The Greatest Love Story Ever Told
JESUS BEGINS HIS MINISTRY
The Greatest Love Story Ever Told
JESUS BEGINS HIS MINISTRY
One day John was preaching as usual. A stranger came to him and asked to be baptized. John looked at Him for a minute. Then he said, “I need to be baptized by you. Why do you come to me?”
For in that one look something in the stranger’s face told John that it was Jesus, the Christ, who asked to be baptized. Although they were cousins, their homes were so far apart that they had never seen each other.
John knew that the Savior did not need to repent. John knew that the Savior had never done anything that was wrong. John did not want to baptize Him, but Jesus said, “I want you to do it. It is right that you should, even if you do not know the reason why.”
Then they both went into the Jordan River, and Jesus was baptized.
When Jesus came up out of the water the spirit of God in the form of a dove rested on His head. A voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
It was God’s voice.
Jesus did not stay around to talk to the people then. He went off by Himself into the wilderness. He wanted to be alone with God. He wanted to think about the new life He had just begun. He had no home now. He had given up His home and everything that was dear to Him in Nazareth. He knew that now He would spend the rest of His life doing good to others, and teaching them how to be happy.
Forty days and forty nights He spent in this wilderness. During this time He was thinking about what others needed and so little about what He Himself needed. During all this time He did not eat. Now at the end He felt hungry. All around Him were smooth stones, shaped much like the loaves of bread which they used in that country. Their loaves of bread looked something like a puffed up tortilla.
The bad spirit of Satan always wants us to do wrong. Satan always wants us to do things we know are not right. Well, the bad spirit of Satan came to Jesus, too. Satan came to Him when He was very hungry, and said, “If you are the Son of God, you can do anything you want to. Just turn these stones into bread.”
Jesus was able to do this. In a few days He did something just as wonderful. But He had been asking God for power to help other people, not to help Himself. He did not turn the stones into bread. Instead, He answered Satan with a Bible verse. The verse Jesus used means: Yes, we need to feed our bodies. But we also need to trust and obey God, because God has promised to take care of us. Satan again said to Jesus, "If You are the Son of God, why do You not throw Yourself down from the high roof of the temple at Jerusalem? God will send His angels to take care of you, for He has promised to do so. They will hold You up in their hands so that You will not get hurt. And when the people see angels taking care of You, and not allowing You to fall, they will believe at once that You are the Christ, and they will worship You."
Again Jesus answered with a Bible verse. The verse Jesus used this time means: Yes, it is true that God has promised to help us when we are in trouble. But it is not right for us to do things that are dangerous just to see if God will help us.
Satan then took Jesus where He could see a long way off. Jesus saw cities filled with people and riches. Then Satan said to Jesus, “All these you can have, if you will obey me. The people will be glad to have You for their king if You will not find fault with their wicked ways. Never mind if they are wicked. Try to please them and me instead of trying to please God.”
But Jesus answered him, “Go away from me, Satan, I will have nothing to do with you. It is written, ‘Thou shalt love the Lord, thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.’”
Satan then realized that Jesus was a man he could not tempt to do wrong. So, he went away for a little while. But, many other times the Devil tried to tempt Jesus to do something that was wrong. The Bible says that Jesus was tempted in every way just as we are today. But Jesus never did wrong. This is why Jesus can help us not do wrong. All we have to do is ask Him. Jesus knows how hard it is for us to always do the right thing. Jesus knows what we need to be able to do the right thing. After Satan had gone, angels came and comforted Jesus.
Shortly after this, Jesus went back to the Jordan. John was still preaching to lots of people. As John looked up and saw Jesus coming, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world.”
What did John mean? Just this: Jesus, a pure, gentle man had never in His life done a wrong thing. However, Jesus would soon die just like the little lambs in the temple service. He would die for the wrongs of other people. After Jesus died the little lambs no longer had to die in the temple. Because Jesus died on the cross the sins of people will always be forgiven if they believe in God, love Jesus, try to obey God and ask God to forgive them for Jesus’ sake.
The next day Jesus passed that way again. John the Baptist was there talking to two friends, John and Andrew. Seeing Jesus coming, John said again, “Behold the Lamb of God.”
This time the two men followed Jesus. Jesus turned around and saw they were following close behind Him. He asked them, “What are you looking for?”
They answered, “Rabbi (which means master or teacher), where do you live?”
Jesus said, “Come and see.”
They went with Jesus to the place where He was staying, and spent the rest of the day there. Andrew was very pleased with his new friend. He was so pleased that he found his brother Simon (later called Peter), and brought him to Jesus Christ.
The next day Jesus started out on a journey to Galilee. His three new friends went with Him. On the way they met a man named Philip. He was glad to go with them. Before Philip left to go with them, he found his friend Nathanael. Philip asked Nathanael to join them, too.
Nathanael did not wish to go when he heard that Jesus was from Nazareth. Do you remember that the people from Nazareth were not thought to be good? So, Nathanael did not think a man from that place could really be the Christ. But Philip asked him to go and see Jesus before he decided. So, Nathanael went with Philip. After talking for a little while, he said, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”
Nathanael was as much pleased with his new friend, Jesus, as the others were. Nathanael was glad to join the little group on their way to Galilee. There were six in the group now. Jesus, John, Andrew, Peter, Philip and Nathanael all became dear friends. They were called disciples, or learners, because they listened to the teachings of Jesus and learned from Him.
On the third day that they were together there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee.
Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding celebration feast. When they got to the house Mary, the mother of Jesus, was there. The celebration feast lasted several days. Before it was over the host ran out of wine. They had no place to get more. What were they to do? In those days, it was not proper for the host of such a celebration to run out of wine. Mary told Jesus that they had no wine. He seemed unwilling to do anything about it. But Mary was very sure that Jesus would help. She said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.”
There were six water-pots (large stone jars) outside the door. Probably they were filled with water. It is hot and dusty in that part of the world. From history we learn that the tops of the jars were usually filled with fresh, green leaves. These leaves keep the water clean and cool. Most likely Jesus told the servants to empty all the water from the jars, because He then told them to fill them up with clear water. This they did. They filled the jars up to the brim. Then Jesus said, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.”
The “master” of the feast was the director of the feast. The servants did as Jesus told them. The governor tasted what they brought him, and said, “How is this? At most feasts they serve their best wine at the beginning, and keep the poorest till the last; but here at the end of the feast they are serving their best wine.”
Yes, Jesus had changed the water in the six jars into the richest wine.
Do you remember? Jesus was very hungry in the wilderness a few days before this. He would not turn the stones into bread for His own use. But at this wedding celebration feast it was different. Now other people needed help. Jesus used the power God had given Him. He showed kindness to others. He did what no one else could do. He showed them that He was God’s Son. Jesus Christ performed a miracle. As far as we know, this was the first time Jesus had done anything like this. But we shall hear of a lot of miracles after this. We shall find that every time He used this wonderful power, during all His life, it was for this same reason – to do kindness to someone. Jesus never used His power to make Himself more comfortable. And, He never used it to make anyone else uncomfortable.
His five new friends were very interested in what happened at the wedding celebration feast. They had known Jesus only a few days. Yet in that short time they had learned to love Him. Now they were sure that they had made no mistake in believing Him to be the Christ, because no one could do such things unless God gave Him the power.
After the wedding celebration feast was over, Jesus and His disciples went to Capernaum. It was a busy city on the shore of a lake which is known by three names; the Sea of Galilee, the Sea of Tiberias, and Lake Gennesaret. It was a beautiful lake. It was thirteen miles long and six miles wide. Boats of every kind used the lake, such as Roman warships; little rough boats used by fishermen; and many other kinds of boats.
Cities and large towns were built all along the shores of the lake. Capernaum was one of the busiest of these cities. Roman soldiers were always there standing guard. Strangers were coming and going all the time. Capernaum was a central place. People often passed through Capernaum on the way to other countries. Also many people came to Capernaum to trade things.
The country around the lake was also beautiful. Mountains and hills sloped down to the shore. On these mountain sides anything that was planted would grow because the soil was very rich. Scattered all around were fields of wheat and groves of palms, olives, figs, and oranges. Also many wild flowers grew around this area. There were lots of different kinds of wild flowers in Palestine. Many of them had pretty colors and were beautiful. A field of these flowers is a wonderful sight to see.
It was a place where Jesus could meet and talk with people of many nations. Later in His life, Jesus spent much time in Capernaum. From this city, Jesus could easily make short trips into other areas in the country. But this time, Jesus only stayed a few days in the city because it was time to go to the Passover Feast in Jerusalem.
Do you remember how delighted He was when His parents took Him for the first time to the Passover – when He was twelve years old? Remember how He loved to stay in the temple? But this time when Jesus entered the temple courts, He was not happy with what He saw. Instead of quietness and respect He found there was great confusion. Money was being changed. Doves and sheep and oxen were being sold. This was happening even inside the temple wall during services.
Jesus saw some small cords which had probably been used to tie the animals. Out of these cords He made a whip. He drove the sheep and oxen from the temple. He also drove out the men who had charge of them. Jesus also upset the tables used by the money changers. There money probably rolled around on the floor. Then Jesus said to those who sold the doves, “Take these things away from here, and do not make my Father’s house a place of business.”
His voice was stern. No one dared to disobey Him. Jesus soon cleared the temple court.
Why did they sell animals in the temple? – Because many of the people who came to worship lived a long way from Jerusalem. They could not easily bring with them the animals needed for their sacrifices. It was better for them to buy the animals in Jerusalem, near the temple. Since only Jewish money was accepted in the temple, money had to also be changed. People from different parts of the world brought with them different kinds of money – different kinds of money [are] used in different countries.
Why was Jesus so upset? Why was He so displeased? It was not because they sold animals. It was because they sold animals in the wrong place. The temple was built as a place to worship God, not as a place of business. There was plenty of room to sell animals outside of the temple. They should have cared about keeping God’s house sacred. That is what God had told them to do. The priests should not have allowed such things to be done. But they did. And Jesus was upset and displeased about it.
These priests were angry about what Jesus did. They felt they might lose some money if the business in the temple were stopped. They had another reason for being angry with what Jesus did. They did not like to have this stranger named Jesus come and take control of things. They felt they were the rulers, not Jesus. So they asked Jesus to give them a sign that He had the right to do such things. He answered them in a way that no one understood at that time. But years later the disciples remembered the answer Jesus gave. They knew what He meant.
Jesus stayed in Jerusalem through the Passover week. The Bible says that when many people saw the miracles that He did, they believed that Jesus was the Christ. But it does not tell us what these miracles were. One person who saw Jesus was a very prominent man among the Children of Israel. His name was Nicodemus. This man wanted to learn more from this wonderful teacher. He was afraid that his friends might find out about his interest in knowing more about Jesus. So, he waited till one night, when it was dark. Then, when no one was watching, he came to the place where Jesus was staying.
Jesus was always willing to teach anyone who wanted to learn from Him. Jesus was very glad to tell Nicodemus about the new life that every person who wants to please God and be a good person must live. Jesus told Nicodemus that because people do not know the best way to live, God sent His Son into the world to teach them.
God has taught us through the Bible that whoever believes on Jesus and obeys His teachings will have life that goes on forever and ever. Jesus told Nicodemus that the coming of the Son of God is like the sunshine. It brings light into the world. And, it shows people what is good and what is not good. But, most people who are doing bad things do not like to have the light of God’s goodness show what they are doing. Instead most people who are doing bad things want to hide in the dark. Jesus Christ is the light and He wants us to do things in the light of goodness.
After the Passover ended, Jesus and His disciples left Jerusalem and traveled through Judea. They traveled until they came to the place where John the Baptist was still preaching and baptizing. Jesus, too, began to preach. At first only a few people listened to Jesus. Soon more and more people became interested in hearing Him talk. Before long the crowds who had been listening to John, left John to follow Jesus, the new Rabbi, or teacher. Jesus did not baptize any of them. But His disciples baptized more than John the Baptist did. The friends of John did not like to have the crowds leave John to follow Jesus. So, they went to John to tell him their views and thoughts. But John said, “It is just as it should be. I am not the Christ. My work is almost done, but his will be greater and greater. You must take him for your master, and believe what he tells you. He is the Son of God.”
Some of the other teachers were envious, too, because Jesus was making so many friends. Most of these other teachers did not like John either. They did not like John or Jesus, because they were losing their students. Their students were following John and Jesus and they did not like it. Jesus knew that these other teachers did not like Him. He thought it was best to leave Judea for a little while. He then left Judea and went into Galilee.
