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 type and promise God ‘preached before the gospel unto Abraham.’ Galatians 3:8 . And the patriarch’s f...
Nov 10, 2024•12 min•Season 6Ep. 2209
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 have found Him of whom Moses . . . wrote’ ” ( John 1:45, NKJV ). “ ‘Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You ...
Nov 09, 2024•6 min•Season 6Ep. 2208
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 and joy since they had accepted Christ than in all their previous lives. How could they go back to tho...
Nov 08, 2024•9 min•Season 6Ep. 2207
“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 from John 7:37, 38 are another example of what Jesus claimed about Himself and about what He would do...
Nov 07, 2024•11 min•Season 6Ep. 2206
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 the works and miracles that He had performed. He is very clear that the Father had sent Him and also...
Nov 06, 2024•9 min•Season 6Ep. 2205
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 ( John 8:44–46 ). Consequently, truth in John is not simply a matter of facts and figures. It does involve...
Nov 06, 2024•12 min•Season 6Ep. 2233
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 of the miracle, saying, “I am the bread of life,” ( John 6:35 ). He expounds in more detail that this ...
Nov 05, 2024•12 min•Season 6Ep. 2204
Read John 1:32–36 . What does John the Baptist say here about Jesus that the people were not expecting about the long-awaited Messiah? The Jews looked for a Messiah to come who would deliver them from the rule of Rome. Long under oppression, the Jews believed that the Messiah would not only overthrow Rome but would establish them as a great and powerful nation. John’s words, however, calling Jesus “the Lamb of God,” although directly pointing to His atoning sacrifice, were probably misunderstood...
Nov 04, 2024•10 min•Season 6Ep. 2203
Lesson 2 described how the witness of John the Baptist brought the first disciples—Andrew and John, Peter, Philip, and Nathanael—to Jesus. One would expect that the Baptist, having given his witness, would move off the scene. But he reappears several times in the Gospel of John. Read John 3:25–36 . How does John the Baptist compare himself to Jesus? A dispute arose between John the Baptist’s disciples and an unnamed Jew about purification, likely a question over the efficacy of baptism (compare ...
Nov 03, 2024•15 min•Season 6Ep. 2202
Read for This Week’s Study John 3:25–36, John 1:32–36, Dan. 7:18, John 6:51–71, John 5:36–38, John 7:37–53 . Memory Text: Jesus doesn’t merely say astonishing things about Himself or about who He is or about who sent Him or about where He came from. He also showed who He is by the miracles and signs that He performed. As some openly testify of Jesus: “ ‘When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?’ ” ( John 7:31, NKJV ). He backed up His words with actions tha...
Nov 02, 2024•6 min•Season 6Ep. 2201
Read Ellen G. White, “At Jacob’s Well,” pp. 183–195, in The Desire of Ages. “As soon as she had found the Saviour the Samaritan woman brought others to Him. She proved herself a more effective missionary than His own disciples. The disciples saw nothing in Samaria to indicate that it was an encouraging field. Their thoughts were fixed upon a great work to be done in the future. They did not see that right around them was a harvest to be gathered. But through the woman whom they despised, a whole...
Nov 01, 2024•7 min•Season 6Ep. 2200
Read John 4:27–29 . What surprising action did the woman take? Jesus’ discussion with the woman was interrupted by the arrival of the disciples. Though surprised that He was speaking with a woman, they did not question Him. Instead, they urged Him to eat. The woman, meanwhile, left her water pot and rushed into the city to share with others what she had just experienced with Jesus. Read John 4:30–42 . What happened following this encounter, and what does it teach about how the gospel can be spre...
Oct 31, 2024•11 min•Season 6Ep. 2199
Read John 4:16–24 . What did Jesus do to show this woman that He knew her deepest secrets, and how did she respond? The light was too blinding to look at directly. While recognizing Jesus as a prophet, the woman practices avoidance again. She asks Jesus a question of religious controversy between Jews and Samaritans—the proper place to worship. In response, Jesus pointed out that the Samaritans did not know what they worshiped. Their worship was a synthesis of Judaism and paganism. The Jews wors...
Oct 30, 2024•11 min•Season 6Ep. 2198
“ ‘Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them’ ” ( Ezek. 36:25–27, NKJV ). How does Ezekiel 36:25–27 reflect the truths Jesus was seeking to give to Nicode...
Oct 29, 2024•12 min•Season 6Ep. 2196
Read John 4:7–15 . How does Jesus use this encounter to start witnessing to this woman? “The hatred between Jews and Samaritans prevented the woman from offering a kindness to Jesus; but the Saviour was seeking to find the key to this heart, and with the tact born of divine love, He asked, not offered, a favor. The offer of a kindness might have been rejected; but trust awakens trust.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 184. As was the case in His encounter with Nicodemus, Jesus knows what i...
Oct 28, 2024•14 min•Season 6Ep. 2196
Read John 4:1–4 . What was the background issue that led Jesus through Samaria? The Pharisees discovered that the disciples of Jesus were baptizing more people than did those of John the Baptist. This situation could create tensions between John’s followers and Jesus’. The disciples of John, quite naturally, were jealous for their master’s reputation and status (compare with John 3:26–30 ). John’s impressive reply was that he must decrease, but Jesus must increase ( John 3:30 ). Probably to avoi...
Oct 27, 2024•14 min•Season 5Ep. 2195
Read for This Week’s Study John 4:1–42, John 3:26–30, Jer. 2:13, Zech. 14:8, Ezek. 36:25–27 . Memory Text: Who were the Samaritans? The northern kingdom of Israel had been taken captive by the Assyrians in 722 b.c. To create political stability, the Assyrians dispersed their captives throughout their empire. Likewise, captives from other nations were brought to populate the northern kingdom, and these became the Samaritans, who practiced their own form of Judaism. Relations, however, were not go...
Oct 26, 2024•7 min•Season 6Ep. 2194
Read Ellen G. White, “Nicodemus,” pp. 167–177, in The Desire of Ages. Nicodemus “searched the Scriptures in a new way, not for the discussion of a theory, but in order to receive life for the soul. He began to see the kingdom of heaven as he submitted himself to the leading of the Holy Spirit. . . . “Through faith we receive the grace of God; but faith is not our Saviour. It earns nothing. It is the hand by which we lay hold upon Christ, and appropriate His merits, the remedy for sin. . . . Repe...
Oct 25, 2024•9 min•Season 6Ep. 2193
Read John 3:1–21 . How does the testimony of Nicodemus support the theme of the Gospel of John? Nicodemus was a respected teacher in Israel and a wealthy member of the Sanhedrin. His testimony plays an important part in John’s Gospel for several reasons. He referred to Jesus as “Rabbi” and pointed to the signs that Jesus performed as evidence of His divine mission. Hence, even before Nicodemus realized what he was doing, he was giving evidence in support of the Messiahship of Jesus. Nicodemus vi...
Oct 24, 2024•16 min•Season 6Ep. 2192
Read John 1:43–46 . What did Philip’s message reveal about his faith in Jesus already? Philip was from Bethsaida, as were Andrew and Peter. He found his friend, Nathanael, and told him about Jesus. John the Baptist had called Jesus “the Lamb of God.” Andrew had told Peter that he had found “the Messiah.” But Philip calls Jesus the one Moses and the prophets wrote about and adds the name “Jesus of Nazareth.” His reference to Nazareth sets off a sharp reaction from his friend. Nathanael seems to h...
Oct 23, 2024•10 min•Season 6Ep. 2191
Two disciples of John the Baptist were standing with him when Jesus walked by. John declared, “ ‘Behold the Lamb of God!’ ” ( John 1:36, NKJV ). The two disciples had listened to John’s message about the Christ, who would fulfill the Old Testament prophecies about the coming Messiah. The disciples left John to follow Jesus, recognizing that Jesus was greater than John the Baptist and that He was the fulfillment of John’s message. Read John 1:35–39 . What did these two disciples do after hearing ...
Oct 22, 2024•8 min•Season 6Ep. 2190
The Hebrew nation was looking for a Messiah who would deliver them from Rome. The goal of the Gospel of John was to change their understanding of the Messiah so that they could recognize in Jesus the fulfillment of the prophecies regarding the coming King. The Messiah would not be an earthly ruler. He came to fulfill all the Old Testament promises concerning Himself, which include His self-sacrifice in behalf of the world, and to renew the relationship between God and His people. Read John 1:29–...
Oct 21, 2024•10 min•Season 6Ep. 2189
As last week’s lesson illustrated, the Gospel of John begins with Jesus Christ, the Word, in His eternal existence before Creation. But in that same prologue, John the Baptist appears as a witness to Jesus. Some Jews in Jesus’ time expected two messiahs, one priestly and the other royal. John clearly teaches that John the Baptist did not claim to be one of these messiahs but, rather, was a witness to the one true Messiah. Read John 1:19–23 . How did John the Baptist explain his ministry and miss...
Oct 20, 2024•10 min•Season 16Ep. 2188
John 1:19–23, Isa. 40:1–5, John 1:29–37, Rom. 5:6, John 1:35–39, John 1:43–51, John 3:1–21 . Memory Text: No question, Jesus provided people with powerful scriptural evidence to back up the claims that He had been making about Himself, including “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life” ( John 6:47 ). But there’s more: turning water into wine; feeding thousands with a few loaves of bread; healing the nobleman’s son; restoring the man at the pool of Bethesda;...
Oct 19, 2024•5 min•Season 6Ep. 2187
Read Ellen G. White, “ ‘God With Us,’ ” pp. 19–26, in The Desire of Ages. “The Lord Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God, existed from eternity, a distinct person, yet one with the Father. He was the surpassing glory of heaven. He was the commander of the heavenly intelligences, and the adoring homage of the angels was received by Him as His right. This was no robbery of God [ Prov. 8:22–27 quoted]. “There are light and glory in the truth that Christ was One with the Father before the foundation ...
Oct 18, 2024•7 min•Season 16Ep. 2186
Read John 17:1–5 . What did Jesus mean when He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you” (ESV)? Yesterday’s study looked at the earthly, human storyline of the Gospel of John with its clash and interplay between people, always revolving around who Jesus is and what He is doing. Today’s study focuses on the divine, cosmic storyline, also found in John. The Prologue begins with that cosmic storyline. Jesus is presented as the divine Son of God, the Creator of...
Oct 17, 2024•7 min•Season 6Ep. 2185
Read John 3:16–21, John 9:35–41, and John 12:36–46 . How do these texts repeat the theme of belief/unbelief found in the prologue? In John’s Gospel, humanity seems to be divided into two overarching groups: those who believe in Jesus and accept Him as the Messiah and those who, having the opportunity to believe, choose not to. Eleven of the disciples are in the first group, as are others such as Nicodemus (who comes to faith slowly), the woman at the well, and the man born blind. In the second g...
Oct 16, 2024•12 min•Season 6Ep. 2184
Read John 1:9–13 . What harsh reality is John depicting here about how people respond to Jesus? The Prologue, John 1:1–18 , describes not only who Jesus Christ, the Word (logos), is but also how people in the world related to Him. In John 1:9 , He is called the true Light, who enlightens every person coming into the world. That light illumines the world, making it understandable. As C. S. Lewis puts it, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen, not only because I see it, bu...
Oct 15, 2024•9 min•Season 6Ep. 2183
Read John 1:1–3, 14 . What are these verses telling us that Jesus, God Himself, did—and why is this truth the most important truth that we could ever know? John starts his Gospel not with the name “Jesus” or His role as Messiah/Christ but with the term logos. Around the time John wrote, various philosophies used the term logos to refer to the rational structure of the universe, or to refer to the idea of logic and reason themselves. Also, the teaching of the influential ancient philosopher Plato...
Oct 14, 2024•10 min•Season 6Ep. 2182
Read John 1:1–5 . What do these words reveal about the Word, Jesus Christ? The Gospel of John begins with this amazing thought: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” ( John 1:1 ). This one beautiful sentence contains a depth of thought that we can barely grasp. First, the evangelist alludes to the Creation story in Genesis 1:1 , “In the beginning.” The Word was already there before the beginning of the universe. Thus, John affirms Jesus’ eternal existen...
Oct 13, 2024•8 min•Season 6Ep. 2181
