MESSIAH

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. Luke 4:1–2 The temptation of Jesus is one of many “strange” episodes in the life of Christ. Why should Jesus be tempted? Could Jesus sin? What would…

If you were just east of Jericho around 27 A.D., you might have found a wild-looking man wearing sackcloth, preaching, and immersing people in the Jordan River. Perhaps there, you would have overheard this snippet of conversation: “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let…

Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers … Matthew 1:2 Most people probably roll their eyes when they encounter the genealogies. Given the price of writing materials in the first century—and through all the ages before the invention of the printing…

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When Herod the king…

Mary, did you know That your baby boy will one day walk on water? Mary, did you know That your baby boy will save our sons and daughters? Did you know That your baby boy has come to make you new? This child that you’ve delivered Will soon deliver you – Mary Did You Know?…

And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. Luke 2:6–7 And so, the Lord became a child. A typical crying…

If you happen to be traveling towards Jerusalem around 1 B.C. [1], you might have encountered Joseph and Mary on their way to Bethlehem. She is around 16, sitting on a donkey. He is not much older but somehow somber and wise for his age, already burdened with cares perhaps only an older man should…

Imagine Philip’s surprise as Jesus said: “Follow me.” Rabbis in those days often had a following, a group that would be unstructured at this point in Jesus’ ministry. Did Philip think Jesus needed leaders for a new army to oust Rome, or did Philip think following Jesus would be like following any other Rabbi? Was…

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but for this purpose…

On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this…