Lesson 20 – His Ministry Death, and Intercession

“Sin of a private character is to be confessed to Christ, the only mediator between God and man. For ‘if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.’ 1 John 2:1. Every sin is an offense against God and is to be confessed to Him through Christ. Every open sin should be as openly confessed. Wrong done to a fellow being should be made right with the one who has been offended. If any who are seeking health have been guilty of evilspeaking, if they have sowed discord in the home, the neighborhood, or the church, and have stirred up alienation and dissension, if by any wrong practice they have led others into sin, these things should be confessed before God and before those who have been offended. ‘If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’ 1 John 1:9.” –Gospel Workers, p. 216.

DRAWING PEOPLE TO GOD

1. What special name would the Messiah have, according to prophecy? What must man do to come to God?

Isaiah 7:14, last part, 15; 8:10 … And shall call his name Immanuel. 15Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good…. 8:10Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.

Matthew 1:23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

“‘The light of the knowledge of the glory of God’ is seen ‘in the face of Jesus Christ.’ From the days of eternity the Lord Jesus Christ was one with the Father; He was ‘the image of God,’ the image of His greatness and majesty, ‘the outshining of His glory.’ It was to manifest this glory that He came to our world. To this sin-darkened earth He came to reveal the light of God’s love–to be ‘God with us.’ Therefore it was prophesied of Him, ‘His name shall be called Immanuel.’” –The Desire of Ages, p. 19. “Through the promised Seed, the God of Israel was to bring deliverance to Zion. ‘There shall come forth a Rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.’ ‘Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall He eat, that He may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.’ Isaiah 11:1; 7:14, 15.” –Prophets and Kings, p. 695.

2. What was special about the way Jesus spoke? How were the blessings that He imparted in speaking and teaching a gift from Heaven to mankind?

Psalms 45:2; 21:6 Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever…. 21:6For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance.

Luke 4:22 And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph’s son?

“The love for souls for whom Christ died will not do that which has been done through misconceptions of that which was due to the erring, exposing their errors and weakness before a whole school. How do you think Jesus has looked upon such transactions? Had He been present He would have said to those doing these things, ‘Ye know not the Scriptures nor the power of God.’ For in the Scriptures it is plainly shown how to deal with the erring. Forbearance, kindly consideration, ‘Consider thyself lest thou also be tempted,’ would meet the stubborn, obdurate heart. Love of Jesus will cover a multitude of sins, that they shall not prey upon the offender neither be exposed to create feelings of every stripe and character in the human breast of those to whom these errors and mistakes are laid open, and in the one thus dealt with… Now the work is to have the grace of Christ in the soul which will never, never be guilty of exposing another’s wrongs, unless it is a positive necessity. Practice in the line of Christ.” –Fundamentals of Christian Education, pp. 279, 280.

TIME OF THE MESSIAH’S COMING

3. What most important prophecy did the Lord give to Daniel to pinpoint the solemn time of the Messiah’s first coming? In what prophetic week would He appear?

Daniel 9:24, 25 … Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in ever- lasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. 25Know there- fore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

“The time of the first advent and of some of the chief events clustering about the Saviour’s lifework was made known by the angel Gabriel to Daniel.… The seventy weeks, or four hundred and ninety days, represent four hundred and ninety years. A starting point for this period is given … (Daniel 9:25), sixty-nine weeks, or four hundred and eighty-three years. The commandment to restore and build Jerusalem, as completed by the decree of Artaxerxes Longimanus, went into effect in the autumn of 457 B.C. See Ezra 6:14; 7:1, 9. From this time four hundred and eighty- three years extend to the autumn of A.D. 27. According to the prophecy, this period was to reach to the Messiah, the Anointed One. In A.D. 27, Jesus at His baptism received the anointing of the Holy Spirit and soon afterward began His ministry. Then the message was proclaimed, ‘The time is fulfilled.’ Mark 1:15.” –Prophets and Kings, pp. 698, 699.

4. When the people hailed the Saviour as King before His crucifixion, what special signs of love and humility did He give to them?

Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King com- eth unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.

Matthew 21:7-11 And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him there- on. 8And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. 9And the multitudes that went be- fore, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. 10And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? 11And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.

“Five hundred years before the birth of Christ, the prophet Zechariah thus foretold the coming of the King to Israel…. Christ was following the Jewish custom for a royal entry…. No sooner was He seated upon the colt than a loud shout of triumph rent the air. The multitude hailed Him as Messiah, their King…. They could lead the triumphal procession with no royal standards, but they cut down the spreading palm boughs, Nature’s emblem of victory, and waved them aloft with loud acclamations and hosannas….” –God’s Amazing Grace, p. 47.

THE MESSIAH CUT OFF

5. As to Isaiah, Zechariah, and the psalmist, what vision was given to Daniel concerning the Messiah? When was this event to take place?

Daniel 9:26, 27 And after three- score and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are deter- mined. 27And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

“Then, said the angel, ‘He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week [seven years].’ For seven years after the Saviour entered on His ministry, the gospel was to be preached especially to the Jews; for three and a half years by Christ Himself, and afterward by the apostles. ‘In the midst of the week He shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.’ Daniel 9:27. In the spring of A.D. 31, Christ, the true Sacrifice, was offered on Calvary….

“The one week–seven years–ended in A.D. 34. Then by the stoning of Stephen the Jews finally sealed their rejection of the gospel; the disciples who were scattered abroad by persecution ‘went everywhere preaching the word’ (Acts 8:4); and shortly after, Saul the persecutor was converted and became Paul the apostle to the Gentiles.” –Prophets and Kings, p. 699.

6. What glorious vision of the Son of Man did the Lord give to Daniel?

Daniel 7:13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.

Matthew 26:64 Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

“The coming of Christ as our high priest to the most holy place, for the cleansing of the sanctuary, brought to view in Daniel 8:14; the coming of the Son of man to the Ancient of days, as presented in Daniel 7:13; and the coming of the Lord to His temple, foretold by Malachi, are descriptions of the same event; and this is also represented by the coming of the bridegroom to the marriage, described by Christ in the parable of the ten virgins, of Matthew 25….

“For eighteen centuries this work of ministration continued in the first apartment of the sanctuary…. As in the typical service there was a work of atonement at the close of the year, so before Christ’s work for the redemption of men is completed, there is a work of atonement for the removal of sin from the sanctuary. This is the service which began when the 2300 days ended. At that time … our High Priest entered the most holy, to perform the last division of His solemn work–to cleanse the sanctuary….” –Maranatha, p. 248.

7. According to the final messianic prophecy of the Old Testament, what would occur before Jesus’ second coming?

Malachi 4:5, 6 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: 6And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

“The closing words of Malachi are a prophecy regarding the work that should be done preparatory to the first and the second advent of Christ.”–The Southern Watchman, March 21, 1905.

“Those who are to prepare the way for the second coming of Christ are represented by faithful Elijah, as John came in the spirit of Elijah to prepare the way for Christ’s first advent.” –Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 62. “Our message must be as direct as was that of John. He rebuked kings for their iniquity. Notwithstanding the peril his life was in, he never allowed truth to languish on his lips….” –The Faith I Live By, p. 290.

FOR ADDITIONAL STUDY

“The prophet Malachi declares, ‘Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers.’ Malachi 4:5, 6. Here the prophet describes the character of the work. Those who are to prepare the way for the second coming of Christ, are represented by faithful Elijah, as John came in the spirit of Elijah to prepare the way for Christ’s first advent. The great subject of reform is to be agitated, and the public mind is to be stirred. Temperance in all things is to be connected with the message, to turn the people of God from their idolatry, their gluttony, and their extravagance in dress and other things. The self-denial, humility, and temperance required of the righteous, whom God especially leads and blesses, is to be presented to the people in contrast to the extravagant, health-destroying habits of those who live in this degenerate age.” –Counsels on Health, pp. 72, 73.