Imagine it. The first man and woman lived in a glorious Garden. They had lives of perfect rest and happiness. They never had to worry about having enough food, about bad weather or illness or growing old. It was a world of endless bliss.
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One of the amazing things about the story of the Bible is the way it is grounded in real human history. The places the Bible mentions can be found on a map. The ruins of towns listed by Scripture thousands of years ago are still there.
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When was the last time someone caught you doing something wrong? Did you get embarrassed? Angry? Did you start to argue? Make a joke? Hide? Or do you get sad and quiet? Did you repent?
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The crowds continued to flock to John, the wild preacher who gave his message in the open places, far from the Temple in Jerusalem. As he baptized the repentant in the waters of the Jordan River, the people could see that his bold declarations were full of the Spirit of God, and so they began to wonder who he was. Is he the prophet Elijah come back to life as foretold in Malachi 4:5?
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The Spirit of the Lord had come to anoint the Son of God in a special and powerful way. After Jesus’ baptism, the Spirit led Jesus away from the Jordan and the bustle of ministry that surrounded John. Jesus was compelled to go out to the wilderness and to the silence of utter nature.
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After his baptism, Christ was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to face the temptations of Satan. Meanwhile, the counsel of the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem, the most powerful religious leaders in the country, sent more priests to question John the Baptist.
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The time had come for the most important work in human history to begin...the ministry of Christ. But He didn't go it alone. During His final days at John the Baptist's encampment, John continually pointed out to his own followers that Jesus was the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world. This lit a fire under some of the men and they went to Jesus, seeking Him as their rabbi.
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Jesus performed an amazing miracle for His mom. It was quiet and unseen by most, but a few of the people at the wedding feast understood what happened. The parents of the bride had failed to bring enough wine, and to save them from their shame, Jesus had turned many gallons of water into the fine drink.
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The world of the Jews was being shaken. In the midst of their great, national Passover celebration, the young man named Jesus was turning everything upside down.
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As the ministry of Jesus began to grow in influence, a lot of people weren’t happy. John the Baptist’s disciples weren’t the only ones who noticed how popular Jesus was becoming. The Pharisees were taking notice of Him, too.
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As Jesus made His way through Galilee to tell the people of the region the Good News of the Kingdom of God, He traveled to His home town of Nazareth. They had waited for so many years through history for the Kingdom of God to come.
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We have already learned about the writers of the book of Luke and the book of Matthew. Let’s refresh our memories, and then we’ll go on to learn about the writer of the book of Mark. Matthew was written by Jesus’ disciple, the tax collector. He wrote his book for the Jewish people to help them understand that Jesus was really the promised Messiah of Old Testament prophecy.
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In the early days of Christ’s ministry, He spent His days preaching and teaching in the northern region of the nation of Israel around the Sea of Galilee. One day while Jesus was in Capernaum, He went for a walk along the edge of the water.
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As Jesus and His disciples were traveling to the cities and towns around Galilee, the Lord continued to do His work of teaching and miraculous healing. Crowds came from all over to follow this wildly popular young preacher.
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The times that Christ lived in were very different times from our own. There were no news cameras or newspapers. It wasn’t possible to take a picture with a cell phone and post it on the internet.
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Jesus was out once again walking along the shore of the sea. What a beautiful view with the yellow, rolling hills that molded themselves around the blue, shimmering waters of Galilee. It was probably some time in the fall, but the nation of Israel is in a land where the weather is mild, even in the middle of winter.
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There are few sections of the Bible that are read and celebrated as much as the Sermon on the Mount. It is found in chapters five through seven in the book of Matthew. It contains some of the most beautiful ideals ever written down by a human hand.
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These words are like the doorway to being a disciple. In each verse, the Lord did not give a specific action, like “serving” or “sharing the Gospel.”
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When we read the Beatitudes, we see a picture of the qualities a disciple of Christ is meant to grow in. The descriptions are of a people so full of meekness and mercy that it is hard to imagine anyone would want to persecute them.
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Jesus preached the heart-wrenchingly beautiful qualities of a disciple as the opening poem of the Sermon on the Mount. Then He taught that the humility and dependence of His blessed ones would be like salt and light to the rest of the world.
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