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    The Life of Jesus Christ
    The Life of Jesus Christ
    The Life of Jesus Christ
    Ebook135 pages1 hour

    The Life of Jesus Christ

    By Grace Communion International

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    About this ebook

    This e-book includes various essays on the life of Jesus Christ. Other e-books include essays on his incarnation, birth, death and resurrection; others are in our e-books on the Four Gospels. See the table of contents for the articles in this edition.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherGrace Communion International
    Release dateMay 13, 2015
    ISBN9781310864612
    The Life of Jesus Christ
    Author

    Grace Communion International

    Grace Communion International is a Christian denomination with about 30,000 members, worshiping in about 550 congregations in almost 70 nations and territories. We began in 1934 and our main office is in North Carolina. In the United States, we are members of the National Association of Evangelicals and similar organizations in other nations. We welcome you to visit our website at www.gci.org.

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      Book preview

      The Life of Jesus Christ - Grace Communion International

      The Life of Jesus Christ

      Grace Communion International

      Copyright 2015 Grace Communion International

      www.gci.org

      Cover art: Alexandre Bida. Public domain.

      Scripture quotations, unless noted, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

      Table of Contents

      The Message of Jesus: A Bible Study

      Playing Jesus— a Discussion with Bruce Marchiano

      Jesus and Women

      Jesus: Tempted on Our Behalf

      Jesus Walks on the Water

      Jesus and the Samaritan Woman

      Living Water

      Jesus: The Unexpected Messiah

      The Messianic Secret

      Palm Sunday

      A Tasty Sandwich (Mark 11)

      About the Authors

      About the Publisher

      Grace Communion Seminary

      Ambassador College of Christian Ministry

      ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

      Editor’s note: Many of our articles about Jesus are in the volume titled Exploring the Word of God: The Four Gospels. They are also in smaller e-books about the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. See other e-books for articles about the birth of Jesus, the incarnation, the death and resurrection of Jesus.

      The Message of Jesus: A Bible Study

      This study will be more meaningful if you look up the Scriptures and take time to think about it, rather than reading through in a hurry.

      1. When Jesus began his ministry, what did he preach? Mark 1:14-15. When he sent his disciples out, what did he tell them to preach? Matthew 10:7; Luke 10:9.

      Comment: Some ancient Greek manuscripts of Mark 1:14-15 say that Jesus preached the kingdom of God; others say that he preached the gospel of God. It is not necessary here to discuss which manuscripts are better, but we will discuss the version that is familiar to most of us—Jesus preached, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand (NIV 1984)

      Jesus was announcing the kingdom—not just the king—as being near. He was talking about nearness in terms of time, not geography. The time is fulfilled…. The time had come for God’s kingdom to be established.

      Likewise, when the disciples preached that the kingdom was near, they were not talking about the king, and they were not talking about a nearby territory. They were announcing that God’s kingdom would soon be there. This was good news!

      2. Was Jesus a king? John 18:37. Was he like the kings of this world? Were his disciples supposed to act the way rulers of this world act? Matthew 20:25-28. May we assume that God’s kingdom is like the kingdoms of this world?

      Comment: When we are studying something as important as the central message of Jesus Christ, it is not safe to make assumptions. God’s thoughts are not like our thoughts, and his ways are not like ours. We need to look to Scripture to see what Jesus revealed about the kingdom.

      The Jews had various assumptions about what the Messiah would do, but Jesus did not act the way they wanted him to. Their assumptions about the king were wrong, and their assumptions about the kingdom were wrong, too. Just as their ancestors had wanted a king like the nations around them (1 Samuel 8:5), the first-century Jews also wanted a kingdom much like the kingdoms of this world—with a military leader who enforced laws in a particular territory. The Jews wanted the Messiah to bring a kingdom like that, but Jesus brought something different. Let’s study a few more verses to learn about the kingdom Jesus preached.

      3. Did Jesus say that the kingdom had already come upon the first-century Jews? Matthew 12:28. Were people already entering the kingdom of God? Luke 16:16; Matthew 21:31. How were they entering? Matthew 21:31-32. Is it possible to enter something that does not exist?

      Comment: When Jesus preached the kingdom of God, he told people to believe the message and repent (Mark 1:15). He criticized those who did not believe and repent, but praised the people who did believe and repent, and said that they were entering the kingdom.

      Jesus was talking about a spiritual move, not a geographic move. People enter God’s kingdom by accepting his rule, not by moving to a new territory. They enter God’s kingdom by repentance and faith—they accept his rule in their lives. They accept Jesus as their King, and he reigns over them. They become his subjects, doing his will. Paul said that Christians have already entered the kingdom (Colossians 1:13).

      Jesus, the King, has already been crowned with power and authority over all things (Matthew 28:18). He is already King. However, he does not force others to do his will, the way the kings of this world do. Rather, he reigns over those who willingly accept him as their King.

      4. Did Jesus also speak of the kingdom of God as a future reality? Matthew 8:11; 13:43; Luke 13:28. Can something that exists right now expand and also exist in the future?

      Comment: Jesus spoke of the kingdom as both a present-tense reality and a future glory. It exists now as a spiritual realm—in the world, but not part of the world—and it will later expand with power and glory when Jesus returns. The kingdom will then come in great power. God’s power is already here, but it is veiled—present but usually not visible.

      The kingdom is both present and future, already in existence but not yet visible in its fullness. The already/not yet nature of God’s kingdom is similar to other spiritual realities:

      • We are already saved, but the fullness of our salvation is yet future (Ephesians 2:5; 1 Peter 1:5).

      • We have already been given eternal life, but its fullness will be given after we die (John 3:35; Mark 10:30).

      • We will be like Christ, yet Christ is already being formed in us (Philippians 3:21; 2 Corinthians 3:18).

      • We will live with God forever, but he already lives within us (1 Thessalonians 4:17; 1 John 4:13).

      The Bible speaks of these spiritual truths not only as future gifts, but also as blessings we already enjoy in part.

      In a similar way, Jesus spoke of the kingdom both as something that exists right now and something that will exist in a greater way when he returns. When he and his disciples announced that the kingdom was near, they meant the spiritual, invisible phase of the kingdom. For those who thought the kingdom would soon appear with power and glory, he told a parable to explain that there would be a delay (Luke 19:11-27)—but the parable also explains that some of the work of the kingdom must be done even before the kingdom appears in its fullness. Now is the time we are to believe, repent, be saved and enter the kingdom.

      5. What did Jesus say would be preached throughout the world? Matthew 24:14. What did he commission his disciples to preach? Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:47. Should we conclude that preaching the kingdom is practically synonymous with preaching faith, repentance, forgiveness and making disciples?

      Comment: According to Jesus, our goal when preaching is to make disciples, and we do that by preaching repentance and faith, baptizing those who believe and teaching them to obey what Jesus taught. For those who reject Jesus as King, the kingdom is a message of judgment. But for those who accept him, it is wonderfully good news—the good news is that we can enter the kingdom now!

      Since the good news of the kingdom is experienced only through faith, repentance and forgiveness, these aspects of salvation must be a prominent part of the gospel message. If people have faith in Jesus Christ and accept him as Lord, they enter his kingdom—even if they have never heard the word kingdom. It is their relationship to Jesus Christ that is crucial; the precise terminology is not nearly as important.

      Preaching about what?

      What are Jesus’ disciples supposed to preach about? The answer can be seen by looking at scriptures that use the Greek words for preach:

      Matthew 3:1; 4:17, 23; 9:35; 10:7; 24:14; 26:1

      Mark 1:4, 7, 14; 5:20; 6:12; 13:10; 14:9; 16:15

      Luke 3:3; 4:18-19, 43; 8:1, 39; 9:2; 16:16; 24:47

      Acts 5:42; 8:5, 12, 35; 9:20; 10:36, 42; 11:20; 17:18; 19:13;20:25; 28:31

      Romans 10:8, 14

      1 Corinthians 1:23; 2:2; 15:11-12

      2 Corinthians 1:19; 4:5; 11:4

      Galatians 1:16, 23; 2:2

      Ephesians 2:17; 3:8

      Philippians 1:15

      Colossians 1:22-23

      1 Thessalonians 2:9

      1 Timothy 3:16

      2 Timothy 4:2

      The gospel can be described in many ways — a message about the kingdom, about Jesus Christ, forgiveness, reconciliation, salvation or peace. The most common biblical description is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

      The Gospel of …

      Scripture describes the gospel in numerous ways. Here’s how the word is most often used:

      good news of Jesus Christ — 15 times

      good news of God - 9 times

      good news of the kingdom - 7 times

      my gospel, our gospel - 6 times

      the gospel of peace - 2 times

      good news of God’s grace - 1 time

      good news of

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