"You have to work hard to offend Christians. By nature, Christians are the most forgiving, understanding, and thoughtful group of people I've ever dealt with. They never assume the worst. They appreciate the importance of having different perspectives. They're slow to anger, quick to forgive, and almost never make rash judgments or act in anything less than a spirit of total love . . . No, wait--I'm thinking of Labrador retrievers!" David Learn, 1998

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Who is This Man? (3rd of 12) JESUS: HIS WORDS

                                JESUS: HIS WORDS 

               "No one ever spoke the way this man does!"
                                               Roman officers sent to arrest Jesus.

     From our first look at Jesus, he seems like a perfectly normal person. He was born, he got tired and slept, got hungry and ate, wept, got angry and distressed and grieved. He had a flesh-and-blood body like anyone else. People in his hometown of Nazareth described him as "the carpenter's son" or "Mary's son" with brothers and sisters they knew by name.
     In other words, he was fully human.
     BUT--something was different about him. Let's look at some of the things he said.

1. What did Jesus claim about his origin?
     a. Where did he claim to have come from? John 6:38a 
     b. Who did he say had sent him? John 8:42
     c. What did he claim was this person's relationship to him? Luke 2:49 (when 12 years old); John 2:16.   (Both verses are speaking of the temple in Jerusalem)
     d. For what purpose did Jesus say he was sent into the world? John 6:38 
     e. What did he claim was the will of the one who sent him? John 6:40  
    
2. Whose words did Jesus claim he spoke?
     a. John 7:16
     b. John 8:28b 
     c. John 14:24

3. What did Jesus claim about himself?
    a. John 6:35
    b. John 8:12
    c. John 10:9
    d. John 10:11 
    e. John 11:25
    f.  John 14:6
    g. John 15:1

4. How did the general public react to his words? Mark 12:37 (One translation says "The common people heard him gladly.")

5. What did he call the religious leaders? John 8:44 and Matthew 23:27-28 How did they react to his words? John 8:58-59


6. Why were people so affected by his words? Matthew 7:28-29

7. List some of the subjects he spoke with authority about:
     a. The future Matthew 24:3-14 (actually all of chapters 24 and 25!)
     b. Heaven Matthew 25:31-40; John 14:1-4
     c. Hell Matthew 25:41-46
     d. Eternal life John 17:3 (in prayer to his Father); John 10:28


8. What would be your reaction if one of your friends or relatives made these claims about him/herself? Based on this lesson, WHO IS THIS MAN?

(To be continued January 23) 


Today I am thankful for the "words in red."

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