Participants:
Series Code: IIWSS
Program Code: IIWSS024047S
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00:10 ♪♪♪ 00:14 >>Eric Flickinger: Welcome to "Sabbath School," 00:15 brought to you by It Is Written. 00:17 We're glad that you are joining us today. 00:19 We are on a journey, a journey through the book of John, 00:23 looking at some of the great themes 00:25 that run through this beloved Gospel. 00:27 This week, we're looking at lesson number 8. 00:30 This is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies. 00:34 Let's begin with prayer. 00:36 Father, we want to thank You 00:37 for leading us along this journey 00:39 and giving us a clear picture of Your love for each one of us 00:43 as we study the gospel in the book of John. 00:46 We ask that You'll bless our time together, 00:48 and we thank You in Jesus' name, 00:50 [both] amen. 00:52 We're grateful to have with us once again this week, 00:54 guiding us along this journey, Dr. Tom Shepherd. 00:57 He is the senior research professor of New Testament 01:00 at the Theological Seminary, Andrews University. 01:03 Tom, thanks for being with us again. 01:04 >>Tom Shepherd: Good to be here. 01:06 >>Eric: Let's move quickly-- 01:07 we've got a lot to cover this week-- 01:10 to the book of John, John, chapter 5. 01:12 In John 5, Jesus talks about the relationship 01:15 that He has with His Father. 01:17 Lead us through this, if you would. 01:19 >>Tom: Okay, so John, chapter 5 begins with Jesus 01:23 healing the man at the pool of Bethesda. 01:27 And of course, when He healed him was the Sabbath. 01:30 And so, the--and He told the man to take up his bed and walk, 01:36 which he does, and he doesn't know who Jesus is, 01:39 but eventually he finds out who Jesus is, 01:41 and then he goes and tells the leaders who Jesus is. 01:45 He doesn't seem to quite get it, that they don't like Jesus. 01:50 And so they persecute Jesus 01:52 because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. 01:54 So in John 5, verse 17: "Jesus answered them, 01:59 'My Father is working until now, and I am working.'" 02:03 You know, when you think of it, 02:05 God can't stop working on the Sabbath. 02:07 If He did, we'd all die and be gone. 02:09 So He continues to do things. 02:13 It's kind of like pastors, I suppose, not that we're God, 02:16 but that we're very busy on the Sabbath day, all right? 02:20 So verse 18 is a very interesting verse 02:22 in the Gospel of John: "This was why the Jews 02:25 were seeking all the more to kill Him"-- 02:27 notice, they're already starting, trying to kill Him-- 02:30 "because not only"-- now, look at this-- 02:33 "not only was He breaking the Sabbath, 02:36 "but He was even calling God His own Father, 02:40 making Himself equal with God." 02:44 Now, some people get the idea from this that, 02:46 indeed, Jesus did break the Sabbath. 02:49 And that--so it's okay for us to break the Sabbath. 02:52 Well, that's not the point here at all. 02:56 Jesus connects Himself, and this is a key 02:59 to the whole understanding of this chapter. 03:02 He connects Himself-- that's what He said in verse 17: 03:04 "My Father is working still until now, 03:07 and I am working." 03:09 So, it says here that "not only was He breaking the Sabbath, 03:14 "but He was even calling God His own Father, 03:16 making Himself equal with God." 03:18 The reason He wasn't breaking the Sabbath 03:21 is because He is God, God is His Father, 03:25 and as God is still working, so is He. 03:28 Now, what happens is 03:29 evidently Jesus is put on trial here. 03:34 I think the book "Desire of Ages" 03:35 tells us that He's before the Sanhedrin. 03:38 And what Jesus does is to call witnesses to defend Him. 03:47 And so we'll read a little bit of this to see who-- 03:51 what witnesses does He call to support Himself? 03:55 So verses 19 through 24, why don't you read those for us? 03:59 >>Eric: "Then Jesus answered and said to them, 04:01 "'Most assuredly, I say to you, 04:03 "'the Son can do nothing of Himself, 04:05 "'but what He sees the Father do; 04:08 "'for whatever He does, 04:09 "'the Son also does in like manner. 04:11 "'For the Father loves the Son, 04:13 "'and shows Him all things that He Himself does; 04:16 "'and He will show Him greater works than these, 04:18 "'that you may marvel. 04:20 "'For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, 04:23 "'even so the Son gives life to whom He will. 04:26 "'For the Father judges no one, 04:27 "'but has committed all judgment to the Son, 04:30 "'that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. 04:34 "'He who does not honor the Son 04:35 "'does not honor the Father who sent Him. 04:37 "'Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears my word 04:41 "'and believes in Him who sent me has everlasting life, 04:44 "'and shall not come into judgment, 04:46 but has passed from death into life.'" 04:49 >>Tom: Okay, so here's a very clear relationship 04:51 between Jesus and His Father. 04:53 He's going to say later on in John, chapter 10, 04:56 "I and the Father are one," all right, 04:58 which echoes the great statement of faith, 05:04 the Shema of the Jews, 05:06 that "the Lord our God, the Lord is one." 05:09 And so Jesus says, "My Father and I are one." 05:10 They have the same-- it's two different persons. 05:14 We have another study later on where we talk more 05:16 about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit 05:18 and Their relationship to one another. 05:20 But the Father and the Son are one 05:23 in Their goals, in what They do. 05:26 They're not the same individual. 05:28 We saw that actually from the beginning of the book, 05:30 that "the Word was with God." 05:32 He isn't the same as the Father. 05:34 He's two separate--these are two separate individuals. 05:37 But They have this close, intimate relationship. 05:40 And He says, "The Father judges no one, 05:42 but has given all judgment to the Son." 05:45 >>Eric: So it seems like we've got some very clear connections 05:48 here between the Father and the Son. 05:51 Now, also in John, chapter 5 here, 05:53 we get the idea that Scripture plays an important role 05:57 in helping us understand who Jesus is. 05:59 Walk us through some of this. 06:01 >>Tom: Yeah, so Jesus is calling witnesses. 06:04 And He calls the Father as a witness. 06:07 Down in chapter 5, verse 33: "You sent to John, 06:11 and he has borne witness to the truth." 06:13 John is a witness to Jesus. 06:16 "And the Father who sent me"--verse 37-- 06:19 "Himself borne witness about me. 06:22 "His voice you have never heard, His form you have never seen, 06:25 and you do not [know] His word"-- 06:27 "have His word abiding in you, 06:29 for you do not believe the One whom He has sent." 06:32 Now, verse 39 and 40 tell us about the relationship 06:38 of how the Scriptures witness. 06:40 So why don't you read those. 06:41 >>Eric: "You search the Scriptures, 06:42 "for in them you think you have eternal life; 06:45 "and these are they which testify of me. 06:47 But you are not willing to come to me that you may have life." 06:51 >>Tom: Yeah, it's a sad testimony, actually. 06:54 He says the very Scriptures that you search 06:57 are the ones that testify about me. 06:59 And we're going to take a look at that 07:01 as we look at various prophecies 07:04 that are fulfilled in the life of Jesus 07:06 and described here in the Gospel of John. 07:08 "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them 07:11 "you have eternal life; 07:12 ...it is [these very Scriptures] that bear witness [to] me." 07:16 He goes on to talk about, down in verse 45, 07:19 "Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. 07:22 "There is one who accuses you: 07:23 "Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 07:27 "For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; 07:30 "for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, 07:35 how will you believe my words?" 07:38 It reminds me of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus 07:41 in the book of Luke. 07:43 And the big emphasis there is, you know, 07:45 believe the prophets, Moses and the prophets, 07:48 and that then you would believe, you know, 07:52 what you're being told to do and how you're supposed to live. 07:55 And the rich man in hell says, 07:57 "Well, but if you send somebody back from the dead, 08:00 then, you know, then they'll believe." 08:02 And He's like, "If they don't believe 08:04 "Moses and the prophets, they're not going to believe, 08:06 even if somebody rises from the dead." 08:09 All right, so now we should look 08:11 at some of these prophecies from the Old Testament. 08:15 So the first text that we're going to look at 08:18 is John 1, verse 23. 08:22 And we're going to parallel that 08:24 to the text of Isaiah 40, verse 3. 08:28 So you look up the text in John, and I'll look up 08:31 the text in the Old Testament. 08:34 >>Eric: So over in John, chapter 1, 08:36 verse number 23, Jesus says, "I am 'The voice 08:40 "'of one crying in the wilderness: 08:42 "'"Make straight the way of the Lord,"' 08:45 as the prophet Isaiah said." 08:47 >>Tom: Yeah, so here's the prophet Isaiah, 08:49 Isaiah 40, verse 3: "A voice cries: 08:50 "'In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; 08:53 make straight in the desert a highway for our God.'" 08:56 So He's very clearly tying into that text, right? 09:00 So we have another text in John 2:16-17. 09:07 >>Eric: So over in John 2, verses 16 and 17, 09:10 it says, speaking of Jesus: 09:11 "And He said to those who sold doves, 09:14 "'Take these things away! 09:15 "Do not make my Father's house a house of merchandise!' 09:18 "Then His disciples remembered that it was written, 09:21 'Zeal for Your house has eaten me up.'" 09:24 >>Tom: It's an interesting text, isn't it? 09:26 Jesus cleansing the temple. 09:29 That has a link back to Psalm 69, 09:33 starting in verse 6: "Let not those who hope in You 09:36 "be put to shame through me, O Lord God of hosts; 09:39 "let not those who seek You 09:40 "be brought to dishonor through me, 09:42 "O God of Israel. 09:44 "For it is for Your sake that I have borne reproach, 09:47 "that dishonor has covered my face. 09:49 "I have become a stranger to my brothers, 09:51 "an alien to my mother's sons. 09:53 "For zeal for Your house has consumed me, 09:56 "and the reproaches of those who reproach You 09:59 "have fallen on me. 10:01 "When I wept and humbled my soul with fasting, 10:03 "it became my reproach. When I made sackcloth my clothing, 10:06 "I became a byword to them. 10:08 "I am the talk of those who sit in the gate, 10:10 and the drunkards make songs about me." 10:13 So it's interesting David is here describing 10:16 how he's zealous for God's house, 10:19 but people are, you know, opposed to him. 10:21 Well, it's the very same thing that we see here 10:23 in the Gospel of John when Jesus cleanses the temple. 10:27 Now, let's turn over to John 19:36, 10:30 talking about Jesus' death and what happens when He dies. 10:35 >>Eric: In verse number 36 of John 19, 10:38 it says: "For these things were done 10:40 "that the Scripture should be fulfilled, 10:43 'Not one of His bones shall be broken.'" 10:46 >>Tom: All right, so this goes back to Numbers 9: 10:50 "The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 10:52 "'Speak to the people of Israel, 10:53 "'saying, "If any one of you or...your descendants 10:55 "'"is unclean through touching a dead body, 10:57 "'"or...in a long journey, 10:58 "'"he shall still keep the Passover to the Lord. 11:01 "'"In the second month on the fourteenth day 11:03 "'"at twilight they shall keep it. 11:04 "'"They shall eat it with unleavened bread 11:06 "'"and bitter herbs. They shall leave none of it 11:08 "'"until the morning, nor break any of its bones; 11:11 "'"according to all the statute for the Passover 11:13 they shall keep it."'" So when they kept the Passover, 11:16 they didn't break the bones of the Passover lamb. 11:18 And of course, Jesus is the Lamb of God, isn't He, 11:21 who takes away the sin of the world. 11:23 And so we've seen already some of these passages 11:26 that point us back to Old Testament texts 11:28 and how not just the text itself, 11:31 not just one little text, but a whole context 11:34 that gives us deeper insight into Jesus' life. 11:38 >>Eric: And these are just a few of the verses. 11:40 I've heard different estimates as the number of prophecies 11:43 that were fulfilled, some say 300-plus, 11:45 and I've heard other ones as well. 11:47 And this is just a taste of it. 11:48 Now, we've been able to put some of this 11:52 into the study guide, the "Sabbath School" lesson, 11:55 but not all of it. 11:57 There's a lot more that is available to find, 12:00 to read, to learn in the companion book. 12:02 Share a little bit about that. 12:03 >>Tom: Okay, we have a companion book, 12:05 and it goes into extra information, 12:07 more than what's in the lesson study, 12:09 more than what's in the teacher's lesson quarterly. 12:12 So if you're a teacher, this is a great resource. 12:15 If you're a class member, 12:16 this just gives you a fuller understanding, 12:18 and you can join in the discussion 12:20 in more detail as you study it. 12:22 So we recommend you get it, and it'd be a useful tech. 12:26 >>Eric: It's very easy to find. 12:27 You can just get it at itiswritten.shop, 12:30 itiswritten.shop. 12:31 Look for the companion book 12:33 to this quarter's "Sabbath School" lesson. 12:34 It is, of course, on "The Themes in the Gospel of John." 12:38 We're going to continue looking at the fulfillment 12:40 of some of these Old Testament prophecies in the book of John, 12:42 showing us that indeed Jesus is the Messiah, in just a moment, 12:47 when we come back to "Sabbath School," 12:48 here on It Is Written. 12:50 ♪♪♪ 12:55 >>John Bradshaw: The prophet Daniel writes authoritatively 12:57 about the rise and fall of kingdoms, 13:00 the fate of nations, and the soon return of Jesus. 13:04 Join me for "Kingdom Come." 13:07 We'll witness the rise and fall of global powers. 13:10 We'll understand symbols found in the writings of the prophets. 13:14 And we'll learn how Bible prophecy applies 13:17 to our current reality. 13:20 Waiting for the world to get better seems futile. 13:23 We exist in the midst of global confusion, 13:26 in a world wrestling with the devastating effects 13:29 of sickness, war, and death. 13:32 Yet God encourages us: "The dream is certain." 13:37 The interpretation can be trusted. 13:40 Jesus is coming back soon. The best is yet to come. 13:45 Don't miss "Kingdom Come" 13:47 as we explore the book of Daniel. 13:49 "Kingdom Come" on It Is Written TV. 13:56 >>male announcer: Loving well is a way of life. 13:59 And loving well means wanting the very best for others. 14:04 "Go ye therefore" becomes, "I'll go; send me. 14:08 "Send me across the world or across town. 14:12 "Work in me to impact lives for such a time as this. 14:17 "And if I can't go myself, 14:19 "I want to send others who can take 14:21 the everlasting gospel to the world." 14:24 It Is Written's Office of Planned Giving 14:27 gives you the opportunity to leave a legacy, 14:30 to make a major impact for Christ, 14:33 to lead others to faith in Jesus 14:35 in preparation for eternity. 14:39 Let God use you to enable others to go. 14:43 To learn more, visit HisLegacy.com. 14:46 That's HisLegacy.com. 14:48 ♪♪♪ 14:55 ♪♪♪ 15:00 >>Eric: Welcome back to "Sabbath School," 15:02 brought to you by It Is Written. 15:03 We're taking a look at the book of John, 15:05 great themes in the book of John, lesson number 8, 15:07 the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies. 15:10 And, Tom, we've been through several prophecies already: 15:13 John the Baptist being the voice in the wilderness; 15:15 the cleansing of the temple, 15:16 no bone being broken of the Passover lamb, 15:19 these being fulfilled in Jesus. 15:20 What's the next one? 15:22 >>Tom: All right, so if we look 15:23 at John, chapter 12 and verse 13-- 15:28 if you could read that text for us. 15:30 >>Eric: It says they "took branches of palm trees 15:32 "and went out to meet Him, and cried out: 'Hosanna! 15:35 "'"Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!" 15:37 The King of Israel!'" 15:39 So this is the triumphal entry. >>Tom: The triumphal entry. 15:43 And so they're using this terminology, 15:46 and it actually comes from the Old Testament, 15:48 from Psalm 118, 15:51 so if we look at Psalm 118, we read verse 25, 15:57 it says, "Save us, we pray, O Lord! 15:59 "O Lord, we pray, give us success! 16:02 "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 16:05 "We bless you from the house of the Lord. 16:08 "The Lord is God, and He has made His light to shine upon us. 16:11 "Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, 16:13 up to the horns of the altar!" 16:15 So this was something that was used 16:16 in the sacrificial experience of the people. 16:20 But here's the very words that they're quoting 16:23 from the Old Testament: 16:25 "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." 16:27 >>Eric: We've got another one here also looking, 16:29 kind of continuing with the story 16:31 of the triumphal entry, 16:32 John, chapter 12, verses 14 and 15. 16:35 It says, "Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, 16:38 "sat on it; as it is written: 'Fear not, daughter of Zion; 16:42 behold, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt.'" 16:47 >>Tom: All right, so this is a link to the book of Zechariah. 16:50 Zechariah, chapter 9, 16:53 and Zechariah actually ties into an older tradition as well, 16:57 but Zechariah 9 and verse 9 says, "Rejoice greatly, 17:01 "O daughter of Zion! 17:03 "Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! 17:06 "Behold, Your King is coming to you; 17:09 "righteous and having salvation is He, 17:12 "humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, 17:16 the foal of a donkey." 17:17 So this is exactly what Jesus does. 17:20 He has His disciples go get a donkey. 17:22 They go borrow a donkey from someone. 17:25 They put their clothes on it. He sits on the donkey. 17:28 People strew their garments and branchy leaves and things 17:31 on the ground in front of Him, 17:33 and they were saying, "Hosanna to the King," you know. 17:35 So everybody understood what this was about. 17:39 And yeah, it's a fulfillment of a prophecy, 17:42 but it's also something that was typical. 17:45 When David gave the throne to Solomon, 17:48 he had him ride on a donkey 17:50 and they did this; they anoint him. 17:52 So Jesus is claiming Himself to be the King as well. 17:56 Now, the next one is linked up 17:59 with John, chapter 13, verse 18. 18:04 >>Eric: In John 13, verse 18, Jesus is speaking and He says, 18:07 "I do not speak concerning all of you. 18:10 "I know whom I have chosen; 18:12 "but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, 18:14 "'He who eats bread with me 18:16 has lifted up his heel against me.'" 18:18 >>Tom: Right, and this has a link to Psalm 41. 18:22 If we read Psalm 41, verses 8 through 10: 18:25 "They say, 'A deadly thing is poured out on him; 18:28 "he will not rise again from where he lies.' 18:30 "Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, 18:35 "has lifted his heel against me. 18:38 "But you, O Lord, be gracious to me, 18:41 and raise me up, that I may repay them!" 18:43 All right, so here we have this also, this prediction 18:48 of what Judas Iscariot would do. 18:51 Betrayer, he ate bread with Jesus. 18:53 He was there at that last meal with Him. 18:55 Jesus washed his feet, 18:57 and yet Judas went out and betrayed his Master. 19:02 Another of these texts links us up to the death of Jesus again, 19:08 John 19, verse 37. 19:10 >>Eric: In verse 37 it says, "And again another Scripture 19:13 says, 'They shall look on Him whom they pierced.'" 19:18 So that seems to be a pretty clear reference 19:20 to the Crucifixion. 19:22 >>Tom: Yeah, so you have those two texts together. 19:25 Why don't you read the two verses together, 19:27 verse 36 and verse 37. 19:30 >>Eric: "For these things were done 19:31 "that the Scripture should be fulfilled, 19:33 "'Not one of His bones shall be broken.' 19:36 "And again another Scripture says, 19:37 'They shall look on Him whom they pierced.'" 19:40 >>Tom: Okay, so the apostle John 19:41 in writing this is quoting first from Numbers 9, verse 12, 19:46 in relationship to the Passover lamb 19:49 and how it was to be taken, 19:51 and you weren't to break any of its bones. 19:54 And now he's referring to Zechariah, chapter 12, verse 10, 19:58 which says, "And I will pour out on the house of David 20:01 "and the inhabitants of Jerusalem 20:03 "a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, 20:05 "so that, when they look on me, on Him whom they have pierced, 20:10 "they shall mourn for Him, 20:12 "as one mourns for an only child, 20:15 "and weep bitterly over Him, 20:16 as one weeps over a firstborn," okay? 20:20 So, striking parallels between these texts 20:24 and the life of Jesus. 20:27 Now, these are just some of them. 20:29 There are other texts 20:30 that our gospel writers will quote and will refer to 20:34 in relationship to the death of Jesus 20:37 and some of the things about His life. 20:40 It's really interesting. 20:42 Actually, at the cross, the religious leaders 20:44 quote from the Old Testament. 20:46 Now, do they know what they're doing? 20:50 You know, maybe they do, 20:51 but they use these terminologies, 20:55 these terms from the Old Testament, 20:57 and the gospel writers just kind of lay it out for us, 21:01 and they'll say, well, here's what happened. 21:04 Here's what people said. 21:06 And sometimes the people, like the disciples, 21:09 didn't know that they 21:11 were fulfilling scripture until later. 21:13 And they look back and say, 21:14 "Oh, you know, we did that to Him. 21:18 And wow, that was the fulfillment 21:20 of a prophecy about Him. 21:22 Now, that would be quite an amazing experience, 21:25 you know, that you had fulfilled a prophecy 21:28 when you didn't even realize that you were doing something 21:30 that would fulfill that prophecy. 21:34 It's like being the answer to somebody's prayer. 21:37 You know, I remember an experience 21:38 when we were missionaries in Africa. 21:42 An old pastor had wanted to have a clinic built at his village. 21:47 When he retired, he didn't go to an Adventist mecca. 21:50 He went where there were no Adventists, 21:52 and he raised up a church. 21:53 And then he wanted a clinic, and he believed in it so much 21:57 that he burned bricks, he made bricks in a kiln 22:01 and had them ready. 22:03 Well, there were people 22:05 who had their eyes on those bricks. 22:07 Some of the government people 22:09 wanted to use them to build houses for policemen, 22:11 and they kept pressuring him. 22:13 And I was the director of health clinics 22:17 at that time there in Malawi, 22:19 and I had not seen his bricks. 22:23 And one day I showed up, me and my wife, 22:26 we showed up in my little Jeep. 22:28 We had not been--told anybody. 22:30 We had not told anybody that we were coming. 22:33 Knocked on his door and I said, 22:34 "Pastor Kamwendo, I'm Dr. Shepherd. 22:36 "I'm here to see those bricks that you've burned. 22:38 We're gonna build a clinic here." 22:41 And he was so excited 22:42 because in his house at that very time, 22:45 there were policemen, people, or leaders, 22:49 who were there pressuring him for those bricks. 22:51 And when he came back-- he showed me the bricks, 22:53 and he came back, and he said, "No, we can't use those bricks 22:55 for policemen's houses. We're going to build a clinic here." 22:57 [chuckles] So it's nice to be the answer to somebody's prayer. 23:01 And it's wonderful to see the fulfillment 23:05 of these prophecies in Jesus' life. 23:09 >>Eric: And as you mentioned, there are a whole lot more, 23:11 many more than we've been able to cover here. 23:13 I want to jump over to John 8 for a moment or two. 23:17 I'm going to read verses 12 through 20 23:19 and then ask you a question about this. 23:22 Over in John 8, verse 12, it says, "Then Jesus 23:25 spoke to them again, saying, 'I am the light of the world. 23:27 "'He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, 23:30 "but have the light of life.' 23:31 "The Pharisees therefore said to Him, 23:33 "'You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true.' 23:36 "Jesus answered and said to them, 23:39 "'Even if I bear witness of myself, my witness is true, 23:42 "'for I know where I came from and where I am going; 23:44 "'but you do not know where I come from 23:46 "'and where I am going. 23:48 "'You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. 23:50 "'And yet if I do judge, my judgment is true; 23:53 "'for I am not alone, 23:54 "'but I am with the Father who sent me. 23:56 "'It is also written in your law 23:57 "'that the testimony of two men is true. 24:00 "'I am One who bears witness of myself, 24:02 "and the Father who sent me bears witness of me.' 24:05 "Then they said to Him, 'Where is Your Father?' 24:07 "Jesus answered, 24:09 "'You know neither me nor my Father. 24:11 "'If you had known me, 24:12 "you would have known my Father also.' 24:14 "These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, 24:16 "as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hands on Him, 24:19 for His hour had not yet come." 24:23 You'd think there's a lot of evidence here. 24:25 >>Tom: Yeah, and you know, He's really referring back 24:29 to that experience in John, chapter 5, 24:31 where we said there were different people He called 24:32 as witnesses, and now He testifies about Himself. 24:36 And they just don't believe Him. 24:40 And they say, "Where's Your Father?" 24:42 He already told them, you know? 24:44 And so you can talk until you're blue in the face, 24:47 sometimes people say, and they wouldn't believe. 24:49 It's really sad that they wouldn't believe, 24:52 because He went against their expectations, 24:55 and He was a challenge to their authority and power. 25:00 And that's a great lesson that we should learn that, 25:05 you know, sometimes people in power, 25:07 they need to hear the truth, truth spoken to power. 25:11 And that can always be dangerous 25:13 for the person who speaks the truth. 25:15 Well, it was for Jesus, so we shouldn't be surprised 25:18 if we're persecuted when we speak the truth. 25:20 We should always speak it in love, 25:22 but we should speak the truth. 25:26 >>Eric: So if someone is listening to this today 25:28 and they're trying to say, okay, when and how 25:30 do I apply this lesson to my life? 25:33 I want to speak the truth. 25:35 I want to be as effective as I can. 25:37 What are some guidelines, some thoughts, 25:40 that I can keep in the forefront of my mind 25:42 if I want God to use me? 25:44 >>Tom: Well, I would say, first of all, 25:46 always speak the truth in love. 25:47 Christ always did. 25:50 He had no one that He wanted to keep out. 25:52 He wanted to bring everybody in. 25:55 The decision would always be their decision 25:58 as to whether they would accept the truth or not. 26:00 Now, Jesus--we are not Jesus. We need to remember that. 26:08 So we can be sure when we're speaking 26:11 with the truth of the Scripture, 26:14 but we should always prepare people for the truth. 26:16 If you're studying with somebody, 26:19 don't just bring out some truth that is so challenging 26:24 to whatever they've believed in the past 26:26 that it's impossible for them to, you know, understand it. 26:30 Build a case slowly. Make friends first. 26:34 Guide people with the Scripture. 26:36 Don't assume too many things, and go slowly with people 26:41 and actually just be a friend. 26:43 Everybody has some great story to tell, 26:46 some great experiences that they've had. 26:49 Listen to them and affirm them as much as possible. 26:53 And then the truth can have a salutary effect on their life 27:00 and be a blessing to them. 27:02 >>Eric: So build those friendships, 27:03 build those relationships, and use those friendships 27:06 and relationships as a bridge to share the gospel with people. 27:10 There's plenty of evidence that Jesus is the Messiah. 27:13 We've been through just a little bit of it today, 27:16 but there's much, much more. 27:18 And God, by His grace and the doors that He opens, 27:21 will give you opportunities to share some of those truths 27:24 with people that you come in contact with every day, 27:27 if your heart and your mind and your will are open to it. 27:31 We're continuing our study of the book of John next week 27:34 when we come back together again. 27:35 We're making our way through, we're getting closer 27:37 to the end of our 13-week journey, 27:39 but we're not there yet. 27:40 Still some significant ground to cover, 27:42 and we want to invite you to join us. 27:45 We're going to be delving more deeply 27:46 into the book of John, 27:48 bringing out some more of these great themes 27:50 as we continue to study. 27:52 And we'll be back again next week 27:54 here on "Sabbath School," 27:55 brought to you by It Is Written. 27:58 ♪♪♪ 28:23 ♪♪♪ 28:26 [Captions provided by Aberdeen Captioning www.abercap.com] |
Revised 2024-11-13