Three Years That Changed The World – A Demonstration of Divine Power

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Three Years That Changed The World – Lesson 8

A Demonstration of Divine Power

(John 6)

The focus of this lesson is on two significant miracles performed by Jesus in which he displays his Divine Power:

The Feeding of the 5000

Jesus Walks on the Water

The timing of the events recorded in John 6 happen sometime after the disciples had been preaching throughout the Galilean region and after John the Batist was killed (beheaded) by Herod Antipas (Mark 6). As such the time between John 5 and John 6 would have been about 6 months and the events of John 6 would have been approximately 1-1.5 years before Jesus was crucified.

Prior to the actual miracle of the Feeding of the 5000, Jesus had crossed (by boat) to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (just east of Capernaum) and went up to the mountainside which would have been in what is today referred to as modern day Golan Heights.

A great crowd (many of them had previously witnessed the miracles Jesus had performed in the region of Galilee) began to assemble in the area where Jesus and his disciples were. The crowd was probably in excess of 10,000 people (men, woman and children) and after a series of discussions with his disciples, Jesus had compassion on the crowd and miraculously fed all of them with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish and there was even food leftover.

The second miracle happened shortly after the Feeding of the 5000 and it involved Jesus walking on water. The event and the miracle are recorded in 3 out of the 4 gospel accounts (Luke being the only one to not mention it) and this is the fifth miraculous sign recorded by John and intended to demonstrate the divine power/authority of Jesus over the laws of nature. There has never been another recorded event like this and although skeptics have lobbed their attempts to lessen its significance – it no doubt solidified the faith of those disciples in the boat.

The balance of John 6 addresses the significance of the Divine Authority that Jesus will claim in the first of his “I Am” statements recorded in John’s Gospel. This will be a hard teaching for some to accept but it doesn’t make it any less true that God was in their midst.

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Three Years That Changed The World – Jesus Removes All Religious Barriers

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Three Years That Changed The World – Lesson 7

Jesus Removes All Religious Barriers

(John 5)

While in Samaria – Jesus helps to remove the Social/Cultural Barriers that stood in the way of the Samaritan people from having a “right” relationship with God. This was his purpose in meeting with the Woman at the Well by showing her He was the promised Messiah and she no longer needed to allow those cultural barriers to keep her from seeking and worshipping God as God intended.

The next recorded event in the Gospel of John is when he heals the man at the pool of Bethesda who was severely disabled. (John 5:1-13). This healing will spark a significant rift between the religious leaders and Jesus for 2 reasons:

  1. The healing of the severely disabled man took place on the Sabbath and the severely disabled man was instructed by Jesus to pick up and carry his mat for he was now completely healed and could now walk. These actions by Jesus and the severely disabled man violated the Jewish traditions/regulations established by the religious leaders, especially their man-made laws related to the Sabbath itself.
  2. The actions and declarations by Jesus made him equal with God. Although this was completely true – the religious leaders rejected that idea and considered it blasphemy.

To fully understand this opposition, its necessary to explore the events that take place in Galilee between John 4 and John 5 which are recorded in the other 3 Gospel accounts (Synoptic Gospels). During Jesus ministry in Galilee the following events take place:

  1. Jesus will proclaim – “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news! (Mark 1:14-15)
  2. Jesus will perform many miracles and healings
  3. The religious leaders will continue to challenge the authority of Jesus
  4. Jesus will call Matthew to follow him
  5. Jesus will preach his famous “Sermon on the Mount” where he will teach the people how to live rightly with God and their fellow man
  6. Jesus will calm the storm, heal a demon possessed man, raise Jairus’ daughter from the dead and heal two blind men among many other miracles.

So, when John writes this portion of his Gospel account(John 5) about the healing of the severely disabled man and the hostile opposition by the religious leaders towards Jesus – it really shows that accepting that Jesus is Equal with God is the difference between belief and unbelief. This seems to be the focal point of John 5 and will continue to be the division between the religious leaders (unbelief) and the truth of the Gospel (belief) which recognizes Jesus is God – the Promised Messiah.

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Three Years That Changed the World – Jesus & The Woman at the Well

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Three Years That Changed The World – Lesson 6

Jesus and the Woman at the Well

(John 4)

After leaving the Judean countryside, Jesus once again makes his way to the region of Galilee. He will make a planned visit to a well located near the town of Sychar which is in the broader region of Samaria. The purpose in stopping at the well was to meet with and have a conversation with an unnamed woman who is often referred to as the “Woman at the Well” or “The Samaritan Woman” for she was a Samaritan who came there to draw water from the well near the town of Sychar.

The division and near bitter animosity between Jews and Samaritans remained an issue prior to, during and even after the time Jesus walked this earth. This made this visit extremely significant for it showed that God cares for the whole of mankind and the Samaritan Woman needed to witness the love and compassion Jesus was offering.

The lesson Jesus used to get his point across involved the comparison of physical water (able to quench the physical thirst of our bodies) and something that lasted for a short period of time to living water (able to quench the thirst of our soul) which was eternal. This translated to the need that the Samaritan Woman and her entire village needed which was the salvation of their souls and the reason Jesus stopped to see her. Only the “Living Water” that Jesus offered could fully quench that thirst and to receive that water the woman needed to recognize her sin (which separated her from God) and embrace Jesus as her Savior/Messiah which she does. There are several lessons found throughout this chapter of the Gospel of John; from the breaking down of the social barriers that separate us, to having love and compassion for those considered downcast and unwanted, and having an understanding that it is faith and not works that save us. Salvation comes to those who accept Jesus Christ as Messiah and he is the only one capable of making us right with God; “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

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Three Years That Changed The World Part 5 – Jesus, There Is Something About That Name

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Three Years That Changed The World – Lesson 5

Jesus – There is Something About That Name

(John 2:13 – John 3:36)

After spending some time in Capernaum, Jesus goes to Jerusalem for the Passover festival in the spring of 27 AD. Because it was the Passover (the most significant feast celebrated by the Jews), the city of Jerusalem would have naturally been bustling with people, merchants (selling and trading their wares) and pilgrims from various regions of Roman Empire. The merchants (those selling cattle, sheep, doves etc.) and “money changers” were probably setup in the Temple area known as the Court of the Gentiles.

John will write about what transpires when Jesus encounters these merchants and money changers who are defiling the intended use of the Temple which was supposed to be used for true and proper worship of God. Ironically, if this was just some random, ordinary rabbi/teacher creating this pandemonium then his actions should have been met with opposition, but no one stopped him, and I find that interesting. Instead of stopping Jesus (they had the ability to do so), they challenge his authority and ask for a sign. They either thought him to be a prophet (like Elijah), a crazed lunatic (like John the Baptist), or someone else. The answer Jesus gave them wasn’t at all what they were looking for (and he knew it because he knew their hearts) and because they were spiritually blind the answer only confused them more. They completely miss the point! Jesus will perform many miracles while he was in Jerusalem and John (the author of this Gospel) tells us that many people will believe in Jesus because “There is Just Something About Thant Name”.

All this commotion will get the attention of a significant religious leader named Nicodemus. He will be taught a lesson that will stump and confuse him for Jesus tells Nicodemus that he must be “Born Again”. It is an interesting dialogue, and, in the end, it can be summed up with this statement; Nicodemus struggled with who Jesus was – was he really God? Nicodemus could accept he was sent from God but to conclude he was God took faith, and Nicodemus didn’t seem ready at this point to take that step.

The words of Jesus are compelling and the thought that “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” may have been too much for Nicodemus to grasp but it doesn’t make it any less true. Eternal life now becomes the focal point of the Gospel (Good News) for Jesus would give his life so that we might be saved (not perish). As Jesus continues his ministry, he will demonstrate the love that God has for the world (all of mankind) and will teach his disciples how to live as God intended them to live and to embrace him as the one who could save them from the sins that separated them from their Father in heaven. My prayer is that you come to that same conclusion.

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Three Years That Changed the World Part 4 – Miracles Are God’s Business

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Three Years That Changed The World

Lesson 4 – Miracles Are God’s Business – John 2:1-12

Sometime after Jesus calls Philip and Nathanael to follow him; Mary, Jesus, and his disciples will head towards the region of Galilee (more specifically Cana). They will be invited to a wedding in Cana, and this will be the scene of the very first “public” miracle by Jesus.

It is interesting that Jesus chose this moment to perform his first miracle in public and the fact that he did it at a wedding ceremony shows the value that he placed on the sacredness and importance of the marriage relationship. Jesus took something completely ordinary (water) and turned it into something extraordinary (the choicest wine). There was no magic wand, no scripted words, and no fanfare – he just made it happen, and it was so.

This miracle which is only recorded by John and not the other 3 gospel writers can be easily overlooked if we don’t take the time to carefully examine it. For starters, how about you try it! You can make wine (some can make it better than others) but it takes more than just water to make that happen. Jesus didn’t add anything to the water – he just made water become wine. We also learn from John’s record that the disciples believed the miracle and no doubt increased their faith in Jesus, but there is no record that the servants who poured the wine from the water jars who witnessed the miracle believed. This is why some people can read about this miracle and believe while others can read it and not believe.

This might have been the first miracle performed by Jesus, but it won’t be his last. In fact, John (the Apostle and gospel writer) will record 8 of the 35 miracles performed by Jesus that we find written in the New Testament. We know that Jesus performed more than 35 miracles for he will perform mass healings of people when he fed the 4000 recorded in Matthew 15; “Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing”.

You have to ask yourself; why did he turn water into wine, why did he heal people of their diseases, why did he cast out demons whose sole purpose was to torment people, why did he feed masses of people with so little? Because he loves them and because he wants people to believe and follow him. He sees the pain of this world (pain not caused by Him) and wants to deliver people from the pain of their sin and the miracles he performed were for that purpose; “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:30-31) Take a good hard look through this lesson – download the PDF and examine the scriptures for yourself. It is quite compelling to see the compassion and the power displayed by Jesus and yet some will accept him while others reject him. My prayer is that you will accept Him.

Jesus Turns Water into Wine – John 2Download

Three Years That Changed the World Part 3 – Come Follow Me

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Three Years That Changed The World

Lesson 3 – Come Follow Me – John 1:38-51

This lesson picks up just after John baptized Jesus. Although John the Baptist will continue to preach and point the way to Jesus, the emphasis and focus of the Gospel writers from this point forward will be on Jesus and not John the Baptist.

In fact, two of John the Baptist’s disciples (Andrew and John) will begin following Jesus shortly after Jesus is baptized. Although they will start following Jesus, there will be several encounters between John, Andrew, Peter and James before they fully commit to Jesus and leave their occupation as fisherman of fish and become fisherman of men! This lesson will reveal their hearts and motives behind their desire and decision to follow Jesus, the Son of God, the Savior and King. It is quite a compelling story that is just beginning to unfold.

Two others (Philip and Nathanael/Bartholomew) will recognize that Jesus is the Son of God, the King of Israel and leave everything to follow him. Their story is equally compelling as Nathanael (after meeting Jesus) will come to a full understanding of what the Psalmist wrote in Psalm 139:1-4, “You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely.”

The remaining 6 disciples will begin following Jesus later but all 12 will be called to go and preach the gospel (the Good News that Jesus is the Savior) and make disciples and compel others to also follow Jesus.

This 3-year journey in which Jesus will teach them who he is, why he has come and what they are to do is written in the 4 Gospel accounts. As we read through the Gospels (specifically the Gospel of John) we will witness multiple miracles, wonders and signs along with multitudes of people who are healed of all types of diseases and infirmities.

In the end, It is my prayer and hope that you will embrace what John writes toward the end of his Gospel account, “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:30-31)

Come Follow Me – Jesus and His FollowersDownload

Three Years That Changed the World Part 2 – Two People, Two Messages, One Truth

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Three Years That Changed The World

Lesson 2 – Two People, Two Messages, One Truth – John 1:19-37

This lesson begins with the introduction of John the Baptist and focuses on his ministry and purpose. That purpose was to preach repentance to the Jews and those who heard him, baptize them (a sign of an inward obedience to God), and prepare them for the coming Messiah, whom he will call “the Lamb of God, who comes to take away the sins of the world”.

There will be many who repent and do as John preached but there will be others (many of them are “religious leaders”) who will question John’s motives and authority but that will not deter John from completing his mission. That mission is to acknowledge Jesus as the Lamb of God, baptize Him and direct others to repent of their sin and follow Jesus which is precisely what he does.

The message of John and the message of Jesus were the same. John would point others to Jesus and Jesus will point them to salvation through His ultimate sacrifice on the cross.

It is because of sin that Jesus came, and sin is what separates us from God and needs to be dealt with if we ever want to spend time in His presence:

As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one” (Romans 3:10-12)

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23)

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8)

“That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10)

The lesson will conclude with John the Baptist transitioning his ministry and instruct those disciples who followed him to now follow Jesus. In our next lesson titled; “Come Follow Me” we will see how the 12 disciples (someday called the 12 Apostles) will leave everything to follow Jesus – stay tuned!

Two People – Two Messages – One TruthDownload

Three Years That Changed the World Part 1 – When the Word Became Flesh

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Three Years That Changed The World

Lesson 1 – When The Word Became Flesh (John 1:1-18)

This new series of lessons (primarily focused on the Gospel of John) is about Jesus and His life on this earth – more specifically His three years of ministry and His ultimate death and resurrection. He will be born of a virgin (Mary), lead a sinless life, teach others to love God, to love one another, and to proclaim the good news that He is the Savior of the World! There will be those who believe in Him and those who reject him, but it doesn’t change the fact that He Is who He claimed to be – “God manifested in the flesh”.

This lesson begins with two significant events: the birth and ministry of John the Baptist and the birth and ministry of Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. Both individuals will be interconnected from their birth all the way to their death. One (John the Baptist) will point the way to Jesus and the other (Jesus) will point the way to salvation for he will declare; “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” – John 14:6.

Though not specifically stated in the Gospel of John, the author of the book is undisputedly the Apostle John (“One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him” John 13:23). Of the four Gospel writers (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), it will be John who will primarily focus on the Deity of Jesus Christ. As such, his first words are “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made”. (John 1:1-3)

John could write these words and testify of the deity of Jesus Christ, not just here but throughout the gospel of John and his other writings, and not just because he knew them to be true but because they are true. To believe in the deity of Jesus Christ is completely essential for he can be nothing less than God. This will be the focus of our first lesson; “When the Word became flesh and dwelt among us”. I hope you enjoy it!

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God Was Never Silent – His Story From Malachi to Matthew Part 4

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God Was Never Silent

His Story from Malachi to Matthew – Part 4

During the times of the Greek Empire – Rome was becoming a major power in the Western Mediterranean. To fully rid themselves of Greek rule, the Jews (still being led by Hasmonean descendants) sought the help of the Romans by pledging a mutual alliance of protection. Rome will subjugate Palestine in 63 B.C. and dominated this territory during the entire New Testament Period. The Romans allowed Palestine to be somewhat “self-ruled” – although they controlled the appointment of who was in charge. Thus, Judea became a Roman province of Syria – approximately 60 B.C.

The Roman Empire is the 4th Kingdom in the dream that Daniel interpreted for King Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 2 so none of this was a surprise to God and something He was clearly orchestrating. This was all to bring about the birth of the Savior of the world, Jesus the Christ, the Son of God.

Through a series of events, a Roman leader will come to power and his name was Octavian, but he is better known as Caesar Augustus. He will be instrumental in establishing a “peace through strength” form of government which was commonly referred to as Pax Romana (Roman Peace). During his reign the Roman road system will be built throughout the empire to assist in troop movement and the easy flow of commerce across the lands. All of this will provide a means for the proclamation of the gospel to spread during the New Testament period.

It will be during the time of Caesar Augustus that the Messiah will be born in a lowly town called Bethlehem. Ironically, most of the priests will be oblivious to the signs of his birth and as we will see in our next study ( “Three Years That Changed the World”), many of the priests will openly reject Jesus and call for his crucifixion.

However, God always has a remnant and there will be those who will believe that Jesus is the promised Messiah and will follow him. It all starts with the birth of John the Baptist who was the one spoken of by the prophet Malachi. John the Baptist will turn many Jewish hearts back to God through the act of repentance and baptism with the intention of directing them to follow Jesus through faith that He is the promised Messiah. Next Mary (a virgin) will give birth to Jesus, the promised Messiah and this announcement is made, not to the priests in the synagogue, but to a group of shepherds who will come to the place Jesus was born and worship Him. This lesson will close out with a group of Magi’s who follow a star to Bethlehem and find the child there and choose to worship Him. Although our series concludes with the birth of the Messiah, His story doesn’t end there. He will lead a sinless life, teach others to love God and love one another, and proclaim the good news that He is the Savior of the World! There will be those who believe in Him and those who reject him, but it doesn’t change the fact that He Is who He claimed to be. (John 1:1-14). His story continues……..

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God Was Never Silent – His Story From Malachi to Matthew Part 3

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God Was Never Silent

His Story from Malachi to Matthew – Part 3

This lesson begins with the Greek Empire as the new kingdom in control of the Jewish people and the Land of Promise. The prophet Daniel speaks of this when he interpreted the dream for King Nebuchadnezzar some 200+ years before Alexander the Great of Macedonia defeated Darius III of Persia. Daniel also has a vision of his own (Daniel 8) in which God reveals to him how this up-and-coming Greek Empire will both protect and persecute the Jewish people. This was all a part of God’s plan to mold and shape His people and prepare them for the birth of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, God’s Son.

If there was a silver lining in the Greek rule it would have been the establishment of a common language known as “koine” and it will help to foster the spread of the Gospel in the New Testament. In addition, Alexander and his generals built several “Alexander” cities which became centers of Greek language, arts, and government.

Unfortunately, the religious persecution of later leaders in the Greek Empire became so severe that it caused the Jews to become discouraged, and many will lose their lives. God will raise up some strong leaders who became known as the Hasmoneans or Maccabees and they will revolt against Greek/Syrian Rule and win back their religious freedom and free themselves from persecution. Much of this information can be found in the Apocryphal writings of 1-4 Maccabees along with the Roman-Jewish historian named Josephus as Malachi was last Old Testament book which contains no information of this period of history.

It will be during this period that 3 significant Jewish groups will develop, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Essenes. They will be instrumental in providing spiritual guidance (though sometimes their own personal traditions/preferences) to the Jewish people and will also produce the Septuagint (The Greek translation of the Old Testament) which will serve as a “written” account of God as Creator of all things and how He blessed and guided His chosen people. This will lay the groundwork for an up-and-coming Roman Empire (Also spoken about by the prophet Daniel), who themselves will be instrumental in building roads and fostering a “sense of peace” (Pax Romana) allowing the world to witness the birth of the Savior of the world. Though an ungodly group of Gentiles who worshipped “multiple gods”, and far from “good”, they will be used by God Himself to accomplish His purposes and plans. But that will be a story for our next lesson.

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