Lesson 11 for June 11, 2016
Matthew 23:12
And whosoever shall exalt
himself shall be abased;
and he that shall humble
himself shall be exalted.
REBUKING
THE LEADERS
“See! Your house is left to you
desolate.” (Matthew 23:38)
God made a covenant with Israel at Sinai. Jesus rebuked the leaders of Israel
just before making the “new covenant.” He condemned their bad behavior so
they could admit their mistakes and humble themselves before God. They
wouldn’t be destroyed if they did so. Ask yourself, could I be failing in any of
those points too?
1. They don’t practice what they teach (v. 3).
2. They crush people with unbearable religious demands (v. 4).
3. Everything they do is for show (v. 5).
4. They love the seats of honor in the synagogues (v. 6).
5. They love to receive respectful greetings (v. 7)
6. They shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces (v. 13).
7. They shamelessly cheat widows out of their property (v. 14).
8. They pretend to be pious by making long prayers (v. 14).
REBUKING
THE LEADERS
“See! Your house is left to you
desolate.” (Matthew 23:38)
9. They turn that person (convert) into twice the child of
hell that you yourselves are (v. 15).
10.They say that it means nothing to swear “by God’s
Temple” (v. 16).
11.They ignore the more important aspects of the law—
justice, mercy, and faith (v. 23).
12.They strain your water so you won’t accidentally
swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel instead (v. 24).
13.Inside they are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence
(v. 25).
REBUKING
THE LEADERS
“See! Your house is left to you
desolate.” (Matthew 23:38)
14.Outwardly they look like righteous people, but inwardly
their hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness (v.
28).
15.They testify against themselves that they are indeed the
descendants of those who murdered the prophets...
They will be held responsible for the murder of all godly
people (v. 29-35).
Jesus foretold their unrepentance by announcing the desolation and the
destruction of the Temple. When some Greek people visited Him soon after that
(John 12:20-26), He announced that Israel would lose the privilege of being the
herald of salvation since they rejected Him.
E.G.W. (The Desire of Ages, cp. 68, pg. 621)
THE END TIME
“Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately,
saying, ‘Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your
coming, and of the end of the age?’” (Matthew 24:3)
Jesus used the same
scene for both the
destruction of Jerusalem
and His Second Coming.
He didn’t describe an
ideal world, but a world
with impostors, wars,
persecution, false
brothers, missing love…
(Matthew 24:1-12).
Jesus gave a glimpse of hope before explaining more
specific signs, “he who endures to the end shall be
saved” (Matthew 24:13).
He also gave the Church a mission, “this gospel of the
kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to
all the nations” (Matthew 24:14).
“Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the
prophet, standing in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand), then let
those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.” (Matthew 24:15-16)
In Matthew 24:15-22, Jesus explained what would
happen before the destruction of Jerusalem and how
the believers could escape. Those events would happen
again during the history of the Church.
When Christians saw “Jerusalem surrounded by
armies,” they knew the time had come to leave
Jerusalem. Luke 21:20 is the parallel text to Matthew
24:15-16, the “abomination of desolation” is explained
there in the context of the destruction of Jerusalem.
When Vespasian rose the
siege, Christians fled the city
and took refuge in Pella.
Therefore, no Christian died
when Titus razed Jerusalem
and the Temple to the
ground in 70 AD.
“For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also
will the coming of the Son of Man be.” (Matthew 24:27)
In Matthew 24:23-31, Jesus gave
specific signs of His Second Coming:
 False Christs will rise and show signs
(v. 24; Rev. 13:13).
 Outstanding phenomena will be seen
in the sky and on earth (v. 29; Rev.
6:12-14).
 His Coming will be physical and
everyone will see Him
(v. 27 y 30; Rev. 1:7; 1Ts. 4:16).
 He will come as a triumphant King
(v. 30; Rev. 19:16; 1Co. 15:25).
Jesus will come back to take us home, just as sure as He was born, lived and
resurrected, “and thus we shall always be with the Lord.” (1Ts. 4:17).
THE SECOND COMING
“Watch therefore, for you do not
know what hour your Lord is
coming.”(Matthew 24:42)
There are two types of servants in the
parable Jesus told in Matthew 24:45-51.
The faithful servant does his lord’s will
and cares for others.
The wicked servant stays loose and thinks
his lord will be late. He lives a chaotic
life and maltreats others.
Nobody knows when Jesus will return
(Matthew 24:36). Jesus invited us to wait
for Him.
Waiting for Him means to live being ready
to go with Him if He came today.
THE WAIT
E.G.W. (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, No. 31, cp. 8, pg. 101-102)

Sabbath school lesson 11, 2nd quarter of 2016

  • 1.
    Lesson 11 forJune 11, 2016 Matthew 23:12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
  • 2.
    REBUKING THE LEADERS “See! Yourhouse is left to you desolate.” (Matthew 23:38) God made a covenant with Israel at Sinai. Jesus rebuked the leaders of Israel just before making the “new covenant.” He condemned their bad behavior so they could admit their mistakes and humble themselves before God. They wouldn’t be destroyed if they did so. Ask yourself, could I be failing in any of those points too? 1. They don’t practice what they teach (v. 3). 2. They crush people with unbearable religious demands (v. 4). 3. Everything they do is for show (v. 5). 4. They love the seats of honor in the synagogues (v. 6). 5. They love to receive respectful greetings (v. 7) 6. They shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces (v. 13). 7. They shamelessly cheat widows out of their property (v. 14). 8. They pretend to be pious by making long prayers (v. 14).
  • 3.
    REBUKING THE LEADERS “See! Yourhouse is left to you desolate.” (Matthew 23:38) 9. They turn that person (convert) into twice the child of hell that you yourselves are (v. 15). 10.They say that it means nothing to swear “by God’s Temple” (v. 16). 11.They ignore the more important aspects of the law— justice, mercy, and faith (v. 23). 12.They strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel instead (v. 24). 13.Inside they are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence (v. 25).
  • 4.
    REBUKING THE LEADERS “See! Yourhouse is left to you desolate.” (Matthew 23:38) 14.Outwardly they look like righteous people, but inwardly their hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness (v. 28). 15.They testify against themselves that they are indeed the descendants of those who murdered the prophets... They will be held responsible for the murder of all godly people (v. 29-35). Jesus foretold their unrepentance by announcing the desolation and the destruction of the Temple. When some Greek people visited Him soon after that (John 12:20-26), He announced that Israel would lose the privilege of being the herald of salvation since they rejected Him.
  • 5.
    E.G.W. (The Desireof Ages, cp. 68, pg. 621)
  • 6.
    THE END TIME “Nowas He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?’” (Matthew 24:3) Jesus used the same scene for both the destruction of Jerusalem and His Second Coming. He didn’t describe an ideal world, but a world with impostors, wars, persecution, false brothers, missing love… (Matthew 24:1-12). Jesus gave a glimpse of hope before explaining more specific signs, “he who endures to the end shall be saved” (Matthew 24:13). He also gave the Church a mission, “this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations” (Matthew 24:14).
  • 7.
    “Therefore when yousee the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.” (Matthew 24:15-16) In Matthew 24:15-22, Jesus explained what would happen before the destruction of Jerusalem and how the believers could escape. Those events would happen again during the history of the Church. When Christians saw “Jerusalem surrounded by armies,” they knew the time had come to leave Jerusalem. Luke 21:20 is the parallel text to Matthew 24:15-16, the “abomination of desolation” is explained there in the context of the destruction of Jerusalem. When Vespasian rose the siege, Christians fled the city and took refuge in Pella. Therefore, no Christian died when Titus razed Jerusalem and the Temple to the ground in 70 AD.
  • 8.
    “For as thelightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” (Matthew 24:27) In Matthew 24:23-31, Jesus gave specific signs of His Second Coming:  False Christs will rise and show signs (v. 24; Rev. 13:13).  Outstanding phenomena will be seen in the sky and on earth (v. 29; Rev. 6:12-14).  His Coming will be physical and everyone will see Him (v. 27 y 30; Rev. 1:7; 1Ts. 4:16).  He will come as a triumphant King (v. 30; Rev. 19:16; 1Co. 15:25). Jesus will come back to take us home, just as sure as He was born, lived and resurrected, “and thus we shall always be with the Lord.” (1Ts. 4:17). THE SECOND COMING
  • 9.
    “Watch therefore, foryou do not know what hour your Lord is coming.”(Matthew 24:42) There are two types of servants in the parable Jesus told in Matthew 24:45-51. The faithful servant does his lord’s will and cares for others. The wicked servant stays loose and thinks his lord will be late. He lives a chaotic life and maltreats others. Nobody knows when Jesus will return (Matthew 24:36). Jesus invited us to wait for Him. Waiting for Him means to live being ready to go with Him if He came today. THE WAIT
  • 10.
    E.G.W. (Testimonies forthe Church, vol. 5, No. 31, cp. 8, pg. 101-102)