Lesson 1

Signs That Point the Way

Sabbath afternoon, September 28

As one who understands his subject, John ascribes all power to Christ, and
speaks of His greatness and majesty. He flashes forth divine rays of precious
truth, as light from the sun. He presents Christ as the only Mediator between
God and humanity.
The doctrine of the incarnation of Christ in human flesh is a mystery, “even
the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations.” It is the
great and profound mystery of godliness. “The Word was made flesh, and
dwelt among us.” Christ took upon Himself human nature, a nature inferior
to His heavenly nature. Nothing so shows the wonderful condescension of
God as this. He “so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son.” John
presents this wonderful subject with such simplicity that all may grasp the
ideas set forth, and be enlightened. —The Review and Herald, April 5, 1906.

What speech is to thought, so is Christ to the invisible Father. He is the

manifestation of the Father, and is called the Word of God. God sent His Son
into the world, His divinity clothed with humanity, that man might bear the
image of the invisible God. He made known in His words, His character, His
power and majesty, the nature and attributes of God.
As legislator, Jesus exercised the authority of God; His commands and
decisions were supported by the sovereignty of the eternal throne. The glory
of the Father was revealed in the Son; Christ made manifest the character of
the Father. He was so perfectly connected with God, so completely embraced
in His encircling light, that he who had seen the Son had seen the Father. His
voice was as the voice of God. . . . He says, “I am in the Father, and the Father
in me.” “No man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man
the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.” “He
that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:11; Matthew 11:27; 14:9) —
That I May Know Him, p. 38.

Every miracle that Christ performed was a sign of His divinity. He was doing
the very work that had been foretold of the Messiah; but to the Pharisees
these works of mercy were a positive offense. The Jewish leaders looked with
heartless indifference on human suffering. In many cases their selfishness and
oppression had caused the affliction that Christ relieved. Thus His miracles
were to them a reproach.
That which led the Jews to reject the Saviour’s work was the highest
evidence of His divine character. The greatest significance of His miracles is
seen in the fact that they were for the blessing of humanity. The highest
evidence that He came from God is that His life revealed the character of God.
He did the works and spoke the words of God. Such a life is the greatest of
all miracles. —The Desire of Ages, p. 406.
 Sunday, September 29

The Wedding at Cana

Jesus did not begin His ministry by some great work before the Sanhedrin
at Jerusalem. At a household gathering in a little Galilean village His power
was put forth to add to the joy of a wedding feast. Thus He showed His
sympathy with men, and His desire to minister to their happiness. In the
wilderness of temptation He Himself had drunk the cup of woe. He came
forth to give to men the cup of blessing, by His benediction to hallow the
relations of human life. . . .
It was to honor Mary’s trust, and to strengthen the faith of His disciples,
that the first miracle was performed. The disciples were to encounter many
and great temptations to unbelief. To them the prophecies had made it clear
beyond all controversy that Jesus was the Messiah. They looked for the
religious leaders to receive Him with confidence even greater than their own.
They declared among the people the wonderful works of Christ and their own
confidence in His mission, but they were amazed and bitterly disappointed
by the unbelief, the deep-seated prejudice, and the enmity to Jesus, displayed
by the priests and rabbis. The Saviour’s early miracles strengthened the
disciples to stand against this opposition. —The Desire of Ages, pp. 144, 147.

When the time had fully come, the miracle wrought by Christ was
recognized. As soon as the ruler of the feast put the goblet to his lips and
tasted the wine, he looked up with glad surprise. The wine was superior to
any he had ever before drunk. And it was unfermented wine. He said to the
bridegroom, “Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when
men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good
wine until now” (verse 10).
Christ did not approach the jars, or touch the water; He simply looked upon
the water, and it became the pure juice of the grape, clarified and refined.
What effect did this miracle have?—“His disciples believed on him” (verse 11).
. . . By this miracle Christ also gave evidence of His mercy and compassion.
He showed that He had regard for the necessities of those who followed Him
to hear His words of knowledge and wisdom. —This Day with God, p. 366.

The Lord has promised to give light to those who seek him with the whole
heart. If we will but wait patiently and prayerfully upon God, and not follow
our own impetuous plans, he will guide our decisions, and open many doors
of hope and labor. The great General of armies will lead in every battle for
the advancement of his cause. He will be the guide of his people in the
perilous conflicts in which they have to engage, if [they] . . . will do their
appointed work, and listen to the voice which says, “This is the way, walk ye
in it;” “They that follow me shall not walk in darkness.” What a great comfort
this promise should be to us! We may walk in the light as he is in the light. . .
. Men may follow many kinds of lights, but there is only one Light that it will
be safe for them to follow. Be sure that you are following Jesus whithersoever
he goeth. —Special Testimonies to Ministers and Workers, no. 3, p. 44.
 Monday, September 30

The Second Sign in Galilee

In Capernaum the tidings [of Christ’s return to Cana] attracted the
attention of a Jewish nobleman who was an officer in the king’s service. A son
of the officer was suffering from what seemed to be an incurable disease.
Physicians had given him up to die; but when the father heard of Jesus, he
determined to seek help from Him. . . .
On reaching Cana he found a throng surrounding Jesus. With an anxious
heart he pressed through to the Saviour’s presence. His faith faltered when
he saw only a plainly dressed man, dusty and worn with travel. He doubted
that this Person could do what he had come to ask of Him; yet, . . . his sorrow
was known to Jesus. Before the officer had left his home, the Saviour had
beheld his affliction.
But He knew also that the father had, in his own mind, made conditions
concerning his belief in Jesus. Unless his petition should be granted, he would
not receive Him as the Messiah. While the officer waited in an agony of
suspense, Jesus said, “Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.” .
..
The Saviour contrasted this questioning unbelief with the simple faith of
the Samaritans, who asked for no miracle or sign. —The Desire of Ages, pp.
196–198.

The nobleman had a degree of faith; for he had come to ask what seemed
to him the most precious of all blessings. Jesus had a greater gift to bestow.
He desired, not only to heal the child, but to make the officer and his
household sharers in the blessings of salvation, and to kindle a light in
Capernaum, which was so soon to be the field of His own labors. But the
nobleman must realize his need before he would desire the grace of Christ. .
..
Like a flash of light, the Saviour’s words to the nobleman laid bare his heart.
He saw that his motives in seeking Jesus were selfish. His vacillating faith
appeared to him in its true character. In deep distress he realized that his
doubt might cost the life of his son. He knew that he was in the presence of
One who could read the thoughts, and to whom all things were possible. In
an agony of supplication he cried, “Sir, come down ere my child die.” His faith
took hold upon Christ as did Jacob, when, wrestling with the Angel, he cried,
“I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me.” Genesis 32:26.
Like Jacob he prevailed. The Saviour cannot withdraw from the soul that
clings to Him, pleading its great need. “Go thy way,” He said; “thy son liveth.”
The nobleman left the Saviour’s presence with a peace and joy he had never
known before. Not only did he believe that his son would be restored, but
with strong confidence he trusted in Christ as the Redeemer. —The Desire of
Ages, p. 198.
 Tuesday, October 1

The Miracle at the

Pool of Bethesda
The [paralytic] was helpless; he had not used his limbs for thirty-eight
years. Yet Jesus bade him, “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.” The sick man
might have said, “Lord, if Thou wilt make me whole, I will obey Thy word.”
But, no, he believed Christ’s word, believed that he was made whole, and he
made the effort at once; he willed to walk, and he did walk. He acted on the
word of Christ, and God gave the power. He was made whole.
In like manner you are a sinner. You cannot atone for your past sins; you
cannot change your heart and make yourself holy. But God promises to do
all this for you through Christ. You believe that promise. You confess your sins
and give yourself to God. You will to serve Him. Just as surely as you do this,
God will fulfill His word to you. If you believe the promise,—believe that you
are forgiven and cleansed,—God supplies the fact; you are made whole, just
as Christ gave the paralytic power to walk when the man believed that he was
healed. It is so if you believe it.
Do not wait to feel that you are made whole, but say, “I believe it; it is so,
not because I feel it, but because God has promised.” —Steps to Christ, pp.
50, 51.

Christ asked [the paralytic], “Wilt thou be made whole?” (John 5:6). What a
question! That was what he was there for, but Christ wanted to call forth the
expression of desire in that man’s heart to be made whole. And when Christ
bade him to rise, take up his bed and walk, he did just as Christ told him to
do. . . . He did not stop to argue, but did just as he was bidden. He took up
his bed and walked out and was healed from that time.
This is the faith that we need. But if you stop to explain everything and
reason out every point, you will die in your sins, because you will never be
satisfied. —Faith and Works, p. 68.

When Christ healed disease, He warned many of the afflicted ones, “Sin no
more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.” John 5:14. Thus He taught that they
had brought disease upon themselves by transgressing the laws of God, and
that health could be preserved only by obedience.
The physician should teach his patients that they are to cooperate with
God in the work of restoration. The physician has a continually increasing
realization of the fact that disease is the result of sin. He knows that the laws
of nature, as truly as the precepts of the Decalogue, are divine, and that only
in obedience to them can health be recovered or preserved. He sees many
suffering as the result of hurtful practices who might be restored to health if
they would do what they might for their own restoration. They need to be
taught that every practice which destroys the physical, mental, or spiritual
energies is sin, and that health is to be secured through obedience to the
laws that God has established for the good of all mankind. —The Ministry of
Healing, p. 113.
 Wednesday, October 2

Hard Hearts
[In Christ’s] days the Sabbath had become so perverted that its observance
reflected the character of selfish and arbitrary men rather than the character
of God. Christ set aside the false teaching by which those who claimed to
know God had misrepresented Him. Although followed with merciless
hostility by the rabbis, He did not even appear to conform to their
requirements, but went straight forward keeping the Sabbath according to
the law of God.
In unmistakable language He testified to His regard for the law of Jehovah.
“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets,” He said; “I am
not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and
earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be
fulfilled” [Matthew 5:17–18]. —Prophets and Kings, p. 183.

May the Lord work upon the hearts of those who have received great light,
that they may depart from all iniquity. Behold the cross of Calvary. There is
Jesus, who gave His life, not that men might continue in sin, not that they
may have license to break the law of God, but that through this infinite
sacrifice they may be saved from all sin. . . .
We have been asked why it is that there is so little power in the churches,
why there is so little efficiency among our teachers. The answer is that it is
because known sin in various forms is cherished among the professed
followers of Christ, and the conscience becomes hardened by long violation.
The answer is that men do not walk with God but separate company with
Jesus, and as a result we see manifested in the church selfishness,
covetousness, pride, strife, contention, hard-heartedness, licentiousness, and
evil practices. —Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, pp. 161, 162.

The spirit of the truth makes better men and women of those who receive
it in their hearts. It works like leaven till the entire being is brought into
conformity to its principles. It opens the heart that has been frozen by avarice;
it opens the hand that has ever been closed to human suffering; and charity
and kindness are seen as its fruits. . . .
Day by day men and women are deciding their eternal destiny. I have been
shown that many are in great danger. When a man will do or say anything to
gain his end, nothing but the power of God can save him. His character needs
to be transformed before he can have a good conscience, void of offense
toward God and man. Self must die, and Christ must take possession of the
soul temple. When, by rejecting the light that God has given, men abuse and
trample upon the conscience, they are in fearful danger. Their future eternal
welfare is imperiled. —Mind, Character, Personality, vol. 1, pp. 319, 320.
 Thursday, October 3

Jesus’ Claims
“Jerusalem, and all Judea” had listened to the preaching of John the
Baptist; and the deputation from the Sanhedrin, with the multitude, had heard
his testimony concerning Jesus. In Judea, Christ had received His first
disciples. Here much of His early ministry had been spent. The flashing forth
of His divinity in the cleansing of the temple, His miracles of healing, and the
lessons of divine truth that fell from His lips, all proclaimed that which after
the healing at Bethesda He had declared before the Sanhedrin,—His Sonship
to the Eternal.
If the leaders in Israel had received Christ, He would have honored them
as His messengers to carry the gospel to the world. To them first was given
the opportunity to become heralds of the kingdom and grace of God. But . .
. jealousy and distrust of the Jewish leaders had ripened into open hatred,
and the hearts of the people were turned away from Jesus.
The Sanhedrin had rejected Christ’s message and was bent upon His death.
—The Desire of Ages, pp. 231, 232.

Where many have erred, was in not being careful in following God’s ideas,
but their own. Christ Himself declared, “The Son can do nothing of himself,
but what he seeth the Father do” (John 5:19). So utterly was He emptied of
Himself that He made no schemes and plans. He lived accepting God’s plans
for Him, and the Father day by day unfolded His plans. If Jesus was so wholly
dependent, and declared, “Whatsoever I see the Father do, that I do,” how
much more should human agents depend upon God for constant instruction,
so that their lives might be the simple working out of God’s plans! —In
Heavenly Places, p. 147.

The truth as it is in Jesus can be experienced, but never explained. Its height
and breadth and depth pass our knowledge. We may task our imagination to
the utmost, and then we shall see only dimly the outlines of a love that is
unexplainable, that is as high as heaven, but that stooped to the earth to
stamp the image of God on all mankind. . . .
Our life is to be bound up with the life of Christ; we are to draw constantly
from Him, partaking of Him, the living Bread that came down from heaven,
drawing from a fountain ever fresh, ever giving forth its abundant treasures.
If we keep the Lord ever before us, allowing our hearts to go out in
thanksgiving and praise to Him, we shall have a continual freshness in our
religious life. Our prayers will take the form of a conversation with God as we
would talk with a friend. He will speak His mysteries to us personally. Often
there will come to us a sweet joyful sense of the presence of Jesus. Often our
hearts will burn within us as He draws nigh to commune with us as He did
with Enoch. When this is in truth the experience of the Christian, there is seen
in his life a simplicity, a humility, meekness, and lowliness of heart, that show
to all with whom he associates that he has been with Jesus and learned of
Him. —Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 129.
 Friday, October 4

For Further Reading

My Life Today, “Forgiveness of Sin Brings Healing,” p. 154;
The Upward Look, “Revelation of God’s Will,” p. 341.