Reference: Jesus Christ
American
The Son of God, the Messiah and Savior of the World, the first and principal object of the prophecies; who was prefigured and promised in the Old Testament; was expected and desired by the patriarchs; the hope and salvation of the Gentiles; the glory, happiness, and consolation of Christians. The name JESUS, in Hebrew JEHOSHUAH or Joshua, signifies Savior, or Jehovah saves. No one ever bore this name with so much justice, nor so perfectly fulfilled the signification of it, as Jesus Christ, who saves from sin and hell, and has merited heaven for us by the price of his blood. It was given to him by divine appointment, Mt 1:21, as the proper name for the Savior so long desired, and whom all the myriads of the redeemed in heaven will for ever adore as their only and all-glorious Redeemer.
JESUS was the common name of the Savior; while the name CHRIST, meaning the Anointed One, The Messiah, was his official name. Both names are used separately, in the gospels and also in the epistles; but JESUS generally stands by itself in the gospels, which are narratives of his life; while in the epistles, which treat of his divine nature and of his redeeming work, he is called CHRIST, CHRIST JESUS, or THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. See CHRIST.
Here, under the Redeemer's human name, belong the facts relating to his human nature and the history of his life upon earth. His true and complete humanity, having the soul as well as the body of man, is everywhere seen in the gospel history. He who is "God over all, blessed forever," was an Israelite "as concerning the flesh," Ro 9:5, and took upon him our whole nature, in order to be a perfect Savior. As a man, Jesus was the King of men. No words can describe that character in which such firmness and gentleness, such dignity and humility, such enthusiasm and calmness, such wisdom and simplicity, such holiness and charity, such justice and mercy, such sympathy with heaven and with earth, such love to God and love to man blended in perfect harmony. Nothing in it was redundant, and nothing was wanting. The world had never produced, nor even conceived of such a character, and its portraiture in the gospels is a proof of their divine origin, which the infidel cannot gainsay. Could the whole human race, of all ages, kindreds, and tongues, be assembled to see the crucified Redeemer as he is, and compare earth's noblest benefactors with Him, there would be but one voice among them. Every crown of glory and every meed of praise would be given to Him who alone is worthy-for perfection of character, for love to mankind, for sacrifices endured, and for benefits bestowed. His glory will forever be celebrated as the Friend of man; the Lamb sacrificed for us.
The visit of JESUS CHRIST to the earth has made it forever glorious above less favored worlds, and forms the most signal event in its annals. The time of his birth is commemorated by the Christian era, the first year of which corresponds to about the year 753 from the building of Rome. It is generally conceded, however, that the Savior was born at least four years before A. D. 1, and four thousand years after the creation of Adam. His public ministry commenced when he was thirty years of age; and continued, according to the received opinion, three and a half years. Respecting his ancestors, see GENEALOGY.
The life of the Redeemer must be studied in the four gospels, where it was recorded under the guidance of supreme wisdom. Many efforts have been made, with valuable results, to arrange the narrations of the evangelists in the true order of time. But as neither of the gospels follows the exact course of events, many incidents are very indeterminate, and are variously arranged by different harmonists. No one, however, has been more successful than Dr. Robinson in his valuable "Harmony of the Gospels".
The divine wisdom is conspicuous not only in what is taught us respecting the life of Jesus, but in what is withheld. Curiosity, and the higher motives of warm affection, raise numerous questions to which the gospels give no reply; and in proportion as men resort to dubious traditions, they lose the power of a pure and spiritual gospel. See further, concerning Christ, MESSIAH, REDEEMER, etc.
Jesus was not an uncommon name among the Jews. It was the name of the father of Elymas the sorcerer, Ac 13:6; and of Justus, a fellow-laborer and friend of Paul, Col 4:11. It is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua, or Jeshua, borne by the high priest in Ezra's time, and by the well-known leader of the Jews in to the Promised Land. See also 1Sa 6:14; 2Ki 23:8. The Greek form of the word, Jesus, is twice used in the New Testament when Joshua the son of Nun is intended, Ac 7:45; Heb 4:8.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
The cart was coming to the field of Joshua, who was from Beth Shemesh. It paused there near a big stone. Then they cut up the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord.
She will give birth to a son and you will name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
Our ancestors received possession of it and brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our ancestors, until the time of David.
When they had crossed over the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus,
To them belong the patriarchs, and from them, by human descent, came the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever! Amen.
And Jesus who is called Justus also sends greetings. In terms of Jewish converts, these are the only fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me.
Fausets
(See JESUS.) ("Jehovah salvation"); for "He Himself (autos, not merely like Joshua He is God's instrument to save) saves His people from their sins" (Mt 1:21). CHRIST, Greek; MESSIAH, Hebrew, "anointed" (1Sa 2:10; Ps 2:2,6 margin; Da 9:25-26). Prophets, priests, and kings (Ex 30:30; 1Ki 19:15-16) were anointed, being types of Him who combines all three in Himself (De 18:18; Zec 6:13). "By one offering He hath perfected forever them that are being sanctified" (Heb 10:5,7,14; 7:25). "Christ," or the Messiah, was looked for by all Jews as "He who should come" (Mt 11:3) according to the Old Testament prophets. Immanuel "God with us" declares His Godhead; also Joh 1:1-18. (See IMMANUEL.) The New Testament shows that Jesus is the Christ (Mt 22:42-45).
Jesus is His personal name, "Christ" is His title. Appropriately, in undesigned confirmation of the Gospels, Acts, and epistles, the question throughout the Gospels is, whether Jesus is "The" (the article is always in the Greek) Christ (Mt 16:16; Joh 6:69), so in the first ministry of the word in Acts (Ac 2:36; 9:22; 10:38; 17:3). When His Messiahship became recognized "Christ" was used as His personal designation; so in the epistles.
Christ implies His consecration and qualification for the work He undertook, namely, by His unction with the Holy Spirit, of which the Old Testament oil anointings were the type; in the womb (Lu 1:35), and especially at His baptism, when the Holy Spirit (as a dove) abode on Him (Mt 3:16; Joh 1:32-33). Transl. Ps 45:7; "O God (the Son), Thy God (the Father) hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows." Full of this unction without measure (Joh 3:34) He preached at Nazareth as the Fulfiller of the scripture He read (Isa 61:1-3), giving "the oil of joy for mourning," "good tidings unto the meek" (Lu 4:17-21). Jesus' claim to be Messiah or "the Christ of God" (Lu 9:20), i.e. the anointed of the Father to be king of the earth (Ps 2:6-12; Re 11:15; 12:10), rests:
(1) On His fulfilling all the prophecies concerning Messiah, so far as His work has been completed, the earnest of the full completion; take as instances Isaiah 53; Psalm 22; Micah 5; Ho 6:2-3; Ge 49:10, compare Luke 2; "the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy" (Re 19:10; Lu 24:26,44-46; Ac 3:22-25).
(2) On His miracles (Joh 7:31; 5:36; 10:25,38). Miracles alleged in opposition, or addition, to Scripture cannot prove a divine mission (2Th 2:9; De 13:1-3; Mt 24:24), but when confirmed by Scripture they prove it indisputably.
Son of David expresses His title to David's throne over Israel and Judah yet to be (Lu 1:32-33). "King of Israel" (Joh 1:49), "King of the Jews" (Mt 2:2; 21:5), "King of Zion." As son of David He is David's "offspring"; as "root of David" (in His divine nature) He is David's "lord" (Re 22:16, compare Mt 22:42-45). His claim to the kingship was the charge against Him before Pilate (Joh 18:37; 19:3,12). The elect of God (Lu 23:35, compare Isa 42:1). The inspired summary of His life is, "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil, for God was with Him" (Ac 10:38). To be "in Christ," which occurs upward of 70 times in Paul's epistles, is not merely to copy but to be in living union with Him (1Co 15:18; 2Co 12:2), drawn from Christ's own image (Joh 15:1-10). In Christ God is manifested as He is, and man as he ought to be. Our fallen race lost the knowledge of man as utterly as they lost the knowledge of God.
Humanity in Christ is generic (1Co 15:45,47), as the second "man" or "last Adam," "the Son of man" (a title used in New Testament only by Himself of Himself, except in Stephen's dying speech, Ac 7:56; from Da 7:13; marking at once His humiliation as man's representative Head, and His consequent glorification in the same nature: Mt 20:28; 26:64.) Sinless Himself, yet merciful to sinners; meek under provocation, yet with refined sensibility; dignified, yet without arrogance; pure Himself, yet with a deep insight into evil; Christ is a character of human and divine loveliness such as man could never have invented; for no man has ever conceived, much less attained, such a standard; see His portraiture, Mt 12:15-20. Even His own brethren could not understand His withdrawal into Galilee, as, regarding Him like other men, they took it for granted that publicity was His aim (Joh 7:3-4; contrast Joh 5:44). Jesus was always more accessible than His disciples, they all rebuked the parents who brought their infants for Him to bless (Lu 18:15-17), they all would have sent the woman of Canaan away.
But He never misunderstood nor discouraged any sincere seeker, contrast Mt 20:31 with Mt 20:24-32. Earthly princes look greatest at a distance, surrounded with pomp; but He needed no earthly state, for the more closely He is viewed the more He stands forth in peerless majesty, sinless and divine. (On His miracles, see MIRACLES and on His parables, see PARABLES.) He rested His teaching on His own authority, and the claim was felt by all, through some mysterious power, to be no undue one (Mt 7:29). He appeals to Scripture as His own: "Behold I send unto you prophets," etc. (Mt 23:34; in Lu 11:49, "the Wisdom of God said, I will send them prophets".) His secret spring of unstained holiness, yet tender sympathy, was His constant communion with God; at all times, so that He was never alone (Joh 16:32), "rising up a great while before day, in a solitary place" (Mr 1:35).
Luke tells us much of His prayers: "He continued all night in prayer to God," before ordaining the twelve (Lu 6:12); it was as He was "praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended, and (the Father's) voice came from heaven, Thou art My beloved Son," etc. (Lu 3:22); it was "as He prayed, the fashion of His countenance was altered, and His raiment was white and glistering" (Lu 9:29); when the angel strengthened Him in Gethsemane, "in an agony He prayed more earnestly," using the additional strength received not to refresh Himself after His exhausting conflict, but to strive in supplication, His example confirming His precept, Lu 13:24 (Lu 22:44; Heb 5:7). His Father's glory, not His own, was His absorbing aim (Joh 8:29,50; 7:18); from His childhood when at 12 years old (for it was only in His 12th year that Archelaus was banished and His parents ventured to bring Him to the Passover: Josephus, Ant. 17:15) His first recorded utterance was, "Wist ye not that I must be about My Father's business?" or else "in My Father's places" (Lu 2:49; Ps 40:6,8).
Little is recorded of His childhood, but as much as the Spirit saw it safe for us to know; so prone is man to lose sight of Christ's main work, to fulfill the law and pay its penalty in our stead. The reticence of Scripture as remarkably shows God's inspiration of it as its records and revelations. Had the writers been left to themselves, they would have tried to gratify our natural curiosity about His early years. But a veil is drawn over all the rest of His sayings for the first 30 years. "He waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom ... He increased in wisdom" (Lu 2:40,52), which proves that He had a" reasonable soul" capable of development, as distinct from His Godhead; Athanasian Creed: "perfect God and perfect man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting." His tender considerateness for His disciples after their missionary journey, and His compassion for the fainting multitudes, outweighing all thought; of His own repose when He was weary, and when others would have been impatient of their retirement being intruded on (Mr 6:30-37), are lovely examples of His human, and at the same time superhuman, sympathy (Heb 4:15). Then how utterly void was He of resentment for wrongs.
When apprehended, instead of sharing the disciples' indignation He rebuked it; instead of rejoicing in His enemy's suffering, He removed it (Lu 22:50-51); instead of condemning His murderers He prayed for them: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Lu 23:34). What exquisite tact and tenderness appear in His dealing with the woman of Samaria (John 4), as He draws the spiritual lesson from
See Verses Found in Dictionary
When the woman saw that the tree produced fruit that was good for food, was attractive to the eye, and was desirable for making one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate it. She also gave some of it to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.
For in seven days I will cause it to rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the ground every living thing that I have made."
And the rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.
The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs; the nations will obey him.
He called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the contending of the Israelites and because of their testing the Lord, saying, "Is the Lord among us or not?"
"You are to anoint Aaron and his sons and sanctify them, so that they may minister as my priests.
and your children will wander in the wilderness forty years and suffer for your unfaithfulness, until your dead bodies lie finished in the wilderness.
Then Balaam uttered his oracle, saying, "Balak, the king of Moab, brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, 'Come, pronounce a curse on Jacob for me; come, denounce Israel.'
I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not close at hand. A star will march forth out of Jacob, and a scepter will rise out of Israel. He will crush the skulls of Moab, and the heads of all the sons of Sheth.
So the Lord's anger was kindled against the Israelites, and he made them wander in the wilderness for forty years, until all that generation that had done wickedly before the Lord was finished. Now look, you are standing in your fathers' place, a brood of sinners, to increase still further the fierce wrath of the Lord against the Israelites.
You must not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah.
So he humbled you by making you hungry and then feeding you with unfamiliar manna. He did this to teach you that humankind cannot live by bread alone, but also by everything that comes from the Lord's mouth.
fed you in the desert with manna (which your ancestors had never before known) so that he might by humbling you test you and eventually bring good to you.
When I went up the mountain to receive the stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant that the Lord made with you, I remained there forty days and nights, eating and drinking nothing.
Now at the end of the forty days and nights the Lord presented me with the two stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant. And he said to me, "Get up, go down at once from here because your people whom you brought out of Egypt have sinned! They have quickly turned from the way I commanded them and have made for themselves a cast metal image." read more. Moreover, he said to me, "I have taken note of these people; they are a stubborn lot! Stand aside and I will destroy them, obliterating their very name from memory, and I will make you into a stronger and more numerous nation than they are." So I turned and went down the mountain while it was blazing with fire; the two tablets of the covenant were in my hands. When I looked, you had indeed sinned against the Lord your God and had cast for yourselves a metal calf; you had quickly turned aside from the way he had commanded you! I grabbed the two tablets, threw them down, and shattered them before your very eyes. Then I again fell down before the Lord for forty days and nights; I ate and drank nothing because of all the sin you had committed, doing such evil before the Lord as to enrage him. For I was terrified at the Lord's intense anger that threatened to destroy you. But he listened to me this time as well. The Lord was also angry enough at Aaron to kill him, but at that time I prayed for him too. As for your sinful thing that you had made, the calf, I took it, melted it down, ground it up until it was as fine as dust, and tossed the dust into the stream that flows down the mountain. Moreover, you continued to provoke the Lord at Taberah, Massah, and Kibroth-Hattaavah. And when he sent you from Kadesh-Barnea and told you, "Go up and possess the land I have given you," you rebelled against the Lord your God and would neither believe nor obey him. You have been rebelling against him from the very first day I knew you! I lay flat on the ground before the Lord for forty days and nights, for he had said he would destroy you.
Suppose a prophet or one who foretells by dreams should appear among you and show you a sign or wonder, and the sign or wonder should come to pass concerning what he said to you, namely, "Let us follow other gods" -- gods whom you have not previously known -- "and let us serve them." read more. You must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer, for the Lord your God will be testing you to see if you love him with all your mind and being.
I will raise up a prophet like you for them from among their fellow Israelites. I will put my words in his mouth and he will speak to them whatever I command.
The judge may sentence him to forty blows, but no more. If he is struck with more than these, you might view your fellow Israelite with contempt.
The Lord shatters his adversaries; he thunders against them from the heavens. The Lord executes judgment to the ends of the earth. He will strengthen his king and exalt the power of his anointed one."
The kings of the earth form a united front; the rulers collaborate against the Lord and his anointed king.
"I myself have installed my king on Zion, my holy hill."
"I myself have installed my king on Zion, my holy hill." The king says, "I will announce the Lord's decree. He said to me: 'You are my son! This very day I have become your father!
The king says, "I will announce the Lord's decree. He said to me: 'You are my son! This very day I have become your father! Ask me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, the ends of the earth as your personal property. read more. You will break them with an iron scepter; you will smash them like a potter's jar!'" So now, you kings, do what is wise; you rulers of the earth, submit to correction! Serve the Lord in fear! Repent in terror! Give sincere homage! Otherwise he will be angry, and you will die because of your behavior, when his anger quickly ignites. How blessed are all who take shelter in him!
Receiving sacrifices and offerings are not your primary concern. You make that quite clear to me! You do not ask for burnt sacrifices and sin offerings.
I want to do what pleases you, my God. Your law dominates my thoughts."
You are the most handsome of all men! You speak in an impressive and fitting manner! For this reason God grants you continual blessings.
You love justice and hate evil. For this reason God, your God has anointed you with the oil of joy, elevating you above your companions.
They willfully challenged God by asking for food to satisfy their appetite. They insulted God, saying, "Is God really able to give us food in the wilderness? read more. Yes, he struck a rock and water flowed out, streams gushed forth. But can he also give us food? Will he provide meat for his people?"
They again challenged God, and offended the Holy One of Israel.
For he will order his angels to protect you in all you do. They will lift you up in their hands, so you will not slip and fall on a stone.
For forty years I was continually disgusted with that generation, and I said, 'These people desire to go astray; they do not obey my commands.'
The Lover to His Beloved: My lover spoke to me, saying: "Arise, my darling; My beautiful one, come away with me! Look! The winter has passed, the winter rains are over and gone. read more. The pomegranates have appeared in the land, the time for pruning and singing has come; the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. The fig tree has budded, the vines have blossomed and give off their fragrance. Arise, come away my darling; my beautiful one, come away with me!"
The gloom will be dispelled for those who were anxious. In earlier times he humiliated the land of Zebulun, and the land of Naphtali; but now he brings honor to the way of the sea, the region beyond the Jordan, and Galilee of the nations.
A wolf will reside with a lamb, and a leopard will lie down with a young goat; an ox and a young lion will graze together, as a small child leads them along. A cow and a bear will graze together, their young will lie down together. A lion, like an ox, will eat straw. read more. A baby will play over the hole of a snake; over the nest of a serpent an infant will put his hand. They will no longer injure or destroy on my entire royal mountain. For there will be universal submission to the Lord's sovereignty, just as the waters completely cover the sea.
Their children will be smashed to pieces before their very eyes; their houses will be looted and their wives raped.
Therefore, this is what the sovereign master, the Lord, says: "Look, I am laying a stone in Zion, an approved stone, set in place as a precious cornerstone for the foundation. The one who maintains his faith will not panic.
"Here is my servant whom I support, my chosen one in whom I take pleasure. I have placed my spirit on him; he will make just decrees for the nations.
He sprouted up like a twig before God, like a root out of parched soil; he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention, no special appearance that we should want to follow him.
But he lifted up our illnesses, he carried our pain; even though we thought he was being punished, attacked by God, and afflicted for something he had done.
So I will assign him a portion with the multitudes, he will divide the spoils of victory with the powerful, because he willingly submitted to death and was numbered with the rebels, when he lifted up the sin of many and intervened on behalf of the rebels."
The spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon me, because the Lord has chosen me. He has commissioned me to encourage the poor, to help the brokenhearted, to decree the release of captives, and the freeing of prisoners,
The spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon me, because the Lord has chosen me. He has commissioned me to encourage the poor, to help the brokenhearted, to decree the release of captives, and the freeing of prisoners, to announce the year when the Lord will show his favor, the day when our God will seek vengeance, to console all who mourn, read more. to strengthen those who mourn in Zion, by giving them a turban, instead of ashes, oil symbolizing joy, instead of mourning, a garment symbolizing praise, instead of discouragement. They will be called oaks of righteousness, trees planted by the Lord to reveal his splendor.
"When you have completed these days, then lie down a second time, but on your right side, and bear the iniquity of the house of Judah 40 days -- I have assigned one day for each year.
No human foot will pass through it, and no animal's foot will pass through it; it will be uninhabited for forty years.
I was watching in the night visions, "And with the clouds of the sky one like a son of man was approaching. He went up to the Ancient of Days and was escorted before him.
So know and understand: From the issuing of the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until an anointed one, a prince arrives, there will be a period of seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. It will again be built, with plaza and moat, but in distressful times. Now after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one will be cut off and have nothing. As for the city and the sanctuary, the people of the coming prince will destroy them. But his end will come speedily like a flood. Until the end of the war that has been decreed there will be destruction.
He will restore us in a very short time; he will heal us in a little while, so that we may live in his presence. So let us acknowledge him! Let us seek to acknowledge the Lord! He will come to our rescue as certainly as the appearance of the dawn, as certainly as the winter rain comes, as certainly as the spring rain that waters the land."
When Israel was a young man, I loved him like a son, and I summoned my son out of Egypt.
When Jonah began to enter the city one day's walk, he announced, "At the end of forty days, Nineveh will be overthrown!"
Indeed, he will build the temple of the Lord, and he will be clothed in splendor, sitting as king on his throne. Moreover, there will be a priest with him on his throne and they will see eye to eye on everything.
"I am about to send my messenger, who will clear the way before me. Indeed, the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his temple, and the messenger of the covenant, whom you long for, is certainly coming," says the Lord who rules over all. Who can endure the day of his coming? Who can keep standing when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire, like a launderer's soap. read more. He will act like a refiner and purifier of silver and will cleanse the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will offer the Lord a proper offering. The offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in former times and years past.
She will give birth to a son and you will name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
saying, "Where is the one who is born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him."
As they came into the house and saw the child with Mary his mother, they bowed down and worshiped him. They opened their treasure boxes and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
He stayed there until Herod died. In this way what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet was fulfilled: "I called my Son out of Egypt."
But John tried to prevent him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and yet you come to me?"
But John tried to prevent him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and yet you come to me?" So Jesus replied to him, "Let it happen now, for it is right for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then John yielded to him. read more. After Jesus was baptized, just as he was coming up out of the water, the heavens opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming on him.
After Jesus was baptized, just as he was coming up out of the water, the heavens opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my one dear Son; in him I take great delight."
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
The tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread."
Then the devil took him to the holy city, had him stand on the highest point of the temple,
Now when Jesus heard that John had been imprisoned, he went into Galilee. While in Galilee, he moved from Nazareth to make his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, read more. so that what was spoken by Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled: "Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way by the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles -- the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, and on those who sit in the region and shadow of death a light has dawned." From that time Jesus began to preach this message: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."
From that time Jesus began to preach this message: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee he saw two brothers, Simon (called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea (for they were fishermen). read more. He said to them, "Follow me, and I will turn you into fishers of people." They left their nets immediately and followed him. Going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in a boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. Then he called them. They immediately left the boat and their father and followed him.
because he taught them like one who had authority, not like their experts in the law.
Now when Jesus entered Peter's house, he saw his mother-in-law lying down, sick with a fever.
In this way what was spoken by Isaiah the prophet was fulfilled: "He took our weaknesses and carried our diseases." Now when Jesus saw a large crowd around him, he gave orders to go to the other side of the lake.
But he said to them, "Why are you cowardly, you people of little faith?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it was dead calm.
When he came to the other side, to the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were extremely violent, so that no one was able to pass by that way.
Whenever they persecute you in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
Now when Jesus learned of this, he went away from there. Great crowds followed him, and he healed them all. But he sternly warned them not to make him known. read more. This fulfilled what was spoken by Isaiah the prophet: "Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I take great delight. I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. He will not quarrel or cry out, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. He will not break a bruised reed or extinguish a smoldering wick, until he brings justice to victory.
But when the Pharisees heard this they said, "He does not cast out demons except by the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of demons!"
But when the Pharisees heard this they said, "He does not cast out demons except by the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of demons!"
But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, because you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but on man's."
Now when the other ten heard this, they were angry with the two brothers. But Jesus called them and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions use their authority over them. read more. It must not be this way among you! Instead whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave -- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed them. read more. Two blind men were sitting by the road. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they shouted, "Have mercy on us, Lord, Son of David!" The crowd scolded them to get them to be quiet. But they shouted even more loudly, "Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!"
The crowd scolded them to get them to be quiet. But they shouted even more loudly, "Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!" Jesus stopped, called them, and said, "What do you want me to do for you?"
"Tell the people of Zion, 'Look, your king is coming to you, unassuming and seated on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.'"
Then Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all those who were selling and buying in the temple courts, and turned over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves.
"What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?" They said, "The son of David."
"What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?" They said, "The son of David." He said to them, "How then does David by the Spirit call him 'Lord,' saying,
He said to them, "How then does David by the Spirit call him 'Lord,' saying, The Lord said to my lord, "Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet"'?
The Lord said to my lord, "Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet"'? If David then calls him 'Lord,' how can he be his son?"
"For this reason I am sending you prophets and wise men and experts in the law, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town,
For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
Jesus said to him, "You have said it yourself. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven."
and saying, "You who can destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are God's Son, come down from the cross!"
The Spirit immediately drove him into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, enduring temptations from Satan. He was with wild animals, and angels were ministering to his needs. read more. Now after John was imprisoned, Jesus went into Galilee and proclaimed the gospel of God.
Now after John was imprisoned, Jesus went into Galilee and proclaimed the gospel of God. He said, "The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the gospel!"
He said, "The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the gospel!" As he went along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, Simon's brother, casting a net into the sea (for they were fishermen). read more. Jesus said to them, "Follow me, and I will turn you into fishers of people." They left their nets immediately and followed him. Going on a little farther, he saw James, the son of Zebedee, and John his brother in their boat mending nets. Immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.
Immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.
"Leave us alone, Jesus the Nazarene! Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are -- the Holy One of God!"
When it was evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered by the door. read more. So he healed many who were sick with various diseases and drove out many demons. But he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.
So he healed many who were sick with various diseases and drove out many demons. But he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. Then Jesus got up early in the morning when it was still very dark, departed, and went out to a deserted place, and there he spent time in prayer.
Now after some days, when he returned to Capernaum, the news spread that he was at home.
Now some of the experts in the law were sitting there, turning these things over in their minds:
Now immediately, when Jesus realized in his spirit that they were contemplating such thoughts, he said to them, "Why are you thinking such things in your hearts?
As he went along, he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the tax booth. "Follow me," he said to him. And he got up and followed him. As Jesus was having a meal in Levi's home, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. read more. When the experts in the law and the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?" When Jesus heard this he said to them, "Those who are healthy don't need a physician, but those who are sick do. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
Then he cried out with a loud voice, "Leave me alone, Jesus, Son of the Most High God! I implore you by God -- do not torment me!"
Then the apostles gathered around Jesus and told him everything they had done and taught. He said to them, "Come with me privately to an isolated place and rest a while" (for many were coming and going, and there was no time to eat). read more. So they went away by themselves in a boat to some remote place. But many saw them leaving and recognized them, and they hurried on foot from all the towns and arrived there ahead of them. As Jesus came ashore he saw the large crowd and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he taught them many things. When it was already late, his disciples came to him and said, "This is an isolated place and it is already very late. Send them away so that they can go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy something for themselves to eat." But he answered them, "You give them something to eat." And they said, "Should we go and buy bread for two hundred silver coins and give it to them to eat?"
So it seemed good to me as well, because I have followed all things carefully from the beginning, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,
He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end."
The angel replied, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called the Son of God.
Now there were shepherds nearby living out in the field, keeping guard over their flock at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were absolutely terrified. read more. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid! Listen carefully, for I proclaim to you good news that brings great joy to all the people: Today your Savior is born in the city of David. He is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger." Suddenly a vast, heavenly army appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among people with whom he is pleased!" When the angels left them and went back to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, that the Lord has made known to us." So they hurried off and located Mary and Joseph, and found the baby lying in a manger. When they saw him, they related what they had been told about this child, and all who heard it were astonished at what the shepherds said.
And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom, and the favor of God was upon him.
But he replied, "Why were you looking for me? Didn't you know that I must be in my Father's house?"
But he replied, "Why were you looking for me? Didn't you know that I must be in my Father's house?"
And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and with people.
And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and with people.
and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my one dear Son; in you I take great delight."
Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'You are to worship the Lord your God and serve only him.'"
Then Jesus, in the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and news about him spread throughout the surrounding countryside. He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by all.
He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by all. Now Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read,
Now Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, read more. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and the regaining of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, 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 fixed on him. Then he began to tell them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled even as you heard it being read."
Now in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, "Ha! Leave us alone, Jesus the Nazarene! Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are -- the Holy One of God." read more. But Jesus rebuked him: "Silence! Come out of him!" Then, after the demon threw the man down in their midst, he came out of him without hurting him. They were all amazed and began to say to one another, "What's happening here? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!" So the news about him spread into all areas of the region. After Jesus left the synagogue, he entered Simon's house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. So he stood over her, commanded the fever, and it left her. Immediately she got up and began to serve them. As the sun was setting, all those who had any relatives sick with various diseases brought them to Jesus. He placed his hands on every one of them and healed them. Demons also came out of many, crying out, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them, and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.
Now Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing around him to hear the word of God.
Now Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing around him to hear the word of God. He saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. read more. He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then Jesus sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and lower your nets for a catch." Simon answered, "Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing! But at your word I will lower the nets." When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets started to tear. So they motioned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they were about to sink.
So they motioned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they were about to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" read more. For Peter and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so were James and John, Zebedee's sons, who were Simon's business partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people."
Now on one of those days, while he was teaching, there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting nearby (who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem), and the power of the Lord was with him to heal.
But the Pharisees and their experts in the law complained to his disciples, saying, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?"
Now it was during this time that Jesus went out to the mountain to pray, and he spent all night in prayer to God.
Then he said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered, "The Christ of God."
As he was praying, the appearance of his face was transformed, and his clothes became very bright, a brilliant white.
Now when the days drew near for him to be taken up, Jesus set out resolutely to go to Jerusalem.
For this reason also the wisdom of God said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,'
"Exert every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.
Now people were even bringing their babies to him for him to touch. But when the disciples saw it, they began to scold those who brought them. But Jesus called for the children, saying, "Let the little children come to me and do not try to stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. read more. I tell you the truth, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it."
[Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And in his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.]
Then one of them struck the high priest's slave, cutting off his right ear. But Jesus said, "Enough of this!" And he touched the man's ear and healed him.
Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, "I find no basis for an accusation against this man."
[But Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing."] Then they threw dice to divide his clothes. The people also stood there watching, but the rulers ridiculed him, saying, "He saved others. Let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, his chosen one!"
But the other rebuked him, saying, "Don't you fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we rightly so, for we are getting what we deserve for what we did, but this man has done nothing wrong." read more. Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom." And Jesus said to him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."
Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he praised God and said, "Certainly this man was innocent!"
Wasn't it necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and enter into his glory?"
Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds so they could understand the scriptures, read more. and said to them, "Thus it stands written that the Christ would suffer and would rise from the dead on the third day,
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was fully God. The Word was with God in the beginning. read more. All things were created by him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. In him was life, and the life was the light of mankind. And the light shines on in the darkness, but the darkness has not mastered it. A man came, sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that everyone might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify about the light. The true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was created by him, but the world did not recognize him. He came to what was his own, but his own people did not receive him. But to all who have received him -- those who believe in his name -- he has given the right to become God's children -- children not born by human parents or by human desire or a husband's decision, but by God. Now the Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We saw his glory -- the glory of the one and only, full of grace and truth, who came from the Father. John testified about him and shouted out, "This one was the one about whom I said, 'He who comes after me is greater than I am, because he existed before me.'" For we have all received from his fullness one gracious gift after another. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came about through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. The only one, himself God, who is in closest fellowship with the Father, has made God known.
These things happened in Bethany across the Jordan River where John was baptizing.
I did not recognize him, but I came baptizing with water so that he could be revealed to Israel." Then John testified, "I saw the Spirit descending like a dove from heaven, and it remained on him.
Then John testified, "I saw the Spirit descending like a dove from heaven, and it remained on him. And I did not recognize him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'The one on whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining -- this is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'
And I did not recognize him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'The one on whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining -- this is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'
On the next day Jesus wanted to set out for Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Follow me."
Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law, and the prophets also wrote about -- Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."
Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel!"
Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel!"
Now on the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there,
So then the Jewish leaders responded, "What sign can you show us, since you are doing these things?" Jesus replied, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up again." read more. Then the Jewish leaders said to him, "This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and are you going to raise it up in three days?"
After this, Jesus and his disciples came into Judean territory, and there he spent time with them and was baptizing. John was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming to him and being baptized. read more. (For John had not yet been thrown into prison.)
(For John had not yet been thrown into prison.) Now a dispute came about between some of John's disciples and a certain Jew concerning ceremonial washing. read more. So they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, the one who was with you on the other side of the Jordan River, about whom you testified -- see, he is baptizing, and everyone is flocking to him!"
For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he does not give the Spirit sparingly.
Now when Jesus knew that the Pharisees had heard that he was winning and baptizing more disciples than John
Now when Jesus knew that the Pharisees had heard that he was winning and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself was not baptizing, but his disciples were),
(although Jesus himself was not baptizing, but his disciples were), he left Judea and set out once more for Galilee.
he left Judea and set out once more for Galilee. But he had to pass through Samaria. read more. Now he came to a Samaritan town called Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, so Jesus, since he was tired from the journey, sat right down beside the well. It was about noon. A Samaritan woman came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me some water to drink." (For his disciples had gone off into the town to buy supplies.) So the Samaritan woman said to him, "How can you -- a Jew -- ask me, a Samaritan woman, for water to drink?" (For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, "If you had known the gift of God and who it is who said to you, 'Give me some water to drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." "Sir," the woman said to him, "you have no bucket and the well is deep; where then do you get this living water? Surely you're not greater than our ancestor Jacob, are you? For he gave us this well and drank from it himself, along with his sons and his livestock." Jesus replied, "Everyone who drinks some of this water will be thirsty again. But whoever drinks some of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again, but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up to eternal life." The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water." He said to her, "Go call your husband and come back here." The woman replied, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "Right you are when you said, 'I have no husband,' for you have had five husbands, and the man you are living with now is not your husband. This you said truthfully!" The woman said to him, "Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you people say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem." Jesus said to her, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You people worship what you do not know. We worship what we know, because salvation is from the Jews. But a time is coming -- and now is here -- when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such people to be his worshipers. God is spirit, and the people who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (the one called Christ); "whenever he comes, he will tell us everything." Jesus said to her, "I, the one speaking to you, am he." Now at that very moment his disciples came back. They were shocked because he was speaking with a woman. However, no one said, "What do you want?" or "Why are you speaking with her?" Then the woman left her water jar, went off into the town and said to the people, "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Surely he can't be the Messiah, can he?" So they left the town and began coming to him. Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, "Rabbi, eat something." But he said to them, "I have food to eat that you know nothing about." So the disciples began to say to one another, "No one brought him anything to eat, did they?" Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to complete his work. Don't you say, 'There are four more months and then comes the harvest?' I tell you, look up and see that the fields are already white for harvest!
Don't you say, 'There are four more months and then comes the harvest?' I tell you, look up and see that the fields are already white for harvest! The one who reaps receives pay and gathers fruit for eternal life, so that the one who sows and the one who reaps can rejoice together. read more. For in this instance the saying is true, 'One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap what you did not work for; others have labored and you have entered into their labor." Now many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the report of the woman who testified, "He told me everything I ever did." So when the Samaritans came to him, they began asking him to stay with them. He stayed there two days, and because of his word many more believed. They said to the woman, "No longer do we believe because of your words, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this one really is the Savior of the world." After the two days he departed from there to Galilee.
Now he came again to Cana in Galilee where he had made the water wine. In Capernaum there was a certain royal official whose son was sick.
So Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders you will never believe!"
After this there was a Jewish feast, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
After this there was a Jewish feast, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
After this there was a Jewish feast, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
After this there was a Jewish feast, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool called Bethzatha in Aramaic, which has five covered walkways.
Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool called Bethzatha in Aramaic, which has five covered walkways. A great number of sick, blind, lame, and paralyzed people were lying in these walkways.
A great number of sick, blind, lame, and paralyzed people were lying in these walkways. [[EMPTY]]
[[EMPTY]] Now a man was there who had been disabled for thirty-eight years.
Now a man was there who had been disabled for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and when he realized that the man had been disabled a long time already, he said to him, "Do you want to become well?"
When Jesus saw him lying there and when he realized that the man had been disabled a long time already, he said to him, "Do you want to become well?" The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up. While I am trying to get into the water, someone else goes down there before me."
The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up. While I am trying to get into the water, someone else goes down there before me." Jesus said to him, "Stand up! Pick up your mat and walk."
Jesus said to him, "Stand up! Pick up your mat and walk." Immediately the man was healed, and he picked up his mat and started walking. (Now that day was a Sabbath.)
Immediately the man was healed, and he picked up his mat and started walking. (Now that day was a Sabbath.) So the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath, and you are not permitted to carry your mat."
So the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath, and you are not permitted to carry your mat." But he answered them, "The man who made me well said to me, 'Pick up your mat and walk.'" read more. They asked him, "Who is the man who said to you, 'Pick up your mat and walk'?" But the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped out, since there was a crowd in that place. After this Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, "Look, you have become well. Don't sin any more, lest anything worse happen to you." The man went away and informed the Jewish leaders that Jesus was the one who had made him well. Now because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began persecuting him. So he told them, "My Father is working until now, and I too am working." For this reason the Jewish leaders were trying even harder to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was also calling God his own Father, thus making himself equal with God. So Jesus answered them, "I tell you the solemn truth, the Son can do nothing on his own initiative, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise.
"But I have a testimony greater than that from John. For the deeds that the Father has assigned me to complete -- the deeds I am now doing -- testify about me that the Father has sent me.
How can you believe, if you accept praise from one another and don't seek the praise that comes from the only God?
After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (also called the Sea of Tiberias).
We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God!"
After this Jesus traveled throughout Galilee. He stayed out of Judea because the Jewish leaders wanted to kill him.
After this Jesus traveled throughout Galilee. He stayed out of Judea because the Jewish leaders wanted to kill him.
So Jesus' brothers advised him, "Leave here and go to Judea so your disciples may see your miracles that you are performing. For no one who seeks to make a reputation for himself does anything in secret. If you are doing these things, show yourself to the world."
The person who speaks on his own authority desires to receive honor for himself; the one who desires the honor of the one who sent him is a man of integrity, and there is no unrighteousness in him.
Yet many of the crowd believed in him and said, "Whenever the Christ comes, he won't perform more miraculous signs than this man did, will he?"
On the last day of the feast, the greatest day, Jesus stood up and shouted out, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me, and
When they persisted in asking him, he stood up straight and replied, "Whoever among you is guiltless may be the first to throw a stone at her."
She replied, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "I do not condemn you either. Go, and from now on do not sin any more."]] Then Jesus spoke out again, "I am the light of the world. The one who follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
You people judge by outward appearances; I do not judge anyone.
And the one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do those things that please him."
I am not trying to get praise for myself. There is one who demands it, and he also judges.
Then came the feast of the Dedication in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple area in Solomon's Portico.
Jesus replied, "I told you and you do not believe. The deeds I do in my Father's name testify about me.
The Father and I are one." The Jewish leaders picked up rocks again to stone him to death. read more. Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many good deeds from the Father. For which one of them are you going to stone me?" The Jewish leaders replied, "We are not going to stone you for a good deed but for blasphemy, because you, a man, are claiming to be God."
But if I do them, even if you do not believe me, believe the deeds, so that you may come to know and understand that I am in the Father and the Father is in me."
Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again."
Just before the Passover feast, Jesus knew that his time had come to depart from this world to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now loved them to the very end.
Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be content." Jesus replied, "Have I been with you for so long, and you have not known me, Philip? The person who has seen me has seen the Father! How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? read more. Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you, I do not speak on my own initiative, but the Father residing in me performs his miraculous deeds. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me, but if you do not believe me, believe because of the miraculous deeds themselves.
I will not speak with you much longer, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me,
"I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener. He takes away every branch that does not bear fruit in me. He prunes every branch that bears fruit so that it will bear more fruit. read more. You are clean already because of the word that I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. "I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me -- and I in him -- bears much fruit, because apart from me you can accomplish nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown out like a branch, and dries up; and such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, and are burned up. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want, and it will be done for you. My Father is honored by this, that you bear much fruit and show that you are my disciples. "Just as the Father has loved me, I have also loved you; remain in my love. If you obey my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commandments and remain in his love.
Look, a time is coming -- and has come -- when you will be scattered, each one to his own home, and I will be left alone. Yet I am not alone, because my Father is with me.
They brought him first to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year.
Simon Peter and another disciple followed them as they brought Jesus to Annas. (Now the other disciple was acquainted with the high priest, and he went with Jesus into the high priest's courtyard.)
Pilate told them, "Take him yourselves and pass judgment on him according to your own law!" The Jewish leaders replied, "We cannot legally put anyone to death."
Then Pilate said, "So you are a king!" Jesus replied, "You say that I am a king. For this reason I was born, and for this reason I came into the world -- to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."
They came up to him again and again and said, "Hail, king of the Jews!" And they struck him repeatedly in the face.
From this point on, Pilate tried to release him. But the Jewish leaders shouted out, "If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar! Everyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar!"
Therefore let all the house of Israel know beyond a doubt that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ."
Moses said, 'The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must obey him in everything he tells you. Every person who does not obey that prophet will be destroyed and thus removed from the people.' read more. And all the prophets, from Samuel and those who followed him, have spoken about and announced these days. You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors, saying to Abraham, 'And in your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed.'
"Look!" he said. "I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!"
Philip went down to the main city of Samaria and began proclaiming the Christ to them.
But Saul became more and more capable, and was causing consternation among the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ.
with respect to Jesus from Nazareth, that God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with him.
with respect to Jesus from Nazareth, that God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with him.
explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and to rise from the dead, saying, "This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ."
Therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may live a new life. For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be united in the likeness of his resurrection. read more. We know that our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. (For someone who has died has been freed from sin.) Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that since Christ has been raised from the dead, he is never going to die again; death no longer has mastery over him. For the death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you too consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Think about the circumstances of your call, brothers and sisters. Not many were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were born to a privileged position. But God chose what the world thinks foolish to shame the wise, and God chose what the world thinks weak to shame the strong. read more. God chose what is low and despised in the world, what is regarded as nothing, to set aside what is regarded as something, so that no one can boast in his presence. He is the reason you have a relationship with Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."
Furthermore, those who have fallen asleep in Christ have also perished.
So also it is written, "The first man, Adam, became a living person"; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
The first man is from the earth, made of dust; the second man is from heaven.
You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had, who though he existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, read more. but emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave, by looking like other men, and by sharing in human nature. He humbled himself, by becoming obedient to the point of death -- even death on a cross! As a result God exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow -- in heaven and on earth and under the earth -- and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
The arrival of the lawless one will be by Satan's working with all kinds of miracles and signs and false wonders,
For we do not have a high priest incapable of sympathizing with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sin.
So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming high priest, but the one who glorified him was God, who said to him, "You are my Son! Today I have fathered you,"
During his earthly life Christ offered both requests and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death and he was heard because of his devotion.
So he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. For it is indeed fitting for us to have such a high priest: holy, innocent, undefiled, separate from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.
So when he came into the world, he said, "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me.
So when he came into the world, he said, "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me.
"Then I said, 'Here I am: I have come -- it is written of me in the scroll of the book -- to do your will, O God.'"
For by one offering he has perfected for all time those who are made holy.
Because Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, to bring you to God, by being put to death in the flesh but by being made alive in the spirit.
So, since Christ suffered in the flesh, you also arm yourselves with the same attitude, because the one who has suffered in the flesh has finished with sin, in that he spends the rest of his time on earth concerned about the will of God and not human desires.
because all that is in the world (the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the arrogance produced by material possessions) is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away with all its desires, but the person who does the will of God remains forever.
Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever."
Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever."
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, "The salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the ruling authority of his Christ, have now come, because the accuser of our brothers and sisters, the one who accuses them day and night before our God, has been thrown down.
So I threw myself down at his feet to worship him, but he said, "Do not do this! I am only a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony about Jesus. Worship God, for the testimony about Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
Hastings
There is no historical task which is more important than to set forth the life and teaching of Jesus Christ, and none to which it is so difficult to do justice. The importance of the theme is sufficiently attested by the fact that it is felt to be His due to reckon a new era from the date of His birth. From the point of view of Christian faith there is nothing in time worthy to be set beside the deeds and the words of One who is adored as God manifest in the flesh, and the Saviour of the world. In the perspective of universal history. His influence ranks with Greek culture and Roman law as one of the three most valuable elements in the heritage from the ancient world, while it surpasses these other factors in the spiritual quality of its effects. On the other hand, the superlative task has its peculiar difficulties. It is quite certain that a modern European makes many mistakes when trying to reproduce the conditions of the distant province of Oriental antiquity in which Jesus lived. The literary documents, moreover, are of no great compass, and are reticent or obscure in regard to many matters which are of capital interest to the modern biographer. And when erudition has done its best with the primary and auxiliary sources, the historian has still to put the heart-searching question whether he possesses the qualifications that would enable him to understand the character, the experience, and the purpose of Jesus. 'He who would worthily write the Life of Jesus Christ must have a pen dipped in the imaginative sympathy of a poet, in the prophet's fire, in the artist's charm and grace, and in the reverence and purity of the saint' (Stewart, The Life of Christ, 1906, p. vi.).
1. The Literary Sources
(A) Canonical
(1) The Gospels and their purpose.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
But the next day Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks. When he did, Jeremiah said to him, "The Lord's name for you is not 'Pashhur' but 'Terror is Everywhere.'
Salmon the father of Boaz (by Rahab), Boaz the father of Obed (by Ruth), Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king. David was the father of Solomon (by the wife of Uriah),
and Jesse the father of David the king. David was the father of Solomon (by the wife of Uriah), Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa, read more. Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Uzziah, Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. After the deportation to Babylon, Jeconiah became the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud, Eliud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to Christ, fourteen generations. Now the birth of Jesus Christ happened this way. While his mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.
Now the birth of Jesus Christ happened this way. While his mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph, her husband to be, was a righteous man, and because he did not want to disgrace her, he intended to divorce her privately.
Because Joseph, her husband to be, was a righteous man, and because he did not want to disgrace her, he intended to divorce her privately. When he had contemplated this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
When he had contemplated this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you will name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
She will give birth to a son and you will name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." This all happened so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled:
This all happened so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled: "Look! The virgin will conceive and bear a son, and they will call him Emmanuel," which means "God with us."
"Look! The virgin will conceive and bear a son, and they will call him Emmanuel," which means "God with us." When Joseph awoke from sleep he did what the angel of the Lord told him. He took his wife,
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, in the time of King Herod, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem saying, "Where is the one who is born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him." read more. When King Herod heard this he was alarmed, and all Jerusalem with him. After assembling all the chief priests and experts in the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. "In Bethlehem of Judea," they said, "for it is written this way by the prophet: And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are in no way least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.'" Then Herod privately summoned the wise men and determined from them when the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and look carefully for the child. When you find him, inform me so that I can go and worship him as well." After listening to the king they left, and once again the star they saw when it rose led them until it stopped above the place where the child was. When they saw the star they shouted joyfully. As they came into the house and saw the child with Mary his mother, they bowed down and worshiped him. They opened their treasure boxes and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. After being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back by another route to their own country. After they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to look for the child to kill him." Then he got up, took the child and his mother during the night, and went to Egypt. He stayed there until Herod died. In this way what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet was fulfilled: "I called my Son out of Egypt." When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he became enraged. He sent men to kill all the children in Bethlehem and throughout the surrounding region from the age of two and under, according to the time he had learned from the wise men. Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: "A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud wailing, Rachel weeping for her children, and she did not want to be comforted, because they were gone."
While Jesus was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and brothers came and stood outside, asking to speak to him. Someone told him, "Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside wanting to speak to you." read more. To the one who had said this, Jesus replied, "Who is my mother and who are my brothers?" And pointing toward his disciples he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."
Then Jesus came up and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, read more. teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
When his family heard this they went out to restrain him, for they said, "He is out of his mind."
Then Jesus' mother and his brothers came. Standing outside, they sent word to him, to summon him.
He asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Christ."
But he was silent and did not answer. Again the high priest questioned him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?" "I am," said Jesus, "and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven."
The inscription of the charge against him read, "The king of the Jews."
In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, a descendant of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. read more. The angel came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one, the Lord is with you!" But she was greatly troubled by his words and began to wonder about the meaning of this greeting. So the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God! Listen: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end." Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I have not had sexual relations with a man?" The angel replied, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called the Son of God. "And look, your relative Elizabeth has also become pregnant with a son in her old age -- although she was called barren, she is now in her sixth month! For nothing will be impossible with God." So Mary said, "Yes, I am a servant of the Lord; let this happen to me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her. In those days Mary got up and went hurriedly into the hill country, to a town of Judah, and entered Zechariah's house and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She exclaimed with a loud voice, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child in your womb! And who am I that the mother of my Lord should come and visit me? For the instant the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that what was spoken to her by the Lord would be fulfilled." And Mary said, "My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has begun to rejoice in God my Savior, because he has looked upon the humble state of his servant. For from now on all generations will call me blessed, because he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name; from generation to generation he is merciful to those who fear him. He has demonstrated power with his arm; he has scattered those whose pride wells up from the sheer arrogance of their hearts. He has brought down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up those of lowly position; he has filled the hungry with good things, and has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering his mercy, as he promised to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever." So Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then returned to her home. Now the time came for Elizabeth to have her baby, and she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they wanted to name him Zechariah after his father. But his mother replied, "No! He must be named John." They said to her, "But none of your relatives bears this name." So they made signs to the baby's father, inquiring what he wanted to name his son. He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, "His name is John." And they were all amazed. Immediately Zechariah's mouth was opened and his tongue released, and he spoke, blessing God. All their neighbors were filled with fear, and throughout the entire hill country of Judea all these things were talked about. All who heard these things kept them in their hearts, saying, "What then will this child be?" For the Lord's hand was indeed with him. Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, because he has come to help and has redeemed his people. For he has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from long ago, that we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us. He has done this to show mercy to our ancestors, and to remember his holy covenant -- the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham. This oath grants that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, may serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him for as long as we live. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High. For you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give his people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins. Because of our God's tender mercy the dawn will break upon us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." And the child kept growing and becoming strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he was revealed to Israel.
Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus to register all the empire for taxes. This was the first registration, taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.
Now there were shepherds nearby living out in the field, keeping guard over their flock at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were absolutely terrified. read more. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid! Listen carefully, for I proclaim to you good news that brings great joy to all the people: Today your Savior is born in the city of David. He is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger." Suddenly a vast, heavenly army appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among people with whom he is pleased!" When the angels left them and went back to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, that the Lord has made known to us." So they hurried off and located Mary and Joseph, and found the baby lying in a manger. When they saw him, they related what they had been told about this child, and all who heard it were astonished at what the shepherds said. But Mary treasured up all these words, pondering in her heart what they might mean. So the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen; everything was just as they had been told. At the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. Now when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, Joseph and Mary brought Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (just as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male will be set apart to the Lord"),
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene,
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene,
So Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years old. He was the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli,
the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David,
Now Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, read more. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and the regaining of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, 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 fixed on him. Then he began to tell them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled even as you heard it being read." All were speaking well of him, and were amazed at the gracious words coming out of his mouth. They said, "Isn't this Joseph's son?" Jesus said to them, "No doubt you will quote to me the proverb, 'Physician, heal yourself!' and say, 'What we have heard that you did in Capernaum, do here in your hometown too.'" And he added, "I tell you the truth, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. But in truth I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's days, when the sky was shut up three and a half years, and there was a great famine over all the land. Yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to a woman who was a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, yet none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian." When they heard this, all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage. They got up, forced him out of the town, and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. But he passed through the crowd and went on his way.
Now when the days drew near for him to be taken up, Jesus set out resolutely to go to Jerusalem.
After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him two by two into every town and place where he himself was about to go. He said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest. read more. Go! I am sending you out like lambs surrounded by wolves. Do not carry a money bag, a traveler's bag, or sandals, and greet no one on the road. Whenever you enter a house, first say, 'May peace be on this house!' And if a peace-loving person is there, your peace will remain on him, but if not, it will return to you. Stay in that same house, eating and drinking what they give you, for the worker deserves his pay. Do not move around from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and the people welcome you, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick in that town and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come upon you!' But whenever you enter a town and the people do not welcome you, go into its streets and say, Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this: The kingdom of God has come.' I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town! "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you! And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be thrown down to Hades! "The one who listens to you listens to me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects the one who sent me." Then the seventy-two returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name!" So he said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Look, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions and on the full force of the enemy, and nothing will hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names stand written in heaven."
Was no one found to turn back and give praise to God except this foreigner?" Then he said to the man, "Get up and go your way. Your faith has made you well."
I tell you that this man went down to his home justified rather than the Pharisee. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted."
Now when Jesus approached and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, "If you had only known on this day, even you, the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. read more. For the days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and surround you and close in on you from every side. They will demolish you -- you and your children within your walls -- and they will not leave within you one stone on top of another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God."
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was fully God.
Now the Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We saw his glory -- the glory of the one and only, full of grace and truth, who came from the Father.
Then the Jewish leaders said to him, "This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and are you going to raise it up in three days?"
And the person who saw it has testified (and his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth), so that you also may believe.
This is the disciple who testifies about these things and has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true.
concerning his Son who was a descendant of David with reference to the flesh,
(but if she does, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband), and a husband should not divorce his wife.
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night in which he was betrayed took bread,
For we do not have a high priest incapable of sympathizing with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sin.
During his earthly life Christ offered both requests and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death and he was heard because of his devotion.
For he received honor and glory from God the Father, when that voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory: "This is my dear Son, in whom I am delighted."
Smith
Je'sus Christ.
The life and character of Jesus Christ, says Dr. Schaff, "is the holy of holies in the history of the world."
1. NAME. --The name Jesus signifies saviour. It is the Greek form of JEHOSHUA (Joshua). The name Christ signifies anointed. Jesus was both priest and king. Among the Jews priests were anointed, as their inauguration to their office.
See Jehoshua
In the New Testament the name Christ is used as equivalent to the Hebrew Messiah (anointed),
Joh 1:41
the name given to the long-promised Prophet and King whom the Jews had been taught by their prophets to expect.
The use of this name, as applied to the Lord, has always a reference to the promises of the prophets. The name of Jesus is the proper name of our Lord, and that of Christ is added to identify him with the promised Messiah. Other names are sometimes added to the names Jesus Christ, thus, "Lord," "a king," "King of Israel," "Emmanuel," "Son of David," "chosen of God." II. BIRTH. --Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary, God being his father, at Bethlehem of Judea, six miles south of Jerusalem. The date of his birth was most probably in December, B.C. 5, four years before the era from which we count our years. That era was not used till several hundred years after Christ. The calculations were made by a learned monk, Dionysius Exiguus, in the sixth century, who made an error of four years; so that to get the exact date from the birth of Christ we must add four years to our usual dates; i.e. A.D. 1882 is really 1886 years since the birth of Christ. It is also more than likely that our usual date for Christmas, December 25, is not far from the real date of Christ's birth. Since the 25th of December comes when the longest night gives way to the returning sun on his triumphant march, it makes an appropriate anniversary to make the birth of him who appeared in the darkest night of error and sin as the true Light of the world. At the time of Christ's birth Augustus Caesar was emperor of Rome, and Herod the Great king of Judea, but subject of Rome. God's providence had prepared the world for the coming of Christ, and this was the fittest time in all its history.
1. All the world was subject to one government, so that the apostles could travel everywhere: the door of every land was open for the gospel.
2. The world was at peace, so that the gospel could have free course.
3. The Greek language was spoken everywhere with their other languages.
4. The Jews were scattered everywhere with synagogues and Bibles. III. EARLY LIFE. --Jesus, having a manger at Bethlehem for his cradle, received a visit of adoration from the three wise men of the East. At forty days old he was taken to the temple at Jerusalem; and returning to Bethlehem, was soon taken to Egypt to escape Herod's massacre of the infants there. After a few months stay there, Herod having died in April, B.C. 4, the family returned to their Nazareth home, where Jesus lived till he was about thirty years old, subject to his parent, and increasing "in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." The only incident recorded of his early life is his going up to Jerusalem to attend the passover when he was twelve years old, and his conversation with the learned men in the temple. But we can understand the childhood and youth of Jesus better when we remember the surrounding influences amid which he grew.
1. The natural scenery was rugged and mountainous, but full of beauty. He breathed the pure air. He lived in a village, not in a city.
2. The Roman dominion was irksome and galling. The people of God were subject to a foreign yoke. The taxes were heavy. Roman soldiers, laws, money, every reminded them of their subjection, when they ought to be free and themselves the rulers of the world. When Jesus was ten years old, there was a great insurrection,
in Galilee. He who was to be King of the Jews heard and felt all this.
3. The Jewish hopes of a Redeemer, of throwing off their bondage, of becoming the glorious nation promised in the prophet, were in the very air he breathed. The conversation at home and in the streets was full of them.
4. Within his view, and his boyish excursions, were many remarkable historic places, --rivers, hills, cities, plains, --that would keep in mind the history of his people and God's dealings with them.
5. His school training. Mr. Deutsch, in the Quarterly Review, says, "Eighty years before Christ, schools flourished throughout the length and the breadth of the land: education had been made compulsory. While there is not a single term for 'school' to be found before the captivity, there were by that time about a dozen in common usage. Here are a few of the innumerable popular sayings of the period: 'Jerusalem was destroyed because the instruction of the young was neglected.' 'The world is only saved by the breath of the school-children.' 'Even for the rebuilding of the temple the schools must not be interrupted.'"
6. His home training. According to Ellicott, the stages of Jewish childhood were marked as follows: "At three the boy was weaned, and word for the first time the fringed or tasselled garment prescribed by
and Deut 22:12 His education began at first under the mother's care. At five he was to learn the law, at first by extracts written on scrolls of the more important passages, the Shema or creed of
De 2:4
the Hallel or festival psalms, Psal 114, 118, 136, and by catechetical teaching in school. At twelve he became more directly responsible for his obedience of the law; and on the day when he attained the age of thirteen, put on for the first time the phylacteries which were worn at the recital of his daily prayer." In addition to this, Jesus no doubt learned the carpenter's trade of his reputed father Joseph, and, as Joseph probably died before Jesus began his public ministry, he may have contributed to the support of his mother. (IV. PUBLIC MINISTRY. --All the leading events recorded of Jesus' life are given at the end of this volume in the Chronological Chart and in the Chronological Table of the life of Christ; so that here will be given only a general survey. Jesus began to enter upon his ministry when he was "about thirty years old;" that is, he was not very far from thirty, older or younger. He is regarded as nearly thirty-one by Andrews (in the tables of chronology referred to above) and by most others. Having been baptized by John early in the winter of 26-27, he spent the larger portion of his year in Judea and about the lower Jordan, till in December he went northward to Galilee through Samaria. The next year and a half, from December, A.D. 27, to October or November, A.D. 29, was spent in Galilee and norther Palestine, chiefly in the vicinity of the Sea of Galilee. In November, 29, Jesus made his final departure from Galilee, and the rest of his ministry was in Judea and Perea, beyond Jordan, till his crucifixion, April 7, A.D. 30. After three days he proved his divinity by rising from the dead; and after appearing on eleven different occasions to his disciples during forty days, he finally ascended to heaven, where he is the living, ever present, all-powerful Saviour of his people. Jesus Christ, being both human and divine, is fitted to be the true Saviour of men. In this, as in every action and character, he is shown to be "the wisdom and power of God unto salvation." As human, he reaches down to our natures, sympathizes with us, shows us that God knows all our feelings and weaknesses and sorrows and sins, brings God near to us, who otherwise could not realize the Infinite and Eternal as a father and friend. He is divine, in order that he may be an all-powerful, all-loving Saviour, able and willing to defend us from every enemy, to subdue all temptations, to deliver from all sin, and to bring each of his people, and the whole Church, into complete and final victory. Jesus Christ is the centre of the world's history, as he is the centre of the Bible. --ED.)
See Verses Found in Dictionary
"Speak to the Israelites and tell them to make tassels for themselves on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and put a blue thread on the tassel of the corners. You must have this tassel so that you may look at it and remember all the commandments of the Lord and obey them and so that you do not follow after your own heart and your own eyes that lead you to unfaithfulness. read more. Thus you will remember and obey all my commandments and be holy to your God. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord your God."
He first found his own brother Simon and told him, "We have found the Messiah!" (which is translated Christ).
After him Judas the Galilean arose in the days of the census, and incited people to follow him in revolt. He too was killed, and all who followed him were scattered.
Paul said, "John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus."
Watsons
JESUS CHRIST, the son of God, the Messiah, and Saviour of the world, the first and principal object of the prophecies, prefigured and promised in the Old Testament, expected and desired by the patriarchs; the hope of the Gentiles; the glory, salvation, and consolation of Christians. The name Jesus, or, as the Hebrews pronounce it, ??????, Jehoshua or Joshua, '??????, signifies, he who shall save. No one ever bore this name with so much justice, nor so perfectly fulfilled the signification of it, as Jesus Christ, who saves even from sin and hell, and hath merited heaven for us by the price of his blood. It is not necessary here to narrate the history of our Saviour's life, which can no where be read with advantage except in the writings of the four evangelists; but there are several general views which require to be noticed under this article.
1. Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ or Messiah promised under the Old Testament. That he professed himself to be that Messiah to whom all the prophets gave witness, and who was, in fact, at the time of his appearing, expected by the Jews; and that he was received under that character by his disciples, and by all Christians ever since, is certain. And if the Old Testament Scriptures afford sufficiently definite marks by which the long announced Christ should be infallibly known at his advent, and these presignations are found realized in our Lord, then is the truth of his pretensions established. From the books of the Old Testament we learn that the Messiah was to authenticate his claim by miracles; and in those predictions respecting him, so many circumstances are recorded, that they could meet only in one person; and so, if they are accomplished in him, they leave no room for doubt, as far as the evidence of prophecy is deemed conclusive. As to MIRACLES, we refer to that article; here only observing, that if the miraculous works wrought by Christ were really done, they prove his mission, because, from their nature, and having been wrought to confirm his claim to be the Messiah, they necessarily imply a divine attestation. With respect to PROPHECY, the principles under which its evidence must be regarded as conclusive will be given under that head; and here therefore it will only be necessary to show the completion of the prophecies of the sacred books of the Jews relative to the Messiah in one person, and that person the founder of the Christian religion.
The time of the Messiah's appearance in the world, as predicted in the Old Testament, is defined, says Keith, by a number of concurring circumstances, which fix it to the very date of the advent of Christ. The last blessing of Jacob to his sons, when he commanded them to gather themselves together that he might tell them what should befall them in the last days, contains this prediction concerning Judah: "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be," Ge 49:10, The date fixed by this prophecy for the coming of Shiloh, or the Saviour, was not to exceed the time during which the descendants of Judah were to continue a united people, while a king should reign among them, while they should be governed by their own laws, and while their judges should be from among their brethren. The prophecy of Malachi adds another standard for measuring the time: "Behold, I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me; and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall come suddenly to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts," Mal 3:1. No words can be more expressive of the coming of the promised Messiah; and they as clearly imply his appearance in the second temple before it should be destroyed. In regard to the advent of the Messiah before the destruction of the second temple, the words of Haggai are remarkably explicit: "The desire of all nations shall come, and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of Hosts. The glory of this latter house shall be greater than that of the former, and in this place will I give peace," Hag 2:7. The Saviour was thus to appear, according to the prophecies of the Old Testament, during the time of the continuance of the kingdom of Judah, previous to the demolition of the temple, and immediately subsequent to the next prophet. But the time is rendered yet more definite. In the prophecies of Daniel, the kingdom of the Messiah is not only foretold as commencing in the time of the fourth monarchy, or Roman empire, but the express number of years that were to precede his coming are plainly intimated: "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people, and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sin, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy. Know, therefore, and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem, unto Messiah the Prince, shall be seven weeks and threescore and two weeks," Da 9:24-25. Computation by weeks of years was common among the Jews, and every seventh was the sabbatical year; seventy weeks, thus amounted to four hundred and ninety years. In these words the prophet marks the very time, and uses the very name of Messiah, the Prince; so entirety is all ambiguity done away. The plainest inference may be drawn from these prophecies. All of them, while, in every respect, they presuppose the most perfect knowledge of futurity; while they were unquestionably delivered and publicly known for ages previous to the time to which they referred; and while they refer to different contingent and unconnected events, utterly undeterminable and inconceivable by all human sagacity; accord in perfect unison to a single precise period where all their different lines terminate at once,
See Verses Found in Dictionary
The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs; the nations will obey him.
The king says, "I will announce the Lord's decree. He said to me: 'You are my son! This very day I have become your father!
Give sincere homage! Otherwise he will be angry, and you will die because of your behavior, when his anger quickly ignites. How blessed are all who take shelter in him!
You will not abandon me to Sheol; you will not allow your faithful follower to see the Pit.
Yes, wild dogs surround me -- a gang of evil men crowd around me; like a lion they pin my hands and feet.
They are dividing up my clothes among themselves; they are rolling dice for my garments.
Then I say, "Look! I come! What is written in the scroll pertains to me. I want to do what pleases you, my God. Your law dominates my thoughts." read more. I have told the great assembly about your justice. Look! I spare no words! O Lord, you know this is true.
They put bitter poison into my food, and to quench my thirst they give me vinegar to drink.
All who worship idols are ashamed, those who boast about worthless idols. All the gods bow down before him.
In earlier times you established the earth; the skies are your handiwork. They will perish, but you will endure. They will wear out like a garment; like clothes you will remove them and they will disappear. read more. But you remain; your years do not come to an end. The children of your servants will settle down here, and their descendants will live securely in your presence."
The gloom will be dispelled for those who were anxious. In earlier times he humiliated the land of Zebulun, and the land of Naphtali; but now he brings honor to the way of the sea, the region beyond the Jordan, and Galilee of the nations. The people walking in darkness see a bright light; light shines on those who live in a land of deep darkness.
For a child has been born to us, a son has been given to us. He shoulders responsibility and is called: Extraordinary Strategist, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Go up on a high mountain, O herald Zion! Shout out loudly, O herald Jerusalem! Shout, don't be afraid! Say to the towns of Judah, "Here is your God!" Look, the sovereign Lord comes as a victorious warrior; his military power establishes his rule. Look, his reward is with him; his prize goes before him. read more. Like a shepherd he tends his flock; he gathers up the lambs with his arm; he carries them close to his heart; he leads the ewes along.
Sing to the Lord a brand new song! Praise him from the horizon of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and everything that lives in it, you coastlands and those who live there!
he says, "Is it too insignificant a task for you to be my servant, to reestablish the tribes of Jacob, and restore the remnant of Israel? I will make you a light to the nations, so you can bring my deliverance to the remote regions of the earth." This is what the Lord, the protector of Israel, their Holy One, says to the one who is despised and rejected by nations, a servant of rulers: "Kings will see and rise in respect, princes will bow down, because of the faithful Lord, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen you."
I offered my back to those who attacked, my jaws to those who tore out my beard; I did not hide my face from insults and spitting.
"Look, my servant will succeed! He will be elevated, lifted high, and greatly exalted --
He sprouted up like a twig before God, like a root out of parched soil; he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention, no special appearance that we should want to follow him.
They intended to bury him with criminals, but he ended up in a rich man's tomb, because he had committed no violent deeds, nor had he spoken deceitfully.
"Seventy weeks have been determined concerning your people and your holy city to put an end to rebellion, to bring sin to completion, to atone for iniquity, to bring in perpetual righteousness, to seal up the prophetic vision, and to anoint a most holy place. So know and understand: From the issuing of the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until an anointed one, a prince arrives, there will be a period of seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. It will again be built, with plaza and moat, but in distressful times.
As for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, seemingly insignificant among the clans of Judah -- from you a king will emerge who will rule over Israel on my behalf, one whose origins are in the distant past.
I will also shake up all the nations, and they will offer their treasures; then I will fill this temple with glory,' says the Lord who rules over all.
Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout, daughter of Jerusalem! Look! Your king is coming to you: he is legitimate and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey -- on a young donkey, the foal of a female donkey.
Then I said to them, "If it seems good to you, pay me my wages, but if not, forget it." So they weighed out my payment -- thirty pieces of silver.
"I am about to send my messenger, who will clear the way before me. Indeed, the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his temple, and the messenger of the covenant, whom you long for, is certainly coming," says the Lord who rules over all.
the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, and on those who sit in the region and shadow of death a light has dawned."