospel of John is written from the standpoint of the overall biblical narrative, beginning with our origins. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” ( Gen. 1:1 ). Or: In the beginning the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit created the heavens and the earth. They are the Source of all that exists. They created the universe, including the beings who inhabit it. On our planet there was...

Read for This Week’s Study John 14:10, 24; Gen. 3:7–9; John 16:27, 28; John 16:7–11; John 17:1–26. Memory Text: The Gospel of John is a mosaic of themes. John calls upon signs (miracles) to show that Jesus is the Messiah promised by the prophets. John uses an array of witnesses to proclaim Jesus as the Christ. He also uses the “I AM” statements to point to His divinity. All three members of the Go...

Read Ellen G. White, “ ‘The Light of Life,’ ” pp. 463–475, in The Desire of Ages; E. Edward Zinke, “The Authority of the Bible and the Certainty of the Second Coming,” The Certainty of the Second Coming (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2000), pp. 23–36. When Jesus said, “I am the light of the world,” He “was in the court of the temple specially connected with the services...

Throughout the Gospel, Scripture plays an important role in telling us about the One who is the way, the truth, and the life. All through the Gospels, as all through the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, the Scriptures play a key role in revealing truth. This is especially true when it comes to teaching us about who Jesus is and what He came to do. Read  John 5:38–40 . What is Jesus saying h...

Read  John 1:14, 17; John 8:32; John 14:6; and John 15:26 . How does John tie the concept of truth directly to Jesus? Again and again in John’s Gospel, truth is connected to Jesus, to His Father, and to the Holy Spirit. Truth is connected with Jesus, the Word (logos), and with light—in contrast to darkness ( John 1:1–14, John 3:19–21 ). And, too, falsehood is connected with the devil and sin ( Joh...

Read  John 14:5, 6 . What query did Thomas make about where Jesus was going? How did Jesus respond? Thomas’s query seems logical enough. If you do not know where someone is going, how can you know the way to follow that person? Jesus upends the query by indicating that He Himself is the way. The way to what? The way to the Father. In the Prologue ( John 1:1–18 ), the intimate connection between th...

Read  John 14:1–3 . In what context did Jesus say these words? At the end of  John 13 , Jesus says that He is going away ( John 13:33 ). This elicits from Peter a query about where He is going ( John 13:36 ). The disciples do not understand that Jesus is talking about His death, resurrection, and ascension. Peter says he is ready to lay down his life for Him ( John 13:37 ). This is when Jesus pred...

The farewell discourse ( John 13–17 ) provides instruction for Jesus’ disciples concerning the future. Its literary pattern is similar to Moses’ farewell in Deuteronomy or Jacob’s blessing his children ( Genesis 47–49 ) or David’s instructing Solomon ( 1 Chronicles 28, 29 ). Jesus consoles His disciples regarding His departure. He promises a surrogate to represent Him (the Holy Spirit;  John 14–16...

Read for This Week’s Study John 13:1–20; John 14:1–3; Dan. 7:27; John 14:5–11; John 1:14; Col. 1:16, 17; John 5:38–40 . Memory Text: The Gospel of John is divided into four main sections: The Prologue ( John 1:1–18 ), the Book of Signs ( John 1:19–12:50 ), the Book of Glory ( John 13:1–20:31 ), and the Epilogue ( John 21:1–25 ). Our study so far has focused mainly on the Prologue and the Book of S...

ead Ellen G. White, “ ‘God With Us,’ ” pp. 19–26; “Controversy,” pp. 601–609, in The Desire of Ages. “In stooping to take upon Himself humanity, Christ revealed a character the opposite of the character of Satan. But He stepped still lower in the path of humiliation. ‘Being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.’  Phil. 2:8 . As...