Partakers Christian Podcasts

Jesus - A Glimpse Of God Part 11

 

 11. Jesus Calls Levi and Eats With Sinners

Mark 2:13-17 Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. As he walked along, he saw Levi (Matthew) son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him. While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

At the start of this chapter, Mark 2, we see Jesus’ proclaiming that he is able to forgive sins – much to the consternation of some members of the religious establishment who accused Jesus of blasphemy as only God can forgive sins! Jesus here cured a man’s soul as well as healing his physical ailment. Jesus calls himself there, the Son of Man – meaning that while he is fully God, he is also fully human!

This Jesus, the Son of Man, in this passage is walking out around the lake. He sees a tax collector sitting in his booth waiting to collect taxes from people. Jesus calls to him to leave his business and follow him! At which Levi, who we know as Matthew (the writer of the Gospel with the same name), promptly does so. Again much to the indignation of the religious zealots, because tax collectors were despised. They were despised not just for co-operating with the gentile Romans but also because they usually collected more than they were legally allowed to, and kept the excess for themselves.

That Jesus chose one of these people to be his disciple or follower was an amazing thing to do! Most people chose followers who didn’t have a hint of scandal about them, certainly not a tax collector! But not Jesus – he chose people to follow him including those who were scandalous and down-trodden. This shows the inordinate grace and wisdom of Jesus. Grace which calls such a sinful person as Matthew and a wisdom to call a man who spoke both Greek and Aramaic as Matthew did. He knew they could be transformed by the work of God!

As he started to follow Jesus, Matthew left everything behind to serve Jesus. Matthew didn’t choose Jesus – Jesus chose him! WOW! Jesus appealed to Matthew to follow him but did not force him. Jesus loved Matthew. Love can be compelling and appealing but love never forces against the will. Jesus will compel you to follow and obey, but He will never force you to do something against your own will. In response to the indignation of the religious establishment, Jesus states clearly that his mission is to call those who acknowledge their sinfulness – unlike those of the religious establishment who were hypocrites. In Matthew’s account of this story Jesus quotes Hosea 6:6 “I desire mercy, not sacrifice!” The religious establishment including the Pharisees were mainly devoid of mercy, yet kept the law and its sacrifices obediently. Such people as tax collectors where shunned by the Pharisees. Yet Jesus, the Son of Man, embraced such people and called upon them to leave their sinful life behind. Jesus forgave Matthew of his sins and reached out to him with love – just as Jesus still does today.

I am a follower of Jesus. I have been now for almost 40 years and He has never failed me. Even when I have failed him! Are you following this Jesus? He is calling you to follow Him out of his love for you. His love compels you, but He won’t force you to follow, as that would not be love. Jesus leaves the choice with you. Follow or not!

Come back tomorrow for Day 12 of our series AGOG, as we continue to look together at that extraordinary man, Jesus Christ, through the Gospel accounts! We will see together, Jesus teaching something new to one of the teachers of the Law! See you soon!

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Jesus - A Glimpse Of God Part 10

Jesus’ in his hometown

 

We are on Day 10 of our adventure, looking together at the life of the most amazing person in human history - Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

Luke 4:16-22 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.

 

Jesus is now back in the place where he grew up – Nazareth. It is the Sabbath, so he goes to the local synagogue for public worship, as was his custom.He is passed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, deliberately finds the passage he wants and reads it. Then passes the scroll back to the attendant. As the eyes of the people in attendance were watching him, Jesus says “Today this has been fulfilled…” They knew that this passage was about the long waited for Messiah – its what the religious teachers had taught them.

This is Jesus’ mission statement. This is what Jesus’ life and teaching will encompass.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me – This shows that Jesus is not acting by any authority but commissioned by God’s alone. He is guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit, as we saw when we learnt about Jesus’ baptism earlier in the series. And why is the Spirit of the Lord upon him? Jesus was commissioned to be a great prophet and preacher! Because Jesus has been appointed to bring good news to the poor and impoverished of spirit and heart, the fed up, those imprisoned, blind and battered – those that are in need of healing – physical and spiritual. Jesus was to bring light into darkness, to rescue those who are bereft of salvation my any means but Himself. Jesus’ gospel was good news because it gives hope to the poor in spirit, to heal those in need, to bring freedom to those held captive by sin and to shine light upon those sitting in the dark prison of sin.

The year of Jubilee was the year of the Lord’s favour! It is described in Leviticus 25! On every 7th year was a Sabbatical year and the land was allowed to rest and every 50th year was the Year of Jubilee. Slaves set free to be returned to their families, sold property returned to their original owners and debts cancelled. The Lord was to be rejoiced in greatly! Jesus applied all this to his mission, not politically or economically, but spiritually and physically. WOW! Jesus didn’t just affirm that passage from Isaiah, but claimed to have fulfilled it. He fulfilled it by starting his public ministry.

Jesus mission was to let people know that the God to whom they were separated from, was willing to be reconciled with them. We will see later in the series how he did that!

The people in the synagogue were amazed by what Jesus had said! This was Jesus – Joseph’s son! WOW! Their amazement though soon turned to contempt when Jesus put some application to them.

Jesus anticipates now an objection! He knows their hearts and minds behind the façade. Almost as if to say, “Well you know me as Joseph’s son, one of your neighbours you will now ask why I haven’t done any miracles here like I did at Capernaum! If you are a physician, Jesus, why not do some healing here amongst your family, friends and community?” Oh they loved Jesus gracious words, but they were also hoping for some spectacular works! As he had done it at Capernaum, he should surely do it for those in Nazareth! We are his hometown!

First he replies that he won’t be making Nazareth his headquarters because they had prejudices against him. Jesus would not be honoured in his own community, regardless of what he did! Secondly by saying that this good news, wasn’t just for the Jews but also for the Gentiles! This made the people grew indignant! Jesus reminded them that through two of the greatest prophets, Elijah and Elisha, God had blessed the Gentiles! Jesus says, and so will I! WOW! He infuriated them so much that they chased him out of the synagogue out of the town and were prepare to throw him off a cliff. But Jesus turned at the cliff edge and merely walked through them and went on his way.

That is my Jesus! He has set me free from sin and bought light to my darkness! Is this Jesus yours?

Come back tomorrow for Day 11 of our series AGOG, as we continue to look together that extraordinary man, Jesus Christ, through the Gospel accounts! See you soon!

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Jesus - A Glimpse Of God Part 9

 

Jesus' Temptations

 

Welcome back to our series, AGOG - A Glimpse of God. We are on Day 9 of our adventure, looking together at the life of the most amazing person in human history - Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Today we will look at Jesus' temptations as He starts his public ministry.

Reading from Mark 1:12-13 At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.

After his baptism, Jesus is led by the Holy Spirit into the desert. Matthew and Luke both give a more indepth report than Mark does into what occurred there.  Jesus' temptation experiences in the desert were all part of God's plan at the start of Jesus' public ministry, in order that the type of Messiah Jesus was, would be revealed.

These temptations reveal Jesus' perfect and full humanity. Not only is Jesus fully God but it he is also fully human. Knowing Jesus to be both God and man, satan started his plan of attack against him. After forty days of fasting, prayer and wandering in the desert, Jesus is confronted by satan with three temptations.

First temptation - satan starts by saying "So you are the Son of God." As if to say, "If you are really who that voice speaking at your baptism says you are, then prove it to me. You must surely be hungry by now, so why don't you turn these stones into bread and feed yourself". Satan wanted Jesus to disobey God the Father's will by using His powers for selfish purposes and to doubt God the Father's love and care. Jesus answered satan by using Scripture "'Man does not live on bread alone." (Deuteronomy 8:3). For Jesus, instead of relying on His own power to create food, it showed His trust in God the Father to take total care of Him.

Second temptation - This is satan's encouragement for Jesus to engage in false worship. Satan says it's all yours if you just bow the knee and worship me. Of course satan is as always telling a deceiving half-truth. Though satan has great power, he has no authority to be able to offer Jesus everything he said he would give. He is also not worthy of worship, as his power is always destructive and leads to wanton disobedience and unfaithfulness. Jesus' reply again is from Scripture, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only'" (Deuteronomy 6:13). Jesus here is saying that He will only serve one Master - God the Father.

Third temptation - Here, satan encourages Jesus to take God the Father up on His promised protection. "Throw yourself off the top of the temple. If God is faithful and true, God will catch you and protect you as you start off on this ministry of yours!" Satan also here quotes Scripture in order to make the temptation much more appealing (Psalm 91:11-12). However, this is a misquote, because he doesn't add "in all your ways". Jesus however, quotes Scripture back "Do not put the Lord your God to the test" (Deuteronomy 6:16). In quoting Scripture back at satan, Jesus gives balance to the total expression of God's will and not just part of it.

God the Father fulfilled his promise to care for Jesus, by sending angels to care for Jesus' needs and to protect him. Jesus emerged from the desert experience, the victor, and to continue his ministry. Jesus refused to acquiesce to the lures of satan, and his demands to test God the Father's faithfulness on his own terms. Jesus knows the struggles we undergo, because He has also undergone them. He is not unsympathetic towards us when we are being tempted. What can you learn from Jesus in dealing with your own temptations?

Come back tomorrow for Day 10 of our series AGOG, as we continue to look together that extraordinary man, Jesus Christ, through the Gospel accounts! Tomorrow we will start to look at Jesus' Teaching and how he interacted with people.

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Jesus - A Glimpse Of God Part 8

Jesus’ Baptism & Genealogy

 

Welcome back to our series, AGOG – A Glimpse of God. We are on Day 8 of our adventure, looking together at the life of the most amazing person in human history - Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Today we will look at the baptism of Jesus Christ of Nazareth and his genealogy!

Mark 1:9-11 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

John 1:24-34 Now the Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.” Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”

Jesus’ baptism shows the commencement of Jesus’ public ministry. Jesus is now about 30 years old. John the Baptist precedes all Gospel accounts of the start of Jesus’ ministry, and this is because repentance before God is the key to starting a new life in God’s Kingdom. As you know, we looked at John in our previous study.

Jesus comes to John the Baptist, and presents himself for baptism. John at first refuses to do it (Matthew 3:13-15). He knew that Jesus was the perfect Son of God who had no need to repent of sin.

But why did Jesus get baptized? Through his baptism, Jesus identifies with all sinners that He came to save. In replying to John’s initial refusal to baptize him, Jesus Himself gives the answer “…it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). This looks forward to the cross, because it is only through the baptism of suffering that Jesus endured on the cross, that God is able to fulfil all righteousness. The “us” referred to means Father, Son and Spirit. When Jesus came up from the water, the Father spoke from heaven and identified Him as the beloved Son of God, and the Spirit visibly came upon Jesus in the form of a dove.

Witness by The Father and the Spirit: Witnesses to this event are God the Father and God the Holy Spirit! God the Father spoke these words “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” God the Holy Spirit came down as a dove and remained rested on Jesus, God the Son! WOW! What a sight that must have been! Amazing!

Who is this Jesus? Jesus’ genealogies as recorded for us in the Gospels, Luke 3:23–38 and Matthew 1:1–17, show that Jesus the Son of God was also the Son of Man, born into the world, identifying with the needs and problems of mankind. Through the genealogies, we see down through the generations Jesus’ link to Adam and ultimately God. The phrase “the son of” generally means any remotely connected descendant or ancestor.

It is a reminder that Jesus, being Joseph’s legal son was part of a human family, tribe, race and nation. Jesus’ line goes back through the Old Testament from Joseph to King David to Judah, Jacob, Isaac and Abraham, to Methuselah to Noah and Adam. The genealogy, with its link to David, shows Jesus’ right to ascend to David’s throne (Luke 1v32-33). The genealogy shows Jesus’ total human-ness, and because he is linked to Adam, identifies with all humanity and not just Israel. But there is one difference between Jesus and all other humans. In Luke’s genealogy of Jesus, he doesn’t stop at Adam, as he would have for all other humans, but goes further linking Jesus to God.

He was the Son of Man as well as the Son of God. Adam has come into the world bearing the true image of a son of God, but, when Adam disobeyed God, that image was marred and scarred due to sin entering the world. All that is, except Jesus. The voice from God the Father ratified Jesus as the Son of God. Not a son of God as some may claim, but the one and only Son of God. The genealogy of Jesus Christ, points to the unbroken relationship between Jesus and God.

Come back tomorrow for Day 9 of our series AGOG, as we continue to look together that extraordinary man, Jesus Christ, through the Gospel accounts! We will look at Jesus’ Temptations! See you soon!

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Jesus - A Glimpse Of God Part 7

A Voice Calling in the Wilderness

 

Welcome back to our series, AGOG – A Glimpse of God. We are on Day 7 of our adventure, looking together at the life of the most amazing person in human history - Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Today we will look at the forerunner to Jesus Christ of Nazareth, his cousin John!

Mark 1:1-3 The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:“I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way — a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”

Matthew 3:1-12 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness! ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Who was John the Baptist?

Other parts of the Gospels, tell us more about this man, John the Baptist. We can see that his conception by the aged parents, Zacharias and Elizabeth, must have been a form of miracle and together with his birth were predicted, and that John would be filled with the Holy Spirit of God - even in his mother’s womb! This signifies his coming in order to prepare the way for the world’s Redeemer – his cousin Jesus Christ! He is known as John the Baptist, because he immersed, or baptised, people in water. Jesus Himself, later on tells this about John “Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” (Matthew 11:11).

When John came When John the Baptist appeared on the scene, no prophetic voice had been heard within Israel for almost 400 years. His coming was part of God’s perfect timing, for everything that relates to God’s Son is always on time (Galatians 4:4; John 2:4, 13:1)

How John came Dressed and acting like the Old Testament prophet Elijah, John came to the area near the River Jordan, preaching and baptizing. He announced the arrival of the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 3:3) and urged the people to repent. John’s baptism looked forward to the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Why John came John the Baptist was a voice “crying in the wilderness” (Isaiah 40:1-5; Luke 3:4; John 1:23). Spiritually speaking, the nation of Israel was living in a state of unbelief and twisted spiritual reality. The people desperately needed to hear a voice from God, and John was that faithful voice. It was John’s work to prepare the nation for the Messiah and then present the Messiah to them. John is compared to an axe-man cutting down trees that down bear fruit (Luke 3:9) or a farmer who burns useless chaff (Luke 3:17). Many Jews of the time thought they were destined for heaven simply because they were descended from Abraham. In Luke 3:7, John depicts the crowds as snakes.

John’s Teaching John the Baptist also was a teacher. He taught people to live their new faith (Luke 3:10-14). He told them not to be selfish, but to share their blessings with other people. Tax collectors were told by John to do their work honestly. Soldiers were to stop using their jobs for personal gain. John clearly stated that Jesus was “the Lord” (Luke 3:4) and the Son of God (John 1:34)

Come back tomorrow for Day 8 of our series AGOG, as we continue to look together that extraordinary man, Jesus Christ, through the Gospel accounts! We will be looking at Jesus’ Baptism! See you soon!

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Jesus - A Glimpse Of God Part 6

John’s Gospel Portrait

 

We are on Day 6 of our adventure, looking together at the life of the most amazing person in human history - Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

Today we will look at the fourth of our Gospel Portraits, John and see together what it teaches us about Jesus Christ of Nazareth. The author is self indentified as the “disciple whom the Lord loved.” We know quite a bit about this John! John was the son of Zebedee and Salome, and thus was a half-cousin of Jesus! John was also the brother of James, another of the Twelve Apostles, and together they were known as the sons of thunder! John was called by Jesus to follow him! John was one of the three witnesses of the raising of Daughter of Jairus, the Transfiguration as well as Jesus’ agony in Gethsemane. John remained the only disciple near Jesus at the foot of the cross on Calvary. He was instructed by Jesus from the Cross, to care for Mary, the mother of Jesus. So John, as you may gather, knows Jesus very well!

John presents Jesus as the incarnation of God, through whom all things were made! John reveals teaching that only the 12 disciples would have heard, where Jesus talked at length about himself and his divine role. John focuses on different miracles from Matthew, Mark and Luke, whereby signs are given to stimulate faith. John’s Gospel portrayal begins with the witness to, and affirmation of, Jesus by John the Baptist and concludes with the death, burial, resurrection, and post-resurrection appearances of Jesus. John shows the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ so that mankind would believe in him as the Son of God, Messiah, and Saviour of the world. His selective argument portrays Christ as the God-Man. John records miracles and messages that affirm the deity and humanity of Christ. John builds his record around the public ministry of Christ, the private ministry, the cross, and the resurrection.

Key writing for John can be found in:

John 1: 1-4, 9-14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God — children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 20:30-31 - Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Come back tomorrow for Day 7 of our series AGOG, as we continue to look together that extraordinary man, Jesus Christ, through the Gospel accounts! See you soon!

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Jesus - A Glimpse Of God Part 5

Luke’s Gospel Portrait

We are on Day 5 of our adventure, looking together at the life of the most amazing person in human history - Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Today we will look at the third of our Gospel Portraits, Luke and see together what it teaches us about Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

The author is Luke and is probably the same man identified by Paul as a doctor, and was one of his travelling companions (Colossians 4:14; Philemon 24; 2 Timothy 4:11). The style and language used are those of a native Greek speaker. Luke’s remit is clear. He is to write an historical account about Jesus Christ for a gentile man called Theophilus. As a consequence, theological significance rises to the fore. Even though he is a Gentile, Luke emphasizes the kingdom program with Israel's place in the kingdom. This Gospel is not complete in itself but rather the first of two parts addressed to Theophilus, with the Book of Acts being the second section.

Through his investigative portrayal, Luke presents Jesus as the God-Man, as a saviour for the entire world. He does this from a broad vantage point that is compatible with the fact that he is a Greek. Luke traces Jesus’ birth, introduction, ministry, rejection, subsequent teaching in view of His rejection, the cross, resurrection and ascension.

Key writing within Luke to show what his Gospel portrayal of Jesus is all about are:

Luke 1:1-4 - “Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eye witnesses and servants of the word. With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.”

Luke 19:1-10 - “Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.’ So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, ‘He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.’ But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, ‘Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.’”

Come back tomorrow for Part 6 of our series AGOG, as we continue to look at the life of this most extraordinary person in all human history – Jesus of Nazareth.

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Jesus - A Glimpse Of God Part 4

Mark’s Gospel Portrait

We are on Day 4 of our adventure, looking together at the life of the most amazing person in human history - Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

Today we will look at the second of our Gospel Portraits, Mark and see together what it teaches us about Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

We know very little about Mark as a person, or when he started following Jesus Christ of Nazareth. In his Gospel Portrayal, Mark’s target audience would seem to be Greek speaking non-Jews. We see this because Mark explains Jewish traditions and language, such as ‘Abba’ and ‘talitha koum’. Mark’s use of the Old Testament originates from a source where it had already been translated into the Greek language.

In his Gospel portrayal, Mark presents Jesus as the Suffering Servant of the Lord, coming in fulfilment of the Old Testament. He tells the story of Jesus, starting at His baptism and culminates in His death and resurrection. Mark portrays Jesus offering His credentials as the Messiah, how He gathered His disciples, and the way in which Jesus preaches the Kingdom of God and its message. Jesus’ teaching is seen in short parables, which hide the truth from those hardened against Him, yet prepares and instructs those who are responsive to Him.

In a fast pace manner, Mark portrays Jesus as being a dynamic man of action, a man who heals the sick and performs many miracles. Mark’s overall message about Jesus however, is that Jesus specifically calls those who choose to follow him, are to serve others, deny themselves and take up their own cross, just as He indeed did.

Mark’s particular focus is on the last week of Jesus’ life in Jerusalem. Mark devotes a third of his portrayal to it. Early tradition states that Mark’s Gospel had a connection with the Apostle Peter. Therefore this Gospel portrayal may well have been written to preserve some of Peter’s memories and sermons.

Key writing within Mark to show what his Gospel is all about are:

Mark 8:31-37 - ““He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. ‘Get behind me, Satan!’ he said. ‘You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.’ Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.’”

Mark 10:42-45 – “Jesus called his disciples together and said, ‘You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’”

Come back tomorrow for Part 5 of our series AGOG, as we continue to look at the life of this most extraordinary person in all human history – Jesus of Nazareth.

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Jesus - A Glimpse Of God Part 3

Matthew’s Gospel Portrait

We are on Day 3 of our adventure, looking together at the life of the most amazing person in human history - Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

Matthew's Gospel Portrait

Today we will look at the first of our Gospels, Matthew and what that overall teaches us about Jesus Christ of Nazareth. We read about Matthew being summoned to follow Jesus Christ in Matthew 9:9-12 “Jesus … saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. ‘Follow me,’ he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ On hearing this, Jesus said, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but those who are ill. But go and learn what this means: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’”

Matthew was one of Jesus’ main disciples. He wrote primarily to Jews who knew the Old Testament. Matthew presents Jesus as the Messiah to Israel and he also records Israel’s attitude towards Jesus being the long waited for Messiah. Throughout his Gospel, Matthew gives us the genealogy, presentation, and the authentication of Jesus as the Christ Messiah. Matthew then shows the nation of Israel's opposition to, and subsequent rejection of, Jesus as the Christ Messiah. This leads to Jesus' rejection of Israel, due to Israel’s unbelief in him as their Christ. Matthew records in detail the death and resurrection of Christ and concludes with Jesus Christ commissioning the disciples.

Throughout, his Gospel portrait of Jesus, Matthew presents a well ordered and balanced account.

Key writing within Matthew to show what his Gospel is all about are:

Matthew 16:13-20 “When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ ‘But what about you?’ he asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be[ loosed in heaven.’ Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.”

Matthew 28:18-20 ‘Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Come back tomorrow for Part 4 of our series AGOG, as we continue to look at the life of this most extraordinary person in all human history – Jesus of Nazareth.

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Jesus - A Glimpse Of God Part 2

Jesus - Four Pen Portraits

 We are on Day 2 of our adventure, looking together at the life of the most amazing person in human history - Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

What the Gospels are! In the part of the Bible, we call the New Testament, we have four accounts of the life of Jesus Christ. They are Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. These are called Gospels. But what is a Gospel? They are called Gospels, because they gave substance to the ‘Gospel’ or ‘Good News’ as described by Paul in Romans 1:16: “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel. I see it as the very power of God working for the salvation of everyone who believes it, both Jew and Greek.”

We know that Jesus Christ during his time on earth wrote nothing. Yet the stories about him were preserved and passed on by Christian teachers and evangelists. For the first thirty years or so, these stories were collated and stored together. That would explain the similarity in the four accounts of Jesus’ life. The Gospels are not an exhaustive biographical detail of all that Jesus Christ did. Similarly they are also not diaries reflecting a daily account of Jesus’ life. Rather, they are selective accounts of His life, and were used by His disciples when preaching about Him. Therefore they would represent the theology of the disciples, as each story about is Jesus is told. That is why they are trustworthy accounts, as well as rooting the life of Jesus Christ in first century Judaism and the Greco-Roman world.

The first three of our Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke are what are called the synoptic Gospels. This is based on their great similarity and possibly use of a common source. Mark is probably the first Gospel as it is shorter in length than Matthew or Luke and it would appear that Matthew and Luke used Mark as a guide and elaborated where required. Matthew, was a disciple of Jesus Christ and writes from his own experiences. Luke writes for the experiences of eye witnesses. Apart from one exception, Mark wrote none of the great discourses of Matthew such as the Sermon on the Mount, nor does Mark show the great parables that Luke does, such as the Good Samaritan. Luke does share large portions of Mark and quite often verbatim, and with a greater use of the Greek language.

Our fourth Gospel, the Gospel of John meanwhile, while still telling about Jesus’ ministry, has vastly different story content. Like Matthew, John also was a disciple and close friend of Jesus Christ. Indeed, John is called the apostle whom Jesus loved. In his Gospel, John reveals Jesus talking about himself much more often than in the other Gospel accounts. For this reason, John was probably written later than the synoptic Gospels.

Come back tomorrow for Part 3 of our series AGOG, as we continue to look at the life of this most extraordinary person in all human history – Jesus of Nazareth.

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