Life of Jesus

The Life of Jesus Christ
An online Bible Study Course about the Life of Jesus Christ

www.easyenglish.info
Barrie Wetherill
Information for Church Leaders

The aims of the course
The course aims:
•to provide a brief discussion of the main events in Jesus' life
•to show who Jesus is
•to explain what Jesus came to do.
Course structure
There are 12 chapters. Each chapter contains a series of articles. The events in the chapters are in
date order, approximately.
Separate EasyEnglish commentaries [Bible study books] on each gospel [Matthew, Mark, Luke,
and John] are already on the Internet. This course uses all 4 gospels. But, where possible, each
chapter concentrates on passages from a single gospel.
Barrie Wetherill's course, 'God's message goes to all nations' is also available on the Internet at
How to use this course

You can use this course:
•for personal study
•to lead a church Bible study
•in a group Bible study
•or in a Bible College course.
EasyEnglish language
The course is in EasyEnglish Level B. EasyEnglish is a simpler type of standard English.
EasyEnglish uses simpler grammar rules and shorter sentences. The vocabulary is only 2800
words. A word list explains words that are not in the standard vocabulary.
We have translated this course into EasyEnglish for the Internet, so that as many people as
possible can understand it. Although the language is simpler, the contents of the course are often
at an advanced level.
The course is entirely suitable for people whose first language is English. But also, the course is
suitable for people who have studied English as a second language. And the course is also
suitable for people who cannot read English well.
Life-of-jesus.rtf - 05/01/05 - Page 1

Theology
We check the theology in all our books. That is, we carefully check that everything explains the
Bible message accurately. We use mainstream Evangelical Bible commentaries. [That is, we use
well-known books that the major churches and Bible colleges use.]
Bible translation
The Bible verses in this course are also in EasyEnglish, so that these passages are easy to
understand. Other EasyEnglish translations are available on our website. However, many people
who use this course speak English as their first language. Any translation of the Bible is suitable to
use with this course. A good modern English translation of the Bible is the New International
Version.
Church and personal websites

Please tell people about our website. We would like you to link to our website:
Perhaps you would also like to link to the 'Life of Jesus Christ' index page; especially if your church
is studying the life of Jesus.
Contact us
Please tell us about your experiences with this course. Our E-Mail address is at the end of this
page.
Download
You can download the entire course from the EasyEnglish website to your computer in a single file.
This file is an RTF file, which is suitable for use in most word processors, such as Microsoft Word.
Copyright
You may read and print the files in this course, free of charge. You must include the Copyright
Statement that is in each document.
You may also add illustrations and make cultural or linguistic changes.
You must NOT change the theological meaning of the text in any way without written permission
from Wycliffe Associates (UK).

The Birth of a *Saviour
Part 1 of an EasyEnglish Bible Study Course on the Life of Christ
Barrie Wetherill
Words in boxes are from the Bible.
A word list at the end explains words with a *star by them.
*Israel in the time of Christ

The history of *Israel
Jews lived in *Israel at the time of Christ. They probably did not feel very safe. Once their country
had been very powerful. David and Solomon had been their kings. That was 1000 years ago. Now
they were not powerful. The people had done wrong things. They had not obeyed God. God had
spoken to Abraham and Moses. He had given them a Covenant (made a special agreement with
them). But the people did not obey God's rules. God punished them. He made them leave their
country. He had told them that he would do this. In 586 BC, enemies burned down the *Temple of
Solomon. This *temple was one of the most wonderful buildings in the world. The enemies took
away everything that was inside the *Temple.
After 70 years, some of the Jews returned to *Israel. But it was very difficult to live there. While the
Jews were away, many foreigners had come to live there. After some time the Jews did build the
*Temple again. This was much smaller than Solomon’s *Temple. It was not so beautiful.
At this time, there were very strong rulers in the world. There were very strong countries. People
from Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, Persia and Greece were very powerful. Their armies marched into
many countries.
Armies from Greece enter *Israel

Alexander the Great (from Greece) entered *Israel and many other countries. Alexander was not
only a military leader. He also introduced new ideas to these countries. He made the Greek
language and customs popular. Some Jews began to serve false Greek gods. After Alexander's
death, his Generals (important officers) fought against each other. Each one wanted to rule parts of
his lands. Some of these battles were in *Israel. Then one General spoilt the *Temple, which the
Jews had rebuilt. This General did some evil things in the *Temple. He killed people who would not
serve his false Greek gods. So, some Jews became very angry.
The Maccabees
The Maccabees were a family. They wanted the Jews to serve the true God only. And they
opposed the false Greek gods. The Maccabees encouraged the Jews to fight their enemies. The
Maccabees ruled *Israel for a short time.
The Romans
The Jews began to argue with each other. Then the *Romans came and ruled *Israel. They were
very strict. The Jews wanted to be free. But the Roman *Empire became very strong. The
*Romans ruled many countries. Their power was very great. It seemed impossible for the Jews to
be free.

King Herod's *Temple
At the time of the birth of Jesus, the Romans had made Herod to be king over *Israel. Herod was
not a Jew. He was a foreigner. Although he was a Jew by religion, he did not obey the laws of the
Jews. He was a strong and cruel man. He became king by a plot. He wanted to control the Jews.
So he built the *Temple again. He made it much bigger. His workmen began to build the *Temple
in 20 BC. They continued until about AD 64. Herod's *Temple was a very beautiful building.
But what happened in the *Temple was not always good. People did not always behave in the right
way:
•A Jew might want to kill an animal as a sacrifice (as a gift to God). He had to buy the animal from
a special shopkeeper. The rulers in the *Temple chose the shopkeepers. The shopkeepers could
ask for big prices. People could not bring any other animals, even if they were good animals!
•The Romans appointed the *high priest. But one family gave money to the Romans. So the
Romans always chose men from that family to become the *high priests.
Sadducees and Pharisees

One group of Jews were called Sadducees. They had different ideas from other Jews. They did not
believe in the *supernatural. They had very different ideas. Some people also have such ideas
today. Really the Sadducees were a political party. They wanted to please the Romans. This group
was very powerful. They did not care what they did. They wanted to remain powerful.
Another group were Pharisees. They studied the law of Moses. They did not always know its true
meaning. Later, Jesus spoke to them about this. The leaders of the Pharisees were rich and
powerful.
There were also some good Jews. These people wanted to please God. And they wanted to know
more about God. They read the books of the *prophets. So, these people believed that God would
send a *Messiah. The *Messiah would be a good king. He would rule over them well. They desired
that the king would come. But they had waited for a very long time. There had been no *prophet for
more than 400 years. Some people probably thought that God had forgotten them. Or, that God
had left them. So, they were not sure that the words of the *prophets would come true.
In the next section, we will consider what the *prophets wrote about a *saviour. And in later
sections, we will see how their words came true.
What the *Prophets wrote about a *Saviour

It was difficult for people in the time of Christ to understand the *prophets’ words about the
*Messiah. There were many *prophets. The meaning of their words was not always easy.
Sometimes they did not seem to agree with one another. Many *prophets wrote that the *Messiah
would be a great king. He would bring a time of peace. For the Jews there had been hundreds of
years of battles, war and death. Enemies had made them prisoners. Enemies had destroyed their
land. Of course the people wanted the *Messiah. They wanted the words of the *prophets to come
true.
The *Messiah would bring peace

Isaiah 54:11-15: You suffering citizens, storms have hurt you. And no one has comforted you. I
will build your city. I will build its strong walls and its gates of precious and beautiful stones. The
*Lord will teach all your sons. Your children will live in peace. You will know true goodness. No
one will come near you to hurt you. There will be nothing for you to be afraid of. I do not want
anyone to attack you. If anyone does attack you, they will give in to you.

Micah 4:3: The *Lord will be the *judge between many nations. He will settle arguments for
strong rulers from many countries. They will beat their swords and *spears into farmers’ tools.
People from different nations will not fight or prepare to fight each other.
The *Messiah would be a king

The *prophets spoke about the birth of a king in Bethlehem, (Micah 5:2).
He would be from the family of David (2 Samuel 5:2). He would rule everywhere and for ever (2
Samuel 7:13, 16; Isaiah 9:6, 7; Micah 2:2-5). His rule would be good and completely right. It would
please God. It would be like God’s first plan for the world, or even better. (The *angel who visited
Mary spoke about the *prophecy about a king, Luke 1:32, 33.)
The *Messiah would be a *judge

There were other *prophecies. These said that this king would *judge. He would *judge all that is
evil. John the Baptist knew these *prophecies. Many of them are about the ‘Day of the Lord’. This
means the time when men will see God’s power. The king will be absolutely right and good. He will
be a wise *judge. But men will have great terror because he has these qualities. (See for example,
Isaiah 13:6-13). John the Baptist spoke about this.
The *Messiah would suffer

Some *prophecies also spoke about the Lord’s servant who would suffer, Isaiah 42:13-53:12. He
would be a man who would be very sad.
How to understand the *prophecies

This confused the Jews who lived in the time of Jesus. We can see their problems:
•How could the *Messiah be all this?
•How could one man be a powerful king and also a servant who is sad?
•How could he be a strict *judge and also bring peace for ever?
But they were sure that the *Messiah would be a king. He would chase away all enemies. And all
who had taken their land. He would give them peace, and freedom to rule themselves for ever.
They did not understand the *prophecies. So they did not understand what Jesus did. Christ makes
all these *prophecies come true, in a wonderful way. He made some *prophecies come true when
he came into the world for the first time. He will make other *prophecies come true when he comes
back again.
Elijah would come before the *Messiah

We must mention one more *prophecy. The *Lord said that Elijah would come before the
*Messiah. Someone would bring the message about him.
Malachi 4:5, 6: See, the great day of the *Lord will come. Before that, I will send the *prophet
Elijah to you. He will help fathers to love their children. And he will help children to love their
fathers. If not, I will come. I will bring bad things to the land.
The Jews thought that Elijah himself would appear. This was because his death was unusual (2
Kings 2:11). But later Jesus explained this *prophecy. The *prophecy referred to John the Baptist.
John came like Elijah, with the power of Elijah. This is the subject for our next section.
[Note also Deuteronomy 18:15, 18; Daniel 7:27.]

An *angel comes to Zechariah
Zechariah and Elizabeth
The words of the *prophets were true. What they said would happen, began to happen. There were
still Jews who loved God. They were honest. They wanted to please God.
Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth, loved God. Zechariah was a *priest. He was on duty at the
*Temple twice a year. Zechariah and Elizabeth loved God very much. But they had no children. For
Jews to have no children was very sad. They also felt ashamed. They had prayed for a child for a
very long time. God did not seem to answer.
Then one day Zechariah was on duty in the *Temple. He had a very special duty. He would do this
only once in his life. He had to burn incense to God at the *altar in the *Holy Place in the *Temple.
[This incense would have a very lovely smell. The Jews believed that the smell carried their words
to God.]
When Zechariah was doing this, an *angel suddenly appeared to him. The *angel had a message
for him from God.
The *angel's message about John the Baptist

Luke 1:13: Do not be afraid, Zechariah; God has heard your prayer. Your wife Elizabeth will
have a son. You are to call him John
Zechariah and Elizabeth were now old. So Zechariah could not believe the *angel’s message. The
angel made him unable to speak (and probably unable to hear) until Elizabeth had her son, John.
The angel said that John was to be ‘great in the sight of the Lord’ [God would think that John was
great]. God would give John the *Holy Spirit. The *angel also said this.
The words of the angel referred to the *prophecy of Malachi:
Malachi 4:5, 6: See, the great day of the *Lord will come. Before that, I will send the *prophet
Elijah to you. He will help fathers to love their children. And help children to love their fathers. If
not, I will come. I will bring bad things to the land.
Luke 1:17: And he [John] will go on before the *Lord, like Elijah. [God would think that John was
as great as Elijah.] He will have the same kind of spirit and power as Elijah. He will help fathers
to love their children. And help the bad people to love the wisdom of the good people. He will
prepare for the *Lord.
Before the birth of John, Zechariah probably studied the *prophecies in our previous section. And
he would have studied other *prophecies like them.
John the Baptist would be a Nazirite

The *angel also said this: John was to be a Nazirite as long as he lived, (see Numbers 6:1-21).
This meant that John would not drink any wine. And John would not cut his hair. A Nazirite
promised to live only for the *Lord. We know about two other men who were Nazirites for all of their
lives. These were Samson and Samuel. John was to be a very special person. To be a Nazirite
helped him to remember this.
An *angel comes to Mary

Six months after the *angel visited Zechariah, God sent the *angel to Mary. The *angel brought a
special message from God to Mary. Mary would have a son. She was to call him Jesus. The angel
spoke some wonderful *prophecies about Jesus. Mary knew that God had chosen her for a very
special task.

The *angel tells Mary about Jesus
Luke 1:32-33: He (Jesus) will be great. Men will call him the Son of the Most High. The Lord
God will make him king like his father, David. He will rule over the family of Jacob for ever; his
kingdom will never end.
There was no doubt at all about this child. The *angel said quite clearly who Jesus was. These are
the words. The angel said that Jesus was:-
•Son of the Most High [This means son of God].
•To have the *Throne of David.
•He will rule for ever.
•There is no end to His *kingdom.
This message impressed Mary very much. Her answer shows that she trusted God. She was
willing to obey him, although it would be hard. She would be a mother. But she would not be a wife.
The *angel had said all this. She could not have understood the meaning of it all.
Mary's song
The angel told Mary to go to her cousin Elizabeth. When they met, Mary praised God with a
wonderful song. The song was full of words from the *prophets. Mary and Elizabeth praised God
because he loves everyone. He is kind to us.
Luke 1:51, 52: God has done powerful things. He has scattered those who have proud
thoughts. He has removed rulers from their *thrones. He has made humble men great.
God chose humble people

God had chosen a poor girl from a village to be the mother of the *Messiah. The son of an ordinary
priest was to tell the world about him. People think that certain men are powerful. But the *Lord did
not choose them. He did not think that they were important. God chose humble people [people
whom other people thought were not important]. These people showed how powerful and great
God is.
Zechariah’s song
John the Baptist is born
Soon after this Elizabeth had her baby, John. The time came for his *circumcision. And for his
parent to give him a name. Then Zechariah was able to speak again. His song (Luke 1:68-79) was
also full of words from the *prophets. Everybody knew about this (Luke 1:65). People asked each
other questions about John. They asked, 'What kind of man would he be?' The Bible tells us that
the *Lord was with John from his birth (Luke 1:15, 66). In the same way, the *Lord had been with
Samuel.
God will free his people

The beginning of Zechariah’s song reminds us of words from the time of the *Exodus. God used
his very great power then to free his people. Zechariah says that this will happen again. In his song
he refers to the ‘horn’. (In the Bible a horn is a sign of power. Psalm 132 refers to a horn.)
God will free his people from their enemies. This was not just a desire to defeat the enemy. It was
a cry from a holy man. He wanted to serve the *Lord without fear. He wanted people to know this.
God is good. Zechariah says some things also about John.
Psalm 132:17, 18: Here I will make a horn grow for David. I have chosen him as king. I will set
up a lamp for him. I will bring shame on his enemies. But I will give him a wonderful crown.

Luke 1:76, 77: And you, my child, will be a *prophet of the Most High God. You will go first. You
will prepare the way for the *Lord. You will tell his people this: he will forgive them. He will
rescue them.
God will forgive his people

The Jews will serve God. Zechariah’s song says this. They will, at last, do right. They will be holy.
They will be free when God forgives them. He will forgive the wrong things that men do. Zechariah
was not thinking only about freedom from Roman rule. For many years, he had been studying the
*prophets!
The childhood of John the Baptist

John learned from his parents
We do not know what John was like as a child. His parents were good people. They wanted to
please God.
John learned from the Bible

We can be sure that John and his parents studied God’s Word [the Bible]. They would have read
about the *Messiah. They would have read about the *Messiah's fore-runner. [A fore-runner was a
servant who went first, in front of an important person. He had to prepare people for his master. He
had to say that his master would come very soon.] The *Messiah’s fore-runner was to say this: the
*Messiah would come very soon. People should prepare for Him. Jewish children learned to repeat
many words of the Bible.
John learned from other people

John would have learned about what happened in the *Temple. He would have learned about the
meaning of the sacrifices [gifts to God] and customs. When John was a young man, he prepared
for his special work. He lived in the deserts, near the Essene people. They were men who lived
together. They lived in a very simple way, with discipline. They studied the *prophets.
John learned from God's *Holy Spirit

The *Holy Spirit was with John from his birth. We can be sure that God spoke to John. God would
tell him about his work. He would teach him also about the character of Jesus, the *Messiah.
Probably John’s and Jesus’ families met each other when John and Jesus were young. Before
their births, God had told their parents about their sons. They all knew that their sons were special.
All this must have helped John. He knew that he had to look for a different kind of *Messiah. Most
people expected a king who would be a political leader. John knew that this was not God’s plan.
The birth of Jesus

Why Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem
The birth of Jesus was about 6 months after the birth of John the Baptist.
However, just before Jesus was born, the Romans decided to count the people. They wanted to
know how many people would pay tax to the Romans. Every family had to return to their first
home. The Roman officials would count them there.
Joseph and Mary belonged to the family of David. The family had come from Bethlehem. They had
to go to Bethlehem. That was far away. It must have been a difficult journey for Mary. They were
late when they arrived at Bethlehem. There were many people in Bethlehem. They had no place to
sleep. There was no room anywhere.

So, the birth of Jesus was in a shed. Animals lived there. Mary put the baby in a manger. [A
manger is a box that contains the food for animals.] The *prophecy said that the *Messiah would
come from Bethlehem. This *prophecy came true.
Micah 5:2: Bethlehem, you are small among the families of *Judah. However, out of you will
come one for me. That one will be ruler over *Israel. I have planned this from ancient times.
*Angels, shepherds and wise men

Joseph and Mary had to stay near there for some time. They had to take Jesus to the *Temple
after 40 days. Some visitors surprised them. Some shepherds came. [They were men who looked
after sheep.]. They had seen *angels. The *angels had praised God. Christ the *Lord was a baby in
Bethlehem. The angels had told them this. Another group of visitors were wise men. They gave
wonderful gifts.
Jesus is the *saviour for people from all nations

The visitors are interesting.
The shepherds were Jews. But some Jews might not respect them, because the shepherds were
poor. However, they must have been good men. They pleased God.
The wise men were foreigners. They were not Jews. They came from a country whose people did
not know the real God. However, God guided them. Now they had found this baby. He would be
greater than anyone that they had ever known.
Both groups of men showed *faith. They did not give honour to a prince in a palace. The
shepherds saw him in an animal’s shed. The wise men came to a simple home. Jesus is the
*Messiah not only for the Jews. He is for all nations. The visits show us this.
Simeon and Anna

The time came to take Jesus to the *Temple. Two very good people were there. Simeon and Anna
spoke to Joseph and Mary. They praised God for the child Jesus.
Jesus had poor parents. They lived in a poor house. But the *angels of God knew about Jesus.
And they told some good ordinary people about him.
Jesus is Humble
Jesus was a poor man
Jesus lived like a very humble man. This is very impressive. Our *Lord might have been the son of
a rich woman, or the son of a king. He might have been born to a very important family. That would
have been a humble act for Jesus, because Jesus was really the Son of God.
But Jesus was actually the son of a poor woman. We know that Mary was poor. Mary and Joseph
came to the *Temple with the baby. Then they offered a gift to God. The Jewish law told people
what they should give. Mary and Joseph’s gift was the cheapest. They could only afford that. They
offered two birds. Jesus was the Heir of all things [God meant to give him everything]. But he
became one of the humblest men. From birth he was poor. He lived in a poor family. Joseph was a
carpenter. [A carpenter made things from wood.] Jesus served people all his life. Jesus worked.
Things did not always go well for him. He had troubles like our troubles.
Jesus lived like a servant

In Philippians 2:7-11 Paul tells us that Jesus left the *glory of *Heaven. He became a human
person. He was humble enough to die on the *cross. He knew what he was doing. It was not some
terrible mistake. Jesus himself said that:

I did not come so that men would serve me. I came to serve other people. And I came to give
my life for many people. (Matthew 20:28)
He did not come just to make some changes in the ways of the world. He came to replace it. Jesus
showed a different way to live. He showed this to greedy people [or cruel people with too much
power]. He showed that a man could be humble. He could love and serve other people.
Jesus served people all his life. He made sick people better. He made worried people calm. The
last time that he ate with his *disciples, he took a towel. He washed the *disciples’ feet. This
attitude began at Bethlehem. He lay in the manger there, among the animals. [A manger is for
animals’ food.] He was like someone who did not deserve a proper house.
Jesus obeyed his parents

Jesus obeyed Mary and Joseph, as he grew up. It would be wonderful to know more about his
childhood. He was not proud. He came to serve. He came to show us how to live. Most of all, he
came to die for us. He was so humble. But he was so great!
God chose the right time for Jesus to come

Galatians 4:4, 5: But when the time was right, God sent his Son. He had a human birth, under
law. He came to free those under law. Now we can become the real sons of God.
God arranged that the time was right. It was time for His Son to come into the world. It was the
right time in the world. It was also the right time in God’s great plan. God had prepared for this,
from the beginning of the world. Because of Roman rule, there was a kind of peace in that region.
Many people could speak the Greek language. They understood each other. John the Baptist was
ready. He was to come before Jesus. He was to tell people that Jesus would come. Jesus himself
was born. God’s power did all this, but in a humble way. This should surprise us. It should impress
us. God showed his love for men. They did not obey him. He wanted to forgive them. He showed
this. Everybody should trust him.
Read: Luke chapters 1 and 2
Word List
altar ~ a special table, on which people put gifts for God, or for a false god
angel ~ angels live with God and bring messages from God.
circumcision ~ when you cut off the loose skin from the end of the sex part of a boy or man. In
*Israel this showed that the person belonged to God
cross ~ two pieces of wood fixed together. Jesus died on a cross, and so the cross is now the sign
of the church
disciples ~ people who believe in Jesus and obey him
empire ~ very big *kingdom.
Exodus ~ the time when God led the *Jews out of Egypt.
faith ~ belief and confidence in something or someone; trust in God and in his Bible
glory ~ the power and greatness of God
heaven ~ where God lives and rules
high priest ~ the most important priest in the Jewish *temple
Holy Place ~ an inner part of the *Temple, which only a priest could enter, to speak to God
Holy Spirit ~ God’s Spirit, whom Jesus sends to help people.

Israel ~ the Jewish people, or the land of the Jewish people
Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Judah ~ another name for the land of the Jews
judge ~ someone who decides if a person is good or bad. If you judge something, you make a
decision about it.
kingdom ~ land that a king rules
Lord ~ a name that we call God or Jesus, when we obey them
Messiah ~ Messiah means the same as Christ. That is, the one whom God chose as *Israel's
special king. God forgives us because Jesus, our Messiah, suffered the punishment for our evil
deeds.
priest ~ a special servant of God, who gave gifts to God for himself and other people, in the
*Temple
prophecy ~ words that a *prophet speaks
prophet ~ a person who can tell other people what God wants
Roman ~ a person from Rome. Rome was the most famous city in the world at the time of Jesus.
Their soldiers fought and defeated many countries. They made the people obey the rules of Rome.
They made them pay taxes to Rome. The people could not rule themselves, but they had to obey
the laws of Rome.
saviour ~ Jesus, who saves us from the results of our evil deeds. He made us right with God when
he died on the *cross.
spear ~ a long and thin object, like a sword. Men use it to fight with.
supernatural ~ something that men cannot explain or understand. It seems to come from God
temple ~ the special building in Jerusalem. The Jews went to *worship God there
throne ~ a special chair, which a king sits on
worship ~ when people give honour to God; they pray and sing his praises.

John the Baptist and Jesus begin
their work
Barrie Wetherill
A *prophet is here!
John the Baptist began his work suddenly. Very soon people began to talk about him. He lived in
the desert. The desert was east of Jerusalem, near the Jordan river. Very few plants grow there.
Very few animals live there. It has bad soil. The soil has chalk in it. Stones and rocks cover the
ground.
John the Baptist's clothes

John wore simple clothes. He wore a kind of long coat. Men made clothes like this from camel’s
hair (Matthew 3:4). Elijah wore a coat like this (2 Kings 1:8). Such a coat would last for a long time.
It was cheap. It was suitable to wear in the desert. Also, it was a sign. It showed that this man was
a *prophet.
John the Baptist's food

John’s food was very simple also. He ate ‘wild honey and locusts’. [The Bible mentions wild honey
several times. It is honey that has appeared naturally (without the help of men). Locusts are large
insects with legs and wings.] Probably John did not only eat wild honey and locusts. This shows us
what kind of man he was. Most people tried to please themselves. They lived in that way. John did
not please himself. He wanted to show people this. John did a special work for God. This lasted for
only a few months. But it was very important. People listened to John’s words.
There had been many *prophets since Moses lived. The Jews knew this. But after the time of
Malachi, no *prophet had spoken for 400 years. People wanted very much to hear from God. There
had been so many wars. God had promised them a *Messiah. So, the people asked, 'When would
the *Messiah come?' Long ago Elijah had appeared quite suddenly. Now John came in the same
way. He shouted out his message (Matthew 3:2) -
‘THE *KINGDOM OF *HEAVEN IS NEAR. YOU HAVE DONE WRONG THINGS. BE SORRY
FOR THESE WRONG THINGS. LISTEN TO GOD’.
John’s message
A new *kingdom
John’s message was very important. He said that there would be a new *kingdom. It would be the
*kingdom of God. This *kingdom would have many good things. The *prophets wrote about this.
There would be joy, peace and security.

It seems that John expected Jesus to set up a political *kingdom. The *disciples thought this too,
even after Jesus came back to them. Jesus became alive again after his death. Then the *disciples
asked Jesus when he would set up the *kingdom (Acts 1:6).
For the present time, the *kingdom is a *spiritual *kingdom. Neither John nor the *disciples
understood that. It is the time when Christians *preach the good news about Jesus. They teach the
good news all round the world. In the future, Jesus will come back to the world again. The full
*kingdom will come only then.
John was not the *Messiah himself. He told this clearly to the crowds. He was merely the person
who came first. He came with the message about the *Messiah.
What is the *kingdom of God?

The *kingdom of God means this: God rules in our hearts and in our lives. So, we love him. And we
obey him. Jesus said, ‘The kingdom of God is inside you’ (Luke 17:21). People are wicked. So all
other *kingdoms had failed, because they could not teach people to love God.
But, in the *kingdom of God, God would ‘write his laws inside us’. He promised this by his Spirit
(Jeremiah 31:34). Before we can live in this *kingdom, we must *repent. This was John’s message.
We have done wrong things. We must be sorry for these things. We must invite God into our lives.
We must live like God wants us to. But nothing can happen unless we *repent. This comes first.
*Repent and believe

We must *repent. This message is all through the Bible. It is there many times:
•Jesus himself spoke this message, when he began his special work for God. That happened soon
after John appeared publicly (Matthew 4:17).
•It was an important part of the message of Peter. Peter spoke on the day of *Pentecost (Acts 2).
Later, Peter spoke about the message to a great crowd in the *Temple. He said that they should
repent (Acts 3:19).
•It was an important part of Paul’s message. He travelled to many countries. Paul spoke about
Jesus. He said that people must repent (Acts 26:20). ‘Repent and believe’. This was the message.
John’s message of trouble!

John said that the *Messiah would come soon. This was a joyful message. But John would not
have been a popular *preacher today. He warned some people about the way that they lived. He
wanted to help people. People should have the right kind of fear of God. God’s *kingdom has some
essential things. John knew these things. God’s kingdom is a *kingdom of *righteousness. God’s
*kingdom can have nothing evil in it God must destroy anything that is evil.
John warned the *Pharisees and *Sadducees

God would *judge the people of Israel. John knew this. They would have to *repent. The
*Pharisees and *Sadducees came to John. They asked for *baptism. They probably did this
because John was very popular. John’s message was hard. But people liked him. The *Pharisees
and the *Sadducees controlled the people. They did not want to lose control. John spoke hard
words to these leaders of the Jewish religion.
Matthew 3:7 You are like snakes! You do not deserve to escape God's anger.
Later (Matthew 3:10) John said this: God will destroy many people. Some people will not obey him.
He will destroy those people. John continued:

Matthew 3:11, 12 I *baptise you with water. This will show that you have *repented. But there is
someone more powerful than me. He will come after me. I am not important enough to be his
servant. He will *baptise you with the *Holy Spirit and with fire. A farmer keeps his good wheat.
But he burns the straw. And this powerful person, who is coming, will be like that. He will keep
good people safe. But he will punish wicked people severely.
God will *judge the world

God will *judge the world. That is what John was saying. God is good. And he will *judge everyone.
We know that nobody is good by nature. The only way to avoid God’s anger is to *repent. John
spoke often about this when he *preached. He told the people to *repent. Then they would change.
They would live in a different way. They would think in a different way (Luke 3).
People who pretend to *repent

John was not sure about the *Pharisees and *Sadducees. That is clear. They only wanted people
to admire them. This can happen today. Some people do not *repent completely. You may pretend
to *repent. Perhaps you think that you have *repented. Other people, and even yourself, think that
you have *repented. But it is not true. God gives us good things. You will not have all these good
things. He gives us these things when we trust Jesus.
John *baptises Jesus

Matthew 3:13-17, Luke 3:21, 22
Jesus' *baptism
People had done wrong things. Some people were sorry for the wrong things. John *baptised
those people. Jesus came to him, with other people, for *baptism. John tried to stop him (Matthew
3:13). Christ himself had done nothing wrong. He had no *sin to *repent of. But Jesus was going to
begin his public work. This was the time. He wanted to show that he was a man. People should
think that he was a man. He came to rescue people. He was like these people. Immediately the
*Holy Spirit came down on Jesus like a bird. A voice spoke from *heaven, ‘You are my Son. I love
you. I am very pleased with you’ (Matthew 3:17).
John recognized that Jesus was the *Messiah

God had told John how to recognise the *Messiah. ‘I would not have known him, if God had not
told me this. The *Holy Spirit will come down and remain on him. He will be the man who will
*baptise with the *Holy Spirit’ (John 1:33). At this time God gave power to Jesus. Jesus had work
to do. It was the power of the *Holy Spirit for this work (Acts 10:38).
On another day, John saw Jesus near him. The *Holy Spirit told John to say this to the crowds,
‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the *sin of the world’! (John 1:29). Neither John nor the
crowds could have understood this completely at that time. Later, Jesus died. He then came to life
again. Jesus said many things. After that, men could understand many of these things better.
The Lamb of God

This name for Jesus is only here in John 1, in the *New Testament. ‘The Lamb’ is sometimes a
name for Jesus in the Book of Revelation. It is not clear what John the Baptist meant. It is not clear
what his *disciples understood by this phrase. Here are some of the possible meanings:
•The *Passover Lamb – Exodus 12
•To remind us of the animal which God gave in Genesis 22:13. It was the *sacrifice in place of
Isaac
•The lamb which Isaiah 53:7 mentions

•The lambs which the Jews offered every morning and evening as *sacrifices in the *Temple
•The lambs which Jews gave to God as *sacrifices, when they were sorry for their *sins.
‘The Lamb’ could mean any of these. Perhaps John did not mean only one thing. What is important
is the idea of *sacrifice. Jesus would be the *sacrifice to take away *sin.
John's authority to *baptise

John spoke about Jesus with great power. People believed that John was a *prophet. He showed
this by the simple way that he lived. He showed this by what he said.
Afterwards, the men who ruled in the *Temple came to Jesus. They came just before he died on
the *cross. They asked him what authority he had. Why did he do the things that he did? Jesus
replied with a question:
Mark 11:29 I will ask you one question. Answer me. Then I will tell you by what authority I am
doing these things. Did God appoint John to *baptise people? Or did John's authority come from
other people?
The men from the *Temple refused to answer Jesus' question. They could not say that men told
John to *baptise people. All the people believed that God had appointed John to be a *prophet. So
Jesus then replied, ‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things’.
The *Devil tries to make Jesus do wrong things

Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 4:1-13
Immediately after the *baptism, the *Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert. There the *Devil tried
this: to make Jesus do wrong things. This event is very important in the life and work of Jesus.
Perhaps it is the most important event. It is a very serious and holy event. We must know about it.
Jesus was alone in the desert. Only Jesus knew about what happened there. At some time he
must have told his *disciples about it. Both Matthew and Luke write about it.
In the desert
This happened immediately after Jesus’ *baptism. The *Holy Spirit led him into the desert. He was
there for 40 days (Luke 4:1). There is a desert between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. Probably
Jesus was there. The Jewish name for that area means ‘The Waste Land’. It is 35 miles in one
direction and 15 miles in the other. [That is 56 kilometres in one direction and 24 kilometres in the
other]. It has dusty hills and bare rocks. They are rough and sharp. Nothing can grow there. It is
very hot. The land is high up. But there is a steep cliff. Below that is the Dead Sea.
People believed that wicked *spirits ruled the desert. (Jesus speaks about this in Matthew 12:43).
The *Holy Spirit led or sent Jesus there. What happened to Jesus seems to be continuous. It did
not just last for short periods. Clearly the experience was worst at the end of the 40 days. There, in
the desert, Jesus met the *Devil.
Jesus’ purpose
Alone with God
What was Jesus’ purpose during those 40 days?
People in the Bible were often alone for a long time. During such times, they prayed and thought
about God. Often this was before they did an important work for God. Sometimes it was before
God had a special message for them. Men like Moses and Elijah were often alone with God for a
long time. They were active men. They changed the world for good. When they were alone with
God they learned more about him. They learned more about the power of the *Holy Spirit.

God wants us to know him better. This is how. Sometimes we can make ourselves nearly crazy
with too much activity. He does not want this. He wants us to get right with Him. He wants us to
spend time in thought and prayer about him. Then we can be sure about what he wants. When we
do something, we do it in God’s way. We do it for God, with his power.
This was very important for Jesus. He came to show us what God is like. He helps us to
understand God. He came to bring us back to God. We could never do this ourselves. Jesus
knows that. How could he do it? There is a right way to obey God. Here Jesus established for
always that right way. Men admire importance and power. Jesus chose to suffer and to die. The
*Devil came to him at the beginning. There was a special reason for this. The *Devil wanted to
make Jesus do wrong things. He wanted Jesus to choose his method, and not God’s method. This
is very important for us, when we work for God.
The *Devil's scheme

The *Devil is *prince of this world. He rules over people. He makes them do wrong things. But
Jesus, who is the great friend of people, had come into the world. The Devil saw this. At Jesus’
*baptism God showed it clearly to all. The *Devil’s rule was going to end. Jesus would set men free
from that rule. The *Devil decided to fight Jesus with all his strength. He had attacked Adam and
Eve in the Garden of Eden. Here he attacked the second Adam in the desert. The second Adam is
Jesus.
How to defeat the *Devil

Adam and Eve had done nothing wrong. The *Devil tried to make them do wrong things. Christ had
also done nothing wrong. The *Devil tried to make him choose wrong things too. We can learn two
things from this.
•The *Devil will try to make us do wrong things. This is not a *sin for us. The *Devil tried to
make even Jesus do wrong things. It is *sin only when we give in to it.
•This happens in everybody’s life. It happened to Jesus. And it will happen to us. Jesus
defeated the *Devil. So he can give us power to defeat him too.
The *Devil tests Jesus for the first time

Matthew 4:3, 4 Luke 4:3, 4
Jesus had not had a meal for 40 days. Jesus was now very, very hungry. Then the *Devil came to
test him. In that particular desert there are stones (called lapides or septaria) that look like small
loaves of bread. Everywhere that Jesus looked he would see these stones. There are also stones
there that look like fruits. People call them Elijah’s melons. [A melon is a large round fruit.] The
*Devil tried to test Jesus the man. The *Devil was very clever. It is not wrong to have what we
need. We must live. Jesus had powers as God. Why should Jesus not use these powers? They
could supply his needs. This was the first time that the *Devil tested him.
'Make this stone become bread'

This *Devil's scheme was clever. Jesus could have used this method to make people believe in
him. If he gave out free bread, crowds would come to him. (In fact, this happened later. But Jesus
never obeyed the *Devil. In fact, Jesus cared about the people who followed him. He cared about
their needs. So, he fed hungry people. And he cured ill people.) But Jesus did not come to the
world to make life better. He came to make better men and women.
The *Devil wanted Jesus to give in to hunger. To desire food is a common physical need. It is not
wrong to be hungry. But it is always wrong to obey the *Devil. The *Devil did not tempt Jesus with
sex. The *Devil was too clever to do that. Instead, the *Devil used something that a hungry man
really needed. That is, Jesus needed food.

Jesus trusted God
Jesus did not give in. Instead, Jesus trusted God.
God made people. He wants people to trust him. He had led Jesus into this desert. There God
allowed Jesus to be hungry. God would choose when Jesus' hunger would end. And God would
choose how it would end. But it would not be right for Jesus to make it end. And it would be terrible
if Jesus obeyed the *Devil. The common needs of life are important. But it is more important to
obey God.
How did Jesus answer? He did not argue. He used the authority of the Word of God [that is, the
Bible]. He said:
'The Word of God says, “Man does not live by bread alone” '.
The *Devil tests Jesus for second time

The Devil put Jesus on the very top of the *Temple. This was to test him. He told him to throw
himself down. He said this: 'God would protect Jesus. Words from the Bible show that. This would
impress the crowds of people who saw it. The Bible says, "For he will tell his *angels to protect you
in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands. Then you will not hit your foot against a stone".'
Psalm 91:11-12
A powerful thought
The *Devil tested Jesus with a powerful thought. It is very clever. Perhaps the *Devil did not think
that he would win the first time. He wanted to prepare for the second time. Then he tested Jesus
again. Jesus refused to obey the first time. He trusted that his Father would care for the needs of
his body. 'Quite right!', said the *Devil. And the *Devil used this trust. He mentioned the words from
Psalm 91 to make his idea seem right. He used only some of the words. He did not use the words
that come first. These words are very important:
‘v9 Make the *Most High, who is the Lord, your home and your safe place – v10 then no hurt
will come to you. You will be quite safe’.
Study the Bible carefully

This reminds us about an important principle. We need to know the words of the Bible well. If we
think of Bible words, we must be careful. If somebody mentions Bible words to us, we must be
careful. If the words tell us to do something wrong, we must be careful. There are other words
round these words. We must think about them too. Think about the whole story. And think about
the message in other parts of the Bible, too. Only then can we know if we really understand the
words. People can use the Bible in a right way or in a wrong way.
People wanted to see *miracles

Many people would oppose Jesus. He knew this. Many people would not trust him, unless they
saw special signs. They needed signs. These proved that he was from God. If he could impress
them by a few special signs, people would believe. They would very easily believe that he was the
*Messiah. The *Devil suggests that this would be wise. It would be an easy way to give a sign to
the people. Then they would listen to Jesus.
Jesus knew that his Father will guide him. He also knew what God does not want. God does not
want foolish behaviour. He does not want anyone to be in unnecessary danger. He does not want
anyone to force him to act.
When the *Devil tested Jesus in this way, Jesus replied. He spoke words from Deuteronomy 6:16:
It is wrong to test God.

These are very important words. Jesus knew about the events at Massah. This was when the Jews
were in the desert. We can read about it in Exodus 17:1-7. The Jews complained about Moses.
They said, ‘Is the *Lord among us or not’? They were really complaining about God. They wanted
God to do something. They made Moses ask God for water, by a *miracle. The Jews wanted a
sign, that is, a *miracle. This would prove that God was with them. God would help them in his time
and in his own way. They had to learn this. God will help us in his own good time. We have to trust
God.
God's way
Jesus would not use the *Devil's way to make people believe in him. He would not show his power
like this. He chose God's way, although it was the hard way. He chose to serve other people. He
chose to suffer. His life ended at the *cross. But after the *cross, it led to *glory. People who trust
Jesus now, must also choose God's way. It has been like this ever since the time of Jesus.
The *Devil tests Jesus for the third time

The *Devil showed Jesus all the *kingdoms of the world ‘in a moment of time’. We do not know
how the *Devil did this. We do not need to know. He really did this. That is enough to know.
The *Devil offered to give Jesus all the authority and greatness of these *kingdoms. But first, Jesus
must *worship the *Devil.
The Devil was pretending something: this is a quick and easy way to make the Bible true. God
does want all the *kingdoms of the world to belong to Jesus. The *Devil tried to make Jesus take
them like this. It would have been the wrong way. It would have been wrong for Jesus to use his
power like this. It is wrong to obey the *Devil, even for what seems to be good. The *Devil is
powerful and cruel. He is very wicked. We cannot defeat *sin by *sin.
Serve God alone

Jesus’ answer is very important. He spoke words from Deuteronomy chapter 6. In this passage,
God had promised to give the country called Canaan to the people of *Israel. Canaan would
become their home. But in Deuteronomy 6:10-13, God warned the people to remember something.
They would receive Canaan only if they trusted God alone. In Deuteronomy 6:13 we read,
‘Respect the *Lord your God, and serve Him only’. That is very clear. There was no other way and
no easy way.
The *Devil has always tempted Christians to use politics in order to obtain power. And many
Christians want to please people in this way. We know this when we read about the Roman
Catholic church, hundreds of years ago. Some churches today try to have power in this way. We
can also see this.
The *Devil leaves Jesus

So the *Devil stopped testing Jesus. But Luke also says that the *Devil left Jesus ‘for a season’.
The *Devil would test Jesus many times. Even on the *cross Jesus could have used his power to
save himself. People told him to come down from the *cross if he really was the Son of God.
Jesus and the *Holy Spirit

The *Holy Spirit was with Jesus while the *Devil tested Jesus.
The *Holy Spirit came to the Lord Jesus when John *baptised Jesus. At the same time a voice
from *heaven spoke. This showed that Jesus was God’s Son. God had also chosen him to serve in
the world. That was when Jesus began his special work for God.

Before the *Devil tested Jesus, the *Holy Spirit led Jesus. The *Holy Spirit led Jesus into the
desert. There *Satan came to Jesus. In the desert the *Holy Spirit gave Jesus power. This is how
Jesus defeated *Satan. Jesus did not do what the *Devil wanted.
Many years before this, God called the people of *Israel ‘my son’. They too were in the desert. The
*Devil tested them there. But they had not trusted that God would give them power. They had
failed. But the Son of God won.
After the *Devil tested Jesus, Jesus came back to *Galilee in the power of the *Holy Spirit (Luke
4:14). Then Jesus began to work for God publicly. Jesus knew that he was the *Messiah. The
*Holy Spirit had given him power for this work (Luke 4:18). Jesus knew this.
Jesus begins his special work for God

Jesus *preaches at Nazareth
After Jesus left the desert, he returned to his home in Nazareth. On the sabbath [Saturday, which
is the Jews' special day for prayer] he went into the *synagogue. He taught there. He chose these
words from Isaiah:
Isaiah 61:1, 2 I have the Spirit of the *Lord God. He has chosen me to tell good news to poor
people. He has sent me to comfort sad people. He has sent me to free the prisoners. He has
sent me so that blind people will see. This is the year when God cares for his people. I declare
this.
Jesus said that these words were about him. Jesus came to begin the *kingdom of God. He would
free people from *sin. Then they would be in God’s *kingdom. But Jesus read only part of Isaiah
61:2.
The rest of Isaiah 61:2 is about the ‘day when God punishes’. Jesus will return to the world when
that day comes. We call this event 'the Second Coming'.
•The first time that Jesus came, he announced God's good news. He spoke about God’s
*grace and *mercy. He showed that God loves us. Jesus came for sinners. Jesus invited
the people to trust him. Isaiah wrote about the Lord’s servant who would suffer. These
words all came true.
•Jesus will come again, for the second time. Then he will be the *Lord from *heaven. He will be
the judge of everyone: people who are alive and people who are dead.
The people at Nazareth could not have understood this at that time.
Why the people of Nazareth wanted to kill Jesus

The people of Nazareth did not like what Jesus said. Jesus explained that, soon, the Gentiles
would trust him. [Gentiles are people who are not Jews.] This made the people of Nazareth very
angry. They tried to kill Jesus.
Jesus' words impressed many people. His words were wonderful. He taught with authority. Also,
his *miracles attracted many people. But people did not want to change their attitudes and
behaviour. They would have to change these things if they belonged to the *kingdom of God.
Jesus' work in Galilee

Jesus went about in Galilee. He *preached in the *synagogues. He said the same words that John
had said, ‘Be sorry for the wrong things that you have done. The *kingdom of *heaven is near’
(Matthew 4:17). Jesus taught many things. The first four books of the *New Testament tell us a lot
about these things. They tell us that his words impressed the people. His words pleased the
people. He also cured every illness. He freed people from *demons. He cured even people who
had great pain. Some people could not move their arms or legs. He cured these people. At this
time Jesus chose his first *disciples: Peter and his brother Andrew, and James and John, who
were sons of Zebedee (John 1:35-51, Luke 5:2-11).

A single day in the life of Jesus
Mark gives us a short but complete report of a day in Jesus’ life in Mark 1:21-45. He shows us
clearly the authority of Jesus and the power of the *Kingdom of God. Jesus changed people's lives
by the power of the *Holy Spirit.
Mark 1:21, 22 They went to Capernaum. On the Sabbath Jesus went into the *synagogue. He
began to teach. His words impressed people. He spoke with authority. He was not like the
teachers of the law.
In verses 21 and 22 we see the authority of Jesus when he teaches. People knew that Jesus was
not the same as their usual teachers.
Mark 1:23-28 There was a man in their *synagogue. He had an evil *spirit. He cried out, ‘What
do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are –
you are the Holy One of God’!
‘Be quiet’! Jesus ordered. ‘Come out of him’! The evil *spirit shook the man. It came out of him
with a scream.
This impressed all the people. They asked each other, ‘What is this? This is something new –
and this man has authority! He even gives orders to evil *spirits. And they obey him’. News
about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.
In verses 23 to 28 we see the authority of Jesus over *demons. Jesus' authority impressed people.
Jesus did not argue with *demons. We can see this. He told them what to do. Then they had to
leave a person.
Mark 1:29-31 As soon as they left the *synagogue, they went with James and John to the home
of Simon and Andrew. Simon’s wife’s mother was ill in bed. They told Jesus about her. So he
went to her. He took her hand. He helped her to get up. The illness left her. She began to serve
them.
In verses 29 to 31 we read about the authority of Jesus over illness. Jesus cured the mother of
Simon’s wife. He cured her completely. She could cook a meal immediately. She did not need time
to get well.
Mark 1:32-34 That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick people. They
also brought everyone who had *demons. Everybody came to the door. Many had various
diseases. Jesus cured them. He also sent away many *demons. He would not let the *demons
speak. They knew who he was.
In verses 32 to 34 we read more about the authority of Jesus. He cures many people. He frees
other people from *demons.
Mark 1:35-37 Very early in the morning Jesus got up. It was still dark. He left the house. He
went away to a quiet place. He prayed there. Simon and his companions went to look for him.
When they found him, they said, ‘Everybody is looking for you’!
These verses show us where Jesus got power for his work. He spent time alone with his Father,
God.
Mark 1:38, 39 Jesus replied, ‘Let us go somewhere else. There are villages near. We will go to
these villages. I want to *preach there also. That is why I have come’. So he travelled through
*Galilee. He *preached in their *synagogues. He forced *demons to leave.
Verses 38 to 39 show us the most important part of the work of Jesus. This is when he *preaches
about the *kingdom of God. The *miracles were important. But they are not enough. They showed
the power of the *kingdom. Jesus spoke about this power.
Mark 1:40-45 A man with illness on his skin came to Jesus. The man knelt in front of Jesus. The
man said, ‘If you want to, you can cure me’.
Jesus loved and cared for the man. He reached out his hand. He touched the man. ‘I do want
to’, Jesus said. ‘I am curing you now’! Immediately the illness left the man. Jesus had cured him.

Jesus sent the man away at once. Jesus warned him, ‘Do not tell this to anyone. Go to the
*priest. Give to God the gifts that Moses commanded. This will show people what has
happened’.
Instead the man went out and he began to tell everybody. The result was this. Jesus could no
longer enter a town. He had to stay outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him
from everywhere.
Verses 40 to 45 tell us some things again. Jesus had authority to cure people’s diseases. These
*miracles show the power of the *kingdom again. Also, Jesus had great care for people. We see
this here. He touched the man with the skin illness. Nobody else would touch that person.
Confusion about the *kingdom

Wrong ideas about the *kingdom of God
The Jews read the Bible and the *prophecies in it. They had fixed ideas. They thought that the
*Messiah would be a military leader. He would defeat the Romans. He would establish their nation.
The *kingdom that pleased God

Jesus came to do far more than that. His *kingdom would be the *kingdom that pleased God. It
would be a *kingdom that was right with God. For this, Jesus needed new men and new women.
He would change people completely by his *Holy Spirit. Then they could belong to the *kingdom.
When Jesus came for the first time, he came to die for *sinners. He offered to forgive them. He
offered a new life. He came to give men and women the power of the *Holy Spirit. This would
change their lives.
The work of Jesus set up the *kingdom. He established it by his death on the *cross. And when he
came alive after death. The *resurrection was like an order to make the *kingdom grow. The *Holy
Spirit gave power to the people of the *kingdom on the Day of *Pentecost.
From then until now the God’s good news goes round the world. God is calling people to come into
the *kingdom. This is the *Kingdom of God. It gives people joy, peace and security. The call is to
*repent and believe the good news about Jesus. The *kingdom has already begun in our world. But
it will come completely when Jesus comes for the second time. He taught more about these things
just before he went to die on the *cross.
What does God want us to do?

Until Jesus comes again, God's call goes out round the world. It is for each one of us. We must
*repent. We must obey Christ. We must ask him to be our *Saviour and *Lord.
Many who heard John the Baptist and Jesus did not do this. They kept their own wrong ideas.
They pleased themselves. They enjoyed their *sins. Many people today are like this. May God in
his *mercy, help us to be really sorry. May God help us to obey him. There is still time to be in the
*kingdom. Then our lives will please God.
Reading: Matthew 3, Luke 3 & 4
Word List
angel ~ a servant from God who brings messages to men
baptise ~ to put a person in water, or to pour water on a person, to show that Christ has made him
clean; a sign that a person has become a Christian
baptism ~ the ceremony when they *baptise someone

of the church
demon ~ an evil *spirit.
devil ~ another name for Satan, God’s enemy
disciples ~ people who believe in Jesus and obey him
Galilee ~ the place in *Israel where Jesus grew up
glory ~ the power and greatness of God
grace ~ a gift of God that we do not deserve and cannot earn; his help and protection
judge ~ decide if a person is good or bad
kingdom ~ land that a king rules. Especially, the kingdom where God is the king. Jesus came to
establish God's kingdom. Now, God rules in our hearts and lives. But in the future, when Jesus
returns, the kingdom of God will become complete.
Lord ~ another name for Jesus, which shows us that he is greater than anyone else
mercy ~ the love that God shows when he forgives us
deeds.
miracle ~ a wonderful event that shows that God is at work
Most High ~ a name for God.
New Testament ~ the last part of the Bible, which the writers wrote after the life of Jesus.
Old Testament ~ the first part of the Bible, which the writers wrote before Jesus came.
Passover ~ a holy day for the Jews. God freed them from being slaves in Egypt at the time of
Moses. They remembered this time. They met in the *Temple at Passover and had a meal
together.
Pentecost ~ the time each year when Jews thank God for their food; the time when God gave the
Holy Spirit to the church
Pharisees ~ Jews who thought that they kept all God’s laws. Some Pharisees thought that they
were always right. So they became very proud.
preach ~ to tell people the good news about Jesus
preacher ~ a person who tells the good news about Jesus
priest ~ a special servant of God; a man that God chose to do things for him
prince ~ the son of a king
prophecy ~ the words that a *prophet says.
repent ~ be sorry that you have done wrong things; you turn to God
resurrection ~ to become alive again after death.
righteousness ~ being right with God; when God sees us with no *sin at all, and not his enemies
sacrifice ~ a special gift to God
Sadducees ~ a group of Jews who did not believe that there was any life after death

Satan ~ God’s chief enemy.
saviour ~ Jesus, who brings us to God and rescues us from the wrong things in our lives
sin ~ when people do not do what God wants; wrong thing that we do or say
sinners ~ people who *sin. In fact, everybody *sins. Nobody is perfect. This is why Jesus died. He
suffered the punishment for our *sins.
spirit ~ spirits are alive, but we cannot see them. There are good spirits usually called angels.
There are also bad spirits (called evil spirits, or demons). *Satan is their leader.
spiritual ~ about the part of us that never dies
synagogue ~ the place or building where Jews meet together. They pray and read the *Old
Testament there.
temple ~ the special building in Jerusalem where the Jews went to *worship God
worship ~ when people honour God; they pray and sing his praises

People who met Jesus during his
early work for God
Barrie Wetherill
Jesus attacks men who cheat in the Temple

John 2:13-25
The Temple was the special building in Jerusalem where the Jews went to pray to God. When
Jesus first began his special work for God, it was the time of the Passover. (The Passover is a holy
day for the Jews. They remember the time when God freed them from Egypt. Moses was their
leader then. At Passover, Jews meet and have a special meal together. And they used to visit the
Temple for Passover.) The Bible mentions two times when Jesus went to Jerusalem for the
Passover.
The Court of the Gentiles
One area in the Temple was called 'the court of the Gentiles'. (Gentiles are people who are not
Jews. The Jews did not allow them to enter the rest of the Temple.) The court of the Gentiles was
outside the main part of the Temple. Only Jews could enter the other parts of the Temple. Many
people came a long way to *worship. The people with authority provided birds and animals for
*sacrifice. People could not bring their own birds and animals. In the court of the Gentiles there
were tables. People could change their own money into the special Temple money there. They
needed special Temple money to buy these things. They needed special Temple money to give.
But the people who worked at these tables were evil.
Jesus was angry

Jesus made a whip. He chased out all the people who worked at the tables. He said, ‘How dare
you turn my Father’s house into a market’ (John 2:16). He sent away those who cheated people.
We call this the ‘cleansing of the Temple’. Jesus did this again in the week before his death. At that
time, he said these words. They explain what he did.
Matthew 21:13 Jesus said to them, 'God says, "My house is to be a house of prayer". You are
making it a "place for thieves".' (See Isaiah 56:7)
Jesus called these men 'thieves' because they were not honest. This behaviour was terrible. These
men worked in a holy place. But, even there, they were cheating other people. Old records show
us how much men cheated at the Temple tables. Isaiah and the *prophets spoke about this. Jesus
was very angry about it.
We think today that Jesus is full of love for people. Here we learn about another part of his
character. He was also holy and perfect. He did nothing wrong. He hated *sin.
There could be nothing good for people at the Temple when bad things happened there. Jesus
was very angry three times. Twice it was when bad people used the Temple in the wrong way.
What the *prophet Malachi had said now came true.

Malachi 3:1-3: I will send my servant. He will prepare people for me. You are looking for the
*Lord. He will come suddenly to his temple. You want him to come and he will come. He will
explain God’s *covenant, says the *Lord. But what an experience this will be! Nobody can stand
when he appears. For he will make everything clean. He will be like a man who melts silver, to
make it perfect. He will make the Levites perfect like that. [The Levites were the men who
looked after the Temple.] Then the *Lord will have men who offer perfect *sacrifices to him.
The disciples also noted that the words of Psalm 69:9 came true. It is a psalm about the *Messiah.
‘I will be full of great love for your house [that is, the Temple]’.
Jesus' authority
The rulers of the Temple asked Jesus about his authority. How could Jesus do these things? But
Jesus was the Son of God. That was his authority. He showed that he was the *Messiah. His
authority was greater than the authority of the *High Priest. The rulers asked for *miracles as a
sign. Already Jesus had done some *miracles. The rulers would have seen some *miracles. They
would have heard what Jesus taught.
There was only one possible answer for Jesus to give them. He said, ‘Destroy this Temple, and I
will raise it again in three days’. These words had a hidden meaning then. People did not
understand them. After the *crucifixion and *resurrection the *disciples remembered these words.
Then they understood. Jesus meant that his body was God's Temple. He did not mean the Temple
that King Herod built. Jesus meant that he would die on a *cross. He would become alive again.
These events proved who he was. The *disciples understood this later. The Jewish leaders also
remembered what Jesus said. They spoke these words against Jesus at his *trial.
Notice where this event happened. It happened in the ‘court of the Gentiles’. The other areas of the
Temple (called the courts of Israel and of the priests) were inside, behind doors. The Jews did not
think that the court of the Gentiles was important. Jesus thought that it was.
Jesus came to show people the love of God. He came to let men know God. He came to give his
life to die for us all. Now God can forgive us. Now it is possible for us to love God. It is like a new
life for us. It is the right life. Our attitudes and our behaviour must be right. This can happen to us
only because of Jesus. We must be sorry for the wrong things that we do. We must believe in
Jesus. Then God will forgive us. The Jews thought that God would be good to them. They gave
God *sacrifices to please him. But their behaviour in the Temple spoiled them. Of course God was
not pleased about their evil behaviour. They ought to have realised this fact themselves.
Jesus did many *miracles on this visit to Jerusalem (John 2:23). Many people said that they
believed in him. Jesus knew that this would not last. Their opinions would change.
Nicodemus visits Jesus at night

John 3:1-21
An important man
When Jesus was at Jerusalem, an important man visited him at night. The man was Nicodemus.
He was a member of the Jewish *Council. He was also a Pharisee. The Pharisees spent much
time studying the law. They tried hard to obey it. Sometimes they obeyed their own ideas of the
law. They believed that *ceremonies and *sacrifices were very important for their religion. They
prayed often. Often they did not eat because of their religion. They gave God a tenth part of their
money and of all their other possessions. They thought that the rules about behaviour were the
most important rules. They paid great attention to the practice of their religion. They often did not
understand the real meaning of God’s rules. Jesus had many discussions with them. These
discussions show us the errors that these men were making. In the end, Jesus declared that they
were quite wrong. See Matthew 23.

Nicodemus understood what everyone should have understood. He saw what Jesus was doing.
So, Nicodemus realised that Jesus was from God. But this caused a problem for Nicodemus. He
thought that the *Messiah would be a king. This king would force the Romans and other enemies
to leave *Israel. Jesus was not this kind of a man. Also, the way that Jesus spoke about God’s
rules was different. He did not think about God’s rules in the way that Nicodemus thought about
them.
Nicodemus expected that a king [that is, the *Messiah] would defeat the Romans. The Romans
would leave, and the Jewish leaders would rule. This would be the beginning of the *kingdom of
God. But Nicodemus could see that this was not Jesus' message. Nicodemus was an honest man.
He came to ask Jesus himself.
Why did Nicodemus visit Jesus at night?

But why did Nicodemus visit Jesus at night? He was frightened. The crowds were watching the
Jewish leaders. They wanted to know what the leaders believed about Jesus (John 7:26, 48). The
rest of the *Council would not be happy about this visit. They would think that Nicodemus was
foolish. They would ask questions: 'Does Nicodemus think that Jesus is the *Messiah?' They would
laugh at him! They might not even allow him to be a member of the *Council. He would lose
everything. He would not continue to be an important man. People would not respect him. His
whole life would change. The story of Nicodemus shows us something that is important. It can be
very hard to begin to ask about Jesus. It shows us something else. It can be even harder to obey
the *Lord Jesus. Some people might even die because they obey Jesus.
First of all, Nicodemus said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, we know that you have come from God. Nobody
could do these *miracles and signs if God were not with him’.
Jesus spoke more clearly to this honest man than he did to some other people. He answered
Nicodemus’s question at once.
A new birth
Jesus said, ‘Nobody can see the *kingdom of God unless he has a new life’. To begin a new life,
we need a new birth. Of course, Jesus did not mean a physical rebirth. It will be a *spiritual birth.
We all have a big problem. We have *sin in our lives. We are selfish. We want to please ourselves.
We want all kinds of good things for ourselves. God has to change us. Then we can be the people
that he wants us to be. He has to change the way that we think. He has to change the way that we
live. It will be like a new life. Or, like a new birth. The *prophets knew this. For example Jeremiah
wrote:
Jeremiah 31:31-34: ‘The time is coming’, declares the *Lord, ‘when I will make a new *covenant
with the people from *Israel and *Judah. This is the *covenant that I will make with the people
from *Israel after that time’, declares the *Lord. ‘I will put my law in their minds. I will write it on
their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. A man will not have to teach his
neighbour or his brother. He will not have to say, “Know the *Lord”. They will all know me, every
one of them’, declares the *Lord. ‘For I will forgive their *sin. I will remember their *sins no
more’.
Nicodemus was a very good teacher (see John 3:10). He should have known this passage from
Jeremiah. He should have understood when Jesus told him.
God forgives our *sin

There was something else that God would do, to give men new life. He had to forgive us for our
*sin. We have all had wrong attitudes. We behave badly and this does not please God. When he
forgives us, we can know God. We can live with God. God forgives us because Jesus died for us
on the *cross. Jesus spoke about this to Nicodemus. This is what he said:

John 3:14-16: Moses lifted up the snake in the desert. Like that, God must lift up the Son of Man
[that is, Jesus]. Then everyone who believes in him may have *eternal life. For God so loved the
people in the world that he gave his one and only Son. The person who believes in him shall not
die. He will have *eternal life.
Nicodemus would not have understood this at the time. Later on, he does seem to have become a
*disciple. After Jesus died on the *cross, Nicodemus helped to bury Jesus' body. Joseph from
Arimathea, who was also a member of the Jewish *council, helped Nicodemus (John 19v39).
The most important part of the good news about Jesus

Jesus came to die for our *sins
This is the most important part of the message about Jesus. Jesus came to die for our *sins. He
came to offer us new life. He offers to change us. Our ambitions will change. Our desires will
change. Jesus will help us to love God’s rule. We will want to obey it. Paul explained this point in
his letter to Titus.
Titus 3:4-7: But God our *Saviour was kind. He loved us. So, he saved us. He did not do this
because we had done good things. He did it because of his *mercy. He gave us a new life. He
gave us the *Holy Spirit generously, because of Jesus Christ our *Saviour. He declares that we
are right with God. Now we can expect another good gift from God. We have the hope of life
that lasts always.
Men and women have *sin in their lives. It is in the human heart and mind. This is a great problem.
It needs a great answer. An easy answer is not enough.
How to join God's *kingdom

How can we join God’s *kingdom? Politics cannot help us. The clever ideas of men cannot help us.
Teachers and the customs of religion do not help. We certainly cannot force God to allow us into
his *kingdom. But God, because of his love and *mercy, helps us. He offers everybody a new birth
[that is, a birth of the spirit]. He offers to free us from the *sins that spoil our lives. He can give us
new life and new hope. That is why the word '*gospel' means ‘The Good News’. Only the *gospel
can solve our greatest problems.
The woman at the well

John 4:4-42
Jesus was travelling from Jerusalem to *Galilee. He went through Samaria.
Samaria
Samaria was between *Galilee in the north and *Judea and Jerusalem in the south. The shortest
way to go north from Jerusalem was through Samaria. For hundreds of years the Jews and the
people of Samaria had been enemies. They did not agree about where God’s people should
*worship. All Jews *worshipped at Jerusalem. God had told them to build the Temple there. The
Samaritans had made another place for *worship. It was in their land, on the top of a mountain.
Jews and Samaritans hated each other. Most Jews would not travel through Samaria. They went
by a longer route to avoid Samaria.
But at this time Jesus travelled through Samaria. He stopped at noon in a small town called
Sychar. Jesus was tired. He sat by the well outside the town. The *disciples went to buy food.

Jesus speaks to a woman
While Jesus was alone, a woman came to the well for water. It was not the usual time to go for
water. She probably came then because she did not want to meet people. Later in the story we
read that she had lived a bad life. She had been married to several men. Now she lived with a man
who was not her husband. Perhaps nobody would talk to her. Jesus spoke to her. He asked the
woman for a drink. It surprises us that she did not refuse him. It surprised her that a Jew would ask
this. She told Jesus that she did not expect his request. Then, Jesus replied:
John 4:10: Jesus answered her, ‘You do not know the gift of God. You do not know who asks
you for water. If you did, you could ask me. I would give you living water’.
The gift of God

This is what Jesus meant. The ‘gift of God’ is the *Holy Spirit. The woman could not have
understood that. But Jesus came to change us by his *Holy Spirit. If we want a drink, water helps
us. If we want God, Jesus can help us. We know this from the *prophecy of Jeremiah 31:31-34.
We have mentioned this earlier in this course. But the woman did not think about her *spiritual life.
Then Jesus explained the purpose of the ‘gift of God’.
John 4:13, 14: Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks water, from this well, will need more
water later. Whoever drinks my water will never need more. My water will be like a stream that
gives *eternal life’.
Our real needs are *spiritual. Jesus alone can satisfy them. Here is what God promises to do for
us. All that we must do is to ask him. Again the woman thought about what she needed in her own
life now. But Jesus stopped her. He said to her, ‘Go, get your husband’. This immediately made the
woman think about the wrong things that she had done. She said that she did not have a husband.
The woman's *sin

Jesus now said that she had married five men. And the man that she lived with now was not her
husband. The woman immediately knew that Jesus was not an ordinary man. An ordinary man
could not know these things about her. So, the woman thought that Jesus was a *prophet. She
tried to change the subject. She did not want to talk about her *sin. She talked about the argument
between the Jews and the Samaritans. She talked about the right place for *worship. Jesus
replied. He said that a new time was coming. Then men would not *worship at either place. They
would *worship God in *spirit and truth.
The *Messiah is coming

The woman said that she knew this. She knew that the *Messiah was coming. He would explain
everything. Jesus now told the woman, ‘I who speak to you am he’. [That is, 'I am the *Messiah.
You are speaking to the *Messiah now.'] This was a wonderful thing to say. Jesus had been very
careful when he spoke about himself to the priests in Jerusalem. They thought that they were very
good men. But it was to this woman that Jesus said this. He told her clearly who he was.
After this, the woman went to her town and told everybody. Jesus stayed there for two days. Many
people believed in him. This shows us much about what Jesus did. People often said that he
should not spend time with bad people. He should not be with *sinners, because good people
would not talk to them. His reply was this:
Luke 5:31, 32: Healthy people do not need a doctor. Sick people do. I have not come to help
‘good’ people. I came to tell *sinners to *repent.

Each person matters to Jesus
The story of the woman of Samaria teaches us that each person matters to Jesus. Why did he
choose to go through Samaria on this journey? Usually he would have gone the longer way. It
seems that he went just to meet this woman. He wanted to bring new life to her. As a result, the
town of Sychar heard about Jesus. A number of times Jesus went out of his way to meet just one
person. See Mark 5.
The story also teaches us this. Jesus offers to forgive everyone. He offers new life to all, even if
they have been very wicked. Jesus also came for people from every nation. His *kingdom is for
everybody, from every country and every culture. Perhaps his visit prepared the way for this
command to the *disciples. Before he returned to *heaven, he told them:
Acts 1:8: But the *Holy Spirit will come on you with power. You will be my witnesses in
Jerusalem, and in all *Judea and Samaria, and in all the world. [That is, in every country].
Jesus had told the woman:
John 4:10: Jesus answered her, ‘You do not know the gift of God. You do not know who asks
you for water. If you did, you could ask me. I would give you living water’.
Living water
He came to give this ‘living water’. It is to be like a stream that is in us. From us it will go out to help
other people. The world is full of people who need *spiritual help. But Jesus could do nothing for
people who did not know this. Some people think that they are good enough. They will not confess
their evil deeds to God. They will not confess their wrong attitudes. They will not let Jesus save
them from their *sins. They do not know that he can give them hope. We cannot have new life from
Jesus until we ask for it. Before we ask, we must want it. We must realise that we need it. So, we
must know about our *sin.
Jesus cures the son of a royal official

John 4:43-54
Jesus returned to Galilee. The people there had heard about his *miracles in Jerusalem. They
gave him a great welcome. Jesus went to Cana, where he had done another *miracle. He had
turned water into wine (John 2:1-11). A royal official was there. Probably this man worked for
Herod Antipas. He heard that Jesus had returned. This official lived in Capernaum, which was 25
miles or 38 kilometres from Cana. He had a child who was sick. It seemed that the boy would soon
die. His father went to Cana to ask Jesus to come to Capernaum. He wanted Jesus to cure his
child. He thought that Jesus had to come to the child’s house.
This man was desperate. He would do anything for his child. People might laugh at him because
he was asking a *preacher and *miracle worker for help. Jesus knew the man’s thoughts. He knew
how the man felt. The people in Galilee wanted to see *miracles. Perhaps the royal official thought
about this as well.
*Miracles
Jesus’ reply seemed to be for the people and not for the official. He blamed them because they
wanted to see a *miracle. He spoke these words to all the people, and not only to the official
himself. He said, ‘You all will never believe, unless you see *miracles’.
Jesus did not want to do many *miracles. The leaders of the Temple at Jerusalem asked to see a
*miracle. But Jesus refused (John 2:18-19). Later, Jesus was in court before Herod Antipas. Herod
wanted very much to see a *miracle (Luke 23:8). But Jesus would not even speak to him.
Sometimes, *miracles did not help people to believe. Sometimes they made people oppose Jesus
more (see John 11:45-50).

The royal official needed to trust Jesus
In John 4, the royal official was also trying to tell Jesus what to do. Jesus hesitated. He did not
agree at once. Instead, he tested and encouraged the man. This is what Jesus said:
John 4:50: Jesus replied, ‘You may go. Your child will live’.
The man had to show that he believed Jesus. When Jesus said this, the man did not argue. He
believed what Jesus had said. He started to go home. Before he arrived there, servants came to
meet him. He heard that the child was well. He had become well at the same moment when Jesus
spoke these words. Then the man and his whole family believed completely.
Notice this:
•The official first believed what Jesus told him about the child (verse 50).
•Verse 53 says for a second time that he believed. Probably this means that he now trusted Jesus
completely.
Important lessons
The royal official learned a very important lesson. The *Lord does not always answer requests in
the way that we expect. Sometimes we even demand an answer. We might try to tell God what he
should do. We might even try to give instructions to God!
The royal official also learned that distance is not a problem for God. The royal official simply
needed to obey Jesus. This would show that he trusted Jesus. This is a lesson for us today. Jesus
is not with us in a physical way. But distance is still not a problem for God. We cannot tell him what
to do. We have to trust and obey. This is what this man did. When he obeyed, he trusted more.
Many people at the court of Herod Antipas seem to have heard about Jesus. The Bible mentions
Joanna, who was the wife of Herod’s chief servant. And the Bible also mentions Susanna, who
gave money to help Jesus and his *disciples (Luke 8:3). Later, we read about Manaen (Acts 13:1).
Jesus helped all kinds of people

Lessons from John chapters 2-4
It is interesting to think about the events in John chapters 2-4.
•In Jerusalem, people saw many *miracles. But most people did not really trust God. The leaders
in the Temple cheated the people. They pretended that they helped people. In fact they made
themselves rich.
•Nicodemus was sincere. He was a very good teacher. Everybody respected him. He went to
Jesus because he really wanted to know the truth.
•A woman lived in Samaria whom nobody would speak to. She lived a bad life. But Jesus changed
her. She went to tell the people that she knew about Jesus. She was a Samaritan. The Samaritans
and the Jews were enemies. Perhaps they disagreed more than any other people in history. Yet
Jesus, a Jew, changed her, a Samaritan.
•A royal official obeyed Jesus. This showed that he trusted Jesus. This is what we all need to do.
Jesus changed many people. We read about that too in the Book of Acts. Jesus knew how to help
all kinds of people. He helped somebody from a palace. He helped a thief who was dying on a
*cross. He can help us now, if we ask Him. He will always answer us. It does not matter if we are
old or young. It does not matter if we are men or women. It does not matter if we are rich or poor. It
does not matter what country we live in. The *Lord Jesus Christ is the *Saviour of everybody.
A prayer
Here is a prayer for someone who wants to trust God for the first time:

*Lord Jesus Christ,
I confess that I have done many evil things. I cannot change myself. But you died so that God
would forgive me.
I invite you into my life. Please change my life. You care for people from every nation. So, you
care for me.
You accept everyone who trusts you. Thank you that I now belong to you.
*Amen.
Reading: John 3 and 4.
Word List
amen ~ a word at the end of a prayer. 'Amen' means, 'This is true.'
ceremony ~ a pattern of behaviour which is always the same. People often behave in the same
way in church or at important events.
council ~ important men who meet together and decide events; a meeting of leaders
covenant ~ agreement between two people, or between God and a person or people
of the church.
crucifixion ~ a cruel way to kill someone. Men make a large wooden *cross and fasten a man to it
with nails. He must hang there until he dies.
disciples ~ people who believe in Jesus and obey him; especially the 12 men whom Jesus chose
to help him when he was on earth.
eternal ~ what has always been and always will be
Galilee ~ area in *Israel where Jesus lived when he was a boy
gospel ~ the good news for everybody that God rescues people from the effects of the wrong
things that they do
High Priest ~ the most important priest in the Jewish Temple
Holy Spirit ~ God’s Spirit, whom Jesus sent to help people
Judah ~ one of the 12 sons of Jacob (also called Israel). It was from his family that the *Messiah
would come. When the nation of *Israel split, there were two countries, called *Israel and Judah.
Judea ~ part of the country where the Jews lived
Lord ~ another name for Jesus, which shows us that he is greater than anyone else
mercy ~ the love that God shows when he forgives us
deeds.
miracle ~ a wonderful event that shows that God is at work
preacher ~ a person who tells the good news about Jesus
prophecy ~ the words that a *prophet says.

repent ~ be sorry that you have done wrong things. You decide to trust God. You start to obey him.
resurrection ~ coming alive after death
sacrifice ~ a special gift for God
Saviour ~ Jesus, who brings us to God and rescues us from the wrong things in our lives
sin ~ when people do not do what God wants; wrong things that we do or say
sinner ~ a person who *sins. In fact, everybody sins; so we are all sinners.
spirit ~ the part of a person that is alive and that we cannot see
spiritual ~ belonging to the *spirit
temple ~ the special building in Jerusalem where the Jews went to *worship God.
trial ~ the test of a person in a court of law to find out if he is good or bad
worship ~ when people honour God; they pray and sing his praises

Jesus, the great teacher
Barrie Wetherill
Jesus – the extraordinary teacher

Jesus was an extraordinary teacher. Crowds of people followed him everywhere. They wanted to
see what he did. They also wanted to hear what he would teach them. Moses had said that God
would send a great *prophet. We can read what Moses said in Deuteronomy 18:15, 18. Now what
Moses had said was true. Isaiah also said that the *Messiah would say words of wise advice
(Isaiah 9:6). The *Gospels show us that this is true.
At one time Jesus got into a boat, and taught the crowds from it. The crowds were on the shore
(Mark 4:1). On another occasion Jesus decided to take his *disciples away from the crowds. They
went away in a boat, but the crowds saw them. They knew where Jesus and the *disciples were
going. The crowds got to the place before them. When Jesus left the boat he saw the crowds. He
thought that they were like sheep without a shepherd. (A shepherd is a person who looks after
sheep.) So, Jesus taught the people many things (Mark 6:34).
At another time, Jesus was on a mountain when he taught the people. Everyone thought that he
taught very well. He spoke with authority. Later, officials ordered soldiers to arrest Jesus. The
soldiers returned without him. They said, ‘No man ever spoke like this man’ (John 7:46).
All the time, people spoke about what Jesus said. They had never heard anything like it before
(Matthew 13:54, Mark 10:24-26, 11:18, John 7:15). His enemies sometimes tried to defeat Jesus
with clever questions. Near the end of his *ministry, they no longer did this. Jesus gave answers
that defeated them all the time (Matthew 22:46). His answers often upset them.
The *Sermon on the Mountain

Jesus went up a mountain with his *disciples. A large crowd followed them, and he taught them
there. We call this ‘the *Sermon on the Mount’. (Mount is another word for mountain.) This *sermon
was Jesus' most famous *sermon.
This *sermon is about the *kingdom of God. Jesus described the people who will be in the
*kingdom of God. This is a wonderful *sermon. It tells us the best standard for real goodness.
Nobody else could teach so well about God's standards. The behaviour that Jesus described is not
natural. It is behaviour that comes from the *Holy Spirit. The words of this *sermon force us to
think. We should never forget these words.
An important message for Christians

Jesus spoke these words to the *disciples. So, this sermon is especially important to Christians
(Matthew 5:1, 2). At the beginning Jesus spoke about what kind of person a Christian is (Matthew
5:3-10). Then in Matthew 5:11, 12 he spoke about how other people may behave towards
Christians.

All Christians should behave as Jesus describes in Matthew 5:3-10. Jesus describes different
kinds of behaviour that please God. God will *bless people who behave in each of these ways. All
Christians should behave like this, but none of this behaviour is natural. It all comes from God, and
from the *Holy Spirit.
These words of Jesus show us a great difference. The difference is between the Christian and
someone who is not a Christian. This is because the *Holy Spirit is working in a Christian's life.
[Note: the word that describes each small section from verse 3 to verse 11 is ‘*beatitude’. This
means that God is very pleased. Each small section describes behaviour that pleases God. He will
*bless a person who behaves like this.]
God *blesses you when you are poor in *spirit

Matthew 5:3
This is a very important verse.
Think about God

To understand the *sermon, we must think about God. We must think about what God is really like.
God is perfect and completely good. He does what is always right and fair. He is perfect. There is
nothing that is not perfect about God. He is not like a shadow, that changes (James 1:17). His
nature is love: all love.
What happens to people who understand this? Men like the *prophet Isaiah, the *prophet Ezekiel,
or the *disciple John had *visions of God. Then they understood how great and how perfect God is.
At the same time they understood themselves. They knew that they did not deserve God’s love.
They knew that their lives were full of wrong things. When Peter realised who Jesus is, Peter fell
down. He said, ‘Leave me, because I am a wicked man’. The *sermon starts with a verse that says
this. ‘You are happy if you know this: you are poor in *spirit’ (Matthew 5:3).
How to describe a Christian

If you want to describe a Christian, begin like this. The Christian must know that he is poor in
*spirit. The *kingdom of God belongs to people who know this. In fact, the *kingdom of God
belongs ONLY to people who know this. They know that they are not good. God *blesses those
who know this. They know that they need God. They know that they are not right without God. That
is why God *blesses them. He does not *bless people who do not want him. There is nobody in the
*kingdom of God who is not poor in *spirit.
We need God
Many people do not care about their spirits. Instead, they believe in themselves. They are
confident because they trust in themselves. They think that you can make society good, by good
government. But you cannot do this. We all have wrong things in our hearts and in our lives. We
have to realise this first. Then we can realise that we need God.
God *blesses you when you are sad. He will comfort you.
Matthew 5:4
The meaning of verse 3 helps us to understand the meaning of verse 4. We can know what we are
really like. This must make us sad. Other people also do and think wrong things. And we are also
sad because of this. We are sad because the world is very bad.
But most people in the world are not sad like this. They think that it is wrong to be sad. They try to
make themselves happy. They try to forget things that make them sad. They drink alcohol and they
think about entertainment. They try not to think about things that make them sad.

A real Christian
A real Christian is quite different. He thinks about his life and his relationship to God. But this does
not spoil his Christian joy. A Christian does not need to be miserable all the time. He can be sad
but also he can feel joy. We have joy because of Jesus, not because of ourselves. But many
Christians today seem to have a wrong idea about how terrible *sin is. They also have a wrong
idea about Christian joy. A real Christian can feel sad about *sin and feel joy because of the Lord
at the same time. May God in His love help us to understand how terrible *sin really is.
God will comfort people who ask Christ to forgive them

God promises to comfort these people. Why does he promise this? It is because only these people
can trust Christ. They will ask Christ to forgive them. They will ask Christ to make them right with
God. They will ask Christ to give them the *Holy Spirit. This will happen all through their lives as
Christians. They will feel sad about *sin, and they will ask Christ to help them.
God *blesses you when you are humble. Humble people will
possess everything
Matthew 5:5
This verse also shows that a Christian is different. He is different from a person who is not a
Christian. What Jesus said in verses 3 and 4 should prepare us for this verse. If you are poor in
*spirit you will feel sad about some things. The result is that you will be humble. A person who is
not a Christian wants to have everything for himself. He thinks that he is the most important
person. The Christian is different. When Jesus spoke these words, it was a shock for the Jews.
The Jews, of course, had expected a military *Messiah. A military *Messiah could not be a humble
person.
A humble person
It is not natural for a person to be humble. Nobody is humble from his birth. But a humble person is
not the same as a weak person. A humble person can have great authority and strength. But a
humble person understands his life. He knows what he is like. We see this in the way that he
behaves towards other people. The humble man is not proud of himself. He does not think that he
is the most important person. He knows that he is poor in *spirit. This is not something to be proud
about! The humble man does not think all the time about himself and his interests. He does not
make excuses for himself all the time. When we are really humble, we do not need to worry. We
trust God with everything, now and in the future. We do not do anything to someone who has hurt
us. We learn to do what Paul did. He allowed God to look after him. Hebrews 10:30: ‘I am the one
who will punish’, says the Lord.
As examples of humble people, think about the martyrs. (A martyr is a person who dies, because
of his trust in God.) The martyrs were humble. But they were NEVER weak. They were bold and
brave. God helped them to be strong, even when they were in great danger.

Humble people will receive everything
Matthew 5:5 promises that humble people will receive everything. This means that this will happen
in the future. Paul tells us that God’s people shall *judge the world (1 Corinthians 6). In Romans
chapter 8 he tells us that we are God’s family. We are heirs of God. And we are heirs with Christ.
(An heir is a person who is going to receive a family’s possessions. God does not promise to give
us possessions. But God promises to look after us.) What a wonderful future this is, but it is only
for humble people. But God will *bless the humble person now, as well as in the future. Only the
humble person can be happy in this world, because we have many difficulties in this world. Such a
person knows what Paul knew (Philippians 4:11). Such a person is satisfied, whatever happens to
him. He knows how to be content. He trusts and obeys the Lord. He does not love anything in this
world too much, because he loves the Lord. Only a humble person can keep calm like this. Too
many Christians today do not live like this. We worry too much about our possessions, our
children, our house. It is the humble people who are really happy!
God *blesses you when you have a great desire for

goodness
Matthew 5:6
We can think about these verses as a journey. They are like a road that we walk on. Now the
direction of the road changes. Until now it has been like a road that goes down. We have thought
about poor in *spirit. We have thought about sad feelings because of that, and about being
humble.
Now the road begins to go up. We feel a great desire for goodness. It is what we want most of all.
We are sad because we are poor in *spirit. We know that we cannot help ourselves. But we have a
great desire for God to make our *spirits new. It is as if we are hungry for food. It is as if we want a
drink of water. We know that we need something very much. This is our strongest desire.
Our desire for God

Jesus told a story about a son who left home. He spent all his father’s money. When the son was
hungry, he ate the food of pigs. When he was almost starving, he returned to his father.
Sometimes God allows us to want him very much. Our desire might even seem painful, like
hunger. We learn that we cannot help ourselves. We have to ask God for what we need.
Here in this verse is the good news of the *grace of God, in just a few words. When we feel a great
desire for God, we tell him. When we tell him, he supplies us.
You might ask, 'How does God supply us? How can he help us?' He helps us because Jesus died
for us. The death of Jesus on the *cross makes it possible. God is *holy, but he can deal with
*sinful men, because of Jesus. God can give men the *Holy Spirit. Jesus spoke these words nearly
three years before he died on the *cross. But this is the only way that God can help us. We have to
trust that he will forgive us because of the *cross. We can have God’s peace in our lives. [A person
has God's peace in their life if God has forgiven that person's *sins.]
The only way to have real joy and happiness

Notice here that the Christian looks for God’s goodness. Other people might want happiness, joy,
or experiences. By mistake, Christians also want these things. But the only way to have real joy
and happiness is to want God’s goodness. The real Christian knows this. This means that he must
want to be *holy. He must show this in his life. He must want to be free from every kind of *sin in
his life.

God's promise
This verse contains a promise. God will give us what we ask for. Once we trust Christ, God makes
us *righteous. On the cross, Christ dealt with our *sin. Now God can give us the *righteousness of
Christ. At once, we have what we desire. It happens at once, but it continues to happen. As the
*Holy Spirit does His work in us, he changes us. This takes time, as we obey him. Sometimes we
know about it, and sometimes we do not know. But God is making us like him. He will complete
this when Jesus comes back again. We will be with God. We will have no *sin.
There is a great promise at the end of the Book of Jude. Jude wrote that Jesus will introduce us to
God. Then, we will be completely good and right inside. And everyone will be full of joy (Jude 24,
25). But the promise is also true now:
Ask, and God will give to you. Look, and you will find. Knock, and God will answer you.
(Matthew 7:7).
God *blesses you when you forgive other people.

Matthew 5:7
Words that tell how God will *bless us are called beatitudes. The *beatitudes in verses 3-6 describe
how God *blesses people. Although every person has *sin inside, God can *bless that person,
because of Christ.
Verse 7, and the other *beatitudes, are different. They show how real Christians live. They
describe how a Christian behaves in the world. To become a Christian is not just to add something
extra to our behaviour. There is a complete change in the way that we live. It is like a new
beginning. You become a new person. Christ makes a person new. This change ought to show in
the person’s behaviour and attitudes. If it does not show, something is wrong. Then that person
should ask if he or she is a real Christian.
A real Christian forgives other people

The first result of a new life is that we can forgive other people. We have learned that we are poor
in *spirit. This has made us sad, and we have confessed to God. We have asked him to fill us with
his own *Holy Spirit. Then we will love other people. We cannot do anything else. If we do not
forgive other people, we do not fully belong to Jesus. We have not really trusted him to take *sin
out of our lives. We have not got a new life from him. This is what this verse means. God does not
forgive us because we forgive other people. We are able to forgive other people because God
forgives us (Matthew 18:22-35).
We forgive other people because God forgives us

It is not easy to forgive. God loves us and forgives us, but at a cost. God punished Jesus instead of
us. Jesus had done nothing wrong, but he died on the *cross. He died because we do wrong
things. That is why God can forgive us.
King David, who was God’s favourite King, did many wrong things. We can read about them in the
Bible. Often David suffered as a result of his *sin. Sometimes we have to suffer also because of
our *sin, but God does forgive us. That is why He sent His only Son. We were enemies of God. We
deserved nothing from God, but he sent Jesus. He punished Jesus instead of us.

God *blesses you when you have a pure heart. You will see
him
Matthew 5:8
A 'pure heart' means a sincere mind. A person with a pure heart loves God more than anyone else.
God matters to that person, more than anything else in that person's life.
One of the greatest verses in the Bible

People say that Matthew 5:8 is one of the greatest statements in the whole of the Bible.
First of all, notice that Christ cares about the heart. He does not care about things that we can see.
He does not care about traditions in church. But God cares about our attitudes. God cares about
our thoughts.
We should love Christ

Notice also what the statement does not say. It does not say that God *blesses clever people, or
people who study religion. It is important to God that we love Christ most of all. God loves us very
much and forgives us. When we understand this, we will then want to love him. We will want to
love him more than anyone else. Our Lord speaks about this many times in the Bible. In fact, he
speaks about it later in the *Sermon on the mountain. That is, when he warns us about our
possessions. He says that we must not love our possessions too much (Matthew 6:19-24).
God *blesses you when you help other people to live at

peace.
Matthew 5:9
When we study the *beatitudes, we can think about two of them together. A person who is poor in
*spirit (verse 3) will forgive other people (verse 7). A person who is sad because of *sin (verse 4)
will desire to have a pure heart (verse 8). A humble person (verse 5) will live at peace with other
people (verse 9). [When people are 'at peace', they are not angry with other people. They try not to
argue. And they forgive each other's mistakes.]
A jealous and proud person thinks that he is very important. He causes troubles and arguments. If
the man is powerful like a king, he might even cause wars. He cannot live at peace with other
people. He cannot help other people to live at peace with each other.
Who can help other people to live at peace?

You might ask, 'Who can help other people to live at peace?' Only someone who believes that
these *beatitudes are true.
A peacemaker
A peacemaker is a person who wants to live at peace. He wants other people to live at peace. First
of all he wants people to have peace with God. [A person has peace with God if God has forgiven
that person's *sins.] There can be no true peace without this. People only pretend to have peace, if
they have no peace with God. If you pretend to have this peace, it will not last. The most important
thing is that men should have peace with God. If you want to help other people to have peace, first
you must be a real Christian. You must know that Christ has given you a new life. You must be
sure that God has forgiven you for your *sin.

God *blesses you when other people attack you
Matthew 5:10
This is the result of the *beatitudes in Matthew 5.
Why other people oppose Christians

If we behave in God's way, other people will oppose us. They might even attack us. All these
*beatitudes show qualities which are different from those of other people. If we live like this, people
will notice us. They will not like us, and they will hate us. Jesus himself warned that this would
happen. He said it many times. Not long after Jesus returned to be with God, men killed Stephen
(Acts 7). He was the first person to die because he was a Christian.
Often people think that a Christian is nice, popular, and will never offend anyone. If we think that,
we are wrong. We have no idea at all what a Christian is.
When other people attack you because you please God

Notice what these words say. They do not say: ‘God *blesses you when other people attack you for
an idea’. They do not say: ‘…. when other people attack you for political reasons’. They say this:
‘…. when other people attack you because you please God’. You have a desire to tell other people
the good news about Jesus. You want to tell them about the *Kingdom of God. In Luke’s *Gospel it
says clearly that the attack is because of the *Son of Man [that is, Jesus] (Luke 6:22). This is what
causes the attack.
Tests in the *Sermon on the Mountain

This *sermon on the mountain has several tests for us. This is perhaps the most difficult test. We
should ask ourselves these questions:
•Do our lives cause people to oppose us, because we behave in God's way?
•Are we just nice citizens of our world, who do not upset the Devil at all?
•Or are we really obeying Christ and his *Kingdom?
God's promise to people who suffer because of Christ

God makes a wonderful promise when other people attack us, because of Christ. He promises that
we will belong to the *Kingdom of God. In that *Kingdom there is no pain, no tears and no death.
There we will be glad that we will always be with God. But we can have some of this experience
now. The *Kingdom of God is already with us. God already *blesses us in many ways.
Jesus teaches us more

More about the *Sermon on the Mountain
The *Sermon on the Mountain does not just contain the *beatitudes. Jesus' sermon says many
things about the *Kingdom of God. The *sermon shows us how we can please God. And the
*sermon helps us to understand God's great love and his goodness.

The pattern of a Christian life
As we read to the end of Matthew chapter 7, we can learn more from Jesus. This *sermon is not a
collection of separate thoughts. Jesus shows us the pattern of a Christian life. When we have a
great desire to be good (Matthew 5:6) we ask God to help us. He *blesses us when we ask him.
This has an effect on our lives. It has an effect on how we live in the world. We learn to forgive
other people. We obey Christ. So, we do what he wants. We live at peace with other people and
help them to do this too. [When people are 'at peace', they are not angry with other people. They
try not to argue. And they forgive each other's mistakes.]
A purpose for life

God *blesses us for a reason. He gives us a purpose for life. Each person has special tasks to do
for God.
The process described in the *sermon is continuous. As we get closer to God, so we are more
aware that need God's *Holy Spirit. The *Holy Spirit will teach us how to serve God. We greatly
desire him.
The greatest lesson that anyone has ever taught

The *Sermon on the Mountain (Matthew chapters 5-7) is probably the greatest lesson that anyone
has ever taught. It contains deep knowledge about the problems of human nature. And the
*sermon contains God's promise that he will solve these problems. The other sections of the
sermon teach us more about how to live a good life.
Jesus impressed everyone who heard this *sermon.
Jesus teaches with stories: The farmer and his field

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23.
Jesus often told stories when he was teaching people. This is a very good way to teach, because
people remember stories. We call his stories parables. (A parable is a story that teaches us a truth
about God. Or, the story shows us behaviour that pleases God.) The stories of Jesus are very easy
to remember. They are very important. They help us to know what God wants.
A favourite story is the parable of the farmer and his field. This is often called 'the parable of the
sower'. [A sower is a farmer who is sowing his seed.]
The story of the parable of the sower [that is, the story of the farmer and
his field]
The story is simple. A farmer sows seed in a field:
•Some seed falls on the paths, and the birds quickly eat it.
•Some seed falls where there are rocks, and not much soil. Plants grow quickly, but soon the sun
dries them. There is not enough soil, and the plants die.
•Some seed begins to grow in a place where there are too many weeds. The weeds stop the
growth of the plants, and the plants die.
•But other seed falls on good ground. So, the plants grow well. The farmer has a harvest from
these plants.

The explanation of the parable of the sower
The explanation of the story is also simple. Jesus himself explained it to the *disciples. The farmer
is like Jesus. The seed that he sows is the seed of the good news about Jesus. The farmer sows
the seed in many different places, just as Christians tell God's good news in many different places.
What happens to the seed is different in different places. It is the same with the good news about
Jesus. It has a good result in the lives of some people, and it has a poor result in other lives.
The first seed fell on the path, where there was no soil. Some people hear the good news but give
no attention to it at all. This is like the seed on the path. These people do not change their
behaviour. These people do not think about other people. They are selfish. They quickly forget
about the good news.
Some seed falls where there are rocks. It grows quickly, but then it dies. This teaches us that some
people listen to the good news. They seem to like what they hear about Jesus. But this does not
last. They have a difficult time, or other people laugh at them. Then they have no more interest in
Jesus. They never really trusted him.
Some seed began to grow among weeds, and the weeds killed it. This teaches us that some
people have no time for Jesus. They are selfish, and they want things for themselves. Perhaps
they want to be rich, or to be powerful. They worry all the time. They are anxious about their
possessions.
Finally we hear in the story about seed on good ground. The good ground is like people who love
the Lord. They believe in Jesus and they trust him. God will *bless these people. His *Holy Spirit
will help them to love other people. They will be able to forgive other people, and to live in peace
with them. They will be joyful. This is because God can change them. He changes the inside of
these people, and this changes their behaviour.
A lesson from the parable of the sower

This parable can teach us about ourselves. God will *bless those people who trust him. We learn
from this parable the same truths as we learn from the *beatitudes. When we know that we need
Jesus, we should trust him. When we really trust him, he will teach to us. We will change, because
Jesus will change us.
But ask yourself this question: what kind of soil are you like?
The weeds in the field

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
The parable of the weeds

In Matthew chapter 13 there are other parables (stories) which teach us about the *kingdom of
God. The parable of the weeds is not a complicated story. A farmer sows good seed in his field,
but weeds grow with the seed. At the start, the weeds look like the good crop. Nobody can say
what is good and what is not good. It is not possible to take out the bad plants. But when it is time
for the harvest, men can take out the bad plants. They will take them away and burn them.
The meaning of the parable

Jesus said that the *kingdom of God is like that. Some people believe completely in Jesus, and
some people do not believe. It is not always easy to know who really trusts Jesus. But one day
Jesus will come back to this world. He will separate those who really trust him from the other
people. Jesus has very severe words to say about people who do not trust him. Read what he
said:

Matthew 13:40-43 ‘Men pull up weeds and burn them in the fire. It will be like that at the end of
the age. The *Son of Man will send out his *angels. They will take away everything that causes
*sin. They will take out all people who do evil things. They will throw them into a great fire. Many
people will weep then, and be very sorry. Then the *righteous people will shine like the sun in
the *kingdom of their Father. If you hear this, understand it’.
The net
The parable of the net - Matthew 13:47-50
The parable of the net is another simple story. However, it is very important. We should understand
what it teaches us. Fishermen (men who catch fish) put a net in the water. They catch all kinds of
fish, good and bad. At last they pull the net to the shore, and separate the fish. They keep the good
ones but they throw away the bad ones. Jesus says that it will be like that at the end of the age.
*Angels will separate the *righteous people from the wicked people. Jesus says that there will be
severe punishment for the wicked people.
Matthew 13:49, 50 This is how it will be at the end of the age. The *angels will come and
separate the wicked people from the *righteous people. They will throw the wicked people into a
great fire. Many people will weep and be very sorry.
The explanation of this parable

Jesus explained that God will *judge everyone in the future. He will separate the *righteous people
from the wicked people. Jesus said many things about this event. So it is extremely important to
accept the *gospel offer while it is still available.
Treasure in a field, and a wonderful pearl

Matthew 13:44, 45
[Treasure is something that is very expensive, like silver or gold. A pearl is a beautiful and precious
stone that you have on a ring.]
Jesus tells two parables [stories]. One is about treasure. The other parable is about a pearl.
The parable [story] about the treasure in the field

The parable about the treasure describes a man who suddenly finds treasure in a field. Someone
has buried the treasure there. The man does not own the field. So, he goes away and sells
everything that he owns. Now he can buy the field so that the treasure belongs to him.
The parable [story] about the wonderful pearl

The parable about the pearl is similar to the parable about the treasure. A man suddenly sees a
very beautiful pearl. The pearl is very valuable. The man sells everything that he owns. He uses
the money to buy the pearl, so that the pearl belongs to him.
The meaning of these parables [stories]

These two parables teach the same truth. The *kingdom of God is more valuable than any
treasure. It is a wonderful thing for us to belong to the *kingdom of God.
We should ask ourselves this question:
•Is there anything that keeps us back from God’s *kingdom?
Whatever it is, we should turn away from it. We should free ourselves from it. We should leave
everything that keeps us away from God.

The *kingdom of God
Learn how to teach
Crowds of people came to Jesus and he taught them (Mark 10:1). Jesus was a great teacher. He
taught the crowds, and he also taught his *disciples. He was patient with them, even when they did
not believe in him. This should make us think about what we do. We should:
•Behave like Jesus
•Be patient with people
•Teach only the truth
•Do the things that the Bible teaches
Questions that we should ask when we teach

We all need to think about this. We should ask ourselves these important questions:
•Do we need to change the way that we teach?
•Do we need to change the way that the church teaches?
•How can we become more like Jesus, who was the Great Teacher?
We need good teachers

We need good teachers because often we have wrong ideas. Sometimes we do not believe
everything that we should believe. So, our ideas are wrong.
The Jews thought that there would be a *kingdom on earth, at once. They expected the *Messiah
to have political power. They expected a leader who would defeat the Romans. Then the Jews
would have their own nation again. But this idea was wrong.
What Jesus came to do was much better. He came to die on the *cross so that God could forgive
our *sins. He came to send the *Holy Spirit to teach us God’s ways. This gives us a wonderful
hope for the future. Nothing can stop or destroy this. Jesus used simple stories to teach these
truths. He talked about things that everybody would know. His examples came from the lives of the
people. Certainly, nobody else ever spoke like Jesus.
May God help us to speak to people today in a similar way.
Reading: Matthew 5-7
Word List
angels ~ God's servants in heaven
beatitudes ~ words that tell how God will *bless us
bless ~ to guard and keep from evil; to say or to do something good to a person
of the church.
Devil ~ another name for Satan. He is the evil one who opposes God
disciple ~ a person who believes in Jesus and obeys him
gospel ~ the good news for everybody that God rescues people from the effects of *sin. Also, one
of the books in the Bible about the life of Jesus on earth (Matthew, Mark, Luke or John).
grace ~ a gift of God that we do not deserve and cannot earn; God’s help and protection.
holy ~ perfect, completely good; a description of God

Holy Spirit ~ God’s Spirit. Jesus sends him to help people
judge ~ decide if a person is good or bad
Kingdom of God ~ where God rules
deeds.
ministry ~ special work for God
righteous ~ with no *sin, pleasing God
righteousness ~ when our lives please God, when God sees us with no *sin at all, and not his
enemies
sermon ~ a talk about God and God’s kingdom, usually by one person to a group of people
sin ~ when people do not do what God wants; wrong things that we do or say
Son of Man ~ another name for Jesus, which he called himself
spirit ~ the part of a person which is alive, and which we cannot see
visions ~ dreams, sometimes dreams that come to a person who is awake. It sometimes means
something that a person very much wants to happen.

Jesus tells people the good news
and cures people in *Galilee
Barrie Wetherill
Jesus appoints the 12 apostles

Luke 6:12-15
Men with a special work for God

Jesus taught people. He cured people who were ill, often in a wonderful way. He also chose some
people to help him. There is a limit to how much one man can do. And Jesus had become a man.
He could not do everything by himself. He appointed 12 disciples to do a special work for God. (A
disciple is a person who believes in Jesus and obeys him.) He called these 12 men *apostles. The
word *apostle means: a person whom God sends with a message. Of course, God sends all
Christians to take his message. But these 12 men were special, because they had been with
Jesus. Jesus often taught them by themselves. Later he sent them to work for him. So, Jesus
prepared them for their future work. Because of these men, the history of the world changed.
Jesus' prayers
Before Jesus appointed the *apostles, he prayed all night. This is very important. Luke tells us that
Jesus often went to a quiet place to pray, (Luke 5:16, and 9:18). Jesus was always very busy.
Often crowds of people were with him. But still Jesus spent time in prayer. After Jesus had fed
5000 people, he sent the crowd away. He went up a mountain alone to pray (Matthew 14:23). Mark
writes about a time when Jesus woke very early in the morning. It was still dark. He went to a quiet
place to pray. Jesus prayed much before his *crucifixion (Matthew 26:36-44).
The prayer of Jesus was special. The letter to the Hebrews says this. When Jesus lived on earth,
he prayed ‘with loud cries and tears’ (Hebrews 5:6). And his prayers had great power. It does not
surprise us that the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray (Luke 11:1).
Certainly, before this important decision, Jesus prayed – all night.
The *apostles leave their jobs to be with Jesus

The *apostles could not have known what was going to happen. As we have learned, they had
wrong ideas about the *Messiah’s *kingdom. But Jesus asked them to be with him and they
obeyed. They trusted him. He taught them and he prepared them for their work. They were working
men. There were men who caught fish. One man collected taxes. We do not know the other men's
jobs. They left their other work to go with Jesus. They obeyed him and they went with him.

The *apostles' message
Soon, Jesus sent them to the villages (Luke 9:1-6). He gave them authority to do their special work
for God. This was the *apostles' message: people should be sorry for the wrong things that they
had done (Mark 6:12). And then, people should trust God. The *apostles also cured people, with
the authority of Jesus.
Jesus gives life to a dead man

Luke 7:11-17
One of the towns that Jesus went to was Nain. Nain was on the slopes of Hermon Mountain, which
was 25 miles from Capernaum. [Capernaum was the town where Jesus often stayed.]
Many *disciples were with Jesus and a large crowd of other people. Soon, Jesus would say some
very difficult things to these crowds and many people would leave him. Jesus did not make it easy
for people to be with him. But at Nain, there was still a large crowd of people with him. They
wanted to hear more of his words. They also wanted to see more *miracles.
The funeral procession

At the gate of Nain, they met the procession for a funeral. A young man had died. He was the only
son of a widow. People were carrying his body out to bury him. Perhaps his friends would put his
body in a cave among the rocks.
Jesus looked at the young man’s mother and was very sorry for her. Nobody asked him to do
anything for her. Probably nobody thought that anyone could help her. Her son was dead. Jesus
went straight to the bier. [A bier is a long piece of wood that men use to carry a dead body.] Jesus
touched the bier, and spoke to the young man.
‘Young man, I order you to get up’, Jesus said.
Immediately the young man got up and began to speak.
A great *miracle
This *miracle must have surprised everyone very much. No dead person had become alive again
since the time of Elisha, 900 years before (2 Kings 4:34, 35). But Jesus was able to do this
*miracle. And he did not even say a prayer! Jesus realised that the people were very sad about the
young man’s death. He had great sympathy and immediately he did something. His words were
few and his touch was gentle.
Jesus was very calm. He knew that he could help. He showed everybody who he really was.
People knew that the power of God was there. They began to praise God.
A Jewish teacher would not normally touch a bier. [That is, the long piece of wood that men use to
carry a dead body.] People thought that such an action caused a holy man to become unholy. The
opposite thing happened here. The life in Christ passed to the dead man! Perhaps many of us
need Jesus to touch us like that!
Jesus on Lake *Galilee

Luke 8:22-25
On another day, Jesus got into a boat at Capernaum to sail across the lake. Sudden storms
happen on this lake. While Jesus and his friends were in the boat, a storm began. There was rain
and a strong wind. The boat was in danger. The friends of Jesus thought that the boat might sink.
At this time, Jesus was asleep. He had been teaching the people. So probably, he was very tired.

Jesus causes a storm to stop
The *disciples woke Jesus. He stood up and told the storm to stop. Immediately the waves and the
wind were calm. This was wonderful.
This event astonished the *disciples very much. They asked themselves who Jesus was. Even the
wind and the waves obeyed him.
Jesus was both God and man

This event shows us that Jesus was both God and man. He had the nature of God and also the
nature of man. As a man, he was very tired. So, he slept. But he had total power even over the
wind and the waves.
Fear of the storm

Jesus spoke to the *disciples about their fear of the storm. He had chosen them to be with him.
They were to work for God. God would guide and help them. People would oppose them in a way
that would be worse than the storm. They would need to trust God. He would lead and protect
them for his purposes. If they trusted him, they were safe. Nobody can stop God’s purposes.
Jesus visits Gadara

Luke 8:26-39
Jesus had travelled with his *disciples across Lake *Galilee.
The wild man in Gadara

On the other side of the lake, a wild man met Jesus. Nobody could control this man, because
*demons controlled him. For many years, he had lived naked among graves. People put chains on
him, but he broke them quickly. Jesus ordered the *demons to leave.
Soon the man had clothes on, and was quiet.
There were some pigs near there. So, when Jesus freed the man, the *demons wanted to go into
the pigs. Jesus permitted the *demons to do this. Immediately, the pigs ran into the lake. (Jews
consider pigs to be unclean animals. So, Jews think that God does not want them to keep pigs.
They will not eat meat from pigs.) But the people in the town preferred their pigs to Jesus. They
asked Jesus to leave that place. So Jesus had to cross the lake twice. He went through a storm to
help one person, that is, the wild man of Gadara.
Tell everybody what God has done!

The man wanted to go with Jesus, but Jesus refused. Jesus told the man to go home. Jesus asked
the man to tell everybody what God had done for him. The man did this very well, because Jesus
went back there later. Then everybody gave him a good welcome. When we read about what
Jesus did here, we see his total power. He had power even over *demons.
Jairus’s daughter
Luke 8:40-56
The boat returned to Capernaum. An enormous crowd waited there for Jesus. They crowded round
him so much that it was dangerous. Jairus was a leader of the *Synagogue there. He asked Jesus
to come to his home. His daughter, who was 12 years old, was very ill. Jairus wanted Jesus to cure
her. There was such a big crowd that they could not walk quickly to the house.

Then something happened that stopped them. A woman was there. She had been ill for a very
long time. She wanted to touch Jesus’ clothes. She believed that this would cure her illness. She
managed to get near Jesus. Then, she touched him. God rewarded her trust and cured her. Jesus
immediately knew about it. He asked who had touched him. The *disciples were very surprised by
his question. There was a great crowd of people all round him. But this woman came and spoke to
Jesus. Jesus praised her for her belief. He told her that she could leave. God had cured her.
While Jesus was speaking to the woman, Jairus received some terrible news. His daughter was
dead. Jesus then said to Jairus:
Luke 8:50 “Do not be afraid. Believe; only believe. She will be well.”
When Jesus arrived at the house, many people were there. It was a Jewish tradition that many
people visited the family after a death. They cried out loudly. Jesus told them that the girl was
merely asleep. They laughed at him.
Jesus allowed only Peter, John and James to enter the house with him. Jesus also allowed the
girl’s parents to join them. Jesus took the girl by the hand and spoke to her. He said, ‘My child, get
up!’ At once, the girl stood up. Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone about this *miracle. However,
everybody heard about it.
The *Pharisees oppose Jesus

Matthew 12
People now knew that Jesus was a great teacher. He could also do *miracles. You might think that
he would be very popular. He was not. Many people opposed him, in particular the leaders of the
religion. Also, some people followed Jesus did not trust him completely. Jesus said some very
difficult things. People sometimes did not want to understand his words.
In Matthew 12 we read about a series of events with *Pharisees. This shows us how much some
*Pharisees opposed Jesus.
Law and tradition

The *Pharisees were careful students of the Jewish law. They always wanted to obey the law.
Perhaps they remembered what God had done, years before. He had punished people who did not
obey the law. He allowed their enemies to defeat them. So the *Pharisees wanted to obey the
agreement that God had made with his people. They would even die for the law. They trusted God
to bring them to the *resurrection. Their religion was really about behaviour. Their law had
hundreds of rules about the way to live. The rules were very strict.
For example, the *Pharisees were very strict about the way to live on the Sabbath. [The Sabbath
was Saturday, that is, the 7th day of the week. When God made the world, he rested on the
Sabbath.] God gave commands to Moses, which we call the Commandments. The 4th
commandment says that people should not work on the Sabbath day, (Exodus 20:8-11). The
*Pharisees wanted to be very sure to obey this commandment. They made a list of 39 kinds of
work that people must not do on the Sabbath. People could not even prepare food on the Sabbath!
They called such rules 'the traditions of the *elders'. They wrote these rules down very carefully.
The rules sometimes became more important than God's law itself. As a result, they often did not
understand what the Bible really said. In Matthew 15:1-20, Jesus showed that, because of their
traditions, the *Pharisees were often not obeying the Bible. Jesus called these *Pharisees ‘blind
guides’ (Matthew 23:16). This meant that these *Pharisees were like guides. They told people how
to live. But these *Pharisees were also like blind men, who did not know the correct route for a
journey. So, the Pharisees were themselves doing the wrong things. And they were also teaching
other people to do wrong things.
Discussions with the *Pharisees

In Matthew 12 we read about some discussions with the *Pharisees.

One Sabbath day, the *disciples were walking through the fields. They took some of the grain and
cleaned it by hand. Then they ate it. The *disciples were often poor and hungry. They had left their
jobs to be with Jesus. Matthew tells us that they were hungry on this day. The *Pharisees had seen
them. They protested that Jesus had allowed his *disciples to work on the Sabbath day. They said
that to pick the grain was to harvest it. If a man cleaned the grain by hand, he was preparing it for
food. They said that both these actions were work. The *Pharisees were very jealous of Jesus.
They argued with him many times about the law of the Jews.
The law allowed what the *disciples did that day. It allowed people to pick some grain as they
passed through a field. It did not allow people to harvest the grain.
Deuteronomy 23:25 If you enter your neighbour’s field of corn, you may pick some with your
hands. You must not cut his corn with a knife.
The disciples had done nothing that was wrong. They had obeyed God’s law. When Jesus replied
to the *Pharisees, he said some very important things.
What Jesus said about God's law

•When a person needs something very much, God's love might be more important than his law.
Jesus reminded the *Pharisees about David. David and the men who were with him were once
very hungry. They went to the priest in the Tabernacle. [The Tabernacle was a special tent where
the Jews came to *worship God.]. David and his men were very hungry. God had chosen David to
be the next king. The *priest had no food there except the 'bread of the presence'. [This bread was
a gift for God.] Only a priest should eat this bread. But the priest gave this bread to David and his
men. It was not wrong for them to eat it. They did not obey the law about this bread. But God loved
David. And God understood that David needed food.
•There are exceptions
Jesus also said that priests work hard on the Sabbath day. In fact, it is one of their busiest days.
Nobody says that they are wrong. There is a different law for their work on the Sabbath day. We
could call it a better law.
•Jesus reminded them what Hosea wrote
Hosea was a *prophet who spoke about God’s great love for his people. Even when they did not
obey God, God loved them. Jesus spoke some words from Hosea 6:6. ‘I do not desire special gifts
from you. I want you to forgive one another and to love one another.’ The rules of the *Pharisees
were difficult and strict. They did not realise that God wants to forgive us. God wants us to love,
and not to live by strict rules.
In another discussion, Jesus said that there were two principles in the law. This is what he said:
Matthew 22:37-40 ‘Love the Lord your God:
•with all your heart
•and with all your *soul
•and with all your mind.’
This is the first and most important command. And the second command is like it:
‘Love your neighbour as you love yourself.’
This is what the Law and the *Prophets really mean.
[By the Law, Jesus meant the laws that God gave to Moses.] Jesus chose these words from the
*Old Testament: Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18.
In Matthew chapters 5-7, Jesus explained these things further. The law is there to help us. It
should help us to love God and other people.

Jesus cures a man on the Sabbath day
Matthew 12:9-14
[The Sabbath was Saturday, that is, the 7th day of the week. When God made the world, he rested
on the Sabbath. And God's law says that we should not work on the Sabbath.]
Jesus went into a *synagogue. Some *Pharisees were with him. They wanted to see what he
would do. They hoped that they could accuse him. There was a man there with a hand that he
could not use. Some writers have guessed that he was a stonemason. [A stonemason cuts and
shapes stones for building. He needs to be able to use both hands.] This man could not work. He
had to ask other people for money. Jesus felt love and sympathy for the man. But these *Pharisees
did not care about the man. They believed that to cure someone was ‘work’. The *Pharisees
thought they would be able to accuse Jesus now. Jesus knew their thoughts. So, he spoke to
them.
Matthew 12:11 He said to them, “Let us suppose that one of you has a sheep. The sheep falls into
a deep hole in the ground on the Sabbath day. You would rescue that sheep. A man is much more
important than a sheep! So, it is right to do something good on the Sabbath day.”
Jesus then told the man to stand in front of everyone. He told him to lift his hand. When the man
did this, his hand was immediately healthy. It was just like his other hand.
A cruel plot against Jesus

But this *miracle did not make the *Pharisees think again about their rules. They did not think that
they were wrong. They went away to plot to kill Jesus.
Mark 3:6 says that the *Pharisees plotted with the ‘Herodians’. The Herodians were a political
party. They were cruel men. They had no religion and they did not love God's law. They supported
king Herod, whom most people hated. They thought that Jesus was a danger to them. He was too
popular. They decided that they wanted to kill him.
Many *Pharisees were jealous of Jesus

This shows the differences between the *Pharisees and Jesus. Many *Pharisees were jealous of
Jesus. They even wanted to murder him. They did not want to love or to forgive. Jesus cared very
much about people’s private thoughts and the reasons for their behaviour. He cared about love. He
helped poor people. He helped evil people who wanted to change. He offered to forgive them. He
said that they could live in a new way. Mark 2:27 records that Jesus also said, ‘God made the
Sabbath for man, not man for the Sabbath.’ The Sabbath day is a day of happiness. On the
Sabbath, people should praise God. And on the Sabbath, people should be kind to other people.
The ideas of Jesus contrasted very much with the ideas of the *Pharisees. The people had
respected the *Pharisees, and this gave the *Pharisees power. But now Jesus was taking away
their power with the people. Because of this, there would be more trouble.
Herod and John the Baptist

Matthew 14:1-12; Mark 6:14-29; Luke 9:7-9
The family of Herod

King Herod Antipas heard about Jesus. The family of Herod were not really Jews. They came from
Edom. Other people had forced them to become Jews in the centuries just before Christ. The
family of Herod was an important family in Edom. And, they were clever at politics. They became
friends with the Romans and married people from the Jewish royal family. When the Romans ruled
Israel, they chose ‘Herod the Great’ to be king. Herod was a son of this family from Edom.

Why Herod arrested John the Baptist
Two of Herod’s sons were Herod Philip and Herod Antipas. Herod Philip married a woman called
Herodias. When Herod Antipas visited his brother, he wanted Herodias for a wife for himself. So
Herod Antipas divorced his own wife, and married Herodias. She, of course, had to divorce Herod
Philip first. The Jewish law does not permit such behaviour (Leviticus 18:16 and 20:21). John the
Baptist said this was wrong. When he did this, he made Herodias very angry. So Herod Antipas
ordered John's arrest.
Why Herod murdered John the Baptist

On one occasion when the king had a party, Herodias’ daughter danced for his guests. The king
was very pleased with her. He foolishly promised to give her anything that she asked for. The girl
asked her mother what to say to the king. Her mother told her to ask Herod to kill John the Baptist.
The king did not know what to do. He could have given two sensible answers to her:
•I promised to give you a gift. I did not promise to do a crime.
•I was wrong when I made this promise. I cancel it.
However, Herod considered that the good opinion of his guests was more important than his duty
to obey God. This was Herod's greatest error. Herod thought that the opinions of people were
more important than the words of God. So, Herod ordered John's death.
These were the results of Herod's evil deeds:
•He murdered John the Baptist. John had been a loyal servant of God. He prepared people for
Jesus.
•Herod's conscience was not right. Herod felt guilty. His actions were terrible.
•He made the Jewish people very angry.
•He made the father of his first wife very angry. This man then attacked Herod’s army.
Afterwards, the Romans sent Herod away for the rest of his life, together with Herodias.
Herod had listened to John the Baptist. But Herod did not obey.
In fact Herod thought well of John. Mark 6:20 says that Herod liked to listen to John! People had
often seen Herod as he listened to John. John always said what God had told him to say. But it is
not enough only to listen to God’s word. It does us no good, if we do not OBEY. Herod refused to
be sorry for the wrong things that he had done.
The Bible records that other men have also done this. They have listened to some very powerful
speaker who has spoken God’s words. But they have not changed. Acts 24:26 tells us that the
Roman governor Felix liked to listen to Paul. He sent for him often. But it did not change his
attitudes or his behaviour. When his time to govern was over, he left Paul in prison.
People must *repent

Matthew 11:20-30, Luke 10:13-15
Jesus did many wonderful *miracles. But many people did not learn anything when they saw the
*miracles. These people were not sorry for the wrong things that they had done. They did not ask
God to forgive them. The people in the area of Capernaum heard Jesus speak to them. They had
not changed the way that they lived. Jesus was angry and he blamed them for this.
The towns called Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum

In this passage, Jesus spoke about these towns as if they were people. He blamed the people
from these towns for their weak reaction to his message:

Matthew 11:20-24 Then Jesus began to accuse the people who lived in these cities. He had
done most of his *miracles there, but the people did not *repent. “This is not good for you,
Chorazin! This is not good for you, Bethsaida! You have seen many *miracles. If such miracles
happened in the cities of Tyre and Sidon, their people would have *repented. They would have
shown how sorry they were. But I tell you that a day of *judgement is coming. Then it will be
better for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, what will happen to you? Will God
be pleased with you? Will he bless you? No, not at all. If Sodom had seen *miracles like these, it
would have remained to this day. But I tell you that it will be better for Sodom on the day of
*judgement than for you.”
The people in Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum had seen what Christ did. They had heard
what he taught them. Many people before that did not have such an opportunity.
Do not waste your opportunity to trust God

There is an important principle in the Bible. God expects people to use their opportunities wisely.
The people in Capernaum had a great opportunity to trust God, because Jesus was there. But they
wasted their opportunity.
Many *prophets said that Tyre and Sidon were proud. They were too fond of money and very cruel
(Ezekiel 26-28, and Isaiah 23). Amos spoke against the people of Tyre. They had attacked the
Israelites when they were weak. Then they sold the Israelites as slaves to their worst enemies,
who were the people in Edom (Amos 1:9, 10).
In the same way Jesus compared Capernaum to Sodom and Gomorrah. The people in Sodom and
Gomorrah were so wicked that God destroyed the whole area with fire. The Bible always refers to
them as places which God has punished. Very evil things happened in these places. Jesus said
that at the day of *judgement, everyone will know this. But it will be better even for people from
Sodom and Gomorrah than for people from Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum.
God wants to forgive

Many people hear the good news about Jesus. And they can read God’s word (the Bible) for
themselves. These people are responsible for the effect that they let this have on their lives. God
offers to forgive those who *repent. We must all listen carefully to this! God loves us and wants to
forgive us. He invites us to live with Christ as our friend and helper. So, we must *repent and we
must trust God.
Jesus’ appeal
It is easy to serve Jesus
After Jesus warned the people of Capernaum, he made an appeal to everyone to trust him
completely.
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are tired and anxious. I will give you rest. Listen to
my words and believe me. I am gentle and humble. I will help you to be at rest in your mind and
in your *soul. I do not make life hard for you. It is easy to serve me.”
Luke tells us when Jesus spoke these words. He had sent his *disciples to the villages. They were
to *preach and to cure people. When they came back to him, they were very happy. They had
been able to do wonderful things on behalf of Jesus. This is when Jesus spoke these words. He
offers rest to all who are tired and anxious. The *Pharisees tried to make people live by many
rules. This could make people worry and feel anxious. Or people might know that there was *sin in
their lives. [That is, they did not do what God wants.] People often realised this when they were
with Jesus. This could also make them tired and anxious. Jesus offers new hope to everyone who
feels like this. All that they have to do is to trust him. It is also clear that they must feel sorry for
their *sin. Jesus offers rest to everyone like this. He helps them not to be anxious. He also says
that it is easy to serve him.

Jesus gives the *Holy Spirit to help us
Elsewhere, Jesus spoke again about this appeal. At a *feast in Jerusalem he said this.
John 7:37-39 On the last and greatest day of the *Feast, Jesus stood. He said loudly, 'If anyone
needs to drink, let him come to me. Whoever believes in me will be like a stream of living water.
This is what the Bible says.' By these words, Jesus meant the *Holy Spirit. Later, those who
believed in Jesus received the *Holy Spirit. Until that time God had not sent the *Holy Spirit. The
*Holy Spirit came after Jesus returned to *heaven.
Jesus came to bring good news from God to men and women. The *Holy Spirit comes to us and
changes us. He helps us to please God in our lives. Many people accepted what Jesus offered to
them. The man at Gadara, who had *demons and the woman at the well both accepted his offer.
But there were also many people who did not – like some *Pharisees.
Reactions to Jesus
Jesus came to help people who needed him. They knew that they had *sin in their lives. They
wanted God to forgive them. They wanted God to give them power for a new life. Jesus came to
die for people like that. His death paid the price so that God would forgive their *sin. Now God
could send the *Holy Spirit to continue his work in us. The people did not completely understand
these statements of Jesus until after his *resurrection. There were also other statements by Jesus
that the *disciples understood only after the *resurrection.
In this section we have seen different reactions to Jesus. This is still what happens when people
hear about Jesus today. Each of us must examine our own reaction to Jesus' message. May God
grant that all of us here may really trust Him.
Read: Luke 8-10
Bible study: Parable of the sower, Luke 8:4-10, Matthew 13:1-9, and Matthew 13:18-23.
Word List
apostle ~ one of the 12 men Jesus chose to help him. He chose them to teach other people about
him. Christians also call Paul an apostle.
crucifixion ~ a cruel way to kill someone. Men make a large wooden cross and fasten a man to it
with nails. He must hang there until he dies.
demon ~ an evil *spirit. Demons are alive, but you cannot see them.
disciple ~ a person who believes in Jesus and obeys him.
elder ~ a leader, who is usually an older and wiser man.
feast ~ a special holy day, when people are very happy
Galilee ~ the part of the country called Israel, where Jesus grew up. Or, a large lake in this area.
Holy Spirit ~ God’s Spirit, whom Jesus sent to help people.
judgement ~ the decision about whether something or someone is good or bad. At the final
judgement, God will be the judge of everyone.
kingdom ~ land where a king rules. The kingdom of God is the kingdom where God rules
deeds.
miracle ~ a wonderful event that shows that God is at work.
Old Testament ~ the part of the Bible that tells about the time before Jesus came.

Pharisees ~ a group of Jews who thought that they kept all of God’s commands. Many Pharisees
did not like what Jesus said. They thought that they were always right and they became very
proud.
preach ~ tell and explain the good news about Jesus to someone, or to a group of people.
priest ~ a special servant of God, who spoke to God for the people
prophet ~ a person who can tell other people what God wants.
repent ~ be sorry for the wrong things that you have done and ask God to forgive you.
resurrection ~ become alive after death.
sin ~ when people do not do what God wants; wrong things that we do or say.
soul ~ part of us that we cannot see, that is in us during life, and continues to live after death.
spirit ~ spirits are alive, but we cannot see them. There are good spirits usually called angels. And
there are bad spirits (also called evil spirits, or demons). Satan is their leader.
synagogue ~ the place or building where Jews meet together. They pray and read the *Old
Testament.
worship ~ when people give honour to God; they pray and praise him

Who is Jesus?
Barrie Wetherill
Jesus feeds 5000 people

At this time it was difficult for Jesus and his *disciples to avoid the crowds (Matthew 14:13). They
were tired, and they needed to rest. They left in a boat to go to a quiet place. But the crowds
followed them on foot. When Jesus and the *disciples landed, there was already a great crowd
there. Jesus loved all people. He knew that the people in the crowd needed his help. Mark records
this:
Mark 6:34 When Jesus landed he saw a large crowd. He felt sorry for them, because they were
like sheep without a shepherd [that is, a person who looks after sheep]. So he began to teach
them many things.
Jesus wanted people to trust him. He taught them about the *kingdom of God (Luke 9:11). He also
cured people who were ill. Late in the day the *disciples wanted to send the crowds away.
Everybody had travelled a long way. The people would have a long journey home. But Jesus
wanted to feed the people first. Jesus cared about the crowds. We read about this many times. On
another occasion Mark says:
Mark 8:1-3 During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat,
Jesus called his *disciples to him. He said, ‘I am sorry for these people. They have already been
with me for three days, and they have nothing to eat. If I send them away now, they will fall
down with hunger. Some of them have come a long distance’.
Food for 5000 people

In Mark 6, the people had no food, but one boy had five loaves and two small fish. Jesus took
these and gave thanks to God. Then he broke them, and the *disciples distributed the food to the
crowd. By a *miracle there was enough food for everybody. There was plenty for 5000 people to
eat well. There was even some food that the people did not eat. In fact, enough food remained to
fill 12 baskets. This *miracle was a sign with an important meaning. Afterwards there was a very
important discussion.
The meaning of the *miracle

The crowd immediately understood some of the meaning of this *miracle. Many years before, God
had provided bread for the Jews. This was when they were with Moses. Moses led them through
the desert. Moses also had said that another *prophet like him would come. Now Jesus was here.
He was a great teacher, like Moses. Like Moses, he did *miracles, and had provided bread by
*miracle. Surely Jesus was the *prophet whom Moses spoke about! But the crowd thought that this
*prophet would be a king. He would fight for them and defeat their enemies. He would send their
enemies away and establish the Jews' *kingdom again.
The people wanted to make Jesus king

Jesus had to be very careful at this time. He was in danger. The crowd might take him by force and
make him king. Also, if he went back across the lake to Galilee, there could be the same trouble.

So Jesus sent the *disciples away in the boat. He himself went up a mountain to pray.
God's plan for Jesus

Jesus could have agreed to be king. That would mean that he would provide for people. He would
give them food and keep them safe. But that was not God's plan. That was not why Jesus came to
the world. He came to give people much more than this. People needed God to forgive them and
to give them a peaceful life. They needed to know that God would give them eternal life. [Eternal
life is the life that God gives to believers now. Eternal life will continue in heaven.] Only this would
really satisfy people. This is why Jesus came.
We learn here how much Jesus loved people. He wanted them to trust him. He wanted them to be
part of the *kingdom of God. He showed his care when he provided for them. He showed his great
power by his *miracles. Jesus had great power, but he was also very gentle.
The crowd finds Jesus

Jesus walks on water
After Jesus fed 5000 people by a *miracle, the *disciples left in the boat. But Jesus was not with
them. He went up a mountain to pray.
On the lake, suddenly a storm began. A strong wind blew. The waves on the sea became very big.
The *disciples were in danger. Jesus walked on the water to get to the boat. Immediately the
*disciples were safe, and they reached the land.
But the crowd had seen that the *disciples left without Jesus. People then tried to find Jesus. They
did not find him, and so they went to the other side of the lake themselves.
Jesus wanted to give better things than bread

When the rest of the crowd found the *disciples with Jesus, they had a question to ask. They
wanted to know how Jesus had got there. Jesus did not answer this question. Instead, he said this
to them. He wanted them to think about him seriously. He said:
John 6:26, 27 Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth. The reason why you are looking for me is not
the *miracles. You are looking for me because I gave you plenty of bread to eat.
Do not work for food that becomes bad. Work for food that gives you eternal life. [Jesus used
the word 'food', but he did not really mean food here. Read my explanation in the next
paragraph. 'Eternal life' is the life that God gives to believers now, and which will continue in
heaven.] The Son of Man [Jesus] will give you this food. God the Father has shown that he
approves of him’.
They expected good things from Jesus, but he wanted to give them much better things. But first
they had to trust him. The crowd then asked Jesus to prove who he was. They remembered that,
for 40 years, Moses had given food to the Jews in the desert. Jesus told them that the food came
from God. It did not come from Moses. Now God would give them the best food. By 'food', Jesus
did not mean the food that you eat. This 'food' really meant Jesus himself. He had come to give the
world the best way to live. He was here now, with them. The crowd did not understand. They asked
for bread that they could put in their mouths.
God sent Jesus into the world

Then Jesus made a series of wonderful statements.
John 6:35 Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the *bread of life. He who comes to me will never be
hungry. He who believes in me will never need a drink’.
John 6:38 ‘I have come down from *heaven to obey God. I do not do the things that I want to
do. I do the things that God wants me to do. He has sent me’.

John 6:40 ‘This is what my Father [God] wants. Everyone who believes in the Son [Jesus] shall
have *eternal life. That person will be with me at the last day’. [The last day will be when Jesus
comes back to the world. He has promised to do this in the future.]
Jesus declared that God sent him to this world. Jesus came to show people in the world how to
live. He can satisfy completely those who believe in him. He also declared that they are safe for all
time. They will be safe with him on the last day. [The last day will be when Jesus comes back to
the world. He has promised to do this in the future.] And they will always live with him in heaven.
Jesus, and only Jesus, can show us how to live in God’s way. People must believe and trust in
him.
The Jews did not like this and they said so. They knew that Jesus came from Nazareth. So they
did not believe that he came from heaven. They did not believe that God sent Jesus to this world.
Jesus had said some difficult things. He said that before his birth to Mary, he had already existed.
That was before he came to earth (for example: John 8:23, John 3:13 and John 3:31.) Later the
*apostle John wrote wonderful words at the beginning of his *gospel: John 1:1-5. These words
explain this well. Men could understand what Jesus said later. Jesus died on the *cross and came
alive again. After that it was easier to understand some things. When he died on the *cross, he
gave himself for the *sins of other people. He died so that we can live in God’s way. Because he
did this, God can forgive us. If we believe, God forgives us and blesses us.
Jesus' gift of *eternal life

Jesus then explained again what he had said.
John 6:47-51 ‘I tell you the truth. He who believes in me has *eternal life. I am the *bread of life.
Long ago your people ate the manna in the desert, but yet they died. [Manna is the name of the
bread that God sent to the people with Moses.] But here is the bread that comes down from
*heaven. A man may eat it and not die. I am the *living bread that came down from *heaven. If
anyone eats of this *bread, he will live for ever. This *bread is my body. I will give my body so
that the world can have *eternal life’.
'A man may eat it and not die.' Jesus did not speak here about the death of a person’s body. He
spoke about the death of the *spirit that is inside a man. He called this the ‘second death’. These
verses in the Bible give a wonderful promise to those who believe in Jesus. But when he spoke
these words, many people did not understand. They went away from him. Jesus turned to the
*disciples. He asked if they also were going to leave him. Peter answered for them all:
John 6:68-69 Simon Peter answered him, ‘*Lord, we cannot go to anyone else. You have the
words of *eternal life. We believe in you. We know that you are the Holy One of God’.
There were many things that the disciples did not understand. But they knew that the promise of
*eternal life came from Jesus. One day, Jesus would give his body on the *cross so that people
could have *eternal life. This whole event taught them this. Jesus fed 5000 people by a *miracle.
Then Jesus taught them. This *miracle showed them a wonderful truth.
The Pharisees say that the *miracles of Jesus come

from Satan
Matthew 12:22-37
Jesus cures a man whom *demons controlled

We can read about another event that happened about this time. It shows us what some people
thought about Jesus. Men brought a man to Jesus. The man was blind and could not speak.
*Demons controlled him. Jesus immediately cured him. Then he could both talk and see. This
*miracle astonished the crowds. However, some *Pharisees said, ‘No! This man sends *demons
away by the power of Beelzebub [the devil], who is the prince of *demons’. (Matthew 12:24)

To accuse Jesus like this is terrible. Jesus loved and cared for everyone so much. He was very
wise. He blessed people. His *miracles helped people.
People who could make such statements were foolish or evil. We could say that they were blind in
their *spirits. They were not able to look at Jesus and to understand him. (There are still people like
that today.) Jesus was not angry with them – as we might be. He answered them wisely.
Suppose that this was true! Suppose that Jesus cured people with the help of Satan [the devil]. Or,
with the help of *demons. Then Satan would be fighting against himself. Satan would be using his
power against himself. Satan would defeat himself. This could not happen.
The *Pharisees themselves tried to cure people who were in the control of *demons. So, Jesus
asked this question as a reply to these *Pharisees:
•If Jesus did this with the help of *demons, how did the *Pharisees do it?
*The sin that God will not forgive

Jesus also said some other very strong words to them.
Matthew 12:31, 32 And so I tell you this. God can forgive men for every *sin except one. He will
not forgive men who speak against the *Holy Spirit. God will forgive anyone who speaks a word
against the *Son of Man [Jesus]. God will never forgive anyone who speaks against the *Holy
Spirit, now or ever.
People sin when they do not do what God wants. When Jesus died for our *sins, it was for all kinds
of *sin. We can think about king David as an example. He took another man’s wife and he
murdered the man (1 Samuel 12). God forgave him.
These *Pharisees said that the work of Jesus by the *Holy Spirit was really the devil's work. This is
the sin that God can never forgive. Jesus' statement should have made these *Pharisees think!
Nobody should say that the work of God is *Satan’s work. God will forgive anyone who is really
sorry. But to say that God’s work is *Satan’s work is a different kind of *sin. It means that a person
has decided to oppose God. That person has chosen to be very wicked. But Jesus continued:
Matthew 12:33 'A good tree has good fruit. A bad tree has bad fruit. We know a tree by its fruit.'
If Jesus had been a servant of *Satan, what Jesus did could not be good. It is impossible for a
servant of *Satan to do good things.
How do we know whether someone is good or bad?

How do we know whether someone is good or bad? We look at what that person does. We see
how that person behaves. A good person speaks good words and does good things. An evil
person speaks bad words and does evil things. Everybody had seen how Jesus behaved. They
had heard his words. Now we can understand what kind of people these *Pharisees really were.
Evil deeds begin in a person's heart

Jesus said words like these on another occasion. The *Pharisees declared that Jesus’ *disciples
had not obeyed a law. The *disciples did not wash their hands before they ate food. This was not
really a part of the Jewish law. It was a tradition of the *Pharisees. Jesus said this:
•Food, which goes into the mouth, does not spoil a man.
•But the things that come out of a man's mouth can spoil that man.
Jesus meant that evil words and ideas make a person bad. He said this:
Matthew 15:18-20 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart. These are
the things that make someone ‘unclean’. [By unclean Jesus meant evil, or bad.] All these things
begin in a person's heart: [We might use the word 'mind' instead of 'heart' today]
•Evil thoughts

•Murder
•Sex with another man's wife
•Any sex when the couple do not obey God's rules
•Theft [that is, when a person steals something]
•Lies
•Untrue words about other people
This is the behaviour that makes someone ‘unclean’ [evil or bad]. If you do not wash your hands
before a meal, that does not make you ‘unclean’ [evil or bad].
In the discussion, these *Pharisees had really shown their true character. Jesus knew very well
what man is like. He knew that we all need a new heart with new desires and new behaviour. This
is what he came to give us. He gives it to everyone who believes in him. He gives it to everyone
who trusts him.
What Peter said at Caesarea Philippi

Matthew 16:13-28
A very important conversation

A very important conversation happened about this time. The *disciples had been with Jesus for
some time. They had seen his *miracles. They had heard him teach. They had seen the great love
and care that he always showed. They were near Caesarea Philippi.
Then, Jesus asked his *disciples this question:
•Whom did people say that Jesus was?
The *disciples replied with many answers:
•Some people thought that John the Baptist had become alive again. These people guessed that
Jesus was really John.
•Some people thought that Jesus was perhaps Elijah or one of the prophets.
•But Peter said this:
Matthew 16:16 Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’.
Jesus is the *Messiah and the son of God

This was a wonderful answer. 'Christ' means the same as *Messiah. Peter realised that Jesus was
the son of God.
Jesus had an explanation for what Peter had said. The *disciples could only say this because God
had told them. God had helped them to believe in Jesus.
Wrong ideas about the *Messiah

Jesus immediately told them not to tell anyone. Why did he say this? It was because of the Jews’
idea of a *Messiah. They expected that the *Messiah would be a military leader. They thought that
the *Messiah would defeat the Romans. The security of the Jews was important. But Jesus had
come to do something that was far more important.

Jesus speaks about his death
Immediately Jesus started to teach his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem. There, men would
attack him and kill him. The Jews did not think that this should happen to a *Messiah. The
*disciples could not understand it. Peter even blamed Christ for saying it! Jesus tried many times to
tell the *disciples what would happen at Jerusalem. He tried to tell them that he would die on the
*cross. Then he would become alive again. They did not understand until afterwards. The actual
events were a great shock to them.
This conversation was an important event in Jesus *ministry. Afterwards, Jesus prepared to go to
the *cross. Soon, he would leave Galilee, and start his last journey to Jerusalem.
The *disciples see Jesus as he is in *heaven

Matthew 17:1-13
In Matthew 16, Peter said that Jesus was the Christ [that is, the *Messiah].
Jesus appears in a new way

Six days after Peter said this about Jesus, Jesus led Peter, James and John up a high mountain.
(It was probably Mount Hermon, which is near Caesarea Philippi.) This event is called the
'transfiguration'. On the mountain, Jesus appeared to them in a new way. His clothes became
white and shone brightly. Jesus' face shone like the sun.
Many years afterwards, God allowed John to see Jesus as he is in *heaven (Revelation 1:13-16).
On this mountain, the three *disciples saw something that was like that.
Moses and Elijah

Then Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus. They spoke about the death of Jesus, which would
happen at Jerusalem. Then Peter offered to make shelters for each of them. (Peter's words were
stupid. He did not think about his words before he spoke. Perhaps he was too excited when he
saw this wonderful event.)
Then a cloud covered them. The cloud was a sign that God was there. God spoke to them, but
they could only hear his voice. They could not see him. He said this:
‘This is my Son, whom I love. I am very pleased with him. Listen to him!’ (Matthew 17:5.)
The disciples were afraid and they fell to the ground. Jesus touched them. When they looked up,
Jesus was there alone.
Lessons from this event

This event shows several things:
•Moses and the *prophets recognised Jesus. Jesus was doing all that they had said. After he
came alive again, Jesus would teach his *disciples more about this (Luke 24:25, Luke
24:45-49).
•Jesus would die on the *cross. This was the way that he would go back to *heaven. It was
also the way that he would bring people to God.
•Jesus is the one and only Son of God. Everyone should listen carefully to his words.
The experience of the *disciples on the mountain showed them what would happen in the future.
Jesus would have great *glory in *heaven. The *disciples would be with him there.
But Jesus told them not to tell anyone about this experience at that time. The time would come for
them to tell about him. First, Jesus would die. Then, he would become alive again. The time to tell
people would be after those events.

The *prophet's words about Elijah
One point worried the *disciples. They were sure that Jesus was the promised *Messiah. But a
*prophet had said that Elijah would come before the *Messiah.
Malachi 4:5-6: See, the great day of the *Lord will come. Before that, I will send the *prophet
Elijah to you. He will help fathers to love their children. And he will help children to love their
fathers. If not, I will come. I will bring bad things to the land.
‘Where was Elijah’? the *disciples asked. Jesus replied that John the Baptist had made the
*prophet’s words true. But, Jesus added, the people did not recognise John's importance. Now
Herod had killed John. Similarly, Jesus himself would soon suffer. Evil people would kill Jesus.
Malachi's words had come true by John the Baptist. And the words of other *prophets who wrote
about the *Messiah's death would soon come true as well.
The *Kingdom, and what it means

Jesus came to set up an entirely new *kingdom. His *kingdom was for people who trusted Jesus.
The *Holy Spirit now lived in these people. Jesus did not want to change things in a small way. He
was a real revolutionary. (A revolutionary is a person who starts a revolution. But Jesus' revolution
was not political. Instead, Jesus set up the *kingdom of God.) That was why he was born in an
animals’ shed, and not in a palace, or into a royal family.
People in this world often want only what will give them pleasure. Some people desire money and
some people desire power. We recognise such attitudes in the way that the *Pharisees and other
people behaved towards Jesus.
But Jesus came to establish a new *kingdom. People who belong to this new *kingdom love
perfectly. They serve other people humbly.
A *kingdom for new men and new women

Like any other revolutionary, Jesus saw wrong things in society. For this new *kingdom, he would
need new men and women. He needed people whom the *Holy Spirit had changed. They would
have new hearts and they would love in a different way.
Also like any revolutionary, he asked us to obey him totally. But he is also not like today’s
revolutionaries. His methods are totally fair and loving. Other revolutionaries would not hesitate to
use cruel methods to achieve their ambitions. But Jesus was gentle and humble.
How to follow Christ

Just after Peter’s words at Caesarea Philippi, we read these words.
Matthew 16:24-28 ‘If anyone would come to me, he must give up his own desires. He must take
up his *cross. [That is, he must be ready to suffer.] He must follow me. Whoever wants to save
his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for me will find it. A man may gain the whole world,
but lose his *soul. That would be terrible. A man's *soul is more important than anything else
that he could gain. The *Son of Man [Jesus] will come in his Father’s *glory with his *angels.
Then he will reward each person for what he has done. I tell you the truth about some people
here. They will not die before they see the *Son of Man’s *kingdom’.
Do we want to follow Christ? Then we must give up our own desires. We must give up the desire to
do what other people do. We must give up our jealous ambitions. In these verses, Jesus showed
that people are very foolish in this world. Whatever they gain in this world is not really useful. It will
have no value when Jesus comes again to *judge the world. It will have no value when we live with
him, after death. But suppose that someone did gain the whole world. That person would lose his
soul. And he would lose his life with Jesus. Jesus came to give us a completely full life (John
10:10). This only comes to people who follow him completely. So, when we serve Jesus, we
should be totally sincere.

Earlier, when Jesus taught his *disciples on the mountain, he said this. We cannot trust anything
that we own. It is not safe to do this. In the end that thing will disappoint us. If we have money or
valuable possessions, thieves can steal them. Many possessions will lose their value because time
will spoil them. If we trust only our family or friends, they will also disappoint us. God made people.
He designed people so that they would trust him alone. We are completely safe only when we do
that. Jesus came to forgive us. He wants to give us peace with God. [That is, Jesus wants us to be
friends of God.] And Jesus wants to give us *eternal life, and security. Because of Jesus, anyone
can trust God. First, that person must be really sorry for his *sin. Then that person can turn to God.
God will make that person a citizen of the *Kingdom of God. But we must give up the behaviour
and attitudes of people who do not obey God.
What does a Christian have to give up?

What does the Christian have to give up? Jesus asks us to give up our *sin. He offers to forgive us.
He gives us *eternal life. We trust him. So, we believe that God’s word [the Bible] is true. And the
Bible teaches new attitudes to us.
The life of the *apostle Paul shows us this. When he became a Christian, he gave up a good
career. He gave up the chance to be an important man in his nation. Even although he was young,
he was already a leader. He gave all this up for Christ. There were more things that he had to give
up later. But Paul always said that he gained so much more. What he gained in Christ was much
better than his old life. Paul had new attitudes now. To do well in his career was not important to
him now. Popularity was not important now. What was important was to please God. We can see
this when we read his letters. Nothing else in life could satisfy him. He was really happy only when
he was pleasing God. Here are his words.
Philippians 3:7-10 I achieved many things. But these things do not seem worthwhile now that I
know Christ. In fact, I think that everything in this world is of little value. But I have received
something much better: I know Christ Jesus my *Lord. I have lost everything because of him.
But I consider that these things are like rubbish. I have gained Christ. I belong to Christ. The law
could not make me good. But Christ makes me good as I trust him. God makes me really good
because I believe in Christ. I want to know Christ and the power of his life. I am willing to suffer
like Jesus and to become like him in his death. Then I will also become alive again, as he did,
after death.
The *apostles could not possibly know this when Jesus was with them. Their ideas about Jesus'
*Kingdom were still wrong. But they knew enough to understand this. Jesus was the *Saviour. God
had promised this *Saviour. So, they should trust him. And they should obey him.
Read: John 6
Word List
angel ~ a servant from God who brings messages to men.
apostle ~ one of the 12 men that Jesus chose to be his helpers. He chose them to teach other
people about him. Paul is also called an apostle.
bread, bread of life ~ Jesus used these words to describe himself. Jesus was not talking here
about the bread that you eat. He meant that he gives us life. Ordinary food and drink make us
strong for a short time. But Jesus always satisfies us. He gives *eternal life to us.
of the church.
demon ~ a servant of *Satan [the devil], who is God’s chief enemy.
disciples ~ men whom Jesus chose to be with him and to share his work; people who believe in
Jesus and obey him.

eternal life ~ the life that God gives to believers now. When people trust in Jesus, they belong to
God in a new way. They know him in a different way. They have a new experience of him. All this
will continue in heaven, where God is.
glory ~ the power and greatness of God.
Gospel ~ one of the books of the Bible which tells about the life of Jesus Christ. It can also mean
the good news for everybody that God can deal with our wrong actions. Because he does this, we
do not need to go to hell.
judge ~ decide if a person is good or bad.
kingdom ~ land that a king rules over.
kingdom of God ~ all the people who love and trust God.
living bread ~ Jesus used these words to describe himself. Jesus was not talking here about the
bread that you eat. He meant that he gives us life. Ordinary food and drink make us strong for a
short time. But Jesus always satisfies us. He gives *eternal life to us.
Lord ~ a name that we call God or Jesus, when we obey them
deeds.
ministry ~ special work for God.
did not like what Jesus said. They thought that they were always right. They became very proud.
Satan ~ God’s chief enemy, also called the devil.
saviour ~ Jesus, who brings us to God, and rescues us from wrong things in our lives.
sin ~ when people do not do what God wants.
Son of Man ~ another name for Jesus, which he often called himself.
soul ~ the part of us that that we cannot see. This part is in us during life, and lives on after death.
spirit ~ the part of a person which is alive, and which we cannot see.

Some Visits to Jerusalem
Barrie Wetherill
The *Feast of Tabernacles

John chapter 7
The *Feast of Tabernacles is a special time for Jewish people. They remember how good God has
been to them. It happens at harvest time every year. The Jews take the branches of trees and
make shelters for themselves. They live in the shelter for eight days. It is a happy time when they
thank God. Modern Jews sometimes live in tents at this time.
Danger in Jerusalem
It was now the third year of Jesus’s special work for God, and it was autumn. Six months after this,
Jesus would die on the cross. Every time that Jesus went to Jerusalem there was more danger for
him. The men who ruled the Jews in Jerusalem were enemies of Jesus. They now wanted to kill
him as soon as possible.
On a previous visit to Jerusalem, Jesus had cured a man. The man had not been able to walk for
38 years. Jesus cured the man on the Sabbath. (The Sabbath was the 7th day of the week. It was
when people rested.) This made the *Pharisees in particular very angry. They thought that nobody
should do any work on the Sabbath (John 5). When Jesus discussed this with them, he called God
his own father. So, Jesus linked himself with God. This made him equal with God (John 5:16-18).
The enemies of Jesus plotted to kill him. Probably there were other reasons why they hated Jesus.
Jesus taught people how God wanted them to live. God’s standards were different from men’s
standards. He showed people that their leaders’ and rulers’ standards were not good enough.
Other people could see this, and the rulers were losing their power. Jesus was in danger at
Jerusalem.
Now it was the time for the *Feast of Tabernacles. To obey the Jewish law (Deuteronomy 16:16) all
males should go to Jerusalem. So, people asked, 'Would Jesus go or not?' If Jesus went, nobody
expected his safe return. Even Jesus' brothers said to him (John 7:3-5), ‘Why do you not go up to
the *feast?’ They did not believe in him.
The three greatest Jewish *feasts

There were three *feasts, when Jews had to go to the *Temple in Jerusalem.
•The first one was called Passover. (Passover was a time when the Jews remembered their
time in Egypt. They had been slaves in Egypt. God killed the oldest sons in each family in
Egypt, but God protected the Jews. He 'passed over' them.) Passover was in springtime. It
was the most important *feast for the Jewish religion. Passover is at the same time of year
as Easter. Jesus died at the time of the Passover *feast. So on Easter Sunday, Christians
remember Jesus' *resurrection.
The other two *feasts were agricultural. The Jews thanked God for the harvest.

•At the *feast called Pentecost, the Jews thanked God for the harvest of grain. This was about
seven weeks after Passover. That is when the grain harvest would be for the Jews.
Christians remember God's gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. This is because God gave
the Holy Spirit to the *disciples at Pentecost.
•The second agricultural *feast was the *Feast of Tabernacles. It was in early autumn. Jews
gave thanks for the harvest of grapes. Grapes were the fruit which they made into wine
(Deuteronomy 16:13). At this *feast, Jews left their houses and lived under shelters [also
called tabernacles]. They made the tabernacles with the branches of trees. This was to
remind them that God gave them food and drink in the desert. Moses led them through this
desert after they left Egypt. God provided their food in the desert by a *miracle. Then he
gave them the land called Israel to live in.
People travelled to Jerusalem for the *Feast of Tabernacles

The Passover (Easter) was really the most important *feast, but the rules for it were very strict. For
example, the people had to eat special bread, which they did not enjoy. They preferred the *Feast
of Tabernacles. It made them very happy to have the harvest of grapes. The grapes would make
wine. Perhaps this shows us that the Jews did not always obey the rules for their *feasts. More
Jews travelled to Jerusalem for the *Feast of Tabernacles than at any other time. They came from
many parts of the world.
In this particular year, the *feast was an opportunity for Jesus to show himself. So, the people
asked: would Jesus go to Jerusalem or not?
The Feast of Tabernacles: Jesus was present, even

although there was danger
Although there was danger, Jesus went to Jerusalem for the *feast. But he did not go publicly. He
went in secret. Then, when the *feast had begun, he sat in the *Temple. He began to teach there,
just as he had before. Immediately people noticed him (John 7:26, 27). The leaders of the people
did not know what to do. They did not know how to accuse Jesus. But they did not want to do
nothing. They did not want people to think that they approved of him. They sent soldiers to watch
him and to listen to him. Then they told the soldiers to arrest him (John 7:32).
The last opportunity to trust Jesus

The last day of this great *Feast came. Jesus was in the *Temple. He knew that many people in
the crowd would never hear him again. This was their last opportunity to trust him.
Jesus had come to rescue people from the wrong things that they had done. He wanted them now
to know about this. There were soldiers in front of him, but he spoke more clearly then ever before.
He said more about himself than he had before. He called himself the fountain of life [the person
who makes us and gives us our life].
Jesus stood up to teach

Jewish teachers usually sat while they taught. Jesus also usually sat to teach. But this time he
stood up. He knew that, for many people there, it was the last time to hear him. It was very
important that they listened to him. At other times Jesus would say more about belief. Sometimes
his words made it very difficult for people to obey them. People would have to change what they
did. They would have to change what they said. But now Jesus had not much time before he died.
Now he wanted only one thing. He wanted men and women to trust him.

The *Feast of Tabernacles: A message for people who
need a drink
So (in John 7) Jesus stood up in the *Temple. There were crowds of Jews there, from all over the
world. They had come to the *Feast, and Jesus invited them to come to him. But his offer is not for
everyone. Jesus began his speech with these words: ‘If anybody wants to drink. . . ’.
Probably not many of the people who were there really needed to drink. This was the end of a
week when they had thanked God for the grape [a fruit] harvest. Perhaps many people had drunk
plenty. But Jesus was not talking about water or wine. It is clear that Jesus spoke about something
else. He spoke about people who needed something in their *spirits (the inner part of people,
which other people cannot see). They knew that they had a *spiritual lack.
Do you have a desire for God?

Jesus knew what people were like in their hearts. Many people feel that they lack something in
their lives. They desire something more, but perhaps they do not know what. Think about these
questions:
•Have we any desire for God?
•Have we any desire to be free from the wrong things that we say?
•Free from the wrong things that we think or do?
•Have we any desire for the peace, which God alone gives?
•Do we want to have a life that is more holy?
•Do we want to escape from *sin in our lives?
Come to Christ
If so, then we should come to Christ. Water can satisfy the person who needs to drink. And Christ
will satisfy our desire for God. But first we must know that we need him. We must realise that we
are poor in our *spirits. We cannot help ourselves. We must feel very sad about that. Just as we
sometimes feel very hungry for food, so we must feel very hungry for *righteousness. We must feel
like that before God can help us. Only God can give us this *righteousness, but we must want it
very much. Jesus explained all this when he spoke on the mountain (Matthew 5:3-6). This is the
way to begin to be a Christian. This is the way to continue to be a Christian. Some people in the
crowd in front of Jesus would not feel this desire. Other people would desire wrong things.
Sometimes we do not realise what we really need.
The *Feast of Tabernacles: ‘What things do we need’?

In John 7:37, Jesus promised to provide the things that we really need. What things do we need to
satisfy the great desire in our hearts? Jesus taught that we need these things:
(a) We need God to forgive us

We have done wrong things. We need to be sure that God forgives these wrong things. Then we
will not worry any more about them.
•The woman at the well needed this (John 4).
•King David, who had ruled long ago, often needed this (Psalm 51).
We sometimes try to forget about our *sin. Or, we try to hide our *sin. But we need God to forgive
us. And we need to know that God has forgiven us. Nobody else can satisfy us. Only the *Lord
Jesus Christ can help us (1 Peter 2:24).

(b) We need power to live as God wants us to live
If we ask God to forgive our *sin, we must then start to obey him. We need power to obey him, and
to please him. We want to be free from *sin. We want the power to do better things. We want the
power to live good lives. But Jesus provides this for us also.
If a plant has no water, it will not grow. At last it dies. Water is essential for life. Our *spiritual lives
are like that.
In John 7:37 Jesus said that he was essential for *spiritual life. Jesus is essential. Then our
*spiritual lives will succeed. And we will please God. Jesus was referring here to the *Holy Spirit
(John 7:39).
(c) We need love

We also need to have love. We need to know that someone loves us. But nobody loves us more
than Jesus. He died for us so that God could forgive us.
John 15:13 ‘This is the greatest love that a man can have. He dies for his friends’.
(d) There are other things that we need

We could add many more things to this list. We need to feel safe. We need to have a purpose for
our life. We need excitement too. Only Jesus can give us all these things. And he also gives many
other things to us. People could not understand all that Jesus said. He would die and become alive
again. Then more people would understand.
The reaction to Jesus' words in the *temple

In the *temple he could not say things plainly. But what he had said was enough for many people.
The rulers of the people had sent soldiers to arrest him. The soldiers went back to the rulers
without him. ‘Nobody ever spoke like this man’, they said.
The rulers still wanted to kill Jesus. Nicodemus was one of the rulers. He had visited Jesus in
secret (John 3). Now, Nicodemus tried to protect Jesus. Nicodemus said that the rulers should not
*judge a man. Instead, they should first bring that man to a court. The judges in the court would
decide if the man was guilty or not. But the other rulers did not listen to Nicodemus.
The *Feast of Tabernacles: Jesus says more

John 8
For many people the *feast was the last chance to hear Jesus speak. Some of his words surprised
them very much. He also performed one of his greatest *miracles.
John 8:12 Again Jesus spoke to them. He said, ‘I am here, as the light of the world. People
should trust me. It is dangerous to walk in the darkness. But the person who trusts me is safe.
He is like someone who travels in the daylight for his whole life.’
John 10:9 I am like a door that leads to safety. If anyone trusts me, God will rescue that person
from *sin. That person will live in freedom. God will provide everything that such a person
needs.
John 10:10 I have come to bring life to people. It is the best kind of life.
John 10:11 I am like the good shepherd. [That is, a man who looks after sheep. Sometimes
Jesus called his *disciples, 'sheep'.] The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. [So, Jesus
would die to rescue the people who trust him.]

Jesus used words like pictures to describe himself
Jesus spoke very clearly about his offer. He used words like pictures to describe himself. He said ‘I
am here as the light of the world’. He did not mean that he really shone like a light. He wanted to
teach us more. Let us look again at these words. A light can guide us and help us to be safe. Jesus
can guide us as we live our lives. He can help us to know what is true. We can learn the truth
about ourselves. We can learn what God has provided for us. God can provide what we need
most. The *apostle Paul said that a man does not naturally understand *spiritual things. He does
not know who God is. And a man does not know how God thinks or works. Jesus sends the *Holy
Spirit to teach us (1 Corinthians 2: 14). When we trust Jesus, he gives us real life. If this does not
happen, we are dead *spiritually. We do not know God, and cannot please him.
A purpose to live for

Jesus then said, ‘It is dangerous to walk in the darkness. But the person who trusts me is safe. He
is like someone who travels in the daylight for his whole life.’. Jesus meant that he gives us a
purpose to live for. It is a new way to live, that means something. He gives us freedom and power
to live this life. He came to rescue us from *sin, and to give us a new way to live. This new way has
real meaning. We will understand these words better if we study the story in John 9. This tells us
about something that happened at this *feast.
Jesus cures a man who was blind from birth

John 9
Jesus cures a man who was born blind

One Sabbath day, Jesus and the *disciples were walking together. [The Sabbath was the seventh
day of the week. Jews thought that nobody should work on the Sabbath.] They met a man who had
been blind since his birth. The *disciples asked Jesus if *sin had caused the man to be blind. Jesus
said that *sin had not caused it. Immediately he began to cure the man. He used earth and saliva
[water from his mouth] to make mud. He put the mud on the man’s eyes. He told him to wash the
mud off in the Pool of Siloam. After this, the man was able to see.
Evidence that Jesus was the *Messiah

Nobody had ever seen such a wonderful event! A man who had been blind from birth could now
see! This was evidence that Jesus was the *Messiah. The *prophet Isaiah had spoken about this
long ago.
Jesus had called himself the light of the world. What he did to the man showed this truth in action.
Jesus really gave the man light to see. He can show us the way to live our lives. It is extremely rare
that people born blind can ever see. Even today with modern medicine, it is extremely rare. This
was really a very important *miracle.
Anger about Jesus' actions on the Sabbath day

The *Pharisees were angry. Jesus had cured the man on the Sabbath day! They told the man that
Jesus must be a *sinner to do this! The man answered.
John 9:25 He replied, ‘Whether he is a *sinner or not, I do not know. One thing I do know. I was
blind but now I can see’!
The *Pharisees asked the man and his parents more questions. Then they sent him out of the
*Temple.

The error of the *disciples
Notice it was Jesus who saw the man (John 9:1). The man himself did not cry out or ask for
anything. The *disciples began to discuss the philosophy of the event:
•Who caused this man’s to be blind?
•Was it because of his own *sin?
•Was it because of his parents’ *sin?
•Whom can he blame?
Many people in the world today make the same error as the *disciples. They like to discuss other
people's troubles. They do not really feel very sorry for people who have trouble. Maybe we are
like that. Maybe we blame other people. Or maybe we even blame the people who suffers. Jesus
was not like this. He did something immediately to help, although he himself was in danger. Jesus
knew that this would make the leaders of the Jewish religion very angry. But he was not afraid. We
should learn from this event.
Lessons from a *miracle

Jesus cured a man who was born blind – John 9
There are many lessons that we can learn from this *miracle.
The man's desperate circumstances

This man was desperate. He did not know what to do. He could not help himself. Nobody had ever
cured a man that was blind from birth. The man knew that he could not help himself.
This is a picture of what people are like today. They are desperate. Their lives are out of control.
Strong desires guide them, not wise thoughts. They want things, but they do not know how to get
these things. They are selfish. Nobody knows how to cure this, except Jesus. He alone can cure a
person's *spirit. There is one way to God, and there is no other way. ‘I am the way’, Jesus said.
In the world today, people live as if they are in darkness. Strong desires direct their lives. We
cannot deny this today. People are desperate. THIS man knew that he was desperate! That is the
first thing that we all must do. We must understand what our real problem is. Our real problem is
*sin. So, we need God to forgive us.
A man in darkness
The man blind from birth could not see where he was going.
When the Jews were going through the desert, they would have wandered about in any direction.
But God guided them by a column of fire.
People today are like this. There is no meaning and no purpose to their lives. But we must trust
Jesus. Only Jesus can give us purpose. Just as God guided Moses and the Jews through the
desert, so Jesus can guide us continuously. He will do this until we die. And then he will take us to
*heaven.
The man had to do something himself

The man met Jesus, and Jesus could cure him. But Jesus did not just say something. He did not
just touch the man’s eyes and cure him. The man had to do something. Jesus told him to go and
wash in the Pool of Siloam. This seemed rather a silly thing to do. Probably he had washed
thousands of times, perhaps even in the Pool of Siloam. He could have asked these questions:
•How would that help him?
•Why should he do it?

•Would he seem to be foolish?
•Would people laugh at him?
People, who hear about Jesus today, are like this man. Jesus tells them to do something. He does
not do something for them by magic. There is something for them to do for themselves:
•We must confess our *sin to God.
•We must trust Jesus and obey him.
•We must say that Jesus is our *Lord and *Saviour.
And perhaps other people will laugh at us. It could be the same thing for us, as it was for the man
born blind.
The man born blind: Jesus gives him sight

The man washed and came back. He could see. Jesus had cured him! Just like that, Jesus can
help us to know about our own *sin. He can help us to trust him. He can rescue us from our *sin.
He can cure us from the disease of *sin.
Paul tells us that Jesus can rescue us. In Romans 1:16 Paul says this: ‘I am not ashamed of the
good news of Jesus. It is God’s power to rescue us’.
There is power because Jesus died for us! Many people prefer *sin. This is terrible! A blind person
does not prefer to be blind. But Jesus can certainly rescue everybody from their *sin. Jesus said, 'I
am here, as the light of the world.'
The man born blind: men oppose Jesus

In John 9, Jesus cured a man who was born blind.
After Jesus cured the man, at once the man had trouble. The leaders of the Jewish religion
opposed him fiercely. They argued, 'Jesus should not have cured you on the Sabbath day! Go
back and be blind. He can cure you tomorrow!' The rulers said that Jesus must be a *sinner. He
could not have come from God, because he did not obey the rule about the Sabbath day!
The Jewish leaders made the man leave the *synagogue. He was now in great trouble. Jesus went
and looked for him. He encouraged him, and helped him to trust more completely. 'Jesus looked
for him'! That is a wonderful statement. Who was it that looked? JESUS! Jesus is God! Jesus
created the world! Jesus created everything that exists! Jesus designed the stars! And who was
he looking for? He was not looking for a ruler or a prince. He was looking for a poor blind man, who
had to ask other people for money. This is a beautiful story. And it is true. Nobody could have
made up a story like this one!
The man who was blind understood the meaning of the *miracles. He trusted Jesus. The rulers
knew all about the law, and their eyes were not blind. But they did not understand the truth about
Jesus. The blind man did. The men, who were not blind, did not understand. It seems as if they
were blind to the truth. That is, they could not see the reality of the situation. This is what Jesus
said:
John 9:39 Jesus said, ‘I came into this world to *judge, for this purpose. Those who do not see,
may see. Those who see, may become blind’.
The leaders of the Jewish religion showed their character by what they did. They did not believe in
Jesus, even after all the *miracles. They were blind in their *spirits. They opposed something that
was clearly good. They made an honest man leave the *synagogue. Although they could see
things with their physical eyes, they did not understand about Jesus at all.
Jesus, the light of the world

In this chapter (John 9) we read about a wonderful event. Jesus cured a man who was born blind.

Jesus said that he was like the light of the world. This *miracle teaches us what he meant by that.
Jesus was very brave. Although he had great power, he was also very gentle. He cared about
people who suffered. He cared about people whom nobody else would care about. He did not care
about his own safety. He did not listen to what evil men said about him.
Jesus wants to help us. He wants us to understand the trouble that *sin causes in our lives. God
will forgive us if we ask him. He can give us a purpose, and power to live a new kind of life. Jesus
helps us to understand all of this. Jesus loves all people. He wants to bless us all in the way that
we live. He helps us to know God better.
Jesus gives life back to Lazarus

John 11
At the beginning of John chapter 11, Jesus was in *Galilee. While he was there, he received an
urgent message. The message was about a man named Lazarus. It came from his two sisters,
named Martha and Mary.
These friends lived at Bethany, which was near Jerusalem. Lazarus became very ill. The sisters
wanted Jesus to come. They hoped that Jesus would cure Lazarus.
When Jesus heard their message, he stayed in *Galilee for two more days. During this time,
Lazarus died.
Then Jesus decided to visit Martha and Mary in Bethany. The *disciples were rather afraid about
this. They knew that some people wanted to kill Jesus. But they said, ‘Let us go with him. We will
die with him’. They went with Jesus.
When they arrived at Bethany, Martha met them. She said to Jesus, ‘If you had been here, my
brother would not have died’. Jesus said that her brother would live again. Martha did not
understand what Jesus meant. She believed that God would give life to everyone, at the end of
time. (This means when God *judges everyone, when this world ends.) Then Jesus said this:
John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, ‘I am the *resurrection and I am life. Whoever believes in me
will live. Even if that person dies, he will live. The person who believes in me will never die. Do
you believe this?’
Those who believe in Jesus know this. They are certain that they will always be with Jesus.
Then Jesus went to the place where the family buried Lazarus. Jesus stopped there and wept.
Then he told the people to take away the stone that covered the grave.
The sisters protested because the body would now have a bad smell. Lazarus had been dead for
four days. In the great crowd, there were some Jews from Jerusalem. Jesus then called out loudly,
‘Lazarus, come out’.
Then Lazarus got up. He was alive again! He walked away from the grave. He still wore the clothes
that his sisters had wrapped round his body.
After this great *miracle, many people believed in Jesus. But some people went to the rulers in
Jerusalem. These rulers decided that they must do something. If they did not, everyone would
believe in Jesus! This *miracle helped many people to believe in Jesus. But it also made the rulers
decide to kill Jesus!
Different people have always had different opinions about *miracles. The *miracles of Jesus should
teach us about him. Everything that we have comes from Jesus. If we trust him, we should not be
afraid of death. Moreover, Jesus will change our lives. We may be like dead people because we
have *sin in our lives. But Jesus can help us to live in a new way. He can give us power. But we
should note this too. If we trust Jesus, some people will become our enemies. There are many
people in the world who love to have power. They will not change. They love their *sins and all
their evil ways. They hate those who live in God’s way.
To finish, let us repeat what Jesus said about himself.

John 10:9 I am like a door that leads to safety. If anyone trusts me, God will rescue that person
from *sin. That person will live in freedom. God will provide everything that such a person
needs.
John 10:10 I have come to bring life to people. It is the best kind of life.
Jesus helps us to know God, and to please God. This is the best way to live.
John 10:11 I am like the good shepherd. [That is, a man who looks after sheep. Sometimes
Jesus called his *disciples, 'sheep'.] The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. [So, Jesus
would die to rescue the people who trust him.]
John 8:12 Again Jesus spoke to them. He said, ‘I am here, as the light of the world. People
should trust me. It is dangerous to walk in the darkness. But the person who trusts me is safe.
He is like someone who travels in the daylight for his whole life.’
John 11:25, 26 Jesus said to her, ‘I am the *resurrection and I am life. Whoever believes in me
will live. Even if that person dies, he will live. The person who believes in me will never die. Do
you believe this?’
Let us each ask ourselves this. Do we know Jesus as our light, and our shepherd, and the one who
gives us life?
Read: John chapters 7-9.
Bible Study: Think about the answer that we each need to give to Jesus.
Word List
apostle ~ one of the 12 men that Jesus chose to be his helpers. He chose them to teach other
people about him. Christians also call Paul an apostle.
disciple ~ one of the 12 men that Jesus chose to help him. It also can mean a person who believes
Jesus and obeys him.
feast ~ a large meal to remember an event or a person. Jewish feasts were part of their religion.
Feast of Tabernacles ~ a special time for Jewish people; they remember how good God has been
to them; they make shelters from branches of trees; they live in the shelters for eight days.
Galilee ~ the part of the country of the Jews, where Jesus grew up
heaven ~ where God lives and rules.
Lord ~ another name for Jesus, which shows that he has authority over everything.
deeds.
miracle ~ a wonderful event. It shows that God is at work.
Pharisees ~ a group of Jews. They thought that they kept all of God’s commands. Many Pharisees
did not like what Jesus said. These Pharisees thought that they were always right. They became
very proud.
resurrection ~ coming alive after death.

righteousness ~ when we are perfect, and right with God. God forgives the wrong things that we
do. We become God's friends, instead of his enemies.
saviour ~ Jesus, who brings us to God. He rescues us from wrong things in our lives, and from
hell.
sin ~ when people do not do what God wants; wrong things that we think, say, or do.
sinner ~ a person who *sins.
spiritual ~ belonging to the *spirit.
synagogue ~ the place or building where Jews meet together. They pray and read the first part of
the Bible.
temple ~ the special building in Jerusalem where people went to give honour to God.

Jesus' last journey to Jerusalem
Barrie Wetherill
Jesus travels to Jerusalem

Discussions about the *kingdom
The *apostles told Jesus that they believed in him. They believed that he was the *Messiah. Jesus
now began to speak to them about his death. He told them that he would die on a *cross. They did
not understand. They still thought that Jesus would establish God's *kingdom on earth
immediately. They thought that Jesus would appoint them to be rulers in the *kingdom. They would
be powerful and important.
Later, Pilate, who governed Jerusalem, asked Jesus questions about the *kingdom. Jesus told him
‘My *kingdom does not belong to this world’. The *apostles did not understand this. But they
understood it after Jesus came alive again.
The route to Jerusalem

Jesus decided to go to Jerusalem. He knew what would happen to him there (Luke 9:51). He
wanted to go through Samaria, but the people there would not allow him. This was because he
was going to Jerusalem (Luke 9:52-56). So Jesus and his *disciples went through Perea. Later in
the journey, he walked ahead. This action astonished the *disciples. Many people who were with
Jesus were afraid (Mark 10:32-34).
The Jewish rulers asked Jesus many questions. They wanted him to give them wrong answers.
But Jesus always answered with great knowledge and wisdom. At last, they did not continue to ask
questions. Instead, they plotted to kill Jesus on the *cross.
*Judgement
So Jesus had left *Galilee for the last time. He said that God would punish the people in some
towns there, because of their *sins. He spoke about Capernaum, Bethsaida and other towns,
where he had taught people. He had also cured people there; and he had done other *miracles.
Luke 10:13-15 'These are bad times for you, inhabitants of Chorazin! These are bad times for
you, inhabitants of Bethsaida! I showed you many *miracles. If the people of Tyre and Sidon
had seen *miracles like that, they would have *repented long ago. They would have shown how
sorry they were. They would have worn rough clothes and put ashes on their heads. [These
were signs that people were very sad. Tyre and Sidon were very wicked cities.] But it will be
better for Tyre and Sidon at the *judgement than for you. And you, people of Capernaum, what
will happen to you? Will God be pleased with you? No, he will punish you.'
Here Jesus spoke about the day when God will *judge everybody. He will decide who has obeyed
him. He will reward the people who obey him. They are God's own people. They trust God. So they
please God. But God will punish those people who have not obeyed him.
People in these places heard what Jesus taught. They saw his *miracles. Only a few of them
*repented and believed in him. The *miracles of Jesus show who he really is. He wants us to
believe him. We must *repent. We must trust him and obey him.

Jesus speaks about divorce
Mark 10:1-12
A question about the laws of Moses

Some *Pharisees came to Jesus to test him. They asked, 'Does a man obey the law if he divorces
his wife?' There were two opinions about this. They wanted Jesus to choose one opinion or the
other. Moses had introduced divorce. He said that a man should write a notice of divorce for his
wife (Deuteronomy 24:1-4). People did not agree what this meant.
•Some people believed that this law permitted divorce at any time. The reasons for divorce were
not important. But as long as there was a legal notice, there could be a divorce. For example,
Herod the King divorced his first wife so that he could marry his brother's wife. Herod thought that
he had the right to do this. He arrested John the Baptist, who opposed him.
•Other people thought that there could be divorce only because of adultery. [Adultery is a *sin. A
married person has sex with someone who is not their husband or wife.]
The *Pharisees wanted Jesus to declare which opinion was right. Whatever he said, he would
upset somebody.
Jesus' reply
What would Jesus do? Jesus did not answer the question immediately. His reply was very clever.
He went right back to the beginning of the Bible, that is, to the first chapters of Genesis. His answer
was stricter than either opinion. Also, Jesus spoke about men and women in the same way. He
considered that both men and women were important.
God's plan for people who marry

In Genesis 2:18-25, God says this. Man needs a helper who is suitable for him. The basic problem
was that man was lonely. The Bible describes married people as companions. In Genesis 2:24
God says, ‘...two shall become one ‘. He does not mean that after marriage the two people have
sex. It means that they unite to become one unit. God designed marriage so that a man becomes
one unit with his wife.
The apostle Paul wrote about this in Ephesians 5:28-31. He explained that marriage is like a model
of Christ’s love for his church. [By 'church', Paul did not mean a building. He meant all the people
who believe in Jesus.] Paul described how Jesus loved the church. Because of that love, Jesus
died for us. Then Paul wrote this:
Ephesians 5:28-30 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies.
He who loves his wife loves himself. Nobody ever hated his own body. He feeds and cares for it.
This is what Christ does for the church. We are members of his body.
We can say this in other words. The Bible says that marriage partners are companions. Their love
and care for each other is much more important than sex. The Bible’s words about adultery agree
with this. In the Bible, marriage was an agreement. It began when the couple were engaged [when
they said that they would marry]. So, it began before they had sex. (Deuteronomy 22:23) If
engaged people had sex with someone else, the punishment was the same as for married people.
In the Bible, marriage does not just make sex legal. (See also Proverbs 2:16, 17, Malachi
2:14).This is very important for human society. It refers back to the way that God made us.

Why Moses allowed divorce
Jesus says that Moses allowed divorce to be legal as a temporary decision. It was because people
did not love the law. They did not obey the law. Moses allowed divorce, but divorce was not the
best way. Divorce was a second best way. This was not the answer that the *Pharisees wanted!
Even the *disciples were very surprised by Jesus’ answer. What Moses allowed was interesting. It
shows how God was willing to change his law. People failed to keep his natural law. Although this
disappointed God, he changed that law. God did this because people needed the change.
Jesus and children

Mark 10:13-16
Jesus had surprised his listeners with his attitude to divorce. His attitude to children was just as
surprising. Jesus' *disciples did not really think that children were important to God. Parents
brought children to Jesus for him to bless them. But the *disciples told them to go away.
The *disciples were doing what many people at that time would have done. ‘Jesus has more
important things to do than to bless children’, they might have said.
Why Jesus loved the children

The *disciples' actions upset Jesus. He gave the children a welcome. Children had many qualities
which Jesus liked. They were not proud. They had a simple trust. They depended on other people.
True *disciples of Jesus should have all these qualities. Jesus loved these qualities. Adults were
often proud and not honest. Once Jesus put a child in the middle of a group of adults and said this:
Matthew 18:3-4 And he said: 'I tell you the truth. You must change and become like little
children. If you do not, you will never enter the *kingdom of *heaven. Therefore, make yourself
humble like this child. Then you will be like the greatest in the *kingdom of *heaven.'
We must become like little children

The *kingdom of *heaven is for people like that. They ask Jesus to direct them. They let him create
these qualities in them. No other people will ever enter *heaven. Jesus’ standards are completely
different from the standards of today’s world!
The rich young man

Mark 10:17-31
How to receive *eternal life

Now a very impressive man came to Jesus. This man was young and rich. And he was a ruler. He
also wanted to know more about God. He knew something about ‘*eternal life’ and he wanted it.
People might have thought that he would be a very good *disciple. He came to Jesus in public with
his question.
Mark 10:17 'Good teacher,' he asked, 'what must I do to have *eternal life?' [He wanted to know
how to please God.]
Jesus first wanted to be sure that the man understood his own question. The man said that Jesus
was 'good'. But only God himself is 'good'. Only God himself can give anyone *eternal life. Jesus
made the young man think about who Jesus really is.

A common error
But what the man believed is a common error. He believed that he could get this *eternal life by his
behaviour. He thought that he would be able to get it by himself. Many people today make the
same mistake.
The *commandments
The usual Jewish answer to the man’s question would have been 'You must obey the
*commandments.' [The commandments were the rules that God gave to Moses.] Jesus reminded
the man about the *commandments. Then the man made another mistake. He said that he had
always obeyed the *commandments. He thought that the *commandments were only about his
actions. But the *commandments are also about our thoughts.
In Romans 7:8, the *apostle Paul described how he made the same mistake. Then he realised that
his evil desires were also *sin. This showed him that the *commandments were about thoughts as
well as actions.
When Jesus spoke to the young man, Jesus did not list all the *commandments. Jesus only
mentioned the second part of the *commandments. He had not mentioned the duty to love God.
Elsewhere, Jesus mentioned all the *commandments together like this:
The young man had obeyed the *commandments by his behaviour. But his questions showed his
mistake. He was a wealthy man. He did not steal anything. He did not kill anybody. But he was
very selfish. His liked to please himself. Thousands of Jews were very poor, and this man had
great wealth. He loved his great possessions very much, and he was not going to give them up. He
would not even give them up for Jesus. He would not even give them up for *eternal life.
Jesus tested the man's true character

Jesus’ last words to this man tested the man's true character.
Mark 10:21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. 'You need one thing,' he said. 'Go and sell all
your possessions. Give the money to poor people. Then you will have real wealth, in *heaven.
Then come! Follow me!'
If the young man did this, he would show his love for God. It would be greater than his love for his
possessions. This would please God.
But this man loved his wealth. And he loved the way that he lived. He was not going to give it up
and follow a poor teacher. So, the young man sadly walked away.
Jesus' words about the camel, the needle, and rich people
Jesus then said something else which surprised the *disciples.
Mark 10:23-25. Jesus looked at his *disciples. He said, 'It is very hard for rich people to belong
to the *kingdom of God!' The disciples were surprised at his words. But Jesus said again,
'*Children, it is very hard to belong to the *kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through
the small hole in a needle than for a rich man to join the *kingdom of God.'

The disciples thought that rich people had everything in this world. They thought that it would be
the same in the *kingdom of God. But this is not so. All those who obey Jesus are equal. Nobody is
better than someone else because he is richer or clever. By themselves, nobody can achieve what
Jesus wants. We can only achieve this by the help of the *Holy Spirit. We need the *Holy Spirit to
give us a new way to live. We need the *Holy Spirit to teach us God’s ways. We need the *Holy
Spirit to give us new desires and hopes. He will help us to be free from the love of money and
possessions.
Three things that people lost

Luke 15
The promises of Jesus
On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus passed through several villages and towns. There he taught and
cured people. He spoke with power and authority, and said things like this:
Matthew 11:28 Come to me, all you tired people who work so hard. I will give you rest.
John 10:10 I have come to give you life. It is the best life, a perfect life. [Jesus means that we
will know God. We will behave in a different way. We will be satisfied because we are right with
God.]
Jesus offered to forgive

He promised that he could free men from the power of *sin. He offered to forgive them. He offered
to give them power for a new life. Everything that Jesus did showed the truth of his words. He
changed the lives of many people who met him. He changed the way that they thought and
behaved. It is the same today. People knew that they needed Jesus' help. They needed to know
how to please God. They were not happy with the way that they lived. They understood that Jesus
could give them hope and freedom instead of failure.
Crowds came to hear him (Luke 15:1). Jesus let them stay for a short time, and he taught them.
But many *Pharisees, who were the leaders of the Jewish religion, did not like this (Luke 15:2).
They said that a good man should not be with *sinners. Really, these *Pharisees did not believe.
This happens today. Sometimes there are leaders of the Christian religion who do not really
believe.
Jesus' three parables [stories]

Then Jesus told three parables. [Parables are stories which have a meaning.] These parables
show in a very simple way why Jesus came. We have the parables about :
•the *lost sheep. This sheep was like a *sinner who did not understand about sin. [A sinner is
someone who does not obey God. He does not do what God wants.]
•the *lost coin. This coin was like a careless *sinner.
•the *lost son. This son was like a *sinner who chose to do wrong deeds.
In the last parable, Jesus spoke clearly about the proud *Pharisees.
The *lost sheep (Luke 15:3-7)

In this parable, a man has 100 sheep, but one sheep wanders away. The shepherd [the man who
looks after the sheep] then searches for the sheep. He finds it and brings it home. He is very
happy, and he tells his neighbours about his joy.

Jesus said that there is great joy in *heaven when a *sinner *repents. Our God is good and kind.
But he hates *sin. That is why he makes it possible for a *sinner to *repent. God will forgive that
person. And God will give a new life to that person. In John 10:10 Jesus says: 'I have come to give
you life. It is the best life, a perfect life.'
Many *Pharisees did not realise that God offers hope to *sinners. The *Pharisees thought that a
*sinner had to obey their traditions and their religion. They thought that they were the only good
people.
The *lost coin (Luke 15:8-10)

The next parable is about a woman who loses a coin. She looks for it very carefully, and she finds
it. She then calls to her friends to be happy with her. 'In the same way', said Jesus, 'there is great
happiness in *heaven when a *sinner *repents'.
The *lost son (Luke 15:11-32)

The third parable is about a man who had two sons. The younger son asked his father for money.
The son wanted to receive immediately the money that he would receive after the father’s death.
Then the son went away into a far country. He wasted his money in bad habits and wrong
behaviour.
The *lost sheep just wandered away. The *lost coin is like the careless *sinner. He does not know
that he is *lost. But the *lost son decided to go away. He meant to do it.
At last, everything went wrong for this son. He had no more money to buy food. He went back to
his father. He wanted to be like a servant to his father. But the father was watching for the *lost
son. The father always hoped that the *lost son would come back. The father saw his son
approach. So, the father ran to meet his son. The father made a great party because of the return
of the *lost son.
The father's love

Although this parable teaches the same lesson as the other parables, it says more about the love
of the father. It tells more about how much he wanted his son to come home. This father is like
God. God loves us. He wants us to *repent so that he can forgive us.
The older brother

Jesus told an extra story at the end of this last parable. The father’s older son was away from the
house when his brother returned. When the older brother came back, he discovered the party.
Everyone was having a happy time! But he refused to join in. He even refused to say that the other
son was his brother. The older son did not want to speak to his brother.
The older son's attitude was like the attitude of the *Pharisees’. In fact, Jesus told these three
parables because of their bad attitude towards Jesus.
The most important lesson from this parable

Let us emphasise the most important lesson. God is holy, and he cannot allow *sin. But he has
made it possible for people to come to him. They must be humble. They must *repent. God will
forgive them, and bless them. But nobody is good enough to come to God our Father. The older
son tried to do this. We must be like the younger son. We must *repent. We must say what he said:
Luke 15:21 'Father, I have *sinned against *heaven and against you. I do not deserve to be your
son.'

The request of James and John
Mark 10:35-45
The *disciples wanted honour and power

Jesus and his *disciples were now approaching Jerusalem. Two *apostles, James and John, who
were brothers, asked Jesus a question:
•When Jesus began to rule his *kingdom, could they sit one on each side of him, as an
honour?
James and John thought that a *kingdom would begin on earth immediately. [The *kingdom that
Jesus spoke about is God’s *kingdom. Everyone who loves God belongs to his *kingdom. But
God's *kingdom is not yet complete.] The *apostles wanted power for themselves. It was like a
request for an important job in government.
There is some evidence that these brothers may have been cousins of Jesus. [See the Appendix
[extra remarks] at the end of this section]. So they asked Jesus to keep important jobs in the
family. This happens often in the world today. Notice what the request means. They wanted great
honour and power for themselves. They did not ask to be servants in the *kingdom. They did not
ask Jesus to use them. They asked for honour and power.
The other *disciples' reaction

The other *apostles were very angry. They also wanted these jobs! The *apostles all had selfish
ambitions. They thought, 'What is there for me in all this?' This was a struggle for power. So, they
asked, 'Who would be greatest?' (See Matthew 18:1-3, Matthew 19:27-30, especially verse 27.)
The brothers did not really understand their request. Jesus told them this. They did not understand
until after the *resurrection who Jesus really was. Jesus is God. Also, Jesus would suffer very
much before he could rule in his *kingdom. The brothers did not understand this. Jesus spoke
about it. He asked the brothers if they could suffer with him. The brothers bravely declared that
they could! Jesus then replied:
Mark 10:39, 40 'You will drink the cup that I drink. You can have the same *baptism as I have.
But I do not choose who sits at my right or left. God chooses the people who will receive these
honours.
Power in God's *kingdom

Jesus then made another statement. This shows that the *Kingdom of God is far better than any
*kingdom on earth.
Mark 10:42-44 Jesus called the *disciples together. He said, 'You know this. The rulers of the
Gentiles [Gentiles are people who are not Jews] have great power. Their important officials give
many orders to people. You must not behave like that. Whoever wants to become great among
you must be your servant. Whoever wants to be important must be a slave of all.'
In *kingdoms on earth, power is usually a bad thing. There are many beautiful great houses in my
country. The people who built them were often very poor. Rich people forced them to work very
hard, without much payment. We can still see that this happens today, across the world. It happens
when some people have power over other people. We even see this problem in the church. In the
Bible, the *apostles had wrong ambitions, until Jesus died on the *cross. This is not what Christ
teaches. He teaches that in the *Kingdom of God our ambition should be to serve other people. We
should not try to become the person who gives orders. Our ambition should not be to rule other
people. Our ambition should be to help them to know God. This would bless them, and help them
to serve other people. (Of course, we should still have leaders. But the leaders should be servants
of other people. They should help other people.)

Jesus came to serve
Lastly, Jesus made one other statement. This showed how he himself had come to serve.
Mark 10:45 For even the Son of Man [Jesus] did not come so that other people would serve
him. He came to serve other people. He came to die, and to rescue people from the results of
their *sin.
Here is something wonderful. Jesus is the son of God, and his home is with God, in *heaven. But
he left his home in *heaven. He came into this world, which he had made. He was born in our
world, and he had a humble birth. His family was poor. His birth was in a shed for animals. He did
not come to rule over us, like a proud man. He came to serve. He came to cure sick and blind
people. He came to tell people the good news from God. But especially, he came ‘to give his life’.
Here is another wonderful thing. He came not so much to live, but to die. He came ‘to die, to
rescue people from the results of their *sin’. He came to die on the *cross for our *sins, so that God
might forgive us. Then God can give us *eternal life.
John 3:16 'For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son. Whoever
believes in him shall not die, but shall have *eternal life.'
Christian leadership
This is the kind of leadership which Jesus shows us. He wants us to have leaders like that. And he
wants us to be leaders like that. These ideas are very different from the ideas that the *apostles
had! Let us remember that Jesus taught this lesson to *apostles. He was not teaching other
people. He wanted his *disciples to be humble. Jesus patiently repeated the lesson several times
before he died on the *cross. How much Christian people need to learn this lesson! There are
many jobs which somebody must do. We need to be ready to do some of them. We need to be
ready to serve other people, and not merely to give orders. If it is best for the church, we need to
be ready to give up our Christian job. To help the church, we need to be ready to do something
else. If we all lived as real Christians, we would live like Jesus. He did not come to order other
people about, but to serve them. He lived his life for other people. He even died for other people.
Appendix [Extra remarks]
Who was the mother of James and John?

The account of the request of James and John in Matthew (Matthew 20:20-28) mentions their
mother. She also requested this. She wanted her sons to be important in God’s *kingdom. But who
was the mother? We know the names of the three women who were at the *cross. Different books
of the Bible give different names.
Matthew 27:55-56: These women provided for Jesus and his *disciples. One woman was 'the
mother of Zebedee’s sons.' [Mark 1:19 tells us that Zebedee was the father of James and John.]
Mark 15:40: The name of the ‘mother of the sons of Zebedee’ was probably Salome.
John 19:25: This lady may even have been Jesus’ aunt.
This is therefore a very clever thing for James and John to do. They did everything that was
possible to get their ambition. And today, people still behave in the same way!

Jesus cures blind Bartimaeus
Jesus now came to Jericho. In a few days, he would ride into Jerusalem. The last week of Jesus'
life would be a very busy week. At the end of the week he would die on the *cross. The *apostles
had been arguing about who would be the most important person in his *kingdom. They thought
that Jesus would have a *kingdom on earth immediately. They were thinking about power and
luxury. Jesus had plenty to think about at this time. However, he was not too busy to help
Bartimaeus. Bartimaeus was a blind man who sat at the side of the road. He asked people to give
him money.
'Jesus, Son of David, help me!'

Bartimaeus heard the noise of the crowd which was with Jesus. People told him that Jesus of
Nazareth was there. Bartimaeus then immediately shouted out 'Jesus, Son of David, help me'.
Notice the difference. The crowd said merely 'Jesus of Nazareth'. But Bartimaeus shouted 'Jesus
Son of David'. Now the 'Son of David' is a name for the *Messiah.This shows the belief of
Bartimaeus. He believed that Jesus was the *Messiah. The *Messiah would rescue and protect the
Jews from the results of their *sin. This is what Bartimaeus believed. It is not what the crowd
believed. They merely called him Jesus of Nazareth.
Bartimaeus was a poor blind man. He was of no importance in society. Many people like
Bartimaeus would not think that the *Messiah would bother with them. But Jesus had time for
Bartimaeus, although this was Jesus' final journey! We can always speak to Jesus about our
troubles and difficulties. He will listen to us. He has time, even if nobody else has time. (Think
about the incident with the children in Mark 10:13-16.)
Bartimaeus cried out, 'Jesus, Son of David, help me!' Many people told him to be quiet. They told
him not to bother Jesus. They probably told him that Jesus would not do anything for him. And this
is very important. Even today, some people in the Christian church do not really encourage other
people. Sometimes other people who are not Christians encourage us more! But Bartimaeus did
not give up. He believed in the *Saviour. Nobody could make him be quiet. Even when Jesus
himself seemed to go past, Bartimaeus still shouted out 'Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me'.
Simply come to Jesus and ask for help

Notice what Bartimaeus asked for. He asked for help. He might have said 'Oh Lord Jesus, I have
not been very bad. I do not deserve this'. Or he might have said, 'You have cured other people. I
am just as good as they are. Cure me'. That is the way that many people speak to Jesus. But not
Bartimaeus. 'I have nothing to say. I have no rights, I just ask for help'. This is all that we can say to
Jesus: 'Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to your *cross I cling.' [This is a line from a Christian
song. It means that we can offer nothing to Jesus. He died on the *cross for us. That is the only
reason that we can speak to him. To cling means to hold on to.] There is no other way. We come
to Jesus and just ask for his help. Or, we do not come at all.
Jesus stopped and called Bartimaeus

Jesus stopped and called to Bartimaeus. Jesus asked Bartimaeus to come to him. That is a
beautiful detail in the story. Jesus did not meet Bartimaeus by accident! Bartimaeus did not just
happen to be in front of Jesus! Jesus definitely stopped and asked Bartimaeus to come. This
showed that Jesus wanted to hear Bartimaeus's request. And now there is a final test. 'What do
you want me to do for you?' asked Jesus. Of course, Jesus knew what Bartimaeus wanted. It was
easy to know. This was a final test of Bartimaeus’s belief. Bartimaeus's answer was confident:
'Master, let me receive my sight.' Bartimaeus showed his trust. He knew that the *Saviour could
cure him.
And this is the kind of trust that you and I must have. Jesus is able to help us. He can deal with our
problems. Let us not doubt. Let us trust in him. Whatever the difficulties may be, speak to Jesus.
Even if someone tries to stop you, speak to Jesus. Bartimaeus did this, and Jesus cured him.

Bartimaeus used his sight to walk behind Jesus. That is, Bartimaeus followed Jesus. Among the
crowd with Jesus were many people whom Jesus had helped. They really did want to be close to
Jesus. I wonder if Bartimaeus was in the crowd a few days later. Perhaps he was in the crowd who
watched Jesus die on the *cross. There were leaders of the Jewish religion round the *cross.
Bartimaeus saw and understood more than they did.
Proof that Jesus was the *Messiah

But we can learn more here. The *miracle itself was very important. To cure a blind man was a
sign of the *Messiah. (See Isaiah 35:5, 6 or Matthew 11:2-5). Here, just before the time for the
*crucifixion, was proof that Jesus was the *Messiah. It really was so plain. Bartimaeus called Jesus
‘Son of David’, which was a name for the *Messiah. Jesus cured the blind man, and this was also a
sign of the *Messiah. What happened next was that Jesus rode into Jerusalem. People gave him a
warm welcome. They waved branches from trees. *Prophets had said that the *Messiah would
enter Jerusalem like that. We must think about the words of Jesus:
John 9:39 Jesus said, 'I came into this world to *judge people. Those who do not see may see.
Those who see may become blind.'
Bartimaeus was a poor blind man. He came to Jesus and asked for help. So each of us needs to
come. We should tell Jesus that we are *sinners. We can ask him to forgive us. We can invite him
into our lives. Jesus did not come into the world to rule over people. He came to serve, and to die
for you and me.
Read: Mark 10-12
Word List
apostle ~ one of the 12 men whom Jesus chose to be his helpers. He chose them to teach other
people about him. Christians call Paul an apostle.
baptism ~ to put a person in water. To pour water on a person, to show that Christ has made him
clean ~ a sign that a person has become Christian. But in Mark 10:39, Jesus is using baptism as a
picture of how he would suffer on the *cross.
children ~ in Mark 10:24, Jesus called his *disciples, 'children'. Perhaps he was referring to Mark
10:15.
commandments ~ 10 important rules that God gave to Moses. They show people how God wants
them to behave.
of the church.
crucifixion ~ when someone died as a punishment on a wooden *cross.
disciple ~ a person who believes in Jesus and obeys him.
eternal ~ what has always been and always will be.
eternal life ~ the life that God gives to Christians now, which will continue in *heaven.
Galilee ~ the part of the country of the Jews where Jesus grew up.
judge ~ decide if someone or something is good or bad
judgement ~ the decision about whether something or someone is good or bad.
kingdom ~ land that a king rules over. God’s kingdom is not land. It is all the people who love and
obey him.

lost ~ an item that someone loses. Or, a person who wanders away from the right place.
deeds.
Pharisees ~ a group of Jews who tried to obey all God’s commands. Many Pharisees did not like
what Jesus said. They thought that they were always right. So they became very proud.
repent ~ you are sorry for the wrong things that you have done. You decide to love God and you
start to obey him.
resurrection ~ when someone comes alive after death
saviour ~ Jesus, who brings us to God, and rescues us from wrong things in our lives. He rescues
us from hell.
sinner ~ a person who does not do what God wants.
soul ~ the part of us that we cannot see, that is in us during life. This part of us lives on after death.
spiritual ~ living but not seen, belonging to the *soul. When the Holy Spirit lives inside us, he helps
us to be like Jesus. When we let him do this, we are living a spiritual life.

Jesus' last week in Jerusalem
Barrie Wetherill
Jesus enters Jerusalem like a king

Matthew 21:1-11
It was nearly time for the *Feast of the Passover. The *Feast of the Passover was a holy day for
the Jews. They remembered the time when God freed them from being slaves in Egypt. This event
happened at the time of Moses. They met in the *temple at Passover. Each family had a special
meal together.
Mary uses a special oil to prepare Jesus' body for his death
Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany. Bethany was near Jerusalem. His friends
there, Mary, Martha, and their brother Lazarus, asked him to come for a special dinner. At the
dinner, Mary put special oil, which had a sweet smell, on Jesus. It was very expensive oil (John
12:1-11). Judas Iscariot said that this wasted the oil. The *disciples could have sold the oil and
given the money to poor people. But Jesus said that Mary had done a beautiful thing. She
prepared his body for his death.
Jesus rides into Jerusalem

There was a large crowd there, not only because of Jesus, but also because of Lazarus. Jesus
made Lazarus alive again after Lazarus had died. The Jewish rulers were plotting to kill them both.
The next day, Jesus told two *disciples to bring a particular donkey [small horse]. They would find
this donkey, with a young donkey, in a particular village. The *disciples put their clothes on the
young animal. Jesus sat on it and rode into Jerusalem on it.
By this time, everybody was very excited. The *disciples thought that the *Kingdom of God would
appear immediately. There was a large crowd of people with Jesus. Many other people, who were
coming to the *feast, heard about him. Then they too came to give him a welcome. Jesus had done
many wonderful *miracles. He even made Lazarus alive after Lazarus died. People talked about
these things. They asked if Jesus was the Son of David. (Son of David was a name for the
*Messiah.) The Jewish rulers believed that Jesus was not the Son of David. The crowd thought
that he was. But they thought that the *Messiah would come like a soldier. And they thought that
he would force the Romans to leave. But Jesus came in to Jerusalem on a young animal. This was
a sign of peace, and not of war. Later the *disciples realised how important this was. Jesus made
the *prophecy about the *Messiah come true. (Zechariah 9:9).
*Hosanna to the Son of David

The crowd shouted out ‘*Hosanna to the Son of David’, (Matthew 21:15). These are words from
Psalm 118:26. The crowd repeated these words because they are about the *Messiah. The
*Pharisees knew what these words meant. They asked Jesus to tell the people not to say such
words. But Jesus replied with words from Psalm 8:2. He said this: ‘God can make even little babies
able to praise him with songs’.

There was excitement everywhere in the city. People had travelled long distances to be in
Jerusalem for the *feast. Because Jesus and the 12 *disciples arrived late in Jerusalem, they
returned to Bethany for the night.
Jesus shows his authority in the *temple

Matthew 21:12-17
Unfair merchants
The next day, Jesus went to the *temple. There was much trade there. There were merchants
there who sold birds and animals for the sacrifices. [A sacrifice is a special gift to God. Sometimes
the Jews killed an animal as a sacrifice.] Other merchants would change Roman money to
*Temple money. The *Temple rulers did not allow Roman money there. These merchants probably
paid a lot of money to the priests. You could bring your own animals for sacrifice, but they had to
be completely perfect. Often the priests said that the animals were not perfect. Then the people
had to buy expensive animals from the merchants in the *temple.
When Jesus entered the *temple, he forced all the merchants to leave. He turned over the tables of
the money changers. He would not allow anyone to carry anything for sale through the *temple.
Jesus said:
Matthew 21:13 ‘The Bible says, “God's house [the *temple] is to be a house of prayer”. You
have made it “a place for thieves”.’
Jesus put together these words, from Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11. There were many caves in
the hills in that country. Groups of thieves used to meet there. Jesus said that the *temple had
become an evil place, like those caves. The words before and after Jeremiah 7:11 are interesting.
They say that the Jews must obey the *Lord. Then they can continue to live in their land. But if the
Jews did not obey the *Lord, they would have to leave their land.
Jesus insisted that men must respect God in the *temple. Jesus hated people who cheat.
Jesus sent away all the men who cheated other people. Probably, he could do this because he
was so popular with the large crowds there. They hated the merchants who cheated them. Jesus
could do it also because he had authority. He behaved like a king.
Matthew 21:14
Jesus cured blind people, and people who could not walk
God's law did not allow blind priests to work in the *Temple. Also, the law did not allow priests to
work there if they could not walk (Leviticus 21:18).
The Jews changed this law. They made a stricter law. They would not permit anyone like that to
enter.
But when Jesus was in the *temple, blind people came to him. People who could not walk easily
came to him. He cured them all. By this, he showed that these people should enter. And the
crowds who were with Jesus still shouted: ‘*Hosanna to the Son of David’!

The fig tree
Matthew 21:18-22
Jesus and the fig tree

On the way to Jerusalem Jesus saw a fig tree with leaves on it. (Figs are a type of fruit.) It was
early spring. One type of fig tree had leaves early, and fruit appears even before the leaves. Jesus
went to the tree to pick fruit, but there was none. He then announced that this tree would die.
Immediately, the tree died.
An important lesson
Jesus did this to teach people an important lesson. The tree was like the people of Israel. Just as
Jesus expected fruit from the tree, so God expected his people to obey him. But the nation did not
obey him. They did bad things. The merchants in the *temple were an example of their bad
behaviour. God would certainly *judge them. In the year AD 70 Roman armies came and destroyed
Jerusalem and the *temple. Jesus was telling the people that this would happen.
‘Who gave you this authority’?

The rulers ask Jesus about his authority
The Jewish rulers came to Jesus. Jesus had shown his authority in the *temple. Now, the rulers
demanded to know what kind of authority Jesus had. They asked who gave him that authority.
Jesus replied with a question. He asked what authority John the Baptist had. The rulers could not
answer this. They did not believe John. But all the crowds thought that John was a *prophet. They
did not dare to deny this. They could not agree that God had sent John. They did not want Jesus to
reply, ‘Why did you not believe John?’ So they would not answer.
The rulers did not respect Jesus' authority

Jesus' authority, like John's, came from God himself. But the rulers did not respect John's authority
or Jesus' authority. So, they did not respect God.
Jesus then told several parables. (Parables are stories which have a meaning.) The real meaning
of these parables became more and more clear. These parables are about the way that most Jews
would not welcome the *Messiah. God would *judge the Jews. Especially, he would *judge the
people in Jerusalem.
Parables [stories] that Jesus told in Matthew chapters

21-22
The parable of the two sons
[A parable is a story with a meaning.]
Matthew 21:28-32
In this parable a man had two sons. He told them to go and work in his vineyard. [A vineyard is
where men grow fruit to make wine.] One son said that he would not go. Later, he was sorry, and
he went. The other son said that he would go. But he did not go. The son, who at first refused,
obeyed his father.

What was Jesus teaching people by this parable?
It is important to know God’s Word [that is, the Bible]. It is even more important to obey it. The
Bible teaches this lesson in many places. It is a very important lesson for today.
See 1 Samuel 15:22, Psalm 25:4, Psalm 27:11, Psalm 86:11, Psalm 143:10, Isaiah 2:3, Jeremiah
21:33, Matthew 7:21-27, Matthew 28:20, John 15:14, Acts 5:29.
Parable of the workers and the vineyard

[A parable is a story with a meaning. A vineyard is where men grow fruit to make wine.]
Matthew 21:33-46
In this parable, a farmer allowed other people to rent his vineyard. They had to send him some fruit
as payment. The farmer sent servants to receive the fruit. The men in the vineyard attacked and
killed the servants. At last the farmer sent his son. The men in the vineyard killed the son also.
Then the farmer killed the men in the vineyard. Afterwards, the farmer let the vineyard to other
people.
This parable was very clear. A vineyard in the Bible often means Israel. The servants of the farmer
were like the *prophets. Evil Jews killed most of the *prophets. The son of the farmer is like Jesus.
The farmer killed the men in his vineyard. That shows that God will *judge Israel. He will give the
gospel (the good news about Jesus) to people who are not Jews.
Parable of the wedding *feast

[A parable is a story with a meaning.]
Matthew 22:1-14
In this parable, a king has a wedding *feast for his son. The king invites certain special guests. He
sends many messages to them, but they refuse to come. Instead, they kill the king’s servants.
The king then becomes very angry. He sends an army to destroy the city of these people. After
this, he invites other, more common people, to the wedding. He encourages them to come.
In such *feasts the king usually gave special clothes to the guests. But when the king came he saw
someone without special clothes. The king ordered the servants to force this man to leave. The
man had refused to wear the clothes from the king.
In this parable, the king is like God. And the first guests are like the Jews who would not obey God.
The first guests killed the king’s servants. These servants are like the *prophets whom God sent to
the Jews. These Jews killed the *prophets or dealt badly with them. The city in the parable is like
Jerusalem. In the parable, the king destroyed the city. Jesus spoke here about the time to come.
40 years after Jesus said these words, the Romans destroyed Jerusalem.
The later guests are the Gentiles. [Gentiles are people who are not Jews.] Today, God invites
everybody to join the *Kingdom of God, whether they are Jews or Gentiles.
The last part of the parable is very important. God wants all people to be sorry for the wrong things
that they have done. They should obey him. Then they will belong to the *kingdom of God. But
there is only one way to do this. God will forgive us because of what Christ did for us. He helps us
to live in a new way. This is like the special clothes that the king gave to his guests. None of us can
stand before God because of our own goodness. We cannot be good enough, on our own. We
must trust in what Christ has done for us. When we believe in him, we can be part of God’s
*kingdom.
The parable teaches us that people from every nation can be Christians. The message of Jesus is
for everybody – both Jews and Gentiles.

Should the Jews pay taxes to Caesar?
Matthew 22:15-22
The Jewish rulers did not like the parables [stories] that Jesus told in Matthew chapters 21-22.
They decided that they must stop Jesus now. The *Pharisees believed the Law. It is strange that
they joined up with the Herodians. The Herodians were a political group. They did not believe
God's Law at all.
So, the *Pharisees and the Herodians came to Jesus with a question:
•Was it right to give taxes to Caesar?
If Jesus said ‘Yes’, he would disappoint many Jews. If he said ‘No’, the Romans could arrest him.
In reply, Jesus asked for a coin. He asked the people to describe the head on it. The head was
Caesar’s. He then said:
Matthew 22:21 Give to Caesar the things that belong to Caesar. Give to God the things that
belong to God.
There is great wisdom in this short answer. Rulers should do what God wants. We should obey our
rulers if their laws are not evil. Paul later writes more about this in Romans 13:1-7. Other *New
Testament writers also mention this subject. Men should pay the king what he deserves. But Jesus
also said ‘Give to God the things that belong to God’. Jesus said that God is the greatest ruler. We
must not keep back anything that belongs to him. Rulers on earth can demand much. But this
means that there is a limit to their demands.
Jesus' reply has another meaning also. On the other side of the coin, there were words. They said
that Caesar was a god. Clearly, Jesus was denying this.
The wisdom of this quick answer was surprising. Jesus’ enemies went away. They could not
answer what he said.
Marriage in the *resurrection

Matthew 22:23-33
Now the Sadducees came to Jesus. The Sadducees were men who believed the first 5 books in
the Bible. But they did not believe in a resurrection. (Resurrection means a new life that God gives
people after death. The *Old Testament clearly taught this. For example, read Psalm 16:9-11,
Daniel 12:2, and Job 19:23-27. There are also many other chapters where the Bible mentions the
resurrection.)
There was a law in Deuteronomy 25. If a married man died without children, then his brother must
marry the woman. They would count their first child as the dead man’s child. This was the law in
some other countries too. Its purpose was to help widows. The Sadducees pretended that seven
brothers all married the same woman, one after the other. None of them had children. They asked
Jesus who would be married to the woman in the resurrection.
Jesus replied that in the resurrection there is no marriage. But he proved the resurrection in a very
interesting way. He said:
Matthew 22:31-32 Read what God said to you: ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and
the God of Jacob’. He is not the God of the dead, but of those who live.
Jesus is talking about words which are in Exodus 3:6, and in many other places. Every time, it is
clear what the Bible means. It does not mean, ‘God was the God of Abraham while Abraham was
alive’. And so it means that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are still alive. They are waiting for the
resurrection.

The Sadducees and *Pharisees both believed the Bible. But Jesus said that they did not
understand. These groups read the Bible with their own ideas. They decided for themselves what
the words meant.
The most important command

The Sadducees had nothing more to say. Now the leaders of the *Pharisees came to Jesus. One
leader was a man who really knew God's law. He asked Jesus which was the most important
command. The *Pharisees often discussed this. There are 613 commands in the law. They wanted
to obey them all. (But often they only obeyed their own ideas about the commands).
Jesus’ reply was beautiful. He spoke words from the *Old Testament (Deuteronomy 6:5 and
Leviticus 19:18).
Jesus was saying what we must do. It is our duty to love God and to love other people. We must
love very sincerely. This is the most important thing in our life. Of course, the *Pharisees did not
like to speak about love. They thought that to obey the law very accurately was more important.
When Mark wrote about this conversation, he told us more. He said that the *Pharisees liked
Jesus’ answer. After all, his answer was from the law. They would not oppose God's law!
Jesus showed great wisdom in all these conversations. His enemies hoped that he would make a
mistake. He did not. But now Jesus asked them a question. He left them without an answer.
Jesus asks a question

Jesus spoke from a well-known psalm about the *Messiah. It says this:
Matthew 22:44 ‘The *Lord said to my *Lord: “Sit at my right hand. I will destroy your enemies”.’
Here David was writing about the *Messiah. God had promised that one day the *Messiah would
be born in the family of David. David called the *Messiah, ‘My *Lord’. Jesus then asked a question:
•If the *Messiah came after David, in David’s family, how could David call him *Lord?
The only answer is to recognise that the *Messiah is more than a mere man. The *Messiah is God
with us.
Jesus’ enemies could not reply. They did not know what to say. They had wanted Jesus to make
mistakes in his answers. He did not. He gave such quick answers to sudden questions. He showed
such great wisdom. After this nobody had any more questions for him. Yet these people still did not
understand who he was. They had seen the wonderful *miracles. They had heard his wise
answers. They tried to make him say wrong things. But they had seen his patience with them. And
still they did not understand. They had waited for a long time for the *Messiah. He was there in
front of them.
These were the last things that Jesus said to these people. He spoke to them with love. He wanted
them to look at him. He wanted them to answer the one important question, which everyone must
answer:
•Who is Jesus?

There was still time for some of these people to *repent. They could still trust in Christ. Then he
would rescue them from God’s anger. He would make them able to live in a new way.
Jesus accuses the *Pharisees and Scribes

Matthew 23
(The Scribes were officials in the *temple.) Jesus now spoke for the last time in public. He had
more to say to his *disciples in private, but he now left the *temple for the last time. Jesus was very
patient with those who disagreed with him. He listened to all their questions although they tried to
make him give wrong answers. He understood what their questions meant. He answered them
perfectly. He was humble and patient. Many people must have admired this. But the time had now
come when Jesus would speak out clearly. It was very important that the crowds of people
understood Jesus.
The *Pharisees and Scribes seemed to behave well. They prayed often in public. They gave away
a 10th part of what they had. They even gave away a 10th of all kinds of small vegetables. They
knew and could repeat much of the Law. Many people thought that these men were ‘very holy’. But
their behaviour was in fact the opposite of all that Jesus taught. Jesus had to make people
understand this.
Jesus said that the *Pharisees taught many good things. They taught God's law. But the important
thing was to obey it. Jesus called the *Pharisees ‘graves that men have painted white’. They
looked good and holy on the outside. In fact, their lives were selfish and greedy. They showed this
by the way that they behaved with Jesus. They wanted people to praise them. They wanted to
have the best seats at meetings. ‘Do the things that they teach’, Jesus said, ‘But do not do the
things that they do’.
Some things were not important. But the *Pharisees said that these things were important. For
example, they said that it was important to give away a 10th of some plants. They did not think
much about how people behaved to one another. They did not think about being kind or fair to
other people. They did not like what Jesus taught. This stopped some people from trusting Jesus.
Jesus spoke out about the *Pharisees and the Scribes very strongly.
Matthew 23:33 ‘You are like snakes! You are like a collection of dangerous snakes! You will not
escape God’s punishment in *hell.’
It is easy to copy the *Pharisees’ mistake. It is sad that people have done this in the church for
many years. Christ left us a very different example. He was humble. He served other people all the
time. He liked to be with people who did not seem to be important. He gave them hope. We are not
holy if we only know the Bible. We must do what it says. It should not matter what other people
think about us. For the *Pharisees what other people thought was very important. That was why
they behaved in certain ways. Especially, they wanted the people to praise them.
At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said something that is very important. (This was
when Jesus taught people on a mountain. See Matthew chapters 5-7) He said that one day people
would come to him. They would say that they had done great things in his name. But Jesus would
send them away.
Matthew 7:21-23 ‘Not everyone who says to me, “*Lord, *Lord”, will go into the *kingdom of
heaven. Some people do what God wants. Those people will go in. Many will say to me on that
day, “Lord, *Lord, did we not speak on your behalf? Did we not send away *demons on your
behalf, and do many *miracles”? Then I will tell them, “I never knew you. Go away, you wicked
people!” ’
God accepts us only because of Christ. We do and think wrong things. Jesus died to take the
punishment for those wrong things. Because of this, God can forgive us, if we trust in Jesus.
Nothing else can help us. Nothing that we can do will help us. The important thing is to know Christ
personally. Then we will obey him. ‘If you love me, obey what I say’, Jesus told his *disciples many
times.

Jesus weeps over Jerusalem
The last words that Jesus spoke in public were sad words about Jerusalem. He felt very sad
because most Jews had not accepted him. God would *judge them. Jesus had come to bring good
news to the Jews, but many Jews did not want to listen to him.
Matthew 23:37 ‘People of Jerusalem! People of Jerusalem! You kill the *prophets. You throw
stones at those who come to you. Often I have wanted to gather your children together, as a
mother bird gathers her young ones under her wings. But you did not want this’.
Jesus then spoke about the terrible events which would happen in Jerusalem. Just 40 years later,
the Roman armies marched into Jerusalem and destroyed the city. They burned the *Temple. They
*crucified so many Jews that they did not have enough wood.
Jesus' good news is available for all. But it will not always be available. If people have refused to
accept Jesus during their lives, there will be a *judgement. And one day, when Jesus comes again,
it will be too late for people to trust God.
Jesus’ instructions to his *disciples - The end of time

Matthew chapters 24 and 25
The last week in Jesus' life was very busy. He had more still to teach his *disciples. There were
several subjects.
•Enemies would destroy Jerusalem. This would happen soon, while some people there were still
alive. Jesus spoke about this at the same time as he spoke about the next subject.
•The Second Coming [when Jesus will return to this world in the future], and the last *Judgement.
Jesus would come again. He would then *judge all who have ever lived. Before Jesus died, the
*disciples could not understand this. But later they would remember Jesus' words. They would
understand then.
•The *Holy Spirit would come. Jesus promised that the *Holy Spirit would come. He would help
Christians to obey Jesus and to tell other people about him, all over the world.
We can read about the first two subjects, especially in Matthew chapters 24-25. John chapters 14-
16 tell us about the promise of the *Holy Spirit. We will write a little about that in a later chapter.
Jesus started the discussion about the end of the age. They had just left the *Temple, which was
perhaps the most beautiful building ever built. But Jesus said that enemies would destroy it
completely. The *disciples thought that this would be the end of the age. [The 'end of the age'
means the time when God's *kingdom will be complete. This will be after Jesus returns to this
world.] They were wrong. Jesus’ answer puts two subjects together: what would happen to the
*Temple, and the Second Coming. [The Second Coming is the time when Jesus will return to this
world in the future.] *Prophets often spoke about two subjects together, like this. In the *Old
Testament, *prophets often spoke about what the *Messiah would do in his first and second
coming. They were not explaining about the time of these events. instead, they were warning the
people. We should listen to what God says, and obey him.
There are two important things to remember about the future.
•First of all, Jesus will come back again. He will not be humble then. He will come in great
power and *glory. Men will see that he is *Lord.
Matthew 24:30, 31 ‘At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. All the nations
of the earth will be sad. They will see the Son of Man, as he comes on the clouds of the sky,
with power and great *glory. And he will send his *angels with a loud trumpet call. (A trumpet is
a musical instrument.) They will gather together all the people who believe in him. God's people
will come from all directions. They will come from everywhere.’
The Bible warns us all to be ready.

•Next, there will be a last *judgement of all people. Every person will be humble in front of God.
We must all answer when God *judges us. He will say that we are all guilty. He can forgive
us only because of what Christ has done for us. We should ask ourselves, now: 'Are we
really trusting only in him?'
The Second Coming and the last Judgement are important subjects. We should study them well.
Christ himself taught us much of what we know about them. We will not find answers to all that we
may ask. But we need to study Christ's words carefully.
The most important lesson for us is very clear. Jesus knew that he would die. He also knew that he
would come again with great power and *glory. Jesus is *Lord, and everyone must be humble.
How important it is that we should answer his loving call. We must *repent and trust him. How sad
he was when many of his own people, the Jews, did not trust him.
Read: Matthew 21-23
Bible study: Matthew 24 and 25
Word List
angels ~ God's servants from *heaven
crucify ~ kill in a cruel way. Men make a large wooden cross and fasten a man to it with nails. He
must hang there until he dies.
demon ~ a servant of the devil.
disciple ~ a person who believes in Jesus and obeys him. The first disciples were the 12 men
whom he chose to be with him on earth.
feast ~ a large meal for a special event. Jewish feasts were part of their religion.
glory ~ the power and greatness of God.
hell ~ the state or place of punishment for wicked people after death. God is not there.
Hosanna ~ a word used to praise Jesus, or God the Father. It means, 'Rescue us!'
kingdom ~ land that a king rules.
Kingdom of God ~ all those people who love and obey God.
Kingdom of heaven ~ the state of being with God, after this life on earth.
Lord ~ another name for Jesus or God, which shows that he has authority over everything.
deeds.
New Testament ~ the part of the Bible that tells about when Jesus came. It also tells what
happened after his return to *heaven.
Old Testament ~ the part of the Bible that tells us about the time before Jesus came.
Pharisees ~ a group of Jews who thought that they kept all of God’s commands. Many *Pharisees
did not like what Jesus said. They thought that they were always right. They became very proud.

prophecy ~ words that a *prophet speaks.
repent ~ be sorry that you have done wrong things. You decide to love God, and start to obey him.
resurrection ~ to become alive after death.
soul ~ the part of us that we cannot see. It is in us during life, and continues to live after death.
temple ~ the special building in Jerusalem where the Jews went to worship God.

Jesus' arrest and appearance at
court
Barrie Wetherill
Jesus' problems with the Jewish rulers

As the time came nearer for Jesus to die, he had more and more difficulties to think about.
From the beginning, Jesus was in disagreement with the rulers. At that time most Jews thought
that the *Messiah would be a strong soldier. He would free them from all their enemies. He would
change the way that they lived. There would be freedom from the rule of their enemies. But the
Jews were not expecting that the *Messiah would change their thoughts and attitudes.
Disagreements about God's law

Many Jewish rulers were *Pharisees. The *Pharisees understood the law of the Jews in the same
way. They thought that it was only about behaviour. For example, the Bible says, 'Do not murder.'
The *Pharisees knew that a murderer broke this law. But they did not realise that someone's cruel
thoughts could also break this law. They thought that the command against adultery meant only
the act of adultery. [Adultery means sex with someone else's husband or wife.] They did not think
that these commands were also about thoughts. But wrong thoughts tempt people to do wrong
actions.
In Matthew, we read what Jesus taught on a mountain. We call this ‘the Sermon on the Mount.’
Jesus taught people that the law was about more than our behaviour. For example, one command
is: ‘Do not murder’. Jesus taught that anger against other people would break this law. The
command against adultery included wrong sexy thoughts when we look at anyone (Matthew
5:27,28). These commands are like words on a sign. These commands show us how to live. They
point to God’s standard. God is perfect, and he wants us to be perfect too. In the Sermon on the
Mount, Jesus showed that the *Pharisees had wrong ideas about the law. They said that behaviour
is important. They thought that the ceremonies of religion were important. They did not think about
the thoughts of men. Jesus showed that often they wanted to avoid the correct meaning of the law.
(Matthew 15:3-9)
Disagreements about the Sabbath [holy day]

The *Pharisees were very strict about the Sabbath. [The Sabbath was the 7th day of the week,
which was the holy day for the Jews.] The *Pharisees were very angry when Jesus cured anyone
on the Sabbath. (See. Matthew 12:9-14, especially verse 14). But they did not realise clearly that
the law tells us to love other people.
Disagreements about traditions

There was another matter for disagreement. The *Pharisees said that everybody should wash their
hands before food. This was their tradition. Today, it might seem unimportant. But the *Pharisees
thought that small things like this were very important. Jesus answered this by these words:

Matthew 15:18-20 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart. These are
the things that make someone ‘unclean’. [By unclean Jesus meant evil, or bad.] All these things
begin in a person's heart: [We might use the word 'mind' instead of 'heart' today]
•Evil thoughts
•Murder
•Sex with another man's wife
•Any sex when the couple do not obey God's rules
•Theft [that is, when a person steals something]
•Lies
•Untrue words about other people
This is the behaviour that makes someone ‘unclean’ [evil or bad]. If you do not wash your hands
before a meal, that does not make you ‘unclean’ [evil or bad].
Jesus came to deal with the problem that is deep inside us. It is the problem of *sin. There were
many disagreements. Every time, Jesus had an answer to the problem. Always, he showed that
the *Pharisees did not understand God’s law.
As time went on, the number of these arguments and disagreements increased. We can read
about them especially in the Book of Matthew.
Disagreements about Jesus' importance

There was a very important disagreement on Palm Sunday. [That was when Jesus rode in to
Jerusalem, like a king, but in peace. People waved the branches of trees (called palm trees) as a
welcome.] The crowd sang, ‘*Hosanna to the *Son of David’ (Mat 21:15-17). *Prophets had said
that the *Messiah would have a welcome like this. But the *Pharisees were very angry.
Everything that happened in the last week, made matters worse. At last, the *Pharisees asked
Jesus what his authority was. What was his authority for what he taught? What was his authority
for what he did? For example, he had forced the evil traders to leave the *temple (Matthew 21:23-
27). They hoped that Jesus would make mistakes in his answers. He never did. Jesus showed that
he was wiser than they were. After this, they asked no more questions. They decided that they had
to kill Jesus. That was the only way to keep their own power over the people. They thought that
their power mattered more than Jesus' life.
By this time, Jesus had only very strong words to say to these people. He warned them that there
would be a time of *judgement to come. See Matthew 23.
Jesus' problems with the crowds

The people did not want to change the way that they lived
For a time, Jesus was very popular with crowds. Many people came because they wanted Jesus to
cure them. And Jesus did cure them. He told people not to speak about this, but they did. The
news about him spread everywhere. There were *miracles. For example, he fed 5000 people by a
*miracle (John 6:5-14). Enormous crowds came because of this. Then the crowd wanted to make
Jesus king by force. He had to escape from them. But although he was popular, they did not really
obey him. They did not want to change the way that they lived. Jesus said:
John 6:26, 27 Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth. The reason why you are looking for me is not
the *miracles. You are looking for me because I gave you plenty of bread to eat.

Do not work for food that becomes bad. Work for the food that gives you eternal life. [Jesus did
not mean the food that you eat, here. This word 'food' really meant Jesus himself. 'Eternal life' is
the life that God gives to believers now, and which will continue in heaven.] The Son of Man
[Jesus] will give you this food. God the Father has shown that he approves of him’.
After this, Jesus said some very difficult things. That made many people decide not to obey him
(John 6:66).
What did Jesus' *miracles mean?

The crowds loved to see the *miracles. But *miracles were signs of who Jesus was. People who
understood that would repent. [Repent means to be sorry for the wrong things that you have done.
You decided to love God, and start to obey him.] They would trust Christ. In fact, in many places
people saw the *miracles, but did not repent. Jesus spoke against these places. The words that he
spoke about this were very severe. In this passage, Jesus spoke about these towns as if they were
people. He blamed the people from these towns for their weak reaction to his message:
Matthew 11:20-24 Then Jesus began to accuse the people who lived in these cities. He had
done most of his *miracles there, but the people did not *repent. 'This is not good for you,
Chorazin! This is not good for you, Bethsaida! You have seen many *miracles. If such *miracles
happened in the cities of Tyre and Sidon, their people would have *repented. They would have
shown how sorry they were. But I tell you that a day of *judgement is coming. Then it will be
better for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, what will happen to you? Will God
be pleased with you? Will he bless you? No, not at all. If Sodom had seen *miracles like these, it
would have remained to this day. But I tell you that it will be better for Sodom on the day of
*judgement than for you.'
All that people wanted was the *miracles. But *miracles should make a person want to obey God.
Jesus' explanation of the people's reactions to him

What Jesus talked about in the parable of the farmer was now true. [A parable is a story with a
meaning.] The parable of the farmer is in Matthew 13:1-9. The farmer sowed seed on different
kinds of soil. Some seed fell among rocks, with not enough soil. It grew quickly, but had not
enough roots. The sun came out and the plants died. Jesus explained that this referred to some
people. They gladly listened to Jesus' message. But their joy did not last. When there was any kind
of trouble, they did not trust him. Only some of the farmer’s seed had deep roots. So, only some of
the people who followed Jesus, really trusted him.
Many people gave a welcome to Jesus when he entered Jerusalem. They praised him gladly. But
perhaps some of these people joined another crowd later that week. And that crowd shouted:
'*Crucify him'.
Many in the crowds did not think about what Jesus said about goodness and *judgement. They
wanted *miracles. And they wanted to see Jesus cure people. They did not like what he said in
passages like Matthew 16:24-28.
Jesus' problems with his *disciples

The *disciples had their own ideas
The Bible record shows that the *disciples did not trust Jesus completely. Also, they quarrelled with
each other. Several times Jesus tried to teach them about the *cross, but they would not listen
(Mark 9:30-32). They had their own ideas about the future! They expected that a *kingdom would
appear quickly on this earth. Partly for this reason, they quarrelled. They often argued about who
was the most important *disciple (Mark 9:33-37; Matthew 20:20-28; Luke 22:24.) They even
argued about this at the last supper [that is, at their last meal with Jesus]!

When the enemies of Jesus arrested him the *disciples ran away. Peter did follow at a distance.
But when people asked him about Jesus, he swore. He denied that he ever knew Christ. At this
time the *disciples had no idea about the kind of *kingdom that Jesus had come to bring.
Jesus tries very hard to teach his *disciples

Jesus had not completed what he wanted to teach the *disciples. He did not have much time left
now. He tried very hard to teach them about some very important things. He taught them that he
would come back again. [We call this future event: the Second Coming.] He taught them about the
final *Judgement (Matthew 24, 25). He set up the *Lord’s Supper (Luke 22:19-20). There is a long
passage in the book of John (John 14-16) where Jesus talked about very important things. He
talked about prayer. He said that he would give strength to his *disciples. He promised to send the
*Holy Spirit. He said that people would oppose those who trusted him. He said that the most
important rule is that we should love one another. He also taught them about his own relationship
to God the Father. He taught all these things during his last few days.
Jesus’ enemies decide to kill him (Matthew 25:1-5)

At this time the Jewish rulers met the *High Priest (named Caiaphas), with some other men. They
decided to kill Jesus. They had thought about this earlier (Matthew 12:14). Now they decided to do
it. They had not been able to make Jesus give them wrong answers to their questions. They could
not complain about him to the Romans. They could not arrest him because of the crowds. So they
plotted together to arrest him when there were no crowds with him. Then they would kill him. They
wanted to do this after Passover. [Passover was the time when the Jews remembered their escape
from Egypt. They went to the *Temple together. Afterwards, they had a special family meal.] They
did not want to kill Jesus during the *feast.
A secret plot
This group of men should have obeyed the law of the Jews. Instead, they were plotting to do
something which was against the law. It is interesting that they met in the palace of the *High
Priest. They did not meet in the *Temple. In the *High Priest’s palace they could meet in secret.
Mary pours oil on Jesus at Bethany

On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus stayed at Bethany. There he had made Lazarus alive again after
Lazarus had died. There also he seems to have cured a man named Simon. Simon had a skin
disease. Friends of Jesus asked him to have a meal with them, in honour of Jesus.
Expensive oil with a beautiful smell

Martha, who was the sister of Lazarus, was serving. Lazarus's other sister, Mary, broke a jar of
very expensive oil. She poured it over Jesus. She did this to show her great love for Jesus. She
was grateful to him, and she also believed in him. The oil was extremely expensive. Probably it
cost all her money. Some people were very angry with her. Even some *disciples did not like what
she had done. Judas said that they could have sold the oil for a lot of money. They could have
given the money to the poor (John 12:4-6). We cannot trust Judas when he said that. Judas was a
thief.
Mary prepared Jesus' body for the grave

Then Jesus spoke. He said that Mary had done a beautiful thing. She had prepared his body for
the grave. Mary was one of the best listeners that Jesus ever had. On a previous visit by Jesus,
she sat at his feet to listen to him (Luke 10:39). She probably heard Jesus speak about his death.
She probably understood that it had to happen. But she believed that Jesus was still a king. She
understood better than the *disciples at this time. She wanted to give Jesus a gift. She wanted to
give him everything. Her gift shows how much she loved him.

Jesus also said this. Wherever people told the good news about him, all through the world, they
would tell about Mary. They would say what she had done. So, Jesus knew that he would die soon.
He knew what would happen. On the next day, he rode into Jerusalem. After that, he had
discussions with the Jewish leaders. But the end was now close. Soon afterwards, Jesus'
*crucifixion would happen.
Judas agrees to help the enemies arrest Jesus

Judas now went directly to the chief priests. He agreed to help them to arrest Jesus. The chief
priests had decided to arrest Jesus after the Passover. However, when Judas went to them they
changed their plan. They were very glad to see Judas.
Why did Judas help Jesus' enemies?

It is difficult to understand why Judas did this. Probably he also knew that Jesus was going to die.
The *disciples had thought that Jesus would set up a new kingdom. Judas had wanted to have an
important place in that kingdom. But also, Judas was a thief, and a very greedy man.
When did Judas decide to do this? Perhaps it was when Mary poured out the expensive oil on
Jesus. Jesus was sure that he was going to die. Perhaps that was when Judas decided to do this.
The chief priests were pleased to see him. They agreed to pay him 30 pieces of silver. They gave
him the money immediately. Judas now could not change his mind.
Jesus hid himself

John records an event which happened about this time (John 12:36-41). Jesus’ enemies were now
going to arrest him. But Jesus had more to say to his *disciples. He hid himself from these
enemies. Jesus would do no more in public. People might think that he had not been successful.
He had come to the Jews, but most Jews did not want him.
Hundreds of years before, Isaiah had said that this would happen (Isaiah 53:1, Isaiah 6:10). It
shows clearly that people are evil and selfish. But after Jesus died on the *cross, he would bring
back men and women to himself (John 12:32).
The Last Supper [Jesus' final meal with his *disciples]

Jesus had one last task to do. He had to establish the *Lord's Supper.
The meaning of the Passover *feast

Jews ate a special meal at the Passover *feast. Every part of the *feast had a special meaning for
them. At the Passover *feast, they remembered that they had been slaves in Egypt. God had freed
them. In Egypt, God told them to kill a lamb for food. [A lamb is a young sheep.] They also had to
mark their doorways with the blood of the lamb. Later God sent an *angel through Egypt. He killed
all the children and animals who were the first to be born. He did not kill any who were in houses
with blood on the doorways. The angel passed over those houses. After that, the Jews were free to
leave Egypt.
What the Passover meant to Jesus

The Passover had a very important meaning for Jesus. The Jews had been slaves to the people in
Egypt. But we are all like slaves, because of *sin. [We *sin when we do not obey God. We do not
do what he wants.] The lambs died in Egypt so that the Jews would be free. And Jesus died to free
us from the punishment for our *sin. That is why one of Jesus' names is the Lamb of God. For us,
he is like the Passover lamb. He frees us from *sin. He brings us back to God.
Jesus wanted very much to eat this Passover meal with his *disciples. He told two *disciples to go
and prepare this meal. He gave his instructions carefully. Judas would not know where the meal
would be until much later in the day.

Judas was present at the meal. At the meal, Jesus announced that one *disciple would help his
enemies. That *disciple would help them to find Jesus. Soon after this, Judas left.
The *Lord's Supper

After the meal Jesus took bread and gave it to the *disciples. He said, 'Take this bread. Eat it! This
bread is like my body'. Also, he took the cup of wine, and gave it to them. He said, 'Drink it, all of
you. This wine is like my blood. God is making a promise to you. I shall pour out my blood so that
God can forgive the *sins of many people.' The *disciples would not understand the meaning of
this until later.
Jesus washes the *disciples' feet

Jesus did another wonderful thing. He took water and a towel. He washed his *disciples’ feet. Peter
protested about this. When Jesus had finished, he said this:
John 13:12-17 'Do you understand what I have done for you? You call me 'Teacher' and '*Lord'.
This is right. I am your Teacher and your *Lord. Now I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed
your feet. So you also should wash one another's feet. I have shown you what to do. You
should do what I have done for you. I tell you the truth; no servant is greater than his master. A
man who brings a message is not greater than the sender of that message. Now you know
these things. God will bless you if you do them.'
The *kingdom of God is a *kingdom of love and service. We love and serve each other. It is not a
*kingdom where some people give orders to other people.
Peter would deny Jesus three times

At the meal, Jesus said that all the *disciples would leave him that very night. Peter protested that
he was ready to die with Jesus. In reply, Jesus said this. Before the cock called out Peter would
deny Jesus three times. [A cock is a bird that lives on a farm. It calls out very early in the morning.]
After the meal

After the meal, Jesus went out to the Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives is a mountain where
Jesus often went. There was a garden there, called the garden of Gethsemane.
Judas knew that Jesus would be there.
Jesus in the garden called Gethsemane

Jesus prays while the *disciples sleep
We have seen that Jesus had many difficulties to deal with at this time. Both he and the *disciples
were probably very tired by the time of the last supper [that is, Jesus' last meal with his *disciples].
We see this when we read about the behaviour of the *disciples in Gethsemane. They were
actually very tired. They had no more energy at all. Jesus fell down on the ground and prayed. He
was suffering very much. He really desired his friends to stay awake with him at this time. It was
the hardest time for him. But the *disciples could not stay awake. They slept on the ground.
Jesus had done so much more than they had done. He was probably even more tired than them.
But his hardest time of all was still to come.
Jesus suffers greatly

Jesus suffered very much in Gethsemane (Mark 14:50, Luke 22:54-62). Luke tells us that *drops of
blood fell from Jesus' body. This was a crisis for Jesus. Jesus had always obeyed God his Father.
And Jesus still wanted to obey God. But now this meant the *cross with its great pain and shame.

But, for Jesus, the *cross was not merely a place of pain and death. Jesus was perfect; he never
*sinned. But on the *cross, Jesus would have to take, on himself, the *sin of the world. He would
have wanted to avoid this especially, but he could not. Here is his prayer:
Matthew 26:39 'My Father, if it is possible, do not let this happen. However, I want to do the
things that you desire. I choose not to do the things that I desire.'
But there was no other way. The *cross was the only way that God could forgive our *sin. Jesus
was the only one who could pay for all our *sin. Only Jesus could give us the power to live like him.
Judas kisses Jesus

After he had prayed, Jesus knew what must happen. Calmly Jesus walked out so that the soldiers
could arrest him. Judas had arrived, with soldiers and priests. Judas went to Jesus and kissed him.
Jesus refused to let his friends fight for him. Instead, he allowed his enemies to take him.
The *disciples were very afraid. They left Jesus and ran away. Only Peter and John tried to stay
near Jesus. And only John would be present at the *crucifixion.
Tests for Jesus at night

The High Priest's court did not obey the Jewish law
The men took Jesus to Annas. Annas had been the *High Priest. The men asked Jesus questions
there. This lasted through the night. There were no witnesses. The men were cruel, and they
struck Jesus. None of this was legal, but there was more behaviour like this to come.
Jesus and Caiaphas

Then the men took Jesus to Caiaphas. Caiaphas became the *High Priest that year. Some Jewish
leaders quickly went there (Mark 14:53-60). It was still night. They could not accuse Jesus about
anything at all. They looked for false witnesses who would tell lies about him. Even then, the false
witnesses did not agree with each other (Mark 14:59).
The *High Priest was desperate. He should have obeyed the law completely. But now he himself
asked Jesus questions. This was not legal. But Caiaphas' questions achieved what the men
wanted. Jesus replied to Caiaphas clearly. Jesus said that he was the Son of God. This was true.
Jesus really is the Son of God. But the Jewish leaders did not believe Jesus. They supposed that
he was just an ordinary man. So, they decided that his words were very wicked. For the rest of the
night, they hit and struck Jesus (Mark 14:65).
Peter denies Jesus

While this was going on, Peter had been able to get near the court. He was outside, in the yard. He
watched what was happening. First, a servant girl came. She said to him, ‘You also were with
Jesus.’ Peter denied it. Then Peter went out to the gate. Another girl saw him, and said, ‘This man
was with Jesus.’ Peter swore and denied it. Then the people who were near him spoke. They
recognised his accent. So, they knew that he was from Galilee. Peter denied it, and even cursed
himself. At that moment, Jesus looked straight at Peter. Peter went out and wept bitterly. He had
promised to be loyal to Jesus always. Now Peter had denied that he knew Jesus. After Jesus
came alive again, he would meet with Peter. And Jesus would forgive Peter.
The meeting of the Jewish leaders

When the next day began, the Jewish leaders met together. They approved of the events during
the night, although those events had not been legal. The Jews could have killed Jesus themselves.
They could have thrown stones at him, as they did to Stephen later. But the Jews wanted to
*crucify Jesus. Their law did not allow them to do this. Probably they wanted the Romans to be
partly responsible for the death of Jesus.

The death of Judas
At some time early on that day, Judas regretted what he had done. He did not *repent. Instead he
killed himself.
But now, the Jewish rulers had Jesus as their prisoner.
Laws that the *High Priest's court did not obey

The Jewish leaders were proud that they obeyed the law. But they did not obey their own law when
they arrested Jesus. It seems that they broke all these laws:
•You must not decide about a prisoner’s punishment if he is not present – Matthew 26:3,4.
•If you make men tell lies as witnesses, you should die – Matthew 26:59-62.
•You must not kill a prisoner on the first day when he is in court.
•Annas asked Jesus questions without any witnesses. This was not legal – John 18:19-24.
•The court should not have happened at night. This was not legal – Matthew 27:1.
•To go to the *High Priest was not legal – Matthew 26:63.
Everything that the Jewish leaders did was wrong.
The Jews probably had power to kill Jesus, as they did Stephen (Acts 7). But they wanted the
Romans to share the blame. They also probably wanted Jesus to die by *crucifixion. They did not
have the power to order this. Only the Romans could order *crucifixion.
Jesus in Pilate's court

The Jewish rulers accuse Jesus
The Jewish rulers had a problem. They could only accuse Jesus of one thing. The Jewish rulers
said that Jesus had spoken against God. But the Romans did not serve the same God as the
Jews. The Romans had their own gods. So, the Romans would not think that this was important.
The Romans would not even care if Jesus had spoken against God.
Therefore, when the Jewish rulers came to Pilate, they accused Jesus of other things. (Pilate
governed the Jews for the Romans.) (Mark 15:1-5, Luke 23:1-5). When they said these things,
Jesus did not answer (Mark 15:5, Matthew 27:14). What the *prophets had said was now true.
'They accused him and they attacked him. But he did not say a word.' (Isaiah 53:7).
Herod's court
When Pilate heard that Jesus was from Galilee, he tried to send Jesus to King Herod. Until that
day, Pilate had been Herod's enemy (Luke 23:6-12). Again, Jesus did not answer Herod's
questions (Luke 23:9). Herod and his soldiers laughed at Jesus and hit him. Then Herod sent
Jesus back to Pilate.
Pilate's court
Again, Jesus was in a Roman court. Pilate now showed what he thought about Jesus. He thought
that Jesus was a good man. He knew that the Jewish rulers were jealous of Jesus. He tried to free
Jesus.
The Jews had a custom at that *feast. They freed one prisoner. Pilate thought that they might free
Jesus. But the Jews had encouraged the crowd to ask for Barabbas. Barabbas was a murderer.
But the crowd still asked for Barabbas instead of Jesus.

Jesus now could not avoid the *cross.
Pilate washes his hands

Pilate washed his hands in public to show that the death of Jesus was not his fault. But Pilate also
deserved blame for Jesus' death.
The soldiers beat Jesus on the way to the *cross

The Romans always beat their prisoners in a very cruel way. The law of the Jews allowed them to
beat men no more than 39 times. The Roman law had no limit. When their prisoners fell down, the
Romans picked them up. Then they began to beat them again. Sometimes they killed their
prisoners like this. The prisoners' backs became like a field that a farmer has ploughed. Pieces of
skin hung from their backs. The Romans had decided that Jesus must die. Now they beat him, by
Roman law.
The soldiers also made cruel jokes about Jesus. They made him a crown out of pieces of sharp
branches. (It is unlikely that Jesus wore this to the *cross. The Roman officer would never have
allowed it.)
What did Jesus look like?

What must Jesus have looked like by this time? They had beaten him with hands and whips. They
had pulled his beard. They had forced the sharp crown on his head. People have painted pictures
of Jesus on the *cross. None of them can show us what Jesus was really like by that time. Isaiah’s
description is better:
Isaiah 52:14 Everyone was afraid of how he looked. He did not even look human. Nobody
would recognise him as a man.
Simon of Cyrene carries Christ's *cross
Usually the prisoner had to carry his own *cross. [The *cross was two heavy pieces of wood that
the soldiers tied together.] Soon the soldiers saw that Jesus was too weak to carry his own *cross.
Simon of Cyrene carried it for him. Jesus had enough strength to speak to some women. As the
soldiers fastened him to the *cross with nails he prayed to God. He said, 'Father, forgive them.'
Later, he spoke some words from the *cross.
To *crucify a man is terrible. The prisoner had painful injuries. The sun burned him and insects
crawled over him. Most of all, the weight of the body was so heavy that the man had to struggle for
every breath. All the time there were the shouts of the crowd. 1000 years before Jesus died on the
*cross, David wrote Psalm 22. Yet Psalm 22 describes Jesus' experiences very well.
What *prophets wrote comes true

Many of the things which *prophets had said now happened. *Prophets had said what would
happen when Jesus rode into Jerusalem (Zechariah 9:9, 10; Psalm 118:26, 27). They said that a
friend would give him to his enemies (Matthew 26:14-17, Matthew 26:24; Psalm 41:9). Other
*prophets had spoken about the *crucifixion and the *resurrection. *Prophets spoke many words
about Jesus’ life, death and *resurrection. They spoke and wrote these things hundreds of years
before the events. (For more details of these, see the books by Josh McDowell.)
The *prophets' words about the *Messiah

The Old Testament [the first part of the Bible] includes the books of several *prophets. These
*prophets lived centuries before Jesus. But the *prophets described many events in the life of
Jesus.

The Gospels [the Books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John] were written after Jesus' life. The
Gospels describe the events that witnesses saw.
For example:
•The events of Palm Sunday [when Jesus rode into Jerusalem] – Zechariah 9:9; John 12:12-
15.
•A friend helps Jesus' enemies – Psalm 41:9; John 18:2-3.
•For 30 pieces of silver – Zechariah 11:12; Matthew 27:1-10.
•Rulers agree against Jesus – Psalm 2; Matthew 27:1; John 19:16.
•The rulers would *crucify Jesus – Psalm 22; Isaiah 53; Zechariah 12:10; John 19:15.
•Words on the *cross – Psalm 22:1; Mark 15:34.
•The soldiers play a game to win his clothing – Psalm 22:18; John 19:24.
•The soldiers do not break his bones – Psalm 34:20; John 19:33-34.
•Jesus dies with wicked men – Isaiah 53:9; John 19:18.
•Jesus has a grave with rich men – Isaiah 53:9; John 19:38-41.
•Jesus' *Resurrection – Isaiah 53:9-10; Psalm 16:10; John 20.
Why Jesus came to this world

The Jewish rulers knew that Jesus would damage their authority and power. That is why they
opposed Him. Jesus’ *miracles were what interested many of the crowds. They were not loyal to
what he said. Even the *disciples were selfish. They expected the *kingdom to begin immediately,
and they argued about the chief places in the *kingdom. Peter even said that he did not know
Jesus. This was a terrible failure.
But Jesus came to die for people like this. He left *heaven, where God is. He came to earth, to
suffer and to die. Jesus said this, to describe the purpose of his life:
Matthew 20:28 The Son of Man [Jesus] did not come so that men could serve him. He came to
serve. He came to give his life to rescue many people from *sin.
Jesus came to rescue us from *sin
Jesus today invites us to receive him as our *Lord. If we *repent, then God will forgive us. Jesus
wants to give us the *Holy Spirit. The *Holy Spirit will help us to obey Jesus. But it will not be easy.
His way took him to the *cross. Like him, we must serve others. In this world, we may have to
suffer. But God will reward us. God will give us real life, which will continue in *heaven.
Read: Matthew 26 and 27
Word List
of the church.
crucifixion ~ the way that the Romans killed their prisoners. The soldiers would fix the man to a
*cross with nails.
crucify ~ to kill someone by nailing him to a cross of wood. He has to hang there until he dies.
disciples ~ people who believe in Jesus and obey him. The first disciples were the 12 men whom
he chose to work with him.

drops ~ tiny quantity of liquid
feast ~ a large meal for a special event. Jewish feasts were part of their religion.
High Priest ~ the most important priest in the Jewish *temple.
Holy Spirit ~ God’s Spirit, sent by Jesus to help people.
Hosanna ~ a word to praise God. It means ‘We want God to save us.’
judgement ~ the decision about whether someone or something is good or bad.
Lord ~ another name for Jesus, which shows that he has authority over everything.
Lord’s Supper ~ when Christians share bread and wine. They remember the meal that Jesus had
with his *disciples before his death.
deeds.
did not like what Jesus said. These Pharisees thought that they were always right, so they became
very proud.
repent ~ be sorry that you have done wrong things. You decide to love God, and start to obey him.
resurrection ~ when someone comes alive after death.
Son of David ~ one of the names that God gave for the *Messiah.
temple ~ the special building in Jerusalem where the Jews went to honour God.

The *Crucifixion of Jesus
Barrie Wetherill
From Pilate’s *judgement to the *cross

We now continue the story of the *crucifixion. [Crucifixion is a cruel way to kill someone as a
punishment. The Roman soldiers would make a wooden *cross and fasten a man to it with nails.
He must hang there until he dies.]
Pilate agreed to do what the Jewish rulers requested. He handed Jesus over to the Roman
soldiers. They prepared for Jesus' *crucifixion.
A battle between Jesus and the *Devil

But we need to understand what was going on. It was like a fight between Jesus and the *Devil.
The *Devil tried very hard to get Jesus to make a mistake. The *Devil wanted Jesus to say
something that was wrong. Or, the *Devil wanted Jesus to do something that was wrong. Anything
like this would have damaged God’s purpose completely. We have thought about the difficulties
that Jesus had at this time. There were more and more of them, but much worse was to come. The
way that Jesus behaved through all these troubles is important. It proves to us who he was. After
he saw Jesus, even the Roman officer said, ‘Surely, Jesus was the Son of God!’
The Roman soldiers beat Jesus

Before a *crucifixion, the Roman soldiers would beat the prisoner. The Roman soldiers did this in a
very cruel way. Jewish law said that you could beat a prisoner no more than 39 times. There was
no limit in Roman law. If a prisoner could not breathe, the Roman soldiers helped him to breathe
again. Then they continued to beat him. Sometimes men died. Their backs were like a field that a
farmer has ploughed. Long pieces of skin hung from their backs. The soldiers beat Jesus like this,
by the Roman law.
The Roman soldiers now had some fun in a cruel way. They gave Jesus a crown that they made
from sharp branches. (Probably Jesus did not wear this on the *cross. The Roman officer would
never have allowed this. It would show that the soldiers were out of his control.)
By this time, Jesus must have looked terrible. The soldiers had beaten him. They had thrown
things at him. They had hit him and pulled his beard. Artists have often painted pictures of Jesus
on the *cross. But these pictures cannot really show us what Jesus was like by that time. Isaiah’s
description is better:
Isaiah 52:14 Everyone was afraid of the way that he looked. He did not even look human.
Nobody would recognise him as a man.
Simon from Cyrene carries Christ's cross

Usually the prisoner had to carry his own *cross. The *cross was two large pieces of wood that the
soldiers tied together. Soon they saw that Jesus was too weak to carry his own *cross. The Roman
soldiers forced Simon from Cyrene to carry it for him.

The people of Jerusalem
Some women stood with the crowds along the road. These women wept for Jesus. He spoke to
them. He told them not to weep for him. They should weep for themselves and for their children.
Jesus knew very well that there would be a terrible *judgement for the Jews. There would be a time
of punishment from God. Enemies would destroy Jerusalem, not many years later. At that time the
Romans killed so many people by *crucifixion that they did not have enough wood. In fact, the
Jewish nation has suffered ever since. Jesus had come to rescue people from the punishment for
their *sins. He came to show people what God is like. And Jesus came to help us, so that we could
know him. Jesus had come to give eternal life [that is, a friendship with God that lasts always].
Most of the Jewish nation would not listen to him. Not long before this time, Jesus had said this:
Matthew 23:37,38 ‘People of Jerusalem! People of Jerusalem! You kill the *prophets. You throw
stones at those who come to you. Often I have wanted to gather your children together, as a
mother bird gathers her young ones under her wings. But you did not want this. See! Everything
that you have is broken.’
Even at this time, Jesus thought about other people. He had come to the world to rescue everyone.
He even wanted to help the people who refused to be his friends.
On the *cross
The hill called Golgotha
At the hill called Golgotha, the soldiers fixed Jesus to the *cross. They stripped the prisoner naked
for this. This caused great shame for Jews especially. Then they hammered in the nails. As the
soldiers did this, Jesus prayed. He said, ‘Father forgive them. They do not know what they are
doing.’ (Luke 23:34)
They offered Jesus wine with a drug when he was on the cross. This would have reduced the pain,
but he refused it. He needed to be aware of everything to the end. There were more tests to come.
The way that the soldiers fixed Jesus to the *cross made *prophecy come true. A thousand years
earlier, David wrote Psalm 22. It is an exact *prophecy of the *crucifixion. These words from Psalm
22 describe exactly what happened.
Psalm 22:16-18 It is as if dogs surround me. Wicked people are all round me. They put nails in
my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones. People look at me and stare.
Death by *crucifixion
*Crucifixion was a very cruel way to die. There were the painful injuries, the hot sun, the insects.
Worse than all this, the weight of the man's own body was very heavy. The man had to struggle for
every breath. At last, the man’s own weight would pull his body right down so that he could not
breathe. Sometimes the *cross had a part where a foot could rest, to support the weight. Then that
would break off. The purpose of this was to make the man suffer longer. Usually, the man would
die because he could not breathe. It would take several days. *Crucifixion was a painful, slow
death. All the time the angry crowd would shout insults.
Jesus' clothes
The soldiers usually took the prisoner’s clothes, and cut them up. They would share the cloth. But
Jesus wore one long shirt made from one piece of cloth. The person who made it did not sew
together separate pieces of cloth. From the neck to the feet, this shirt was whole. The soldiers did
not want to spoil this shirt. So, they did not cut it up. Instead, they played a game to win it. In this
way, they made words from the Bible come true (Psalm 22:18, John 19:24).
The notice above the *cross

Pilate had written a notice which the soldiers fixed to the *cross. The notice read:

‘The King of the Jews’.
The notice was in three languages, Greek, Latin and Hebrew. Perhaps the people who wrote that
meant it as a joke. God made sure that the notice was correct! Perhaps it made some people think
about the spread of the good news about Jesus all over the world.
The crowds insult Jesus

The crowds always insulted a prisoner on a *cross. It was like a game to them. The Bible records
these words:
Luke 23:35,36 And the people stood and watched. But even the rulers who were with them
laughed at him. They said, 'He saved others. Let him save himself if he is the *Messiah. He is
not the one whom God has chosen!' The soldiers also laughed at him. They came and offered
him sour wine.
Matthew 27:39 And those who passed by cursed him. They shook their heads.
Matthew 27:43 He trusted in God. Let God save him now if he wants him. He said, ‘I am the
Son of God.’
These words remind us of the time when the Devil tested Jesus three years earlier (Matthew 4:3).
The Devil said then, ‘If you are the Son of God, save yourself. Make these stones into bread.’ In
fact, these insults made *prophecy come true. Psalm 22 has these words:
Psalm 22:6-8. But I am like a worm. [A worm has no legs, and crawls on the ground.] I do not
feel like a man. Men blame me and nobody respects me. Everyone who sees me laughs at me.
They insult me and shake their heads. They say, 'He trusted in the *Lord. Let the *Lord rescue
him. Let the *Lord save him, since he has delight in him!'
'Nobody respects me. Everyone who sees me laughs at me' says the Psalm. There was no
escape. Some of the words show how the crowd tried to test Jesus. 'Let your God deliver you now.'
Evil people have said such words many times, when they killed Christians. But those Christians
died because they trusted Jesus. Jesus himself suffered the same insult. The crowd did not know
that they cried out the very words of Psalm 22:8. See Matthew 27:39-43. Remember also the
shouts and cruel jokes in court. Remember the cruelty of the soldiers. Remember Herod's insults.
Peter wrote about the behaviour of Jesus at this time. Jesus did not accuse anyone or say
anything in anger. He did not even speak in *judgement.
1 Peter 2:21-24 To this God has called you. Christ also suffered, for you. He was a model of
how you should behave. You must do what he did. 'He did nothing that was wrong. He said
nothing that was wrong.' When people insulted him, he did not insult them. When he suffered,
he said nothing. He trusted himself to God who *judges in the right way. Jesus took our *sins in
his own body on the *cross. This means that *sin has no power over us. We can live the way
that God wants us to live, without *sin. Jesus suffered for us so that this could happen.
The two criminals who were dying at the same time as Jesus
Jesus hung on the *cross between two criminals. Probably they had tried to begin a revolution.
One criminal started to shout at Jesus, but the other criminal stopped him. Luke records what he
said:
Luke 23:40-42 But the other man stopped him. He said, 'You ought to be afraid of God. You are
getting the same punishment as Jesus. We deserve to die but this man [Jesus] has done nothing
wrong.' Then he said to Jesus, '*Lord, remember me when you come into your *kingdom.'
The way that Jesus had behaved on the *cross had done this. It had helped this criminal to *repent
and believe in Jesus. Jesus promised him that he would be with him in paradise that very day.
[Paradise is another name for heaven, a perfect place, where God lives.]

Jesus speaks to his mother
Women who were relatives of prisoners usually came to a *crucifixion. There was no danger for
them. Mary (the mother of Jesus) was there, together with some other women. Jesus knew that his
mother would suffer to see him on the *cross. He knew that there might be trouble for her
afterwards. So he spoke to her and to the *apostle John. He pointed to John and said, 'Woman,
look at your son!' Then he said to John, 'Look at your mother!' (John 19:26-27) So, Jesus told John
to look after Mary, as if she was his mother.
Even at this time, Jesus still cared for other people.
The darkness
The *crucifixion of Jesus began at 9.00 a.m. [That is, 9 o'clock in the morning.] The place where it
took place was called Golgotha. For three hours, Golgotha was a busy place, with the soldiers, the
crowds and the Jewish rulers there.
But from noon, for three hours until the death of Jesus, there was darkness (Matthew 27:45).
The reason for the darkness while Jesus was on the *cross
There is no natural reason for this darkness. Jesus died during the Feast of Passover. [This was a
very important holy holiday for the Jews. They remembered the time when God rescued them from
Egypt.] The Feast of Passover always happened at the time of the full moon. An eclipse cannot
happen at full moon. [An eclipse is a rare event when the moon hides the light from the sun.] Also,
an eclipse would not last for three hours.
There had been darkness on the earth before. When God punished Pharaoh there had been
darkness. It is a sign of God’s punishment. God shows us that we have done wrong. He
sometimes uses physical signs to do this. (Joel 2:30,32, Amos 5:18, Revelation 6:12-17). And on
the *cross, Jesus was suffering the punishment for our *sins.
Jesus calls out to God

At this time, Jesus suffered great pain. He called out to God with a loud cry.
Matthew 26:46 At about 3.00 p.m. [that is, 3 o'clock in the afternoon] Jesus cried out with a loud
voice. He said, 'Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?' [These words are in the language called Hebrew.]
That means, 'My God, My God, why have you left me alone?'
This was an experience which no human has ever had. Jesus was now quite separate from God.
The darkness was a sign of God’s *judgement on *sin. At this time Jesus was carrying the *sin of
us all. Notice that Jesus did not say ‘God, where are you?’ He said ‘My God, why?’ This is not the
cry of a relationship that has ended. Jesus felt that God was no longer protecting him. But he cried
out to God in trust. Paul tells us the reason for this.
2 Corinthians 5:21 God made Jesus, who did not *sin, to take our *sin on himself. This was so
that we could be right with God.
Some people in the crowd laughed about Jesus’ cry. The first word that he said sounds a little like
the name of Elijah. They said that perhaps he was calling to Elijah for help.
The effects of *crucifixion

Finally, near to his death, Jesus’ mouth was very dry. He cried out, ‘I need a drink’ (John 19:28).
This is one of the effects of *crucifixion. Old books describe other men who died slowly on a *cross.
These men called out for water to the people who passed. Again, the *prophets wrote about this,
and Psalm 22 has these words:
Psalm 22:14,15 I spill out like water. They have pulled every bone in my body apart. My heart
has melted inside me. I have no strength left, like a baked pot. My tongue sticks in my mouth.
You have brought me to the dust of death.

Let us think about the meaning of these words:
•'I spill out like water' – Jesus was extremely tired.
•'They have pulled every bone in my body apart' – A very exact description of the effects of
*crucifixion
•'My heart has melted inside me' – Jesus was nearly unconscious.
•'My tongue sticks in my mouth' – His mouth was completely dry.
•'I have no strength left, like a baked pot' – he felt as dry as a pot that men make. They bake it in a
hot oven until it is totally dry.
The *prophet wrote all of this 1000 years before the event. But these physical sufferings were not
the greatest pain. Jesus felt that God had left him alone. That was when Jesus felt the greatest
pain. That was when Jesus took your *sin and my *sin, and made them his own.
'This is the end'

Jesus gave one great final cry. ‘It is finished!’ [That means, 'this is the end'.] He had finished the
work that the Father [God] had given him to do. His work was complete. Our *salvation was
complete. And so finally, Jesus offered up his *spirit and died.
Luke 23:46 And Jesus cried out with a loud voice. He said, 'Father [God], I give my *spirit to
you.' After that, he breathed for the last time.
The soldiers did not break Jesus' legs

Jesus died much sooner than he should have done. Two criminals were with him. They were still
alive when he died. The authorities wanted the *crucifixion over. They wanted to take away the
bodies before the Sabbath [their holy day] began. It would begin at 6.00 p.m.. [That is, 6 o'clock in
the late afternoon, when nightfall began.] To make the men die more quickly, soldiers came to
break the legs of the two criminals (John 19:31-33). Then the criminals could not continue to push
up on their legs to breathe. When they could not breathe, they died.
But Jesus was already dead, so the soldiers did not break his legs. This made a *prophecy come
true. A *prophet had said that no bone of his should be broken. But, the soldier stuck a spear into
Jesus’ side. [A spear is like a long, sharp sword.] Blood and water came out from Jesus (John
19:34). This showed that Jesus was already dead.
Jesus carried the *sin of the world

Pilate was surprised that Jesus died so soon (Mark 15:44). But Jesus carried the *sin of the world
on that *cross. He suffered so much in these last three hours. That was what really killed him.
Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus bury Jesus' body

Two members of the Jewish council, Joseph (from Arimathea) and Nicodemus, asked Pilate for
Jesus’ body. [The Jewish council was a group of Jewish leaders.] Nicodemus was the man who
had earlier come to talk to Jesus by night.
Joseph and Nicodemus took the body down from the *cross and buried it.
A guard at Jesus' grave

The Jewish council asked for a guard at the grave. The Jewish rulers were afraid that Jesus'
*disciples might try to steal the body. The Jewish rulers did not want anyone to pretend that Jesus
was not really dead. They did not want any more problems with Jesus! They did not realise that
Jesus would become alive again very soon.
Jesus would be alive, because Jesus defeated death itself! And later, Jesus would go up to
*heaven.

The curtain: the whole earth shakes
Three o'clock
Jesus died at 3.00 p.m.. [That is, 3 o'clock in the afternoon.]
This was the very time that the Jews killed the Passover Lamb in the temple. [The temple was the
special building in Jerusalem where the Jews met to give honour to God. The Passover Lamb was
a young sheep. The Jews killed the lamb to remember that God had rescued their people. They
had been slaves in Egypt. But God freed them. And God saved them from death.]
This time is also important to us. Jesus is like our Passover Lamb, because he died for us.
Also, at the same moment, the curtain of the Temple tore. It tore from its top, down to the ground.
This curtain protected the most important part of the Temple (Matthew 27:51). This shows us that
we can now be close to God. God loves us like a father does. We can now be his children. Jesus
made this possible. When Jesus died, he paid for our *sin.
Also at this moment, the whole earth shook. Many ancient *prophets became alive again. Many
people saw them.
The way that Jesus behaved in court and on the *cross, was wonderful. When the Roman officer
there saw this, and the other events, he said, ‘Surely, this man was the Son of God.’
Our reply
On that *cross Jesus carried your *sins and mine. God has never left anyone else in the way that
he left Jesus then.
Galatians 3:13 Christ rescued us from the punishment of the law. He took the punishment for
us. The Bible says, 'God punishes everyone who hangs on a *cross.'
Our *sin became part of Jesus. He felt that God left him alone. Jesus seemed to suffer on the
*cross more than other people did. The Romans were surprised when he died so soon. But His
real pain was the result of your *sin and my *sin. He carried our *sins and that made him feel
completely alone.
How can we reply to what he has done for us? There is only one way.
Matthew 16:24-26 ‘If anyone would come to me, he must give up his own desires. He must take
up his *cross. [That is, he must be ready to suffer.] He must follow me. Whoever wants to save
his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for me will find it. A man may gain the whole world,
but lose his *soul. That would be terrible. A man's *soul is more important than anything else
that he could gain.’
Jesus meant that we must not think about our own life first. We must not do what we want to do.
We must think about God. We must live as he wants us to live.
Many people here in Britain think that it is easy to be a Christian. And I hope that their lives will be
easy. But this is not what the Bible says. What Jesus says is difficult. He wants us to trust him
completely. Ask yourself this question: 'Do you trust Jesus completely?' If not, you are playing a
very dangerous game.
We should think again about what Jesus suffered for us. Then let us all, because of him, pray to
God. Let us ask that his *Holy Spirit would come to us. He will change the way that we live. He will
help us to obey completely whatever God asks us to do. And if we are not sure about anything, he
will help us. He will give us no inner *peace, until we find our *peace in him.
Some words of Isaiah, and of the *apostle Paul are a suitable end to this chapter:
Isaiah 53:6 Like sheep, we have all wandered away. We have each gone our own way, but the
*Lord has put all our *sins on him [the *Messiah].

Romans 5:1,2 Therefore, our trust in God rescues us. We have *peace with God through our
*Lord Jesus Christ. Because of him, we now know God as our father.
Romans 8:1 Now, nobody can accuse the people who belong to Christ Jesus.
Read: Psalm 22
Word List
apostle ~ the 12 men whom Jesus chose to be his helpers. He chose them to teach other people
about him. Christians also call Paul an apostle.
of the church.
crucifixion ~ a cruel way to kill someone as a punishment. The Roman soldiers would make a
wooden *cross and fasten a man to it with nails. He must hang there until he dies.
Devil ~ another name for Satan, who opposes God.
disciples ~ people who believe in Jesus and obey him. The first disciples were the 12 men whom
he chose to be with him.
kingdom; land that a king rules. The 'kingdom of God' means all the people who love and obey
God.
Lord ~ another name for God or Jesus, which shows that he has authority over everything.
deeds.
peace ~ calm, especially in our *spirits. Before we trusted God, we were his enemies. But now, we
are his friends.
prophecy ~ words that a *prophet speaks.
repent ~ be sorry for wrong things that you have said or done. You decide to love God. You start to
obey him.
salvation ~ when God saves us from the results of our wrong beliefs and actions
sins ~ wrong things that we do or say.
soul ~ the part of us that that we cannot see. This part is in us during life, and lives on after death.

Jesus lives again and returns to
God
Barrie Wetherill
Friends bury Jesus

When Jesus died, it was nearly the Sabbath. [That is, Saturday. Saturday is a holy day for the
Jews, when they rest. They do not work.]
Joseph (from Arimathea) and Nicodemus

Joseph (from Arimathea) asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Together with Nicodemus, he buried
the body of Jesus quickly. They buried the body in a grave, near the place where Jesus died. (Both
Joseph and Nicodemus were leaders of the Jews.)
Usually Jews would wash a body and rub oil on it. There was not enough time to do this before the
Sabbath began. Joseph and Nicodemus just wrapped Jesus' body, and laid it in a grave. The
grave was like a small cave, which men had cut in rock. Joseph and Nicodemus rolled a heavy
stone against the front. They would do nothing more during the Sabbath.
The women prepared the oils that they needed. They wanted to complete the Jewish customs. But
they had to wait until early on the Sunday morning. These women had seen where the men had
buried Jesus.
Guards at the grave

The Jewish rulers also saw the grave where the body was. They ordered soldiers to guard the
grave. They did not want anyone to pretend that Jesus had become alive again (Matthew 27:63-
66).
At this time, the friends of Jesus had separated. When the soldiers came to arrest Jesus, his
friends had run away. The soldiers had come from Jerusalem. The *disciples would not have gone
back there. Probably they went over the Mount of Olives [a mountain] to Bethany. Peter and John
stayed in Jerusalem. The women also stayed in Jerusalem.
The first *Easter Sunday

The guards run away
Early on Sunday morning, the whole earth shook. The heavy stone rolled away from the grave, and
an *angel sat on the stone. This filled the guards with great fear and they seem to have run away.

An empty grave
The women went to the grave very early, to finish the proper preparation of the body. They saw
that the grave was open. The body was not in the grave. Mary Magdalene seems to have run back
to Peter and John immediately. Then she returned to the grave.
Meanwhile, the other women saw two *angels. The *angels told them that Jesus was alive. The
women were to tell his *disciples (Matthew 28:5-8). Then, they should all go to Galilee.
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene told Peter and John and then they ran to the grave (John 20:1-10). John saw how
the cloths lay there. He seemed to realise even then that Jesus was actually alive (John 20:8). But
Peter and John did not see Jesus before they returned home.
Mary Magdalene returned to the grave after Peter and John. She remained there and she wept.
Then Jesus appeared and spoke to her. At first, she did not recognise Jesus. She was so sad and
her eyes were probably full of tears. Then she recognised Jesus and he told her not to hold him.
He was not going to return to God his Father yet. He also told her to tell the *disciples about him.
Jesus is alive!
At this time, some women were going to tell the other *disciples. (These disciples were probably
still in Bethany.) On this journey, Jesus appeared to these women (Matthew 28:9,10).
On that same day, Jesus appeared to Peter (Luke 24:34). Later that day, he appeared to ten
*disciples in a room. He even ate with them and they touched him. Jesus told them that he was not
merely a *spirit. Then he taught them from the Bible. He showed them that the *Messiah had to
suffer (Luke 24:36-49). *Prophets had said that Jesus would die on the cross. But now, these
events had happened. The words of the *prophets had come true. And now, Jesus was alive
again. The *prophets had also written that this would happen. Jesus explained all these things to
them. It was a wonderful Bible study meeting!
Thomas' doubt
Thomas was not there on that occasion and he refused to believe. He said that he would have to
put his hands into the nail marks. Then he would believe.
A week later, after the festival of the unleavened bread [a Jewish festival], he was there with the
other *disciples. [A festival was a special time of worship and happiness. At the festival of
unleavened bread, the Jews remembered that God had rescued them from Egypt.] Jesus
appeared and spoke directly to Thomas. He told him to put his finger into his injuries. Thomas then
fell down before Jesus. Thomas called Jesus, ‘My *Lord, and my God.’ (John 20:26-31). Jesus
replied:
John 20:29 'Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed. Other people will believe
although they have not seen. God will bless those people.'
Other appearances
40 days and over 500 witnesses
Luke records that Jesus appeared to the *disciples during a period of 40 days. Jesus spoke to
them about the *kingdom of God (Acts 1:3). In 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, Paul tells us about some other
appearances. One, in Galilee, was to 500 witnesses at once. He does not mention appearances to
women. In Jewish courts, women were not witnesses. It is interesting that Jesus appeared first to
the women. Paul wrote his list about 25 years later. At that time, many of the witnesses would still
be alive. People could have asked them questions, to check Paul’s list.

The untrue story that the *disciples stole Jesus' body
The guards had run away from the grave. These guards were Roman soldiers. The Roman army
rewarded courage, but hated cowards. These soldiers had left the place that they were guarding.
Usually their officers would have killed them for this. Instead, men paid them to say that Jesus’
*disciples had stolen the body. Of course, this is not true. It is also not at all likely. When Jesus
appeared to the *disciples later, they were very surprised. It was hard for them to believe that this
was Jesus. Afterwards, they spoke out boldly. The fact that Jesus had come alive again was a very
important part of their message. Because of this, men attacked them, and even killed many of
them. But they continued to speak about Jesus, although some had a very painful death. (Read
about Stephen, Acts 7).
More evidence that Jesus rose from the grave

The behaviour of the first Christians showed their character to everybody (Acts 2:47). People
respected James in particular. He was a half brother of Jesus. He lived only to please God. The
Jewish writer Josephus mentioned him. The Christians became people with a purpose. In the next
25 years, they spread the good news about Jesus through all the Roman *empire. Jesus had risen
from the grave!
Several facts are clear:
•There was no body. If the enemies of Jesus could have shown a body, that would have ended
the new belief at once.
•The courage of the Christian witnesses, and their behaviour, impressed people very much. The
*disciples soon went everywhere and spoke about Jesus. They said that the *prophets had
spoken about all these things. Probably the *disciples repeated what Jesus had taught them. And
now, they themselves were witnesses of these events.
•The *prophets had written hundreds of years before this. Now, the events that they described,
had happened.
In just a few days, the disciples had changed. They were no longer afraid. They did not continue to
hide themselves away. They were bold men who changed the world.
The *kingdom of God

Jesus told his *disciples to wait for the *Holy Spirit
Jesus did not tell his disciples to go out immediately and speak about him. He told them to wait.
For forty days, he spoke to them. He told them to wait even after he returned to *heaven. They
waited then for ten more days.
We can understand this better if we pretend to be these *disciples. For three years they travelled
with Jesus. Then suddenly, his enemies took him, and he died. This must have seemed like a
defeat. How would they feel? We can know this when we read about the *disciples on the road to
Emmaus. They said:
Luke 24:21 But we had hoped that he was going to save Israel. And there is more. It is the third
day since all this happened.
But suddenly, they discovered that Jesus is alive. There was such a lot for them to understand
now. After Jesus came alive again, they understood many, many things. They must have
discussed together the things that Jesus had said. Now they could understand them. They looked
again at what the *Old Testament said. For the first time they would now understand what the
*prophets had written.
Israel and the *kingdom

The *disciples now asked Jesus a question.

Acts 1:6 '*Lord, are you now going to give back the *kingdom to Israel?'
The *disciples had hoped for a long time that Jesus would do this immediately. The *prophets had
promised a *kingdom for the Jews. Before Jesus died, the *disciples often argued. They argued
about who would be important in this *kingdom. The death of Jesus ended these hopes. But now
they began to hope again. Perhaps they thought that Jesus would now establish the *kingdom in
Jerusalem. Before his death, Jesus made a promise to them. One day they would sit on 12
*thrones beside him, in his *kingdom. They would *judge the 12 families of Israel. Perhaps this is
why they asked this question.
The real nature of the *kingdom of God

The *disciples were thinking only about the future of Israel at this time. This was not what Jesus
was thinking about. He had died for the whole world. At that time, very few people in the world
knew about the love of the *Lord Jesus Christ. They did not know that he had died for them. The
most important thing was to tell everyone. Everyone had to know what Jesus Christ had done for
them. They could have new life if they trusted him.
The *kingdom of God is a much greater thing than the disciples had imagined. God would establish
the *kingdom immediately, but not completely. The *kingdom will be complete only when Jesus
returns to the world again. We call this the Second Coming. At the Second Coming, Jesus will
establish the *kingdom completely. But also, Jesus will *judge everyone. He will punish everyone
who did not want to know him on earth. The *kingdom of God will be a time of complete goodness,
peace, and joy. Nothing that is wicked will ever enter the *kingdom of God. The most important
qualities of the *kingdom will be love, service and humility [that is, people will be humble]. There
will be no force and power, as the *disciples wrongly supposed.
Tell the world about Jesus

The most important thing then was not to establish the *kingdom for Israel. The most important
thing was to tell the world the good news about Jesus. But Jesus was not angry with the *disciples.
See how kindly he corrected them in Acts 1:7,8. Notice also the order in which he mentioned the
world.
Acts 1:7,8 And he said to them, 'You do not need to know times or seasons. This is the
Father’s responsibility [that is, God's responsibility]. But when the *Holy Spirit has come upon
you; you will have power. You shall be witnesses to me:
•in Jerusalem,
•and in all Judea and Samaria,
•and to the end of the earth.'
'You shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem.' This means that the Jews are to hear the good news
first. But the good news is not only for them. Everyone in the whole world, to the furthest places,
needs to know the good news. Jesus can forgive their *sins, if they trust him as *Saviour. The
*disciples had not understood the importance of their task. They had not understood what a great
task it was.
The promise of the *Holy Spirit

Why we need the *Holy Spirit
The *disciples had a very great task now. Many people would oppose them.
Paul warns us in Ephesians chapter 6 that we do not fight against powerful people. We fight
against *spiritual powers. Jesus described himself as the light of the world, but these powerful
*spirits do not want light. They want darkness. They want to behave like the Devil.

But when God calls people to a task, he helps them. He gives them all the powers that they need.
Jesus promised his *disciples the power of the *Holy Spirit.
In general, the Jews had not obeyed God. He gave them his law, but they could not obey it. But
God told the *prophets to promise them a new covenant. [That is, an agreement between God and
the people. Each promises to obey the agreement.]
Jeremiah 31:33,34 'Afterwards, I will make this covenant [agreement] with the people from
Israel,' declares the *Lord. 'My law will be in their hearts and minds. [That is, they will know
God's law. And they will love God's law.] I myself will teach them my law. I will be their God, and
they will be my people. Nobody will have to teach his neighbour. And nobody will have to say to
his brother, "Know the *Lord." Everyone will know me, whether they are important or not,'
declares the *Lord. 'I will forgive their evil deeds. I will not continue to remember their *sins.'
There are similar words in Ezekiel 36:26,27. Jesus talked to the *disciples about the promise of the
*Holy Spirit just before he died. John records it for us, in John chapters 14-16. Jesus promised that
the *Holy Spirit would teach the *disciples. The *Holy Spirit would help them to remember what
Jesus had taught them (John 14:26). The *Holy Spirit would teach the people about *sin, goodness
and *judgement (John 16:8). Men would arrest the *disciples and take them to their rulers. Then
the *Holy Spirit would tell the *disciples what they should say (Luke 12:11,12). The *Holy Spirit
would give them calm when they were in trouble or difficulties. (John 14:27, John 16:33).
The *Holy Spirit gives courage to the *disciples

Soon afterwards, Jesus' words came true. We can read about this in the Book of Acts. Jesus had
given the *disciples a task. He gave them all the qualities that they needed to do it. Peter spoke
about that on the day of Pentecost. [That was the day when Jesus sent the *Holy Spirit.] The
people who heard him realised at once about the *sin in their lives. This is what Jesus had
promised that the *Holy Spirit would do. 3000 people believed in Jesus that day.
Let us think about Peter. He followed Jesus to court. But then Peter said that he did not know him.
When a servant girl asked him questions, he swore at her. He denied that he knew Christ.
However, only a few weeks later, Peter spoke out with courage. Although people were ready to
attack him, Peter was bold. (See Acts 4:1-22, Acts 5:17-42). Soon after Jesus became alive again,
men took Peter to the Jewish leaders. These men had ordered the death of Jesus. They could
easily do the same to Peter. They ordered him not to speak about Jesus. This was his reply.
Acts 5:29-32 But Peter and the other *disciples answered: 'We must obey God rather than
men. You murdered Jesus when you killed him on the *cross. But God gave him life again. Now
God has given him a place of honour. Jesus is Prince and *Saviour. He can help this nation to
be sorry for the wrong things that they have done. If they decide to obey God, he will forgive
them. We are witnesses to these things. And the *Holy Spirit is also a witness. God has given
the *Holy Spirit to those people who obey him.'
And on another occasion, Peter said this to them:
Acts 4:12 'Nobody else can rescue us. God has appointed Jesus Christ to save us from our
*sins. Only Jesus rescues us.'
The Jewish and Roman rulers tried hard to stop these Christians, but the new belief had spread
too far. Nobody could not stop it.
The Ascension [Jesus left earth and went to be with

God in *heaven]
At last, one day when Jesus had been talking to the *disciples, he returned to heaven. The
*disciples actually saw him go up. They watched until a cloud hid him. They did not see him again.
Jesus was not still on earth. But Jesus’ work would continue with the help of the *Holy Spirit. While
the *disciples were still looking at the sky, two *angels appeared. This is what they said:

Acts 1:11 'Men of Galilee, you do not need to continue to look at the sky. You saw Jesus go
up to heaven. Like that, he will come back again.'
The importance of Jesus

It is important for us all that Jesus died on the *cross. It is important that he became alive again. It
shows us many things. When Jesus died on the *cross, he dealt with all our *sins completely. God
has accepted what Jesus has done for us.
Now, Jesus has great authority and power. In fact, he told the *disciples, ‘God has given to me all
authority in heaven and on earth.’
When Jesus comes again, he will not be an ordinary man. He will not merely be someone that
men killed on a *cross. He will be the *Lord. Everybody will respect him. Everybody will give him
honour. Nobody will be able to stop his power and rule.
Jesus today
About 50 years after the Ascension, the *disciple John had a *vision. In his *vision, John saw Jesus
in *heaven. John saw how great Jesus is now. The *vision made John very much afraid (see
Revelation 1).
Today, Jesus is not here with us, in this world. But we speak to him in prayer. We hear him through
his Word [that is, the Bible]. And Jesus has sent the *Holy Spirit to us. The *Holy Spirit speaks to
us and teaches us.
Jesus will come again Acts 1:11

What we read in Acts about this is very clear. Let us look at it.
Acts 1:11 'Men of Galilee, you do not need to continue to look at the sky. You saw Jesus go
up to heaven. Like that, he will come back again.'
Jesus will come back again. The Bible mentions this often. There are more words of Jesus about
this subject than about any other! The *New Testament mentions this subject 318 times. Some of
these are long passages. We read about this subject often in the books between Matthew and
Revelation. It is important because it affects every person in the world today.
When Jesus comes back, he will have great honour and power (Matthew 24:30,31). He will finally
*judge every person:
•Some people trust and obey Jesus. They will go to the wonderful place that God has prepared
for them.
•Other people will go to a terrible place. They will not be with God.
But God wants all people to have the opportunity to trust Jesus. He wants everybody to escape
from the punishment for their *sin.
To tell the world the good news about Jesus is a very important task. Jesus has given this task to
you and to me. We should remember that Jesus will come back. He will be *Lord of all. This should
help us to do this work for him.
Jesus commands us all to teach his good news

Jesus' message is for everybody from every nation. Jesus died to suffer the punishment for our
*sins. God caused Jesus to become alive again. Now, Jesus rules in *heaven. In the future, he will
return to this world. Then, he will have great honour and power. He will *judge every person.
So, each person must trust God now. Each person must confess their *sins to God. And each
person must invite God into their life. God will forgive all the people who trust in him. Then, they will
belong to his *kingdom. They will be God's own people. This is God's good news for everyone.

Jesus had tried to tell the *disciples how important this was. They must do everything that they
could, to spread the good news. Matthew, Mark and Luke all record his command to speak about
him everywhere:
Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus came to the *disciples. He said, 'God has given to me all authority in
*heaven and on earth. Therefore go and make *disciples in all the nations. *Baptise them with
the authority of the Father [God] and of the Son [Jesus] and of the *Holy Spirit. Teach them to
obey all the things that I have commanded you. I am with you always, even to the end of the
age.'
This command is for all of us. It was not only for some special people. One day, we will be with
Jesus. He will ask about what we have done for him. Today the task is still going on. Some
Christians must travel far to teach God's good news to other people. Other Christians tell their
neighbours about God's message. But no Christian should be silent. No Christian should refuse to
speak about Jesus. Jesus’ command is for each person here today. The need is as great as ever.
Read: Luke 24, John 20 and 21, Acts 1:1-11
Word List
baptise ~ when you put a person in water, or pour water on a person. Christians do this to show
that the person belongs to Christ and his church.
of the church
disciple ~ a person who believes in Jesus and obeys him. The 12 men whom Jesus chose to be
with him were the first disciples.
Easter ~ the season of the year when Christians remember that Jesus came alive again after
death.
empire ~ land that an emperor (a very important king) rules over.
judgement ~ the decision about whether someone or something is good or bad.
Kingdom of God ~ the time when God will rule over everybody, completely.
Lord ~ another name for God or Jesus, which shows that he has authority over everything.
deeds.
New Testament ~ the part of the Bible that tells about Jesus, and the beginning of the church.
Old Testament ~ the part of the Bible that tells us about the time before Jesus came.
Saviour ~ Jesus, who brings us to God, and rescues us from wrong things in our lives.
sin ~ wrong things that we do or say.
spiritual powers ~ in Ephesians 6:12, this means the devil's servants (also called evil spirits or
demons).

throne ~ a special chair, which a ruler sits on.
vision ~ a dream, sometimes a dream that comes to a person who is awake.
© 2002-2005, Wycliffe Associates (UK)

This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level B (2800 words).
January 2005
Visit our website: www.easyenglish.info

Life of Jesus

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Life of Jesus

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The Life of Jesus Christ

An online Bible Study Course about the Life of Jesus Christ

Information for Church Leaders

How to use this course

Life-of-jesus.rtf - 05/01/05 - Page 1

Church and personal websites

Life-of-jesus.rtf - 05/01/05 - Page 2

*Israel in the time of Christ

Armies from Greece enter *Israel

Life-of-jesus.rtf - 05/01/05 - Page 3

Sadducees and Pharisees

What the *Prophets wrote about a *Saviour

The *Messiah would bring peace

Life-of-jesus.rtf - 05/01/05 - Page 4

The *Messiah would be a king

The *Messiah would be a *judge

The *Messiah would suffer

How to understand the *prophecies

Elijah would come before the *Messiah

Life-of-jesus.rtf - 05/01/05 - Page 5

The *angel's message about John the Baptist

John the Baptist would be a Nazirite

An *angel comes to Mary

Life-of-jesus.rtf - 05/01/05 - Page 6

God chose humble people

God will free his people

Life-of-jesus.rtf - 05/01/05 - Page 7

God will forgive his people

The childhood of John the Baptist

John learned from the Bible

John learned from other people

John learned from God's *Holy Spirit

The birth of Jesus

Life-of-jesus.rtf - 05/01/05 - Page 8

*Angels, shepherds and wise men

Jesus is the *saviour for people from all nations

Simeon and Anna

Jesus lived like a servant

Life-of-jesus.rtf - 05/01/05 - Page 9

Jesus obeyed his parents

God chose the right time for Jesus to come

Life-of-jesus.rtf - 05/01/05 - Page 10

Life-of-jesus.rtf - 05/01/05 - Page 11

John the Baptist's clothes

John the Baptist's food

Life-of-jesus.rtf - 05/01/05 - Page 12

What is the *kingdom of God?

*Repent and believe

John’s message of trouble!

John warned the *Pharisees and *Sadducees

Life-of-jesus.rtf - 05/01/05 - Page 13

God will *judge the world

People who pretend to *repent

John *baptises Jesus

John recognized that Jesus was the *Messiah

The Lamb of God

Life-of-jesus.rtf - 05/01/05 - Page 14

John's authority to *baptise

The *Devil tries to make Jesus do wrong things

Life-of-jesus.rtf - 05/01/05 - Page 15

The *Devil's scheme

How to defeat the *Devil

The *Devil tests Jesus for the first time

What the Prophets wrote about a Saviour

The Messiah would be a judge

John warned the Pharisees and Sadducees

God blesses you when you are poor in spirit