Following
Christ Through The Gospels
Bible Study I
Jesus, along with his brothers and sisters (cf.
Mt. 12:46,46; 13:55,56), grew up in the Galilean town of
Nazareth.
Since no mention is made of His father, Joseph, it is generally understood that
he has died. Mary, however, plays an integral role in the upbringing of the
family. In His formative years the Lord Jesus worked as a carpenter (Mk. 6:3),
but undoubtedly the study of the Word of God was His priority (cf. Lk.2:46ff.).
His ministry began not in the crowded temple
area of Jerusalem but in the wilderness beyond Jordan (Jn. 1:28) at
Bethabara (‘place of crossing’). There John the Baptist introduced
Him as “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (Jn. 1:29).
Jesus then, “led by the Holy Spirit” (Mt. 4:1;
Mk. 1:12; Lk. 4:1), travelled south-west into the wilderness where He was
tempted by the Devil. After forty days He journeyed to His
home-territory of Galilee and immediately began to preach the Gospel. The
‘carpenter-turned-preacher’ began to have a profound effect (Lk. 4:14,15). Note,
too, that He “returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee”. He went to His
own people (Jn. 1:11) and He taught in the synagogues of Galilee. How
important it is to begin our witness for God at home!
He then travelled to the town of
Capernaum
which He chose to use as the base of operations for His ministry in Galilee (Mt.
4:13). Teaching in the synagogue (Mark 1:21) and private homes (Mark 2:1) was
basic to His work there, but the miracles performed there appear to have
precipitated the controversy and opposition.
What exactly did Jesus preach and teach to His
countrymen? Remember that He would have known many of them personally, for He
had grown up in the area. Nonetheless, He preached the Gospel of repentance (Mt.
4:17) in such a way that His countryfolk were surprised at the depth of His
preaching (Mk. 1:22; Lk. 4:32).
Where is the first place that we find Christ
having to deal with someone? … in the synagogue, along with the religious
people of the town. I wonder for how long this man (Mk. 1:23; Lk. 4:33) had
been frequenting this worship-place of the Jews? I wonder if this man had ever
before acted like this, or was it because of the presence of the Lord Jesus
Christ? We discover that this man is demon-possessed and the demons
tremble in the presence of Christ. “Let us alone”, they begged, … and they
knew exactly Who the preacher was, “Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy
us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.” They hate Him and they fear
Him! Jesus Christ is the only Answer to the evil that encapsulates our world! He
became an ‘overnight sensation’.
In the opening chapters of the Gospels we
quickly discover Jesus’ daily pattern, - rising up early to pray (Mk. 1:35) in
order that He would be suitably equipped to preach the Gospel of Redeeming
Grace, “Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for
therefore came I forth” (Mk. 1:38).
Great crowds followed Him, but in a
particular way He called unto Himself the disciples. It was Andrew
that made the beautiful discovery and shared it with his brother Simon Peter,
“We have found the Messiah, which is, being interpreted, the Christ”
(Jn.
1:41). Peter, the extrovert, marvelled at the power of Christ on the first
fishing expedition and solemnly acknowledged His Lordship (Lk. 5:8). As well as
the four fishermen, - James and John from Capernaum, Andrew and Peter
from Bethsaida,
- there was also Philip and Nathanael, the latter at first being
difficult to impress at Nazareth’s capability to produce anything of any worth
(Jn.
1:46). As Jesus travelled through Galilee He met Matthew, “sitting at the
receipt of custom” and He called him into His service (Mt. 9:9) Another
disciple, Simon, was a Zealot. Judas Iscariot was the only
one of the disciples that belonged to the same Israelite tribe as Jesus, - the
tribe of Judah.
In
the Galilean town of Cana
He changed the water into wine and then travelled to
Jerusalem
for the Jewish Passover. While in the
Temple
He overturned the traders’ tables (Jn. 2:14-16) in fulfilment of Jer. 7:11. Even
in the religious capital during the most religious festival He made His mark (Jn.
2:23-25). In the darkness of the night He met Nicodemus, who along with
some of his fellow-Pharisees, had come to the conclusion that Jesus was “a
teacher come from God” (Jn. 3:2).
Jesus then journeyed northwards, in the
direction of Galilee. Normally the Jews crossed into an area known as the
Decapolis
(“ten cities”, Mt. 4:25; Mk. 5:20; 7:31) so that they would avoid travelling
through the ceremonially unclean countryside of
Samaria.
Sychar, in Samaria, was watered by Jacob’s well. However, not a lot of
love was lost between the Jews and the Samaritans due to events
subsequent to 721 B.C.. Yet, God visited Samaria and many of its
inhabitants believed on Christ (Jn. 4:39).
After a two-day ‘stop-over’ in Samaria Jesus
continued on His journey to Galilee. On revisiting Galilee He found the people
were still enthusiastic towards Him. Again He went to Cana and healed the child
of a nobleman (Jn. 4:46ff.). However, we meet with His frustrations regarding
the shallowness of the people’s faith (Jn. 4:48).
On His second visit to Jerusalem, - on the
Sabbath day, - He visited the pool of
Bethesda and worked a miracle of
healing that was not appreciated by the Pharisees. In fact they wanted to
put Him to death (Jn. 5:16).
On returning to Galilee His popularity remained
high. People came from a wide area to be healed and to hear Him preach (Mt.
4:23-25).
