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August 31, 2013

Jesus of Nazareth 1


                                         "'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means
least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a
ruler who will shepherd my people Israel." Matthew 2:6

Immanuel
                                                                                His Birth


 Immanuel: With-us-is-God
Definition: It is a Hebrew word signifying that God is with us.
Hebrew transliteration: im, meaning with and el, meaning God From im and el the pronoun suffix us inserted; With-us-is-God. Immanuel occurs 3 times once in Matt1:23, in Isaiah7:14, Isaiah8:8 (Strong's concordance).

The virgin birth: The historic and authentic reality of the virgin birth is supported by numerous passages of scripture. It is my view that this was a genuine miracle and a sign to us from God based on my Christian faith and the clear evidence from the bible. The depth of the wisdom of the virgin birth is immeasurable and to deny the numerous pieces of evidence is to not believe in miracles or the wisdom of God which is to me foolish.

Jesus Christ was begotten and not created the same way God created Adam and Eve or even angels. Christ was born of a woman like you and I but His Father is God and His conception was from the Holy Spirit. The Angel Gabriel spoke to Mary and said to her; "The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will over shadow you." Lk1:35. The Angel of the Lord also spoke to Joseph in a dream and said. "What is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit." Matt1:20. Jesus is the only begotten Son of the Father. John1:14 

Quote: This wonderful connection of two so infinitely differing natures in the unity of one person and how it was there affected; is an inquisition fitter for and Angelical intelligence, than our shallow capacity to look after, to which purpose we may also observe, that in the fabric of the Arc of the Covenant, the posture of the faces of the Cerubims toward the Mercy-seat, a type of our Savior, was such, as would point unto us, that these are things of which - "Angels desire to look into." 1Peter1:12 - By: James Ussher (1581-1656)

The bible teaches that Jesus was both God and man, "and the word/God became flesh/Jesus" John1:14. The issue concerning the virgin birth is, "oringinal sin." Jesus is the perfect sinless man because the sin of Adam was not passed on to Him through birth like it is for you and I. The evidence of scripture upholds both the Deity and the virgin birth of Jesus Christ. You can read more on this subject here, "Why I believe".

 Conclusion: Most fair-minded people will grant the fact that the bible clearly teaches that Jesus Christ was virgin born. After you boil the cabbage down the argument then remains whether or not you believe what the bible teaches is true or false. From my Christian point of view the virgin birth is the wisdom of God but to the unbeliever it is foolishness.

Application: The Christian faith includes the belief in miracles, signs and wonders and the virgin birth is a part of that belief. The True Gospel is that Jesus Christ died for sinners like you and I and I pray that God will open your spiritual eyes that you may hear and believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
 Nazareth 1 continues
                                                                

A Bible study by: Glenn
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Jesus of Nazareth 2

Nazareth Village, geography of Israel

 The Town of Nazareth
His youth

            "When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord they
          returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became
strong He was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him."(Luke2:39,40)


The City of Nazareth Today
Nazareth Quote: "Today it is a town of about 60,000 people in northern Israel. About 88 miles north of Jerusalem. It is the capital of the northern region of the country and the largest Arab city in Israel. It is situated am-
ong the southern ridges of the Lebanon Mountains, on the steep slope of
a hill, about 14 miles from the Sea of Galilee and about 6 miles west from Mount Tabor. The modern city lies lower down upon the hill than the anc-
ient one. In Jesus' time Nazareth would have had a population of about
500. The majority of Nazarenes are Israeli Arabs, about 30-40 percent of
which are Christians, and the rest are Muslims.”(Sacred-destinations.com)

Nazareth Village, Israel 

 Village Life: As Morning begins at the home of Joseph and Mary the sweet aroma of bread cooking in the wood burning oven fills the air. The family begins their day with prayer and devotions to the Lord. Someone is outside feeding the chickens and someone has gone to fetch water at the well. Joseph and his son Jesus are working in the wood shop by now or maybe gone to help a neighbor fix a broken wagon wheel, yet I surmise.

Ancient Nazareth: Biblical facts about Jesus and ancient Nazareth:
1) In Nazareth Jesus taught the people in their Synagogue,"and they were amazed.Matt13:54 2)The phrase Jesus of Nazareth occurs 17 times in the
New Testament. 3)The Hebrew root word for Nazareth means branch whi-
ch follows Isaiah's prophecy; that the Messiah will come from a shoot, a branch of King David."He grew up before him like a tender shoot and like a
root out of dry ground He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him nothing in his appearance that we should desire him."Isaiah53:2. A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;from his roots a branch will bear fru
it. The Spirit of the Lord will rest upon him." Isaiah11:14) Quote:The town of Nazareth was one of the most beautiful places in all of Galilee. From a hilltop in Nazareth you can see the coast of Tyre and the blue waters of the Mediterranean. You can also see Mount Carmel where Elijah struggled
                                                with the prophets of Baal.bible-history.com.  

The silent years: where was Jesus during this time period? This was a period of time beginning from his youth to the time of His public ministry. Most biblical scholars are in agreement that after Jesus' adolescence he was most probably working as a carpenter between the ages of 12 to 30years old. When he was not applying His trade He was most probably attending Synagogue learning and teaching the Law and the Prophets. This was also a time when Jesus would learn many lesson from nature that He would later use as a way to teach you and I spiritual lessons in the form of a parable such as; The four soils, Matt13:3, The lost sheep, Luke15:1-7.




Nazareth 2 continued


A Bible study by: Glenn
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August 25, 2013

Jesus of Nazareth 3

            Wasatch Mountains from Jordan River

                                                            His Baptism by John    
                                                             Matthew 3:13-17  

      
The public ministry of Jesus Christ begins when He is baptized by John in the Jordan River. His Father and the Holy Spirit are present and they give their confirmation and approval of His ministry. “And the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form, as a dove, upon Him and a voice came from heaven, “This is My beloved Son in Him I am well pleased.” Matt3:17. Some bible scholars believe it is possible that the voice from heaven was heard by all who were present.

 This beautiful passage of scripture is describing the arrival of Jesus of Nazareth fully prepaired to accept His Redeemer/Messiahship and begin his ministry that will take him all the way to the Garden of Gethsemany and the cross. The significance of Jesus baptism by John was transition, "He must increase, but I must decrease." Jn3:30. The purpose of Jesus' baptism was, "to fulfill all righteousness." Matt3:15. It is the fading away of the old covenant of law and the beginning of the new covenant of grace. "By calling this covenant new, he has made the first one obsolete" Hebrews8:13. The public ministry of Jesus Christ has begun!

Matthew3:13-17
13"Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14But John tried to deter Him saying I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me? 15Jesus replied. “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented. 16"As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on Him. 17And a voice from heaven said, "This is My Beloved Son in Him I am well pleased."
                                                                                                              
Then Jesus: At that time, Jesus the Messiah.
came from Galilee: He arrived by himself from Galilee, the region of his youth where his family and friends live.
to the Jordan to be baptized by John: The forerunner of Christ: "Prepare the way of the Lord."
But John tried to deter him saying: Def: diakoluo, to hinder; I obstinately without effort, am preventing you.
I need to be baptized by you and do you come to me?" John is right we need to be baptized by Jesus.
Jesus replied, Let it be so now: Continuing this dialog Jesus tells John leave it behind you, do not hinder me.
it is proper for us to do this: Def: prepo, tower up; to properly stand out, especially in a way that is fitting.
to fulfill all righteousness: Def: pléroó, to fill to the full; each part that applies to this divine righteousness.
Then John concented.
 
16 "As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water.
At that moment heaven was opened, and He saw the Spirit of
God descending like a dove and alighting on Him. 17And a
voice from heaven said, "This is My Beloved Son in Him
I am well pleased."


Conclusion and application: You, myself and those whom God will save from their sins' need to be obedient to Jesus Christ and be baptized. Not only that but we should get an understanding of what being baptized means. After knowing what we are doing and why, baptism then becomes a beautiful way for a believer to express their love to God. If you have questions about baptism you are welcome to ask me and I will tell
you what I believe. If you wish to debate issues' of baptism you may also join an on going bible discussion
at ChristianChat.com, by clicking this link:> "Is baptism essential for salvation"

Point: Of course if this is not possible for you to do pray and wait until you are able to be baptized.                    

                                                                   Nazareth 3 continued


A Bible study by: Glenn
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Jesus of Nazareth 4

            Southern Jordan Desert
In the Wilderness - part one
Matthew 4:11

In the Wilderness: Matthew 4:1,2

  This wonderful passage of scripture is a favorite of many Christians. Jesus has just come from being bapt-
tized by John in the Jordan River. In the first verse we see Him being led by the Spirit of God into the wildern-
ness to be tested by the devil.The setting is in the wilderness the subject is the temptation of Jesus and the
outcome is the start of his public ministry. My aim in this study is to identify practical lessons we can learn from this wilderness experience of our Lord Jesus Christ.

There are verses in this study that parallel Jesus and the Old Testament: Moses fasted forty days and forty nights on Mount Sinai before the Israelite's recieved the Mosaic covenant, Exodus 34:28; Jesus Christ fasted forty days and forty nights in the wilderness before giving us the new covenant in his blood, Lk22:20. Adam lost paradise after the temptation in the Garden of Eden Gen3:12 Jesus regained paradise after His temptation in the wilderness.

Matthew 4:1-2
"Then Jesus was led by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting for
forty days and forty nights , he then became hungry. - Matthew 4:1-2

Then Jesus - At that time Jesus; The Greek form of Joshua; In Hebrew; Jehoshua means Yahweh is salvation.
was led - Def; Gk; anago - (verb).  It means the same as to launch a vessel; to put out to sea.
by the Spirit - Def; Gk; pneuma - Jesus being full of the Holy Spirit, was influenced and directed by the Spirit.
into the wilderness - Def; Gk; er'emos - into an uninhabited solitary place.
to be tempted by the devil. Def; Gk; diaballo - to throw words of slander back and forth with implied harm.
After fasting - Def; Gk; nuestio - (verb). to abstain from food religiously.
forty days and forty nights - Sunrise to sunrise for forty days; to show He did not eat after sundown.
He then became hungry - Def; Gk; peinao' - to suffer want of food only (not of spiritual hunger).

A summary of this passage might read something like this:
At that time, (after his baptism), Jesus set his sails, being directed by the Holy Spirit into an uninhabited
solitary place, only to have insulting words thrown at him by the devil. After fasting for religious purpose
from sunrise to sunrise for forty days He then suffered want of food only not spiritual hunger."

Question: "For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone." James1:13. Does this statement from the bible disprove the deity of Jesus Christ? Well no it does not because he was both human and divine.
And the Word/God became flesh/Jesus and made his dwelling among us." John1:14. Second question: If Jesus Christ is both God and man what is the point of him suffering and being tempted in the wilderness? Would this not be needless suffering for Jesus to go through?

Answer: "Son though he was, he learned obedience through what he suffered and, once made perfect, he
became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be high priest in
the order of Melchizedek." Hebrews5:8-10. Jesus explained to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and
that He would suffer many things. Matt16:21

                                         Paradise regain'd: By John Milton 1608-1674
                                     English playwright, historian, and poet.

  I who e're while the happy garden sung, by one man's disobedience lost,
   Now sing recover'd paradise to all mankind by one man obedience fully
Tri'd through all temptation, and the tempter foil'd in all his wiles,
Defeated and repuls't, and Eden rais'd in the waist wilderness.



Conclusion: It is a theme of Matthew’s gospel to present Jesus as King and heir to the throne of
king David. The main idea he wants everyone to understand is that Jesus is the promised Messiah
as foretold by their prophets of old. Jesus is a type of Moses, he is identifying with the Israelite's
in this passage and his victory over temptations in the wilderness are his Messianic credentials.

Application: For those who want to know Jesus Christ seek first the kingdom of God. For those
who already believe, freely we have received freely we should give. Follow Jesus example and
continue to keep on being filled and led by the Spirit of God. Matthew says Jesus was led by
the Spirit, Luke says Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit and Mark says the Spirit sent Him into
the wilderness.

Nazareth 4 continued
 
  A Bible study by: Glenn

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