KNOWING YOUR BIBLE
March 5, 2023: Dear Friends, We will continue our series during Lent on the life of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. As discussed in last week’s blog, Lent is that season of time consisting of 40 days prior to Christ’s Resurrection. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, this year being on February 22, and continues through Easter Day, April 4, representing that day more than 2000 years ago, the day of Christ’s resurrection,
Lent is a Holy time, a time of fasting and penitence, humbling ourselves as we follow Jesus during the last weeks of his life to his crucifixion and resurrection. Return to last week’s blog by going to keeganbooks.com for more information about what this series is about.
We have begun our series focusing on the life Jesus Christ lived while here on earth. Go to the Gospel books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John to read about Jesus’, his birth, life, crucifixion, and resurrection. It would be helpful to choose one of these books to read one page a day during this Season of Lent. Reading about Jesus will greatly increase one’s understanding and knowledge about who Jesus is and what he stands for. By dates, it has been thought that Christ was born in approximately 6 BCE. His death and resurrection are thought to have occurred when he was approximately 33 years of age, sometime in the 28-30- AD time frame. His ministry during his life began when he was approximately 30 years of age. His ministry lasted approximately 3 years prior to his death.
We started on our series last week by focusing on Christ’s humanity, the fact that he was human, just as we are. Review the Bible verses listed in last week’s blog. One verse, Mark, chapter 1, verse 35, states that Jesus awakened very early in the morning, and while it was still dark, went out to pray to God. Reading that sentence, one could surmise that Jesus may have risen early throughout most, if not all the rest of his life, and that he began his days on earth by praying to God.
The verses on Jesus’ rest, Matthew, chapter 8, verse 24, and John, chapter 4, verses 1-6, again demonstrates Jesus’ humanity. In Matthew’s verse was written that Jesus was sleeping in the boat during a storm on the Sea of Galilee. In John’s verses were written that Jesus was tired out from a journey that he was walking to the Galilee area to the North. In that journey he was going through the Samaria Mountains, so his walking probably involved walking uphill, tiring him out. Jesus was tired so he sat down to rest near the site of Jacob’s well. (In a side note, Jacob lived approximately in the 1800-1700 BCE timeframe, so approximately 1700 years later, Jesus was sitting beside Jacob’s well at the very place where Jacob had been). A few other topics that help to recognize Jesus’ humanity are listed in last week’s blog.
In this week’s blog, the focus will be on Jesus’ teachings to his followers as recorded in the New Testament Gospel Books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Some verses will be listed below of Jesus’ teaching throughout his ministry. Jesus taught using direct wording and commands in his teachings, as well as through parables. A parable has been defined in Webster’s New World Dictionary as “a short, simple story teaching a moral lesson”. Due to space limitations, a few verses will be direct wording teaching and commands this week. Next week’s verses will focus on Jesus’ parables.
During Lent, choosing one of the Gospel books to read, one chapter a day, should increase knowledge and understanding of Jesus, who he is and what he stands for. The whole purpose of this blog is to help in learning and knowing the Bible and in particular, learning about Jesus and believing and trusting in Jesus Christ, as our Lord and Savior.
MAY GOD BLESS YOUR BIBLE STUDY THIS WEEK! BIBLE VERSES: Matthew, chapter 4, verse 23; the Sermon On The Mount: Matthew, chapters 5, 6, and 7: Matthew, chapter 15, verse 10. Chapter 18. Chapter 23, verses 1-12. Mark, chapter 1, verses 16-28; Mark, chapter 4, verse 1; Mark, chapter 6, verses 6-13; Mark, chapter 8, verses 34-38; Mark, chapter 10, verses 17-22; Luke, chapter 4, verses16-22; Luke, chapter 5, verses 1-3; Luke, chapter 6, verses 46-49. John, chapter 10; John, chapter 15 and 16.