Bible Study - Sabbath School Podcast

Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Blessing the Children,” pp. 511–517; “ ‘One Thing Thou Lackest,’ ” pp. 518–523, in The Desire of Ages. “Jesus was ever a lover of children. He accepted their childish sympathy and their open, unaffected love. The grateful praise from their pure lips was music in His ears, and refreshed His spirit when oppressed by contact with crafty and hypocritical men. Whe...

Read Mark 10:46–52. How did Bartimaeus react to Jesus’ passing by? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ Up to this point in the Gospel of Mark, with few exceptions, Jesus has been telling people to keep quiet about His miracles and about who He is. In this account,...

Read Mark 10:32–45. How do these verses reveal the continued ignorance of the disciples regarding not only Jesus’ mission but what it means to follow Him? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ As Jesus approaches Jerusalem, He reveals to His disciples what will happe...

Read Mark 10:17–31. What crucial lessons about faith and the cost of discipleship—for anyone, rich or poor—is revealed here? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ The man’s approach indicates his sincerity and respect for Jesus. He runs up, kneels before Him, and ask...

Read Mark 10:13–16. What did Jesus do for those who brought children to Him? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ While children were greatly desired in the ancient world (particularly boys in the male-dominant culture), birth and childhood were not easy. Without mo...

Read Mark 10:1–12, as well as Genesis 1:27 and Genesis 2:24. What trap was hiding under the Pharisees’ question about divorce, and what lessons did Jesus teach in His response? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ In this passage, the Pharisees ask Jesus if it is la...

Read for This Week’s Study: Mark 10; Gen. 1:27; Gen. 2:24; Gal. 4:1, 2; Rom. 6:1–11; Isa. 11:1–16. Memory Text: “ ‘For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many’ ” (Mark 10:45, NKJV). This week covers Mark 10, completing the special section in which Jesus teaches His disciples in preparation for the Cross. About half of the chapter deals wi...

Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Ministry,” pp. 426–431; “Who Is the Greatest?” pp. 432–442, in The Desire of Ages. “Before honor is humility. To fill a high place before men, Heaven chooses the worker who, like John the Baptist, takes a lowly place before God. The most childlike disciple is the most efficient in labor for God. The heavenly intelligences can co-operate with him who is seekin...

Read Mark 9:42–50. What ties the teachings of Jesus together in this passage? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ At first, this passage may seem to be a collection of disparate teachings of Jesus thrown toge...

Read Mark 9:30–41. What is different about Jesus’ second prediction of His death and resurrection (compare with Mark 8:31)? Also, what do the disciples argue about, and what instruction does Jesus give? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ In the first prediction, J...

Read Mark 9:1–13. What did Peter, James, and John see one night with Jesus? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ In Mark 9:1, Jesus predicts that some standing with Him would not taste death before seeing the kingdom of God come in power. That prediction is fulfille...

Read Mark 8:31–38. What does Jesus teach here about the cost of following Christ? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ The disciples have come to a crucial turning point in their relationship with Jesus. They now know that He is the Messiah. The reader of Mark has k...

Read Mark 8:22–30. Why did it take Jesus two touches to heal the blind man, and what lessons came out of this account? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ The Gospels report a number of blind people healed by Jesus. Besides the passage here in Mark 8, blind Bartima...

Read for This Week’s Study: Mark 8:22–38; Matt. 20:29–34; John 12:25; Mark 9:1–50; Mal. 4:5, 6; Luke 9:30, 31. Memory Text: “When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Mark 8:34, NKJV). The first half of Mark focuses on who Jesus is. His powerful teaching and mir...

Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Tradition,” pp. 395–398; “Barriers Broken Down,” pp. 399–403; “The True Sign,” pp. 404–409, in The Desire of Ages. “Among the followers of our Lord today, as of old, how widespread is this subtle, deceptive sin! How often our service to Christ, our communion with one another, is marred by the secret desire to exalt self! How ready the thought of self-gratulat...

Read Mark 8:11–13. What approach by the Pharisees deeply disappointed Jesus? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ Why not demonstrate His divine power and convince these cavilers? The problem goes back to the end of Mark 3, where Jesus speaks of the sin against the Holy Spirit. If one’s ears are shut and eyes are closed,...

Read Mark 7:31–37. Who was brought to Jesus, and what did Jesus do for him? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ Jesus did not take the shortest distance to return to Galilee from the region of Tyre and Sidon. It seems Jesus went north from the area of Tyre, up through the region of Sidon, then inland and down through the...

Read Mark 7:24–30. What important lessons are found in this story? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ Following on the heels of the challenging passage in yesterday’s study, the story in this passage also raises troubling questions. Why does Jesus respond so harsh...

Read Mark 7:14–19. What did Jesus mean by the riddle in Mark 7:15? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ Jesus’ words in this passage have been a conundrum for many as they ponder their relationship to the teachings of Leviticus 11 regarding clean and unclean foods. Is Jesus doing away with such distinctions? Are Seventh-d...

Read Mark 7:1–13. What relevant truths are presented here? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ One can imagine children studying this passage in Sabbath School and coming home to tell their mothers that they do not have to wash their hands before eating because Jes...

Read for This Week’s Study: Mark 7, Isa. 29:13, Exod. 20:12, Mark 8:11–21. Memory Text: “ ‘There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man’ ” (Mark 7:15, NKJV). This week’s study is Mark 7 and the first half of Mark 8. At the beginning of Mark 7, Jesus stirs up controversy by His rejection of rel...

Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Peace, Be Still,” pp. 333–341; “The Touch of Faith,” pp. 342–348, in The Desire of Ages. “In all who are under the training of God is to be revealed a life that is not in harmony with the world, its customs, or its practices; and everyone needs to have a personal experience in obtaining a knowledge of the will of God. We must individually hear Him speaking to...

Read Mark 6:34–52. What was the problem Jesus and His disciples confronted, and how was it solved? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ After the disciples return from their mission, they go with Jesus to a remote area on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee to r...

Read Mark 6:1–6. Why did Jesus’ hometown people reject Him? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ Usually when a small-town person becomes popular, people back home bask in the attention. Not Nazareth. They were offended and surprised at Jesus’ success as a teacher a...

Read Mark 5:21–24. What characteristics particularly stand out about Jairus? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ Religious leaders such as Jairus were not typically friends with Jesus (see Mark 1:22; Mark 3:2, 6; and Luke 13:14). So it is likely that he is desperat...