FOURTH QUARTER 2024
SABBATH SCHOOL INSIGHT #6
NOVEMBER 9, 2024
"MORE TESTIMONIES ABOUT JESUS".

 

“ ‘And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me’ “ (John 12:32). 

We are living in the closing hours of earth’s history. For six thousand years the war that began in heaven has been raging on earth. The Revelator declares: “Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! For the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time” (Revelation 12:12).

The final movements will be rapid ones and current developments give us pause. Many are responding to powerful appeals for unity across religious lines and dramatic claims for peace and safety. Paul foretold this. 

"For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:3).

Recognizing the rapid fulfillment of prophecy, as watchman on the walls of Zion we have a solemn responsibility to share a message of warning and hope. What message would God have us give?

Delineating the signs pointing to the shortness of time and the time of trouble ahead may produce fear. But we need more than that, because fear—the most potent of all human emotions—is the devil’s tool to manipulate the masses and to unite (almost) the whole world under his banner.

The memory verse for this week’s lesson simply and succinctly points to the message of hope we are to give to the world:

“ ‘And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me’ “ (John 12:32).

In every age God has sent present truth for His people. The same is true today. 

The quote below appears in these Sabbath School Insights often, but it tells very clearly what the present truth message is for our generation:

“The Lord in His great mercy sent a most precious message to His people through Elders Waggoner and Jones. This message was to bring more prominently before the world the uplifted Saviour, the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. It presented justification through faith in the Surety; it invited the people to receive the righteousness of Christ, which is made manifest in obedience to all the commandments of God. Many had lost sight of Jesus. They needed to have their eyes directed to His divine person, His merits, and His changeless love for the human family. All power is given into His hands, that He may dispense rich gifts unto men, imparting the priceless gift of His own righteousness to the helpless human agent. This is the message that God commanded to be given to the world. It is the third angel’s message, which is to be proclaimed with a loud voice, and attended with the outpouring of His Spirit in a large measure.”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies to Ministers, pp. 91-92.

For commentary on this week’s lesson, we highly recommend the compilation of articles written by Brother E. J. Waggoner that originally appeared in The Present Truth journal and is now available in book form under the title Studies in the Gospel of John.

Let’s explore briefly how these concepts tie into the Sabbath School lesson theme for this week, “More Testimonies About Jesus.” The witness of John the Baptist, the Holy Spirit, Peter, the heavenly Father, and the crowd are all reviewed. 

In our own history, as we have just read, the Lord sent a message through Brothers Waggoner and Jones that witnessed, or testified, of Jesus. 

“What is justification by faith? It is the work of God in laying the glory of man in the dust, and doing for man that which it is not in his power to do for himself. When men see their own nothingness, they are prepared to be clothed with the righteousness of Christ.”—Ellen G. White, Christ Our Righteousness, p. 104.

We cannot simultaneously exalt ourselves and the gospel at the same time. Either we humble ourselves so Jesus is lifted up, or we sideline Jesus so self can be manifest.

John the Baptist laid his glory in the dust. He didn’t try to compete with Jesus by keeping up with Christ’s increasing number of baptisms or followers. He even left the region to maintain a lower profile and not detract from Jesus’ growing ministry. How often we are tempted to feel slighted when we are overlooked, or when someone succeeds when we don’t. Beholding the Savior uplifted on the cross in terrible shame and agony uproots these sinful, selfish feelings. 

The day Jesus miraculously fed the 5,000 was a watershed event in Jesus’ ministry. The people were ready to make Him king. If He had been a politician, it was the perfect occasion to mount a successful campaign to marshal an army and overcome the Romans. The people were ready to go for it. The crowd surged with enthusiasm as they anticipated the glory of bringing an end to Roman dominion. But Jesus had no aspirations of worldly greatness, which is as nothingness in the sight of heaven. 

Instead he laid bare the need of every heart in that gathering—the righteousness of Christ—which could only be received through feeding on the living Bread and drinking His blood. While they welcomed the Savior’s temporal blessings, many denied Him entrance as ruler of their hearts and chose to turn away. 

In Jesus’ day the Pharisees asked, “Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him?” (John 7:48, NKJV).

When confronted with the most precious message of Jesus, do we also look around to see the reaction of others first before choosing to believe? 

One of the beautiful points brought out in this week’s lesson was the witness of the Father in testifying that Jesus was His beloved Son. John declares that the Word, Christ, was with God from eternity past. 

When John pointed to Jesus and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), Christ was revealed as the fulfillment of every sacrifice that had ever been made since Adam slew the first lamb in faith of a coming Savior.

But the Bible also says the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). In the eternal ages before the creation of our world, Christ covenanted with the Father to be that Lamb, to give His life a willing sacrifice for the sins of the world at an infinite and eternal cost to Himself. Contemplation of this truth will stir hearts as none other.

One last point to note regarding Jesus’ interview with the woman at the well. First of all, she was just one person. It seems Jesus could have made a more efficient use of His time by preaching only to thousands rather than spending so much time traveling out of His way just for this chance (or so it seemed) encounter with this woman who was of doubtful heritage and dubious character. This seemed to be a complete waste of time. But in this act Jesus revealed His heart of love for all men—and women. He came to seek and save sinners of every stripe, and the woman’s testimony of Jesus transformed her whole village.

We, too, have a testimony of Jesus to share—through our lives, our words, and our actions. And when Jesus is lifted up, we know what will soon follow.

“And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 12:17). 

In the perilous times may God give us courage to live and to share the most precious testimony of Jesus!

 

~Patti Guthrie