HSS_2022_Q1_EP04

♪ theme music ♪

(Derek) Welcome to Hope Sabbath School,

an in-depth, interactive study

of the Word of God.

We're in the middle of a series

on The Message to the Hebrews.

It's also a message for us,

and it's all about Jesus; our topic today,

Jesus, Our Faithful Brother.

Yes, He is our King, our Champion,

our great High Priest, but He's also,

according to the book of Hebrews,
our faithful Brother.

And I'm praying you'll be blessed

as we study together today.

So, welcome to Hope Sabbath School,

welcome to the team,

good to see you again.

You'll notice I'm a little excited,

and that's because Travis,

one of our team members,

will be teaching today.

Travis, glad to have you

on this great topic.

We're also really happy

to have a couple of our team members

joining us remotely, and we want to say hi

to Gleny down in Florida.

Gleny, great to see you again.

And also Rodney up in Toronto

in Canada, good to see you, Rodney.

And, you know, we've got

Hope Sabbath School members

all around the world, but we're just glad

they could be with us as we study today.

I don't want to forget that we have

a special gift for you during this series

on The Message to the Hebrews.

It's all about Jesus, and so we thought

we'll offer you a resource

about who Jesus was and what He taught.

It's on the teachings of Jesus.

You can receive either an audiobook
or a PDF.

Just go to hopetv.org/hopess.

All you have to do is click

on a little button in the middle

of the page that says "Free Gift."

It's that simple; you'll get a link,

and you'll be able to download

that resource about Jesus.

That's what this book

of Hebrews is all about.

I want to also just welcome those of you

or share some emails we've received

from Hope Sabbath School members
around the world.

Here's one from Moses,

good Bible name, in Nigeria.

Moses writes and says, "Shalom."

Well, it didn't get much of a response.

How about a wave for Nigeria?

"I was introduced to Hope Sabbath School

by my friend's mother

for more than a year now.

We used to gather in her house and watch

Hope Sabbath School every week."

So, we can do that, right?

It's like a missionary activity.

"Your teachings are so edifying,

it's made me love God

so much more." Praise God.

"Whenever I felt bored,

then I would remember

Hope Sabbath School Bible study is coming,

and I would feel joy

for the rest of the day.

Your one hour is like ten minutes

because we love to hear more and more."

You say, "I think I'd like to meet Moses."

The Word of God is blessing
his life, right?

"With Hope Sabbath School now,

I know why my late mother used to say,

'The Word of God is so sweet.'

Thanks to Hope Sabbath School.

God bless you all

as you continue to bless us."

Well, Moses, thanks for sharing

your testimony with us

from Northern Nigeria.

I know your mother,

obviously a follower of Jesus,

will rejoice on that resurrection day

when we'll all gather together

in the Kingdom of God.

Bernard writes to us from Norway.

Now, Bernard is actually a physician

from Ghana ministering in Northern Norway,

but he says, "I am truly blessed

by the interactive Bible studies

on Hope Sabbath School.

May the Lord richly bless the entire team

and all of the Hope Sabbath School members

around the world," and we say?

(Derek, Team) Amen.

(Derek) "It's my prayer

that many more people

will be led to Jesus

through Hope Sabbath School.

And those of us who are

already followers of Jesus would have

a deeper relationship with the Savior."

Well, thanks so much, Bernard.

We're always happy to hear from you.

God bless you and your family

as you continue to serve Him there.

Well, here's a real note.

It's from a donor in New Jersey.

And I just want to say thank you

to all of our donors;

we're a donor-supported ministry here.

These are volunteers that you see,

come on their own steam.

That means, whether they fly or drive,

however they get here,

they're here because they
believe in the mission

of Hope Sabbath School. Amen?

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) And so, we want to thank you

that you're helping that broadcast to go,

to impact lives around the world.

I have a donor letter here from New Jersey

in the United States,

and I want to just say thank you

to all of you who partner with us.

We're a donor-supported ministry.

This donor writes and says,

"I am a Jamaican living between Jamaica

and the United States."

I don't think she's living between,

but you know what I mean, both places.

"I enjoy watching Hope Sabbath School

every morning and on Friday evening

with my grandchildren.

I'm so blessed to be part

of this great work.

Enclosed is a gift to help

the gospel go to the world." Amen?

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) And a gift of 500 dollars

to help the ministry

of Hope Sabbath School.

Thank you, Donor from New Jersey,

and thanks to each one.

You can just go to hopetv.org/donate,

be part of the miracle and say,

"I want to be a part

of making a difference in the world."

Thank you so much.

Jackson writes to us from Zambia

and says, "Thank you

for Hope Sabbath School.

I am so blessed by your interactions.

You know, it's been kind of difficult

for me to study the Bible,

to stand and make a proper contribution.

But from the time I started

watching Hope Sabbath School,

it's changed me a lot."

(Travis) Praise God.

(Derek) "Now, I'm confident to stand

and to interact with others

and to deliver the Bible study

with the mighty Spirit of Jesus in me."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) "Again, I say thank you very much.

Regards to all the team there,

including Jason, Tricia Lee,"

who's not here today,

but, Jason, you're here, right,

"and everyone else."

Well, Jackson, thanks for writing to us.

By the way, Hope Channel Zambia

God's using to be a great blessing,

and we also want to have special prayer

because the President Elect of Zambia,

I hope you watch Hope Sabbath School,

he's a Master Guide and an active member

of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

So, God bless all

of the Hope Sabbath School members there

in the beautiful country of Zambia.

One last note, from Christopher,

living in Canada, originally
from New Jersey.

"My name is Christopher.

I'm writing to you

from Slave Lake, Alberta."

That just sounds cold, just the name.

"I really enjoy your programs.

Keep up the good work.

I especially like the theme songs,

and I hope some day," Christopher says,

"we can sing together."

Well, Christopher, we need

your help right now.

We'd like you to sing

our theme song with us.

By the way, if you don't know it yet,

download it from our website,

hopetv.org/hopess.

You can download the MP3 file

and the sheet music; we've learned it.

It's a 3,000-year-old Scripture song,

"Bless the Lord, O my soul."

Let's sing it together.

♪ music ♪

(Derek) It's hard for me to stay still

when I hear that song,

"Bless the Lord, O my soul;

and all that's within me,

bless His holy name!"

And, Travis, I know as you teach today,

we're going to hear

some good news about Jesus.

So, God bless you as you lead the study.

(Travis) Shall we bow our heads and pray?

Father in Heaven, we're so grateful

to be here to open up the Word

and study, Lord, how Jesus
became our Brother.

It's exciting news to think that You want

to be so close to each and every one of us

that You actually would think of us

as brothers and sisters.

Well, Father, we ask

that the Holy Spirit would be here,

that we would understand.

Give us wisdom and understanding,

that we may shed light to the world

about how good and how great You are.

In Jesus' name. Amen.

(Derek, Team) Amen!

(Travis) I'm excited to share

and to lead today's study

because, well, because I have a brother.

I have a sister as well.

I actually have two brothers,

but one of my brothers, his name is Joe,

we talk to each other almost every day,

so at least every other day,

and just about everything, about life,

about God, about family.

And I can't even imagine my life

without my brother.

Well, then I started to think about Jesus,

and I thought, "I can't imagine

my life without Jesus!"

And I thought, "Wow, this is going to be

a great study,"

because we're going to learn

how Jesus became our faithful Brother.

And so, we're going

to be comparing some verses

as we begin today's study.

And, Rodney, I'm going to have you turn

to Leviticus, chapter 25,

and read verse 25 and then 47 through 49.

And then, Livinia, if you would turn

to Hebrews 2:14-16, I will have you

read that as soon as Rodney is finished.

(Rodney) And I'm reading

from the King James Version:

Forty-seven to forty-nine:

(Travis) Thank you, Rodney.

And would you now read

from Hebrews, chapter 2:14-16, Livinia?

(Livinia) Certainly, reading

from the New Living Translation:

(Travis) I like that version, Livinia.

So, how did Jesus pay

the debt that we owed?

(Abigail) By shedding His blood
and dying for us.

(Travis) By shedding His blood, okay?

(Derek) I was thinking, back to Leviticus

that Rodney...where it said,

"If he can, he can redeem himself."

And I thought, "We can't do that," right?

(Travis) Right.

(Derek) People try, but we

can't redeem ourselves, so Jesus comes

like the Old Testament kinsman redeemer,

and He does for us

what we cannot do for ourselves.

(Travis) Yes, Jonathan.

(Jonathan) I think it's on multiple levels

because, I mean, on one hand

we have sold ourselves out

in a debt of guilt and a debt

of hurt to other people.

And so, there's the redemption

in our own hearts, of our consciences.

There's the redemption

of the effect of other people.

So, I guess on multiple levels

He has to do many things, so I'm not sure.

(Travis) Okay. Sabina?

(Sabina) And what I'm thinking also,

in relating to Leviticus,

especially the second text

that talks about having a rich relative,

for me I find that Jesus

is this rich relative in the sense

that He lived a sinless life

that I in my sinful nature

am not able to live fully just as He did.

So, with His richness of sinlessness,

He was able to pay the price

that I'm not able to pay for.

So, in this sense that's
how He is my Savior.

(Travis) So, it was more than just Jesus

having to just come and pay the price;

it was more personal than that, right?

He became, well, as our lesson says,

our Kinsman Redeemer, blood relative,

so to speak, right?

And it was personal,

as Jonathan was mentioning.

So, how does this work, this gracious work

that God has done for us through Jesus,

reveal the immeasurable, unfailing love?
Sabina?

(Sabina) I think we just said,

that Jesus Himself, He didn't need that.

He was sinless, and He didn't need

to pay any price for His own salvation.

He was already the reigning King
of the universe.

So, for me, in a sense this reveals

truly God's outpouring love upon us

because He wants us

to be with Him for eternity.

So, that's how He displays

to me so much love.

He didn't need that for Himself,

but for our own sake.

(Travis) Did He give up anything?

Did He give up anything

to do this work, Jason?

(Jason) Yeah, He gave up His power,

His ability to use His divinity

whenever He wanted to.

And He became human, so He had to have

our same weaknesses that we hate

and our same human struggles.

(Travis) I'm thinking

of Matthew, chapter 13.

There's a parable where a man

goes and sells all he can

to buy a field because of the treasure.

Of course, that treasure is all of us.

And so, here Jesus gives,

and He counted it joy, by the way,

to come and give everything up.
Yes, Jonathan.

(Jonathan) I think also He

identifies Himself with us.

So, He takes on the fact

that I have done these terrible things;

He says, "Yeah, that's My son.

That's My redeemed one."

And so, He takes on that debt,

that debt of that sin and has to proclaim

to the universe why it's okay

for Jonathan to come to Heaven

and live for eternity.

(Derek) And a text flashed into my mind,

Jonathan, that having done that,

"If anyone is in Christ,

she is a new creation,"

"he is a new creation."

So, He is not only redeeming me

from the penalty of my transgression

but from the bondage of sin.

He's setting me free

to be the daughter of God, the son of God

that I was created to be; that's awesome.

(Travis) And He became to partake

of the same humanity that we live,

to experience the things

that we go through

so that He could show that love.

Gleny and then Nancy.

(Gleny) Yeah, I like how you mentioned

that He counted it as joy

to come and do this for us.

He wasn't dragging His feet

as the kinsman, like, "Ah,

I have to do this, oh, no!"

It was a pleasure; He wanted

to do it out of His love.

So, that gives even more comfort

knowing that the price He paid

wasn't a burden for Him.

(Travis) He was looking at us

and saying, "Gleny is My sister!"

and, "Jonathan is My brother."

Of course, I feel the same way

about my brothers, that I would want

to do anything to save them
as well. Nancy.

(Nancy) I wanted to say that it was

an incredible risk that He took.

Imagine coming to this earth as a baby?!

I mean, anything can happen.

But God entrusted Jesus to Mary,

and, you know, He Himself

influenced His upbringing.

And He did it all for us.

It was an incredible risk.

I also wanted to say that it reminds me,

the Kinsman Redeemer idea reminds me

of when a relative who has

the same type of blood,

gives blood to the relative.

You know, you need someone

that is of your own blood type

to do that for you,

and that's what Jesus did for us.

He was our closest relative,

and He came through for us.

(Travis) Amen. Not only was He close,

as Gleny had mentioned, right,

He counted it joy.

It wasn't something that's like,

He wasn't dragging His feet

as she had just mentioned.

He was actually excited.

Well, we're going to move on

to the next part of our lesson,

not ashamed to call us

His brothers and sisters, right?

And, Sabina, if you would read

Hebrews, chapter 2, verse 11,

we're going to learn

why Jesus wasn't ashamed

to call us His brothers and sisters.

(Sabina) Okay, so I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,

and Hebrews 2, verse 11, says:

(Travis) So, what do you think, Abigail,

why isn't Jesus ashamed

to call us brothers and sisters?

(Abigail) He believes and knows

that we are the children of God,

that we are all siblings.

(Travis) There's a closeness.

How did it describe it, Sabina,

the closeness, that we are...

The Sanctifier and the ones
being sanctified are...?

(Derek, Travis) One.

(Sabina) One, yes.

(Travis) There's a closeness. Jason.

(Jason) And sanctification is a process,

so He's changing us

because when I look at myself, I'm like,

"Yeah, I'm a brother of Jesus?"

I'm like, "Jesus? No way."

I see all my sinful self.

But what Jesus is doing

is He's changing us to become like Him.

(Travis) You know, that's important.

I think to mention,

there's a verb there, "being," right?

It's not instantaneous.

Some people might say,

"I don't feel like I'm there yet."

Well, Jesus has promised to continue

to take us on this walk

and to sanctify those

who put their faith in Him. Livinia.

(Livinia) Because He is the author

and the finisher of our faith,

He sees us not as we are,

He sees us as we will be

as we allow His Holy Spirit

to continue to work in our lives.

(Travis) Praise God. Yes, Sabina.

(Sabina) Amen. I love your question also

because it makes me realize

that there are many opportunities

in which I personally may have felt

ashamed to have some associations.

I think we all as humans,

we can relate to that.

You know, sometimes if you see someone

doing something that you disapprove of,

you may not want to be seen

with that person; isn't that true?

Even though God calls us

to be loving and kind and to approach,

we also have the humanness in us

that makes us, like, "Oh,

how do I approach that?"

And I think this is an invitation also

of God for us, to be loving
towards other people

and to associate with them

in a healthy level.

I think you understand what I am saying,

not doing the same things, necessarily,

but in love and kindness,

not to be ashamed of other people.

And in the same manner,

it just humbles me so much

that He, knowing me deeply

and everything that I am,

He's not ashamed of who I am,

And that's just beautiful,
to associate with me.

(Travis) I think that's really
a beautiful point.

I'm just thinking of the Garden of Eden.

Adam and Eve have just sinned, right,

and of course, if God was like we are

in the human flesh,

He would be, like, "I don't

want to hang out with them anymore."

But He doesn't; He actually is
looking for them

and then even [asks] them,

a remarkable theme, "Who told you
you were naked?"

The feelings they were feeling

weren't something that God

had brought on them

but something that Satan,

you know, what sin does.

That's the natural consequence
of sin. Jonathan.

(Jonathan) I mentioned it once before,

but I find verse 10 interesting as well,

where it points out

that there's a shared experience

between Christ and us

where we go through similar things,
and we struggle.

We have to look to the Father

and trust Him just like Christ did.

And so, there's that sense

in that we're kind of family as well.

(Travis) Thank you, Jonathan.

Nancy, would you read

Hebrews 11:24-26 for us?

This is talking about Moses.

Of course, the question

that we're going to be asking

is how did the decision of Moses

foreshadow the work of Jesus our Messiah?

If you don't mind reading that for us,

again, Hebrews, chapter 11,

verses 24 through 26, Nancy.

(Nancy) Sure, I'll be reading

from the New American Standard Bible,
24 through 26:

(Travis) I was thinking about that

as I was studying the lesson.

These do not mirror each other exactly

because the thing that Moses

was giving up, okay, well,

that was just temporary.

The pleasures of sin

were just for a season.

But the thing that Jesus gave up,

that was Heaven; there was no sin;

there was no sorrow; there was no pain.

So Jesus actually gave up a lot more,

that He could come down,

and He could experience,

not only experience

what we went through, but, what?

To save us, right, and to redeem us.

Jesus, our Kinsman,

our faithful, redeeming Brother.

Well, what is an appropriate response

to the condescension

of the Son of God coming down and...

What is an appropriate response?

(Jonathan) Worship.

(Travis) Jonathan says "worship."

(Sabina) And joy.

(Travis) Joy. Doesn't the Bible say,

"With lovingkindness I have drawn you"?

So when we are drawn,

there's a response, right?

(Sabina) And also, Travis, I would say,

going along with what I just shared,

but just reinforcing it even more,

I think my response

is to do the same for other people.

That's my response to this lovingkindness.

Who am I not to love other people?

(Travis) Thank you, Sabina. Rodney.

(Rodney) My response also as a result

of experiencing this love

that He has extended to me,

I can't help it but share it with others.

They, too, should know

about this immeasurable love

that Jesus has for us.

It's just amazing to experience,

and we just cannot keep it to ourselves.

Hence, why we're doing

Hope Sabbath School, to share

His love to the world.

(Travis) I agree with you, Rodney.

I want to read Matthew 10:32,

if I could have Jason read that,

Matthew, chapter 10:32-33.

We're going to build on Rodney's response.

I think he's absolutely right.

I also was thinking of the Psalmist,

"Create in me a clean heart,"

and he wanted the Holy Spirit

and the joy of salvation.

But he said, "Lord, if you do this,

I'm going to go and tell sinners

about Your grace and about Your love."

Well, that seems like

an appropriate response to me.

Jason, would you read?

(Jason) I have the New King James Version
here, Matthew,

chapter 10, verses 32 and 33:

(Travis) So, what is the plea here?

What does Jesus want us to do

in response to His love?

(Jason) Confess, which means

identify with, connect with.

(Travis) Or...?

(Jason) Express, yes, express

what He has done for us,

His love, praise Him.

(Travis) To pass it on, right?

I've had somebody...I'm going

through a drive-through somewhere,

and someone paid for my food

or something like that.

And the teller at the window said,

"Well, you could always pass it on."

Well, that's what Jesus

is wanting us to do, right,

to pass it on. Yes, Nancy.

(Nancy) It makes me think

of the Samaritan woman, you know,

how Jesus stopped just on purpose.

He knew she was going

to be the only one there at noon,

when it was so hot in the day,

to draw water from the well.

And when she learned who Jesus was,

that He was the Messiah,

her reaction was to go tell everybody.

She was the first missionary.

She said, "Come, see a Man

who told me everything I ever did."

And He accepted her,

and so her response was to share.

And that's what we ought to do as well.

(Travis) And we see the fruits

of that, too, in the book of Acts,

that many Samaritan people

gave their hearts to Jesus.

Seeds were planted

through that connection,

and that's the ultimate goal, right?

Jesus is not willing

that any should perish.

Gleny, could I have you read

Hebrews 13:12-15 for us

just to build on the concept

that Jesus is drawing us,

and He's hoping that there's

going to be a response?

He's not forcing us, right,
to go and share.

But He's hoping that there

will be a response

to the immeasurable, unfailing love,

Him becoming [conceding],

becoming a man, giving up everything

for joy, as Gleny had just shared.

He's happy to do this for us,

and He wants us to share

in the excitement of winning souls.

Go ahead, Gleny.

(Gleny) So, Hebrews 13:12-15,

and I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,
and it says:

(Travis) Do we have a message to share?

We do have a message to share.

Jesus is our Brother.

Jesus is our Savior.

Of course, as we've been studying,

our High Priest, right?

So, I want to ask a question.

(Derek) Can I just hold a minute?

Because I think we missed an element.

It's good that we go share,

but actually we ought to praise Him.

That's really...The sacrifice of praise

is really, really important.

And I think that, you know,

when we think about our lives, sometimes

we can even get busy doing good things.

And we need to just pause and say,

"Jesus, I just want to praise You

for what You've done."

"I just want to give thanks to You,"

you know, the sacrifice of praise.

I think, I don't know, I didn't grow up

hearing a lot of that.

Like, "God, I just want

to say thank You today before I give You

my shopping list," you know?

"I just want to praise You

for what You've done."

(Travis) You know, Derek,

I agree with that, but I want to just say

that this is an experience,

especially lately in the Bible studies
I'm giving.

I feel like I'm praising God

just giving the Bible studies

because that's part of sharing,
is praising God.

So, it's a beautiful thing.

But thank you, Derek,

for pointing that out.

I think we do need to give thanks
and praise God.

Well, I can tell you that I have

not always shared with enthusiasm

the wonderful works of Jesus.

And there are times

that I have been ashamed.

And I want you think

of a few Bible characters

or someone in the Scriptures that was

ashamed to associate themselves
with Jesus. Jason.

(Jason) So, one of His disciples,

one of the ones closest to Him
was the Apostle Peter.

And Peter, right around the time
of Jesus' trial,

he was so ashamed that he denied

that he even had association with Jesus,

and even did things to show

that he was not associated with Jesus.

(Travis) By the way, what was the outcome?

Did Jesus just cast him aside?

(Jason) Nope, Jesus invited him

to come back and literally had some words

that showed him that he

had a ministry to still continue

of taking care of His church.

(Travis) So, you're saying

that there's hope for those,

even if we have denied Jesus, right?

There is hope for those.

As a matter of fact, Peter

became a powerful preacher. Yes, Sabina.

(Sabina) The other person

I'm thinking of is Nicodemus.

I just mentioned him in another study,

but for me he's like really the example

of a person that was ashamed of God,

even though recognizing that He was

coming from God at a certain point
in his life.

He was so attached

to his religious traditions

that he could not even give in to the fact

that he was seeing Jesus the Messiah

that he had been teaching

or studying about for so many years.

And I think that for me,
what's more powerful

about this particular passage

is that Jesus is not ashamed of Nicodemus.

He takes the time to engage

with Nicodemus in a way

to teach him, to love him,

and even to use him further in ministry

as we are going to eventually see
in the future.

Nicodemus, apparently he comes to Jesus

and will share Jesus with other people.

So, that's a good example
to me, Nicodemus.

(Travis) Thank you for sharing that.

So, it's testimony time.

Would any of you like to share a time

when you felt the pressure

to conceal your identity

as a follower of Jesus?

I see Gleny smiling. Gleny, do you?

(Gleny) No, it just sounds

like confession times.

It's like, "Okay...reevaluate."

(Travis) Does someone want

to be a little bit vulnerable

and share an experience? Jason?

(Jason) Sure, so there was a time

when I was hired in a prominent position

to be able to work in an office

on Capitol Hill for a member of Congress.

And during that time,

the people in the office, I don't know

what their personal beliefs were,

but the idea was, it was pretty secular.

You kind of kept your religion

out of the office.

If you had private beliefs, that was fine,

but you didn't really tell other people

about what you believed.

And so for me, I remember

I was feeling pressured.

Like, do I tell people

that, you know, I take Sabbath off?

Do I tell people that I

don't eat this certain food,

that I don't drink these certain things,

that I don't do these certain actions?

Do I express myself as a Believer

and what that really means?

Or, do I kind of try to, like, hide it

and not let people know too much?

And so, that was definitely pressure.

At the end of the day, I decided, look,

I have to be who I am.

God's convicted me,

and I'm just going to live my life.

And luckily they were very cool with it.

People were accepting, like, "Oh, cool,
okay, so this is what you believe?"

"Yeah." "We appreciate that."

And I think I had an easier time

in that way just because I was genuine
about it,

and people could see

that it was who I really was.

(Travis) Well, praise God

that God had given you

the enthusiasm to share,

even in spite of the temptation

to, well, maybe say,

"I'm not sure I know Him."

Praise God for that.

Well, we are going to move on.

Flesh and blood like us,

that's the next part of our lesson study.

We're going to read Hebrews,

chapter 2, verse 14, and, Abigail,

would you please read that for us?

Why was it necessary for Jesus

to become flesh and blood just like us?

(Abigail) And I'll be reading

from the New Living Translation:

(Travis) So, why couldn't He

have just made some declaration

from the throne to save us?

Why couldn't He have done that?

(Jonathan) I think it has something

to do with the nature of His salvation.

Because if it was just something

that was entirely external,

like it was just something He could

just fix something in a book somewhere -

I mean, there is this idea

of books in Heaven -

like, yes, okay, that's involved, but it

wasn't just some legal thing in Heaven.

There was something that had

to be very real that we

had to identify with.

We had to say, "Yes...He's like me.

He's walking my walk."

For Him to be our Savior,

He has to be one of us.

(Travis) So, you're saying that if He

came down with all this power...

Of course, He did because He got

His power from the Father;

do we have that same power?

Right, but He became flesh like us

to experience the same as we did.

Of course, then the accusation

could never be made,

"You had some special power

to manipulate Your way through

and live a sinless life," right?

Because He was human,

fully human and fully God. Yes, Sabina.

(Sabina) And I also would add

that the Bible says that Jesus,

He came to fulfill the law,

and the law had a provision

that [a sacrifice] was necessary

to expiate for our sins.

You know, you may remember

that the original sin has led to death.

So, there was a price to be paid for,

and just God declaring something different

than what He had already committed
with the universe

was not going to be really part
of His character.

So He needed to accomplish

with the regulation He has
determined Himself.

So, I think that's part...

(Derek) Yeah, I really struggle

with the depths of this, you know?

But I do know, if we lived in a country

where Jonathan could take my place, and I

was guilty of getting life in prison,

and Jonathan could say, "Well, I'll

even go to the death penalty
in your place,"

you know he could just do that for me,

and then he'd be gone.

But Jesus is the eternal Son of God,

so His provision is infinite.

His provision, and I don't

even understand it all fully;

I know it is a complete revelation

of the immeasurable, unfailing love
of God.

But His provision is sufficient

for Livinia and Jonathan and Abigail,

and Nancy and Jason and Sabina

and Gleny and Rodney and Travis and Derek

and every person who has ever lived

or who ever will live on the planet.

That is the mystery of the fact

that God comes down and provides

a salvation that is available
for everyone!

(Travis) That's powerful, Derek. Rodney.

(Rodney) This is deep waters.

We're walking on holy ground here,

and we need divine assistance.

What flashed in my mind
is the Bible records

that, "The wages of sin is death."

We were destined to die, and here it is

that God is in the position

of being God - He can't die.

And so He had to make a provision

to come in our form

to actually, as Pastor Derek just said,

die the infinite death,

if that makes sense,

for us to be able to live.

This is a mystery,

and until we get home -

we'll spend some time with Jesus

to really have Him unravel

the plan of salvation

so we can understand it.

(Travis) Beautiful. Well, we're going

to keep moving on in the lesson.

Thank you for sharing that, Rodney.

I think you're right; it is deep.

But Jesus wasn't just human.

Derek just said He was the Son of God.

And we want to read a few verses,

because Jesus did identify with us

in the human family,

but how is Jesus our Savior, right?

How is He our Savior?

Nancy, if you'd read Hebrews 4:15,

and, Jason, I'm going

to have you read 7, verse 26.

And then, Jonathan, if you

don't mind reading Luke 1:34-35.

We want to know how the Incarnate Son

of God is different from us, okay?

Would you start, Nancy?

(Nancy) Hebrews 4:15,

this is from the NASB:

(Travis) That's the double negative.

We do not have a High Priest who cannot.

We do have a High Priest who can, right?

(Derek, Team) Right.

(Travis) That's what that means.

We have a High Priest who can.

Thank you, Nancy. Jason?

(Jason) New King James Version

of Hebrews, chapter 7, verse 26, says:

(Travis) A faithful High Priest,

we just learned in a study Sabina
had given

that He was different,

because He didn't have to offer
for Himself.

That's great news: We have

a High Priest who can.

I'm going to remember that.

We have a High Priest who can.

Go ahead and read, Jonathan, for us.

(Jonathan) Okay, Luke 1:34-35:

(Travis) So, how does Jesus our Savior,

how is He different than us? Sabina.

(Sabina) Well, we just read

He was holy, the Holy Child.

So, I think that for me summarizes it.

He was holy; He is holy,

and He remained holy till the end.

(Travis) Yes, Nancy.

(Nancy) I love it; I love

how Jesus found a loophole

to fulfill the penalty of death

that we earned by sinning.

In Hebrews it says

that only by the shedding of blood

can you have remission of sin,

and God can't change

the laws of the universe.

There are set laws.

It's, you know, the law of love;
it is what it is.

And so, in order to fulfill

the penalty of death, He did it for us.

And since He has life within Himself,

He was fine, you know?

(Travis) John the Baptist said,

"Behold, the Lamb of God."

He didn't say, "Behold,

the lamb of man," right?

"Behold, the Lamb of God," Jesus.

The Bible, repeatedly, He gave Himself,

He gave Himself. Rodney?

(Rodney) And Nancy is absolutely correct.

If you go back to the sacrificial system,

they needed a spotless lamb

for them to sacrifice.

And here it is, that Jesus came.

He did not sin at all, and He,

back to what you just said, Travis,

He is actually the spotless Lamb of God

that takes away the sins of all of us.

Praise be to God.

(Travis, Team) Amen.

(Derek) And yet, you know, the mystery.

I know Nancy said He had
life within Himself,

and yet the mystery was,

as fully human, He couldn't see

beyond the portals of the grave.

So, He is willing to provide
salvation for us.

Back to something Abigail said

in a previous study,

He is trusting the Word of God

rather than His feelings at that moment,

because in the garden He prays,

"Father, if it's possible...,"

because the greatest trauma

is being separated from His Father
by that sin.

"Father, if it's possible,

take this cup from Me."

So, this was not like, "This is fine;

everything's going to be fine."

In His humanity He suffered,

which is, I know, the next section,

but He suffered,

and yet He did it as a revelation

of the immeasurable, unfailing love
of God.

(Travis) By the way,

there was no other way

because when Jesus said,

"If it's possible," there was

no reply from Heaven.

(Derek) There was no "plan B."

(Travis) There was no "plan B."

He was the way, right?

Well, we're going to keep moving on.

Livinia, if you'd read Hebrews,

chapter 2:10, 17 and 18,

we're going to see that there
is a common theme

between these three verses.

Hebrews, chapter 2, verse 10,

and then verses 17 and 18.

(Livinia) Okay, reading

from the New Living Translation:

Seventeen:

(Travis) So, what common theme
do you see here?

(Derek) Suffering.

(Travis) Suffering,

Jesus is suffering for mankind.

So, how was Jesus made perfect

through the sufferings? Sabina?

(Sabina) I would say, Travis,

that ultimately, it's by dying

to replace us, because we can see

that Jesus as a human being,

as we are reading here,

He also would go through suffering,

so He probably experienced pain

and even emotional suffering,

as we will see in some passages
of the Bible.

But ultimately, what was the one thing

to make Him be able

to apply to be our Mediator

is offering the pure sacrifice.

He cannot be just the High Priest

without the sacrifice,

so we already identified Him

as being the High Priest,

but He only could conquer, then,

ultimately, that victory for us,

if He could have a sacrifice as well.

And that's, for me, the main suffering

that He had to go through

to grant us and to qualify

as the perfect design.

(Travis) I wish we had more time

to expand on just this topic,

but I do have to ask the question,

what were the sufferings that Jesus,

I mean the greatest sufferings,
that He endured?

I would love to go to some verses,

but for sake of time we won't.

But one of them was Matthew 27:46.

He cries out on the cross, "Father,

Father, why have You forsaken Me?”

What was He experiencing there? Jason.

(Jason) He was experiencing separation

from His Father, even though He was God.

God the Son was experiencing separation

from God the Father,

something He had never experienced before.

(Travis) Wow.

(Derek) Doesn't it say somewhere,

our sins have separated us.

And, of course, as we've heard

through the whole study,

it's not the sin of Jesus;

He was the Holy One, the sinless Savior.

But it's taking upon Himself

the sin of the world

that becomes, as it were,

a terrible obstacle between Him
and His Father.

And, Travis, I think

that was His greatest suffering.

You know, He was beaten,

He was spat upon, but I think

His greatest suffering was that suffering

of feeling separated from His Father.

(Travis) I think being separated
from family, right...?

(Derek) Well, but from eternity past,

They had been one together.

(Travis) But I'm just trying to...

As a human, right, we could never relate.

I hope we never have to experience it.

By the way, we don't; that's the promise.

He did that so we wouldn't have to.

But just being separated

from family is excruciating. Livinia.

(Livinia) And even in those dying words,

which the New Living Translation reads as,

"My God, My God, why have
You abandoned Me?"

Psalm 22, it's a quote;

He's quoting from Scripture.

And the last verse of Psalm 22, verse 31,

states, "His righteous acts will be told

to those not yet born.

They will hear about everything
he has done."

So, even that cry of despair -
there's hope.

(Travis) We're going to have

to keep moving on.

Actually, that's not the only thing
that Jesus suffered.

The question was, what are

some of the greatest things He suffered?

But also, there was

something else that He suffered.

It wasn't just the beatings
recorded in Luke.

An angel was sent to resuscitate Him.

There were drops of blood

that He was sweating.

What was He experiencing there?

Well, I think He was experiencing

separation from the Father, even then.

But what else was He experiencing

at that time? Nancy.

(Nancy) Extreme stress.

(Travis) Stress?

(Nancy) Yeah, extreme stress

from all of the sins that we've all done

and from all of eternity,

and it was too much.

It was the only time

where the Godhead was severed.

From the beginning, well,

from time eternal, the Father,

the Son and the Holy Spirit were one,

and in this moment,

Jesus feels the separation.

He did that for us.

(Travis) So, He's being separated
from the Father.

The weight of the sins

were being poured out on Him. Rodney?

(Rodney) I think that there is also
the element of Him

getting to the point where He's, like,

"If there is anyone

that is supposed to be ashamed of anyone,

I, Jesus, should be ashamed of you,

but you're ashamed of Me, and I am doing

everything possible to save you.

And yet, still, some will actually
walk away from Me."

I think that, I think His heart was broken

knowing that there will be people,

after understanding all

that He did for us,

who will literally, unfortunately, make

the conscious decision to walk away.

And we pray God today

that there would be no one

hearing us on this [program]

who will make a decision like that,

but rather turn to Jesus

and give our hearts to Him.

(Derek, Team) Amen.

(Travis) Jesus endured the suffering,

was victorious, right?

And because of that, right, we now

can experience salvation.

We have to keep moving on.

I wish we had a whole other hour

to spend on this topic.

I would like Nancy

to read Hebrews 12:1-3,

because the one thing that we do,

I remember John the Baptist,

"Behold, the Lamb of God,"

we just talked about that,

he was inviting those around

to cast their eyes on Him.

Well, why is it important

to fix our eyes on Jesus?

Would you read that for us, Nancy?

(Nancy) Yes, I'm reading

from the New American Standard Bible:

(Travis) Well, why should we

keep our eyes fixed on Jesus? Abigail.

(Abigail) So we do not grow weary
and give up.

We have to die of self,

and fix our eyes on Him

so that we may be able

to not only be saved

but to share the good news

for others to be saved.

(Travis) And what does it say

about sin, what does it do, it easily...?

(Team) Encumbers. Ensnares us.

(Travis) So, we need

to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. Gleny.

(Gleny) We need to fix our eyes on Jesus

because if we don't,

we're going to start drowning,

just like Peter, when the moment

he took his eyes off of Jesus.

It's so easy to drift away.

That's our normal human nature, so we have

to intentionally keep our eyes fixed.

And not just do it for ourselves,

but even support our fellow brethren

in their journey of learning

how to keep their eyes fixed on Jesus.

(Travis) Yes, Sabina.

(Sabina) And one thing I'm thinking also

is that the Bible gives us lots
of examples,

and even Jesus alerted us,

that as the end-time approaches,

we also would face persecutions

like these people here

that Paul is addressing,

and that we also would be exposed

to all sorts of pressures and suffering,

not only on our body

but likely even against our beliefs

and our conscience, right?

So, I think that here,

what Paul is trying to tell them

is you have the perfect example in Jesus.

When you feel like you are hopeless

or things appear to be too difficult

for you, or too hard,

remember what He endured,

keep your eyes on Him,

and He will grant you victory.

(Travis) Jesus made

an appeal to His disciples.

He said, "Follow Me."

How does that appeal apply to us today?

How does that appeal apply?

What does it mean for our lives today

to follow Jesus? Anyone?

Rodney? I see you smiling.

(Rodney) The Word there says

"author and finisher."

He's the pioneer; He's the One

that goes before us.

He has set the example.

I praise God today

that I can follow Jesus.

There's a song again

that rings in my mind,

"I will follow Thee, my Savior,

wheresoever my lot may be.

Where Thou goest, I will follow.

Yes, my Lord, I'll follow Thee."

If I follow Jesus, I will be fine.

All of us will be fine in Jesus.

(Travis) Amen. Jonathan, I would like you

to read two last verses for us,

Matthew, chapter 5:14-16,

three verses, I'm sorry.

Matthew, chapter 5, verse 14,

because as followers of Jesus,

our lives can actually be

a blessing to others, right?

And, well, I know that's our appeal

every time we close Hope Sabbath School,

that we can share in the blessing
to others.

Go ahead, Jonathan.

(Jonathan) Alright, I'm reading

from the New American Standard Version:

(Travis) So, how do...our examples

as followers of Jesus, how are they

a blessing to others? Someone? Abigail.

(Abigail) By us following Him,

fixing our eyes on Him,

and we can only do that

by asking Him for the strength to do it,

but us asking Him for the strength

to continually fix our eyes on Him,

to continually follow Him,

it will draw others to Christ.

And everything is just

for the glorification of God.

It's not for our own glory whatsoever,

but all is to give glory to God

so that all of us...

He wants all His children to be saved.

(Travis) The Apostle Paul said,

"Imitate me as I have imitated Christ."

As followers of Jesus,

we want to imitate Jesus

so that others may be blessed

and see, not us, right, but see Jesus.

(Derek) Amen. And the greatest thing
that Jesus did

even in His greatest crisis,

He kept His eyes on the Father.

"My God, My God,"

even in that cry He was praying.

And His final prayer, "Father,
into Your hands."

And that's a prayer we can pray every day,

"Jesus, into Your hands."

"Father, into Your hands."

We are safe when we are

in the hands of God.

Let's pray together.

Father in heaven, we're deeply moved

by the self-sacrificing love

that You have revealed,

Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

We thank You, Jesus,

that You are our faithful Brother.

You have identified with the human family

to save us and bring many sons

and daughters to glory.

May we accept Your saving love
even this day.

In Jesus' name. Amen.

Well, thanks for joining us
for Hope Sabbath School.

I just want to use

my favorite Hebrew word - Hallelujah.

God loves you with an immeasurable
and unfailing love.

Accept His love and share His love

with those around you.

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