Easy Reading Edition

2
Proof That Jesus Is God
October 5–11

SABBATH—OCTOBER
SABBATH—DATE 5
READ FOR THIS WEEK’S LESSON: John 6:1–14; John
6:14, 15, 26–36; John 9:1–16; John 9:17–34; John 11:38–44.

MEMORY VERSE: “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the One Who

raises [wakes people up from] the dead and gives them
life. Anyone who puts his trust in Me will live again, even
if he dies. Anyone who lives and has put his trust in Me
will never die. Do you believe this [Bible truth]?’ ” (John
11:25, 26, NLV).

THE BIBLE tells us that Jesus is the everlasting Son of

God. Jesus and the Father are both God. No one made
Jesus. He didn’t get His life from anyone else. Jesus made
everything (John 1:1–3). Jesus always was alive. So, there
was never a time when Jesus didn’t live. When Jesus came
to this earth, He became a human. But He never stopped
being God. At special times, Jesus said certain things or
did miracles that showed He was God.
This Bible truth about Jesus is important to John. John
Jesus made everything
talks about some of Jesus’ miracles or words to help us
(John 1:1–3).
understand that Jesus is God. Jesus also showed that His
words were truth when He did mighty miracles.
This week, we will study three of Jesus’ biggest miracles.
These miracles show that Jesus is God. In each story,
some people don’t believe the miracle. Other people don’t
understand the miracle’s meaning. Some people stopped
following Jesus because of the miracle. Other people saw
the mira­cles and wanted to kill Jesus. But some people
believed that Jesus was the Savior that God promised.

12 PROOF THAT JESUS IS GOD

 SUNDAY—OCTOBER 6 Lesson 2
JESUS FEEDS MORE THAN 5,000 PEOPLE (John 6:1–14)

In John 6:10, John tells us that Jesus fed more than 5,000
people near the time of the Passover. The Passover was a
special celebration when the Jews remembered how God
saved them from slavery in Egypt. The Passover lamb was
killed instead of the firstborn son from each Jewish family. This
death showed the future death of Jesus for our sins. Jesus was
punished for our sins on the cross. Jesus is our Passover lamb.
Jesus died instead of us (1 Corinthians 5:7).
“Jesus accepted the guilt for our sins. Then the Father hid
His face from Jesus. When the Father hid His face, Jesus died
from a broken heart. His life was crushed out. Jesus offered
Himself for our sins to save us.”—Ellen G. White, The Great
Controversy, page 540, adapted.

Read the story in John 6:1–14. What miracle does Jesus

do in this story? In what ways do these verses show us
that Jesus and Moses behave alike? Also, why should this
miracle help the Jews in Jesus’ day remember the time
when God fed the Israelites in the desert after He made
them free from slavery in Egypt?

In John 6:1–14, we see many things in this story about

Jesus that help us remember Moses during the time of the
Exodus. The Exodus was the time when God helped Israel
escape from slavery in Egypt. The time of the Passover (John
6:4) celebrates Israel’s Exodus from Egypt. Durinig Passover,
Jesus behaved the same as Moses did during the Exodus. (1)
Jesus goes up on a mountain (John 6:3). (Moses also went
up Sinai.) (2) Jesus tests Philip (John 6:5, 6). (The Israelites
were tested in the desert.) (3) Jesus feeds more than 5,000
people with five loaves of bread. (This miracle helps the Jews
remember the miracle with the manna in the desert.) Jesus’
followers collect the leftover food (John 6:12). (In the same way,
the Israelites collected the manna in the desert.) Jesus’ fol- All these things help the
lowers collect 12 baskets of leftovers, the same number as the Jews understand that
12 family groups of Israel. The Jewish people say that Jesus is Jesus is the new Moses.
the special messenger (John 6:14) that Moses promised would
come (Deuteronomy 18:15). All these things help the Jews
understand that Jesus is the new Moses. Jesus came to make
His people free.
John shows Jesus doing miracles that have special meaning
for the Jews. Jesus’ miracles show His people who He is. His
miracles show the people that He is God.

PROOF THAT JESUS IS GOD 13

 Lesson 2 MONDAY—OCTOBER 7
JESUS IS THE ONE WHO SPEAKS FOR GOD
(John 6:14, 15, 26–36)

Read about the miracle in John 6:14, 15, 26–36. What did
the people think about this miracle? How did Jesus use
this miracle to try to teach the people about who He was?

The Jews expected a Savior to come to earth and save

them from the Kingdom of Rome. Two hard things a gen-
eral must do in war is feed his troops and care for the sol-
diers who were hurt or dead. Jesus did many miracles that
showed He could feed an army and take care of anyone
who was hurt or dead.
But Jesus didn’t come to feed an army or take care of
hurt or dead soldiers. When Jesus fed 5,000 men, He
showed that He was the same as the Bread that gives life.
The miracle showed that God Himself came down from
heaven. Jesus said, “ ‘I am the bread that gives life. He who
comes to me will never be hungry’ ” (John 6:35, ICB).
Do you see how this announcement about the bread starts
with the words “I am”? This announcement is the first of
seven announcements Jesus says about Himself in the Book
of John that start with the words “I am.” Each of the seven
When Jesus fed 5,000 “I am” announcements connects with a special word picture
men, He showed that shows us who Jesus is. Let’s look more closely at the list
that He was the same as of seven “I am” announcements. (1) Jesus says, “ ‘I am the
the Bread that gives life. bread that gives life’ ” (John 6:35, ICB). (2) Jesus announces,
“ ‘I am the light of the world [all the people on earth]’ ” (John
8:12, ICB). (3) Jesus also says, “ ‘I am the gate’ ” (John 10:7,
9, ERV) or “the door” (ICB). (4) Jesus says, “ ‘I am the ‘Good
Shepherd’ ” (John 10:11, 14, NLV). (5) Jesus says, “ ‘I am
the One Who raises [wakes up] the dead and gives them
life’ ” (John 11:25, NLV). (6) Jesus says, “ ‘I am the Way and
the Truth and the Life’ ” (John 14:6, NLV). (7) Finally, Jesus
says, “ ‘I am the true [real] Vine’ ” (John 15:1, NLV). Each of
these seven word pictures helps us understand an important
Bible truth about Jesus. Also, the “I am” word pictures help
us remember Exodus 3. In Exodus 3, God shows Himself to
Moses as the Mighty One, who is the I AM (compare with
John 8:58). Jesus is the I AM.
Sad to say, the people in Jesus’ day didn’t understand this
important Bible truth. The people looked for a Savior who
would give them blessings and riches in this life. They didn’t
want the Bible truth that leads to everlasting life. So, we
must be careful. Or we, too, can “fall” into this same “trap.”

14 PROOF THAT JESUS IS GOD

TUESDAY—OCTOBER 8 Lesson 2
JESUS HEALS A BLIND MAN: PART 1 (John 9:1–16)

Read about the blind man in John 9:1–16. What did

Jesus’ followers think caused this man to be blind?
What did Jesus say to correct the false beliefs of His
followers?

Jesus’ followers believed that a person got sick because

he sinned. If someone was born blind, then his parents
must have sinned. Many Old Testament stories helped
Jesus’ followers think that every time someone got sick, it
was his fault (compare with Exodus 20:5; 2 Kings 5:15–27;
2 Kings 15:5; 2 Chronicles 26:16–21). But the story about
Job should have helped Jesus’ followers to remember that
people with faith suffer, too.
Jesus doesn’t say there is no connection between
sin and suffering. But Jesus says that sometimes a per-
son’s suffering doesn’t come from anything he did wrong.
Sometimes a person suffers because God wants to use
that experience to help save other people and honor His
Name. The story about the blind man helps us remember
the story in Genesis when God made the skies and the
earth. In Genesis 2:7, God makes the first man from the dirt.
In the same way, Jesus uses clay to heal the blind man’s
eyes.
In the books of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, miracle stories
have the same parts: (1) The writer tells us about the prob-
lem that needs to be fixed or healed. (2) The person who
needs healing comes to Jesus. (3) Jesus heals the sick
person. And (4) the sick person praises God for the healing.
Often, other people who see the healing praise God, too.
In the story in John 9, John gives us all four parts of the
miracle. Then John gives us something more: the miracle’s The story about the blind
man helps us remember
meaning. The meaning becomes the most important part of
the story in Genesis
the story. The healed man and the spiritual leaders have a when God made the skies
long conversation about what his healing means. and the earth.
John doesn’t tell his readers until chapter 9, verse 14, that
Jesus healed the blind man on the Sabbath. So, the Jewish
leaders blame Jesus. The leaders say Jesus breaks the
Sabbath. The Jewish leaders believe that Jesus wasn’t from
God because He didn’t keep the Sabbath holy. But other
people thought that no sinner could do the miracles that
Jesus did. The man who was blind sees who Jesus really is.
But the leaders do not want to “see” or understand because
they cannot accept that Jesus is God.

PROOF THAT JESUS IS GOD 15

 Lesson 2 WEDNESDAY—OCTOBER 9
JESUS HEALS A BLIND MAN: PART 2 (John 9:17–34)

Read the rest of the story about the blind man in John
9:17–34. What questions did the Jewish leaders ask the
blind man after Jesus healed him? How did the man
answer?

John 9:17–34 is the only part of John’s story where the

people talk about Jesus, but He is not in the story. John’s story
starts when Jesus’ followers ask about the blind man. The fol-
lowers want to know if the man’s sin or his parents’ sin caused
his suffering (John 9:2). In the same way, sin is the topic of
conversation in this part of the story, too. The Jewish leaders
think Jesus is a sinner because He healed on the Sabbath
(John 9:16, 24). The Jewish leaders lie about the healed man.
The leaders tell him, “ ‘You have been a bad man ever since
you were born!’ ” (John 9:34, WE).
Do you see how everything in the story reverses? The man
who was blind now starts to “see” more and more. He sees
with his eyes and understands things with his mind that the
Jewish leaders refuse to see or believe about Jesus. The
Jewish leaders become less and less able to “see” the Bible
truth about Jesus (John 9:16). So, they can’t understand
where He came from (John 9:29).
John uses this story to tell us who Jesus is. John tells us
that Jesus is “ ‘the Light of the world [all people]’ ” (John 9:5,
John tells us NLV; compare with John 8:12). Jesus is a mystery, too. This
that Jesus is “the Light story tries to answer some questions about this mystery. Who
of the world [all people]” is Jesus? Where did He come from? What work did He plan
(John 9:5, NLV). to do on earth (John 9:12, 29; compare with John 1:14)?
John also talks about Moses in this chapter (John 9:28, 29;
compare with John 5:45, 46 and John 6:32). Finally, John
talks about how the crowd feels about Jesus. Some people
love sin more than Bible truth. Other people accept Jesus in
faith (John 9:16–18, 35–41; compare with John 1:9–16; John
3:16–21; John 6:60–71).
The Jewish leaders’ hearts are too hard to understand
Jesus. They should have been the first ones to accept Jesus
as the Savior. But they reject all the powerful proof God sends
them. They cannot learn the truth. Or maybe, they really don’t
want to learn it. This story is a powerful warning about how our
hearts can trick us into believing a lie.

What important rule do we read about in 1 Corinthians

1:26–29? How can this rule help us today?

16 PROOF THAT JESUS IS GOD

 THURSDAY—OCTOBER 10 Lesson 2
LAZARUS WAKES UP FROM THE DEAD (John 11:38–44)

John 11 is filled with sad news. Lazarus, who is Jesus’ dear

friend, is very sick (John 11:3, 19, 31, 33). Lazarus’s sisters are
sad because Jesus let Lazarus die (John 11:21, 32). The story
also is sad because Jesus cries (John 11:35).
Jesus waited two days before starting His journey to
Lazarus (John 11:6). Jesus said something that surprised
His followers. He said that He was glad that He didn’t go
to Lazarus sooner (John 11:14, 15). Did Jesus care about
Lazarus? Of course, He cares! But Jesus knows that waiting
will give Him a chance to show God’s power. Jesus wanted to
honor His Father’s Name.
When Jesus arrived at Lazarus’ house, Lazarus was dead
for four days (John 11:17–27). After four days, Lazarus’s body
was already rotting. Martha tells Jesus when He arrives, “ ‘But,
Lord, it has been four days since Lazarus died. There will be a
bad smell’ ” (John 11:39, ERV). For sure, Jesus’ delay helped
make the miracle of waking up Lazarus from the dead more
powerful and amazing. Jesus was going to wake up a rotting
dead body. What more proof did the Jews need that Jesus
was God Himself?!
As God, Jesus was the One who made life. So, Jesus
already had power over death. Jesus used the miracle of wak-
ing Lazarus up from the dead to teach the Jews an important
Bible truth about Himself: “ ‘I am the one who will raise [wake]
people up and give them life. The person who believes in me
will live, even though he has died’ ” (John 11:25, WE).

What did Jesus do to support His words in John 11:25,

26? Read John 11:38–44 for the answer.

Jesus showed that He was the Light for all people (John
8:12; John 9:5) when He helped the blind man see (John 9:7). Jesus used the miracle
In the same way, when Jesus wakes up Lazarus from the of waking Lazarus up
dead (John 11:43, 44), He shows that He is the Resurrection from the dead to teach
(He has the power to wake up people from the dead) and the the Jews an important
Life (John 11:25). This miracle, more than any other miracle, Bible truth about Himself:
shows everyone that Jesus is the God who gives us life. This “ ‘I am the one who will
raise [wake] people up
miracle supports John’s idea that Jesus is the Son of God.
and give them life.”
When we believe in Him, He will give us everlasting life (John
20:30, 31). Sad to say, the end of this story shows us some-
thing strange (John 11:45–54). Jesus shows He can wake the
dead. So, how can the Jewish leaders think that they can
stop Jesus if they kill Him?!

PROOF THAT JESUS IS GOD 17

 Lesson 2 FRIDAY—OCTOBER 11
ADDITIONAL THOUGHT: Read Ellen G. White, “The Crisis
in Galilee,” pages 383–394; “ ‘Lazarus, Come Forth,’ ” pages
524–536; and “Priestly Plottings,” pages 537–542, in The
Desire of Ages.

“The life of Jesus will give life to everyone on earth. This life
is in Jesus’ words. With His words, Jesus healed disease and
commanded demons to come out of people. With His words,
Jesus commanded the sea to be quiet. With His words, Jesus
woke up the dead. The people saw that Jesus spoke with
power. He spoke the word of God in the same way that God
used the special messengers in the Old Testament to talk
to His people. The whole Bible shows us Jesus. The Savior
wanted His followers to put their faith in the Bible. When Jesus
left them and went back to heaven, His followers needed to
trust in the Bible. They must live as Jesus lived. ‘Their lives
depend on what God says.’ Matthew 4:4 [ERV].
“Food supports our bodies. In the same way, the Bible
supports our spiritual lives. Every person must get life for
himself from the Bible. We must eat for ourselves to get
strength from our food. In the same way, we must read the
Bible for ourselves. We must not accept what someone else
tells us the Bible says. Each person must carefully study the
Bible. We must ask God to send us the Holy Spirit to help
us understand what it says.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of
Ages, page 390, adapted.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1 This week we looked at how Jesus fed more than 5,000

“Every person must get life people. Jesus also healed a man born blind. Then Jesus woke up
for himself from the Bible.” Lazarus from the dead. In each story, Jesus gave powerful proof
that He was God. But these miracles, as wonderful as they were,
caused the Jews to argue with each other. Some people believed
in Jesus. Other people doubted Him. Why do you think that some
people reject God, even when there is powerful proof to accept
Him?

2 The stories this week show us that Jesus is the Son of God.
Why is this Bible truth so important to our faith and belief in Jesus
as the Savior?

18 PROOF THAT JESUS IS GOD

 Story
NEW LIFE IN COLOMBIA INSIDE
P ablo never heard of Seventh-day Adventists. Pablo was
a leader of the Sikuani people who lived in Colombia.
Pablo was far away from his home when he was invited to
by Andrew McChesney
worship God on the Sabbath.
Someone told Pablo, “This Saturday we will have a m­ eeting.”
Pablo went to the morning meeting and saw that the people
there studied the Bible. Cristian Camilo, a 25-year-old Bible
worker, led the meeting. Pablo went back for the afternoon
meeting, where many people asked questions about the
Bible. Pablo was surprised that Cristian answered every ques-
tion from the Bible.
When Pablo got a chance, he asked Cristian his own ques-
tion. Pablo asked, “What do I need to do to become a member
of the Seventh-day Adventist Church?”
Cristian said, “We can start Bible studies.”
Cristian gave Pablo a set of 20 Bible lessons in the Sikuani
language. Pablo was pleased and asked for lessons for the
rest of his family.
Cristian gave Pablo a Bible and promised to travel to his
community with lessons for his family.
As a Bible worker, Cristian was responsible for a big area
in Colombia. Three months passed before Cristian visited
Pablo. Cristian traveled with two Sikuani Adventists because
he couldn’t find Pablo’s community without their help.
Pablo welcomed Cristian and announced that he finished
studying the 20 Bible lessons. Pablo said he also gave Bible Cristian gave Pablo a set
of 20 Bible lessons in the
studies to his family and the rest of the community. 15 people
Sikuani language.
were ready to be baptized.
Cristian arrived on a Friday. He spent the rest of the day
answering questions about the Bible and deciding if people
were ready to get baptized. When sundown came, Cristian led
the evening worship program.
On Sabbath, Cristian led the community in worship. After
the program, a man said, “There’s a lake nearby.” Another per-
son said, “We want to be baptized right now!” That Sabbath,
five people were baptized, including Pablo, his mother, Pablo’s
two brothers, and one of his sisters-in-law.
Today, Pablo continues giving Bible studies to his people.
Cristian said, “There are many people, the same as Pablo,
who are waiting for someone to tell them about Jesus.”
Thank you for your prayers for Bible workers in Colombia
and elsewhere who are trying to share the Good News about
Jesus with people who don’t know Him. Learn about Adventist
Mission’s work to share the Good News at bit.ly/GMPioneers. Cristian Camilo

Provided by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission, which uses Sabbath School 19
mission offerings to spread the gospel worldwide. Read new stories daily at AdventistMission.org.