Sabbath School Summary

By Elder Dr Masimba Mavaza

Witnesses of Christ as the Messiah
Lesson 4

Memory Text: “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God’ ” (John 3:3, NKJV).

INTRODUCTION
No question, Jesus provided people with powerful scriptural evidence to back up the claims that He had been making about Himself, including “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life” (John 6:47).
But there’s more: turning water into wine; feeding thousands with a few loaves of bread; healing the nobleman’s son; restoring the man at the pool of Bethesda; giving sight to the one blind from birth; raising Lazarus from the dead. The evangelist calls on a variety of events, and people—Jew, Gentile, rich, poor, male, female, rulers, commoners, educated, and uneducated—to bear witness to who Jesus is.
John points even to the witness of the Father Himself, and to Scripture, all giving evidence of Jesus’ identity.
This week begins with the powerful witness of John the Baptist. Other witnesses come on the stage as well: Andrew and Simon Peter, Philip and Nathaniel, and a most unexpected witness, the Pharisee Nicodemus. But another witness stands back in the shadows (that other disciple with Andrew, in John 1:35, 40)—John himself.

SABBATH:
Could the man who bore the marks of toil & poverty be the Messiah? Jesus is the people’s Messiah. God the Father Himself acknowledged it. John the Baptist confessed it. Andrew, Simon Peter, Philip, & Nathanael testified it. An unlikely witness, Nicodemus, a Pharisee, felt it. His teachings & miracles speak of His identity as the Messiah. Jews & Gentiles, poor & rich, young & old, John & sundry knew it (John 6:47, 1:35, 40).

SUNDAY:
John the Baptist was called to do one special work for God; to bear witness to the one true Messiah—Jesus (John 1:19-34). The Jews expected two messiahs; one priestly & the other royal. With high Messianic hopes in Judea, the religious leaders sent priests & Levites to ask John who he was (John 1:23). His answer was vital. He was just a witness to the Light. He plainly said: “I am not the Christ” but a herald (Isa. 40:1-5).

MONDAY:
The Jews longed for one who would break the Roman yoke. But Jesus came to break the yoke of sin. In brief, His name, Jesus, means “Savior”. He came to save the world from sin as the OT prophesied (Gen. 3:15). He was the sacrificial lamb in the sanctuary system. The Baptist called Him the Lamb of God (John 1:29-37). Isaiah speaks of Him as the lamb led to the slaughter (Isa. 53:7, DA, p. 136, Mark 10:45, Rom. 5:6,1 Pet. 2:24).

TUESDAY:
Jesus is the desire of ages. John the Baptist spoke highly of Him & his disciples desired to meet this man. When the Baptist declared Him as the “Lamb of God”, two of his disciples left to follow Jesus. Andrew, one of the two, found his brother, Simon, & said: “We have found the Messiah (Christ)” (John 1:35-42, 2:24, 25). Jesus told Simon that He knew him. He knew all men, better than themselves (DA, p. 139).

WEDNESDAY
: “Come & see”, Philip told Nathanael when He found the Christ; the one whom the law & prophets spoke about (John 1:43-46). Nathanael filled with prejudice looked down upon “little” Nazareth & the simple nature of Jesus. Could a king or good thing come from Nazareth? When he met Jesus himself, he declared Jesus as the Son of God. Jesus saw a good thing in Nathanael when he saw nothing good in Jesus (John 1:47-51, DA, pp. 140, 141).

THURSDAY:
Nicodemus was an unlikely witness to Jesus messianic identity. He was rich & highly honored, but he had a humble heart for God’s Word. He had a conviction that Jesus was the Messiah. To clear all doubts, he sought a time with Jesus at night (John 3:1-21). He called Jesus a “Rabbi” & one from God. “Must” was the word used by Jesus; you must be born again”. He showed that not only Gentiles but Jews needed to be reborn (Rom. 3:1, 2, John 19:39).

FRIDAY:
Nicodemus searched the Word with a desire for spiritual life, guided by the Holy Spirit. He learned that faith leads us to God’s grace, but it’s not our Savior. Salvation comes by looking to Jesus, just as Moses lifted the serpent in the wilderness, revealing God’s love & drawing us to repentance. This leads to a transformed life, where our thoughts and desires align with Christ’s will for us to delight in obeying God & His law.

—Ellen G. White, “Nicodemus,” pp. 167–177, in The Desire of Ages

Keywords

OT- Old Testament

DA- The Desire of Ages

Nicodemus- Nicodemus was a respected teacher in Israel and a wealthy member of the Sanhedrin.

Captions

SUNDAY- The Testimony of John the Baptist
MONDAY- The Lamb of God
TUESDAY- The Two Disciples of John
WEDNESDAY- Philip and Nathanael
THURSDAY- The Witness of Nicodemus

Discussion Questions

📌 John the Baptist came to prepare the way for Jesus. How successful would you judge his ministry to have been, at least from a human perspective? Also, as you think about your answer, ask this important question: How do you define “success” in spiritual things?

📌 Later on, John the Baptist expressed some sincere doubts (Matt. 11:2, 3; Luke 7:19). What caused his questions, and what can we learn from them about how to be firm in our faith?

📌 In class, discuss the idea of how someone such as Nicodemus, a leader in the true church, someone who surely had a lot of knowledge, could still be so spiritually ignorant of what really matters. What lessons can we take from his situation?