The Life of Jesus
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
Luke 1
 John was born to “old” parents- Zechariah
and his wife Elizabeth; angel Gabriel
promised it would be a son and to name him
John
 Child would grow to fulfill a specific mission:
“to turn the hearts of the fathers to their
children and the disobedient to the
wisdom of the righteous-to make ready
a people prepared for the Lord.” (Luke
1:16-17)
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 Gabriel
 Visits a
make one more stop in Nazareth
young virgin girl named Mary, who was
engaged to be married
 Gabriel assures her that everything will be alright
 She had been chosen to give birth to a son
named Jesus
 No ordinary child: “He will be great and will
be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord
God will give him the throne of his father
David, and he will reign over the house of
Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”
(Luke 1:32-33)
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 Mary
does point out one problem in her
likelihood of having a child: her virginity
 Gabriel explains that: “The Holy Spirit will
come upon you, and the power of the
Most High will overshadow you. So the
holy one to be born will be called the
Son of God.” (Luke 1:35)
 Mary joins her relative Elizabeth after she
becomes pregnant and the two grew very
close; Mary stays with Elizabeth for about
three months and then returns home
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 Elizabeth
gives birth to a boy and names him
John
 Joseph did not share in Mary and Elizabeth’s
excitement
Matthew 1:20
 He was upset that his fiancé was pregnant
and he was not the father
 Almost divorced Mary over the “scandal”
 Angel appears to Joseph and reassures him
that the child is special and is conceived from
the Holy Spirit
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Matthew 1:24-25
 Joseph marries Mary, but they do not
sleep together after the birth of Jesus-as
order by God
 Joseph and Mary have to travel to
Bethlehem to take part in a Roman census
 Joseph is a descendant of David and must
return to his hometown-Bethlehem- a
three day trip form Nazareth
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 Mary goes into labor while in
 All the inns were booked and
Bethlehem
found
shelter in a manger (most likely a cave is
where Jesus was born)
 Birth might have gone unnoticed except
for some unusual events:
Luke 2:13
Shepherds led to the Christ child by an angel
Return glorifying God and telling everyone
what they had seen
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 At
eight days old Jesus was taken to the
temple to be circumcised
 Man named Simeon had been told that he
would live to see “the Lord’s Christ” (or
Messiah; both mean “anointed one”)
(Luke 2:25-26)
 Simeon realizes that Jesus was the one
and he praises God and blessed Mary and
Joseph
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A
women named Anna recognized the
child; spent three years fasting and
praying in the temple and now spoke out
and told all who would listen that the
redemption of Jerusalem had come
 Travelers, called Magi, headed toward
Bethlehem, saw a special star and were
bringing gifts for “the one who has
been born king of Jews.” (Matthew
2:1-2)
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 The
Magi stop at King Herod’s palace to
see what he had heard
 Afraid of a potential rival he warns them,
“go and make a careful search”
 Magi find the child and give him gifts of
gold frankincense and myrrh
 Magi probably did not arrive until months
or years after Jesus’ birth
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 God
warns the wise men not to return Herod;
they follow
 Joseph dreams to go to Egypt because Herod
will try to kill Jesus; they leave that night
 Herod furious when the Magi do not return
 Orders that all male children under 2 from
Bethlehem and surrounding area be killed
 Joseph, Mary, and Jesus remain in Egypt until
Herod’s death
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 Herod’s
son is on the throne; they return
to Nazareth and settle down there
 Not much is said about Jesus’ childhood in
the bible
 Only story is of a family trip to Jerusalem
to celebrate Passover at age 12
 Not in the group on the way home; Jesus
is found in the temple listening and asking
searching questions
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 Mary
scolds him for making them worry
 Jesus responds:”Why were you searching
for me? Didn’t you know that I would be
in my Father's house?” (Luke 2:49)
 Mary doesn't quite understand what he is
talking about
 Jesus grew obedient to his parents and that
he “grew in wisdom and stature, and in
favor with God and men.” (Luke 2:51-52)
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John 1:1-18
 Different look at the significance of the birth
of Jesus
 John proclaims that the Word of God
becoming flesh
God sent Moses with the written Word, people
responded poorly
God sent prophets to speak the Word boldly, but
prophets were rejected
 Now
the Word had been born into the world
as flesh and bone
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 Jesus
would not only quote words off a
page, but would model them
 Words come alive in context of emotion:
love, pain, anger, dread, sadness, and joy
 Concepts no longer dismissed as
theoretical standards handed down from
on high, but would become realities
proven out in the best and worst
situations of life
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Matthew 3; Luke 3; John 1:29-34
 John is growing up a mature and
impressive personality
 Grows up in the desert and then appears
in Israel
 Becomes a preacher working near the
Jordan River, preaching baptism for
forgiveness of sin
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 Message
was blunt: people should repent
their sins, share what they had, be
honest, act decent towards each other,
and straighten out their lives to “prepare
the way for the Lord”
 Some suspected he might be the Messiah
 Explains his baptism is with water, but
someone was coming who would baptize
“with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”
(Luke 3:16)
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 Outspoken
in criticism of religious leaders
 Put in prison by Herod for rebuking
immorality
 Jesus comes to be baptized by John; John
proclaims it should be the other way around;
Jesus insists he baptize him
 Jesus’ baptism was a the start of a new life:
“He saw the heavens opened” and “the
Spirit descended like a dove upon him”
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 Same
time a voice from heaven: “This is
my Son, whom I love; with him I am
well pleased.” (Matthew 3:16-17)
 Jesus begins his ministry
 Holy Trinity: the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Ghost; these three are one God,
the same substance, equal in power and
glory.
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Matthew 4:1-11
 Jesus is tempted by the devil three times
to divert him to his personal wants rather
than to his mission on Earth
 Devil promises great power and prestige if
he were to switch sides
 Jesus passed each test by citing Hebrew
Scripture
 Devil leaves and angels arrive to help
Jesus minister
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 After
baptism and temptation, Jesus begins
his ministry
 First two disciples sent by John, Andrew who
brought his brother Simon—Jesus renames to
Cephas—translated into Greek as Peter…
 James and John, fishing along the Sea of
Galilee join Jesus as well
 Recruits Phillip and Nathanael.. Who was
skeptical at first, but once he met Jesus he
was convinced
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 The
rest of the twelve:
oMatthew (Levi)-tax collector
oSimon-called the Zealot
oThomas
oJames, son of Alphaeus
oThaddaeus, son of James
oJudas Iscariot
 Disciples
come from a broad range of
jobs, personalities, and backgrounds
 In reality they were pretty “ordinary”
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 Jesus
had up to 72 “disciples”, but the
original 12 were his inner circle, chosen
after a night of prayer and later given
authority to drive out evil spirits and to
heal disease and sickness
 All but one stood by Jesus in the best and
the worst days of his public ministry
The Life of Jesus
Luke 4:14-30
 Jesus was a popular preacher and healer, and
before long he had quite a following
 Returns to Nazareth and begins preaching in
the temple
 At first the people were impressed with
Jesus, but then they became outraged when
he spoke of Elijah and Elisha, and they lived
with Gentiles because Jews were unbelieving;
no prophet accepted in his hometown
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 The
people became so enraged that they
threatened to throw him over cliff; he just
walked right through the crowd
 Most of Jesus’ family didn’t believe in him
 Turns his attention to those who did want
and need help
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John 3:1-21
 Jesus visits with Nicodemus, who wanted
to know what Jesus was teaching
 Nicodemus believes that Jesus could not
do the things he is doing without God
behind him
 Jesus tells him that for someone to see
the kingdom of God they must be born
again
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 Nicodemus
was confused because he
knew that he couldn’t be born again
 Jesus explains that this born again must a
spiritual rebirth, not physical
 He then quotes the most quoted verse in
the Bible John 3:16…
John 4:1-42
 stops at a well and visits with a Samaritan
women
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 Ask
her for a drink and she says Jews and
Samaritans do not share anything
 Jesus tells her that he is no ordinary Jew
 Explains things to her about her personal
life and she soon believes that he is Jesus
John 8:1-11
 A women is caught committing adultery
 The Pharisees ask Jesus if she should be
stoned to death for committing sin (law)
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 Jesus
responds with If you any one of you
is without sin, let him be the first to throw
a stone at her.” (John 8:7)
 The Pharisees leave one by one
 Jesus tells the women to leave her life of
sin
 These stories show that Jesus showed no
prejudice, didn’t condone sinful actions,
did not resort to using guilt or shame
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 Jesus’
ministry reflected his birth, people
involved weren’t limited to any race,
religion, or economic level
 People still needed a little additional
evidence……
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Jesus’ Miracles:
Jesus used logic and reason to defend his
claims, but it was the power of his
miracles that truly punctuated the power
of his words
1. Healed a paralyzed man by forgiving his
sins- considered blasphemy by the
Pharisees
2. Touched a leper to purify him
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3.
Drove out the evil spirits of possessed men
by using only words…
3. Cast out 7 demons from Mary Magdalene
4.
5.
6.
Spat on dirt, turned it to mud, and healed a
blind man… “Amazing Grace”
Turns water into wine a wedding that had to
many guests and ran out of wine
Convinced Peter to fish in “dead” waters..
Caught so much fish that boats almost
sank; Peter was told to catch people not
fish buy Jesus
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7.
Calming the Seas-Jesus and the
disciples caught in a bad storm at sea;
the disciples were terrified they would
sink, Jesus told them they did not have
enough faith and he calmed the seas..
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8.
9.
Walking on Water- Disciples crossing the
Sea of Galilee on their own; Jesus stayed
behind to pray; Jesus begin to walk into the
sea to meet them during a wind storm;
disciples thought it was ghost; Peter begins
to walk on the water as well, but sinks in
fear; Jesus saves him and the disciples
praise him as the true Son of God.
Miraculously feeds 5000 people from 5 loves
and 2 fish. 12 baskets full were left over.
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Turns five tiny loaves of bread and two fish
into enough food to feed over 5,000 with 12
baskets of leftovers
10. Raises Lazarus from the dead In Bethanythird resurrection; John 11:25-26
11. Heals Peters Mother in Law of High fever.
12. Causes Fig tree to wither, because it
produces no figs.
13. Heals Canaanite woman’s daughter who
was demon possessed.
14. Heals Jarius Daughter even though she dies
on his way to heal her.
 Religious leaders begin to plot to kill Jesus
 Bible mentions 35 miracles of Jesus
9.
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Sermon on the Mount
 Teaching session for his disciples and
anyone else who wanted to listen
 Most likely it was broken up with
questions, debates, and tangents that
varied from topic at hand
 Had fresh ideas and ideals that were
unexpected and, quite unorthodox
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Beatitudes (declarations of blessedness):
1. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs
is the kingdom of heaven
2. Blessed are those who mourn, for they
will be comforted
3. Blessed are the meek, for they will
inherit the earth
4. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst
for righteousness, for they will be filled
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Blessed are the merciful, for they will be
shown mercy
6. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they
will see God
7. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they
will be called sons of God
8. Blessed are those who are persecuted
because of righteousness, for theirs is
the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:110)
5.
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 Jesus
called his followers :”the salt of the
earth” and “the light of the world”
 “do the right thing”… turn the cheek, don’t
brag about giving to the poor, praying,
fasting…
 Stop judging one another
 Final Challenge: If they followed him, they
would be a person who built his house on a
rock
 If they did not follow him, they would be a
person who built their house on sand…
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Downfall for Jesus
 As Passover approached Jesus rides into
Jerusalem on a donkey, a symbol of
kingship
 People were coming from all around to
celebrate the festival
 Covered his path with palms and cried for
joy over him
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 Jesus
arrives at the temple and sees that it
has become something of a “tourist” trap
a. Currency exchanges
b. Tax collecting
c. Animal sales
 Jesus
is furious when he sees this activity at
temple: “My house will be called a house
of prayer for all nations? But you have
made it a den of robbers” (Mark 11:17)
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 Religious
authorities dislike grows over
stronger for Jesus after this incident
 Jesus knew what the Pharisees were
plotting and planning against him, but did
not try and stop it
 Publicly ridiculed them calling them;
snakes, hypocrites, a brood of vipers etc..
 Jesus begins to speak of a time when
disbelieving people would be separated
from believers
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 Some
saw Jesus as a menace and a
threat to society, while others believed
that he was more than just a man, and
perhaps more than just a prophet
 At the home for Lazarus, Mary washes his
feet in perfume and then dries them off
with her hair
 Judas, treasurer for Jesus, objects saying
that the perfume could be used to help
the poor
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 Jesus
tells him to leave her alone, that
she will need it for the day of his burial
 At this point Luke says that “Satan enter
Judas”
 Judas goes to the chief priests and asked
what he could get as a bounty on Jesus
 30 silver coin and he began to look for an
opportunity to turn in Jesus
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The Last Supper
 Jesus and the disciples meet for the
Passover meal
 Before eating, Jesus takes off his outer
garment, tied a towel around his waist,
and began to was his disciples feet
 Peter objects, but Jesus responds:
“Unless I was you, you have no part
with me” John 13:8
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 Jesus
announces that one of his disciples
will betray him – 2 days before passover
 Jesus gives thanks and takes bread and
broke it, and said “Take and eat; this is
my body.” Matthew 26:26; takes a cup
of wine and says: “Drink from it, all of
you. This is my blood of the covenant,
which is poured out for many for the
forgiveness of sins… (Matthew 26:2729)
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Jesus’ Arrest
 Disciples argued over who would betray
Jesus
 Peter tells Jesus that he would die for him
Jesus tells him that before the crow would crow
that he would deny him three times
 Jesus
comforts his disciple and prays for
them and tells him he will return to his
Father
 Gives Judas bread as a sign he would betray
him.
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 Jesus
and his disciples go to Mount of
Olives
 Jesus wants to pray by himself and
wanted his disciples to pray that they
would not be tempted of the things to
come
 Three times he checked on them and all
three times they were sleeping
 A crowd gathers with clubs and swords
and Judas appears with this crowd
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 Judas
gives Jesus a kiss and this signaled
the men to arrest Jesus
 Peter steps in to defend Jesus with a
sword but only manages to cut off a
guards ear
 Jesus tells Peter to stop that he could
summon legions of angels if he wanted
 Reattaches The guards ear and leaves
with the arresting guards
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Jesus’ Trial
 Taken to the father-in-law of the high
priest first and then to Caiaphas the high
priest
 Jesus is questioned in a very public
assembly about his teachings
 First answer Jesus gives he is struck by
an official in the face
 Remains quiet until Jesus is asked if he is
the Son of Man
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 He
responds: “Yes, it is as you say. But
I say to all of you: In the future you
will see the Son of Man sitting at the
right hand of the Mighty One and
coming on the clouds of heaven.”
Matthew 26:64
 He is pronounced guilty of blasphemy
 Some spat in his face, hit with fists,
slapped, taunted, and pronounced him
worthy of death
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 The
next day the highest court in
Jerusalem sentences Jesus to death
 Judas tries to give the money back, but
the priests refuse and he leaves the
money in the temple and then hangs
himself
 In the courtyard of the trial,Peter is
accused three times of being a disciple
and three times he denies this; after the
third time a rooster begins to crow
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 “the
Lord turned and looked straight
at Peter.”: Luke 22:61
 Peter remembers what Jesus had said and
he runs outside and wept bitterly
 Jewish leaders take Jesus to Pilate,
Roman governor of Judea
 Asked for the death penalty
 Pilate doesn’t think this Jewish quarrel
had anything to do with him
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 Jews
had no power to put someone to
death and needed Pilate for the sentence
 Pilate and Jesus have a one on one
conversation and Pilate ask Jesus if he is
of this world
 Jesus response: “My kingdom is not of
this world.”
 Pilate finds no reason to kill him
 Declares that since Jesus is a Galilean, he
falls under the rule of Herod
 Herod
had long wanted to meet Jesus
 Wanted to see a miracle firsthand, but
Jesus would not oblige him
 Jesus would not answer Herod question’s
 Herod sends him back to Pilate
 Pilate planned to have Jesus flogged and
then released
 The crowd votes to have a murderer
named Barabbas released instead
 Jesus
is flogged by the Romans and then
dressed in a purple robe and given a
crown of thorns and placed a staff in his
hand
 Pilates wife warned him to have nothing
to do with “that innocent man”. (Matthew
27:19)- she was having dreams
 Pilate seemed to like Jesus and worried
about the confidence and authority that
Jesus seemed to display
 Pilate
tried one final time to convince the
crowd to leave Jesus alone
 The crowd threatened to go to Caesar,
Pilate finally turned Jesus over to be
crucified
 Pilate: “I am innocent of this man’s blood.
It is your responsibility.” (Matthew 27:24)
Jesus' Crucifixation
 His robe removed, clothes returned, and
he was marched to a place outside the
city called Golgotha, carrying a large
wooden cross bar
 Simon of Cyrene carried the cross when
Jesus could no longer manage the weight
 Jesus offered an anesthetic and he
refused to take
 He was crucified with two criminals
 Pilate
prepared a sign that read “Jesus of
Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”
 He was mocked by the soldiers, the crowd
and even one of the criminals
 Took Jesus about three hours to die
 As he drew his final breath, Matthew
describes a series of strange events:
1. Curtain in the Most Holy Place was torn in two
2. Earth shook and rocks split
3. Tombs broke open and the bodies of the righteous
people came alive
Jesus is Risen
 Joseph of Arimathea, a secret disciple
among the Pharisees who opposed Jesus'
death
 Asked Pilate for Jesus' body to be buried
 Helped by Nicodemus who placed 75 pounds of
myrrh and aloes in linen cloth and wrapped
Jesus' body
 Placed Jesus in Joseph’s own tomb and rolled a
large stone across the entrance
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 The
religious leaders asked Pilate to place
a guard at Jesus' tomb so that he would
not rise after three days
 Morning after Passover, Mary Magdalene
and a few other went to anoint Jesus'
body
 Upon arrival, saw the stone removed and
no guards and no Jesus…
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“ There was a violent earthquake, for
an angel of the Lord came down from
heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled
back the stone and sat on it. His
appearance was like lightning, and
his clothes were white as snow. The
guards were so afraid of him that
they shook and became like dead
men.” Matthew 28:2-4
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“Do not be afraid, for I know that you
are looking for Jesus who was
crucified. He is not here; he has risen,
just as he said. Come and see the
place where he lay.” Matthew 28:5-7
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 Women
run and tell the disciples who
some were skeptical
 John and Peter run for the tomb and only
the linen clothes remain
 Mary Magdalene stood and cried outside
the tomb
 Asked the angels why was Jesus’ body
taken…
 Saw what she thought was the gardener
and asked if he knew where Jesus was…
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Answered, “Mary!” and she looked again and saw that
it was Jesus
 Jesus sightings:

1. to the other women
2. To two disciples not of the twelve on the road to Emmaus
Lake
3. To Peter
4. To the apostles while Thomas was absent
5. To the apostles while Thomas was present a week later
6. To a group of apostles who had gone fishing
7. To more than 500 disciples at once
8. To James
9. To a group of disciples who saw him ascend into heaven

AROUND FOR 40 DAYS AFTER CRUCIFIXION
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