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Series Code: IIWSS
Program Code: IIWSS022136S
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00:00 (inspirational theme music)
00:13 >>Welcome to "Sabbath School," 00:14 brought to you by It Is Written. 00:17 We're delighted to have you back again 00:19 for lesson number six. 00:22 We are taking a look this week at "He Died for Us," 00:25 a very significant subject as we continue our journey 00:28 through the subject of "Death, Dying and the Future Hope." 00:32 Our guest with us again this week is the author 00:34 of the Sabbath school lesson, Dr. Alberto Timm. 00:37 He's an associate director of the Ellen G. White Estate. 00:40 Alberto, welcome back. 00:42 >>It's a honor to be with you during this series. 00:46 >>So we are moving our way through it, 00:48 learning new things each time that we come together. 00:51 And I wanted to make reference 00:55 as we begin this week to something that you describe, 00:59 a story that you tell in the companion book 01:02 to the Sabbath school lesson. 01:03 You talk about a lecture that a Swiss theologian 01:07 by the name of Oscar Cullmann presented 01:10 at Harvard University. 01:11 He was talking about the immortality of the soul 01:14 and the resurrection. 01:16 Can you expound on this story just a little bit? 01:18 Because it's a fascinating story. 01:21 >>Actually, Oscar Cullmann--and I have a copy 01:24 of the book here, 01:26 the book form; they published it in the "Harvard Review" 01:31 and also elsewhere. There are several additions to it, 01:35 but he starts his book in a--or his lecture, at that time-- 01:39 and it's the beginning of his book also-- 01:42 contrasting the death of Christ 01:46 and Socrates. 01:49 And here you'll find in his view 01:52 probably the best way to understand the contrast 01:56 between Greek philosophy and the anthropology 02:01 of Greek philosophy, how they understand a human being, 02:04 and that is this contrast between the two. 02:09 When Socrates was to be, 02:13 to drink the poison that he did to die, 02:19 he did in a very peaceful 02:22 and serene way, because, for him, 02:26 that was actually a friend to be welcomed 02:30 and not a enemy 02:32 because for the philosophers, including Socrates, 02:36 they thought that the body was just the prison of the soul. 02:42 And he, as a philosopher, would really go to paradise 02:45 or whatever, to a upper stage of life. 02:49 So he drunk it in a very peaceful way 02:52 because that would liberate the soul, 02:56 give the soul freedom to go to that world of the ideas, 03:02 away from the prison of his body. 03:04 But for Jesus, that was not a friend to be welcomed, 03:09 was actually a enemy, the last enemy to be conquered. 03:15 And Jesus, really, in Gethsemane, 03:19 He even said, 03:20 "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, 03:25 even to [the] death," because He was in agony. 03:29 What a contrast between the two models. 03:32 But in reality, Jesus conquered death, 03:36 and this is the good news that we have. 03:39 But let me just add a point. 03:42 Oscar Cullmann, in his lecture, made it very clear 03:46 that there is no way to harmonize the philosophical, 03:51 the Greek philosophical concept of the immortal soul 03:56 with the New Testament teaching 03:58 of the resurrection of the body. 04:02 Either the soul is immortal, 04:05 and there is no resurrection, 04:07 or there is a bodily resurrection, 04:10 and the soul is not immortal. And from his perspective, 04:14 the New Testament teaches, really, the resurrection 04:18 of the body as the hope for the Christian, 04:22 the Christian hope, and not natural immortality of the soul 04:26 as the Greek philosophers taught. 04:29 >>So, very, very insightful story, 04:32 and the conclusion that he comes to, I think, 04:35 is a very positive one, a very biblical one. 04:38 I wanna go back to build on something that we looked at 04:42 a few weeks ago, and we looked at death occurring 04:46 in the Old Testament and the significance of it. 04:51 What about some of those sacrifices 04:53 that took place in the Old Testament? 04:56 We looked back at Genesis 3:15 a few weeks ago, 04:59 how the the serpent's head would be wounded 05:01 and the Seed of the woman's heel would be wounded, 05:04 at that "protoevangelium," as it's sometimes called, 05:07 that first glimpse at Jesus the Messiah 05:10 and the plan of salvation. 05:11 How did sacrifices in the Old Testament 05:14 foreshadow Christ's death on the cross? 05:18 How are those two linked together? 05:21 >>Many people are afraid or do not like very much 05:24 the references to the, in the Old Testament, 05:26 to animal sacrifices because they say, 05:30 "Well, there is too much blood in the Old Testament, 05:34 "and I prefer the New Testament, is more love 05:37 and not so much justice as in the Old Testament." 05:40 But remember, each one of the human beings 05:44 since the fall of Adam and Eve had really 05:49 a death sentence on them, 05:53 and in this case, they should die, 05:56 but God's mercy allowed an animal to die 06:01 in place of human beings. 06:03 So, every single sacrifice, bodily sacrifice, 06:08 offered according to God's plan, 06:10 because there were pagan sacrifices also that did not count, 06:14 but the ones that follow the biblical pattern 06:16 established by God, they foreshadowed 06:20 the Lamb of God that would take away the sins of the world. 06:27 But let me just add another point. 06:28 Some people say, as I told you, 06:30 that the Old Testament is just based on justice, 06:35 and the New Testament--or judgment-- 06:38 and the New Testament in love and mercy. 06:41 But the Apostle Paul in Romans, chapter 3 06:44 says exactly the opposite. 06:48 In the Old Testament, God was very merciful, 06:51 but the fullness of God's justice was revealed 06:55 not through the sacrifices of the Old Testament, 07:00 as many as they were, but in the cross where Jesus died 07:05 as the Lamb of God, 07:08 not for His own sake, but for all human beings. 07:14 So His sacrifice is available to all, 07:18 for those who will accept it and be saved, 07:20 but is available even to those who will be punished 07:24 and they will be that who do not accept Christ 07:27 as the Lamb of God. 07:29 >>You make an important point here 07:31 that that salvation is available to everybody, 07:35 and those who receive it, those who accept it by faith, 07:38 are gonna be ones who receive it. 07:40 The memory text for this week is, 07:43 I think, a significant one. 07:44 In John, chapter 3, verses 14 and 15, it says, 07:48 "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, 07:51 "even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 07:54 "that whoever believes in Him should not perish 07:58 but have [everlasting] life." 08:00 And then, of course, the following verse is John 3:16, 08:02 probably the most frequently quoted verse in the Bible. 08:05 What about that serpent that was lifted up by Moses 08:08 in the wilderness? How did that give us a picture of Jesus? 08:12 And what significance, what are the parallels there? 08:15 >>Actually the serpent is a... 08:19 is a symbol of sin, of evil. 08:23 And that, you remember that when there was 08:26 that kind of plague there in the wilderness, 08:29 and many people were dying with a serpent, 08:33 God asked Moses to make a serpent there of bronze, 08:37 of metal there, and looking to it, they would have-- 08:41 they would be healed. 08:43 It's interesting that this symbol is the, 08:48 is a way of illustrating 08:51 that Jesus would take our plan, 08:56 our sins, not that He became sinful, 09:01 as such, but He took over Him our sins. 09:05 And that is a remarkable illustration 09:08 of what Christ did for us. And there is another passage 09:12 in John, chapter 12, where He says, 09:16 "And when I will be lifted up from the earth, 09:21 I will draw all to me," or attract. And in the book 09:26 "Steps to Christ" by Ellen White, 09:28 and I like very much that statement 09:31 where she expands a little bit on this expression. 09:34 She says...that to the sinner, 09:40 all that it takes is a glimpse of the cross, 09:44 and he, "if he does not resist he will be drawn... 09:49 [in repentance at] the foot of the cross." 09:53 So, in other words, is not I that go 09:58 to the cross begging for forgiveness and salvation, saying, 10:02 "Lord, please, maybe You can have, give me a chance," 10:06 something like that. 10:08 No. He takes the initiative, and the cross has 10:11 that kind of attraction drawing us, to us, 10:15 and if we don't resist, God's mercy will transform us. 10:19 And this is the beauty of this symbol. 10:23 >>Thanks for clarifying that. 10:25 It makes a whole lot more sense. 10:26 I want to read another verse now 10:29 and give you an opportunity to respond to it. 10:32 We've been talking about sacrifices in the Old Testament, 10:35 and yet in Hebrews, chapter 10, verse number 4 10:39 is a very fascinating statement. 10:40 Hebrews 10:4 says, "For it is not possible 10:43 that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins." 10:50 So if the blood of bulls and goats, 10:51 all the sacrifices, doesn't take away the sin, 10:53 then what's the point of all the sacrifices? 10:56 >>Yeah, and you could even add to your question, Eric, 10:59 the idea that even Moses, Enoch, and Elijah 11:03 were in heaven already. And in this case, well, 11:08 there are many ways of understanding it, but I prefer the, 11:13 to compare it with a credit card. 11:17 The credit card, you make a actual payment with it. 11:21 And so, the person, the store or whoever or in the internet, 11:26 they receive the payment for it, but actually, 11:29 the payment becomes effective under the condition 11:32 that later on that I pay my credit card bill. 11:36 If I don't pay, then it's a disaster. 11:39 In this case, people in the Old Testament, including Moses 11:43 and Enoch and Elijah, they were actually saved, 11:48 but salvation in the Old Testament, 11:51 although it was complete and effective, 11:56 so it was not something that was, "Well, 11:59 let's say we pretend." No, it was effective, 12:02 but it was dependent on the payment 12:05 of the price for God's justice 12:09 offered that Friday on the cross of Calvary. 12:13 >>And by the grace of God, 12:15 He made that payment, and He made the payment in full. 12:18 And He continues to be there to minister to us 12:21 and to encourage us in the life that we live. 12:24 And we look at the world that we live in right now, 12:26 and it's got a lot of pain. 12:28 it's got a lot of sorrow, and unfortunately, 12:30 it's got a lot of death, dying, and sometimes 12:33 not a lot of future hope, 12:34 or at least not for a lot of people. 12:35 But this quarter is all about that. 12:37 It's about the future hope and understanding the hope 12:39 that we do have when it involves death and dying. 12:44 If you've been enjoying this quarter's lessons, 12:46 and we're making our way through the quarter. 12:48 We're about halfway through, 12:50 maybe not quite halfway through right now, 12:52 but if you want to dig into it more 12:55 and get more out of it and understand it better, 12:57 I wanna encourage you to pick up the companion book 13:00 to this quarter's lesson. 13:01 It's called "On Death, Dying, and the Future Hope" 13:04 by author Alberto Timm. 13:05 He, of course, is our guest here each week 13:07 on "Sabbath School." 13:09 And he goes into more detail, gives additional insight 13:12 into the subjects that we are looking at 13:15 during the course of this quarter during these 14 lessons. 13:19 So if you wanna understand it better, 13:20 or if you know someone else who has a misunderstanding, 13:24 of this subject and you want to help them see more clearly 13:28 the hope that there is in Jesus, 13:30 I wanna encourage you to pick that book up. 13:32 You'll find it at itiswritten.shop. 13:35 Again, it's called "On Death, Dying, and the Future Hope." 13:38 We'll be back in just a moment as we continue our study. 13:41 See you in just a moment. 13:42 (inspirational theme music) 13:47 >>Join me on "It Is Written" 13:49 for one of the great chapters of the Bible, 13:52 Isaiah, chapter 53. 13:55 Isaiah has been called the gospel prophet 13:57 because how he repeatedly brings Jesus to light 14:00 throughout the book of Isaiah. 14:02 And there's no chapter in the book of Isaiah 14:04 where he does that more than Isaiah, chapter 53. 14:07 Isaiah 53 has been quoted 14:09 in the New Testament numerous times. 14:12 And you see why when you study God's Word 14:15 and focus on Isaiah, chapter 53. 14:17 It's about Jesus Christ, crucified, 14:21 the One who died for the sins of the world, 14:23 the Jesus that you and I know is coming back 14:26 to this world to take us home. 14:28 Don't miss 14:30 "Great Chapters of the Bible: Isaiah [Chapter] 53." 14:34 You will be moved, you'll be blessed, 14:36 and you will be encouraged in faith in God. 14:41 "Great Chapters of the Bible: Isaiah 53," 14:44 watch now on It Is Written TV. 14:48 (inspirational theme music) 14:52 >>Welcome back to "Sabbath School," 14:54 brought to you by It Is Written. 14:55 We are taking a look at Christ's death for us this week. 15:00 And, Alberto, I wanna, I wanna drill down on something 15:04 or look into something. 15:05 The Bible talks about the cross as an altar. 15:09 How is the cross an altar? What is the significance of that, 15:13 and what type of an altar does it represent? 15:17 >>Actually, this is a... 15:20 a typological expression, 15:23 or, in other words, you have the types or symbols 15:27 of the Old Testament. 15:28 Sacrifices during Old Testament times were offered 15:33 on altars made of stones. 15:36 And so the animal was put over there as a sacrifice. 15:39 And probably the most meaningful sacrifice 15:42 of the Old Testament was the animal that was offered 15:49 replacing Isaac when Abraham went to the, 15:54 to fulfill God's requirements over there. So he, 15:59 Isaac, should be offered as a sacrifice, 16:02 but then God Himself provided a substitute, 16:05 another animal, to be offered over there. 16:08 So this idea of substitution is very meaningful 16:13 in regard to the sacrifices. And at the cross, 16:17 Christ offered Himself in our place. 16:22 But some people struggle about who offered Him. 16:26 Were the Roman soldiers who really nailed Him to the cross? 16:32 Also, at the cross 16:35 Christ was not only a sacrifice; but He was a priest. 16:41 He offered Himself for our sins. 16:44 So, it's interesting, this combination, 16:47 because usually in the Old Testament--usually, not always-- 16:50 in the Old Testament, the priest offered another sacrifice, 16:54 never himself or herself, himself, better saying. 16:58 But in this case, 17:00 you will see immediately that Jesus is both of them. 17:06 And so, a Priest offering Himself-- 17:09 and this is unique--in fulfillment of all the sacrifices 17:14 to the, of the Old Testament, 17:16 as a sacrifice of love for all humanity. 17:22 >>A beautiful picture of Christ's love for us 17:23 and His willingness to sacrifice Himself. 17:27 Now, on Tuesday's lesson, it's a short title of the lesson. 17:31 In fact, it's just three words, 17:33 but there's a lot of meaning in those three words. 17:36 It's a quote 17:37 from John, chapter 19, verse number 30, 17:41 which says, "It is finished!" 17:44 Okay, so the question is, 17:46 when Jesus died on the cross, what was finished? 17:51 And I guess, as an extension question, what wasn't finished? 17:55 What was accomplished on the cross, 17:58 and what still, if everything is finished--well, 18:01 let me put it this way: 18:02 If everything is finished on the cross, 18:03 why are we still here? 18:05 Maybe that's another way of asking the question. 18:07 Explain "It is finished." 18:10 >>Actually, this is a very meaningful statement. 18:13 You have heard about this 18:15 that there are seven statements Jesus made from the cross, 18:21 but probably this was the most meaningful, 18:22 the most significant. 18:25 I like the expression that Ellen White uses, that 18:29 the life of Jesus was a preface 18:34 to His death on the cross. 18:38 And there is a old Bible commentator, 18:42 Plumber, his name, that says that what hold Jesus 18:46 on the cross were not the nails, 18:50 but His willingness to save us, as His enemies, even. 18:55 So He died for His enemies because He want to save it. 18:59 But when it came to the crucial moment--"It is finished"-- 19:02 I think it had a...it's a broad concept 19:07 that meant that His struggles with the powers of evil 19:13 that He faced throughout His life, came to a end, 19:17 but, much more than this, it really meant 19:22 Christ's triumph over the powers of evil, 19:26 over Satan. 19:27 So the plan of salvation 19:30 was really in place and triumphed. 19:35 That's the word of victory, 19:37 of Jesus over the powers of evil. 19:41 So that, as a sacrifice, it was complete. 19:46 "Where sin abounded"--using the language of Paul-- 19:50 grace was much more overflowed at the world 19:54 with the grace of Christ. But remember, 19:59 it was finished as the plan of salvation. 20:02 And I like very much what Paul says, for instance, 20:06 in 2 Corinthians, 20:10 chapter 5, verses 18 on. 20:14 He says that God was in Christ reconciling 20:19 with Him the world. But now comes our part, 20:25 and Paul is begging, "Please, 20:27 you should also reconcile yourself with God." 20:31 So that salvation is available to everybody. 20:36 But Jesus, His priesthood in the heavenly sanctuary, 20:40 according to the book of Hebrews and other Bible passages, 20:43 is the place where Jesus offers salvation for us today. 20:49 So, the payment for sin 20:53 was complete for God's justice, 20:56 but it needs to be completed in my life also. 21:00 And there is a reason why Paul says 21:02 in Hebrews 4, 21:06 verses 14-16, that if you are in need, 21:09 you should go to the throne of grace. 21:12 Where grace i, is yet a throne of mercy, 21:16 where grace is available to you. And... 21:20 But, although the hosts of evil 21:25 receive their sentence at the cross, 21:30 they still exist, and evil is still in our world. 21:36 They have no right to exist, but they exist. 21:39 And so, God is leading human history to the final triumph. 21:45 So that sentence to the hosts of evil is there, 21:48 but it will be executed 21:50 at the end of the millennium, 21:52 according to Gen--to the book of Revelation, 21:57 and you have there 21:59 chapters 20 and then 21 as well. 22:04 So we still need to have the ceasing 22:08 of evil and all the wicked of this world. 22:14 >>So the cross really is central to the plan of salvation. 22:18 The plan of salvation doesn't happen without it. 22:20 In Revelation, there's this picture-- 22:23 and you mentioned Revelation just a moment ago-- 22:26 there's this picture of the heavenly host rejoicing 22:28 in "the Lamb that was slain." 22:31 It...doesn't sound like anything to rejoice in, 22:34 from a certain perspective, 22:35 and yet from a different perspective, 22:37 there's a great deal to rejoice in. 22:40 >>Actually, the cross is the greatest contrast 22:43 of the universe, in my understanding, 22:47 because the infinite love of God 22:53 and the selfishness of Satan 22:56 is the first time that they met face to face. 23:00 There is no other such a sharp contrast, 23:03 such meaningful as the cross. 23:05 And actually, the question that you could ask is, 23:10 was the cross an act of God or of Satan? 23:16 Well, before answering a tricky question, 23:19 you have first to rephrase the question. 23:21 Actually, it's not either-or. 23:23 It was the act of God, because the Bible is clear, 23:26 saying that God gave His Son for us. 23:30 So, Christ's willingness, 23:34 He offered Himself for us. But at the same time, 23:38 Satan observed Him in pain and suffering. 23:42 And by doing so, he actually, 23:47 that was a decree of his own death sentence. 23:51 So the cross is a action of both of them. 23:55 That is the victory. There was during Christ's ministry 24:00 a struggle between good and evil, the forces. 24:03 Jesus, actually, in His ministry, 24:05 was a continuous struggle against the powers of evil, 24:10 either in a spiritual sense 24:13 or even evil using, Satan using human beings. 24:17 And the most tragic thing in my understanding is that 24:22 he used even the priesthood at that time. 24:25 The high priest that was supposed to minister 24:30 as a representative, as a type of Christ, 24:33 he was the main one used by Satan. 24:37 And now, at this point, Jesus really triumphed. 24:41 And that was really--the cross of Christ 24:44 is what avoids rebellion to come 24:48 into the universe again, because sin 24:52 is not worthy to be followed or to fall into sin. 24:57 And so it will be like a "vaccine" 25:00 against another rebellion in the universe. 25:03 And no wonder that the whole hosts of heaven 25:08 in the book of Revelation, like, the angelical beings, 25:11 the great multitudes, the creatures, and so on, 25:15 they are rejoicing on the victory that the Lamb 25:19 was able to get at the cross. 25:25 Actually, at the cross, the whole future 25:29 of humanity and of the universe was at stake. 25:35 Had Jesus failed, that was, that would be the disaster 25:38 of humanity. 25:41 But praise the Lord, that was not the case. 25:43 So we cannot speak, 25:45 we should never speak about if it would not take place 25:49 because it actually took place, 25:51 and that was a major victory. 25:55 >>So, looking back, we see that it did take place. 25:57 We should be grateful that it did. 25:59 Conceptually, we've got an understanding of 26:01 what took place and its ramifications, 26:03 its meaning to what's going on in the world. 26:07 What about to us personally? 26:08 What's the significance of the cross to me, 26:11 to you, personally? 26:14 >>Only at the foot of the cross we can get salvation. 26:17 God has no alternative plan of salvation. 26:21 Only by accepting Christ, 26:23 the sacrifice for us in our place, is that 26:28 we can really have assurance of salvation. 26:31 No wonder that even Paul 26:34 in Galatians 6:14 says, 26:38 "That I"--"God forbid that I [would] boast 26:41 [in anything else] except [for] the cross of...Christ," 26:46 where Christ died for me, and I died for Him, 26:51 not in the thing of paying anything but in the sense 26:53 of dying for this world and living in harmony 26:57 with God's will. So, this is our only assurance 27:01 in this world, and our hope, 27:04 assurance in the present and hope for the future. 27:09 >>Alberto, thank you for helping to unpack 27:11 this particular week's lesson, "He Died for Us," 27:14 a very significant subject 27:16 as we're going through this study this quarter 27:19 on "Death, Dying, and the Future Hope," 27:22 because without the cross there really is no future hope. 27:25 But with the cross, there is hope for everybody. 27:29 The truth is Jesus died for you. 27:32 The question is, will you receive His death on your behalf? 27:35 And I hope that the answer is yes. 27:37 We're gonna be back again next week as we continue 27:39 looking at this fascinating subject, 27:41 delving into it more deeply, 27:43 answering common questions, and getting 27:45 a clearer picture of Jesus and His plan for your life. 27:48 We look forward to seeing you again next week 27:50 on "Sabbath School," brought to you by It Is Written. 27:53 God bless you. We'll see you then. 27:56 (inspirational theme music) 28:26 (music ends) |
Revised 2022-10-25