Sabbath: Signs That Point the Way
Daily Lesson for Sabbath 28th of September 2024
Image © Pacific Press
Read for This Week’s Study
John 2:1-11; John 4:46-54; John 5:1-16; Mark 3:22-23; Matthew 12:9-14; John 5:16-47.
Memory Text:
“And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:30-31, NKJV).
Why did John write his Gospel? Did he wish to emphasize Jesus’ miracles or some specific teachings of Jesus? What was the reason for writing what he did?
Under the power and influence of the Holy Spirit, John explains why. He says that though many more things could be written about the life of Christ (John 21:25), the stories he included were written in order “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31, NKJV).
This week we’re going to look at John’s account of some of Jesus’ early miracles—from His turning water to wine at a wedding, to restoring to health someone’s very sick son, to the healing of the man at the pool of Bethesda.
John calls these miracles “signs.” He does not mean something like a street sign, but rather a miraculous event that points toward a deeper reality: Jesus as the Messiah. In all these accounts, we see examples of people who responded by faith. And their examples invite us to do the same.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, October 5.
(0)
The book of John is another one of those studies where we should read the whole book in one or two sessions to gain a "big picture" understanding of the book. Carmel and I read both Mark's and John's Gospels through, three chapters a night for worship, at the beginning of our study of Mark. It was interesting to see the differences in style and content. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke are called the synoptic Gospels because of their similarity. John writes a very personal account and it is interesting and encouraging to see what he sees as important. Enjoy the study and take up the challenge to read John's Gospel at the beginning of this study.