Lesson 1497

(Lesson 1497)(11-09-15) Matthew 4:17-25

"From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him. And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them. And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan."

Today's quote relates how Jesus began to select His twelve Apostles, beginning with Peter first.It also relates how Jesus began to preach.
We should make note that the message that Jesus preached was; "Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.".

Jesus' original message is very important because it is the same message that was preached by John the Baptist; "In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Matthew 3:1-2). It was also the same message Jesus told His disciples to preach: "And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand." (Matthew 10:7). That message, as we will learn in upcoming lessons, was to be preached exclusively to the Jews.

Christianity could not be taught at that time because Jesus had not completed His testament and soul saving sacrificial ordeal.~

Lesson 1496

(Lesson 1496)(11-08-15) Matthew 4:12-16

"Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee; And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up."

In today's quote, Jesus fulfilled Esaias' prophecy and presented Himself as a "great light" to all those in the region of Zabulon and Nephthalim.

Jesus offered great hope to the lost then just as he does today. All one need do is accept the cleansing power of His Holy Ghost through faith in Him

Lesson 1495

(Lesson 1495)(11-07-15) Matthew 4:1-11

"Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him."

Today's lesson demonstrates how Jesus refused the temptations that were set before Him by Satan.

There is a very important lesson in the way Jesus responded to Satan when he said "If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread." Jesus said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." That means there is much more to a Christian life than just caring for our own existence. It means that we should obey everything that God requires of us, in every way, every day of our lives.

Lesson 1494

(Lesson 1494)(11-06-15) Matthew 3:13-17

"Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

We should make note in this lesson that until Jesus completed His sacrificial mission on the cross and ascended back to heaven to be with God, the Old Testament laws of the Hebrew people were still in full effect. To violate those laws was considered a sin. Jesus, being a Jew Himself, in order to fulfill all the commandments of God, was bound to obey those laws just as were all the Jews of that day.

As today's quote affirms, Jesus came to John the Baptist for water baptism so as to fulfill the law that required Him to be ritually bathed, or cleansed before He could enter into His ultimate redeeming mission as a perfect sacrifice the sins of the world. Had Jesus not been baptized in water according to Hebrew law, he would have been a sinner because of His disobedience of the law.

Jesus was not baptized in water to become the Son of God, He was baptized in water to confirm that He IS the Son of God. That fact was confirmed when God said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."~

Lesson 1493

(Lesson 1493)(11-05-15) Matthew 3:5-12

"Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

In today's quote, John the Baptist made it vividly clear that no longer was just being a Jew, or one of "God's chosen", going to be sufficient for forgiveness of sins or as repentance before God. John, realizing that the leaders of the Sadducees and Pharisees were only there to spy on him and to hear what he was preaching, required them to actually show something of themselves and there actions that demonstrated if they had indeed brought themselves to repentance.

John said, "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire'. In plain speak, John said 'I can wash you with water and clean away the "filth of the flesh" but there is One coming, far, far greater than I, who can wash away the sin that separates you from God.

Note that John clearly said that the water baptism he administered merely prepared his brethren for "repentance". John never implied that water baptism absolved anyone of their sins.

The the baptism of the Holy Ghost is the ONLY means by which the sins of mankind can, and must, be cleansed.

NOTE: In every New Testament mention, before the coming of Christ, water baptism was administered as a part of the preparation for repentance. John baptized "unto repentance" NOT for repentance.~

Lesson 1492

(Lesson 1492)(11-04-15) Matthew 3:1-4

"In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey."

Today's quote relates the coming of John the Baptist, and expresses John's precise duty to God. John was to "Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." John the Baptist was simply to lay the groundwork for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, he was preparing his Jewish Kindred for the coming of Christianity.

There are many who believe, because John baptized the Jews in water, the ritual of water baptism is in some way connected to Christianity or the salvation of the eternal soul. In reality, water baptism has nothing to do with either.

Water baptism was a part of a Jewish ritual dating back to Old Testament law and was intended to prepare any Jew for entering a tabernacle or the temple for the purpose of repenting sins, praying and/or offering sacrifices. It had nothing to do with forgiveness or remission of sin.

This will be demonstrated and fully explained as these lessons progress.~

Lesson 1491

(Lesson 1491)(11-03-15) Matthew 2:13-23

"And when they were departed," (The three wise men) "behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son. Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not. But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life. And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene."

Today's lesson relates how Joseph, after being warned by an angel of God, took Jesus and Mary into Egypt to avoid the wrath of king Herod. That action fulfilled more of the Old Testament prophesies. Herod, because he had been tricked by the "wise men" ordered all the baby boys in and around Bethlehem to be killed in hopes of killing Jesus.

When Jesus, Joseph, and Mary returned to Israel, instead of returning to Bethlehem and in order to fulfill another prophesy, went instead into Galilee.~