When Jesus was around 30-years-old, his kinsman John went to Perea, the name of the lands on the opposite shore of the Jordan River from Judea where the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasasah had once settled. There he preached, saying , “Repent of your evil ways. God’s eternal kingdom is nearly here.” He would immerse anyone who heeded his words in the Jordan river to symbolize that they had confessed their sins before God. This was known as baptism and John became known as the Baptist.
The Pharisees and Sadducees quickly heard how so many people had come to John to be baptized and went to see him for themselves. When they appeared before him he said, “You snakes. Since when have you feared God’s anger? Don’t come here saying you want to repent unless you are also willing to change how you think and act. Don’t assume that just because you are descended from Abraham that God will automatically rescue you. God could create new children for Abraham right now out of these rocks. The ax is at the root of the tree and every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down.”
The crowd were surprised by this condemnation of their religious leaders and so they asked John, “What should we do then?”
John replied, “If you have two shirts and someone else has none, give him one of yours. The same is true if you have food to spare. Don’t steal from people and don’t lie about them. Even our ruler, Herod Antipas, lives in sin because he left his first wife and married his brother’s wife, Herodias, in her place.”
The Pharisees and Saducees asked him, “Are you the Messiah?”
He told them, “I am not.”
“Then who are you? Are you Elijah, returned from heaven?” they asked.
He told them, “I am not.”
“Give us an answer to take back to the Sanhedrin. What do you say about yourself?” they asked.
“I am fulfilling the words of Isaiah who said, ‘A voice in the wilderness will prepare the way for the Lord,’” he answered.
“If you're not the Messiah or Elijah, why are you baptizing people?”
“I’m here baptizing people with water because they confess their sins, but someone greater than me is coming who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and who will burn away your impurity. I am his servant, not even worthy enough to remove his sandals from his feet. ”
Jesus, too, was aware of John’s ministry and so he made his way from Nazareth to Perea to be baptized. When John saw him approaching the riverbank he said, “It is I who needs to be baptized by you. Why would you ask me to do this?”
Jesus replied, “It is important that I submit in this way to show my dedication to the will of God.” So John baptized him. As soon as he came up out of the water the Holy Spirit descended from heaven in the shape of a dove and rested on Jesus. Then the voice of God could be heard saying, “This is my son, whom I love. Everything he does is pleasing to me.”
Then Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit further into the Judean wilderness to be alone and prepare to start his great work. There, after fasting for 40 days, he was tempted by Satan, who said, “If you are the son of God, command these stones to become bread.”
Jesus replied, “Man doesn’t receive his life from bread, but from the words spoken by God.”
Then Satan spirited them both to the top of the temple and said, “If you are the son of God, jump! God’s angels will surely rescue you from any harm.”
But Jesus replied, “But you also know that it is wrong to test God.”
Again, Satan spirited the two to the top of a very high mountain and showed Jesus the splendor of the kingdoms of the world, saying, “I will give all of this to you if you bow down and worship me.”
Jesus replied, “Get away from me, Satan. We are meant to worship God alone.” Unable to tempt him to sin, Satan left to plot a new scheme. Then God sent angels to care for Jesus, who travelled back towards Perea.
As Jesus approached, John the Baptist said, “Everyone! Look! This is the lamb of God, whose sacrifice will atone for all the sin of the world. Even though I didn’t know it when I first saw him, he is the reason I came here to baptize, so that he might be revealed. I saw the Holy Spirit of God come from heaven in the shape of a dove and rest on him. This is God’s chosen one!”
Two of John’s disciples heard this and followed Jesus as he went on his way. When he noticed them, Jesus asked them what they wanted. They said, “Teacher, where are you staying?”
“Come and see,” he replied, and they spent the rest of the day with him.
Andrew, one of the two, then left to find his brother, Simon, telling him, “We have found the messiah,” and took him to meet Jesus.
When Jesus saw him he said, “Your name may be Simon, but I call you Peter, the rock.”
The next day as Jesus was traveling he came across a man named Philip. “Follow me,” he said. Philip agreed, but first went off to tell his friend Nathanael what had happened.
When Philip found Nathanael sitting under a fig tree he told him, “I found the one that the prophets wrote about. His name is Jesus, from Nazareth.”
Nathaniel was skeptical, saying, “Nazareth, can anything good come from there?”
“See for yourself,” Philip told him.
When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching he said, “Now here is a man who is true of heart.”
“How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
“I could see you while you were still sitting under that fig tree earlier.”
Nathanael gasped, “Teacher. You are the son of God, the eternal king of Israel.”
Jesus answered, “You believe because of what I told you. But I have even greater things to show you.” Jesus then continued to walk the land, speaking with the people everywhere he travelled, while these men walked alongside, trying to learn everything they could from this great teacher.
In the Galilean town of Cana, there was a wedding that Jesus, his followers, and his family attended. After witnessing the couple enter the covenant of marriage everyone got together for a celebratory banquet. As the festivities continued, Jesus’ mother informed him that the host had run out of wine. She said to the servants, “Do whatever he says.”
Nearby were six large stone water jars, each holding 20-30 gallons. Jesus said, “Take some of the water out and give it to the banquet master.”
They did this, but when he tasted it, it had become wine. He didn’t know what had happened, but the servants did. He pulled the groom aside and said, “Everyone brings out the best wine first and saves the cheap stuff for when everyone’s senses are dulled from drinking too much. But you’ve saved the best for now.” This was the first miraculous sign done by Jesus that began to reveal his true nature to his followers and it strengthened their belief that he was, indeed, the prophesied one who would save them.
After the wedding celebration was over, Jesus, his family, and followers, remained in Galilee for a few more days before traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover.
When he arrived at the temple he found some people selling livestock and birds or converting currency in the courtyard. He was furious at this behavior, so he made a whip and drove them all away and overturned their tables, yelling, “Get out of here! My father’s house is not a market!”
Those that saw him do this incredulously asked, “What gives you the authority to do this?”
“Jesus replied, “Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days.”
They replied, “It took 46 years to rebuild this temple in the age of Ezra. How could you possibly rebuild it in three days?” But they did not understand that he was not speaking about a building, but himself.
Many people saw him perform miraculous signs there and they too came to believe he was their savior. It was there that he met a pharisee named Nicodemus who said, “Teacher, we know you have come from God. How else could you do the things that you do?”
Jesus said, “No one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
Nicodemus was puzzled by this and asked, “How can someone who is already grown be born again? Surely you can enter your mother’s womb a second time.”
Jesus answered, “You must be born of the spirit. Your mother gave birth to your body, but the Holy Spirit of God gives birth to your spirit. This shouldn’t surprise you. The wind blows where it will. You hear it, but you cannot see it and don’t know where it came from or where it goes. So it is with the Holy Spirit of God.”
“I don’t understand,” Nicodemus said.
“You are a religious leader and you don’t understand? I have always spoken about what I know and what I have seen but people still don’t believe. If you don’t believe when I talk about things I’ve seen on earth, how will you believe when I tell you about things from heaven. No one has been in heaven except for the one who came from heaven, the Son of God. Think of God as a loving father. Your father loves the world so much that he sent his only son to live among you, so that anyone who believes in him will live forever. God did not send his son to destroy the world, but to save it. Light has come into the world. Everyone who does evil hates the light because it will expose them. But whoever lives honestly will walk into the light in the sight of God.”
After this, Jesus went into the Judean countryside where he baptized those who came to him, just as John continued to do. Some of John’s followers came to him and said, “That man who you spoke about, the one who you baptized, well now he is baptizing people and everyone is going to him.”
John replied, “I have already told you that I am only the messenger for the chosen one. I am just a man from the earth who speaks about earthly things. He is from heaven and speaks about heavenly things, but the people don’t listen. The Father loves his Son and gives him everything. Whoever believes in the Son will live forever. Whoever rejects the Son will suffer God’s wrath. A person can only receive what is given to them by God. A man waits for his friend to arrive on his wedding day and celebrates when he hears his voice. That is my joy, for he is like the groom and you all are his bride. This is his time. He must become greater and I must become less.” And just as John foresaw, his ministry was soon brought to an end, for the word had spoken in the past against Herod Antipas and his wife Herodias had angered them and they had him arrested.
Jesus then traveled north to return to Galilee, which took him through Samaria. There he came upon a well that had been dug by Jacob and given as a gift to Joseph. He was tired from his long walk so he stopped there to rest. A Samaritan woman came to get water and Jesus asked her for a drink because his followers were in the town buying food.
She replied, “You are a Jew. How can you ask a Samaritan for a drink?” for there was still a deep schism between these two people since the sundering of Israel after Solomon’s death.
Jesus said, “If you knew who was asking you for a drink, you would have asked and I would have given you living water.”
“Sir,” she said, “You have no way of getting to the water in this deep well. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob who dug this well?”
Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks from this well will be thirsty again. But whoever drinks the water I offer will never thirst. It is a spring of water that gives eternal life.”
“Sir,” she said, “Give me this water so I won’t have to keep coming back here.”
Jesus said, “Go get your husband and then come back.”
“I have no husband,” she said.
“That’s true,” Jesus replied, “you have had five husbands and you are not married to the man you are living with now.”
“I can see you are prophet,” she said, “our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you Jews say we have to worship in Jerusalem.”
“The time is coming when you won’t have to worship on this mountain or Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know, but the Jews worship what they know. God chose to save the world through the Jews. But the time has come when true believers will worship God in spirit, not tied down to a place.”
The woman replied, “I know our rescuer is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
Jesus told her, “That person is me.”
The woman left her jar and returned to the town and told everyone to come and see if Jesus really was their rescuer. As she was leaving, Jesus' followers were surprised to see that he had been talking to her, but they didn’t say anything about it. Instead they offered him something to eat.
He replied, “I have food that you know nothing about.”
They thought to themselves, “Did someone bring him something?”
But Jesus continued, “My food is to finish the work that God has given me to do. Open your eyes and look around. The fields are ready to be harvested. I send you to harvest what you did not work for. You are reaping the benefits of those who came before you.”
When the woman told everyone in town about her meeting with Jesus, they came to him and urged him to stay for a couple of days, and many more Samaritans became believers, saying, “We no longer believe just because of what this woman said, now we have heard for ourselves and we know that this man really is our savior.”
Jesus then left that region and traveled back to Cana, in Galilee, where he was welcomed by those who had seen what he had done in Jerusalem during the Passover. There was a royal official who had travelled from the Galilean town of Capernaum to see Jesus because his son was very sick. He said to Jesus, “Come back to Capernaum with me before my son dies.”
Jesus replied, “Unless you people see signs and wonders you will never believe. Go, your son will live.” So the man took Jesus at his word and returned home. As he travelled his servants met him and told him his son was healed. When he investigated further he learned it happened at the exact time he was speaking with Jesus, so he and his entire household came to believe that Jesus was their savior.
Jesus then travelled to his hometown of Nazareth. On the sabbath, he went to the synagogue and read from the scroll of Isaiah, saying, “The spirit of God will be on him. He will be anointed to proclaim good news to the poor and brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for captives, and proclaim the year of God’s favor.” Then he rolled up the scroll and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were on him as he said, “Today, these words you have heard are fulfilled in me.”
Everyone was impressed by him, asking, “Isn’t he that carpenter Joseph’s son?”
Jesus said to them, “I know you will ask me to perform the kinds of miracles here that I have performed elsewhere, but no prophet is accepted in his hometown. Even though there were many widows in Israel in the time of Eljah, God sent him to a Sidonian. And there were many lepers in Israel when Elisha lived, but only Naaman the Assyrian was cleansed.” These words infuriated everyone in the synagogue and dragged Jesus out of town intending to throw him off a cliff in their rage. But Jesus passed through the crowd and went on his way.
Jesus then travelled to the Sea of Galilee, where Simon Peter and Andrew, who were fishermen by trade, had their boat. The crowd who came to hear him teach became so large that he climbed into their boat and out a little from the shore, where he continued to speak to the crowds. When he had finished, he said to Simon Peter, “Head out to deeper water so we can catch some fish.”
Simon Peter replied, “Last night when we were out, we didn’t catch anything. But I will do it out of respect to you.” As he lowered his nets they filled up with so many fish that they began to break. So he signaled for his friends in another boat, James and his brother John, to come and help. They filled their boats with so many fish that they were afraid they would sink. Simon dropped to his knees before Jesus and said, “I am a sinful man and unworthy to be in your presence.”
He said, “All of you, don’t be afraid to leave this life behind. Follow me and you will learn to use the net of God’s truth to gather up people instead of fish.” Then all four of them left everything behind and followed Jesus back to Capernaum.
It turned out that Peter’s mother-in-law also lived in Capernaum. When they went to visit they found her lying in bed with a bad fever. Jesus touched her hand and her fever immediately went away. She quickly got up and began waiting on Jesus. That night many people came to the house with their sick and demon-possessed and Jesus healed them.
Very early the next morning, Jesus went off alone to pray. When his followers found him they said, “Everyone is looking for you!”
But Jesus replied, “Let’s go to the nearby villages so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” So he went through Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and healing the sick. News about his ability to heal quickly spread far and wide and soon many more sick people and those possessed by demons were brought to him for healing. Everywhere he went a large crowd followed him.
As he travelled, a man with leprosy knelt before him and said, “Lord if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
Jesus reached out and touched the man, something no one else was willing to do, and said, “I am willing, be clean!” Immediately the man’s leprosy vanished. Jesus continued, “Don’t tell anyone about this, but go to the temple and show the priests you are clean.”
So Jesus and his followers then returned to Capernaum. When the people heard he had come they completely filled the home where Jesus was staying. While he was teaching them four friends brought their paralyzed friend on a stretcher to see Jesus. When they found it impossible to get inside they climbed the stairs on the outside of the house to the roof and dug a hole in the ceiling then lowered their friend down to see Jesus. When he saw their faith he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
Some of the religious leaders gathered there said, “It is against the law for this man to claim he has the authority to forgive sins.”
Knowing their thoughts Jesus said, “Why do you think these evil things? Is it easier to say, ‘your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘get up and walk?’ But I want you to know that I have the authority to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up and go home.” Then the man immediately got up and walked out. The people gathered there were amazed and praised God for giving Jesus this kind of authority.
As Jesus continued traveling he saw a tax collector named Matthew and said, “Follow me.” So he got up and Jesus went with him to his house. While eating dinner there many other tax collectors and other unfavorable people came and ate with Jesus and his followers. When the religious leaders saw this they asked Jesus’ followers, “Why does your teacher eat with this trash?”
Jesus, overhearing them, replied, “It isn’t the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. You need to learn that what is important is not empty religious gestures, but a merciful heart, willing to engage the world. I’m not here to work with the righteous, but with sinners.”
He then told them this story. “There was a rich man who lived a life of luxury. Near his home was a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores, who was so hungry he fantasized about eating the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. When the beggar died angels carried him to be with Abraham in heaven. When the rich man died he was taken to a place of endless torment. He looked up and saw Abraham and Lazarus and called out, “Father Abraham, help me. Send Lazarus to dip his finger into some water to cool my tongue. I am in burning agony.”
Abraham replied, “A great chasm exists between you and us, we cannot cross.”
So the rich man said, “I beg you, send Lazarus to my family to warn them so they can escape this torment.”
Abraham replied, “They have already been warned by Moses and the prophets.”
“If they are visited by a spirit of the dead I know they will change their ways,” he said.
“If they did not listen to Moses or the prophets, even if someone rose from the dead would not be convinced them,” Abraham said.
Some of John the Baptist’s disciples who were also there asked, “Why don’t your disciples fast like us or the pharisees?”
Jesus answered, “Why would someone mourn when their loved one is still with them? The time will come when I am taken from them, then they will fast.”
More than a year had passed since Jesus had begun his ministry. The time came, once again, to travel to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover.
After this, Jesus began his journey back to Galilee. On one sabbath day, his followers were hungry and as they were walking through a field they picked heads of grain and ate them. Some of the religious officials saw this and said, “Look, your followers are breaking the law by working on the day of rest.”
Jesus replied, “Don’t you remember what King David did when he was hungry? He ate bread that was only to be eaten by the priests. Haven’t you read how priests ‘break the law’ by doing their duties on the day of rest and yet are innocent? Something greater than the temple is here. ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ If you understood what these words meant you would not condemn the innocent.”
That same day he went to a nearby synagogue. There was a man there with a shriveled hand. The Pharisees were looking for a reason to have Jesus arrested so they asked, “Is it lawful to heal someone on the Sabbath?”
Jesus replied, “If one of your sheep fell into a pit on the Sabbath, wouldn’t you lift it out? How much more valuable is a person than a sheep? It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand,” and it was completely healed. After this, Jesus left the area, traveling to a mountain near the Sea of Galilee.
The Pharisees and Sadducees quickly heard how so many people had come to John to be baptized and went to see him for themselves. When they appeared before him he said, “You snakes. Since when have you feared God’s anger? Don’t come here saying you want to repent unless you are also willing to change how you think and act. Don’t assume that just because you are descended from Abraham that God will automatically rescue you. God could create new children for Abraham right now out of these rocks. The ax is at the root of the tree and every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down.”
The crowd were surprised by this condemnation of their religious leaders and so they asked John, “What should we do then?”
John replied, “If you have two shirts and someone else has none, give him one of yours. The same is true if you have food to spare. Don’t steal from people and don’t lie about them. Even our ruler, Herod Antipas, lives in sin because he left his first wife and married his brother’s wife, Herodias, in her place.”
The Pharisees and Saducees asked him, “Are you the Messiah?”
He told them, “I am not.”
“Then who are you? Are you Elijah, returned from heaven?” they asked.
He told them, “I am not.”
“Give us an answer to take back to the Sanhedrin. What do you say about yourself?” they asked.
“I am fulfilling the words of Isaiah who said, ‘A voice in the wilderness will prepare the way for the Lord,’” he answered.
“If you're not the Messiah or Elijah, why are you baptizing people?”
“I’m here baptizing people with water because they confess their sins, but someone greater than me is coming who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and who will burn away your impurity. I am his servant, not even worthy enough to remove his sandals from his feet. ”
Jesus, too, was aware of John’s ministry and so he made his way from Nazareth to Perea to be baptized. When John saw him approaching the riverbank he said, “It is I who needs to be baptized by you. Why would you ask me to do this?”
Jesus replied, “It is important that I submit in this way to show my dedication to the will of God.” So John baptized him. As soon as he came up out of the water the Holy Spirit descended from heaven in the shape of a dove and rested on Jesus. Then the voice of God could be heard saying, “This is my son, whom I love. Everything he does is pleasing to me.”
Then Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit further into the Judean wilderness to be alone and prepare to start his great work. There, after fasting for 40 days, he was tempted by Satan, who said, “If you are the son of God, command these stones to become bread.”
Jesus replied, “Man doesn’t receive his life from bread, but from the words spoken by God.”
Then Satan spirited them both to the top of the temple and said, “If you are the son of God, jump! God’s angels will surely rescue you from any harm.”
But Jesus replied, “But you also know that it is wrong to test God.”
Again, Satan spirited the two to the top of a very high mountain and showed Jesus the splendor of the kingdoms of the world, saying, “I will give all of this to you if you bow down and worship me.”
Jesus replied, “Get away from me, Satan. We are meant to worship God alone.” Unable to tempt him to sin, Satan left to plot a new scheme. Then God sent angels to care for Jesus, who travelled back towards Perea.
As Jesus approached, John the Baptist said, “Everyone! Look! This is the lamb of God, whose sacrifice will atone for all the sin of the world. Even though I didn’t know it when I first saw him, he is the reason I came here to baptize, so that he might be revealed. I saw the Holy Spirit of God come from heaven in the shape of a dove and rest on him. This is God’s chosen one!”
Two of John’s disciples heard this and followed Jesus as he went on his way. When he noticed them, Jesus asked them what they wanted. They said, “Teacher, where are you staying?”
“Come and see,” he replied, and they spent the rest of the day with him.
Andrew, one of the two, then left to find his brother, Simon, telling him, “We have found the messiah,” and took him to meet Jesus.
When Jesus saw him he said, “Your name may be Simon, but I call you Peter, the rock.”
The next day as Jesus was traveling he came across a man named Philip. “Follow me,” he said. Philip agreed, but first went off to tell his friend Nathanael what had happened.
When Philip found Nathanael sitting under a fig tree he told him, “I found the one that the prophets wrote about. His name is Jesus, from Nazareth.”
Nathaniel was skeptical, saying, “Nazareth, can anything good come from there?”
“See for yourself,” Philip told him.
When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching he said, “Now here is a man who is true of heart.”
“How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
“I could see you while you were still sitting under that fig tree earlier.”
Nathanael gasped, “Teacher. You are the son of God, the eternal king of Israel.”
Jesus answered, “You believe because of what I told you. But I have even greater things to show you.” Jesus then continued to walk the land, speaking with the people everywhere he travelled, while these men walked alongside, trying to learn everything they could from this great teacher.
In the Galilean town of Cana, there was a wedding that Jesus, his followers, and his family attended. After witnessing the couple enter the covenant of marriage everyone got together for a celebratory banquet. As the festivities continued, Jesus’ mother informed him that the host had run out of wine. She said to the servants, “Do whatever he says.”
Nearby were six large stone water jars, each holding 20-30 gallons. Jesus said, “Take some of the water out and give it to the banquet master.”
They did this, but when he tasted it, it had become wine. He didn’t know what had happened, but the servants did. He pulled the groom aside and said, “Everyone brings out the best wine first and saves the cheap stuff for when everyone’s senses are dulled from drinking too much. But you’ve saved the best for now.” This was the first miraculous sign done by Jesus that began to reveal his true nature to his followers and it strengthened their belief that he was, indeed, the prophesied one who would save them.
After the wedding celebration was over, Jesus, his family, and followers, remained in Galilee for a few more days before traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover.
When he arrived at the temple he found some people selling livestock and birds or converting currency in the courtyard. He was furious at this behavior, so he made a whip and drove them all away and overturned their tables, yelling, “Get out of here! My father’s house is not a market!”
Those that saw him do this incredulously asked, “What gives you the authority to do this?”
“Jesus replied, “Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days.”
They replied, “It took 46 years to rebuild this temple in the age of Ezra. How could you possibly rebuild it in three days?” But they did not understand that he was not speaking about a building, but himself.
Many people saw him perform miraculous signs there and they too came to believe he was their savior. It was there that he met a pharisee named Nicodemus who said, “Teacher, we know you have come from God. How else could you do the things that you do?”
Jesus said, “No one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
Nicodemus was puzzled by this and asked, “How can someone who is already grown be born again? Surely you can enter your mother’s womb a second time.”
Jesus answered, “You must be born of the spirit. Your mother gave birth to your body, but the Holy Spirit of God gives birth to your spirit. This shouldn’t surprise you. The wind blows where it will. You hear it, but you cannot see it and don’t know where it came from or where it goes. So it is with the Holy Spirit of God.”
“I don’t understand,” Nicodemus said.
“You are a religious leader and you don’t understand? I have always spoken about what I know and what I have seen but people still don’t believe. If you don’t believe when I talk about things I’ve seen on earth, how will you believe when I tell you about things from heaven. No one has been in heaven except for the one who came from heaven, the Son of God. Think of God as a loving father. Your father loves the world so much that he sent his only son to live among you, so that anyone who believes in him will live forever. God did not send his son to destroy the world, but to save it. Light has come into the world. Everyone who does evil hates the light because it will expose them. But whoever lives honestly will walk into the light in the sight of God.”
After this, Jesus went into the Judean countryside where he baptized those who came to him, just as John continued to do. Some of John’s followers came to him and said, “That man who you spoke about, the one who you baptized, well now he is baptizing people and everyone is going to him.”
John replied, “I have already told you that I am only the messenger for the chosen one. I am just a man from the earth who speaks about earthly things. He is from heaven and speaks about heavenly things, but the people don’t listen. The Father loves his Son and gives him everything. Whoever believes in the Son will live forever. Whoever rejects the Son will suffer God’s wrath. A person can only receive what is given to them by God. A man waits for his friend to arrive on his wedding day and celebrates when he hears his voice. That is my joy, for he is like the groom and you all are his bride. This is his time. He must become greater and I must become less.” And just as John foresaw, his ministry was soon brought to an end, for the word had spoken in the past against Herod Antipas and his wife Herodias had angered them and they had him arrested.
Jesus then traveled north to return to Galilee, which took him through Samaria. There he came upon a well that had been dug by Jacob and given as a gift to Joseph. He was tired from his long walk so he stopped there to rest. A Samaritan woman came to get water and Jesus asked her for a drink because his followers were in the town buying food.
She replied, “You are a Jew. How can you ask a Samaritan for a drink?” for there was still a deep schism between these two people since the sundering of Israel after Solomon’s death.
Jesus said, “If you knew who was asking you for a drink, you would have asked and I would have given you living water.”
“Sir,” she said, “You have no way of getting to the water in this deep well. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob who dug this well?”
Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks from this well will be thirsty again. But whoever drinks the water I offer will never thirst. It is a spring of water that gives eternal life.”
“Sir,” she said, “Give me this water so I won’t have to keep coming back here.”
Jesus said, “Go get your husband and then come back.”
“I have no husband,” she said.
“That’s true,” Jesus replied, “you have had five husbands and you are not married to the man you are living with now.”
“I can see you are prophet,” she said, “our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you Jews say we have to worship in Jerusalem.”
“The time is coming when you won’t have to worship on this mountain or Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know, but the Jews worship what they know. God chose to save the world through the Jews. But the time has come when true believers will worship God in spirit, not tied down to a place.”
The woman replied, “I know our rescuer is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
Jesus told her, “That person is me.”
The woman left her jar and returned to the town and told everyone to come and see if Jesus really was their rescuer. As she was leaving, Jesus' followers were surprised to see that he had been talking to her, but they didn’t say anything about it. Instead they offered him something to eat.
He replied, “I have food that you know nothing about.”
They thought to themselves, “Did someone bring him something?”
But Jesus continued, “My food is to finish the work that God has given me to do. Open your eyes and look around. The fields are ready to be harvested. I send you to harvest what you did not work for. You are reaping the benefits of those who came before you.”
When the woman told everyone in town about her meeting with Jesus, they came to him and urged him to stay for a couple of days, and many more Samaritans became believers, saying, “We no longer believe just because of what this woman said, now we have heard for ourselves and we know that this man really is our savior.”
Jesus then left that region and traveled back to Cana, in Galilee, where he was welcomed by those who had seen what he had done in Jerusalem during the Passover. There was a royal official who had travelled from the Galilean town of Capernaum to see Jesus because his son was very sick. He said to Jesus, “Come back to Capernaum with me before my son dies.”
Jesus replied, “Unless you people see signs and wonders you will never believe. Go, your son will live.” So the man took Jesus at his word and returned home. As he travelled his servants met him and told him his son was healed. When he investigated further he learned it happened at the exact time he was speaking with Jesus, so he and his entire household came to believe that Jesus was their savior.
Jesus then travelled to his hometown of Nazareth. On the sabbath, he went to the synagogue and read from the scroll of Isaiah, saying, “The spirit of God will be on him. He will be anointed to proclaim good news to the poor and brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for captives, and proclaim the year of God’s favor.” Then he rolled up the scroll and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were on him as he said, “Today, these words you have heard are fulfilled in me.”
Everyone was impressed by him, asking, “Isn’t he that carpenter Joseph’s son?”
Jesus said to them, “I know you will ask me to perform the kinds of miracles here that I have performed elsewhere, but no prophet is accepted in his hometown. Even though there were many widows in Israel in the time of Eljah, God sent him to a Sidonian. And there were many lepers in Israel when Elisha lived, but only Naaman the Assyrian was cleansed.” These words infuriated everyone in the synagogue and dragged Jesus out of town intending to throw him off a cliff in their rage. But Jesus passed through the crowd and went on his way.
Jesus then travelled to the Sea of Galilee, where Simon Peter and Andrew, who were fishermen by trade, had their boat. The crowd who came to hear him teach became so large that he climbed into their boat and out a little from the shore, where he continued to speak to the crowds. When he had finished, he said to Simon Peter, “Head out to deeper water so we can catch some fish.”
Simon Peter replied, “Last night when we were out, we didn’t catch anything. But I will do it out of respect to you.” As he lowered his nets they filled up with so many fish that they began to break. So he signaled for his friends in another boat, James and his brother John, to come and help. They filled their boats with so many fish that they were afraid they would sink. Simon dropped to his knees before Jesus and said, “I am a sinful man and unworthy to be in your presence.”
He said, “All of you, don’t be afraid to leave this life behind. Follow me and you will learn to use the net of God’s truth to gather up people instead of fish.” Then all four of them left everything behind and followed Jesus back to Capernaum.
It turned out that Peter’s mother-in-law also lived in Capernaum. When they went to visit they found her lying in bed with a bad fever. Jesus touched her hand and her fever immediately went away. She quickly got up and began waiting on Jesus. That night many people came to the house with their sick and demon-possessed and Jesus healed them.
Very early the next morning, Jesus went off alone to pray. When his followers found him they said, “Everyone is looking for you!”
But Jesus replied, “Let’s go to the nearby villages so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” So he went through Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and healing the sick. News about his ability to heal quickly spread far and wide and soon many more sick people and those possessed by demons were brought to him for healing. Everywhere he went a large crowd followed him.
As he travelled, a man with leprosy knelt before him and said, “Lord if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
Jesus reached out and touched the man, something no one else was willing to do, and said, “I am willing, be clean!” Immediately the man’s leprosy vanished. Jesus continued, “Don’t tell anyone about this, but go to the temple and show the priests you are clean.”
So Jesus and his followers then returned to Capernaum. When the people heard he had come they completely filled the home where Jesus was staying. While he was teaching them four friends brought their paralyzed friend on a stretcher to see Jesus. When they found it impossible to get inside they climbed the stairs on the outside of the house to the roof and dug a hole in the ceiling then lowered their friend down to see Jesus. When he saw their faith he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
Some of the religious leaders gathered there said, “It is against the law for this man to claim he has the authority to forgive sins.”
Knowing their thoughts Jesus said, “Why do you think these evil things? Is it easier to say, ‘your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘get up and walk?’ But I want you to know that I have the authority to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up and go home.” Then the man immediately got up and walked out. The people gathered there were amazed and praised God for giving Jesus this kind of authority.
As Jesus continued traveling he saw a tax collector named Matthew and said, “Follow me.” So he got up and Jesus went with him to his house. While eating dinner there many other tax collectors and other unfavorable people came and ate with Jesus and his followers. When the religious leaders saw this they asked Jesus’ followers, “Why does your teacher eat with this trash?”
Jesus, overhearing them, replied, “It isn’t the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. You need to learn that what is important is not empty religious gestures, but a merciful heart, willing to engage the world. I’m not here to work with the righteous, but with sinners.”
He then told them this story. “There was a rich man who lived a life of luxury. Near his home was a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores, who was so hungry he fantasized about eating the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. When the beggar died angels carried him to be with Abraham in heaven. When the rich man died he was taken to a place of endless torment. He looked up and saw Abraham and Lazarus and called out, “Father Abraham, help me. Send Lazarus to dip his finger into some water to cool my tongue. I am in burning agony.”
Abraham replied, “A great chasm exists between you and us, we cannot cross.”
So the rich man said, “I beg you, send Lazarus to my family to warn them so they can escape this torment.”
Abraham replied, “They have already been warned by Moses and the prophets.”
“If they are visited by a spirit of the dead I know they will change their ways,” he said.
“If they did not listen to Moses or the prophets, even if someone rose from the dead would not be convinced them,” Abraham said.
Some of John the Baptist’s disciples who were also there asked, “Why don’t your disciples fast like us or the pharisees?”
Jesus answered, “Why would someone mourn when their loved one is still with them? The time will come when I am taken from them, then they will fast.”
More than a year had passed since Jesus had begun his ministry. The time came, once again, to travel to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover.
After this, Jesus began his journey back to Galilee. On one sabbath day, his followers were hungry and as they were walking through a field they picked heads of grain and ate them. Some of the religious officials saw this and said, “Look, your followers are breaking the law by working on the day of rest.”
Jesus replied, “Don’t you remember what King David did when he was hungry? He ate bread that was only to be eaten by the priests. Haven’t you read how priests ‘break the law’ by doing their duties on the day of rest and yet are innocent? Something greater than the temple is here. ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ If you understood what these words meant you would not condemn the innocent.”
That same day he went to a nearby synagogue. There was a man there with a shriveled hand. The Pharisees were looking for a reason to have Jesus arrested so they asked, “Is it lawful to heal someone on the Sabbath?”
Jesus replied, “If one of your sheep fell into a pit on the Sabbath, wouldn’t you lift it out? How much more valuable is a person than a sheep? It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand,” and it was completely healed. After this, Jesus left the area, traveling to a mountain near the Sea of Galilee.
Comments
Post a Comment