Sabbath School Lesson for March 8-14, 2025
Introduction for Lesson 11, What More Could I Have Done?
Memory Text: “Pilate therefore said to Him, ‘Are You a king then?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.’ ” John 18:37 NKJV
God invites us to contemplate what more He could have done to save our world from evil. This question was posed in Isaiah 5:4 and again by Jesus in Matthew 21, a parable about wicked vinedressers. The answer the chief priests and Pharisees were forced to admit was that nothing more could have been done. The owner of the vineyard in the parable (who represented God) tried everything he could to prevent the death of his faithful servants and later his son. The only ones responsible for the evil outcomes were the cruel vinedressers who didn’t appreciate their benefactor.
Pilate and all those who called for the death of Jesus failed to recognize the reason Jesus came here to be our King. It was to show us the righteousness and love of His Father by living a sinless life and then by dying for us, in order that we might live.
How wonderfully loving and just our God is. It’s only fitting that we acknowledge His character at every opportunity. We are therein allowed to participate in the vindication of God. His trial before the universe is vastly more consequential than ours. He has done all He could to save us. Even sacrificing His own dear Son.
- Sunday: Christ the Victor–We must claim the victory of Jesus at the cross for ourselves every day.
- Monday: The Just and the Justifier–Christ was righteous and sinless, and therefore, able to justify us when we sin.
- Tuesday: The Song of My Beloved–God loves us and did everything He could to produce a good crop of grapes in a vineyard described in Isaiah 5.
- Wednesday: Christ’s Parable of the Vineyard–More is told about why God’s vineyard is unproductive in this parable.
- Thursday: The Vindication of God’s Name–We have a part in vindicating God’s name and character now and when we get to heaven.
Sunday: Christ the Victor
Satan is said to presently be the “ruler of this world” (John 12:31 and 14:30). But his authority has been usurped, or acquired by force and deception. In spite of Satan’s limited and temporary position in the world, however, the true King of the universe is and always will be God’s Son, Jesus Christ.
Satan failed to get Jesus to sin, and his attempt to take His life at the cross also failed. Jesus was resurrected from that cruel murder and proven to be the ultimate victor over the cosmic conflict that has plunged our world into chaos for so many centuries.
As the memory text (John 18:37) indicates, Jesus came here to demonstrate God’s perfect character of righteousness and love. He was to “bear witness to the truth”–the truth of who God is. The devil’s allegations of injustice were revealed to be totally false. No longer can he claim victory over us. We must allow Christ’s righteousness to cover us and His love to heal us. Then His victory becomes ours.
Verses to discuss:
John 18:37
- Why did Jesus come to our world?
- What kind of king is Jesus?
Monday: The Just and the Justifier
Our just, sinless Savior lived among us to “destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). His righteous life demonstrated that the slanderous allegations of Satan (His dubious claims about God’s character) were not true. Jesus was a loving, compassionate Servant here on earth.
The death of Jesus also made Him our justifier. Calvary revealed Satan as a murderer, causing him to lose the sympathies of heavenly beings from that time on. Satan’s fate is sealed, and his destiny will be total destruction and eternal separation from God, along with all those who don’t accept Christ as the King of kings and Lord of lords.
At some point, Hebrews 2:14 declares that the devil himself will be destroyed by Christ. The result of the head-bruising promised in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:15) will be seen in the final judgment, when Jesus (our just justifier) will at last conquer the archenemy of God. This will allow God’s followers an eternity of peace and love with their heavenly Father.
Verses to discuss:
1 John 3:8 and Hebrews 2:14
- What was Jesus’ purpose in coming to earth as a human?
Romans 3:23-26 and 5:8
- What did Jesus demonstrate, or show us, about God?
Revelation 12:10-12 and Genesis 3:15
- What part did the blood of the Lamb have in destroying, or “bruising the head” of the devil/serpent?
Tuesday: The Song of My Beloved
We may be convinced that God respects our free will and draws us to Him by demonstrations of His love, not His power. But, questions often persist about whether He has done all He could to save us. Isaiah 5:1-4 talks about an unproductive vineyard and asks this same question, providing us with some answers.
The symbolism in this passage is rather obvious. Isaiah 5:7 and 1:8 lead us to believe that the vineyard represents God’s people. Therefore, the vinedresser is obviously God. The vinedresser in Isaiah’s story chose fertile ground, prepared it properly, and planted seeds that were supposed to produce the best grapes. He made preparations to harvest a good crop, but instead the plants brought forth wild grapes, also translated as “worthless” or “rotten” grapes.
The rest of Isaiah 5 describes the injustices and excesses of God’s people as the reason why God could not make a productive people out of them. Unless we reflect God’s righteous, loving character, we, too, will prove to be unfruitful and worthless to God’s cause.
Verses to discuss:
Isaiah 5:1-4 and 1:8
- Why does God ask us to judge what He has done to save us?
Isaiah 5:7, 20-21
- In what ways did God’s people back then prove themselves to be harmful to God’s attempts to save the world?
- How can God’s people avoid the same mistakes today?
Wednesday: Christ’s Parable of the Vineyard
The parable of the wicked vinedressers, Jesus told in the presence of the scribes and Pharisees, was a continuation of the familiar passage in the book of Isaiah about a vineyard. It gave His listeners more understanding of the intentions and actions of the owner of the vineyard, who represented God.
Everything the owner did seemed reasonable and expected. But the behavior of those taking care of the vineyard was both unreasonable and unacceptable. Just as the tragic turn of events that led to the crucifixion of Jesus our Messiah, those wicked vinedressers in the parable did the unthinkable deed of killing the owner’s son.
As Matthew tells us, the scribes and Pharisees knew full well that Jesus was speaking of them as the wicked vinedressers. They would have put Him under immediate arrest, if the multitude, who thought He was a prophet, hadn’t prevented them from such a bold action (Matthew 21:45-46).
Calvary has definitely shown us that God did everything He could to save us. Not sparing His own Son, He endured all that pain and suffering out of love for fallen humanity. Our salvation comes at great cost.
Verses to discuss:
Matthew 21:33-39
- Why did the vinedressers think that it would profit them by killing the owner’s son? What was wrong with that thinking?
- Was there any excuse for the cruel actions of the vinedressers?
- Was the owner to blame for any of it? What more might he have done?
Matthew 21:40-46
- What was the final outcome for the wicked vinedressers?
- What will be the final result of all evildoers in the world?
- Why do you think the final judgment is taking so long to happen?
Thursday: The Vindication of God’s Name
No one likes to think of their actions openly revealed in a courtroom; but we mustn’t forget the expansive judgment and courtroom scene that includes God Himself. His name and character must be vindicated, or cleared of blame and suspicion. And God assures us that it will be done orderly, in a transparent way, with all the universe as witnesses and jury members.
God invites us to judge Him (Isaiah 5:3). Just before His Son returns (called the time of a pre-Advent judgment), the heavenly angels will be able to see who will and who won’t be brought to heaven at Christ’s Second Coming. Those names in God’s book of life, beginning with the righteous dead, are now being judged. It seems reasonable to believe in a pre-Advent judgment. After all, Revelation 22:12 says that Jesus brings our reward with Him when He returns. Our fate will have been decided beforehand in heaven. Daniel 7 also suggests that such a judgment scene takes place, just prior to the Second Coming.
Following the Second Coming, those righteous who were taken to heaven will have an opportunity during a thousand-year period, known as the millennium, to review the judgment process and be assured that the final destruction that takes place after the millennium is fair and merciful for all involved (1 Corinthians 4:5).
God’s vindication will include the bowing of every knee and the confessing of every tongue that Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:10, 11). No more will rebellion rise up to disturb our peace and happiness.
Verses to discuss:
Isaiah 5:3 and 1 Corinthians 4:5
- What do these verses tell us about God’s desire for us to judge His character and vindicate His name?
Revelation 22:12
- Why does it make sense that a judgment of some kind is already taking place before Christ returns?
Friday: Final Thoughts
While it’s important for us to acknowledge to God that He is just and loving, it may be even more important for us to proclaim His intentions to the world. When we get to heaven, we, along with holy angels, will constantly declare Him to be great and marvelous, just and true (Revelation 15:3). We can sing His praises right now though, by living a life that reflects the wondrous attributes of God.
Taking God’s name by calling ourselves “Christian” includes the solemn responsibility to represent His character to the world. As Jesus showed us, our actions are the most effective way we can preach to others. By feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, healing the sick, visiting those in prison, etc., we show that we worship a loving, forgiving God.
Instead of asking what more could GOD do, perhaps we should be asking ourselves what more can WE do.
Next Week: Love and Justice–The Two Greatest Commandments
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