Every one has their own pre-formed opinion of Christ. I have touched on this before but I think it bears repeating. Christ was God. He came to this earth and took on man's form. He was tempted in all points like we are yet He was sinless. He could not sin, if He could have then He was not God.
What we know of His early years is sketchy at best. We know He was born in Bethlehem. We know His earthly father Joseph and His mother Mary. We know He spent some of His early years in Egypt and Nazareth. At the tender age of 12 He was baffling doctors at the Temple in Jerusalem.
Luke 2:45-47
King James Version (KJV)
45 And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him.
46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.
47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.
46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.
47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.
Then we see Him at 30 entering into His ministry. The next 3 and a half years were so earth shaking that even today 2000 years later He is still a central figure in our culture, our thinking, our laws, and our daily life.
John the Baptist has been paving the way for the Messiah. He has been preaching repentance for a couple of years, a wild man dressed in animals skins, hair and beard untouched by a razor, on a diet of locusts and honey. Never before was a prophet sent to prepare the way for another Person, but never before had we had the Messiah come.
At the river Jordan we have His baptism of water and of the Spirit. This was His announcement party, God Himself christened and announced Him to the world.
Luke 3:15-23KJV
15 And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not;
16 John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:
17 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.
18 And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people.
19 But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done,
20 Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison.
21 Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,
22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.
23 And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,
Luke 3:15-23KJV
15 And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not;
16 John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:
17 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.
18 And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people.
19 But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done,
20 Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison.
21 Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,
22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.
23 And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,
That is all we know of Jesus Christ and the early yrs. We can surmise, suppose, and speculate but it does not matter. What does matter is what takes place the next 3.5 yrs.
Perhaps the most telling of all the parts of Christ's ministry is the times He Himself referred to a prophecy He was fulfilling.
Luke 4:16-21KJV
16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up to read.
17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
Then there was the time that John the Baptist was languishing in prison, about to be beheaded for speaking the truth to the king. he sent his disciples to Christ. and this is the answer Christ gave the disciples of John the Baptist.
Luke 7:19-28KJV
Perhaps the most telling of all the parts of Christ's ministry is the times He Himself referred to a prophecy He was fulfilling.
Luke 4:16-21KJV
16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up to read.
17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
Then there was the time that John the Baptist was languishing in prison, about to be beheaded for speaking the truth to the king. he sent his disciples to Christ. and this is the answer Christ gave the disciples of John the Baptist.
Luke 7:19-28KJV
19 And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?
20 When the men were come unto him, they said, John Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?
21 And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight.
22 Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.
23 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
24 And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind?
25 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings' courts.
26 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.
27 This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
28 For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.
Christ not only healed the sick, gave rest to the weary, fed the hungry, Loved the unlovable, He also preached against sin. Both the sins of commission and the sins of omission. The sins of the physical as well as the mental, spiritual sins.
He told the weak and infirm He healed and forgave to go and sin no more. To the scribes, Pharisees and sadducees He read the riot act in several places. Why? They were making the service of God so unbearable and burdensome to the people that they were causing far more to go astray than they were helping. they had turned their positions to an opportunity for power and wealth. Instead of using their positions to better the people they were getting wealthy and fat.
20 When the men were come unto him, they said, John Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?
21 And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight.
22 Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.
23 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
24 And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind?
25 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings' courts.
26 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.
27 This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
28 For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.
Christ not only healed the sick, gave rest to the weary, fed the hungry, Loved the unlovable, He also preached against sin. Both the sins of commission and the sins of omission. The sins of the physical as well as the mental, spiritual sins.
He told the weak and infirm He healed and forgave to go and sin no more. To the scribes, Pharisees and sadducees He read the riot act in several places. Why? They were making the service of God so unbearable and burdensome to the people that they were causing far more to go astray than they were helping. they had turned their positions to an opportunity for power and wealth. Instead of using their positions to better the people they were getting wealthy and fat.
Matthew 23:26-28
King James Version (KJV)
26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.
28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
Matthew 23:13-19KJV
13 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
16 Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!
17 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?
18 And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty.
19 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?
Now after all this, which is just a partial glimpse into the life of Christ, Tell me how well you know him?
The four synoptic gospels are all wrote from a different point of view about the same subject:
Christ.
Matthew was a tax collector a Jew who paid attention to the Jewish traditions, Mark was a young man, Luke was a physician and John was a disciple of Christ. Hence the differences, the highlights are different due to the personality differences of the writers and their perspectives.
Reading the four gospels are a good thing as Christ was the greatest teacher, best example, and most humble religious leader ever. That is what we would expect of the Messiah. He came not in His own power but in the power of God who had sent Him. However, as you read you will see the real Christ. The one who gave all for the people He loved. He loved All. He went to the Samaritans, the beggars, the blind, the sinners. He did not come to the rulers, or the powerbrokers. He never once told them they would not have problems. He told them of God's love, He told them that they would never be alone.
Christ's character and personality are in full view if you would read the gospels consecutively. Bear in mind the accounts differ due to different writers. Don't let satan or man get you bogged down in semantics but read them for yourself. Not a commentary or an opinion but the Works and words straight from the bible. It will open your eyes to a Christ who is more than you ever thought.
Read and let the Holy Spirit be your guide and you will have a fascinating journey.
27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.
28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
Matthew 23:13-19KJV
13 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
16 Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!
17 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?
18 And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty.
19 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?
Now after all this, which is just a partial glimpse into the life of Christ, Tell me how well you know him?
The four synoptic gospels are all wrote from a different point of view about the same subject:
Christ.
Matthew was a tax collector a Jew who paid attention to the Jewish traditions, Mark was a young man, Luke was a physician and John was a disciple of Christ. Hence the differences, the highlights are different due to the personality differences of the writers and their perspectives.
Reading the four gospels are a good thing as Christ was the greatest teacher, best example, and most humble religious leader ever. That is what we would expect of the Messiah. He came not in His own power but in the power of God who had sent Him. However, as you read you will see the real Christ. The one who gave all for the people He loved. He loved All. He went to the Samaritans, the beggars, the blind, the sinners. He did not come to the rulers, or the powerbrokers. He never once told them they would not have problems. He told them of God's love, He told them that they would never be alone.
Christ's character and personality are in full view if you would read the gospels consecutively. Bear in mind the accounts differ due to different writers. Don't let satan or man get you bogged down in semantics but read them for yourself. Not a commentary or an opinion but the Works and words straight from the bible. It will open your eyes to a Christ who is more than you ever thought.
Read and let the Holy Spirit be your guide and you will have a fascinating journey.
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