Bible Study - Sabbath School Podcast

“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because [he has] not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. . . . Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that [his] deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light” ( John 3:18–21, NIV ; compare with  John 1:10 ). Why do peo...

Some of the saddest accounts in all of Scripture occur in the Gospel of John. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. . . . [The Light] was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him” ( John 1:5, 10, 11, NKJV ). The “I AM” was rejected by many of His own people. No wonder P...

Read  John 1:12, 13 . What are the steps described here about becoming a Christian? John wrote his Gospel so that we would believe in Jesus and that by believing we may have eternal life in His name ( John 20:31 ). In  John 1:12, 13 , this process is described in two steps. First, we receive Him, that is, believe in Him. Second, He gives us authority or power to become God’s children, described in...

Read  John 6:61–68 . When Jesus asked the disciples if they would leave Him, what was the meaning of Peter’s answer? Peter’s words about “eternal life” tap into a theme that runs throughout the Gospel of John. A concentration of phraseology about eternal life appears in  John 6 , in the context of the feeding of the 5,000 ( John 6:27, 40, 47, 54, 68 ). Jesus says that He is the Bread of Life ( Joh...

In  John 1:1 , the apostle clearly states that Jesus is God, the divine Son. Consequently, in  John 1:4 —“In Him was life, and the life was the light of men” (NKJV)—the reference to life here has to be divine life, underived eternal self-existence. Because He has life within Himself, He can lay down His life and take it again ( John 10:17 ). And, because He has life within, He can give life to who...

Read for This Week’s Study John 1:4; John 10:10; John 1:12, 13; John 6:61–68; Num.13:23–33; Matt. 4:1–4 . Memory Text: In the Gospel of John, when asked who He was, Jesus answered with the term that designates deity. “I AM” was an unmistakable reference to the Lord Himself, who had appeared to Moses in the burning bush. “ ‘I AM WHO I AM,’ ” He said to Moses ( Exod. 3:14 ). And this same God, the “...

In our study of John so far, we’ve seen that John shows how Jesus, indeed, is the promised Messiah, the great hope that the Jewish people had been longing for. And yet, many of the religious leaders, the spiritual guides of the people, were His biggest enemies instead. Why? Read  John 8:12–30 . What is the dynamic here between Jesus and these religious leaders? Which texts best explain why many re...

In our study of John so far, we’ve seen that John shows how Jesus, indeed, is the promised Messiah, the great hope that the Jewish people had been longing for. And yet, many of the religious leaders, the spiritual guides of the people, were His biggest enemies instead. Why? Read  John 8:12–30 . What is the dynamic here between Jesus and these religious leaders? Which texts best explain why many re...

Jesus said to the religious leaders: “ ‘You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me’ ” ( John 5:39, NKJV ). What an incredible claim to make about Himself! Estimates vary, but some scholars argue that Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled hundreds of Old Testament prophecies. Whatever the amount, the odds against one man’s fulfilling even a...

In a discussion with the religious leaders about His identity, Jesus affirmed the authority of Scripture. At first glance, it would seem unnecessary for Him to do that because the religious leaders believed in Scripture. Nevertheless, even with them, Jesus would emphasize the authority of the Scriptures, and He did so in order to show them who He was—no matter how hard their hearts were, and no ma...

In addition to the specific signs and testimonies that John used to point to Jesus as the Messiah, John also appealed to the authority of the Old Testament and to its prophecies, which foretold the work of Christ. The Old Testament is central, not just to John’s Gospel but to all the New Testament. Justification for Jesus, for who He was, where He came from, what He did, and what He will do—is bas...

Read for This Week’s Study John 5:17, 20, 36–40, 46, 47; John 13:18; John 17:12; Jer. 2:13; Zech. 9:9; John 8:12–30 . Memory Text: We can see again and again in the book of John all the things that Jesus said and did which revealed that, yes, the Messiah (hammashiach), the Christ, had come to Israel. And He had come, in fact, as one of them, a Jew born in Bethlehem, just as the Scriptures had pred...

Read for This Week’s Study John 5:17, 20, 36–40, 46, 47; John 13:18; John 17:12; Jer. 2:13; Zech. 9:9; John 8:12–30 . Memory Text: We can see again and again in the book of John all the things that Jesus said and did which revealed that, yes, the Messiah (hammashiach), the Christ, had come to Israel. And He had come, in fact, as one of them, a Jew born in Bethlehem, just as the Scriptures had pred...

Read Ellen G. White, “The Test of Faith,” pp. 145–155, in Patriarchs and Prophets; “In Pilate’s Judgment Hall,” pp. 723–740, in The Desire of Ages. Thomas “cast himself at the feet of Jesus crying, ‘My Lord and my God.’ ” “Jesus accepted his acknowledgment, but gently reproved his unbelief: ‘Thomas, because thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have be...

Again and again, as John presents witnesses to Jesus, his point is to bring us to a sweeping conclusion: “And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” ( John 20:30, 31, NKJV ). Imagine having been there,...

Read  John 20:19–31 . What can we learn from the story of Thomas about faith and doubt? What major mistake did Thomas make? Christ appeared to the disciples after His resurrection, when they were shut up together in a room because of fear. Thomas was not with them. Later, he heard the reports of the Resurrection from the other disciples, but he despaired. It did not fit his picture of the kingdom....

Time and again, John records the attempts of the religious leaders to seize Jesus, to bring Him to trial, and to sentence Him to death. A theme in John’s Gospel, stated often by Jesus, is that His time or hour had not yet come, by which He meant the time for His crucifixion ( John 2:4; John 7:6, 8, 30; John 12:7, 23, 27; John 13:1; John 17:1 ). Now the hour had come. Jesus was arrested in the Gard...

Six days before Passover, Jesus came to visit Mary, Martha, and their brother Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised to life. Simon, who had been healed of leprosy, hosted a feast in appreciation for what Jesus had done for him. Martha was serving, and Lazarus was sitting at the table with the guests ( John 12:1–8 ). What was the significance of Mary’s actions here? How was this a witness to who Jesus rea...

Jesus was not shy in declaring who He was, nor in calling on witnesses to testify to who He was, even witnesses who were long gone, including Abraham. “ ‘Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad’ ” ( John 8:56, NKJV ). Why was Abraham’s witness so important that it was included in John’s gospel? ( Gen. 12:3, Gen. 18:16–18, Gen. 26:4, Matt. 1:1, Acts 3:25 .) “Through t...

Read for This Week’s Study John 8:54–58, Gen. 12:3, Rom. 4:1–5, John 12:1–8, John 19:4–22, John 20:19–31, Daniel 2, Daniel 7 . Memory Text: Throughout his Gospel, John has a diversity of people—people with different backgrounds, beliefs, and experiences—all testifying to who Jesus was. “ ‘Behold the Lamb of God!’ ” ( John 1:36, NKJV ). “ ‘We have found the Messiah’ ” ( John 1:41, NKJV ). “ ‘We hav...

Read Ellen G. White, “The Crisis in Galilee,” pp. 383–394; “In the Outer Court,” pp. 621–626, in The Desire of Ages. “ ‘To whom shall we go?’ The teachers of Israel were slaves to formalism. The Pharisees and Sadducees were in constant contention. To leave Jesus was to fall among sticklers for rites and ceremonies, and ambitious men who sought their own glory. The disciples had found more peace an...

“On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’ ” ( John 7:37, 38, NKJV ). John recorded, numerous times, Jesus making bold statements about Himself, about who He was and what He came to do. The lines quoted above f...

The Gospel of John begins by talking about the Word (logos) as being with God; that is, being with God the Father ( John 1:1 ). When the Word became flesh, the Spirit testified about Jesus by resting on Him at His baptism ( John 1:32–34 ). But the Father also testifies about Jesus during His earthly ministry. Read  John 5:36–38 . What does Jesus say here about the Father? Jesus links the Father to...

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...

Lesson 2 described the feeding of the 5,000 in  John 6  but did not cover the final section of that story, which is studied here. Read  John 6:51–71 . What did Jesus say that people had trouble accepting? Having just been fed, miraculously, by Jesus, the people were ready to crown Him king ( John 6:1–15 ). But in talking with them later at the Capernaum synagogue, He explains the spiritual meaning...