The Sabbath School

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jul 15, 1897

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 23, No. 27.

The Sabbath School

International Series.

LESSON V.—SABBATH, JULY 31, 1897.

"TO THE JEWS A STUMBLING-BLOCK."

Lesson Scripture, Acts 3:17 to 4:12, R. V.

17 "And now, brethren, I wot that in ignorance ye did it, as 18 did also your rulers. But the things which God foreshewed by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ should suffer, 19 he thus fulfilled. Repent ye therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that so there may come seasons 20 of refreshing from the presence of the Lord; and that he may send the Christ who hath been appointed for you, even Jesus; 21 whom the heaven must receive until the times of restoration of 22 all things, whereof God spake by the mouth of his holy prophets which have been since the world began. Moses indeed said, A prophet shall the Lord God raise up unto you from among your brethren, like unto me; to him shall ye hearken in 23 all things whatsoever he shall speak unto you. And it shall be, that every soul, which shall not hearken to that prophet, 24 shall be utterly destroyed from among the people. Yea and all the prophets from Samuel and them that followed after, as 25 many as have spoken, they also told of these days. Ye are the sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall 26 all the families of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up his Servant, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.

"And as they spake unto the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, being 2 sore troubled because they taught the people, and proclaimed 3 in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands 4 on them, and put them in ward unto the morrow: for it was now eventide. But many of them that heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.

5 "And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers and 6 elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem; and 7 Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas, and John, and 8 Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high 9 priest. And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, By what power, or in what name, have ye done this? 10 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye 11 rulers of the people, and elders, if we this day are examined 12 concerning a good deed done to an impotent man, by what 13 means this man is made whole; be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even in him doth this man stand here before you whole. He is the stone which was set at nought of you the builders, which was made the head of the corner. And in none other is there salvation; for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be saved."

QUESTIONS.

Relate the story of the healing of the lame man at the gate of the temple.
By what means was he healed?
Yet what had the people who saw this miracle done to Jesus?
How could they have done such a deed?
What had been fulfilled by their action? How many prophets tell about the suffering of Christ?
What exhortation did Peter give the people? Why should they repent and be converted? What will follow the cleansing from sin?
And what will follow the "times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord"?
Until what time must Jesus remain in heaven before he comes again? Who has spoken of the "restitution of all things"? How extensively has God spoken of this?
What had Moses said? What did he say of the Prophet whom God should raise up?
What will become of those who will not hear him?
Have any other prophets besides Moses spoken of these things? How many?
Having reminded the people of what the prophets had said, what direct statement did he make to them? In what words was that covenant contained? To how many were the blessings of the covenant promised?
Through whom does the blessing come? What is the blessing which Jesus is sent to bestow?
As Peter and John spoke these words, who came upon them?
What troubled those priests and rulers? What had Peter and John been teaching the people?
What did the priests and the chief men do to them?
Nevertheless, what was the result of their teaching that day?
Who gathered together the next day? and what did they do?
What did they ask the apostles?
Who answered? In what condition was he when he spoke? With what words did he begin his reply?
By what means did he say that the impotent man stood before them whole that day? How many did he desire should know this? What charge did he bring against the judges?
What did he say of Jesus, whom they had rejected?
What can be found only in him? Why is this?

Additional Questions and Suggestions.

What caused the rulers and the people to crucify Jesus? Compare verse 17 with 1 Cor. 2:8. Did their ignorance make them guiltless? Need they have been ignorant?
What is it that leads to the seasons of refreshing from the presence of the Lord? See verse 19 in Revised Version. With what does God refresh his people? See Isa. 44:3, 4.
Who is Christ declared to be like? What important feature is specified in which Christ was like Moses? Heb. 3:1, 2. Could any man have a higher recommendation than is thus given to Moses? Of what are those guilty who reject or disparage Moses and his words? What did Jesus say about this?
In what words is the covenant that God made with Abraham expressed? When God said, "In thy Seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed," what was he doing? See Gal. 3:8. What, then, is the covenant with Abraham?