The Person and Work of Jesus Christ by Rev. Mark Perkins Person and Work of Christ ii The Person and Work of Jesus Christ Table of Contents Historical Introduction.............................................................................................................. 1 Rome at the Time of Christ ..................................................................................................... 11 The Four Gospels..................................................................................................................... 13 Jesus Christ in Eternity Past ................................................................................................... 22 The Genealogy of Christ .......................................................................................................... 22 Chronology of the Life of Christ .............................................................................................. 45 The Birth of John the Baptist .................................................................................................. 46 The Song of Mary .................................................................................................................... 50 The Birth of Christ ................................................................................................................... 53 The Night Before Christmas .................................................................................................... 54 Christ and the Shepherds........................................................................................................ 57 The Circumcision and Presentation of Christ.......................................................................... 59 The Visit of the Magi ............................................................................................................... 63 The Flight To Egypt and Return to Israel................................................................................ 64 The Early Life of Christ ............................................................................................................ 66 The Event at the Temple ......................................................................................................... 67 Jesus’ Young Adulthood.......................................................................................................... 72 Preparing the Way of the Lord (Isaiah 40)............................................................................. 74 Jesus and John the Baptist ..................................................................................................... 75 The Wilderness Temptation of Christ...................................................................................... 84 Jesus’ First Followers .............................................................................................................. 93 The Wedding at Cana of Galilee .............................................................................................. 96 The Divine Guidance of Jesus Christ ..................................................................................... 101 The First Cleansing of the Temple......................................................................................... 104 Nicodemus and Christ ........................................................................................................... 109 The Accession of John the Baptist ........................................................................................ 129 The Samaritan Woman.......................................................................................................... 134 Jesus’ Galilean Ministry......................................................................................................... 144 Ministry and Rejection at Nazareth ...................................................................................... 148 The Official Calling of the Disciples....................................................................................... 154 The Twelve Disciples ............................................................................................................. 155 Teaching in the Synagogue of Capernaum ........................................................................... 163 The Healing of Peter’s Mother in Law ................................................................................... 166 The Second Recall of the Four Disciples ............................................................................... 168 Cleansing of a Leper.............................................................................................................. 170 Person and Work of Christ iii The Forgiving and Healing of a Paralytic .............................................................................. 172 The Call of Matthew .............................................................................................................. 175 Matthew's Banquet for Christ ............................................................................................... 175 The Dispensational Change................................................................................................... 178 John Chapter 5 ...................................................................................................................... 184 Jerusalem.............................................................................................................................. 184 Sabbath Review .................................................................................................................... 186 John 5:19-47 Outline ............................................................................................................ 190 Another Sabbath Controversy............................................................................................... 196 Healing on the Sabbath......................................................................................................... 200 Transition to the Sermon on the Mount................................................................................ 204 The Beatitudes ...................................................................................................................... 207 Waiting for the Kingdom....................................................................................................... 211 Christ and the Law of Moses ................................................................................................. 215 The Law in the Kingdom of Christ......................................................................................... 217 Oaths ..................................................................................................................................... 226 Judicial Punishment .............................................................................................................. 228 Love Your Enemies................................................................................................................ 233 Invisible Impact of Christians............................................................................................... 237 The Lord’s Prayer .................................................................................................................. 240 Fasting – Christ’s Comment .................................................................................................. 246 Grace Provision ..................................................................................................................... 247 Judge Not .............................................................................................................................. 258 Sermon on the Mount – Conclusion ...................................................................................... 270 Christ and the Centurion....................................................................................................... 282 The Raising of the Widow’s Son............................................................................................ 286 Christ on John the Baptist..................................................................................................... 288 The Woes Upon Chorazin and Bethsaida .............................................................................. 301 The Easy Yoke ....................................................................................................................... 311 The Sinful Woman Forgiven .................................................................................................. 320 The Women’s Auxiliary.......................................................................................................... 331 Christ Casting Out Demons ................................................................................................... 334 The Demand For a Sign Refused ........................................................................................... 348 Jesus’ Mother and Brothers .................................................................................................. 356 Parables, An Introduction ..................................................................................................... 360 Parable of the Sower............................................................................................................. 361 Parable of the Seed ............................................................................................................... 374 Parable of the Tares .............................................................................................................. 376 Parable of the Mustard Seed................................................................................................. 382 Person and Work of Christ iv The Remaining Parables ....................................................................................................... 383 Calming the Storm ................................................................................................................ 396 The Demons and the Swine................................................................................................... 401 The Healing of Jairus’ Daughter............................................................................................ 411 Healing Incidents .................................................................................................................. 423 Christ Returns to Nazareth ................................................................................................... 426 The Final Galilean Ministry.................................................................................................... 431 The Commissioning of the Twelve ........................................................................................ 434 Herod and John the Baptist .................................................................................................. 457 The Beheading of John the Baptist ....................................................................................... 467 Jesus’ Withdrawal from Galilee ............................................................................................ 473 The Feeding of the Five Thousand ........................................................................................ 475 Person and Work of Christ 1 Gal 4:45, "But when the fullness of time had Historical Introduction come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born John 1:15, "In the beginning was the Word, and under law, to redeem those under law, that we the Word was with God, and the Word was God. might receive the full rights of sons." He was with God in the beginning. Know from the beginning that God's timing is Through him all things were made; without him always right, and that He sent His Son at just nothing was made that has been made. the right moment in human history. In him was life, and that life was the light of READ Isaiah 52:1353:12 men. Know from the beginning that the life of the The light shines in the darkness, but the Son of God was predicted for many hundreds darkness has not understood it." of years, and know that He had a destiny of Know from the beginning that Jesus was and is sorrow and a destiny of glory. and forever will be the Son of God. Dramatis Personae for the Opening Act Luke 1:14, "Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled Mary: a young virgin, who is betrothed to Joseph, among us, a carpenter. They are residents of Nazareth, a just as they were handed down to us by those small town in the hill country of Galilee; who from the first were eyewitnesses and Elizabeth: an older woman of the hill country of servants of the word. Judah, not far from Jerusalem, and Mary's cousin; Therefore, since I myself have carefully her husband Zechariah, a priest in the division of investigated everything from the beginning, it Abijah; seemed good also to me to write an orderly Wise men from the East; account for you, most excellent Theophilus, Shepherds near Bethlehem; so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught." Gabriel, an angel; Know from the beginning that this is the factual An anonymous angel; account of the Son of God, that this is the most Simeon, a righteous man who waits for the widely documented life and times in history. consolation of Israel; 1 John 1:14, "That which was from the Anna, a prophetess more than a hundred years of beginning, which we have heard, which we have age, and a widow for eighty four of those years a seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and very pious woman; our hands have touched this we proclaim Herod, the king over the Roman province of Judea concerning the Word of life. an evil man full of ambition. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which HEROD THE GREAT was with the Father and has appeared to us. Herod in many ways personifies the trouble in We proclaim to you what we have seen and Israel at the time of Christ. For a long time, heard, so that you also may have fellowship with hundreds of years, the Jews had lived under the us. And our fellowship is with the Father and control of one nation or another, and they longed with his Son, Jesus Christ. to be truly autonomous. It seemed like whatever We write this to make our joy complete." empire had the upper hand in history would rule them. Know from the beginning that this factual account changes lives. It has changed mine, and If it wasn't the Babylonians, then it was the it will change yours if you will listen and Persians, when the Persians took over. If it wasn't believe. the Persians, it was the Greeks, when Alexander came rumbling through the ancient near east. If it Person and Work of Christ 2 wasn't Alexander, it was the Romans, after the It is no wonder, then, there was a great fascination death of Alexander and the disintegration of his in the nation of Israel with the prophecies about empire. the Messiah, The one who would come and reestablish the greatness of their kingdom and The Jews still understood that they were a holy their people. people, set apart for God. They always remembered that, if nothing else. They rankled A man who would rise up and smite their enemies under the rule of Rome, and it especially rubbed and make them a free people once again. them wrong that Herod, the so-called Herod the From time to time a fairly great and famous man Great had power over them. would rise up, and there would be some Herod was worse than a Gentile; he was a half excitement about the possibility of his being the Jewish Idumean, a descendant of Esau, a wild Messiah. desert dwelling type. The Jews considered them Of course, things would quiet down when he with no small amount of prejudice. turned out to be quite human, and the slavery of To make matters worse, Herod was hardly a model Israel droned on and on. human being. He has been called a monster one After a time there was even a certain amount of who was crafty and cruel, jealous and vain and cynicism about the whole deal. always quick to seek revenge when wronged. The same phenomenon exists today with the He came to the throne over the Roman province of fascination about the end times and the return of Judea through cunning and manipulation of Marc Christ. Antony. Herod tried bribing the Jews, so that they would He had nine or ten wives. Even the historians lost like him, and he could view himself as a count after a while. successful ruler. On the smallest of suspicion he had even his Julius Caesar had given Herod a fantastic and truly favorite wife, Mariamne, put to death, along with royal inaugural celebration back in 37 B.C., when her sons Alexander and Aristobulus. Herod took the throne. He always longed for that Even while on his own deathbed, just days before past glory, when in fact the traditional Roman he died he had his own son, his flesh and blood warning of "sic transit gloria mundi" applied to Antipater put to death. him more than any other. The bribes came in the form of a building program that was the very rival Caesar Augustus was heard to say, "It is better to of Solomon's. be Herod's hog than his own son!" He built monuments and buildings in the Holy Again at his deathbed he ordered all the principle Land, and even rebuilt their temple in magnificent men in Israel to be rounded up and placed in the fashion, topping it with a golden dome. local stadium, where they could be surrounded by his soldiers and then slain when he died. The • The rebuilding of the Temple was much like the reason: so that there would be great mourning at building of the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California. his death. • More was added every year. A higher roof here, It must have been difficult for the Jews to read the an annex there all very magnificent. Scriptures, and to know that their destiny was so • When Herod died, his relatives took over the great, and yet have the reality so different. folly and the never ending program continued Understand, however, that this was Divine until it was finally finished in 66 AD, some 87 Judgment on the nation of Israel; that they had years after it was begun. neglected their relationship with God, and that the • It is one of the great ironies of history that it was situation was appropriate to their spiritual state. In burned down just four years later when Jerusalem this case the outward circumstances reflected was destroyed. accurately the inward condition: slavery. Other buildings and monuments were undertaken. Person and Work of Christ 3 • A temple, a forum, and a theatre at Samaria. His brief reign was characterized by violence, but • A great Greco-Roman capital, a temple, and port the real violence would begin when Antiochus at Caesarea. heard of the coup. He returned to Jerusalem with • The port was an engineering marvel that even his army, besieged it, and killed 40,000 Jews upon today is remarked upon by the archaeologists who its capture, and sold at least as many into slavery. work at the site. Then he went back to Egypt. • Luxurious palaces and fortified retreats were built Eventually, Antiochus awoke the ire of Rome, and at Masada, Jerusalem, Jericho, and Herodium, he was arrested and ordered to back off from which was near Bethlehem. Egypt or die. He did so, but he made another stop • In Jerusalem he had baths, a theatre, and a at Jerusalem, where he took out his frustration on Hippodrome constructed. the Jews. He entered the city on the Sabbath, and • He also promoted Greek and Roman games so murdered thousands of men in the synagogues, that the people might be entertained. while enslaving the women and children. He All of these things struck a sour note as any bribe defiled the Temple in every way imaginable, and to a slave will. The people really did not want caused the daily ritual system to cease entirely. these things. They wanted to be autonomous and This meant war. free. But in order to be truly free, any people must During this time of great persecution there was a know God, and that was exactly the problem in priest by the name of Mattathias. He was an old Israel. man of noble blood, and he had retired to a little Herod was the king. The people were unhappy. town west of Jerusalem. There he was commanded Their response to his despotism is worthwhile to to sacrifice on the Pagan altar, and he refused. In note. fact, he became enraged when a Judean came forward to sacrifice, and he struck the man, Jewish Responses To Herod's Rule; The overthrew the altar, called upon the faithful to Maccabaean Revolt follow him, and fled with his sons into the Syria had one incredibly evil ruler by the name of wilderness. Antiochus Epiphanes. This man was so evil that he This was the Maccabaean family. The example of made Herod the Great look like a great Mattathias was followed by many in various parts humanitarian by comparison. Antiochus was the of the country. His story was well known, and the prototype for the Antichrist of the Tribulation. idolatrous altars were being overthrown, and In 168 B.C. he desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem Jewish worship and culture was being by setting up an altar to Jupiter Olympus, where he reestablished. The rigorous life of a rebel took its dedicated the use of the Temple to this false God toll on Mattathias, and he died just a year later, in by offering up the flesh of a swine. This was the 166 A.D. 'abomination of desolation' of Daniel 11:31, ""His The third son of Mattathias, Judas, took over for armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple him in directing the war for independence. He was fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then a man full of energy and clever in the running of they will set up the abomination that causes the war. He was an expert at guerrilla warfare, desolation." attacking at night, and at the most surprising times Antiochus made a furious effort, with the help of and places. Encouraged by early success, he the corrupt high priesthood (who helped because became even more bold, and defeated Antiochus' of a bribe), to Hellenize the Jews. head general, Apollonius, at Bethhoron. The high priest himself, a man by the name of It was only a little while later that Antiochus left Jason, was power mad, and attempted a coup in Jerusalem and left the government to a man name Jerusalem when Antiochus was mistakenly Lysias. Lysias was a military dunce, and Judas reported dead during a military campaign in defeated his larger army at Emmaus, and later at Egypt. Person and Work of Christ 4 Bethsura. Judas was then able to occupy skill and political maneuvering. They had won Jerusalem, where he purified the Temple. almost every battle that they had fought for 25 years. They had successfully manipulated the Judas continued his triumphs on the military field, political machines of their foreign occupants. and after the battle of Adasa, the Jews had almost won their independence. Almost. Bacchides led They had done everything just right, but they had another invading army, and this time the Jews failed in the most important regard: the spiritual were caught unaware. Able to only muster a small life. group of men, and losing many of those on the Just eight years after the apparent victory of Israel, night before the battle, Judas was defeated, and Simon and two of his sons was murdered by died. Ptolemaeus, and in 135 B.C. the nation of Israel All that was gained seemed lost. The patriots were once again found itself on the brink of slavery. in a state of total disorder, and it was only renewed John Hyrcanus was one of the two living sons of persecution that brought them together again. Simon. When he heard of the death of his father, The Jews again looked to the Maccabees, this time he marched with the army against Jericho. Jonathan, the youngest son of Mattathias would be Unfortunately, Ptolemaeus held a trump card: he their champion. Jonathan would fight a skillful had Simon's widow, John's mother, captive, and defensive campaign in the Jordan Valley, and the sabbatical year of the year of Jubilee was just when a new king took the throne in Syria, he around the corner, so the siege of Jericho failed. gained support, and Israel a fair amount of Seeing no further use for the woman, Ptolemaeus freedom. had her killed, and then he fled to Philadelphia. Jonathan was made high priest, and there was Antiochus the sixth (not Epiphanes) then invaded peace in the land for some 20 years. Sadly, in 144 Judea, and besieged Jerusalem, and Hyrcanus and B.C. Jonathan fell victim to the treachery of a man the army was trapped there and placed into a by the name of Tryphon, and was imprisoned in desperate situation. Ptolemais, in Galilee. This act left just one The Jews caught a break when a truce was granted Maccabee, Simon. for the passover feast, and Hyrcanus took the Simon had all along been a steady military leader, opportunity to bargain with Ptolemaeus. Hyrcanus but had left the national leadership to his brothers. compromised like crazy in order to gain the Now it was his turn, and he placed himself at the freedom of Israel, even going to the extreme of head of the patriot party. After a short while, opening David's tomb to pay the tribute demanded Tryphon put Jonathan to death, and seized the by the Syrian General. throne of Syria. He then went to Parthia to bargain further for the Simon had the wits to make an appeal for the freedom of Israel, and through compromise and freedom of the Jews to Demetrius, a well known manipulation was able to establish a treaty that general with connections to Rome. lasted for more than fifty years. This appeal was accepted, and once again it By 30 B.C., the line of the Maccabees had died out seemed as though the Jews would be free. with the death of Hyrcanus II, the grandson of Hyrcanus. His granddaughter was Mariamne, who Although Mattathias had begun the rebellion over went on to marry Herod the Great. the issue of the Jewish religion, after 32 years, the war, and political freedom became the thing. Now, where were the Pharisees during all this Relationship with God had taken a back seat to time? Well, they had begun to grasp for political military strategy and tactics, and politics. And power, so that they might more effectively carry remember, that no nation can remain free without out their mission. At first they were on the side of a relationship with God. the Maccabees, but the more the rebels concentrated on the war, the further they got away At the time of Simon, in 143 B.C., Israel had apparently won their freedom through military Person and Work of Christ 5 from strict observance of the Law, and so they uphold the Law of Moses, so that the pollution of earned the wrath of the Pharisees. foreigners and their foreign Gods would not destroy what made the nation of Israel so distinct, Because of the gross compromises of Hyrcanus, and so great in their time. This is why they came and looting of David's tomb, more and more Jews to hate Herod so very much. went to the side of the Pharisees. After the death of Hyrcanus I, his daughter became queen, and For some four hundred years before the birth of seeing the handwriting on the wall, she abandoned Christ they strove to fulfill their mission as they her political power to Pharisees. saw it. Such an aim was not so bad, but in carrying out that aim they became so extreme as to be At the time of the birth of Christ, the Romans parody of the Law. through Herod held the outward political power, while the Pharisees held it internally. The people Their undue attention to detail, and especially their found themselves under a double tyranny, and it imagination in creating details which did not exist was a difficult time indeed. resulted in their missing the point of the Law entirely. Concluding principles: The Law was designed to bring the people of • Freedom without a relationship with God is in reality slavery. Israel to a relationship with the living God through the provision of knowledge essential to the • War without a relationship with God is a waste. maintenance of that relationship. It was not • Both slavery and freedom begin in the soul. designed to be carried out just for the sake of • John 8:32, "Then you will know the truth, and accomplishment and preservation. the truth will set you free."" The very best way for the Pharisees to have • Gal 5:1, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us accomplished their aim would have been to free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. perpetuate the Law through having a relationship with God by it. THE PHARISEES Their teachings about religious matters are quite a The word "Pharisee" is the Greek translation from revelation of their character. the Aramaic, and it means to be separated. To the They tried ardently to avoid all physical contact Pharisee, this meant a separation from the with the Pagan Gentiles. Even touching one would influences of the Gentiles on their religion and make them ceremonially unclean. This is why the culture. Pharisees took such great offense at Christ's close We have a very similar thing occurring in our association with the tax collectors and sinners. nation today. The Pagan influences in our society They always stuck to the letter of the Law, without are waging war against the marvelous culture and a hint of flexibility. They defined exactly many vital relationship with God that our forefathers things that were not set forth in the Law. They enjoyed. It is a natural and good response to do were obsessed with the Sabbath, and were what you can to protect what is good; to defend it constantly specifying and clarifying what could from those who so zealously attempt to destroy it. and could not be done; how far one could travel; Every time that the nation of Israel fell under the exactly how much could be lifted; what the precise rule of another nation whether Babylon or Persia exceptions were. Of course, the point that the or Greece or Rome, they felt like they were losing Sabbath was designed for concentration on God a little bit more of themselves. The foreign was lost on them. nationals would come in with their foreign Gods The Pharisees were consumed with the idea of and foreign customs and foreign games, and away appearance. They would pray long and loud in would go just a little bit more of what was truly public. They would contrive special hats to cover Jewish. their eyes, so that they might not see a woman The emphasis of the Pharisees was in the area of the Mosaic Law. It was their aim to protect and Person and Work of Christ 6 (these were called the bloody Pharisees, because Hellenizing influences of the Greeks, and thus they were always running into things). retain their favor. Their motivation is equally revealing. They did The Sadducees had a lot to lose to the occupation what they did at the time of Christ for two reasons: forces of the Greeks, because they were mostly to gain power, and to avoid judgment. The latter is prosperous, aristocratic people. In order to especially interesting in the light of 1 John 4:18, maintain their lifestyles and possessions, they "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives placated the Greeks, giving in to their cultural and out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. even religious influences. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." During the Maccabaean revolt, they stayed in the They were fervent in their legalism lest they background. They were in fact very unpopular. offend God, and thus come under His judgement When Jonathan Maccabee was appointed high in the eternal state. But you cannot have a true priest by popular demand, it looked like the relationship with one you fear. You must have Sadducees would be gone forever. At the time, confidence before God, and that was one thing the almost all of the people in the land were willing to Pharisee did not have. sacrifice anything for their freedom. The strong oppression of the Syrians drove them to this Another motivation, the lust for power, had been sacrificial attitude. hanging around the Pharisees for quite some time. Their mission, though warped in its execution, was After about 40 years of on and off civil war, the quite a noble one. They looked at their mission, Jews became tired of the bloodshed, and popular and decided that they needed power, political opinion tended toward peace. In this case, peace power in order to carry it out. Much like their meant compromise, and compromise was the game association with the Law, their attempts to gain of the Sadducees. John Hyrcanus, of the power led to their addiction to it, and its rule over Maccabees, was really very close to the Sadducee them. way of thinking. Perhaps the best characterization of their addiction However, the compromising policy of Hyrcanus to power was their success in the Maccabaean became unpopular in a few years, and so the Revolt, which occurred a couple of centuries Pharisees came into power. Due to the double before the birth of Christ. tyranny of the Pharisees and king Herod, the Sadducees had made a great comeback not long In the intermediate period between the death of before the birth of Christ. Let's face it: the Alexander in 323 B.C. and the establishment of Pharisees were no fun at all. Roman control from 63 B.C. onward, Israel remained under the nominal control of Greece and The religious beliefs of the Sadducees can be even Syria. summed up in a single thought: they were always opposed to what the Pharisees believed. They THE SADDUCEES believed that only the written Law is binding, This religious group known as Sadducees came whereas the Pharisees believed that the body of into being about 300 years before Christ. They are tradition and written interpretation were just as characterized by their aristocracy, their cultural important as the Law itself. surrender to the Greeks and others, and their The Sadducees punished breaches of the Law opposition to everything the Pharisees stood for. severely, but the Pharisees often interpreted their Their name comes from the Aramaic Sadduqim, way around the written Law, and thus got out of which meant 'righteousness'. However, those who the proscribed punishment. were in opposition to them called them saddiqim, They had a strong belief in human free will, while which meant 'destruction'. the Pharisees believed in predestination to the They came from the ranks of the priests and high point of being fatalistic. priests of Israel, during the time of the Greek occupation. Their desire was to give in to the