Wednesday, September 21
Death by crucifixion was one of the harshest punishments the Romans meted out to anyone. It was considered the worst way to die. Thus, how horrific for anyone to be killed that way, in particular the Son of God! Jesus, we must always remember, came in human flesh like ours. Between the beatings, the scourgings, the nails hammered into His hands and feet, the harrowing weight of His own body tearing at the wounds, the physical pain must have been unbearable. This was harsh, even for the worst of criminals; how unfair, then, that Jesus, innocent of everything, should face such a fate.
Yet, as we know, Christ’s physical sufferings were mild in contrast to what was really happening. This was more than just the killing of an innocent man.
What events surrounding the death of Jesus showed that more was going on than most people there understood at the time? What significance can we find in each of these events that can help reveal what happened there?
Clearly, something much more was happening here than just the death, however unfair, of an innocent man. According to Scripture, God’s wrath against sin, our sin, was poured out upon Jesus. Jesus on the cross suffered a righteous God’s righteous indignation against sin, the sins of the whole world. As such, Jesus suffered something deeper, darker, and more painful than any human being could ever know or experience.
As you go through whatever struggles you are facing, what hope and comfort can you draw from the reality of Christ suffering for you on the cross?
Thursday, September 22
We might as well get used to it: as long as we are here, in this world, we are going to suffer. As fallen creatures, it is our fate. Nothing in the Bible promises us anything different. On the contrary …
What do the following verses have to tell us about the topic at hand? Acts 14:22, Philippians 1:29, 2 Timothy 3:12.
Yet, in the midst of our suffering, two things we should keep in mind.
First, Christ, our Lord, has suffered worse than any of us ever could. At the cross, He “hath borne our griefs, And carried our sorrows” (Isaiah 53:4); what we know only as individuals, He suffered corporately, for us all. He who was sinless became “sin for us” (2 Corinthians 5:21), suffering in a way that we, as sinful creatures, couldn’t begin to imagine.
But second, as we suffer, we should remember the results of Christ’s suffering, that is, what we have been promised through what Christ has done for us.
Whatever our sufferings here, thanks to Jesus, thanks to His bearing in Himself the punishment of our sin, thanks to the great provision of the gospel — that through faith we can stand perfect in Jesus right now — we have the promise of eternal life. We have the promise that because of what Christ has done, because of the fullness and completeness of His perfect life and perfect sacrifice, our existence here, full of pain, disappointment, and loss, is no more than an instant, a flash, here and gone, in contrast to the eternity that awaits us, an eternity in a new heaven and a new earth, one without sin, suffering, and death. And all this is promised to us and made certain for us only because of Christ and the crucible He went into so that one day, coming soon, He would see “the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied” (Isaiah 53:11).
Friday, September 23
Read in the Spirit of Prophecy: “Gethsemane,” pp. 685-697, and “Calvary,” pp. 741-757, in The Desire of Ages.
“Three times has He uttered that prayer. Three times has humanity shrunk from the last, crowning sacrifice. But now the history of the human race comes up before the world’s Redeemer. He sees that the transgressors of the law, if left to themselves, must perish. He sees the helplessness of man. He sees the power of sin. The woes and lamentations of a doomed world rise before Him. He beholds its impending fate, and His decision is made. He will save man at any cost to Himself. He accepts His baptism of blood, that through Him perishing millions may gain everlasting life. He has left the courts of heaven, where all is purity, happiness, and glory, to save the one lost sheep, the one world that has fallen by transgression. And He will not turn from His mission. He will become the propitiation of a race that has willed to sin. His prayer now breathes only submission: ’If this cup may not pass away from Me, except I drink it, Thy will be done.” The Desire of Ages, pp. 690, 693
Discussion Questions:
1. How does it help us in our own sufferings, this knowledge that God Himself, in the person of Christ, suffered more than any of us ever could? What should the sufferings of Christ in our behalf mean to us? What comfort can we draw from this amazing truth? As you think about your answer, keep in mind the following statement from the Spirit of Prophecy: “All the suffering which is the result of sin was poured into the bosom of the sinless Son of God.” Selected Messages, book 3, p. 129
2. As a class, go over the sufferings of Christ looked at in this week’s lesson. What were the crucibles that Christ faced? In what ways are they like our own, and in what ways are they different? What can we learn from how He handled these challenges that can help us amid our own crucibles?
3. What are some of your favorite Bible promises, promises that you can cling to amid sorrow and pain? Write them out, claim them for yourself, and share them in class.
4. Write out a summary paragraph, highlighting whatever few main points you got from this quarter’s lessons. What questions were resolved for you? What issues still remain unanswered? How can we help each other work through those things that still greatly perplex and trouble us?
