Bible Study - Sabbath School Podcast

“ ‘It Is Finished!’ ” Read John 19:1–30. What is the crucial message to us in Jesus’ state- ment, “ ‘It is finished’ ”? Finally, the crucial moments for Christ, for humankind, and for the whole universe had arrived. With deep agony, He struggled against the powers of darkness. Slowly He made His way through the Garden of Gethsemane, through His unfair trials, and up the mountain of Calvary. Evil a...

A Preface to the Cross What were the reactions of the disciples to Jesus’ predictions of His own sufferings and death, and what should their reactions teach us about the dangers of misunderstanding Scripture? Matt. 16:21–23 Matt. 17:22, 23; Mark 9:30–32; Luke 9:44, 45 Luke 18:31–34 Jesus was born to die, and He lived to die. Every step that He took brought Him closer to His great atoning sacrifice...

“From the Foundation of the World” Read Revelation 13:8; Acts 2:23; and 1 Peter 1:19, 20. How could Christ be considered “slain from the foundation of the world” (NKJV)? “All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev. 13:8, NKJV). What’s crucial here for us is the idea of Christ’s being “s...

Read for This Week’s Study: Rev. 13:8; Matt. 17:22, 23; Mark 9:30–32; John 19:1–30; Rom. 6:23; 1 Cor. 1:18–24. Memory Text: “ ‘And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life’ ” (John 3:14, 15, NKJV). It has been said that we cannot avoid death and taxes. That’s not entirely true. P...

Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “The Death of Moses,” pp. 469–480, in Patriarchs and Prophets; “The Voice of Stern Rebuke,” pp. 129–142; “A Prophet of Peace,” pp. 237–243, in Prophets and Kings; “The Centurion,” pp. 318, 319; “The Touch of Faith,” pp. 342, 343; “ ‘Lazarus, Come Forth,’ ” pp. 524–536, in The Desire of Ages. “In Christ is life, original, unborrowed, underived. ‘He that hath th...

Lazarus Read John 11:1–44. In what sense was Jesus “glorified” by the sick- ness and death of Lazarus (John 11:4)? Here, too, Jesus uses the metaphor for sleep in talking about death. “ ‘Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up’ ” (John 11:11, NIV). When some thought He was talking about literal sleep (John 11:11–13), Jesus clearly stated what He meant: “ ‘Lazarus...

Jairus’s Daughter The resurrections prior to Jesus’ own death and resurrection were not limited to any specific ethnic group or social class. Moses was perhaps the greatest human leader of God’s people ever (Deut. 34:10– 12). By contrast, the poor Phoenician widow was not even an Israelite (1 Kings 17:9). The Shunammite woman was prominent in her com- munity (2 Kings 4:8). The widow of Nain had on...

The Son of the Widow of Nain The Bible says that Jesus “ ‘went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him’ ” (Acts 10:38, NASB). Indeed, all the Gospels are full of accounts of Jesus ministering to many needy and hurting souls, which is why later many Jews came to believe that Jesus was the promised Messiah. “There were whole villages where there was not...

Two Old Testament Cases Read 1 Kings 17:8–24 and 2 Kings 4:18–37. What similarities and dif- ferences do you see in these two resurrections? In Hebrews 11, we read that by faith “women received back their dead by resurrection” (Heb. 11:35, NASB). This was the case in the two resurrections depicted in the texts for today. The first one (see 1 Kings 17:8–24) occurred during the great apos- tasy in I...

The Resurrection of Moses Read Jude 9 and Luke 9:28–36. What evidences do you find in these texts for the bodily resurrection of Moses? Some Greek Church Fathers from Alexandria argued that, when Moses died, two Moseses were seen: one alive in the spirit, another dead in the body; one Moses ascending to heaven with angels, the other buried in the earth. (See Origen, Homilies on Joshua 2.1; Clement...

Read for This Week’s Study: Jude 9, Luke 9:28–36, 1 Kings 17:8–24, Luke 7:11–17, Mark 5:35–43, John 11:1–44. Memory Text: “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die forever. Do you believe this?’ ” (John 11:25, 26, LEB). The Old Testament references to the resurrection tha...

Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Visions of Future Glory,” pp. 722–733, in Prophets and Kings. Modern science teaches that all matter is composed of atoms, them- selves made up of two smaller particles, quarks and leptons, which are believed to be the building blocks of all physical reality. If, then, at the core the physical world is quarks and leptons, couldn’t the God who not only created...

Those Who Sleep in the Dust As we will see, the New Testament talks a great deal about the resur- rection of the dead; and, as we have already seen, the idea of the resur- rection of the dead appears in the Old Testament, as well. These people, in Old Testament times, had the hope of the final resurrection that we do. Martha, living at the time of Jesus, already had this hope (John 11:24). No ques...

“Your Dead Shall Live” Read Isaiah 26:14, 19. What is the contrast between those who will perish forever (Isa. 26:14; see also Mal. 4:1) and those who will receive eternal life (Isa. 26:19)? The book of Isaiah presents a major contrast between the majesty of God and our human fragility (see Isaiah 40). Though we are like the grass that withers and the flower that fades, the Word of God remains for...

“From the Depths of the Earth” Read Psalm 71. What did David imply when he asked God to bring him up “again from the depths of the earth” (Ps. 71:20, NKJV)? In Psalm 49 we found a touching expression of hope in the resur- rection, in contrast to the false assurance of the fool who trusted in his wealth. In Psalm 71, David seeks security and hope from God, while surrounded by enemies and false accu...

From the Power of the Grave Read Psalm 49. What led the psalmist to be so sure of his final resur- rection (Ps. 49:15) in contrast to those who perished without that assurance (Ps. 49:6–14)? Psalm 49 speaks about the false confidence of the foolish “who trust in their wealth and boast in the multitude of their riches” (Ps. 49:6, NKJV), who “call their lands after their own names” (Ps. 49:11, NKJV)...

I Shall See God Read Job 19:25–27 and compare it with John 1:18 and 1 Timothy 6:16. When and under what circumstances was Job expecting to “see God”? Life is not fair. We see this especially when we see the “good” suf- fering and the “unrighteous” prospering (see Ps. 73:12–17 and Mal. 3:14–18). For example, Job was “blameless and upright” and “feared God and shunned evil” (Job 1:1, NKJV). Even so,...

Read for This Week’s Study: Job 19:25–27; 1 Tim. 6:16; Psalm 49; Psalm 71; Isa. 26:14, 19; Daniel 12. Memory Text: “By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son. . . . He considered the fact that God is able even to raise someone from the dead—and figuratively speaking, he did receive him back” (Hebrews 11:17, 19, NRS...

Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “The First Great Deception,” pp. 531–550, in The Great Controversy. If you have ever been in surgery and were put out with general anesthesia, you might have a faint idea of what it must be like for the dead. But even then, when under anesthesia, your brain still functions. Imagine what it would be like for the dead, when all brain function, everything, has to...

Resting With the Forefathers Read Genesis 25:8, 2 Samuel 7:12, 1 Kings 2:10, and 1 Kings 22:40. What do these texts add to your understanding of death? The Old Testament expresses in different ways the ideas of death and burial. One way is the notion of being gathered to one’s own people. For example, about Abraham, we are told that he “breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and...

“The Dead Know Nothing” Read Job 3:11–13; Psalm 115:17; Psalm 146:4; and Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10. What can we learn from these passages about the condition of human beings at death? Some Bible commentators argue that these passages (Job 3:11–13; Ps. 115:17; Ps. 146:4; Eccles. 9:5, 10), written in poetic language, cannot be used to define the condition of human beings at death. It is true that sometim...

The Spirit Returns to God Read Genesis 2:7 and Ecclesiastes 12:1–7. What contrast can you see between these two biblical passages? How can they help us to understand better the human condition in death? (See also Genesis 7:22.) As already seen, the Bible teaches that the human being is a soul (Gen. 2:7), and the soul ceases to exist when the body dies (Ezek. 18:4, 20). But what about the “spirit”?...

“ ‘The Soul Who Sins Shall Die’ ” Read Ezekiel 18:4, 20 and Matthew 10:28. How can these verses help us understand the nature of the human soul? Human life in this sinful world is fragile and transitory (Isa. 40:1–8). Nothing infected by sin can be eternal by nature. “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinn...

“A Living Being” Read Genesis 1:24–27 and Genesis 2:7, 19. What similarities and differences can you see between the way God created the animals and the way He created humanity? What does Genesis 2:7 tell us about human nature? The Genesis account declares that on the sixth day of Creation week the Lord God brought to life land animals and the first human beings, a couple (Gen. 1:24–27). We are to...

Read for This Week’s Study: Gen. 1:24–27; Gen. 2:7, 19; Matt. 10:28; Eccles. 12:1–7; 1 Kings 2:10; 1 Kings 22:40. Memory Text: “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7). The tension between God’s word, “ ‘You shall die’ ” (Gen. 2:16, 17, NRSV) and Satan’s counterfeit promise, “ ‘You certain...