2022-Q4-L5

2022-Q4-L5: Resurrections Before the Cross

Read for This Week’s Study: Jude 9, Luke 9:28-36, 1 Kings 17:8-24, Luke 7:11-17, Mark 5:35-43, John 11:1-44.

Memory Text: “Jesus said to her, ’I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die forever. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25, 26, LEB).

Scriptures:

Jude 9: But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.”

Luke 9:28-36: . . . 34 As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One;[b] listen to him!” 36 And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.

1 Kings 17:8-24: [The Widow of Zarephath] (17-24) [Elijah Raises the Widow's Son]

Luke 7:11-17: [Jesus Raises a Widow's Son]

Mark 5:35-43: [Jairus's Daughter Raised from the Dead]

John 11:1-44: [Raising of Lazarus]

Notes

Dead in body; dead in sin. The living, walking dead. Both need a new life.

Not that you might believe in miracles, but that you believe in Jesus.

OT Faith. Hebrews 11 tells us that the OT believers manifested faith and were saved by faith. No longer under the law but under grace. It is a work that God does. A believer lives the life God has ordained for him. He is lead of the spirit, not of the flesh. To be under the law is to be under sin, condemnation, debt, and cursed. To be under grace is to be under righteousness, forgiven, free, and blessed.

Faith, hope, love. You can't talk about Christianity without talking about faith. By faith you are saved. A righteous man "lives" by faith. Faith is non-negotiable. The Bible says that without faith, it is impossible to please God. It is impossible to please God, because it is impossible to have God. Now, God has given every person a measure of faith. You start with some measure of faith, and you can grow that faith through exercise. No exercise and that faith shrivels. God is committed to the development of your faith. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Do you want to increase your faith, then you must spend time in the Word of God. Jesus said in so many words, mustard seed faith can move mountain-sized challenges.

Luke 4:24-27: And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 25 But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, 26 and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And there were many lepers[a] in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”

SUNDAY. The Resurrection of Moses. Jude 9; Luke 9:28-36.

Notes

Before his death, Moses warned the nation of Israel that the greatest trial would not be poverty but wealth, not slavery but freedom, not homelessness in the desert but the comfort of home.

The OT does not mention the resurrection of Moses.

Romans 5:14 (ESV): Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.

Moses is a type of Jesus. Moses it like Adam in reverse. Adam was created from the dust of the earth, lived and then died and returned to dust. Moses, on the other hand, died and was buried, yet he was resurrected before he became dust.

Moses' three generations. 40 years in Egypt, 40 years in the wilderness with sheep, 40 years in the wilderness with Israel.

Deuteronomy and Psalm 90 are connected. The story of the golden calf and Moses message to the people are connected.

Moses (the man of God) brought the people back into relationship with God. The story of the golden calf is the story of restoring relationship to the one true God. The people had to decide between the golden calf and the true God.

The people were crossing into the promised land, while Moses is crossing into Heaven. The people are crossing into the embrace of the land, while Moses is crossing into the embrace of God.

Moses was alone in Exodus 32 before the apostasy of the people (God would make the nation out of him), but Moses prevailed to make the nation embrace the same (one) God, so that Moses was not alone. At the end of the life of Moses, he is once again alone on the mountain before God.

Deuteronomy 32:49: Go up this mountain of the Abarim (that is to say, Regions Beyond, of passages or crossings; to pass over, by or through), Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, opposite Jericho, and view the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel for a possession.

We live within God's world. He made all things: this planet, the sun moon and stars. It is all God's making. It's His world; it's His creation. We live within God's world. There is a world however that God cannot enter, unless He is invited. We are to ask God to live within us. Come inhabit me. Allow Your presence to be in us. God made a place for us; we make a place for Him.

Effectively, we "create" a place in our hearts, a temple, a place for God to dwell in. It is the work of our hands.

MONDAY. Two Old Testament Cases. 1 Kings 17:8-24; 2 Kings 4:18-37.

Notes

The Widow of Zarephath. 1 Kings 17.

The Shunammite Woman. 2 Kings 4.

Hospitality. PK 130.3: No greater test of faith than this could have been required. The widow had hitherto treated all strangers with kindness and liberality. Now, regardless of the suffering that might result to herself and child, and trusting in the God of Israel to supply her every need, she met this supreme test of hospitality by doing “according to the saying of Elijah.”

Matthew 10:40-42: Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. 41 The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person's reward. 42 And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.

TUESDAY. The Son of the Widow of Nain. Luke 7:11-17.

Notes

Only (begotten) son of the widow. Same as only daughter of Jairus.

Soon after healing the centurion’s servant in Capernaum, Jesus led his followers toward the village of Nain. Hangers-on, excited by the recent miracle, followed him. Nain, a 30-mile arduous uphill climb from Capernaum, was on the way to nowhere. Or was it? Outside the village, another crowd trudged toward the cemetery. Somber, piercing the air with wails of grief, and kicking up dust. According to custom, the grieving woman, who was husbandless and now childless, headed the funeral procession. Behind her, mourners carried the funeral bier of her only son. As they made their way to the graveyard, the woman’s neighbors joined the growing group. In a male-dominated world with no male to provide for her, the widow of Nain was facing social, spiritual, and financial catastrophe—a future without hope. She was a dead woman walking, alive on the outside but dead on the inside. Hope had died with her son, resulting in two dead people rather than just one. So, when the crowds encountered one another, exuberant hope met extreme hopelessness.

Jesus’ encounter with the widow of Nain wasn’t coincidental. He left for this on-the-way-to-nowhere village long before the funeral procession began. And he arrived in the right place at the right time so he could meet this despairing woman in her moment of most profound need. Her tear-stained face and slumped shoulders spoke what her mouth did not.

Luke 7:13 (KJV): And when the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said unto her, “Weep not.” [Other phrases: Don't weep; don't cry.]

Compassion. "he felt [great] compassion for her"; "the Lord felt-deep-feelings of compassion for her"; "his heart was filled with pity for her"; "he felt very sorry for her"; "his heart overflowed with sympathy" This phrase is used to describe the compassion of the good Samaritan story. It is also used of the father's compassion for the prodigal son when he returned.

Connection to the Elijah story. The phrase, “Jesus gave him back to his mother” (7:15) was identical to the words used in the story of Elijah’s raising the widow of Zarephath’s only son (1 Kings 17:23).

WEDNESDAY. Jairus's Daughter. Mark 5:21-24, 35-43. Also found in Matthew 9:18-26 and Luke 8:40-56.

Notes

Mark records more miracles than any other gospel, even though it is the shortest gospel.

Jairus' daughter's age.

Mark 5:42: And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement.

Luke 8:42: for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying.

This is a "sandwich story" (intercalation), where one incident is inserted within another. They are linked by a 12-year ailment and a 12-year old girl.

Jairus. Is a ruler of the synagogue of (possibly) Capernaum.

Faith is mentioned in both.

Mark 5:35-36: While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler's house some who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” 36 But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.”

There will be days of rain, sorrow and darkness.

Christian tradition (from Christian historian Eusebius) says that she (the bleeding woman) was a wealthy Gentile woman from Caesarea Philippi. However, EGW says she was a poor woman, having spent all her money trying to find a cure.

2SP 320.1: The golden opportunity had come, she was in the presence of the great Physician! But amid the confusion, she could not be heard by him nor catch more than a passing glimpse of his figure. Fearful of losing the one chance of relief from her illness, she pressed forward, saying to herself, If I but touch his garment I shall be cured. She seized the opportunity as he was passing and reached forward, barely touching the hem of his garment. But in that moment she felt herself healed of her disease. Instantly health and strength took the place of feebleness and pain. She had concentrated all the faith of her life in that one touch that made her whole.With a thankful heart she then sought unobtrusively to retire from the crowd; but suddenly Jesus stopped, and all the people, following his example, also halted.

Both no-names and both daughters. This is the only time Jesus calls anyone "Daughter." The inferior status of both females that they didn't have a name. Jairus's daughter is "daughter of".

Both women were ritually unclean. One by virtue of the bleeding and the other by virtue of death.

Delay in healing. Similar to the raising of Lazarus. This delay would serve both to try and to strengthen the faith of Jairus.

How many in the room? Three disciples (Peter, James and John), the child's father and mother, the child, and Jesus.

Near Matthew's house. See 2SP 318. Jairus went to Jesus who was dining at Matthew's house after ministering to the people by the sea. Short distance between Matthew's and Jairus' homes.

THURSDAY. Lazarus. John 11:1-44.

FRIDAY. Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “The Death of Moses,” pp. 469-480, in Patriarchs and Prophets; “The Voice of Stern Rebuke,” pp. 129-142; “A Prophet of Peace,” pp. 237-243, in Prophets and Kings; “The Centurion,” pp. 318, 319; “The Touch of Faith,” pp. 342, 343; “Lazarus, Come Forth,” pp. 524-536, in The Desire of Ages.

“In Christ is life, original, unborrowed, underived. ‘He that hath the Son hath life.’ 1 John 5:12. The divinity of Christ is the believer‘s assurance of eternal life. ‘He that believeth in Me,’ said Jesus, ‘though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Believest thou this?’ Christ here [in John 11:25, 26] looks forward to the time of His second coming. Then the righteous dead shall be raised incorruptible, and the living righteous shall be translated to heaven without seeing death. The miracle which Christ was about to perform, in raising Lazarus from the dead, would represent the resurrection of all the righteous dead. By His word and His works He declared Himself the Author of the resurrection. He who Himself was soon to die upon the cross stood with the keys of death, a conqueror of the grave, and asserted His right and power to give eternal life.” — Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 530.

Immortality. A misconception of what EGW meant by immortality.

While DA 530.3 says that "in Christ is life, original, unborrowed, underived," yet this same life (from the Father) is given to all who believe in Christ as their personal Savior, as seen below:

1SM 296.2: “In him was life; and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4). It is not physical life that is here specified, but immortality, the life which is exclusively the property of God. The Word, who was with God, and who was God, had this life. Physical life is something which each individual receives. It is not eternal or immortal; for God, the Life-giver, takes it again. Man has no control over his life. But the life of Christ was unborrowed. No one can take this life from Him. “I lay it down of myself” (John 10:18), He said. In Him was life, original, unborrowed, underived. This life is not inherent in man. He can possess it only through Christ. He cannot earn it; it is given him as a free gift if he will believe in Christ as his personal Saviour. “This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3). This is the open fountain of life for the world.

Understand that "Christ was invested with the right to give immortality" (1SM 302.2). "For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will" (John 5:21). And, "For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself" (John 5:26). Again, according to EGW, it was the Father who invested (or endowed) Christ "with the right to give immortality." This immortality is "exclusively the property of God," but the believer "can possess it only through Christ...as a free gift" (1SM 296.2). Therefore, in the context of the raising of Lazarus (where the DA 503.3 quote is found), Jesus was not speaking of his pre-incarnate life, but of his power to give life to Lazarus at that very moment and by extension, eternal life—i.e. immortality. Notice,

John 11:23-26: Jesus said to her, “Your brother [Lazarus] will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?"

Jesus was not just telling Martha that her brother would rise again, at that very moment, but he extended the concept to include eternal life—i.e. immortality. This life, original, unborrowed, underived, we can receive by faith in Christ. Thus, this quality of life, apart from the power to bestow it, is identical whether it is ingenerate as in the case of the Father, inherited [begotten] by the Son, or conferred as a conditional, permanent gift to God's children. Consider these quotes from EGW:

ST June 17, 1897, par. 14: If man will cooperate with God by returning willingly to his loyalty, and obeying the commandments, God will receive him as a son. Through the provision Christ has made by taking the punishment due to man, we may be reinstated in God's favor, being made partakers of the divine nature. If we repent of our transgression, and receive Christ as the Life-giver, our personal Saviour, we become one with him, and our will is brought into harmony with the divine will. We become partakers of the life of Christ, which is eternal. We derive immortality from God by receiving the life of Christ for in Christ dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. This life is the mystical union and cooperation of the divine with the human.

23LtMs, Ms 92, 1908, par.40: What a song that will be when the ransomed of the Lord meet at the gate of the holy city, which is thrown back on its glittering hinges, and the nations that have kept His word—His commandments—enter <into the city, the crown of the overcomer is placed upon their heads,> and the golden harps are placed in their hands! All heaven is filled with rich music, and with songs of praise to the Lamb. Saved, everlastingly saved, in the kingdom of glory! To have a life that measures with the life of God—that is the reward. Just think of it! “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.]

APPENDIX

Everyone who rose from the dead in the Bible.

2 Corinthians 1:9: Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.

Jesus (3), God (2), Elisha (2), Elijah (1), Peter (1), and Paul (1).

Two are raised on behalf of widows; two women are raised; One time, many rise again.

1 Kings 17:17-24: [Widow of Zarephath's son]

2 Kings 4:32-37: [Shunammite woman's son]

2 Kings 13:20-21: [The body of a dead man who touched Elisha's bones]

Luke 7:11-17: [Widow of Nain's son]

Mark 5:35-43: [Jarius' daughter]

John 11:39-44: [Lazarus]

Matthew 27:52-53: [Many saints raised by God]

1 Corinthians 15:1-8: [Jesus raised by God]

Acts 9:40: [Tabitha (Dorcas) raised by Peter]

Acts 20:9-10: [Eutychus, young man, raise by Paul]