Know: Study how the substitutionary death of Christ on the cross provides the ultimate answer to all questions of human suffering.
Feel: Appreciate the suffering that God went through when He saw His Son suffering on the cross.
Do: Live the life of the redeemed, modeled on the life of Christ.
Learning Outline:
Know: Christ’s Substitutionary Death
A How does Christ’s death at Calvary relate to the suffering of Job?
B Why is it only the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ that makes it possible for us to be saved?
Feel: The Father and Son at the Cross
A Was the Cross just a well-enacted universal spectacle with a known outcome, or was there real suffering? Discuss.
B Is it possible for God to suffer? Why, or why not?
Do: Living the Redeemed Life
A How are we transformed in our suffering by knowing, as Job did, that our Redeemer lives?
B How can we live the life of the redeemed even in the midst of suffering?
Summary: Long before Jesus came to live and to die for us, Job knew that his Redeemer lived. We are now looking back at the Cross some two thousand years later. From this vantage point, we understand the substitutionary death of our Redeemer, whose suffering encompasses the total sum of all sufferings and sorrows that this world’s generations have and will ever live. This saving knowledge leads us, through our sufferings, into the life of the redeemed.
Learning Cycle
STEP 1—Motivate
Spotlight on Scripture: Job 19:25 and 1 Corinthians 15:20
Key Concept for Spiritual Growth: Job’s knowledge of his Redeemer involved looking more than two thousand years into the future, fixing his hope on the fact that his Redeemer was living. Two thousand years after the Cross, we still base our hope on the risen Savior, this time in hindsight and with a fuller understanding of Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross. It is this knowledge of the divine suffering that provides a resolution to our human suffering.
Just for Teachers: The passage in Job 19:25–27 ends with a heart-wrenching exclamation: “ ‘How my heart yearns within me!’ ” (NKJV). For Job, the discussion about suffering was not an abstract theological debate in a circle of friends on a Sabbath morning during Sabbath School time. In all our discussion, let’s not forget that this is an existential outcry of a tormented soul who fixes his only hope on the Redeemer. One can only hope for similar yearnings in our Sabbath School classes.
Opening Discussion: George Frederic Handel (1685–1759) is best known for the Messiah, which is probably one of the most revered pieces of religious classical music in Western civilization. The oratory was first performed in Dublin in 1742, and one year later, in London, after having been composed in only 24 days. Just before his death in 1759, Handel expressed his wish to be buried in Westminster Abbey in London. His grave can still be found in the South Transept, which is known as Poets’ Corner. Above his grave on the walls of the church, a monument by the artist Roubiliac was installed, showing a life-sized statue of Handel, surrounded by instruments and a harp-playing angel, as well as an open score of the Messiah oratory.
In front of the statue of Handel there is the open music score of the soprano aria from the oratory, “I Know That My Redeemer Liveth”; the index finger of Handel’s statue points exactly at the words that formed the very basis of Job’s hope in the resurrection. The text of this inspirational piece of music is drawn from Job 19:25, 26 and 1 Corinthians 15:21, 22. The sculptor perfectly captured the essence of Handel’s Messiah in centering it on Job’s hope of his Redeemer. While the following question might be a bit morbid, it is nevertheless important: What Bible verse would you like to see on your stone of remembrance?
STEP 2—Explore
Just for Teachers: Throughout the Bible there is an intricate connection between creation and re-creation. The need for re-creation is founded in the fall of humanity (Genesis 3), which resulted in a de-creation, the undoing of creation. Jeremiah 4:23–26 describes this reversal of creation in vivid language. The prophets especially resorted often to creation language in order to express humanity’s need for re-creation, or restoration (for example, Isa. 44:24, Jer. 10:12–16). Therefore, the manifestation of God the Creator in Job 38 and 39 leads Job to the recognition of his own sinfulness, which drives him right into the arms of the Redeemer.
Bible Commentary
The Redeemer and His life and death on earth have been foreshadowed typologically in the Old Testament. Typology can be defined as the study of various persons, events, or institutions in salvation history, which God specifically designed to predictively prefigure their antitypical eschatological fulfillment in Christ and the gospel realities brought about by Christ. Commentators debate whether or not Job, by referring to the Redeemer, had a concept of the Messiah. But one should not underestimate the theological prophetic competency of the Old Testament people, as the Messiah had been promised since the Fall in Eden (compare Gen. 3:15).
The Goel (Review Job 19:25 and Luke 2:11 with the class.)
The Hebrew word goel, which is translated as “redeemer” in Job 19:25, is one of the most important words in the Old Testament to describe God’s work of salvation in terms of a human institution that provided a legal way out of social misery. It is one of the keywords in the story of Ruth and Boaz. The goel or “parental redeemer” appears 10 times in Ruth (Ruth 2:20; 3:9, 12, 13; 4:1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 14), a book with only four chapters, and therefore serves as an important keyword in the book.
In some contexts in the Old Testament, goel is used with God as subject. It is He who redeems (Exod. 15:13), and it is a divine epithet in the book of Psalms (Ps. 19:14, 69:18, 72:14, 74:2, and so on). But the term also is used in connection with human beings in a legal context, which provides the original context (see Leviticus 25:23–34, in the context of the law of redemption; Numbers 5:8, in the context of the law of restitution; Numbers 35:12, 19, 21, 24, 25, 27, in connection with cities of refuge, where it translates goel as “avenger”). But it is important to remember that the saving element always accompanied the legal requirements in the Old Testament. For example, in Isaiah 49:26, 60:16, and 63:9, this pairing occurs side by side with the Hebrew word for “save.”
In the Messianic typology, Jesus Christ is the goel and fulfills the required legal conditions: (1) He must be a blood relative (Ruth 2:20)—Christ became human; (2) He must have the means to purchase the estate (Ruth 4:10)—only Christ could pay the price for sinners; (3) He must be willing to buy the estate (Ruth 4:9)—just as Christ laid down His life willingly; and (4) He must be willing to marry the deceased relative’s wife (Ruth 4:10)—the husband-and-wife relationship points to the bond between Christ and His church.
Consider This: How does Christ, as the goel, fulfill the required legal conditions? Which aspect of the goel do you find the most appealing to your own life situation?
II. Divine Suffering (Review Luke 9:22 and Matthew 27:46 with the class.)
When Jesus cries out in anguish on the cross, “ ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’ ” (Matt. 27:46, NKJV), He is feeling a separation from His Father that the combined sins of this world have caused (2 Cor. 5:21). Satan appears to have won at last. Christ hangs between heaven and earth in the center of three crosses on Calvary. The disciples who have dared to follow their teacher up to this moment watch as their hopes dissolve amid the sufferings of the Son of God. The triumph of evil seems perfect. Nature hides itself in the darkness and suffers together with its Creator. Even God seems to be silent. This must be the ultimate suffering.
Yet, there is another perspective to this depressing scene, as captured by Ellen G. White: “With amazement angels witnessed the Saviour’s despairing agony. The hosts of heaven veiled their faces from the fearful sight. Inanimate nature expressed sympathy with its insulted and dying Author. The sun refused to look upon the awful scene. Its full, bright rays were illuminating the earth at midday, when suddenly it seemed to be blotted out. Complete darkness, like a funeral pall, enveloped the cross. ‘There was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.’ . . . In that thick darkness God’s presence was hidden. . . . God and His holy angels were beside the cross. The Father was with His Son.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, pp. 753, 754. The Father suffered with His Son, and the combined divine suffering constitutes the turning point in the plan of salvation that made it possible for humankind to return to God. All human suffering finds its resolution in this moment.
Consider This: Think deeply about the suffering of God at Calvary. What perspective does it give you on your own suffering?
III. Christ Our Substitute (Review Isaiah 53:1–6 and Galatians 3:13, 4:19 with the class.)
Christ’s life serves as a model for our life, and we aspire to live like Him. However, mere aspiration does not provide salvation. Only Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross grants us salvation. The atonement is accomplished only by Christ’s taking the place that I should have taken, in making my sin His sin, and in making His righteousness my righteousness.
Consider This: Why is it crucially important to emphasize the substitutionary character of Christ’s sacrifice?
STEP 3—Apply
Just for Teachers: This lesson study is full of the gospel: Jesus Christ as our Substitute and Redeemer. We need to move through a theological understanding to a practical application of this truth.
Thought/Application Questions:
How do examples of a substitute in the human sphere illustrate what Christ did for us on the cross?
What were the moments in your life when Jesus, as your Redeemer, became most precious to you?
STEP 4—Create
Just for Teachers: This lesson started with the powerful image of the Redeemer who provides hope beyond death and will end with it as well.
Class/Individual Activities:
Listen as a class, or on your own, to a recording of Handel’s Messiah and especially to the aria, “I Know That My Redeemer Liveth.”
Plan with your church choir to perform parts of Handel’s Messiah in a venue where people need hope.
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Key Texts: Job 19:25–27
The Student Will:
Learning Outline:
Summary: Long before Jesus came to live and to die for us, Job knew that his Redeemer lived. We are now looking back at the Cross some two thousand years later. From this vantage point, we understand the substitutionary death of our Redeemer, whose suffering encompasses the total sum of all sufferings and sorrows that this world’s generations have and will ever live. This saving knowledge leads us, through our sufferings, into the life of the redeemed.
Learning Cycle
STEP 1—Motivate
Spotlight on Scripture: Job 19:25 and 1 Corinthians 15:20
Key Concept for Spiritual Growth: Job’s knowledge of his Redeemer involved looking more than two thousand years into the future, fixing his hope on the fact that his Redeemer was living. Two thousand years after the Cross, we still base our hope on the risen Savior, this time in hindsight and with a fuller understanding of Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross. It is this knowledge of the divine suffering that provides a resolution to our human suffering.
Just for Teachers: The passage in Job 19:25–27 ends with a heart-wrenching exclamation: “ ‘How my heart yearns within me!’ ” (NKJV). For Job, the discussion about suffering was not an abstract theological debate in a circle of friends on a Sabbath morning during Sabbath School time. In all our discussion, let’s not forget that this is an existential outcry of a tormented soul who fixes his only hope on the Redeemer. One can only hope for similar yearnings in our Sabbath School classes.
Opening Discussion: George Frederic Handel (1685–1759) is best known for the Messiah, which is probably one of the most revered pieces of religious classical music in Western civilization. The oratory was first performed in Dublin in 1742, and one year later, in London, after having been composed in only 24 days. Just before his death in 1759, Handel expressed his wish to be buried in Westminster Abbey in London. His grave can still be found in the South Transept, which is known as Poets’ Corner. Above his grave on the walls of the church, a monument by the artist Roubiliac was installed, showing a life-sized statue of Handel, surrounded by instruments and a harp-playing angel, as well as an open score of the Messiah oratory.
In front of the statue of Handel there is the open music score of the soprano aria from the oratory, “I Know That My Redeemer Liveth”; the index finger of Handel’s statue points exactly at the words that formed the very basis of Job’s hope in the resurrection. The text of this inspirational piece of music is drawn from Job 19:25, 26 and 1 Corinthians 15:21, 22. The sculptor perfectly captured the essence of Handel’s Messiah in centering it on Job’s hope of his Redeemer. While the following question might be a bit morbid, it is nevertheless important: What Bible verse would you like to see on your stone of remembrance?
STEP 2—Explore
Just for Teachers: Throughout the Bible there is an intricate connection between creation and re-creation. The need for re-creation is founded in the fall of humanity (Genesis 3), which resulted in a de-creation, the undoing of creation. Jeremiah 4:23–26 describes this reversal of creation in vivid language. The prophets especially resorted often to creation language in order to express humanity’s need for re-creation, or restoration (for example, Isa. 44:24, Jer. 10:12–16). Therefore, the manifestation of God the Creator in Job 38 and 39 leads Job to the recognition of his own sinfulness, which drives him right into the arms of the Redeemer.
Bible Commentary
The Redeemer and His life and death on earth have been foreshadowed typologically in the Old Testament. Typology can be defined as the study of various persons, events, or institutions in salvation history, which God specifically designed to predictively prefigure their antitypical eschatological fulfillment in Christ and the gospel realities brought about by Christ. Commentators debate whether or not Job, by referring to the Redeemer, had a concept of the Messiah. But one should not underestimate the theological prophetic competency of the Old Testament people, as the Messiah had been promised since the Fall in Eden (compare Gen. 3:15).
The Hebrew word goel, which is translated as “redeemer” in Job 19:25, is one of the most important words in the Old Testament to describe God’s work of salvation in terms of a human institution that provided a legal way out of social misery. It is one of the keywords in the story of Ruth and Boaz. The goel or “parental redeemer” appears 10 times in Ruth (Ruth 2:20; 3:9, 12, 13; 4:1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 14), a book with only four chapters, and therefore serves as an important keyword in the book.
In some contexts in the Old Testament, goel is used with God as subject. It is He who redeems (Exod. 15:13), and it is a divine epithet in the book of Psalms (Ps. 19:14, 69:18, 72:14, 74:2, and so on). But the term also is used in connection with human beings in a legal context, which provides the original context (see Leviticus 25:23–34, in the context of the law of redemption; Numbers 5:8, in the context of the law of restitution; Numbers 35:12, 19, 21, 24, 25, 27, in connection with cities of refuge, where it translates goel as “avenger”). But it is important to remember that the saving element always accompanied the legal requirements in the Old Testament. For example, in Isaiah 49:26, 60:16, and 63:9, this pairing occurs side by side with the Hebrew word for “save.”
In the Messianic typology, Jesus Christ is the goel and fulfills the required legal conditions: (1) He must be a blood relative (Ruth 2:20)—Christ became human; (2) He must have the means to purchase the estate (Ruth 4:10)—only Christ could pay the price for sinners; (3) He must be willing to buy the estate (Ruth 4:9)—just as Christ laid down His life willingly; and (4) He must be willing to marry the deceased relative’s wife (Ruth 4:10)—the husband-and-wife relationship points to the bond between Christ and His church.
Consider This: How does Christ, as the goel, fulfill the required legal conditions? Which aspect of the goel do you find the most appealing to your own life situation?
When Jesus cries out in anguish on the cross, “ ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’ ” (Matt. 27:46, NKJV), He is feeling a separation from His Father that the combined sins of this world have caused (2 Cor. 5:21). Satan appears to have won at last. Christ hangs between heaven and earth in the center of three crosses on Calvary. The disciples who have dared to follow their teacher up to this moment watch as their hopes dissolve amid the sufferings of the Son of God. The triumph of evil seems perfect. Nature hides itself in the darkness and suffers together with its Creator. Even God seems to be silent. This must be the ultimate suffering.
Yet, there is another perspective to this depressing scene, as captured by Ellen G. White: “With amazement angels witnessed the Saviour’s despairing agony. The hosts of heaven veiled their faces from the fearful sight. Inanimate nature expressed sympathy with its insulted and dying Author. The sun refused to look upon the awful scene. Its full, bright rays were illuminating the earth at midday, when suddenly it seemed to be blotted out. Complete darkness, like a funeral pall, enveloped the cross. ‘There was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.’ . . . In that thick darkness God’s presence was hidden. . . . God and His holy angels were beside the cross. The Father was with His Son.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, pp. 753, 754. The Father suffered with His Son, and the combined divine suffering constitutes the turning point in the plan of salvation that made it possible for humankind to return to God. All human suffering finds its resolution in this moment.
Consider This: Think deeply about the suffering of God at Calvary. What perspective does it give you on your own suffering?
Christ’s life serves as a model for our life, and we aspire to live like Him. However, mere aspiration does not provide salvation. Only Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross grants us salvation. The atonement is accomplished only by Christ’s taking the place that I should have taken, in making my sin His sin, and in making His righteousness my righteousness.
Consider This: Why is it crucially important to emphasize the substitutionary character of Christ’s sacrifice?
STEP 3—Apply
Just for Teachers: This lesson study is full of the gospel: Jesus Christ as our Substitute and Redeemer. We need to move through a theological understanding to a practical application of this truth.
Thought/Application Questions:
How do examples of a substitute in the human sphere illustrate what Christ did for us on the cross?What were the moments in your life when Jesus, as your Redeemer, became most precious to you?STEP 4—Create
Just for Teachers: This lesson started with the powerful image of the Redeemer who provides hope beyond death and will end with it as well.
Class/Individual Activities: