Jesus performs two miracles today: 

1. He heals a centurion’s servant after the centurion says, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.” Jesus responds, “I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel.” This Gentile Roman officer has so much faith that it makes even Jesus marvel! Jesus is going to marvel again in a few days, but it will be at the lack of faith of the people in His own hometown, Nazareth, which is another reminder that we can not please the Lord without faith (Hebrews 11:6).
2. Jesus shows compassion for a widow who is burying her son by touching the coffin of the young man and bringing him back to life. “Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, ‘A great prophet has risen up among us’; and, ‘God has visited His people.’ And this report about Him went throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region.”

Now John the Baptist, still in prison, starts to wonder if this is really the Christ so he sends his disciples to inquire of Jesus. Jesus responds, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.” Since all of these things were prophesied through the prophet Isaiah, John the Baptist is assured that Jesus is the Son of God sent for our salvation.

Jesus declares, “Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist.” As John is sitting in prison the people fail to recognize his greatness, just as they fail to recognize the deity of Jesus Christ. “For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’” The people find fault in both and do not have faith to believe that they were sent by the Lord — one as the messenger and the other as the Messiah. So Jesus gives a warning to the unbelievers— “But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.” However, He also gives an invitation to all – “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

We end the reading with a sinful woman washing Jesus’ feet with her tears and her hair and anointing them in oil. A religious Pharisee, Simon, believes if Jesus were truly a prophet, He would not let a sinful woman touch Him. Jesus rebukes the Pharisee by saying that this sinful woman did more for Him than he did since Simon did not even give Jesus water for His feet or kiss Him or anoint Him in oil. However, this desperate sinful woman hit her knees at the feet of Jesus — “Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” Then Jesus turns to the woman and says, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” 

In Dane Ortlund’s book Gentle and Lowly, he says, “In the one place in the Bible where the Son of God pulls back the veil and lets us peer way down into the core of who he is, we are not told that he is ‘austere and demanding in heart.’ We are not told that he is ‘exalted and dignified in heart.’ We are not even told that he is ‘joyful and generous in heart.’ Letting Jesus set the terms, his surprising claim is that he is ‘gentle and lowly in heart.’”

Dane Ortlund goes on to say, “And what did he do when he saw the unclean? What was his first impulse when he came across prostitutes and lepers? He moved toward them. Pity flooded his heart, the longing of true compassion. He spent time with them. He touched them… But there is something deeper in Christ’s touch of compassion. He was reversing the Jewish system. When Jesus, the Clean One, touched an unclean sinner, Christ did not become unclean. The sinner became clean… Jesus walked the earth rehumanizing the dehumanized and cleansing the unclean.”  

Tomorrow we will continue to see Jesus rehumanizing the dehumanized and cleansing the unclean, so keep reading. (Matthew 8:5-13, Luke 7:1-17, Matthew 11:1-19, Luke 7:18-35, Matthew 11:20-30, Luke 7:36-50)

Jesus says there will be no reward in heaven for the ones who live their lives with earthly motives and the applause of man, for they have already received all they will receive here on earth for their public performances. Today He teaches us not to be all about the show in three areas of life: prayer, fasting, and money. 

Prayer – “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly… Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

Fasting – “Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”

Money – “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also… No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

Jesus says, “Wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Jesus teaches that you will know who belongs to Him, the ones entering through the narrow gate, by their fruits— “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”

Since the way is difficult and not many find it, Jesus warns that “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” 

Only the person who is drawn by God to Jesus (John 6:44), hears His sayings, and does them will enter the Kingdom  (Luke 11:28, James 1:22-25). Although works don’t save us (Ephesians 2:8-9), they are evidence of our salvation, (James 2:24) which is available for anyone who accepts Jesus Christ as their Savior. Once saved, it is by the power of the Holy Spirit that we desire to live lives in obedience with the Word of God. It is by the power of the Holy Spirit that we grieve our sin when we stumble, which leads us to repentance and a closeness with the Lord. And since the Lord knows the hearts and intents of all, He knows the ones who truly belong to Him versus the ones putting on a public show for approval and personal gain. 

Tomorrow, Jesus performs more miracles and He encounters another sinful woman, so keep reading. (Matthew 6:5-7:6, Luke 6:37-42, Matthew 7:7-20, Luke 6:43-45, Matthew 7:21-29, Luke 6:46-49)

Then Jesus “went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them.” Jesus’ teaching is unlike worldly teaching. For example, Jesus tells His twelve disciples that blessed are the poor, hungry, and weeping but woe to the rich, full, and laughing.

He says, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Jesus wants His disciples to be set apart from the pleasures and empty pursuits of this world. He desires for them to keep their gaze on Him no matter what it costs in this world because the “reward is great in heaven.” Nothing we receive on this earth (riches, fame, security, etc.) come close to touching what is waiting for us in our permanent home in heaven.

Jesus raises the standards for His followers — “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” We are to do good toward all because we are to be a light of the world — “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

It is impossible through our own natural abilities for us to be this light that Jesus, who is the light, is describing. Therefore, Jesus came to live a perfect life and to sacrifice Himself so that anyone who believes in Him will be declared righteous and shine brightly by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus explains that He came not to do away with the Law, that only He can perfectly keep, but to fulfill the Law and the Prophets in obedience to His Father and on our behalf — “For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.”

Jesus says that, “unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” The scribes and the Pharisees have an outward appearance of righteousness; however, Jesus calls His followers to an inward righteousness of the heart, which is only possible through surrendering your life to Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

More teaching from Jesus tomorrow, so keep reading. (Mark 3:7-19, Luke 6:12-16, Matthew 5:1-12, Luke 6:17-26, Matthew 5:13-48, Luke 6:27-36, Matthew 6:1-4)

Over time the Jews added hundreds of man-made laws regarding what people could not do on the Sabbath. The Pharisees are more concerned with holding everyone to those laws than showing love and compassion for the people. However, Jesus, who is full of compassion, ignores those man-made laws by “working” on the Sabbath.

First, Jesus heals a lame man lying by the pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath. When the Jews find out, they seek to kill Him. Jesus tells the religious leaders that He is simply working like His Father works on the Sabbath. Now the Jews are really infuriated because He is not only working, but He is also claiming to be God. “Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him.”

However, Jesus does not back down as He continues to claim to be the Son of God – “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner… For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him… he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”

Jesus explains that He has a greater witness than John the Baptist, the burning and shining lamp they were willing to listen to for a time. Jesus’ Father, the Lord, is His witness!

However, the Jews refuse to acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God. Instead they continue in their pursuit to catch Jesus breaking their laws. So later, when Jesus’ disciples are walking through the fields and grab some grain to eat, the Pharisees call them out for working on the Sabbath. Then Jesus rebukes the Pharisees with a story about King David and the time he unlawfully ate the showbread from the house of God (1 Samuel 2:16). “And He said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.’” God gave the Sabbath, a day of rest and worship, for our good because God is good, and His intent toward mankind is for mankind to experience His goodness.

We end the reading with Jesus healing a man on the Sabbath in the synagogue in spite of the protest from the Pharisees. Jesus will not stop doing good works because of the threats of man. But the hard-hearted Pharisees aren’t going to stop their attempts to destroy Jesus, the Son of God — “Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.”

Tomorrow Jesus preaches the Sermon on the Mount. Keep reading. (John 5:1-47, Mark 2:23-28, Matthew 12:1-8, Luke 6:1-5, Mark 3:1-6, Matthew 12:9-14, Luke 6:6-11, Matthew 12:15-21)

Today Jesus is teaching the multitudes from Peter’s boat. When He finishes teaching, Jesus tells Peter to cast the fishing nets and He performs a miracle by filling the nets. Peter is so overwhelmed by the power of Christ that he falls at His knees and says, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”

This is a common response when man encounters God because God’s holiness and our sinfulness are both magnified. But Jesus came to give His life for us so that we can be declared righteous based on His righteousness and commissioned for the work of the Lord by the power of the Holy Spirit. So Jesus tells Peter, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men”, meaning that God is going to use this fisherman in a mighty way to draw others to Him. We will see the Lord develop Peter over time into a great disciple maker because the God of Peter is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He is also the same God of anyone who puts their faith in Jesus Christ. Therefore, the Lord will constantly be at work in our lives, growing us to be more like Him and equipping us for the work of the Kingdom.

Jesus further reveals His power when a paralyzed man is lowered from a roof into the home where He is teaching. Jesus tells the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven you.” The paralyzed man and the people were probably thinking that the man would be of good cheer if Jesus simply healed his physical condition and said “stand and walk”. And later Jesus tells the man to stand and walk, but not before saying what is most important — that his sins are forgiven. Jesus knows we have a need far greater than physical healing. We need to be restored to Jesus’ Father, the Lord, by a final atoning sacrifice, and that is why Jesus is here!

The scribes question Jesus in their thoughts by thinking, “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Jesus, knowing the thoughts and intentions of all, responds to them explaining that He said the paralytic’s sins were forgiven out loud instead of just saying he was healed so “that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins.”

Then Jesus eats with Matthew, a despised tax collector, and other sinners, which the uptight scribes and Pharisees frown upon. Jesus says to the religious leaders, “I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” So the sinners eat and drink with Jesus (the bridegroom) while He is here on earth. “But the days will come when the bride-groom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days.” 

Jesus knows His time physically here on earth is short. So He explains with the illustrations of new and old garments and new and old wine skins, that He came to establish a new and better covenant and to form the church where Jews and Gentiles will come together as one (Ephesians 2).

Tomorrow Jesus continues to upset the religious leaders by living out His ministry in a way that pleases God and not man. Keep reading. (Luke 5:1-11, Mark 1:40-45, Matthew 8:1-4, Luke 5:12-16, Mark 2:1-12, Matthew 9:1-8, Luke 5:17-26, Mark 2:13-17, Matthew 9:9-13, Luke 5:27-32, Mark 2:18-22, Matthew 9:14-17, Luke 5:33-39)

“Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.’”

Jesus performs His second miracle after a nobleman, who traveled about twenty miles from Capernaum, approaches Him and asks Him to heal his dying boy. Jesus responds to the nobleman, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.” However, this desperate dad does not give up. When he asks a second time Jesus responds, “Go your way; your son lives.” And the man believes Jesus, proving that his faith is genuine. When the nobleman’s household saw that the boy was healed, they too believed in Jesus as the Messiah. 

Afterwards, Jesus travels to Nazareth where He was raised. There He reads in the synagogue from the Book of Isaiah where Isaiah prophesied of His arrival as the One to preach to the poor, heal the broken-hearted, free the captives and oppressed, and give sight to the blind (Isaiah 61:1-2).

The people in His own home church do not believe that Jesus, the carpenter and son of Joseph, is God. Therefore Jesus says, “Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.” Jesus then gives them two examples from the past: 1- Elijah and the widow (1 Kings 17) and 2- Elisha and Naaman (2 Kings 5), where God’s chosen people ignored His prophets. Therefore, the prophets ministered to Gentiles. When those in the synagogue heard all that Jesus said, they “were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff. Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.” 

After being rejected by His own home church, Jesus teaches elsewhere to those who will accept Him. And anyone who encounters Jesus and believes He is the Son of God is welcome into the Kingdom of God.

As Jesus walks by the Sea of Galilee, He calls four fishermen, the brothers Peter (Simon) and Andrew and the brothers James and John, to follow Him. They go to Capernaum where Jesus immediately begins preaching in the synagogue. “And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” Jesus not only teaches, but He also casts an evil spirit from a man and the people are amazed by His power and authority. “And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.”

After they leave the synagogue, they enter the house of Peter where his mother-in-law is lying sick with a fever. Jesus touches her hand and heals her. And that evening, many come to Jesus who are sick and demon possessed. “Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him.”

In the morning, Jesus finds a quiet spot to spend time with His Father in prayer. “And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; but He said to them, ‘I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.’”

“And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people… Great multitudes followed Him—from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.”

Jesus’ ministry expands further tomorrow, so keep reading. (Mark 1:14-15, Matthew 4:12-17, John 4:46-54, Luke 4:16-30, Mark 1:16-20, Matthew 4:18-22, Mark 1:21-28, Luke 4:31-37, Mark 1:29-34, Matthew 8:14-17, Luke 4:38-31, Mark 1:35-39, Luke 4:42-44, Matthew 4:23-25)

Today Jesus has two important salvific conversations with two very different types of people, showing that we are all equal in the eyes of the Lord. However, we are not equal to the Lord, as John the Baptist explains to his disciples.

First we meet Nicodemus, a Pharisee and ruler of the Jews. Nicodemus sneaks away at night to seek answers from Jesus because he knows that Jesus is a Teacher from God. Jesus tells Nicodemus that he must be born again to see the kingdom of God. This statement confuses Nicodemus, so Jesus explains that a person has to become a new creation through the belief in Him as Savior and by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus says that in order for this salvation to be available, He must be lifted up on the cross like Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness; for whoever looked to the serpent in faith was saved, (Numbers 21:9) just as whoever looks to Jesus Christ as their Savior shall be saved – “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

Jesus’ words cut to the heart of Nicodemus, and this is not the last we will hear from him. Nicodemus will defend Jesus against accusations from the Pharisees (John 7:50-51) and we will see his presence at Jesus’ burial (John 19:39).

“Then there arose a dispute between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purification. And they came to John and said to him, ‘Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!’”

John’s disciples are concerned because the crowds are now starting to follow Jesus. John the Baptist explains that the whole point of his ministry is to point people to Jesus, the Son of God, and not to himself, a mere man who is also in need of a Savior – “He must increase, but I must decrease. He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth… The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

Then Jesus has another important salvific discussion with a Samaritan woman. Their exchange is the longest recorded conversation in the entire New Testament. Remember that the Samaritans date back to when Northern Israel was invaded by the Assyrians. The Jews that intermarried with the Assyrians became known as the Samaritans, and they are greatly despised by the Jews who refer to them as half breeds. Any respectable Jew would have nothing to do with a Samaritan. However, Jesus is not influenced by any man-made barriers or prejudices. Jesus sees all people as His Father sees all people — broken and in desperate need of a Savior. 

So Jesus, weary from His journey, sits at Jacob’s well in Samaria when a shameful woman comes to the well in the middle of a hot day (unlike the time the other ladies would get water). The woman is surprised that Jesus, being a Jewish male, would speak to a “disgusting” Samaritan woman. She is even more surprised that Jesus knows she has been married five times and is currently living with a man out of wedlock.

Jesus tells her about the living water that He offers which is different from the water at the well. The water that Jesus offers will result in everlasting life. The Samaritan woman says she knows the Messiah is coming, and Jesus responds, “I who speak to you am He.” So she drops her water pot and runs to town saying, “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” 

In the meantime, the disciples return to Jesus with some food, but Jesus explains that His food is to do the will of His Father. He tells His disciples to lift their eyes and look at the people coming toward them because of the testimony of one lady – “Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.” 

“And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified.” Then the Samaritans urge Jesus to stay with them so He stays for two days, and many more believe in Jesus as the Savior of the world when they personally encounter Him.

We end the reading on a sad note — John the Baptist is thrown into prison for rebuking Herod for marrying his brother’s wife. 

Tomorrow Jesus’ ministry goes into full swing. Keep reading. (John 3:1-4:45, Luke 3:19-20)

The Spirit takes Jesus into the wilderness for forty days and nights. Here Satan shows his mode of operation as he tempts Jesus in three ways:

1. Lust of the flesh – Satan tells hungry Jesus to turn the stones to bread. 
2. Pride of life – Satan takes Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple and tells Him to jump off because surely angels would catch the Son of God. 
3. Lust of the eye – Satan takes Jesus to a high mountain and shows Him all the kingdoms of the world and says all He sees can be His if Jesus will worship Satan.

Unlike Adam, Jesus does not give into these temptations. Jesus’ success is based on His appropriating the word of God with each temptation. “Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.”

When John the Baptist sees Jesus he says, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me. I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.’ And John bore witness, saying, ‘I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.’”

Then Jesus connects with His first disciples who are two disciples of John the Baptist, one of whom is Andrew, and the other is most likely John. Andrew finds his brother Simon and tells him they found the Messiah. And the next day Jesus finds Phillip and tells him to follow Him. 

“Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’ And Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’ Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, ‘Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!’ Nathanael said to Him, ‘How do You know me?’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.’ Nathanael answered and said to Him, ‘Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.’ And He said to him, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.’”

A couple of days later, Jesus and some of his disciples attend a wedding where the wine runs out. At the request of His mother, Jesus performs His first miracle by turning water to wine and saving the wedding party. “This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.”

We end the reading with Jesus visiting the temple in Jerusalem during the Jewish Passover, where He found people using the temple for their trade. Jesus, showing zeal for His Father’s house, drives them out and says, “Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” The Jews ask Jesus for a sign and He says, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The people are confused because they don’t understand that He is speaking of the temple of His body and not the temple building which took forty-six years to build. Soon Jesus will be crucified and rise from the dead three days later. Afterwards, His disciples, remembering these words, will believe the Scripture and what Jesus had said (Luke 24:7-9). Tomorrow we meet Nicodemus and a Samaritan woman. Keep reading.(Mark 1:12-13, Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 4:1-15, John 1:19-2:25)

Today the wise men come to see the Savior saying, “For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him” (Matthew 2:2, Numbers 24:17). And when they arrive at the home, they worship the young Child and give Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, showing that the Lord always goes ahead of us providing for our needs. These gifts will help sustain the family on the journey they will soon take to Egypt.

Now when the ruthless and corrupt King Herod hears of the birth of the Messiah, he feels threatened and plots to kill the Child by ordering that all young males born in Bethlehem and in all its districts be put to death. An angel warns Joseph and tells him to flee to Egypt with his family where they remain until Herod dies (Matthew 2:15, Hosea 11:1). Then Joseph moves his family to Nazareth, a city in the region of Galilee.

When Jesus is twelve years old and his family is in Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover, Jesus goes to the temple “And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers.” Once His parents find Him in the temple, Jesus explains that He is right where He needs to be because He “must be about My Father’s business.” Jesus knows He is sent for a purpose, to save the people from their sins and restore them to His Father, and John the Baptist will prepare the people to receive Him as their Savior.

As prophesied by Isaiah (Isaiah 40:3), John the Baptist grows up and begins preaching a baptism of repentance in the wilderness of Judea. “Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, ‘There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’”

“Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?’ But Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he allowed Him.”

“When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’”

Tomorrow Jesus is tempted in the wilderness and we meet the first disciples, so keep reading. (Matthew 2:1-23, Luke 2:41-52, Mark 1:2-8, Matthew 3:1-12, Luke 3:1-18, Mark 1:9-11, Matthew 3:13-17, Luke 3:21-22)

When Elizabeth hears the greeting of Mary, John the Baptist leaps with joy in her womb and Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth celebrates Mary’s faith and the Savior she bears. Mary then sings a beautiful song of praise, much like Hannah’s prayer of praise she said over 1,000 years ago when the Lord gave her Samuel. Then after about three months with Elizabeth, Mary returns home to Nazareth in Galilee.

When John the Baptist is born, his dad Zacharias writes down that his name will be John and immediately he can speak again. Zacharias says, “‘And you child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins. Through the tender mercy of our God, with which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.’ So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.”

Jesus is born approximately six months after the birth of John the Baptist. However, when Joseph, who is betrothed to Mary, finds out that Mary is pregnant, he wants to put her away quietly because according to the Law of Moses, Mary could have been stoned to death for being an “adulteress” (Leviticus 20:10). But Joseph, being a just man, desires to protect Mary even during her apparent unfaithfulness. So the Lord sends an angel to Joseph in a dream and explains to him that Mary’s Son is from God. The angel says they shall call Him Jesus, “For He will save His people from their sins.”

We see God is at work behind the scenes accomplishing His plans as a decree goes out from Caesar Augustus calling for the world to be registered, forcing Joseph and Mary to travel to Joseph’s hometown of Bethlehem where Jesus is born as prophesied by Micah (Micah 5:2). “So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”

After His birth, an angel of the Lord appears to shepherds living out in the fields and tells them of the birth of Jesus – “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” In haste the shepherds come and find Mary and Joseph and the Child lying in the manger. Then they make widely known the birth of Christ, and they return praising the Lord for all they have seen and heard.

In accordance with the Law of Moses (Leviticus 12), Jesus is circumcised on the eighth day – “And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.” And after the days of Mary’s purification, Jesus is brought to Jerusalem to be presented before the Lord. 

“And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said: ‘Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.’”

Simeon says to Mary, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” Simeon knows that Jesus was born to save the world. However, the gift of salvation will come at a high cost. Mary will have to watch her own innocent, perfect Son be crucified.

Anna, a widowed prophetess at the temple, gives thanks to the Lord and speaks of Jesus “to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem”. Then after Mary and Joseph perform all things according to the law of the Lord, they return to Nazareth. “And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.” 

Tomorrow the wise men visit Jesus and John the Baptist begins his ministry. Keep reading. (Luke 1:39-80, Matthew 1:18-25, Luke 2:1-40)