Jesus was in Judea, the southern region of the nation of Israel, with His disciples. The Feast of Tabernacles had past, but after all that Jesus said and did during the Feast, the opposition against Him had greatly intensified.
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The seventy disciples journeyed out to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ to the towns and villages of Judea. Can you picture them? What would happen? Would they be accepted and welcomed? Would they be silenced?
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The Pharisees and Scribes continued to plot against Jesus. They sought to trap Him with questions so they could silence Him. Meanwhile, Jesus continued to preach the Good News to the people and bring healing to the broken.
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As Jesus continued to preach, He kept untwisting the horrible distortions and lies that kept the people living in fear and false belief. How offensive it must have been to Him that these lies were being told about His Heavenly Father!
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Jesus had confronted the Pharisees and religious leaders over and over again for more than two and a half years. It was becoming ever more clear that their hearts were not growing softer and more ready to accept their Savior.
Read MoreThroughout time, there have been those who do not care about Truth. Instead of trying to make Truth more clear, they use it and twist it for their own power and purpose. As Jesus continued to teach and preach, this what He said about these people: “‘All who ever came before Me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.’”
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As Jesus told a story about a Good Shepherd (see lessons 133 and 134), His listeners understood that He was talking about Himself. They also knew He was claiming to be the Messiah.
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Around that time, some Pharisees came to Jesus. A lot of the religious leaders wanted to see Jesus dead, but these men wanted to protect Him. They warned Him that King Herod wanted to kill Him.
Read MoreThe Pharisees were looking for a way to accuse Jesus. If only He would do something that they could use against Him…if only they could get Him to break the Law.
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Jesus sat at the table of a powerful Pharisee. The influential, honored religious men of the region had joined them. Normally, an invitation to dinner is meant to be a sign of friendship, but in this case, it was quite the opposite.
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As Jesus went around Perea proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom of God, great crowds began to follow Him wherever He went. A great line of hostility had been drawn by the most powerful religious leaders in Jerusalem against Jesus, but He was still the most popular teacher in the nation.
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Sometimes when we read about the life and words of the Lord Jesus, He can seem wild and untamed. He is unpredictable. He does what we would never expect.
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Sometimes it is hard to accept Truth...especially if it goes against everything we thought we were fighting for.The religious leaders were upset at Jesus again. As Christ journeyed across the countryside, He spent a lot of His time with sinners and tax collectors, and they didn't like it.
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As Jesus continued to travel through Perea on His way to Jerusalem, He gave His disciples more lessons about what it meant to follow Him. His time was growing short, and He knew these men would be the ones to carry on His message after He was gone.
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Jesus and His disciples made their way towards Jerusalem from the region of Perea. Jerusalem was a dangerous place for Him.
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Jesus was on His way to Bethany with His disciples. Bethany was only about two miles from Jerusalem, the capitol city where the religious leaders were plotting to have Jesus killed. Going anywhere near Jerusalem was a dangerous decision…except it wasn’t.
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Jesus had traveled throughout the entire nation of Israel, from His early days in the north in Galilee to His proclamation in the south through Judea and Perea. The time had come for Him to take His final journey down to Jerusalem.
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The Pharisees of Jesus’ time studied the Old Testament, and so they knew many wonderful truths from it. They also had many questions because the Old Testament had left many mysteries. They believed that God was going to come in power to establish the nation of Israel in a special, powerful way.
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