Friday: Further Thought – The Risen Lord
Daily Lesson for Friday 27th of September 2024
Read Ellen G. White, “ ‘The Lord Is Risen,’ ” Pages 779–787; “Go Teach All Nations,” Pages 818–828, in The Desire of Ages.
Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com
“To the believer, Christ is the resurrection and the life. In our Saviour the life that was lost through sin is restored; for He has life in Himself to quicken whom He will. He is invested with the right to give immortality. The life that He laid down in humanity, He takes up again, and gives to humanity. ‘I am come,’ He said, ‘that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.’ ‘Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.’ ‘Whoso eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.’ John 10:10; John 4:14; John 6:54.
“To the believer, death is but a small matter. Christ speaks of it as if it were of little moment. ‘If a man keep My saying, he shall never see death,’ ‘he shall never taste of death.’ To the Christian, death is but a sleep, a moment of silence and darkness. The life is hid with Christ in God, and ‘when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.’ John 8:51-52; Colossians 3:4.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, Pages 786, 787.
Even atheist historians, those who cannot accept the reality of the Resurrection, admit not only that Jesus had been killed but that after His death many people claimed to have seen the resurrected Christ, and as a result they began the nucleus of what became the Christian church. Some, in an attempt to explain why they claimed this, said that Jesus had a twin brother or that the early disciples hallucinated, thinking that they saw Jesus. Others said that Jesus never really died but only swooned and then, later, revived. Another person claimed that aliens came down and took the body. For a look at all these arguments and how they don’t work, see Clifford Goldstein, Risen: Finding Hope in the Empty Tomb (Nampa, Idaho: Pacific Press, 2021).
Discussion Questions
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A Final Thought for the study of Mark.
[I have not been commenting on Sabbath School Net the last couple of days as I am on a bird photography expedition to Cairns - a round-trip journey of about 8000km. Tonight I am staying in a country town, Roma in outback Queensland. Writing comments and driving 500km a day are not a good combination. Over the next 3 weeks I will write when I find time.]
The book of Mark ends fittingly with the Gospel Commission. This was a compelling task for the disciples, who were first-hand witnesses. They had witnessed his compassion, they had walked with the risen Jesus. 2000 years later, that commission is now ours. We can only make it meaningful if we are walking and talking with the risen Saviour now.
All the forensic and historical arguments count for little if we do not have that relationship with Jesus now. We must live in Christ and die to self to effectively preach the Gospel.
Ultimately the disciples (and particularly Peter) learned that lesson. And that is what made them powerful preachers of the Gospel.
I am looking forward to the next quarter's lesson on the Gospel of John. It will be interesting to compare and contrast the accounts of Mark and John.
Good morning Bro Maurice. I am elated to know you are recovered from your surgery enough to travel and able to enjoy your love of bird photography again. Please ensure that you get well needed rest.
Hi Maurice I look forward to your comments each day. Really missed not seeing them over the passed few days. My prayer today is "let me lose myself and find it Lord in thee. Let us be obedient to the commission and share the goodness of salvation.
The Bible states that gaining the world yet losing one's soul holds no profit. Unfortunately, those involved in covering up Christ's resurrection failed to consider the long-term cost of their actions, prioritizing instead the fleeting gains of this world.
The life of Christ embodies the principle that George Washington Carver articulated: 'No individual has any right to enter the world and depart without leaving behind clear and legitimate reasons for having been here.'