Bible Study - Sabbath School Podcast

Read  John 9:17–34 . What questions did the leaders ask, and how did the blind man respond? This long section of  John 9  is the only portion of John where Jesus is not the main actor on the stage, though He is certainly the subject of discussion. Just as the question of sin started the story ( John 9:2 ), the Pharisees think Jesus is a sinner because He healed on the Sabbath ( John 9:16, 24 ), an...

Read  John 9:17–34 . What questions did the leaders ask, and how did the blind man respond? This long section of  John 9  is the only portion of John where Jesus is not the main actor on the stage, though He is certainly the subject of discussion. Just as the question of sin started the story ( John 9:2 ), the Pharisees think Jesus is a sinner because He healed on the Sabbath ( John 9:16, 24 ), an...

Read  John 9:1–16 . What did the disciples think was the cause of this man’s blindness, and how did Jesus correct their false beliefs? The disciples made a connection between sickness and sin. A number of Old Testament passages point in that direction (compare with  Exod. 20:5, 2 Kings 5:15–27, 2 Kings 15:5, and 2 Chron. 26:16–21 ), but the story of Job should have led to caution about whether suc...

Read  John 6:14, 15, 26–36 . How did the people respond to His miracle, and how did Jesus use this to try to teach them who He was? The Judeans were expecting an earthly messiah who would deliver them from the oppression of the Roman Empire. Two of the most difficult things encountered in war are feeding the troops and caring for the wounded and dead. By His miracles, Jesus showed that He could do...

n  John 6:4, 5 , the apostle goes out of his way to state that the timing of the feeding of the 5,000 was near the Passover. The Passover was a commemoration of the deliverance of Israel from Egypt. The Passover lamb took the place of the death of the firstborn. This sacrifice symbolized the death of Jesus in our behalf. On the cross, the punishment that we deserved because of our sins fell on Jes...

Read for This Week’s Study John 6:1–15, Isa. 53:4–6, 1 Cor. 5:7, John 6:26–36, John 9:1–41, 1 Cor. 1:26–29, John 11 . Memory Text: The Bible is clear that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son, one with the Father, underived and uncreated. Jesus is the One who created all that was made ( John 1:1–3 ). Thus, Jesus has always existed; there never was a time when He didn’t exist. Though Jesus came to this...

Further Thought: “Jesus had given him [the disabled man] no assurance of divine help. The man might have stopped to doubt, and lost his one chance of healing. But he believed Christ’s word, and in acting upon it he received strength. “Through the same faith we may receive spiritual healing. By sin we have been severed from the life of God. Our souls are palsied. Of ourselves we are no more capable...

Jesus’ Claims The miracle by the Pool of Bethesda provided an excellent opportunity for John to emphasize who Jesus is. John takes nine verses to describe the miracle and about 40 verses (see below) to describe the One who performed the miracle. Read John 5:16–18. Why was Jesus persecuted for His action on the Sabbath? ________________________________________________________ ______________________...

Signs, wonders, and miracles, in and of themselves, don’t prove that something is of God. But, on the other hand, when they are of God, it’s a dangerous thing to reject them. Read John 5:10–16. What lessons can we take away from the amazing hardness of the religious leaders’ hearts in regard to Jesus and the miracle He had just performed? ________________________________________________________ __...

The next sign John records took place at the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:1–9). It was believed that an angel caused movement in the water and that the first sick person to enter the water would be healed. As a result, the porches of the pool were crowded with those hoping to be cured at the next occurrence. Jesus went to Jerusalem, and as He passed by the pool, He saw the waiting throng. What a sight...

All through His earthly ministry, Jesus performed miracles that helped people believe in Him. John recorded these miracles so that others would believe in Jesus, as well. Read John 4:46–54. Why does the evangelist make a connection back to the miracle at the wedding feast? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ____________...

Read John 2:1–11. What sign did Jesus do at Cana, and how did this help His disciples in coming to believe in Him? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ Seeing Jesus perform the miracle of changing the water into wine provided evidence in favor of the disciples’ deci...

Sitting in a shop in Tehran, Iran, the Persian rug depicted an ancient forest. Beautifully done, it re-created a scene in Switzerland: mountains, a waterfall, a turquoise lake, forested hillsides, and an expansive blue sky dotted with clouds. Anyone in that shop could have spent their time noting the details: the number of knots per square inch, the fabric of the carpet, the types of dye used—all...

Read for This Week’s Study: John 2:1–11; John 4:46–54; John 5:1–16; Mark 3:22, 23; Matt. 12:9–14; John 5:16–47. Memory Text: “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). Why did...

Read Ellen G. White, “ ‘The Lord Is Risen,’ ” pp. 779–787; “Go Teach All Nations,” pp. 818–828, in  The Desire of Ages . “To the believer, Christ is the resurrection and the life. In our Saviour the life that was lost through sin is restored; for He has life in Himself to quicken whom He will. He is invested with the right to give immortality. The life that He laid down in humanity, He takes up ag...

Read  Mark 16:14–20 . What did Jesus say to His disciples when He appeared to them, and what do these words mean to us today? The first words of Jesus to His disciples are recorded only in indirect discourse in  Mark 16:14 . He rebukes them for their unbelief and hardheartedness. This question of unbelief is not simply a modern problem. As we already have seen, the original disciples of Jesus stru...

Read  Mark 16:9–20 . What do these verses add to the Resurrection story? Almost all of  Mark 16:9–20  has parallels to other passages in the New Testament—Mary Magdalene at the tomb seeing Jesus ( Matt. 28:1, 9, 10; John 20:11–18 ; compare with  Luke 8:2 ); two disciples see Him in the countryside ( Luke 24:13–35 ); the 11 disciples are commissioned ( Matt. 28:16–20, Luke 24:36–49, John 20:19–23 )...

“The women who had stood by the cross of Christ waited and watched for the hours of the Sabbath to pass. On the first day of the week, very early, they made their way to the tomb, taking with them precious spices to anoint the Saviour’s body. They did not think about His rising from the dead. The sun of their hope had set, and night had settled down on their hearts. As they walked, they recounted...

Read  Mark 16:1–8 and 1 Corinthians 15:1–8 . What do these passages have in common? The story of the resurrection appears in each of the Gospels. Each Gospel writer presents the story from a different perspective, but they all contain the core concepts that appear also in  1 Corinthians 15:1–8 . Four ideas appear again and again—died, buried, risen, seen. In Mark, “died” and “buried” are in chapte...

Read  Mark 15:42–16:6 . What happens here, and why is this story so relevant to the resurrection narrative? All the Gospel writers agree that Jesus died on the day that they identify as the “preparation” ( Matt 27:62; Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54; John 19:14, 31, 42 ). Most commentators understand this as a reference to sunset Thursday through sunset Friday. Jesus died late on Friday afternoon and was t...

Read for This Week’s Study Mark 15:42–47, Mark 16, Col. 2:10–12, 1 Cor. 15:1–8, Dan. 9:24–27, John 20:11–18 . Memory Text: The crucifixion of Jesus destroyed the hopes and faith of His disciples. It was a dark weekend for them as they not only grappled with their Master’s death but feared for their own lives, as well ( John 20:19 ). In  Mark 16 , the final chapter in this Gospel, we will look at w...

Read Ellen G. White, “In Pilate’s Judgment Hall,” pp. 723–740; “Calvary,” pp. 741–757; “ ‘It Is Finished,’ ” pp. 758–764, in  The Desire of Ages . “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 worldly power, he chose to sacrifice an innocent life. How many, to escape loss or suffering, in like manner sacrifice...

Read  Mark 15:42–47 . What is the significance of Joseph of Arimathea’s intervention, especially since all of Jesus’ disciples were nowhere to be seen? After all that drama, the more “mundane” things happen next. For starters, dead people always have to be buried. But several factors in what follows are quite touching spiritually, and others are extremely important historically. In this passage, J...

Read  Mark 15:33–41 . What are Jesus’ only words on the cross in Mark? What does Christ’s death ultimately mean for us all? The Gospel of Mark presents the cross as a very dark place, both physically and spiritually. A supernatural darkness descended on Calvary from about noon on that Friday until about 3 p.m. “And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the nint...

Read  Mark 15:21–38 . What terrible and painful irony appears in these passages? At this point in the Passion Narrative, Jesus is a silent victim, controlled by people who are bent on His death. Throughout the Gospel, up to His arrest, He was the master of activities. Now He is acted upon. Though He was a robust itinerant preacher, the beating He had received and the lack of food and sleep wore Hi...