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Stories from the life of Jesus |
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Luke 2:1-20 (Scriptural Reference) During the time that Mary was pregnant the ruler of the Roman Empire, Caesar Augustus, decided that a census should be taken of the whole Roman world. So everyone was to go to the city of his or her birth to register and pay taxes. Because Joseph, Mary's fiancé, was from Bethlehem, they would have to travel there in order to register. Bethlehem was about 120 kilometers south of Nazareth where they were living. At this time, Mary was about 9 months pregnant and would have to travel this great distance not by train or plane, but by a donkey. After the long journey, they arrived in Bethlehem only to find that all of the hotels and guesthouses were full because so many people had come to the city. The only place that was available to stay was a dirty, smelly shelter where the animals were kept. It was here that Mary gave birth to Jesus. After he was born, she wrapped Him up in a cloth and placed Him on hay where the animals ate. Instead of a baby crib, the Son of God was placed in a feeding trough. There was no large procession, no big band, nor big national celebration. But in that humble place, God chose for His Son to be born. Mary and Joseph were the only ones who knew of this great event, but God wanted others to know. He did not go to the rulers or kings, but He sent an angel to a group of shepherds to tell them about the birth of His Son. These men were out in a field at night watching over their sheep, when an angel appeared to them. They were terrified. Imagine being out in a dark field with only the stars as light and an angel appearing to you. The angel, knowing they were afraid, said to them, "Do not be afraid, because I am going to tell you some good news that will bring great joy to everyone. In Bethlehem, a Savior has been born. He is the Savior King, the Lord." The angel gave them a sign so that they would know that this child was the Son of God. They would find the baby wrapped in a cloth and lying in a feeding trough. And with this, a great number of angels appeared, filling the sky and worshipping God saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." After the angels left, the shepherds rushed off to the city to see what had happened. When they arrived, they found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in the feeding trough just as the Lord had told them through the angel. After seeing the baby, they told others about what they had seen and returned to the fields praising and worshipping God. Questions for Discussion and Thought: 1. How do we celebrate the birth of the first child to a couple? (We can imagine that Mary and Joseph were extremely excited about the birth of their first son. But there were no family or friends at the birth of Jesus, only animals and low status shepherds. But God sent thousands of angels on this great occasion.)
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Luke 2:41-52 (Scriptural Reference) Religious Festivals in this country are important to families especially when a child experiences them for the first time, like Diwali or Holi. The Jewish culture is similar with different ceremonies that take place in the life of the child in its early years. For Jesus this was true as well. One important ceremony was when he was 8 days old and was taken to the Jewish temple in Jerusalem to be presented to the Lord. At this ceremony He would have been circumcised and given the name Jesus just as the angel had told them. Probably the most important Jewish religious festival for a male child was when he attended his first Passover festival at the age of twelve. This was an ancient Jewish festival to commemorate when God freed the people of Israel from captivity in Egypt. Hundreds of years before Jesus was born the people of Israel had been in slavery under the rule of Egypt for about four hundred years, but God would deliver them. In order to convince the Egyptian ruler that they should release the people of Israel, God sent ten plagues on the people of Egypt. With each subsequent plague that was sent, the severity increased but the Ruler still refused to let the people go. The last plague was the most severe which was the killing of the first-born male child in every Egyptian family. The people of Israel were given instructions to follow in order to escape this terrible plague. The people were to kill a lamb and put its blood over the doorpost of their houses so that the Angel of death would pass over their houses as it went across the land of Egypt. So by the command of God, every year after this historical event the Jewish people have conducted this festival to remember how God had delivered them hundreds of years ago. The Passover celebration is now celebrated either in the month of March or April. When Jesus was twelve years old He went with His family to Jerusalem to celebrate this great festival. The family would travel from Nazareth to Jerusalem with a group of friends and family. When they arrived the city would be crowded with Jews from all over the country. People would be rushing about making purchases for the festival and buying a lamb that would be sacrificed for the sins of the family. Jesus' family would also have made preparations for this celebration, especially this being the first Passover for Jesus. Jesus would have experienced the purchasing of the lamb, the going to the temple, and the sacrificing of the lamb for the sins of the family. After the festival was over Joseph and Mary began their journey back to Nazareth but they did not know that Jesus had stayed in Jerusalem. Because they were traveling in a large group they supposed that Jesus was traveling with a relative or a friend. After one day's journey they began to search for Jesus among the group but could not locate Him, so they returned to Jerusalem in order to find Him. When they arrived in the city they spent three days looking for Him and found Him in the temple with the religious teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone including Joseph and Mary were amazed at His understanding of the scriptures and the answers He gave. Mary like any parent asked Jesus why He had done this and did He not know that they had been anxiously looking for Him. Jesus' response showed that even at the age of twelve He was aware of what purpose God the Father had given Him. He said to His parents, "Did you not know that I had to be in My Father's house?" (Luke 2:49) Mary and Joseph did not understand the meaning of what He had said. After this He returned to Nazareth with them and continued in obedience to them. Even as a child Jesus knew that His Father was God, and He knew what the purpose of His life was. He showed great wisdom of the Holy Scriptures at an early age and knew that they spoke of Him. He knew that He had come to be the Savior of the world and that He would be the final sacrificial lamb for the sins of the world. Questions for discussion and thought: 1. What is the meaning of the Jewish festival of Passover? (See above) 2. What is the significance of this story in the life of Jesus and His purpose on the Earth? (Jesus was aware of who His Father was and what His mission was. He would become the Lamb of God that would be sacrificed for the sins of the world.) |
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Matthew 3:13-17; Luke 3:1-22; John 1:29-37 (Scriptural Reference) When Jesus was about thirty years old He began to be more public in what His Father had sent Him to do. Eighteen years had passed since He went to Jerusalem to celebrate His first Passover festival at the age of twelve. It was now time for Jesus to begin to fulfill the purpose for which He had come. Jesus had a cousin by the name of John who was born six months before He was, who had a divine purpose in relation to Jesus. John was born to a couple named Zacharias and Elizabeth a cousin of Mary. John was about thirty years old when he began to tell people that God was going to send someone who would be the Savior of the world. At this time John did not know that it was Jesus. John was a man who lived like a sadhu in the wilderness eating a simple diet of honey and locust and wore simple clothes. Many people; religious leaders, Roman tax collectors, Roman soldiers, came to John because they saw him as a holy man and were asking him what they should do. His message to the people was to prepare themselves spiritually for the coming of the Savior King sent by God. He told them to change the way they were living, to stop breaking God's commands, to confess their sins, to seek God's forgiveness, and to take a holy bath in the river to symbolize the cleansing they desired from God. Many people would ask John if he were the one God had sent to be the Savior of the world, but John told them that he was not. He told them that he was not even worthy enough to untie the shoelaces of the One who was coming. John said that he only gave a holy bath in water but when the Savior King would come, He would give true cleansing and forgiveness of sins, because He would immerse people in the Holy Spirit of God. John was often giving people this holy bath in a river called the Jordan River. The Jordan River runs North and South the length of Palestine. It runs through the Sea of Galilee and ends in the Dead Sea. One day while John was at the Jordan, he saw Jesus coming towards him and he said to the crowd, "Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." (John 1:29) He told them that this was the One about whom he had said, "After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me." (John 1:30) John told them that Jesus was the One he had told them about. Jesus came to John and asked to take the holy dip. John told Jesus that He should be giving the holy bath to him. Though Jesus did not need the holy bath because of sin, because Jesus had no sin, He persuaded John to give Him this bath to show His obedience to the Father. After being dipped in the water the heavens were opened and the Spirit of God came down like a dove on Jesus and then a voice from Heaven said, "This is My beloved Son and I am very pleased with Him." (Luke 3:17),After this, John gave witness that Jesus was the Son of God. Questions for discussion and thought: 1. What was John's purpose in relation to Jesus? (He was to lead people to Jesus. He was not to direct people to himself, but to the One that God was sending. He was to call people to return to God and seek His forgiveness.)
4. Why did John call Jesus the Lamb of God? (Because Jesus would be that perfect sacrifice for the sin of the world) |
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Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13 (Scriptural Reference) We are all tempted at times to do the wrong things, to compromise our ethical principles or the moral standards we were taught and there have been occasions when we have given in to these temptations and committed sin. Jesus, too, was tempted to do wrong but he never gave in, he never sinned. (Hebrews 4:15). After Jesus was given the holy bath, the Spirit of God led him into a wilderness for the purpose of being tempted by Satan, God's enemy. While in the desert Jesus went without food for forty days and forty nights and Satan tempted Him during this time. Satan or the devil was Jesus' enemy and did not want Him to succeed in becoming the Savior King for all nations and all people. When the forty days had passed, Jesus became hungry and Satan said to Him, "If you really are the Son of God, why don't you turn these stones into bread?" (Matthew 4:3) This was something that Jesus could do, but He answered Satan by quoting God' Word, "It is written, Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4) Satan wanted Jesus to use His divine powers selfishly instead of modeling how a human being can rely on God the most High, but Jesus refused. Satan again came to Jesus and took Him to the top of the Temple in Jerusalem and said to Him, "If you are the Son of God, jump off this high place because the Scriptures say that the angels will protect you." Jesus responded by saying, "That is true, but the Holy Scriptures also say that you are not to put God to the test." (Matthew 4:7) Satan wanted Jesus to test God to see if He was really faithful to His word. Jesus said that we were not to test God by doing something in order to make God prove He is faithful or good. For a third time, Satan tempted Jesus by taking Him to a high mountain and showing Him all the kingdoms of the world, and telling Him that he would give all of these to Him, if He would only knell before Satan and worship him. Jesus again refused by reminding Satan of what God said in the Holy Scriptures, "It is written, you will worship the Lord your God and serve Him only." (Matthew 4:10)After Jesus had been tempted with every temptation, Satan left Him. Then angels came and cared for Jesus' needs. Jesus met His enemy and even though He was weakened from going without food for forty days, He resisted the enemy's temptations. Satan wanted Jesus to take the easy way out by not dying as the Sacrificial Lamb for the sins of the world. He wanted Jesus to worship him and not listen to God His Father. But Jesus chose to fully submit to the Father and fulfill the purpose for which He was born. Jesus refused to bow before any spiritual being no matter how powerful, except His Father, the Lord most High. Jesus knew that there was no other way to save people from their sins but to pay the ultimate price, the giving of His life. Questions for discussion and thought: 1. Why do you think the Spirit of God led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted? (By going through these temptations, Jesus can help us when we are tempted. He understands what it is like to be tempted. Jesus was tempted as we are sometimes, but He never sinned. Jesus is our model of how to rely on God the Father when we face temptation.) 2. What was Satan's purpose in tempting Jesus? (Satan wanted Jesus to follow a different plan than what His Father had laid out for Him. Satan is the enemy of God and us and is always trying to get us to do the opposite of what God wants. His purpose is to destroy us and steal our lives. He was trying to do the same with Jesus. He had tried to kill Jesus when He was a baby by using King Herod of Judea to destroy all the young male babies at that time but God thwarted his plan. (Matthew 2:13-23) Jesus is more powerful than Satan. 3. How did Jesus respond to each temptation of Satan's? (He responded by repeating what His Father had said in the Bible. Satan is always trying to deceive us, even by using God's word, but twisting it to make it a half-truth. Jesus knew Satan's evil plan and refused to listen to Him. Jesus defeated Satan.) |
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Matthew 9:1-8; Mark 2:1-12; Luke 5:17-26 (Scriptural Reference) As you have already learned, there were large groups of people that followed Jesus wherever He was because of His miracles and teaching. On one occasion, Jesus was in the city of Capernaum teaching God's word to the people and performing miracles. So many people had gathered to hear Him that there was no room left in the home where He was, not even outside the door. While Jesus was inside the house some men came bringing a paralyzed friend on a stretcher. They wanted to bring their friend to Jesus in order that He might heal him. When they got to the house where Jesus was, it was so crowded, that they were not able to enter the house. Therefore the men decided to go up on top of the house and lower their friend through the roof. Now you want to ask, "how could they lower him through the roof?" Could you imagine someone digging a hole in your rooftop in order to lower a friend down to the middle of your living room? Evidently, during this time the roofs of the houses were made out of some kind of clay or mud tiles so it was possible for these men to make a hole large enough to lower their friend. After making the hole, the men lowered the paralytic right in the center of the room in front of Jesus. There was probably complete silence in the room. After seeing that these men believed that He could heal the man, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, "Your sins are forgiven." There may have been some puzzled looks on people's faces after Jesus said this to a man who wanted to be healed. Present in the crowd were some religious leaders who had come from different villages in Galilee, Judea, and the city of Jerusalem and they began to reason and talk among themselves about what Jesus had just said. They were thinking, "He is cursing God. Only God can forgive sins. Why is he talking like this?" But Jesus knew what they were thinking in their hearts, so He said to them, "Why are you thinking these things in your heart? Which would be easier to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven' or 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? (Which would be easier to say?) Then Jesus said to them, "so that you may know that I have authority on earth to forgive sins", He said to the paralyzed man, "Get up, take your mat and go home." Immediately the man got up, took his mat and went home in full view of everyone. The people of course were amazed and praised God and began saying that they had never seen anything like this. Jesus had not only healed the man but also had forgiven his sins. Jesus had the authority to heal the man and forgive his sins. Questions for Discussion and Thought: 1. Why did these men go to so much trouble to bring their friend to Jesus? (They knew that Jesus had the power to heal him.) 2. Why did Jesus first tell the paralyzed man, "Your sins are forgiven"? (The greatest need of this man's life was spiritual not physical. His greatest need was the forgiveness of his sins. The men knew Jesus not only as a healer but as the Savior of the world who would take away people's sin.) 3. Why did the religious leaders say that Jesus was cursing God by His saying that the man's sins were forgiven? (They said only God could forgive sins. They did not accept Jesus' authority and power to forgive sin.) 4. What did Jesus want to show the people by telling the man to get up and take his mat? (That He had the power to heal diseases and forgive sin.) 5. Do you think Jesus has the authority and power to forgive your sins? (Jesus has that authority and power because He was the perfect sacrifice for your sins) |
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Matthew 8:23-27; Mark 4:35-41; Luke 8:22-25 (Scriptural Reference) Jesus did a lot of His teaching and traveling around a large body of water called the Sea or Lake of Galilee. From time to time He would travel across the Sea with His disciples. This Sea was known to be dangerous because storms would come up without warning and boats would get caught in the middle of the Sea. One evening, after having finished a day of teaching and performing miracles, Jesus decided to sail to the other side of the Sea with His disciples. After entering the boat Jesus went to the stern of the boat (the back of the boat) and fell asleep on a cushion. While they were going across, a furious storm came up on the Sea so that the waves were sweeping across the boat so much that it was in danger of sinking. The disciples were trying everything to keep the boat afloat but probably felt hopeless facing this storm. They may have also been thinking, "How could Jesus sleep during a storm like this?" The disciples thinking that all hope was gone, went and woke Jesus up and said to Him, "Lord save us, we are going to drown?" Then Jesus got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" then the wind died down and it became completely calm. He then said to His disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" The disciples then began to talk among themselves asking one another with fear and amazement, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him." Questions for discussion and thought: 1. How could Jesus fall asleep while
on a boat in a big storm? 2. Why would Jesus say to His disciples,
"why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" 3. The disciples asked the question
about Jesus after He had calmed the Sea, "Who is this?" What
does this story tell us about who Jesus is?
4. If Jesus can calm the natural storms that occur, can He not calm the personal storms in our lives? |
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