Bible Study - Sabbath School Podcast

By Believes Unasp

English Sabbath School Bible Study podcast - an unpretentious and fun way to study the Bible

Classe da Escola Sabatina em inglês do Unasp SP. English Sabbath School Class at Unasp SP Brazil... more

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August 24, 2024 Episode 2131 Lesson 9 Sabbath August 24 - Jerusalem Controversies
Read for This Week’s Study
Mark 11; 1 Kings 1:32–48; Zech. 9:9, 10; Isa. 56:7; Jer. 7:11; Mark 12:1–34.
Memory Text:
A series of five controversies between Jesus and the religious leaders are recorded in Mark 2 and 3 (see lesson 3). In this week’s lesson, when Jesus arrives in Jerusalem, He has a series of six controversies with the religious leaders. The two sets of controversies are like bookends of His earthly ministry. Each set deals with important issues in the Christian life. Jesus’ instructions, even in these polemical situations, help guide believers both in fundamental issues of faith and in practical issues of everyday experience.
The religious leaders come to confront, confound, and defeat Jesus, but they never succeed. Part of this week’s lesson will include analyzing just what it is that brings people into opposition to God and considering what Christians can do to break through prejudice and speak to the hearts of those resisting the Spirit’s call.
In Mark 11, Jesus’ ministry will be in Jerusalem for Passover (March to April). Mark 11–16 covers little more than one week; the narrative time has slowed down markedly. The first 10 chapters cover approximately three and a half years. This slowdown points to the importance of these closing scenes.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 31.
“ ‘And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses’ ” (Mark 11:25, NKJV).
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7min
August 23, 2024 Episode 2130 - Lesson 8 - Friday August 23 - Further Thought
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Blessing the Children,”
pp. 511–517; “ ‘One Thing Thou Lackest,’ ” pp. 518–523, in The Desire
of Ages.
“Jesus was ever a lover of children. He accepted their childish
sympathy and their open, unaffected love. The grateful praise from
their pure lips was music in His ears, and refreshed His spirit when
oppressed by contact with crafty and hypocritical men. Wherever the
Saviour went, the benignity of His countenance, and His gentle, kindly
manner won the love and confidence of children.”—Ellen G. White,
The Desire of Ages, p. 511.
“To those who, like the young ruler, are in high positions of trust
and have great possessions, it may seem too great a sacrifice to give
up all in order to follow Christ. But this is the rule of conduct for all
who would become His disciples. Nothing short of obedience can be
accepted. Self-surrender is the substance of the teachings of Christ.
Often it is presented and enjoined in language that seems authoritative,
because there is no other way to save man than to cut away those things
which, if entertained, will demoralize the whole being.”—The Desire
of Ages, p. 523.
Discussion Questions:
Ê What are ways that you can help children and young people
stay connected to Christ and the church congregation? Why is it
so important that we do this?
Ë We sometimes hear people say that they don’t care about
money. That is not true. Everyone cares about money, and there
is nothing wrong with that. What, then, can be the problem with
money, and why must faithful Christians, either rich or poor, be
careful in how they relate to money?
Ì If Jesus were to ask you, “What do you want Me to do for
you?” how would you respond?
Í Dwell more on Jesus’ words in Mark 10:43–45. What does it
mean to live like this? How do we learn to serve as opposed to
being served? What does this mean in regard to how we live and
interact with others?

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9min
August 22, 2024 Episode 2129 - Lesson 8 - Thursday August 22 - "What do you want me to do for you?"
Read Mark 10:46–52. How did Bartimaeus react to Jesus’ passing by?
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Up to this point in the Gospel of Mark, with few exceptions, Jesus
has been telling people to keep quiet about His miracles and about who
He is. In this account, as He is leaving Jericho, a blind man begging on
the side of the road, upon hearing that it is Jesus of Nazareth, begins
to shout, “ ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ ” (Mark 10:47,
NKJV). In keeping with the revelation/secrecy motif of the book, the
crowd takes on the role of those calling for silence as they unsuccessfully try to quiet the noisy beggar.
But Bartimaeus is undeterred and shouts even louder, “ ‘Son of
David, have mercy on me!’ ” (Mark 10:48, NKJV). His words are both
a confession of faith in Jesus as the Messiah and confidence that He
can heal him. The title “Son of David” in Jesus’ day had two concepts
connected with it—the restoration of a king to Israel’s throne (compare
with Isaiah 11; Jer. 23:5, 6; Jer. 33:15; Ezek. 34:23, 24; Ezek. 37:24;
Mic. 5:2–4; Zech. 3:8; and Zech. 6:12), and that this personage would
be a healer and exorcist.
Jesus stops and tells them to call the blind man. Significantly, the
blind man throws off his cloak as he comes to Jesus. Blind people
in Jesus’ day were at the bottom of society, along with widows and
orphans. These were individuals below subsistence level and in real
peril. The cloak would be the man’s security. Leaving it behind meant
he had faith that Jesus would heal him.
Jesus does not disappoint. Indeed, whoever comes to Him for help in
the Gospels always receives it. Jesus asks the same question He asked
James and John in Mark 10:36, “ ‘What do you want Me to do for
you?’ ” (Mark 10:51, NKJV). Without hesitation, the blind man asks
to receive his sight, which Jesus immediately restores. The blind man
follows Him on the road.
This story is the close of the discipleship section in Mark, serving as
a bookend with the other story of healing a blind man in Mark 8:22–26.
The two stories illustrate how discipleship is about seeing the world
with new eyes, sometimes not clearly at first but always following Jesus
in the way He leads.
In what ways have you at times cried out, “Jesus, Son of David,
have mercy on me!”? What happened, and what did you learn
from this experience?

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10min
August 21, 2024 Episode 2129 - Lesson 8 - Wednesday - August 21 - Can you drink my cup?
Read Mark 10:32–45. How do these verses reveal the continued ignorance of the disciples regarding not only Jesus’ mission but what it
means to follow Him?
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As Jesus approaches Jerusalem, He reveals to His disciples what will
happen there. It is not a scenario they believe in or want to hear. Jesus’
specificity as to the outline of His death and resurrection is striking.
But when it is not what you want to hear, it is all too easy to dismiss.
This is apparently what James and John do as they come to Jesus
with a private request. Jesus rightly asks for more specifics, and they
respond that they want to sit on His right and left in His glory. It is easy
to criticize their request as rank egocentrism. But these two men have
dedicated themselves to Jesus’ ministry, and their desires were probably
not wholly selfish in nature.
Jesus seeks to deepen their understanding of just what they are requesting. He asks if they can drink His cup or be baptized with His baptism.
His cup will be the cup of suffering in Gethsemane and on the cross
(compare with Mark 14:36), and His baptism will be His death and burial
(Mark 15:33–47), where events there parallel His baptism recorded in
Mark 1.
But James and John do not see it. They glibly reply that they are able.
Jesus then prophesies that indeed they will drink His cup and be baptized
with His baptism. James was the first of the apostles to die a martyr’s death
(Acts 12:2). John was the longest lived of the apostles and was exiled to
Patmos (Rev. 1:9). But Jesus indicates that places in glory are set by God.
How did the other disciples respond to Jesus’ answer? Not too well.
The same Greek word, aganakteō, “to be angry, indignant,” is used in
Mark 10:41 as in Mark 10:14, regarding Jesus’ anger over keeping the
children away from Him.
Jesus then calls the group together to give one of His most profound
teachings. He indicates that Gentile rulers use power for personal
advantage. But in the kingdom of God, power must always be used to
uplift and bless others. Jesus leads the way as the King of the kingdom
of God. How? By giving His own life as a ransom—not quite what His
followers expected to hear.
What does it mean as a Christian to be a “servant” to others?
That is, how do you manifest this principle in your daily interaction with people?

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11min
August 20, 2024 Episode 2128 - Lesson 8 - Tuesday August 20 - The best investment
Read Mark 10:17–31. What crucial lessons about faith and the cost of
discipleship—for anyone, rich or poor—is revealed here?
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The man’s approach indicates his sincerity and respect for Jesus. He
runs up, kneels before Him, and asks the question central to the destiny
of every soul—What are the requirements in order to inherit eternal
life? Jesus responds by referring to the second table of the Decalogue.
Again, the man shows his idealism by saying that he has kept all these,
even from his youth.
Of the four Gospels, Mark alone notes that Jesus loved the man.
There is something appealing about the man’s idealism. But Jesus
tests his sincerity by asking him to sell everything and to follow
Him. The man leaves crestfallen because he had great possessions.
In fact, he was not really keeping the commandments. He broke the
first one, placing something above God in his life. His riches were
his idol.
Jesus then explains how seductive riches are and that it is easier for
a big animal like a camel to go through the tiny hole of a needle than it
is for a rich man to enter heaven.
The disciples are astonished by Jesus’ words and wonder who can
be saved. Jesus delivers the punch line in Mark 10:27. “ ‘With man it
is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God’ ”
(ESV).
Mark 10:27 seems like a beautiful place to end the story: you cannot
make it to heaven on your own, you need the grace of God in order to
be saved.
But then Peter blurts out that he and his friends have left everything
to follow Jesus. Jesus responds that whatever you have left to follow
Him is nothing in contrast to what you will receive, now and in “the
age to come” (ESV).
Here is the point: it is the death of Christ that resolves human guilt,
and then the grace of Christ and His resurrection are what empower
obedience to His commands.
Read Romans 6:1–11. How do these verses reveal the reality of
God’s grace in our lives, both in justifying us and in making us
new people in Him?
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14min
August 19, 2024 Episode 2127 - Lesson 8 Monday August 19 - Jesus and children
Read Mark 10:13–16. What did Jesus do for those who brought children to Him?
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While children were greatly desired in the ancient world (particularly
boys in the male-dominant culture), birth and childhood were not easy.
Without modern medical care, the risks to mothers in giving birth and
to newborns, infants, and children were elevated. Many cultures had
traditional medicines and amulets used to protect these vulnerable
individuals against malevolent forces.
While children were desired, they were of low social status, along the
lines of slaves, actually (Gal. 4:1, 2). In the Greco-Roman world, those
who were deformed or undesirable would be exposed, or even tossed
in a river. Boys were valued over girls; sometimes girl babies were left
to die among the elements. At times these abandoned babies were “rescued,” only to be raised and sold as slaves.
The disciples appear not to have understood Jesus’ teaching in Mark
9 about receiving the kingdom of God like a child (Mark 9:33–37).
Now they rebuke those who brought children to Jesus for blessing,
perhaps thinking that He would not have time for such a simple task.
They were wrong. Jesus is indignant. Throughout Mark, Jesus has
some striking reactions to people, and it is instructive that one of His
strong reactions was toward people who were keeping children away
from Him.
He strongly insists that the disciples must not stand in the way of the
children. Why? Because the kingdom of God belongs to them, and one
must receive it in the attitude and outlook of a child—probably a reference to simple, implicit trust in God.
“Let not your un-Christlike character misrepresent Jesus. Do not
keep the little ones away from Him by your coldness and harshness.
Never give them cause to feel that heaven would not be a pleasant place
to them if you were there. Do not speak of religion as something that
children cannot understand, or act as if they were not expected to accept
Christ in their childhood. Do not give them the false impression that
the religion of Christ is a religion of gloom, and that in coming to the
Saviour they must give up all that makes life joyful.”—Ellen G. White,
The Ministry of Healing, pp. 43, 44.
How can you better reveal Jesus to whatever children are around
you?

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9min
August 18, 2024 Episode 2126 - Lesson 8 - Sunday August 18 - God's plan for marriage
Read Mark 10:1–12, as well as Genesis 1:27 and Genesis 2:24. What
trap was hiding under the Pharisees’ question about divorce, and
what lessons did Jesus teach in His response?
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In this passage, the Pharisees ask Jesus if it is lawful for a man to
divorce his wife. Among the Pharisees, divorce was considered lawful. The question was on what grounds. The School of Shammai was
arguably more restrictive—only for childlessness, material neglect,
emotional neglect, or marital unfaithfulness. The School of Hillel was
much more lenient, allowing divorce for almost any reason, though
their process of granting the divorce was more complex, helping to
slow things down.
So, it may seem a bit odd that they ask Jesus the blanket question if
divorce is acceptable at all. Hiding under this question was a plot to
get Jesus in trouble with Herod Antipas, the ruler of the region to the
east of the Jordan, where Jesus was now. Antipas had divorced his wife
and married Herodias, his brother’s wife. Herod had beheaded John
the Baptist because of his rebuke regarding this illicit relationship (see
Matt. 14:1–12).
Jesus parries their question with His own, asking the Pharisees what
Moses commanded on the matter. The passage the Pharisees reference
in reply is Deuteronomy 24:1–4, which describes a particular case of
remarriage after divorce. The Israelites in Moses’ day were already
practicing divorce. The case law described in Deuteronomy 24 was
meant to provide protections for the woman. But in Jesus’ day, this was
twisted by the School of Hillel to make it easier to get a divorce for
almost any reason. Thus, the law that was meant to protect the woman
was being used to make it easy to thrust her aside.
Instead of debating the case law in Deuteronomy 24, Jesus refers back
to God’s original ideal for marriage in Genesis 1 and 2. He notes that in the
beginning God made a man and a woman (Gen. 1:27), two individuals. He
then combines this truth with Genesis 2:24, which says that a man leaves
his parents and is joined to his wife, and the two become one flesh. This
concept of unity becomes the basis of Jesus’ affirmation of the marriage
bond. What God has joined, people should not separate.
What can your congregation do to strengthen the marriages
among you? How do you help those whose marriages have
already fallen apart?

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12min
August 17, 2024 Episode 2125 - Lesson 8 - Sabbath August 17 - Teaching Disciples Part 2
Read for This Week’s Study: Mark 10; Gen. 1:27; Gen.
2:24; Gal. 4:1, 2; Rom. 6:1–11; Isa. 11:1–16.
Memory Text: “ ‘For even the Son of Man did not come to be served,
but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many’ ” (Mark 10:45,
NKJV).
This week covers Mark 10, completing the special section in
which Jesus teaches His disciples in preparation for the Cross.
About half of the chapter deals with the disciples themselves,
and the rest with issues important to discipleship but told through
the lens of others who interact with Jesus. Pharisees come and argue
with Him over the subject of divorce. Parents bring their children for
Jesus to bless. A rich man asks about eternal life, and a blind man
asks for sight.
This chapter of Mark carries important teachings about what it
means to follow Jesus, particularly as it relates to living in the here
and now: marriage, children, how to relate to riches, and the reward
and cost of following Him. Topping it off is the healing of a second
blind man (Mark 10:46–52; compare with Mark 8:22–26), which
provides the closing bookend for the section (Mark 8:22–10:52)
and a beautiful illustration of what following Jesus both costs and
leads to.
Together, these lessons prepare the follower of Jesus—whether the
disciples 2,000 years ago or disciples in the twenty-first century—for
the challenges that come with discipleship.
* Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 24

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6min
August 16, 2024 Episode 2124 - Lesson 7 - Friday August 16; Further Thought
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Ministry,” pp. 426–431;
“Who Is the Greatest?” pp. 432–442, in The Desire of Ages.
“Before honor is humility. To fill a high place before men, Heaven
chooses the worker who, like John the Baptist, takes a lowly place
before God. The most childlike disciple is the most efficient in labor for
God. The heavenly intelligences can co-operate with him who is seeking, not to exalt self, but to save souls.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire
of Ages, p. 436.
“By all that has given us advantage over another,—be it education
and refinement, nobility of character, Christian training, religious
experience,—we are in debt to those less favored; and, so far as lies
in our power, we are to minister unto them. If we are strong, we are to
stay up the hands of the weak. Angels of glory, that do always behold
the face of the Father in heaven, joy in ministering to His little ones.
Trembling souls, who have many objectionable traits of character,
are their special charge. Angels are ever present where they are most
needed, with those who have the hardest battle with self to fight, and
whose surroundings are the most discouraging. And in this ministry
Christ’s true followers will co-operate.”—The Desire of Ages, p. 440.
Discussion Questions:
Ê Read again Mark 8:27–29. How often do you confess to others
your belief in Jesus as the Christ?
Ë What is the right balance between the mountaintop experience
of communion with Christ and the down-on-the-plain experience
of service to others’ needs?
Ì In class, discuss the answer to the question about greatness
at the end of Wednesday’s study. What did you determine is the
difference between how the world views greatness and how God
does? Who are some of the people the world deems great that perhaps God doesn’t? In contrast, whom might God deem great that
the world ignores or even disdains? What does this difference tell
us about how warped and twisted the world’s ideals really are?
Í How can we learn to take sin so seriously that, as Jesus said,
you’re better off to be maimed than to sin?

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9min
August 15, 2024 Episode 2123 - Lesson 7 - Thursday - August 15- The healthy man in hell
Read Mark 9:42–50. What ties the teachings of Jesus together in this
passage?
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At first, this passage may seem to be a collection of disparate teachings
of Jesus thrown together without any rhyme or reason. However, a closer
look reveals that each successive teaching has a catchword connection to
the previous one. The passage revolves around three main terms that move
the instruction forward step by step—“causes to sin,” “fire,” and “salt.”
The first teaching is about “little ones,” referring to new believers.
Teachers and leaders are tasked in the kingdom of God with the responsibility to care for these new converts with special care, similar to the Old
Testament ethic of caring for those weakest in ancient society—widows,
orphans, and foreigners. Jesus speaks in hyperbole that it would be better
to be drowned in the sea than to cause one of these “little ones” to sin.
The catchphrase “causes to sin” leads to the longest teaching in this
passage. Two conundrums confront the reader. First, is Jesus really
teaching people to cut off a hand or foot or pluck out an eye? Second,
is He teaching an eternally burning hell? The answer to the first
question is no, Jesus is not teaching mutilation—that was rejected
in Judaism (compare with Deut. 14:1; 1 Kings 18:27, 28). The Lord
is using hyperbole to make His point. If losing a hand, foot, or eye is
terrible, how much more a disaster should it be for the Christian to sin!
The second question also receives a negative answer; no, Jesus is
not teaching an eternally burning hell. How do we know? First, the
passage contains a certain comedic aspect. Consider people entering
the heavenly city with one eye or one foot or one hand. Then consider
people who are whole going to hell. Should it not be the other way
around? The healthy man in hell? That is comedy. Such comedy over
a serious topic leads one to consider that Jesus is illustrating a point
with hyperbole. Sin should be taken so seriously that it would be better to lose a hand, foot, or eye than to sin.
As to hell being eternal, its consequences are eternal, not the fire of
hell itself. “ ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that
whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life’ ” (John
3:16, ESV; emphasis supplied). Those who are lost do not burn forever;
instead, they perish forever—a very big difference!

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14min

FAQs about Bible Study - Sabbath School Podcast:

How many episodes does Bible Study - Sabbath School Podcast have?

The podcast currently has 1,700 episodes available.