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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.

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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)

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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!

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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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God Was Never Silent – His Story from Malachi to Matthew Part 2

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God Was Never Silent

His Story from Malachi to Matthew – Part 2

We now find ourselves toward the end of the Old Testament (approximately 14 years after Ezra led the people back to Jerusalem to worship in the temple and perform sacrifices) and the focus of our study is on 2 significant individuals – one named Nehemiah and the other named Malachi. Both are men of God and their messages, though slightly difference in context, are designed to encourage the Jewish people to remain faithful to their God and their covenant with Him while they await the Messiah.

Nehemiah will lead a third return to Jerusalem and his mission was to motivate the people to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem to protect them from their enemies and also to encourage the people of God to live in their land, reject their idolatrous ways, properly worship their God, live obediently to the Mosaic Law, be subject to the external world powers and kingdoms, and wait for the promised Messiah.

The message of Isaiah was the very hope they clung to; “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.” (Isaiah 9:6-7)

Malachi (the last recorded prophet of the Old Testament) has the burden condemning the abuses of unfaithfulness (both people and priest) and call the people to a life of repentance and faith. This was not an easy task as nearly a century had passed since the last 2 prophets (Haggai and Zechariah) rebuked the children of God for their similar disobedience and complacency. It’s as though the cycle continues to repeat itself over and over. He closes out his book with a message of hope that ultimately comes through the birth of the Messiah, but that would have to wait another 4 centuries and see 2 additional Gentile Empires influence and dominate their way of life. Malachi’s words were simple but not always well received. They were to follow God with their whole heart, be obedient to His commands and not squander the spiritual heritage that was entrusted to them. Some did just that and that will prepare the people of God for a future (4 centuries plus) laced with further persecution, ridicule, and misunderstanding by their Gentile rulers and oppressors. Yet God will have a remnant of those who genuinely believe and will see to it that His salvation will come through the birth of His Son – Jesus Christ the Messiah!

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God Was Never Silent – His Story from Malachi to Matthew

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God Was Never Silent

His Story from Malachi to Matthew – Part 1

We sometimes ignore the events between the “Testaments” (Old and New) depending on the “religious” and denominational influences in our lives. In doing that we really miss out on what was going on in the Palestine region (The Land of Promise) as well as those who lived there after the Jewish exile to Babylon, and the subsequent Gentile rule of the Persians, Greeks, and Romans up to the birth of the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ as recorded in the Gospels. This period, referred to as The Times of the Gentiles by Daniel the prophet, is rich with the influence and purposes of God as He prepares the world for the birth of His Son through a virgin named Mary.

It’s not that God stopped working after Malachi penned his book and then all the sudden re-engaged with the Jews and the whole of mankind during the time of Matthew. On the contrary, God guided His people (the chosen ones – descendants of Abraham) even during some of the darkest days they ever faced. It all started with the Jewish exile to Babylon because of the disobedience of their leaders (starting with Solomon) and the people’s unwillingness to make permanent changes in their behavior toward God and their fellow man.

The Exile (Babylonian captivity) lasted 70 years, just as Jeremiah the prophet said it would. The Jews (as they became known, probably a shortened version of the tribe of Judah) were instructed to return from Babylon to Jerusalem and rebuild their temple and their city which had been destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. It was God who prompted the heart of Cyrus, King of Persia, the then ruler of the Persian Empire which (included Palestine) to allow the Jews to return and rebuild the Temple and the City of Jerusalem,

The Jews would be under the control of the Perian Empire and its rulers for approximately 2 centuries. During that time the Jews returned to Jerusalem under the leadership of Zerubbabel, Ezra and Nehemiah and would rebuild the Temple and the city of Jerusalem, although not to the grandeur of the time of David and Solomon. During the post exile period (Times of the Gentiles), God also used the influences of the prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi to influence the Jewish people and their leaders. Other prophets like Daniel and Ezekiel (who primarily prophesied during the exile) along with Isaiah provide hope for a future kingdom that they had yet to witness and participate in. This “hope” would one day become a reality, but it begins with the birth of the Messiah (Jesus Christ, The Son of God), along with His death on a cross that ushers in a Kingdom that is still at work. Although many rejected Him, Jesus established His church, and all believers await His return to establish His reign that will have no end! This first lesson is an overview of events from the time of the exile (Babylonian Captivity) up to and including the return to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. The lesson will highlight the works of Zerubbabel, Ezra, and the early influences of Nehemiah as they work to rebuild the Temple. This will help lay a groundwork of an understanding of the Intertestamental Period from Malachi to Matthew.

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Forging a Nation of God Worshippers – The Story of Moses and Joshua – Part 2

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We learned from last weeks lesson (Forging a Nation of God Worshippers Part 1) that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would deliver the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage and lead them back to the land He promised Abraham. “Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.” (Genesis 15:13-16).

This lesson begins with Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt and immediately they face their first challenge. The Israelites found themselves stuck between the armies of Pharoah and the Red Sea. While the angel of God held back the armies of Pharoah, the Lord parted the Red Sea allowing the Israelites to cross on dry land. Once the Israelites were safely across, the armies of Pharoah continued their pursuit and found themselves under the judgement of God for their actions against His people. The lesson concludes with Joshua leading the Israelites into the Land of Promise.

The conclusion of our 2-part series will show how God fulfills His promises and displays His power as written in the Books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy:

God Protects – He parts the Red Sea and saves them from the Egyptians

God Provides – He supplies them with nourishment (manna and water)

God Commands – He gives them specific Laws to obey

God Guides – He leads them to the Land of Promise

God Abides – He dwells among them and defines how to properly worship their Creator

God Instructs – He teaches them how to “be right” with God and man

God Chooses – He honors those who honor and obey Him

God Affirms – He blesses and honors Joshua with the task of leading the Israelites to the Land of Promise and Joshua does just as he was instructed.

God’s promise to Joshua: “This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:8-9)

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