2nd Quarter: The Wonder of Jesus

The Wonder of Jesus Introduction Contents Helps Discussion Groups

INTRODUCTION A Hope Big With Immortality Of all the people immortalized over millennia upon the pages of history, Jesus of Nazareth had the shortest period of public labor. Only three and a half years. But what a three and a half years they were! Socrates taught for 40, Plato for 50, Aristotle for 40, Jesus for not even four. Yet the impact of Christ's short ministry infinitely exceeds that of the combined 130 years of those three Greek giants. Someone once wrote that "the grandest paintings of Raphael, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci are but a reflection of Jesus, the Light of the world. Haydn, Handel, Bach, and Mendelssohn gave to the world their best melodies in the symphonies and oratorios they wrote to glorify Jesus Christ. Art, culture, music, philosophy—all have been enriched by His teachings. But Christ offers far more than philosophy, art, and music. These cannot save. Jesus offers light and life and salvation to sinful men." That statement, however eloquent, falls short of doing justice to the richness of Jesus, for that quote is in the context of the West only; Christ's appeal, in contrast, is universal, transcending all political, ethnic, and cultural borders. "You should search the Bible," Ellen G. White writes, "for it tells you of Jesus. As you read the Bible, you will see the matchless charms of Jesus. You will fall in love with the Man of Calvary, and at every step you can say to the world, 'His ways are ways of pleasantness, and all His paths are peace.' You are to represent Christ to the world. You may show to the world that you have a hope big with immortality"—Life Sketches, p. 293. With Jesus at its center, Christianity is also a historical religion, meaning that it revolves around a person whose life and work are amenable to historical study and analysis. Yet, at the same time, we cannot circumscribe Jesus Christ within the confines of history. For the reality of His person is suprahistorical (above history)—there's a point beyond which historical analysis cannot probe. History cannot take us into the mysteries of salvation, or into the wonders of what Christ's death offers the world. For all that history offers, it cannot begin to fathom what Ellen G. White called "a hope big with immortality." This quarter centers on Jesus, on who He was, on what He taught, on what He did—and on what He is doing now. That last clause, "on what He is doing now", makes all the difference in the world. It is what might be called "the mystery of the present tense," a crucial element that distinguishes Jesus from every other historical figure, for what other historical figure, no matter how great, is doing anything for us now? Who was this amazing Jesus? What was He like? What did He do while here? What is He, indeed, doing for us now? And finally, why should He be a concern for people in the twenty-first century? The answers, as we will see, are far from academic. On the contrary, they affect the destiny of every human being. Roy Adams, a native of the Caribbean, the author of this quarter's Bible study guide, is an associate editor of the Adventist Review, the international magazine of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He is married to Celia (nee Wilson), and they have two adult children, Dwayne and Kimberly. *March 29 - April 4 Who Was Jesus? SABBATH AFTERNOON Read for This Week's Study: Matt. 16:13-16, John 20:26-28, 1 Cor. 1:18-27, 15:3-7. Memory Text: "When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, 'Who do people say the Son of Man is?'" (Matthew 16:13, NIV). From the earliest days of His ministry, there was discussion and debate about Jesus. How interesting that those discussions continue, even today. They began with the people of His own times and from His own town. "'Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?' they asked. 'Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother's name Mary. . .?'" (Matt. 13:54, 55, NIV). It is what might be called the scandal of the particular: The Messiah had to come from somewhere, all right, but not from a place so familiar to us, and certainly not from a family that is just like the rest of ours! In one form or another, the same fundamental concerns expressed by these local townspeople concerning His identity have framed the debate about Jesus across the centuries, heightening the mystique around Him. Who, indeed, was Jesus? Why was He confused with other prominent Jewish characters? What were the challenges to Jesus' integrity and identity in the centuries following the New Testament era? How convinced were the Bible writers of His identity, and why? These are some of the questions that our first week's lesson will examine. *Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, April 5.