HSS2404012

♪ theme music ♪

(Derek) Welcome to Hope Sabbath School,

an in-depth, interactive study

of the Word of God.

We're coming to the end of a series

that has been life-changing,

Themes in the Gospel of John,

today, The Hour of Glory.

You say, "Derek, what is that?"

It is the the cross, the death

and the resurrection of Jesus,

which not only was a witness

that He was indeed Messiah,

but it gives us life

through faith in Him for eternity.

So, there could be

no more important topic than this.

We're glad you joined us

for Hope Sabbath School.

Welcome to the team,

good to be together.

You can tell I'm a little excited today,

and that's because Puia's going

to be teaching; we're looking forward

to a great in-depth, interactive study.

We've got some remote team members.

Maurice, great to have you with us again,

glad you're here.

Ryan, good to have you with us today.

We're glad you're here for our study.

And, Travis, always good

to have you with us, welcome back.

We're glad that you're here, too,

because you are an important part

of our global family.

And when Puia asks a question today,

you can raise your hand

if you have an answer or send us an email

at [e-mail].

But we'd like to just hear

how you're blessed through a study

of God's Word on Hope Sabbath School.

So, I'm glad, Grace, that you

wrote to us from Zimbabwe,

and Grace writes and says,

"Greetings, Hope Sabbath School."

(Team) Greetings.

(Derek) She does that to get the wave.

Grace from Zimbabwe, "I just want

to say I do appreciate

the great work you're doing."

(Jason) Praise God.

(Derek) "I love the interactive study."

Now, get this,

"It's really impacting my life."

(Team) Hallelujah.

(Derek) "I love the energy

of the teachers, and I like it

when someone says, 'hallelujah.'

I follow Hope Sabbath School

almost every Friday."

Well, Grace, thanks for being part

of our global family,

and may God bless you there

in your home country of Zimbabwe.

Amaraizu writes from Nigeria.

Amaraizu writes and says, "My family and I

live in our home country of Nigeria.

We're blessed with four children,

two boys and two girls, and we watch

Hope Sabbath School together."

(Team) Amen!

(Derek) I like that.

Thank you, Amaraizu, for writing to us.

And he says, "My children love it so much.

As a matter of fact, my 7-year-old
daughter

knows all of your names.

I am grateful to God for your ministry."

Now, this is amazing.

"Jedidah," the 7-year-old daughter,

"is now teaching her friends in school

about the Bible through the knowledge

she gains on Hope Sabbath School."

(Team) Praise the Lord.

(Derek) I'm going to wave to Jedidah there

and to Amaraizu and the whole family;

oh, you're waving, too.

Everybody wave, we're going

to give a wave there.

Oh, my, teaching her friends at school,

isn't that beautiful?

"What a joy it is to see our children

loving the Lord.

I am really grateful," and you can guess

the last word Amaraizu uses.

(Derek, Team) "Hallelujah!"

(Derek) Thanks for writing to us

from Nigeria, and God bless your family.

Give our greetings to all of them.

Here's a note from a donor

in Michigan in the U.S.

Michigan, Travis,

that's your home territory.

"I'm writing," the donor writes,

"from a small town in northern Michigan.

I've been watching Hope Sabbath School

for about 10 years, and I'm using

the outline to teach a Bible class."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) That's what you'll be using

today, right, Puia?

That's what we use; each of us

has that outline.

"I don't consider myself a teacher,"

the donor writes, "but a facilitator."

Well, if a teacher is a monologue,

then a facilitator is a dialogue,
right, interactive.

"I love how the outlines help the study,

and your commitment to produce

Hope Sabbath School

and share with the world.

God bless you all," and a monthly donation

of a hundred dollars.

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) Now, you can do the math

and just say, "Thank you, Donor."

You are a significant contributor

by making that 100-dollar donation

each month to impact the world.

And today's topic is one

of the most important we'll ever share.

Thank you to each of you.

We're coming to the end of the year.

Thank you for being partners

with us in this mission.

You can go to our website.

Say, "Derek, can I help?"
Absolutely.

We're a donor-supported ministry.

Go to hopetv.org/hopess,

click on that yellow Donate button

or get the address and send us a note

with a gift and say, "I'm praying,

and I want to be part of the mission."

God bless you and thank you

very much to all of you.

One last note, from Janet

in North Carolina in the U.S.,

"I've been watching Hope Sabbath School

for about a year now and get

so much out of it on DirecTV," now that's

a satellite distribution network

here in the U.S.

"Many times, I have prayed

a heartfelt prayer, and the next morning

it seems that God speaks to me directly

through your Hope Sabbath School program."

(Team) Amen!

(Derek) "May God bless

more and more people through your program.

Also, before even watching your program,

I have wondered why the Scripture

is never set to music in our times,

and that, too, has been answered

on your program!"

We love you all," and that's from Janet

in North Carolina.

Thanks for writing to us, Janet,

and we'd like you

to help us sing right now.

But I hope before we sing that you

and all of the rest of you watching

have downloaded the collection

of six Trilogy Scripture Songs.

They are a gift to you

from the words of Jesus,

four from the Gospel of John,

two from Revelation.

My favorite one, well, you'll have to see

which is your favorite,

but they're all the words of Jesus,

and it's a gift to you.

All you have to do is go to our website,

hopetv.org/hopess

and click on the Free Gift tab,

and you can download

those six Scripture songs, digital copies,

and you can share them

and be a blessing to others.

While you're there, you can download

our theme song we've been singing

all this series, "Behold!

The Lamb of God."

Janet, you said you're glad

to find someone doing that.

Well, we'd like you

to help us sing right now.

♪ music ♪

(Derek) And, you know, Puia,

that's really what this study

is about, isn't it,

The Hour of Glory,

"Behold! The Lamb of God."

Thanks for leading us in this study today.

(Puia) Let us pray.

Father God in Heaven, we thank You

for this opportunity

to open Your Word today

and learn more about Your love for us.

At this moment, Father, we invite

the Holy Spirit to speak to us

through Your words.

We pray for all

of our Hope Sabbath School members

around the world, that when they

watch this episode, the Holy Spirit

will touch them as well.

Lord, this is not about us;

this is about You,

so we invite You to come through.

This is our prayer in Jesus' name. Amen.

(Derek, Team) Amen.

(Puia) Before we begin our study,

I just want to come to our viewers online

and from home, thank you

for joining us today.

We'll be studying a very important topic

from the Gospel of John,

the final hours of Jesus,

the cross and the resurrection.

And so, I want to invite you

to grab your Bibles

and open the Bible along with us.

We'll be reading many texts, and I pray

that you will be blessed as well.

So, class, today, we are

on lesson number 12 in this series

on the Themes in the Gospel of John.

And these are the final hours

of Jesus' life on Earth.

And it's interesting to note

that the Gospel of John has 21 chapters,

and about half of the book of John

covers about three-and-a-half years almost

of the story of Jesus.

And then from chapter 11 to the end

of the book, that half of the book

covers just a little over a week,

almost two weeks of Jesus' life on Earth.

So, we can see that John focused

a lot of his writings

on these final hours of Jesus.

So, as we begin our study, maybe we

can start with this question:

Why does John focus in detail

on such a small period of the life

of Jesus with so much emphasis?

Shawn, I see your hand.

(Shawn) It's the climax of everything.

It's what all people from all of history

have been waiting for, the fulfillment

of Scripture, the healing of the nations,

the salvation of all humanity.

If there is one thing to focus on,

wouldn't this be it?

(Puia) Right, this is the climax. Gladys.

(Gladys) Satan accused God

of being unjust,

so [this is the culmination]
of the plan of salvation.

So, it's that moment in time

when the wages of sin

will be paid, and it is

the most important part of the book.

(Puia) Yes, I like the part

you mentioned about sin,

taking away of sin.

Didn't we just sing the song,

"Behold! The Lamb of God

who takes away the sin of the world"?

So this is going to be the climax

of the plan of salvation where God

is going to take the sin of the world.

Now, let's go to John, chapter 20,

verses 30 to 31, and, Stephanie,

would you read that for us, please.

And let's go back to the reason why John

wrote this Gospel in the first place.

Would you read that for us, please?

(Stephanie) And I'll be reading

from the New King James Version:

(Puia) Amen. So, as we just read,

what is the primary reason of John

writing this Gospel? Scott.

(Scott) So we can believe

and have life in His name.

(Puia) Amen. Gladys?

(Gladys) It says that Jesus

is the Messiah, the Son of God;

that's number one.

And then, that we may believe
and have life.

(Derek) And I'm thinking, Puia,

that John's prayer would be

that when we study now

about The Hour of Glory,

the death and resurrection,

we wouldn't just know about it

but that we would accept that Jesus

did that for us, so that we

could have eternal life.

(Team) Amen.

(Puia) Amen. So now, I'm coming

to the title of our lesson,

The Hour of Glory.

I want us to turn to John 17,

verses 20 to 26, and, Nicole,

can you read that for us, please,

John 17, verses 20 to 26.

(Nicole) The New International Version

of John 17:20-26 says:

(Puia) Thank you, Nicole,

for reading that.

My question for the team here is,

did any word jump out for you

from those texts, especially in relation

to the title of our study today,

from those final prayers of Jesus,

His final hours of ministry on Earth?
Yes, Nancy.

(Nancy) "Unity," because when we are

connected to the vine,

and we are the branches, which is

another way of expressing the same idea,

we are connected to God,

and His Spirit is in us.

And then the way we relate to others

is through blessing people.

(Puia) Derek.

(Derek) I just heard "glory."

In fact, the whole chapter says

glory, glory, glory.

But, "The glory which You gave Me

I have given them."

It's quite startling,

the beautiful revelation

of the character of the Father,

which He has fully revealed.

(Puia) Right! In verse 24, Jesus

specifically prayed that everyone

would behold His glory.

Now, that's the title of our lesson today,

The Hour of Glory.

And what is the glory that Jesus

wanted everyone to see?

And with that, we now come to chapter 18

and the hour of glory is about to begin.

Kylynda, can you read for us John 18,

verses 1 to 11, please?

(Kylynda) Of course, I'll be reading

from the New King James Version:

(Puia) Thank you, Kylynda,

for reading that.

So, in this text, we find

the arrest of Jesus.

Just before this took place, remember,

the context was that Jesus was praying

to God the Father that everyone

would see the glory.

And now, finally, the hour of the glory

has arrived, and what do we see here

from this story that points to the fact

that Jesus truly is the Son of God

and the Messiah? Anyone. Stephanie.

(Stephanie) When He spoke,

they fell to the ground.

That was the first thing

that caught my attention.

(Derek) And not just spoke, Puia,

but said "I am," right?

And we've seen that

through the Gospel of John, "I am He."

He must have said that emphatically,

and the glory of the Son of God

must have been revealed in that moment.

They fell to the ground.

(Puia) Right, that's powerful.

Travis, I see your hand.

(Travis) So, Puia, I agree

with what has just been said,

what Jesus said and the fact that they

would fall to the ground when He spoke.

But all of Scripture written up

until that time pointed forward

to this very event, you know,

the betrayal of Jesus.

You know, in Daniel it says that He

would confirm a covenant with many.

In 2 Peter, it says, "So we have

the prophetic word confirmed,

that we do well to take heed

as a light that shines in a dark place."

Jesus' death, even here before He

even dies on the cross,

these things were prophesied.

This was confirmation

that He was indeed the Son of God.

(Puia) What you're saying, Travis,

is that Jesus was fulfilling

the prophecies of the Hebrew Scriptures

even to that very point of the arrest

and the crucifixion. Jason.

(Jason) Also, in the book of Luke,

chapter 22, verse 51...

(Puia) Would..?

(Jason) Please, if we might.

(Puia) Luke 22.

(Jason) Verse 51, and I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,

and the Bible says:

And this is talking about the same scene

that John was talking about,
that we talked about,

healing Malchus' ear, showing again

His Messiahship, His loving power

in this episode.

(Puia) Right, even at the hour

when He was arrested,

He was healing the "enemies."

Jesus did not look at anyone as an enemy.

That's a powerful scene. Scott.

(Scott) I was noticing here in John 18

how even at this time when there was

a group of people here coming

to arrest Jesus, Jesus identifies Himself,

and He says, "Of those whom You gave Me,

I have lost not one."

So He is thinking about the people

whom He is coming for.

Even though all the people are scattering,

John doesn't tell us, but other Gospels

tell us that His disciples fled.

But still Jesus says, "Of those You

gave Me, I have lost not one,"

because Jesus is thinking

of the big picture.

He is thinking of salvation,

even though the mob out there

was just thinking small picture.

(Puia) Thank you.

So, we have seen Judas betraying Jesus,

working with the religious leaders,

who in turn turned to the soldiers

who came to arrest Jesus.

Let's see where the story takes us next

in John 18:28; Ryan, could you

read that for us, please?

John 18, verses 28 to 38.

(Ryan) Yeah, John 18:28-38, you said?

And this is the New King James Version,
and it says:

(Puia) Thank you, Ryan, for reading that.

So, how does this encounter of Jesus

with Pilate reveal the fact that He

was the Son of God, truly?

That He was the Messiah?

Anything stand out for you? Gladys.

(Gladys) Well, He says, "My Kingdom

is not of this world,"

so He was presenting that He was a King

and that He had the authority

to say that He was a King.

(Puia) Right, so in a way, Jesus answered

the question of Pilate,

that He was indeed a King,

not just of a nation or a territory

on this planet earth.

He's the King of the universe. Wow. Scott.

(Scott) I love how He says in verse 37,

"For this purpose I was born

and for this purpose

I have come into the world -

to bear witness to the truth."

Even in this trial, when He

could be trying to save His life

and tell Pilate what will rescue Him,

instead, He's focused on His mission.

(Puia) Wow. Could it be that Jesus

was also trying to reach Pilate

in that moment, trying to touch

his heart as well? Nancy?

(Nancy) That's what I was about to say,

that it's like He's trying to give

a little bit of a Bible study to Him.

But Pilate kind of leaves too early

because he asks, "What is truth?"

And then he walks away.

He could have kept going.

(Puia) Right, if only Pilate

stayed a little longer,

I believe Jesus would have told him,

"I am the truth. I am the way."

Some things could have changed.

But we see that Pilate rejected

the opportunity to be touched

by the Holy Spirit to learn

about the truth.

Kylynda, do you have a comment?

(Kylynda) Yes, I was thinking

about verses 31 and 32 when they say

to Pilate, "We need to condemn Him

to put Him to death."

It's to signify the type of death

that they wanted Jesus to die.

(Puia) Immediately.

(Kylynda) Right, and we know that Jesus,

when He was speaking to Nicodemus,

gave reference to Moses and the lifting up

of a serpent that healed people

in the time of Moses and the exodus.

So, Jesus knows that He's going to die

by crucifixion by being lifted up.

So, even when all of these people

are conspiring, Jesus is still in control.

(Puia) Wow, that is powerful.

Isn't it ironic that a Gentile ruler,

Pilate, said, "I find no fault in Him,"

and yet the very people who were chosen

for the Messiah's mission

rejected Him and wanted Him

to be condemned and crucified?

Pilate did not see

any fault in Jesus, as we read.

He went out and told the people,

"I find no fault in Him."

(Derek) I was just thinking of Stephen,

the way the Jews killed people,

they stoned them.

But, as Kylynda pointed out, there were

prophecies a thousand years before,

even more, actually, going back to Moses,

you know, 1,400 years,

that He would be lifted up, the prophecy

of the psalmist, Psalm 22, that His hands

and feet would be pierced.

Every single prophecy will be fulfilled

in the life of Messiah.

(Team) Amen.

(Puia) That is powerful.

So, Pilate wanted to set Jesus free,

didn't he, because he didn't find

any fault in Him.

Let's read the next couple of verses.

Jason, can you read for us John 18,

verses 39 to 40, and let's see

what else Pilate did

to try to set Jesus free.

(Jason) Right, and the Bible says:

Verse 40:

(Puia) Wow. Thank you for reading that.

So, we see that Pilate wanted

to set Jesus free and offered them

an opportunity to release a prisoner.

Maurice, do you have

a comment here from this text?

(Maurice) I was just noticing

that throughout the life

and ministry of Christ,

He spoke about His Kingdom a lot.

And I was reflecting on the question

you asked about why John spent

so much time writing

about these last few weeks.

And what's interesting

is that there have been other prophets,

there have been individuals that have done

miracles through God's help,

but there is no one else in history

that did the things that Jesus did

in this period of time

that John is writing about.

But I'm noticing that there is this theme

where Jesus is so intentional

to always mention His Kingdom, and I think

there is something valuable there

that we could take away from the fact

that He's always focused on His Kingdom,

whether it is here

in this situation or in a parable.

And I believe that the focus

that He had on the Kingdom

was highlighting that there is

this Kingdom with a King

that is like no other king.

And John is helping us realize

that the King of this Kingdom

is no ordinary man.

And I just thought that was beautiful.

(Puia) Right. If Jesus wanted to escape,

of course He could have,

the King of the universe.

Go with me to the next few verses

in the next chapter, John 19,

and let me request Nancy to read

John 19, verses 1 to 4, please.

And let's see what else Pilate did

to try to set Jesus free.

(Nancy) I'm reading

from the New King James Version,
and it says:

(Puia) So, at first, Pilate told

the people, "I find no fault in Him."

But the people and the Jewish leaders

did not want to let Jesus go.

And so Pilate offered them a chance

to choose a prisoner to be released,

and they chose Barabbas instead.

And now, Pilate probably hoped

that by letting Jesus get beaten,

the people would feel some sort

of a sense of pity, probably,

and would let Jesus go.

And so Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him.

And we find in verse 4 where Pilate

said, "Behold, I am bringing Him out."

Earlier, we sang the song

from the testimony of John the Baptist.

What did we sing there?

(Team) "Behold! The Lamb of God."

(Puia) Isn't it interesting

that Pilate here is bringing Jesus out

and says, "Behold," and brings Him out.

In connection with the testimony

of John the Baptist where John said,

"The Lamb of God who takes away

the sin of the world," Pilate was

basically letting them see, "Here, behold!

The Man is the Lamb." Scott.

(Scott) I find it fascinating that Pilate

is doing everything in his power

to release Jesus except for taking

a courageous stand.

(Puia) Right. Now finally, let's see

what the final decision of Pilate

looked like, and, Scott, can you read

for us in chapter 19, verses 5 to 16?

(Scott) Alright, I'm reading

from the English Standard Version:

(Puia) Thank you, Scott, for reading that.

How can we explain the behavior

of the religious leaders and Pilate here

while they knew very well

that Jesus was innocent? Gladys.

(Gladys) Blinded by Satan,

blinded by jealousy.

They were completely taken over,

their minds; they couldn't see,

they couldn't hear, because they had let

the devil really take over their thoughts.

They were not in control

of themselves at this point.

(Puia) Thank you for highlighting

the movements behind the scene.

Beyond the physical realm,

there is the Great Controversy,

the cosmic conflict between Satan and God.

And so, what you're saying is Satan

has been working on the hearts

of the people there

to crucify Jesus. Kylynda.

(Kylynda) I think it also is a warning

for us today about appeasement

and how sin can take hold in our lives.

Because, first, Pilate listens

to the Pharisees, and then Pilate

offers a compromise with a swap,

and then eventually Pilate beats Jesus,

which he knows is wrong,

and finally, he allows Jesus to die.

So he has all these steps of compromise

to take him down

to finally allowing Jesus to die.

What if, at the very beginning,

he had said, "I'm not hearing

this case; go away"?

Instead, he allows it

to get to them accusing him

of this act against Caesar.

So, we need to be careful when we're faced

with sin in our lives - stop immediately.

(Puia) That's a powerful thought.

It wasn't a sudden fall of Pilate

in condemning Jesus to be crucified.

But, as you said, he

compromised, step by step.

Derek, you have a comment?

(Derek) So, I'd like to respond, I think,

to the idea that they were blinded

because that sounds like they didn't know

it was the Messiah, but they did.

So, what Jesus says in John 3 is,

"This is the condemnation...that men,"

women, "loved darkness rather than light,

because their deeds were evil."

Now, the tragedy is that these were

religious leaders, even the high priest.

(Puia) Right.

(Derek) But there was something in them.

And back to saying don't let us

go down that same road, let's say,

"God, take away any love

for darkness in me,

because I want to come to Jesus

who is the light of the world

and let Him save me."

(Puia) That is powerful.

We could be standing here

and thinking that we're different

from the people there,

but what if we were there?

What if we were among the crowd?

Would we be any better?

That's a great question,

if we think about their motives

for delivering Jesus to be crucified.

We have the Roman soldiers

who were just following orders.

We have Pilate who was pressured

by the crowd and the religious leaders

so he could save his job.

We have the religious leaders

who were jealous of Jesus and who were

not willing to open their hearts.

And we have Judas

who betrayed Jesus because of greed.

So, what we can see here

is that different people who played parts

in the crucifixion of Jesus

had different motives that we, too,

are facing today, right?

So the question is, how can we avoid

the same fatal mistake

that the people made there?

Not just Pilate, but remember it's

all those series of actions

that the people made. Shawn.

(Shawn) We need to be examining

our own hearts to see

how we're responding to Jesus.

You know, Gladys and Derek both mentioned

Satan's influence over the people.

He was filling them with his bloodlust

and his hatred for the Messiah.

And as you pointed out, He will try

to do the exact same thing to us.

So, what we need to do is

be on the lookout,

put on the armor of God,

and make sure he's not influencing us,

and then meditate on what Jesus

has done for us in Scripture

so that our love for light

will grow stronger than our love

for darkness, and we will become

that light of the world.

(Puia) Amen. Thank you. Gladys?

(Gladys) This verse right here, 12,

where it says, I mean in [15] where they

say, "We have no other king but Caesar,"

it just reminded me of the people

of Israel when they

started asking for a king.

And God said to Samuel, "They

did not reject you, they rejected Me."

So they are doing the same thing

all over again; they are choosing

an earthly king over God Himself.

So this is the same thing for us.

Everything comes down to one choice.

(Puia) Powerful. Stephanie,

we'll take your comment,

and then I want Travis to read for us

John 19, verses 17 to 22.

But before we go there, Stephanie,

you have a comment.

(Stephanie) I don't think there's

any exemption of who could fall

into this mistake.

If our eyes are not on Jesus,

if we're not spending time with Him

every day in His Word and in prayer,

we will be feeding the world.

So we need to feed our spiritual lives

so that the world gets pushed

out of our lives,

and only Jesus reigns there.

(Puia) Wow. You know, you remind me

of a book I read a few years ago

called The Cross of Christ

by a famous author named John Stott.

And in that book, he asked the question,

"Why did Jesus die?"

And then he traced

through the different reasons

like Pilate, the religious leaders,

and Judas and the people who were

involved, and the soldiers

who crucified Him.

But at the end, he concluded

that ultimately Jesus died

because of our sins.

So we played our part because of our sins.

And he wrote this line that I remember.

He wrote, "Before we can see

the cross of Christ as something

done for us, we need to see it first

as something done by us."

We were the ones

who put Christ on the cross.

Travis, would you take us to John 19,

verses 17 to 22, and let's see

the hour of glory on the cross.

(Travis) And I'll be reading

from the New King James Version:

(Puia) Wow. So, we see here

that on the cross, the title of Jesus

was clearly written.

What was the purpose of this sign

above the cross?

Do you think there is a movement

behind the scene that orchestrated

that title on the cross so that everyone

who was in Jerusalem on that day

would be able to read that?

I mean, it says it was written

in three languages.

Scott, I see your hand.

(Scott) You can think of it on one side

as a sarcastic thing, you know, "Here,

look what's happening

to the king of the Jews."

But then you think about what Pilate

had been saying earlier, and you

almost wonder if he was

more serious about this.

Like, he actually believed;

he wasn't courageous enough

to take a stand, but he believed it.

And it's unfortunate that there are

plenty of people who believe the truth

but are unwilling to take a stand.

(Puia) Thank you. Kylynda, would you

take us to verses 23 to 27 of John 19,

and let's see the rest of the story here.

(Kylynda) I'll read this

from the New King James Version:

(Puia) Can you also read

verse 30 here, please.

(Puia) So Jesus was crucified.

The soldiers mocked him,

tore His clothes into pieces.

Travis, where do you see the love of God

on this cross of Jesus?

(Travis) Puia, I want to address

that question, but I just have to make

a response to the last comment,

because there was something

really significant, I believe,

about His name being written

in three different languages on there,

and that is that the gospel

was for the whole world.

The gospel is for everybody,

and so the way I see

God's immeasurable, unfailing love

is that the death on the cross

was for every person including that thief

that died on the cross.

It was for every person.

No person has to perish.

I love the verse in the Bible

where Jesus says He's not willing

that any should perish

but that all should come to repentance.

God's gift of salvation was

for everyone, full and complete.

(Puia) Wow. Thank you, Travis,

for that point - full and complete.

How does that relate

to the final words of Jesus on the cross

when He said, "It is finished"?

What was finished? Scott.

(Scott) Jesus' whole mission,

His purpose in coming to this earth,

His purpose in showing us how to live,

all these things.

It came to its culmination,

and Jesus says, "This whole process,

now salvation is available

to all who believe."

(Puia) Wow, so the mission of Jesus

has been accomplished;

it is finished on the cross.

John the Baptist testified, "Behold!

The Lamb of God who takes away

the sin of the world."

And on the cross when Jesus was crucified,

He was the Lamb of God who was sacrificed

for the sin of the world.

He took away the sin of the world.

And on the cross, Satan's lies

have been exposed - it is finished.

Satan can no longer tell people

that God doesn't love us

because we see God who loves us enough

to the point of death on the cross.

Nicole, you have a comment?

(Nicole) Just two things, one, I want

to be clear that His earthly ministry

is finished; He is still doing

a mighty work for us in His Kingdom.

So, "It is finished," I think is

really referring to, "What I had to do

on Earth, I've now completed,

and now I'm going to go and finish

this work so I can save all of mankind

into My Kingdom."

(Puia) Thank you for saying that

because that let us know that the story

was not over when He died.

So let's now go to the final part

of our study for today, John, chapter 20.

And, Gladys, can you read for us

John 20, verses 1 to 10, please?

(Gladys) Sure, and I'm reading

from the New International Version,

John, chapter 20:1-10:

(Puia) Thank you for reading that.

You know, in my version,

the New King James Version, in verse 7

regarding the linen of Jesus, it says

that it was "folded together."

How does that point to the evidence

for the resurrection of Jesus?

You know, in comparison to other theories

that maybe someone else

stole His body? Scott.

(Scott) I can't imagine a thief

bothering to fold the linen clothes.

And I wonder if that's part of it,

because it says that John,

this other disciple, didn't understand

the Scripture yet, but still he saw it

and he believed.

So he saw this evidence; he didn't know

what it meant, but he believed

there must be something there.

(Puia) Right. What other evidence

do we see as evidence for the resurrection

other than the folded clothes
there? Nancy.

(Nancy) The Roman guards weren't there.

They were supposed to be guarding

the grave, and they had a seal

on the stone, and on pain of death they

weren't even supposed to, of course, leave

their post or fall asleep.

Why wouldn't they be there?

(Puia) Right. So Jesus rose again.

Who was the first person that saw

the resurrected Jesus in the story?

(Team, Puia) Mary.

(Puia) Isn't it interesting

that Mary was there until the final hour

of Jesus on the cross,

and here Mary is again

on the resurrection morning.

Travis, you have a comment here.

(Travis) I think the biggest evidence,

Puia, that Jesus has risen from the grave

is the tomb is empty.

I mean, there are a lot of gods

that are held in high regard

all over the world,

whether it is Buddha or whoever.

Those graves are occupied.

This tomb is empty; He's gone.

(Puia) Thank you. Amen.

Maurice, can you read for us

Matthew 28, verses 9 to 10, and let's see

what other meetings Jesus had

after the resurrection,

Matthew 28, verses 9 to 10.

And after this, I am going to ask Ryan

to read for us 1 Corinthians, chapter 15,

verses 1 to 8, if you can be ready

for the next text,

1 Corinthians 15, verses 1 to 8.

But let's see first, Maurice,

Matthew 28, verses 9 to 10.

(Maurice) Alright, and I'm reading

from the New King James Version,
and it says:

(Puia) So Jesus continued to appear

to the disciples after the resurrection.

Now, Ryan, take us, please

to 1 Corinthians 15, verses 1 to 8,

and let's see what Apostle Paul

wrote down regarding the evidences

for the resurrection of Jesus.

(Ryan) Sure thing, this is

from the New King James Version,

1 Corinthians 15:1-8, it says:

(Puia) So, what were the other evidences

for the resurrection of Jesus?

Who else witnessed the resurrected Christ?

What do we see here? Gladys?

(Gladys) It said that many people saw Him,

so it was not just one person.

It was 500 people at once,

and then Peter and James and John,

so many at the same time.

(Puia) Right, and they were all willing

to suffer for this message that Christ

was crucified and rose again.

They were no longer afraid

of any other persecution.

The disciples of Jesus

were all martyred, basically,

except John the Apostle who wrote this.

But even he, he suffered so much.

Scott, what do you see here?

(Scott) There is so much evidence

for the resurrection, so many people

who have seen - so many witnesses.

Even ancient historians took that as fact.

If you really look into it,

you really can come to no conclusion

other than that Jesus was resurrected.

(Puia) Thank you.

Maurice, you have a comment here.

(Maurice) Yeah, one

of the most fascinating evidences to me

is that when Jesus was alive,

some people believed in Him.

The religious leaders didn't.

And He had this small following

that kind of grew over time.

A lot of them were following Him

based on miracles

and the things that they saw.

But then when He died,

even His disciples were discouraged.

And so, the very next scene

in the gospel story is just an explosion

of people who are now following Him

and believing in Him,

which would make no sense

if He was still dead.

And so, I think one of the evidences

for the resurrection is the fact

that Christianity exists today.

The fact that so many people

began to be followers after the death.

And the only thing that would make sense

was that there was a resurrection,

and those people believed that it was so.

(Puia) Amen. Thank you, Maurice, for that.

In fact, Paul said that, if we continue

reading in that chapter, "If Christ

is not risen, our faith is futile."

So, let me conclude with this question.

What's the benefit for us -

now that we have learned that Christ

was crucified for our sin

and that He rose again -

what benefit is there for us to believe

in that story, in that event? Gladys.

(Gladys) That our sins are forgiven,

and we can have zoe forever with Jesus.

(Puia) In our previous lesson, we learned

about the zoe life,

that is, the life abundant.

Friends, that is what Jesus wants

to offer to us all.

We don't follow a crucified Savior alone.

We follow a resurrected Savior as well.

When we study these stories of Jesus,

there is something

about Jesus' love for us.

I want to invite you, friends, to continue

reading the stories of Jesus,

and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you.

As Gladys just pointed out, the good news

is that your sin and my sin

have been forgiven.

Jesus has forgiven us our sins.

We need to continue to follow Him

all the way to the very end

when He will come again.

So today we learned

about The Hour of Glory,

the cross and the resurrection.

Jesus has been glorified,

and He will continue to be glorified.

Derek would you close our study.

(Derek) Thank you so much, Puia.

Thank you for joining us today

as we studied a beautiful topic.

You say, "Putting someone to death?"

Yes, but the revelation

of the immeasurable, unfailing love of God

and that death was conquered

in the resurrection of Jesus.

And in that same chapter

in 1 Corinthians 15, it said, "But Christ

is risen...the firstfruits."

We are going to participate with Him

in His victory over death

through faith in Him.

Someone ought to say, "Amen."

Someone ought to say, "Praise God!

Thank you, Jesus,

for what You did for me."

Let's pray; Father in Heaven,

we've reflected on a most sacred topic,

the death of Jesus for our sins,

the gift of eternal life.

Evidenced in His resurrection

from the dead, He is

the Messiah, the Son of God.

May we trust Him as our Savior.

I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) Well, thanks for joining us

for Hope Sabbath School.

You say, "I serve a risen Savior!"

And He's coming back soon to take us home.

Trust Him today and go out

and be a blessing to those around you.

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