Friday April 4: Further Study

Further Study: On the issue of Jesus’ identity, read Ellen G. White, “Is Not This the Carpenter’s Son?” pp. 236–243, in The Desire of Ages. “Who is this Jesus? they questioned. He who had claimed for Himself the glory of the Messiah was the son of a carpenter, and had worked at His trade with His father Joseph. They had seen Him toiling up and down the hills, they were acquainted with His brothers and sisters. . . . They had seen Him develop from childhood to youth, and from youth to manhood. Although His life had been spotless, they would not believe that He was the Promised One.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 237. “They would not admit that He who had sprung from poverty and lowliness was other than a common man.”—Page 239. “A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic . . . or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God; or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”—C. S. Lewis, “The Shocking Alternative,” p. 56, in Mere Christianity (New York: McMillan-Collier, 1960). Discussion Questions: l What makes it easier for us, we who live two thousand years after Jesus, to accept Him as the Messiah, than it was for those who lived at the same time as Jesus to accept Him? What makes it more difficult? l Skepticism about Jesus is likely to continue as long as time shall last. What, for you, is the single most convincing evidence of the validity of Jesus and His saving grace? How could you share this evidence with others in a way that could help convince them as well? l We looked this week at how the scientific rationalism of the Enlightenment had been used as a weapon against faith. What are some other types of “isms,” or philosophies or ideologies, prevalent in your own culture that work against faith, as well? Most important, how can you meet these challenges? lAs a class, go back over 1 Corinthians 1:18–27. What message is Paul giving that is important for all of us to remember?