The Life of Jesus

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The Life of Jesus and the purpose of his ministry to Israel and all of humanity

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His Life Foretold

Every good story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. The same is true for the Greatest Story ever told about Jesus’ life. For many of us, we think the story of Jesus’ life begins in the book of Matthew. If we see him as a good man, a good teacher, or a good prophet then it makes sense to begin his story in the New Testament.
However, God allows us to capture glimpses of the Hero who is central to His Great Rescue Plan. Let us turn to the Hebrew Scriptures often referred to as the Old Testament in our circles.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth

In verse 1, we are introduced to the first member of the Trinity - God the Father.

The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.

In verse 2, we encounter the third member of the Trinity - God the Spirit
But if you keep reading through chapters 1 and 2, you notice that any mention of the 2nd member of the Trinity is missing from the text. I am like Moses, what are you doing? Why, all the suspense? I want the great reveal now. This is one of the reasons I struggle with well written “Who done it” novels and movies because I am forced to wait until the end of the story. Nonetheless, Moses understands people like me and gives us a glimpse of the hero in chapter 3 of Genesis.

15 And I will cause hostility between you and the woman,

and between your offspring and her offspring.

He will strike your head,

and you will strike his heel.”

In this verse, we discover the hero is a man, who will suffer on our behalf, and crush Satan. Can this be the second member of the Trinity - God the Son? Let’s keep reading to find out.

The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”

In this passage, God is speaking to Abraham the First Hebrew and Father of the nation of Israel. God promises him that he will have a great family, a great name, a great land, and a great hero who will come through his line to be a blessing to all the nations of the world. You say wait, how do get that from verse 3, chaplain I think you are talking through the side of your neck.
Again let us return to scripture for the answer.

8 What’s more, the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would make the Gentiles right in his sight because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when he said, “All nations will be blessed through you.” 9 So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith

Now that we took time to journey through the Old Testament to discover how it gives us a glimpse of a great rescue plan where the hero dies for the villain. The hero being Jesus and the villain being all of humanity. Once we learn this hard truth, we must now continue with our story so we can learn more about this hero called Jesus.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 2 “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”

In most epic tales, we discover that the hero starts out with humble beginnings. This passage teaches a lot of things about the Messiah.
We discover that the child that is born is unique. He is not just a mere human king, He is the God of heaven and earth, the second member of the Trinity worthy of worship. While Roman Emperors and the Egyptian Pharaohs of old demanded worship, they were never God but mere mortals with a beginning and an end.
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11 They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

When we move to verse 11 where the Magi give there spectacular gifts to the newborn king. We discover that gifts gives us a glimpse of the three aspects of Jesus’ ministry that will be on display during his life. Thus the myrrh, as precious ointment, may indicate the his role as Prophet where he speaks on behalf of God to the people and serves as a source of healing for Israel; the frankincense, the office of the High Priest where speaks on behalf of the people to God. The gold where its splendor points to his royalty in which at his Second Coming every knee should bow and every tongue will confess him lord.
Yet during his first time on planet Earth, Jesus’ ministry focuses heavily on his prophetic role where he is speaking on behalf of God and performing miracles to authenticate his message of the good news that is for Israel and the rest of humanity. So let us return to the scriptures to get an overview of the the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Power Over the Spiritual Realm

23 Suddenly, a man in the synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, 24 “Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

25 But Jesus reprimanded him. “Be quiet! Come out of the man,” he ordered. 26 At that, the evil spirit screamed, threw the man into a convulsion, and then came out of him.

27 Amazement gripped the audience, and they began to discuss what had happened. “What sort of new teaching is this?” they asked excitedly. “It has such authority! Even evil spirits obey his orders!”

We must remember the Devil and his wicked army of demons are not the equal to God — they too must bend a knee and obey him. If anyone here is tormented by evil spirits, you too, can find hope and freedom from the darkness. Call upon the name of Jesus to be set free from the Devil clutches.
Illustration: Encounter with Evil in Cambodia
Jesus heals our physical ailments
Jesus is just as concerned for our bodies as he is concerned for our souls.

40 A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed. “If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean,” he said.

41 Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” 42 Instantly the leprosy disappeared, and the man was healed.

It doesn’t stop there let me give you some more scripture.

31 Jesus left Tyre and went up to Sidon before going back to the Sea of Galilee and the region of the Ten Towns. 32 A deaf man with a speech impediment was brought to him, and the people begged Jesus to lay his hands on the man to heal him.

33 Jesus led him away from the crowd so they could be alone. He put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then, spitting on his own fingers, he touched the man’s tongue. 34 Looking up to heaven, he sighed and said, “Ephphatha,” which means, “Be opened!” 35 Instantly the man could hear perfectly, and his tongue was freed so he could speak plainly!

But many of you may be tempted to say, well that is cool but that was over 2000 years ago. Stuff like that doesn’t happen today in the 21st Century.
Illustration: Hawaii Story
I mentioned earlier that Jesus operates as a prophet during his earthly ministry. A prophet speaks the truth always and predicts the future accurately always. His prophetic office comes into perfect focus in the following verses when he speaks about his pending suffering and death.

31 Then Jesus began to tell them that the Son of Man must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but three days later he would rise from the dead.

Remember Jesus’ life is heading was pointing to the cross on our behalf
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