Today Jesus has 2 important salvific conversations with 2 very different types of people…bc we are all equal in God’s economy!

First we meet Nicodemus, a Pharisee and ruler of the Jews. Nicodemus sneaks away at night to seek answers from Jesus bc 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 He came to die but He will rise 3 days later so “that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” “For God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”

Jesus has a major impact on Nicodemus. This impact is so great that Nicodemus will show up again soon in the Story; once when he tries to defend Jesus to the Pharisees (John 7:50-51) and again at Jesus’s burial (John 19:39).

Next Jesus meets a Samaritan woman. 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. The Jews despise the Samaritans as half breeds.

Jesus, weary from His journey, is sitting 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 had been married 5 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?” “And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified.” That’s the power of a testimony of Christ!! 🙌

Well, we end on a sad note today with John the Baptist being thrown into prison bc he rebuked Herod for marrying his brother’s wife.

Tomorrow Jesus’s ministry goes into full swing. Keep reading.

(John 3:1-4:45, Luke 3:19-20)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

The Spirit takes Jesus into the wilderness for 40 days and nights. Here Satan shows his mode of operation as he tempts Jesus in 3 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 bc surely angels would catch the important 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. His success is based on Him 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!” Jesus is the final and ultimate sacrifice we have been anticipating to come throughout the entire Story! Jesus then meets his first disciples (John, Andrew, Peter, Philip, and Nathanael) and a couple days later they 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 bc they don’t understand that He is speaking of the temple of His body. Soon Jesus will be crucified and rise from the dead. Afterwards, His disciples, remembering these words, that He will rise in 3 days, 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)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

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).

When they arrive at the home, they worship the young Child and give Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 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 12 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 bc “I 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 prepares the way.

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.’”

”When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, ‘You are My beloved Son; in You 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)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

When Elizabeth hears the greeting of Mary, baby John the Baptist leaps with joy in her womb “and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.” Elizabeth celebrates the arrival of the Lord and Mary for her belief. Mary then sings a beautiful song of praise and after 3 months with Elizabeth she returns back home to Nazareth in Galilee.

John the Baptist is born and his dad, 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.”

Well when Joseph, who is betrothed to Mary, finds out that Mary is pregnant, he wants to put her away quietly. See, according to the Law of Moses, Mary could of been stoned to death for being an “adulteress” (Lev 20:10) but Joseph, being a just man, desires to protect Mary even during her seemingly unfaithfulness. However, an angel appears to Joseph in a dream and explains that Mary’s Son is from God and they shall call Him Jesus, “For He will save His people from their sins.”

We see God at work behind the scenes accomplishing His plans as a decree goes out from Caesar Augustus. The decree calls for the world to be registered. This forces Joseph and Mary to travel to their hometown, Bethlehem, where Jesus is born as prophesied by Micah (Micah 5:2).

After His birth, an angel of the Lord appears to shepherds in the fields and tells them of the birth of Jesus. They quickly go to see the baby in the manager and then they make widely known the birth of Christ.

In accordance with the Law of Moses (Lev 12), Jesus is circumcised on the 8th day and after the days of Mary’s purification they bring Jesus to Jerusalem to present Him before the Lord. Here we meet Simeon who the Holy Spirit told that he shall not die before he sees the Lord’s Christ. “So he came by the Spirit into the temple” and he held the Lord’s Christ and said He is “A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.” But Simeon also tells Mary that “a sword will pierce through your own soul” meaning that yes, Jesus came to save the world but that salvation will come through Mary having to watch her own innocent, perfect Son be crucified.

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)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

The Gospel Era is comprised of 4 books written about the life of Jesus Christ by 4 authors to 4 audiences.

1) Matthew – He was a former tax collector and one of the 12 disciples of Jesus (an apostle). His message is primarily directed to the Jews.

2) Mark – He was close with the apostle Peter and cousin of Barnabas, the famous missionary who traveled with Paul. His audience was the non-Jewish Roman Empire.

3) Luke – He was Greek and the only Gentile writer in the Bible. Luke was a trained physician who traveled with Paul on his second missionary campaign. He wrote to the Gentiles.

4) John – He was a former fisherman and one of the 12 disciples of Jesus. He wrote about Jesus Christ to the world.

“Four hundred years after the last Old Testament book was written, the story of the New Testament begins to unfold, around 6 BC.” The silence is broken when an angel of the Lord appears to the priest Zacharias and tells him that he and his barren wife, Elizabeth, who are well advanced in years, are going to have a son and they shall call him John. John will grow to be John the Baptist and he will live as a Nazarite (Numbers 6). “He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

In the 6th month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, an angel appears to the young virgin Mary, who was betrothed to Joseph, with a message: ”And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

Mary questions how this is possible since she is a virgin and the angel explains: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.”

The apostle John speaks about John the Baptist and Jesus Christ. John says John the Baptist “came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.” 💡 That light is Jesus Christ! 🙌

Tomorrow Mary goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth who is pregnant with John the Baptist. Keep reading.

(Mark 1:1, Luke 1:1-4, John 1:1-18, Matthew 1:1-17, Luke 3:23-38, Luke 1:5-38)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

An excerpt from the 14 Eras Booklet by Iva May:

The Gospel Era

Matthew; Mark; Luke; John (Approximately 33 years)

The Silent Era concluded when an angel of God appeared to an old priest and told him that he and his barren wife would have a child “who would turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God,” as the prophet Isaiah had prophesied 700 years ago. When this priest’s wife was several months pregnant, the angel of God appeared to a young virgin engaged to a godly man named Joseph, and promised this girl, Mary, that she would have a child by the Holy Spirit who would save His people from their sins. His name would be Jesus. Mary believed God and gave birth to a son whom she named Jesus.

Jesus lived a sinless life for thirty years as a carpenter. When Jesus was about thirty, his cousin, John the Baptist, the son of the priest, began preaching in the wilderness about the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world and establish the kingdom of God. Jesus came to John and asked John to baptize Him into the Jordan to fulfill all righteousness; when Jesus came out of the water, the Holy Spirit came upon Him as a dove, and God Himself spoke from heaven saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

After Jesus was tempted for forty days in the wilderness and resisted the devil, He began to do miracles. As Isaiah had prophesied, Jesus gave hearing to the deaf, sight to the blind, freedom to the captives, and preached the good news to the poor. Jesus healed thousands, fed thousands, forgave sins, cast out demons, and proclaimed the kingdom of God. He did everything that pleased God, His Father, and He committed no sin, making Him the perfect, innocent Lamb of God, spotless just like the lamb sacrificed at the Exodus.

Jesus called twelve men to Himself and trained them to make followers and to teach them everything He had commanded. Part of Jesus’ preparation for His disciples was to prepare them for his death for sinners. Commoners and sinners loved Jesus, but the religious crowd (the Pharisees and Sadducees) rejected Him. After three years of threats and accusations, these religious leaders arrested, falsely accused, and tried Jesus as a criminal. They delivered to the Roman governor who mocked, shamed, and beat Him, and then crucified Him on a cross between two thieves. Though He had never sinned, He died on the cross as a sin offering, as Isaiah prophesied, “We all like sheep have gone astray, we have turned each of us to his own way, and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (53:6). Three days later, Jesus rose from the dead, just as He had promised.

Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin for us that we might become God’s righteousness. The perfect Lamb of God died and took away the sins of the world. He defeated the devil by His death; Jesus crushed the head of the serpent!

Jesus, Legalists, Sinners, and Women

Jesus Christ reached out to both men and women who were condemned and rejected by the religious establishment. Harlots experienced His forgiveness, demon-possessed men and women were set free, sick men and women were healed, and widows experienced His care. Jesus’ relationship with sinners fulfilled his mission “to seek and to save that which is lost.” Their response to His extravagant love was demonstrated on numerous occasions, such as when women washed his feet and dried them with their hair or when they poured expensive perfume upon His feet. Women were the first ‘evangelists’ carrying the good news of His resurrection to his disciples.

Jesus reached out to the ‘sinners’ of His day. While Solomon had said, “There is not a just man on the earth who does not sin,” the Jews considered certain occupations (such as tax-collectors) and certain types of people (lepers, harlots) to be sinners. Jesus reached out to these people, ministered to them, preached the good news of salvation to them, and even ate with them. When the religious crowd criticized Him for these acts, He responded, “I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

At the same time, He regularly scolded those who believed that they were righteous through their works or that they did not need a Savior because of their status. These legalists (people who believe that they can achieve or maintain righteousness through works) received Jesus’ most fearsome condemnation because they saw themselves as better than others. When Jesus healed the man born blind, He rejoiced that those who are blind see, but sorrowed that those who think they see are blind. The legalists who heard Him asked, “Are we blind also?” He responded, “If you would say you were blind, you would see; but because you say, ‘we see,’ your sin remains” (John 9:41).

Jesus invested much of his last eighteen months preparing his disciples for his death and resurrection. He commissioned them to take the good news of Jesus Christ to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the world.

What does the Gospel Era reveal about God?

God Speaks

• Every promise and picture of redemption given by God throughout the Old Testament is completely fulfilled by Jesus Christ.

God Acts

• Jesus heals people of their diseases, delivers them from demons, forgives their sin, and fulfills every Messianic promise.

• Jesus by His death seeks and saves all that was lost in Adam’s fall.

• God permits those in authority to crucify Jesus Christ and He raises Him from the dead.

God Reveals

• God may take a long time to fulfill His promises, but He always keeps them.

• God demands a payment for sin, but He also provides the payment that He demands.

• God uses the wickedness of man to accomplish His redemptive purposes.

• Legalists refuse to come to God His way. Theirs is a works- based righteousness.

• Sinners who recognize their need of redemption come to Jesus and find forgiveness in Him and new life in Him.