\V!


              S                    SCHOOL

LEI R T




CHARLES StRGARO. ARTIST


              LESSONS FROM. THE LIFE OF           CHRIST,
     SENTRA               1- 46:1:145,   THIRD QUA 'R
                          LA..), C . \AAv CCe.t.i'

        THE BLESSING OF DAILY STUDY
   "With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation." Isa. 12:3.
   "Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy word was unto me
the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by Thy name, 0 Lord
God of hosts." Jer. 15:16.
   "As a means of intellectual training, the opportunities of the Sabbath are
invaluable. Let the Sabbath-school lesson be learned, not by a hasty glance at •
the lesson scripture on .Sabbath morning, but by careful study for the next
week on Sabbath afternoon, with daily review or illustration during the week.
Thus the lesson will become fixed in the memory, a treasure never to be
wholly lost."—Education, pages 251, 252.
   "Every day some portion of time should be appropriated to the study of
the lessons, not merely in learning to mechanically repeat the words, while
the mind does not comprehend the meaning; but to go to the very founda-
tion, and become familiar with what is brought out in the lesson."—Counsels
on Sabbath Sc-hool Work, page 53.

                My Daily Lesson Study Pledge
   As one who greatly desires to improve his knowledge of the Scriptures, I
pledge myself to the careful and prayerful study of some portion of my Sab-
bath-school lesson each day of the week.

      Name

                LESSON TITLES FOR THE QUARTER
1. God With Us.                                       7. The Baptist's Death; Jesus'
2. The Reception of Jesus.                                Ministry in Galilee.
3. Early Life of Jesus; The Voice                     8. Calling the Twelve.
    in the Wilderness.                                9. Commission and Witness of
4. The Baptism and Temptation                             the Apostles.
    of Jesus.                                        to. The Sermon on the Mount.
5. The Early Events of Public                        II. Christ and the Sabbath.
    Ministry.                                        12. Vain Traditions Refuted.
6. Christ a Personal Worker.                         13. The Great Confession Confirmed.

Sabbath School Lesson Quarterly, No. 245, July-September, 1956. 15 cents a single copy, 50 cents
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provided for in Section 1103, Act of Oct. 3, 1917, and authorized Sept. 18, 1918. When a change of
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                      Copyright, 1956, by Pacific Press Publishing Association
                                          Printed in U.S.A.
          Sabbath School Lesson Quarterly

                 LESSONS FROM THE LIFE OF CHRIST

                              GENERAL INTRODUCTION

   "Since Jesus came to dwell with us, we        every divine attraction presented in the
know that God is acquainted with our             Saviour's life on earth, we see 'God with
trials, and sympathizes with our griefs.         us.' "—The Desire of Ages, page 24.
Every son and daughter of Adam may                  "It would be well for us to spend a
understand that our Creator is the friend        thoughtful hour each day in contempla-
of sinners. For in every doctrine of grace,     .tion
                                                  — of <the life of Christ."—/bid., p. 83.
every promise of joy, every deed of love,




                               Lesson 1, for July 7, 1956


                                   God With Us

LESSON SCRIPTURES:     Matt. 1:18-25; Luke 1:5-35; 2:1-7.
MEMORY VERSE: "They shall call His name Immanuel, which being interpreted is,
  God with us." Matt. 1:23.
STUDY HELPS: "The Desire of Ages," pages 19-44. Sabbath School Lesson Helps in
   "Review and Herald" of June 21; "The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commen-
   tary," volume 5.

                     DAILY STUDY ASSIGNMENT AND RECORD

                            Check Here                                          Check Here
Sabbath afternoon: General survey. ❑            Wednesday: Ques. 11-14.                 ❑
Sunday: Ques. 1-4.                  ❑           Thursday: Read Study Helps
Monday: Ques. 5-7.                 ❑                 assignment.
Tuesday: Ques. 8-10.               ❑            Friday: Review.


Lesson Outline:

I. The Fullness of Time                         II. The Heavenly Messenger
     1. When the plan of salvation was               5. Announcement to Zacharias. Luke
          laid. Rom. 16:25.                              1:11-17.
     2. In due time. Rom. 5:6; Gal. 4:4.
     3. Conditions in Israel. Micah 3:9-11;          6. Announcement to Mary. Luke
          Matt. 23:23-33.                                1:26-31,,38.
     4. Condition of the heathen. world.             7. Announcement to Joseph. Matt.
          Rom. 1:22-31.                                  1:18-21.
                                              f3]
III. Messianic Prophecies and Their               IV. The Incarnation
     Fulfillment
                                                         11. The birth of Jesus. Luke 2:6, 7.
      8. The seed of David. 2 Sam. 7:12,                 12. The Word made flesh. John
         13, 16; Ps. 89:35-37; Luke                          1:1, 14; Heb. 2:14-18.
         1:32, 33.
      9. The place of Christ's birth. Micah              13. Heaven's supreme gift. John
         5:2 ; Luke 2:1-5, 11.                               3:16; 1 John 4:14.
     10. The manner of His birth. Isa.                   14. Forever with us. Isa. 9:7; Rev.
          7:14; Matt. 1:22, 23.                              21:3.


                                      THE LESSON

         The Fullness of Time                     the world to look upon Him as a tyrant.
                                                  . . . The ordinances which God Himself
   1. When was the plan of salvation              had appointed were made the means of
                                                  blinding the mind and hardening the heart.
laid? In whom is it centered? Rom.                God could do no more for man through
16:25. Compare Rev. 13:8; 1 Peter 1:              these channels. The whole system must be
18-20.                                            swept away."—The Desire of Ages, page 36.
                                                    4. What was the condition of the
   NorE.—"The plan for our redemption             heathen world? Rom. 1:22-31.
was not an afterthought, a plan formulated
after the fall of Adam. It was a revelation
of 'the mystery which hath been kept in
silence since times eternal.' . . . It was an        NorE.—"The world had grown old, and
unfolding of the principles that from eter-       the dotage of its paganism was marked by
nal ages have been the foundation of              hideous excesses. Atheism in belief was
God's throne. From the beginning, God             followed, as among nations it has always
and Christ knew of the apostasy of Satan,         been, by degradation of morals. Iniquity
and of the fall of man through the decep-         seemed to have run its course to the very
tive power of the apostate. God did not           farthest goal. . . Crime was universal,
ordain that sin should exist, but He fore-        and there was no known remedy for the
saw its existence, and made provision to          horror and ruin which it was causing. . . .
meet the terrible emergency."—The Desire          There was a callosity of heart, a petrifying
of Ages, page 22.                                 of the moral sense, which even those who
                                                  suffered from it felt to be abnormal and
   2. How do the Scriptures indicate              portentous. Even the heathen world felt
a timing of the Messiah's coming?                 that 'the fullness of the time' had come."—
Rom. 5:6; Gal. 4:4.                               F. W. Farrar, The Life of Christ, 1887 ed.,
                                                  p. 59 (ch. 8).
                                                     "A new element of life and power must
                                                  be imparted by Him who made the world.
  3. How seemingly hopeless had be-               . . . At the very crisis, when Satan seemed
come the condition of the chosen peo-             about to triumph, the Son. of God came
                                                  with the embassage of divine grace."—The
ple? Micah 3:9-11; Matt. 23:23-33.                Desire of Ages, page 37.

                                                           The Heavenly Messenger
  NorE.—"The people whom God had
called to be the pillar and ground of the
truth had become representatives of Sa-                 5. What message did the angel Ga- .
tan. They were doing the work that he de-             briel bring as Zacharias the priest was
sired them to do, taking a course to mis-             ministering in the temple? Luke 1:
represent the character of God, and cause             11-17.
                                              [.4 J
                                                   9. How specific was Micah's pre-
                                                 diction concerning the birthplace of
                                                 Christ? How was this fulfilled? Micah
                                                 5:2; Luke 2:1-5, 11.


                                                    NOTE.—"As in old time Cyrus was called
                                                 to the throne of the world's empire that
                                                 he might set free the captives of the Lord,
                                                 so Caesar Augustus is made the agent for
                                                 the fulfillment of God's purpose in bring-
                                                 ing the mother of Jesus to Bethlehem. She
                                                 is of the lineage of David, and the son of
                                                 David must be born in David's city."—The
                                                 Desire of Ages, page 44.

                                                   10. How was Isaiah's prophecy
                                                 concerning the manner of Jesus' birth
                                                 fulfilled? Isa. 7:14; Matt, .1:22, 23.
  6. What thrilling message did Ga-
briel bring to Mary, who was es-
poused to Joseph? In what words did                          The Incarnation
Mary express her acceptance of the
honor bestowed upon her? Luke 1:                   11. What were the circumstances
26-31, 38.                                       surrounding the birth of Jesus? Luke
                                                 2:6, 7.

  7. How was the birth of Jesus re-
vealed to Joseph? Matt. 1:18-21.                    NOTE.—"We marvel at the Saviour's sac-
                                                 rifice in exchanging the throne of heaven
                                                 for the manger, and the companionship of
                                                 adoring angels for the beasts of the stall.
      Messianic Prophecies and                   Human pride and self-sufficiency, stand re-
                                                 buked in His presence. Yet this was but
          Their Fulfillment                      the beginning of His wonderful conde-
                                                 scension. It would have been an almost in-
   8. What prophetic promise made                finite humiliation for the Son of God to
to David concerning his seed was re-             take man's nature: even when Adam stood
peated to Mary? 2 Sam. 7:12, 13, 16;             in his innocence in Eden. But Jesus ac-
Ps. 89:35-37; Luke 1:32, 33.                     cepted humanity when the race had been
                                                 weakened by four thousand years of sill:"
                                                 —The Desire of Ages, pages 48, 49.

                                                   12. Why was it necessary for the
  NOTE.—"The Hebrews were very careful
in preserving their genealogies. . . . In the    Son of God to clothe His divinity
Evangelists we have the genealogy of Jesus       with humanity? Heb. 2:14-18. Com-
Christ deduced for four thousand years,          pare John 1:1, 14.
from Adam to Joseph or Mary. . . . Their
exactness was likewise ordered by the spe-
cial providence of God, that so it might be
certainly known of what tribe and family           NorE.—"The Redeemer of the world
the Messiah was born."—Cruden's Concor-          clothed His divinity with humanity, that
dance, note under- "genealogy."                  He might reach humanity; for, in order to
                                            [5        •
bring to the world salvation, it was neces-           14. How closely will Christ iden-
sary that humanity and divinity should be          tify Himself with us through the
united. Divinity needed humanity, that hu-         ceaseless ages of eternity? Isa. 9:7;
manity might afford a channel of communi-          Rev. 21:3. Compare Eph. 2:6, 7.
cation between God and man, and hu-
manity needed divinity, that a power from
above might restore man to the likeness
of God. Christ was God, but He did not                NOTE.-"It was Satan's purpose to bring
                                                   about an eternal separation between God
appear as God. He veiled the tokens of             and man; but in Christ we become more
divinity, which had commanded the hom-             closely united to God than if we had never
age of angels and called forth the adoration       fallen. In taking our nature, the Saviour
of the universe of God. He made Himself            has bound Himself to humanity by a tie
of no reputation, took upon Him the form of        that is never to be broken. Through the
a servant, and was made in the likeness            eternal ages He is linked with us. . . . He
of sinful flesh. For our sakes he became           gave Him not only to bear our sins, and
poor, that we through His poverty might            to die as our sacrifice; He gave Him to the
be made rich."—Ellen G. White, in Signs            fallen race. To assure us of His immuta-
of the Times, Feb. 20, 1893.                       ble counsel of peace, God gave His only-
                                                   begotten Son to become one of the human
  13. By His incarnation what did                  family, forever to retain His human nature.
                                                   . . . In Christ the family of earth and the
Christ become for man? John 3:16;                  family of heaven are bound together."—
1 John 4:14.                                       The Desire of Ages, pages 25, 26.




                               Lesson 2, for July 14, 1956


                             The Reception of Jesus

LESSON SCRIPTURES: Matthew 2; Luke 2:8-32.

MEMORY VERSE: "And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you
  good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born
  this day in the City of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." Luke
  2:10, 11.

STUDY HELPS: "The Desire of Ages," pages 44.67; Sabbath School Lesson Helps in
   "Review and Herald" of June 28; "The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commen-
   tary," volume 5.

                     DAILY STUDY ASSIGNMENT AND RECORD

                            Check Here                                             Check Here
Sabbath afternoon: General survey. ❑               Wednesday: Ques. 12-14.
Sunday: Ques: 1-3.                                 Thursday: Read Study Help
Monday: Ques. 4-7.                  ❑                   assignment.                        ❑
Tuesday: Ques. 8-11.                0              Friday: Review.


                                               6
Lesson Outline:

I. The Announcement to the Shepherds
    1. The announcement of Christ's               8. Witness of Anna. Luke 2:36-38.
        birth. Luke 2:8-12.
    2. The angel anthem. Luke 2:13, 14.       IV. The Visit of the Wise Men
    3. The reaction of the shepherds.
        Luke 2:16-18.                              9. Following the star. Matt. 2:1, 2.
                                                  10. Herod's inquiry of the Jewish
II. The Dedication                                    leaders. Matt. 2 :3 -6 ; Micah 5:2..
    4. Naming the Child. Luke 2:21;               11. Herod's request of the Wise Men.
        Matt. 1:21.                                   Matt. 2:7-12.
    5. Offering for purification. Luke        V. Providential Deliverance
        2:24; Lev. 12:6-8.
    6. Dedication of First-born. Luke             12. The escape to Egypt. Matt.
        2:22, 23; Num. 3:13.                          2:13-15.
III. Waiting for the Redeemer                     13. The babes of Bethlehem slain.
                                                      Matt. 2:16-18.
    7. Simeon's prophecy. Luke 2:27-32,           14. The return to Nazareth. Matt.
        34, 35.                                       2:19-23 ; John 1:46.


                                     THE LESSON

     The Announcement to the                  to the angels' song. . . . To us in the-com-
                                              mon walks of life, heaven may be very
               Shepherds                      near. Angels from the courts above will
                                              attend the steps of those who come and go
  1. By whom and to whom was the              at God's command."-The Desire of Ages,
announcement of Jesus' birth first            page 48.
made? Luke 2:8-12.
                                                 3. What was the reaction of the
                                              shepherds, and how did their report
  NOTE.-"The priests and teachers of the      affect the people? Luke 2:16-18.
nation knew not that the greatest event of
the ages was about to take place. They re-
hearsed their meaningless prayers, and per-
formed the rites of worship to be seen by                  The Dedication
men, but in their strife for riches and
worldly honor they were not prepared for        4. What name was given to the
the revelation of the Messiah. The same       Child at the time of His circumcision?
indifference pervaded the land of Israel.     Luke 2:21; Matt. 1:21.
Hearts selfish and world-engrossed were
untouched by the joy that thrilled all
heaven. Only a few were longing to behold       NOTE.-" `Hoshea' meant salvation;
the Unseen. To these heaven's embassy         Joshua, 'whose salvation is Jehovah ;' Je-
was sent."-The Desire of Ages, page 44.       sus is but the English modification of the
   2. While the chosen people were            Greek form of the name. . . . The He-
unaware of the momentous event,               brew 'Messiah' and the Greek 'Christ' were
how was the joy of heavenly beings            names which represented His office as the
                                              Anointed Prophet, Priest, and King; but
manifested? Luke 2:13, 14.                    `Jesus' was the personal name which He
                                              bore as one who 'emptied Himself of His
                                              glory' to become a sinless man among sin-
  NoTE.-"Heaven and earth are no wider        ful men."-F. W. Farrar, The Life of
apart today than when shepherds listened      Christ, 1887 ed., p. 9 (ch. 2).
                                          [7]
  5. How was the poverty of Christ's
parents indicated in the offering for
Mary's purification on the fortieth
day? Luke 2:24; Lev. 12:6-8.


   NoTE.—"The proper offering on such oc-
casions was a yearling lamb for a burnt
offering, and a young pigeon or a turtledove
for a sin offering; but with that beautiful
tenderness which is so marked a character-
istic of the Mosaic legislation, those who
were too poor for so comparatively costly
an offering, were allowed to bring instead
two turtledoves or two young pigeons.                                                   411
With this humble offering Mary presented
herself to the priest."—Farrar, The Life of            NOT THE HAUGHTY, BUT THE HUMBLE, •
Christ, page 9.                                             FOUND THE CHRIST CHILD.


  6. What was the significance of the
                                                    Saviour's life, the hearts of all, even from
dedication of Mary's first-born Son?                the Creator to the prince of darkness, are
Luke 2:22, 23; Num. 3:13.                           revealed. . . . In the day of final judgment,
                                                    every lost soul will understand the nature
                                                    of his own rejection of truth."—The Desire
                                                    of Ages, pages 57, 58.
   NOTE.—"The dedication of the first-born
had its origin in the earliest times. God             8. How did Anna the prophetess
had promised to give the First-born of              confirm the witness of Simeon? Luke
heaven to save the sinner. This gift was to
be acknowledged in every household by               2:36-38.
the consecration of the first-born son. He
was to. be devoted to the priesthood, as a
representative of Christ among men. In
the deliverance of Israel from Egypt, the                 The Visit of the Wise Men
dedication of the first-born was again com-
manded. . . . After the tabernacle service            9. Who from the Gentile world
was established, the Lord chose the tribe           were divinely guided to seek out the
of Levi in the place of the first-born of all       newborn King? What inquiry aroused
Israel to minister in the sanctuary. But the        widespread interest? Matt. 2:1, 2.
first-born were still to be regarded as the
Lord's, and were to be bought back by a
ransom."—The Desire of Ages, page 51,
                                                       NOTE.—"The Wise Men from the East
      Waiting for the Redeemer                      were philosophers. They belonged to a large
                                                    and influential class that included men of
  7. With what prophetic words did                  noble birth, and comprised much of the
                                                    wealth and learning of their nation. Among
Simeon describe the mission of                      these were many who imposed on the
Christ? By what statement did he                    credulity of the people. Others were up-
seek to prepare Mary for the anguish                right men who studied the indications of
she was to bear? Luke 2:27-32, 34, 35.              Providence in nature, and who were hon-
                                                    ored for their integrity and wisdom. Of
                                                    this character were the Wise Men who
                                                    came to Jesus. . . .
  NOTE.—"`That the thoughts of many                    "The Wise Men had seen a mysterious
hearts may be revealed.' In the light of the        light in the heavens upon that night when
                                            [ 8 ]
the glory of God flooded the hills of Beth-   the sojourn in a land of strangers. . . . The
lehem. As the light faded, a luminous star    offering from the heart that loves, God de-
appeared, and lingered in the sky.. . .       lights to honor, giving it highest efficiency
That star was a distant company of shin-      in service for Him."—The Desire of Ages,
ing angels."—The Desire of Ages, pages        page 65.
59, 60.
                                                13. What ruthless measure did the
  10. Fearing a plot against his              king take to destroy the child Jesus?
throne, what did Herod demand of              How was prophecy fulfilled? Matt.
the chief priests and scribes? What           2:16-18. Compare Jer. 31:15.
prophecy did they cite in reply? Matt.
2:3-6; Micah 5:2.


                                                NoTE.—"This calamity the Jews had
  11. What did Herod ask the Wise             brought upon themselves. . . . It was their
Men to do, and why did they not com-          proud boast that the Messiah was to come
ply with his request? Matt. 2:7-12.           as a king, conquering His enemies, and
                                              treading down the heathen in His wrath.
                                              Thus they had excited the hatred of their
                                              rulers."—The Desire of Ages, pages 65, 66.
       Providential Deliverance                 14. Following their sojourn in
                                              Egypt, what circumstances led Joseph
  12. What instruction was given to           and his family to make their home in
Joseph in a dream? How long did               Nazareth? For what was Nazareth
the family remain in Egypt? Matt. 2:          proverbial? Matt. 2:19-23; John 1:46.
13-15.



   NoTE.—"Satan was bent on shutting out        Nom—Character is not dependent upon
the divine light from the world, and he       environment. Unfavorable environment is
used his utmost cunning to destroy the        no excuse for sinning. In heaven, where all
Saviour. But He who never slumbers nor        was purity and holiness, Lucifer fell. Just
sleeps was watching over His beloved Son.     as the pure white lily springs from the
. . . And through the gifts of the Magi       black mud of the pond, so, in Nazareth,
from a heathen country, the Lord supplied     proverbial for its wickedness, Jesus de-
the means for the journey into Egypt and      veloped a spotless character.




                              Lesson 3, for July 21, 1956


           Early Life of Jesus; The Voice in the Wilderness
LESSON SCRIPTURES: Matt. 3:1-12; Luke 2:39-52; 3:1-9.
MEMORY VERSE: "Behold        the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the
  world." John 1:29.
STUDY HELPS: "The Desire of Ages," pages 68-108; Sabbath School Lesson Helps
   in "Review and Herald" of July 5; "The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commen-
   tary," volume 5.

                                          [9]
                      DAILY STUDY ASSIGNMENT AND RECORD
                            Check Here                                             Check Here
Sabbath afternoon: General survey. ❑             Wednesday: Ques. 12-14.
Sunday: Ques. 1-4.                  ❑            Thursday: Read Study Helps
Monday: Ques. 5-7.                  ❑                 assignment.
Tuesday: Ques. 8-11.                ❑            Friday: Review.                        .    ❑



Lesson Outline:

I. The Passover Visit                            III. The Ministry of John
     1. The Passover. Luke 2:41, 42.                    8. The preparatory years. Luke 1:80.
     2. The missing Child. Luke 2:43-46,                9. John's manner of life. Luke
         first part.                                        1:15 ; Matt. 3 :4.
     3. The temple school. Luke 2:46 (last             10. The call to repentance. Luke 3:
         part), 47.                                        1-3, 10-14; Matt. 3:1, 2.
     4. His Father's business. Luke                    11. The true seed of Abraham. Matt.
         2:48, 49.                                         3:7-10; Luke 3:7-9.
                                                       12. The baptism of repentance.
II. The Early Years                                        Matt. 3:5, 6; Mark 1:4, 5.
     5. An exemplary home life. Luke             IV. The Coming of Elijah
         2:51; Mark 6:3.
     6. A fourfold development. Luke                   13. The voice in the wilderness.
         2:40, 52.                                         John 1:19-23 ; Isa. 40:3, 4.
     7. The brothers of Jesus. Mark 3:31,              14. The spirit and power of Elijah.
         32 ; John 7:5.                                    Mal. 4:5, 6; Luke 1:16, 17.


                                      THE LESSON

           The Passover Visit                       2. Where did Joseph and Mary find
                                                 their lost Child after He had been
  1. In harmony with the Mosaic                  missing for three days? Luke 2:43-46,
law, what feast did Jesus attend when            first part.
He was twelve years old? Luke 2:
41, 42.
                                                   NoTE.-"By one day's neglect they lost
                                                 the Saviour; but it cost them three days
                                                 of anxious search to find Him. So with us;
  NoTE.-"The deliverance of Israel from          by idle talk, evilspeaking, or neglect of
Egypt was an object lesson of redemption,        prayer, we may in one day lose the Sav-
which the Passover was intended to keep          iour's presence, and it may take many days
in memory. The slain lamb, the unleavened        of sorrowful search to find Him, and re-
bread, the sheaf of first fruits, represented    gain the peace that we have lost."-The
the Saviour. . . .                               Desire of Ages, page 83.
  "Day by day He saw their meaning
more clearly. Every act seemed to be               3. What had Jesus been doing in
bound up with His own life. New impulses         the temple during this time? Luke
were awakening within Him. Silent and            2:46 (last part), 47.
absorbed, He seemed to be studying out a
great problem. The mystery of His mission
was opening to the Saviour."-The Desire
of Ages, pages 77, 78.                               Non.-"At that day an apartment con-
                                            [ 10 ]
nected with the temple was devoted to a
sacred school, after the manner of the
schools of the prophets. . . . As one seek-
ing for wisdom, He questioned these teach-
ers in regard to the prophecies, and to
events then taking place that pointed to the
advent of the Messiah. . . . While showing
how narrow and superficial was the wisdom
of the wise men, every question put be-
fore them a divine lesson, and placed truth
in a new aspect. . . . If followed, the
lines of truth He pointed out would have
worked a reformation in the religion of the
day."—The Desire of Ages, pages 78, 79.
  4. With what question did Mary
greet her Son, and how did He an-
swer? Luke 2:48, 49.
                                                  THIS,T00, WAS 'HS FATHERS BUSINESS.
                                                  30 56-5                                 =Ten




  NOTE.—"In the answer to His mother,              6. What is said of Jesus' growth
Jesus showed for the first time that He          and development? Luke 2:40, 52.
understood His relation to God. . . . While
she believed that her child was to be Is-
rael's Messiah, she did not comprehend His
mission."—The Desire of Ages, pages 81, 82.        NoTE.—"His mother was His first hu-
                                                 man teacher. From her lips and from the
            The Early Years                      scrolls of the prophets, He learned of heav-
                                                 enly things. . . . And spread out before
  5. What example did Jesus set in               Him was the great library of God's created
His home life? What occupation did               works. . . . He studied the life of plants
He follow? Luke 2:51; Mark 6:3.                  and animals, and the life of man. From
                                                 His earliest years He was possessed of one
                                                 purpose; He lived to bless others. . . .
                                                 Continually He was seeking to draw from
  NOTE.—"Nor must we lose sight of the           things seen illustrations by which to pre-
fact that it was in these silent, unrecorded     sent the living oracles of God."—The De-
years that a great part of His work was          sire of Ages, page 70. •
done. . . . That noiseless battle, in which
no clash of weapons sounds, but in which            7. In Christ's early ministry, what
the combatants against us are none the less       act and words of His brothers indi-
terrible because they are not seen, went on       cate conflict in the home? Mark 3:
through all the years of His redeeming            31, 32; John 7:5.
obedience. . . . They were the years of a
sinless childhood, a sinless boyhood, a sin-
less youth, a sinless manhood, spent in
that humility, toil, obscurity, submission,         NOTE.—"His brothers, as the sons of
contentment, prayer, to make them an              Joseph were called, sided with the rabbis.
eternal example to all our race. . . . The        They insisted that the traditions must be
vast majority of us are placed, by God's          heeded, as if they were the requirements of
own appointment, amid those quiet duties          God. . . . They were greatly annoyed at
of a commonplace and uneventful routine           the clear penetration of Jesus in distinguish-
which are most closely analogous to the           ing between the false and the true. . . .
thirty years of His retirement."—F. W.            Being older than Jesus, they felt that He
Farrar, The Life of Christ, 1887 ed., pp.         should be under their dictation."—The De-
43, 44 (ch. 7).                                   sire of Ages, pages 86, 87.
                                           f   11 ]
         The Ministry of John                     NOTE.—"His sentences strike, swift and
                                                glittering, like lightning flashes, amidst the
  8. Where did John the Baptist                 roll of judgment-day thunders. . . . He
spend his days of preparation? Luke             compares Israel to a barren fruit tree ready
                                                for felling, and points to the ax already
1:80.                                           laid at its roots. Timely repentance, and
                                                the bringing forth good fruit, may avert
                                                the stroke, otherwise it must presently fall,
                                                and the tree be cast into the fire. The next
  NoTE.—"The training of the rabbinical         moment Israel is a great threshing floor,
schools would have unfitted him for his         and the winnowing shovel is at hand to
work. . . . He [God] called him to the          cleanse it thoroughly, that the wheat may
desert, that he might learn of nature and       be gathered into the garner, and the chaff
nature's God."—The Desire of Ages, page         burned up with unquenchable fire."—Gei-
101.                                            kie, The Life and Words of Christ, vol. 1,
  "The solemn stillness of the hills, and       pp. 399, 400 (ch. 25).
the boundless sweep of the daily and
nightly heavens, effaced the thought of
man, and filled his soul with the majesty of      11. How did John the Baptist meet
God. What was man, whose days were a            the claim of the Pharisees and Sad-
handbreadth, and whose foundation was           ducees that they were the favored de-
in the dust, before the mighty Maker of         scendants of Abraham? Matt. 3:7-10;
heaven and earth ?"—Cunningham Geikie,          Luke 3:7-9.
The Life and Words of Christ, vol. 1, p.
382 (ch. 24).

  9. How did John's manner of life                12. How did the people respond to
contribute to the fulfillment of his            John's message? Matt. 3:5, 6; Mark
mission? Luke 1:15; Matt. 3:4.                  1:4, 5.



   NOTE.—"In order to fulfill his mission, he            The Coming of Elijah
must have a sound physical constitution,
and mental and spiritual strength. There-         13. When challenged, what proph-
fore it would be necessary for him to con-      ecy did John cite? John 1:19-23; Isa.
trol the appetites and passions. . . . In       40:3, 4.
childhood and youth the character is most
impressible. The power of self-control
should then be acquired. By the fireside
and at the family board influences are ex-
erted whose results are as enduring as eter-      14. With what remarkable proph-
nity. More than any natural endowment,          ecy does the Old Testament close?
the habits established in early years decide    Mal. 4:5, 6. Compare Luke 1:16, 17.
whether a man will be victorious or van-
quished in the battle of life."—The Desire
of Ages, pages 100, 101.
  "His diet, purely vegetable, of locusts
and wild honey, was a rebuke to the in-      Nom—This is one of those prophecies
dulgence of appetite and the gluttony thathaving a double application, the earlier
everywhere prevailed."—Testimonies, vol.   fulfillment being a type of the latter. As
3, p. 62.                                  the message of John the Baptist, in the
                                          spirit and power of Elijah, prepared the
                                          way for the first advent of our Lord, so
  10. When and where did John be- the advent message is preparing a people
gin his ministry? What was his mes- for the great and terrible day 'of the Lord
sage? Luke 3:1-3, 10-14; Matt. 3:1, 2. in fulfillment of Revelation 14:9-12.
                                     [ 12 ]
                            Lesson 4, for July 28, 1956


                The Baptism and Temptation of Jesus

LESSON SCRIPTURES: Matt. 3:13-17; 4:1-11; Luke 3:21-23; 4:1-13.
MEMORY VERSE: "He answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread
   alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Matt. 4:4.
STUDY HELPS: "The Desire of Ages," pages 109-131; Sabbath School Lesson Helps
   in "Review and Herald" of July 12; "The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Com-
   mentary," volume 5.

                   DAILY STUDY ASSIGNMENT AND RECORD
                            Check Here                                           Check Here
Sabbath afternoon: General survey. ❑           Wednesday: Ques. 11-13.                   0
Sunday: Ques. 1-3.                  ❑          Thursday: Read Study Helps
Monday: Ques. 4-7.                  ❑               assignment.                            0
Tuesday: Ques. 8-10.                0          Friday: Review.                             0


Lesson Outline:

I. The Baptism of Jesus                             7. The effect of sensual indulgence.
    1. The baptism by John. Luke 3:23;                  1 Peter 2:11.
        Matt. 3:13-15.                          III. The Secondlemptation
    2. The example of Jesus. John 3:23 ;
        Matt. 3:6, 16 ; Rom. 6:4.                   8. Presumption versus faith. Matt.
    3. The witness from heaven. Luke                     4:5, 6; Ps. 91:11, 12.
        3 :22 ; Acts 10:38.                         9. Jesus' defense. Matt. 4:7.
II. The First Temptation                        IV. The Third Temptation
    4. The ordeal in the wilderness.                10. The love of the world. Matt.
        Mark 1:12, 13 ; Luke 4:1, 2.                    4:8, 9.
    5. The hour of weakness. Matt. 4:2.             11. The victory. Luke 4:8.
    6. The subtle insinuation met.                  12, Angel ministry. Matt. 4:11.
        Matt. 4:3,.4.                               13: Mighty to save. Heb. 2:17, 18.

                                   THE LESSON

        The Baptism of Jesus                    characterthat he had never before per-
                                                ceived in any man. The very atmosphere of
  1. At what age did our Lord be-               His presence was holy and awe-inspiring.
gin His public ministry? Why did                . . . Jesus did not receive baptism as a
the Sinless One come to John to be              confession of guilt on His own account. He
                                                identified Himself with sinners, taking the
baptized? Luke 3:23; Matt. 3:13-15.             steps that we are to take, and doing the
                                                work that we must do."-The Desire of
                                                Ages, pages 110, 111.
   NoTE.-"When Jesus came to be bap-              2. How does the Inspired Record
tized, John recognized in Him a purity of       indicate the mode of baptism and the
                                           [ 13 ]
experience that should follow bap-             his crucial effort to overcome Jesus?
tism? John 3:23; Matt. 3:6, 16; Rom.           Matt. 4:2.
6:4.

                                                  Nora.—"This was the tempter's moment.
_ 3. How was Christ anointed for               . . . When the enthusiasm is spent, when
His ministry, and what proclamation            the exaltation dies away, when the fire
                                               burns low, when Nature, weary and over-
was made by the Father at that time?           strained, reasserts her rights—in a word,
Luke 3:22; Acts 10:38.                         when a mighty reaction has begun, which
                                               leaves the man suffering, spiritless, ex-
                                               hausted—then is the hour of extreme dan-
                                               ger, and that has been, in many a fatal in-
   Nora.—"He was now, upon a wider             stance, the moment in which a man has
stage, entering on the conflict of his life.   fallen a victim to insidious allurement or
. . . Upon His arm depended the salvation      bold assault. It was at such a moment that
of the fallen race, and He reached out. His    the great battle of our Lord against the
hand to grasp the hand of Omnipotent           powers of evil was fought and won."—
Love.                                          F. W. Farrar, The Life of Christ, 1887 ed.,
   "The Saviour's glance seems to penetrate    pp. 56, 57 (ch. 9).
heaven as He pours out His soul in prayer.
. . . He pleads with the Father for power        6. How did Jesus meet Satan's
to overcome their unbelief, to break the       temptation to doubt His divinity?
fetters with which Satan has enthralled
them, and in their behalf to conquer the       Matt. 4:3, 4. Compare Deut. 8:3.
destroyer. He asks for the witness that
God accepts humanity in the person of His
Son. Never before have the angels lis-
tened to such a prayer. . . . The heavens        NorE.—"There came to the Saviour, as
are opened, and upon the Saviour's head        if in answer to His prayers, one in the
descends a dovelike form of purest light,—     guise of an angel from heaven. He claimed
fit emblem of Him, the meek and lowly          to have a commission from God to declare
One."—The Desire of Ages, pages 111, 112.      that Christ's fast was at an end. . . .
                                               Though he appears as an angel of light,
                                               these first words betray his character. 'If
         The First Temptation                  thou be the Son of God.' "—The Desire of
                                               Ages, page 118.
  4. Led by the Spirit, how did Jesus
spend the forty days in the wilder-              7. From what does Peter admonish
ness? Mark 1:12, 13; Luke 4:1, 2.              Christians to abstain, and for what
                                               reason? 1 Peter 2:11.

  NOTE.—"When Jesus was led into the
wilderness to be tempted, He was led by           NOTE.—"Of all the lessons to be learned
the Spirit of God. He did not invite temp-     from our Lord's first great temptation none
tation. He went to the wilderness to be        is more important than that bearing upon
alone, to contemplate His mission and          the control of the appetites and passions.
work. By fasting and prayer He was to          In all ages, temptations appealing to the
brace Himself for the bloodstained path        physical nature have been most effectual
He must travel. But Satan knew that the        in corrupting and degrading mankind.
Saviour had gone into the wilderness, and      Through intemperance, Satan works to
he thought this the best time to approach      destroy the mental and moral powers that
Him."—The Desire of Ages, page 114.            God gave to man as a priceless endowment.
                                               Thus it becomes impossible for men to
  5. At what point in the Saviour's            appreciate things of eternal worth. Through
wilderness experience did Satan make           sensual indulgence, Satan seeks to blot from
                                          [14 ]
                                              from the mountaintop view of the
                                              world? Matt. 4:8,        9.

                                                   NOTE.—"Satan . . . stated what was
                                                 true only in part, and he declared it to
                                                 serve his own purpose of deception. Sa-
                                                 tan's dominion was that wrested from
                                                 Adam, but Adam was the vicegerent of the
                                                 Creator. His was not an independent rule.
                                                 The earth is God's, and He has committed
                                                 all things to His Son. . . . When Adam be-
                                                 trayed his sovereignty into Satan's hands,
                                                 Christ still remained the rightful King. . . .
                                                 Satan can exercise his usurped authority
                                                 only as God permits."—The Desire of
  THE KINGDOMS OF THIS WORLD                     Ages, pages 129, 130.
  ARE ONLY A MOVIE SET.
                                                   11. With what summary dismissal
                                                 did our Lord give incontrovertible
the soul every trace of likeness to God.         evidence of His divinity? Luke 4:8.
. . . His [Jesus'] example declares that         Compare Deut. 10:20.
our only hope of eternal life is through
bringing the appetites and passions into
subjection to the will of God."—The De-
sire of Ages, page 122.
                                                   NoTE.—"Satan had questioned whether
                                                 Jesus was the Son of God. In his summary
       The Second Temptation                     dismissal he had proof that he could not
                                                 gainsay. Divinity flashed through suffer-
  8. How did Satan press his next                ing humanity. Satan had no power to re-
temptation? What vital phrase was                sist the command. . . . Christ's victory was
omitted from his quotation of Scrip-             as complete as had been the failure of
                                                 Adam. So we may resist temptation, and
ture? Matt. 4:5, 6; Ps. 91:11, 12.               force Satan to depart from us."—The De-
                                                 sire of Ages, page 130.
                                                   12. Who ministered to Jesus in His
   NoTE.—"Faith is in no sense allied to         exhaustion? Matt. 4:11.
presumption. . . . Presumption is Satan's
counterfeit of faith. . . . It is not faith
that claims the favor of Heaven without
complying with the conditions on which              NOTE.—"The angels now ministered to
mercy is to be granted. Genuine faith has        the Son of God as He lay like one dying.
its foundation in the promises and provi-        . . . Never can the cost of our redemption
sions of the Scriptures."—The Desire of          be realized until the redeemed shall stand
Ages, page 126.                                  with the Redeemer before the throne of
                                                 God. Then as the glories of the eternal
  9. How did Jesus withstand this                home burst upon our enraptured senses we
assault of the tempter? Matt. 4:7.               shall remember that Jesus left all this for us,
                                                 that He not only became an exile from the
Compare Deut. 6:16.                              heavenly courts, but for- us took the risk of
                                                 failure and eternal loss."—The Desire of
                                                 Ages, page 131.

        The Third Temptation                       13. What assurance does the vic-
                                                 torious experience of Jesus bring to
   10. What offer did Satan make                 us? Heb. 2:17, 18.
                                          ( 15   3
  NorE.-"If we had to bear anything             to which we are subject. And He exer-
which Jesus did not endure, then upon           cised in His own behalf no power that is
this point Satan would represent the power      not freely offered to us. As man, He met
of God as insufficient for us. Therefore        temptation, and overcame in the strength
Jesus was 'in all points tempted like as we     given Him from God."-The Desire of
are.' Heb. 4:15. He endured every trial         Ages, page 24.



                             Lesson 5, for August 4, 1956


                    The Early Events of Public Ministry

LESSON SCRIPTURE: John 1:35-51; 2:1-23.
MEMORY VERSE: "Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it." John 2:5.
STUDY HELPS: "The Desire of Ages," pages 132-166; Sabbath School Lesson Helps
   in "Review and Herald" of July 19; "The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Com-
   mentary," volume 5.

                     DAILY STUDY ASSIGNMENT AND RECORD

                            Check Here                                          Check Here
Sabbath afternoon: General survey. ❑            Wednesday: Ques. 11-14.                 0
Sunday: Ques. 1-4.                  ❑           Thursday: Read Study Helps
Monday: Ques. 5-7.                  ❑                assignment.                          0
Tuesday: Ques. 8-10.                ❑           Friday: Review.


Lesson Outline:
                                                    8. The governor's testimony. John
I. The First Disciples                                  2:9-11.

     1. Andrew and John. John 1:35-40.          III. In the Temple
     2. Simon Peter. John 1:41, 42.                  9. Attending the Passover. John
     3. Philip and Nathanael. John                      2:13.
         1:43-46.                                   10. The desecration of the temple.
     4. Nathanael's confession of faith.                John 2:14.
         John 1:47-51.                              11. Cleansing of the temple. John
II. The First Miracle                                   2:15-17; Ps. 69:9.
                                                    12. The sign of Messiahship. John
     5. At the marriage feast. John                     2:18-21.
         2:1, 2.                                    13. Cause of belief in Christ. John
     6. Mary's request. John 2:3, 4.                    2:23.
     7. Turning the water into wine.                14. Cleansing the spiritual temple.
         John 2:5-8.                                    1 Cor. 3:16, 17.


                                       THE LESSON

           The First Disciples                  two disciples led to Jesus? How did
                                                our Lord respond to their inquiry?
   1. By what testimony were the first          John 1:35-40.
                                           [ 16 ]
  NoTE.—"The evangelist John informs us,        with Christ, yet who have never made a
that one of the disciples was Andrew, the       personal effort to bring even one soul to
brother of Simon Peter; and it is con-          the Saviour. . ... Many have gone down
jectured, from his silence, that himself        to ruin who might have been saved if
was the other; for it is remarkable, that       their neighbors, common men and women,
in his writings he studiously concealed his     had put forth personal effort for them.
own name."—Fleetwood, Life of Christ            Many are waiting to be personally ad-
(New Haven, 1832), p. 72.                       dressed. In the very family, the neighbor-
                                                hood, the town, where we live, there is
  2. What did Andrew immediately                work for us to do as missionaries for
do? What revealing name did Jesus               Christ."—The Desire of Ages, page 141.
apply to Simon? John 1:41, 42.
                                                           The First Miracle

                                                  5. What occasion furnished Jesus
  Nora.—The Revised Standard Version of         opportunity to come close to the peo-
these verses reads: "He first found his         ple socially? John 2:1, 2.
brother Simon, and said to him, 'We have
found the Messiah' (which means Christ).
He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at
him, and said, 'So you are Simon the son          NOTE.—"Jesus reproved self-indulgence
of john ;You shall be called- Cephas'           in all its forms, yet He was social in His
(which means Peter [rock])."                    nature. He accepted the hospitality of all
  "The eyeof Christ rested upon him, read-      classes, visiting the homes of the rich and
ing his character and his life history. His     the poor, the learned and the ignorant,
impulsive '*nature, his loving, sympathetic     and seeking to elevate their thoughts from
heart, his 'ambition and self-confidence, the   questions of commonplace life to those
history of his fall, his repentance, his la-    things that are spiritual and eternal. He
bors, and his martyr death,—the Saviour         gave no license to dissipation, and no
read it all."--The Desire of Ages, page 139.    shadow of worldly levity marked His con-
                                                duct; yet He found pleasure in scenes of
  3. Who next heard the call to disci-          innocent happiness, and by His presence
pleship, and what' was his first act?           sanctioned the social gathering. A Jewish
John 1:43-46.                                   marriage was an impressive occasion, and
                                                its joy was not displeasing to the Son of
                                                man. By attending this feast, Jesus hon-
                                                ored marriage as a divine institution."—
  NOTE.—"There was but one answer to            The Desire of Ages, pages 150, 151.
this—that which Philip, made, which Jesus
had. Made to Andrew. and John, and which           6. What suggestion did Mary make
hai ever since been the best answer to all      to Jesus when the wine unexpectedly
Christian inquiry: `CoMe and see.' "—Al-        gave out? How did Jesus reply and
fred Edersheim' The Life and, Times of Je-      why? John 2:3, 4.,
sus the Messiah, vol. 1, pp. 349, 350.
   4. What were Christ's words of
greeting and Nathanael's words of                 NcrrE.—"The words at first sound harsh,
faith? What greater evidence did Je-            and almost repellent in their roughness and
sus promise? John 1:47-51.                      brevity; but that is the fault partly of our
                                                version, partly of our associations...
                                                The address 'Woman' . . . was so respect-
                                                ful that it might be, and was, addressed to
   NOTE.—"These examples should teach us        the queenliest, and so gentle that it might
the importance of personal effort, of mak-      be, and was, addressed at the tenderest mo-
ing direct appeals to our kindred, friends,     ments to the most fondly loved."—F. W.
and neighbors. There are those who for • a      Farrar, The Life of Christ, 1887 ed.,-'p.
lifetime have professed to be acquainted        77 (ch. 11). Compare John 19:26.
   7. What instruction did Mary give
to the servants? As they obeyed the
command of Jesus, what miracle was
wrought? John 2:5-8.


  NOTE.—"He who each year prepares the
wine in the grape, causing it to absorb,
and swell with, the moisture of earth and
heaven, to transmute this into nobler
juices of its own, did now concentrate all
those slower processes into a single mo-
ment, and accomplish in an instant what
usually He takes many months to accom-
plish."—R. C. Trench, Notes on the Mira-                                  3. PETER AT PENTECOST
cles of Our Lord, 11th ed., pp. 115, 116.
  "The wine which Christ provided for               THE LORD KNOWS TO WHAT HE CALLS US.
the feast, and that which He gave to the           305e-5
disciples as a symbol of His own blood, was
the pure juice of the grape. To this the
prophet Isaiah refers when he speaks of             NoTE.—"The numbers who flocked to
the new wine 'in the cluster,' and says,          the Passover from every region of the East
`Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it.' Isa.   might be counted by tens of thousands.
65:8. It was Christ who in the Old Testa-         There were far more than the city could
ment gave the warning to Israel, 'Wine is         by any possibility accommodate."—Farrar,
a mocker, strong drink is raging: and who-        The Life of Christ, p. 33 (ch. 6).
soever is deceived thereby is not wise.'            "That immense multitude, composed of
Prov. 20:1. And He Himself provided no            pilgrims from every land, and proselytes of
such beverage."—The Desire of Ages, page          every nation, brought with them many
149. Compare Isa. 65:8 ; Prov. 20:1.              needs."—Ibid., p. 87 (ch. 13).
  8. How did the governor of the                  _ 10. As Jesus entered the temple
feast testify to the quality of this              courts, what scenes Qf desecration
wine? What was the effect of this                 aroused His indignation? John 2:14.
miracle? John 2:9-11.


   NoTE.—"As men set forth the best wine            NoTE.—"Many were unable to bring with
first, then afterward that which is worse,        them the sacrifices that were to be offered
so does the world with its gifts. That            up as typifying the one great Sacrifice. For
which it offers may please the eye and            the convenience of these, animals were
fascinate the senses, but it proves to be         bought and sold in the outer court of the
unsatisfying. The wine turns to bitterness,       temple. Here all classes of people assem-
the gaiety to gloom. That which was be-           bled to purchase their offerings. Here all
gun with songs and mirth ends in weari-           foreign money was exchanged for the coin
ness and disgust. But the gifts of Jesus are      of the sanctuary. Every Jew was required
ever fresh and new. The feast that He             to pay yearly a half shekel as 'a ransom for
provides for the soul never fails to give         his soul;' and the money thus collected was
satisfaction and joy."—The Desire of Ages,        used for the support of the temple. Ex.
page' 148.                                        30:12-16. Besides this, large sums were
              In the Temple
                                                  brought as freewill offerings. . . .
                                                    "The money changing gave opportunity
                                                  for fraud and extortion, and it had grown
  9. What feast drew Jesus to Jeru-               into a disgraceful traffic, which was a
salem? How general was the attend-                source of revenue to the. priests. The
ance? John 2:13.                                  dealers demanded exorbitant prices for the
animals sold, and they shared their profits        13. What caused many to believe
with the priests and rulers."—The Desire of     in Christ at this time? John 2:23.
Ages, pages 154, 155.
  11. With what irresistible mani-
festation of divine authority did our             NOTE.—"When they [priests and rulers]
Lord cleanse the temple? What proph-            fled, the poor remained behind. . . . All
ecy did this act recall? John 2:15-17;          received attention. Everyone was healed
Ps. 69:9.                                       of whatever disease he had. . . . The hearts
                                                of the sufferers were made glad."—The De-
                                                sire of Ages, page 163.

  NorE.—"From the sacredness which was            14. What warning is given against '
attached to the earthly sanctuary, Chris-       defiling the body temple? 1 Cor. 3:
tians may learn how they should regard          16, 17. Compare 2 Cor. 6:16.
the place where the Lord meets with His
people. There has been a great change,
not for the better, but for the worse, in the
habits and customs of the people in refer-         NOTE.—"The courts of the temple at Je-
ence to religious worship. The precious,        rusalem, filled with the tumult of unholy
the sacred, things which connect us with        traffic, represented all too truly the temple
God are fast losing their hold upon our         of the heart, defiled by the presence of sen-
minds and hearts, and are being brought         sual passion and unholy thoughts. In
down to the level of common things."—           cleansing the temple from the world's buy-
Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 491.                    ers and sellers, ,Jesus announced His mis-
                                                sion to cleanse the heart from the defile-
   12. How was Christ's answer about            ment of sin,—from the earthly desires, the
signs misunderstood by the Jewish               selfish lusts, the evil habits, that corrupt
leaders? John 2:18-21.                          the soul."—The Desire of Ages, page 161.




                              Lesson 6, for August 11, 1956


                            Christ a Personal Worker

LESSON SCRIPTURES: John 3:1-16; 4:1-42.
MEMORY VERSE: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son,
  that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
  John 3:16.
STUDY HELPS: "The Desire of Ages," page 167-177, 183-195; Sabbath School Les-
   son Helps in "Review and Herald" of July 26; "The Seventh-day Adventist
   Bible Commentary," volume 5.


                      DAILY STUDY ASSIGNMENT AND RECORD

                            Check Here                                            Check Here
Sabbath afternoon: General survey. ❑             Wednesday: Ques. 12-14.                  ❑
Sunday: Ques. 1-4.                  0            Thursday: Read Study Helps
Monday: Ques. 5-8.                  0                 assignment.                         ❑
Tuesday: Ques. 9-11.                             Friday: Review.                          ❑
                                            [ 19 ]
Lesson Outline:

I. The New Birth Explained to                       8. Breaking down prejuice.. John 4:7
     Nicodemus                                           (last part), 8, 9.
                                                    9. Living water. John 4:10-14.
    1. Nicodemus visits Jesus. John 3:1, 2.        10. Life secrets revealed. John 4:16-18.
    2. Jesus states a vital truth. John
         3:3-5.
                                                III. Two Great Announcements
    3. The sinner's helplessness. John
         3:6, 7; Jer. 13:23.                        11. Acceptable worship. John 4:19-24.
    4. The new birth illustrated. John 3:8.         12. Jesus announces His Messiahship.
    5. The fruit of the new birth. 2 Cor.                John 4:25, 26.
         5:17; Gal. 5:22, 23.
    6. "Whosoever believeth in Him."            IV. The Ripened Harvest Fields
         John 3:14-16.
                                                    13. Jesus' passion for souls. John
II. The Woman of Samaria                                 4:31-34.
     7. At Jacob's well. John 4:4-7, first          14. Witnessing for Christ. John
         part.                                           4:28-30, 39-42.


                                      THE LESSON

      The New Birth Explained                   in no saving good for you to discuss with
                                                Me My authority or My mission."-The
             to Nicodemus                       Desire of Ages, page 171.
  1. Who came to Jesus by night, and               3. How helpless is the sinner to
for what purpose? John 3:1, 2.                  work out his own salvation? John 3:
                                                6, '7; Jer. 13:23.

  NOTE.-"His [Nicodemus's] words were
designed to express and to invite confi-           NOTE.-"Education, culture, the exercise
dence; but they really expressed unbelief.      of the will, human effort, all have their
He did not acknowledge Jesus to be the          proper sphere, but here they are powerless.
Messiah, but only a teacher sent from God."     They may produce an outward correctness
-The Desire of Ages, page 168.                  of behavior, but they cannot change the
                                                heart; they cannot purify the springs of
  2. How did our Lord point out the             life. There must be a power working from
soul need of this ruler of the Jews?            within, a new life from above, before men
How was this vital truth emphasized?.           can be changed from sin to holiness. That
John 3:3-5. Compare 1 Cor. 2:14.                power is Christ. His grace alone can
                                                quicken the lifeless faculties of the soul,
                                                and attract it to God, to holiness."-Steps
                                                to Christ, page 20.
• NOTE.-The margin •of John 3:3 reads,            4. How did the gavioui illustrate
 "born from above."
   "Jesus laid bare the foundation principles   the new birth? John 3:8.
 of truth. He said to Nicodemus, It is not
 theoretical knowledge you need so much as
 spiritual regeneration. You need not to
 have your curiosity satisfied, but to have       NoTE.-"A person may not be able to tell
 a new heart. You must receive a new life       the exact time or place, or to trace all the
 from above before you can appreciate           circumstances in the process of conversion;
 heavenly things. Until this change takes       but this does not prove him to be uncon-
 place, making all things new, it will result   verted. By an agency as unseen as the
                                                   6. By what familiar symbol did
                                                 Jesus reveal His mission? How is the
                                                 infinite love of God revealed? John
                                                 3:14-16.


                                                    NoTE.—"The symbol of the uplifted ser-
                                                 pent made plain to him the Saviour's mis-
                                                 sion. . . . As the image made in the likeness
                                                 of the destroying serpents was lifted up for
                                                 their healing, so One made 'in the likeness
                                                 of sinful flesh' was to be their Redeemer.
                                                 . . . Whether for the healing of their
                                                 wounds or the pardon of their sins, they
                          • It
                                       ;VW
                                                 could do nothing for theMselves but show
  CHRIST WAS BORN INTO THE WORLD;                their faith in the Gift of God. They were
 •WE MUST BE BORN INTO THE KINGDOM               to look and live. . . . The light from that
 s- a    OF HEAVEN.                              secret interview illumined the cross upon
                                                 Calvary, and Nicodernus saw in Jesus the
                                                 world's Redeemer."—The Desire , of Ages,
wind, Christ is constantly working upon          pages 174-177.
the heart. Little by little, perhaps uncon-
sciously to the receiver, impressions are
made that tend to draw the soul to Christ.              The Woman of Samaria
These may be received through meditating
upon Him, through reading the Scriptures,          7. Passing through Somalia, at
or through hearing the word from the             what particular spot did Jesus stop to
living preacher. Suddenly, as the Spirit         rest? Who came to draw water? John
comes with more direct appeal, the soul          4:4-7, first part.
gladly surrenders itself to Jesus."—The De-
sire of Ages, page 172.

  5. How are the results of this ex-               NOTE.—"On the way to Galilee Jesus
perience revealed in the life? 2 Cor.            passed through Samaria. It was noon when
5:17; Gal. 5:22, 23.                             He reached the beautiful Vale of Shechem.
                                                 At the opening of this valley was Jacob's
                                                 well.' Wearied with His journey, He sat
                                                 down here to rest while His disciples went
   NOTE. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,     to buy food. . . .
 he is a new creation ; the old has passed         "As Jesus sat by the well side, He was
-away, behold, the new has come." 2 Cor.         faint from hunger and thirst. The journey
 5:17, R.S.V.                                    since morning had been long, and now the
   "When the Spirit of God takes possession      sun of noontide beat upon Him. His thirst
 of the heart, it transforms the life. Sinful    was increased by the thought of the cool,
 thoughts are put away, evil deeds are re-       refreshing water so near, yet inaccessible
 nounced; love, humility, and peace take         to Him; for He had no rope nor water 'jar,
 the' place of anger, envy, and strife. Joy      and the ,well was deep. The lot of hu-
 takes the place of sadness, and the counte-     manity was His, and He waited for some-
 nance reflects the light of heaven. No one      one to come to draw."--The Desire of
 sees the hand that lifts the burden, or be-     Ages, page 183.    '
 holds the light descend from the 'courts
 above. The blessing comes when by faith
 the soul surrenders itself to God. Then             8. By what simple request .did Je-
 that power which no human eye can see            sus seek to disarm prejudice? How
 creates a' new being in the image of God."       did the woman respond? John 4:7
  —The Desire of Ages, page 173.                  (last part), 8, 9.
                                             [ 21 I
  NOTE.—"The Saviour was seeking to find         spirit and heart."—Cunningham Geikie, The
the key to this heart, and with the tact         Life and Words of Christ, vol. 1, p. 528
born of divine love, He asked, not of-           (ch. 31).
fered, a favor. The offer of a kindness
might have been rejected; but trust awak-          12. What hope did the words of
ens trust. The King of heaven came to this       Jesus bring to the woman's mind?
outcast soul, asking a service at her hands."    What wonderful announcement did
—The Desire of Ages, page 184.                   Jesus then make? John 4:25, 26.
  9. How did the Master turn the
conversation to her spiritual need?
John 4:10-14.                                      NOTE. "His birth had been first revealed
                                                 by night to a few unknown and ignorant
                                                 shepherds; the first full, clear announce-
                                                 ment by Himself of His own Messiaship
  NOTE.—"He who seeks to quench his              was made by a well side in the weary noon
thirst at the fountains of this world will       to a single obscure Samaritan woman. And
drink only to thirst again. Everywhere           to this poor, sinful, ignorant stranger had
men are unsatisfied. They long for some-         been uttered words of immortal signifi-
thing to supply the need of the soul. Only       cance, to which all future ages would listen,
One can meet that want. The need of the          as it were with hushed breath and on their
world, 'the Desire of all nations,' is Christ.   knees."—F. W. Farrar, The Life of Christ,
The divine grace which He alone can im-          1887 ed., p. 100 (ch. 15).
part, is as living water, purifying, refresh-
ing, and invigorating the soul. . . . Every
human resource and dependence will fail.              The Ripened Harvest Fields
The cisterns will be emptied, the pools be-
come dry; but our Redeemer is an inex-              13. Pressed by His disciples to par-
haustible fountain."—The Desire of Ages,         take of food, what secret of His power
page 187.                                        did our Lord reveal? John 4:31-34:
  10. How did our Lord reveal His
knowledge of the woman's life? John
4:16-18.
                                                   14. What convincing testimony did
                                                 the woman bear to the people of
                                                 Sychar? What was the result? John
     Two Great Announcements                     4:28-30, 39-42.

  11. How did Jesus define accepta-
ble worship? John 4:19-24.
                                                  NorE.—"There may be only one to hear
                                                the message; but who can tell how far-
                                                reaching will be its influence? It seemed a
  NOTE.—"Words like these marked an small matter, even to His disciples, for the
epoch in the spiritual history of the world; Saviour to spend His time upon a woman
a revolution in all previous ideas of the of Samaria. But He reasoned more ear-
relation of man to his Maker. They are nestly and eloquently with her than with
the proclamation of the essential equality kings, councilors, or high priests. The les-
of man before God. . . . Rising high, not sons He gave to that woman have been
only above His own age, but even above repeated to the earth's remotest bounds.
the prejudices of all ages since, He gives . . . Through the woman whom they [the
mankind their charter of spiritual liberty disciples] despised, a whole cityful were
for evermore. . . . The worth of man's brought to hear the Saviour. . . . Every
homage to God does not depend on the true disciple is born into the kingdom of
place where it is paid. The true worship God as a missionary."—The Desire of Ages,
has its temple in the inmost soul, in the pages 194, 195.
                                           [ 22 ]
                            Lesson 7, for August 18, 1956


            The Baptist's Death; Jesus' Ministry in Galilee
LESSON SCRIPTURES: Matt. 11:1-11; 14:1-11; Mark 1:35-45; 6:17-30; Luke 7:19-28.
MEMORY VERSE: "The Lord hath anointed Me to preach good tidings unto the
   meek; He hath sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to
   the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim
   the acceptable year of the Lord." Isa. 61:1, 2.
STUDY HELPS: "The Desire of Ages," pages 214-225, 236-243, 262-271; Sabbath
   School Lesson Helps in "Review and Herald" of August 2; "The Seventh-day
   Adventist Bible Commentary," volume 5.

                  DAILY STUDY ASSIGNMENT AND RECORD
                            Check Here                                             Check Here
Sabbath afternoon: General survey. ❑   Wednesday: Ques. 13-15.
Sunday: Ques. 1-4.                  ❑  Thursday: Read Study Helps
Monday: Ques. 5-8.                  ❑       assignment.
Tuesday: Ques. 9-12.                ❑  Friday: Review.                                        0


Lesson Outline:

I. The Baptist's Death
     1. John cast into prison. Matt. 14:3-5.            8. Answering the questioning of the
     2. Jesus answers John's questions.                      Jews. Luke 4:22-27.
          Matt. 11:2-6.                                 9. The escape from an angry mob.
     3. Jesus' testimony of John. Matt.                      Luke 4:28-30.
          11:7-11.                                     10. Jesus moves to Capernaum.
     4. Herod's rash vow. Matt. 14:6, 7;                     Matt. 4:13 ; 9:1.
          Mark 6:21-23.
     5. Salome's fatal request. Matt.               III. Cleansing the Leper
          14:8-11.                                      11. The place of power. Mark 1:35.
     6. Herod's guilty conscience. Matt.                12. The leper healed. Matt. 8:2, 3.
          14:1, 2.                                      13. A lesson for us. Mark 1:42.
II. Jesus at Nazareth                                   14. Christ's command to the leper.
                                                             Matt. 8:4.
     7. Teaching in the synagogue. Luke                 15. Jesus avoids publicity. Mark
         4:17-21; Isa. 61:1, 2.                              1:45.

                                      THE LESSON

                                                      NOTE.-"Herod believed John to be a
          The Baptist's Death                       prophet of God, and he fully intended to
                                                    set him at liberty. But he delayed his pur-
  1. Why did Herod Antipas cast                     pose from fear of Herodias. Herodias knew
John into prison? What restrained                   that by direct measures she could never
Herod from taking the Baptist's life?               win Herod's consent to the death of John,
                                                    and she resolved to accomplish her purpose
What did Herodias want to do? Matt.                 by stratagem."-The Desire of Ages, pages
14:3-5. Compare Mark 6:17-20.                       220, 221.
                                               23
  2. With what question did John                  6. What was the effect of this deed
send two of his disciples to Jesus?             upon Herod? Matt. 14:1, 2.
How did Christ demonstrate the na-
ture of His mission? Matt. 11:2-6.
Compare Luke 7:19-23.
                                                  NoTE.—"Herod's sin was ever before
                                                him. He was constantly seeking to find re-
                                                lief from the accusings of a guilty con-
   NoTE.—"The works of Christ not only          science. . . . He thought that God had
declared Him to be the Messiah, but showed      raised John from the dead, and sent him
in what manner His kingdom was to be            forth with still greater power to condemn
established. . . . Jesus was to do His work,    sin. He was in constant fear that John
not with the clash of arms and the over-        would avenge his death by passing con-
turning of thrones and kingdoms, but            demnation upon him and his house. . . .
through speaking to the hearts of men by        The sinner's own thoughts are his accus-
a life of mercy and self-sacrifice. . . . Un-   ers; and there can be no torture keener
derstanding more clearly now the nature of      than the stings of a guilty conscience."—
Christ's mission, he [John] yielded himself     The Desire of Ages, page 223.
to God for life or for death, as should best
serve the interests of the cause he loved."
—The Desire of Ages, pages 217, 218.                       Jesus at Nazareth

  3. What testimony did Jesus bear                 7. What scripture did Jesus apply
to the work and character of John?              to Himself? Luke 4:17-21; Isa. 61:1, 2.
Matt. 11:7-11.

                                                   8. How did Jesus reveal His knowl-
  4. At King Herod's birthday ban-              edge of His fellow townsmen's ques-
quet what rash vow did he make?                 tioning? Luke 4:22-27.
Matt 14:6, 7; Mark 6:21-23.

                                                  NoTE.—"Even the heathen who choose
  5. What did Salome request? How               the right as far as they can distinguish it
did Herod keep his promise? Matt.               are in a more favorable condition than
                                                those who have had great light, and profess
14:8-11. Compare Mark 6:24-28.                  to serve God, but who disregard the light,
                                                and by their daily life contradict their pro-
                                                fession. The words of Jesus to His hear-
                                                ers in the synagogue struck at the root of
  NoTE.—"For the sake of thousands who          their self-righteousness, pressing home upon
in after years must pass from prison to         them the bitter truth that they had de-
death, John was to drink the cup of mar-        parted from God and forfeited their claim
tyrdom. As the followers of Jesus should        to be His people."—The Desire of Ages,
languish in lonely cells, or perish by the      page 239.
sword, the rack, or the fagot, apparently
forsaken by God and man, what a stay to           9. How did Jesus escape from
their hearts would be the thought that          threatened violence? Luke 4:28-30.
John the Baptist, to whose faithfulness
Christ Himself had borne witness, had           Compare Ps. 34:7; 91:11, 12.
passed through a similar experience! . . .
Of all the gifts that heaven can bestow
upon men, fellowship with Christ in His
sufferings is the most weighty trust and          NoTE.—"The heavenly messengers who
the highest honor."—The Desire of Ages,         had been by His side in the synagogue
pages 224, 225.                                 were with Him in the midst of that mad-
                                           [24]
                                                           Cleansing the Leper
                                                   •
                                                    11. What habit of Jesus' reveals
                                                  the secret of His power? Mark 1:35.



                                                     NoTE.—"He that wishes to enjoy reli-
                                                  gion will seek a place of secret prayer in
                                                  the morning. If that is omitted, all will go
                                                  wrong. Our piety will wither. The world
                                                  will fill our thoughts. Temptations will be
                                                  strong. . . . This will be found to be true,
                                                  universally, that the pious feelings—the re-
                                                  ligious enjoyment through the day, will be
                                                  according to the state of the heart in the
                                ..tra
    UNCLEANNESS VANISHES AT THE ..                morning; and can therefore, be measured'
     TOUCH OF THE SAVIOUR.
3Q56-7 .                                          by our faithfulness in early secret prayer."
                                                  —Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testa-
                                                  ment, comment on Mark 1:35-37.
dened throng. They shut Him in from                    12. How was a leper's faith re-
His enemies, and conducted Him to a place
of safety. . . . So, in all ages, angels have     warded? Matt. 8:2, 3.
been near to Christ's faithful followers.
. . . From what dangers, seen and unseen,
we have been preserved through the inter-
position of the angels, we shall never know,   N0TE.—"When this man came to Jesus,
until in the light of eternity we see the    he was 'full of leprosy.' Its deadly poison
providences of God."—The Desire of Ages,     permeated his whole body. . . . Thus it is
page 240.                                    with the leprosy of sin—deep-rooted,
                                             deadly, impossible to be cleansed by hu-
   10. Following His rejection at Naz-„.. man power. 'The whole head is sick, and
areth, what city did Jesus choose as the whole heart faint. From the sole of
the center of His activities? Matt. 4: the foot even unto the head there is no
13; 9:1.                                     soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises,
                                             and putrefying sores.' . . . Whoever will
                                             fall at His feet, saying in faith, 'Lord, if
                                             Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean,'
                                             shall hear the answer, 'I will; be thou
  NorE.—"Capernaum itself was well clean.' "—The Ministry of. Healing, page 70.
adapted to be the center of the Saviour's
work. Being on the highway from Damas-          13. What lesson may be learned
cus to Jerusalem and Egypt, and to the from the promptness of the healing
Mediterranean Sea, it was a great thorough- of the leper ? Mark 1:42.
fare of travel. People from many lands
passed through the city, or tarried for rest
in their journeyings to and fro. Here Jesus
could meet all nations and all ranks, the
rich and great as well as the poor and         NoTE.—"In some instances of healing, Je-
lowly, and His lessons would be carried sus did not at once grant the blessing
to other countries and into many house- sought. But in the case of leprosy no
holds. Investigation of the prophecies sooner was the appeal made than it was
would thus be excited, attention would be granted. When we pray for earthly bless-
directed to the Saviour, and His mission ings, the answer to our prayer may be de-
would be brought before the world."— layed, or God may give us something other
The Desire of Ages, pages 252, 253.          than we ask; but not so when we ask for
                                                26 I
deliverance from sin. It is His will to         his cure. This sentence, publicly pronounced
cleanse us from sin, to make us His chil-       and registered, was a standing testimony for
dren, and to enable us to live a holy life."    Christ."—The Desire of Ages, page 265.
—The Ministry of Healing, page 70.
                                                  15. What effect did his failure to
  14. What command did Jesus give               keep silent have upon the labors of
the cleansed leper? Matt. 8:4. Com-             our Lord? Mark 1:45.
pare Lev. 14:1-7.

                                                   NOTE.—"Lest His own stiller ministry
                                                should be hindered by the untimely con-
  NOTE.—"He longed to reach the priests         course of multitudes, drawn to Him in the
and teachers who were shut in by preju-         hope of worldly benefits (as on this very
dice and tradition. He left untried no          occasion actually did occur, Mark 1:45) ; or
means by which they might be reached. In        in the expectation of seeing wonderful
sending the healed leper to the priests, He     things; or it might be, lest the enmity of
gave them a testimony calculated to disarm      His foes should be prematurely roused by
their prejudices. The Pharisees had as-         the fame of His mighty deeds. . . . Lest,
serted that Christ's teaching was opposed       if a rumor of these things went before Him,
to the law which God had given through          the priests at Jerusalem, out of envy, out
Moses; but His direction to the cleansed        of a desire to depreciate what the Lord had
leper to present an offering according to the   wrought, might deny that the man had
law disproved this charge. It was sufficient    ever been a leper, or else that he was now
testimony for all who were willing to be        truly cleansed."—R. C. Trench, Notes on
convinced. . . . The same priests who con-      the Miracles of Our Lord, 11th ed., pp. 236,
demned the leper to banishment certified        237.




                              Lesson 8, for August 25, 1956


                                Calling the Twelve
LESSON SCRIPTURES: Matt. 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20; 2:14-22; 3:13-19; Luke 5:1-11,
   27-35.
MEMORY VERSE: "And He saith unto them, Follow Me, and I will make you fishers
  of men." Matt. 4:19.
STUDY HELPS: "The Desire of Ages," pages 244-251, 272-280, 290-297; Sabbath
   School Lesson Helps in "Review and Herald" of August 9; "The Seventh-day
   Adventist Bible Commentary," volume 5.

                      DAILY STUDY ASSIGNMENT AND RECORD

                            Check Here                                           Check Here
Sabbath afternoon: General survey. ❑            Wednesday: Ques. 11-13.                  0
Sunday: Ques. 1-4.                  ❑           Thursday: Read Study Helps
Monday: Ques. 5-7.                  ❑                assignment.                         0
Tuesday: Ques. 8-10.                ❑           Friday: Review.


                                           [261
Lesson Outline:

I. The Call by the Sea
    1. Teaching from a boat. Luke 5:1-3.                8. Matthew's immediate response.
    2. Launching into the deep. Luke                         Luke 5:27, 28.
        5:4, 5.                                         9. Jesus eats with publicans. Luke
    3. The miraculous draft of fish. Luke                    5:29-35.
        5:6, 7.
    4. Peter's reaction. Luke 5:8, 9.              III. Ordaining the Twelve
    5. Fishers of men. Matt. 4:18-21;                   10. Sacrificial nature of discipleship.
        Mark 1 :16-20 ; Luke 5:10.                           Matt. 8:19-22 ; Luke 9:57-62.
    6. Forsaking all for Christ. Matt.                  11. Jesus prays all night. Luke 6:12.
        4:20, 22.                                       12. The twelve apostles ordained.
II. The Call of Levi-Matthew                                 Luke 6:13-16.
                                                        13. Founding the church. Mark
     7. Jesus calls a publican. Matt. 9:9.                   3:14, 15.


                                      THE LESSON

         The Call by the Sea                          4. How did this manifestation of
                                                   divine power affect Peter? Luke 5:
  1. What new position did Jesus                   8, 9.
take from which to teach the people?
Luke 5:1-3.
                                                     NorE.-"God manifests Himself to His
                                                   future prophet, or apostle, or other mes-
                                                   senger, as He had never done before; and
   2. How did Peter respond to                     in the light of this manifestation the man
Christ's second suggestion? Luke 5:                recognizes his own weakness and insuf-
4, 5.                                              ficiency and guilt, as he had never done
                                                   before. He exclaims, 'I am slow of speech
                                                   and of a slow tongue,' or 'I cannot speak,
                                                   for I am a child,' or 'I am a man of un-
  3. As the men obeyed the command                 clean lips,' or, as here, 'I am a sinful man;'
of Christ, what miraculous results                 falls on his face, sets his mouth in the dust,
followed? Luke 5:6, 7.                             takes the shoes from off his feet; and then
                                                   out of the depth of this humiliation he rises
                                                   up another man, an instrument fitted for
                                                   the work of God."-Trench, Notes on the
                                                   Miracles of Our Lord, page 143.
  NoxE.-"Night was the only favorable
time for fishing with nets in the clear wa-
ters of the lake." "During that sad night             5. To what greater work did Je-
on the lake, when they were separated from          sus now call these humble fishermen?
Christ, the disciples were pressed hard by          Matt. 4:18-21; Mark 1:16-20; Luke
unbelief, and weary with fruitless toil. But        5:10.
His presence kindled their faith, and
brought them joy and success. So it is
with us; apart from Christ, our work is
fruitless, and it is easy to distrust and mur-        NoTE.-"Jesus chose unlearned fishermen
mur. But when He is near, and we labor              because they had not been schooled in the
under His direction, we rejoice in the evi-         traditions and erroneous customs of their
dence of His power."-The Desire of Ages,            time. They were men of native ability, and
pages 246, 249.                                     they were humble and teachable,-men
                                                 27 ]
whom He could educate for His work.. . .
It is not the highest work of education to
communicate knowledge merely, but to im-
part that vitalizing energy which is re-
ceived through the contact of mind with
mind, and soul with soul. It is only life
that can beget life. What privilege, then,
was theirs who for three years were in
daily contact with that divine life from
which has flowed every life-giving im-
pulse that has blessed the world!"—The
Desire of Ages, page 250.

   6. How did the disciples respond
to the Master's call? Matt. 4:20, 22.
Compare Luke 5:11.
                                                     THE 'SINNERS AND THE 'RIGHTEOUS"_ MAN
                                                        --WHAT A DIFFERENCE!
                                                                                       HWPA
                                                   3056•13


   NoTE.—"At the moment of success,
when the nets were filled with fish, and
the impulses of the old life were strongest,    in this man a heart open for the reception
Jesus asked the disciples at the sea to leave   of truth. Matthew had listened to the
all for the work of the gospel. So every        Saviour's teaching. As the convicting
soul is tested as to whether the desire for     Spirit of God revealed his sinfulness, he
temporal good or for fellowship with Christ     longed to seek help from Christ; but he
is strongest. Principle is always exacting.     was accustomed to the exclusiveness of the
No man can succeed in the service of God        rabbis, and had no thought that this Great
unless his whole heart is in the work and       Teacher would notice him."—The Desire
he counts all things but loss for the ex-       of Ages, page 272.
cellency of the knowledge of Christ. No
man who makes any reserve can be the              8. What was Matthew's response
disciple of Christ, much less can he be His     to the Master's invitation? Luke 5:
cblaborer."—The Desire of Ages, page 273.       27, 28.
      The Call of Levi-Matthew

   7. Who was next called to the serv-            NOTE.—"Matthew `left all, rose up, and
ice of Christ, and from what despised           followed Him.' There was no hesitation, no
class? Matt. 9:9.                               questioning, no thought of the lucrative
                                                business to be exchanged for poverty and
                                                hardship. It was enough for him that he
                                                was to be with Jesus, that he might listen
   NOTE.—"He [Matthew] was a publican,          to His words, and unite with Him in His
a taxgatherer. The whole class was hated        work."—The Desire of Ages, page 273.
by the Jews as symbols and instruments of
a foreign rule; they returned the hatred          9. How did Christ defend His pres-
and contempt with which they were re-           ence at a publican feast? Luke 5:
garded; they exacted more than was ap-          29-35.
pointed them; they were guilty, most of
them perhaps, of oppression, of fraud, of
unjust accusation, But if all were hated,
Hebrew publicans must, have been looked
upon with an especial hatred."—Pulpit                        Ordaining the Twelve
Commentary, on Matt. 9:9-17.'
   "The Pharisees had judged Matthew ac-          10. With what words did one disci-
cording to his employment, but Jesus saw        ple seek a place in the inner circle of
                                            [28]
disciples? How did Jesus seek to re-           prayer for these chosen ones. At the dawn
veal to him the sacrificial experience         He called them to Him, and, with words of
involved? Matt. 8:19-22; Luke 9:               prayer and instruction, laid His hands
57-62.                                         upon their heads in benediction, setting
                                               them apart to the gospel work."—Thoughts
                                               From the Mount of Blessing, pages 12-14.

  NoTE.—"While Jesus was preparing the           12. Name the Twelve whom Jesus
disciples for their ordination, one who had    ordained to be apostles. Luke 6:13-16.
not been summoned urged his presence
among them. It was Judas Iscariot, a man
who professed to be a follower of Christ.
He now came forward, soliciting a place in         NoTE.—Perhaps no more important list
this inner circle of disciples. With great      of names has ever been compiled. With
earnestness and apparent sincerity he de-       one change those names will be blazoned on
clared, 'Master, I will follow Thee whither-    the foundation stones of the eternal City
soever Thou goest.' Jesus neither repulsed     'of God. They were humble men, obscure,
nor welcomed him, but uttered only the          unlearned by human standards, mostly poor
mournful words: 'The foxes have holes,         in this world's goods, with widely differing
and the birds of the air have nests; but the    dispositions and marked defects of charac-
Son of man hath not where to lay His            ter. Under the molding influence of asso-
head.' Matt. 8:19, 20. Judas believed Jesus     ciation with the Master Teacher, trans-
to be the Messiah; and by joining the apos-     formed by the Spirit of God, linking their
tles, he hoped to secure a high position in     lives to eternal issues, these men were to set
the new - kingdom. . ... He was of com-         in motion forces that- would reshape the
manding appearance, a man of keen dis-          world for time and eternity.
cernment and executive ability, and they
[the disciples] commended him to Jesus           13. For what purpose were the
as one who would greatly assist Him in         Twelve chosen and ordained? ' Mark
His work. . . . If He had repulsed Judas,      3:14, 15.
they would, in their own minds, have ques-
tioned the wisdom of their Ma   ster. The
after history of Judas would show, them
the danger of allowing any worldly con-          NOTE.—"The first step was now to be
sideration to have weight in deciding the      taken ip the organization of the church that
fitness of men for the work of God."—The       after Christ's departure was to be His rep-
Desire of Ages, pages 293, 294.                resentative on earth. . . . Jesus had called
                                               His disciples that He might send them
  11. Before choosing the leaders of           forth as His witnesses, to declare to the
the church, what preparation did Je-           world what they had seen and heard of
suS make? Luke 6:12.                           Him. Their office was the most important
                                               to which human beings had ever been
                                               called, and was second only to that of
                                               Christ Himself. They were to be workers
 NaTE.--aAlone upon a mountain near the        together with God for the saving of the
Sea of Galilee, Jesus had spent all night in   world."—The Desire of Ages, page 291.


                     LESSON QUARTERLIES FOR THE BLIND
        The senior Sabbath-school lessons, slightly condensed, are
     published each quarter in Braille and supplied free to• the blind
     upon request. Address: The Christian Record Benevolent Associa-
     tion, Box 66, Lincoln 6, Nebraska.

                                           En 3
                               Lesson 9, for September 1, 1956


                  Commission and Witness of the Apostles

LESSON SCRIPTURES: Matthew 10; 12:22-45; Mark 5:1-20; Luke 11:14-23.
MEMORY VERSE: "Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I
  confess also before My Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny
  Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father which is in heaven."
  Matt. 10:32, 33.
STUDY HELPS: "The Desire of Ages," pages 321-324, 337-341, 349-363; Sabbath
   School Lesson Helps in "Review and Herald" of August 16; "The Seventh-day
   Adventist Bible Commentary," volume 5.

                        DAILY STUDY ASSIGNMENT AND RECORD

                            Check Here                                                Check Here
Sabbath afternoon: General survey. ❑                  Wednesday: Ques. 12-14.                 0
Sunday: Ques. 1-3.                  ❑                 Thursday: Read Study Helps
Monday: Ques. 4-7.                  ❑                      assignment.                        0
Tuesday: Ques. 8-11.                ❑                 Friday: Review.                         0


Lesson Outline:                                       III. The Disciples Witness Christ's
                                                            Power and Authority
I. The Disciples Commissioned
                                                           8. Demoniac restored to sanity.
       1. Sending forth the Twelve. Matt.                      Mark 5:1-8, 15.
           10:5-8.                                         9. Testimony of the demoniacs. Mark
       2. Christ instructs His disciples.                      5:18-20; Matt. 8:28-34.
           Matt. 10:9-16.                                 10. Blind and dumb man healed. Matt.
       3. Prepares them to meet opposition.                    12:22, 23.
           Matt. 10:17-31.
                                                      IV. The Disciples Witness Christ's
II. Reward of Faithful Testimony                           Power and Authority
     and Labor
                                                           11. Refuting false accusations of the
       4. Confessing Christ before men.                        Pharisees. Matt. 12:24-30.
           Matt. 10:32-39.                                 12. He warns them against rejecting
       5. Kindness to Christ's messengers                      the Holy Spirit. Matt. 12:31, 32.
           rewarded. Matt. 10:40-42.                       13. Evil generation rebuked for vain
       6. Rest after labor. Mark 6:30-32.                      words. Matt. 12:34-37.
       7. Christ's gracious invitation to bur-             14. Pharisees condemned for unbelief
           den bearers. Matt. 11:28-30.                        and impenitence. Matt. 12:38-45.

                                         THE LESSON

    The Disciples Commissioned                 2. What general instructions were
                                             given to them? Matt. 10:9-16. Com-
  1. As Jesus sent out the twelve pare Mark 6:8-11; Luke 9:3-5.
apostles on their first missionary tour,
what power was bestowed upon them,
and what were they to do? Matt.                NOTE.-" 'Be ye therefore wise as serpents,
10:5-8.                                  -•, and -harmless as doves.' Christ. Himself
                                                 [ 80 ]
did not suppress one word of truth, but He       Nara.—"Such an address, under such cir-
spoke it always in love. He exercised the      cumstances, was assuredly never given be-
greatest tact, and thoughtful, kind atten-     fore or since. To propose to found a king-
tion in His intercourse with the people.       dom by the services of men, who, as their
He was never rude, never needlessly spoke      reward, would meet only shame, torture,
a severe word, never gave needless pain to     and death; to claim from them an absolute
a sensitive soul. He did not censure human     devotion, from mere personal reverence
weakness. He fearlessly denounced hypoc-       and love, with no prospects of reward ex-
risy, unbelief, and iniquity, but tears were   cept those of another world; and to launch
in His voice as He uttered His scathing        an enterprise thus supported only by moral
rebukes. . . . Every soul was precious in      influences, in the face of the opposition of
His eyes."—The Desire of Ages, page 353.       all the authority of the day, simply to win
                                               men to righteousness by the display of pure,
  3. What did our Lord say regard-             unselfish devotion to their good, astounds
ing opposition and persecution? What           us by the sublime grandeur of the concep-
                                               tion."—Cunningham Geikie, The Life and
assurances were given of divine aid?           Words of Christ, vol. 2, p. 182 (ch. 43).
Matt. 10:17-31. Compare Luke 12:
4-7.                                             6. As the disciples returned from
                                               their missionary tour, what invitation
                                               did the Master give? To what place
                                               did they retire? Mark 6:30-32. Com-
  NOTE.—"A few weak men were sent to           pare Luke 9:10:
grapple with all the might of the heathen
world. Their case seemed desperate; suc-
cess seemed impossible. But it was the
Lord who had sent them; here was their
hope and strength."—Pulpit Commentary,           NOTE.-"It is not wise to be always un-
on Matt. 10:16-23.                             der the strain of work and excitement, even
                                               in ministering to men's spiritual needs; for
                                               in this way personal piety is neglected, and
    Reward of Faithful Testimony               the powers of mind and soul and body are
            and Labor                          overtaxed. . . . As activity increases and
                                               men become successful in doing any work
                                               for God, there is danger of trusting to hu-
  4. What has Christ promised to do            man plans and methods. There is a ten-
for those who truly confess Him?               dency to pray less and to have less faith.
Matt. 10:32-39.                                Like the disciples, we are in danger of los-
                                               ing sight of our dependence on God, and
                                               seeking to make a savior of our activity."
                                               —The Desire of Ages, page 362.
  NoTE.—"Men may deny Christ by evil-
speaking, by foolish talking, by words that      7. What gracious invitation does
are untruthful or unkind. They may deny        Jesus extend to burden bearers? Matt.
Him by shunning life's burdens, by the         11:28-30.
pursuit of sinful pleasure. They may deny
Him by conforming to the world, by un-
courteous behavior, by the love of their
own opinions, by justifying self, by cher-         The Disciples Witness Christ's
ishing doubt, borrowing trouble, and dwell-
ing in darkness. In all these ways they de-            Power and Authority
clare that Christ is not in them."—The De-
sire of Ages, page 357.                           8. What demonstration did the
                                               Saviour give of His willingness to de-
  5. How does our Lord regard even             liver those controlled by satanic spirits
the smallest act of kindness to His            when they cry to Him? Mark 5:1-8,
disciples? Matt. 10:40-42.                     15.
                                           [31 ]
  9. When the restored demoniac
sought to accompany his benefactor,
what did Christ bid him do? Mark
5:18-20; Matt. 8:28-34.


  NOTE-.—"The two restored demoniacs
were the first missionaries whom Christ
sent to preach the gospel in the region of
Decapolis. For a few moments only these
men had been privileged to hear the teach-
ings of Christ. . . . But they bore in their
own persons the evidence that Jesus was
the Messiah. They could tell what they
knew; what they themselves had seen, and
heard, and felt of the power of Christ. . . .        NOT WHAT WE SAY, BUT WHAT
This is the witness for which our Lord                 WE WANT 15 OUR REAL PRAYER.
calls, and for want of which the world is         31758-0
perishing."—The Desire of Ages, page 340.
  10. Describe the condition of a                sends them light to correct their errors, and
man brought to Jesus. What mani-                 to lead them in safe paths; it is by the re-
                                                 jection of this light that the . eyes are
festation of divine power was given?             blinded and the heart hardened. Often the
Matt. 12:22, 23. Compare Luke 11:14.             process is gradual, and almost impercepti-
                                                 ble. Light comes to the soul through God's
                                                 word, through His servants, or by the
                                                 direct agency of His Spirit; but when one
   Nora.—" 'He was casting out a devil, and      ray of light is disregarded, there is a par-
it was dumb.' This was His work. As the          tial benumbing of the spiritual perceptions,
Redeemer, He was ever intent on setting          and the second revealing of light is less
the human nature free from its manifold          clearly discerned. So the darkness in-
evil by acting on the hidden cause of the        creases, until it is night in the soul. Thus
evil. It is to be noted that the dumbness is     it had been with these Jewish leaders."—
traced to a demon—to the possession of the       The Desire of Ages, pages 322, 323.
inner nature by a spirit whose fettering of
the man was evidenced in the fettering of          12. What warning did Jesus give
the organ of speech. 'To cure sorrow by          concerning speaking against the Holy
curing sin' is the special service of Christ's   Spirit? Matt. 12:31, 32.
church."—Pulpit Commentary, on Luke
11:14.
    The Disciples Witness Christ's             NorE.—"Christ told them plainly that in
        Power and Authority                 attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to
                                            Satan, they were cutting themselves off
  11. To offset the profound effect of from the fountain of blessing. . . . What-
this miracle, what charge did the ever the sin, if the soul repents and believes,
scribes and Pharisees make, and how the          guilt is washed away in the blood of
                                            Christ; but he who' rejects the work of the
did Christ refute their accusation? Holy Spirit is placing himself where re-
Matt. 12:24-30. Compare Luke 11: pentance and faith cannot come to him.
15-23.                                      It is by the Spirit that God works upon the
                                           heart; when men willfully reject the Spirit,
                                           and declare it to be from Satan, they cut
                                           off the channel by which God 'can com-
  NorE.—"It is not God, that blinds the municate with them. When the Spirit is
eyes of men or hardens their hearts. He finally rejected, there is no more 'that 'God
                                      [ 82 ]
can do for the soul."—The Desire of Ages,       was ready to criticize and reject the work
pages 321, 322.                                 of the Holy Spirit."—The Desire of Ages,
                                                page 323.
  13. To what source did Jesus trace
the speech of men, and what warn-                 14. In what strong language did
ing did He give against idle and evil           Jesus condemn the Pharisees for their
words? Matt. 12:34-37.                          unbelief and impenitence? Matt. 12:
                                                38-45.

  NoTE.—"Closely connected with Christ's
warning in regard to the sin against the
Holy Spirit is a warning against idle and          NoTE.—"It is not only by resistance but
evil words. . . . Words are more than an        by neglect that the soul is destroyed. . . .
indication of character; they have power        We may leave off many bad habits, for the
to react on the character. Men are influ-       time we may part company with Satan;
enced by their own words. Often under a         but without. a vital connection with God,
momentary impulse, prompted by Satan,           through the surrender of ourselves to Him
they give utterance to jealousy or evil sur-    moment by moment, we shall be overcome.
mising, expressing that which they do not       . . . 'The last state of that man is worse
really believe; but the expression reacts on    than the first' . . . There are none so
the thoughts. . . . It is dangerous to utter    hardened as those who have slighted the in-
a word of doubt, dangerous to question and      vitation of mercy, and done despite to the
criticize divine light. The habit of careless   Spirit of grace. The most common mani-
and irreverent criticism reacts upon the        festation of the sin against the Holy Spirit
character, in fostering irreverence and un-     is in persistently slighting Heaven's invi-
belief. Many a man indulging this habit         tation to repent."—The Desire of Ages,
has gone on unconscious of danger, until he     pages 323, 324.




                            Lesson 10, for September 8, 1956


                           The Sermon on the Mount

LESSON SCRIPTURE: Matthew 5 to 7.
MEMORY VERSE: "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to
  you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." Matt. 7:12.
STUDY HELPS: "The Desire of Ages," pages 298-314; "Thoughts From the Mount of
   Blessing;" Sabbath. School Lesson Helps in "Review and. Herald" of August 23;
   "The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary," volume 5.

                      DAILY STUDY ASSIGNMENT AND RECORD

                            Check Here                                           Check Here
Sabbath afternoon: General survey. ❑             Wednesday: Ques. 13-15.                 ❑
Sunday: Ques. 1-3.                  ❑            Thursdays: Read Study Helps
Monday: Ques: 4-7.                  ❑                 assignment.                        0
Tuesday: Ques. 8-12.                ❑            Friday: Review.                         0


                                            I 33 3
Lesson Outline:

I. The Beatitudes                                 III. The Motive in Service
    1. The subjects of Messiah's kingdom.              8. A guiding principle. Matt. 6:1-5,
        Matt. 5:1-9.                                      16-18.
    2. The blessing on the persecuted.                 9. A lesson on prayer. Matt. 6:6-15.
        Matt. 5:10-12 ; Luke 6:22, 23.                10. Assurance of answered prayer.
    3. The symbols of the church. Matt.                    Matt. 7:7-11.
        5:13-16.                                      11. Undivided service. Matt. 6:19-34.
                                                      12. Judging. Matt. 7:1-5.
II. Jesus Magnifies the Law
     4. The law eternal. Matt. 5:17-19.           IV. The Two Ways
     5. The spirituality of the law. Matt.            13. The broad and narrow ways.
         5:20-24, 38-48.                                  Matt. 7:13, 14.
     6. The seventh commandment inter-                14. The test of the true and the false.
         preted. Matt. 5:27-32.                           Matt. 7:15-23.
     7. The taking of the oath. Matt.                 15. The hiarers and doers. Matt.
         5:33-37.                                         7:24-29.

                                      THE LESSON

             The Beatitudes                      by your, side, even as He was with the
                                                 faithful three in Babylon. Those who love
  1. What seven traits of character              their Redeemer will rejoice at every op-
call forth the blessings of the king-            portunity of sharing with Him humiliation
dom? Matt. 5:1-9.                                and reproach. The love they bear their
                                                 Lord, makes suffering for His sake sweet."
                                                 -Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing,
                                                 page 50.
   NOTE.-"Christ disappointed the hope of
worldly greatness. In the Sermon on the             3. To what two things did Jesus
Mount He sought to undo the work that            liken the Christian's responsibility to
had been wrought by false education, and         the world? Matt. 5:13-16.
to give His hearers a right .conception of
His kingdom and of His own character.
. . . Without combating their ideas,of the
kingdom of God, He told them the condi-
tions of entrance therein, leaving them to          NOTE.-"Jesus did not bid the disciples,
draw their own conclusions as to its nature.     `Strive to make your light shine;' He said,
. . . We no less than they need to learn the     `Let it shine.' If Christ is dwelling in the
foundation principles of the kingdom of           heart, it is impossible to conceal the light
God."-The Desire of Ages, page 299.               of His presence. If those who profess to be
                                                  followers of Christ are not the light of the
   2. How is every disciple of Christ             world, it is because the vital power has left
to relate himself to trial and persecu-           them; if they have no light to give, it is
                                                  because they have no connection with the
tion? Matt. 5:10-12; Luke 6:22, 23.              Source of light."-Thoughts From the
                                                  Mount of Blessing, pages 66, 67.

  NoTE.-"While the Lord has not prom-                   Jesus Magnifies the Law
ised His people exemption from trials, He
has promised that which is far better. He           4. What did Jesus teach concern-
has said, 'As thy days, so shall thy              ing the law? How serious is the vio-
strength be.' My grace is sufficient for
thee; for My strength is made perfect in          lation of any one of the Ten Com-
weakness.' If you are called to go through        mandments? Matt. 5:17-19. Compare
the fiery furnace for His sake, Jesus will be     Luke 16:17.
                                             [ 34 1
                                                  and brooded on, the wicked wish, the un-
                                                  just, wrathful word, is as guilty as the
                                                  wicked deed. 'I say unto you;' the Lord
                                                  speaks with authority. He gave the law at
                                                  first on Mount Sinai; He interprets it
                                                  now on the mount of the beatitudes."—
                                                  Pulpit Commentary, on Matt. 5:17-48.
                                                     6. How did our Lord reveal the
                                                  deep spiritual nature of the seventh
                                                  commandment? How does He apply
                                                  this commandment to divorce and re-
                                                  marriage? Matt. 5:27-32.



                                                    NOTE.—"The traditional interpretation
                                                  confined the commandment to the evil
                                                  deed; the Lord extends it to the sinful
                                                  thought. The unlawful desire, consented
                                                  to and kept before the mind, is equally
  NOTE.—"He came not to destroy. They             guilty with the unclean act. . . . We are
must not misunderstand the purpose of His         the temples of God the Holy Ghost; to
teaching. The Old Testament is not con-           bring unclean thoughts into that most
trary to the New; both speak of Christ.           sacred presence is a fearful sin, an awful sac-
The commandments are as binding now               rilege. Then strike at the beginnings of sin,
upon the Christian conscience as when             the thought, the look; strike, and spare not.
they were first delivered amid the thunders       Such watchfulness may imply very strict
of Mount Sinai. 'We establish the law,' says      and painful self-denial. Better to deny our-
the apostle of faith (Rom. iii.31). 'No           selves now than to be cast out at the • last ;
Christian man is free from the obedience          better to pluck out the right eye, to cut
of the commandments which are called              off the right hand, than to be condemned
moral.' . .                                       at the last."—Pulpit Commentary, on Matt.
  "He came to fulfill. He fulfilled the           5:17-48.
righteousness of the law. He exhibited it            "In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus de-
perfectly in His own most holy life.. . .         clared plainly that there could., be no dis-
He fulfilled the doctrine of the law, bring-      solution of the marriage tie, • except for
ing out as He did the deep spiritual mean-        unfaithfulness to the marriage vow."—
ing of its teaching."—Pulpit Commentary,          Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, page
on Matt. 5:17-48.                                 99.
  5. How did Jesus magnify the                     7. What is the teaching of Christ
sixth commandment? What great                     with regard to the taking of oaths?
principle is basic to the fulfilling of           Matt. 5:33-37.
the law? Matt. 5:20-24, 38-48. Com-
pare Isa. 42:21.

                                                     NOTE.—"Our Saviour did not, however,
                                                  forbid the use of the judicial oath, in which
  NoTa.—"The traditional interpretation           God is solemnly called to witness that what
confined the application of the command-          is said is truth, and nothing but the truth.
ment to the actual crime of murder. The           Jesus Himself, at His trial before the San-
Lord shows that it extends to sinful anger.       hedrin, did not refuse to testify under
'Whosoever hateth his brother is a mur-           oath. . . . These words condemn all those
derer;' he is a murderer in heart and will.       meaningless phrases and expletives that
In the sight of him who searcheth the             border on profanity. They condemn the
hearts, the evil thought willfully harbored       deceptive compliments, the evasion of truth,
                                           E 35
the flattering phrases, the exaggerations, the   to provide for us of which we know noth-
misrepresentations in trade, that are current    ing. Those who accept the one principle
in society and in the business world."—          of making the service of God supreme, will
Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing,             find perplexities vanish and a plain path
pages 104, 105.                                  before their feet."—The Ministry of Heal-
                                                 ing, page 481.
         The Motive in Service                     12. What evil practice does Jesus
                                                 condemn? What should first be done
  8. What motive should govern our               before we attempt to correct others?
giving, our praying, and our fasting?            Matt. 7:1-5.
What course are we to avoid? Matt.
6:1-5, 16-18.
                                                   NorE.—"It is one's own lack of the
                                                 spirit of forbearance and love that leads
   9. How does the Master empha-                 him to make a world of an atom."—
size the importance of secret prayer?            Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, page
What simple requests are made in the             180.
Lord's model prayer? Matt. 6:6-15.                 "No one has ever been reclaimed from a
Compare Luke 11:1-4.                             wrong position by censure and reproach;
                                                 but many have thus been driven from
                                                 Christ, and led to seal their hearts against
                                                 conviction. A tender spirit, a gentle, win-
                                                 ning deportment, may save the erring, and
   NorE.—"As one with humanity, He pre-          hide a multitude of sins."—Ibid., pp. 184,
sents His own ideal of prayer,—words so          185.
simple they may be adopted by the little
child, yet so comprehensive that their sig-                   The Two Ways
nificance can never be fully grasped by the
greatest minds. We are taught to come to           13. Describe the difference between
God with our tribute of thanksgiving, to         the two roads through life. Matt. 7:
make known our wants, to confess our             13, 14.
sins, and to claim His mercy in accordance
with His promise."—Thoughts From the
Mount of Blessing, pages 152, 153.
                                                   14. What is said concerning false
   10. What assurance is given that              prophets? In the judgment day what
our heavenly Father will grant our               will be the sad, experience of many?
petitions? How is His willingness                Matt. 7:15-23. Compare. Isa. 8:20.
illustrated? Matt. 7:7-11. Compare
Luke 11:9-13.
                                                  . Nom-9n those churches which he can
                                                 bring under his deceptive power, he [Satan]
   11. How does Jesus emphasize                  will make it appear that God's special
wholeheartedness in service? What                blessing is poured out; there will be mani-
lesson is drawn from the birds and the           fest what is thought to be great religious
lilies? Matt. 6:19-34.                           interest. . . . Under a religious guise, Satan
                                                 will seek to extend his influence over the
                                                 Christian world."—The Great Controversy,
                                                 pages 464, 465.
  NorE.—"Worry is blind and cannot dis-
cern the future; but Jesus sees the end            15. In concluding His notable Ser-
from the beginning. In every difficulty He       mon on the Mount, what two kinds of
has His way prepared to bring relief. •          builders did Christ. mention? Matt.
Our heavenly Father has a •thousand ways         7:24-29.
                                            [ 36 ]
                         Lesson 11, for September 15, 1956



                           Christ and the Sabbath

LESSON SCRIPTURES: Matt. 12:1-14; Mark 2:23-28; 3:1-6; Luke 13:10-16; John
   5:1-18.

MEMORY VERSE: "And He said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man, and
  not man for the Sabbath: therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sab-
  bath." Mark 2:27, 28.

STUDY HELPS: "The Desire of Ages," pages 201-208, 281-289, 315-320; Sabbath
   School Lesson Helps in "Review and Herald" of August 30; "The Seventh-day
   Adventist Bible Commentary," volume 5.


                    DAILY STUDY ASSIGNMENT AND RECORD

                            Check Here                                       Check Here
Sabbath afternoon: General survey. 0 Wednesday: Ques.,13-16.                         0
Sunday: Ques. 1-4.                  ❑  Thursday: Read'Study Helps
Monday: Ques. 5-8.                 ❑        assignment.
Tuesday: Ques. 9-12.                O  Friday: Review.




Lesson Outline:

I. Proper Sabbath Observance
                                                  8. The palsied man healed on the
    1. Plucking grain  on the Sabbath.                Sabbath. Matt. 12:11-13.
         Matt. 12:1, 2.                           9. Enemies seek Jesus' life. Mark
    2. Jesus justifies the act. Matt.                 3:6; Luke 6:11.
         12:3-7; Mark 2:25, 26.
    3. Jesus teaches in the synagogue on      IV. Healing by the Pool of Bethesda
         the Sabbath. Luke 4:16;
         Mark 1:21.                               10. Impotent man healed. John 5:2-9.
                                                  11. Jews accuse the man of Sabbath-
Ii. Jesus Lord of the Sabbath                          breaking. John 5:10.
                                                  12. Spiritual significance of healing.
    4. Christ made the Sabbath. Matt.                  John 5:14.
        12:8; John 1:1-3; Col. 1:16;              13. Jews persecute Jesus. John
        Heb. 1:2.                                      5:15, 16.
    5. Reasons for the Sabbath institu-           14. Jews accuse Jesus of blasphemy
        tion. -Gen. 2:2, 3 ; Mark 2:27.                as well as of Sabbathbreaking.
    6. The Lord's day. Mark 2:28; Isa.                 John 5:17, 18.
        58:13 ; Rev. 1:10.
                                              V. The Crooked Woman Healed
III. Healing the Man With the
     Withered Hand                                15. Healed in the synagogue on the
                                                       Sabbath day. Luke 13:10-13.
    7. The scribes question Jesus. Matt.          16. Loosed from Satan's chain. Luke
        12:9, 10.                                      13:14-16.


                                           [37]
                                      THE LESSON

    Proper Sabbath Observance                        Example."—Pulpit Commentary, on Luke
                                                     4:16-21.
   1. When passing through the grain-                      Jesus Lord of the Sabbath
fields on the Sabbath, what act of the
disciples brought criticism from the                   4. How did Jesus assert His au-
Pharisees? Matt. 12:1, 2.                            thority regarding Sabbath observ-
                                                     ance? On what great fact was this
                                                     claim based? Matt. 12:8; John 1:1-3;
  NOTE.—"While passing through the
fields, the disciples began to gather the            Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2.
heads of grain, and to eat the kernels after
rubbing them in their hands. . . . To do
this on the Sabbath was held to be an act              Nozz.—Speaking of Jesus, John declares,
of desecration. Not only was the gather-             "All things were made by Him, and with-
ing of the grain a kind of reaping, but the          out Him was not anything made that was
rubbing of it in the hands was a kind                made." John 1:3. Jesus Himself says, "The
of threshing. Thus, in the opinion of the            Sabbath was made." He was the active
rabbis, there was a double offense."—The             agent of the Father in the creation of all
Desire of Ages, page 284.                            things. The unity of Father and Son in
                                                     creation is indicated in the use of the plural
  2. How did our Lord defend the                     in Genesis 1:26, "God said, Let Us make
conduct of His diiciples? Matt. 12:                  man." The Hebrew word here translated
3-7; Mark 2:25, 26.                                  "God" is the plural, "Elohim."
                                                       5. When, why, and for whom was
                                                     the Sabbath made? Gen. 2:2, 3; Mark
   NOTE.—"The object of God's work in                2:27.
this world is the redemption of man; there-
fore that which is necessary to be done on
the Sabbath in the accomplishment of this
work is in accord with the Sabbath law.                NOTE.—"In Eden, God set up the memo-
. . . He , declared that in their blindness          rial of His work of creation, in placing
they had mistaken the object of the Sab-             His blessing upon the seventh day. The
bath. . . . Their many heartless rites could         Sabbath was committed to Adam, the fa-
not supply the lack of that truthful integ-          ther and representative of the whole hu-
rity and tender love which will ever charac-         man family. Its observance was to be an
terize the true worshiper of God. . . . It is        act of grateful acknowledgment, on the part
the service of love that God values. When            of all who should dwell upon the earth, that
this is lacking, the mere round of ceremony          God was their Creator and their rightful
is an offense to Him. So with the Sab-               Sovereign; that they were the work of His
bath. It was designed to bring men into              hands, and the subjects of His authority."
communion with God; but when the mind                —Patriarchs and Prophets, page 48.
was absorbed with wearisome rites, the
object of the Sabbath was thwarted. Its                6. In the light of the foregoing
mere outward observance was a mockery."              facts, which day is the Lord's day?
 —The Desire of Ages, pages 285, 286.                Mark 2:28; Isa. 58:13; Rev. 1:10.
  3. What was Jesus' custom on the
Sabbath day? Luke 4:16; Mark 1:21.                         Healing the Man With the
                                                                Withered Hand
  NorE.—"Moreover, it was His 'custom.'
The habit of waiting upon God at the sanc-             7. What question did the Pharisees
tuary has thus the highest warrant. In this,         ask Jesus in the synagogue? For what
as in all else, our Lord is the perfect              purpose? Matt. 12:9, 10.
                                                38
  8. What did Jesus teach about heal-
ing on the Sabbath? What did He
then do? Matt. 12:11-13. Compare
Mark 3:3-5; Luke 6:8-10.



  NorE.—"Rather than violate their tradi-
tions, they would leave a man to suffer,
while they would relieve a brute because of
the loss to the owner if it were neglected.
Thus greater care was shown for a dumb
animal than for man. . . . This illustrates
the working of all false religions. They origi-
nate in man's desire to exalt himself
above God, but they result in degrading
man below the brute. . . . The gospel                   NOT THE WATER OF BETHESDA,
                                                         BuT THE WATER OF LIFE.
places a high value upon humanity as the
purchase of the blood of Christ. . . . When                ,   .
Jesus turned upon the Pharisees with the -
question whether it was lawful on the                   11. Why did the Jews find fault
Sabbath day to do good or to do evil, to              with the man who was healed? John
save life or to kill, He confronted them              5:10.
with their own wicked purposes. . . .
  "In the healing of the withered hand,
Jesus condemned the custom of the Jews,
and left the fourth commandment standing                 NOTE.—"The Jews had so perverted the
as God had given it. 'It is lawful to do well         law that they made it a yoke of boridage.
on the Sabbath days,' He declared. By                 Their meaningless requirements had become
sweeping away the senseless restrictions of           a byword among other nations. Especially
the Jews, Christ honored the Sabbath,                 was the Sabbath hedged in by all manner
while those who complained of Him were                of senseless restrictions. It was not them
dishonoring God's holy day."—The Desire               a delight, the holy of the Lord, and honor-
of Ages, pages 286, 287.                              able. The scribes and Pharisees had made
                                                      its observance an intolerable burden."—
  9. How were the enemies of Jesus                    The Desire of Ages, page 204.
affected? Mark 3:6; Luke 6:11.
                                                        12. How did Jesus reveal that His
                                                      act of healing was as much a spiritual
                                                      work as a physical? John 5:14.
  NorE.—The Pharisees and Herodians
were bitter enemies, yet they united to seek
the life of Jesus because He set aside their            NOTE.—Jesus wanted the man to 'know
human traditions concerning the Sabbath.              that he was cleansed from his sins as well
So in our day Catholic and Protestant, in             as cured of his illness. Healing of body and
spite of their differences, will unite in bit-        soul went together in the ministry of Jesus.
ter opposition to those who set aside their
man-made traditions and honor the true                  13. What experience came to Je-
Sabbath.                                              sus when the man revealed who his
                                                      benefactor was? John 5:15, 16.
  Healing by the Pool of Bethesda

  10. What miracle did Jesus per-
form by the pool of Bethesda on the                     14. How did Jesus answer the Jews,
Sabbath day? John 5:2-9.                              and with what results? John 5:17, 18.
                                                 89
  NorE.—"Jesus claimed equal rights with       did Jesus see in the synagogue? What
God in doing a work equally sacred, and of     did He do for her? Luke 13:10-13.
the same character with that which en-
gaged the Father in heaven. But the Phari-
sees were still more incensed. He had not
only broken the law, according to their          16. How did Jesus again reveal the
understanding, but in calling God 'His own     spiritual significance of His healings?
Father' had declared Himself equal with        Luke 13:14-16.
God. John 5:18, R.V."—The Desire of
Ages, page 207.
                                                 NarE.—Again Jesus emphasizes His mis-
   The Crooked Woman Healed                    sion of freeing souls from the bondage of
                                               Satan and illustrated again that "It is law-
  15. On another Sabbath day whom              ful to do well on the Sabbath days."




                          Lesson 12, for September 22, 1956


                            Vain Traditions Refuted

LESSON SCRIPTURES: Matt. 15:1-20, 29-39; Mark 7:1-13.
MEMORY VERSE: "But in vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the com-
  mandments of men." Matt. 15:9.
STUDY HELPS: "The Desire of Ages," pages 395-398; Sabbath School Lesson Helps
   in "Review and Herald" of September 6; "The Seventh-day Adventist Bible
   Commentary," volume 5.


                     DAILY STUDY ASSIGNMENT AND RECORD

                            Check Here                                          Check Here
Sabbath afternoon: General survey. ❑           Wednesday: Ques. 12-14.                  0
Sunday: Ques. 1-3.                  ❑          Thursday: Read Study Helps
Monday: Ques. 4-7.                  ❑               assignment.                          0
Tuesday: Ques. 8-11.                ❑          Friday: Review.                           0


Lesson Outline:
I. Pharisaical Customs
                                                   5. Their vain worship. Mark 7 :7 ;
    1. Pharisees find fault with Christ's              Matt. 15:7-9.
        disciples. Mark 7:1,2.                     6. Their rejection of commandments
    2. Holding tradition of the elders.                of God in favor of tradition.
        Mark 7:3, 4.                                   Mark 7:8, 9.
    3. Pharisees question nonconformity            7. The fifth commandment cited as ,
        of the disciples. Mark 7:5.                    an example. Mark 7:10-13.
II. Christ Rebukes the Pharisees               III. Causes of Soul Defilement
    4. He quotes the prophet Isaiah.               8. Christ's teaching concerning de-
        Mark 7:6.                                      filement. Matt. 15:10, 11.
                                            (401
    9. Denounces the blind leaders.              IV. Infernal Cleansing Required
        Matt. 15:12-14.                               12. Need of a heart work. Luke 6:45.
   10. Source of defilment explained to               13. The new-covenant experience.
        disciples. Matt. 15:15-20.                        Heb. 10:16, 22.
   11. Pharisees likened unto "whited                 14. The psalmist's prayer. Ps. 5.1:10;
        sepulchers." Matt. 23 :25-28.                     19:14.


                                       THE LESSON

         Pharisaical Customs                     prescribed for certain cases; and they had
                                                 found, to their horror, that neither He nor
  1. Concerning what did the Phari-              His disciples washed the
                                                                       ir hands thus cere-
sees find fault with Christ's disciples?         monially at all."—Cunningham Geikie, The
                                                 Life and Words of Christ, vol. 2, p. 207
Mark 7:1, 2.                                     (ch. 44).
                                                   3. What pointed question' did the
                                                 Pharisees ask Jesus? Mark 7:5. '
  NOTE.—"The ground of complaint was
His disregard of the traditional precepts that
encumbered the law of God. These were
professedly designed to guard the observ-             Christ Rebukes the Pharisees
ance of the law, but they were regarded as
more sacred than the law itself. When they         4. In answering them, what prophet
came in collision with the commandments
given from Sinai, preference was given to        did Jesus quote? Mark 7:6.
the rabbinical precepts. . . .
  "Christ and His disciples did not observe
these ceremonial washings, and the spies
made this neglect the ground of their ac-          NOTE.—" 'Ye hypocrites,' He said, ad-
cusation. They did not, however, make a          dressing the wily spies, 'well did Esaias
direct attack on Christ, but came to Him         prophesy of you, saying, This people draw-
with criticism of His disciples. In the          eth nigh unto Me with their mouth, and
presence of the multitude they said, 'Why        honoreth Me with their lips; but their
do Thy disciples transgress the tradition of     heart is far from Me. But in vain they do
the elders? for they wash not their hands        worship Me, teaching for doctrines the
when they eat bread.' "—The Desire of            commandments of men.' The words of
Ages, pages 395, 396.                            Christ were an arraignment of the whole
                                                 system of Pharisaism. He declared that by
   2. What were some of the tradi-               placing their requirements above the divine
tions held by the Jews? Mark 7:3, 4.             precepts the rabbis were setting themselves
                                                 above God."—The Desire of Ages, page 397.

                                                    5. What strong word did He use to
  NOTE.—"A lifetime was hardly enough             characterize their worship? Mark 7:7;
to learn the rabbinical precepts. . . . Their     Matt. 15:7-9.
spies, and, perhaps, themselves, had care-
fully gathered evidence whether Jesus and
His disciples observed the traditions, and
carried them out with the minuteness of a            NOTE.—"The priests and Pharisees
recognized religious duty ; whether He and        thought they were doing great things as
they dipped their hands duly before eating;       teachers, by putting their own interpreta-
whether they held them up or down in do-          tion upon the word of God; but Christ said
ing so; whether they wetted them to the           of them, 'Ye know not the Scriptures, nei-
elbows or to the knuckles, or wetted only         ther the power of God.' He charged them
the finger tips, as the school of Schammai        with the guilt of 'teaching for doctrines
                                             [ 41 ]
the commandments of men.' Though they
were the teachers of the oracles of God,
though they were supposed to understand
His word, they were not doers of the word.
Satan had blinded their eyes, that they
should not see its true import.
   "This is the work of many in our day.
Many churches are guilty of this sin. There
is danger, great danger, that the supposed
wise men of today will repeat the experi-
ence of the Jewish teachers. They falsely
interpret the divine oracles, and souls are
brought into perplexity and ,shrouded in
darkness because of their misconception of
divine truth."—Christ's Object Lessons,
pages 110, 111.
                                                 THE SHARP WEAPON OF A
  6. What had they substituted for               VICIOUS TONGUE CAN WOUND
                                                 AND INJURE LIKE A SWORD.
the commandments of God? Mark
7:8, 9.
                                              famous, so arrogant, so intensely Jewish,
                                              was only an invention of man; a subver-
   NoTE.—"Every human invention that has      sion of the law it claimed to represent, an
been substituted for the commandments of      antagonism to the prophets as well as to
God will be found worthless in that day       Moses, the spiritual ruin of the nation I"—
when 'God shall bring every work into         Geikie, The Life and Words of Christ, vol.
judgment, with every secret thing, whether    2, pp. 210, 211 (ch. 44).
it be good, or whether it be evil.' Eccl.
12:14.                                             Causes of Soul Defilement
  "The substitution of the precepts of men
for the commandments of God has not            8. According to the teaching of
ceased. Even among Christians are found       Christ, what is it that defiles a man?
institutions and usages that have no better   Matt. 15:10, 11.
foundation than the traditions of the fa-
thers. Such institutions, resting upon mere
human authority, have supplanted those of
divine appointment. Men cling to their tra-     NOTE.—"The root error of the Pharisees
ditions, and revere their customs, and        was externalism. The prim propriety of
cherish hatred against those who seek to      demeanor which characterized the profes-
show them their error."—The Desire of         sional saints of Jerusalem covered hearts
Ages, page 398.                               as corrupt as any of the publicans' and sin-
                                              ners'. Yet the Pharisees thought themselves
  7. As an example, what Pharisai-            clean. They dreaded contact with a corpse,
cal evasion did Jesus cite? Mark 7:           but they had little scruple in entertaining
10-13.                                        a corrupt thought. They would stop their
                                              ears at the sound of blasphemy, but they
                                              would give the reins to their tongues in
                                              malignant words. The evil of Pharisaism is
  NoTE.—"All the loved boastful, preten-      by no means extinct today. Religious people
tious worship and outward practice on         dread to be found in association with
which they rested, were of no value com-      questionable characters. They are anxious
pared with the great eternal commands         to be perfectly correct in the external ob-
of God, and were even crimes and impiety,     servances of worship. They do not go to
when they proudly set themselves in their     the extreme of the folly of the Pharisees,
room. He arraigned Pharisaism, the domi-      but they too often manifest the same spirit."
nant orthodoxy, as a whole. The system, so    —Pulpit Commentary, on Matt. 15:11.
                                          [421
  9. How did Jesus further warn                    NoTE.—"The Jews were so exacting in
against the offended Pharisees? Matt.           regard to ceremonial purity that their regu-
15:12-14.                                       lations were extremely burdensome. Their
                                                minds were occupied with rules and re-
                                                strictions and the fear of outward defile-
                                                ment, and they did not perceive the stain
                                                that selfishness and malice impart to the
  10. What fuller explanation did               soul.
Jesus make •to His disciples? Matt.                "Jesus does not mention this ceremonial
15:15-20.                                       purity as one of the conditions of entering
                                                into His kingdom, but points out the need
                                                of purity of heart. The wisdom that is
                                                from above is 'first pure.' Into the City
                                                of God there will enter nothing that defiles.
  NorE.—"Evidently the Lord's disciples         All who are to be dwellers there, will here
had not wholly divested themselves of their      have become pure in heart. In one who is
old reverence for the rabbinical system, and    learning of Jesus, there will be manifest a
for the received teachers of the nation, the    growing distaste for careless manners, un-
Pharisees. They were troubled at their in-      seemly language, and coarse thought. When
creasing hostility; perhaps they were in         Christ abides in the heart, there will be
their hearts somewhat vexed with the Lord        purity and refinement of thought and man-
Himself; His words, it may be, seemed to         ner."—Thoughts From the Mount of Bless-
them so stern, so needlessly strong. They       ing, page 42.
apprehended difficulties, dangers; they
feared for their Master and for themselves.       13. How is this thought expressed
And now they came to Him privately, into        in the book of Hebrews? Heb. 10:
the house (Mark 7:17) ; they hinted at their    16, 22.
anxieties; they sought to know what He
would do. We must always come to
Christ in our troubles; but we must trust
Him and yield up our wills to Him; He      NoTE.—"If our hearts are renewed in the
doeth all things well. 2. The answer. (1)
                                        likeness of God, if the divine love is im-
The teaching of the Pharisees was not ofplanted in the soul, will not the law of God
God; it came from human tradition or    be carried out in the life? When the prin-
from their own evil hearts. And all thatciple of love is implanted in the heart, when
is not of God must perish. The whole sys-
                                        man is renewed after the image of Him
tem of rabbinical teaching must pass away.
                                        that created him, the new-covenant prom-
It had wrought itself into the very nature
                                        ise is fulfilled,    will put My laws into
of the Pharisees, as the good seed in the
                                        their hearts, and in their minds will I write
parable had filled the heart and determined
                                        them.' And if the law is written in the
the character of the true disciples. That
                                        heart, will it not shape the life? Obedience
system must perish, and its professors, alas!
                                        —the service and allegiance of love—is the
with it, if they would not receive the love
                                        true sign of discipleship."—Steps to Christ,
 of the truth, that they might be saved. (2)
                                        page 65.
`Let them alone,' the Lord said."—Pulpit   "The priest used cedar and hyssop, dip-
 Commentary, on Matthew 15.             ping them into the cleansing water and
                                        sprinkling the unclean. This symbolized
  11. Unto what did Christ liken the the blood of Christ spilled to cleanse us
Pharisees? Matt. 23:25-28.              from moral impurities. The repeated sprink-
                                        lings illustrate the thoroughness of the
                                        work that must be accomplished for the
                                        repenting sinner. All that he has must be
    Internal Cleansing Required         consecrated. Not only should his own
                                        soul be washed clean and pure, but he
                                        should strive to have his family, his do-
  12. How did Jesus further indicate mestic arrangements, his property, and his
that a heart work is needed? Luke entire belongings consecrated to God."—
6:45.                                    Testintonies, vol. 4, p. 122.
                                   [ 43 I
  14. For what did the psalmist                will be in vain to seek for purity of life.
pray? Ps. 51:10; 19:14.                        He who attempts to build up a noble, vir-
                                               tuous character independent of the grace
                                               of Christ, is building his house upon the
                                               shifting sand. In the fierce storms of temp-
  NoTE.-" 'Keep thy heart with all dili-       tation it will surely be overthrown. Da-
gence,' is the counsel of the wise man; 'for   vid's prayer should be the petition of every
out of it are the issues of life.' As man      soul: 'Create in me a clean heart, 0 God;
`thinketh in his heart, so is he.' The heart   and renew a right spirit within me.' "-
must be renewed by divine grace, or it         Patriarchs and Prophets, page 460.



                          Lesson 13, for September 29, 1956


                      The Great Confession Confirmed

"LESSON SCRIPTURES: Matt. 16:13-28; 17:1-8; Luke 9:18-36.
 MEMORY VERSE: "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world,
    and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"
    Mark 8:36, 37.
STUDY HELPS: "The Desire of Ages," pages 410-425; Sabbath School Lesson Helps
   in "Review and Herald" of September 13; "The Seventh-day Adventist, Bible
   Commentary," volume 5.

                     DAILY STUDY ASSIGNMENT AND RECORD
                            Check Here                                          Check Here
Sabbath afternoon: General survey. ❑           Wednesday: Ques. 12-14.                  0
Sunday: Ques. 1-4.                  ❑          Thursday: Read Study Helps
Monday: Ques. 5-8.                  ❑               assignment.                             0
Tuesday: Ques. 9-11.                ❑          Friday!Review.


Lesson Outline:                                     8. The Head of the church. Eph.
                                                        1:20-23; 5:23.
I. The Great Confession                        III. The Cross and the Kingdom
     1. The popular view concerning Jesus.           9. Necessity of self-denial. Matt.
         Matt. 16:13, 14.                               16:24, 25.
     2. The vital question. Matt. 16:15.            10. Christ, not the world, holds the
     3. Peter's answer. Matt. 16:16.                    secret of life. Matt. 16:25, 26;
     4. A divine revelation. Matt. 16:17.               John 10:10.
                                                    11. Promise of the kingdom. Matt.
II. The Foundation of the Church                        16:27, 28.
                                               IV. The Transfiguration
     5. Peter versus the rock Foundation
         of the church. Matt. 16:18;                12. A glorious experience. Matt.
         1 Cor. 3:11.                                   17:1-4; Luke 9:28-31.
     6. The keys of the kingdom. Matt.              13. Disciples' lack of comprehension.
         16:19; 18:17, 18.                              Luke 9:32, 33.
     7. The fallibility of Peter. Matt.             14. Assurance; Jesus only. Matt.
         16 :21-23.                                     17:5, 8.
                                           1 44]
                                     THE LESSON

        The Great Confession                    he had been 'taught of God.' Ps. 25:14;
                                                John 6:45. Ah, indeed, 'blessed art thou,
   1. What was the popular view as              Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath
to whom Jesus might be? _ Matt. 16:             not revealed it unto thee.' "—The Desire of
                                                Ages, page 412.
13, 14.`
                                                    The Foundation of the Church.

   Nom.—"Sadly the disciples were forced          5. Upon whom is the church
to acknowledge that Israel had failed to        founded? Matt. 16:18; 1 Cor. 3:11.
recognize their Messiah. Some indeed, when      Compare Eph. 2:20.
they saw His miracles, had declared Him
to be the Son of David. The multitudes
that had been fed at Bethsaida had desired        NOTE.—"The word Peter in Greek is
to proclaim Him king of Israel. Many            Petros. The point to be established by this
were ready to accept Him as a prophet; but      scripture is that Simon is named P-e-t-r-o-s.
they did not believe Him to be the Mes-         He is never called by any other etymologi-
siah."—The Desire of Ages, page 411.            cal form of this word, though of course it
                                                is subject to all the grammatical variations
  2. What direct question did Jesus             common to all Greek nouns and names. He
put to His disciples? Matt. 16:15.              is called by this name 161 times in the
                                                Authorized Version of the New Testament,
                                                and by no other name except Simon.
                                                   "Now the word petros is itself a mascu-
  3. What great confession did Peter            line derivative from the feminine parent-
utter? Matt. 16:16.                             word petra. The word petra denotes rock
                                                as a substance, rock en masse, as embedded
                                                in the everlasting hills, or as a huge boul-
                                                der, or as a projecting ledge—in other
  4. How had Peter arrived at his               words, mother rock. It therefore becomes
conviction? Matt. 16:17.                        a most fitting symbol of Christ, and is fre-
                                                quently applied to Him directly through.-
                                                out both Old and New Testaments, often
                                                but not always written with a capital ini-
  Nom.—"The truth which Peter had con-          tial, Rock. Paul makes its use very clear in
fessed is the foundation of the believer's      1 Corinthians 10:4, in speaking of the
faith. It is that which Christ Himself has      children of Israel during the Exodus: 'And
declared to be eternal life. But the posses-    did all drink the same spiritual drink: for
sion of this knowledge was no ground for        they drank of that spiritual Rock that fol-
self-glorification. Through no wisdom or        lowed them: and that Rock was Christ.'
goodness of his own had it been revealed        The Greek original for Rock in both in-
to Peter. Never can humanity, of itself,        stances here is petra. What could be clearer
attain to a knowledge of the divine. 'It is     than that petra is Christ, and that Christ
as high 'as heaven; what canst thou do?         is petra when spoken of by this symbol of
deeper than hell; what canst thou know?'        rock? . . .
Job 11:8. Only the spirit of adoption can          "The reader may therefore be deeply
reveal to us the deep things of God, which      grateful that his hope is built on nothing
`eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither      less than on 'Christ the solid Rock,' and
have entered into the heart of man.' God        not on a rolling, movable fragment of
hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit:       rock."—F. D. Nichol, Answers to Objec-
for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the   tions, 1952 ed., pp. 851-853.
deep things of God.' 1 Cor. 2:9, 10. 'The
secret of the Lord is with them that fear         6. What authority is represented by
Him;' and the fact that Peter discerned         the keys of the kingdom? Matt. 16:19;
the glory of Christ was an evidence that        18:17, 18.
                                           [ 48 ]
                                                       8. Who only is declared to be the
                                                     Head of the church? Eph. 1:20-23;
                                                     5:23.


                                                          The Cross and the Kingdom

                                                        9. In what words did Jesus reveal
                                                     the necessity of self-denial in relation
                                                     to His kingdom? Matt. 16:24, 25.



                                                        NOTE.—"Trial is part of the education
                                                     given in the school of Christ, to purify
                                                     God's children from the dross of earthli-
                                                     ness. It is because God is leading His chil-
                                                     dren, that trying experiences come to them.
                                                     Trials and obstacles are His chosen meth-
                                                     ods of discipline, and His appointed condi-
   NOTE.—" 'Verily I say unto you,' Christ           tions of success. He who reads the hearts
continued, 'whatsoever ye shall bind on              of men knows their weaknesses better than
earth shall be bound in heaven: and what-            they themselves can know them. He sees
soever ye shall loose on earth shall be              that some have qualifications which, if
loosed in heaven.' Matt. 18:18.                      rightly directed, could be used in the ad-
   "This statement holds its force in all            vancement of His work. In His providence
ages. On the church has been conferred the           He brings these souls into different positions
power to act in Christ's stead. It is God's          and varied circumstances, that they may
instrumentality for the preservation of              discover the defects that are concealed
order and discipline among His people. To            from their own knowledge. He gives them
it the Lard has delegated the power to               opportunity to overcome these defects, and
settle all questions respecting its prosperity,      to fit themselves for service. Often He per-
purity, and order. Upon it rests the re-             mits the fires of affliction to burn, that
sponsibility of excluding from its fellow-           they may be purified."—The Acts of the
ship those who are unworthy, who by their            Apostles, page 524.
un-Christlike conduct would bring dis-
honor on the truth. Whatever the church                 10. How does Christ show that He
does that is in accordance with the direc-           and not the world holds the secret of
tions given in God's word will be ratified           life? Matt. 16:26; John 10:10.
in heaven."—Testimonies, vol. 7, p. 263.
  7. How did Peter soon reveal his
lack of insight and his fallibility?                   11. What assurance did Jesus give
Matt. 16:21-23. Compare Luke 22:                     to some of His disciples? Matt. 16:
31, 32.                                              27, 28.


  NorE.—"Peter was not the rock upon                           The Transfiguration
which the church was founded. The gates
of hell did prevail against him when he
denied his Lord with cursing and swearing.             12. What glorious opportunity
The church was built upon One against                came to three of the disciples about
whom the gates of hell could not prevail."           a week later? Matt. 17:1-4; Luke 9:
—The Desire of Ages, page 413.                       28-31.
                                                  46 ]
  13. What indicates that these disci-          tect their Master, and to establish His
ples did not fully comprehend the sig-          authority as king.
nificance of this experience? Luke 9:             "But before the crown must come the
32, 33.                                         cross. Not the inauguration of Christ as
                                                king, but the decease to be accomplished at
                                                Jerusalem, is the subject of their conference
                                                with Jesus."-The Desire of Ages, page 422.
  NoTE.-"The disciples do not yet com-
prehend the scene; but they rejoice that          14. How were the disciples assured,
the patient Teacher, the meek and lowly
One, who has wandered to and fro a help-        and, when the celestial glory faded,
less stranger, is honored by the favored        whom only did they see? Matt. 17:
ones of heaven. They believe that Elijah        5, 8. Compare 2 Cor. 3:18.
has come to announce the Messiah's reign,
and that the kingdom of Christ' is about to
be set up on the earth. The memory of              NoTE.-"They saw with their eyes and
their fear and disappointment they would         heard with their ears things that were be-
banish forever. Here, where the glory of         yond the comprehension of man. They
God is revealed, they long to tarry. Peter       were 'eyewitnesses of His majesty' (2 Peter
exclaims, 'Master, it is good for us to be       1:16), and they realized that Jesus was in-
here: and let us make three tabernacles;         deed the Messiah, to whom patriarchs and
one for Thee, and one for *Moses, and one        prophets had witnessed, and that He was
for Elias.' The disciples are confident that     recognized as such by the heavenly uni-
Moses and Elijah have been sent to pro-          verse."-The Desire of Ages, page 425.

                        THIRTEENTH SABBATH OFFERING
                                 September 29, 1956

       The overflow of the Thirteenth Sabbath Offering on September 29
   goes to the Inter-American Division to help build (t) a modest hospital
   at Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, (2) a library and theological workshop area
   for the Antillian Junior College, (3) dormitories for the Navajoa
   (Mexico) school. Our work is progressing more rapidly in the Inter-
   American Division than in almost any other part of the world field.
   This very fact lays a greater responsibility upon those in the homelands
   to provide the necessary equipment to make the work of the laborers in
   that great field more effective.

                 LESSONS FOR THE FOURTH QUARTER, 1956
         Sabbath-school members who have failed to receive a senior Lesson Quarterly
     for the fourth quarter of 1956 will be helped by the following outline in studying
     the first lesson. The subject of the quarter's lesson is "Lessons From the Life of
     Christ-H." The title of the first lesson is, "Vital Christian Principles Set Forth."
     The Memory Verse is Luke 10:27. The texts to be studied are:
         Ques. 1. John 7:14-17.                    Ques. 8. Luke 10:1-9.
        Ques. 2. John 7:37-39.                     Ques. 9. Luke 10:12-16.
         Ques. 3. John 7:32, 45-53.                Ques. 10. Luke 10:17-19.
         Ques. 4. John 8:2, 3.                     Ques. 11. Luke 10:20, 21.
         Ques. 5. John 8:4-6.                      Ques. 12. Luke 10:25-29.
         Ques. 6. John 8 : 7-9.                    Ques. 13. Luke 10:30-32.
         Ques. 7. John 8:10, 11.
                                            f 47 3
      MEXICO, CUBA, CARIBBEAN UNION
                           (INTER-AMERICAN DIVISION)


            Union r.lhas                   Pep         citl• rl'rers       S t=
           ANTILUAN                       11,630,804    193      22,957    33,180
           BRITISH WEST INDIES             1,531,154    287      23,585    25,247
           CARIBBEAN                       2,813,830    224      21,232    23,823
           CENTRAL AMERICAN                9434,214     145      10,688    12,326
           COLOMBIA-VENEZUELA             17,651,032     65       7,983    10,323
           MEXICAN                        28,053,000    183      18,227    33,051

           DIVISION TOTALS                71,314,034   1,097    104,672    137,950
             Duna 30, 19551


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