The Sabbath School

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jan 14, 1897

The Sabbath School

International Series.

Lesson V.—Sabbath, January 30, 1897.

LIFE GIVEN TO THE DEAD; CHRIST OUR SACRIFICE.

Lesson Scripture, John 11:37–53, R. V.

37 “But some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of him that was blind, have caused that this man also should not die?” 38 Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus saith, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh; for he hath been dead four days. 40 Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou believedst, thou shouldest see the glory of God? So they took away the stone. 41 And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou heardest me. 42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the multitude which standeth around I said it, that they may believe that thou didst send me. 43 And when he had thus spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. 44 He that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave-clothes; and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.

45 “Many therefore of the Jews, which came to Mary and beheld that which he did, believed on him. But some of them went away to the Pharisees, and told them the things which Jesus had done.

47 “The chief priests therefore and the Pharisees gathered a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many signs. 48 If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him; and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation. 49 But a certain one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, 50 nor do ye take account that it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. 51 Now this he said not of himself; but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation; 52 and not for the nation only, but that he might also gather together into one the children of God that are scattered abroad. 53 So from that day forth they took counsel that they might put him to death.”

QUESTIONS.

1. In what question did some of the Jews reveal their unbelief?

2. How did this affect Jesus?

3. What description is given of the grave?

4. What did Jesus direct to be done?

5. What protest did Martha then offer?

6. What reply did Jesus make to her?

7. What was then done?

8. For what did Jesus express his thanks to the Father?

9. How did he indicate his uniform confidence in God?

10. Why did he offer a public prayer?

11. At the conclusion of his prayer, what did Jesus say?

12. What was the result of this command?

13. What was the condition of Lazarus?

14. What command did Jesus give?

15. What was the effect of this miracle upon many of the Jews?

16. What did some of them do?

17. What action was immediately taken? What inquiry was made in the council? What was the cause of this inquiry?

18. What seemed to them to be the inevitable result of further inaction?

19. Who was Caiaphas? and with what statement did he begin his counsel?

20. What prophetic statement did he then make?

21. Did Caiaphas really say more than he was aware of?

22. How broad an application did his words have?

23. What was the result of his advice?

NOTES.

1. “ALL God’s works are wont to have a small beginning. Behold, he who was about to raise the dead commanded the stone to be taken away, as if he could not remove it by the same power of his word, or make the dead look out alive through the stone! Why, then, does he perform the greater thing, the awakening from death, whilst he leaves undone the smaller thing, as also afterwards the loosing of the grave-clothes? Now, this is the order in which he still works his wonders. Daily he nourishes us through his almighty word, but he incloses the sustaining power in the bread which we eat. By the word of the Lord the plants and fruit grow, yet he commands to plow and to sow, to plant and to water.” “His kindness does not permit us to be idle spectators of his works, but earnest helpers of them. Even in the work of raising sinners from spiritual death, he makes use of human hands which ‘take away the stone,’ and afterwards ‘loose’ the grave-clothes; the act of quickening to life,—this he reserves for himself, his voice must do that.”

2. Jesus had already announced that this sickness was “for the glory of God.” The glory of God is his character, what he really is, and this is always “revealed from faith to faith.” Moses desired to see the glory of God (Ex. 33:18), and it was shown to him in the revelation of the character of God (Ex. 34:5–7). That this glory might be seen by all, Christ, who is the brightness (or outshining) of his Father’s glory (Heb. 1:3), veiled his divinity with humanity, and came to be the “glory of thy people Israel” (Luke 2:32). In his first miracle he “manifested forth his glory” (John 2:11), and throughout his ministry he has continued to do so. This miracle is the climax. “This demonstration of the power of Christ was the crowning manifestation offered by God to man as a proof that he had sent his Son into the world for the salvation of the human race.”—Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 2, p. 366.

3. EVERY individual will at some time “see the glory of God.” Those who by “looking unto Jesus” with the eye of faith, see this glory “in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6), and thus “are changed into the same image” (2 Cor. 3:18), will “be conformed to the body of his glory” (Phil. 3:21, R. V.), and together with “the King of glory” (Ps. 24:7) will enter “that great city, . . . having the glory of God, . . . for the glory of God did lighten it.” Those who refuse to be hidden in the Rock Christ Jesus (Ex. 33:22) will in that day see the glory of God as a “devouring fire” (Ex. 24:17), for such he is to sinners out of Christ (Heb. 12:29).

4. “LAZARUS stands before them, not as one emaciated from disease, and with feeble, tottering limbs, but as a man in the prime of life, and in the vigor of a noble manhood, his eyes beaming with intelligence and love for his Saviour. He bows at the feet of Jesus and glorifies him. A dumb surprise at first seizes all present; but now succeeds an inexpressible scene of rejoicing and thanksgiving. The sisters receive their brother back to life as the gift of God, and with joyful tears, brokenly express their thanks and praise to the Saviour. But while brother, sisters, and friends are rejoicing in this reunion, Jesus retires from the exciting scene, and when they look for the Life-giver, he is nowhere to be found.”—Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 2, pp. 365, 366.

5. “DEATH gives way before Christ’s word of power sooner than unbelief does.” “The Pharisees, who had rejected all lesser evidence, were only enraged at this new miracle of raising the dead in the full light of day and before a crowd of witnesses.”—Id., p. 367.

6. “It is deserving of remark that when, forty years after, Jerusalem, stained with the murder of Jesus, fell under the avenging sword which God gave into the hand of the Romans, those only escaped destruction who believed in Christ.” They did not let this man alone, and the Romans did come and take away their place and their nation. Man proposes, but God disposes.

7. “The gift of prophecy, which the predecessors of Caiaphas had formerly exercised through ‘the Light and Right’—the Urim and Thummim (Ex. 28:30)—had been long extinguished, but it was once more to light up in the high priest of this year, in order that from Moses’ seat, the one true Offering for sin might be set forth before the eyes of the people. Caiaphas and Pilate condemned Jesus, but both were constrained to testify of him in words whose meaning went far beyond what they themselves were aware of.”

8. “JESUS had now given three years of public labor to the world. His example of self-denial and disinterested benevolence was before them. . . . Yet this short period of three years was as long as the world could endure the presence of its Redeemer.” “They had long sought to kill him, but from that day their determination was thenceforward fixed.”

Suggestions for Further Study.

1. In this connection call up some of the short prayers recorded in the Bible. How will the length of Christ’s secret prayer compare with the length of his public prayers?

2. How did the chief priests and the Pharisees bear witness to the convincing character of Christ’s work?

3. Which constitutes a better basis for faith, to see such a miracle as this, or to have the record of it in the Scriptures?

4. For whom did Christ die? Compare John 3:16; John 11:51; Eph. 5:25; Gal. 2:20. The world, that nation, the church, me.

5. Through what agency were the miracles of Christ wrought?

6. What other wicked man was used to utter prophecies of good concerning God’s people? What lesson is taught by these facts?

7. How is life only in Christ taught in this lesson?