Unless otherwise noted
all Scriptures used in
this book are quoted from:
The Holy Bible In Its
Original Order—A Faithful
Version With Commentary
ISBN 978-0-9819787-7-2

ISBN 978-0-9675479-2-3
Copyright 2001, 2006, 2013
Third Edition—Second printing 2013
Fred R. Coulter
York Publishing Co.
P.O. Box 1038
Hollister, CA 95024

All rights reserved. Except for brief excerpts for review purposes, no part of this book may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means—electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or informational storage and retrieval systems—without written permission of copyright owners.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. DIVISIONS OF THE HARMONY

PART I: From Jesus’ Pre-Existence as God to the First Passover of His Ministry in 27 AD: Sections 1-27

PART II: From Passover 27 AD to Passover 28 AD: Sections 28-81

PART III: From Passover 28 AD to Passover 29 AD: Sections 82-145

PART IV: From Passover 29 AD to Passover 30 AD: Sections 146-281

PART V: The Events Before Jesus’ Last Passover, 30 AD: Sections 282-316

PART VI: Jesus’ Last Passover and Crucifixion: Sections 317-366

PART VII: Jesus’ Three Days and Three Nights of Entombment and the Resurrection: Sections 367-370

PART VIII: The Events on the First Day of the Week—the Wave Sheaf Day to the Ascension: Sections 371-384

II. COMMENTARIES

Why This Third Edition Was Published

When Was Jesus Christ Born?

The Four Passover Seasons

Jesus Begins Preaching in Galilee

The Sermon on the Mount

The Length of John the Baptist’s Ministry

The Events Before Jesus’ Last Passover, AD 30

Jesus’ Last Passover and Crucifixion—The Day God Died

The Agony of the Crucifixion

Twenty-eight Prophecies Fulfilled on the Crucifixion Day

Jesus’ Three Days and Three Nights of Entombment

The Events on the First Day of the Week

The Conclusion

Appendix A: A Synchronized Chart of Historical and Scriptural Records that Establish the Year of Christ’s Birth

Appendix B: Jesus Christ Was Taught Directly by God the Father

Appendix C: Exegesis of the Translation of “The Holy Spirit”

Appendix D: Binding and Loosing in the New Testament

CHARTS

1. Map—Palestine of Jesus’ Time

2. The Birth of Jesus

3. Six Days Before Jesus’ Last Passover

4. Jesus’ Last Passover—Nisan 14

5. Genesis 15 Covenant—Sacrifice and the Death of Jesus Christ

6. The Three Days and Three Nights in the Tomb and the Resurrection After Three Days and Three Nights

7. Count Pentecost to 30 AD

8. Diagram of the Temple

9. List of All Feasts During Jesus Christ’s Life

10. A Synchronized Chart of Historical and Scriptural Records That Establish the Year of Christ’s Birth

ILLUSTRATIONS

1. The Court of the Gentiles—South Side of the Temple

2. The Gate Beautiful—Entrance to Women’s Court

3. Overview of the Entire Temple Area

4. The Temple and Burnt Offering Altar

Other Works by the Author

The Holy Bible In Its Original Order—A Faithful Version With Commentary is a new translation that reflects the meaning of the original Hebrew and Greek with fidelity and accuracy—and is the only English version in which the books of the Bible are arranged in their original order. The easy-to-read translation retains the grace and grandeur of the King James Version while clarifying many of its problematic passages. Included are commentaries on the writing, canonization and preservation of the Scriptures. Various appendices cover numerous controversial biblical teachings, and detailed footnotes and marginal references explain hard-to-understand passages. A vital tool for all students of the Bible! See www.restoringtheoriginalbible.com.

The Christian Passover details the scriptural and historical truths of the Passover in both the Old and New Testaments, leading the reader step-by-step through every aspect of one of the most vital and fundamental teachings revealed in the Bible. With over 500 pages, the book fully explains the meaning of the Christian Passover—a remembrance of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Passover Lamb of God—in a most compelling and inspiring manner. The full meaning of the body and blood of Jesus Christ is revealed, showing the magnitude of God’s love for every person.

The Day Jesus the Christ Died—the Biblical Truth about His Passion, Crucifixion and Resurrection is the only book to present “the rest of the story”—left out by Mel Gibson in his epic movie “The Passion of the Christ.” Without the true historical and biblical facts, one cannot fully understand the meaning of Jesus Christ’s horrific, humiliating and gruesome death by beating, scourging and crucifixion. The author presents the full biblical account in a most compelling way. As you will see, the truth is more astounding than all of the ideas, superstitions and traditions of men!

The Seven General Epistles is designed for an in-depth verse-by-verse study of the epistles of James; I and II Peter; I, II and III John and Jude. As part of the living Word of God, these epistles are as meaningful today for personal Christian growth as when they were written.

Occult Holidays or God’s Holy Days—Which? For centuries the leaders of Orthodox Christendom have sold popular holidays—Halloween, Christmas, Easter, etc.—to the masses as though they had “Christian” meaning. This book effectively demonstrates that these celebrated holidays are not of God, but originated from ancient religions rooted in occultism. Contrary to the false ideas of men, the true biblical holy days of God have vital spiritual meaning and outline God’s fantastic plan of salvation for all mankind.

God’s Plan for Mankind Revealed by His Sabbath and Holy Days. This first-of-its-kind, 598- page work provides a comprehensive look at God’s amazing Master Plan for the human family— precisely as it is outlined by the biblical seventh-day Sabbath and annual holy days. Each chapter is a transcript of an in-depth sermon or Bible study revealing God’s purpose from Genesis to Revelation. Actual sermons are included on an accompanying set of four CDs.

Lord, What Should I Do? “Christianity” is now facing an unprecedented crisis: disenchanted churchgoers are quitting by the thousands, looking for genuine spirituality outside of the corporate church. This timely book presents real solutions to the problems of a dysfunctional “Christianity,” emphasizing how Christians can and must take steps to recapture a faith that is authentic, relevant and applicable to modern life, even if it means leaving organized “Christianity.”

The Appointed Times of Jesus the Messiah. Mainstream Christianity has little or no understanding of how Jesus’ messianic role has been carefully organized according to what Scripture calls God’s “appointed times.” As this book demonstrates, the “appointed times” of the Messiah follow the timeframe set by the biblical festivals and holy days as well as the 70-week prophecy of Daniel nine—all of which outline God’s plan of salvation. Indeed, it is only within this unique context that the role of Jesus as the Messiah can be rightly understood.

Judaism—Revelation of Moses or Religion of Men? Contrary to Jewish claims, the religion of Judaism does not represent the way of life God gave through Moses in the Old Testament. In fact, Judaism greatly distorts the biblical Law of Moses by adding to it a massive humanly-devised “code” of laws. The result is that Jews can no longer differentiate between God’s Law and man-made tradition. Using history, Scripture and the Jews’ own writings, this book demonstrates that Judaism is actually a false religion developed by men. Written by Philip Neal.

God’s Bible Pathway for Children. Written by Jane Spring

Online Studies for the serious Bible student—with additional written material and in-depth Bible studies in audio and video format—can be obtained at www.cbcg.org and www.churchathome.org.

PREFACE TO THE FIRST AND SECOND EDITIONS
PUBLISHED IN 1974 AND 1975

We have entered the age of the exposé and the tentacles of evil and corruption have left few untouched. Immorality and dishonesty have been exposed even among the once trusted political, economic, educational and religious institutions of this world. In some nations the exposure of scandalous conduct on high levels has shaken confidence in governments. The result has been a public demand for a return to morality, ethics and honesty.

On an individual level, the result is that more and more people are seeking a deeper meaning to their personal lives. In their search for greater understanding, many have come to realize that there is a missing dimension in their lives. That missing dimension is a basic spiritual need that cries out to be filled.

In the final analysis that vital spiritual dimension can only be filled by God through Jesus Christ. The beginning step to fill that spiritual vacuum is to understand the life and message of Jesus. That is the reason this book has been written.

In religion also, as in politics, business, and education, people are demanding facts and honesty. This book, A Harmony of the Gospels in Modern English—The Life of Jesus Christ, is dedicated to that precept. The true Jesus Christ, His life and message, is presented throughout the pages of this book with clarity and meaning.

Religious myths, superstitions, and traditions of men have not been considered. Rather they have been set aside in order to present the scriptural and historical facts.

As an ordained minister of Jesus Christ, I find that these are the basic questions people ask after studying and investigating the Bible.

“When was Jesus really born?”

“What are the original teachings of Jesus?”

“Was Jesus God or man?”

“Why did Jesus have to die?”

“When was He crucified—Friday, Thursday, or Wednesday?”

“How long was He in the tomb?”

“When was He resurrected?”

“On which day did Jesus keep the Passover?”

The life of Jesus Christ is of paramount importance to all mankind. It is the focal point of history. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are the fulcrum of the Bible and comprise almost half of the New Testament.

One of the easiest ways to understand the Gospels is to have them compiled into a harmony, which coordinates and blends the events of all four accounts into one synchronized story flow.

Up to the first edition of this book in 1974, there had been no new major work in harmonizing the Gospels in over one hundred and forty years. The first edition has been enthusiastically received. Many thousand of readers have expressed their positive thoughts and reactions.

This second edition has been revised and updated. It has been built on the foundation of the first edition. Every word of the text and commentaries has been revised and re-edited by the most proficient editors obtainable. It is written in modern English, my own paraphrased translation. This makes it the first harmony of the Gospels in recent years to be written in modern English. Twenty pages have been added. Eight maps showing the travels of Jesus have been incorporated in appropriate places. Many photographs have been added making a total of over one hundred. These make a unique combination which captures the flavor of the holy land.

New commentaries have been added—“Jesus’ Last Passover, Which Day of the Month—the 14th or 15th?”* All of these additional features make this second edition essentially a new book.

An accurate chronology based on the framework of the Biblical holy days restores and reconstructs the events of Jesus’ life. A modern computer was used to accurately coordinate the Hebrew and Roman calendars of Jesus’ time. Easy-to-understand commentaries explain and clarify difficult sections. Graphs and charts clearly show when Jesus was born, when He died, how long He was in the tomb and when He was resurrected.

Original art work by Jay Vance and Alfred D’Amelio portray, in detail, the Temple and Jerusalem. The basis for the etchings was the model city of first century Jerusalem.

A Harmony of the Gospels in Modern English—The Life of Jesus Christ has been designed to be used as a study aid, commentary, textbook, and Bible class aid. I sincerely hope that this book will help bring a more profound understanding of Jesus’ life to you personally. My personal desire is that this work will help to inspire you to become a better Christian.

_______________________
*Since publishing the first and second editions of the Harmony of the Gospels, the author has published a 536-page book, which fully explains the Passover questions in great detail, entitled, “The Christian Passover,” 1993, 1999, 2010; “The New Testament In Its Original Order—A Faithful Version with Commentary,” 2003, 2004, 2006; “The Holy Bible In Its Original Order—A Faithful Version with Commentary,” 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011; “The Day Jesus the Christ Died,” 2004, 2008, 2011; and “Occult Holidays or God’s Holy Days—Which?” 2006, 2008, 2010; “The Appointed Times of Jesus the Messiah,” 2012.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: FIRST AND SECOND EDITIONS

The initial credit and primary acknowledgment for such a work belong to God the Father and Jesus Christ. The spirit of inspiration and understanding imparted throughout the compilation of this work has been evident to me, personally. It is hoped that this same inspiration and understanding will be imparted to you, the reader.

Many people have helped and shared in making the production of this book possible. Without their diligence, kindness and willingness, such an undertaking would have been beyond my abilities as an individual. Appreciation and love go to my lovely, dear wife and family, who have cooperated so wonderfully and encouragingly in sacrificing their time with me during the last three years, while this book was in its final stages. I am deeply thankful and indebted to all who have so graciously helped in making this book a reality. My heartfelt gratitude is extended to all of those who have helped in so many ways: Frank Aloia, Bob Anderson, Evelyn Arnet, Graham Davies, Heather Deininger, Ron Duskis, Bob Ellsworth, Joyce Fenton, Carl and Jeannie Franklin, Barbara Griffin, Bill and Helen Halbe, Evelyn Harford, E. Michael Heiss, David Huyink, Connie Land, John Livingston, Stan and Betty Suchocki, and Marlene Valarde. In addition, many personal friends and acquaintances have given their encouragement and prayers to make this a success.

Frederick R. Coulter

THE NEW FEATURES
OF THE THIRD EDITION

This book, now in the third printing of it’s third edition, is the result and accumulation of studies done by the author over the past forty-eight years. As a minister of the gospel for over forty-eight years, the author can attest to the fact that questions concerning the life of Jesus Christ have repeatedly troubled the minds of many who desire to follow the true teachings of the Savior of mankind. Much of this uncertainty is due to conflicting opinions about who Jesus Christ was. Was He a man, an angel in a human body, or the Son of God—God in the flesh? What was the year of His birth and the length of His ministry? When was He crucified—on a Wednesday, Thursday or Friday? How long was He in the tomb—a day and two nights, two days and two nights, or three days and three nights? When was He resurrected—late on the weekly Sabbath, or early Sunday morning? This book answers those questions with precise accuracy by presenting pertinent Scriptural teachings and historical records that fully establish when these events occurred.

The third edition of A Harmony of the Gospels in Modern English—The Life of Jesus Christ is an entirely new book. Each of the commentaries has been expanded to give the reader a more detailed understanding of the teachings of Jesus Christ. Every chart has been updated to precisely reflect the events surrounding the birth, ministry, crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The first and second editions showed the year of the birth of Jesus Christ to be 4 BC. However, because of additional knowledge and understanding of the Scriptural and historical facts, the time of Jesus’ birth has been conclusively established as the fall of 5 BC. This places the beginning of His ministry in the fall of 26 AD, and the date of His crucifixion in 30 AD. He died on the Passover day, Nisan 14, which was Wednesday, April 5, 30 AD. These corrections to the chronology of Jesus Christ’s life have been confirmed by many historical facts which were not known thirty years ago when the first and second editions were published (See Appendix A, p. 348).

One of the most important new Scriptural understandings that have been discovered since the second edition is that the covenant oath that God made to Abraham, as recorded in Genesis 15, was a foretype of the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ. This covenant oath was given to Abraham during two days, the 14th and 15th days of the first month, called Abib, and later Nisan. Biblical days are reckoned from sunset to sunset. Nisan 14 is the day that God ordained for the Passover. On the night of Nisan 14, Jesus kept the Passover with His disciples and instituted the New Covenant ceremony consisting of the footwashing, partaking of the bread and wine. On the day portion of Nisan 14, He was crucified and died on the cross. He was put into the tomb just before sunset ending Nisan 14. The night of Nisan 15 was the first of three nights that Jesus was in the tomb. This was the same night that Jesus Christ, as the Lord God of the Old Testament, had confirmed His covenant with Abraham by passing between the parts of the sacrifice. This act was a maledictory oath, a pledge by the Lord God that He would die to fulfill His promises to Abraham. (A detailed account of God’s oath and covenant with Abraham is presented in The Christian Passover, written by the author and published by York Publishing Company.)

In this third edition, the paraphrased translation of the New Testament Greek that was used in the first and second editions has been replaced with a precise translation of the Greek text. The author recently completed this translation after thirty-four years of continuous study of New Testament Greek. The translation of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and for passages cited in the commentaries are from The Holy Bible In Its Original Order—A Faithful Version With Commentary by the author.

The author has been a student of New Testament Greek since 1972. His original tutelage was under Dr. Charles V. Dorothy, PhD, of Ambassador College, Fuller Theological Seminary, and Claremont Graduate School. Although he was the author’s mentor in New Testament Greek for many years, the author’s translation of the New Testament is solely the responsibility of the author. The author has endeavored to translate the New Testament Greek as accurately as possible in order to bring out the rich teachings that God has inspired for us. The author’s translation is based on the Greek text of Stephens, 1550. This is the same Greek text that was used for the translation of the King James Version in 1611.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: THIRD EDITION

Initial credit and acknowledgment for this book belong to God the Father and Jesus Christ. Their inspiration and understanding imparted throughout the compilation of this work have been continually evident. It is my sincere hope that this same inspiration and understanding may be imparted to you, the reader.

Appreciation and heartfelt gratitude to my lovely, dear wife, Dolores, who has cooperated so wonderfully and encouragingly in sacrificing her time with me during the writing of this book. I am deeply grateful to Carl and Jean Franklin for their dedication in editing the manuscript for final publication. It was a difficult and tedious task to make such a technical work easy to read. My sincere thanks for the diligent work by John and Hiedi Vogele for the page layout for the third edition. Special appreciation goes to Jim Sorenson for his detailed research and work in order to synchronize the ancient historical records which fully establish the year of the birth of Jesus Christ and the date of His death.

Special thanks are extended to the members of the Christian Biblical Church of God for their love, prayers, encouragement and support in making this vital book possible. Finally, appreciation and thanks go to God and for all the faithful Bible scholars and writers who, in their search for truth down through the centuries, have endeavored to uphold the Word of God.

Fred R. Coulter
First Edition, 1974
Second Edition, 1976
Third Edition, 2001, 2006, 2013

WHY THIS THIRD EDITION
WAS PUBLISHED

In the almost 40 years since the second edition of A Harmony of the Gospels in Modern English—The Life of Jesus Christ was published, the world has dramatically changed. All nations and societies are being transformed by the massive advances taking place in knowledge and technology. Rapid mass transportation by auto, train and airplane has made even the most remote areas of the world accessible to businessmen and tourists. Instant, real-time communication is now commonplace. With satellite, fiber optics and digital microwave technology as its backbone, billions worldwide use the Internet every day to conduct research and business, shop and handle finances, disseminate knowledge, keep up with the latest news, or just stay in touch. Today, we have personal computers, iPads, hand-held “digital readers” and “smart” phones—all interconnected though an invisible web of high-speed digital communications technology. In almost all parts of the world, we can send instant messages and photos using cell phone “texting.” Exchanging messages, photos and videos via e-mail can be done around the globe with a few clicks of the computer mouse—or over a “smart” phone. We are able to maintain an almost constant level of contact through Facebook—and similar technology now allows us to carry on real-time audio and video “conversations.” Using Twitter, we can “tweet” our followers with regular messages. We can download whole books to be read on handheld “digital readers”—which can store scores of books!

All of this is at our fingertips daily, and is available almost anywhere in the world!

Today, commerce and banking are interconnected with giant computers and satellite technology. With the nearly universal digitization of bank funds and financial assets, banking and business transactions are now conducted around the world with credit/ debit cards or with “smart” phones. We shop via the Internet without ever setting foot in a store, and have our goods delivered right to our doorsteps. New inventions and improvements affecting everything in life are superseding the old (and even the relatively new) almost as fast as they can be invented, manufactured and sold. Indeed, knowledge is increasing exponentially!

Through this vast, overwhelming increase in knowledge, men now have the ability to genetically alter the very creation of God. Modern research has unlocked the genetic structure of plants and animals—and human beings. As a result, thousands of plants have been genetically engineered, thereby altering the balance of nature God has created. Significantly, scientists have also genetically engineered and cloned various animals. And now they claim to have completely mapped the human genome—the genetic code of human life! Undoubtedly, researchers will clone human life in the near future— even inserting genes from other species into the human genome. Perhaps this has already been secretly done. Scientists in the UK, using in vitro fertilization, have already inserted the genes from a second female donor egg into the genes of a boy. As the result, he has the genes of two mothers that are now a permanent part of his genetic makeup, which he will pass on to his children.

Seemingly awesome miracles have been achieved in medicine. Modern medicines and vaccines have apparently eradicated many diseases. Surgeons can reattach severed limbs and transplant human and animal organs. There appears to be no end to the wonders man can do. But as these human achievements increase and abound, men no longer seem to have a need for God or a Savior. Man himself is exalted as “god”—and it is loudly proclaimed that we must, and will, save ourselves. Hence, Christianity itself—or any belief in God—is bulldozed aside and rejected as atheism, humanism, spiritism and Satanism are embraced by increasing numbers of people. Is it any wonder, then, that Jesus Christ asked, “When the Son of man comes [at His second coming], shall He find the true faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8).

Most people do not realize that this tremendous advancement in knowledge and achievement was prophesied by God and recorded in Scripture thousands of years ago. In the sixth century BC, God instructed the prophet Daniel to write of these days: “But you, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, even to the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased” (Dan. 12:4). Through the centuries from Daniel’s time until now, no one has understood the fullness or the magnitude of this prophecy. Knowledge is not only increasing, it is multiplying exponentially at such a rate that it is nearly doubling every three to six months—and the end is not yet in sight.

Building Toward A One World Government

The rapid growth of technology and communication has broken down political and linguistic barriers between nations. Moreover, because of the dominance of the English-speaking peoples of the world, English is recognized as the universal language. One can go almost anywhere in the world and find that English is spoken. In addition, an entirely new language, the language of computers, has been created. It is the common language of industry, science and education. As it was at the beginning of human history, a common language is again uniting mankind.

Over four thousand years ago, when all nations spoke one language, they rebelled against God at the tower of Babel. They rejected God and His authority. As in our world today, they had advanced scientific knowledge and were capable of doing anything they imagined to do. The account is recorded in the book of Genesis: “And the whole earth was of one language and one speech. And it came to pass, as they were migrating toward the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar. And they settled there. And they said to one another, ‘Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly.’ And they had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. And they said, ‘Come, let us build us a city and a tower, with its top reaching into the heavens. And let us establish a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered upon the face of the whole earth.’

“And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the children of men had built. And the LORD said, ‘Behold, the people are one and they all have one language. And this is only the beginning of what they will do—now nothing which they have imagined to do will be restrained from them. Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they cannot understand one another’s speech.’ So the LORD scattered them abroad from that place upon the face of all the earth. And they quit building the city. Therefore the name of it is called Babel, because the LORD confused the language of all the earth there. And from there the LORD scattered them abroad upon the face of all the earth ” (Gen. 11:1-9).

Today, as at the tower of Babel, the world is again becoming “one.” We are being globalized. People of the world are coming together in one grand, monolithic civilization. As the globalization of the world continues, the sovereignty of nations is giving way to regional alliances such as the European Union. Trading alliances between North America, Europe and South America have given way to the World Trade Organization, an international agency which has been given authority to formulate rules, settle disputes, and promote the smooth flow of trade between nations.

At the same time, the United Nations is growing in power and influence over all the nations of the world. It is slowly, but surely, developing into a world government. In conjunction with the development of the UN as the world government, an international criminal court has been organized which will have power to bring individuals from any country to the bar of world justice, regardless of the laws of their native lands. Through all these forces, a modern tower of Babel is being built, which the book of Revelation identifies as “Babylon the Great” (Rev. 17:5).

One World Religion in the Making

The religious organizations of the world have not been left behind in the globalization and unity process. For over forty years, since the historic Vatican II meetings, the World Council of Churches, the Roman Catholic Church, and nearly all the leading Protestant denominations have been busily working to bring all professing Christians together. Currently, their dialogue is reaching out to all non-Christian religions. In recent years, Pope John Paul II, Benedict XVI and the Dalai Lama, leader of Tibetan Buddhism, have worked hand-in-hand to find common ground in their religious beliefs (this includes other religions as well). The current pope, Francis I, is reaching out to the Muslim world. What will the next Pope do?

Few realize that the modern ecumenical movement actually began in 1893 in Chicago, Illinois, with the first meetings of the World’s Parliament of Religions. At that time, four hundred delegates from many of the world’s religions gathered for their first conclave. One hundred years later, in 1993, 3500 leaders from nearly every religion in the world attended the second gathering, again called Parliament of the World’s Religions. Their agenda was clearly spelled out, leaving no doubt that they are working toward the unity of all religions under the umbrella of a new world religion: “The Parliament, however, has two specific goals: That top religious leaders adopt a Declaration of Global Ethics [to replace the Ten Commandments of God], and that the delegates set up two ongoing interfaith organizations—a working group in Chicago and an international network as a kind of religious United Nations” (Chicago Tribune Magazine, August 29, 1993).

In addition to the sweeping efforts of the Vatican and various Protestant churches to bring about full ecumenism, other prominent religious leaders of the world have been busy. At the behest of the Parliament of the World’s Religions, they have adopted a Declaration of Global Ethics and are developing a framework for a United Religions Organization. As a leading force behind this movement, Episcopalian Bishop William Swing initiated the United Religion Initiative 2000, which has since grown in acceptance every year. He desires to create in the Presidio in San Francisco, California, a forum where the world’s religious leaders can meet together. The goal is to unite the world’s religions under a global organization affiliated with the United Nations.

Rising from the midst of this broad ecumenical movement is the worship of a mother goddess in various forms and guises. In the environmental movement and modern witchcraft, this goddess is worshiped as Mother Earth, or Gaia. Neo-pagans worship her as the ancient Egyptian goddess Isis. For centuries, Catholics have worshiped the virgin Mary as the queen of heaven and mediatrix between men and God. In recent years there has been a growing movement among the clergy and laity to declare Mary as coredemptrix, making her equal with her Son.

In concert with the ecumenical movement, the publication in 1997 of World Scripture—A Comparative Anthology of Sacred Texts has created a powerful tool to further the uniting of religions. Notice these excerpts from the introduction: “A movement for a ‘wider ecumenism’ has begun, bringing together for dialogue leaders and scholars from all the world’s religions. Theologians of all faiths are affirming the positive worth of other religions and are seeking to overcome the prejudice of an earlier time. It is now widely recognized that humanity’s search for God, or for the Ultimate Reality, called by whatever name, is at the root of all religions.... Thus the variety of religions would appear to be a testimony to the relativity of human beliefs rather than to the existence of the one Absolute Reality which stands behind all of them” (World Scripture—A Comparative Anthology of Sacred Texts, p. 1, International Religious Foundation, New York).

The effect of this book is to reduce God’s existence and His inspired Word to the realm of human ideas and thoughts. The Holy Scriptures that God inspired to be written and preserved for humanity have now been downgraded to the same level as the writings of demon-inspired men and their religions. Instead of upholding the Word of God as the one and only truth, the authors of World Scripture boast that there are many paths of truth that lead to the “Absolute Reality”: “The passages from diverse scriptures affirm that others who do not share the faith of that scripture are also following the way of Truth. Thus, Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism understand the various gods to be expressions of a single Absolute Reality, and the various paths to lead to one Supreme God” (Ibid., p. 34).

Contrary to the claim that various paths are leading to the one Supreme God, the result of following the “diverse scriptures” of human wisdom is that people are being drawn away from the true God, Who sent His Son Jesus Christ into the world to bring salvation to all nations.

Scholars Dismantle the Four Gospels

In concert with the ecumenical movement, the divine mission of Jesus Christ, as the Savior of mankind, has been discredited. The true Christ and Messiah, Who was God manifested in the flesh, has been relegated to the role of one among many religious prophets and teachers of wisdom. Formerly headed up by the now deceased (2005) Robert W. Funk, two hundred scholars and fellows of the Jesus Seminar and Westar Institute, located in Santa Rosa, California, have been searching for the “historical Jesus.” They downgrade and reject the inspiration of the Scriptures, which clearly proclaim the divinity of Jesus Christ. To them, these writings are only the works of men, and Jesus was only a man. They claim the Gospels contain virtually no accurate historical records. However, in a strange twist of demented reasoning, they claim that they are attempting to find the historical Jesus by critically dissecting the four Gospels: “The scholarship of the Bible once belonged to the churches. It has now moved out into secular institutions and functions quite apart from, and in some respects in opposition to, the denominations. The Fellows of the Jesus Seminar approach the Bible, the gospels in particular, as a cultural artifact rather than as an ecclesiastical handbook. We are interested in assessing the import of the Bible, and of the pioneers and prophets who figure prominently in its story, for the society at large, rather than merely for the churches and their programs” (Funk, Honest to Jesus, p. 297, emphasis added).

As stated by Funk, the fellows of the Jesus Seminar view the Bible solely as a “cultural artifact”—not as the inspired Word of God. This view is particularly evident in their statements concerning the four Gospels, which they regard not as eyewitness accounts of Jesus’ life and ministry, but as a collection of stories based on Old Testament prophecies and later Christian legends. The end result of this view is an outright rejection of major portions of the four Gospels, which they maintain were written at least forty to ninety years after Jesus’ ministry and death—or perhaps as much as three hundred years later. They have systematically gone through the four Gospels and have decided by vote which passages to accept as authentic and which passages to reject as myth.

Through this process of voting, they have categorized 82-84% of the Gospel records as partial or complete fiction, and have accepted as authentic, or nearly authentic, only 16% of the events and 18% of the sayings of Jesus as recorded by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. They expressed their opinions by voting with color codes:

Red: The authentic acts or sayings of Jesus
Pink: A close approximation of what Jesus did or said
Gray: Stories that show minimal historical traces, or probably not what Jesus said
Black: Stories that are improbable events and sayings, or fictive creations of the writers

Based on this voting method, the fellows of the Jesus Seminar have concluded the following concerning the birth and childhood of Jesus: “Jesus was probably born in Nazareth, his hometown. Later legends that assign his birth to Bethlehem were invented to satisfy an ancient prophecy.

“Jesus was not born of a virgin; the Fellows doubt that Mary conceived Jesus without sexual intercourse. Jesus’ father was either Joseph or some unknown male who either seduced or raped the young Mary.... The world census, the trip to Bethlehem, the star in the East, the astrologers, the flight to Egypt and return, the massacre of the babies, the shepherds in the fields, the kinship to John the Baptist are all Christian fictions…. The birth and childhood stories in Matthew and Luke were the last part of the gospel tradition to be created. They were not conceived, in all probability, until toward the close of the first century C.E.” (Funk and the Jesus Seminar, The Acts of Jesus, p. 533, emphasis added.)

Because the fellows of the Jesus Seminar do not believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, Who was sacrificed for the sins of the world, they adamantly reject the Gospel records of His divine begettal and birth by a virgin. They also reject every record that points to His Messiahship, as demonstrated by their evaluation of the Gospel of Mark: “Mark opens his gospel with the appearance of John the Baptist in the wilderness, the baptism of Jesus by John, and return of Jesus to Galilee where he began preaching. The Seminar colored all or most of these stories red. The account of Jesus’ temptations in the wilderness they colored gray: as reported, these stories are legendary, although they may reflect some actual experience of Jesus as he pondered his mission and prepared to enter public life.

“The stories that form the turning point of Mark’s plot were all colored black as projections of the convictions of early believers. Those stories include Peter’s confession (Mark 8:27-30), Jesus’ predictions of his death (Mark 8:31-33; 9:30-32; 10:32-34), and the transfiguration (Mark 9:2-8).

“The stories that form the climax of the gospel narrative [referring to the events before the crucifixion] appear predominantly in black [voted as not true] as well” (Ibid., p. 532, emphasis added).

To the fellows of the Jesus Seminar, Jesus was a Jew of dubious birth Who rose to prominence as a religious figure in Judea at the beginning of the first century. Although they acknowledge His death by crucifixion, they reject the Gospel accounts of His betrayal, His judgment, and His burial as religious myths concocted in the imaginations of early Christians: “The Fellows believe that the temple incident, Jesus’ arrest, and his execution were all historical events. Something Jesus said or did against the temple became the occasion for his arrest. The disciples probably fled when Jesus was arrested. He was turned over to the high priest, who in turn handed him over to Pilate for judgment. Pilate probably condemned Jesus out of hand. It is not just the content of the trial but the fact of a trial that lacks historical foundation. The Fellows concluded that most of the trial narrative was created [in the imagination of the storyteller] on the basis of Psalm 2.

“Jesus was probably flogged in accordance with Roman practice and then crucified. However, the narrative depiction of these events has been so heavily influenced by parallel events in the Jewish scriptures and by prophetic texts, including the Psalms, that we cannot extract hard information from them. As a consequence, most of the details are colored black [classified as fiction].

“The assertion that the Romans were innocent of Jesus’ death and the Jews responsible is pure Christian propaganda, in the judgment of the Seminar.

“The conspiracy against Jesus and the role of Judas, as well as Judas himself, are probably fictions. The story of Peter’s denial is a fiction. The two trials are fictions; Luke has added a third trial before Herod, which is also a fiction. The mocking may be a fiction. Simon of Cyrene is a fiction. The burial of Jesus is a fiction carried out by a fictional character, Joseph of Arimathea” (Ibid., p. 532, emphasis added).

The fellows of the Jesus Seminar have labeled nearly every event recorded in the Gospels as fiction. After discrediting the crucifixion accounts, they proceed to pass judgment on the accounts of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Here is a summary of their conclusions concerning the resurrection of Jesus and His appearances afterwards, as recorded in the Gospels and the writings of Paul: “The Fellows of the Jesus Seminar designated as red Paul’s claim that Jesus appeared to him, since Paul makes that claim on his own behalf. They colored the assertion pink that Jesus appeared to Simon Peter, since Paul’s report in I Corinthians is secondhand. The other appearances listed in 1 Cor. 15:5-8 the Fellows voted gray or black.

“The empty tomb stories in all the gospels were colored black. The earlier strata of the gospels contain no appearance stories. The actual resurrection of Jesus is depicted only in the Gospel of Peter [a Gnostic gospel], and as a fiction that report merited a black designation. The tale of bribing the guard is likewise a fiction.

“The Fellows believe Mary of Magdala to have been among the early witnesses [not an eyewitness, but a spokeswoman] to the resurrection, although the stories in Matthew and John about the appearance to her are fictional. In any case, Mary was considered a leader in the early movement alongside Peter and Paul.

“On the basis of a close analysis of all the resurrection reports, the Seminar decided that the resurrection of Jesus was not perceived initially to depend on what happened to his body. The body of Jesus probably decayed as do all corpses. The resurrection of Jesus was not an event that happened on the first Easter Sunday; it was not an event that could have been captured by a video camera.

“The Seminar concluded that it does not seem necessary for Christians to believe the literal veracity of any of the later appearance narratives” (Ibid., p. 533, emphasis added).

Alleged Inconsistencies in the Gospels

The fellows of the Jesus Seminar cast further doubt on the veracity of the Gospel accounts by pointing to differences between the Gospel of John and the Synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. They view these differences as evidence that the Gospel of John is historically inaccurate: “The first step is to understand the diminished role the Gospel of John plays in the search for the Jesus of history. The two pictures painted by John and the synoptic gospels cannot both be historically accurate. In the synoptic gospels, Jesus speaks in brief, pithy one-liners and couplets, and in parables. His witticisms are sometimes embedded in a short dialogue with disciples or opponents. In John, by contrast, Jesus speaks in lengthy discourses or monologues, or in elaborate dialogues prompted by some deed Jesus has performed … or by an ambiguous statement….”

“Such speeches as Jesus makes in Matthew, Mark and Luke are composed of aphorisms and parables strung together like beads on a string. In John, these speeches form coherent lectures on a specific theme, such as ‘light,’ Jesus as the way, the truth, the life, and the vine and the canes. The parables, which are so characteristic of Jesus in the synoptic tradition, do not appear in John at all.

“The ethical teaching of Jesus in the first three gospels is replaced in John by lengthy reflections on Jesus’ self-affirmations in the form of ‘I AM’ sayings.

“In sum, there is virtually nothing of the synoptic sage in the Fourth Gospel. That sage has been displaced by Jesus the revealer who has been sent from God to reveal who the Father is.”

“The differences between the two portraits of Jesus show up in a dramatic way in the evaluation, by the Jesus Seminar, of the words attributed to Jesus in the Gospel of John. The Fellows of the Seminar were unable to find a single saying they could with certainty trace back to the historical Jesus. They did identify one saying that might have originated with Jesus, but this saying (John 4:44) has synoptic parallels. There were no parables to consider. The words attributed to Jesus in the Fourth Gospel are the creation of the evangelist for the most part, and reflect the developed language of John’s Christian community” (Funk, Hoover, and the Jesus Seminar, The Search for the Authentic Words of Jesus: The Five Gospels, p. 10, emphasis added).

The fellows of the Jesus Seminar believe that Jesus was only a wisdom teacher and traveling sage of His time, to Whom many sayings were attributed that were borrowed from earlier scriptures or stories of the day, and were never actually spoken by Him. The few sayings that they acknowledge as the “authentic words of Jesus” give such an incomplete picture that the Christ of the Gospels is virtually obliterated. Here is their conclusion: “In addition to these meager facts, we also have a compendium of teachings consisting of parables, aphorisms, and dialogues, together with a few dubious anecdotes featuring witticisms told about him by his first admirers. The authentic words of Jesus can be isolated, to a greater or lesser degree, from other words borrowed from the old scriptures or common lore and put on his lips and from words created by the evangelists under the poetic license exercised by storytellers the world over. The content of this body of authentic speech material tells a great deal about Jesus, but it does so indirectly.

“Meanwhile, the scattered facts we can muster do not of themselves produce a Jesus who is the Christ of the Christian faith. The authors of traditional Christian faith are Peter and Paul” (Ibid., pp. 533-534, emphasis added).

To these scholars, Christianity is of human origin only and is rooted in myths and legends, which were created or borrowed by Jesus’ admirers and written in the Gospels. They maintain that to interpret the Gospels in a literal manner does not fulfill the purpose for which they were written, and that their proper place is in the realm of mythology: “The Fellows of the Jesus Seminar are profoundly cognizant that human beings do not live by the bread of facts alone. We live by our stories—by our myths, which is only a fancy word for story—and the fictions are supposed to make sense out of a complex universe of meaning mixed with nonsense. Myths are not true or untrue; as one Fellow puts it, they are either living or dead. Literalism in biblical interpretation in tandem with scientism has helped strangle the myths of the Christian tradition. Historical criticism like that practiced by the Jesus Seminar is intended to release the gospel stories from their literalistic burden. Exposing them to historical assessment relocates them in the realm of story and myth, so they can recover their proper function. When we move them back within that perspective, perhaps new mythmakers and storytellers will once again find voice to celebrate the simple yet enduring story of Jesus of Nazareth” (Ibid., p. 534, emphasis added).

A New Version of the Gospels

After rejecting the entire Gospel of John, as well as most records in the synoptic Gospels, the fellows of the Jesus Seminar have taken upon themselves to produce their own version of the four Gospels together with a spurious gospel of Gnostic origin. Their book The Search for the Authentic Words of Jesus: The Five Gospels, presents the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in a new translation, color-coded according to their rating scheme for fact or fiction. They have taken a further ignominious step by placing the Gnostic gospel of Thomas alongside the four Gospels, making a total of five “gospels.” The gospel of Thomas, written in Coptic, was discovered in December 1945, along with thirteen other Gnostic codices, in Upper Egypt near the town of Nag Hammadi.

While they admit that the gospel of Thomas is rooted in Gnosticism, the fellows of the Jesus Seminar justify its addition to the four Gospels by claiming that it was one of the earlier Christian writings: “The Gospel of Thomas reflects the outlook of the Gnostic movement in some respects. Jesus, for example, speaks as the redeemer come from God. He reminds his followers of their forgetfulness and tells them they are in need of enlightenment….

“Thomas is rooted in the Jewish wisdom tradition, such as we find in Psalms and Proverbs. It is a wisdom gospel made up of the teachings of a sage. But it is moving off in the direction of Gnostic speculation such as we find in later Gnostic documents. In these respects, Thomas represents an early stage in Christian gospel writing and theologizing, quite comparable to what we find in the New Testament, especially in Paul and the Gospel of John” (The Search for the Authentic Words of Jesus: The Five Gospels, p. 501, emphasis added).

Those who understand that the books of the New Testament in original Greek are the God-breathed words of God understand that Gnostic writings such as the gospel of Thomas have no place with the four Gospels. The true Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were canonized with the other books of the New Testament and have been proclaimed to the world in every generation for nearly 2,000 years. God inspired the apostles to write and canonize them, and He preserved them as part of His Word. He did not bury them in a graveyard in Upper Egypt to hide them from public knowledge. The socalled gospel of Thomas was buried for nearly 1600 years, while the four Gospels have been published around the world as a living witness of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Savior of the world.

When the apostle John was inspired to write the book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament that he canonized, he warned of the judgment that awaits those who presume to add to or take away from the words of God: “For I jointly [with the Lord Jesus Christ] testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book, that if anyone adds to these things, God shall add to him the plagues that are written in this book [the entire Bible]. And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the book of life, and from the holy city, and from the things that are written in this book’ ” (Rev. 22:18-19).

In taking away from the true Gospels and exalting a spurious gospel, the scholars of the Jesus Seminar have showed open contempt for the Word of God. They have denied the salvation of God through Jesus Christ, which is revealed in the four Gospels. In his epistle to the Romans, the apostle Paul declares that those who reject the salvation of God, and suppress the gospel of Christ, will reap His wrath: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ because it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes—both to the Jew first, and to the Greek. For therein the righteousness of God is revealed from faith unto faith, according as it is written: ‘The just shall live by faith.’ Indeed, the wrath of God is revealed from heaven upon all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Rom. 1:16-18).

Suppressing the Gospel of Christ

Robert Funk and the fellows of the Jesus Seminar suppress the truth by claiming that the Jesus of the Gospels is a myth. They deny the divinity of Jesus Christ and His role as man’s Redeemer and Mediator before God. They view Christianity as an empty faith, built on stories and legends, which has outlived its meaning and usefulness in the modern world of science and technology: “In the global arena, the symbolic world that is ingredient to traditional Christianity no longer occupies a foundational position. As the economic and technological superiority of the West fades, the symbols that attend the Christian myth will lose whatever appeal they once had. Meanwhile, in the West, the old symbolic universe is on the decline…. Those who cling to the old are having increasing difficulties in assigning meaning to such biblical statements as ‘he ascended into heaven.’ Appeals to an endorsing God, to heaven and hell, to a divine redeemer, to Christ as the sole mediator between God and humankind, have begun to lose their bite and more frequently fall on unhearing ears.

“Since that symbolic world is crumbling or has crumbled, the times call for a wholly secular account of the Christian faith, not just for the sake of its appeal to the third world but primarily for the sake of those who inhabit the contemporary, scientifically minded Western world” (Funk, Honest to Jesus, p. 298, emphasis added).

As part of his twenty-one theses, Funk proposes a new religion that rejects the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as the means for the atonement of sin: “We will have to abandon the doctrine of the blood atonement. The atonement in popular piety is based on mythology that is no longer credible—that God is appeased by blood sacrifices. Jesus never expressed the view that God was holding humanity hostage until someone paid the bill. Nor did Amos, Hosea, or other prophets of Israel. In addition, it is the linchpin that holds the divinity of Jesus, his virgin birth, the bodily resurrection, and a sinless life together in a unified but naïve package: God required a perfect sacrifice, so only a divine victim would do” (Ibid., p. 312, emphasis added).

It is clear that Funk completely rejects Jesus Christ as divine Redeemer and Savior. He shows his ignorance of the New Testament Scriptures by claiming that Jesus is not qualified to be his Redeemer: “A true savior incarnate—incarnate literally means embodied—a true savior embodied must submit to the same limitations imposed on the rest of us [Jesus did by becoming fully human (John 1:14; Heb. 2:14; 4:15)]. If Jesus of Nazareth is a savior, it is only because he aspired to heaven as all mortals do but was sage enough to reject the temptation and accept the limitations of his finite existence [a total denial of Jesus’ divinity (John 1:1; 17:5, 11)]. If he arrived via a miraculous birth, knew himself to be the messiah and son of God, and had foreknowledge that his death would be reversed in a few days, he is not qualified to function as my redeemer” (Ibid., p. 308, emphasis added).

Robert Funk and the fellows of the Jesus Seminar envision a Christianity that disavows the sacrifice of its Redeemer, the existence of its God, and the inspiration of its Scriptures. As Lloyd Geering, one fellow of the Jesus Seminar, wrote, “For most of the post-Christian world, the Bible will no longer be regarded as the Word of God, but it will continue to be of value as an historical testimony to Judeo-Christian origins and as an essential resource for the understanding of past western culture. It will take its place alongside other great religious classics from the various cultures of the past. Jesus will no longer be hailed as the savior of the world, or as a divine figure. He will stand among the great pioneering figures of the past, and his sayings and parables will continue to inspire those who take the trouble to search them out.

“God will no longer be conceived widely as an objective spiritual being— one who personally hears and answers prayers, and who guides human history from behind the scenes. God language, if used at all, will be treated as symbolic. Spiritual practices may take the form of meditation but will not be understood as conversation with an external personal being. Life in this world will be acknowledged as the only form of human existence. The expectation of conscious personal existence beyond death will gradually be abandoned” (The World to Come: From Christian Past to Global Future, p. 87, emphasis added).

The Proposed “Post-Christian” Religious System

The Christianity Geering envisions will offer no promise of eternal life through Jesus Christ. Reduced to the level of all other religions of the world, it will function only as one choice among countless others for those who seek a belief system to guide their lives: “So what place does conventional Christianity have, in the post-Christian era we are now entering? It is no longer a community-held faith which shapes and motivates society. Instead, in its multiple forms, it is becoming one set of personal options among numerous others, including New Age religions and secular ideologies. Together they form a vast religious supermarket to which people may go when they are looking for a philosophy or way of life, and in which they are free to choose one tailored to their needs” (Ibid., pp. 86-87, emphasis added).

In this new global religious system that Geering envisions, the worship of Mother Earth will replace the worship of God the Father and Jesus Christ: “Some steps towards acknowledging the sacred character of the earth have already been taken. We no longer restrict the concept of ‘sanctuary’ to the church building or temple but are giving it back to the earth, in bird sanctuaries, fish sanctuaries and so on. The eco-sphere itself is gradually being re-sanctified. The loving care of Mother Earth is in many quarters replacing the former sense of obedience to the Heavenly Father. In her book The Body of God, theologian Sallie McFague goes further, suggesting that the combined influence of post-modern science and Christian faith requires the construction of a new model in which we see the universe as the body of God [this is not “new” at all, but the ancient philosophy of pantheism]…. [W]e will recreate the appropriate festivals to celebrate the earth’s role in our lives. The new religious rituals will be based not only on our relationship to the natural world, they will also celebrate everything we have come to value in human existence…” (Ibid., p. 158, emphasis added).

The value in human existence lies in the fact that each one of us has been made in the image of God for the ultimate purpose of sharing His glory and immortality. To deny the personal existence of the eternal, all-powerful Being Who created mankind does not celebrate the value of human life but suppresses the knowledge of man’s awesome, God -given potential and reduces human life to the level of animal life. In his summary of religion in the global era, Geering makes no mention of man’s relationship to His Creator, but focuses entirely on man’s relationship to the natural world and to the society of his own making: “What then will this new faith, the religion of the future, look like? It is far too early to tell, but some broad outlines can be seen. I suggest that being religious in the global era will be:

• to be devoted to maximizing the future for all living creatures whose destiny is increasingly in our hands;

• to place the needs of the coming global society before those of our own immediate family, tribe or nation;

• to develop a lifestyle consistent with preserving the balance of the planetary eco -system on which all living creatures depend;

• to refrain from all activities which endanger the future of all species;

• to set a high value on the total cultural legacy we have received from the past and which enables us to develop our potential to become human;

• to value the importance of the human relationships which bind us together into social groups and which enable us to become fully human;

• to promote the virtues of love, goodwill and peacefulness” (Ibid., p. 159).

Geering’s description of the new religion of the global era is filled with idealistic thoughts, but the peace and goodwill that he envisions are not possible in a society that exalts the creation above the Creator and rejects the knowledge that is revealed in His Word. Paul condemns this misguided worship of the natural world: “Because that which may be known of God is manifest among them, for God has manifested it to them; for the invisible things of Him are perceived from the creation of the world, being understood by the things that were made—both His eternal power and Godhead—so that they are without excuse; because when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but they became vain in their own reasonings, and their foolish hearts were darkened. While professing themselves to be the wise ones, they became fools and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds, and four-footed creatures, and creeping things. For this cause, God also abandoned them to uncleanness through the lusts of their hearts, to disgrace their own bodies between themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie; and they worshiped and served the created thing more than the One Who is Creator, Who is blessed into the ages. Amen” (Rom. 1:19-25).

Rejecting the worship of Jesus Christ and God the Father will not lead to utopia. Instead, it will lead to the greatest deception ever to befall mankind. The focus of religion is being shifted from the spiritual realm to the natural world, from the divine to the physical, to prepare the world for the coming of a human messiah who will arise from among the nations. The New Testament reveals that this messiah will be heralded by a great false prophet, who will perform supernatural signs through the power of Satan the devil. These signs and wonders will deceive all nations into accepting the false messiah and worshiping him as God.

Warnings in the New Testament of the Coming Apostate World Religion

The foundation of this worldwide deception was already being laid in the days of the apostles. In writing to the believers at Thessalonica, the apostle Paul warned of the “mystery of lawlessness,” which was beginning to infiltrate the churches of God and draw believers away from the true faith. Paul’s words to the Thessalonians show that Satan was the unseen power behind this insidious movement to corrupt the churches of God. Paul made it clear that this system would continue until the end times, when it would rise to great power. Here is Paul’s warning: “Now we beseech you, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken in mind, nor be troubled—neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by epistle, as if from us, saying that the day of Christ is present. Do not let anyone deceive you by any means because that day will not come unless the apostasy [led by the false prophet (Rev. 13:11-18; 16:13; 19:20)] shall come first, and the man of sin [the antichrist Beast—the coming world dictator (Rev. 13:1-10; 16:13; 19:20)] shall be revealed— the son of perdition, the one who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is an object of worship; so that he comes into the temple of God and sits down as God, proclaiming that he himself is God.

“Do you not remember that when I was still with you, I told you these things? And now you understand what is holding him back in order for him to be revealed in his own set time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already working; only there is one [Jesus Christ] Who is restraining at the present time until it arises out of the midst. And then the lawless one will be revealed (whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth, and will destroy with the brightness of His coming); even the one whose coming is according to the inner workings of Satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in those who are perishing because they did not receive the love of the truth, so that they might be saved. And for this cause, God will send upon them a powerful deception that will cause them to believe the lie; so that all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but who took pleasure in unrighteousness” (II Thess. 2:1-12).

The developing global religious/political system will be used by Satan to deceive the entire world (Rev. 12:9). The underlying philosophy of this religious system is clearly outlined in the World Scriptures, which holds the beliefs and writings of all religions of the world to be equal with the teachings of Jesus Christ. The words of Jesus Christ stand in stark contrast to the proclamations of men who claim that there are “various paths to lead to one Supreme God.” Jesus Christ declared to His disciples that He is the ONLY WAY to God the Father, the Supreme Sovereign of the universe: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).

The Only Way to Eternal Life Is Through Jesus Christ

The Scriptures of the New Testament make it clear that there is only one way that leads to eternal life, and that way is through Jesus Christ. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warned His disciples that false prophets would deceive many into following a false way that leads to death: “Enter in through the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many [the majority] are those who enter through it; for narrow is the gate and difficult is the way that leads to life, and few are those who find it. But beware of false prophets [whether religious or secular] who come to you in sheep’s clothing; for within they are ravening wolves. You shall know them by their fruits” (Matt. 7:13-16).

No religious leader, no prophet, no teacher, no philosopher, can substitute for Jesus Christ, and no so-called “sacred writing” or “religious myths” can replace the Godbreathed Word of God. The Old Testament and the New Testament testify, to all who will hear, that salvation through Jesus Christ was planned before the creation of the world. HE ALONE IS “THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE.” Jesus came to earth as the only begotten Son of God. Before He came in the flesh, He was the Lord God of the Old Testament. The apostle John makes this truth absolutely clear: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and not even one thing that was created came into being without Him. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.... And the Word became flesh, and tabernacled among us (and we ourselves beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten with the Father), full of grace and truth” (John 1:1-4, 14).

None of the other religions have a Savior comparable to Jesus Christ. They have all been founded by prophets and teachers whose writings are believed to enlighten, but they do not have a Savior Who is the Creator God. Jesus Christ was the only spiritual leader Who was God manifested in the flesh. Paul fully understood this: “And undeniably, great is the mystery of godliness: ‘God was manifested in the flesh, was justified in the Spirit, was seen by angels, was proclaimed among the Gentiles, was believed on in the world, was received up in glory’ ” (I Tim. 3:16). As God in the flesh, Jesus Christ laid down His life to become the Savior of the world. At His resurrection, He was restored to His former glory and ascended to the throne of God the Father. Since that time, He has been fulfilling His work of redemption by purifying each true believer from sin, preparing a people to live forever with Him when He returns in glory. The words of Paul to Titus describe the work of Jesus Christ as God and Savior: “Looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our Savior and great God, Jesus Christ; Who gave Himself for us, so that He might redeem us from all lawlessness, and might purify for Himself a unique people, zealous of good works” (Titus 2:13-14).

All prophets or teachers who claim that there is another savior, or another way to eternal life, are frauds. God never sent them. Jesus Christ made it clear that all others who present themselves as “saviors” are thieves and robbers. He alone laid down His life as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world. There is no forgiveness or salvation through any other man or by any other way: “Therefore, Jesus again said to them, ‘Truly, truly I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and shall find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly. I am the good Shepherd. The good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.... I am the good Shepherd, and I know those who are Mine, and am known of those who are Mine. Just as the Father knows Me, I also know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring those also, and they shall hear My voice; and there shall be one flock and one Shepherd. On account of this, the Father loves Me: because I lay down My life, that I may receive it back again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have authority to lay it down and authority to receive it back again. This commandment I received from My Father’ ” (John 10:7-11; 14-18).

In his epistle to the Hebrews, Paul makes it clear that, as the Son of God, Jesus Christ is not only greater than any man, He is also greater than any of the angels. Before He became flesh He shared the same glory and power as God the Father, but left His glory in order to bring redemption and salvation to mankind. Now He again shares the power and glory of the Father: “God, Who spoke to the fathers at different times in the past and in many ways by the prophets, has spoken to us in these last days by His Son, Whom He has appointed heir of all things, by Whom also He made the ages; Who, being the brightness of His glory and the exact image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His own power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high; having been made so much greater than any of the angels, inasmuch as He has inherited a name exceedingly superior to them. For to which of the angels did He ever say, ‘You are My Son; this day I have begotten You’? And again, ‘I will be a Father to Him, and He will be a Son to Me’? And again, when He brought the Firstborn into the world, He said, ‘Let all the angels of God worship Him’ ” (Heb. 1:1-6).

Forgiveness of Sin Comes Only Through Jesus Christ

The words of the apostle Peter to the religious leaders of the Jews make it absolutely clear that salvation from sin and the gift of eternal life come only through the name of Jesus Christ. After Peter and John healed a man who had been lame from birth, they were arrested and brought before the chief priests and Pharisees, who demanded to know by what name or what means the lame man had been healed. “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers of the people and elders of Israel, if we are examined this day as to a good work done to the infirm man, by what power he has been cured, be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarean, Whom you crucified, but Whom God has raised from the dead, by Him this man stands before you whole. This is the Stone that was set at naught by you, the builders, which has become the Head of the corner. And there is no salvation in any other, for neither is there another name under heaven which has been given among men, by which we must be saved’ ” (Acts 4:8-12).

The only way to receive forgiveness of sin and salvation is through Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God. Jesus Christ came for the purpose of bringing repentance and remission of sins to light. After they were arrested a second time, the apostles answered the religious authorities the following: “And they brought them in and set them before the Sanhedrin. And the high priest asked them, saying, ‘Did we not order you by a direct command not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, with the purpose of bringing this man’s blood upon us.’ But Peter and the apostles answered and said, ‘We are obligated to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus Whom you killed by hanging Him on a tree. Him has God exalted by His right hand to be a Prince and Savior, to give repentance and remission of sins to Israel’ ” (Acts 5:27-31).

No other religion has a Savior Who gave up His immortal existence as God and took on human flesh in order to die for the sins of mankind. As the Creator God, He emptied Himself of His power and glory and submitted to the shame and brutality of death by crucifixion: “… Christ Jesus; Who, although He existed in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but emptied Himself, and was made in the likeness of men, and took the form of a servant; and being found in the manner of man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Therefore, God has also highly exalted Him and bestowed upon Him a name which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of beings in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:5-11).

The Lordship of Jesus Christ and the salvation of God through His name, has no equal in heaven or on earth. Paul makes this absolutely clear: “In Whom we have redemption through His own blood, even the remission of sins; Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; because by Him were all things created, the things in heaven and the things on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether they be thrones, or lordships, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him and for Him. And He is before all, and by Him all things subsist. And He is the Head of the body, the church; Who is the beginning, the firstborn from among the dead, so that in all things He Himself might hold the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and, having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things to Himself; by Him, whether the things on the earth, or the things in heaven” (Col. 1:14-20).

Forgiveness of sin and reconciliation with God the Father cannot be granted by any religious leader on earth. That is the work of Jesus Christ Himself, Who alone became the sin offering for the world: “For He [God the Father] made Him Who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (II Cor. 5:21).

The forgiveness of sins is granted through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ to all who truly repent and confess their sins to God the Father. The apostle John shows the way: “If we confess our own sins [to God the Father through Jesus Christ], He is faithful and righteous, to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And yet, if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father; Jesus Christ the Righteous; and He is the propitiation for our sins; and not for our sins only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (I John 1:9-10; 2:1-2).

Forgiveness of sin is imparted by the grace of God through the blood of Jesus Christ, which is able to cover all sins. No good work, acts of penitence, or prayers to socalled saints can substitute for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which alone brings remission of sins. All the religious practices and traditions of men are worthless. These works cannot obtain forgiveness or salvation: “Now you were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you walked in times past according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now working within the children of disobedience; among whom also we all once had our conduct in the lusts of our flesh, doing the things willed by the flesh and by the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as the rest of the world. But God, Who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, has made us alive together with Christ.... For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this especially is not of your own selves; it is the gift of God, not from works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto the good works that God ordained beforehand in order that we might walk in them” (Eph. 2:1-10).

The whole purpose of Jesus Christ’s coming in the flesh was to sacrifice His life for the sins of the world in order that all who believe in Him may receive forgiveness of sin and the gift of eternal life. John was inspired to write, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish, but may have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

This third edition (with its third printing) has been published to bring the life of the true Jesus Christ of the Gospels into clear focus, and to provide you with a more complete understanding of what God has done for the world and for you personally. The most profound event in the history of the universe and the world was the coming of Jesus Christ, the Creator of all things, to this earth as a human being. God actually came to the earth and became flesh and blood. Jesus Christ’s life, death and resurrection have had a massive impact on humanity, even altering the course of history. Whether people have understood or believed this does not take away from the meaning and magnitude of the life of Jesus Christ.

Millions of people in the Western world profess to believe in Jesus Christ, but only a very few truly know Him. This perplexing dilemma has occurred because the real meaning and purpose of Jesus’ life has been misunderstood, obscured and darkened by the very ones who teach Christianity. The simple truths of Scripture have been glossed over and misinterpreted, and doctrinal facts have been presented as fallacies. In addition, religious traditions of men have been superimposed upon the Scriptural record of Jesus’ life. These traditions have taken away from the actual eyewitness accounts that are preserved in the four Gospels.

Many theologians and scholars have no understanding of the historical facts that were recorded by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Thus, they have interpreted the Gospel accounts to fit their own traditional beliefs—or rejected them altogether. As a result, the Gospels as historical documents have been discounted and rejected as unreliable and contradictory. Some erroneously teach that the Gospels were not put into written form for nearly three hundred years after Christ, and therefore have little or no historical value and must be rejected as myth. However, when we examine secular histories of the time of Christ, we find that the opposite is true. Other contemporary histories verify that the Gospels contain accurate historical records (see Appendix A). Moreover, the writings of the apostle Paul show that the teachings of Jesus Christ were written down from the very beginning (Luke 1:1-4; Acts 6:1-4; II Tim. 3:15; Gal. 3:1).

The Gospel of Matthew was the first Gospel to be written and published. There is evidence that Matthew’s writings were being circulated among believers in the early months of the New Testament church, with the complete book already available between two to four years after Jesus Christ’s resurrection. Later, but during the lifetimes of the apostles, the other Gospels were compiled and published. Mark’s Gospel was written under Peter’s supervision between 38 and 44 AD. Luke wrote his Gospel and the book of Acts before Paul died. In beginning his Gospel account, Luke states that many accounts of the teachings of Jesus Christ had already been written: “Since many have taken in hand to compile a written narration of the matters which have been fully believed among us, as they delivered them to us, those who from the beginning had been eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word, it seemed good to me also, having accurately understood everything from the very first, to write these things in an orderly sequence to you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you might know the absolute certainty of the things in which you have been instructed” (Luke 1:1-4).

In his account of Jesus Christ’s birth and the beginning of His ministry, Luke includes some specific historical events. These records, when compared with secular history and the calculations of the Hebrew Calendar, confirm that the Gospels are historically accurate. Three of the Gospel writers were eyewitnesses of Jesus Christ’s ministry, and the fourth one, Luke, had read their firsthand accounts, which he used to write his Gospel under the tutelage of the apostle Paul.

The three synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke vary in the details that are included in their respective accounts, but these variations do not indicate a lack of accuracy or consistency. However, when they are properly understood, these additional details help to clarify the facts. The Gospel of John, which was the last to be written, does not contain the same details that are found in the synoptic Gospels. John was well acquainted with the other three Gospel accounts, but God did not inspire him to follow the same pattern in writing his Gospel. Instead, John based his Gospel on the framework of the Hebrew Calendar. The details that John recorded are not included in the other Gospels. As a result, the Gospel of John adds significantly to our understanding of the events at Jesus’ last Passover, and enables us to place His burial and resurrection in their actual historical context.

While the world is searching for the historical Jesus outside the writings of the Bible, the most accurate historical record of the life of Jesus Christ has been preserved in the Gospels. This is the source that God has inspired to be written and preserved for us. The Word of God has withstood the test of time and the determined, crazed attacks of disbelievers.

In our time, as never before, the forces of evil are working together in a final attempt to destroy all knowledge of the true Jesus Christ. As the world moves headlong toward globalization in business and commerce, a New World Order in government, and a polytheistic world religion, a full understanding of the life of Jesus Christ is absolutely essential. Our personal salvation depends on understanding and living by the true Jesus Christ, Who is the only Redeemer and Savior of mankind. Without this precious knowledge from the Word of God, we may be deceived into believing the lie that will soon engulf the whole world.

This third edition, third printing of A Harmony of the Gospels in Modern English— The Life of Jesus Christ has been published to make the Scriptural truth of Jesus’ life known. The simple facts contained in the four Gospels, when understood in their Scriptural and historical time setting, reveal the dynamic and awesome meaning and purpose of Jesus’ life. As you read and study this book, it is the author’s hope that you will find truth more gratifying and rewarding than tradition or myth. Remember that the Gospel accounts were written that you may believe and have eternal life: “But these have been written, so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing, you may have life through His name” (John 20:31).

Fred R. Coulter
2001, 2006, 2013

WHEN WAS JESUS CHRIST BORN?

The date of Jesus Christ’s birth has been a topic of controversy for centuries. Various theories place the year of His birth in a range from 6 BC to 1 AD. As to the season of the year, most believe that He was born in the winter. Some claim that He was born in the spring, while others feel that He was born in the fall. Still others are inclined to shrug their shoulders, declaring that they don’t know and, it really doesn’t matter. While some theologians claim that it is not possible to know when Jesus was born, they readily accept December 25 as the day to celebrate His birth. They reason that the date or season is not as important as remembering the event.

Although an abundance of scriptural and historical evidence proves Jesus was not born on December 25, the majority of professing Christians still observe this date as His birthday. Few realize that this observance is based on ancient pagan tradition that predates Jesus Christ’s birth by thousands of years. Age-old customs of pagan origin entered the Christian churches many centuries ago and are now viewed as an essential part of Christian worship. Most churches today encourage their members to freely participate in the popular customs of the Christmas season.

While supposedly honoring the birth of Jesus Christ, the traditional observance of Christmas actually distorts the scriptural story of His birth and ignores the revealed purpose of His coming to earth in the flesh. His birth is, in fact, the chief cornerstone and foundation of true Christianity. The birth of Jesus Christ fulfilled a number of significant prophecies that are recorded in the Old Testament. A proper understanding of the true circumstances of His birth will provide deeper insight into the meaning of His life and the ultimate purpose of His coming.

The scriptural and historical facts concerning the birth of Jesus Christ are readily available to all who are willing to examine them. These combined records clearly reveal the year, season and the approximate day of Jesus Christ’s birth.

JESUS WAS BORN DURING THE REIGN OF HEROD THE GREAT

The Gospel of Matthew records that the birth of Jesus Christ occurred during the reign of Herod the Great. When Herod heard that the prophesied king of the Jews had been born, he feared that the Jews would begin to revolt against his rule. Matthew’s account follows: “Now after Jesus had been born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, behold, Magi from the east arrived at Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is the One Who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east, and have come to worship Him.’ But when Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him” (Matt. 2:1-3).

Intending to slay the infant king, Herod summoned the scribes and chief priests to Jerusalem to inquire where the Messiah would be born, according to the prophecies in the Old Testament. Upon learning that Christ was prophesied to be born in Bethlehem, Herod instructed the Magi to return and inform him after they had found Him. But God intervened, through a dream to Joseph, to prevent Herod from harming the young Jesus:

“And after hearing the king, they departed; and behold, the star that they had seen in the east went in front of them, until it came and stood over the house where the little Child was. And after seeing the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.

“And when they had come into the house, they found the little Child with Mary His mother, and they bowed down and worshiped Him; then they opened their treasures and presented their gifts to Him—gold and frankincense and myrrh.

“But being divinely instructed in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their own country by another way. Now after they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, ‘Arise and take the little Child and His mother, and escape into Egypt, and remain there until I shall tell you; for Herod is about to seek the little Child to destroy Him.’ And he arose by night and took the little Child and His mother, and went into Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod ...” (Matt. 2:9-15).

Matthew’s account of these events indicates that Herod died not long after Jesus was taken to Egypt. After the death of Herod, Joseph brought Jesus and Mary back from Egypt to Nazareth, a city in the district of Galilee: “Now when Herod had died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in Egypt in a dream, saying, ‘Arise and take the little Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who were seeking the life of the little Child have died.’ And he arose and took the little Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of Herod his father, he was afraid to go there; and after being divinely instructed in a dream, he went into the parts of Galilee. And after arriving, he dwelt in a city called Nazareth ...” (Matt. 2:19-23).

This scriptural record offers conclusive evidence that the birth of Jesus Christ occurred a short time before the death of Herod the Great. Through the historical writings of the noted historian Josephus, we can determine precisely when Herod reigned and when he died. Josephus reveals the specific year that Herod was crowned king at Rome: “... And thus did this man receive the kingdom, having obtained it on the hundred and eighty-fourth olympiad, when Caius Domitius Calvinus was consul the second time and Caius Asinius Pollio [the first time]” (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 14:14:5).

An olympiad is four years in length and is reckoned from July to July. The 184th olympiad extended from July 1, 44 BC, to June 30, 40 BC. Records of this period show that Calvinus and Pollio were consuls in the year 714 AUC (years from the founding of Rome), which was 40 BC (Finegan, Handbook of Biblical Chronology, p. 96). Thus we know that Herod became king in 40 BC. While the olympiad was reckoned from July 1 to June 30, the calendar year for consuls was reckoned from January 1 to December 31. Since the 184th olympiad ended on June 30, 40 BC, and the consuls did not take office until January 1 of that year, we know that Herod was made king sometime during the six-month period from January through June of 40 BC.

Although Herod was crowned at Rome in 40 BC, three years passed before he conquered Jerusalem and began to reign in that city: “When the rigour of winter was over, Herod removed his army, and came near to Jerusalem and pitched his camp hard by the city. Now this was the third year since he had been made king at Rome ...” (Josephus, Ant., 14:15:14).

While Herod launched his attack in the spring, it was not until the summer of that year that he was able to take the city of Jerusalem. Josephus reveals the specific date of this event: “... for it was summer time.... This destruction befell the city of Jerusalem when Marcus Agrippa and Canninius Gallus were consuls of Rome, on the hundred eighty and fifth olympiad, on the third month, on the solemnity of the fast ...” (Ibid., 14:16:2, 4).

The 185th olympiad extended from July 1, 40 BC, to June 30, 36 BC. Agrippa and Gallus became consuls in 717 AUC, which corresponds to 37 BC. The fast of the third month that Josephus refers to was the 23rd of Sivan, according to the Hebrew Calendar, which was June 22 on the Julian Calendar. Herod completed the conquest of the city of Jerusalem in the summer of 37 BC, and began to reign as king in Jerusalem at that time.

Josephus provides additional historical records concerning the reign of Herod that enable us to determine the time of his death: “... he [Herod] died ... having reigned since he had procured Antigonus to be slain, thirty-four years; but since he had been declared king by the Romans, thirty-seven” (Ibid., 17:8:1). Josephus records elsewhere in the same book that Antigonus was killed shortly after Herod had conquered Jerusalem (Ibid., 14:16:4).

In linking Antigonus’s death with Herod’s conquest of Jerusalem in 37 BC, Josephus confirms that Herod did not reign in Jerusalem until three years after his coronation at Rome. Consequently, there are two methods of reckoning the reign of Herod the Great—the Jewish method, which counts thirty-four years from 37 BC, and the Roman method, which counts thirty-seven years from 40 BC. Since the first year of his reign is included in the count, both methods of reckoning arrive at 4 BC as the end of Herod’s reign. This date is conclusively established by the records of history as the year that Herod died.

Josephus’ detailed account of Herod’s death enables us to further pinpoint the time of the year. In his account, Josephus records that Herod died after an eclipse of the moon but before Passover. The lunar eclipses that occurred during this period of history have been calculated in the book Solar and Lunar Eclipses of the Ancient near East by M. Kudler and E. Mickler (published by Neukirchen-Bluyn: Verlas Butson & Bercker Kevelaer, 1971). Here is a listing of the lunar eclipses:

7 BC - No eclipses
6 BC - No eclipses
5 BC - Total eclipse, March 23, 8:30 PM
5 BC - Total eclipse, September 15, 10:30 PM
4 BC - Partial eclipse, March 13, 2:20 AM
3 BC - No eclipses
2 BC - No eclipses

The first lunar eclipse to occur during this period was a total eclipse on March 23 in the year 5 BC. In this year the Passover, Nisan 14, was observed by the Jews on March 22. Because the Scriptural reckoning of days is from sunset to sunset, the Passover day extended from sunset March 21 to sunset March 22. Since the total eclipse that occurred at 8:30 PM on the night of March 23 was after Passover and not before, this was not the eclipse that Josephus refers to in conjunction with Herod’s death.

The second total eclipse of the moon during this period took place on September 15, 5 BC, which was a significant day by Scriptural reckoning. According to the Hebrew Calendar, September 15 was the 14th of Tishri (the seventh month). The moon was totally eclipsed at 10:30 PM that night, which was the beginning of the 15th of Tishri, the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles. The twin total eclipses of the moon in 5 BC are so rare that on these dates it only occurs once in 2717 years (Canon of Lunar Eclipses 1500 B.C.—A. D. by Bao-Lin and Alan D. Faila).

Josephus’ account of this period of Jewish history includes a number of events which point to this eclipse as the one that occurred shortly before the death of Herod. In recounting the final months of Herod’s reign, Josephus gives us an accurate time frame for establishing the date of Jesus Christ’s birth.

HISTORICAL RECORDS OF HEROD’S DEATH REVEAL THE YEAR OF CHRIST’S BIRTH

Josephus gives us detailed records of some of the events that took place before the death and burial of Herod. These events are listed chronologically in the synchronized Hebrew/Roman calendar on pages 33-36. Events that are not specifically dated by historical records have been given approximate dates based on the evidence that is available in history. This calendar accurately depicts the sequence of events that took place during that time period.

Josephus relates that shortly before his death, Herod sent ambassadors to Rome. As noted on the synchronized Hebrew/Roman calendar, this action is estimated to have occurred during the week ending August 26, 5 BC. Sometime during the next week, a group of zealots stormed the temple and proceeded to chop down the golden idol that Herod had erected over one of its gates. Herod learned that Matthias, the high priest, had incited the zealots to undertake this action in the mistaken belief that Herod was dead. Herod punished Matthias by removing him from the office of high priest and burning him alive, as Josephus relates. In his writings, Josephus shows that these events took place in the fall of the year and were marked by an eclipse of the moon. Josephus’ gives this detailed account: “He deprived Matthias of the high priesthood, as in part an occasion of this action, and made Joazar, who was Matthias’ wife’s brother, high priest in his stead. Now it happened, that during the time of the high priesthood of this Matthias, there was another person made high priest for a single day, that very day which the Jews observe as a fast day [the day of Atonement, the 10th day of Tishri, the seventh month] ‘the great day of expiation.’ The occasion was this: Matthias the high priest, on the night before the day when the fast was to be celebrated, seemed in a dream to have conversation [sexual relations] with his wife: and because he could not officiate himself on that account, Joseph, the son of Ellemus, his kinsman, assisted him in that sacred office. But Herod deprived this Matthias of the high priesthood, and [later] burnt the other Matthias [on Tishri 14], who had raised the sedition, with his companions, alive. And that very night there was an eclipse of the moon [Tishri 15]” (Ant., 17:6:4).

This eclipse was obviously an autumnal eclipse, as it occurred in Tishri, the seventh month of the Hebrew Calendar, which corresponds to September/October on the Julian Calendar. As documented in the record of lunar eclipses by Kudler and Mickler, only one autumnal eclipse occurred during that period of history. This was the eclipse of September 15, 5 BC, on the evening beginning the Feast of Tabernacles— the 15th day of Tishri.

Josephus records the decline of Herod’s health after this autumnal eclipse and the state of insanity that preceded his death. Shortly after the Feast of Tabernacles, Herod’s “distemper” increased, and he sought the help of the warm mineral baths at Callirrhoe, which was located beyond the Jordan River. It has been estimated that he went there the week ending November 4. There is no record of the exact length of his stay; but since his funeral procession and burial took place after the winter, he must have stayed there approximately eight or nine weeks. He then went to Jericho, probably arriving by January 13. Josephus describes Herod’s deplorable mental state at that time: “... and came again to Jericho, where he grew so choleric, that it brought him to do all things like a madman; and though he was near his death, he contrived the following wicked designs” (Ibid., 17:6:5).

Herod commanded the principal men of his government to come to Jericho, intending to have them killed after his death. It is estimated that these men arrived at Jericho by January 20 to 27. A few days later, Herod received letters from Rome brought by the ambassadors he had sent. Although the news was good and seemed to revive him, he attempted suicide soon afterward. His attempt was not successful, as he was restrained by Achiabus. In his rage he ordered his son Antipater to be killed, and he himself died five days later. Josephus records, “When he had done these things, he died, the fifth day after he had caused Antipater to be slain; having reigned, since he had procured Antigonus to be slain, thirty-four years; but since he had been declared king by the Romans, thirty-seven” (Ibid., 17:8:1).

Herod died thirty-seven years from the time of his coronation at Rome in the spring of 40 BC. Although his reign began near the end of the 184th olympiad (reckoned from July 1 to June 30), it is included as the first year in Josephus’ count. Based on the records of Josephus and other historical evidence, Herod’s death is estimated to have occurred during the week ending February 17, 4 BC.

After Herod’s death, Archelaus succeeded Herod as king. He carried out Herod’s wishes for an extended period of mourning and a long funeral before his burial. The time needed for these ceremonies was approximately twenty-five days, not counting Sabbaths. The chronology of these events is laid out step by step on the synchronized Hebrew/Roman calendar on page 36. As illustrated in this calendar, the funeral procession finished its journey with the arrival of Herod’s body in Jerusalem during the week ending March 24, 4 BC, at which time Archelaus began his rule in Jerusalem.

The records of Josephus clearly contradict the commonly held theory that the eclipse of March 13, 4 BC, was the eclipse before Herod’s death. If Herod had died after March 13, the extended mourning and funeral procession could not possibly have been completed by March 24. As Josephus shows, these extended ceremonies began many weeks before the Passover day and ended with Herod’s burial in the middle of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which followed the Passover. To further substantiate the time of Herod’s burial, Josephus records that at that time Archelaus slaughtered 3,000 people who had crowded into the temple area to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This slaughter occurred during the week which ended April 14, 4 BC, confirming that Herod’s burial took place about two months after his death.

As recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea during the reign of Herod the Great. Sometime after His birth, Jesus was taken to Egypt and remained there for a period of time before Herod died. Matthew’s record of these events indicates that the birth of Jesus occurred several months before the death of Herod. Since Herod’s death occurred very early in 4 BC—approximately mid- February—it is evident that Jesus was born sometime during the preceding year. Thus Herod’s death places Christ’s birth in the year 5 BC. The Gospel of Luke provides additional evidence that enables us to know the specific season of the year in which Christ was born.

SCRIPTURAL EVIDENCE OF THE SEASON OF JESUS CHRIST’S BIRTH

In his account of the birth of Jesus Christ, Luke records a major historical event of that time. Luke writes, “Now it happened in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. (This registration first occurred when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) Then all went to be registered, each to his own city” (Luke 2:1-3).

The taxation and census decree by Caesar Augustus was carried out according to the Jewish custom which required that such taxes be collected after the fall harvest (See Unger’s Bible Dictionary, Chronology, New Testament, pp. 199-200). Luke’s record of this taxation reveals that the birth of Jesus took place during the autumn. When we combine Luke’s record with Matthew’s account of Herod’s death, it is evident that Jesus was born in the fall of 5 BC.

Luke gives us additional evidence that Jesus was born during the fall festival season by recording that there were no guest rooms available at the inn when Joseph and Mary arrived in Bethlehem. The scarcity of room was due not only to the taxation but also to the festival days that followed the fall harvest. Many thousands of people were already in the Jerusalem area to observe the fall festival season. Bethlehem was extremely crowded because of its proximity to Jerusalem. Since there was no room at the inn, Joseph and Mary were forced to lodge in a barn. Jesus was born there and was laid in a manger.

In addition, Luke makes it clear that Jesus was not born in the winter by recording that shepherds were tending their flocks in the fields that night (Luke 2:8). The shepherds in that region of Palestine always brought their flocks out of the fields before the onset of winter. The flocks were never left to graze in the pastures during the winter months because the cold weather prevented the grass from growing. There is much discussion in Bible commentaries for those who desire to study these points further.

RECORDS OF JOHN’S MINISTRY CONFIRM JESUS’ BIRTH IN THE FALL OF 5 BC

In his account of the beginning of John the Baptist’s ministry, Luke gives another historical reference that helps to verify the date of Jesus Christ’s birth: “Now in the fifteenth year of the government of Tiberius Caesar ... the word of God came unto John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness. And he went into all the country around the Jordan, proclaiming the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” (Luke 3:1-3).

Luke tells us that John the Baptist began his ministry in the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar. A dispute has existed over which year of Tiberius’ reign was reckoned by Luke as the fifteenth year because the first two years of Tiberius’ reign were a co-rulership with Augustus. Consequently, there are conflicting opinions as to whether the Scriptural record includes Tiberius’ co-reign or counts from the beginning of his sole reign.

The dispute is settled when Luke’s record is linked with other scriptural and historical records of that time. The reign of Tiberius is firmly established by historical records dating the death of Augustus. Augustus died August 19 in the year that Sextus Apuleius and Sextus Sillus were consuls. The year of the consuls’ rule was 767 AUC, which was 14 AD. This date is confirmed by the fact that Augustus died 44 years, lacking 13 days, after the Battle of Actium (Dio’s Roman History, Loeb ed., Book LVI: 29-30, vol. 7, pp. 65, 69).

Josephus records that the Battle of Actium took place during the 187th olympiad in the seventh year of the reign of Herod (Ant., 15:5:1-2; Wars, 1:20:3). The 187th olympiad was the four-year period from July 1, 32 BC, to June 30, 28 BC. The Battle of Actium took place during the second year of the olympiad, which was July 1, 31 BC to June 30, 30 BC. This was the seventh year of Herod’s reign by Jewish reckoning, but the tenth year of his reign by Roman reckoning. Counting forward 44 years from the Battle of Actium, which ended in September, 31 BC, we arrive at 14 AD as the year of Augustus’ death.

Records of the reign of Augustus reveal that during his final years, “... the consuls caused a law to be passed ... that he [Tiberius] should govern the provinces jointly with Augustus and hold the census with him” (Seutonius, Ed. J.C. Rolfe, LCL, vol. 1, p. 323).

Tiberius began his co-rulership with Augustus in 12 AD, two years before the death of Augustus. Counting from this date, we arrive at 26 AD as the fifteenth year of Tiberius and the beginning of John the Baptist’s ministry. Other Scriptural and historical records confirm that John the Baptist began his ministry in the spring of 26 AD and that Jesus began His ministry six months later in the fall of 26 AD.

Major supporting evidence is found in the Gospel of John, which records the words of the Jews at the time of the first Passover of Christ’s ministry. During this Passover season, the Jews stated that the temple had been forty-six years in building (John 2:20). We can determine the date of this Passover, and the first year of Christ’s ministry, by counting from the year that the building of the temple began.

Josephus records that the building of the temple was begun during the eighteenth year of Herod’s reign: “And now Herod, in the eighteenth year of his reign [that is, the eighteenth in Jerusalem, but the twenty-first year from his coronation in Rome] ... undertook a very great work, that is to build of himself the temple of God” (Ant., 15:11:1).

The eighteenth year of Herod’s reign in Jerusalem, which was the first year of building the temple, was from the summer of 20 BC to the summer of 19 BC. Counting forward, the forty-sixth year of building was from the summer of 26 AD to the summer of 27 AD. The only Passover that occurred during this period of time was the Passover of 27 AD. Thus, scriptural and historical records place the first Passover of Christ’s ministry in the spring of 27 AD. Since His ministry began in the fall of the year, we can date its beginning to the autumn of 26 AD.

THE BIRTH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST A KEY TO THE DAY OF JESUS CHRIST’S BIRTH

In the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke, we find a detailed account of the circumstances and events that preceded the birth of Jesus Christ. In this account, Luke reveals that the conception of Jesus by the virgin Mary occurred six months after the conception of John by Mary’s aunt, Elizabeth, the wife of Zacharias. Zacharias was a priest of God who served at the temple in Jerusalem.

At the beginning of his account, Luke records, “There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest of the course of Abijah, Zacharias by name....And it came to pass that in fulfilling his priestly service before God in the order of his course, according to the custom of the priestly service, it fell to him by lot to burn incense when he entered into the temple of the Lord” (Luke 1:5, 8-9).

Zacharias was executing his priestly duties according to the order and course of Abijah. This information is most helpful in establishing the time frame of Luke’s account. In ancient Israel, King David divided the duties of the priests into twentyfour working courses, or shifts (I Chron. 24:7-19). Each course or shift was assigned to work one full week, from noon Sabbath to noon Sabbath (Talmud, Sukkah). The Old Testament records the exact rotation and time order of the priestly courses, which continued down to New Testament times. Zacharias was of the course of Abijah, which was the eighth course or shift in the series of yearly assignments for the priesthood.

Josephus (noted Jewish historian) was a priest of the first course or shift. Josephus confirms that the priestly courses established by King David were still functioning in New Testament times. He records, “He [King David] divided them also into courses ... and he found [or established] of these priests, twenty-four courses ... and he ordained that one course should minister to God eight days, from sabbath to sabbath ... and this partition hath remained to this day” (Ant., 7:14:7). This record confirms that the courses of priests remained in effect down to the time of Zacharias and the birth of Jesus Christ. These courses undoubtedly continued until the temple was destroyed in 70 AD.

The Talmud reveals that the first priestly course, or shift, began in the first full week of the first month of the Hebrew Calendar. The second course worked the second week. This rotation continued on a week-by-week basis through all twentyfour courses. Each priestly course served a one-week shift twice each year. In addition, all courses were required to work during the three weeks in the year that coincided with the three festival seasons: Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. Thus all the priests shared equally in the priestly responsibilities for the entire year.

We know that the angel Gabriel delivered the promise of John’s birth while Zacharias was serving in his priestly course in the temple. The Gospel of Luke reveals that John was born six months before Jesus (Luke 1:35-36). Our examination of both the scriptural and historical records has established that Jesus was born in the fall of 5 BC. Accordingly, John the Baptist was born in the spring of 5 BC and was conceived six months earlier in the summer of 6 BC. Knowing the year that John was conceived enables us to determine the exact period of time that Zacharias was serving in the temple.

In the year 6 BC, the first day of the first month (the month of Nisan according to the Hebrew Calendar) was a weekly Sabbath. According to calculations synchronizing the Hebrew Calendar and the Julian Calendar, this Sabbath was March 20. Projecting forward, the assignments course by course, or week by week, were: Course 1, the first week; Course 2, the second week; all courses for the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread, the third week; Course 3, the fourth week; Course 4, the fifth week; Course 5, the sixth week; Course 6, the seventh week; Course 7, the eighth week; Course 8, the ninth week; and all courses the tenth week, which was the week of Pentecost. (See the synchronized Hebrew/Roman calendar on page 33.)

Because Zacharias was of the course of Abijah, the eighth course, he was assigned the ninth and tenth weeks from the beginning of the year. These weeks of service were counted from noon Sabbath to noon Sabbath. The ninth week was from Iyar 27 through Sivan 5, which corresponds to May 15 through May 22 on the Julian Calendar. The tenth week, Sivan 5 through Sivan 12, or May 22 through May 29, was the week of Pentecost. Sometime during these two weeks, the angel Gabriel appeared to Zacharias in the temple and prophesied the birth of John.

Although the exact time of Gabriel’s appearance is not recorded, it is reasonable to conclude that Gabriel delivered this message from God on the day of Pentecost. The announcement that Zacharias’s wife Elizabeth would bear a son came during the two weeks in which Zacharias served at the temple, and the day of Pentecost occurred on Sivan 6, in the middle of the two-week period. Since John the Baptist’s birth was a major fulfillment of prophecy, it is appropriate that God would send Gabriel on a holy day to announce the promise of his conception to Zacharias. Luke records the angel Gabriel’s message to Zacharias as he was in the temple offering incense: “According to the custom of the priestly service, it fell to him by lot to burn incense when he entered into the temple of the Lord. And all the multitude of the people outside were praying at the hour of the burning of incense. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. And when he saw the angel, Zacharias was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

“But the angel said to him, ‘Fear not, Zacharias, because your supplication has been heard; and your wife Elizabeth shall bear a son to you, and you shall call his name John. And he shall be a joy and exultation to you; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great before the Lord. And he shall never drink wine or strong drink in any form, but he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord’ ” (Luke 1:9-17).

Because Zacharias did not believe God’s promise, Gabriel pronounced a sign from God. Zacharias would be unable to speak until the child was born and given the name John, which God had chosen (Luke 1:13, 19-20). After completing his service at the temple, Zacharias returned to his house, and John was conceived in the following days: “Now it came to pass that when the days of his service were fulfilled, he departed to his house. And after those days, Elizabeth his wife conceived, but hid herself for five months ...”(Luke 1:23-24).

The Gospel account indicates that Elizabeth became pregnant shortly after Zacharias returned home. Since he returned on May 29, it is reasonable to assume that she became pregnant between May 30 and June 12 (Sivan 13-26) in the year 6 BC. This estimated time allows a two-week conception period.

Luke was inspired to record that Elizabeth was in the sixth month of her pregnancy when the virgin Mary was miraculously impregnated through the power of the Holy Spirit and conceived Jesus: “Now behold, Elizabeth your kinswoman has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren” (Luke 1:36). Based on the estimated time of conception, the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy was November/December by Roman reckoning.

Luke gives additional details that indicate Mary became pregnant in the last two weeks of Elizabeth’s sixth month. Mary was told by the angel Gabriel that Elizabeth was already in the sixth month of her pregnancy. Mary then visited Elizabeth and stayed with her almost three months (Luke 1:39-40, 56). Soon after Mary left, Elizabeth reached her full term of nine months, and John was born sometime between Adar 19 and Nisan 3, or February 27 and March 11, in 5 BC.

As illustrated by the synchronized Hebrew/Roman calendar on page 34, Mary’s probable conception period coincides with the last two weeks of Elizabeth’s sixth month. That two-week period was Keslev 17-30, or November 28-December 11. Projecting forward nine months from the estimated time of Mary’s conception, we arrive at the two-week period during which Christ was probably born. This two-week time period was Elul 24-Tishri 8, or August 27-September 9. As the synchronized Hebrew/Roman calendar shows on page 35, the Feast of Trumpets was the middle day of this two-week period.

Many passages in the Bible show that the Feast of Trumpets pictures the second coming of Jesus Christ. The Day of the Lord and the angelic trumpets in the book of Revelation clearly project this symbolism and meaning. Is it not reasonable to conclude that God also chose the Feast of Trumpets as the day of Jesus Christ’s birth? The apostle Paul reveals that the prophesied birth of Jesus was fulfilled at a set time. Paul wrote, “But when the time for the fulfillment came, God sent forth His own Son, born of a woman ...” (Gal. 4:4). While the Gospels do not reveal the specific day, the birth of Jesus Christ on the Feast of Trumpets would be in harmony with God’s great plan as portrayed through His annual holy days.

Although the Scriptures do not record the exact date of His birth, the biblical and historical evidence makes it abundantly clear that Jesus Christ was not born in the middle of winter, or any time during winter or spring. All the evidence clearly points to the two-week period around the Feast of Trumpets, in the fall of 5 BC, as the time of the birth of Jesus Christ. Professing Christians today need to open their eyes to this truth and forsake their misguided belief that Jesus was born on December 25. The observance of Christmas neither honors Jesus Christ nor commemorates His birth. In fact, the traditional festivities that are observed each year at Christmas time are a perpetuation of ancient pagan customs that no true Christian should practice (Deut. 12:29-32, Jer. 10:1-8). These traditions, like other religious traditions of this world, are neither pleasing nor acceptable to God (Mark 7:6-9), and those who practice them dishonor God the Father and Jesus Christ.

The Birth of Jesus
The Calculated Hebrew Calendar with the Julian Calendar

This synchronized calculated Hebrew/Julian calendar illustrates the time period from March 6 BC to April 4 BC. The sequence of scriptural, historical and astronomical events depicted in this calendar reveals the actual year, season, and the most likely day of Jesus Christ’s birth. (See Appendix A for “A Synchronized Chart of Historical and Scriptural Records That Establish the Year of Christ’s Birth,” pp. 348-352.) Note: The columns read downward—left column first.

PART I

FROM JESUS’ PRE-EXISTENCE AS GOD TO THE FIRST PASSOVER OF HIS MINISTRY IN 27 AD

1. JESUS CHRIST’S PRE-EXISTENCE AS CREATOR GOD OF ALL THINGS AND THE LORD GOD OF ISRAEL
JOHN 1

1. In the beginning a was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2. He was in the beginning with God.

3. All things came into being through Him, and not even one thing that was created came into being without Him.

4. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

5. And the light shines in the darkness, but the darkness does not comprehend it.

a - Gen. 1:1

2. LUKE’S PREFACE AND DECLARATION
LUKE 1

1. Since many have taken in hand to compile a written narration of the matters which have been fully believed among us,

2. As they delivered them to us, those who from the beginning had been eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word,

3. It seemed good to me also, having accurately understood everything from the very first, to write these things in an orderly sequence to you, most excellent Theophilus,

4. So that you might know the absolute certainty of the things in which you have been instructed.

3. THE CONCEPTION OF JOHN THE BAPTIST
LUKE 1

5. There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest of the course of Abijah, a Zacharias by name; and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

6. Now they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord.

7. But they did not have a child, as Elizabeth was barren; and both were well advanced in age.

8. And it came to pass that in fulfilling his priestly service before God in the order of his course,

9. According to the custom of the priestly service, it fell to him by lot to burn incense when he entered into the temple of the Lord.

10. And all the multitude of the people outside were praying at the hour of the burning of incense.

11. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.

12. And when he saw the angel, Zacharias was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

a - I Chron. 24:10

13. But the angel said to him, “Fear not, Zacharias, because your supplication has been heard; and your wife Elizabeth shall bear a son to you, and you shall call his name John.

14. And he shall be a joy and exultation to you; and many shall rejoice at his birth.

15. For he shall be great before the Lord. And he shall never drink wine or strong drink in any form, b but he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb.

16. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

17. And he shall go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” c

18. Then Zacharias said to the angel, “By what means shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.”

19. And the angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God; and I was sent to speak to you, and to announce this good news to you.

20. But behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day in which these things shall take place, because you did not believe my words, which shall be fulfilled in their time.”

21. Now the people were expecting Zacharias, and they were wondering why he was taking such a long time in the temple.

22. But when he came out, he was not able to speak to them. Then they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple; for he was making signs to them, but he remained mute.

23. Now it came to pass that when the days of his service were fulfilled, he departed to his house.

24. And after those days, Elizabeth his wife conceived, but hid herself for five months, saying,

25. “The Lord has intervened for me in this, at the time in which He looked upon me to take away my reproach among men.”

b - Num. 6:1-21; Judg. 13:4-5; I Sam. 1:11 c - Mal. 3:1; 4:5-6

4. THE ANGEL GABRIEL ANNOUNCES THE MIRACULOUS CONCEPTION OF JESUS CHRIST TO THE VIRGIN MARY

LUKE 1

26. And in the sixth month of her pregnancy, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

27. To a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the lineage of David; and the name of the virgin was Mary.

28. And after coming to her, the angel said, “Hail, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you; blessed are you among women.”

29. But when she saw him, she was greatly perplexed at his message, and was considering what kind of salutation this might be.

30. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, because you have found grace with God;

31. And behold, you shall conceive in your womb and give birth to a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus. a

32. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give Him the throne of David, His forefather; b

33. And He shall reign over the house of Jacob into the ages, and of His kingdom there shall be no end.” c

34. But Mary said to the angel, “How shall this be, since I have not had sexual relations with a man?”

35. And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow you; and for this reason, the Holy One being begotten in you shall be called the Son of God.

36. Now behold, Elizabeth your kinswoman has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren.

37. For with God nothing shall be impossible.”

38. And Mary said, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

a - Isa. 7:14 b - II Sam. 7:12-17 c - Isa. 9:6-7; Psa. 132:11; Jer. 23:5-6

5. AFTER THE HOLY CONCEPTION OF JESUS CHRIST, THE VIRGIN MARY LEAVES TO VISIT HER AUNT ELIZABETH, WHO IS SIX MONTHS PREGNANT WITH JOHN THE BAPTIST
LUKE 1

39. And Mary rose up in those days and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah,

40. And entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.

41. Now it came to pass that when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit,

42. And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

43. But why is this happening to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

44. For behold, as soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the babe in my womb leaped in exultation.

45. And blessed is she who has believed, for there shall be a fulfillment of the things spoken to her from the Lord.”

46. Then Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord,

47. And my spirit has exulted in God my Savior;

48. For He has looked upon the humble estate of His handmaid; for behold, from this time forward all generations shall count me blessed, a

a - I Sam. 1:11; Psa. 128:6

49. Because the Mighty One has done great things to me, and holy is His name; b

50. And His mercy is toward those who fear Him, from generation to generation. c

51. He has worked strength with His arm; He has scattered the haughty in the imagination of their hearts. d

52. He has put down rulers from thrones, and has exalted the lowly. e

53. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty. f

54. He has helped His servant Israel, in remembering His mercy, g

55. Exactly as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever.”

56. And Mary dwelt with her about three months, and returned to her house.

b - Psa. 99:3; 111:9 c - Ex. 20:6; Psa. 103:17 d - 1 Sam. 2:4; Psa. 89:10 e - Psa. 113:7; Job 5:11; 12:19; I Sam. 2:7 f - I Sam. 2:5; Psa. 107:9 g - Gen. 17:7; Isa. 41:8-9

6. THE VIRGIN MARY IS THREE MONTHS PREGNANT – AN ANGEL TELLS JOSEPH TO ACCEPT MARY AS HIS WIFE
MATTHEW 1

18. And the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: Now His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph; but before they came together, she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit.

19. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man, and not willing to expose her publicly, was planning to divorce her secretly.

20. But as he pondered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary to be your wife, because that which has been begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit.

21. And she shall give birth to a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus; for He shall save His people from their sins.”

22. Now all this came to pass, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying,

23. “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall give birth to a Son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel”; which is, being interpreted, “God with us.” a

24. And when Joseph was awakened from his sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded, and took his wife to wed;

25. But he did not have sexual relations with her until after she had given birth to her Son, the firstborn; and he called His name Jesus.

a - Isa. 7:14

7. THE BIRTH AND PROPHECIES OF JOHN THE BAPTIST
LUKE 1

57. Now Elizabeth’s time was fulfilled that she should give birth, and she bore a son.

58. And her neighbors and kinfolk heard that the Lord had magnified His mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her.

59. And it came to pass on the eighth day a that they came to circumcise the little child; and they were calling him Zacharias, after the name of his father.

60. Then his mother answered and said, “No! But he shall be named John.”

61. And they said to her, “There is no one among your kinfolk who is called by this name.”

62. Then they made signs to his father as to what he desired him to be named.

63. And after signaling for a writing tablet, he wrote, saying, “John is his name.” And they were all amazed.

64. Then his mouth was immediately opened, and his tongue was loosed; and he spoke, praising God.

65. And fear came upon all those who dwelt around them; and in the entire hill country of Judea, all these things were being talked about.

a - Gen 17:10-14; Lev. 12:3

66. And all who heard these things laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this little child be?” And the hand of the Lord was with him.

67. And Zacharias his father was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying,

68. “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has visited and has worked redemption for His people, b

69. And has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David; c

70. Exactly as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets since the world began;

71. Salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all those who hate us; d

72. To fulfill the promise of mercy made to our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant, e

73. The oath that He swore to Abraham our father; to grant us that,

74. Being saved from the hand of our enemies, we might serve Him without fear,

75. Walking in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our lives.

76. And you, little child, shall be called the prophet of the Highest; for you shall go before the face of the Lord, to prepare His ways; f

77. To give the knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins,

78. Through the deep inner compassions of our God; in which the dayspring from on high has visited us,

79. To shine upon those who are sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death, to direct our feet into the way of peace.” g

80. And the little child grew and was strengthened in spirit; and he was in the wilderness until the day of his appearing to Israel.

b - Psa. 72:18; 111:9 c - I Sam. 2:10; Psa. 18:2 d - Psa. 18:3; 106:10 e - Gen. 17:7; Lev. 26:42; Psa. 105:8 f - Mal. 3:1; Isa. 40:3 g - Isa. 8:22; 9:2

8. THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST
LUKE 2

1. Now it happened in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.

2. (This registration first occurred when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

3. Then all went to be registered, each to his own city.

4. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was from the house and lineage of David

5. To register himself along with Mary, who was betrothed to him as wife, and was great with child.

6. And it came to pass that during the time they were there, the days were fulfilled for her to give birth.

7. And she gave birth to her Son, the firstborn, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

8. Now there were shepherds in the same country, who were dwelling in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night;

9. And suddenly an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shined round about them; and they were seized with great fear.

10. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I am announcing to you glad tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people;

11. For today, in the city of David, a Savior was born to you, Who is Christ the Lord.

12. Now this is the sign for you: you shall find a Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”

13. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

14. “Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth among men of goodwill.”

15. And it came to pass, as the angels were departing from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now as far as Bethlehem, and let us see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.”

16. And they made haste, and came and found both Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in the manger.

17. Now after seeing Him, they made known everywhere the proclamation that they had been told concerning this little Child.

18. And all those who heard were filled with wonder by the things that were spoken to them by the shepherds.

19. But Mary stored up all these sayings, pondering them in her heart.

20. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was said to them.

9. JESUS’ CIRCUMCISION AND PRESENTATION AT THE TEMPLE
LUKE 2

21. Now when eight days were fulfilled for circumcising the little Child, a His name was called Jesus, which He was named by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

22. And when the days were fulfilled for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord;

23. As it is written in the law of the Lord that every male opening the womb shall be called holy to the Lord; b

24. And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord: a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.

a - Gen. 17:12; Lev. 12:3 b - Ex. 13:2

10. THE BLESSING AND PROPHECY OF SIMEON
LUKE 2

25. And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and reverent, waiting for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

26. Now it had been divinely communicated to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord.

27. And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the little Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law,

28. He also received Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said,

29. “Now You may let your servant depart in peace, O Master, according to Your word;

30. For my eyes have seen Your salvation, a

31. Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples;

32. A light for the revelation of the Gentiles and the glory of Your people Israel.” b

33. And Joseph and His mother wondered at the things that were being spoken concerning Him.

34. Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary, His mother, “Behold, this Child is set for the fall and rising up of many in Israel, and for a sign that shall be spoken against,

35. (And you also, a sword shall go through your own soul) in order that the imaginations of many hearts may be revealed.”

a - Isa. 52:10 b - Isa. 42:6; 49:6

13. THE BLESSING OF ANNA
LUKE 2

36. Now there was Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher; she was of a great age, having lived with a husband seven years from her virginity;

37. And she was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, serving day and night with fastings and supplications.

38. And at the same time she came up, giving praise to the Lord; and she spoke concerning Him to all those in Jerusalem who were waiting for redemption.

14. THE VISIT OF THE WISE MEN FROM THE EAST
MATTHEW 2

1. Now after Jesus had been born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, behold, Magi from the east arrived at Jerusalem,

2. Saying, “Where is the One Who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east, a and have come to worship Him.”

3. But when Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

4. And after gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ should be born.

5. Then they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written by the prophet:

6. ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judea, in no way are you least among the princes of Judea; for out of you shall come forth a Prince, Who shall shepherd My people Israel.’ ” b

7. Then Herod secretly called for the Magi and ascertained from them the exact time of the appearing of the star.

8. And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the little Child; and when you have found Him, bring word back to me, so that I also may go and worship Him.”

9. And after hearing the king, they departed; and behold, the star that they had seen in the east went in front of them, until it came and stood over the house where the little Child was.

10. And after seeing the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.

a - Num. 24:17 b - Mic. 5:2

15. AFTER OFFERING GIFTS TO JESUS, THE WISE MEN RETURN A DIFFERENT WAY
MATTHEW 2

11. And when they had come into the house, they found the little Child with Mary His mother, and they bowed down and worshiped Him; then they opened their treasures and presented their gifts to Him—gold and frankincense and myrrh.

12. But being divinely instructed in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their own country by another way.

16. THE ESCAPE INTO EGYPT
MATTHEW 2

13. Now after they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise and take the little Child and His mother, and escape into Egypt, and remain there until I shall tell you; for Herod is about to seek the little Child to destroy Him.”

14. And he arose by night and took the little Child and His mother, and went into Egypt,

15. And was there until the death of Herod; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I have called My Son.” a

a - Hos. 11:1

17. THE SLAUGHTER OF CHILDREN BY HEROD
MATTHEW 2

16. Then Herod, seeing that he had been mocked by the Magi, was filled with rage; and he sent and put to death all the boys who were in Bethlehem and in the area all around, from two years old and under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the Magi.

17. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying,

18. “A voice was heard in Rama, lamentation and weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; and she would not be comforted, because they were not.” a

a - Jer. 31:15

19. THE CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH OF JESUS CHRIST
LUKE 2

40. And the little Child grew and became strong in spirit, being filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.

41. Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. a

42. And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast.

43. But when they departed after completing the days, the Child Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, and Joseph and His mother did not know it;

44. But supposing Him to be in the company, they went a day’s journey, and looked for Him among the relatives and among the acquaintances.

45. And when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him.

46. Now it came to pass that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both hearing them and questioning them.

47. And all those who were listening to Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers.

48. But when they saw Him, they were astonished; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have you dealt with us in this manner? Look, Your father and I have been very distressed while searching for You.”

49. And He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Don’t you realize that I must be about My Father’s business?”

50. But they did not understand the words that He spoke to them.

51. Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He was subject to them. But His mother kept all these things in her heart.

52. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

a - Ex. 12:3-14; 23:14-17; Deut. 16:1-8

21. JOHN’S RECORD – HE WAS NOT THE CHRIST

JOHN 1

19. And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”

20. Then he freely admitted, and did not deny, but declared, “I am not the Christ.”

21. And they asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” Then they asked, “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”

22. Therefore, they said to him, “Who are you? What do you say about yourself so that we may give an answer to those who sent us?”

23. He said, “I am a voice crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.” a

24. Now those who had been sent belonged to the sect of the Pharisees,

25. And they asked him, saying to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

26. John answered them, saying, “I baptize with water, but there is One Who stands among you Whom you do not know.

27. He it is Who comes after me, but Who has precedence over me; of Whom I am not worthy to loose the thong of His sandal.”

a - Isa. 40:3

25. JOHN THE BAPTIST SHOWS JESUS TO ANDREW AND PETER

JOHN 1

28. These things took place in Bethabara across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

29. On the next day, John sees Jesus coming to him, and he says, “Behold the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world.

30. He is the One concerning Whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man Who has precedence over me, because He was before me.’

31. And I did not know Him; but that He might be manifested to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.”

32. And John testified, saying, “I myself beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and it remained upon Him.

33. And I did not know Him before; but He Who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon Whom you shall see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, He is the One Who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’

34. And I have seen, and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”

35. On the next day, John was again standing there, and two of his disciples with him.

36. And as he gazed upon Jesus walking, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!” a

37. And the two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.

38. Now when Jesus turned and saw them following, He said to them,

39. “What are you seeking?” And they said to Him, “Rabbi (which is to say, being interpreted, “Teacher”), where do You dwell?”

40. He said to them, “Come and see.” They went and saw where He was dwelling, and they remained with Him that day. Now it was about the tenth hour.

41. Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard this from John and followed Him.

42. First, he found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is, being interpreted, “the Christ”).

a - Isa. 53:7, 11; Ex. 12:3

26. PHILIP AND NATHANAEL FIND JESUS CHRIST

JOHN 1

43. And he led him to Jesus. And when He saw him, Jesus said, “You are Simon, the son of Jona. You shall be called Cephas” (which is, being interpreted, “a stone”).

44. On the next day, Jesus desired to go into Galilee; and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.”

45. Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.

46. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of Whom Moses wrote in the Law, and also the prophets, Jesus, the son of Joseph; He is from Nazareth.”

47. And Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

48. Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said concerning him, “Behold, truly an Israelite in whom there is no guile.”

49. Nathanael said to Him, “How did you know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”

50. Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.” a

51. Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I told you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? Greater things than these shall you see.”

52. And He said to him, “Truly, truly I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God descending to and ascending from the Son of man.”

a - Psa. 2:6

27. JESUS CHRIST’S FIRST RECORDED MIRACLE:
TURNING WATER INTO WINE

JOHN 2

1. Now on the third day, there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there.

2. And Jesus and His disciples were also invited to the marriage feast.

3. And when there was a shortage of wine, Jesus’ mother said to Him, “They have no wine.”

4. Jesus said to her, “Woman, what do you desire to have Me do? My time has not yet come.”

5. Then His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do.”

6. Now there were six water vessels of stone standing there, in accordance with the traditional purification of the Jews, each one having a capacity of two or three firkins.

7. Jesus said to them, “Fill the water vessels with water.” And they filled them to the brim.

8. Then He said to them, “Now draw some out and bring it to the master of the feast.” And they brought it to him.

9. Now when the master of the feast tasted the water that had become wine, not knowing from where it had come (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom,

10. And said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first; and when the guests have drunk freely, then he serves the inferior wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.”

11. This beginning of the miracles that Jesus did took place in Cana of Galilee, and revealed His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.

12. After this He went down to Capernaum, He and His mother and His brothers and His disciples; and they remained there not many days.

THE FOUR PASSOVER SEASONS

THE BASIC FRAMEWORK FOR JESUS CHRIST’S THREE-AND-ONE-HALF-YEAR MINISTRY

By recording Jesus’ observance of the Passover and the feasts of God, the Gospel writers enable us to know the exact timing of His ministry. During the lifetime of Jesus Christ, all the feasts of God in the Hebrew Calendar were calculated by the same method that is in use today. This method was used by the priests and Levites as early as the sixth century BC for proclaiming the holy days of God. Therefore, it is possible to know the exact dates of the feasts and holy days during the lifetime of Jesus Christ. In this book, when the dates in the Hebrew Calendar are used, the corresponding dates in the Julian Calendar are also given.

In the Gospel accounts, we find more references to the Passover than to any other feast. The four Passover seasons that are recorded by the Gospel writers give us the basic framework for Jesus Christ’s three-and-one-half-year ministry, which culminated in His death in 30 AD. He died on the Passover day, Nisan 14, which corresponds to April 5 on the Julian Calendar.

Jesus Christ always observed the Passover on Nisan 14. The first Passover of His ministry took place in 27 AD. In that year, Nisan 14 fell on Wednesday, April 9. Since the days of the Hebrew Calendar are reckoned from sunset to sunset, Nisan 14 began when the sun set on Tuesday, April 8. The observance of this Passover is recorded in John 2:13 and 23.

The second Passover of Jesus’ ministry is not recorded in the Gospel accounts. However, we do find a reference to the Feast of Unleavened Bread which followed that Passover. The Gospel of Luke directly refers to the last day of this feast, which was an annual Sabbath: “Now it came to pass on the second Sabbath of the first rank that He was walking through the grain fields; and His disciples were plucking the ears and were eating, after rubbing them in their hands” (Luke 6:1).

As the account shows, the disciples were plucking the ears of grain before the kernels had matured and become hard, indicating that the time setting was the spring of the year. The Greek text provides additional information to verify that this event occurred during the spring festival season, which included the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. In the Greek text, the term was used by Luke. This term, which is translated “the second Sabbath after the first,” literally means “the second-first Sabbath,” or “the second Sabbath of the first rank or order.” The term , specifically refers to annual Sabbaths, which always take precedence over the weekly Sabbath. Luke’s use of this term reveals that Jesus and the disciples were going through the grain fields on the second annual Sabbath of that year, the last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which occurred on Nisan 21, or Monday, April 5, in 28 AD. Luke’s reference to this holy day is the only Gospel record of the second Passover/Unleavened Bread season during Jesus’ ministry.

The third Passover season of Jesus’ ministry is recorded in the Gospel of John. The reference that we find in John 6:4 relates to events that took place shortly before the Passover, which occurred on Nisan 14, or Saturday, April 16, 29 AD.

The fourth Passover of Jesus’ ministry, which was His last Passover, occurred on Nisan 14, or Wednesday, April 5, 30 AD. All the Gospel writers recorded the events of the fourth and last Passover in great detail.

When we compare the four Gospel accounts, we find that Matthew and Mark recorded only the last Passover. Luke recorded the second Passover season as well as the fourth and last Passover. John recorded the first and third Passovers in addition to the last Passover, omitting only the second Passover from his Gospel. John, who wrote the last of the Gospel accounts, recorded the Passover seasons not found in the other accounts. He did not need to include the second Passover/Unleavened Bread season because Luke had recorded it in his account.

Together, the Gospel accounts give us the four Passover seasons that form the framework for the ministry of Jesus Christ.

PART II

FROM PASSOVER 27 AD TO PASSOVER 28 AD

28. JESUS FIRST SHOWS HIMSELF PUBLICLY AT THE TEMPLE IN POWER AND ZEAL—THIS IS FIRST PASSOVER AND FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD DURING CHRIST’S MINISTRY

JOHN 2

13. Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

14. And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money exchangers sitting there;

15. And after making a scourge of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with both the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money exchangers, and overturned the tables.

16. And to those who were selling the doves, He said, “Take these things out of here! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise.”

17. Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “The zeal of Your house has eaten Me up.” a

18. As a result, the Jews answered and said to Him, “What sign do You show to us, seeing that You do these things?”

19. Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

20. Then the Jews said, “This temple was forty-six years in building, and You will raise it up in three days?”

21. But He spoke concerning the temple of His body.

22. Therefore, when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scriptures, and the word that Jesus had spoken.

23. Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed on His name, as they observed the miracles that He was doing.

24. But Jesus did not entrust Himself to them, because He knew all men;

25. And He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.

a - Psa. 69:9

29. NICODEMUS COMES TO JESUS AT NIGHT—THE PHARISEES KNEW JESUS CAME FROM GOD
JOHN 3

1. Now there was a man of the Pharisees, Nicodemus by name, a ruler of the Jews.

2. He came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher Who has come from God; because no one is able to do the miracles that You are doing unless God is with him.”

3. Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless anyone is born again,* he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

4. Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man who is old be born? Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born?”

* anew

JOHN 3

5. Jesus answered, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless anyone has been born of water and of Spirit, a he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

6. That which has been born of the flesh is flesh; and that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit.

7. Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘It is necessary for you to be born again.’*

8. The wind blows where it wills, and you hear its sound, but you do not know the place from which it comes and the place to which it goes; so also is everyone who has been born of the Spirit.”

9. Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?”

10. Jesus answered and said to him, “You are a teacher of Israel, and you do not know these things?

11. Truly, truly I say to you, We speak that which We know, and We testify of that which We have seen; but you do not receive Our testimony.

12. If I have told you earthly things, and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?

13. (And no one has ascended into heaven, except He Who came down from heaven, even the Son of man, Who is in heaven.)”

a - To be “born of water” refers to one’s natural fleshly birth. To be “born of Spirit” refers to the resurrection from the dead to eternal life as a glorified spirit being, and not to an emotional “conversion experience.”

30. A PROPHECY OF HIS OWN DEATH AND CRUCIFIXION
JOHN 3

14. “And even as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, in the same way it is ordained that the Son of man be lifted up, a

15. So that everyone who believes in Him may not perish, but may have everlasting life.”

a - Num. 21:8-9

31. GOD GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON TO SAVE THE WORLD
JOHN 3

16. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes** in Him may not perish, but may have everlasting life.

17. For God sent not His Son into the world that He might judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

18. The one who believes in Him is not judged, but the one who does not believe has already been judged because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

19. And this is the judgment: that the light has come into the world, but men loved darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.

20. For everyone who practices evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, so that his works may not be exposed;

21. But the one who practices the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be manifested, that they have been accomplished by the power of God.”

32. JESUS BEGINS BAPTIZING
JOHN 3

22. After these things, Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea; and there He stayed with them and was baptizing.

* anew
**The Greek present tense participle pisteuon means, “everyone who continually believes in Him.” Such belief is a continuous deep, life-long, inner conviction of faith accompanied by loving obedience to God the Father and Jesus Christ, rather than a mere mental or verbal acknowledgement of Jesus Christ.

33. JOHN IS STILL BAPTIZING AT THE SAME TIME
JOHN 3

23. And John was also baptizing in Aenon, near Salim because there was much water there; and the people were coming and were being baptized,

34. JOHN NOT YET PUT IN PRISON
JOHN 3

24. For John had not yet been cast into prison.

35. JOHN THE BAPTIST’S MINISTRY TO DECREASE, AND JESUS’ MINISTRY TO INCREASE—JOHN EXPLAINS WHO AND WHAT HE IS, AND WHO AND WHAT CHRIST IS
JOHN 3

25. Then there arose a question between the disciples of John and some of the Jews about purification.

26. And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He Who was with you beyond Jordan, to Whom you have borne witness, behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him.”

27. John answered and said, “No one is able to receive anything unless it has been given to him from heaven.

28. You yourselves bear witness to me that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but that I am sent before Him.

29. The one who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands by and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the voice of the bridegroom; in this then, my joy has been fulfilled.

30. It is ordained that He increase, and that I decrease.

31. He Who comes from above is above all. The one who is of the earth is earthy, and speaks of the earth. He Who comes from heaven is above all;

32. And what He has seen and heard, this is what He testifies; but no one receives His testimony.

33. The one who has received His testimony has set his seal that God is true;

34. For He Whom God has sent speaks the words of God; and God gives not the Spirit by measure unto Him.”

36. MUST BELIEVE AND HAVE COMPLETE TRUST AND FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST
JOHN 3

35. “The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand.

36. The one who believes in the Son has everlasting life; but the one who does not obey the Son shall not see life, for the wrath of God remains on him.”

37. JESUS CHRIST’S DISCIPLES DO THE BAPTIZING
JOHN 4

1. Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John,

2. (Although Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples,)

3. He left Judea and departed again into Galilee.

4. Now it was necessary for Him to pass through Samaria.

38. JESUS CHRIST AND THE WOMAN OF SAMARIA AT THE WELL
JOHN 4

5. And He came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. a

6. And Jacob’s fountain was there; Jesus, therefore, being wearied from the journey, sat there by the fountain. It was about the sixth hour.

7. A woman came out of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me some water to drink.”

8. For His disciples had gone away into the city, so that they might buy provisions.

9. Therefore, the Samaritan woman said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, to give You water to drink? For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.”

10. Jesus answered and said to her, “If you had known the gift of God, and Who it is that said to you, ‘Give Me some water to drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

11. The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing with which to draw water, and the well is deep; how then do You have the living water?

12. Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it, and his sons, and his cattle?”

13. Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again;

14. But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; rather, the water that I will give him shall become a fountain of water within him, springing up into everlasting life.”

15. The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not thirst or need to come here to draw water.”

16. Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband and come back here.”

17. The woman answered and said, “I do not have a husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have spoken well in saying, ‘I do not have a husband’;

18. For you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband. This you have spoken truly.”

19. The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.

20. Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, but You say that the place where it is obligatory to worship is in Jerusalem.”

21. Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you shall neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem worship the Father.

22. You do not know what you worship. We know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.

23. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father is indeed seeking those who worship Him in this manner.

24. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.”

25. The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming, Who is called Christ; when He comes, He will tell us all things.”

26. Jesus said to her, “I Who speak to you am He.”

27. Now at this time His disciples came, and they were amazed that He was speaking with a woman; however, no one said, “What are You seeking?” or, “Why are You talking with her?”

28. Then the woman left her waterpot and went away into the city, and said to the men,

29. “Come and see a Man Who told me everything that I have done. Can it be that He is the Christ?”

30. Then they went out of the city and came to Him.

31. But in the meantime, the disciples were urging Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.”

32. And He said to them, “I have meat to eat that you are not aware of.”

33. Then the disciples said to one another, “Did anyone bring Him something to eat?”

34. Jesus said to them, “My meat is to do the will of Him Who sent Me, and to finish His work.

a - Josh. 24:32

JOHN 4

35. “Do not say that there are yet four months, and then the harvest comes. I say to you, look around. Lift up your eyes and see the fields, for they are already white to harvest.

36. And the one who reaps receives a reward, and gathers fruit unto eternal life; so that the one who is sowing and the one who is reaping may both rejoice together.

37. For in this the saying is true, that one sows and another reaps.

38. I sent you to reap that in which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

39. Now many of the Samaritans from that city believed on Him because of the word of the woman, who testified, “He told me everything that I have done.”

40. Therefore, when the Samaritans came to Him, they asked Him to remain with them; and He remained there two days.

41. And many more believed because of His word;

42. And they said to the woman, “We no longer believe because of your word, for we have heard Him ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Christ, the Savior of the world.”

39. JOHN IS CAST INTO PRISON
LUKE 3

19. But Herod the tetrarch, after being reproved by him for marrying Herodias, the wife of Philip his brother, and for all the evils that Herod had done,

20. Added this to all that: he locked up John in prison.

40. JESUS RETURNS INTO GALILEE
JOHN 4

43. And after two days, He departed from there and went into Galilee;

44. For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.

45. Therefore, when He came into Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things that He did in Jerusalem during the feast, for they also had gone to the feast.

46. Then Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee, where He had made the water become wine. And there was a certain royal official in Capernaum whose son was sick.

47. When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and asked Him if He would come down and heal his son; for he was about to die.

48. Therefore, Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe at all.”

49. The royal official said to Him, “Sir, come down before my little child dies.”

50. Jesus said to him, “Go; your son shall live.” And the man believed the word that Jesus said to him and went away.

51. Now as he was going down to his house, his servants met him and reported, saying, “Your child is alive and well.”

52. Then he inquired of them at what hour he began to improve. And they said to him, “Yesterday, at the seventh hour, the fever left him.”

53. Therefore, the father knew that it was at the hour that Jesus said to him, “Your son shall live.” And he himself believed and his whole household.

54. This was the second miracle that Jesus did after again coming out of Judea into Galilee.

JESUS BEGINS PREACHING IN GALILEE AFTER JOHN THE BAPTIST IS PUT IN PRISON

Jesus used the first six months of His ministry for private teaching. During that time He was baptized by John the Baptist. Immediately after that, beginning on the Day of Atonement in 26 AD, He was tempted by Satan the devil for forty days and forty nights. Later, He made initial contact with some of His disciples. At a wedding in Cana of Galilee, He performed His first miracle—changing water into wine. Then, during the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread in 27 AD, Jesus began His public preaching and ministry—with power and authority—at the Temple in Jerusalem. Thus, He fulfilled the prophecy, “… The Lord, Whom You seek, shall suddenly come to His Temple, even the Messenger of the covenant in Whom you delight” (Mal. 3:1).

Following the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Jesus and His disciples spent several weeks baptizing in Judaea (John 3:22). At the same time John the Baptist was still baptizing at Aenon, because he had not yet been put in prison. After John’s imprisonment, Jesus returned through Samaria into Galilee, just before the Feast of Pentecost, and began preaching.

The Account written in the book of John correlates the events and fills in the details not contained in the summary account recorded in the book of Mark. Together John and Mark give the complete picture.

42. JESUS PREACHES IN NAZARETH ON THE SABBATH DAY
LUKE 4

16. And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and according to His custom, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day* and stood up to read. a

17. And there was given Him the book of the prophet Isaiah; and when He had unrolled the scroll, He found the place where it was written,

a - Lev. 23:10-21; Deut. 16:9-10

_________________________
*The words “on the Sabbath day” are translated from the Greek words A literal translation would be, “Now on the day of the sabbaths”; or, “Now on the day of the weeks.” The use of the Greek meaning “Sabbaths” or “weeks,” indicates that this verse is referring to the day of Pentecost. Because this day is observed after counting a period of seven full weeks, it was known in New Testament times as “the day of the weeks.” The day of Pentecost does not fall on the weekly Sabbath but is an annual Sabbath.

LUKE 4

18. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me; for this reason, He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal those who are brokenhearted, to proclaim pardon to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth in deliverance those who have been crushed,

19. To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” b

20. And after rolling up the scroll and delivering it to the attendant, He sat down; and the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him.

21. Then He began to say to them, “Today, this scripture is being fulfilled in your ears.”

22. And all bore witness to Him and were amazed at the words of grace that were coming out of His mouth; and they said, “Is not this the son of Joseph?”

23. And He said to them, “Surely, you will say this parable to Me: ‘Physician, heal Yourself! Whatever we have heard being done in Capernaum, do also here in Your own country.’ ”

24. But He said, “Truly I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his own country.

25. For in truth, I say to you, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up for three years and six months, and there was great famine upon all the land;

26. And Elijah was not sent to any of them, but only to a widow in Sarepta, a city of Sidonia.

27. There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them were cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” c

28. Now all in the synagogue who heard these things were filled with indignation.

29. And they rose up and cast Him out of the city, and led Him to the edge of the mountain on which their city was built, in order to throw Him down headlong;

30. But He passed safely through their midst and departed.

b - Isa. 58:6; 61:1-2 c - I Kings 17:8-9; 18:1-2; II Kings 5:1, 14

THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT

The Sermon on the Mount was delivered at the beginning of Jesus Christ’s ministry. After choosing twelve of His disciples to be witnesses of all the words that He spoke, Jesus taught them the basic spiritual principles that are recorded in Matthew 5-7 and Luke 6. These teachings, now known as the Sermon on the Mount, were the beginning words of the New Covenant. Unlike the Old Covenant, which offered the physical blessings of health and prosperity, the New Covenant opened the way to the spiritual blessings of eternal life with everlasting power and glory.

Throughout the Bible, there is a contrast between the physical and the spiritual. The words of the apostle Paul show that the physical comes first, then the spiritual (I Cor. 15:45-47). Adam, the first man on earth, came from the earth and was physical. The second Adam, Jesus Christ, came from heaven and is spiritual. In like manner, the Old Covenant, which was physical, was established before the New Covenant, which is spiritual. On the day of Pentecost, God established the Old Covenant with the children of Israel by proclaiming the Ten Commandments from the top of Mount Sinai. The event was so terrifying to the people that they pleaded with Moses not to have God speak to them any longer: “And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the sound of the trumpet,' and the mountain smoking. And when the people saw, they trembled and stood afar off. And they said to Moses, ‘You speak with us, and we will hear. But let not God speak with us, lest we die’ ” (Ex. 20:18-19).

Because the children of Israel were afraid to hear God speak, Moses stood between God and the people to bring them all the words of God. Moses went up to the top of Mount Sinai to meet with God. At that time, God gave him the statutes, judgments and other laws to deliver to the children of Israel. As the intermediary who delivered the law to the people, Moses was considered a lawgiver, although he did not originate any of the laws or commandments himself (Ex. 20-23).

When Moses came down from meeting with God, he read all the words of God in the hearing of the people. With one voice, the people agreed to obey all that God had commanded. Then the covenant was ratified with a blood sacrifice: “And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, ‘All the words which the LORD has said, we will do.’ And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and built an altar at the base of the mountain and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel. And he sent young men of the children of Israel who offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of bullocks to the LORD. And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basins, and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the ears of the people. And they said, ‘All that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient.’ And Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, ‘Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD has made with you concerning all these words’ ” (Ex. 24:3-8).

The covenant that God made with the children of Israel at Mount Sinai contained blessings and cursings. God promised to bless the children of Israel if they would obey His commands and laws; but if they disobeyed, they would reap curses in return for their sins and transgressions. In this manner, God established the Old Covenant with the twelve tribes of Israel: “Behold, I have set before you this day life and good, and death and evil, in that I command you this day to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments so that you may live and multiply. And the LORD your God shall bless you in the land where you go to possess it.

“But if your heart turn away so that you will not hear, but shall be drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I denounce to you this day that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days on the land where you pass over Jordan to go to possess it. I call heaven and earth to record this day against you that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore, choose life, so that both you and your seed may live, that you may love the LORD your God, and may obey His voice, and may cleave to Him; for He is your life and the length of your days, so that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers—to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob—to give it to them” (Deut. 30:15- 20).

Moses’ office as mediator and lawgiver was a physical type of the coming spiritual Lawgiver, Jesus Christ. When the children of Israel were about to enter the Promised Land, God gave Moses this prophecy of the coming Messiah: “And the LORD said to me, ‘They have spoken well what they have spoken [that they did not want God to speak to them, but Moses]. I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, One like you, and will put My words in His mouth. And He shall speak to them all that I shall command Him. And it shall come to pass, whatever man will not hearken to My words which He shall speak in My name, I will require it of him’ ” (Deut. 18:17-19).

Jesus Christ the Spiritual Lawgiver

This prophecy of the coming Messiah reveals that every person who rejects the words of Jesus Christ will be held accountable by God in the judgment day. During His ministry, Jesus confirmed that He was that Prophet and that His words are the standard by which all will be judged: “But if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. The one who rejects Me and does not receive My words has one who judges him; the word which I have spoken, that shall judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken from Myself; but the Father, Who sent Me, gave Me commandment Himself, what I should say and what I should speak” (John 12:47-49).

The spiritual office of Jesus Christ far overshadows the physical office of Moses. Jesus Christ was God manifested in the flesh. He was the Lord God of the Old Testament Who had established the Old Covenant with the children of Israel. He came to earth to deliver them from the curses that the covenant had imposed for their sins, and to redeem all mankind from the death penalty for their transgressions of God’s holy and righteous laws (Rom. 7:14; 3:9-19). His death ended the Old Covenant with the administration of death, and established the New Covenant, which offers the gift of eternal life.

Unlike the Old Covenant, which required obedience to the letter of the law, the New Covenant is based on obedience from the heart—fulfilling the laws of God not only in the letter, but also in their complete spiritual intent. For this reason, Jesus Christ came as the spiritual Lawgiver to amplify and magnify the commandments and laws of God, as prophesied by Isaiah: “The LORD is well pleased for His righteousness sake; He will magnify the Law and make it glorious” (Isa. 42:21).

As the spiritual Lawgiver, Jesus Christ revealed the full meaning of the laws of God. He received a commission from God the Father to preach the gospel and proclaim the spiritual meaning of the commandments of God, in order to bring the knowledge of salvation to the world. After John the Baptist was put in prison, Jesus Christ began His ministry. He commanded the people to repent of their sins and believe the gospel: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God….And saying, ‘The time has been fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is near at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel’ ” (Mark 1:1, 15).

Throughout His ministry, Jesus taught repentance from sin, which is clearly defined in the New Testament as the transgression of the laws of God (I John 3:4). God inspired the words of Jesus Christ to be recorded in the Gospels and canonized by the apostles with the other books of the New Testament. Through the ages, from Jesus’ time until now, God has divinely preserved these Scriptures for the world.

The four Gospel accounts of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ reveal that God now requires obedience to His commandments not only in the letter of the law but in the spirit of the law. But in spite of Jesus’ teachings, which magnify the laws and commandments of God, most professing Christians have been taught that Jesus Christ came to abolish the laws of God. Jesus emphatically denounced this teaching in the Sermon on the Mount: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until the heaven and the earth shall pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no way pass from the Law until everything has been fulfilled” (Matt. 5:17-18).

How Did Jesus Christ Fulfill the Law?

When Jesus Christ fulfilled the law, He did not abolish it. Jesus’ own words in the Gospel of Matthew make this fact very clear. Then in what way did He fulfill the law?

In order to recognize how He fulfilled the law, we must understand the meaning of the word, “fulfill.” The English word, “fulfill,” is translated from the Greek verb, pleeroo, which means: “to make full, to fill full, to fulfill….in Mt. 5:17 depending on how one prefers to interpret the context, pleeroo is understood here either as fulfill = do, carry out, or bring to full expression = show forth in its true spiritual meaning, or as fill up = complete” (Arndt and Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament).

As the spiritual Lawgiver, Jesus Christ fulfilled the Law of God by bringing it to its full expression, revealing its complete spiritual meaning and intent. He “filled the law to the full” by teaching obedience in the spirit of the law. To fulfill the Law of God by amplifying its meaning and application is the exact opposite of abolishing the law. If Jesus had come to abolish the laws of God, He would not have magnified and expanded their meaning, making them even more binding. If the laws of God were not binding today, there could be no sin, because “sin is lawlessness” (I John 3:4). And if there were no sinners, there would be no need of a Savior. But the Scriptures of both the Old Testament and the New Testament testify that Jesus Christ came to save mankind from sin. Instead of abolishing or “doing away with the law,” Jesus came to take upon Himself the penalty for our sins and transgressions of the laws of God, and to show us the way to eternal life through spiritual obedience from the heart. That is how He magnified the laws and commandments of God and made them honorable.

The Spiritual Meaning of the Commandments Revealed in the Sermon on the Mount

As the spiritual Lawgiver, Jesus Christ taught His disciples the spiritual meaning and application of every one of God’s laws and commandments. Let us examine how He magnified the Sixth Commandment in the Sermon on the Mount: “You have heard that it was said to those in ancient times, ‘You shall not commit murder; but whoever commits murder shall be subject to judgment.’ But I say to you, everyone who is angry with his brother without cause shall be subject to judgment. Now you have heard it said, ‘Whoever shall say to his brother, “Raca,” shall be subject to the judgment of the council.’ But I say to you, whoever shall say, ‘You fool,’ shall be subject to the fire of Gehenna” (Matt. 5:21-22).

Jesus made it clear that murder begins in the heart and is rooted in hatred and anger. The spiritual amplification of the Sixth Commandment, as taught by Jesus Christ, extends far beyond the letter of the law, which judges only physical acts of violence. Under the New Covenant, this commandment must be obeyed in the thoughts and intents of the heart. Obedience is no longer restricted to the letter of the law and the actual committing of murder. By the new spiritual standard for obedience, hatred in one’s heart is judged as murder. This spiritual standard also applies to hatred for an enemy: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you [as the spiritual Lawgiver], love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you, so that you yourselves may be the children of your Father Who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not the tax collectors practice the same thing? And if you salute your brethren only, what have you done that is extraordinary? Do not the tax collectors practice the same thing? Therefore, you shall be perfect, even as your Father Who is in heaven is perfect” (Matt. 5:43-48).

When Jesus was dying on the cross, He set the perfect example of loving His enemies and praying for those who despitefully used Him. Notice Jesus’ prayer for them as He suffered agony and ignominy at their hands: “Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing’ ” (Luke 23:34).

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus also taught the spiritual meaning and application of the Seventh Commandment: “You shall not commit adultery.” Notice how Jesus magnified this commandment: “You have heard that it was said to those in ancient times, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you [as the spiritual Lawgiver], everyone who looks upon a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matt. 5:27-28).

Jesus made the Seventh Commandment far more binding than the letter of the law. From the time that Jesus Christ taught the spiritual meaning of this commandment, every individual has been held accountable for his or her thoughts of adultery, whether or not the physical act was committed. Jesus Christ magnified the Seventh Commandment by revealing its full spiritual meaning and application. An examination of the following teachings in the Sermon on the Mount, as recorded in Matthew 5-7, will show that Jesus revealed the full spiritual meaning of all the laws and commandments of God.

Applying the Spirit of the Law Does Not Nullify the Letter

More than thirty years after Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount, the apostle James wrote an epistle in which he expounded on the spiritual meaning of the commandments of God. In his epistle, James shows that Jesus’ teachings concerning the spirit of the law did not eliminate the need to obey the letter of the law. James explains that Jesus’ command to “love your neighbor as yourself” requires us to live in obedience to the commandments of God. James specifically refers to the Sixth and Seventh Commandments, and makes it very clear that to break any of God’s commandments is sin: “If you are truly keeping the Royal Law according to the scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing well. But if you have respect of persons, you are practicing sin, being convicted by the law as transgressors; for if anyone keeps the whole law, but sins in one aspect, he becomes guilty of all. For He Who said, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘You shall not commit murder.’ Now if you do not commit adultery, but you commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. In this manner speak and in this manner behave: as those who are about to be judged by the law of freedom” (James 2:8-12).

When we study the writings of the apostles in the New Testament, there is no question that they taught the full, spiritual meaning of the laws and commandments of God, exactly as Jesus did. Never at any time did they write or teach that Jesus Christ came to abolish the laws of God. The words of James leave no doubt whatsoever. He wrote, “For if anyone keeps the whole law, but sins in one aspect, he becomes guilty of all.” There is nothing in the apostle James’ statement which remotely hints that the laws of God were abolished when Jesus died on the cross. In writing these words many years after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, James confirms that Jesus did not “do away with” the laws of God. James makes it explicitly clear that Christians are obligated to keep the commandments of God.

The apostle John, who outlived all the other apostles, also taught obedience to the laws and commandments of God. In the last decade of the first century, John wrote his Gospel, three epistles, and the book of Revelation. In his first epistle, he wrote most emphatically that obedience to the commandments of God is the standard that separates the true followers of Jesus Christ from those who merely profess His name. Notice: “And by this standard we know that we know Him: if we keep His commandments. The one who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. On the other hand, if anyone is keeping His Word, truly in this one the love of God is being perfected [made complete]. By this means we know that we are in Him. Anyone who claims to dwell in Him is obligating himself also to walk even as He Himself walked” (I John 2:3-6).

John makes it very clear that those who truly believe in Jesus Christ will be walking as Jesus walked. They will be keeping the commandments of God, as Jesus did, and as He taught others to do (John 15:10, Matt. 19:17-19). Anyone who professes to believe in Jesus Christ but does not keep the commandments of God is a liar, according to the New Testament scriptures. For a minister or teacher to claim that the laws and commandments of God have been abolished is a blatant denial of the true teachings of Jesus Christ and His apostles, which are preserved in the New Testament. True Christians need to be on guard against such “workers of lawlessness,” who preach against the laws of God and condemn commandment keeping.

As the apostle John shows, those who keep God’s commandments are not under condemnation but can approach God with confidence, knowing that He will hear and answer their prayers: “Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, then we have confidence toward God. And whatever we may ask we receive from Him because we keep His commandments and practice those things that are pleasing in His sight” (I John 3:21-22).

The New Testament does not support the widely accepted teaching that commandment keeping is contrary to faith. Rather, the words of John show that keeping the commandments of God is a sign of true faith and the love that God imparts through the indwelling of His Spirit: “And this is His commandment: that we believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and that we love one another [fulfilling the Royal Law by keeping God’s commandments], exactly as He gave commandment to us. And the one who keeps His commandments is dwelling in Him, and He in him; and by this we know that He is dwelling in us: by the Spirit which He has given to us” (verses 23-24).

Mainstream Christianity ignores these inspired New Testament scriptures and teaches that loving God and one another eliminates the need to keep God’s commandments. Again John exposes the error in this theology. John points out that obedience to God’s commandments is the very standard by which love for God and His children is measured: “By this standard we know that we love the children of God: when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God: that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome” (I John 5:2-3).

The Scriptural truth is this: If we love Jesus Christ and God the Father, we will be motivated to keep the commandments of God. We will desire to keep His commandments in the spirit of the law as an outward manifestation of our love for Him. Those who profess to love God, but refuse to keep His commandments, do not understand the love of God. They are being led by their own human emotions and not by the love that God imparts to His children through the gift of the Holy Spirit. Emotional feelings cannot be substituted for keeping the commandments of God. Those who claim to love God, but are practicing lawlessness, are deceiving themselves.

Jesus Christ specifically instructs those who love Him to keep His commandments: “If you love Me, keep the commandments—namely, My commandments…. The one who has My commandments and is keeping them, that is the one who loves Me; and the one who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him….If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. The one who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word that you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s, Who sent Me” (John 14:15, 21-24).

Jesus Christ left no room for doubt or misinterpretation. If you love Him, you will keep His commandments. If you do not keep His words, you do not love Him. Unless you are keeping His commandments, any profession of faith and love toward Jesus Christ and God the Father is empty and vain.

Jesus Christ set the perfect example of true godly love by keeping all the commandments of God in the full spirit of the law. Before His death, He delivered a new command to His disciples—that they follow His example by practicing the same love that He had manifested during His life with them on earth: “A new commandment I give to you: that you love one another in the same way that I have loved you, that is how you are to love one another. By this shall everyone know that you are My disciples— if you love one another….As the Father has loved Me, I also have loved you; live in My love. If you keep My commandments, you shall live in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and live in His love. These things I have spoken to you, in order that My joy may dwell in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My commandment; that you love one another, as I have loved you” (John 13:34-35; 15:9-12).

Jesus Christ taught His followers to obey all the commandments of God in the full spirit of the law, as He did. Jesus magnified the laws of God by revealing their full spiritual meaning. Jesus Christ, as the spiritual Lawgiver, made the laws and commandments of God far more binding by setting a higher, spiritual standard of obedience for Christians under the New Covenant.

Jesus Brought the Physical Rituals of the Law to Completion

The second meaning of the Greek word pleeroo, translated, “to fulfill,” in Matthew 5:17, is, “to complete,” or, “bring to completion.” Jesus Christ came to bring the animal sacrifices and other temple rituals and laws for the Aaronic priesthood to completion. Through His death, He ended the Old Covenant, which had imposed the physical requirements of these laws. In its place, He established the New Covenant, replacing the old requirements of the law with a higher spiritual application.

The laws concerning the animal sacrifices were brought to completion through the superior sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The sacrifice of Himself as the Lamb of God, “Who takes away the sin of the world,” superseded and replaced all the animal sacrifices and other physical rituals and ceremonies that were performed at the temple of God in Jerusalem. The apostle Paul confirms the completion of the animal sacrifices and the temple rituals through the one perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ: “For this reason, when He comes into the world, He says, ‘Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but You have prepared a body for Me. You did not delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin. Then said I, “Lo, I come (as it is written of Me in the scroll of the book) to do Your will, O God.” ’ In the saying above, He said, ‘Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin (which are offered according to the law) You did not desire nor delight in’; then He said, ‘Lo, I come to do Your will, O God.’ He takes away the first covenant in order that He may establish the second covenant; by Whose will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Now every high priest [of the order of Aaron] stands ministering day by day, offering the same sacrifices repeatedly, which are never able to remove sins; but He, after offering one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God” (Heb. 10:5-12).

The spiritual priesthood of Jesus Christ was effective immediately after He ascended to heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. Although His death had completed the animal sacrifices and temple rituals which were required under the Old Covenant, the priesthood continued to carry out these functions until the temple was destroyed. With the destruction of the temple in 70 AD, the priesthood of Aaron and the Levites came to an end. There was no need for a physical priesthood on earth because Jesus Christ was serving as High Priest in heaven above, making intercession for sin before God the Father. The spiritual priesthood of Jesus Christ superseded the priesthood of Aaron. The New Covenant has a greater High Priest—the resurrected Jesus Christ—to make intercession for the people of God and to propitiate their sins before God the Father (Heb. 2:17-18, 4:14-16).

In the same way, the spiritual temple in heaven has superseded the physical temple that was on earth. Under the New Covenant, true believers now have direct access through prayer to the throne of God the Father in heaven above. Jesus Christ sits at the right hand of God the Father, where He carries out His spiritual work as High Priest: “ ‘This is the covenant that I will establish with them after those days, says the Lord: I will give My laws into their hearts, and I will inscribe them in their minds [far from abolishing His laws]; and their sins and lawlessness I will not remember ever again.’ Now where remission of these is, it is no longer necessary to offer sacrifices for sin. Therefore, brethren, having confidence to enter into the true holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which He consecrated for us through the veil (that is, His flesh), and having a great High Priest over the house of God, let us approach God with a true heart, with full conviction of faith, our hearts having been purified from a wicked conscience, and our bodies having been washed with pure water” (Heb. 10:16-22).

True worshipers of God need no priesthood to intercede for them in an earthly temple because they have direct access to the throne of God the Father in His heavenly temple, where Jesus Christ intercedes as High Priest. In addition, each one who receives the Holy Spirit in his or her mind as a begettal from God the Father becomes part of the temple of God. As the apostle Paul shows, God is now building a spiritual temple within fleshly human beings through the indwelling of His Spirit: “Don’t you understand that you are God’s temple, and that the Spirit of God is dwelling in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God shall destroy him because the temple of God is holy, which temple you are” (I Cor. 3:16-17).

Isaiah prophesied of the spiritual temple that God is building: “For thus says the high and lofty One [God the Father] Who inhabits eternity; Whose name is Holy; ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, even with the one who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones’ ” (Isa. 57:15).

This spiritual temple is composed of all true believers, both Jews and Gentiles: “For through Him we both have direct access by one Spirit to the Father. So then, you are no longer aliens and foreigners; but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of the household of God. You are being built up on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Jesus Christ Himself being the chief Cornerstone in Whom all the building, being conjointly fitted together, is increasing into a holy temple in the Lord; in Whom you also are being built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit” (Eph. 2:18-22).

The need for the earthly temple in Jerusalem was fulfilled and brought to completion by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which ended the Old Covenant and the need for a physical priesthood. Under the New Covenant, the spiritual temple of God in heaven, where Jesus Christ is High Priest, has superseded the physical temple of God on earth. Through the intercession of Jesus Christ, each believer becomes a temple for God’s Holy Spirit, and the collective body of believers is built up as a holy temple in the Lord.

Jesus Brought the Circumcision of the Flesh to Completion

When Jesus brought the Old Covenant to an end, the requirement for circumcision of the flesh was superseded by spiritual circumcision of the heart. The apostle Paul makes this very clear: “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is external in the flesh; rather, he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart, in the spirit and not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God” (Rom. 2:28-29).

Under the New Covenant, God does not require physical circumcision. Rather, the spiritual circumcision of the heart has superseded the circumcision of the flesh. Spiritual circumcision brings conversion of the mind and heart, which physical circumcision in the flesh could never accomplish. To be circumcised in the heart, a person must repent of his or her sins and be baptized by full immersion in water. The act of baptism is a type of circumcision because the sins of the flesh are removed. Then, through the laying on of hands, the believer receives the Holy Spirit, converting the heart and mind. The apostle Paul describes the spiritual circumcision that takes place at baptism: “For in Him [Jesus Christ] dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, Who is the Head of all principality and power in Whom you have also been circumcised with the circumcision not made by hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with Him in baptism, by which you have also been raised with Him through the inner working of God, Who raised Him from the dead. For you, who were once dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has now made alive with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses” (Col. 2:9-13).

Paul understood very clearly that the Gentile believers did not need to be circumcised in the flesh because they had received spiritual circumcision through faith in Jesus Christ. The spiritual circumcision of the heart has superseded the physical circumcision of the flesh. Likewise, all the animal sacrifices that were required for sin were superseded by Jesus Christ’s sacrifice once for all time. The physical priesthood of Aaron was replaced by the spiritual priesthood of Jesus Christ. The temple of God in heaven has superseded the physical temple on earth, which was only a copy of the heavenly one. When Jesus Christ brought the physical rituals of the Old Covenant to completion, He did not abolish the law. Rather, the physical foretypes of the Old Covenant were superseded by the spiritual fulfillment of the New Covenant.

Other Laws That Have Been Transferred to the New Covenant

Under the Old Covenant, God gave authority to the priests and Levites, who served at the altar, to collect tithes and offerings from the children of Israel. Under the New Covenant, there is no priesthood of men but only one High Priest, Jesus Christ, Who is “a high priest forever after the order of Melchisedec.” The apostle Paul explains that Melchisedec was Priest of God at Jerusalem in the days of Abraham, long before the Old Covenant was established. In describing how Abraham paid tithes to Melchisedec, Paul reveals that He was the one Who later came to earth as Jesus Christ: “For on one hand, those from among the sons of Levi who receive the priesthood are commanded by the law to collect tithes from the people—that is, from their brethren—even though they are all descended from Abraham; but on the other hand, He [Jesus Christ, Who was Melchisedec of the Old Testament] Who was not descended from them received tithes from Abraham, and blessed him who had the promises. Now it is beyond all doubt that the inferior one is blessed by the superior one.

“And in the first case, men who die receive tithes; but in the other case, He received tithes of Whom it is witnessed that He lives forever. And in one sense, Levi, who receives tithes, also gave tithes through Abraham; for he was still in his forefather’s loins when Melchisedec met him. Therefore, if perfection was indeed possible through the Levitical priesthood—for the law that the people had received was based on it—what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchisedec, and not to be named after the order of Aaron? For since the priesthood has changed, it is obligatory that a change of the law [for the priesthood and the receiving of tithes and offerings] also take place; because the One of Whom these things are said belongs to another tribe, from which no one was appointed to serve at the altar” (Heb. 7:5-13).

As Paul shows, the entire Levitical priesthood has been superseded by one immortal High Priest, Jesus Christ, who is of the order of Melchisedec. There is no longer a priesthood on earth ministering at the altar in the temple of God at Jerusalem. However, there is still a need to teach the true worship of God, and to preach and publish the Word of God as a witness to the world. Those who repent and believe the gospel must be taught the way of eternal life that Jesus Christ committed to His disciples. It is for this reason that Jesus Christ sent them forth as apostles to the world, and it is for this reason that He raised up His church. Within the church, He has provided a ministry that is able to teach the Word of God and to preach the gospel to the world. Moreover, He has provided a way to support the work of preaching the gospel and teaching the brethren of Jesus Christ. Instead of the priests and Levites at the temple collecting tithes and offerings, the authority to receive tithes and offerings has been transferred to the ministry of Jesus Christ by the command of the Lord. The apostle Paul makes this very clear: “Don’t you know that those who are laboring in the sacred things of the temple live of the things of the temple, and those who are ministering at the altar are partakers with the altar? In the same way also, the Lord did command that those who preach the gospel are to live of the gospel” (I Cor. 9:13- 14).

The command of God under the Old Covenant concerning the tithes and offerings that the children of Israel were to give to the priests and Levites was brought to completion. Instead of abolishing the laws of tithes and offerings, Jesus Christ transferred the authority to receive tithes and offerings to the ministers of the gospel, who are under His authority as the High Priest and Mediator of the New Covenant.

How Did Jesus Christ Fulfill the Prophets?

Jesus also said that He had come to fulfill the prophets. How did Jesus fulfill the prophets? During His life in the flesh, all the Old Testament prophecies concerning His first coming were fulfilled. These prophecies included His miraculous conception and birth from the virgin Mary, the flight to Egypt to escape Herod, the return to Galilee and dwelling in Nazareth, the announcing of His ministry by John the Baptist, the healings and mighty works during His ministry, the preaching of the gospel throughout the land of Judea and Galilee, the persecution and suffering that followed, His death by crucifixion, the place of His burial, and the time of the resurrection. Most of the prophecies that were fulfilled concern His suffering and death on the Passover day. (See the section Twenty-eight Prophecies Fulfilled On the Crucifixion Day on pages 268-273.)

Although nearly two thousand years have passed since these prophecies were completed, all the prophecies about His second coming have yet to be fulfilled. There are a great number of prophecies in both the Old Testament and the New Testament that are awaiting fulfillment. Every prophecy in the Word of God will be fulfilled in its set time as determined by God the Father. Jesus Christ did not abolish or set aside a single prophecy or even a single word of the Old Testament scriptures. Remember what Jesus said concerning the Scriptures: “For truly I say to you, until the heaven and the earth shall pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no way pass from the Law until everything has been fulfilled” (Matt. 5:18).

Jesus gave an absolute guarantee that all the prophecies of Scripture will be fulfilled in their time: “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branches have already become tender, and it puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. In like manner also, when you see all these things [the events prophesied for the end time taking place], know that it [the second return of Jesus Christ] is near, even at the doors. Truly I say to you, this [end time] generation shall in no wise pass away until all these things have taken place. The heaven and the earth shall pass away, but My words shall never pass away. But concerning that day, and the hour, no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only” (Matt. 24:32-36).

According to the words of Jesus Christ, all the prophecies that are recorded in Scripture will be fulfilled at the time that God has ordained. Jesus did not come to abolish the words of the prophets, but to fulfill them. As He came in the flesh to fulfill the prophecies of a Savior, so He will return in glory to fulfill the prophecies of the coming King Who will bring the government of God to earth.

The Commandments of God Are To Be Taught and Practiced Under the New Covenant

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus made it absolutely clear that the commandments of God are in force under the New Covenant: “Therefore, whoever shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of [from] heaven; but whoever shall practice and teach them, this one shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:19).

Which commandments of God are rejected and considered the least by mainstream Christianity today? The two that are considered the least are the Fourth Commandment and the Second Commandment. As strange as it may seem, many of those who reject these commandments will profess to keep the other commandments and claim that they are doing the will of God. But as the apostle James shows, breaking even one of the commandments of God is sin, and brings the same condemnation as breaking them all.

Let us examine the two commandments that are considered the least by mainstream Christianity, beginning with the Fourth Commandment: “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter; your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your livestock, nor the stranger within your gates; for in six days the LORD made the heaven and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and sanctified it” (Ex. 20:8- 11).

Nowhere in the entire Bible do we find a single scripture that changes the day of rest and worship from the seventh day of the week to Sunday, the first day of the week. Several scriptures are often used by Sunday keepers to support their belief that Christians should worship on the first day of the week. However, when those scriptures are correctly understood and interpreted, it is clear that Jesus Christ did not change the Sabbath from the seventh day of the week to the first day of the week.

Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man…” (Mark 2:27). Contrary to the teachings of mainstream theologians, God did not command Sabbath keeping for the Jews only. In the beginning, God created the Sabbath day, hallowing the seventh day as the weekly day of worship, when there was not a single Jew on earth. The only humans at that time were Adam and Eve, the progenitors of all mankind. It was for all humanity that God blessed and sanctified the seventh day, making it holy: “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And by the beginning of the seventh day God finished His work which He had made. And He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it [made it holy] because on it He rested from all His work which God had created and made” (Gen. 2:1-3).

The seventh day was sanctified at the creation of the world. God established that day as a time for rest and worship from the beginning. He sanctified it, and blessed it, and rested on it, setting the example for mankind. Down through the ages, the record of this act of God has been preserved in the book of Genesis, one of the books of the Law. Remember what Jesus Christ declared concerning the Law: “For truly I say to you, until the heaven and the earth shall pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no way pass from the Law until everything has been fulfilled” (Matt. 5:18).

Since God created time, and time is measured by the movement of the earth in relationship to the heavens, time will exist as long as the heavens and the earth exist. As long as the heavens and the earth exist, the seventh-day Sabbath will not pass from the Law. Consequently, the Fourth Commandment is still in force and remains binding on all mankind.

Contrary to what mainstream Christianity may teach or what people may practice, Sunday has never been and will never be the Lord’s day. The seventh day of the week, called Saturday today, is the Lord’s Sabbath day. Jesus Christ emphatically declared that He is Lord of the Sabbath day: “And He said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath; therefore, the Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath’ ” (Mark 2:27-28). Jesus Himself declared that He is Lord of the Sabbath—the seventh day of the week. Therefore, the Sabbath day is the Lord’s day—not Sunday.

Some have misconstrued Jesus’ declaration that He is Lord of the Sabbath as signifying that He was abolishing the Sabbath by His authority. This interpretation of Jesus’ words is completely unfounded. Among the scholars who understand the true meaning of these scriptures are the writers of The Anchor Bible Dictionary. Notice what they have written about these critical verses: “At times Jesus is interpreted to have abrogated or suspended the sabbath commandment on the basis of the controversies brought about by sabbath healings and other acts. Careful analysis of the respective passages does not seem to give credence to this interpretation. The action of plucking the ears of grain on the sabbath by the disciples is particularly important in this matter. Jesus makes a foundational pronouncement at that time in a chiastically structured statement of antithetic parallelism: ‘The sabbath was made for man and not man for the sabbath’ (Mark 2:27). The disciples’ act of plucking the grain infringed against the rabbinic halakhah of minute causistry in which it was forbidden to reap, thresh, winnow, and grind on the sabbath (Sabb. 7.2). Here again rabbinic sabbath halakhah is rejected, as in other sabbath conflicts. Jesus reforms the sabbath and restores its rightful place as designed in creation, where sabbath is made for all mankind and not specifically for Israel, as claimed by normative Judaism (cf. Jub. 2:19-20, see D.3). The subsequent logion, ‘The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbaths’ (Mark 2:28; Matt. 12:8; Luke 6:5), indicates that man-made Sabbath halakhah does not rule the sabbath, but that the Son of Man as Lord determines the true meaning of the sabbath. The sabbath activities of Jesus are neither hurtful provocations nor mere protests against rabbinic legal restrictions, but are part of Jesus’ essential proclamation of the inbreaking of the kingdom of God in which man is taught the original meaning of the sabbath as the recurring weekly proleptic ‘day of the Lord’ in which God manifests his healing and saving rulership over man” (vol. 5, pp. 854-55).

As these scholars show, the Gospel accounts do not support the widespread belief that Jesus abolished the Sabbath day. Rather, as the Lord of the Sabbath, He taught the true meaning of the Sabbath day and set the example for its proper observance. His apostles continued to keep the Sabbath and to teach the early believers to keep it, as Paul’s epistle to the Hebrews clearly demonstrates. The apostle Paul wrote this epistle in 61 AD, more than thirty years after the beginning of the New Testament church. In his epistle, Paul makes it absolutely clear that the seventh-day Sabbath had not been abolished. At that time, there were false ministers who were teaching that Sunday, the first day of the week, had replaced the Sabbath. To counter these false teachings, Paul gave the brethren a sober warning that to reject the Sabbath and neglect to rest and worship God was sin, just as it was for the children of Israel in the wilderness:

“For He spoke in a certain place about the seventh day in this manner: ‘And God rested on the seventh day from all His works’; and again concerning this: ‘If they shall enter into My rest—’ consequently, since it remains for some to enter into it, and those who had previously heard the gospel did not enter in because of disobedience, again He marks out a certain day, ‘Today,’ saying in David after so long a time (exactly as it has been quoted above), ‘Today, if you will hear His voice, harden not your hearts.’ For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken long afterwards of another day. There remains, therefore, Sabbath-keeping for the people of God” (Heb. 4:4-9). Paul did not write, “There remains Sabbath keeping for the Jews.” He clearly declared, “There remains Sabbath keeping for the people of God.” The people of God include the Gentiles as well as the Jews (I Pet. 2:10 and Eph. 2:11-19).

Many ministers and theologians have applied the opposite meaning to Hebrews 4:9. They have completely misinterpreted the King James translation of this verse, which reads, “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.” They teach that Christians are no longer required to observe the Sabbath because Jesus Christ has given them “rest” by “fulfilling the law” for them and thereby releasing them from commandment keeping. Such reasoning is completely false. Jesus did not fulfill the commandments of God in order to release us from the obligation to keep them, but to set the example for us (I Pet. 2:21-22, I John 3:4).

When we understand the meaning of the Greek text, there is no question that the New Testament upholds the authority of the Fourth Commandment for Christians today. The Greek word that is used in Hebrews 4:9 is sabbatismos, which means “Sabbath rest, Sabbath observance” (Arndt and Gingrich, A Greek- English Lexicon of the New Testament). This definition of the Greek word, sabbatismos, is confirmed by other historical works: “The words ‘sabbath rest’ translate the GK noun sabbatismos, a unique word in the NT. This term appears also in Plutarch (Superset. 3 [Moralia 166a]) for sabbath observance, and in four postcanonical Christian writings which are not dependent on Heb. 4:9” (The Anchor Bible Dictionary, vol. 5, p. 856).

The Greek word, sabbatismos, is a noun. The verb form of the word is sabbatizo, which means, “to keep the Sabbath” (Arndt and Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament). The meaning of sabbatizo is confirmed by its use in the Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Old Testament which dates from the third century BC. It is called the Septuagint, meaning “Seventy,” because the first five books were translated by seventy scholars who were Greek-speaking Jews in Alexandria, Egypt. The Septuagint was used by the Jews in synagogues throughout the Roman Empire, and by the Greek-speaking Jewish and Gentile converts in the early New Testament churches.

The apostle Paul quotes exclusively from the Septuagint in his epistle to the Hebrews. When Paul used the Greek word sabbatismos, in Hebrews 4:9, he knew that the meaning of this word was well known to the Greek-speaking believers of that day. The verb form sabbatizo, was used in the Septuagint, which was as familiar to the believers of New Testament times as the King James Bible is to Christians today.

A Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint defines sabbatizo as “to keep sabbath, to rest” (Lust, Eynikel, Hauspie). The use of the verb sabbatizo in Leviticus 23:32 in the Septuagint leaves no room to mistake its meaning. Here is the English translation of this verse in the Septuagint: “It [the Day of Atonement] shall be a holy sabbath [literally, “a Sabbath of Sabbaths”] to you; and ye shall humble your souls, from the ninth day of the month: from evening to evening shall ye keep your sabbaths” (Brenton, The Septuagint With Apocrypha).

The clause “shall ye keep your sabbaths” is translated from the Greek words sabbatieite ta sabbata, which literally mean, “You shall sabbathize the Sabbaths.” The Greek verb sabbatieite, which means “ye shall keep,” is the second person plural form of the verb , sabbatizo. Since the verb sabbatizo means “to keep the Sabbath,” this verb applies to the weekly Sabbath and the annual Holy Days, which are also Sabbaths of God. This verb applies to God’s command for the seventh-year rest of the farming land. In the Septuagint, the verb sabbatizo is used in relation to Sabbath keeping and Sabbath rest.

In accord with this definition, the KJV translates sabbatieite in Leviticus 23:32 as “shall ye celebrate your sabbath.” There is no question that this form of the Greek verb sabbatizo is specifically referring to Sabbath observance. This meaning applies equally to the noun form sabbatismos, which we find in Paul’s epistle to the Hebrews. The fact that Paul uses the Septuagint translation in this epistle confirms that the meaning of the word sabbatismos in Hebrews 4:9 is in complete accord with the meaning of sabbatieite in Leviticus 23:32. Paul is clearly upholding the observance of the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week.

The use of the Greek word sabbatismos in Hebrews 4:9 clearly shows that the teaching that the Fourth Commandment has been abolished is a false interpretation and doctrine. As the context of this verse shows, the observance of the seventh day as a day of rest and worship is as binding for the people of God today as it was for Israel of old. In addition to the weekly Sabbath, the annual holy days that God commanded, which are also called Sabbaths, are included in the Fourth Commandment. In the same manner as true believers are commanded to keep the seventh-day Sabbath, they are also commanded to observe the annual holy days of God. The early New Testament churches kept the holy days of God, as determined by the calculated Hebrew Calendar. The apostle Paul kept the holy days and commanded Gentile converts to keep them (I Cor. 5:7-8). None of the apostles or the early converts to Christianity observed the pagan holidays that are now called Christmas and Easter. These holidays, which originated in sun worship, were later adopted into Christianity through the influence of the Roman church. They became false substitutes for the annual holy days that are commanded by God, just as Sunday has become a false substitute for the weekly Sabbath. (If the reader desires to know more about the Sabbath and the holy days of God, please write to the publisher at the address in the front of the book.)

The Second Commandment: As the Roman church succeeded in subverting the observance of the Fourth Commandment by Christians, so it succeeded in subverting the observance of the Second Commandment, which prohibits the use of idols and images in worship. There is no ambiguity in the wording of this command of God: “You shall not make for yourselves any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters under the earth. You shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands of those who love Me and keep My commandments” (Ex. 20:4-6).

Because this commandment is so clear in its condemnation of idols and images, the Roman church has removed it from their listing of the Ten Commandments in all their catechisms. In order to make up for the missing commandment, they have split the Tenth Commandment into two commandments. Although they have officially removed the Second Commandment from their catechisms, because they cannot justify their unlawful use of idols and images, the full text of the Second Commandment remains in their approved Bibles as a testimony against their idolatry.

The Second Commandment makes it absolutely clear that God abhors the use of idols and images of any kind by His people. Yet the churches of professing Christianity are filled with idols, images and pictures. But no church, however great it may be in the world, can justify the use of idols and images in its worship when God has strictly forbidden this practice. God the Father and Jesus Christ cannot be worshiped through idols or images. Nor will God tolerate the use of images to worship and venerate other persons or beings. The worship of Mary and the veneration of the apostles and other saints has no place in true Christianity. All such worship is strictly forbidden by the Second Commandment. It is blatant idolatry to venerate any person or being in addition to or in place of God. The apostle Paul warned the believers of his day that those who take part in idolatry will suffer the judgment of God, as did the Israelites of old who committed this sin. Paul wrote to the believers at Corinth, who were being tempted to return to their former idolatry, as Israel had returned to the idolatry of Egypt: “Neither be idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, ‘The people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.’ Neither should we commit sexual immorality, as some of them committed, and twenty-three thousand were destroyed in one day. Neither should we tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted Him, and were killed by serpents….Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry” (I Cor. 10:7-9, 14).

Paul’s warning to the Corinthians makes it clear that the Second Commandment is still in force. It is even more binding under the New Covenant than it was under the Old, because Jesus has magnified it by His example and His teaching. The worship of God in spirit and in truth requires loving God with the whole heart and mind. The true worship of God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ leaves no room in the heart and mind to worship others. As the Scriptures show, idolatry begins in the mind and heart. Notice the words of God in the book of Ezekiel: “And some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me. And the Word of the LORD came to me, saying, ‘Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts, and put the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces. Should I at all be inquired of by them? Therefore speak to them, and say to them, “Thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Every man of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, and puts the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and comes to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him according to the multitude of his idols: So that I may take the house of Israel in their own heart because they have deserted Me for their idols—all of them.’

“ ‘Therefore say to the house of Israel, “Thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Repent and turn yourselves from your idols, and turn away your faces from all your abominations. For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger who lives in Israel, who separates himself from Me and sets up his idols in his heart, and puts the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and comes to a prophet to ask of him concerning Me; I the LORD will answer him Myself. And I will set My face against that man, and I will make him for a sign and for a proverb. And I will cut him off from the midst of My people; and you shall know that I am the LORD” ’ ” (Ezek. 14:1-8).

Like Israel of old, the believers in the New Testament churches were drawn away from the true worship of God and led into idol worship. Images of pagan deities were introduced into the churches and palmed off as representations of Jesus’ mother and His apostles. More and more images were added, each said to represent a chosen saint of God. But the apostle Paul reveals the true origin of these idols: “What then am I saying? That an idol is anything, or that which is sacrificed to an idol is anything? But that which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to God; and I do not wish you to have fellowship with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord, and the table of demons” (I Cor. 10:19-21).

The apostle John understood the pagan origin of the images that were brought into the early churches, drawing many believers into a false worship. Toward the close of the first century, John wrote three different epistles to admonish the believers to remain faithful to the true worship of God. At the end of his first epistle, he commanded, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols” (I John 5:21).

There is no question that, in the Old Testament and the New Testament, any worship of idols and images is condemned. Those who teach and practice the use of idols and images to worship God are in direct defiance of the Second Commandment and will be rejected by Him. God the Father and Jesus Christ will not share Their glory and honor with an idol. Any attempt to worship God through the use of an idol, or physical object of any kind, including rosaries or prayer beads, is worshiping in vain. True worship requires loving God with the whole heart and mind, in spirit and in truth, leaving no room for reverence or devotion to images created by the imaginations and hands of men.

The Spirit and Intent of the Law and the Prophets

The purpose of the Law and the Prophets, and all the writings of the Old Testament, was to teach the people to love and worship God, and Him alone. Jesus Christ revealed the spirit and intent of the Law and the Prophets when He was asked which commandment was the greatest: “And one of them, a doctor of the law, questioned Him, tempting Him, and saying, ‘Master, which commandment is the great commandment in the Law?’ And Jesus said to him, ‘ “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment; and the second one is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” ’ ”(Matt. 22:35-40).

Under the New Covenant, true worship and love toward God is made possible through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, which enables the believer to reverence God and obey Him from the heart. Through faith in Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the believer learns to obey every command of God in the full spirit and intent of the law, as magnified by Jesus Christ. This is the manner in which every true believer will be keeping the laws and commandments of God, because he or she loves God the Father and Jesus Christ with all the heart, mind, soul and strength. This righteousness, which is based on faith and love, far exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus said, “For I say to you, unless your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, there is no way that you shall enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:20).

The righteousness that exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees is the righteousness of Jesus Christ, Who obeyed all of His Father’s commandments in the full spirit and intent of the law. Through faith, His righteousness is imputed to each believer who loves God and keeps His commandments. This imputed righteousness is a gift that the believer receives through the abundance of the Father’s grace. It is called “the righteousness of faith” because only through faith in Jesus Christ is it possible to partake of this righteousness.

The Righteousness of Faith of the True Believer

When a believer is justified from past sins through faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and is baptized by full immersion in water, he or she receives the gift of the Holy Spirit as a begettal from God the Father. Then the Father imputes to the believer the very righteousness of Jesus Christ, that “so also might the grace of God reign through righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 5:21).

The righteousness of Jesus Christ, which is imputed to the believer by God the Father, far exceeds the righteousness required by the letter of the law. His spiritual obedience was so perfect, pure and wholehearted that He always did the things that pleased God the Father. This perfect righteousness was accomplished through the power of the Holy Spirit, which Jesus received without measure from the Father.

By His personal example and His teachings, Jesus magnified the laws and commandments of God and revealed the fullness of their intent and meaning. He showed that the spirit of the law does not nullify the letter of the law but requires a fuller, spiritual obedience. This spiritual obedience is beyond the capacity of the natural mind and human will and can only be accomplished through Jesus Christ. The Scriptures reveal that when the believer is begotten with the Holy Spirit of God the Father, he or she begins to receive the very mind of Christ. With Christ’s mind, the believer is strengthened to live by every word of God in the full spirit of the law. The apostle Paul describes this spiritual transformation in the mind as “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27). Each believer begins to have the laws and commandments of God written upon his or her mind: “But He, after offering one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time, He is waiting until His enemies are placed as a footstool for His feet. For by one offering He has obtained eternal perfection for those who are sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after He had previously said, ‘This is the covenant that I will establish with them after those days,’ says the Lord: ‘I will give My laws into their hearts, and I will inscribe them in their minds; and their sins and lawlessness I will not remember ever again’ ” (Heb. 10:12-17).

Under the New Covenant, the laws and commandments of God are inscribed in the mind of each believer through the gift of the Holy Spirit, which gives the believer the power to bring forth the fruits of righteousness unto eternal life.

Rejecting the Commandments of God Is Lawlessness

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus left no doubt that the commandments of God are to be taught and practiced not only in the letter of the law but in the spirit of the law. Anyone who teaches that Jesus Christ abolished the laws and commandments of God is a liar. As He was completing the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warned of false prophets who would teach that obedience to the commandments and laws of God is no longer required: “But beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing, for within they are ravening wolves….Therefore, you shall assuredly know them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but the one who is doing the will of My Father, Who is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy through Your name? And did we not cast out demons through Your name? And did we not perform many works of power through Your name?’ And then I will confess to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from Me, you who work lawlessness’ ” (Matt. 7:15, 20-23).

These prophets and teachers are not of God in spite of the fact that they use Jesus’ name, and call Him their Lord, and even do wonderful works in His name. They present themselves as His ministers and preachers of truth, but in reality they are serving the god of this world, Satan the devil, who rejected the commandments of God from the beginning. Everyone who teaches disobedience to the laws and commandments of God is following in the steps of Satan, who was the first lawbreaker. That is why Jesus told the Pharisees that their father was the devil. While professing to teach and practice the laws and commandments of God, they were teaching and practicing their own religious laws and traditions in place of the commandments of God.

During His ministry, Jesus condemned the religious leaders of Judaism for their traditions, which they held in higher esteem than the laws and commandments of God. He made it clear that in observing their own human traditions, they were rejecting the commandments of God: “…The Pharisees and the scribes questioned Him, saying, ‘Why don’t Your disciples walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?’ And He answered and said to them, ‘Well did Isaiah prophesy concerning you hypocrites, as it is written, “This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far away from Me.” But in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrine the commandments of men. For leaving the commandment of God, you hold fast the tradition of men, such as the washing of pots and cups; and you practice many other things like this.’

“Then He said to them, ‘Full well do you reject the commandment of God, so that you may observe your own tradition. For Moses said, “Honor your father and your mother”; and, “The one who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.” But you say, “If a man shall say to his father or mother, ‘Whatever benefit you might receive from me is corban’ (that is, set aside as a gift to God), he is not obligated to help his parents.” And you excuse him from doing anything for his father or his mother, nullifying the authority of the Word of God by your tradition which you have passed down; and you practice many traditions such as this’ ” (Mark 7:5-13).

Most of the world’s professing Christians have committed the same mistake as the Pharisaic Jews. Many church denominations teach that divine revelation is contained in church tradition as well as in Holy Scripture. In the majority of churches, the religious leaders elevate their traditions to a higher status than the Word of God. It is evident that they have done so with the Fourth Commandment. They have exalted their unscriptural tradition of Sunday-keeping above the Sabbath commandment of God. In rejecting His commandment to keep the Sabbath day holy, they have become lawbreakers in His eyes. According to Jesus’ teaching, they are workers of lawlessness. Likewise, those churches that use any form of idols—including statues, pictures, relics, icons or other symbolic objects—are rejecting the Second Commandment for the sake of their tradition. Because they are breaking the commandment of God, they are guilty of practicing lawlessness.

In his first epistle, the apostle John clearly defines lawlessness: “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law, for sin is the transgression of the law” (I John 3:4, KJV). Although this is a correct translation, it does not convey the literal meaning of the Greek text. Here is a more precise translation of John’s words: “Everyone who practices sin is also practicing lawlessness, for sin is lawlessness”.

To practice lawlessness is to live in a state of sin, committing sin as a habitual way of life. In other words, lawlessness is the habitual breaking of God’s laws and commandments, which is sin. Religious leaders who teach and practice lawlessness appear to be righteous, because they use the names of God and Jesus Christ and often quote Scripture. However, they are not true servants of God because they reject His laws and commandments.

The apostle Jude, the brother of Jesus Christ, witnessed the rise of lawlessness among the churches of his day. Jude delivered an urgent plea to the believers to reject ungodly teachers of lawlessness, who were turning the grace of God into license to sin by preaching a false gospel of faith without obedience, and by replacing the commandments of God with traditions that originated in ancient paganism. Jude wrote: “Beloved, when personally exerting all my diligence to write to you concerning the common salvation, I was compelled to write to you, exhorting you to fervently fight for the faith, which once for all time has been delivered to the saints. For certain men have stealthily crept in; those who long ago have been written about, condemning them to this judgment. They are ungodly men, who are perverting the grace of our God, turning it into licentiousness, and are personally denying the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 3-4).

The apostle Peter also warned of false teachers who would reject the way of obedience to God’s commandments, as taught and practiced by Jesus Christ: “But there were also false prophets among the people, as indeed there will be false teachers among you, who will stealthily introduce destructive heresies, personally denying the Lord who bought them [by rejecting His teachings], and bringing swift destruction upon themselves. And many people will follow as authoritative [exalting church tradition] their destructive ways; and because of them, the way of the truth will be blasphemed” (II Pet. 2:1-2).

Those Who Reject the Commandments of God Are Judging the Law and the Lawgiver

Those who teach that the commandments of God have been abolished have presumptuously passed judgment on the laws of God and declared them to be null and void: “In fact, the whole law of Moses has been rendered inoperative. The New Testament message is clear for all who have ‘ears to hear.’ The whole of the law of Moses has been rendered inoperative by the death of the Lord Jesus. The law, in its entirety, no longer has any immediate and forensic authority or jurisdiction whatsoever over anyone….Christ is the complete end and fulfillment of all of the laws’ 613 commandments, ending their jurisdiction over us completely” (Tardo, Sunday Facts & Sabbath Fiction, p. 26-27).

By nullifying the laws of God in this manner, the religious teachers of this world are denying the authority of God as Lawgiver. The apostle James condemns this ungodly attitude, which presumes to judge the laws that God has established for all mankind: “Brethren, do not talk against one another. The one who talks against a brother, and judges his brother, is speaking against the law, and is judging the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law; rather, you are a judge. But there is only one Lawgiver, Who has power to save and to destroy. Who are you that you presume to judge another?” (James 4:11-12).

Those who judge the laws of God are, in fact, usurping the authority of God, Who is the only Lawgiver. To judge the laws and commandments of God and reject Him as Lawgiver is the epitome of lawlessness. This spirit of judging God and His laws is the spirit and attitude of Satan the devil, and the foundation of all religions that are based on the traditions and commandments of men. This form of religion is rooted in human self-righteousness, not in the righteousness that Jesus Christ taught and practiced.

The book of Job holds a lasting lesson for all who exalt their own righteousness above the righteousness of God. The ancient patriarch Job viewed himself as righteous because he continually offered sacrifices to God. However, he began to exalt himself and trust in his own righteousness, rather than trusting in God. He bragged and boasted of his own righteousness so much that God brought a series of grievous trials upon Job. After losing his children and all his possessions, he was smitten with boils from his head to his toes. When his trial was more than he could bear, three friends came to visit him, but they did not give him any comfort. His friends began to accuse him of evildoing and urged him to repent in order to escape further punishment from God. The more they condemned him, the more Job defended his own righteousness. He began to condemn God and accuse Him of being unjust and unrighteous in His acts. When he expressed a desire to plead his cause before God Himself, God responded by answering him in person: “And the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, ‘Gird up your loins now like a man. I will demand you, and you declare unto Me. Will you even annul My judgment? Will you condemn Me so that you may be righteous?’ ” (Job 40:6-8.)

These words of God also apply to the self-righteous attitude that the workers of lawlessness have toward God’s laws and commandments. They disannul God’s judgment by claiming that His holy, righteous and spiritual laws are evil and harsh, and that keeping them is a curse. In doing this, they are condemning God and going about to establish their own righteousness. Because they use the Scriptures and retain some of the commandments of God in their self-righteous religion, they appear to teach the way to salvation. But their self-righteous traditions and false grace will not bring salvation. As Job learned, God, and God alone, is Savior. He powerfully declared to Job that his own righteousness could never save him: “And have you an arm like God? Or can you thunder with a voice like His? Deck yourself now with majesty and excellency, and array yourself with glory and beauty. Cast abroad the rage of your wrath; and behold everyone who is proud, and abase him. Look on everyone who is proud, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place. Hide them in the dust together; and bind their faces in darkness. Then I will also confess to you that your own right hand can save you” (verses 9-14).

After hearing these words of God, Job abhorred himself for his sin of selfrighteousness and repented to God “in dust and ashes” (Job 42:6). That is what professing Christians of this world need to do. They need to forsake the self-righteous traditions of men that they have been practicing and submit to the righteousness of God the Father and Jesus Christ.

The leaders of Christianity today need to remember the words of warning that Jesus spoke to the scribes and Pharisees during His ministry. Like these self-righteous leaders of the Jews, the leaders of the Christian churches have adopted traditions and dogmas that conflict with the commandments of God. A close examination of the history of Christianity will show that the traditional doctrines and practices of the churches of this world are not the teachings of Jesus Christ. True Christianity, as originally taught by Jesus Christ and His apostles, was subverted from within by false teachers of lawlessness. The teachings of these “ungodly men” that Jude and Peter wrote about were passed down in the writings of the “early church fathers” and were accepted by the Roman church as authoritative traditions. Through the centuries the Roman church grew in power, using its influence to stamp out every remaining vestige of the true teachings of Jesus Christ. After a power struggle between the bishop of Rome and the bishop of Constantinople, the church split into the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox churches.

As the influence of the Orthodox church dominated the East, so the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church molded the thinking of the entire Western world. The authority of Catholic doctrine and tradition was not seriously challenged until the time of Martin Luther. When Martin Luther rejected the corruption and lawlessness of the Roman Catholic Church, he appeared to be seeking the truth of God. He labored diligently to translate the Scriptures into the German language so that the common people could read and learn from the Word of God. But the religion that developed as a result of Martin Luther’s teachings, known as Lutheranism, did not restore the true teachings of Jesus Christ. The reformation that Martin Luther initiated was never completed, because he rejected the Second and Fourth Commandments. As a result, the new religion that he founded began to promote another form of lawlessness.

Luther taught that a person who had been saved through the grace of God could not lose salvation, regardless of the degree or intensity of the sins that might be committed. This perverse teaching is clearly expressed in a letter written by Luther: “Be a sinner, and let your sins be strong, but let your faith in Christ be stronger, and rejoice in Christ who is the victor over sin, death, and the world. We will commit sins while we are here, for this life is not a place where righteousness can exist….No sin can separate us from Him, even if we were to kill or commit adultery a thousand times each day” (Martin Luther, Saemmtliche Schriften, Letter 99, 1 August 1521, translated by Erika Flores in The Wittenberg Project, The Wartburg Segment, as published in Grace and Knowledge, Issue 8, September 2000, Article “Ecclesiasticus: The Wisdom of Ben-Sirach,” p. 27).

The words of Martin Luther reveal the depth of lawlessness to which many religious leaders have descended. This teaching is the epitome of the perverted “grace” that Jude condemned, which rejects the commandments of God and grants license to commit sin with no limitations whatsoever. Luther’s teaching concerning murder and adultery is diametrically opposed to the teachings of Jesus Christ, Who magnified and greatly expanded the application of the Sixth and Seventh Commandments.

The promoters of lawlessness have succeeded in deceiving the vast majority of professing Christians into accepting a false grace. As the New Testament shows, this distorted view of grace does not lead to salvation. In the Judgment Day, the teachers of lawlessness, who have been honored as religious leaders and have even done noteworthy deeds in the name of Jesus Christ, will be rejected: “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy through Your name? And did we not cast out demons through Your name? And did we not perform many works of power through Your name?’ And then I will confess to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from Me, you who work lawlessness’ ” (Matt. 7:22-23).

The workers of lawlessness will depart into the lake of fire to suffer the judgment of eternal death, from which there is no resurrection: “But the cowardly, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone; which is the second death” (Rev. 21:8).

During His ministry, Jesus declared that those who refuse to hear His teachings would be judged by the words He had spoken: “Then Jesus called out and said, ‘The one who believes in Me does not believe in Me, but in Him Who sent Me. And the one who sees Me sees Him Who sent Me. I have come as a light into the world so that everyone who believes in Me may not remain in darkness. But if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. The one who rejects Me and does not receive My words has one who judges him; the word which I have spoken, that shall judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken from Myself; but the Father, Who sent Me, gave Me commandment Himself, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His commandment is eternal life. Therefore, whatever I speak, I speak exactly as the Father has told Me” (John 12:44-50).

The teachings of Jesus Christ, as recorded in the Sermon on the Mount, carry the full authority of God the Father: “Now it came to pass that when Jesus had finished these words, the multitudes were amazed at His teaching; for He taught them as one Who had authority, and not as the scribes” (Matt. 7:28-29). In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught the full intent and application of the laws and commandments of God, which is the spiritual standard for the New Covenant. This is the standard by which every true believer is now being judged, and by which all mankind will ultimately be judged.

51. TRUE CHRISTIANS ARE TO BE THE SALT OF THE EARTH AND THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

MATTHEW 5

13. You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, with what shall it be salted? For it no longer has any strength, but is to be thrown out and to be trampled upon by men.

14. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a mountain cannot be hid.

15. Neither do they light a lamp and put it under a bushelbasket, but on the lampstand; and it shines for all who are in the house.

16. In the same way also, you are to let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works, and may glorify your Father Who is in heaven.

52. JESUS CAME TO MAGNIFY AND FINISH GIVING THE LAW—HE PREACHED OBEDIENCE TO THE LAWS OF GOD
MATTHEW 5

17. Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.

18. For truly I say to you, until the heaven and the earth shall pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no way pass from the Law until everything has been fulfilled.

19. Therefore, whoever shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever shall practice and teach them, this one shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

20. For I say to you, unless your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, there is no way that you shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.

53. EXAMPLES OF THE SPIRITUAL APPLICATION OF THE LAW
MATTHEW 5

21. You have heard that it was said to those in ancient times, ‘You shall not commit murder; but whoever commits murder shall be subject to judgment.’ a

22. But I say to you, everyone who is angry with his brother without cause shall be subject to judgment. Now you have heard it said, ‘Whoever shall say to his brother, “Raca,” shall be subject to the judgment of the council.’ But I say to you, whoever shall say, ‘You fool,’ shall be subject to the fire of Gehenna.

23. For this reason, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you,

24. Leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

25. Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are in the way with him; lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and you be cast into prison.

26. Truly I say to you, there is no way that you shall come out of there until you have paid the very last coin.

a - Ex. 20:13; Deut 5:17

54. LUST IS SPIRITUAL ADULTERY
MATTHEW 5

27. “You have heard that it was said to those in ancient times, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ a

28. But I say to you, everyone who looks upon a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

29. So then, if your right eye shall cause you to offend, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is better for you that one of your members should perish than that your whole body be cast into Gehenna.

30. And if your right hand shall cause you to offend, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is better for you that one of your members should perish than that your whole body be cast into Gehenna.”

a - Ex. 20:14; Deut. 5:18

55. DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE CAN BE ADULTERY
MATTHEW 5

31. “It was also said in ancient times, ‘Whoever shall divorce his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement.’ a

32. But I say to you, whoever shall divorce his wife, except for the cause of sexual immorality, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever shall marry her who has been divorced is committing adultery.”

a - Deut. 24:1

56. CHRISTIANS ARE NOT TO VOW OR SWEAR
MATTHEW 5

33. “Again, you have heard that it was said to those in ancient times, ‘You shall not forswear yourself, but you shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ a

34. But I say to you, do not swear at all, neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; b

35. Nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet; nor by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King.

36. Neither shall you swear by your head, because you do not have the power to make one hair white or black.

37. But let your word be good, your ‘Yes’ be yes and your ‘No’ be no; for anything that is added to these is from the evil one.”

a - Ex. 20:7; Lev. 19:12; Deut. 5:11 b - Isa. 66:1

59. HOW TO DO YOUR WORKS

MATTHEW 6

1. “Beware that you do not bestow your alms in the sight of men in order to be seen by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father Who is in heaven.

2. Therefore, when you give your alms, do not sound the trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may have glory from men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward.

3. But when you give your alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,

4. So that your alms may be in secret; and your Father Who sees in secret shall Himself reward you openly.”

60. HOW TO PRAY
MATTHEW 6

5. “And when you pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, in order that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward.

6. But you, when you pray, enter into a private room; and after shutting the door, pray to your Father Who is in secret; and your Father Who sees in secret shall reward you openly.

7. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions, as the heathen do; for they think that by multiplying their words they shall be heard.

8. Now then, do not be like them; for your Father knows what things you have need of before you ask Him.”

61. PRAYER GUIDE AND OUTLINE
MATTHEW 6

9. “Therefore, you are to pray after this manner: ‘Our Father Who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name;

10. Your kingdom come; Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven;

11. Give us this day our daily bread;

12. And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors;

13. And lead us not into temptation, but rescue us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’

14. For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

15. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

62. HOW TO FAST
MATTHEW 6

16. “And when you fast, do not be as the hypocrites, dejected in countenance; for they disfigure their faces in order that they may appear to men to fast. Truly I say to you, they have their reward.

17. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,

18. So that you may not appear to men to fast, but to your Father Who is in secret; and your Father Who sees in secret shall reward you openly.”

63. HOW TO USE YOUR MONEY
MATTHEW 6

19. “Do not store up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moth and rust spoil, and where thieves break through and steal;

20. But store up treasures for yourselves in heaven, where neither moth nor rust spoils, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.

21. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

64. THE EYE IS THE LIGHT OF THE BODY
MATTHEW 6

22. “The light of the body is the eye. Therefore, if your eye be sound, your whole body shall be full of light.

23. But if your eye be evil, your whole body shall be full of darkness. Therefore, if the light that is in you be darkness, how great is that darkness!”

65. NO ONE IS CAPABLE OF SERVING TWO MASTERS
MATTHEW 6

24. “No one is able to serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

66. ATTITUDE TOWARD GOD AND MATERIAL GOODS—SEEK THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND HIS CHARACTER QUALITIES FIRST—AND YOUR NEEDS WILL BE SUPPLIED
MATTHEW 6

25. “Because of this I say to you, do not be anxious about your life as to what you shall eat and what you shall drink; nor about your body as to what you shall wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

26. Observe the birds of heaven: they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor do they gather into granaries; and your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much better than they?

27. But who among you, by taking careful thought, is able to add one cubit to his stature?

28. And why are you anxious about clothing? Observe the lilies of the field, how they grow: they do not labor, nor do they spin;

29. But I say to you, not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these.

30. Now if God so arrays the grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much rather clothe you, O you of little faith?

31. Therefore, do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘With what shall we be clothed?’

32. For the nations seek after all these things. And your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things.

33. But as for you, seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

34. Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow; for tomorrow shall take care of the things of itself. Sufficient for the day is the evil of that day.”

68. GOD’S HOLY TRUTH NOT TO BE TREATED LIGHTLY
MATTHEW 7

6. “Do not give that which is holy to the dogs, nor cast your pearls before the swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn around and tear you in pieces.”

69. ASK, SEEK, AND KNOCK, AND YOU WILL RECEIVE
MATTHEW 7

7. “Ask, and it shall be given to you. Seek, and you shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened to you.

8. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it shall be opened.

9. Or what man is there of you who, if his son shall ask for bread, will give him a stone?

10. And if he shall ask for a fish, will give him a serpent?

11. Therefore, if you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father Who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him?

12. Therefore, everything that you would have men do to you, so also do to them; for this is the Law and the Prophets.”

70. YOU MUST ENTER THROUGH THE NARROW GATE
MATTHEW 7

13. “Enter in through the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter through it;

14. For narrow is the gate and difficult is the way that leads to life, and few are those who find it.”

74. JESUS WITHDRAWS TO PRAY

LUKE 5

16. Then He withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.

75. JESUS RETURNS TO CAPERNAUM

MARK 2

1. And after some days, He again entered into Capernaum, and it was reported that He was in the house.

2. And immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer any room, not even at the door; and He preached the Word to them.

87. JESUS COMES DOWN FROM THE MOUNTAIN WITH HIS DISCIPLES AND HEALS A MULTITUDE

LUKE 6

17. And after descending with them, He stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples; and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, came to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases;

18. And those who were tormented by unclean spirits also came; and they were healed.

19. And all the crowd sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed all.

89. THEN JESUS COMES TO A HOUSE AT CAPERNAUM

MARK 3

20. Then a multitude gathered together again, so that they were not able even to eat bread.

21. And after hearing of it, those who were contrary to Him went to restrain Him; for they said, “He is out of His mind!”

92. THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES SEEK A SIGN

MATTHEW 12

38. Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Master, we desire to see a sign from You.”

39. And He answered and said to them, “A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.”

93. THE SIGN OF JONAH TO BE THE ONLY SIGN GIVEN

MATTHEW 12

40. “For just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, in like manner the Son of man shall be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. a

41. The men of Nineveh b shall stand up in the judgment with this generation and shall condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah; and behold, a greater than Jonah is here.

42. The queen of the south c shall rise up in the judgment with this generation and shall condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, a greater than Solomon is here.”

a - Jonah 1:17; 2:1 b - Jonah 3:5-10 c - I Kings 10:1-13; II Chron. 9:1-12

94. THAT WICKED GENERATION LIKENED TO WICKED SPIRITS

MATTHEW 12

43. “But when the unclean spirit has departed from a man, it goes through dry places seeking rest, but finds none.

44. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house, from which I came out.’ And after coming, it finds it unoccupied, swept and set in order.

45. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they enter in and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Likewise shall it also be with this wicked generation.”

96. THE ONLY SON OF A WIDOW IS RAISED FROM THE DEAD BY JESUS

LUKE 7

11. Now it came to pass on the next day that He went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and a great multitude.

12. And as He drew near to the gate of the city, behold, one who had died was being carried out, an only son to his mother, and she was a widow; and a considerable crowd from the city was with her.

13. And when the Lord saw her, He was moved with compassion for her and said to her, “Do not weep.”

14. And He came up to the bier and touched it, and those who were bearing it stopped. Then He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise!”

15. And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and He gave him to his mother.

97. THE PEOPLE ACKNOWLEDGE JESUS TO BE A GREAT PROPHET

LUKE 7

16. Then fear seized everyone, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen up among us,” and, “God has visited His people.”

17. And this report about Him went out into all Judea and all the country around.

18. Then John’s disciples brought word to him about all these things.

101. JESUS CORRECTS THESE CITIES FOR THEIR LACK OF REPENTANCE

MATTHEW 11

20. Then He began to castigate the cities in which most of His miracles had taken place, because they did not repent:

21. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that have taken place in you had taken place in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

22. But I tell you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.

23. And you, Capernaum, who have been exalted to heaven, shall be cast down to the grave. For if the miracles that have taken place in you had taken place in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. a

24. But I tell you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.”

a - Gen. 19:24-25

102. JESUS IS THANKFUL THAT THE FATHER HAS REVEALED THE KINGDOM OF GOD TO SPIRITUAL BABES

MATTHEW 11

25. At that time Jesus answered and said, “I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and have revealed them to babes.

26. Yes, Father, for it was well pleasing in Your sight to do this.

27. All things were delivered to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; neither does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son personally chooses to reveal Him.

28. Come to Me, all you who labor and are overly burdened, and I will give you rest.

29. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. a

30. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”

a - Jer. 6:16

103. A WOMAN WASHES JESUS’ FEET WITH HER TEARS AND HER HAIR, SHOWING AN ATTITUDE OF LOVE AND REPENTANCE

LUKE 7

36. Now one of the Pharisees invited Him to eat with him. And after going into the Pharisee’s house, He sat down at the table.

37. And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that He was sitting in the Pharisee’s house, took an alabaster flask of ointment;

38. And she stood weeping behind Him, and knelt at His feet, and began to wash His feet with her tears and to wipe them with the hairs of her head; and she was ardently kissing His feet and anointing them with the ointment.

39. But when he saw this, the Pharisee who had invited Him spoke within himself, saying, “This man, if He were a prophet, would have known who and what the woman is who is touching Him because she is a sinner.”

40. Then Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he said, “Teacher, say on.”

41. “There were two debtors of a certain creditor; one owed five hundred silver coins, and the other fifty.

42. But when they did not have anything with which to pay him, he forgave them both. Tell Me then, which of them will love him most?”

43. And Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave the most.” And He said to him, “You have judged rightly.”

44. And after turning to the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house, and you did not provide any water to wash My feet; but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hairs of her head.

45. You did not give Me a kiss; but she, from the time I came in, has not ceased to ardently kiss My feet.

46. You did not anoint My head with oil; but she has anointed My feet with ointment.

47. For this cause, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven because she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, he loves little.”

48. And He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.”

49. Then those who were sitting with Him began to say within themselves, “Who is this, Who even forgives sins?”

50. But He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

104. AT THE FALL FESTIVAL SEASON IN JERUSALEM, JESUS HEALS A MAN OF A 38-YEAR INFIRMITY ON THE SABBATH

JOHN 5

1. After these things there was a feast* of the Jews, a and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

2. And there is in Jerusalem at the sheep gate a pool, called Bethesda in Hebrew, which has five porches.

3. And in these porches were lying a great multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame and withered. They were waiting for the stirring of the water.

4. For from time to time, an angel descended into the pool and agitated the water; and the first one to enter after the agitation of the water was made well from whatever disease he had.

5. Now a certain man was there who had been suffering with an infirmity for thirty-eight years.

6. Jesus saw him lying there, and, knowing that he had been there a long time, said to him, “Do you desire to be made whole?”

7. And the infirm man answered Him, “Sir, I do not have anyone to put me in the pool after the water has been agitated. But while I am going, another one steps down before me.”

8. Jesus said to him, “Arise, take up your bedroll and walk.”

9. And immediately the man was made whole; and he took up his bedroll and walked. Now that day was a Sabbath.

10. For this reason, the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath day. It is not lawful for you to take up your bedroll.”

11. He answered them, “The One Who made me whole said to me, ‘Take up your bedroll and walk.’ ”

12. Then they asked him, “Who is the One Who said to you, ‘Take up your bedroll and walk’? ”

13. But the man who had been healed did not know Who it was, for Jesus had moved away, and a crowd was in the place.

14. After these things, Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “Behold, you have been made whole. Sin no more, so that something worse does not happen to you.”

15. The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus Who had made him whole.

16. And for this cause, the Jews persecuted Jesus and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on a Sabbath.

a - Lev. 23:23-44

____________________________________________
*This Feast has been a topic of varying discussion by many students and scholars. Most have supposed that this Feast was a Passover. But a further examination of the substance and topics of this feast actually shows that it was a fall festival season. The topics are the resurrections and the judgments. The first resurrection, the resurrection to eternal life, occurs at the second coming of Christ. The resurrection to judgment and/or damnation occurs after the Millennium, as pictured by the Last Great Day. We find both of these events recorded in the twentieth chapter of Revelation. This festival season could only be the fall festival season. The Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day comprise the entire fall festival season. All of these feasts are known as judgment feasts. Another contextual verification is the pattern of John’s writings. Chapters 2 and 3 record the Passover. Chapter 4 has an allusion to Pentecost. Chapter 5 shows the fall festival season. Chapter 6 shows the Passover. Chapters 7-10:21 show the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day. The last part of Chapter 10 records the events surrounding the Feast of Dedication in the winter. Then the rest of the Book of John is devoted to the final Passover, and the resurrection, and the events occurring directly afterwards. Following this pattern we see that John wrote in this following sequence: Passover, fall festival season, Passover, fall festival season, Passover. This internal evidence clearly indicates that this Feast in John 5 could be nothing other than a fall festival.

105. JESUS WORKS, THE FATHER WORKS; AND HAS GIVEN ALL JUDGMENT AND THE POWER OF RESURRECTION TO JESUS

JOHN 5

17. But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I work.”

18. So then, on account of this saying, the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, not only because He had loosed the Sabbath,* but also because He had called God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.

19. Therefore, Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, the Son has no power to do anything of Himself, but only what He sees the Father do. For whatever He does, these things the Son also does in the same manner.

20. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him everything that He Himself is doing. And He will show Him greater works than these, so that you may be filled with wonder.

21. For even as the Father raises the dead and gives life, in the same way also, the Son gives life to whom He will.

22. For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son

23. So that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. The one who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father Who sent Him.

24. Truly, truly I say to you, the one who hears My word, and believes Him Who sent Me, has everlasting life and does not come into judgment; for he has passed from death into life.

25. Truly, truly I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear shall live.

26. For even as the Father has life in Himself, so also has He given to the Son to have life in Himself;

27. And has also given Him authority to execute judgment because He is the Son of man.

28. Do not wonder at this, for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves shall hear His voice

29. And shall come forth: those who have practiced good unto a resurrection of life, and those who have practiced evil unto a resurrection of judgment.

30. I have no power to do anything of Myself; but as I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father, Who sent Me.

31. If I bear witness of Myself, My testimony is not true.

32. There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the testimony that he witnesses concerning Me is true.

33. You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.

34. Now I do not receive witness from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved.

35. He was a burning and shining light, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light.

36. But I have a greater witness than John’s; for the works that the Father gave Me to complete, the very works that I am doing, themselves bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me.

37. And the Father Himself, Who sent Me, has borne witness of Me. You have neither heard His voice nor seen His form at any time.

38. And you do not have His word dwelling in you, for you do not believe Him Whom He has sent.”

_________________________
*The Greek verb luoo, is properly translated into the English word, “loosed.” Luoo means “to loose,” as in loosing a law or regulation. In this case, Jesus loosed a law of Judaism that the Jews had added to the commandment of God. In loosing this law of Judaism, He did not break the Sabbath or transgress against the Fourth Commandment, which prohibits working on the Sabbath. Jesus Christ did not abrogate the seventh day as the Sabbath. Rather, He “loosed” the Sabbath from a traditional law of Judaism, which prohibited a person from carrying his bedroll on the Sabbath day.

106. YOU MUST BELIEVE MOSES AND THE SCRIPTURES TO BELIEVE JESUS AND HIS MESSAGE

JOHN 5

39. “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think that you have eternal life; and they are the ones that testify of Me.

40. But you are unwilling to come to Me, that you may have life.

41. I do not receive glory from men;

42. But I have known you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves.

43. I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; but if another comes in his own name, you will receive him.

44. How are you able to believe, you who receive glory from one another, and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?

45. Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you, even Moses, in whom you have hope.

46. But if you believed Moses, you would have believed Me; for he wrote about Me.

47. And if you do not believe his writings, how shall you believe My words?”

107. JESUS TEACHES IN EVERY CITY AND VILLAGE

LUKE 8

1. Now it came to pass afterwards that He traveled through all the land, city by city and village by village, preaching and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom of God; and the twelve were with Him,

2. And certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary who is called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out;

3. And Joanna, wife of Chuza, a steward of Herod; and Susanna, and many others who were ministering to Him from their own substance.

113. THE PARABLE OF THE TARES

MATTHEW 13

24. And He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is compared to a man who was sowing good seed in his field;

25. But while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away.

26. Now when the blades sprouted and produced fruit, then the tares also appeared.

27. And the servants came to the master of the house and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? Then where did these tares come from?’

28. And he said to them, ‘A man who is an enemy has done this.’ Then the servants said to him, ‘Do you want us to go out and gather them?’

29. But he said, ‘No, lest while you are gathering the tares, you also uproot the wheat with them.

30. Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and at the time of the harvest, I will say to the reapers, “Gather the tares first, and bind them into bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my granary.” ’ ”

114. A PARABLE OF HOW GOD FULFILLS HIS PURPOSE COMPARED TO A HARVEST

MARK 4

26. Then He said, “The kingdom of God is likened to this: It is as if a man should cast seed upon the earth,

27. And should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should sprout and grow, but he does not know how.

28. For the earth brings forth fruit of itself, first a blade, then a head, then full grain in the head.

29. And when the grain is mature, immediately he puts in the sickle, for the harvest has come.” a

a - Joel 3:13; Rev. 14:15

116. THE KINGDOM OF GOD COMPARED TO LEAVEN

MATTHEW 13

33. Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is compared to leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour until all was leavened.”

117. THE PURPOSE OF PARABLES

MATTHEW 13

34. Jesus spoke all these things to the multitudes in parables, and without a parable He did not speak to them;

35. So that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world.” a

a - Psa. 78:2; 49:4

119. THE KINGDOM OF GOD COMPARED TO HIDDEN TREASURE

MATTHEW 13

44. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is compared to treasure hidden in a field; which when a man finds, he conceals, and for the joy of finding it, goes and sells everything that he has, and buys that field.”

120. THE KINGDOM OF GOD COMPARED TO THE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE

MATTHEW 13

45. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is compared to a merchant seeking beautiful pearls;

46. Who, after finding one very precious pearl, went and sold everything that he had, and bought it.”

121. THE KINGDOM OF GOD COMPARED TO A FISHERMAN’S NET

MATTHEW 13

47. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is compared to a dragnet cast into the sea, gathering in every kind of fish;

48. Which after it was filled was drawn up on shore; and they sat down and collected the good into vessels, and the unfit they threw away.

49. This is the way it will be in the end of the age: the angels shall go out, and shall separate the wicked from among the righteous,

50. And shall cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”

122. HIS DISCIPLES UNDERSTOOD THE PARABLES

MATTHEW 13

51. Jesus said to them, “Have you understood all these things?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”

52. Then He said to them, “Therefore, every scribe who has been instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like a man who is a householder, who brings forth out of his treasure things new and old.”

53. And it came to pass that when Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there.

MATTHEW 13

42. And they shall cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

43. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. The one who has ears to hear, let him hear.” a

a - Dan. 12:3

123. YOU MUST FOLLOW JESUS IN SPITE OF ALL PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES

MATTHEW 8

18. But when Jesus saw great multitudes around Him, He commanded His disciples to depart to the other side.

19. And a certain scribe came to Him and said, “Master, I will follow You wherever You may go.”

20. Then Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of heaven have nests; but the Son of man has no place to lay His head.”

21. And another of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father.”

22. But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”

130. JESUS HEALS TWO BLIND MEN

MATTHEW 9

27. Now as Jesus was traveling from there, two blind men followed, crying and saying, “Have pity on us, Son of David!”

28. And after coming into the house, the blind men came to Him; and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I have the power to do this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”

29. Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it to you.”

30. And their eyes were opened. And He sternly warned them, saying, “See that you do not let anyone know it.”

31. But they went out and made Him known in all that land.

131. JESUS HEALS DUMB MAN POSSESSED BY A DEMON

MATTHEW 9

32. And as they were leaving, behold, they brought to Him a dumb man, possessed by a demon;

33. And when the demon had been cast out, the one who had been dumb spoke. And the multitudes wondered, saying, “Never has the like been seen in Israel.”

34. But the Pharisees said, “By the prince of the demons He casts out demons.”

35. Then Jesus went around to all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every bodily weakness among the people.

132. JESUS IS MOVED WITH COMPASSION FOR THE PEOPLE

MATTHEW 9

36. And seeing the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were wearied and scattered abroad, as sheep who did not have a shepherd. a

37. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is truly great, but the workmen are few;

38. Therefore, beseech the Lord of the harvest, that He may send out workmen into His harvest.”

a - Num. 27:17; Isa. 53:6

135. COMMISSION TO THE 12 APOSTLES: GO TO THE LOST SHEEP OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL

MATTHEW 10

5. These twelve Jesus sent out after commanding them, saying, “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter into a city of the Samaritans;

6. But go instead to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

7. And as you are going, proclaim, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’

8. Heal the sick. Cleanse the lepers. Raise the dead. Cast out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

9. Do not provide gold, nor silver, nor money in your belts,

10. Nor a provision bag for the way, nor two coats, nor shoes, nor a staff; for the workman is worthy of his food.

11. And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and there remain until you leave.

12. When you come into the house, salute it;

13. And if the house is indeed worthy, let your peace be upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.

14. And whoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when you leave that house or that city, shake off the dust from your feet.

15. Truly I say to you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment than for that city.”

136. BE WISE AS SERPENTS, HARMLESS AS DOVES

MATTHEW 10

16. “Behold, I am sending you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore, be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.

17. But beware of men; for they will deliver you up to councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;”

137. WHEN YOU ARE DELIVERED UP FOR A WITNESS, THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL INSPIRE YOU

MATTHEW 10

18. “And you shall also be brought before governors and kings for My sake, for a witness to them and to the Gentiles.

19. Now when they deliver you up, do not be anxious about how or what you should speak; for in that hour it shall be given to you what you shall speak.

20. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaks in you.

21. Then brother will deliver up brother to death; and the father, the child; and children will rise up against their parents and have them put to death.

22. And you shall be hated by all for My name’s sake; but the one who endures to the end, that one shall be saved.

23. But when they persecute you in this city, escape into another; for truly I say to you, in no way shall you have completed witnessing to the cities of Israel until the Son of man has come.

24. A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.

25. It is sufficient for the disciple that he become as his teacher, and the servant as his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call those of his household?

26. Therefore, do not fear them because there is nothing covered that shall not be uncovered, and nothing hidden that shall not be known.

27. What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, proclaim upon the housetops.”

138. FEAR GOD, NOT MEN

MATTHEW 10

28. “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but do not have power to destroy the life; rather, fear Him Who has the power to destroy both life and body in Gehenna.

29. Are not two sparrows sold for a coin? And yet not one of them shall fall to the ground without your Father taking account of it.

30. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.

31. Therefore, do not be afraid; you are better than many sparrows.

32. Now then, whoever shall confess Me before men, that one will I also confess before My Father Who is in heaven.

33. But whoever shall deny Me before men, that one will I also deny before My Father, Who is in heaven.”

139. JESUS CAME NOT TO BRING PEACE, BUT A SWORD

MATTHEW 10

34. “Do not think that I have come to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.

35. For I have come to set a man at variance against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

36. And a man’s enemies shall be those of his own household.”

140. YOU MUST LOVE JESUS MORE THAN YOUR OWN FAMILY

MATTHEW 10

37. “The one who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and the one who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.

38. And the one who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me.”

141. YOU MUST LOSE YOUR LIFE IN JESUS

MATTHEW 10

39. “The one who has found his life shall lose it; and the one who has lost his life for My sake shall find it.”

142. THE BLESSING OF RECEIVING JESUS CHRIST

MATTHEW 10

40. “The one who receives you receives Me, and the one who receives Me receives Him Who sent Me.

41. The one who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive the reward of a prophet; and the one who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive the reward of a righteous man.

42. And if anyone shall in the name of a disciple give to one of these little ones to drink a cup of cold water only, truly I say to you, he shall in no way lose his reward.”

MATTHEW 11

1. And it came to pass that, when Jesus had finished commanding His twelve disciples, He left there to teach and to preach in their cities.

THE LENGTH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST’S MINISTRY

John the Baptist’s ministry can be divided into two parts. The first part was his active ministry. The second part was his inactive ministry, which took place during the time he was in prison. He began preaching and baptizing in the spring of 26 AD, close to the Passover, when he was about thirty years old. After John’s second Passover, which was the first Passover during Jesus’ ministry in 27 AD, (John 2:13-25), he was still baptizing (John 3:23-24). Shortly thereafter he was arrested and imprisoned. This occurred before Jesus came into Galilee preaching the kingdom of God and repentance (Mark 1:14-15). The first part of John’s ministry apparently lasted about 13 or 14 months.

Sometime after John’s third Passover (the second during Jesus’ ministry—see the explanation of Luke 6:1 in the section showing the Passover framework), which was in 28 AD, while in prison, he sent two of his disciples to ask Jesus if He were really the Messiah. (See Luke 7:19-23, Matt. 11:2-6.)

According to the chronology, sometime before the Passover in 29 AD (which would have been the fourth during John’s ministry—the third during Jesus’ ministry), John was beheaded by Herod. After John’s disciples buried him, they came and told Jesus (Matt. 14:1-12). John’s inactive ministry, while in prison apparently lasted just under two years. In summary, this makes the total length of John’s ministry, active and inactive, approximately three years.

149. PETER WALKS ON THE WATER TO JESUS

MATTHEW 14

28. Then Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, bid me to come to You upon the waters.”

29. And He said, “Come.” And after climbing down from the ship, Peter walked upon the waters to go to Jesus.

30. But when he saw how strong the wind was, he became afraid; and as he was beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”

31. And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

152. THE LESSON FOR THE THIRD PASSOVER: JESUS IS THE BREAD OF LIFE

JOHN 6

22. On the next day, the multitude standing on the other side of the sea, who had observed that no other small ship was there besides the one into which the disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not gone into the small ship with His disciples, but that His disciples had departed alone;

23. (But other small ships had come from Tiberias near the place where they had eaten the bread, after the Lord had given thanks;)

24. Accordingly, when the multitude saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also went in the ships and came to Capernaum, looking for Jesus.

25. And after finding Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You come here?”

26. Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly I say to you, you do not seek Me because you saw the miracles, but because you ate the bread and were satisfied.

27. Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures unto eternal life, which the Son of man shall give to you; for Him has God the Father sealed.”

28. Therefore, they said to Him, “What shall we do, in order that we ourselves may do the works of God?”

29. Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God: that you believe in Him Whom He has sent.”

30. Therefore, they said to Him, “What sign will You perform, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do?

31. Our fathers ate manna in the wilderness, as it is written: ‘He gave them bread to eat that came down from heaven.’ ” a

32. Then Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven; but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.

33. For the bread of God is He Who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

34. Therefore, they said to Him, “Lord, give this bread to us always.”

35. Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; the one who comes to Me shall never hunger; and the one who believes in Me shall never thirst at any time.”

a - Ex. 16:4; Psa. 78:24

153. JESUS CAME TO DO THE FATHER’S WILL

JOHN 6

36. “But as I said to you, you also have seen Me, yet you do not believe.

37. All whom the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will in no wise cast out.

38. For I did not come down from heaven to do My own will, but the will of Him Who sent Me.

39. And this is the will of the Father, Who sent Me: that of all whom He has given Me, I should not lose any, but should raise them up in the last day.

40. And this is the will of Him Who sent Me: that everyone who sees the Son, and believes in Him, may have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

154. THE JEWS DID NOT BELIEVE JESUS IS THE TRUE BREAD FROM HEAVEN

JOHN 6

41. Then the Jews were complaining against Him, because He said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”

42. And they were saying, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? Why then does He say, ‘I came down from heaven’? ”

43. For this reason, Jesus answered them and said, “Do not be complaining among one another.”

155. A PERSON CAN COME TO JESUS ONLY AS THE FATHER DRAWS HIM

JOHN 6

44. “No one can come to Me unless the Father, Who sent Me, draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.

45. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore, everyone who has heard from the Father, and has learned, comes to Me. a

46. No one has seen the Father except He Who is from God; He has seen the Father.

47. Truly, truly I say to you, the one who believes in Me has eternal life.”

a - Isa. 54:13

156. JESUS IS THE LIVING BREAD FROM HEAVEN—A TRUE CHRISTIAN MUST SYMBOLICALLY EAT HIS FLESH AND DRINK HIS BLOOD BY PARTAKING OF THE PASSOVER

JOHN 6

48. “I am the bread of life.

49. Your fathers ate manna in the desert, but they died.

50. This is the bread which comes down from heaven so that anyone may eat of it and not die.

51. I am the living bread, which came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread that I will give is even My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

52. Because of this, the Jews were arguing with one another, saying, “How is He able to give us His flesh to eat?”

53. Therefore, Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, you do not have life in yourselves.

54. The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up in the last day;

JOHN 6

55. For My flesh is truly food, and My blood is truly drink.

56. The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood is dwelling in Me, and I in him.

57. As the living Father has sent Me, and I live by the Father; so also the one who eats Me shall live by Me.

58. This is the bread which came down from heaven; not as your fathers ate manna, and died. The one who eats this bread shall live forever.”

59. These things He said in the synagogue as He was teaching in Capernaum.

157. MANY DISCIPLES LEAVE, AND FOLLOW HIM NO MORE

JOHN 6

60. Therefore, after hearing these words, many of His disciples said, “This is a hard saying. Who is able to hear it?”

61. But Jesus, knowing that His disciples were complaining about this, said to them, “Does this offend you?

62. What if you shall see the Son of man ascending up where He was before?

63. It is the Spirit that gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you, they are spirit and they are life.

64. But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who were the ones that did not believe, and who would betray Him.

65. And He said, “For this reason, I have said to you, no one can come to Me unless it has been given to him from My Father.”

66. From that time, many of His disciples went back and walked no more with Him.

67. Therefore, Jesus said to the twelve, “Are you also desiring to go away?”

68. Then Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life;

69. And we have believed and have known that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

70. Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you twelve, and one of you is the devil?”

71. Now He spoke of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son; for he was about to betray Him, being one of the twelve.

JOHN 7

1. After these things, Jesus was sojourning in Galilee, for He did not desire to travel in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him.

162. JESUS RETURNS TO GALILEE THROUGH DECAPOLIS AND HEALS A DEAF MAN

MARK 7

31. And after departing from the district of Tyre and Sidon, and passing through the middle of the borders of Decapolis, He again came to the Sea of Galilee.

32. Then they brought to Him a deaf man who spoke with difficulty, and they requested of Him that He lay His hands on him.

33. And after taking him apart from the multitude, He put His fingers into his ears; and then He spit on His finger and touched his tongue;

34. And after looking up to heaven, He groaned, and said to him, “Ephphatha”; that is, “Be opened!”

35. And immediately his ears were opened, and the band of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly.

36. Then He commanded them not to tell anyone. But although He had ordered them to keep quiet, they proclaimed it more and more.

37. For they were astonished above measure, saying, “He has done all things well; He makes both the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak.”

163. JESUS HEALS MANY IN GALILEE

MATTHEW 15

29. Now after leaving there, Jesus came toward the Sea of Galilee; and He went up into the mountain and sat there.

30. Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, the blind, the dumb, the maimed, and many others; and they laid them at the feet of Jesus, and He healed them;

31. So that the multitudes were amazed, when they saw the dumb speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.

167. JESUS HEALS A BLIND MAN AT BATHSAIDA

MARK 8

22. And He came to Bethsaida, and they brought to Him a blind man and besought Him that He might touch him.

23. Then He took hold of the blind man’s hand and led him out of the village, and He spit on his eyes and laid His hands on him, and then He asked him if he saw anything.

24. And when he looked up, he said, “I see men as trees walking.”

25. Then He again laid His hands on his eyes and made him look up. And he was restored, and he saw everything clearly.

26. And He sent him to his house, saying, “You must not enter the village, nor tell it to anyone in the village.”

169. JESUS DELEGATES BINDING AND LOOSING AUTHORITY TO HIS APOSTLES

MATTHEW 16

19. And I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you may bind on the earth will have already been bound in heaven; and whatever you may loose on the earth will have already been loosed in heaven.” a

20. Then He charged His disciples not to tell anyone that He was Jesus the Christ.

a - Isa. 22:22; Rev. 3:7-8

178. THE GREAT FEAST OF TABERNACLES IN JERUSALEM— JESUS COMMANDS HIS FAMILY TO GO UP TO THE FEAST

JOHN 7

2. Now the Jews’ feast of tabernacles was near. a

3. For this reason, His brothers said to Him, “Leave this place and go into Judea, so that Your disciples may see the works that You are doing;

4. Because no one does anything in secret, but seeks to be seen in public. If You do these things, reveal Yourself to the world.”

5. For neither did His brothers believe in Him.

6. Therefore, Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.

7. The world cannot hate you; but it hates Me because I testify concerning it, that its works are evil.”

a - Lev. 23:33-44

JOHN 7

8. “You go up to this feast. I am not going up to this feast now, for My time has not yet been fulfilled.”

179. JESUS GOES TO THE FEAST SECRETLY

JOHN 7

9. And after saying these things to them, He remained in Galilee.

10. But after His brothers had gone up, then Jesus also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.

180. THE JEWS LOOK FOR JESUS AT THE FEAST

JOHN 7

11. As a result, the Jews were seeking Him at the feast, and said, “Where is He?”

12. Now there was much debating about Him among the people. Some said, “He is a good Man.” But others said, “No, but He is deceiving the people.”

13. However, no one spoke publicly about Him for fear of the Jews.

181. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FEAST, JESUS SHOWS HIMSELF OPENLY AND TEACHES IN THE TEMPLE

JOHN 7

14. But then, about the middle of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and was teaching.

15. And the Jews were amazed, saying, “How does this Man know letters, having never been schooled?”

16. Jesus answered them and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His Who sent Me.

17. If anyone desires to do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it is from God, or whether I speak from My own self.

18. The one who speaks of himself is seeking his own glory; but He Who seeks the glory of Him Who sent Him is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

19. Did not Moses give you the law, and not one of you is practicing the law? Why do you seek to kill Me?”

20. The people answered and said, “You have a demon. Who is seeking to kill You?”

21. Jesus answered and said to them, “I did one work, and you were all amazed.

22. Now then, Moses gave you circumcision—not that it was from Moses, but from the fathers—and on the Sabbath you circumcise a man.

23. If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with Me because I made a man entirely whole on the Sabbath?

24. Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment.”

25. Then some of those from Jerusalem said, “Is not this the one Whom they seek to kill?

26. But look, He is speaking publicly, and they are saying nothing to Him. Can it be that the authorities have recognized that this man truly is the Christ?

27. Now this man, we know where He comes from. But the Christ, whenever He may appear, no one knows where He comes from.”

28. Then Jesus spoke out, teaching in the temple and saying, “You know Me, and you also know where I come from; yet I have not come of Myself; but He Who sent Me is true, Whom you do not know.

29. But I know Him because I am from Him, and He sent Me.”

JOHN 7

30. Because of this saying, they were looking for a way to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him because His time had not yet come.

31. Then many of the people believed in Him, saying, “When the Christ comes, will He do more miracles than those that this Man has done?”

32. The Pharisees heard the crowds debating these things about Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to arrest Him.

182. LATER THE JEWS WOULD SEEK JESUS

JOHN 7

33. Then Jesus said to them, “I am with you yet a little while, and then I go to Him Who sent Me.

34. You shall seek Me, but shall not find Me; and where I am going, you are not able to come.”

35. Therefore, the Jews said among themselves, “Where is He about to go, that we shall not find Him? Is He about to go to the Diaspora among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks?

36. What is this saying that He said, ‘You shall seek Me, but shall not find Me’; and, ‘Where I am going, you are not able to come’? ”

183. ON THE LAST GREAT DAY IN THE EVENING AS THE DAY BEGINS, JESUS TEACHES ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT

JOHN 7

37. Now in the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and called out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.

38. The one who believes in Me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” a

39. But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, which those who believed in Him would soon receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified.

a - Prov. 18:4; Rev. 22:1

184. A DISPUTE ABOUT JESUS BEING THE CHRIST

JOHN 7

40. Now after hearing these words, many of the people said, “This is truly the Prophet.”

41. Others said, “This is the Christ.” But others said, “Does the Christ then come out of Galilee?

42. Does not the scripture say that the Christ comes from the seed of David, and from Bethlehem, the town where David was?” a

43. Therefore, a division arose among the people because of Him.

44. Now some of them desired to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.

45. As a result, when the officers came to the chief priests and the Pharisees, they said to them, “Why did you not bring Him?”

46. The officers answered, “Never has a man spoken like this man.”

47. Then the Pharisees answered them, “Are you also being deceived?

48. Has even one of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in Him?

49. But these people who do not know the law are accursed.”

50. Then Nicodemus (being one of them, the one who came to Him by night) said to them,

51. “Does our law judge any man without first hearing from him in person, and knowing what he does?”

52. They answered and said to him, “Are you also from Galilee? Search and see, for no prophet has ever come out of Galilee.”

53. And each one went to his house.

a - II Sam. 7:12-16; Isa. 11:1; Mic. 5:2

185. JESUS TEACHES AT THE TEMPLE ON THE DAY PORTION OF THE LAST GREAT DAY

JOHN 8

1. But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

2. And at dawn He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them.

186. A WOMAN CAUGHT IN AN ACT OF ADULTRY IS AN EXAMPLE OF JUDGMENT

JOHN 8

3. Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought to Him a woman who had been taken in adultery; and after setting her in the center,

4. They said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery.

5. And in the law, Moses commanded us that those who commit such a sin should be stoned. a Therefore, what do You say?”

6. Now they said this to tempt Him, so that they might have cause to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger.

7. And as they continued to ask Him, He lifted Himself up and said to them, “Let the sinless one among you cast the first stone at her.”

8. And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.

9. But after hearing this, they were convicted each by his own conscience, and went out one by one, beginning with the older ones until the last. And Jesus was left alone, with the woman standing in the center.

a - Lev. 20:10; Deut. 22:22-24

187. JESUS LETS THE WOMAN GO WITH A WARNING TO SIN NO MORE

JOHN 8

10. And when Jesus lifted Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are your accusers? Did anyone condemn you?”

11. And she said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and sin no more.”

188. PHARISEES LAUNCH A VERBAL ATTACK AGAINST JESUS

JOHN 8

12. Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world; the one who follows Me shall never walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”

13. Therefore, the Pharisees said to Him, “You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not true.”

14. Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I testify about Myself, My testimony is true, because I know where I have come from and where I am going. But you do not know where I come from and where I go.

15. You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one.

16. Yet if I do judge, My judgment is true, for I am not alone; but I and the Father Who sent Me.

17. And it is written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. a

18. I am One Who bears witness of Myself, and the Father, Who sent Me bears witness of Me.”

19. Then they said to Him, “Where is Your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would also have known My Father.”

20. Jesus spoke these words in the treasury while teaching in the temple; but no one arrested Him because His time had not yet come.

a - Deut. 17:6; 19:15

189. PHARISEES ARE OF THIS WORLD AND CANNOT UNDERSTAND JESUS’ WORDS

JOHN 8

21. Then Jesus said to them again, “I am going away; and you shall seek Me, but you shall die in your sin. Where I am going, you are not able to come.”

22. Therefore, the Jews said, “Will He kill Himself? Is that why He says, ‘Where I am going, you are not able to come’? ”

23. And He said to them, “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.

24. That is why I said to you that you shall die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I AM, you shall die in your sins.”

25. Then they said to Him, “Who are You?” And Jesus said to them, “The One that I said to you from the beginning.

26. I have many things to say and to judge concerning you; but He Who sent Me is true, and what I have heard from Him, these things I speak to the world.”

27. But they did not know that He was speaking to them of the Father.

28. Then Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you yourselves shall know that I AM, and that I do nothing of Myself. But as the Father taught Me, these things I speak.

29. And He Who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone because I always do the things that please Him.”

190. OBEYING THE TRUTH MAKES YOU FREE FROM SIN

JOHN 8

30. As He spoke these things, many believed in Him.

31. Therefore, Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in Him, “If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples.

32. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.”

33. They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s seed, and have never been in bondage to anyone. What do You mean by saying, ‘You shall become free’?”

34. Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a servant of sin.

35. And the servant does not live in the house forever; but the Son lives forever.

36. Therefore, if the Son shall set you free, you shall truly be free.”

191. PHARISEES ARE OF THEIR SPIRITUAL FATHER, THE DEVIL

JOHN 8

37. “I know that you are Abraham’s seed; but you are seeking to kill Me, because My words do not enter into your minds.

38. I speak the things that I have seen from My Father, and you do the things that you have seen from your father.”

39. They answered and said to Him, “Our father is Abraham.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. a

40. But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has spoken the truth to you, which I have heard from God; Abraham did not do this.

41. You are doing the works of your father.” Then they said to Him, “We have not been born of fornication. We have one Father, and that is God.”

42. Therefore, Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, because I proceeded forth and came from God. For I have not come of Myself, but He sent Me.

43. Why don’t you understand My speech? Because you cannot bear to hear My words.”

a - Gen. 12:1-4; 17:1-8; 26:5

JOHN 8

44. “You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you desire to practice. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has not stood in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he is speaking from his own self; for he is a liar, and the father of it.

45. And because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me.

46. Which one of you can convict Me of sin? But if I speak the truth, why don’t you believe Me?

47. The one who is of God hears the words of God. For this reason you do not hear, because you are not of God.”

48. Then the Jews answered and said to Him, “Are we not right in saying that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?”

49. Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon. But I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.

50. Yet I do not seek My own glory; there is One Who seeks and judges.

51. Truly, truly I say to you, if anyone keeps My words, he shall not see death forever.”

52. Then the Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon. Abraham and the prophets died; yet You say, ‘If anyone keeps My words, he shall not taste of death forever.’

53. Are You greater than our father Abraham who died? And the prophets, who died? Whom do You make Yourself to be?”

54. Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing. It is My Father Who glorifies Me, of Whom you say that He is your God.

55. Yet you have not known Him; but I know Him. And if I say that I do not know Him, I shall be a liar, like you. But I know Him, and I keep His Word.

56. Abraham your father was overjoyed to see My day; and he saw it, and rejoiced.”

57. Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not even fifty years old, and You have seen Abraham?”

58. Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM.”

192. JESUS ESCAPES FROM BEING STONED

JOHN 8

59. Then they picked up stones to throw at Him. But Jesus concealed Himself and went out of the temple, passing through the midst of them, and in this manner departed.

193. JESUS HEALS A MAN WHO WAS BORN BLIND

JOHN 9

1. Now as Jesus was passing by, He saw a man who was blind from birth.

2. And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

3. Jesus answered, “Neither did this man sin, nor his parents; rather, this blindness came so that the works of God might be manifested in him.

4. I must work the works of Him Who sent Me while it is still day. When the night comes, no one is able to work.

5. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

6. After saying these things, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to the eyes of the blind man.

7. And He said to him, “Go and wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is, by interpretation, “Sent”). Then he went and washed, and came from there seeing.

8. Therefore, the neighbors and those who had seen him before, and knew that he was blind, said, “Isn’t he the one who was sitting and begging?”

9. Some said, “It is he.” But others said, “He is like him.” He said, “I am the one.”

10. Then they said to him, “How were your eyes opened?”

JOHN 9

11. He answered and said, “A man called Jesus made clay, and applied it to my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash’; and after I went and washed, I received sight.”

12. Then they said to him, “Where is He?” He said, “I do not know.”

13. They brought him who was once blind to the Pharisees.

14. Now it was the Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes.

15. Therefore, the Pharisees in turn also asked him how he had received sight. And he said to them, “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed; and now I see.”

16. Then some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God because He does not keep the Sabbath.” * Others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such miracles?” And there was a division among them.

17. They said to the blind man again, “What do you say about Him since He opened your eyes?” And he said, “He is a prophet.”

18. However, the Jews did not believe this about him, that he was blind and had received sight, until they called the parents of the one who had received sight.

19. And they asked them, saying, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?”

20. His parents answered them and said, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind.

21. But how he now sees, we do not know; or who opened his eyes, we do not know. He is of age; ask him. He will speak for himself.”

22. His parents said these things because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed among themselves that if anyone confessed Him to be the Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.

23. For this reason, his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

24. Therefore, they called a second time for the man who had been born blind, and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.”

25. Then he answered and said, “Whether He is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know, that I was blind, and now I see.”

26. And they said to him again, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?”

27. He answered them, “I have already told you, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you desire to become His disciples, too?”

28. Then they railed at him and said, “You are His disciple, but we are Moses’ disciples.

29. We know that God spoke to Moses. As for this man, we do not know where He has come from.”

30. The man answered and said to them, “This is truly an amazing thing, that you do not know where He has come from, yet He has opened my eyes.

31. Now we know that God does not hear sinners. But if anyone is God-fearing and is doing His will, He hears him.

32. From the beginning of the world it has never been heard of that anyone has opened the eyes of one who was born blind.

33. If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.”

34. They answered and said to him, “You were born wholly in sin, and you are teaching us?” And they cast him out.

35. Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He found him, He said to him, “Do you believe in the Son of God?”

36. He answered and said, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?”

_________________________
*The Pharisees were judging Jesus’ action of making the clay on the Sabbath as a sin. Because in their view He was laboring, they condemned Jesus and claimed that He did not keep the Sabbath. But Jesus Christ is Lord of the Sabbath day and never broke the command to refrain from servile work on the Sabbath. The records of the New Testament make it explicitly clear that Jesus never sinned by breaking any of the Ten Commandments, including the Fourth Commandment, which sanctifies the Sabbath day.

JOHN 9

37. And Jesus said to him, “You have seen Him, and He is the one Who is even now speaking to you.”

38. Then he said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped Him.

39. And Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world so that those who do not see might see, and those who see might become blind.”

40. And those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things; and they said to Him, “Are we also blind?”

41. Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore, your sin remains.”

194. JESUS IS THE ONLY TRUE SHEPHERD

JOHN 10

1. “Truly, truly I say to you, the one who does not enter the sheepfold through the door, but climbs up some other way, that one is a thief and a robber.

2. But the one who enters through the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

3. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

4. When he brings the sheep out, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.

5. But they will never follow a stranger for they will flee from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.”

6. Jesus spoke this parable to them, but they did not understand what He was saying to them.

7. Therefore, Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.

8. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.

9. I am the door. If anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and shall find pasture.

10. The thief does not come except to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly.

11. I am the good Shepherd. The good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.

12. But the one who is a hireling, and who is not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep, and flees. And the wolf seizes the sheep and scatters them.

13. Now the hireling flees because he is a hireling and has no concern for the sheep.

14. I am the good Shepherd, and I know those who are Mine, and am known of those who are Mine.

15. Just as the Father knows Me, I also know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.

16. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring those also, and they shall hear My voice; and there shall be one flock and one Shepherd. a

17. On account of this, the Father loves Me: because I lay down My life, that I may receive it back again.

18. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have authority to lay it down and authority to receive it back again. This commandment I received from My Father.”

19. Therefore, there was a division again among the Jews because of these words.

20. And many of them said, “He has a demon and is crazy. Why do you listen to Him?”

21. Others said, “These sayings are not those of one who is possessed by a demon. Does a demon have the power to open the eyes of the blind?”

a - Matt. 10:6; II Kings 17:23; Ezek. 34:23-24; 37:24

195. BACK IN CAPERNAUM: JESUS PAYS TAXES WITH A COIN FROM A FISH

MATTHEW 17

24. Now after coming to Capernaum, those who received the tribute money came to Peter and said, “Does not your Master pay tribute?”

25. And he said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus, anticipating his question, said, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth receive custom or tribute? From their own children, or from strangers?”

26. Peter said to Him, “From strangers.” Jesus said to him, “Then the children are indeed free.

27. Nevertheless, so that we may not offend them, go to the sea and cast a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you have opened its mouth, you shall find a coin. Take that, and give it to them for Me and you.”

199. WHAT TO DO WHEN A BROTHER SINS AGAINST A BROTHER

MATTHEW 18

15. So then, if your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault between you and him alone. If he is willing to hear you, you have gained your brother.

16. But if he will not listen, take with you one or two others, so that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. a

17. And if he fails to listen to them, tell it to the church. But if he also fails to listen to the church, let him be to you as the heathen and the tax collector.

a - Deut. 19:15

200. JESUS GIVES AUTHORITY TO BIND AND LOOSE TO SETTLE DISPUTES

MATTHEW 18

18. “Truly I say to you, whatever you shall bind on the earth will have already been bound in heaven; and whatever you shall loose on the earth will have already been loosed in heaven.

19. Again I say to you, that if two of you on earth shall agree concerning any matter that they wish to request, it shall be done for them by My Father, Who is in heaven.

20. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

201. THE LESSON OF FORGIVENESS: FORGIVE UNTIL 70 x 7 (SYMBOLIC OF NO LIMITATION)

MATTHEW 18

21. Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Until seven times?”

22. Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you until seven times, but until seventy times seven.”

202. THE PARABLE OF THE UNFORGIVING SERVANT

MATTHEW 18

23. “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is compared to a man, a certain king, who would take account with his servants.

24. And after he began to reckon, there was brought to him one debtor who owed him ten thousand talents.

25. But since he did not have anything to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.

26. Because of this, the servant fell down and worshiped him, saying, ‘Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’

27. And being moved with compassion, the lord of that servant released him, and forgave him the debt.

MATTHEW 18

28. Then that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants, who owed him a hundred silver coins; and after seizing him, he choked him, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe.’

29. As a result, his fellow servant fell down at his feet and pleaded with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’

30. But he would not listen; instead, he went and cast him into prison, until he should pay the amount that he owed.

31. Now when his fellow servants saw the things that had taken place, they were greatly distressed; and they went to their lord and related all that had taken place.

32. Then his lord called him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt, because you implored me.

33. Were you not also obligated to have compassion on your fellow servant, even as I had compassion on you?’

34. And in anger, his lord delivered him up to the tormentors, until he should pay all that he owed to him.

35. Likewise shall My heavenly Father also do to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother’s offenses from the heart.”

204. LET THE DEAD BURY THE DEAD— PUT YOUR HAND TO THE PLOW AND DON’T LOOK BACK

LUKE 9

57. Now it came to pass that as they were going along the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You may go, Lord.”

58. But Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of heaven have nests; but the Son of man does not have any place to lay His head.”

59. Then He said to another, “Follow Me.” And he said, “Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father.”

60. But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.”

61. And another also said, “I will follow You, Lord, but allow me first to bid farewell to those who are at my house.”

62. But Jesus said to him, “No one who sets his hand to the plow, and looks back at the things behind, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

205. JESUS APPOINTS SEVENTY MORE TO PREPARE THE WAY THROUGH EVERY VILLAGE AND CITY

LUKE 10

1. Now after these things, the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them two by two before His face, into every city and place where He Himself was about to come.

2. And so He said to them, “The harvest is indeed great, but the workmen are few. Therefore, beseech the Lord of the harvest that He may send out workmen into His harvest.

3. Go forth! Behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.

4. Carry no purse, nor provision bag, nor sandals, and do not salute anyone on the way.

5. But whatever house you may enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’

6. And if indeed a son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it; but if, on the other hand, it be not so, your peace shall return to you.

7. And lodge in the same house, eating and drinking that which is supplied by them; for the workman is worthy of his hire. Do not move from house to house.

8. And whatever city you may enter, and they receive you, eat the things set before you,

9. And heal the sick in it, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has drawn near to you.’

10. But whatever city you may enter, and they do not receive you, go into the streets and say,

11. ‘Even the dust of your city, which clings to us, we wipe off against you; yet know this, that the kingdom of God has drawn near to you.’

12. For I tell you, it shall be more tolerable for Sodom in that day than for that city. a

13. Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which have been taking place in you had taken place in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.

14. But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you.

15. And you, Capernaum, who have been lifted up to heaven, shall be brought down to the grave.

16. The one who hears you hears Me; and the one who rejects you rejects Me; and the one who rejects Me rejects Him Who sent Me.”

a - Gen. 19:24

206. THE SEVENTY RETURN JOYOUSLY BECAUSE THE DEMONS ARE SUBJECT TO THEM THROUGH JESUS’ NAME

LUKE 10

17. Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us through Your name.”

18. And He said to them, “I beheld Satan fall as lightning from heaven.

19. Behold, I give you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and upon all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall injure you in any way.

20. Yet do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you; but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

207. THE DISCIPLES ARE BLESSED FOR HEARING AND SEEING GOD’S WAY

LUKE 10

21. In the same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit, and said, “I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You did hide these things from the wise and intelligent, and did reveal them to babes. Yes, Father, for it was well pleasing in Your sight to do so.”

22. Then He turned to the disciples and said, “All things were delivered to Me by My Father; and no one knows Who the Son is, except the Father; and Who the Father is, except the Son, and the one to whom the Son personally chooses to reveal Him.”

23. And He turned to His disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that have seen the things that you see.

24. For I tell you, many prophets and kings have desired to see the things that you see, and have not seen them; and to hear the things that you hear, and have not heard them.”

208. THE PARABLE OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN

LUKE 10

25. Now a certain doctor of the law suddenly stood up, tempting Him and saying, “Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

26. And He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?”

27. Then he answered and said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” a

28. And He said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this, and you shall live.”

29. But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30. And taking it up, Jesus said, “A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and was encircled by thieves; and after they had stripped him of his goods and inflicted him with wounds, they went away, leaving him half dead.

31. Now by coincidence, a certain priest went down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.

32. And in like manner also, a Levite, when he was at the place, came and saw him, and passed by on the opposite side.

33. But a certain Samaritan, as he was journeying, came to him; and when he saw him, he was moved with compassion.

34. And he went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he put him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

35. And when he left on the next day, he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him, and whatever you may expend above this, I will repay you when I come back.’

a - Deut. 6:5; Lev. 19:18

LUKE 10

36. Therefore, which of these three seems to you to have been a neighbor of him who fell among the thieves?”

37. And he said, “The one who showed compassion toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “You go and do likewise.”

209. MARTHA FRETS AT MARY

LUKE 10

38. Now it came to pass as they were going that He came into a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha received Him into her house.

39. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat down at Jesus’ feet and was listening to His message.

40. But Martha was distracted because of much serving; and she came to Jesus and said, “Lord, is it of no concern to You that my sister has left me to serve alone? Now then, speak to her, so that she will help me.”

41. Then Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are full of care and troubled about many things;

42. But there is one need above all else; and Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken from her.”

210. JESUS TEACHES THE DISCIPLES HOW TO PRAY

LUKE 11

1. Now it came to pass that as He was praying in a certain place, when He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us how to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”

2. And He said to them, “When you pray, say, ‘Our Father Who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name; Your kingdom come; Your will be done, as in heaven, so also upon the earth.

3. Give us our bread as needed day by day;

4. And forgive us our sins, as we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us; and lead us not into temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.’ ”

211. THE FATHER GIVES THE HOLY SPIRIT TO THOSE WHO ASK HIM

LUKE 11

5. Then He said to them, “Who among you has a friend that he shall go to at midnight, and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves;

6. For a friend of mine has come to me on a journey, and I do not have anything to set before him’;

7. And from within he shall answer, saying, ‘Do not disturb me. The door has already been shut, and my children are in bed with me. I cannot get up to give to you.’

8. I say to you, even if he will not rise to give to him on account of being his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as much as he needs.

9. And I say to you, ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.

10. For everyone who asks receives; and the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, it shall be opened.

11. But which of you who is a father, if a son shall ask for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he shall ask for a fish, will give him a serpent instead of a fish?

12. Or if he shall ask for an egg, will give him a scorpion?

13. Therefore if you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father Who is in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

212. JESUS IS ACCUSED OF CASTING OUT DEMONS THROUGH THE POWER OF BEELZEBUB

LUKE 11

14. Now He was casting out a demon, and it was dumb; but it came to pass that when the demon had gone out, the one who had been dumb spoke. And the multitudes were amazed.

15. But some of them said, “He is casting out demons by the power of Beelzebub, prince of the demons.”

16. And others, tempting Him, were seeking a sign from heaven.

17. But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falls.

18. And if Satan also is divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? Consider now, because you are saying that I cast out demons by Beelzebub.

19. And if I by Beelzebub cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Because of this, they shall be your judges.

20. But if I by the finger of God cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

21. When a strong man who is armed guards his own dwelling, his goods are safe.

22. But when a stronger man than he comes upon him, he overcomes him, and takes away his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoil.

23. The one who is not with Me is against Me, and the one who does not gather with Me scatters.”

213. DEMON REPOSSESSION SEVEN TIMES WORSE

LUKE 11

24. “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, it goes through waterless places, seeking rest; and when it does not find any, it says, ‘I will return to the house from which I came out.’

25. And when it comes, it finds it swept and adorned.

26. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they enter in and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.”

214. A BLESSING FOR THOSE WHO HEAR AND KEEP GOD’S WORD

LUKE 11

27. And it came to pass that as He spoke these things, a certain woman lifted up her voice from the multitude and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts that You sucked.”

28. And He said, “Yes, rather, blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it.”

215. THE SIGN OF JONAH WOULD BE THE ONLY SIGN GIVEN

LUKE 11

29. Now when the multitudes had crowded around even more, He began to say, “This is an evil generation, seeking after a sign; but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. a

30. For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, in the same way also shall the Son of man be a sign to this generation.

31. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and shall condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, a greater than Solomon is here. b

32. The men of Nineveh shall stand up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it, because they repented at Jonah’s proclamation; and behold, a greater than Jonah is here.” c

a - Jonah 1:17 b - I Kings 10:1-13; II Chron. 9:1-12 c - Jonah 3:5-10

216. YOU MUST LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE

LUKE 11

33. “Now no one who lights a lamp sets it in a secret place or under a bushelbasket, but on a lampstand, so that those who are entering may see the light.

34. The light of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is without guile, your whole body is light; but when your eye is evil, your body also is dark.

35. Therefore, beware that the light that is in you is not darkness.

36. Now then, if your whole body is light, not having any part dark, it shall be full of light, as when a lamp shining brightly gives you light.”

217. A WARNING TO THE PHARISEES BECAUSE OF THEIR SINS

LUKE 11

37. Now while He was speaking, a certain Pharisee asked Him to dine with him; and He went in and sat down.

38. But the Pharisee, seeing this, wondered why He had not first washed before dinner.

39. Then the Lord said to him, “Now, you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are full of greediness and wickedness.

40. Fools, did not He Who made the outside also make the inside?

41. Rather, give alms from the things that are within; and behold, all things are clean to you.

42. But woe to you, Pharisees! For you pay tithes a of mint and rue and every herb, but you pass over the judgment and the love of God. b It is obligatory for you to do these things, and not to set aside those lesser things.

43. Woe to you, Pharisees! For you love the chief seat in the synagogues and the salutations in the marketplaces.

44. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are as unseen tombs, and men who walk over them do not know it.”

a - Num. 18:8, 21-24 b - II Chron. 19:5-7; Deut. 16:18-20

218. A WARNING TO THE LAWYERS BECAUSE OF THEIR SINS

LUKE 11

45. And one of the doctors of the law answered and said to Him, “Teacher, by saying these things You are also insulting us.”

46. And He said, “Woe to you also, doctors of the law! For you weigh men down with burdens heavy to bear, but you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.

47. Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, whom your fathers killed.

48. Therefore, you are bearing witness and consenting to the works of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs.

49. Because of this, the wisdom of God also said, ‘I will send prophets and apostles to them; and some of them they shall kill, and others they shall drive out

50. So that the blood of all the prophets, poured out from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation

51. From the blood of Abel a to the blood of Zacharias, b who perished between the altar and the house of God.’ Yes, I tell you, it shall be required of this generation.

52. Woe to you, doctors of the law! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you yourselves did not enter, and you prevented those who were entering.”

a - Gen. 4:8 b - II Chron. 24:20-22

219. THE PHARISEES AND SCRIBES SEEK TO MAKE AN ACCUSATION AGAINST JESUS

LUKE 11

53. And as He was saying these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began vehemently to press and provoke Him to speak about many things,

54. While they kept a close watch on Him, seeking to catch something out of His mouth so that they might accuse Him.

220. THE HYPOCRISY OF THE PHARISEES TO BE EXPOSED AND JUDGED

LUKE 12

1. During this time, an innumerable multitude was gathering, crowding so close together that they were stepping on one another. First of all He began to speak to His disciples, saying, “Guard yourselves from the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy;

2. For there is nothing covered that shall not be uncovered, nor hidden that shall not be known.

3. Therefore, whatever you have spoken in the darkness shall be heard in the light; and what you have spoken in the ear in closed rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.” a

a - Isa. 58:1

221. DON’T FEAR ANYONE WHO CAN KILL YOU, BUT FEAR GOD WHO CAN TAKE AWAY YOUR LIFE FOREVER

LUKE 12

4. “But I tell you, My friends, you should not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that are not able to do anything more.

5. But I will show you Whom you should fear. Fear Him Who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into the fire of Gehenna. Yes, I tell you, fear Him!

6. Are not five sparrows sold for two coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God.

7. But even the hairs of your head have all been numbered. Therefore, do not be afraid; you are of greater value than many sparrows.”

222. THE UNPARDONABLE SIN IS BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT

LUKE 12

8. “And I tell you, everyone who shall confess Me before men shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God;

9. But the one who has denied Me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.

10. And everyone who shall say a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him; but the one who has blasphemed against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven.”

223. THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL TEACH YOU DURING TIME OF PERSECUTION

LUKE 12

11. “But when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how or what you should reply in defense, or what you should say;

12. For the Holy Spirit shall teach you in that same hour what needs to be said.”

224. LIFE IS MORE THAN PHYSICAL POSSESSIONS ALONE

LUKE 12

13. Then one from the multitude said to Him, “Master, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

14. But He said to him, “Man, who has appointed Me a judge or a divider over you?”

15. And He said to them, “Watch out, and keep yourselves from covetousness, for no one’s life is in the abundance of the things that he possesses.”

16. Then He spoke a parable to them, saying, “The ground of a certain rich man brought forth abundantly.

17. And he was reasoning within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to lay up my fruit?’

18. And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my granaries and build greater ones, and there will I lay up all my produce and my good things.

19. Then I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many good things laid up for many years; take your rest, eat, drink, and be merry.” ’

20. But God said to him, ‘Fool, this night your soul shall be required of you; and to whom will you leave what you have prepared for yourself?’

21. So shall it be to the one who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

225. SEEK THE KINGDOM OF GOD FIRST, AND YOU WILL HAVE SUFFICIENT

LUKE 12

22. And He said to His disciples, “Because of this, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat; nor about your body, what you shall put on.

23. The life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.

24. Consider the ravens; for they do not sow, nor reap; neither have they a storehouse or granary; but God feeds them. Of how much greater value are you than the birds?

25. And which one of you, by taking careful thought, has the power to add one cubit to his stature?

26. Therefore, if you do not have the power to do even the least, why are you anxious about the rest?

27. Consider the lilies, how they grow; they do not labor, nor do they spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these.

28. But if God so adorns the grass that today is in the field, and tomorrow is cast into an oven, how much more shall He clothe you, O you of little faith?

29. Then do not be seeking what you shall eat or what you shall drink, and do not be anxious.

30. For all the nations of the world seek after these things; and your Father knows that you have need of these things.

31. But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.

32. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father delights in giving you the kingdom.”

226. WHERE YOUR HEART IS, THERE WILL YOUR TREASURE BE ALSO

LUKE 12

33. “Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make for yourselves purses that do not grow old, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief can come near, and no moth can destroy.

34. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

227. ALWAYS BE READY AND WATCHING FOR CHRIST’S RETURN

LUKE 12

35. “Let your loins be girded about and your lamps burning,

36. And you yourselves be like men who are waiting for their lord, whenever he shall return from the wedding feast; so that when he comes and knocks, they may immediately open to him.

37. Blessed are those servants whom the lord, when he comes, shall find watching. Truly I say to you, he will gird himself, and will make them sit down, and will come and serve them.

38. And if he comes in the second watch, or comes in the third watch, and finds them watching, blessed are those servants.

39. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.

40. Now you, therefore, be ready; for the Son of man is coming in an hour that you do not think.”

41. Then Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You speaking this parable to us only, or also to all?”

42. And the Lord said, “Who then is the wise and faithful steward, whom the lord shall put in charge of his household, to give to each one the portion of food in season?

43. Blessed is that servant whom the lord, when he comes, shall find so doing.

44. Of a truth, I tell you, he will set him over all his possessions.

45. But if that servant shall say in his heart, ‘My lord delays his coming,’ and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidservants, and to be gluttonous and become drunk,

46. The lord of that servant will come in a day that he does not expect, and in an hour that he does not know, and will cut him asunder, and will appoint his portion with the unbelievers.

47. And that servant who knew the will of his lord, but did not prepare, nor did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes;

48. But the one who did not know, and did things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For to whomever much has been given, from him shall much be required; and to whom much has been committed, from him they will demand the more.”

228. JESUS DID NOT COME TO BRING PEACE, BUT DIVISION

LUKE 12

49. “I came to cast fire into the earth, and what will I, if it already be kindled?

50. For I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how burdened I am until it be accomplished!

51. Do you think that I came to bring peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division;

52. Because from this time forward there shall be five in one house divided, three against two and two against three.

53. Father shall be divided against son, and son against father; mother against daughter, and daughter against mother; mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.” a

a - Mic. 7:6

229. THE MULTITUDES CAN DISCERN THE WEATHER, BUT NOT THE TIMES

LUKE 12

54. Then He also said to the multitudes, “When you see a cloud rising up from the west, immediately you say, ‘A rainstorm is coming.’ And so it happens.

55. And when a south wind is blowing, you say, ‘It will be hot.’ And it happens.

56. Hypocrites! You know how to discern the appearance of the earth and the sky; how then do you not discern this time?

57. And why even among yourselves do you not judge what is right?”

230. AGREE WITH YOUR ADVERSARY

LUKE 12

58. “For as you are going with your adversary before the magistrate, be diligent to settle with him while you are on the way; lest he drag you off to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer cast you into prison.

59. I tell you, there is no way that you shall come out of there until you have paid the very last coin.”

231. YOU MUST REPENT OF YOUR SINS, OR PERISH

LUKE 13

1. Now at the same time, there were present some who were telling Him about the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.

2. And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were sinners above all Galileans, because they suffered such things?

3. No, I tell you; but if you do not repent, you shall all likewise perish.

4. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell, and killed them, do you suppose that these were debtors above all men who dwelt in Jerusalem?

5. No, I tell you; but if you do not repent, you shall all likewise perish.”

232. THE PARABLE OF THE UNFRUITFUL FIG TREE

LUKE 13

6. And He spoke this parable: “A certain man had planted a fig tree in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit on it, but he did not find any.

7. Then he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look here! For three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and have not found any. Cut it down. Why should it continue to waste space in the ground?’

8. But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig about it and put in manure,

9. And see if in fact it will bear fruit; but if not, after that you shall cut it down.’ ”

233. JESUS HEALS A WOMAN OF AN 18-YEAR INFIRMITY ON A SABBATH

LUKE 13

10. Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on one of the Sabbaths;

11. And lo, there was a woman who had been afflicted with a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years, and she was bent over and unable to straighten herself up.

12. And when He saw her, Jesus called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you have been loosed from your infirmity.”

13. Then He laid His hands on her; and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God.

14. But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, and said to the people, “There are six days in which men are obligated to work; therefore, during those days come and be healed, but not on the Sabbath day.”

15. Therefore, the Lord answered him and said, “Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to drink?

16. And is it not just as necessary for this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound, lo, eighteen years, to be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?”

17. And after He said these things, all those who opposed Him were ashamed; and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were being done by Him.

234. THE PARABLES OF THE MUSTARD SEED AND HIDDEN LEAVEN

LUKE 13

18. Then He said, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it?

19. It is like a tiny mustard seed, which a man took and cast into his garden; and it grew and developed into a great tree, and the birds of heaven roosted in its branches.”

20. And again He said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God?

21. It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour until all was leavened.”

235. JESUS WENT CITY BY CITY AND VILLAGE BY VILLAGE ON HIS WAY TO JERUSALEM

LUKE 13

22. Now He was going through the cities and villages teaching, while making progress toward Jerusalem.

236. ENTER IN THROUGH THE NARROW GATE OR YOU WILL BE REJECTED BY GOD

LUKE 13

23. And one said to Him, “Lord, are those who are being saved few?” Then He said to them,

24. “Strive with your whole being to enter in through the narrow gate; for many, I say to you, will seek to enter in, but shall not be able.

25. Once the Master of the house has risen up and has shut the door, and you begin to stand outside the door and knock, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us’; then shall He answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you or where you are from.’

26. And you shall begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You have taught in our streets.’

27. And He shall say, ‘I tell you, I do not know you or where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of unrighteousness.’ a

28. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves are cast out.

29. Then they shall come from the east and the west, and from the north and the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. b

30. And behold, there are the last who shall be first, and the first who shall be last.”

a - Psa. 6:8 b - Psa. 107:3

237. JESUS PROPHESIES HE WILL DIE LATER IN JERUSALEM

LUKE 13

31. On the same day certain Pharisees came to Him, saying, “Go out and depart from this place because Herod desires to kill You.”

32. And He said to them, “Go and say to that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and complete healings today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected;

33. But it is necessary for Me to proceed today and tomorrow and the following day; because it is not possible for a prophet to perish outside of Jerusalem.’

34. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who have been sent to you; how often would I have gathered your children, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you refused!

35. Behold, your house is left to you desolate. And truly I say to you, you shall not see Me at all until the time comes that you say, ‘Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord.’ ”

238. IN JERUSALEM AT THE FEAST OF DEDICATION, JESUS ESCAPES ANOTHER STONING

JOHN 10

22. Now it was winter, and the feast of dedication was taking place at Jerusalem.

23. And Jesus was walking in the temple in Solomon’s porch.

24. Then the Jews encircled Him and said to Him, “How long are You going to hold us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”

25. Jesus answered them, “I have told you, but you do not believe. The works that I am doing in My Father’s name, these bear witness of Me.

26. But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.

JOHN 10

27. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.

28. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; and no one shall take them out of My hand.

29. My Father, Who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one has the power to seize them from My Father’s hand.

30. I and the Father are one.”

31. Then the Jews again picked up stones so that they might stone Him.

32. Jesus answered them, “Many good works I have showed you from My Father. For which of them are you about to stone Me?”

33. The Jews answered Him, saying, “We will not stone You for a good work, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a man, are making Yourself God.” a

34. Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods” ’?

35. If He called them gods, to whom the Word of God came (and the Scriptures cannot be broken),

36. Why do you say of Him Whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?

37. If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me.

38. But if I do, even if you do not believe Me, believe the works; so that you may perceive and may believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.”

39. Then they again sought to take Him; but He escaped out of their hands,

a - Psa. 82:6

239. JESUS LEAVES JERUSALEM AND RETURNS AGAIN TO THE AREA BEYOND JORDAN

JOHN 10

40. And departed again beyond Jordan to the place where John was first baptizing; and He remained there.

41. And many came to Him and said, “John did not do even one miracle, but everything that John said concerning this Man is true.”

42. And many believed in Him there.

240. JESUS HEALS A MAN OF DROPSY AT A PHARISEE’S HOUSE ON A SABBATH

LUKE 14

1. Now it came to pass, when He went into a house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees on the Sabbath to eat bread, that they were watching Him.

2. And behold, there was a certain man who had dropsy standing in front of Him.

3. Then Jesus answered and spoke to the doctors of the law and to the Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

4. But they were silent. And after taking hold of him, He healed him and then let him go.

5. And He answered and said to them, “Who among you shall have a donkey or an ox fall into a pit, and will not immediately pull it out on the Sabbath day?”

6. But again, they were not able to answer Him concerning these things.

241. THOSE WHO EXALT THEMSELVES SHALL BE ABASED

LUKE 14

7. Then, observing how those who were invited were choosing out the chief places, He spoke a parable to them, saying,

LUKE 14

8. “When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit in the chief place, lest someone more honorable than you has been invited by him.

9. For the one who invited you and him shall come to you and say, ‘Give place to this one,’ and then shall you begin with shame to take the last place.

10. But when you are invited, go and sit down in the last place, so that when the one who invited you comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, come up higher.’ Then shall you have honor in the presence of those who are sitting at the table with you.

11. For everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, and the one who humbles himself shall be exalted.”

242. PARABLE OF GOD’S GREAT SUPPER

LUKE 14

12. And He also said to him who had invited Him, “When you make a dinner or supper, do not call your friends, nor your brethren, nor your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return, and a recompense be made to you.

13. But when you make a feast, call the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind;

14. And you shall be blessed, for they do not have the means to repay you. But you shall be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.”

15. Then one of those who sat at the table with Him, after hearing these things, said to Him, “Blessed is the one who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.”

16. But He said to him, “A certain man made a great supper, and invited many.

17. And he sent his servants at supper time to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’

18. But everyone with one consent began to excuse himself. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I need to go out to see it; I beg you to have me excused.’

19. And another said, ‘I have bought five pairs of oxen, and I am going to try them out; I beg you to have me excused.’

20. And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and because of this I am unable to come.’

21. And that servant came and reported these things to his lord. Then the master of the house was angry; and he said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind.’

22. And the servant said, ‘Sir, it has been done as you commanded, and there is still room.’

23. Then the lord said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled.

24. For I tell you, not one of those men who were invited shall taste of my supper.’ ”

243. EVERYONE WHO WANTS TO BE A CHRISTIAN MUST COUNT THE COST OF FOLLOWING JESUS CHRIST

LUKE 14

25. And great multitudes were going with Him; and He turned and said to them,

26. “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers and sisters, and, in addition, his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.

27. And whoever does not carry his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple;

LUKE 14

28. For which one of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has sufficient for its completion;

29. Lest perhaps, after he has laid its foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,

30. Saying, ‘This man began to build, and was not able to finish’?

31. Or what king, when he goes out to engage another king in war, does not first sit down and take counsel, whether he will be able with ten thousand to meet him who is coming against him with twenty thousand?

32. But if not, while his enemy is still far off, he sends ambassadors and desires the terms for peace.

33. In the same way also, each one of you who does not forsake all that he possesses cannot be My disciple.

34. Salt is good; but if the salt becomes tasteless, with what shall it be seasoned?

35. It is fit neither for the land, nor for the manure; but they cast it out. The one who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

244. THE PARABLE OF THE LOST SHEEP THAT IS FOUND

LUKE 15

1. Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were drawing near to hear Him;

2. And the Pharisees and the scribes criticized Him, saying, “This Man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

3. Then He spoke this parable to them, saying,

4. “Which man of you who has a hundred sheep, and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost, searching until he finds it?

5. And when he finds it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing;

6. And after coming to his house, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’

7. I tell you that likewise, there shall be joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, more than over ninety-nine righteous ones who have no need of repentance.

245. THE PARABLE OF A LOST COIN THAT IS FOUND

LUKE 15

8. Or what woman who has ten coins, if she should lose one, does not light a lamp and sweep the house, and search diligently until she finds it?

9. And after finding it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I lost.’

10. I tell you that in like manner, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

246. THE PARABLE OF THE PRODIGAL SON

LUKE 15

11. Then He said, “A certain man had two sons;

12. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me that portion of the property which falls to me.’ And he divided to them his living.

13. And not many days after, the younger son gathered everything together and departed into a distant country. And there he wasted all his substance, living in debauchery.

14. But after he had spent everything, there arose a severe famine throughout that country, and he began to be in need.

LUKE 15

15. Then he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.

16. And he was longing to fill his stomach with the husks that the swine were eating, but no one gave anything to him.

17. And when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have an abundance of bread, and I am dying of hunger?

18. I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you;

19. And I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired servants.” ’

20. And he arose and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with compassion, and ran and embraced him, and ardently kissed him.

21. And his son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

22. But the father said to his servant, ‘Bring out a robe, the best robe, and clothe him, and give him a ring for his hand and sandals for his feet;

23. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and be merry.

24. For this my son was dead, but is alive again; and he was lost, but is found.’ And they began to be merry.

25. But his elder son was in a field; and when he was coming back, and approached the house, he heard music and dancing.

26. And after calling one of the servants nearby, he inquired what these things might be.

27. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come home, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him safe and well.’

28. Then he was angry and would not go in. As a result, his father came out and pleaded with him.

29. But he answered and said to his father, ‘Behold, I have served you so many years, and never did I transgress your commandment; yet you never gave me a kid, so that I might make merry with my friends;

30. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your living with harlots, you killed the fattened calf for him.’

31. Then he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.

32. But it was fitting to make merry and rejoice because your brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, but is found.’ ”

247. THE PARABLE OF THE UNJUST STEWARD

LUKE 16

1. And He also said to His disciples, “There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and he was accused of wasting his master’s goods.

2. And after calling him, he said to him, ‘What is this I hear concerning you? Render an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.’

3. Now the steward said within himself, ‘What shall I do, for my lord is taking away the stewardship from me? I am not able to dig; I am ashamed to beg.

4. I know what I will do, that, when I have been removed from the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.’

5. And after calling each one of his lord’s debtors to him, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my lord?’

LUKE 16

6. And he said, ‘A hundred baths of oil.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down immediately and write fifty.’

7. Then to another he said, ‘And how much do you owe?’ And he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill and write eighty.’

8. And the lord praised the unrighteous steward, because he had acted prudently. For the children of this world are more prudent in their own generation than the children of light.

9. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of the mammon of unrighteousness; so that, when you fail, they may receive you into the everlasting dwellings.”

248. ONE MUST BE FAITHFUL IN THE LITTLE THINGS TO BE TRUSTED WITH THE TRUE RICHES OF GOD’S GLORY

LUKE 16

10. “The one who is faithful in the things that are least is also faithful in much; and the one who is unrighteous in the things that are least is also unrighteous in much.

11. Therefore, if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will entrust to you the true riches?

12. And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give to you your own?”

249. NO ONE IS CAPABLE OF SERVING TWO MASTERS

LUKE 16

13. “No servant is able to serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and he will love the other; or he will hold to the one and will despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

14. Now the Pharisees who were also covetous, heard all these things; and they ridiculed Him.

15. And He said to them, “You are those who justify themselves before men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is an abomination before God.

16. The Law and the Prophets were until John; from that time the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone zealously strives to enter it.

17. But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail.

18. Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; and everyone who marries a woman who is divorced from her husband commits adultery.”

250. THE PARABLE OF LAZARUS AND THE RICH MAN

LUKE 16

19. “Now there was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, and daily indulged himself in luxury.

20. And there was a certain poor man named Lazarus, who was laid at his porch, full of sores.

21. And he longed to be nourished with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table; and the dogs even came and licked his sores.

22. Now it came to pass that the poor man died, and he was carried away by the angels into Abraham’s bosom. And the rich man also died and was buried.

23. And in the grave he lifted up his eyes and was in torment, for he saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

LUKE 16

24. And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have compassion on me and send Lazarus, so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am suffering because of this flame.’

25. Then Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that in your lifetime you received good things to the full, and likewise Lazarus evil things. But now he is comforted, and you are suffering.

26. And besides all these things, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed; so that those who desire to pass from here to you are not able, nor can those from there pass to us.’

27. And he said, ‘I beseech you then, father, that you would send him to my father’s house,

28. For I have five brothers; so that he may earnestly testify to them, in order that they also may not come to this place of torment.’

29. Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them.’

30. But he said, ‘No, Father Abraham, but if one from the dead would go to them, they would repent.’

31. And he said to him, ‘If they will not hear Moses and the prophets, they would not be persuaded even if one rose from the dead.’ ”

251. A WARNING AGAINST OFFENDING LITTLE ONES IN JESUS

LUKE 17

1. Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses will come, but woe to the one by whom they come!

2. It is better for him that a millstone be put around his neck and he be cast into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to offend.”

252. FORGIVE YOUR BROTHER’S TRESPASSES SEVEN TIMES A DAY

LUKE 17

3. “Watch yourselves; and if your brother commits a sin against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.

4. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”

253. INCREASE YOUR FAITH BY GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND

LUKE 17

5. Then the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”

6. But the Lord said, “If you had faith as a tiny mustard seed, you might say to this sycamine tree, ‘Be rooted up, and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

7. But which of you having a servant plowing or shepherding will immediately say to him when he comes in from the field, ‘Come and sit down and eat’?

8. Rather, will he not say to him, ‘Prepare what I may eat, and gird yourself, and serve me while I eat and drink; and afterwards you may eat and drink’?

9. Is he thankful to that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not.

10. Likewise you also, when you have done all the things that are commanded you, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants, because we have done that which we were obligated to do.’ ”

254. JESUS ON HIS WAY BACK TO JERUSALEM PASSES THROUGH GALILEE AND SAMARIA

LUKE 17

11. Now it came to pass that as He was going up to Jerusalem, He passed through the middle of Samaria and Galilee.

255. JESUS HEALS TEN LEPERS, BUT ONLY ONE GLORIFIES GOD AND THANKS JESUS

LUKE 17

12. And as He went into a certain village, He was met by ten leprous men, who stood at a distance.

13. And they lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

14. And when He saw them, He said to them, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” a And it came to pass that while they were going, they were cleansed.

15. Then one of them, seeing that he was healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice;

16. And he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him; and he was a Samaritan.

17. And answering, Jesus said, “Were not ten cleansed? But where are the other nine?

18. Are not any found returning to give glory to God except this stranger?”

19. Then He said to him, “Arise and go. Your faith has healed you.”

a - Lev. 14:1-32

256. THE KINGDOM OF GOD COMES NOT THROUGH OBSERVATION

LUKE 17

20. Now when the Pharisees demanded of Him when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation;

21. Neither shall they say, ‘Behold, it is here!’ Or, ‘Behold, it is there!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is standing in the midst of you.”

257. SOME OF THE SIGNS OF JESUS’ RETURN

LUKE 17

22. Then He said to the disciples, “The days will come when you shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and shall not see it.

23. And they shall say to you, ‘Look here,’ or, ‘Look there.’ Do not go, neither follow them.

258. JESUS WILL RETURN SHINING AS A GREAT LIGHT

LUKE 17

24. “For as the light of day, whose light shines from one end under heaven to the other end under heaven, so also shall the Son of man be in His day.

25. But first it is necessary for Him to suffer many things and to be rejected by this generation.”

259. THE END TIMES WILL BE THE SAME AS IN THE DAYS OF NOAH

LUKE 17

26. “Now as it was in the days of Noah, so also shall it be in the days of the Son of man. a

27. They were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah went into the ark, and the Flood came and destroyed them all.”

a - Gen. 6:5-13

260. THE END TIMES WILL ALSO BE THE SAME AS THE DAYS OF LOT IN SODOM

LUKE 17

28. “And it was the same way in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building;

29. But on the day that Lot went out from Sodom, a it rained fire and sulphur from heaven and destroyed them all.

30. This is how it shall be in the day that the Son of man is revealed.

31. In that day, let not the one who is on the housetop, and his goods in the house, come down to take them away; and likewise, let not the one who is in the field return to the things behind.

32. Remember Lot’s wife. b

33. Whoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.”

a - Gen. 18:20-24; 19:24-25 b - Gen. 19:26

261. TWO TOGETHER: ONE IS TAKEN, ONE IS LEFT

LUKE 17

34. “I tell you, in that night there shall be two in one bed; one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.

35. Two women shall be grinding together; one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.

36. Two men shall be in the field; one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.”

37. And they answered, saying to Him, “Where, Lord?” And He said to them, “Where the body is, there will the eagles be gathered together.”

262. THE PARABLE OF THE UNJUST JUDGE

LUKE 18

1. And He also spoke a parable to them to show that it is necessary to pray always, and not to give up,

2. Saying, “There was in a certain city a certain judge who neither feared God nor respected man.

3. And there was a widow in that city; and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Avenge me of my adversary.’

4. Now for a time he would not; but afterwards he said within himself, ‘Although I do not fear God and do not respect man,

5. Yet because this widow is causing me trouble, I will avenge her, lest she wear me out by her continual coming.’ ”

6. Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says.

7. And shall not God execute vengeance for His elect, who cry out to Him day and night, and patiently watch over them?

8. I tell you that He will execute vengeance for them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, shall He find the true faith on the earth?”

263. THE PARABLE OF A SINFUL PUBLICAN AND A SELF-RIGHTEOUS PHARISEE

LUKE 18

9. And to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others, He also spoke this parable:

10. “Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

11. The Pharisee stood and prayed with himself in this manner: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unrighteous, adulterers—or even as this tax collector.

12. I fast twice in the week, and I give a tithe of everything that I gain.’

13. And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat himself on the chest, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner.’

14. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled; and the one who humbles himself shall be exalted.”

264. THE RAISING OF LAZARUS FROM THE DEAD

JOHN 11

1. Now there was a certain man who was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, which was the town of Mary and her sister Martha.

2. And it was Mary who later anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.

3. Therefore, the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, take notice: the one whom You love is sick.”

4. But after hearing this, Jesus said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.”

5. Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

6. But when He heard that he was sick, He deliberately remained in the same place two days.

7. And after this, He said to the disciples, “Let us go into Judea again.”

8. The disciples said to Him, “Master, the Jews were just seeking to stone You, and You are going there again?”

9. Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble because he sees the light of the world.

10. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles because the light is not in him.”

11. These things He said; and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going so that I may awaken him.”

12. Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will get well.”

13. Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of the rest of sleep.

JOHN 11

14. For this reason, Jesus then said to them plainly, “Lazarus has died.

15. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, in order that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

16. Then Thomas, called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us go also, so that we may die with Him.”

17. And so, when Jesus came, He found that he had already been lying in the tomb for four days.

18. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs away,

19. And many of the Jews had come to join those around Martha and Mary, so that they might console them concerning their brother.

20. And when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met Him. But Mary was sitting in the house.

21. And Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.

22. But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”

23. Jesus said to her, “Your brother shall rise again.”

24. Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

25. Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he die, shall live again;

26. And everyone who lives and believes in Me shall not die forever. Do you believe this? ”

27. She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, Who was to come into the world.”

28. And after saying these things, she went away and secretly called her sister Mary, saying, “The Teacher has come and is calling for you.”

29. When she heard this, she rose up quickly and came to Him.

30. Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha had met Him.

31. Therefore, when the Jews who were with Mary in the house, consoling her, saw that she had quickly risen up and gone out, they followed her, saying, “She is going to the tomb to weep there.”

32. Then Mary, when she came where Jesus was and saw Him, fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

33. As a result, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in spirit and was Himself inwardly moved.

34. And He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.”

35. Jesus wept.

36. Then the Jews said, “See how much He loved him!”

37. But some of them said, “Could not this man, Who had the power to open the eyes of the blind, also have caused this one not to die?”

38. Because of this, Jesus again groaned within Himself as He came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was laid over the opening.

39. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of him who had died, said to Him, “Lord, he already stinks, for it has been four days.”

40. Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you will believe, you shall see the glory of God?”

41. Then they removed the stone from the tomb where the dead man had been laid. And Jesus lifted His eyes upward and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.

42. And I know that You hear Me always; but because of the people who stand around I say this, so that they may believe that You did send Me.”

43. And after He had spoken these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.”

44. And he who had been dead came forth, his feet and hands bound with grave clothes, and his face bound up with a napkin. Jesus said to them, “Loose him and let him go.”

45. Then many of the Jews who had come to console Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in Him.

265. THE PHARISEES AND PRIESTS PLOT JESUS’ DEATH

JOHN 11

46. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.

47. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, “What shall we do? For this man does many miracles.

48. If we allow Him to continue in this manner, all will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away from us both this place and the nation.”

49. But a certain one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, “You have no understanding,

50. Nor consider that it is better for us that one man die for the people, than that the whole nation should perish.”

51. Now he did not say this of himself, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation;

52. And not for the nation only, but also that He might gather together into one the children of God who were scattered abroad.

53. Therefore, from that day they took counsel together, so that they might kill Him.

266. JESUS ESCAPES TO THE CITY OF EPHRAIM

JOHN 11

54. For this reason, Jesus no longer walked publicly among the Jews, but went away from there into the country near the desert to a city called Ephraim; and He stayed there with His disciples.

268. THE CLASSIFICATION OF IMPOTENT MEN

MATTHEW 19

10. His disciples said to Him, “If that is the case of a man with a wife, it is better not to marry.”

11. But He said to them, “Not everyone can receive this word, but only those to whom it has been given.

12. For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who is able to receive it, let him receive it.”

273. THE PARABLE OF THE WORKERS IN THE VINEYARD

MATTHEW 20

1. “The kingdom of heaven shall be compared to a man, a master of a house, who went out early in the morning to hire workmen for his vineyard.

2. And after agreeing with the workmen on a silver coin for the day’s wage, he sent them into his vineyard.

3. And when he went out about the third hour, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace;

4. And he said to them, ‘Go also into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’

5. And they went. Again, after going out about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did likewise.

6. And about the eleventh hour, he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all the day?’

7. They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘Go also into my vineyard, and whatever is right you shall receive.’

8. And when evening came, the lord of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the workmen and pay them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.’

9. And when those who were hired about the eleventh hour came, they each received a silver coin.

10. But when the first ones came, they thought that they would receive more; but each of them also received a silver coin.

11. And after receiving it, they complained against the master of the house,

12. Saying, ‘These who came last have worked one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who have carried the burden and the heat of the day.’

13. But he answered and said to them, ‘Friend, I am not doing you wrong. Did you not agree with me on a silver coin for the day?

14. Take what is yours and go, for I also desire to give to the last ones exactly as I gave to you.

15. And is it not lawful for me to do what I will with that which is my own? Is your eye evil because I am good?’

16. So the last shall be first, and the first shall be last; for many are called, but few are chosen.”

277. JESUS HEALS A BLIND MAN AS HE COMES TO JERICHO

LUKE 18

35. Now it came to pass that as He drew near to Jericho, there was a certain blind man who sat begging beside the road.

36. And hearing a multitude passing by him, he asked what this might be.

37. And they told him, “Jesus the Nazarean is passing by.”

38. Then he called out, saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.”

39. And those who were going in front rebuked him, so that he would be silent; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me.”

40. Then Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he came near, He asked him,

41. Saying, “What do you desire to have Me do for you?” And he said, “Lord, that I may receive sight.”

42. Then Jesus said to him, “Receive sight. Your faith has healed you.”

43. And immediately he received sight; and he followed Him, glorifying God. Now after seeing this, all the people gave praise to God.

278. JESUS AT ZACCHEUS’ HOUSE IN JERICHO

LUKE 19

1. Then Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through.

2. And behold, a man named Zaccheus was there. Now he was a chief tax collector, and he was rich.

3. And he was seeking to see Jesus, Who He was; but he was not able because of the multitude, for he was a man of small stature.

4. But after running ahead, in front of the multitude, he climbed up into a sycamore tree so that he might see Him; for He was about to pass that way.

5. And when He came to the place, Jesus looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zaccheus, make haste to come down, for today it is necessary for Me to stay at your house.”

6. And he came down in haste and received Him joyfully.

7. But after seeing this, everyone began to criticize, saying, “He has gone in to lodge with a sinful man.”

8. Then Zaccheus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, the half of my possessions, Lord, I give to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I return fourfold.” a

9. And Jesus said to him, “Today, salvation has come to this house, inasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham.

10. For the Son of man has come to seek and to save that which is lost.”

a - Ex. 22:1

280. THE PARABLE OF THE POUNDS

LUKE 19

11. Now as they were listening to these things, He went on to speak a parable, because He was near Jerusalem, and they thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately.

12. Therefore, He said, “A certain nobleman set out to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and to return.

13. And after calling ten of his servants, he gave to them ten pounds, and said to them, ‘Trade until I come back.’

14. But his citizens hated him and sent an ambassador after him, saying, ‘We are not willing to have this man reign over us.’

15. And it came to pass that when he returned after receiving the kingdom, he directed that those servants to whom he had given the money be called to him, in order that he might know what each one had gained by trading.

16. And the first one came up, saying, ‘Lord, your pound has produced ten pounds.’

17. Then he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’

18. And the second one came, saying, ‘Lord, your pound has made five pounds.’

19. Then he also said to this one, ‘And you be over five cities.’

20. But another came, saying, ‘Lord, behold your pound, which I kept laid up in a handkerchief.

21. For I was afraid of you, because you are a harsh man. You take up what you did not lay down, and you reap what you did not sow.’

22. Then he said to him, ‘Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant! You knew that I am a harsh man, taking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow.

23. Then why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank, so that at my coming I might have received it with interest?’

24. And he said to those who were standing by, ‘Take the pound from him, and give it to the one who has ten pounds.’

25. (And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten pounds.’)

26. For I tell you that to everyone who has, more shall be given; but the one who does not have, even what he has shall be taken from him.

27. Moreover, bring my enemies, those who were not willing for me to reign over them, and slay them here before me.’ ”

28. And after saying these things, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

281. JESUS’ LAST PASSOVER APPROACHES

JOHN 11

55. Now the Passover a of the Jews was near, and many went up out of the country to Jerusalem before the Passover, so that they might purify themselves.

56. Then they were watching for Jesus, and were saying to one another while standing in the temple, “What do you think, that He will not come to the feast at all?”

57. For both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a command that if anyone knew where He was, he should reveal it, so that they might seize Him.

a - Ex. 12:4-14; Lev. 23:5

PART V

THE EVENTS BEFORE JESUS’ LAST PASSOVER, 30 AD

SIX DAYS BEFORE JESUS’ LAST PASSOVER

The Gospel of Luke records that Jesus was teaching in the temple in the days leading up to His arrest and crucifixion: “Now He was teaching day by day in the temple; and the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people were seeking to destroy Him” (Luke 19:47).

In the final days before His crucifixion, a series of confrontations took place at the temple between Jesus and the scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees and chief priests. The Gospel accounts give four chronological keys that enable us to understand the events of those days. It is clear that the Gospel writers followed the Hebrew Calendar, which reckons each day from sunset to sunset, or evening to evening, when they were inspired to record their accounts of these days leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion. They wrote of the events as they occurred each day, making particular note of the mornings and evenings. By recording each day as it ended at evening, or sunset, the Gospel writers enable us to understand the exact time frame of these events.

The Gospel of John records that six days before His last Passover, Jesus came to Lazarus’ house in Bethany (John 12:1). Counting backward six days from the beginning of Nisan 14, we come to the beginning of Nisan 8, which was Wednesday evening, March 29. We know that the time was in the evening, because the account tells us that Jesus ate supper (verse 2). The word “supper” is translated from the Greek word to deiponon, which means “the chief or evening meal, supper” (Berry, Greek-English New Testament Lexicon). After Jesus ate supper, Lazarus’ sister Mary anointed His feet with ointment (verses 3-4). In the morning of Nisan 8, which was Thursday, March 30, Jesus made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem (verse 12). His triumphal entry could not have been on a Sabbath, as some claim, because the disciples were breaking off boughs from palm trees to spread in the way before Him. If the disciples had done this on the weekly Sabbath, the scribes and Pharisees would have vigorously protested, claiming that His disciples were breaking the Sabbath.

Those who teach that Jesus was resurrected on a Sunday also claim that His triumphal entry into Jerusalem took place on a Sunday. They call this day Palm Sunday. But according to the chronology that is recorded in the Gospel accounts, the day that Jesus made His triumphal entry was Thursday, Nisan 8, or March 30, 30 AD. This is the first key of understanding. (See the synchronized Hebrew/Julian calendar on pp. 216-217.)

The Gospel of Mark adds further details about the events that took place on Nisan 8. Mark records that after Jesus made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, He went into the temple and looked around. Shortly afterward, He and His disciples went back to Bethany (Mark 11:11). This completes the events of Nisan 8, which ended at sunset.

Mark continues with the events of the next morning, which was Friday, Nisan 9, or March 31. This was the preparation day for the weekly Sabbath. Mark shows that on the morning of Nisan 9, as He was on the way to the temple, Jesus cursed the fig tree (verses 13-14). Later, He went into the temple area and cast out the money exchangers, overturning their tables and driving out the animals. It is evident that Jesus was cleansing the temple, removing the money exchangers with their greed and corruption, in preparation for the Sabbath. After Jesus had cleansed the temple, He taught the people. At evening, Jesus left the temple and Jerusalem and went back to Bethany for the night (Mark 11:19, Matt. 21:17).

The next morning, which was the weekly Sabbath, Nisan 10, or Saturday, April 1, the disciples saw that the fig tree that Jesus had cursed was withered (Mark 11:20). Only Mark records that the cursing and shriveling of the fig tree took place over a two-day period. Matthew records these events as if they had occurred on the same day. If Mark had not made it clear that a second day was involved, it would not be possible to accurately determine the chronology of the events leading up to Jesus’ last Passover. This critical two-day period is the second key in understanding the timing of the events that took place before Jesus’ last Passover.

The Gospel of John records other events that occurred on Nisan 10, or April 1, 30 AD. Certain Hellenist Jews who had heard about Jesus asked Philip where they could find Him. Philip went to Andrew, and together they came and told Jesus (John 12:20-22). While Jesus was teaching the people, a voice spoke from heaven: “ ‘Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour? But for this very purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify Your name.’ Then a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.’ Then the people standing there, who heard it, said, ‘It thundered.’ Others said, ‘An angel spoke to Him.’ Jesus answered and said, ‘This voice did not come because of Me, but because of you’ ” (John 12:27-30).

After this, Jesus left the temple and hid Himself, apparently for the rest of the Sabbath. This completes the events of the Sabbath, Nisan 10, or Saturday, April 1, 30 AD. The third key to understanding is that on Nisan 10, Jesus was selected as God the Father’s Passover Lamb, Who would be sacrificed for the sins of the world.

Jesus and His disciples returned to Jerusalem the next morning, Sunday, Nisan 11, or April 2. On this day, His final confrontations with the scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees and chief priests took place. These lasted for most of the day, until late afternoon (Mark 11:27-13:1). Then Jesus and His disciples left the temple, and He instructed them privately (Mark 13:1-3, Matt. 24:1-3). Jesus finished instructing them just before sunset on Nisan 11. Then He declared to His disciples that He would be crucified on the Passover, which would take place after two days (Mark 14:1, Matt. 26:2).

The fourth and final key in understanding the six-day chronology before the Passover is that the two-day period recorded in Mark 14:1 and Matthew 26:2 is counted from the end of Nisan 11. The two days yet remaining before the Passover were Monday, Nisan 12, and Tuesday, Nisan 13. Nisan 12 began at sunset, April 2, and ended at sunset, April 3, and Nisan 13 began at sunset, April 3, and ended at sunset, April 4. After those two days came the Passover day, Nisan 14, which began at sunset, April 4, and ended at sunset, April 5.

Please study the chart on pages 216-217, which shows the chronological sequence of the events leading up to Jesus’ last Passover as they occurred day by day.

282. SIX DAYS BEFORE HIS LAST PASSOVER, JESUS COMES TO BETHANY

JOHN 12

1. Now six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had died, and whom He had raised from the dead.

2. There they made a supper for Him, and Martha served; and Lazarus was one of those who sat with Him.

3. Mary then took a pound of pure spikenard ointment worth a great price and anointed * Jesus’ feet, wiping His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the aroma of the ointment.

4. As a result, one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who was about to betray Him, said,

5. “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred silver coins, and given to the poor?”

6. Now he said this, not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and carried what was put in it.

7. Then Jesus said, “Let her alone; she has been keeping it toward the day of My burial.

8. For you have the poor with you always, but you do not always have Me.”

9. Then a great crowd of the Jews found out that He was there. And they came, not only because of Jesus, but also that they might see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.

10. But the chief priests took counsel in order that they might kill Lazarus also;

11. Because by reason of him, many of the Jews were leaving them and believing in Jesus.

LUKE 19

47. Now He was teaching day by day in the temple; and the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people were seeking to destroy Him.

_________________________
*In the Gospels there are three accounts given about the anointings of Jesus before his crucifixion. The two accounts in Matthew 26 and Mark 14 are parallel accounts of the same anointing. Both describe how a woman anointed Jesus’ head two days before the Passover. In John 12, Mary of Bethany anointed His feet. This occurred six days before the Passover. It is very obvious that these are two separate occasions. The reaction of Judas Iscariot and some of the other disciples was, of course, the same.

284. JESUS WEEPS OVER THE CITY OF JERUSALEM

LUKE 19

41. And when He came near and saw the city, He wept over it,

42. Saying, “If you had known, even you, at least in this your day, the things for your peace; but now they are hidden from your eyes.

43. For the days shall come upon you that your enemies shall cast a rampart about you, and shall enclose you around and keep you in on every side,

44. And shall level you to the ground, and your children within you; and they shall not leave in you a stone upon a stone, because you did not know the season of your visitation.”

285. JESUS GOES INTO THE TEMPLE AND RETURNS THAT EVENING TO BETHANY

MARK 11

11. And Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple; and because the hour was already late, after looking around at everything there, He went out to Bethany with the twelve.

286. JESUS TEACHES DAILY IN THE TEMPLE

LUKE 19

47. Now He was teaching day by day in the temple; and the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people were seeking to destroy Him,

48. But could not find what they might do; for all the people were listening intently, hanging on His every word.

289. CERTAIN HELLENIST JEWS WANT TO SEE JESUS

JOHN 12

20. Now there were certain Greeks among those who had come up to worship at the feast.

21. And these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee; and they asked him, saying, “Sir, we desire to see Jesus.”

22. Philip came and told Andrew, and Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.

23. But Jesus answered them, saying, “The time has come for the Son of man to be glorified.

24. Truly, truly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

25. The one who loves his life shall lose it, and the one who hates his life in this world shall keep it unto eternal life.

26. If anyone will serve Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall My servant be also. And if anyone serves Me, him shall the Father honor.

27. Now My soul is troubled, a and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour? But for this very purpose I have come to this hour.

a - Psa. 42:6

SABBATH, NISAN 10 – SATURDAY, APRIL 1 – 30 AD

290. A VOICE THUNDERS FROM HEAVEN

JOHN 12

28. “Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.”

29. Then the people standing there, who heard it, said, “It thundered.” Others said, “An angel spoke to Him.”

30. Jesus answered and said, “This voice did not come because of Me, but because of you.

31. Now is the judgment of this world. Now shall the prince of this world be cast out.

32. And if I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all to Myself.”

33. But He said this to signify by what death He was about to die.

34. The people answered Him, “We have heard out of the law that the Christ lives forever, and why do You say that the Son of man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of man?”

35. Then Jesus said to them, “Yet a little while the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness will not overtake you. For the one who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.

36. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become the children of light…”

291. JESUS LEAVES THE CITY AGAIN AND HIDES HIMSELF FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE SABBATH

JOHN 12

36. …Jesus spoke these things and then departed from them and was in hiding.

292. ISAIAH QUOTED – THE PEOPLE DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHO AND WHAT CHRIST IS

JOHN 12

37. Although He had done so many miracles in their presence, they did not believe in Him,

38. So that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled who said, “Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” a

39. For this very reason they could not believe because again Isaiah said,

40. “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts so that they would not see with their eyes and understand with their hearts, and be converted, and I would heal them.” b

41. Isaiah said these things when he saw His glory and spoke concerning Him.

a - Isa. 53:1 b - Isa. 6:9-10

294. THE PARABLE OF THE TWO SONS

MATTHEW 21

28. “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first one and said, ‘Son, go work in my vineyard today.’

29. And he answered and said, ‘I will not’; but afterwards he repented and went.

30. Then he came to the second son and said the same thing. And he answered and said, ‘Sir, I will go’; but he did not go.

31. Which of the two did the will of the father?” They said to Him, “The first one.” Jesus said to them, “I tell you truly, the tax collectors and the harlots are going into the kingdom of God before you.

32. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and the harlots believed him. Yet you, after seeing this, did not afterwards repent and believe him.”

297. MANY LEADERS SECRETLY BELIEVE IN JESUS

JOHN 12

42. But even so, many among the rulers believed in Him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue;

43. For they loved the glory of men more than the glory of God.

298. TO BELIEVE IN JESUS IS TO BELIEVE IN THE FATHER

JOHN 12

44. Then Jesus called out and said, “The one who believes in Me does not believe in Me, but in Him Who sent Me.

45. And the one who sees Me sees Him Who sent Me.

46. I have come as a light into the world so that everyone who believes in Me may not remain in darkness.

47. But if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.

48. The one who rejects Me and does not receive My words has one who judges him; the word which I have spoken, that shall judge him in the last day.

NISAN 11 – SUNDAY, APRIL 2 – 30 AD

JOHN 12

49. For I have not spoken from Myself; but the Father, Who sent Me, gave Me commandment Himself, what I should say and what I should speak.

50. And I know that His commandment is eternal life. Therefore, whatever I speak, I speak exactly as the Father has told Me.”

299. THE PARABLE OF THE WEDDING AND THE WEDDING FEAST

MATTHEW 22

1. And again Jesus answered and spoke to them in parables, saying,

2. “The kingdom of heaven is compared to a man who was a king, who made a wedding feast for his son,

3. And sent his servants to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast; but they refused to come.

4. Afterwards he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Say to those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and the fatted beasts are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding feast.” ’

5. But they paid no attention and went away, one to his farm, and another to his business.

6. And the rest, after seizing his servants, insulted and killed them.

7. Now when the king heard it, he became angry; and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.

8. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast indeed is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy;

9. Therefore, go into the well-traveled highways, and invite all that you find to the wedding feast.’

10. And after going out into the highways, those servants brought together everyone that they found, both good and evil; and the wedding feast was filled with guests.

11. And when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not dressed in proper attire for the wedding feast;

12. And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you enter here without a garment fit for the wedding feast?’ But he had no answer.

13. Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind his hands and feet, and take him away, and cast him into the outer darkness.’ There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

14. For many are called, but few are chosen.”

MATTHEW 23

1. Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples,

2. Saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees have sat down on Moses’ seat as judges;

3. Therefore, every judgment that they tell you to observe, observe and do. But do not do according to their works; for they say and do not.

4. For they bind heavy burdens and hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of men; but they will not move them with one of their own fingers.

5. And they do all their works to be seen by men. They make broad their phylacteries and enlarge the borders of their garments;

6. And they love the first place at the suppers, and the chief seats in the synagogues,

7. And the salutations in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’

8. But you are not to be called Rabbi; for one is your Master, the Christ, and all of you are brethren.

9. Also, do not call anyone on the earth your Father; for one is your Father, Who is in heaven.

10. Neither be called Master; for one is your Master, the Christ.

11. But the greatest among you shall be your servant.

12. And whoever will exalt himself shall be humbled; and whoever will humble himself shall be exalted.

13. But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and as a pretext you offer prayers of great length. Because of this, you shall receive the greater judgment.

14. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven before men; for neither do you yourselves enter, nor do you allow those who are entering to enter.

NISAN 11 – SUNDAY, APRIL 2 – 30 AD

MATTHEW 23

15. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel the sea and the land to make one proselyte, and when he has become one, you make him twofold more a son of Gehenna than yourselves.

16. Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever shall swear by the temple, it is not binding; but whoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is obligated to fulfill his oath.’

17. You fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold, or the temple which sanctifies the gold?

18. And you say, ‘Whoever shall swear by the altar, it is not binding; but whoever shall swear by the gift that is upon it, he is obligated to fulfill his oath.’

19. You fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift, or the altar which sanctifies the gift?

20. Therefore, the one who swears by the altar swears by it, and by all things that are upon it.

21. And the one who swears by the temple swears by it, and by Him Who dwells in it.

22. And the one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God, and by Him Who sits upon it.

23. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithes a of mint and anise and cummin, but you have abandoned the more important matters of the law—judgment, and mercy and faith. These you were obligated to do, and not to leave the others undone.

24. Blind guides, who filter out a gnat, but swallow a camel!

25. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, but within you are full of extortion and excess.

26. Blind Pharisees! First cleanse the inside of the cup and the dish, so that the outside may also become clean.

27. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful on the outside, but within are full of the bones of the dead, and of all uncleanness.

28. Likewise, you also outwardly appear to men to be righteous, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

29. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the sepulchers of the prophets, and adorn the tombs of the righteous;

30. And you say, ‘If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’

31. So then, you are testifying against yourselves, that you are the sons of those who killed the prophets;

32. And as for you, you are filling up the measure of your fathers.

33. You serpents, you offspring of vipers, how shall you escape the judgment of Gehenna?

34. Because of this, behold, I send to you prophets and wise men and scribes; and some of them you shall kill and crucify, and some of them you shall scourge in your synagogues, and some of them you shall persecute from city to city;

35. So that upon you may come all the righteous blood poured out upon the earth, from the blood of Abel b the righteous, unto the blood of Zacharias c son of Barachias, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.

36. Truly I say to you, all these things shall come upon this generation.

37. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who have been sent to you, how often would I have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you refused!

38. Behold, your house is left to you desolate. d

39. For I say to you, you shall not see Me at all from this time forward, until you shall say, ‘Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord.’ ” e

a - Lev. 27:30; Num. 18:21-26 b - Gen. 4:8 c - II Chron. 24:20-21 d - Jer. 22:5 e - Psa. 118:26

309. JESUS LEAVES THE CITY EACH NIGHT

LUKE 21

37. And during the day He was in the temple teaching, and at night He went out and lodged on the mountain called the Mount of Olives.

38. And all the people came to Him in the temple early in the morning to hear Him.

NISAN 11 – SUNDAY, APRIL 2 – 30 AD

310. THE PARABLE OF THE TEN VIRGINS

MATTHEW 25

1. “Then shall the kingdom of heaven be compared to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.

2. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.

3. The ones who were foolish took their lamps, but they did not take oil with them;

4. But the wise took oil in their vessels along with their lamps.

5. Now when the bridegroom was gone a long time, they all became drowsy and slept.

6. But in the middle of the night there was a cry: ‘Look, the bridegroom is coming! Go out to meet him.’

7. Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps.

8. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’

9. But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there not be enough for us and for you. But instead, go to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’

10. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut.

11. And afterwards the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us.’

12. But He answered and said, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’

13. Watch, therefore, for you do not know the day nor the hour in which the Son of man is coming.

311. THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS

MATTHEW 25

14. For the kingdom of heaven is like a man leaving the country, who called his own servants and delivered to them his property.

15. Now to one he gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one; he gave to each one according to his own ability, and immediately left the country.

16. Then the one who had received five talents went and traded with them, and made an additional five talents.

17. In the same way also, the one who had received two talents also gained two others.

18. But the one who had received the single talent went and dug in the earth, and hid his lord’s money.

19. Now after a long time, the lord of those servants came to take account with them.

20. Then the one who had received five talents came to him and brought an additional five talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered five talents to me; see, I have gained five other talents besides them.’

21. And his lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! Because you were faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

NISAN 11 – SUNDAY, APRIL 2 – 30 AD

MATTHEW 25

22. “And the one who had received two talents also came to him and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; see, I have gained two other talents besides them.’

23. His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! Because you were faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

24. Then the one who had received the single talent also came to him and said, ‘Lord, I knew that you are a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter.

25. And because I was afraid, I went and hid your talent in the earth. Now look, you have your own.’

26. His lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! You knew that I reap where I did not sow, and gather what I did not scatter.

27. Because you knew this, you were duty-bound to take my talent to the money exchangers, so that when I came, I could have received my own with interest.

28. Therefore, take the talent from him, and give it to the one who has ten talents.

29. For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he shall have abundance; on the other hand, as for the one who does not have, even that which he has shall be taken from him.

30. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness.’ There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

312. THE JUDGMENT OF THE NATIONS

MATTHEW 25

31. “Now when the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory; a

32. And He shall gather before Him all the nations; and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

33. And He shall set the sheep at His right hand, but the goats at His left.

34. Then shall the King say to those at His right hand, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

35. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you took Me in;

36. I was naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’

37. Then shall the righteous answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and fed You? or thirsty, and gave You a drink?

38. And when did we see You a stranger, and took You in? or naked, and clothed You?

39. And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and came to You?’

40. And answering, the King shall say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, inasmuch as you have done it to one of the least of these My brethren, you have done it to Me.’

41. Then shall He also say to those on the left, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire, which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.

42. For I was hungry, and you did not give Me anything to eat; I was thirsty, and you did not give Me anything to drink;

43. I was a stranger, and you did not take Me in; I was naked, and you did not clothe Me; I was sick, and in prison, and you did not come to visit Me.’

44. Then they also shall answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and we did not minister to You?’

45. Then shall He answer them, saying, ‘Truly I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, neither did you do it to Me.’

46. And they shall go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” b

a - Zech. 14:4-5; Micah 4:1-4; Rev. 19:11; 20:4-6 b - Dan. 12:2

PART VI

JESUS’ LAST PASSOVER AND CRUCIFIXION

THE DAY GOD DIED!

The greatest event since the creation of the world was about to take place. Jesus Christ, Who was God manifested in the flesh (I Tim. 3:16), was going to die! He would give His life as the supreme sacrifice for the sins of all mankind. John the Baptist understood this when he said of Jesus: “Behold the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). This momentous event had been planned before the creation of the world: “…the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev. 13:8).

When and how did sin enter the world? Why was it necessary for Jesus Christ to lay down His life for the sins of mankind? How can His one sacrifice purge all sin?

The sin of Adam and Eve was not the first transgression against God. The original sin was committed by Lucifer and the angels who followed him. Lucifer (Latin, “Light Bringer” or “Shining One”) was the first created being to commit sin; therefore he is the author of sin. He boasted that he would become like the Most High and sit on God’s throne (Isa. 14:14-15; Ezek. 28:12-18). One third of the angels followed him in his rebellion (Rev. 12:3-4). At that time, Lucifer became Satan the devil, the adversary of God, and the rebelling angels who followed him became known as demons.

When Satan and the demons attempted to seize the throne of God, they were cast back down to the earth (Luke 10:18). That war left the earth in ruin and parts of the heavens in shambles. Everything that Lucifer and his angels had established on earth before the rebellion was destroyed, and the earth was covered with a flood (Gen. 1:2). Then God, the one Who became Jesus Christ, recreated the surface of the earth and filled it with life.

On the sixth day of creation, God made man in His own image and likeness, male and female (Gen. 1:26-27). God gave Adam and Eve free moral agency. He set before them the way of eternal life, as symbolized by the Tree of Life. He also set before them the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, which represented the way that seemed right to them, under the sway of Satan the devil. But God commanded them not to eat of the fruit of that tree, and warned them that if they ate of it they would surely die.

Under the influence of Satan the devil, Adam and Eve chose to disobey God by eating the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Through their disobedience sin and death passed to all mankind (Rom. 5:12). As a result, nearly all of humanity has followed the dictates of human nature under Satan’s sway, cut off from God. Although God has set limits on Satan, God has not yet removed Satan and his evil influence. In His own time, God will ultimately bring mankind out from subjection to sin and Satan. Through His plan of redemption, initiated by His Son’s perfect sacrifice, God has made it possible for all mankind to be delivered from sin and the penalty of death.

God as Lawgiver and Creator has decreed that the wages of sin for all human beings is death (Rom. 6:23). Sin is the transgression of God’s holy, spiritual laws and commandments (I John 3:4). All have sinned and have come short of the glory of God, so all face death unless they accept the way of salvation that God has provided (Rom. 3:23). The death that is decreed for sin is the second death in the lake of fire. From that death there is no resurrection (Rev. 20:13-15; 21:8).

After Adam and Eve sinned, God pronounced His judgment upon them. Within His sentence, we find the first prophecy of the death of the Messiah: “And I will put enmity between you [the serpent—Satan the devil] and the woman [a type of Israel, and later, the Church of God], and between your seed [the followers of Satan] and her Seed [Jesus Christ, the coming Messiah]; He will bruise your head [Satan], and you [Satan], shall bruise His heel [the crucifixion of Christ]” (Gen. 3:15).

This prophecy was spoken by God Himself, the one Who was to become Jesus Christ. As the Lord God of the Old Testament, He prophesied His own death to atone for the sins of Adam and Eve and all their descendants to come. This prophecy was spoken more than 4,000 years before His beating, scourging and crucifixion on the Passover day, Nisan 14, April 5, 30 AD.

The Promised Seed of the Covenant With Abraham

The promise of a Seed who would conquer sin and banish Satan was confirmed by the covenant that God made with Abraham. The words of the covenant were a prophecy of His own future birth as the fleshly Seed of Abraham. Let us examine the account in the book of Genesis: “And behold, the Word of the LORD came to him [Abraham], saying, ‘This man [his steward Eliezer] shall not be your heir; but he that shall come forth out of your own loins shall be your heir’ ” (Gen. 15:4).

The birth of Isaac, the son of Abraham and Sarah, was only the beginning of the fulfillment of this promise to Abraham. The promise was not only for Isaac but also for his future descendant, the coming Messiah. The birth of Jesus Christ was the ultimate fulfillment of the promise, the Seed to Whom the promises were given: “Now to Abraham and to his Seed were the promises spoken. He does not say, ‘and to your seeds,’ as of many; but as of one, ‘and to your Seed,’ which is Christ” (Gal. 3:16). Jesus Christ is the promised Seed and true Heir of the promises God made to Abraham.

The account in Genesis 15 reveals that evening had come when God began to give the promises to Abraham. On that night, God took Abraham outside and showed him the stars of heaven. Then He gave Abraham another promise: “And He brought him outside and said, ‘Look now toward the heavens and number the stars—if you are able to count them.’ And He said to him, ‘So shall your seed be’ ” (Gen. 15:5). The New Testament shows that these words of God do not refer to Abraham’s physical descendants but to those who would become the children of Abraham through faith in Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul wrote: “Because of this, you should understand that those who are of faith are the true sons of Abraham” (Gal. 3:7).

The true children of Abraham are not counted by their physical lineage. They are a spiritual nation, composed of individuals of every race and every bloodline who follow in the faith of Abraham (verses 8, 14). At the return of Jesus Christ, they will be resurrected to eternal life as glorified spirit beings and will shine as the stars forever (Dan. 12:3, Matt. 13:43, I Cor. 15:40-44).

Next, God promised to give to Abraham and his physical seed the land of the Canaanites: “And He said unto him, ‘I am the LORD that brought you out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give you this land to inherit it’ ” (Gen. 15:7). This promise was for his physical descendants, the children of Israel. Many generations would pass before the promised Seed, Jesus Christ, would come to prepare a spiritual people for a spiritual kingdom—the sons of God in the Kingdom of God. Abraham received the promises with complete faith that God would fulfill them: “And he believed in the LORD. And He accounted it to him for righteousness” (verse 6).

The Covenant Confirmed by a Maledictory Oath

When God established His covenant with Abraham, He confirmed it with a maledictory oath, which was a pledge and prophecy of His own future death. On the morning after giving Abraham the promises, God spoke to him and instructed him to prepare a special sacrifice to seal the covenant: “And He said to him, ‘Take Me a heifer of three years old, and a she-goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.’ And he took all these to himself, and divided them in the middle, and laid each piece opposite the other; but he did not divide the birds. And when the birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away” (verses 9-11). The bloody carcasses of the sacrificial animals were laid on the ground to represent the symbolic death of the one Who would confirm the covenant. By passing between the parts, He would pledge His own life to fulfill the covenant.

By the time that Abraham had finished preparing the covenant sacrifice, it was late in the day: “And it came to pass, as the sun was going down, that a deep sleep fell upon Abram. And, behold, a horror of great darkness fell upon him” (verse 12). While Abraham lay sleeping, God appeared to him in a vision and promised that his physical descendants would inherit the land. However, this would not happen until they had lived in another land for four generations: “And He said to Abram, ‘You must surely know that your seed shall be sojourners in a land that is not theirs, (and shall serve them and afflict them) four hundred years. And also I will judge that nation whom they shall serve. And afterward they shall come out with great substance. And you shall go to your fathers in peace. You shall be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come here again, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full’ ” (verses 13-16).

After prophesying these events, God bound Himself to fulfill them by passing between the sacrificial animals to seal the covenant: “And it came to pass—when the sun went down [beginning the next day], and it was dark—behold, a smoking furnace and a burning lamp passed between those pieces. In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram…” (verses 17-18).

After the sun had gone down, God passed through the middle of the sacrificial animals, revealing His presence by the smoking furnace and flaming torch. When God passed between the parts, He walked a death walk, pledging His future death. Apparently, the smoking furnace wholly consumed the sacrificial animals. That is how God ratified His unilateral covenant with Abraham.

The full account in Genesis 15 reveals that the making of the covenant took place during two consecutive days. When God first spoke to Abraham, it was night because the stars could be seen (verse 5). In the morning, God gave Abraham instructions for preparing the covenant sacrifice. Abraham prepared the sacrifice that same day. We know that he completed the preparations while the sun was still high because the birds of prey were flying about and attempting to land on the sacrifice (verse 11). The next verse records the end of the day: “it came to pass, as the sun was going down, that a deep sleep fell upon Abram ” (verse 12). After the sun had gone down, God appeared to Abraham and ratified the covenant (verse 18).

There is great significance in the fact that the covenant was established over a two-day period, with the promises being given on the first night and the covenant being ratified on the second night. The timing of these events has an exact parallel in the chronology of the Passover and the Exodus, which were the first acts in the fulfillment of God’s promises for the physical seed—the descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob.

Israel’s First Passover and the Exodus from Egypt

Exodus 12 records that the children of Israel kept the Passover on the 14th day of the first month, or Abib (this month was later known as Nisan). The Passover lamb, a type of the coming Messiah, was killed immediately after sunset at the beginning of the 14th. The people took some of the blood and put it on the side posts and lintel of the doors of their houses so that God would pass over their houses and spare their firstborn. Then they roasted the lamb with fire and ate it with bitter herbs.

At midnight on the 14th, God executed His final judgment on the Egyptians and their gods by killing all the firstborn of men and beasts. When God saw the blood of the Passover lambs on the houses of the children of Israel, He passed over them, sparing their firstborn.

At sunrise, as the day portion of Nisan 14 began, the children of Israel left their houses to assemble at Rameses for the Exodus. As they journeyed to Rameses, they completely spoiled the Egyptians, fulfilling God’s promise to Abraham that his descendants would depart from the land of their servitude with great substance. God commanded the children of Israel to observe this day, the 14th day of the first month, as the feast of the Passover for all generations to come, in commemoration of His final judgment against the Egyptians and their gods and His sparing of the firstborn of Israel (Ex. 12:3-14, 21-28, Lev. 23:5).

After the children of Israel had assembled in Rameses, the Exodus from Egypt began. The people departed from Rameses as the 14th day was ending at sunset and the 15th day was beginning. The timing of this event fulfilled another promise that God had made to Abraham: “Now the sojourning of the children of Israel in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years, and it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, it was EVEN ON THAT VERY SAME DAY, all the armies of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt. It is a night to be much observed to the LORD for bringing them out from the land of Egypt...” (Ex. 12:40- 42).

The phrase “the selfsame day” (KJV) refers to a specific day exactly four hundred and thirty years before the Exodus. What day was this? The Scriptures reveal that it was the “selfsame day” that God established His covenant with Abraham. On that day, God promised that He would bring his descendants out of bondage with great substance. On that “selfsame day,” the 15th day of the first month, God fulfilled His promise. Therefore, God established the 15th day of the first month as a holy day to commemorate the beginning of the Exodus (Ex. 12:37-42; 13:3-10; Lev. 23:6-8).

The Foundation of the Christian Passover in the Covenant with Abraham

Four hundred and thirty years after establishing His covenant with Abraham, God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt. After bringing them out, He established a covenant with them now called the Old Covenant. In his epistle to the Galatians, the apostle Paul confirms that the Old Covenant was established four hundred and thirty years after God’s covenant with Abraham: “Now this I say, that the covenant ratified beforehand by God to Christ [Abraham’s true Heir] cannot be annulled by the law [the physical requirements of the Old Covenant], which was given four hundred and thirty years later, so as to make the promise of no effect” (Gal. 3:17).

The Old Covenant with the children of Israel did not fulfill God’s promise to Abraham of a spiritual seed that would shine as the stars forever. This promise did not begin to be fulfilled until the coming of the New Covenant, the covenant of everlasting life, which was established nearly 2,000 years later. As God manifested in the flesh, Jesus Christ, the promised Seed of Abraham, instituted the New Covenant on the Passover night, the 14th day of the first month, named Nisan. The Passover that initiated the New Covenant was not a supper of lamb and bitter herbs, as was the Passover of the children of Israel under the Old Covenant. When Jesus instituted the new Christian Passover, He changed the symbols of the Passover to represent His own body and blood, which He sacrificed as the true Passover Lamb of God to ratify the New Covenant. Although He changed the symbols, He did not change the day, or the time of day, on which the Passover was to be observed.

The Christian Passover, as instituted by Jesus Christ, is to be observed on the night of Nisan 14. The new ceremony consists of three parts: 1) footwashing (John 13:2-17); 2) partaking of the broken unleavened bread, symbolizing Jesus’ broken body (Matt. 26:26, Mark 14:22, Luke 22:19, I Cor. 11:23-24); and 3) partaking of the wine, symbolizing the blood of Jesus shed for the remission of sins so that all who accept His sacrifice may enter the New Covenant (Matt. 26:27-29, Mark 14:23-25, Luke 22:17-20, I Cor. 11:25-26).

Why Did God Have to Die?

As we have learned, God ratified His promises to Abraham with a maledictory oath. By passing between the parts of the covenant sacrifice, He pledged that He would give His own life to fulfill the promises. The bloody slaughter of these sacrificial animals symbolized the brutal suffering and crucifixion of Jesus Christ, which occurred in 30 AD on the Passover day—Nisan 14. The deep sleep and horror of great darkness that Abraham experienced was symbolic of Jesus Christ’s burial in the tomb as Nisan 14 was ending at sunset. Thus, 2,000 years later, on the very same day that God ratified His covenant with Abraham, His lifeless body was in the tomb. He had carried out His pledge that He would die in order to fulfill the promises.

Before we can comprehend the death of God manifested in the flesh, we need to understand a fundamental truth about God. The Scriptures reveal that the Godhead is composed of more than one divine Being. In the first chapter of Genesis, the Hebrew name Elohim is used to describe God. In the Hebrew language, the suffix im added to a word makes it plural. Thus Elohim is a plural noun, meaning that there is more than one Being in the Godhead. When God created Adam and Eve, God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness…” (Gen. 1:26).

John begins his Gospel by revealing this fundamental truth: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and not even one thing that was created came into being without Him. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men….He was in the world, and the world came into being through Him, but the world did not know Him….And the Word became flesh, and tabernacled [temporarily dwelt] among us (and we ourselves beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten with the Father), full of grace and truth” (John 1:1-4, 10, 14).

Jesus Himself testified that He was with the Father in glory before the world existed. In His final prayer to God the Father before He was arrested, tried and crucified, He said, “I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work that You gave Me to do. And now, Father, glorify Me with Your own self, with the glory that I had with You before the world existed” (John 17:4-5).

The Scriptures of the Old Testament and the New Testament consistently reveal that from the beginning there were two Beings Who existed together as God, or Elohim. The one of Elohim Who created all things was the one Who became Jesus Christ, the Messiah and the Savior of the world. The other one of Elohim became the Father. We find a prophecy of this in the book of Psalms: “I [the one of Elohim Who became the Son, Jesus Christ] will declare the decree of the LORD. He [the one of Elohim Who became the Father] has said to Me, ‘You are My Son; this day I have begotten You [the day He was begotten in the womb of the virgin Mary]” (Psa. 2:7).

The one of Elohim Who became Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Savior of the world, had to divest himself of His power and glory as God. He had to become a pinpoint of life in order to be begotten by the Father in the womb of the virgin Mary. The apostle Paul reveals how this was accomplished: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus; Who, although He existed [Greek huparchoon, to exist or pre-exist] in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but emptied Himself [of His power and glory], and was made in the likeness [Greek homoioma, the same existence] of men, and took the form of a servant [Greek doulos, a slave]; and being found in the manner of man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:5-8).

These inspired words of Paul confirm that before Jesus Christ became human He was, in fact, Jehovah Elohim, the Lord God of the Old Testament. Existing as God, He was composed of ever-living Spirit. In this existence, it was impossible for Him to die. The only way for God to die was to become fully human—to be “manifested in the flesh.” The God Who had created man in His image and likeness took on the same flesh and nature as man in order to redeem man from sin.

Jesus Christ voluntarily became a man in order to give His life as an offering for the sin of the world. The Father gave Him authority to lay down His life and to receive it back, as Jesus Himself testified: “Just as the Father knows Me, I also know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring those also, and they shall hear My voice; and there shall be one flock and one Shepherd. On account of this, the Father loves Me: because I lay down My life, that I may receive it back again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have authority to lay it down and authority to receive it back again. This commandment I received from My Father” (John 10:15 -18).

Jesus Christ came to do the will of the Father and to give His life as the sacrifice for sin. In his epistle to the Hebrews, Paul quotes the words of the prophecy of Psalm 40:6-8: “For this reason, when He comes into the world, He says, ‘Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but You have prepared a body for Me [Christ’s human body of flesh]. You did not delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin. Then said I, “Lo, I come (as it is written of Me in the scroll of the book) to do Your will, O God” ’ ” (Heb. 10:5-7).

It was the purpose of the two Beings Who were Elohim that one of Them would be made fully human in order to die, so that through His sacrifice, all mankind might be granted grace unto salvation. Paul makes this absolutely clear: “But we see Jesus, Who was made a little lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honor on account of suffering the death, in order that by the grace of God He Himself might taste [partake of] death for everyone; because it was fitting for Him, for Whom all things were created, and by Whom all things exist, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Author of their salvation perfect through sufferings” (Heb. 2:9-10).

The Scriptures reveal that Jesus Christ was a mortal human being. He was not an angelic being that appeared to be a man. Paul states very clearly that He shared the same flesh and blood as all human beings: “Therefore, since the children are partakers of flesh and blood, in like manner He also took part in the same, in order that through death He might annul him who has the power of death—that is, the devil; and that He might deliver those who were subject to bondage all through their lives by their fear of death.

“For surely, He is not taking upon Himself to help the angels; but He is taking upon Himself to help the seed of Abraham. For this reason, it was obligatory for Him to be made like His brethren in everything [sharing the same flesh and nature], that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, in order to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because He Himself has suffered, having been tempted in like manner, He is able to help those who are being tempted” (Heb. 2:14-18).

What a magnificent expression of God’s love! The Creator of all mankind temporarily gave up His eternal existence as God and lowered Himself to the level of mortal man so that He could suffer and die for every human being! By the grace and love of God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, He willingly took upon Himself the death penalty that He had pronounced upon Adam and Eve and their descendants.

Jesus Christ voluntarily chose to lay down His life to reconcile mankind to God so that all who accept His sacrifice may have the opportunity to receive salvation and eternal life. Jesus endured all His suffering in the flesh so that He might become the Author of eternal salvation, “Who, in the days of His flesh, offered up both prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears to Him Who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because He feared God. Although He was a Son, yet He learned obedience from the things that He suffered; and having been perfected, He became the Author of eternal salvation to all those who obey Him” (Heb. 5:7-9).

It took the death of the Creator God, manifested in the flesh, to become the perfect sacrifice for the forgiveness of human sin. No other sacrifice could bring forgiveness of sin to mankind. All the animal sacrifices and the shedding of their blood could never bring full forgiveness for human sin before God. The apostle Paul makes this truth very clear: “For the law, having only a shadow of the good things that are coming and not the image of those things, with the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, is never able to make perfect those who come to worship. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered? For once those who worship had been purified, they would no longer be conscious of sin. On the contrary, in offering these sacrifices year by year, there is a remembrance of sins; because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Heb. 10:1-4).

Man Cannot Save Himself: No other fleshly human being could have sacrificed his life to redeem mankind. If it were possible for a man to live perfectly in the letter of the law and never sin, his perfect human life, if sacrificed for sin, would not be sufficient to redeem even one human life. Redemption from sin and death requires greater obedience than the letter of the law. This is the whole lesson of Job’s trials and suffering. Although he was perfect in the letter of the law, His own righteousness could not save him: “And the LORD answered Job and said, ‘Shall he who contends with the Almighty instruct Him? He who reproves God, let him answer it.’

“And Job answered the LORD and said, ‘Behold, I am vile [all human beings have a sinful nature, regardless of perfect behavior in the letter of the law]! What shall I answer You? I will lay my hand on my mouth. Once I have spoken; but I will not answer; yea, twice, but I will proceed no further.’ And the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, ‘Gird up your loins now like a man. I will demand you, and you declare unto Me. Will you even annul My judgment? Will you condemn Me so that you may be righteous?

“ ‘And have you an arm like God? Or can you thunder with a voice like His? Deck yourself now with majesty and excellency, and array yourself with glory and beauty. Cast abroad the rage of your wrath; and behold everyone who is proud, and abase him. Look on everyone who is proud, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place. Hide them in the dust together; and bind their faces in darkness. Then I will also confess to you that your own right hand can save you” (Job 40:1-14). As God told Job, it is impossible for any man to save himself—much less all of humanity.

Angels Cannot Save Mankind: God created angels to be ministering spirits. Angels are in a completely different category than human beings or God. While God created them out of spirit, they do not have the potential to enter into the God Family, as do human beings who will be transformed to spirit at the resurrection. Neither are they like the one of Elohim Who became the Son, as Paul wrote: “God, Who spoke to the fathers at different times in the past and in many ways by the prophets, has spoken to us in these last days by His Son, Whom He has appointed heir of all things, by Whom also He made the ages; Who, being the brightness of His glory and the exact image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His own power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high; having been made so much greater than any of the angels, inasmuch as He has inherited a name exceedingly superior to them.

“For to which of the angels did He ever say, ‘You are My Son; this day have I begotten You’? And again, ‘I will be a Father to Him, and He will be a Son to Me’? And again, when He brought the Firstborn into the world, He said, ‘Let all the angels of God worship Him.’ Now on one hand, of the angels He says, ‘Who makes His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire’….But unto which of the angels did He ever say, ‘Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet’? Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister to those who are about to inherit salvation?” (Heb. 1:1-7, 13-14) It was not possible for the sacrifice of angels to pay for the sins of all mankind.

Only God Can Save Man: The only Being whose life could purchase redemption from sin for all humanity is the Creator God. If the one Who had created man died, complete and total payment for human sin could be made, and reconciliation with God would be possible for all humanity. God’s mercy could then be extended to all who repent and accept the death of Jesus Christ, God manifested in the flesh, as payment for their sins. This is why God had to die!

The one of Elohim Who created the heavens and the earth became Jesus Christ— God manifested in the flesh. He was divinely begotten by God the Father and born of the virgin Mary, His physical mother. He was the same as any ordinary human being, except that He had the Holy Spirit from conception. Only the death of God could reconcile man and God. Thus Jesus had to be God in the flesh—human as well as divine.

While He lived in the flesh, Jesus Christ was subject to every type of temptation that a human being can experience, but He never yielded to a single temptation of the flesh or of Satan. Jesus Christ never sinned. His obedience was perfect in the full spirit of the law. By living a sinless life, He was qualified to become not only the Savior and Redeemer of mankind but also the High Priest and Mediator between God and man: “Having therefore a great High Priest, Who has passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, we should hold fast the confession of our faith. For we do not have a high priest who cannot empathize with our weaknesses, but One Who was tempted in all things according to the likeness of our own temptations, yet He was without sin. Therefore, we should come with boldness to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:14 -16).

Jesus’ life in the flesh was able to purchase redemption from sin for all humanity because:

1) He was the Creator of all human beings.

2) He was divinely begotten by God the Father.

3) He was God manifested in the flesh.

4) He was the only human to live His entire life according to the will of God.

5) He was the only human never to sin.

6) He was the only human never to yield to a single temptation of the flesh or of Satan the devil.

7) He was the only human not to come under the death penalty for sin.

Only the precious blood of the Lamb of God could atone for all human sin. The death of God in the flesh was complete and perfect as a sacrifice and an atonement because His life in the flesh encompassed the full scope of human experience. On the human level, He suffered every type of temptation possible. He suffered the vilest of human indignities and excruciating tortures, enduring a violent beating, scourging, and crucifixion, and the shame of public death. He suffered rejection by His own people and injustice at the hands of religious and civil authorities. He was the victim of political expediency and religious hypocrisy. He overcame all, gaining total victory over Satan the devil and the pulls of the flesh through His perfect love and obedience to God the Father. The sacrifice of His perfect life opened the way for all mankind to receive salvation through faith in Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish, but may have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world that He might judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him” (John 3:16-17).

God the Father accepted the death of Jesus Christ once for all time as full payment for human sin. But before the sacrifice of Jesus Christ can be applied to an individual, he or she must first repent of sin, accept Jesus Christ as personal Savior and be baptized by full immersion in water. At baptism, he or she is conjoined into Christ’s death by symbolic burial in a watery grave. Each one who is raised out of that baptismal burial is to walk in newness of life, learning to love God the Father and Jesus Christ with all the heart and to keep Their commandments in the full spirit of the law. This is the way of life that Jesus established for those who enter the New Covenant through faith in His sacrifice for sin.

All who enter the New Covenant are commanded to observe the Passover year by year as a renewal of the covenant of everlasting life. By partaking of the Passover as Jesus taught, they acknowledge that they have accepted the body and blood of Jesus Christ as full payment for their sins and have dedicated their lives to live by Him (John 6:57). When they partake of the broken unleavened bread, they acknowledge that they are healed of their diseases by the broken body of Jesus Christ: “…by Whose stripes you were healed” (I Pet. 2:24). When they partake of the wine, they acknowledge that they trust in His shed blood “for the remission of sins” (Matt. 26:28).

All true Christians have been bought with a great price. They belong to Jesus Christ, Who paid with His own blood to release them from the power of Satan and the bondage of sin, and to reconcile them to God the Father. “Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us” (I Cor. 5:7). This is the meaning of the DAY JESUS THE CHRIST DIED FOR THE SINS OF THE WHOLE WORLD!

THE AGONY OF THE CRUCIFIXION

At His last Passover meal with the apostles, Jesus said, “Behold, even now the hand of him who is betraying Me is with Me at the table” (Luke 22:21). Although Jesus knew that Judas would betray Him, He washed Judas’ feet along with the other apostles’ (John 13:2-5, 11). Then Judas left. As Jesus administered the symbols of His body and His blood to the eleven apostles who were with Him, He knew that the time of His betrayal was near. When He departed with the apostles to the Mount of Olives, walking into the darkness of that dread night, Jesus began to feel the melancholy oppressiveness of the sins of the whole world weighing on Him, and His mind was filled with thoughts of the suffering and agony that lay ahead. Though His apostles were with Him, an overwhelming feeling of isolation penetrated every cell of His being. He could not share His sorrow with them because they did not understand what the rest of that Passover night and day would bring. He had spoken to them in the days leading up to the Passover, forewarning them of His betrayal and death, but they did not grasp the meaning of His words. They did not know that His life was about to end with a gruesome death on the cross as the TRUE PASSOVER SACRIFICE OF GOD—THE SIN OFFERING FOR THE WORLD.

The time had come! His rendezvous with destiny drew closer and closer to its ultimate climax! The Lord God of the Old Testament, Who had come to earth in the flesh, was about to die the agonizing death that He and the prophets had foretold. This was the reason He had come into the world. He had come in the flesh in order to die—to give His body to be beaten, scourged and crucified, and to offer His blood for the sins of mankind. But no human being desires to die a slow death in great pain and agony. As Jesus anticipated His suffering, His flesh cried out to be spared. Only the love of God, which had sustained Him and brought Him to this day, could give Him the strength to endure the suffering that was appointed to Him.

He had manifested the love of God during His days in the flesh, setting a perfect example for His disciples. Now the love of God would be manifested by His death. As they were walking to the Mount of Olives, He charged His apostles, “LOVE ONE ANOTHER, AS I HAVE LOVED YOU.” He spoke from the depths of His innermost being, desiring to indelibly etch His words into their minds: “If you keep My commandments, you shall live in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and live in His love.

“These things I have spoken to you, in order that My joy may dwell in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My commandment: that you love one another, as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this: that one lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:10-13).

Jesus was about to manifest the greatest love of all by laying down His life for them, as well as for the whole world. But the apostles did not know this yet, nor did they know that some of them would also lose their lives for His name’s sake in the days ahead. Jesus warned the disciples that the world would hate them and persecute them, just as the world had hated and persecuted Him: “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have personally chosen you out of the world, the world hates you for this. Remember the word that I spoke to you: a servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you also. If they kept My word, they will keep your word also. But they will do all these things to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him Who sent Me.

“If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have had sin; but now they have nothing to cover their sin. The one who hates Me hates My Father also. If I had not done among them the works that no other man has done, they would not have had sin; but now they have both seen and hated both Me and My Father. But this has happened so that the saying might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’ But when the Comforter has come, which I will send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of the truth, which proceeds from the Father, that one shall bear witness of Me. Then you also shall bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning. I have spoken these things to you so that you will not be offended” (John 15:18-16:1).

Jesus continued to warn them, telling them that they, too, would be killed for preaching the truth of God: “They shall cast you out of the synagogues; furthermore, the time is coming that everyone who kills you will think that he is rendering service to God. And they shall do these things to you because they do not know the Father, nor Me. But I have told you these things so that when the time comes, you may remember that I said them to you. However, I did not say these things to you at the beginning because I was with you....These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation. But be courageous! I have overcome the world” (John 16:2-4; 33).

When they arrived at the Mount of Olives, Jesus told His apostles, “My soul is deeply grieved, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me” (Matt. 26:38). Then, taking Peter, James and John, He went into the Garden of Gethsemane. “And when He arrived at the place, He said to them, ‘Pray that you do not enter into temptation.’ And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw; and falling to His knees, He prayed, saying, ‘Father, if You are willing to take away this cup from Me—; NEVERTHELESS, NOT MY WILL, BUT YOUR WILL BE DONE’ ” (Luke 22:40-42).

Jesus Knew That He Could Not Escape Death

Even as He prayed to the Father, Jesus knew that the prophecies of His suffering and death must be fulfilled. As the Lord God of the Old Testament, He had given the first prophecy of His suffering to Adam and Eve in the presence of Satan, who would instigate His death (Gen. 3:15).

Jesus knew that He was the Lamb of God “slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev. 13:8). He knew from the beginning that He was destined to die on this Passover day—Nisan 14, April 5, 30 AD. As the Lord God of the Old Testament, He had entered into covenant with Abraham by passing between the parts of the sacrificial animals to represent His own death (Gen. 15:5-18). At the beginning of the 14th, during the dark hours of the night, He had delivered the promises of the covenant, foreshadowing the time when, as Jesus Christ, He would deliver the promises of the New Covenant. On the day portion of the 14th, the animals for the covenant sacrifice were slaughtered and their bodies were split asunder, allowing their blood to spill on the ground. During those same hours, the body of Jesus Christ would be beaten and broken open, and His blood would be poured out unto death. In the late afternoon of the 14th, the slaughtered animals lay still on the ground, and Abraham watched and waited. In like manner, Jesus’ body would remain on the cross as the end of the 14th drew near, while his followers watched and waited (Luke 23:49). Although Jesus died at the “ninth hour,” or approximately 3 PM, His body was not placed in the tomb until the 14th was ready to end at sunset.

At the exact time that Jesus would be buried, nearly 2000 years before, Abraham experienced a foretype of His death and burial: “And it came to pass, as the sun was going down, that a deep sleep fell upon Abram. And, behold, a horror of great darkness fell upon him” (Gen. 15:12). Abraham remained in this symbolic burial after the sun had gone down. When the darkness of night had come, the Lord God passed between the parts of the sacrifice: “And it came to pass—when the sun went down and it was dark—behold, a smoking furnace and a burning lamp passed between those pieces” (verse 17).

By this maledictory oath, God Himself confirmed that He would fulfill the covenant through His own death and burial. This event, which took place during “the horror of great darkness,” also had a fulfillment in Jesus Christ. The only sign that Jesus gave of His Messiahship was the length of time that He would be “in the heart of the earth” (Matt. 12:40). As He lay in the darkness of the tomb for three days and three nights, He was confirming that He was the Messiah Who would fulfill the promises of the New Covenant.

Jesus Knew That the Words of the Prophets Would All Be Fulfilled

As the covenant sacrifice had foreshadowed and the prophets had foretold, the suffering and death that were appointed to Jesus would surely come to pass. Every detail would be fulfilled, exactly as recorded in Scripture. When Judas left His presence on that Passover night, Jesus knew that Judas was on his way to the authorities to betray Him, as it was written: “Even a man, my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate of my bread, has lifted up his heel against me ” (Psa. 41:9). Jesus also knew that the elders and the chief priests would pay Judas thirty pieces of silver to betray Him: “And I said to them, ‘If it is good, give me my price; and if not, let it go.’ So they weighed my price—thirty pieces of silver” (Zech. 11:12). Thirty pieces of silver was the price of a dead slave (Ex. 21:32).

Jesus also remembered the prophecy of Isaiah that He would be led as a lamb to the slaughter: “He is despised and rejected of men; a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from Him, He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. Surely He has borne our infirmities, and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

“But He was wounded for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we ourselves are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned each one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and He was afflicted; yet He opened not His mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter; and as a sheep before its shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth…. He was cut off out of the land of the living; for the transgression of My people He was stricken….Yet the LORD willed to crush Him and He has put Him to grief: You shall make His life an offering for sin….He shall see of the travail of His soul. He shall be fully satisfied. By His knowledge shall My righteous Servant justify many; and He shall bear their iniquities….because He has poured out His soul to death; and He was counted among the transgressors; and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for transgressors” (Isa. 53:3-12).

Jesus was fully aware that He would be mocked, beaten and spit upon, and would suffer a terrible scourging. The whip that would inflict His scourging would have tips of nails and glass and would literally rip the flesh off His body. After forty lashes, He would be near death. He knew that this torturous ordeal would leave Him so horribly disfigured that He would be almost unrecognizable. Isaiah prophesied all of these things: “I gave My back to the smiters, and My cheeks to them that plucked off the hair; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting….Many were astonished at Him—for His body was so disfigured—even His form beyond that of the sons of men” (Isa. 50:6; 52:14).

Jesus knew that the prophecy of David in Psalm 22 was about to be fulfilled. He would cry out these very words while He was hanging on the cross: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me, and why are You so far from helping Me, and from the words of My groaning? O my God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not answer; and in the night season, and am not silent….But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men and despised by the people. All who see Me mock Me; they shoot out the lip; they shake the head, saying, ‘He trusted on the LORD; let Him deliver Him; let Him rescue Him, since He delights in Him’ ” (Psa. 22:1-2, 6-8).

Even during the mocking and jeering of the people, priests and Pharisees, He would trust God the Father, as He had from His earliest days in the flesh: “For You are He who took Me out of the womb, causing Me to trust while on My mother’s breasts. I was cast upon You from birth; You are My God from My mother’s womb. Be not far from Me; for trouble is near, for there is none to help. Many bulls have encircled around Me; strong bulls of Bashan have surrounded Me. They opened wide their mouths at Me, like a ravening and a roaring lion” (verses 9-13).

The next prophecies of David reveal the excruciating agony that He would suffer during His crucifixion as His physical life drained away: “I am poured out like water, and all My bones are out of joint [from the jolt of the cross falling into its hole]; My heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of My bowels [from loss of blood]. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and My tongue clings to My jaws;

“Dogs [the soldiers] have surrounded Me; a band of evildoers [the priests and Pharisees] have encircled Me; they have pierced My hands and My feet [nailing Him to the cross]; and You have brought Me into the dust of death. I can count all My bones [because the flesh had been ripped open]; they look and gloat over Me [in astonishment because He was so disfigured]. They divide My garments among them and cast lots upon My vesture” (verses 14-18).

In the midst of this agonizing ordeal, Jesus would pray to God the Father for strength to endure: “But You, O LORD, be not far from Me; O My strength, hasten to help Me! Deliver My soul from the sword, My precious life from the power of the dog. Save Me from the lion’s mouth; yea, and from the wild ox’s horns. You have answered Me….For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted [Jesus Christ]; and He has not hidden His face from him, but when he cried to Him, He heard” (verses 19-24). These prophetic words of David show that God the Father would not truly forsake His Son at any time during His suffering and crucifixion but would be with Him as He bore the sins of all mankind.

In Psalm 69, God inspired David to write more of the thoughts that Jesus would have while on the cross. Although He had done no wrong, He would be hated and condemned to die by crucifixion, which was the lot of criminals. His death would bring great disrepute upon His disciples, and He would be rejected by His own physical brothers and sisters: “Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head; those who would cut me off are mighty being wrongfully my enemies….Do not let those who wait on You, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed because of me; let not the ones who seek You be ashamed because of me, O God of Israel because for Your sake I have borne reproach, shame has covered my face. I have become a stranger to My brothers and an alien to My mother’s children” (Psa. 69:4-8).

Jesus would suffer all the shame and agony of the crucifixion because of His profound love and zeal for God the Father: “For the zeal of Your house has eaten Me up, and the reproaches of those who reproached You have fallen upon Me….Answer me, O LORD, for Your steadfast love is good; turn unto me according to the multitude of Your tender mercies. And hide not Your face from Your servant, for I am in trouble; answer me speedily. Draw near unto my soul and redeem it; deliver me because of my enemies. You have known my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonor [being executed like a criminal]; my enemies are all before You. Reproach has broken my heart, and I am full of heaviness; and I looked for sympathy, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. They also gave Me gall for My food; and in My thirst they gave Me vinegar to drink” (verses 9, 16- 21).

Jesus knew that He would have to bear this shameful and agonizing ordeal to the end. He knew that His suffering would become so unbearable that He would feel as if the Father had abandoned Him. He knew that a spear would be thrust into the side of His body, as the prophet Zechariah was inspired to write: “…And they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourns for his only son, and shall be in bitterness over Him, as the bitterness over the firstborn” (Zech. 12:10).

Knowing that every one of these prophecies must be fulfilled, Jesus was in great anguish as He prayed to the Father. The thought of suffering such a hideous and merciless death was nearly overwhelming. Luke records, “Then an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. And being in AGONY [in His mind and spirit, knowing that all eternity hinged on this day], He prayed more earnestly. And His sweat became as great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:43- 44).

Jesus Looked Forward to the Kingdom of God

Throughout His suffering, Jesus would keep His mind on His coming resurrection and the Kingdom of God. He knew that He would be raised from the dead by the power of God the Father and would give praise and glory to Him at the future resurrection of the saints, when His kingdom would be established over all the earth: “From You comes my praise in the great congregation; I will pay my vows before those who fear Him [the resurrected saints]. The meek shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek the LORD shall praise Him; may your heart live forever. All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD [because of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice for sin]; and all the families of the nations shall worship before You [at His return], for the kingdom is the LORD’S and He rules over the nations.

“All the rich of the earth shall eat and worship; all those who go down to the dust shall bow before Him; even he who cannot keep his own soul alive. A seed shall serve Him; it shall be told of the LORD to the coming generation. They shall come and shall declare His righteousness unto a people that shall yet be born, that He has done this [through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ]” (Psa. 22:25-31).

In the final words of His prayer, Jesus asked God the Father to restore Him to the glory that He had with the Father before the world existed. He also prayed for His disciples and for those who would become His disciples through the preaching of the gospel, that they all might be one with Him and the Father: “Jesus spoke these words, and lifted up His eyes to heaven and said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify Your own Son, so that Your Son may also glorify You; since You have given Him authority over all flesh, in order that He may give eternal life to all whom You have given Him. For this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, Whom You did send. I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work that You gave Me to do.

“And now, Father, glorify Me with Your own self, with the glory that I had with You before the world existed. I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, and You have given them to Me, and they have kept Your Word. Now they have known that all things that You have given Me are from You. For I have given them the words that You gave to Me; and they have received them and truly have known that I came from You; and they have believed that You did send Me.

“I am praying for them; I am not praying for the world, but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. All Mine are Yours, and all Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, those whom You have given Me, so that they may be one, even as We are one. When I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. I protected those whom You have given Me, and not one of them has perished except the son of perdition, in order that the Scriptures might be fulfilled.

“But now I am coming to You; and these things I am speaking while yet in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in them. I have given them Your words, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You would take them out of the world, but that You would keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in Your truth; Your Word is the truth.

“Even as You did send Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, so that they also may be sanctified in Your truth. I do not pray for these only, but also for those who shall believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, even as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, in order that the world may believe that You did send Me.

“And I have given them the glory that You gave to Me, in order that they may be one, in the same way that We are one: I in them, and You in Me, that they may be perfected into one; and that the world may know that You did send Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that those whom You have given Me may also be with Me where I am, so that they may behold My glory, which You have given Me; because You did love Me before the foundation of the world. Righteous Father, the world has not known You; but I have known You, and these have known that You did send Me. And I have made known Your name to them, and will make it known [through His death and resurrection]; so that the love with which You have loved Me may be in them, and I in them” (John 17:1-26).

When Jesus finished this prayer, He arose and returned to His disciples. “After saying these things, Jesus went out with His disciples to a place beyond the winter stream of Kidron, where there was a garden into which He and His disciples entered. And Judas, who was betraying Him, also knew of the place because Jesus had often gathered there with His disciples” (John 18:1-2).

The time had come for Jesus to be betrayed into the hands of sinners, and to give His life for their sins and for the sins of the world. It was the death of God manifested in the flesh—THE CREATOR GOD! His death and only His death could pay for the sins of all mankind. Because of God’s profound love for mankind, He personally and willingly took upon Himself the penalty for sin, which is death. Though He was made in the likeness of sinful flesh (Rom. 8:2-3), He never sinned. Thus He could offer Himself as the perfect sacrifice for sin.

He would experience a cruel death not only at the hands of wicked and treacherous men, but at the hands of Satan the devil, the author of sin and the enemy of God and man! Could God manifested in the flesh conquer sin and overcome Satan by enduring the suffering and shame of the cross?

In fact, there was no question about whether He would be able to endure the pain and agony of the beating, scourging and crucifixion. Why? What was Jesus’ mindset? In the book of Hebrews, the apostle Paul wrote of Jesus’ attitude: “… Who for the joy that lay ahead of Him endured the cross, although He despised the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:2).

The very fact that Jesus was to die in this manner was the ultimate purpose of His coming in the flesh. He was to taste death for every person because He alone was the Savior of mankind: “But we see Jesus, Who was made a little lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honor on account of suffering the death, in order that by the grace of God He Himself might taste death for everyone; because it was fitting for Him, for Whom all things were created, and by Whom all things exist, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Author of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both He Who is sanctifying and those who are sanctified are all of one; for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, ‘I will declare Your name to My brethren; in the midst of the church I will sing praise to You.’ And again, ‘I will be trusting in Him.’ And again, ‘Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me’ ” (Heb. 2:9-13).

This is what Jesus must have been thinking as He finished His prayer. Now the moment had arrived! The time of His betrayal was at hand. Judas was coming. Jesus was ready.

The Ordeal Begins

His fervent prayers in the Garden of Gethsemane had brought Jesus strength from the Father (Luke 22:43). Determined to do His Father’s will, Jesus said to His apostles, “Behold, the hour has drawn near, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Arise! Let us be going. Look, the one who is betraying Me is approaching” (Matt. 26:45-46).

Then Jesus stepped forward to meet Judas, who was now possessed of Satan. The prophecy of His arrest was being fulfilled: “And immediately, while He was speaking, Judas, being one of the twelve, came up with a great multitude with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. Now the one who was betraying Him had given them a sign, saying, ‘Whomever I shall kiss, He is the One. Arrest Him and take Him securely away.’ And as soon as he came up to Him, he said, ‘Master, Master,’ and kissed Him earnestly . Then they laid their hands on Him and arrested Him” (Mark 14:43-46).

Jesus was arrested like a common criminal, exactly as the Scriptures had prophesied: “At that point Jesus said to the crowd, ‘Have you come out to take Me with swords and clubs, as against a robber? I sat day after day with you, teaching in the temple, and you did not arrest Me. But all this has happened so that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.’ Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled [fulfilling the prophecy in Zechariah 13:7]” (Matt. 26:55-56).

As the chain of agonizing events unfolded—the false accusations and unjust trials, the cruel beatings, the humiliating mocking and spitting, the brutal scourging and a slow death by crucifixion—Jesus Christ remained steadfast in His love and loyalty to God the Father. But the disciples and women who looked upon Jesus’ mutilated and bloodied body did not understand what they were witnessing. They stood afar off, watching His crucifixion in stunned bewilderment and disbelief that this could be happening to Jesus Christ, Whom they believed to be the Son of God. How could the promised Savior be nailed to the cross in naked shame, dying before their very eyes? They had hoped that He would save them from the Roman oppression and establish the Kingdom of God. Now there would be no salvation, not at that time or ever, so they thought, as they witnessed Jesus drawing His last breath on the cross. They did not realize until after the resurrection that the outpouring of Jesus’ blood was the beginning of the salvation of the world.

The Son of God had died to atone for the sins of the world! As the God Who had created man, His death paid the penalty for the sins of every human being, opening the way for all mankind to receive the gift of eternal life. This was the beginning of the New Covenant, sealed with the body and the blood of Jesus Christ, which would bring salvation to all the world.

TWENTY-EIGHT PROPHECIES FULFILLED ON THE CRUCIFIXION DAY

On that Passover day, the day of the crucifixion, all the words of the prophets concerning the suffering of the Christ, or the Anointed One, were fulfilled. Their fulfillment in every detail stands today as a lasting testimony to the Messiahship of Jesus Christ.

The first prophecy, the oldest of all, had been given by the Lord Himself at the time of Adam and Eve’s first sin:

1) The serpent would bruise the seed of the woman.

Prophesied: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He will bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Gen. 3:15).

Fulfilled: “ ‘Now is the judgment of this world. Now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And if I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all to Myself.’ But He said this to signify by what death He was about to die” (John 12:31-33).

2) The Messiah would be cut off, but not for Himself, as prophesied by Daniel.

Prophesied: “And after sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off but not for Himself...” (Dan. 9:26).

Fulfilled: “ ‘Nor consider that it is better for us that one man die for the people, than that the whole nation should perish.’ Now he did not say this of himself, but being high priest that year, prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation; and not for the nation only, but also that He might gather together into one the children of God who were scattered abroad” (John 11:50-52).

3) The betrayal of Jesus by Judas was foretold by David.

Prophesied: “Even a man, my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate of my bread, has lifted up his heel against me” (Psa. 41:9).

Fulfilled: “Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order that he might deliver Him up to them. And after hearing this, they were delighted and promised to give him money. And he sought how he might conveniently betray Him” (Mark 14:10-11).

4) Jesus Christ would be forsaken by His disciples, as prophesied by Zechariah.

Prophesied: “Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, and against the Man who is My companion,” says the LORD of hosts. “Strike the Shepherd [Jesus], and the sheep shall be scattered...” (Zech. 13:7).

Fulfilled: “Then they all forsook Him and fled” (Mark 14:50).

5) The price of His betrayal was also foretold by Zechariah.

Prophesied: “And I said to them, ‘If it is good, give me my price; and if not, let it go.’ So they weighed my price—thirty pieces of silver” (Zech. 11:12).

Fulfilled: “And said, ‘What are you willing to give me, and I will deliver Him up to you?’ And they offered him thirty pieces of silver” (Matt. 26:15).

6) Zechariah also foretold what would be done with the betrayal money.

Prophesied: “And the LORD said to me, ‘Throw it to the potter’—the princely price at which I was valued by them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD” (Zech. 11:13).

Fulfilled: “Now when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He was condemned, he changed his mind and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, ‘I have sinned and have betrayed innocent blood.’ But they said, ‘What is that to us? You see to it yourself.’ And after throwing down the pieces of silver in the temple, he went out and hanged himself. But the chief priests took the pieces of silver and said, ‘It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is the price of blood.’ And after taking counsel, they bought a potter’s field with the pieces of silver, for a burial ground for strangers” (Matt. 27:3-7).

7) Isaiah prophesied that Jesus Christ would be sacrificed as the Passover Lamb of God.

Prophesied: “He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter...” (Isa. 53:7).

Fulfilled: “For Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us” (I Cor. 5:7). “Knowing that you were not redeemed by corruptible things … but by the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot; Who truly was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but was manifested in these last times for your sakes” (I Pet. 1:18-20).

8) Isaiah also prophesied the scourging and mocking that He would suffer.

Prophesied: “I gave My back to the smiters [scourgers], and My cheeks to them that plucked off the hair; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting” (Isa. 50:6).

Fulfilled: “Then he released Barabbas to them; but after scourging Jesus, he delivered Him up so that He might be crucified. Then the governor’s soldiers, after taking Jesus with them into the Praetorium, gathered the entire band against Him; and they stripped Him and put a scarlet cloak around Him. And after platting a crown of thorns, they put it on His head; and a rod in His right hand; and bowing on their knees before Him, they mocked Him, and kept on saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ Then, after spitting on Him, they took the rod and struck Him on the head” (Matt. 27:26-30).

9) Both Isaiah and David prophesied that Jesus’ body would be mutilated.

Prophesied: “Many were astonished at Him—for His body was so disfigured— even His form beyond that of the sons of men” (Isa. 52:14). “I can count all My bones; they look and gloat over Me” (Psa. 22:17).

Fulfilled: “But after scourging Jesus, he delivered Him up so that He might be crucified” (Matt. 27:26). “Then Pilate therefore took Jesus and scourged Him” (John 19:1).

10) David prophesied the shame and dishonor that Jesus would suffer, being condemned as a criminal.

Prophesied: “… the reproaches of those who reproached You have fallen upon Me....You have known my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonor; my enemies are all before You. Reproach has broken my heart, and I am full of heaviness; and I looked for sympathy, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none” (Psa. 69:9, 19-20).

Fulfilled: “At that point Jesus said to the crowd, ‘Have you come out to take Me with swords and clubs, as against a robber?’ ” (Matt. 26:55) “They answered and said, ‘He is deserving of death!’ ” (Matt. 26:66).

11) David also foretold that false witnesses would testify against Christ.

Prophesied: “Cruel witnesses rose up; they asked me of things that I knew nothing about” (Psa. 35:11).

Fulfilled: “And the chief priests and the whole Sandhedrin were trying to find testimony against Jesus, to put Him to death; but they did not find any. For many bore false witness against Him, but their testimonies did not agree. And some rose up and bore false witness against Him, saying...” (Mark 14:55-57).

12) Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would not make an effort to defend Himself at the trial.

Prophesied: “He was oppressed, and He was afflicted; yet He opened not His mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter; and as a sheep before its shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth” (Isa. 53:7).

Fulfilled: “Then Pilate said to Him, ‘Don’t You hear how many things they testify against You?’ And He did not answer even one word to him, so that the governor was greatly amazed” (Matt. 27:13-14).

13) Isaiah also foretold Jesus Christ’s crucifixion as the sin offering for the world.

Prophesied: “Surely He has borne our infirmities, and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we ourselves are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned each one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all....Yet the LORD willed to crush Him and He has put Him to grief: You shall make His life an offering for sin. He shall see His seed; He shall prolong His days, and that the purpose of the LORD might prosper in His hand. He shall see of the travail of His soul. He shall be fully satisfied. By His knowledge shall My righteous Servant justify many; and He shall bear their iniquities” (Isa. 53:4-6, 10-11).

Fulfilled: “Therefore, he then delivered Him up to them so that He might be crucified. Now they took Jesus and led Him away. And He went out bearing His own cross to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Hebrewis called, Golgotha. There they crucified Him, and with Him two others, one on this side and one on the other side, and Jesus in the middle. And Pilate also wrote a title and put it on the cross; and it was written, ‘Jesus the Nazarean, the King of the Jews’ ” (John 19:16-19).

14) As Isaiah had prophesied, He was numbered among lawbreakers.

Prophesied: “He was counted among the transgressors…” (Isa. 53:12).

Fulfilled: “And two other malefactors were also led away with Him to be put to death. And when they came to the place called Place of a Skull, there they crucified Him and the malefactors, one on the right and one on the left” (Luke 23:32-33).

15) David prophesied that His hands and His feet would be pierced.

Prophesied: “Dogs have surrounded Me; a band of evildoers have encircled Me; they have pierced My hands and My feet” (Psa. 22:16).

Fulfilled: “...When they crucified Him” (Mark 15:25). “Then the other disciples said to him, ‘We have seen the Lord!’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the nail marks in His hands, and put my finger into the nail marks, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe at all.’ Now after eight days, His disciples were within, and Thomas with them. Jesus came after the doors were shut, and stood in the midst, and said, ‘Peace be to you.’ Then He said to Thomas, ‘Put forth your finger, and see My hands; and reach out your hand, and put it into My side; and be not unbelieving, but believing’ ” (John 20:25-27).

16) The parting of His garments was also prophesied by David.

Prophesied: “They divide My garments among them and cast lots upon My vesture” (Psa. 22:18).

Fulfilled: “For this reason they said to one another, ‘Let us not tear it, but let us cast lots for it to determine whose it shall be’; that the scripture might be fulfilled, which says, ‘They divided My garments among them, and they cast lots for My vesture.’ The soldiers therefore did these things” (John 19:24).

17) In another psalm, David prophesied that they would give Him vinegar to drink.

Prophesied: “They also gave Me gall for My food; and in My thirst they gave Me vinegar to drink” (Psa. 69:21).

Fulfilled: “They gave Him vinegar mingled with gall to drink; but after tasting it, He would not drink” (Matt. 27:34).

18) David also prophesied that many would be watching Jesus during the crucifixion.

Prophesied: “...they look and gloat over Me” (Psa. 22:17).

Fulfilled: “And they sat down there to keep guard over Him” (Matt. 27:36). “And all the people who had gathered together to this sight, after seeing the things that took place, returned beating their breasts” (Luke 23:48).

19) Among those watching would be Jesus’ family and friends, who would stand at a distance.

Prophesied: “My loved ones and My friends stand apart from My plague [wounds]; and My neighbors stand far off” (Psa. 38:11).

Fulfilled: “But all those who knew Him stood afar off at a distance observing these things, the women also who had accompanied Him from Galilee” (Luke 23:49).

20) Some of His observers would shake their heads at Him.

Prophesied: “And I also became a reproach to them when they looked upon Me; they shook their heads” (Psa. 109:25).

Fulfilled: “Then those who were passing by railed at Him, shaking their heads, and saying, “You Who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself. If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” (Matt. 27:39-40)

21) Even the words of His reproachers were prophesied by David.

Prophesied: “He trusted on the LORD; let Him deliver Him; let Him rescue Him, since He delights in Him” (Psa. 22:8).

Fulfilled: “ ‘He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now, if He will have Him. For He said, “I am the Son of God.” ’ And the two robbers who were crucified with Him also reproached Him with the same words” (Matt. 27:43-44).

22) Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would make intercession for sinners. This intercession began even during His crucifixion.

Prophesied: “He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for transgressors” (Isa. 53:12).

Fulfilled: “Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’ And they divided His garments, and cast lots” (Luke 23:34).

23) David prophesied the thoughts of Jesus at the height of His suffering.

Prophesied: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me, and why are You so far from helping Me, and from the words of My groaning?” (Psa. 22:1).

Fulfilled: “And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’ That is, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’ ” (Matt. 27:46)

24) Zechariah prophesied that His body would be pierced with a spear.

Prophesied: “And they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced...” (Zech. 12:10).

Fulfilled: “But one of the soldiers had pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water had come out....And again another scripture says, ‘They shall look upon Him Whom they pierced’ ” (John 19:34, 37).

25) David prophesied that Jesus would commit His spirit to God.

Prophesied: “Into Your hand I commit My spirit...” (Psa. 31:5).

Fulfilled: “And after crying out with a loud voice, Jesus said, ‘Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ And when He had said these things, He expired” (Luke 23:46).

26) David also prophesied Jesus’ last words.

Prophesied: “… that He has done this” (Psa. 22:31). The Hebrew literally reads, “For it is finished.”

Fulfilled: “And so, when Jesus had received the vinegar, He said, ‘It is finished.’ And bowing His head, He yielded up His spirit” (John 19:30).

27) As no bone of the Passover lamb was to be broken (Ex. 12:46), not a bone of His would be broken.

Prophesied: “He keeps all His bones; not one of them is broken” (Psa. 34:20).

Fulfilled: “Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first one, and the legs of the other who was crucified with Him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs....For these things took place so that the scripture might be fulfilled, ‘Not a bone of Him shall be broken’ ” (John 19:32-33, 36).

28) His burial in the tomb of a rich man was foretold by Isaiah.

Prophesied: “By oppression and judgment He was taken away; and with His generation who did consider that He was cut off out of the land of the living; for the transgression of My people He was stricken. And He made His grave with the wicked [criminals], and with the rich in His death; although He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth ” (Isa. 53:8-9).

Fulfilled: “And when evening was coming on, a rich man of Arimathea came, named Joseph, who was himself a disciple of Jesus. After going to Pilate, he begged to have the body of Jesus. [Jesus would otherwise have been buried among the criminals]. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given over to him. And after taking the body, Joseph wrapped it in clean linen cloth, and placed it in his new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock; and after rolling a great stone to the door of the tomb, he went away” (Matt. 27:57-60).

All these prophecies were fulfilled by the suffering, death and burial of Jesus Christ on the Passover day. In the next chapter, we will learn the significance of the timing of Jesus’ death and of the miraculous events which occurred on that Passover day, Nisan 14, April 5, 30 AD.

318. JESUS INSTITUTES THE NEW COVENANT PASSOVER:

1) FOOTWASHING 2) EATING THE UNLEAVENED BREAD 3) DRINKING THE WINE

FIRST PART OF THE NEW COVENANT PASSOVER: THE FOOTWASHING

JOHN 13

2. And during supper (the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, that he should betray Him),

3. Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God,

4. Rose from supper and laid aside His garments; and after taking a towel, He secured it around Himself.

5. Next, He poured water into a washing basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel which He had secured.

6. Then He came to Simon Peter; and he said to Him, “Lord, are You going to wash my feet?”

7. Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you shall know after these things.”

8. Peter said to Him, “You shall not wash my feet, not ever.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”

9. Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.”

10. Jesus said to him, “The one who has been washed does not need to wash anything other than the feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all.”

11. For He knew the one who was betraying Him; this was the reason He said, “Not all of you are clean.”

12. Therefore, when He had washed their feet, and had taken His garments, and had sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you?

13. You call Me the Teacher and the Lord, and you speak rightly, because I am.

14. Therefore, if I, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, you also are dutybound to wash one another’s feet;

15. For I have given you an example, to show that you also should do exactly as I have done to you.

16. Truly, truly I tell you, a servant is not greater than his lord, nor a messenger greater than he who sent him.

17. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

322. CONTENTION AMONG THE DISCIPLES AS TO WHO WOULD BE THE GREATEST

LUKE 22

24. And there was also an argument among them, even this: which of them should be considered the greatest.

25. And He said to them, “The kings of the nations lord over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called benefactors.

26. But it shall not be this way among you; rather, let the one who is greatest among you be as the younger, and the one who is leading as the one who is serving.

27. For who is greater, the one who is sitting at the table, or the one who is serving? Is not the one who sits at the table? But I am among you as One Who is serving.

28. Now you are the ones who have continued with Me in My temptations.

PASSOVER DAY NISAN 14 – TUESDAY NIGHT, APRIL 4 – 30 AD

LUKE 22

29. “And I appoint to you, as My Father has appointed to Me, a kingdom;

30. So that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and may sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

323. A NEW COMMANDMENT—LOVE EACH OTHER AS JESUS LOVED HIS DISCIPLES

JOHN 13

33. “Little children, I am with you yet a little while. You shall seek Me; but as I told the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come,’ I am now telling you also.

34. A new commandment I give to you: that you love one another in the same way that I have loved you, that is how you are to love one another.

35. By this shall everyone know that you are My disciples—if you love one another.”

PASSOVER DAY NISAN 14 – TUESDAY NIGHT, APRIL 4 – 30 AD

325. THE BEGINNING OF THE FINAL MESSAGE TO HIS DISCIPLES

JOHN 14

1. “Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me.

2. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were otherwise, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you.

3. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; so that where I am, you may be also.

4. And where I am going you know, and the way you know.”

5. Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going; how then can we know the way?”

6. Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.

7. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also. But from this time forward, you know Him and have seen Him.”

8. Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and that will be sufficient for us.”

9. Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long a time, and you have not known Me, Philip? The one who has seen Me has seen the Father; why then do you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

10. Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I speak to you, I do not speak from My own self; but the Father Himself, Who dwells in Me, does the works.

11. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; but if not, believe Me because of the works themselves.

12. Truly, truly I say to you, the one who believes in Me shall also do the works that I do; and greater works than these shall he do because I am going to the Father.

13. And whatever you shall ask in My name, this will I do that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

14. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

15. If you love Me, keep the commandments—namely, My commandments.

16. And I will ask the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that it may be with you throughout the age:

17. Even the Spirit of the truth, which the world cannot receive because it perceives it not, nor knows it; but you know it because it dwells with you, and shall be within you.

18. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. (See Appendix C, p. 355)

19. Yet a little while and the world shall see Me no longer; but you shall see Me. Because I live, you shall live also.

20. In that day, you shall know that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you.

21. The one who has My commandments and is keeping them, that is the one who loves Me; and the one who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him.”

22. Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, what has happened that You are about to manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?”

23. Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.

24. The one who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word that you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s, Who sent Me.

25. I have spoken these things to you while I am yet present with you.

26. But when the Comforter comes, even the Holy Spirit, which the Father will send in My name, that one shall teach you all things, and shall bring to your remembrance everything that I have told you. (See Appendix C, p. 355)

27. Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give it to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it fear.

PASSOVER DAY NISAN 14 – TUESDAY NIGHT, APRIL 4 – 30 AD

APPROXIMATELY 9 PM

JOHN 14

28. You have heard Me say to you that I am going away, and that I will come to you again. If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced that I said, ‘I am going to the Father’ because My Father is greater than I.

29. And now I have told you before it happens, so that when it comes to pass, you may believe.

30. I will not speak with you much longer because the ruler of this world is coming; but he does not have a single thing in Me.

31. Yet he comes so that the world may know that I love the Father, and that I do exactly as the Father has commanded Me. Arise, let us go out.”

326. SOME FINAL INSTRUCTIONS TO THE DISCIPLES

LUKE 22

35. And He said to them, “When I sent you without purse and provision bag and sandals, did you lack anything?” And they said, “Nothing.”

36. Then He said to them, “Now, however, let the one who has a purse take it, and likewise his provision bag; and let the one who does not have a sword sell his garment and buy one.

37. For I say to you, that which has been written must yet be accomplished in Me: ‘And He was reckoned with the lawless’ a; for the things concerning Me have a fulfillment.”

a - Isa. 53:12

327. TAKE TWO SWORDS

LUKE 22

38. And they said, “Lord, see, here are two swords.” And He said to them, “It is enough.”

329. JESUS CHRIST IS THE TRUE VINE—LAST COMMANDS TO HIS DISCIPLES

JOHN 15

1. “I am the true vine, and My Father is the husbandman.

2. He takes away every branch in Me that does not bear fruit; but He cleanses each one that bears fruit, in order that it may bear more fruit.

3. You are already clean through the word that I have spoken to you.

4. Dwell in Me, and I in you. As a branch cannot bear fruit of itself, but only if it remains in the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you are dwelling in Me.

5. I am the vine, and you are the branches. The one who is dwelling in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; because apart from Me you can do nothing.

6. If anyone does not dwell in Me, he is cast out as a branch, and is dried up; and men gather them and cast them into a fire, and they are burned.

PASSOVER DAY NISAN 14 – TUESDAY NIGHT, APRIL 4 – 30 AD

JOHN 15

7. If you dwell in Me, and My words dwell in you, you shall ask whatever you desire, and it shall come to pass for you.

8. In this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; so shall you be My disciples.

9. As the Father has loved Me, I also have loved you; live in My love.

10. If you keep My commandments, you shall live in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and live in His love.

11. These things I have spoken to you, in order that My joy may dwell in you, and that your joy may be full.

12. This is My commandment: that you love one another, as I have loved you.

13. No one has greater love than this: that one lay down his life for his friends.

14. You are My friends, if you do whatever I command you.

15. No longer do I call you servants, because the servant does not know what his master is doing. But I have called you friends because I have made known to you all the things that I have heard from My Father.

16. You yourselves did not choose Me, but I have personally chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go forth and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain; so that whatever you shall ask the Father in My name, He may give you.

17. These things I command you, that you love one another.

18. If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.

19. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have personally chosen you out of the world, the world hates you for this.

20. Remember the word that I spoke to you: a servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you also. If they kept My word, they will keep your word also.

21. But they will do all these things to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him Who sent Me.

22. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have had sin; but now they have nothing to cover their sin.

23. The one who hates Me hates My Father also.

24. If I had not done among them the works that no other man has done, they would not have had sin; but now they have both seen and hated both Me and My Father.

25. But this has happened so that the saying might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’ a

26. But when the Comforter has come, which I will send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of the truth, which proceeds from the Father, that one shall bear witness of Me. (See Appendix C, p. 355)

27. Then you also shall bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.”

a - Psa. 35:19; 69:4

330. FINAL WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT

JOHN 16

1. “I have spoken these things to you so that you will not be offended.

2. They shall cast you out of the synagogues; furthermore, the time is coming that everyone who kills you will think that he is rendering service to God.

3. And they shall do these things to you because they do not know the Father, nor Me.

4. But I have told you these things so that when the time comes, you may remember that I said them to you. However, I did not say these things to you at the beginning because I was with you.

5. But now I am going to Him Who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’

6. But because I have spoken these things to you, grief has filled your hearts.

PASSOVER DAY NISAN 14 – TUESDAY NIGHT, APRIL 4 – 30 AD

JOHN 16

7. But I am telling you the truth. It is profitable for you that I go away because if I do not go away, the Comforter will not come to you. However, if I go, I will send it to you.

8. And when that one has come, it will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment: (See Appendix C, p. 355)

9. Concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me;

10. Concerning righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you no longer will see Me;

11. And concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

12. I have yet many things to tell you, but you are not able to bear them now.

13. However, when that one has come, even the Spirit of the truth, it will lead you into all truth because it shall not speak from itself, but whatever it shall hear, it shall speak. And it shall disclose to you the things to come.

14. That one shall glorify Me because it shall disclose to you the things that it receives from Me. (See Appendix C, p. 355)

15. Everything that the Father has is Mine; for this reason, I said that it shall receive from Me and shall disclose these things to you.

16. A little while, and you shall not see Me; and again a little while, and you shall see Me, because I am going to the Father.”

17. Then some of His disciples said to one another, “What is this that He is saying to us, ‘A little while, and you shall not see Me; and again a little while, and you shall see Me,’ and, ‘because I am going to the Father’? ”

18. Therefore they said, “What is this that He is saying, the ‘little while’? We do not understand what He is saying.”

19. Then Jesus, knowing that they desired to ask Him, said to them, “Why are you inquiring among one another about this that I said, ‘A little while, and you shall not see Me; and again a little while, and you shall see Me’?

20. Truly, truly I tell you, you shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice; and you shall be grieved, but your grief shall be turned into joy.

21. A woman when she is giving birth has grief because her time of travail has come; but after she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world.

22. And likewise, you indeed have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and no one shall take your joy from you. a

23. And in that day you shall ask Me nothing. Truly, truly I tell you, whatever you shall ask the Father in My name, He will give you.

24. Until this day, you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you shall receive, that your joy may be full.

25. These things I have spoken to you in allegories; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in allegories, but I will plainly disclose to you the things of the Father.

26. In that day, you shall ask in My name; and I do not tell you that I will beseech the Father for you,

27. For the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God.

28. I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and am going to the Father.”

29. Then His disciples said to Him, “Behold, now You are speaking plainly and are not speaking in an allegory.

30. Now we know that You understand all things, and do not need to have someone ask You. By this we believe that You came forth from God.”

31. Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe?

a - Isa. 66:14

PASSOVER DAY NISAN 14 – TUESDAY NIGHT, APRIL 4 – 30 AD

331. ALL WILL BE SCATTERED.

JESUS HAS OVERCOME THE WORLD

JOHN 16

32. Listen, the time is coming, and has already come, that you shall be scattered each to his own, and you shall leave Me alone; and yet I am not alone because the Father is with Me.

33. These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation. But be courageous! I have overcome the world.”

335. THE LORD’S PRAYER

JOHN 17

1. Jesus spoke these words, and lifted up His eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your own Son, so that Your Son may also glorify You;

2. Since You have given Him authority over all flesh, in order that He may give eternal life to all whom You have given Him.

3. For this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, Whom You did send.

4. I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work that You gave Me to do.

5. And now, Father, glorify Me with Your own self, with the glory that I had with You before the world existed.

6. I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, and You have given them to Me, and they have kept Your Word.

7. Now they have known that all things that You have given Me are from You.

8. For I have given them the words that You gave to Me; and they have received them and truly have known that I came from You; and they have believed that You did send Me.

PASSOVER DAY NISAN 14 – WEDNESDAY MORNING, APRIL 5 – 30 AD

JOHN 17

9. I am praying for them; I am not praying for the world, but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours.

10. All Mine are Yours, and all Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them.

11. And I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, those whom You have given Me, so that they may be one, even as We are one.

12. When I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. I protected those whom You have given Me, and not one of them has perished except the son of perdition, in order that the Scriptures might be fulfilled. a

13. But now I am coming to You; and these things I am speaking while yet in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in them.

14. I have given them Your words, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

15. I do not pray that You would take them out of the world, but that You would keep them from the evil one.

16. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

17. Sanctify them in Your truth; Your Word is the truth.

18. Even as You did send Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.

19. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, so that they also may be sanctified in Your truth.

20. I do not pray for these only, but also for those who shall believe in Me through their word;

21. That they all may be one, even as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, in order that the world may believe that You did send Me.

22. And I have given them the glory that You gave to Me, in order that they may be one, in the same way that We are one:

23. I in them, and You in Me, that they may be perfected into one; and that the world may know that You did send Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

24. Father, I desire that those whom You have given Me may also be with Me where I am, so that they may behold My glory, which You have given Me; because You did love Me before the foundation of the world.

25. Righteous Father, the world has not known You; but I have known You, and these have known that You did send Me.

26. And I have made known Your name to them, and will make it known; so that the love with which You have loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

a - Psa. 41:9; 109:8

342. ANNAS QUESTIONS JESUS AND SENDS HIM TO CAIAPHAS

JOHN 18

19. Then the high priest questioned Jesus concerning His disciples and concerning His teachings.

20. Jesus answered him, “I spoke openly to the world; I always taught in the synagogue and in the temple, where the Jews always assemble, and I spoke nothing in secret.

21. Why do you question Me? Ask those who have heard what I spoke to them; behold, they know what I said.”

APPROXIMATELY 2 AM

JOHN 18

22. But after He said these things, one of the officers who was standing by struck Jesus on the face, saying, “Do You answer the high priest in that way?”

23. Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken evil, testify of the evil; but if well, why do you strike Me?”

24. Then Annas sent Him bound to Caiaphas, the high priest.

348. PILATE SENDS JESUS TO HEROD

LUKE 23

5. But they were insistent, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all of Judea, beginning from Galilee even to here.”

6. And when he heard Galilee named, Pilate asked whether the Man were a Galilean;

7. And after determining that He was from Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, since he also was in Jerusalem in those days.

8. And when Herod saw Jesus, he rejoiced greatly; for he had long been desiring to see Him because he had heard many things about Him, and he was hoping to see a miracle done by Him.

9. And he questioned Him with many words; but He answered him nothing.

10. All the while, the chief priests and the scribes stood vehemently accusing Him.

11. Then Herod and his soldiers treated Him with contempt; and after mocking Him, he put a splendid robe on Him and sent Him back to Pilate.

12. And on that same day, Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, because before there was enmity between them.

PASSOVER DAY NISAN 14 – WEDNESDAY MORNING, APRIL 5 – 30 AD

351. PILATE WASHES HIS HANDS IN A SHOW OF INNOCENCY

MATTHEW 27

24. Now Pilate, seeing that he was accomplishing nothing, but that a riot was developing instead, took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, “I am guiltless of the blood of this righteous Man. You see to it.”

25. And all the people answered and said, “His blood be on us and on our children.”

PASSOVER DAY NISAN 14 – WEDNESDAY MORNIG, APRIL 5 – 30 AD

353. PILATE HAS SECOND THOUGHTS ABOUT CRUCIFYING JESUS

JOHN 19

6. But when the chief priests and the officers saw Him, they cried aloud, saying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “You take Him and crucify Him because I do not find any fault in Him.”

7. The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to our law it is mandatory that He die, because He made Himself the Son of God.”

8. Therefore, when Pilate heard this saying, he was even more afraid.

9. And he went into the judgment hall again, and said to Jesus, “Where have You come from?” But Jesus did not give him an answer.

10. Then Pilate said to Him, “Why don’t You speak to me? Don’t You know that I have authority to crucify You, and authority to release You?”

11. Jesus answered, “You would not have any authority against Me if it were not given to you from above. For this reason, the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”

12. Because of this saying, Pilate sought to release Him; but the Jews cried out, saying, “If you release this Man, you are not a friend of Caesar. Everyone who makes himself a king speaks against Caesar.”

13. Therefore, after hearing this saying, Pilate had Jesus led out, and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called the Pavement; but in Hebrew, Gabbatha.

14. (Now it was the preparation of the Passover, and about the sixth hour.) And he said to the Jews, “Behold your King!”

15. But they cried aloud, “Away, away with Him! Crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.”

360. JESUS MAKES JOHN RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS MOTHER, MARY

JOHN 19

25. And Jesus’ mother stood by the cross, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleopas, and Mary Magdalene.

26. When Jesus saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son.”

27. Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother.” And from that time, the disciple took her into his own home.

PASSOVER DAY NISAN 14 – WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON, APRIL 5 – 30 AD

362. AN EARTHQUAKE OPENS SOME GRAVES FOR A RESURRECTION OF SOME OF THE SAINTS TO ANOTHER PHYSICAL LIFE AS A SIGN AND A WITNESS

MATTHEW 27

51. ... the earth shook, and the rocks were split,

52. So that the tombs were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had died, were resurrected

53. After His resurrection; and they came out of the tombs. Then they entered into the holy city, and appeared to many.

364. THE JEWS WANT JESUS’ BODY OFF THE CROSS BEFORE THE HOLY DAY BEGINS AT SUNSET

JOHN 19

31. The Jews therefore, so that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the Sabbath, because it was a preparation day (for that Sabbath was a high day), requested of Pilate that their legs might be broken and the bodies be taken away.

32. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first one, and the legs of the other who was crucified with Him.

33. But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs;

34. But one of the soldiers had pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water had come out.

35. And he who saw this has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that what he says is true, so that you may believe.

36. For these things took place so that the scripture might be fulfilled, “Not a bone of Him shall be broken.” a

37. And again another scripture says, “They shall look upon Him Whom they pierced.” b

a - Ex. 12:46; Num. 9:12; Psa. 34:20 b - Zech. 12:10; Rev. 1:7”

PART VII

JESUS’ THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS OF ENTOMBMENT AND THE RESURRECTION

THE EXACT LENGTH OF TIME THAT JESUS WAS IN THE TOMB

Many prophecies in the Old Testament foretold the death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ. The prophet Daniel foresaw that His life would be taken (Dan. 9:26), and both David and Isaiah described the suffering and humiliation that He would endure before His death (Psa. 22, Isa. 53). Other prophecies pointed to His resurrection to immortality (Psa. 16:10-11, Dan. 7:13-14, Isa. 9:6-7). However, there is no scripture in the Old Testament that foretold the length of time that the Messiah would be in the tomb before He was resurrected from the dead. This prophecy is found only in the Gospel accounts, spoken by Jesus Himself: “Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, ‘Master, we desire to see a sign from You.’ And He answered and said to them, ‘A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. For just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, in like manner the Son of man shall be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights’ ” (Matt. 12:38-40).

Jesus spoke these words because the scribes and Pharisees did not believe in Him, nor did they believe that His works of healing were done by the power of God. When they challenged Him to perform a miraculous sign in their presence, Jesus did not do so. Instead, the only sign He gave them was the sign of Jonah the prophet. The fulfillment of this sign was a testimony not only to that generation but to all future generations that He was the Messiah.

The vast majority of Christians today believe that Jesus was crucified and laid in the tomb on a Friday, and He was resurrected on Sunday morning. Thus, He was not in the tomb for three days and three nights, as He had prophesied, but for two nights and one full day. This traditional interpretation of Jesus’ death and resurrection is completely contrary to the Gospel accounts.

Nearly all churches within Christendom have misinterpreted or rejected the scriptural record. In its place, they have adopted an ancient Babylonian religious tradition that predates the ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ by thousands of years.* Various theories have been advanced in an attempt to reconcile this ancient religious tradition with the scriptural accounts, but the error is clearly exposed by examining the accounts that have been accurately recorded and faithfully preserved in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

_________________________
*For historical evidence of the Babylonian practices, see The Two Babylons by Alexander Hislop and The Golden Bough by Sir James George Frazer.

The Gospel accounts do not support the traditional belief in a Good Friday crucifixion and an Easter Sunday resurrection. The facts that are recorded by the Gospel writers reveal a profoundly different time frame for the death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ.

The Scriptural Definition of a Day

Some have claimed that Jesus was using an idiomatic expression when He declared that He would remain in the tomb for three days and three nights. They teach that His words should be interpreted as referring to parts of days rather than to whole days. But when the scriptural use of the term “day” is examined one finds that it is very specific. The Scriptures of the Old Testament show that a day consists of an evening and a morning (Gen. 1). An entire day has two portions: the night portion, which begins at evening, or sunset; and the day portion, which begins at sunrise, or morning. These two consecutive periods are identified as one complete day, reckoned from sunset to sunset, or evening to evening (Lev. 23:32).

According to Scripture, each day has an average of twelve hours in the night portion and twelve hours in the day portion, making a complete day of twenty-four hours. Jesus Himself verified that the day portion is about twelve hours long when He said, “Are there not twelve hours in the day?” (John 11:9.) Jesus also spoke of the three watches of the night, which extended from sunset to sunrise and were each four hours long, making a total of twelve hours (Luke 12:36-38). There is no question that Jesus included a full twelve hours of daylight and a full twelve hours of night in reckoning the length of each calendar day. This scriptural method of reckoning time had been used by the Hebrews for centuries. Moreover, it is clear that Jesus and His disciples observed the Passover and the holy days of God each year according to the determination of the Hebrew Calendar, as God had ordained. This is a key fact in understanding the exact length of time that Jesus was in the tomb.

When the four Gospel accounts are examined, it is clear that the Gospel writers used the scriptural method of reckoning each day from sunset to sunset, or evening to evening. Beginning six days before Jesus’ last Passover until the day after His resurrection, the Gospel writers accurately recorded all the events day by day. They took careful note of the mornings and evenings, making it possible to determine the beginning and end of each day. The fact that they meticulously noted the mornings and evenings demonstrates that these days were whole days composed of twenty-four hours. Nowhere do the scriptural records leave room for an interpretation of partial days or partial nights.

An Analysis of the Phrase “Three Days and Three Nights” in the Book of Jonah

Jesus’ prophecy that He would be in the grave for three days and three nights is a direct reference to Jonah 1:17, which speaks of Jonah’s symbolic entombment in the belly of a great fish: “And the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.”

The word “days” in this verse is translated from the Hebrew yom, and the word “night” is translated from the Hebrew lailah. Both of these words are preceded by the cardinal number “three,” which is translated from the Hebrew shalosh. This cardinal number is used as an adjective before the nouns “days” and “nights” to express a specific period of time. Other scriptural references confirm the use of cardinal numbers to record the exact duration of a condition or event:

Gen. 7:4 “seven days”

Gen. 7:12 “forty days and forty nights”

Ex. 10:23 “three days”

Ex. 24:18 “forty days and forty nights”

Lev. 12:4 “thirty-three days”

I Sam. 30:12 “three days and three nights”

I Kings 19:8 “forty days and forty nights”

The use of a cardinal number with the terms “days” and “nights” shows that these terms are being used in a very specific sense. The presence of the Hebrew waw (the conjunction “and”) between “days” and “nights” makes the meaning of the text even more emphatic, limiting the duration of time to the exact number of days and nights that are specified. By the Scriptural method of reckoning time, it takes an “evening” and a “morning” to complete one full day (Gen. 1:5). Just as “the evening and the morning” in Genesis 1 denote a whole day of twenty-four hours, so the term “a day and a night” denotes a full day of twenty-four hours. In the same way also, the expression “three days and three nights” denotes three whole days of twenty-four hours each.

The Hebrew text leaves no room to interpret the expression “three days and three nights” in Jonah 1:17 in a broad or general sense. The use of this same Hebrew expression in I Samuel 30:12 demonstrates that it is a literal period of three 24-hour days: “... for he had eaten no bread nor drunk water for three days and three nights.” The following verse in I Samuel 30 uses the expression “three days agone” in reference to the period of three days and three nights. These were the words of an Egyptian who was accustomed to reckoning days from sunrise to sunrise. The use of the expression “three days agone” by the Egyptian confirms that he had completed a full three days and three nights of fasting from sunrise on the first day until sunrise on the fourth day. The literal meaning of “three days” in I Samuel 30:13 is confirmed by the use of the same Hebrew expression in II Samuel 24:13 to describe a specific duration of time: “three days’ pestilence.”

The construction of the Hebrew text does not allow the expression “three days and three nights” in Jonah 1:17 to be interpreted in any manner except the literal sense of three 24-hour days. The Hebrew terminology cannot be interpreted as an idiomatic expression that is describing incomplete units of time, such as part of a day and part of a night. To denote incomplete units of time, the Hebrew text uses a word that means “to divide.” This word is not found in the expression “three days and three nights,” either in Jonah 1:17 or in I Samuel 30:12. However, this word is found in reference to a duration of time in Daniel 12:7: “... a time, times, and a half a time.” The word “half” is translated from the Hebrew word meaning “to divide.” Since this word is not used to describe the duration of time in Jonah 1:17 and I Samuel 30:12, it is evident that the Hebrew text is describing complete units of time—three 12-hour days and three 12-hour nights. By testifying that Jonah was in the belly of the fish “three days and three nights,” the Scriptures reveal that a full 72 hours had elapsed before Jonah was cast out on the shore.

The New Testament reveals that Jesus the Christ was the Lord God of the Old Testament before He became a man. He was the one Who caused the great fish to swallow Jonah and descend to the bottom of the sea for a period of time before swimming to the shore and depositing Jonah on the land. As the Lord God, He knew exactly how long Jonah had remained in the belly of the fish, and He inspired Jonah to record this duration of time, which was a foretelling of His future burial. There is no question concerning the length of time that passed as Jonah lay in the belly of the fish, because this fact is preserved in the Scriptures of the Old Testament. Since the Hebrew text cannot be interpreted in an idiomatic sense, but must be interpreted literally, it is clear that three whole days and three whole nights passed while Jonah lay in the fish’s belly. Jesus was fully aware of this fact of Scripture when He declared to the Jews, “... in like manner the Son of man shall be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights” (Matt. 12:40).

Jesus Said That He Would Rise Three Days After His Death

The Gospel writers record that Jesus made specific statements to His disciples concerning the length of time that He would be in the tomb and when He would be resurrected: “And He began to teach them that it was necessary for the Son of man to suffer many things, and to be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and to be killed, but after three days to rise from the dead” (Mark 8:31; see also Matt. 16:21 and Mark 9:31). Jesus proclaimed to His disciples that He would not rise from the dead until three days after He had been killed. Jesus’ statement that He would rise three days after He had died is most significant. According to Jewish law, to be declared legally dead, a person had to be dead for more than three full days. If someone who appeared to be dead revived and came back to life prior to three full days, he or she was not legally deemed to have been dead. Therefore, if Jesus had risen from the dead before 3 PM on the afternoon of Nisan 17, a weekly Sabbath, He would not have been considered legally dead. As a result, His return to life would not have been considered a true resurrection from the dead.

Knowing this fact, one can understand why Jesus delayed going to Lazarus in the account in John 11. Jesus knew that Lazarus was sick unto death, but He deliberately remained where He was for two more days (John 11:6). He knew that Lazarus would not be considered legally dead until he had been dead for four days. When Lazarus was legally dead, Jesus went to resurrect him from the grave: “Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ Martha, the sister of him who had died, said to Him, ‘Lord, he already stinks, for it has been four days.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not say to you that if you will believe, you shall see the glory of God?’ Then they removed the stone from the tomb where the dead man had been laid. And Jesus lifted His eyes upward and said, ‘Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You hear Me always; but because of the people who stand around I say this, so that they may believe that You did send Me.’ And after He had spoken these things, He cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come forth.’ And he who had been dead came forth, his feet and hands bound with grave clothes, and his face bound up with a napkin. Jesus said to them, ‘Loose him and let him go’ ” (John 11:39-44).

Like Lazarus, Jesus had to remain dead for a minimum of three full days in order to be declared officially dead. If He had been crucified on a Friday and restored to life on Sunday morning at sunrise, His death would not have been “valid” since only two nights and one day would have passed between Friday sunset and Sunday morning. In order for His death to be publicly recognized and acknowledged, it was necessary for Jesus to remain in the grave for three nights and three days before He was raised from the dead. The Scriptures reveal that Jesus died at the ninth hour, or 3 PM, on the Passover day, Nisan 14, which fell on Wednesday, April 5, in 30 AD (Matt. 27:46 and Mark 15:34), and He was placed in the tomb just before sunset at approximately 6 PM. The Gospel of Matthew describes His burial by Joseph of Arimathea: “And when evening was coming on, a rich man of Arimathea came, named Joseph, who was himself a disciple of Jesus. After going to Pilate, he begged to have the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given over to him. And after taking the body, Joseph [with the help of Nicodemus (John 19:39)] wrapped it in clean linen cloth, and placed it in his new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock; and after rolling a great stone to the door of the tomb, he went away” (Matt. 27:57-60). Luke records that “a Sabbath was coming on” (Luke 23:54), which means that by the time they had closed the entrance of the tomb with a huge stone, the Sabbath was nearly upon them. Since all Sabbaths were reckoned from sunset to sunset, it is clear that the sun was about to set.

Both Matthew and Mark testify that Jesus died at the ninth hour, or 3 PM. Luke’s account shows that they closed the entrance to the tomb with a huge stone just before sunset. Because the Passover is in the spring of the year when the days are twelve hours in length, we know that the tomb was closed at about 6 PM. Since He died about 3 PM, Jesus was dead for approximately 75 hours before He was resurrected. The total length of time included three days (from sunrise to sunset) and three nights (from sunset to sunrise) plus approximately three hours. Because He had been dead for more than three days, His death was legally established. When He appeared to His disciples three days after He had been placed in the tomb, the reality of His resurrection was beyond question.

Additional Statements of Jesus Confirm That He Was in the Tomb for Three Days and Three Nights

While Matthew and Mark record Jesus saying that He would be raised “after three days,” Luke records that He would be raised “on the third day.” Luke wrote: “For He shall be delivered up to the Gentiles, and shall be mocked and insulted and spit upon. And after scourging Him, they shall kill Him; but on the third day, He shall rise again” (Luke 18:32-33).

The apostle John records another statement by Jesus that He would be raised up “in three days.” Jesus made this statement when the Jews confronted Him for casting the money exchangers out of the temple and driving out the animals they were selling: “... The Jews answered and said to Him, ‘What sign do You show to us, seeing that You do these things?’ Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ Then the Jews said, ‘This temple was forty-six years in building, and You will raise it up in three days?’ But He spoke concerning the temple of His body. Therefore, when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scriptures, and the word that Jesus had spoken” (John 2:18-22).

The phrase “in three days” contains the Greek preposition en. This Greek preposition, which is translated “in” in John 2:19-20, can also mean “within.” At first glance, the statements “in three days” and “on the third day” appear to conflict with the statement that He would be raised “after three days.” How is it possible for all three of Jesus’ statements to be correct?

When we understand Jesus’ statements, we find that instead of being contradictory, they reveal the exact time that He was raised from the dead. Jesus made it clear that He would be raised after He had been dead for three days. The other statements, “in three days” and “on the third day,” do not include the total time that He was dead but only the time that He was buried in the tomb. The Gospel accounts show that Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus closed the tomb just before sunset, three hours after Jesus died on the cross. Although He was in the tomb for exactly three days and three nights, He was dead for a longer period than that. Thus He rose from the dead “after three days.” The difference between this statement and the statements “in three days” and “on the third day” is that these two statements refer to His burial “in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.”

When one compares all of Jesus’ statements, it is evident that they place specific limits on the time frame between His death and resurrection. Of itself, “in three days” could mean any time on the third day, even the first minute of the third day. “On the third day” could mean any time on the third day up to the last minute on the third day. But the statement that He would “be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights” shows that three whole days and three whole nights would pass while He lay in the tomb.

When all of Jesus’ statements are taken into consideration, there is only one moment of time to which all can apply. Here is the explanation: The end of the third day is still “on” and “in” the third day. At the end of the third day, precisely at sunset, Jesus was resurrected. This was the only moment of time that could fulfill all of Jesus’ prophecies concerning the time of His death, the length of time that He would be in the tomb, and the time of His resurrection.

The Gospels record that Jesus died on the Passover day, Nisan 14, which fell on a Wednesday in 30 AD. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus placed Jesus’ body in the tomb and closed the entrance with a huge stone when the sun was setting at approximately 6 PM, ending Nisan 14. Jesus was resurrected from the dead precisely three days and three nights later, when the sun was setting at the end of the weekly Sabbath, or Saturday, Nisan 17, 30 AD. As He had prophesied, He remained in the tomb for three full days and three full nights. Jesus the Christ was raised from the dead at sunset on the weekly Sabbath, the seventh day of the week. He had already been resurrected when the sun rose on Sunday, the first day of the week. (Please see the chart on pages 320-321).

Scriptural Evidence of Two Sabbaths During the Three Days and Three Nights

According to religious tradition, Jesus was crucified on a Friday. This religious tradition appears to be supported by the statement in John 19:31 that the day of His death “was the preparation.” Most have assumed that this statement refers to the Jews’ preparation for the weekly Sabbath. They fail to realize that the Passover day, on which Jesus died, has always been a preparation day for the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which immediately follows (Lev. 23:4-6). The first day of this feast, Nisan 15, is observed as an annual holy day, or “high day.” Like the Passover day, it may fall on different days of the week. Regardless of which day of the week it falls on, it is always observed as an annual Sabbath, and the day portion of the Passover is always used as a day of preparation. It is erroneous to interpret “the preparation” in John 19:31 as evidence that the day of the crucifixion was a Friday.

The mistaken belief in a Friday crucifixion is based on the assumption that there was only one Sabbath during the crucifixion week. However, the Scriptures clearly reveal that during that week there were two Sabbaths. The first Sabbath was an annual holy day, the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The second Sabbath was the weekly Sabbath, the seventh day of the week. Consequently, during the week of Jesus’ crucifixion there were two preparation days. The day portion of Nisan 14, the Passover day, was the preparation day for the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the 15th, which was an annual Sabbath. The following day, the 16th, which was a Friday, was the preparation day for the weekly Sabbath.

When the Gospel of John is examined, it is evident that the Sabbath immediately following the day Jesus died was an annual Sabbath: “The Jews therefore, so that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the Sabbath, because it was a preparation day (for that Sabbath was a high day) ...” (John 19:31). The term “high day” was never used to refer to the weekly Sabbath, but only to annual Sabbaths. John’s use of this term makes it clear that the Sabbath that was about to begin was the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Nisan 15. Mark’s account makes reference to the coming of sunset, which would bring the end of the preparation and the beginning of the annual Sabbath, or high day: “Now evening was coming, and since it was a preparation, (that is, the day before a Sabbath) ...” (Mark 15:42).

As the Gospel of Luke shows, this Sabbath was about to begin when Jesus was put into the tomb: “Now it was a preparation day, and a Sabbath was coming on. And the women also, who had come with Him from Galilee, followed and saw the tomb, and how His body was laid” (Luke 23:54-55).

The Gospels record the events that followed Jesus’ burial. On Nisan 15, the day after the crucifixion, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate to request that guards be assigned to watch Jesus’ tomb. Because they were afraid that the disciples would come and steal away His body, they did not hesitate to take care of their business on the holy day (Matt. 27:62-66). While the priests and Pharisees went to Pilate, the women who followed Jesus were observing the annual Sabbath, as commanded by God. They could not buy spices on that day because all the businesses were closed in observance of the command to rest (Lev. 23:6-7). After the end of that Sabbath, or high day, they bought spices and aromatic oils to anoint Jesus. Mark relates this event: “Now when the Sabbath had passed, Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James, and Salome bought aromatic oils, so that they might come and anoint Him” (Mark 16:1).

It is quite evident that the women could not have purchased the spices until after the high day, or annual Sabbath, had ended. The high day began when the Passover day, Nisan 14, ended at sunset. The observance of the high day, Nisan 15, lasted until the following sunset, which began Nisan 16. The women bought the spices “when the Sabbath had passed” and prepared them on the same day. When they had finished, they observed a second Sabbath: “And they returned to the city, and prepared spices and ointments, and then rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment” (Luke 23:56). The Gospel records concerning the buying and preparation of the spices by the women clearly reveal the observance of two Sabbaths during the crucifixion week.

Two Women View the Tomb Late on the Weekly Sabbath

Before the weekly Sabbath came to an end, Matthew records that Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to observe the tomb: “Now late on the Sabbath, as the first day of the weeks was drawing near, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to observe the sepulcher” (Matt. 28:1). Because it was still the Sabbath day, the women did not come to anoint His body with the spices they had prepared. Perhaps they went to observe the tomb because they remembered Jesus’ words that after three days and three nights in the grave, He would rise from the dead.

After the two women viewed the tomb and saw that the stone covering the entrance was still in place with the soldiers standing guard, they returned home for the night. The next morning, as they were coming back to the tomb, they were wondering who might roll back the stone so that they could anoint Jesus’ body: “And very early on the first day of the weeks, at the rising of the sun, they were coming to the tomb; and they were asking themselves, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?’ ” (Mark 16:2-3) But when the women arrived, they found that the stone had already been removed and the tomb was empty. The three days and three nights had ended at sunset on the weekly Sabbath, and Jesus had risen from the dead! (See Chart on pages 320-321 for The Three Days and Three Nights in the Tomb and the Resurrection After Three Days and Three Nights.)

“Today Is the Third Day Since These Things Took Place”

Those who believe in a Sunday resurrection point to a statement in Luke 24:21 as evidence that Jesus rose from the dead at sunrise on the first day of the week. This statement was made by two of Jesus’ disciples: “… today is the third day since these things were done.” Because this statement was made on the first day of the week, many have assumed that Jesus rose from the dead early that morning. The King James Version reads:

“And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.

“And he said unto them, ‘What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?’ And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, ‘Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?’ And he said unto them, ‘What things?’

“And they said unto him, ‘Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, today is the third day since these things were done’ ” (Luke 24:13-21 KJV).

An Exegesis of Luke 24:21 Reveals the True Meaning of the “Third Day”

The translation of Luke 24:21 that appears in the King James Version has been used to support the teaching that the resurrection took place at sunrise on the first day of the week. However, the Gospel accounts clearly show that Jesus had already risen from the dead before the women came to the tomb at sunrise. There is no question that Jesus was in the tomb for “three days and three nights,” beginning at sunset on Wednesday, Nisan 14, and ending at sunset on the weekly Sabbath, Nisan 17, in 30 AD. Jesus rose at the end of the three days and three nights, exactly as He had declared.

When one analyzes the phrasing that is used in the Greek text, one will see that the disciples were not talking about that day being the “third day” since Jesus was crucified. Let us examine this verse as translated in interlinear form by George Ricker Berry from the Stephens text of 1550, the same text that was used by the King James translators:

In order to correctly interpret the meaning of the Greek text, we must examine the two expressions that are underlined:

1) (triten tauten hemeran agei)

A. T. Robertson informs us that this expression is an idiom: “{Now the third day} ( triten tauten hemeran agei). A difficult idiom for the English” (Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, s.v. Luke 24:21). Vincent’s Word Studies concurs that this is a difficult idiom to render into English.

Because triten tauten hemeran agei is an idiomatic expression, its true meaning cannot be understood by translating the Greek words literally, as the King James translators have done. The literal translation of this expression in the KJV (and many other translations) only serves to distort the true meaning of Luke’s words in the Greek text. Edward Hobbs, a scholar who began teaching the Greek language over 50 years ago, recently wrote the following to another scholar regarding the translation of idioms: “But may I speak to the larger question of what are called ‘IDIOMS’ in language-teaching….What older books almost always meant by an ‘idiom’ was something which, when translated word-for-word into English either didn’t make sense or made the wrong sense … But the fact is, very little in other languages means the same thing when put word-for-word into English….The semantic value of a word should always be evaluated contextually ... the good lexicons [like Arndt and Gingrich] already do this, without singling such phrases for separate listing….This principle applies equally to individual words and to strings of words which are semantically opaque (Idioms)” (Bold emphasis added).

Hobbs concludes his remarks by stating, “One of the real reasons for studying ancient Greek is to learn how they thought about things, especially how they thought DIFFERENTLY about things, not simply what different thoughts they had about things….We need to learn what translations cannot reveal: How the thinking itself was oriented differently” (Edward Hobbs, EHOBBS@wellesley.edu, 12 Jul 1997, bold emphasis added).

Since the true meaning of Luke 24:21 depends on a proper understanding of the idiomatic expression that Luke used, we must examine the use of this expression by other writers of that era. When we examine their works, we find that tritos often appears in classical Greek literature as an expression of completed time (Liddell, Scott and Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon, s.v. “Tritos”). Notice Josephus’ use of the word in this manner: “When the rigour of winter was over, Herod removed his army, and came near to Jerusalem, and pitched his camp hard by the city. Now this was the third [tritos] year since he had been made king at Rome …” (Josephus, Ant., 14:15:14). As defined by classical Greek literature, Josephus’ words indicate that Herod undertook the conquest of Jerusalem at the completion of his third regnal year; that is, after three full years—not at any time during the third year. As we will see, the additional use of aph hou in conjunction with tritos makes the meaning of this idiom even more emphatic.

2) aph hou

The function of this Greek expression is quite different from the idiomatic use of the first expression. aph hou is a linguistic formula and is very precise in meaning. It is used in classical Greek to delimit a period of time that has been completed. Arndt and Gingrich inform us that the translators of the Septuagint used aph hou as a formula in Daniel 12:1, showing that this usage was common as early as the fourth century BC. aph hou was used in the same manner by the Levitical writers of the Maccabees nearly a century and a half later (see I Macc 9:29; 16:24; and 2 Macc 1:7 in the Septuagint). Arndt and Gingrich report that Josephus also used the expression in the same manner. The usage of this Greek formula by Josephus is of great value to our understanding, as he wrote within a short time after Luke wrote his Gospel. The English translation of Josephus’ words is given below:

“(6)[78] Then it was that Miriam, the sister of Moses, came to her end, having completed her fortieth year since [ aph’ hou] she left Egypt, on the first day of the lunar month Xanthicus.”

The use of aph hou in Josephus’ works and the works of classical Greek writers enables us to understand the true meaning of Luke 24:21. As a formula, aph hou specifically refers to completed time and cannot be construed as referring to time that is in progress. Thus Luke’s use of aph hou with triten must be interpreted as evidence that the third day had already been completed.

Thus it is erroneous to interpret Luke 24:21 as evidence that the first day of the week was “the third day since these things were done.” The use of aph hou with the idiomatic expression triten tauten hemeren agei clearly conveys time that had already been completed and should be translated accordingly. When the disciples spoke of the “third day,” the three days and three nights of Jesus’ entombment had already been completed, although they did not yet know that Jesus had already been raised from the dead.

In addition, the use of tritos in the Gospel of Matthew clearly confirms that this Greek idiom refers to the completion of the three days: “Now on the next day, which followed the preparation day, the chief priests and the Pharisees came together to Pilate, saying, ‘Sir, we remember that that deceiver said while He was living, “After three days I will rise.” Therefore, command that the sepulcher be secured until the third day [ tes trites emeras]; lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, “He is risen from the dead”; and the last deception shall be worse than the first’ ” (Matt. 27:62-64).

It is evident that the phrase “the third day” in Matthew 27:64 refers to the completion of the three-day period, as the chief priests and Pharisees were fully aware of Jesus’ declaration that He would rise “after three days.” It would make no sense to request a guard for the first and second days only, since He had declared that He would not rise before the third day; and this was the most likely day for an attempt to be made by the disciples if they had desired to steal His body.

As “the third day” in Matthew 27:64 refers to the end of Jesus’ three days and three nights in the tomb, so “the third day” in Luke 24:21 refers to the end of the three days and three nights. As in every other reference to “the third day” that we find in the Gospel accounts, the focus in Luke 24:21 is on the completion of Jesus’ three days and three nights in the tomb. Thus “the third day” did not include any part of the first day of the week. It is a mistake to apply this expression to the first day of the week when the records of Jesus’ crucifixion and burial clearly show that His three days and three nights in the tomb began at sunset on Wednesday, Nisan 14. He remained in “the heart of the earth” from the beginning of Nisan 15, which was an annual Sabbath or “high day,” until the end of Nisan 17, a weekly Sabbath. At the end of the weekly Sabbath, precisely as the sun was setting, He was resurrected from the dead. When the first day of the week arrived, the three days and three nights had been brought to completion.

The following translations of Luke 24:21 convey the true meaning of the phrasing that is used in the Greek text:

“… three days have already passed….” (Berkeley)

“… three days ago….” (Moffatt)

Both of these translations convey the idiomatic usage of tritos and the use of aph hou as a formula to express a period of time that has been completed.

Based on this information, a precise translation of Luke 24:13-21, which conveys the true meaning of the Greek text, follows:

“And behold, on the same day, two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, which was about sixty furlongs from Jerusalem. And they were talking with one another about all the things that had taken place.

“And it came to pass, as they were talking and reasoning, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them; but their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him. And He said to them, ‘What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you walk, and why are you downcast in countenance?’ Then the one named Cleopas answered and said to Him, ‘Are You only traveling through Jerusalem, and have not known of the things that have happened in these days?’

“And He said to them, ‘What things?’ And they said to Him, ‘The things concerning Jesus the Nazarean, a Man Who was a prophet, Who was mighty in deed and word before God and all the people; and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him up to the judgment of death, and crucified Him. And we were hoping that He was the One Who would redeem Israel. But besides all these things, as of today, the third day has already passed since these things took place’ ”(Luke 24:13-21).

When correctly translated, Luke 24:21 does not support the teaching that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead on the first day of the week at sunrise. Those who believe that He was resurrected at sunrise on Easter Sunday have been taught a falsehood! This religious myth rejects the sign of Jonah, which was the only sign that Jesus Christ gave as proof that He was the Messiah. Those who participate in the traditional observance of a Friday crucifixion and an Easter Sunday resurrection are observing traditions of men. Jesus said, “Well did Isaiah prophesy concerning you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors Me with their lips, but their hearts are far away from Me.’ But in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrine the commandments of men....Full well do you reject the commandment of God, so that you may observe your own tradition” (Mark 7:6-9).

The God of truth cannot be honored by practicing a lie. God the Father rejects that kind of vain worship. Rather, He is seeking those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth, as Jesus said: “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father is indeed seeking those who worship Him in this manner. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24).

In order to worship God the Father and Jesus Christ in spirit and in truth, one must repent of his or her sins, accept the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, be baptized by full immersion in water, receive the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands, and live from that time forward in the love and grace of God by keeping His commandments. These commandments include keeping the seventh-day Sabbath each week, and keeping the Christian Passover and the annual holy days of God at their appointed times each year. Only those who are under His grace, keeping all His commandments and living by His every word, are worshiping Him in spirit and in truth.

Knowledge of a Wednesday crucifixion was passed down for at least three centuries after the founding of the apostolic church. The Didascalia, which dates from the third century, offers historical evidence that the belief in a Friday crucifixion was a change from the original teaching. The following description of the day of Jesus’ crucifixion appears in Book V of the Apostolic Constitutions, which contains the original words of the Didascalia:

“For they began to hold a council against the Lord on the second day of the week, in the first month, which is Xanthicus; and the deliberation continued on the third day of the week; but on the fourth day [Wednesday] they determined to take away His life by crucifixion” (Apostolic Constitutions—Didascalia Apostolorum, book V, section I, paragraph xiv). A church historian explains the significance of this record in the Didascalia: “…the only reason can have been that Jesus’ passion began on a Wednesday, i.e., the day when He was arrested [and crucified]” (Lietzmann, A History of the Early Church, p. 69).

THE FIRST DAY OF UNLEAVENED BREAD NISAN 15 – THURSDAY, APRIL 6 – 30 AD

367. ON THE HOLY DAY, GUARDS ARE PLACED AT THE TOMB

MATTHEW 27

62. Now on the next day, which followed the preparation day, the chief priests and the Pharisees came together to Pilate,

63. Saying, “Sir, we remember that that deceiver said while He was living, ‘After three days I will rise.’

64. Therefore, command that the sepulcher be secured until the third day; lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, ‘He is risen from the dead’; and the last deception shall be worse than the first.”

65. Then Pilate said to them, “You have a guard. Go, make it as secure as you know how.”

66. And they went and made the sepulcher secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard.

THE WEEKLY SABBATH NISAN 17 – SATURDAY, APRIL 8 – 30 AD

369. THE WOMEN REST ON THE WEEKLY SABBATH

LUKE 23

56. ...and then rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.

370. TOWARD THE END OF THE WEEKLY SABBATH, MARY MAGDALENE AND MARY GO TO OBSERVE THE TOMB

MATTHEW 28

1. Now late on the Sabbath, as the first day of the weeks was drawing near, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to observe the sepulcher.

PART VIII

THE EVENTS ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK—THE WAVE SHEAF DAY TO THE ASCENSION

The scriptural records and the calculations of the Hebrew calendar prove conclusively that Jesus was resurrected when the sun set at the end of the weekly Sabbath. The Gospel accounts do not directly reveal what Jesus did between the time that He was resurrected and the time that He was seen by Mary Magdalene the next morning. However, from the scriptural records we can piece together what Jesus did from the time that He was resurrected until He ascended to be accepted by God the Father in the morning as the true Wave Sheaf. The account in the Gospel of John gives us an understanding of what Jesus did first when He came back to life in the tomb: “Then Simon Peter came following him, and he went into the tomb and saw the linen cloths lying, and the napkin that had been on His head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself” (John 20:6-7).

The record of John shows that when Jesus came back to life, He rose straight out of the burial wrappings without disturbing them. When Peter entered the tomb, he saw Jesus’ burial wrappings still in the form of His body. This was absolute proof that Jesus had risen from the dead, and no one had taken His body. If someone had taken away His body, it would still have been wrapped with the linen burial cloths.

After rising out of the burial wrappings, Jesus took off the napkin that covered His head and neatly folded it and placed it close by, separate from the other burial cloths. This was an additional proof that He was alive. If anyone had taken His body, the napkin would have either remained on His head or fallen to the ground. It would not have been folded and placed neatly by itself. The apostle John, who was with Peter, saw these things and believed (verse 8).

After folding the napkin, Jesus undoubtedly offered a prayer of thanksgiving to God the Father for raising Him back to life. Perhaps Jesus thought of the prophecy of His resurrection in Psalm 16: “The LORD is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup; You shall uphold my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; yea, I have a beautiful inheritance....Therefore My heart is glad, and My glory rejoices; My flesh also shall rest in safety, for You will not abandon My soul to the grave; neither will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You will make known to Me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy. At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (verses 5-6, 9-11).

After offering His prayer of thanksgiving, Jesus must have left the tomb. He did not need to have the stone removed from the entrance of the tomb because He was now spirit and had the ability to pass through matter. The Gospel of Luke confirms this fact. Luke records that approximately twenty-four hours after His resurrection, Jesus suddenly appeared in a closed room where the disciples were assembled. This took place late on the first day of the week, after He had walked with the two disciples to the village of Emmaus: “And they [the two disciples] rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and those with them assembled together, saying, ‘In truth, the Lord has risen! And He has appeared to Simon.’ Then they related the things that had happened to them on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of the bread. Now as they were telling these things, Jesus Himself stood in their midst and said to them, ‘Peace be to you’ ”(Luke 24:33 -36).

The apostle John also wrote of Jesus’ sudden appearance: “Afterwards, as evening was drawing near that day, the first day of the weeks, and the doors were shut where the disciples had assembled for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, ‘Peace be to you.’ And after saying this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples rejoiced because they had seen the Lord” (John 20:19-20).

Because the resurrected Jesus had the ability to pass through matter, He was able to leave the tomb before the stone was rolled away from the entrance. It is certain that He left the tomb almost immediately after He was resurrected. Remember, Jesus had said, “...the Son of man shall be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.” If He had remained in the tomb for any length of time after His resurrection, He would have been in the heart of the earth for more than three days and three nights.

Where did Jesus go after He left the tomb? The Scriptures do not specify. However, it is probable that He went to a place on the Mount of Olives. Luke records that Jesus was accustomed to going there, where He had a special place of prayer. On the Passover night, after Jesus instituted the New Covenant ceremony, He and the disciples had gone to the Mount of Olives: “Then He left the house and went, as He was accustomed, to the Mount of Olives; and His disciples also followed Him. And when He arrived at the place, He said to them, ‘Pray that you do not enter into temptation.’ And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw; and falling to His knees, He prayed” (Luke 22:39-41).

In his account, Matthew identifies the place of prayer as Gethsemane: “Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, ‘Sit here, while I go onward and pray’ ” (Matt. 26:36). This is the place where Jesus prayed for nearly three hours before He was arrested (verses 37-44).

Since Jesus did not ascend to the Father until the morning after His resurrection, it is very probable that He went to the Mount of Olives to His special place of prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. Once there, Jesus most certainly would have offered up prayers of praise and thanksgiving to God the Father the entire night for having raised Him from the dead. We are able to get a glimpse of what Jesus might have prayed from the prophecies in the book of Psalms that foretold Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Jesus Christ had complete faith that God the Father would raise Him from the dead. Psalm 108 reveals Jesus’ faith for that deliverance: “O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and I will give praise, even with my glory. Awake, harp and lyre; I will awake early. I will praise You, O LORD, among the people; and I will sing praises to You among the nations, for Your mercy is great above the heavens; and Your truth reaches unto the clouds.

“Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and Your glory above all the earth, so that Your beloved [Jesus Christ, the Father’s beloved Son] may be delivered [from the power of death]; save with Your right hand, and answer me. God has spoken in His holiness [to raise Jesus from the dead]: “I will rejoice...” (Psa. 108:1- 7).

Paul’s epistle to the Hebrews confirms that while Jesus was still in the flesh, He cried out to the Father to save Him from death: “Who, in the days of His flesh, offered up both prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears to Him Who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because He feared God. Although He was a Son, yet He learned obedience from the things that He suffered; and having been perfected, He became the Author of eternal salvation to all those who obey Him...” (Heb. 5:7-9). During His life in the flesh, Jesus had prayed fervently to the Father for strength to resist temptation, so that He would not incur the death penalty for sin, but might lay down His life as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world. Since He prayed so fervently before He died, He must have been equally fervent in thanking and praising the Father for having raised Him from the dead.

We know that the words of Psalm 22 were uttered by Jesus as He was dying on the cross. Just before He died, He uttered the last words of Psalm 22, “It is finished” fulfilled in John 19:30. The following psalm, Psalm 23, has far more meaning when viewed in the context of His crucifixion and resurrection. Could He not also have uttered these words in His prayers to God the Father after He was resurrected?

“The LORD is my Shepherd; I shall not want [lack any thing]. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul [by the resurrection]; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death [the crucifixion], I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever [into the ages of eternity]” (Psa. 23:1-6).

The Events on the Morning After Jesus’ Resurrection

The Gospel accounts show that as the sun was rising, early in the morning on the first day of the week, the women came bringing spices to anoint Jesus’ body. Although Mary Magdalene left home while it was still dark, by the time she arrived at the tomb it was light enough for her to see that the stone had been removed (John 20:1). Apparently, just before she and the other women arrived, an angel had opened the tomb. If it had been opened for any length of time before the women arrived, the soldiers would not have been standing guard. “And in the morning suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled away the stone from the door, and sat upon it. Now his appearance was as lightning, and his raiment white as snow. And for fear of him, those who were keeping guard trembled, and became as dead men” (Matt. 28:2-4).

As the women were approaching the tomb, they were wondering who would roll away the huge stone from the entrance of the tomb in order for them to anoint Jesus’ body with the spices. But when they arrived, they saw that the stone had already been removed and the tomb was open. Mark gives this account: “And very early on the first day of the weeks, at the rising of the sun, they were coming to the tomb; and they were asking themselves, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?’ For it was a massive stone. But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away. And after entering the tomb, they saw a young man [the angel who had rolled away the stone] sitting on the right, clothed in a white robe; and they were very frightened. But he said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. You are seeking Jesus the Nazarene, Who was crucified. He has risen; He is not here. Look, there is the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples and Peter that He goes before you into Galilee; there you shall see Him, as He said to you.’ And they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them; and they did not say anything to anyone because they were afraid” (Mark 16:2-8).

The Gospel accounts clearly record that the angel told the women, “He is risen. He is not here.” Jesus was not in the tomb! Jesus was not there because He had been resurrected from the dead as the weekly Sabbath ended over twelve hours earlier. He did not need the stone to be rolled away to leave the tomb, because He had the power to pass through matter. However, it was necessary for the stone to be removed in order for the women to see that He was not there. They found the tomb empty except for the grave cloths that had been wound around His body.

When the other women left to tell the disciples, Mary Magdalene went to tell Peter and John: “Then she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken away the Lord from the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.’ As a result, Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. Now the two ran together, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and came to the tomb first; and he stooped down and saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not enter.

“Then Simon Peter came following him, and he went into the tomb and saw the linen cloths lying, and the napkin that had been on His head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had come to the tomb first, also went in and saw these things; and he believed. For they did not yet understand the scripture which decreed that He must rise from the dead. Then the disciples went away again to their home” (John 20:2-10).

After Peter and John left, Mary Magdalene remained at the tomb because she thought that “they had taken away the Lord,” and she did not know where He was. “But Mary stood outside the tomb weeping; and as she wept, she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white who were sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been laid. And they said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him’ ” (John 20:11-13).

After all those things transpired, Jesus returned to the tomb and appeared to Mary Magdalene: “And after saying these things, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?’ Thinking that He was the gardener, she said to Him, ‘Sir, if you have carried Him off, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ Turning around, she said to Him, ‘Rabboni’; that is to say, ‘Teacher.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Do not touch Me, because I have not yet ascended to My Father. But go to My brethren and tell them that I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’ Mary Magdalene came to the disciples, bringing word that she had seen the Lord, and that He had said these things to her” (verses 14-18).

Correcting the Misinterpretation of Mark 16:9

In the King James Version, Mark 16:9 reads as follows: “Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene.…” This translation makes it appear that Jesus was resurrected early in the morning on the first day of the week. However, the Gospel accounts show that Jesus was raised at the close of the weekly Sabbath, approximately twelve hours before the women came to the tomb. The erroneous impression that the KJV translation gives can be corrected simply by the addition of a comma in the proper place: “Now when Jesus was risen, early the first day of the week He appeared first to Mary Magdalene.…” A more accurate translation, as well as the proper placement of the comma, clears up any misunderstanding or misinterpretation. It reads as follows: “Now after Jesus had risen, early the first day of the weeks He appeared first to Mary Magdalene....” With the proper translation and placement of the comma, this verse harmonizes with the rest of the scriptural facts as found in the other Gospel accounts.

Jesus Fulfilled the Wave Sheaf Offering

In John’s Gospel we find this post-resurrection account: “Jesus said to her [Mary Magdalene], ‘Do not touch Me, because I have not yet ascended to My Father. But go to My brethren and tell them that I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God’ ” (John 20:17).

When Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene, He did not allow her to touch Him because He had not yet ascended to God the Father. The words that He spoke to her show that He was about to ascend. We can conclude that He ascended to the Father soon after she left to tell the disciples. When Jesus ascended, He fulfilled a very special temple ceremony that God had commanded for this day. This ceremony was the presentation of the wave sheaf offering of the first of the firstfruits of the grain harvest, which was performed at approximately 9 AM in the morning, after the morning burnt offering had been made. It was at this time that Jesus ascended to God the Father.

The wave sheaf was offered each year on the first day of the week during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. As the sacrifice of the Passover lamb was a foretype of the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ, so the offering of the wave sheaf was a foretype of Jesus’ ascension to the Father. This day was a special day, but not a holy day. At the temple, on the first day of the week during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the priest would perform the wave sheaf ritual. We find God’s command for the wave sheaf offering in the book of Leviticus: “And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, “When you have come into the land which I give to you, and shall reap the harvest of it, then you shall bring the premier sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD to be accepted for you. On the next day after the Sabbath [the first day of the week during the Feast of Unleavened Bread] the priest shall wave it” ’ ” (Lev. 23:9-11).

Messianic Rabbi Alfred Edersheim records the details of the harvesting of the wave sheaf in his book The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah:

“This Passover-sheaf was reaped in public the evening before it was offered, and it was to witness this ceremony that the crowd had gathered around the elders. Already on the 14th [of] Nisan the spot whence the first sheaf was to be reaped had been marked out, by tying together in bundles, while still standing, the barley that was to be cut down, according to custom, in the sheltered Ashes-Valley across Kidron. When the time for cutting the sheaf had arrived—that is, on the evening of the 15th [of] Nisan [by Pharisaic reckoning], even though it were a Sabbath [the journey to harvest was undertaken before the end of the Sabbath, but was within the prescribed traditional “Sabbath day’s journey”], just as the sun went down, three men, each with a sickle and basket, set to work.

“Clearly to bring out what was distinctive in the ceremony, they first asked of the bystanders three times each of these questions: ‘HAS THE SUN GONE DOWN?’ ‘With this sickle?’ ‘Into this basket?’ ‘On this Sabbath? (or first Passover-day)’—and lastly, ‘Shall I reap?’ Having each time been answered in the affirmative, they cut down barley to the amount of one ephah, or about three pecks and three pints of our English measure” (The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, p. 619).

Note: There was a dispute between the Pharisees and the Sadducees as to which Sabbath this verse is designating. The Pharisees applied this command to the first holy day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which was the 15th day of the first month, or Nisan. In their view, the “morrow after the Sabbath”—the day for harvesting the wave sheaf—was always the 16th of Nisan. On the other hand, the Sadducees, who were in charge of the temple during the days of Jesus Christ, understood that God’s command in Leviticus 23:11 was referring to the weekly Sabbath which occurred in conjunction with the Feast of Unleavened Bread. In years when the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread fell on the weekly Sabbath, both the Sadducees and the Pharisees would observe the 16th of Nisan as the day for the wave sheaf offering. Although the Sadducees and the Pharisees generally disagreed over the correct DAY for the wave sheaf offering, there was never any question about the correct TIME of the day for harvesting it.

After it was cut, the bundled sheaf was brought to the temple and placed alongside the altar of burnt offering. Then in the morning, after the daily burnt offering of a lamb, the priest would “wave” or elevate the sheaf to be accepted of the Lord. This was a special ceremonial sheaf. In The Shocken Bible, Volume I, The Five Books of Moses, Everett Fox translates Leviticus 23:10-11 in this manner: “Speak to the children of Israel and say to them; When you enter the land that I am giving you, and you harvest its harvest, you are to bring the premier sheaf of your harvest to the priest. He is to elevate the sheaf before the presence of YHWH for acceptance for you; on the morrow of the Sabbath the priest shall elevate it.”

Note the key words in God’s instructions for the wave sheaf offering: “for acceptance for you,” meaning “on your behalf.” When Jesus Christ ascended to the Father on the Wave Sheaf Day, as the first of the firstfruits, His sacrifice for our sins was accepted by the Father on our behalf. Jesus, as the Lamb of God, was accepted as the sin offering not only for our sins but for the sins of all mankind: “…The Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

Jesus fulfilled the wave sheaf offering as the first of the firstfruits to be resurrected from the dead. The premier sheaf symbolized the risen Christ. When the priest elevated the sheaf to be accepted by the Lord, it represented Jesus Christ ascending to the Father to be accepted as the first of the firstfruits. The apostle Paul makes it clear that this premier sheaf of the firstfruits was a type of Jesus Christ after He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven to present Himself to God the Father: “But now Christ has been raised from the dead; He has become the Firstfruit of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruit; then, those who are Christ’s at His coming” (I Cor. 15:20-23).

Because Jesus is the first of many who will be resurrected from the dead as immortal children of God, He is also called “the firstborn from among the dead,” as Paul writes to the Colossians: “Because by Him were all things created, the things in heaven and the things on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether they be thrones, or lordships, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him and for Him. And He is before all, and by Him all things subsist. And He is the Head of the body, the church; Who is the beginning, the firstborn from among the dead, so that in all things He Himself might hold the preeminence” (Col. 1:16-18).

In his epistle to the Romans, Paul makes it clear that many will be resurrected from the grave and be added to the Family of God as immortal brethren of Jesus Christ: “Because those whom He did foreknow, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His own Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren” (Rom. 8:29). Paul also tells the Corinthians that those who die in the faith will be resurrected at His coming. The resurrection of the saints of God to immortality and glory will mark the end of the firstfruits harvest, just as the resurrection of Jesus signaled its beginning. As He ascended to heaven in the clouds, so He will return, and all the transformed saints will rise into the air to meet Him. The entrance of the saints into the Family of God has been made possible through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which was accepted by God the Father on the Wave Sheaf Day.

Jesus Christ Accepted by God the Father

The ascension of Jesus to God the Father was an awesome event. Jesus Christ had finished the work that the Father had given Him to do. As God manifest in the flesh, He had lived a perfect, sinless life and had died by crucifixion to become the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all mankind. God the Father had raised Jesus back to life, and on the Wave Sheaf Day He was ready to ascend to the throne of God the Father to be accepted as the first of the firstfruits, the firstborn among many brethren, and the perfect sacrifice to propitiate the sins of the world.

As He was ascending to the Father, Jesus must have been filled with great joy and anticipation. He would see the Father face to face for the first time since He had become a pinpoint of life when He divested Himself of His power and glory as God to be born of the virgin Mary. Again, the Psalms help us comprehend some of the thoughts and feelings that Jesus might have experienced as He looked forward to being reunited with the Father: “O God, You are my God, earnestly I will seek You! My soul thirsts for You. My flesh longs for You, as in a dry and thirsty land where no water is, to see Your power and Your glory—as I have seen You in the sanctuary. Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You” (Psa. 63:1-3).

As previously noted, Psalm 23 foreshadowed the prayers of Jesus after He was resurrected from the dead. The psalm to follow, Psalm 24, is in prophetic sequence and depicts Jesus’ ascension to be received of God the Father. When He arrived in heaven, the angels sang and shouted for joy. Perhaps this psalm was sung by the angels as they opened the everlasting doors and announced that the King of glory was entering into the presence of God the Father: “The earth is the LORD’S, and the fullness of it, the world, and those who dwell in it, for He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters. Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who shall stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to vanity and has not sworn deceitfully [the perfect life of Jesus Christ]. He shall receive the blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation.”

“Lift up your heads, O you gates; and be lifted up, O you everlasting doors; that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle [He was victorious over human nature, sin, Satan the devil and death]. Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you everlasting doors; that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory” (Psa. 24:1-5, 7-10).

What a magnificent scene of splendor and glory Jesus would have seen when He entered through the everlasting gates of heaven! Standing on the sea of glass, He would have seen the resplendent glory and awesome majesty of God the Father seated on His throne with the heavenly host round about. The apostle John, the one whom Jesus loved, saw a vision of God’s throne and recorded it in the book of Revelation. What John recorded is what Jesus would have seen when He ascended to the Father.

“After these things I looked, and behold, a door opened in heaven; and the first voice that I heard was as if a trumpet were speaking with me, saying, ‘Come up here, and I will show you the things that must take place after these things.’ And immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was set in heaven, and One was sitting on the throne. And He Who was sitting was in appearance like a jasper stone and a sardius stone; and a rainbow was around the throne, like an emerald in its appearance.

“And around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty -four elders sitting, clothed in white garments; and they had on their heads golden crowns. And proceeding from the throne were lightnings and thunders and voices; and seven lamps of fire, which are the seven Spirits of God, were burning before the throne. And before the throne was a sea of glass, like crystal. And around the throne and over the throne were four living creatures, full of eyes before and behind; and the first living creature was like a lion, and the second living creature was like a bull, and the third living creature had the face of a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. And each of the four living creatures had six wings respectively; and around and within they were full of eyes; and day and night they cease not saying, ‘Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was, and Who is, and Who is to come.’

“And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanksgiving to Him Who sits on the throne, Who lives into the ages of eternity, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him Who sits on the throne; and they worship Him Who lives into the ages of eternity, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, ‘Worthy are You, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power because You did create all things, and for Your will they were created and exist’ ” (Rev. 4:1-11).

This was the scene that Jesus would have seen as He walked forward to present Himself to the Father as the perfect sacrifice for sin. He was the first of the firstfruits and the firstborn from the dead. As He walked on the sea of glass toward the Father sitting on His throne, the angels, the twenty-four elders and God the Father would see on His body the scars of the lashes that He had received when He was beaten with the cat-of-nine-tails which tore open His flesh. They would see the scars in His hands and feet where the soldiers had nailed Him to the cross. When the Father’s beloved Son greeted His Father, They must have opened their arms and embraced each other in profound love and tears of joy. Thus Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, was accepted by God the Father on the Wave Sheaf Day.

After He was accepted of the Father, Jesus was selected to open the seven seals. He and He alone was qualified, because He had overcome all. The apostle John saw this tremendous scene in the vision and recorded it: “And in the right hand of Him Who sits on the throne I saw a book, written within and on the back, which had been sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, ‘Who is worthy to open the book and to loose its seals?’ But no one in heaven, or on the earth, or under the earth was able to open the book, or to look inside it. And I [John] was weeping greatly because no one was found worthy to open and to read the book, or to look into it.

“Then one of the elders said to me, ‘Do not weep. Behold, the Lion Who is of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome to open the book, and to loose its seven seals.’ Then I saw, and behold, before the throne and the four living creatures, and before the elders, was standing a Lamb as having been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God that are sent into all the earth; and He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him Who sits on the throne.

“And when He took the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having harps and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are You to take the book, and to open its seals because You were slain, and did redeem us to God by Your own blood, out of every tribe and language and people and nation, and did make us unto our God kings and priests; and we shall reign on the earth.’

“And I saw, and I heard the voices of many angels around the throne, and the voices of the living creatures and the elders, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb Who was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory and blessing.’ And every creature that is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and those that are on the sea, and all the things in them, I heard saying, ‘To Him Who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing, and honor, and glory, and sovereignty into the ages of eternity.’ And the four living creatures said, ‘Amen.’ And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him Who lives into the ages of eternity” (Rev. 5:1-12).

This is the glory and majesty that Jesus Christ received when He was accepted by God the Father as the Savior and Redeemer of mankind on the Wave Sheaf Day. Jesus had overcome sin in the flesh and gained complete victory over death, opening the way for the redemption and salvation of all mankind through faith in Him. Now He lives in eternal glory, as the first of many sons of God who will be resurrected at His second coming to share His eternal glory and immortality. Those who are Jesus Christ’s are now being perfected through the love, grace and power of God the Father. They will be granted the identical spiritual existence that the Father and the Son have. They will be the sons and daughters of God the Father, and the brethren of Jesus Christ. Jesus shared human existence with mankind in order to become the sin offering for the world so that all who believe in Him may ultimately share His eternal existence and glory in the Family of God throughout the ages of eternity.

NISAN 18 – SUNDAY MORNING, APRIL 9 – 30 AD

371. EARLY THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK, JUST BEFORE WOMEN ARRIVE AT THE TOMB, AN ANGEL OPENS THE TOMB

MATTHEW 28

2. And in the morning suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled away the stone from the door, and sat upon it.

3. Now his appearance was as lightning, and his raiment white as snow.

4. And for fear of him, those who were keeping guard trembled, and became as dead men.

373. JESUS APPEARS FIRST TO MARY MAGDALENE

MARK 16

9. Now after Jesus had risen, early the first day of the weeks He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons.

10. She went and told it to those who had been with Him, who were grieving and weeping.

11. And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe it.

JOHN 20

11. But Mary stood outside the tomb weeping; and as she wept, she stooped down and looked into the tomb.

12. And she saw two angels in white who were sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been laid.

13. And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”

14. And after saying these things, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but did not know that it was Jesus.

NISAN 18 – SUNDAY MORNING, APRIL 9, 30 AD

JOHN 20

15. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Thinking that He was the gardener, she said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him off, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”

16. Jesus said to her, “Mary.” Turning around, she said to Him, “Rabboni”; that is to say, “Teacher.”

17. Jesus said to her, “Do not touch Me, because I have not yet ascended to My Father. But go to My brethren and tell them that I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.”

18. Mary Magdalene came to the disciples, bringing word that she had seen the Lord, and that He had said these things to her.

NISAN 18 – SUNDAY, APRIL 9, 30 AD

374. SOLDIERS BRIBED TO LIE

MATTHEW 28

11. And as they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that were done.

12. Then, after gathering together with the elders and taking counsel, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers,

13. Saying, “Tell everyone that His disciples came by night and stole Him while you were sleeping.

14. And if the governor hears of this, we will persuade him to release you from responsibility.”

15. And they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this report has been spread abroad among the Jews to this day.

375. JESUS APPEARS TO TWO DISCIPLES ON A JOURNEY TO EMMAUS

LUKE 24

13. And behold, on the same day, two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, which was about sixty furlongs from Jerusalem.

14. And they were talking with one another about all the things that had taken place.

15. And it came to pass, as they were talking and reasoning, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them;

16. But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.

17. And He said to them, “What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you walk, and why are you downcast in countenance?”

18. Then the one named Cleopas answered and said to Him, “Are You only traveling through Jerusalem, and have not known of the things that have happened in these days?”

19. And He said to them, “What things?” And they said to Him, “The things concerning Jesus the Nazarean, a man Who was a prophet, Who was mighty in deed and word before God and all the people;

20. And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him up to the judgment of death, and crucified Him.

21. And we were hoping that He was the One Who would redeem Israel. But besides all these things, as of today, the third day has already passed since these things took place.

22. And also, certain women from among us astonished us, after they went to the tomb early;

NISAN 18 – SUNDAY, APRIL 9, 30 AD

LUKE 24

23. For when they did not find His body, they came to us, declaring that they had indeed seen a vision of angels, who said, ‘He is living.’

24. And some of those with us went to the tomb and found it exactly as the women had said, but they did not see Him.”

25. Then He said to them, “O foolish and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!

26. Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things, and to enter into His glory?”

27. And beginning with Moses, and from all the prophets, He interpreted to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.

28. And as they approached the village where they were going, He appeared to be going on farther.

29. But they constrained Him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is declining.” And He entered in as if to stay with them.

30. And it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it; and after breaking it, He gave it to them.

31. Then their eyes were opened, and they knew Him; and He disappeared from them.

32. And they said to one another, “Did not our hearts burn within us as He was speaking to us on the road, while He was opening the Scriptures to us?”

33. And they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and those with them assembled together,

34. Saying, “In truth, the Lord has risen! And He has appeared to Simon.”

35. Then they related the things that had happened to them on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

MARK 16

12. Now after these things, He appeared in a different form to two of them as they were walking, going away into the country.

13. And they went and told it to the rest; but they did not believe them either.

377. EIGHT DAYS LATER, JESUS APPEARS TO HIS DISCIPLES AGAIN

JOHN 20

26. Now after eight days, His disciples again were within, and Thomas with them. Jesus came after the doors were shut, and stood in the midst and said, “Peace be to you.”

27. Then He said to Thomas, “Put forth your finger, and see My hands; and reach out your hand, and put it into My side; and be not unbelieving, but believing.”

28. And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and My God.”

29. Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, Thomas, you have believed; blessed are the ones who have not seen, but have believed.”

378. JESUS DOES MANY MIRACLES IN THE PRESENCE OF THE DISCIPLES

JOHN 20

30. Now then, Jesus did many other miracles in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book.

31. But these have been written, so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing, you may have life through His name.

_________________________
a - Luke 24:44-48: By the time that Jesus had finished eating the fish and honeycomb, the sun had set, ending the first day of the week. Therefore, Jesus’ teachings concerning prophecies about Him in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms, did not occur on the first day of the week, but on the second day of the week. Undoubtedly, He did not finish His teachings for many hours. Because of the numerous Scriptures involved in these prophecies, it must have taken most of the night.

379. SOME TIME LATER, JESUS IS SEEN BY 500 OF THE BRETHREN

1 CORINTHIANS 15

4. And that He was buried; and that He was raised the third day, according to the Scriptures;

5. And that He appeared to Cephas, and then to the twelve.

6. Then He appeared to over five hundred brethren at one time, of whom the greater part are alive until now, but some have fallen asleep.

7. Next He appeared to James; then to all the apostles;

380. JESUS MEETS THE APOSTLES AT THE APPOINTED MOUNTAIN

MATTHEW 28

16. Now the eleven disciples went into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them to meet Him.

17. And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.

381. LATER, JESUS APPEARS TO HIS DISCIPLES IN GALILEE

JOHN 21

1. After these things, Jesus again revealed Himself to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. And this is how He revealed Himself:

2. Simon Peter, and Thomas (called Didymus), and Nathanael from Cana of Galilee were there together, and the sons of Zebedee and two of His other disciples.

3. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We also will come with you.” They left immediately and got into the ship, but during that night they took nothing.

4. And when morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore. However, none of the disciples realized that it was Jesus.

5. Then Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any food?” They answered Him, “No.”

6. And He said to them, “Cast the net to the right side of the ship, and you shall find some.” Then they cast the net, but they did not have the strength to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.

7. Then that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” And after hearing that it was the Lord, Peter put on his outer garment, because he was naked, and threw himself into the sea.

8. But the other disciples came in a small ship, dragging the net full of fish; for they were not far from land, but about two hundred cubits away.

9. Now then, when they came up to the land, they saw a fire of coals spread, and fish lying on it, and bread.

10. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.”

11. Simon Peter went up to the shore and drew the net to the land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not torn.

12. Jesus said to them, “Come and dine.” But none of the disciples dared to ask Him, “Who are You?” For they knew that it was the Lord.

13. Then Jesus came and took the bread, and gave it to them, and likewise the fish.

14. This was now the third time that Jesus revealed Himself to His disciples after being raised from the dead.

382. JESUS ASKS PETER IF HE LOVES HIM AND COMMANDS HIM TO FEED AND SHEPHERD JESUS’ SHEEP

JOHN 21

15. Therefore, when they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonas, do you love Me more than these?” And he said to Him, “Yes, Lord. You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Feed My lambs.”

16. He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonas, do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Yes, Lord. You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.”

17. He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonas, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things. You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.

18. Truly, truly I say to you, since you were young, you have dressed yourself and walked wherever you have desired; but when you are old, you shall stretch out your hands, and another shall dress you and bring you where you do not desire to go.”

19. Now He said this to signify by what death he would glorify God. And after saying this, He said to him, “Follow Me.”

20. But when Peter turned, he saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had sat at the supper and leaned on His chest, and had said, “Lord, who is it that is betraying You?”

21. Seeing him, Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, what shall happen to this one?”

22. Jesus said to him, “If I desire that he remain alive until I come, what is it to you? You follow Me.”

23. Then this saying went out among the brethren, that that disciple would not die. However, Jesus did not say to him that he would not die; but, “If I desire that he remain alive until I come, what is it to you?”

24. This is the disciple who testifies concerning these things and who wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true.

384. JESUS CHRIST DID FAR MORE THAN IS RECORDED

JOHN 21

25. But there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I do not suppose that even the world itself could contain the books that would be written. Amen.

THE CONCLUSION

A Harmony of the Gospels in Modern English—The Life of Jesus Christ offers an entirely new perspective and depth of understanding of the life of Jesus Christ. The arrangement of this harmony is based on the Biblical holy days as determined by the Hebrew Calendar. These are the keys that help unlock the proper chronology of all the events recorded in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The events that the Gospel writers were inspired to record make it very clear that the prophecies of Jesus Christ’s first coming were fulfilled on the holy days of God.

Jesus Christ’s life, death and resurrection fulfilled scores of prophecies in the Old Testament. One of the most profound prophecies that He fulfilled is found in the book of Isaiah: “...He will magnify the law, and make it honorable” (Isa. 42:21). Jesus fulfilled this prophecy by revealing the full spirit and intent of God’s laws in the Sermon on the Mount. The Scriptural records of His teachings in the Gospels clearly show that Christians are to keep the commandments of God not only in the letter but also in the spirit of the law. The commandments of God include observing His annual holy days and participating in the New Covenant Passover on Nisan 14. Partaking of the New Covenant Passover is done in remembrance of Jesus Christ’s death for the forgiveness of sins. The epistle of Paul to the church in Corinth shows that Gentile believers as well as Jewish believers are commanded to keep the holy days and the Passover each year. Notice Paul’s command to the Gentile believers at Corinth: “Therefore, purge out the old leaven, so that you may become a new lump, even as you are unleavened. For Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us. For this reason, let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (I Cor. 5:7-8).

Jesus Christ, Who was God manifest in the flesh, sacrificed His life on the Passover day, Nisan 14, as the true Passover Lamb to establish the New Covenant of eternal life. On the night of His last Passover, Jesus gave His apostles the instructions for the New Covenant Passover, which consists of the footwashing, partaking of the unleavened bread, and partaking of the wine. The footwashing symbolizes the true believer’s attitude of love and humility toward Jesus Christ and toward other believers who are brethren. The broken unleavened bread and the wine symbolize the broken body and the blood of Jesus Christ, which sealed the New Covenant. By partaking of these symbols as Jesus commanded, the believer renews his or her commitment to live by Jesus Christ, Who dwells within each true believer and imparts the power to overcome sin and receive the gift of eternal life. Notice: “I am the living bread, which came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread that I will give is even My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world....Truly, truly I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, you do not have life in yourselves. The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up in the last day; for My flesh is truly food, and My blood is truly drink. The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood is dwelling in Me, and I in him. As the living Father has sent Me, and I live by the Father; so also the one who eats Me shall live by Me” (John 6:51-57).

Anyone who desires to live by Jesus Christ must do as Jesus taught: “The first of all the commandments is, ‘Hear, O Israel [Substitute your name and ask yourself, “Am I doing as Jesus commanded?”] Our one God is the Lord, the Lord. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second is like this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:29-31).

How does one love God as Jesus said? The apostle John, whom Jesus loved, was inspired to show true believers how to love God: “By this standard we know that we love the children of God: when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God: that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome” (I John 5:2-3 ). True believers express their love for God by keeping His commandments. Jesus further clarified which commandments of God Christians are to obey: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4).

During His ministry, Jesus proclaimed that those who live by His words are building on a firm and lasting foundation. Notice Jesus’ admonition: “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and practices them, I will compare him to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock; and the rain came down, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; but it did not fall, for it was founded upon the rock” (Matt. 7:24-25). Jesus Christ is the Rock upon which all true Christians are being built up in the faith (I Cor. 10:4).

It is to this end and purpose that this book was written: to help you, the reader, to come into a close, intimate, personal relationship with your Creator and Savior, Jesus Christ, the Son of God; and to help you to grow in knowledge, understanding and faith in Him; so that you may ultimately be born of the resurrection into the Family of God, and thus fulfill the purpose of your existence. Jesus Christ, the Author of the New Covenant, offers you the gift of eternal life with Him as a glorified son or daughter of God. Through faith in Jesus Christ, repentance from sin, and baptism by immersion, you can receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and learn to live as Jesus taught, partaking of the Father’s mercy, forgiveness, grace and love (Acts 2:38-39, Rom. 8:1-11). When the Spirit that empowered Jesus to live a sinless life is dwelling in you, you also will learn to overcome sin in the flesh. At the resurrection, that same Spirit, which raised Him from the dead to eternal power and glory, will also transform your body to immortal spirit. This is the promise to all who live by the teachings of Jesus Christ: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave authority to become the children of God, even to those who believe in His name; who were not begotten by bloodlines, nor by the will of the flesh, nor by the will of man; but by the will of God” (John 1:12-13).

Please direct any questions, comments or suggestions you may have to the author at the publisher’s address: York Publishing Company; P.O. Box 1038; Hollister, CA 95024-1038.

Appendix A

A SYNCHRONIZED CHART OF HISTORICAL AND SCRIPTURAL RECORDS THAT ESTABLISH THE YEAR OF CHRIST’S BIRTH

The primary references that enable us to determine when Jesus Christ was born are those of Roman historians and of the Jewish historian Josephus, who lived from about 37 AD to 100 AD. These secular records can be used to establish the reign of Herod the Great, who attempted to kill the infant Jesus. Josephus records the names of the consuls who ruled in Rome at the time that Herod began his reign. Lists of all the consuls who ruled during the years from 509 BC to 337 AD have been preserved by Roman historians, giving us an exact time frame for dating the reign of Herod, which is essential to identifying the year of Christ’s birth.

Josephus states that Herod received the kingdom in Rome in the 184th olympiad (Antiquities, 14:14:5). Each olympiad was four years in length, with the years being reckoned from July 1 through June 30. The 184th olympiad was from July 1, 44 BC, to June 30, 40 BC. Josephus also records that Herod began his reign when Calvinus and Pollio were consuls of Rome. Calvinus and Pollio were consuls from January 1, 40 BC, to December 31, 40 BC. Since the 184th olympiad ended on June 30, 40 BC, it is evident that the reign of Herod as king in Rome began sometime between January 1, 40 BC, and June 30, 40 BC.

According to Josephus, Herod reigned thirty-seven years from the time that he had been coronated in Rome (Antiquities of the Jews, 17:8:1; Wars of the Jews, 1:33:8). Consequently, the end of his reign occurred sometime between January 1, 4 BC, and June 30, 4 BC. Since Jesus was born during the final months of Herod’s reign, all the historical facts limit the time of His birth to the period from June 30, 5 BC, to June 30, 4 BC. Because the Gospels place His birth during the fall festival season, the time is further limited to the year 5 BC. The historical and Scriptural records are presented in chart form on the following pages.

Appendix B

JESUS CHRIST WAS TAUGHT DIRECTLY BY GOD THE FATHER

JESUS DID NOT OBSERVE JEWISH TRADITION

The Gospels of Matthew and Luke record Jesus’ physical genealogy and show that He was of the line of David, of the tribe of Judah. Although He was born of the virgin Mary and was human in every respect, nevertheless, He was the Savior of mankind, the Messiah of the world. Because He was divinely begotten by God the Father, Jesus was the Son of God. His education was different from that of other Jewish boys of the first century. We find no evidence in the Gospels that Jesus was educated by the rabbis in Jewish schools or synagogues, or that He was taught to observe the religion of Judaism and practice Jewish traditions. As the Son of God, there can be no doubt that His education was special.

In order to understand how and from whom Jesus received His education, one needs to examine His words and teachings, as well as what He did. First, Jesus Christ always kept the commandments of God. Second, He did not observe the commandments and traditions of Judaism, which are the commandments of men. Although Judaism claims that these traditional practices are based on the commandments of God, the truth is that they originated in the minds of men, not in the words of God. Third, as the Lord God of the Old Testament, Jesus was the One Who had delivered the Ten Commandments. He came to dwell on earth as the only begotten Son of God the Father, born of the virgin Mary. Since He was God in the flesh, Jesus kept the commands that came from God the Father. He did not keep the traditions that men had added to the commandments of God.

Some have assumed that Jesus was trained and brought up according to Jewish tradition. Those who have swallowed this false assumption believe that Jesus practiced the religion of Judaism and conformed to the traditions of the Jews. They claim that Jesus was thoroughly Jewish in habit, custom, tradition, religion and outlook. Some even claim that Jesus was a Pharisee, perhaps a Pharisaical rabbi, and therefore Jesus would certainly have kept the traditions of Judaism. NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH! Throughout the four Gospels, we find that Jesus strongly denounced the traditions of the Jews—ALL OF THEM! On many occasions, Jesus condemned the scribes and Pharisees for rejecting the commandments of God in order to keep their own traditions. He said, “... Why do you also transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? ... ‘These people have drawn near to Me with their mouths, and with their lips they honor Me; but their hearts are far away from Me.’ For they worship Me in vain, teaching for doctrine the commandments of men” (Matt. 15:3, 8-9).

A closer look at these words reveals that Jesus emphatically declared to the leaders of Judaism that in keeping their own traditions, they were transgressing the commandments of God. In short, such behavior is SIN. Worship that is based on the traditions of men is vain, empty and useless—sanctimonious pretense. Yes, with their mouths and lips they professed to serve God, but their hearts were far from Him!

Think for a moment! Knowing that the traditions of Judaism transgress the commandments of God, would Jesus ever have observed those traditions? ABSOLUTELY NOT! What did Jesus do? The Scriptures tell us that He kept the Father’s commandments: “If you keep My commandments, you shall live in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and live in His love” (John 15:10). Jesus went far beyond keeping only the letter of the law. Rather, He always kept the full spiritual intent of the law and did those things that pleased the Father: “And He Who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone because I ALWAYS do the things that please Him” (John 8:29).

If Jesus had observed the traditional laws and commandments of Judaism, He would have been placing the traditions of men above the commandments of God. Instead, Jesus taught that to accept the traditions of men as the rule of law in place of obedience to the commandments of God, was sin. During a confrontation with the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus challenged them, “And because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. Which one of you can convict Me of sin? But if I speak the truth, why don’t you believe Me? ” (John 8:45-46)

The Scriptures reveal that Jesus did not sin at any time. In II Corinthians 5:21, Paul expressly states, “For He made Him Who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” The apostle Peter also records that Jesus “COMMITTED NO SIN” (I Pet. 2:22).

JESUS’ EDUCATION WAS NOT PHARISAIC

Jesus was twelve years old when He observed the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread with His parents in Jerusalem, as recorded in Luke 2:41-42. When the Feast ended, Joseph and Mary departed to go back to Nazareth, but Jesus remained. Having discovered that He was missing, they returned to find Jesus “... in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both hearing them and questioning them. And all those who were listening to Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers” (Luke 2:46-47).

How was it possible for Jesus to have such an extraordinary understanding of God’s Word at such a young age? First, the Scriptures tell us that Jesus had the Holy Spirit of God without measure. John was inspired to say this about Jesus when he was questioned by the scribes and Pharisees: “He Who comes from above is above all. The one who is of the earth is earthy, and speaks of the earth. He Who comes from heaven is above all; and what He has seen and heard, this is what He testifies; but no one receives His testimony. The one who has received His testimony has set his seal that God is true; for He Whom God has sent [Jesus Christ] speaks the words of God; and God gives not the Spirit by measure unto Him. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand” (John 3:31-35).

Second, the Scriptures show that Jesus was taught directly by God the Father. Jesus was not taught by men, nor did He ever follow the traditions of men. Here is what the Scriptures reveal about Jesus’ education: “But then, about the middle of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and was teaching. And the Jews were amazed, saying, ‘How does this Man know letters, having never been schooled?’ ” (John 7:14-15) The phrase “having never been schooled” means that He was not taught in their schools. He did not attend the rabbinical school of Hillel, as some have claimed. Jesus Himself tells us where He was educated: “Jesus answered them and said, ‘My doctrine is not Mine, but His Who sent Me’ ” (verse 16). Jesus’ teachings were directly from God the Father, Who had personally taught Him. Jesus told the scribes and Pharisees, “I have many things to say and to judge concerning you; but He Who sent Me is true, and what I have heard from Him, these things I speak to the world....I do nothing of Myself [or of any man]. But AS THE FATHER TAUGHT ME, these things I speak” (John 8:26, 28).

Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would be educated directly by God the Father: “The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of the learned, to know to help the weary with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens my ear to hear as one being taught. The Lord GOD has opened My ear, and I was not rebellious, nor turned away backwards” (Isa. 50:4-5). As Isaiah foretold, Jesus was awakened early in the morning by His Father’s voice and was personally taught by Him. With daily instruction directly from God the Father, Jesus did not need to be taught by men.

Jesus’ education involved not only hearing the Father, but also seeing Him. So personal was His education from God the Father that Jesus actually saw the Father and what the Father did: “... Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Truly, truly I say to you, the Son has no power to do anything of Himself [of His own will or the will of any man], but only what He sees the Father do. For whatever He does, these things the Son also does in the same manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him everything that He Himself is doing. And He will show Him greater works than these, so that you may be filled with wonder....I have no power to do anything of Myself; but as I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father, Who sent Me’ ” (John 5:19-20, 30). No one but Jesus could see the Father and what He was doing. This was a unique and special relationship between Jesus and God the Father.

Jesus’ words in the Gospel of John confirm that He was not taught by rabbis or any other men who practiced the traditions of Judaism. Concerning their traditional education and schooling, the Jews distinctly said that He was unlettered—“having never been schooled,” as recorded in John 7:15. As Jesus Himself testified, He was personally taught by God the Father.

Jesus had direct, instant communication with God the Father at all times. The Gospels record that this special relationship with the Father existed when Jesus was twelve years old, and it had undoubtedly existed from His birth. This is affirmed by Jesus’ answer to Joseph and Mary when they found Him teaching the religious leaders at the temple: “And He said to them, ‘Why is it that you were looking for Me? Don’t you realize that I must be about My Father’s business?’ But they did not understand the words that He spoke to them” (Luke 2:49-50).

As the Son of God, sent to be the Savior of mankind, Jesus had to have a perfect and complete understanding of the Father’s will. If He had failed even once to do the will of the Father, this sin would have brought Him under the death penalty, and we would have no Savior. In order to know the Father’s will in everything, Jesus had to be taught directly by God the Father. No man—no scribe, no Pharisee, no learned sage or rabbi—could have imparted this divine knowledge to Jesus. It is critical for us to understand this fact so that we will not be deceived into believing that Jesus was taught by men and kept the traditions of the Jews.

Appendix C

EXEGESIS OF THE TRANSLATION OF “THE HOLY SPIRIT” AND ITS ANTECEDENTS IN JOHN 14, 15 AND 16

In this translation, the true scriptural understanding of the Holy Spirit is presented. The Greek New Testament reveals that the Holy Spirit is not a person. Rather, it is the power of God, which is imparted as the gift of God to everyone who repents of sin and accepts the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin. Upon true repentance, baptism and the laying on of hands, God the Father puts the power of the Holy Spirit within each true Christian, thereby making him or her His begotten child. This process is called conversion. However, it is not until the resurrection, when Jesus Christ returns to the earth, that all those who have died in the faith, together with those truly converted Christians who are still alive, will be born again. They will be transformed from fleshly human beings to glorified children of God and will reign with Jesus Christ as kings and priests in the Kingdom of God.

In his account of the begettal and birth of Jesus Christ, Luke clearly describes the function of the Holy Spirit as the power of God. Note the angel Gabriel’s message to the virgin Mary: “ ‘And behold, you shall conceive in your womb and give birth to a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give Him the throne of David, His forefather; and He shall reign over the house of Jacob into the ages, and of His kingdom there shall be no end.’ But Mary said to the angel, ‘How shall this be, since I have not had sexual relations with a man?’ And the angel answered and said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit [Greek pneuma agion] shall come upon you, and the power [Greek dunamis] of the Highest shall overshadow you; and for this reason, the Holy One being begotten in you shall be called the Son of God’ ” (Luke 1:31-35).

Just before Jesus Christ ascended into heaven, He told His disciples that they would receive power from the Father: “And while they were assembled with Him, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem but to ‘await the promise of the Father, which,’ He said, ‘you have heard of Me. For John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit [Greek pneumati agioo] after not many days … But you yourselves shall receive power [Greek dunamis] when the Holy Spirit [Greek tou hagiou pneumatos, neuter gender] has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses, both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and unto the ends of the earth’ ” (Acts 1:4-5, 8).

In the New Testament, the Greek noun pneuma, which is translated “spirit,” is in the neuter gender. Likewise, the Greek noun phrases that are translated “the Spirit,” “the Holy Spirit,” and “the Holy Ghost” are always and only in the neuter gender. No masculine gender noun is used anywhere in the New Testament to designate the Holy Spirit, but only the Father and the Son. The use of the neuter gender in every scripture reveals that the Holy Spirit is not a person but the power that emanates from both the Father and the Son. The forms of the noun pneuma that are found in the Greek text of the New Testament are as follows:

1) pneuma spirit

2) to pneuma the spirit

3) to pneumatos the spirit

4) pneuma hagion spirit holy

5) to hagion pneuma the holy spirit

6) to hagion pneumatos the holy spirit

7) to pneuma to hagion the spirit the holy

Exegesis For the Translation of “The Holy Spirit”

The Greek noun pneuma, in all its various forms, is always and only neuter in gender. Likewise, all pronouns that refer to pneuma are always and only neuter in gender. If the Holy Spirit were a person, the nouns and pronouns in the Greek text would have to be written in the masculine gender, as are all the nouns and pronouns that refer to God the Father and Jesus Christ. However, nowhere in the Greek text of the New Testament is the Holy Spirit ever designated by a noun or pronoun in the masculine gender.

It is absolutely incorrect to translate any form or pronoun of pneuma in the masculine gender. Unfortunately, because most translators believe in the doctrine of the trinity, they have mistakenly used the masculine gender when translating the neuter gender nouns and pronouns pertaining to the Holy Spirit. The following five key verses in the Gospel of John that have been incorrectly translated in the King James Version:

1) “Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you” (John 14:17, KJV).

“The Spirit of truth” is translated from the Greek phrase to pneuma tees aleetheias—literally, “the Spirit of the truth.” This noun phrase is in the neuter gender. The pronoun “whom” is translated from the neuter relative pronoun , and should accordingly be translated “which.” If the Greek text were expressing the masculine gender, the masculine relative pronoun would have been used instead of the neuter relative pronoun .

The three personal pronouns translated “him” are incorrectly translated into the masculine gender from the Greek neuter personal pronoun auto, which is properly translated “it.” If “the Spirit” were a person rather than the power of God, the verse would read rather than the neuter However, there is no such masculine noun anywhere in the Greek New Testament. If there were such a masculine gender noun, the masculine pronoun autos would be used instead of the neuter pronoun auto. Translators who know and understand the rules of Greek grammar do not mistake the neuter pronoun auto for the masculine pronoun . Thus the translation of the neuter pronoun in John 14:17 into the masculine personal pronoun “him” is completely incorrect. The neuter pronoun is used twice in this verse: “because it [the world] perceives it [ auto] not, nor knows it [ auto].”

The KJV translation of John 14:17 also violates another rule of Greek grammar. In the Greek text, a noun that serves as the subject of a verse often governs a number of verbs. In John 14:17, the noun phrase to pneuma tees aleetheias, meaning “the Spirit of the truth,” is the subject. Since the noun pneuma is neuter in gender, the subjects of all verbs that it governs should be translated in the neuter gender. In John 14:17, two third person verbs are governed by this noun. In the first instance, the translators have incorrectly translated the third person verb memei as “he dwelleth,” rather than “it dwelleth.” In the second instance, the subject of the verb estai, “[it] shall be,” was not translated, making it appear that “he” is the subject of both Greek verbs.

A correct translation of John 14:17 should read: “Even the Spirit of the truth, which [] the world cannot receive because it perceives it [ auto] not, nor knows it [ auto]; but you know it [ auto] because it dwells [verb memei] with you, and shall be [verb estai] within you.”

2) “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me” (John 15:26, KJV).

The word “which,” referring to “the Spirit of truth,” is correctly translated from the neuter pronoun . In John 14:17, the translators of the KJV had incorrectly rendered this neuter pronoun as “whom.” However, in this verse, they have correctly rendered the pronoun as “which.”

The descriptive noun “the Comforter” is correctly translated from the masculine Greek noun ho parakleetos. While this masculine noun is used to describe a vital function of the Holy Spirit, it does not designate the Holy Spirit, or “the Spirit of the truth,” as a person. A descriptive noun never changes the gender of the principal noun. For example: Jesus said that He is “the true vine” (John 15:1). The Greek word translated “vine” is the feminine noun he ampilos. The use of this feminine noun to describe Jesus Christ does not make His gender feminine. In exactly the same way, the use of the masculine noun ho parakleetos to describe a function of the Holy Spirit does not alter the fact that the Holy Spirit is neuter. Because the Holy Spirit is neuter in gender—not masculine—there is no basis in the Greek text for interpreting the Holy Spirit as a person.

Although the Holy Spirit is not a person, it is in accord with Greek grammar to translate the pronoun on as “whom” because its antecedent is the masculine descriptive noun ho parakleetos, “the Comforter.” However, it is misleading to translate the personal pronoun on as “whom” when the principal noun is to pneuma tees aleetheias, which is neuter in gender.

The last part of this verse has been translated: “… he shall testify of me.” The use of the personal pronoun “he” once again gives the impression that the Holy Spirit is a person. However, that is not the meaning of the Greek text. The word “he” is translated from the Greek word ekeinos, which means “that” or “that one.” As with the pronoun on, the antecedent of ekeinos is ho parakleetos, “the Comforter,” which is a descriptive noun. Although it is masculine in gender, the principal noun is to pneuma tees aleetheias, which is neuter. The gender of the principal noun always takes precedence over the gender of the descriptive noun. Therefore, ekeinos has been translated “… that one shall bear witness of Me” in order to reflect the true meaning of the Greek text.

The translation of John 15:26 should read: “But when the Comforter has come, which I will send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of the truth, which proceeds from the Father, that one shall bear witness of Me.”

3) “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:26, KJV).

As in John 15:26, the descriptive noun ho parakleetos, “the Comforter,” is used with the principal noun to pneuma, “the Spirit.” In the Greek text, the verse begins with these words: ... ho de parakleetos, to pneuma to hagion, o ... The noun phrase to pneuma to hagion, “the Holy Spirit,” is the antecedent of the neuter pronoun , which has been incorrectly translated “whom” in the KJV. Since is a neuter pronoun, it should be translated “which.” If the Greek text contained the masculine pronoun , it would be proper to translate it as “whom” to reflect the masculine gender. However, the Greek text uses the neuter form of the pronoun, not the masculine form.

The pronoun “he” in this verse is translated from the Greek ekeinos and should be translated “that one.”

This translation of John 14:26 conveys the precise meaning of the Greek text: “But when the Comforter comes, even the Holy Spirit, which the Father will send in My name, that one shall teach you all things, and shall bring to your remembrance everything that I have told you.” The translators of the KJV have also used the masculine pronoun “he” in Verse 16 of this same chapter: “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever” (John 14:16, KJV). As Verse 17 shows, “the Comforter” is describing the Holy Spirit, or “the Spirit of truth,” which is translated from to pneuma tees aleetheias, the same noun phrase that is used in John 15:26. Since pneuma is the principal noun, the meaning of the pronoun is governed by its neuter gender, not by the masculine gender of parakleetos, or “Comforter,” which is a descriptive noun. This translation of John 14:16 accurately conveys the meaning of the Greek text: “And I will ask the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that it may be with you throughout the age.”

4) “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come” (John 16:13, KJV).

All six occurrences of the pronoun “he” in this verse refer to “the Spirit of truth,” which is translated from to pneuma tees aleetheias. Since pneuma is neuter in gender, all six pronouns should accordingly be translated in the neuter gender. The first “he” is an incorrect rendering of the Greek ekeinos and should be translated “that one.” The remaining five occurrences of “he” are all subjects of verbs that are governed by the neuter noun pneuma and should be translated “it.”

The correct meaning of John 16:13 is reflected in this translation: “However, when that one has come, even the Spirit of the truth, it will lead [verb odeegeesei] you into all truth because it shall not speak [verb laleesei] from itself, but whatever it shall hear [verb akousee] it shall speak [verb laleesei]. And it shall disclose [verb anaggelei] to you the things to come.”

5) “He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you” (John 16:14, KJV).

As in John 16:13, the first “he” is translated from the Greek ekeinos, meaning “that one.” Since the antecedent of ekeinos is “the Spirit of truth” in Verse 13, both the noun and its pronoun are neuter in gender. The second “he,” which is the subject of the verb “shall receive,” is governed by “the Spirit of truth,” or to pneuma tees aleetheias, and should also be translated in the neuter gender. The verb “shall show,” which the translators of the KJV have rendered as a compound verb with “shall receive,” is also governed by “the Spirit of truth,” and should accordingly be translated in the neuter gender.

This translation of John 16:14 correctly follows the Greek text: “That one shall glorify Me because it shall disclose [verb anaggelei] to you the things that it receives [verb leepsetai] from Me.”

As the New Testament reveals, the Holy Spirit is not a person; rather it is the power of God. All references to the Holy Spirit in the Greek text are in the neuter gender. The use of the descriptive noun “the Comforter,” which is masculine in gender, does not alter the neuter gender of the Holy Spirit. There is no basis in the New Testament for the claim that the Holy Spirit is a third person in a trinity.

Eminent Greek Scholar Refutes Personality of the Holy Spirit

The use of the pronoun ekeinos, “that one,” does not affirm that the Holy Spirit has personality or is a person. The arguments concerning ekeinos, attempting to make the Holy Spirit a third person in the Godhead, are only unsubstantiated theological theories that are not based on the true meaning of the Greek. In fact, there is no place in the New Testament where the Holy Spirit is designated as a third person of a trinity. These fallacious arguments begin with the premise that the Godhead is a so-called “trinity”—a word found nowhere in the New Testament. Rather than seeking the truth of the Scriptures, the proponents of this theory must resort to twisted interpretations of Scripture in order to give a plausible, but false, explanation. However, the Greek New Testament does not teach that the Holy Spirit is a person, nor a third member of a triune Godhead. Rather, it teaches that the Holy Spirit is the power of God that He uses to accomplish His will.

The advocates of attributing personality to the Holy Spirit use several key scriptures to attempt to prove their theory. One verse in question is John 15:26, which reads: “But when the Comforter has come, which I will send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of the truth, which proceeds from the Father, that one shall bear witness of Me.”

In a detailed refutation of their claims, the eminent New Testament Greek scholar and syntax expert, Daniel B. Wallace wrote of this verse: “The use of [a masculine pronoun, that one] here [in John 15:26] is frequently regarded by students of the NT to be an affirmation of the personality of the Spirit. Such an approach is based on the assumption that the antecedent of [that one] is [spirit a neuter noun]: [It is claimed], ‘the masculine pronoun [that one] is [also] used in John 14:26 and 16:13-14 to refer to the neuter noun [spirit] to emphasize the personality of the Holy Spirit’ ” (Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics, p. 331). In Footnote 42, Wallace noted: “The view is especially popular among theologians, not infrequently becoming the mainstay [the only basis] in their argument for the personality of the Spirit” (Ibid., p. 331).

“But this [conclusion] is erroneous. In all these Johannine passages, [spirit] is appositional to a masculine noun. The gender of [that one] thus has nothing to do with the natural [neuter] gender of [spirit]. The antecedent of , [that one] in each case, is [comforter, a masculine noun], not [spirit, a neuter noun]. John 14:26 reads: (‘the Comforter, the Holy Spirit whom [which] the Father sends in my name, that one will teach you all things’). [spirit] not only is appositional to [comforter] but the relative pronoun that follows it [ (spirit)] is neuter! This hardly assists the grammatical argument for the Spirit's personality. In John 16:13-14 the immediate context is deceptive: (‘whenever that one comes—the Spirit of truth—he [it] will guide you in all truth….he [that one] will glorify me …’). The [that one] [in these verses] reaches back to v 7, where [comforter] is mentioned. Thus, since [comforter] is masculine, so is the pronoun [ “that one” is masculine]. Although one might argue that the Spirit’s personality is in view in these passages, the view must be based on the nature of a [comforter] and the things said about the Comforter, not on any supposed grammatical subtleties [concerning “the Spirit of the truth,” which is neuter gender]. Indeed, it is difficult to find any text [in the New Testament] in which [spirit] is grammatically referred to with the masculine gender [because there are not any]” (Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics, pp. 331-332, some bold emphasis and all bracketed comments added).

Wallace added further comments in related footnotes. Concerning John 16:13, he wrote: “Although translations of v. 13 such as that of the NRSV may be misleading as to what the subject of the sentence is (‘When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you…’), their objective is not to be a handbook for Greek students” (Ibid., Footnote 43, p. 332). To paraphrase, Wallace is saying that John 16:13 in the NRSV is an incorrect translation that does not follow the Greek text.

A correct translation of John 16:13-14 reads: “However, when that one has come, even the Spirit of the truth, it will lead you into all truth because it shall not speak from itself, but whatever it shall hear it shall speak. And it shall disclose to you the things to come. That one shall glorify Me because it shall disclose to you the things that it receives from Me.”

Wallace further refuted the notion that personality of the Holy Spirit can be found in the Greek New Testament. In another extended footnote he wrote: “Besides the Johannine texts, three other passages are occasionally used for this: Eph 1:14; 2 Thess 2:6-7; and 1 John 5:7. All of these have problems. In Eph 1:14 [which is the earnest] refers back to [the spirit] (v 13), but the masculine relative pronoun [ he/which] (v.l.) is easily explained without resorting to seeing the theological motifs [of attempting to prove personality of the Spirit] … In 2 Thess 2:6-7 [spirit] is nowhere mentioned; [holding back/one Who is restraining] are often assumed to both refer to the Holy Spirit. But in spite of the fact that there is much to commend this view, it certainly cannot use clear natural-gender passages in support [of personality for the Holy Spirit], nor can such a known crux interpretum [critical interpretation] become the basis for such a syntactical point. [In other words, such an interpretation is contrary to the Greek.] First John 5:7 is perhaps the most plausible of the passages enlisted. The masculine participle in [three that bear witness] refers to the Spirit and the water and the blood] (v 8), all neuter nouns. Some see this as an oblique reference to the Spirit’s personality … but the fact that the author [John] has personified water and blood, turning them into witnesses along with the Spirit, may be enough to account for [the use of] the masculine gender [plural participle — bear witness]. This interpretation also has in its behalf the allusion to Deut. 19:15 (the necessity of ‘two or three witnesses’), for in the OT the testimony only of males was acceptable. Thus, the elder [the apostle John] may be subtly indicating (via the masculine participle) that the Spirit, water and blood are all valid witnesses” (Ibid., Footnote 44, p. 332, bracketed comments and some bold emphasis added).

When the context of I John 5:6-9 is included, it is clear that Wallace is quite correct: “This is He Who came by water and blood—Jesus the Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that bears witness [neuter singular participle] because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that bear witness [masculine plural participle] on the earth: the Spirit, and the water, and the blood [all neuter nouns]; and these three witness unto the one truth [that Jesus was God manifested in the flesh and died for the sins of the world]. If we accept the witness of men, the witness of God is superior. For this is the witness of God, which He has witnessed [through the Spirit, the water and the blood] concerning His Son.”

In verse 6 “the Spirit that bears witness” is translated from the neuter singular participle, marturoun. If John had intended to attribute personality to the Holy Spirit, he would have used a masculine participle, but he did not. Therefore, the shift to the mascu- line plural participle marturountes in verse 7 does not by any means constitute attributing personality to the Spirit. Moreover, if the use of the masculine plural participle in verse 7 did, in fact, attribute personality to the Holy Spirit, then it would also have attributed personality to the water and the blood. However, no such argument has ever been made. Wallace’s analysis of the three witnesses in verse 7 with John’s use of the masculine participle is correct.

Proper analysis and exegesis of these critical verses clearly reveals that the Holy Spirit does not have personality. Therefore, the Holy Spirit cannot be a third person in a triune Godhead. The doctrine that the Godhead is a trinity of three persons is found nowhere in the Old or New Testaments.

Finally, the New Testament reveals that there are only two Persons in the Godhead— God the Father and Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is revealed to be the power by which God accomplishes His will. There is no basis in the New Testament for the claim that the Holy Spirit is the third person in a trinity.

Appendix D

BINDING AND LOOSING IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

Matthew 16:19 and 18:18

The Roman Catholic Church claims that Jesus gave to the apostle Peter and his future successors the powers of binding and loosing so that whatever they would bind or loose on earth, would be bound or loosed in heaven. They further contend that this authority grants an infallible pope the power to bind and loose contrary to the Word of God—thus making the Word of God void—and that this authority was given to Peter by Jesus Christ as recorded in Matthew 16:19 and 18:18. However, an exegetical study of the Greek does not support such claims.

In Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar, William D. Mounce gives a clear and insightful explanation of the underlying Greek text showing that what Jesus taught is entirely different from what many religious authorities assume, teach and practice. He writes, “In some translations of Matthew [16:19 and] 18:18, it sounds like Jesus promised his disciples that whatever they bound on earth would be bound in heaven, and whatever they loosed on earth would be loosed in heaven. In other words, they had the power to bind and loose, and Heaven (i.e. God) would simply back up their decrees. But the matter is not quite so simple; the actions described in heaven are future perfect passives—which could be translated ‘will have already been bound in heaven … will have already been loosed in heaven.’ In other words, the heavenly decree confirming the earthly one is based on a prior verdict [God had already made—“Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in the heavens” (Psa. 119:89).]

“This is the language of the law court. Jewish legal issues were normally decided in Jesus’ day by elders in the synagogue community (later by rabbis). Many Jewish people believed that the authority of Heaven stood behind the earthly judges when they decided cases based on a correct understanding of God’s law. (This process came to be called ‘binding and loosing.’) Jesus’ contemporaries often envisioned God’s justice in terms of a heavenly court; by obeying God’s laws, the earthly court simply ratified the decrees of the heavenly court” (p. 121, bracketed comments added).

Jesus did not give His apostles and disciples the authority to make binding decisions regarding anything on earth that had not already been decreed in heaven. Jesus specifically taught that He did not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets (Matt. 5:17). Therefore, whatever is bound or loosed cannot be contrary to the laws and commandments of God, the revelation of the prophets or the teachings of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ did not give His apostles the authority to loose any of the Ten Commandments or any of God’s laws that are not connected with the priesthood and temple ritual. However, Jesus did give His apostles the authority to loose the religious traditions of the Jews (Mark 7:1-13; Acts 10:28) as well as pagan religious traditions (I Pet. 1:18; Acts 14:8-18). New Testament teachings that were foreshadowed and prophesied in the Old Testament and “bound” or decreed in heaven before Jesus Christ came in the flesh are as follows: to love the Lord God with all one’s heart, soul and might (Deut. 6:4 -6; Matt. 22:37-40); for Jesus to magnify the law and make it honorable (Isa. 52:14; Matt. 5-7); for Christ to die for the sins of the world (Psa. 22; Isa. 53; John 1:36; Rev. 13:8); forgiveness of sin, upon repentance, without temple animal sacrifices (Psa. 32:1-2; 51:1-17; Rom. 3:20-24; Heb. 10:1-17); circumcision of the heart (Deut.10:16; Rom. 2:28-29; Col. 2:2-13); Sabbath and holy day keeping for uncircumcised Gentiles (Isa. 56:1-6), taught by Paul (Acts 13:42-44; Heb. 4:9; I Cor. 5:8); and many others.

Any Christian-professing ministry or church that promotes sin—the transgression of the law—in its binding or loosing decisions is operating contrary to the Word and will of God. Its decisions are simply inventions of men and do not have the authority of heaven behind them. Examples of these are: adding to or taking away from the Word of God (Deut. 12:30- 32; Rev. 22:18-19); worshiping other gods or goddesses (Ex. 20:2-3; I Cor. 10:20-21); endorsing the making and worshiping of idols (Ex. 20:4-6; Isa. 42:8, 17; 44:9-20; I Cor. 10:14; 12:2; Rev. 9:20-21; 21:8); worshiping the dead “saints” (Isa. 8:19-20); exchanging the Sabbath and holy days of God for the pagan holidays of apostate Christendom such as Halloween, Christmas, New Years, Lent, Easter, etc., or any other so-called holy days of the religions of the world.

All binding and loosing decisions made by the ministry and brethren of Jesus Christ must be in complete accord with the Word of God and the teachings of Jesus Christ. These decisions are authoritative because they have “already been bound or loosed in heaven.” As Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me” (Matt. 28:18). All binding and loosing must be based on the authority of Jesus Christ and the Word of God.

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