SABBATH AFTERNOON January 29

Read for This Week's Study: Mark 11:1-11, John 13:1-17, 15:9-17.


Memory Text:"Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him" (John 13:31, NKJV).


A museum in Rome displays what might be the earliest picture of the Crucifixion. Unfortunately, it is a caricature, graffiti sketched on a wall. It's a drawing of a man, with a donkey's head, stretched out on a cross. Before the cross another man stands, his arms lifted in adoration. Below the picture these words, in Latin, were scribbled: "Alexander worships God."

Though both Jews and Christians had been accused of donkey worship (the exact origins of that accusation is unknown), the derogatory nature of the picture should help us understand the shame associated with the Cross, something not easy for us to appreciate. After all, we adore the Cross, we sing songs about it, we place it on our churches, and we write books extolling it. Yet, how much sense does it make to worship a Man executed as a criminal in the most shameful and barbaric manner?

The answer, of course, is that it makes a lot of sense, once you understand who that Man was and what His death meant for the world.



The Week at a Glance: Why did Jesus not stop the outpouring of support for Him during the triumphal entry? What was the attitude of a majority of Jews toward Jesus? What was the significance of the foot-washing ceremony?


*Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, February 5


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SUNDAY January 30

Outline of the Final Passover Week

About one-third of the material in the four Gospels deals explicitly with the final Passover week leading up to Christ's crucifixion and His resurrection. This material includes some parables of the kingdom and of future judgment.

Today's study presents a brief outline of the period often termed the Passion Week-from the Sunday or Monday prior to Christ's crucifixion to the following Sunday, when He was resurrected. In accordance with the Lord's original instructions, the Passover lamb was slain in the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month (originally called Abib in Hebrew and later Nisan, which came in the early spring). (See Exod. 12:1-6, 34:18, Esther 3:7.)

Below is a quick outline of the high points:

Sunday (Nisan 9). The triumphal entry; Jesus' silent visit to the temple; and His return to Bethany.

Monday (Nisan 10). The fruitless fig tree cursed; second cleansing of the temple; Jesus heals the afflicted there; He returns to Bethany in the evening.

Tuesday (Nisan 11). Last day in the temple (Greek believers meet with Jesus in outer court); Jesus' last day of public teaching; woes against religious elite; retirement to Mount of Olives and discourse there on the Second Coming; Judas clinches betrayal bargain with priests that night.

Wednesday (Nisan 12). Jesus in quiet retirement with disciples.

Thursday (Nisan 13). Preparation for the Passover; the Lord's Supper; Judas's betrayal; Jesus' farewell discourse for disciples and high-priestly prayer; Gethsemane; His arrest. The events following the Lord's Supper were at sundown and afterwards; consequently, the day was now the fourteenth of Nisan, or Thursday night.

Friday (Nisan 14). Jesus led to Annas, then to Caiaphas, and then to Sanhedrin; Peter's denial; Jesus is brought to Pilate, then to Herod's palace, and back to Pilate. He is scourged, condemned, and crucified.

Carefully read John 15:9-17. Against the background of the Passion Week, Jesus focuses here on one point. What is it, why is at so appropriate (especially in light of the Cross), and what as the message for us? How can you make that point real in your own life?

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MONDAY January 31

Triumphal Entry; the Temple Cleansed (Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:28-48).

Read the story of Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem in Matthew 21:1-11 (see also Mark 11:7-11, Luke 19:29-40). What was so different about how He interacted with the people here as opposed to when He multiplied the fish and the loaves? (John 6:15).


Throughout most of His ministry, Jesus kept a fairly low profile. He didn't encourage large demonstrations of fealty and loyalty. Knowing, as He did, the hatred and animosity of the leaders, He worked in a way that allowed Him to complete His work of healing, teaching, and preaching.
Now, however, He allowed this demonstration, knowing that it would lead Him to the cross. Plus, with such crowds mounting and the interest in Him growing into a fervor, many more would know of His death and resurrection than would have had He kept a low profile.

What did Jesus do the next day and with what results? Matt. 21:12-16.

During the triumphal entry, some in the crowds had shouted, "Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest" (Luke 19:38). Christ's response to the Pharisees in the next few verses showed that not only did He acknowledge these acclamations and praises, He affirmed them. Then, as the Davidic king, the son of David, He cleanses the temple, calling it "My house" (Matt. 21:13), and as its rightful owner, He exercised His divine authority over it.
Thus, between the triumphal entry, the cleansing of the temple, and His final return to the temple, where He is challenged by the leaders (Matt. 21:23-27), Jesus, in an undeniable manner, has openly shown His own authority before the people and the religious teachers. In His own merciful way, He has given them even more evidence of who He was (see Matt. 21:15). The question now for them is, How would they respond?

Some leaders rejected Jesus because His claims threatened their power, prestige, and authority. In what ways do the claims of Jesus threaten your own power, prestige, and authority? How do you respond to those threats?

TUESDAY February 1

Jesus and the Jews

Immediately after putting the religious leaders in a bind (Matt. 21:23-27), Jesus told a few parables about the fate of those who would reject Him (vss. 28-46). Interestingly enough, in Matthew 21:45, the chief priests and Pharisees believed that Jesus had spoken about them; that is, the chief priests and the Pharisees themselves as opposed to a majority of the Jewish people, who, themselves, seemed supportive of Jesus.

Look up the following texts. What do they say was the attitude of most of the people about Jesus during His ministry? Matt. 26:3-5; Mark 14:1, 2; Luke 22:2; Luke 23:27, 28; John 11:48.


According to these texts, many of the people supported Jesus, which is why the chief priests and rabbis were so fearful of Him. If Jesus were just some inconsequential preacher who had no following, the leaders wouldn't have had the attitude they had, so powerfully expressed in John 11:48, in which they said that if they let Jesus alone, "all men will believe on him." Obviously, there were many Jews who believed in Jesus already, and unless Jesus were stopped, many more would become believers.

Scholars have noted gross irregularities in the trial of Jesus. First, it was held at night, which, according to traditional Jewish practice, should not have happened, especially in a case involving a capital offense. The fact is that the leaders had to hold the trial as they did in order to keep it from the people.

Of course, there was a rabble that promoted His death, but because this was during the Passover, when many Jews had come from other countries, it's likely that these had never heard of Jesus or seen what He was like or what He had done. In Matthew 21:10, 11, when Jesus entered Jerusalem, some people asked, Who is this? The crowd answered them that it was Jesus. How could those people have not known? Possibly they were Jews who—coming from abroad (and were thus unaware of Jesus)—followed their leaders and called for His death. Once the truth about Jesus was known, many Jews became followers (Acts 2:41; 21:20, 21).




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WEDNESDAY February 2

Clean Feet

After a day's interlude of quiet reflection with Jesus, the disciples made preparations for the Passover. Fully aware that He was the true Paschal Lamb who was to be sacrificed, Jesus wished to spend the few remaining peaceful hours with His disciples for their benefit. How moving are His words: "With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer" (Luke 22:15).

Read John 13:1-17. What was one of Christ's last acts before His atoning death? What was the significance of that act? What does it tell us about the character of God?


Just before the shame, the suffering, and the pain of the Cross, Jesus washes the feet of His own disciples! Here He is, God Himself, the One who made the worlds, washing the feet of His disciples? Only as we grasp who Jesus really is can we even begin to realize what an incredible act this was, what an incredible revelation of the character of our God. And, in its own indirect way, this act is a revelation about ourselves—we who, by nature, want to be served by others rather than to serve others. Christ's act wasn't a rebuke just to His disciples; it's a rebuke to us every time we're arrogant, proud, and selfish.

Besides giving His disciples a needed lesson in humility and servant-hood, what theological lesson was Jesus teaching through the foot washing? John 13:10.


By saying that he or she who has been bathed doesn't need another full bath but merely needs his or her feet cleansed, Jesus was talking about what might be called postbaptismal sin. That is, those who have been baptized (bathed) don't need to be rebaptized after each sin. Foot washing itself can be a symbol of repentance, cleansing, and forgiveness.

Most people don't find foot washing pleasant (which is why many churches don't practice it, despite Christ's command in John 13:14, 15). Yet, it wasn't meant to be pleasant. Why not? What other unpleasant thing does God admonish us to do?

The tradition of the Last Supper being on Thursday night has only been in recent centuries, and gives only 9 hours for Jesus' prayers, arrest, all the trials, with witnesses and transports from place to place, time in prison, flogging etc.

The early centuries had the last supper on Tuesday night, and the events spread out over Wednesday and Thursday, with the crucifixion on Friday.

Modern scholarship has found evidence that the early tradition may be correct:

1.The Synoptic have the last supper as Passover, John has the crucifixion as Passover. The Dead Sea scrolls point out that the Esenes would celebrate Passover every year on a Tuesday night, the Temple Passover would fall on different days during the week, and the year Jesus died the Temple Passover was on Friday.

2. Jesus told the disciples to follow a man with a pot of water: Water was carried by this order-- Women, Donkeys, and Essenes. Essene monasteries would rent their upper rooms to other Rabbis for private times with their disciples.

3. The traditional section of the city of Jerusalem where they remember the Last Supper was in an area where in Jesus Day was the great Essene Monastery.

4. There is a famous sermon that keeps popping up in both Adventist and Non-Adventist churches during Easter which points out many illegal things about Jesus, trial. (You find a line from this sermon in the reading for Feb 1) But if this understanding is correct, then Jesus probably did not have these illegal elements at the trials and the popular sermon (including the line quoted in the lesson) is probably nonsense.

So what we may have for a modification of the Passion Week: Tuesday night the last/last supper at the Esene Monastery’s upper room. Going to Gethsemane after midnight (the usual time the Passover meal ended) singing Psalms 115-118. Jesus and the disciples praying. Maybe they did not fall right asleep in 5 minutes, but maybe prayed for a while before falling asleep, the struggle, the decision to follow God's will come what may. The betrayal and a hearing before some of the Sanhedrin priests. Jewish law required a day in prison, the famous sermon sees this as one of the illegal things about Jesus' trial, but let's have it happen. Jesus is taken to the prison in Caiphes' house, on the way passes through the courtyard and hears Peter's third denial.

Jesus spends Wednesday in Ciaphes' dungeon, crushed under the weight of our sins.

Thursday, DURING THE DAY, the trials before the 24 elders (the Sanhedrin needed a quorum of 23 members. They had 23 Sadducees who would often meet to try would be messiah's, have witnesses who would contradict each other, then take the guy out and stone him to death. Due to Jesus' popularity, they wanted to put Jesus to death for political crimes (which they could not stone people to death for, they were limited to religious crimes) to pass the blame on to Rome. (Pilate would refer people who he could not put to death for political reasons to Caiphas who would put them to death for religious reasons). Now I said trials before 24 elders, and mentioned 23. It was the 23 Sadducees, plus the high priest, for 24 elders who were giving the false witness about Jesus. (their heavenly counter part gives the true witness of Jesus, a heavenly 24 elders which is the testimony of the 12 tribes and 12 apostles: or the Old and New Testaments). Remember it could well be the same John who saw the 24 elders giving the false testimony of Jesus who got to see the 24 true elders.

Thursday afternoon first time before Pilate, who also knows he's popular, so tries to pass him on to Herrod. Jesus gets back and spends Thursday night, continuing under the weight of sin, imprisoned in the Roman Garrison where Pilate is staying. Pilate's wife has the dream.

Friday morning the last time before Pilate. Those at hand (there has been assumed to be a common misspelling in the Greek of the word translated "Multitudes" The word is sometimes spelled correctly, other times consistently incorrectly. It has been discovered that the misspelling happens to be the correct spelling of a Hebrew word that DOES NOT MEAN MULTITUDE but means "those at hand" or those who happened to be there --i.e. the 24 Elders) saying "Crucify Him" Pilate, flogs Jesus and turns him over for crucifixion. (Jesus was the first of only two people we know who was both flogged and crucified, usually it is either one or the other) Jesus is taken to the cross with the common masses crying for him (when the word "daughter" is used by a person's name it means female child. but when it's by a city name, it means the common people. I'm sorry but our "Multitudes" crying "crucify him" was probably only 24 people, and the "few women" was a huge throng of the common people, male and female, young and old.) and by 9:00 Jesus is on the cross.

I hope this helps!

Oops, fixed

Gethsemane

Jesus entered Gethsemane with His three most intimate disciples and bade them pray and watch, lest they enter into temptation. What petition did He then plead before the Father three times? What did the cup signify? What paramount principle brought resolution to Christ's heart? Matt. 26:36-44, Mark 14:32-42, Luke 22:39-44.


Even as Christ was pleading for strength to save lost and guilty humanity, a maelstrom of treason and treachery against Him was gathering momentum. Satan strove with all his cunning to discourage Him, Judas was leading a band of religious mobsters to arrest the Savior, and the disciples slumbered.
Christ's heart was so deeply pierced with grief that He was already shedding His blood for the sins of humanity, even before the spikes of Golgotha bit into His flesh. He drank the gall of our guilt and shame that He might give us the nectar of His innocence and mercy. For us He drained the cup of wrath to offer in its place the cup of reconciliation.

What made Christ's suffering in Gethsemane almost unendurable? 2 Cor. 5:21 (see also Isa. 53:10, Zech. 13:7).

"As the Son of God bowed in the attitude of prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, the agony of His spirit forced from His pores sweat like great drops of blood. It was here that the horror of great darkness surrounded Him. The sins of the world were upon Him. He was suffering in man's stead as a transgressor of His Father's law. Here was the scene of temptation. The divine light of God was receding from His vision, and He was passing into the hands of the powers of darkness. In His soul anguish He lay prostrate on the cold earth. He was realizing His Father's frown. He had taken the cup of suffering from the lips of guilty man, and proposed to drink it Himself, and in its place give to man the cup of blessing. The wrath that would have fallen upon man was now falling upon Christ. It was here that the mysterious cup trembled in His hand."—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 2, p. 203.

Why do you think that Jesus, who knew all along that He had to die this death (John 12:27), would, nevertheless, ask that the cup be taken from Him? What does this tell us about His human nature? What comfort can we draw from the fact that even the Lord Himself, in His humanity, had such battles?





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FRIDAY February 4

Further Study: See also Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, pp. 685-694; Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, pp. 200-205.
"Never before in His earthly life had Jesus permitted such a demonstration. He clearly foresaw the result. It would bring Him to the cross. But it was His purpose. . . to call attention to the sacrifice that was to crown His mission to a fallen world. While the people were assembling at Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, He, the anti-typical Lamb, by a voluntary act set Himself apart as an oblation. It would be needful for His church in all succeeding ages to make His death for the sins of the world a subject of deep thought and study. Every fact connected with it should be verified beyond a doubt. It was necessary, then, that the eyes of all people should now be directed to Him; the events which preceded His great sacrifice must be such as to call attention to the sacrifice itself. After such a demonstration as that attending His entry into Jerusalem, all eyes would follow His rapid progress to the final scene."—The Desire of Ages, p. 571.



Discussion Questions: Why do the Gospels focus so much on the last week of Christ's life? Why is that so important for our understanding of the plan of salvation?
Read the quote from Ellen G. White taken from Thursday's study. Write, in your own words, what she is saying. In class on Sabbath, let different people read what they wrote. What is her essential message, and why is that so crucial to all that we believe as Seventh-day Adventists? In what ways do these words catch the essence of the gospel?

If the disciples had imbibed more of Christ's sacrificial spirit while He was with them, how would that have affected their ministry, their influence, and their capacity to appreciate His character and mission? What is the application for us today?

Guilt and shame are "galling" to us. They are sour, unpalatable, sickening, repulsive to experience. By comparison mercy -- the undeserved pardon and forgiveness exercised toward us when we know we deserve full justice for what we have done -- and a clear, clean conscience, are like nectar: sweet, nourishing, invigorating, nurturing, satisfying, cleansing to the blood. Jesus deserved the nectar; we the gall. Yet for our sake, He accepted the taste and bitterness of gall so He might give us the nourishing sweetness of nectar. For our sake He took upon Himself the full measure of divine justice against sin -- the full obliteration of the universal virus, as it were -- that in place of obliterating us, the "virally infected", He would reconcile us to God instead. In Him we are already reconciled, whether we will it or not, whether we believe it or not, whether we choose to avail ourselves of it or not. It is complete and "it is finished" in the Person of Christ.