Sunday School Lesson for April 24, 2022 - Freedom in the King! : Printed Text: John 8:31-38 NLT; Background Scripture: John 8:31-38 NLT Devotional Reading: John 8:31-38 NLT

 

Unit 2: Liberating Gospels

Key Verse:

John 8:36 NLT

 

36 So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.

 

 

What freedom is it that Jesus speaks of?

 

 

What you need to know

 

 

John 7:1 NLT

 

1 After this, Jesus traveled around Galilee. He wanted to stay out of Judea, where the Jewish leaders were plotting his death. 

 

There is much here to speak of. However, in order to set the proper atmosphere, there are a few things that you must know. Chief among them is the understanding that while Jesus was well thought of in Galilee and Samaria, all of northern Israel, he was despised by the religious leaders in the region of Judea, particularly in Jerusalem, the headquarters of the Sanhedrin. In fact, the religious leaders in Jerusalem had begun to formulate plans for His death.

 

 

John 7:2-10 NLT

 

2 But soon it was time for the Jewish Festival of Shelters, 3 and Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, where your followers can see your miracles! 4 You can’t become famous if you hide like this! If you can do such wonderful things, show yourself to the world!” 5 For even his brothers didn’t believe in him.

6 Jesus replied, “Now is not the right time for me to go, but you can go anytime. 7 The world can’t hate you, but it does hate me because I accuse it of doing evil. 8 You go on. I’m not going[a] to this festival, because my time has not yet come.” 9 After saying these things, Jesus remained in Galilee. 10 But after his brothers left for the festival, Jesus also went, though secretly, staying out of public view.

However, it was the occasion of the “Festival of Booths”, or ‘Succot’, one of three major Holy Days that Jews, particularly men, were to come to Jerusalem to observe. Subsequently, Jesus made the journey alone, keeping Himself out of public view because he was aware of the nefarious plots of the Pharisees.

 

 

John 7:28:30 NLT

28 While Jesus was teaching in the Temple, he called out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I come from. But I’m not here on my own. The one who sent me is true, and you don’t know him. 29 But I know him because I come from him, and he sent me to you.” 30 Then the leaders tried to arrest him; but no one laid a hand on him, because his time[c] had not yet come.

Upon His arrival in Jerusalem, Jesus went to the Temple and began to teach. While He was aware that the Pharisees planned to arrest Him, He defiantly proclaimed that His Presence was ordered and ordained by His Father, in Heaven. He was simply obeying the leading of the Holy Spirit. As He had been led into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, so now had He been led to Jerusalem to declare His righteousness.

 

John 7:31 NLT

31 Many among the crowds at the Temple believed in him. “After all,” they said, “would you expect the Messiah to do more miraculous signs than this man has done?”

 

Because he spent so much more time in Galilee than in Jerusalem, Jesus had fewer true followers in Jerusalem. The people there had not seen or heard enough from Him to make cogent decisions concerning what they believed about Him. But, upon seeing Him at the Temple, and hearing of His miracles, the Bible states that ‘many’ believed in Him.

 

 

John 8:7-9 NLT

 

7 They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” 8 Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust. 9 When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman.

 

Finally, this was ‘that occasion’. This was the occasion where the Pharisees sought to trap Jesus by throwing an accused woman at His feet and demanding that He proclaim judgment against her. However, Jesus deftly confounded His accusers, leaving them retreating in shame.

 

 

 

The Lesson

John 8:31 NLT

31 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings.

In just the next few moments, Jesus was confronted by the Pharisees again. Earlier that week (John 7:37-37), He had invited ‘any who thirsted’ to come to Him for ‘Living Water’. His Presence in theTemple was concurrent with the pouring of water over the altar, a practice since the time of Joel that typified the day that the Messiah would cause water to flow from the Temple (Joel 3:18). Jesus’ declaration signaled that He was their long-awaited Messiah. 

Then, after being confronted by the Pharisees a few moments earlier, Jesus had declared Himself,”…the Light of the world”, another Messianic declaration that left the religious leaders aghast and incensed. This declaration was concurrent with the lighting of lamps in the Court of the Women, on the Temple grounds, another Messianic foreshadowing.

While the Pharisees left that confrontation enraged, those citizens of Jerusalem who believed in Him were emboldened to gather around Him, encouraged by His proclamation of Messiahship in the face of stiff opposition. This too was an act of the Holy Spirit. He drew these uncertain believers closer to Christ so that they might learn more of Him in whom they had believed. Yes, they were ‘believers’. They just didn’t know fully what they were believing. There is every indication that their belief was based on ‘head knowledge’ and not a true ‘change of heart…yet.

Jesus was calling these uncertain believers to discipleship. He invited them to continue to learn of Him and to remain faithful in what they were to learn. They were on the path to a ‘new life’. Jesus exhorted them to stay on that path.

John 8:32 NLT

32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Jesus finished His statement by promising that those that continued in discipleship would reap the benefit of a changed life, a life of freedom. In fact, the unveiling of that freedom would be progressive. The more they learned, the freer they would become. This concurred with His words to the twelve that if they would make their abode in Him, they would bear ‘much fruit’ (John 15:1-8). The freedom that Jesus promised would be the result of the sanctification of these believers by the Holy Spirit as their minds were renewed by the washing and regeneration of the Word.

John 8:33 NLT

33 “But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?”

Again, this was a moment of discovery that Jesus would turn to introspection. Their collective statement that they “had never been slaves” revealed their ignorance about Jesus’ mission. Were they expecting fish and loaves, as Jesus had provided on two different occasions in Samaria? Were they expecting that Jesus would oppose the Roman occupiers and ‘free’ Israel from the yoke of their oppressors? They were still grasping at a head knowledge of salvation.

John 8:34 NLT

34 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. 

Jesus required them to look at themselves. He offered them eternal life, but they would each require sanctification, a turn toward personal Holiness that surpassed even the righteousness of the Pharisees. While that righteousness must be imparted by God, it must be pursued by us, those who call themselves ‘Christians’.

John 8:35 NLT

35 A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever.

Now Jesus reveals a great truth, a slave is not a member of the master’s house, he is, rather, property of the master and property only. He has no inheritance that can be gained from the master’s possessions. What Jesus explained to these new believers was that they were now permanent members of the household of God, indeed they were now children of God with full rights to an eternal inheritance stored up for them in Heaven.

This is a foundational truth that is echoed later in Paul’s writing in Galatians and by the writer of the Book of Hebrews who both use the analogy of the rights of the slave versus the rights of the heir to illustrate to a Jewish audience that their physical connection to Abraham through ancestry was not sufficient to secure an eternal inheritance for them.

John 8:36 NLT

36 So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.

So then, after the illustration of the heir and the slave, an illustration familiar to all of His listeners, Jesus restates His original premise. He is the only path available to mankind to… freedom.

John 8:37 NLT

37 Yes, I realize that you are descendants of Abraham. And yet some of you are trying to kill me because there’s no room in your hearts for my message.

Obviously, this was a moment of contention between Jesus and these new converts. Some of them were not converted because they were holding to their belief that their kinship to Abraham was their ticket to eternity. They were missing the point, weren’t they. Abraham’s righteousness was imputed to Him because He believed God. If all have sinned and fallen short of God’s, then how can one be saved unless righteousness is imputed (gifted) to them by God as well? Additionally, how could they be saved if they looked past their awaited Messiah to Abraham? Jesus revealed that they had no room in their hearts for Him. They could not see past Abraham. Beloved, your grandmother’s right relationship with God won’t save you. You have to take Jesus to heart for yourself.

John 8:38 NLT

38 I am telling you what I saw when I was with my Father. But you are following the advice of your father.”

Jesus continues his rebuke of these believers by informing them that their ‘belief’ is not yet genuine. He informs them that He knows that because the Father made it clear to Him. Theirs is a sorry state. They are lost in the confusion of their ancestry, not understanding that Abraham, himself was a servant and friend to God Almighty and that it was only because of His trust in God that righteousness was imparted to them. Jesus was inviting these listeners to that to come to that place of faith. But, he was lamenting the fact that they could not replace their esteem of Abraham in their minds with a real love for the true Messiah that had come to give them eternal life.

John 8:42 NLT

42 Jesus told them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, because I have come to you from God. I am not here on my own, but he sent me.

Beloved, the verse above wasn’t part of the printed text, but I have included it, so as to bring the lesson to a proper conclusion. You see, my own experience with Christ was similar to what these Jews who confronted Jesus were experiencing. I had no consciousness of personal sin. My ideas about right and wrong hinged on whatever best served my carnal desires. However, I did have an abiding curiosity about God. Was He really real? How could I know? Thankfully, one Monday night, He revealed Himself to me in a church where the gospel was being preached. Once revealed, I fell in love. I fell completely in love with God. In that few moments, I threw everything else out of my heart and invited God in. My life has not been the same since. That was over thirty years ago and still, to this day, every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before.

Selah,

wb

Lamentations 3:22-24 NLT

22 

The faithful love of the Lord never ends![a]

    His mercies never cease.

23 

Great is his faithfulness;

    his mercies begin afresh each morning.

24 

I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;

    therefore, I will hope in him!”

Sunday School Lesson for April 17, 2022 - Resurrection of the King! : Printed Text: Matthew 28:1-10 NLT; Background Scripture: Matthew 27; 28:1-10 NLT Devotional Reading: Matthew 28:1-10 NLT

 

Unit 2: Liberating Gospels

Key Verse:

Matthew 28:10 NLT

 

10 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid! Go tell my brothers to leave for Galilee, and they will see me there.”

 

Did you know that the words, “Fear not” occur 365 times in Scripture? Jesus’ words here convey the same sentiment. Are you a believer? Don’t be afraid. God is near.

 

 

What you need to know

 

 

Matthew 27:59-61 NLT

 

59 Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a long sheet of clean linen cloth. 60 He placed it in his own new tomb, which had been carved out of the rock. Then he rolled a great stone across the entrance and left. 61 Both Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting across from the tomb and watching.

 

Three days earlier, Jesus had been crucified. Before the onset of the evening, a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, with the help of Nicodemus took Jesus’ body down from the cross, wrapped him in linen, and buried him in his (Joseph’s) own tomb. Once done, he (Joseph) rolled the stone over the entrance of the tomb and left. Of note is the fact that Mary Magdelene and Mary, the wife of Cleopas were watching everything that transpired, planning to come when able to complete the embalming of their beloved Rabbi.

 

 

Matthew 27:62-66 NLT

 

62 The next day, on the Sabbath,[n] the leading priests and Pharisees went to see Pilate. 63 They told him, “Sir, we remember what that deceiver once said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise from the dead.’ 64 So we request that you seal the tomb until the third day. This will prevent his disciples from coming and stealing his body and then telling everyone he was raised from the dead! If that happens, we’ll be worse off than we were at first.”

65 Pilate replied, “Take guards and secure it the best you can.” 66 So they sealed the tomb and posted guards to protect it.

 

The Pharisees told Pilate that they feared that the disciples would steal Jesus’ body. That was what they told Pilate. The truth was something quite different. The Bible says they remembered His (Jesus’) words…. And they feared. They feared that what He had said, He would do. They feared that He would, indeed rise from the dead, which would prove beyond doubt that He was … the Messiah. And they feared, the eventual result, that a movement that had been birthed in a humble stable in Bethlehem would topple their corrupted religious order forever…

 

 

 

The Lesson

Matthew 28:1 NLT

1 Early on Sunday morning,[a] as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to visit the tomb.

Matthew identifies two of the women who were at the tomb on Sunday morning, before dawn; Mary Magdalene and Mary, the wife of Cleopas. Luke confirms their presence at the tomb. He adds Joanna as well, along with several other unnamed women. Mark identifies one of those other women as Salome, another of Jesus’ followers. Their timing could not have been better. Like the wise men, they came bearing gifts. God honored them by making them the very first witnesses of glory unveiled.

Matthew 28:2-3 NLT

2 Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it. 3 His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. 

Matthew’s rendering of this event is filled with the spectacular. The angel’s arrival on earth causes the ground to quake. The was not an earthquake, rather it was a spectacle from heaven that caused the earth to quake. This is significant. There had been a similar event three days earlier when, at the cross, Jesus gave up the Ghost. Now, here at the tomb, a similar, earth-shattering event occurred as the angel of the Lord descended from glory. The narrative continues. The angel, an intimidating figure of light and fire, upon descent, approached the tomb, rolled the stone away from the entrance of the tomb, and… sat… and waited…

Matthew 28:4 NLT

4 The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint.

So staggeringly frightful were the events surrounding the opening of the tomb that the Roman soldiers that Pilate commanded to guard the tomb fainted, dead away at the sight of the angel and the power that had been unleashed from on high. Every knee must bow before the majesty of the risen Lord. Actually, this was exactly what the Pharisees feared.

Matthew 28:5a NLT

5a Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said.

“Don’t be afraid.” These are the first words spoken by the angel of the Lord. Full stop. Allow me to repeat myself. These are the first words spoken. The very first words from Heaven on the morning of the resurrection were, “Don’t be afraid.” Beloved, for just a moment, reflect on this fact. We are so loved by God that the first words from Heaven to earth after the resurrection were, “Don’t be afraid.” Those are words of affection and care, of concern and love. Words of tenderness and assurance, reassurance. We thank God for His great love shed upon us through the death and subsequent resurrection of His Son, and our Lord, Jesus Christ, the Messiah.

Matthew 28:5b NLT

5b …“I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.

The angel draws no further attention to himself. Rather, he immediately turns to the subject of everyone’s concern, Jesus. Jesus, who had been crucified just days prior. The angel leaves no doubt that that very Jesus whose death and burial these same women had witnessed was the very man of whom the angel spoke.

Matthew 28:6 NLT

6 He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying.

And now, the angel of the Lord reveals the reason for his appearing. He has news. News for the ages. The angel is, quite simply, a herald. A herald of Heaven. He has come to bring news of the singularly most important event in the history of creation. The resurrection of the Messiah, the Savior of all of creation, from the dead. This single event heralds that there is no longer any enmity between God and man. God has declared peace for all of eternity that remains. A new beginning. A renewed creation. Redemption for all of mankind.

The first revelation: The tomb is empty. Jesus isn’t there. He has already risen. The angel didn’t raise Him. God raised Him. The proof was there before them. Or rather, the ‘proof’ wasn’t there…anymore. The tomb was empty.

The second reveal here was that Jesus’ very words had come to pass. He had spoken many times of His impending death. He always spoke of it as a temporary occurrence, always adding that He would surely rise from the dead. He had proclaimed to Martha just a few days prior that He was the resurrection. His resurrection, early on Sunday morning, was confirmation of His spoken Word. All of His promises are Yea and Amen!

The angel then invites the women to come and inspect the empty tomb. See for themselves, as the first witnesses of this singular historical event, the proof of Jesus’ resurrection. What did they see?

Luke and John reveal that upon entry, the women saw that indeed, Jesus wasn’t there. Instead, they record that two angels were seen inside the tomb. John adds the detail that they were seated at either end of the place where Jesus’ body had lain. Thus, the angels provided us a picture of the true ‘Mercy Seat’ that had only, been typified in the Tabernacle, and later, the Temple at Jerusalem. In the tomb was the evidence of the true Mercy Seat, or rather, Mercy’s seat. Mercy had lain there. Mercy rose on that Sunday morning. Mercy granted mercy to all who would believe.

One other item that the empty tomb held was significant. John reported that Peter and the disciple whom Jesus loved both saw the napkin or face cloth, neatly folded and sitting separately from the grave clothes. The significance of this singular clue cannot be overlooked. According to Jewish custom, when the master of the house was finished dining, he would carelessly put his napkin on his plate. This signaled his servants that he was done eating. They could remove his plate and utensils accordingly. Conversely, if the master of the house folded his napkin and set it beside his plate, that signaled his servants that He fully intended to return to continue dinner (or whatever meal was being served). When the women saw the folded face cloth, they knew the Master, their beloved Rabbi would return.

Matthew 28:7 NLT

7 And now, go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. Remember what I have told you.”

And now that the women have completed their inspection of the tomb, the angel gave them clear instructions. Don’t go home. Don’t go back to business as usual. Go tell the disciples. Go tell them what you have seen and then give them this message, “Meet Him in Galilee.” On this Sunday morning, those women, named and unnamed, became the first preachers of the good news. The good news of a risen Savior! Notice the instructions of the angel were not exclusive to the disciples, but that they were inclusive of the women as well. He told them, “...He is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. Remember what I have told you.” As had been the case during Jesus’ earthly ministry, women would be an integral part of the spreading of the gospel throughout all the earth. Women preachers? Absolutely!

Matthew 28:8 NLT

8 The women ran quickly from the tomb. They were very frightened but also filled with great joy, and they rushed to give the disciples the angel’s message.

You know that funny feeling you get in your stomach when something is happening to you that you don’t quite understand? It’s a combination of fear and in this case, joy. We call it ‘butterflies’. It can evoke a range of emotions; fear, awe, dread, joy, happiness, elation, all of these, and more. The reason for this is that in that moment, your sense of time and space is temporarily suspended as your mind tries to come to grips with what is unfolding before you as a new and certain reality. These women were both ‘very frightened’, and ‘filled with great joy’. Beneath their feet, the ground was shifting as ‘old things’ were passing away and everything was ‘becoming new’.

Yet, in all of this, they did not faint. They ran! Like the Samaritan woman that Jesus encountered at Jacob’s well, these women turned to run to the disciples with news of the risen Savior. One more thing here. They had not yet seen Jesus, they had only heard that He had risen. Yet, they ran to deliver the message of angels, the message of Heaven. Selah.

Matthew 28:9 NLT

9 And as they went, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they ran to him, grasped his feet, and worshiped him.

Beloved, the reward of obedience is the manifestation of blessing. When Jesus healed the ten lepers, he told them to go and show themselves to the priests. As the nine turned and ran toward Jerusalem, they were healed. The one who turned and worshipped was made whole. When Naaman submerged himself in the Jordan at the word of the prophet Elisha, he was healed. God blesses obedience.

So it stands to reason that because the women turned to act on the intent of their hearts God granted them their greatest desire, to see their risen Lord! Not only were they the first to hear of His resurrection, but they were also first to see Him, caress His feet, and worship Him. Jesus granted them their greatest desire, to kneel in His Presence!

Matthew 28:10 NLT

10 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid! Go tell my brothers to leave for Galilee, and they will see me there.”

After a moment (or few) Jesus reiterates the instructions given by the angel. Go tell the disciples. Jesus slightly modifies the instruction by replacing the word ‘disciple’ with ‘brothers’. In this way, He reveals a great truth. These men (and women) who at one time had been considered His disciples were now a part of His Heavenly family. As such, they were heirs with Him and in Him to all of the glory awaiting Him in eternity. So are we, Beloved. God has given us exceedingly great and precious promises. They all center around the singular historic event that occurred one Sunday Morning!

Selah,

wb

2 Peter 1:3-7 NLT

3 By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. 4 And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

5 In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.

 

2 Peter 1:10-11 NLT

10 So, dear brothers and sisters,[c] work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away. 11 Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.