Stories from the life of Jesus (page 2)

• The Birth of Jesus
• Jesus Visits the Temple
• Jesus, the Lamb of God
• Satan Tempts Jesus
• Jesus Heals a Paralytic
• Jesus Calms the Storm

• Jesus Heals a Demon Possessed Man
• Peter Declares Jesus as the Savior King
• Parable of the Seed Sower
• Jesus Feeds a Multitude of People
• The Parable of the Wayward Son
• The Parable of the Unforgiving Manager

• Jesus Washes His Disciples' Feet
• Jesus Prays Before His Arrest
• Pilate Presents Jesus to the Crowd
• Jesus is Crucified
• Jesus is Resurrected
• Jesus Ascends

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Simon Peter Declares Jesus the Savior King

Matthew 16:13-23; Mark 8:27-33; Luke 9:18-22  (Scriptural Reference)

As Jesus traveled with His disciples He would teach them and ask them questions so that they could learn about Him and what His purpose on earth was. On one such occasion, Jesus was traveling with His disciples in the villages of a place called Caesarea Philippi, and He asked them a question; "Who do people say that I am?" We could image that because of all the miracles and the things Jesus said, that there were a lot of rumors among the people about who Jesus was. The disciples told Jesus that some people were saying that He was John (the man in story 5 who gave Jesus the holy bath) and others were saying that He was one of the holy men of long ago. But then Jesus asked the disciples an important question, "But who do you say that I am?" Then Simon Peter, one of the disciples, declared, "You are the Savior King, the Son of the Living God." Jesus then told Simon Peter that He was right and that God the Father in Heaven had revealed this to him. But Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about who He really was. From this time on Jesus began to explain to the disciples about who He was and what was going to happen to Him. As He talked to them, He told them that He had to go to the city of Jerusalem and suffer many things from the religious leaders and that He would be killed, but on the third day after His death, He would be raised to life. Simon Peter did not like hearing this so he took Jesus aside and began to rebuke Him saying, "No Lord, this will never happen to You." But Jesus looked at His disciples and said to Peter, "You get away from Me Satan! You are trying to keep Me from doing what the Father wants Me to do. You are not wanting the things of God but the things of men." This was a learning experience for the disciples especially for Simon Peter. Though they knew that Jesus was the Savior King sent by God the Father, they did not know that He would be the Savior who would suffer for the sins of mankind. When they heard that Jesus would suffer and die, it was hard for them to understand. But Jesus knew that His suffering and death had to happen, because that was why He had come and He wanted His disciples to know.

Questions for discussion and thought:

1. Why do you think Simon Peter scolded Jesus for saying that He had to suffer and die?

(Simon Peter like most Jews expected the Savior King to be like a military ruler who would conquer all their enemies and bring peace to their land. But Jesus was talking about His death and Simon Peter did not understand the significance of Jesus' death.)

2. Why did Jesus speak so strongly to Peter after he had rebuked Jesus?

(Jesus knew that He had to suffer for the sins of man and that this was why He had come. Simon Peter was trying to get Jesus to take an easier way and not the way that God wanted. Jesus knew that He needed to teach Simon Peter as well as the other disciples the purpose for His coming to the earth.)

3. What does this story teach us about Jesus' purpose for coming to the earth?

(This story again shows us that Jesus would die for the sins of all and be raised from the dead so that through Him people could have forgiveness of their sins. Jesus knew that He was going to have to suffer but because of His great love for all, He willingly would die.)

4. Who do you say Jesus is?

Comments or Questions?

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The Parable of the Seed Sower

Matthew 13:1-23; Mark 4:1-20  (Scriptural Reference)

The people considered Jesus to be a great teacher because of the way He communicated the truth about God. Sometimes Jesus taught the people by using parables to show truths about God and life. A parable was simply a story that used everyday events to teach a truth. One day Jesus was teaching out by a lake and He told the people a parable related to farming. The culture in Jesus' time was much like that of India in that it was a land of farming. Most of the people knew about cultivating plants, so He told this story to illustrate God's truth. Maybe there were some fields where men were working nearby that the people could see, so Jesus took this opportunity to teach the people an important truth. A farmer went out to sow seeds in his fields and as he was throwing the seeds, some fell along the walking path but the birds came and ate them. Other seeds fell on rocky places and because there was not much soil, the plants grew up quickly but when the sun came out it burned the plants and they withered because they had no deep roots. Still other seeds fell among the thorn bushes, but when they grew up they were choked out by the thorns and did not give any grain. But some seeds fell on good soil and they grew up and produced a crop or grain which multiplied some thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times.  After Jesus told the parable and He was alone with some of His disciples, they asked Him what the parable meant. Jesus had taught the people many things about God and about Himself, so this parable dealt with how people responded to the truth He was sharing. Jesus explained that the farmer is like a person who shares the Word of God with other people and the soils were people's hearts and how they responded to the truth about God. Jesus explained what the four soils meant in this way:

1) Some people are like the seeds that fell along the path and the birds came and ate it. They hear the Word of God but Satan snatches it away. Maybe Satan confuses the person or convinces him/her that it is not true, so they refuse to believe the truth.
2) The seed that fell on the rocky soil is like a person who hears the Word of God and at first thinks it is really great but because it is not in his/her heart it does not last. When trouble or difficulties come because of the Word of God, they quickly change their minds and decide that it is not worth following God.
3) The seed that fell among the thorns is like a person who hears the Word of God but all the troubles of life, greed, and the desire for wealth and fame choke the Word of God and it does not produce results in the person's life.
4) The good soil is the person who hears the Word of God, and receives it, and decides to obey what God says. God produces in him/her His character and he/she finds a fulfilling life that results in others choosing to follow God.

Questions for discussion and thought:

1. What keeps people from obeying or following God's Word?

2. What does a person need to do to prepare his/her heart for receiving God's Word?

3. Which soil describes the way you receive God's truth?

Comments or Questions?

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Jesus Feeds a Multitude of People

Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-15  (Scriptural Reference)

One day Jesus was teaching the people and healing the sick in a city called Bethsaida, a small town on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. Because it was late, the disciples came to Jesus and asked Him to send the people away so they could go to the towns close by and find something to eat since they were in an isolated place. When Jesus saw the huge crowd, He said to Philip, one of His disciples, "Where can we buy bread for all these people?" He asked this question even though He already knew what He was going to do. Philip responded by saying that eight months' wages would not be enough to buy food for all the people. There were 5,000 men not even counting the women and children, so there was a really big crowd. But Andrew, one of the disciples, told Jesus that there was a boy who had five loaves of bread and two small dried fish, but of course he thought that would never be enough. Jesus had the people sit down on the grass in small groups of hundreds and fifties. He took the bread and fish, and after blessing it and thanking God, He began to distribute it to the crowd. Can you imagine what people were thinking? "There will never be enough." "I am in the back of the line, I will never get any." "I should have sat up closer." But to their surprise, everyone was able to eat until they were satisfied. Jesus told the disciples to gather all that was left over and that nothing was to be wasted. They collected twelve basketfuls of food that was not eaten. They collected more than they had had in the beginning.  The people were amazed at what had happened. They called Jesus a Prophet. Many of the people began to follow Jesus only because He had fed them or because He had met their physical needs. But Jesus wanted them to know that more importantly, He desired to meet the spiritual needs of their hearts. Jesus said, "Do not look for the food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval." Jesus said, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty."

Questions for thought and discussion:

1. If you had been with Jesus on this day, what would your thoughts have been as He was feeding all those people with so little? What would your thoughts have been after everyone was fed?

2. What does this miracle teach us about Jesus? 

(This miracle teaches us about how He cares for us and how He provides our needs both physical and spiritual. He is not like an ATM where we can go and buy what ever we want. He knows our needs better than we do and He provides for us accordingly. Jesus is the only one who can satisfy the spiritual hunger in our hearts.)

On another occasion Jesus talked about how God cares for His children:

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"

Comments or Questions?

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The Parable of the Wayward Son

Luke 15:11-32  (Scriptural Reference)

We have all lost or misplaced items that are important to us, and when we do we become restless or hopeless. But when we find them we are happy and joyful. One day Jesus told the people a story about a man who had lost his son. Jesus shared this story in order to teach the people about God's great love. There was a man who had two sons whom he loved very much. But one day the younger son came to his father and said, "Baba, give me my share of the inheritance." So the father divided the inheritance between his two sons. A few days later the younger son gathered everything that belonged to him and went to live on his own in a faraway country. There he wasted all his possessions with uncontrollable spending and wild living. At that time, there came a severe famine in the area and he became hungry, so he went and got a job with a local man feeding pigs. But he became so hungry that he even wanted to eat what the pigs were eating. But no one would give him food. Then he started to think of how his life had been at home. His father had loved him very much and he had never had problems with food. He began to think, "How many of my father's workers have more than enough to eat but I am dying of hunger." Then he thought to himself, "I will go back to my father and say to him, 'Father, I have done wrong against you and I do not deserve to be called your son, so just hire me as a laborer as you do other men.'" So he started back to his father's house. His father had been waiting for him, hoping that he might come back. So when his son was still some distance from the house, the father saw him and had compassion in his heart for him, and he ran to his son and hugged him, welcoming him home. The son said to his father, "Baba, I have been a terrible son and am no longer worthy to be called your son." But the father told his servants to go quickly and bring the best clothes, put a ring on his son's finger, put sandals on his feet, and prepare a celebration, because his son had come home. The father had not known where his son was or whether he was alive or dead, but now he was home. How would you have reacted to one of your children coming back home after having wasted everything that he owned? The older son was in the field working at this time, and when he came back he heard all the noise and celebration. So he asked one of the servants what was happening. The servant told him that his brother had come home and that his father had prepared a celebration. The older son became angry with this and said to his father, "For many years I have been working for you and I have never neglected my duties, yet you have not given me anything to celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours comes home after wasting everything that you gave him, you have a big party." But the father said to his oldest son, "Son, you have always been with me and all that I have is yours, but your brother was lost and now he is found, so we had to celebrate."

Questions for discussion and thought:

1. Have you ever experienced the joy of finding something that you had lost?

2. What were the younger son's thoughts after he found himself so hungry that he wanted to eat what the pigs were eating?

3. What was the father's reaction to his son's return? What was the reaction of the older son?

4. In this story what was Jesus trying to teach us about God's love for us?

(Jesus was teaching that we do not come to God because we are perfect, for that is impossible, but we come to Him because we are imperfect. No human can ever be perfect before God by his own efforts. But when we come to God seeking His forgiveness, because we know that we have sinned, He will welcome us and forgive us. Both the younger and older sons were separated from their father-the younger son, by a long distance and the older son, though he lived in the same place as his father, in his heart he was far from him. The person who is like the younger son and is rebellious needs God's forgiveness, but the person who is like the older son and is a good person or a religious person who performs his duties, also needs God's forgiveness. This is because no one can stand before God and say that he/she has never sinned.

Comments or Questions?

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Matthew 18:21-35  (Scriptural Reference)

One day a disciple named Peter came to Jesus and asked Him, "Lord how many times should I forgive someone who sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered Peter by saying that he should forgive him seventy times seven. In other words, every time one came to him asking forgiveness, he should forgive him.  Jesus then told a parable to teach the disciples about the forgiveness of God and how they should forgive others. Jesus told of a king who wanted to settle all of his accounts with his workers who owed him money. So the workers began to pay off their loans to the king. One worker was brought to the king who owed him the equivalent of about ten million dollars. But the worker did not have the money to pay the debt, so the king was going to have him sold along with his wife, children, and possessions to pay for his debt. The worker begged the king to have mercy on him and asked for patience until he could repay the loan. The king showed compassion on the man and forgave his large debt. The worker then went out and found a fellow worker who owed him a small amount of money and began to demand that he repay the loan. He became so angry with his friend that he grabbed him and began to choke him. The friend began to plead with him to have patience until he repaid him. But the man was unwilling and had his fellow worker thrown in jail until he paid back his loan.  The other workers of the king saw what had happened and went and told the king. The king then called the worker he had forgiven and said, "You wicked man, I forgave you all your debt when you asked me. Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow worker just like I had for you?" Then the king had the man tortured and put in prison until he could pay off his debt.  When He finished the story, Jesus said to His disciples, "So will My heavenly Father also do to you, if each of you do not forgive his brother from your heart."

Questions for discussion and thought:

1. How many times do you think you should forgive someone?

2. Do think God should forgive you if you are not willing to forgive others?

3. Can we forgive others without God's help?

4. What does this parable teach us about God's forgiveness?

(We are like the worker who owed a tremendous amount of money to the king because we have an enormous debt with God because of our sin. A debt of sin that cannot be repaid. But when we come to God in humbleness and seeking His forgiveness, He will forgive us even though we do not deserve it.)

5. What does this parable teach us about our need to forgive others?

(If we have received God's forgiveness we should return that forgiveness to others. Compared to the enormity of the sin God forgives us, the sin that others have committed against us is small. Therefore we should be more than willing to forgive others.)

Comments or Questions?

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