1845 Lesson 7 Monday Nov 13: Jesus’ method and response - The Bible tells us that the lawyer came to test Jesus, but Jesus knew what his intentions were. Indeed, God knows the longings and desires of our hearts more than we ourselves do. And we certainly do not know the heart or the motives of those who question us, do we?Sometimes people from other religions question us about our faith. For instance, our Muslim friends ask us questions related to Jesus’ divinity, such as, “Where in the Bible did Jesus say that He is God?” or “Why do you say there is one God when you have three persons in the Trinity?” Though these seem to be provocative questions, yet the heartfelt need for Jesus can be genuine and can represent a deep longing or emptiness of those asking the questions. We don’t know their hearts; we don’t need to. We simply need to minister to others the best we can, regardless of their deepest motives.Read Matthew 26:56, Acts 17:11, 1 Corinthians 15:3, and 2 Timothy 3:16. How do these verses help us understand Jesus’ response to the lawyer in Luke 10:26?Sometimes we want answers but do not put in the work ourselves to find them. Jesus said: “ ‘What is written in the Law? How do you read it?’ ” (Luke 10:26, ESV). Jesus pointed to a very important aspect of learning. Instead of only listening to what others have to tell us, we need to read the Scriptures (the Word of God) for ourselves. The answers already are there, and the Holy Spirit works on our hearts to impress upon us what we need to do.God has given us His Word. In it, we can find all the truth that we need to know about how we are supposed to live, about how we are supposed to treat others, and about how we can “inherit eternal life.” Sure, there is a role for teachers and ministers, but in the end, we must go to the Bible for the truths that matter. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Ps. 119:105, NKJV). This verse is not just poetry; it’s sacred truth, pointing us to the Word of God and its importance to the believer.Jesus, the Word of God made flesh, always pointed people back to the Written Word. What should this tell us about the importance of the Bible and why we must reject any philosophical or theological reasoning that lessens our trust in the Bible?

Who are we? Why are we here? What happens when we die? What is

our ultimate fate? These are, in many ways, the most important ques-

tions mortal beings, beings who know that they are mortal (oysters and

chickens are, too, but don’t know it), can ask. And in the Gospel of

Luke, someone comes to Jesus with what is, in fact, the most crucial

question of all.

Read Luke 10:25. What did this lawyer ask, and why did he ask it?

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However serious the question itself, the Bible clearly states that he

came to test Jesus. We know that sometimes some people may come

with skepticism, even unbelief, and may not even be serious in their

questioning, but they could still be reached. This is precisely how Jesus

dealt with the lawyer, even though He knew that the man’s initial inten-

tions were not genuine. Yet, for the lawyer and the audience, this ques-

tion was an opening that Jesus could use to prompt them to search their

own hearts. Even knowing the lawyer’s motives, Jesus was not going to

ignore him or be disrespectful to him.

In the end, what question could be more important than this one? “What

shall I do to inherit eternal life?” No matter what our religious rituals or

practices, behind them all is this crucial question. In contrast to this one,

what else really matters for beings whose lives are depicted as “a vapor that

appears for a little time and then vanishes away” (James 4:14, NKJV)? For

what is the only other option to eternal life than eternal death?

Read 1 Corinthians 15:30–32. What point is Paul making here that

underscores the importance of eternal life?

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However dubious his motives, the lawyer asked a crucial question,

and Jesus, ever watchful to use any and every opportunity for mission,

took advantage of it to reach souls.

How can we also be mindful to take advantage of whatever

opportunities come our way to witness, even if the circumstances

are not ideal?

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Read for This Week’s Study: Luke 10:25–37, 2 Tim. 3:16,

James 2:17–22, Matt. 22:37–40, Gal. 5:14, Micah 6:6–8.

Memory Text: “He answered, ‘ “Love the Lord your God with all

your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with

all your mind”; and, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” ’ ” (Luke 10:27,

NIV).

We all know the text: “ ‘ “Love the Lord your God with all your

heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and

with all your mind” ’ ” (Luke 10:27, NIV). Yet, our love for

God can become superficial if we say that we love God but do not obey

Him. We think that we love God, but how is this love demonstrated in our

day-to-day life? Loving God requires full commitment of our heart, soul,

body, and mind—daily. Anyone can say that he or she loves God; doing

it, however, requires conscious effort.

However, even though loving God is good and important, God also

wants us to love others, because our love for others reflects our love

for God, and it does so in a powerful and very real way. First John 4:20

states, “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar;

for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he

love God whom he has not seen?” (NKJV). Paul also says in Galatians

5:14 that “all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: ‘You shall

love your neighbor as yourself’ ” (NKJV).

This week we will be learning how this lesson can be applied in our

lives.

* Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, November 18.

Our mission work must come from deep love and thankfulness for what Jesus has done and is doing in our lives. Any other motivation is misguided. Keeping immersed in the Word and in tune with the Word is the key to successful outreach and evangelism.“Our life is to be bound up with the life of Christ; we are to draw constantly from Him, partaking of Him, the living Bread that came down from heaven, drawing from a fountain ever fresh, ever giving forth its abundant treasures. If we keep the Lord ever before us, allowing our hearts to go out in thanksgiving and praise to Him, we shall have a continual freshness in our religious life. Our prayers will take the form of a conversation with God as we would talk with a friend. He will speak His mysteries to us personally. Often there will come to us a sweet joyful sense of the presence of Jesus. Often our hearts will burn within us as He draws nigh to commune with us as He did with Enoch. When this is in truth the experience of the Christian, there is seen in his life a simplicity, a humility, meekness, and lowliness of heart, that show to all with whom he associates that he has been with Jesus and learned of Him.”—Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, pp. 129, 130.“There can be no growth or fruitfulness in the life that is centered in self. If you have accepted Christ as a personal Savior, you are to forget yourself, and try to help others. Talk of the love of Christ, tell [others of His self-sacrificing death in their behalf]. . . . As you receive the Spirit of Christ—the Spirit of unselfish love and labor for others—you will grow and bring forth fruit. . . . Your faith will increase, your convictions deepen, your love be made perfect.”—Christ’s Object Lessons, pp. 67, 68.Discussion Questions:How do you understand Paul’s words in Philippians about Christ’s being preached out of envy, strife, or selfish ambition? How can we make sure that we ourselves are not guilty of doing just that?What has been your own personal experience with the reality of God and God’s love? That is, based on your own experiences, could you preach to others with sincerity and honesty about the goodness and love of God? What would your testimony be?What has been your experience in waiting upon the Lord, and what has it taught you about trusting in Him and about faith in general?

Read Acts 2:41–47. What kind of picture of the early church is present here?Acts 2 ends with a beautiful picture of what the early church was like. Acts 2:41 says that those who were baptized were “added to them” (NKJV). We could read this to say that someone did the math and added the number of new believers to the number of existing believers and established a new total membership for the group. But that is a shallow understanding. Hidden in the wording is the idea that these newly baptized believers became part of the group as equals.Meanwhile, a core function of the early Christian church was disciple­ship. As new members were added, they were discipled in three ways. First, they continued to be taught by the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship. The words “doctrine” and “fellowship” in this text literally mean “instruction” and “partnership.” The apostles’ preaching confronted incorrect beliefs and offered new explanations for what people were seeing and experiencing. But it didn’t teach them how to live out that new truth in their lives. Rather, the application of truth to one’s life happened in relationship as part of the group. New believers were carefully and intentionally discipled through direct teaching, as well as through participation in the daily lives of the other believers, all under the supervision and leadership of the spiritually mature and grounded apostles.It is poor preaching that tells people what to do but not how to do it. However, even if one reads how-to books or listens to sermons that explain how to do things, there is no substitute for seeing people doing it and then imitating them. Paul knew this and instructed his followers to imitate him as he had imitated Jesus (1 Cor. 11:1). When others can see you and the reality of your experience with Christ, it will impact them, as well.Challenge: Think of someone in your life who you wish was a believer. Pray every day for him or her to have a personal experience with Jesus.Challenge Up: Whom are you discipling and leading into a relationship with Jesus? Look for ways to bring him or her into fellow­ship with other believers

Acts 2 records the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. As the followers of Jesus were praying, tongues of fire rested upon their heads. They recognized that the promised power of the Holy Spirit had been given.Read Acts 2:1–41. What happened to the disciples as a result of receiving the Holy Spirit at Pentecost?The disciples began to speak in other languages “as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4). What’s crucial here is that God empowered each person for the benefit of unbelievers. The blessing wasn’t meant merely for their own good. It wasn’t a blessing to make them fit for heaven or a blessing to make it easier to do business in a foreign language. The blessing was given for fulfilling God’s mission to the lost. Today God calls on each of His followers to use their personal gifts for the good of His mission to unbelievers. We have been given gifts: What greater call to mission than to use what we have been given to reach others?The outpouring of the Holy Spirit resulted in many of the people repenting of their rejection of the Messiah, for surely some of them were in Jerusalem when He died. Think of the power here: Peter accused some of them of having crucified the Christ. Obviously, they realized what they had done and, being convicted, cried out: “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37).And yet, even they could receive forgiveness. Said Peter to them: “ ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’ ” (Acts 2:38, NKJV).Working together, in harmony with the Holy Spirit and each other, these followers of Jesus preached repentance and the forgiveness of sins—even for those who could have been directly involved in crucifying Jesus! That’s the power of the gospel. If that message doesn’t motivate us to mission, what will? We are called to spread the gospel to the world, a sinful, fallen, corrupt world with sinful, fallen, and corrupt people. Our job is not to judge; our job is to witness to the saving power of Jesus.Why should the idea that even some of those who were complicit in Christ’s death were offered salvation (1) encourage us for our own souls and (2) encourage us to witness to others, no matter how bad they may seem to be?

Luke 24 ends with Jesus’ ascension into heaven (Luke 24:50–53). But that is not the end of the story. The author, Luke, continues, writing the book of Acts. Just before Jesus ascended to heaven, He gave the disciples a mission, a promise, and immediate instructions to wait in Jerusalem for “power from on high” (Luke 24:49; see also Acts 1:4–8).Jesus instructed the disciples to wait in Jerusalem until He fulfilled His promise to send the Promise of the Father (the Holy Spirit), who would empower them to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and beyond.Read Acts 1:12–26. What were the disciples, now numbering around 120 men and women, doing while they were waiting?Jesus had given the disciples a clear mission: they were to be witnesses for Him to the world. So, while they waited, they prepared for their mission in two ways. First, Luke says they continued in united prayer and supplication. There was no question in any of their minds about what the mission was that Jesus had given them, and they had each accepted that mission. This inspired them to unite in prayer. Luke does not share what they were praying about, but it is most certain they were praying for wisdom, strength, and courage to fulfill the mission together. What an example for us.The second thing they did while they waited was to prepare logistically for their mission. Judas had handed Jesus over for execution and then taken his own life. This had left a vacancy among the twelve. So, as they waited, the disciples sought God’s guidance and selected a replacement. In effect, the disciples were organizing themselves and planning the start of their mission. In the making of these decisions, Peter played a leadership role. No one challenged his move; they all saw God’s wisdom in it. There was an understanding and a trust that God was acting and working and moving in their midst. Their time of waiting was not idle but was filled with purpose and mission-driven action.While we wait for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit to help us complete the great mission of God, we must unite to encourage each other (Heb. 10:24, 25), praying for God’s Holy Spirit. Also, we should be aligning ourselves and our church with God’s priority—the saving of the lost.How can you learn to wait upon the Lord and not lose faith in the meantime? Meanwhile, while waiting, how can you best use your time, as the disciples did here?

Read Luke 24:36–49. What happened here, and why was this such a pivotal experience for the apostles?It is interesting that at first the disciples did not believe out of fear. Then, after seeing Jesus and being assured that He was indeed alive, they did not believe for joy (Luke 24:41). Have you ever felt that something was too good to be true? This was the experience of the disciples and the others in the upper room.If Jesus had left them only with this experience, however, then when He departed, their faith might not have lasted. Over time the power of the experience could have faded; they would forget, or start, perhaps, even to question it. So, Jesus didn’t stop with showing them His scars and eating fish in front of them. Instead, He then took them into the Word and showed them the prophetic foundation for His work and ministry. That is, no matter how great the experience that they had with Him, Jesus still wanted their faith grounded in the Word of God.“ ‘These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me’ ” (Luke 24:44, NKJV).Here, too, we find a powerful motivation for witness, for mission: the Word of God. Jesus knew that to solidify the disciples’ experience, they needed to understand why He had to die and what His resurrection signified. They needed their worldview to be shifted from a political and earthly kingdom to the great solution to sin and the victory of Christ over death. The gospel was so much more than achieving political sovereignty for Israel. It revealed Christ’s victory over Satan and guaranteed that one day all wickedness in the world would be destroyed, that the earth would be created anew, and that God would be among His people. He “opened their understanding” (Luke 24:45, NKJV) so they could comprehend these truths, which they were to share with the world.Our experiences with Jesus cannot be sustained without the foundation of His Word, including the prophecies that point to the history and events leading up to, and including, the first and second advents of Christ. With these truths firmly understood, we can be ready and motivated for mission.How well grounded are you in the prophecies that point to Christ, both His first and second comings? Especially in the last days, why must we be grounded in the Word of God, including the prophecies, and why is understanding them so crucial, especially for mission?

Read Luke 24:1–12. What was the response of those who heard about the risen Christ?Early Sunday morning, after Jesus’ death, Luke says that a number of women went to the tomb. They had spices with them; so, it is likely they were going to tend to Jesus’ body now that the Sabbath was over. Expecting to find a still-sealed tomb, they were shocked to find the tomb empty. Unsure what to do, they were afraid when two men in shining clothing appeared. However, the men had a message for them. Reminding them of Jesus’ words, they told the women that Jesus had indeed risen, as He had said He would. Overjoyed with the news, they quickly returned to where the disciples and many of Jesus’ other followers were staying and told what they had seen and heard, because their excitement could not be contained. That is, they were sharing with others what they had learned of Christ.Can you imagine how the women must have felt? They had just had an amazing experience, one that certainly filled them with awe, but the disciples called their experience “idle tales” and would not believe them. Thus, not sure whether to believe the women or not, Peter ran to the tomb to see for himself.For Peter—and for many of us—there is a hesitancy to accept something simply because someone else said it. Though Peter listened to the women, he could not share in their experience until later. At first, all he experienced was an empty tomb, and that, Luke says, simply left him “marveling to himself” (Luke 24:12, NKJV). His experience at the tomb was not the same as that of the women.Regardless of Peter’s response, as soon as these women heard the news about Jesus, they wanted to share it with others. What greater motivation for mission could there be than to let others know about what Jesus has done for them? What greater motive than to spread the good news of salvation in Jesus, the only hope any of us have?Of course, we need a personal experience with God ourselves before we can share it with others. Our desire to share with others what we love so much must be a crucial part of our motivation for mission. In the end, we can’t share what we ourselves don’t have, can we?What are some of the experiences you have had with the reality of God and His love? Why are these times so precious to you, and how do they motivate you to reach out to others with the good news?

Read for This Week’s StudyLuke 24:1–12; Luke 24:36–49; Acts 1:12–26; Heb. 10:24, 25; Acts 2:1–41; 1 Cor. 11:1.Memory Text:“ ‘These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me’ ” (Luke 24:44, NKJV).Wrote Paul to the Philippians: “Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice” (Phil. 1:15–18, NKJV).Powerful words! Whether in “pretense or in truth,” Christ is preached—and that is what mattered to Paul. Ideally, though, our motives for preaching Christ, for mission, for reaching others with the good news, should be out of love, and out of truth—and not from selfish ambition, envy, or strife.What, then, are some of the motivations for preaching Christ, and what are some of the ways that we can prepare for doing this?This week we will look at some events in the early church that can give us guidance on these crucial parts of mission.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, November 11.