63 Jesus Heads Back to Judea

Jesus keeps doing his thing all around Galilee. He's a bit leery about going down to Judea because he's worried that the religious authorities there will want to kill him. That's probably because they do want to kill him. It's fall now, around the time when the Jewish people will celebrate the festival of Sukkot. Sukkot is a weeklong Jewish holiday that is around the end of September. Sukkot celebrates the gathering of the harvest and commemorates the miraculous protection God provided, for the children of Israel when they left Egypt. Jesus's brothers tell him that he should take a trip back to Judea so that everyone can see all the things he can do. After all, if he wants to be known, he can't go around doing miracles and healing people in secret. If Jesus can do everything he claims, they tell him, he should go out and show the people. Jesus knows that his brothers don't really believe in him. So Jesus tells them it's not the right time for him to go to Judea. Then he suggests that maybe his brothers should try going down there. Jesus stays in Galilee until his brothers leave for the festival. Then he secretly follows after them. At the festival, the religious authorities keep an eye out for Jesus. The people in Judea keep talking about him, too. Some of them think he's all right; others think he's a liar who's just conning people. But no one wants to speak openly about him because they're afraid of what the religious authorities might do.

64 Jesus Teaches in the Temple…..

Jesus goes up to the temple and starts to teach. And the religious authorities are upset again. After all, Jesus has never been formally taught about Jewish laws and scriptures, so what gives him the right to say these things? Jesus tells them he has the authority because what he says comes directly from God. He also accuses the religious authorities of trying to get him arrested and killed because of the incident back when he healed a man on the Sabbath. The crowd is shocked by this accusation and the idea that someone is trying to have Jesus killed. Jesus then explains that the religious authorities know that killing Jesus would be against Jewish law. They're just upset because he healed someone on the Sabbath. Showing his mastery of Jewish law, Jesus asks them why, if it is okay to circumcise a baby on the Sabbath, it would be against the law to heal a grown man on the Sabbath? When the people hear this exchange, they are stunned. Here is the man the authorities have been looking to have killed, and yet they're just standing there tongue-tied. Maybe Jesus really is the Messiah after all. Then again, he was born in Galilee. Jesus tells them that he doesn't really come from Galilee, but from God in heaven. The naysayers in the crowd try to have Jesus arrested right then and there because this is total blasphemy as far as they're concerned. However, no one can touch Him because it isn't the right time… yet. But after hearing this, some people in the crowd start to believe in Jesus. They question the religious authorities and want to know if Jesus could really be the Messiah. Again, the religious authorities are very threatened by this and try to have the police at the temple arrest Jesus. They just won't give up! Jesus explains that he will only be among them a little bit longer. After that, he is going to God. They can try to search for him, but they won't be able to find him. Jesus's enemies obviously don't understand.

65 The Living Water

On the last day of Sukkot, Jesus tells the crowd that anyone who is thirsty can come to him. Again, some people in the crowd believe what He says. They think He might be a prophet or the Messiah. They get it. Other still have their doubts. Would the Messiah really come from Galilee? The Bible says that the Messiah will be a relative of David and be born in Bethlehem, but Jesus was born in Nazareth (or they think he was). So there's a division among the people, but no one does anything just yet.

The religious authorities get a full report of everything that happened in the temple. They are outraged; why didn't some just arrest Jesus when they had the chance? Arrest first, find probable cause later. But the people say they were in awe. They had never heard anyone say the things Jesus has said before. The religious authorities are annoyed because the temple people have now fallen under Jesus's deceitful spell. Non-believers are dropping like flies. But there is one thing they can be glad about: even if the crowd have Jesus's back, at least none of them—the educated, religious elite—believe in him. Enter Nicodemus again from something I wrote before (who, if you'll remember is one of these religious elites and is sympathetic to Jesus). He tells everyone that it's illegal for them to pass judgment on Jesus without first giving him a trial.

66 Jesus returns to the Temple

Jesus returns again to the temple and the people all gather to hear what He has to say. But the religious authorities decide to set a trap for him. They bring in a woman who has been caught committing adultery and explain that the law requires that they stone her. That means they get to beat her to death with heavy rocks—not good!. The religious authorities want to know what Jesus thinks they should do. Some scholars think that the Romans might have forbidden the Jewish people from putting anyone to death, which, if that's right, means that Jesus is now caught in a pretty tough delemma…. If Jesus says the woman should be stoned, He'll be rejecting Roman law. If He says that she shouldn't be stoned, then He'll be rejecting Jewish law. Seems like a no-win situation. But Jesus is much too smart to be tricked by these guys. Instead of responding to their questions, He says nothing and bends down to write on the ground. The religious authorities aren't having it. They keep questioning Jesus about the woman. Finally, Jesus stands up and tells them, "Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." So, go ahead, throw a rock. After they hear His answer, the religious authorities leave one by one, until no one is left standing there but Jesus and the woman. Jesus asks her if there is anyone left to condemn her. Nope. They're standing there all alone, so the woman tells Him that everyone who accused her is gone. Jesus replies that He won't condemn her either and that she should go on her way and not sin again.

Jesus speaks to the crowd again. He tells the crowd that He is "the light of the world." If anyone follows Him, they will be constantly illuminated with life instead of following the dark path that leads to evil. Light = good. Dark = bad. But the religious authorities, who also swooped back in, tell Him that He's just talking about himself—that means what he says isn't true. You can't witness to yourself, can you? Too bad the religious authorities have no idea what they're talking about. Jesus knows where He's been and where He's going, but these guys have no clue. The religious authorities judge people by human standards, but Jesus doesn't judge anyone. But, if He did judge, He would totally have every right to, being that He's been sent by His Father. When the religious elite hear Jesus calling God "Father" again, they want to know where Jesus's father is. But Jesus tells them that they don't know Him or His Father. If they did, they wouldn't be asking such questions. Jesus says all this in the temple, but no one tries to arrest Him there. But we're guessing the religious authorities aren't very happy with the lecture they just got.

Jesus explains again that soon He's going to be gone. Non-believers will look for Him, but they won't find Him. Instead, they'll die weighted down by their own sin. Jesus repeats again that He is from heaven and will be returning there, while those who refuse to believe in Him will die in sin. The wages of sin is death. The people are confused and ask Jesus who He is. This makes Jesus wonder why He even tries talking to these people—they clearly don't seem to get it. He explains, yet again, that when He's gone, they'll realize who He is. Lots of people start to jump on the believers' bandwagon after they hear this comment. Jesus tells the Jewish people who believe in Him that if they continue following Him, they are His disciples and will be set free by the truth of God. So… they're in. Jesus explains that anyone who sins is a slave to sin. A slave doesn't have his or her own room in the big house, but the Master's Son has a room there. If the Master's Son frees these slaves, they will always be free.

67 Amazing Jesus

Jesus also reminds the crowd that some of them have been trying to get Him killed. It also doesn't help if they want to get in good with God. The people tell Him that Abraham, the Jewish patriarch, is actually their father. Jesus reminds them that if they were really Abraham's children, they wouldn't be trying to have Him killed. The only crime He has committed is telling the truth. Abraham wouldn't be very happy about His children's behavior. The people change their mind. They decide that they're actually children of God. Jesus replies that if God were really their Father, they would love Him, but instead they follow a different father—the father of lies (a.k.a. the devil).

The religious authorities try to insult Jesus by saying that He must be a Samaritan who is possessed by some kind of demon. He isn't possessed by demons. He only wants to honor what God wants, but people keep bullying Him. Jesus tells them again that if they believe in Him, they will not experience death. Now the religious authorities are sure that He's been possessed. After all, everyone dies. Even Abraham died, they tell Him. Jesus doesn't think He's greater than Abraham, does He? Just who does Jesus think He is? Jesus replies that if He is glorious, then it's because God is glorious. Clearly, the religious authorities would know this if they truly knew God. He also tells them that Abraham is overjoyed that He has come. The religious authorities are starting to get annoyed. Jesus isn't old enough to have ever seen or talked to Abraham. But Jesus tells them that He existed before Abraham, echoing God who, in Exodus, calls Himself "I am." This completely sets the religious authorities over the edge. They start hurling rocks at Jesus and He has to run out of the temple and hide from them.

The disciples are walking along with Jesus when they see a man who was born blind. The disciples want to know why God would have punished this man with blindness. Did he commit some terrible sin? Or were his parents sinners? Jesus says that neither is the case. The man was born blind so that God's good works could be shown off. With this, Jesus spits on the ground and mixes the dirt with His saliva to make mud. Then He spreads it on the man's eyes. Then He tells him to go wash the mud off in one of the healing pools—the pool of Siloam—on the south side of the city. When the man washes his eyes, his sight is restored. Afterward, the man's neighbors see him and ask what happened. He explains what Jesus did. When they hear this, his neighbors demand to see Jesus. But the man doesn't know where He is, so they drag him out in front of the religious authorities. The religious authorities question the man and, again, he explains how Jesus healed him. The religious men are divided. Some think that a real man of God wouldn't disobey the Sabbath.

Others think that only a man of God would be able to perform such incredible miracles. To persecute or not to persecute? That is the question. So, they ask the healed man what he thinks about Jesus. The man replies that Jesus must be a prophet. The naysayers among the group refuse to believe the man's story. They think he might be lying about having been blind. But when the religious authorities call the man's parents, they confirm that their son was actually born blind. The religious authorities are frustrated. They demand to know the truth. They know that Jesus couldn't have healed him because Jesus is a terrible sinner. The man says he doesn't know if Jesus is a sinner or not, but what he does know is he's not blind anymore—and that's pretty much all he cares about. The authorities ask him again how Jesus healed him. The religious men start falling all over themselves with disgust.

They are disciples of Moses because they know that Moses has spoken to God, but they don't know that Jesus has come from God. So You don't know where He's been! That's funny, the man says. You don't know where He came from, but yet, He healed me. You say God doesn't listen to sinners, but God listened to Him. No one in the entire world has ever been cured of blindness, and yet this man cured me. If He weren't from God, how could He do this? The religious authorities insult the man and throw him out of the temple. How dare this man try to teach them? He's just a sinner who was born blind anyway. And… the story officially comes full circle. When Jesus finds out that the man has been treated this way, He seeks him out. Jesus asks the man if he believes in Him. The man says that he does. He has regained the power of sight, after all. Jesus explains that He has come because there are those who are blind and those who see. The religious authorities overhear Jesus saying this and ask Him to clarify. Surely, Jesus doesn't mean that they are among the blind? Jesus tells them that though they claim to see, their sin of disbelief remains.

68 Jesus uses the metaphor

Jesus uses the metaphor of the shepherd to explain His role in the world. He says that people who are going to a farm must go in through the front gate. If they try to sneak in another way, they're just thieves. The shepherd also goes through the front gate to tend to His sheep on the farm. Inside, the sheep know Him and follow the sound of His voice. Sheep are natural followers. The Gospel explains that Jesus is using figurative language to try to describe Himself, but the people still don't understand what He means. So, Jesus tries again. And speaks very, very slowly. Jesus = the shepherd. He leads his flock and protects His sheep. He'll even die for them. If He were just some hired sheepherder, working out in the pasture, he wouldn't care less about the sheep. If he saw a wolf coming, he'd just step aside and let the wolf gobble them up. The good shepherd is different, though. He'll fight that wolf if He has to. He'll even get mauled or killed just to protect the sheep from harm. Jesus tells them again that He's going to die. If this seems awful, don't worry. No one's going to force death on Him. He's going to let himself die. All of this is God's will. As usual, the people aren't sure what to make of Jesus. Is He insane? Is He holy? Only His God knows for sure.

Now we move ahead. It's wintertime in Jerusalem and people are celebrating Hanukkah. Hanukkah is the Jewish Festival of Lights and it remembers the rededication of the second Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, in December. Jesus is walking in the temple when some of the people there corner Him. They tell Him to stop messing with them and just tell them if He is the Messiah. Haven't they been listening? Jesus has been over this before. He's told these guys who He is and they don't believe Him. It's probably because they don't belong to His flock of sheep. Again, the people are ticked. They pick up some rocks and try to stone Him again. What, He asks them, are you going to stone Me for this time? Is it the miracles? The people want to stone Him because He's a huge blasphemer. How dare He pretend to be God? They try to get Him arrested yet again. But Jesus, manages to sneak away unharmed. He decides to leave Jerusalem, and the angry mobs, and head east to Jordan.

In Bethany, which is in Judea, one of Jesus' friends, Lazarus, is very sick. Lazarus lives with his sisters, Mary and Martha, who send a message to Jesus telling Him that His friend is sick. Hurry, Jesus. Jesus gets the message but isn't too concerned. Two days later, He finally decides to head to Bethany. But the disciples are a little leery. Didn't an angry mob just try to stone Jesus in Judea? Didn't this happen a couple times? Jesus isn't worried. He tells them that Lazarus is asleep and that He will wake him when he gets to Bethany.

When Jesus arrives in Bethany, Lazarus has been dead for four days. In fact, he's already been put in a tomb. Things are looking pretty hopeless. Since Bethany is only about two miles from Jerusalem, some of the people from the city have come to offer their condolences to Mary and Martha. Jesus comes to the house, and Martha goes out to meet Him. She tells Him that, if He had come sooner, her brother wouldn't have died. But she also has a feeling that Jesus could still do something for them. Jesus tells her that Lazarus will rise again. Sure, Martha says. He's going to rise up at the end of time like You're always saying. But that's not quite what Jesus has in mind. Jesus tells her that He is "the resurrection and the life." People who believe it are never really going to die. Does she get it now? Martha tells Him that, yes, she believes all this. She knows that He is the Messiah, God's son. After He finishes with Martha, Jesus has the same conversation with her sister Mary. If only Jesus had come earlier, Lazarus wouldn't have died.

Mary takes Jesus to Lazarus's tomb. When He gets there, He breaks down and cries. Some of the people think it's touching that Jesus is weeping because He loved Lazarus so much. Others think that, if He loved him so much, maybe He should have come earlier and saved him. Jesus dries His tears and surveys the tomb; it's a cave with a stone lying against it as a door. He tells them to remove the stone. Martha is a little skeptical. She reminds Jesus that Lazarus has been in there for four days. It's going to smell pretty bad when they open the tomb. But, for Jesus, anything. So she has the stone removed. When the tomb is open, Jesus says a prayer to God and then yells, "Lazarus, come out!" And out comes Lazarus, still wrapped up like a mummy, but now very much alive.

Because of all this impressive stuff, lots more people start believing in Jesus. But others sneak off to let the religious authorities know what Jesus is up to. As you might imagine, they're pretty miffed. Jesus's miracles are getting bigger and better all the time. They can't complete with this guy. Soon everyone's going to believe in Him. If all your friends started following the Messiah, would you? This could be not so good for Judea. If the Romans—the guys in charge of the country—catch wind of this, they will not be amused. They might even march in with an army and destroy the city. Or worse, destroy the temple. Caiaphas, the high priest, tells them all, that it would be better for just one man to die than for the entire nation to be destroyed. So, that day they decide: they are going to have Jesus executed.

Because of all the we're-going-to-kill-you craziness, Jesus doesn't go to Jerusalem anymore. He and the disciples head for Ephraim, which is north of the city. Later, as Passover nears again, many people start going to Jerusalem to get ready for the festivities. The people in the city keep wondering, will Jesus show up for Passover? Is He going risk death to come to Jerusalem? Passover is one of the most important holidays in Judaism. It commemorates the escape of the Jews from slavery in Egypt, and is celebrated annually either in March or April, depending on the dates in the Hebrew Calendar.

Six days before Passover is going to start, Jesus heads back down to Bethany to stay with Lazarus and his sisters. They host a dinner party in His honor. After dinner, Mary takes a huge jar of very expensive perfume and pours it all over Jesus's feet. Then she wipes His feet with her hair. Judas suddenly pipes in: Why is this perfume being wasted like this? They could have sold it and raised tons of money to give to the poor. Of course, the gospel tells us, Judas doesn't really care about the poor. In fact, he is in charge of the money the disciples give to the poor and steals from this stash all the time. Jesus defends Mary, explaining that she has anointed Him with perfumes because He will be buried soon. Later, other people figure out that Jesus is in Bethany, and they start coming to see Him. Everyone wants to catch a glimpse of the guy who raised Lazarus from the dead. Speaking of Lazarus, the religious authorities have decided that while they're at it, they're going to kill him, too. After all, it's kind of his fault that people are so worked up over Jesus, right?

The next day, the people hear that Jesus has come to Jerusalem for Passover. They pull branches from palm trees and yell "Hosanna!" as He enters the city on a donkey. The religious authorities watch all this and are convinced that the whole world has gone Jesus-crazy.

69 Jesus will die

In Jerusalem, Jesus explains to the people that He's going to die, and it's okay. He tells them that a grain of wheat is just a single grain until it is placed in the earth and dies. Then, in death, it creates food. If you love living too much, you will die, He explains. But if you don't care much what happens, you will live forever. He knows He can't escape death and disobey God. Jesus always takes His Father's advice. Suddenly, God's voice speaks to the group. God tells them that Jesus is right. Everything is going to be fine. The people are a little confused, but Jesus tells them not to worry. God told them exactly what they needed to hear. The light is going out pretty soon, Jesus explains. And people better recognize it before they're plunged into darkness.

It’s just before Passover, and Jesus and His disciples are enjoying their last meal together. Jesus knows that He's going to die and that Judas is going to help Him along. During the meal, Jesus gets up from the table, takes off His robe, and ties a towel around Himself. He pours water into a bowl, washes the disciples' feet, and wipes them with the towel. When He comes to Peter, Peter tells Jesus not to wash his feet. He's not worthy! Jesus tells him. He has to wash Peter's feet, otherwise he's not going to get a good place among the disciples. If that's the case, Peter replies, then wash my hands and face, too. Jesus tells him ok. He's already clean and only needs to wash his feet. In fact, all the disciples are clean… except one, Judas. After Jesus finishes washing the disciples' feet, He gets dressed and sits back down at the table. He tells the disciples that this is a thing now—He washed their feet, so they need to wash each other's, too.

Jesus tells His disciples that one of them is going to betray Him. Just thinking about this is pretty upsetting to Him. Even though He's told them all this before, the disciples are totally in the dark. They look at each other. Who could Jesus be talking about? Peter asks one of the other disciples to question Jesus further. (The gospel tells us that this is the one that Jesus loved—the Beloved Disciple) So, the Beloved Disciple (John) asks the question on everyone's mind: who is it? Jesus tells them that whoever He gives a piece of His bread to is the one. Then, He hands the bread to Judas and tells him to go ahead and do his dirty deed. The other disciples are still kind of confused. Judas holds all their money (and steals from it, too). Did Jesus just send him out on an errand to buy food? Did Jesus just want him to give some money to the poor? Judas leaves.

Now, Jesus begins, He's only going to be around a little bit longer. Then, He's going to a place the disciples can't visit. But Jesus has a new commandment for them: Love one another. Just like Jesus loves them, that's how they should treat each other. That's how people will know they're His disciples, because they'll be filled with love.

Peter—who, again, just does not get it—asks Jesus where He's going. Well, Jesus explains, you can't come just now, but you might be able to join Me there later. Peter wants to know why he can't come. He'd do anything for Jesus—even die for Him. Really, Jesus says. It's funny you should say that because pretty soon, you're going to deny that you know Me. Three times actually. Then you will hear the rooster crow.

Don't worry, Jesus tells the disciples. Just believe in Me and believe in God and things are going to be great. See, God has this amazing house. The house has tons of rooms in it. I'm going there to get a room ready for each of you. You guys know the way to get there, right? Jesus asks the disciples. "I am the way," He tells them. He's also "the truth" and "the life." You need to go through Him to get there, otherwise you'll never find God. Why doesn't Jesus just show them God? Phillip asks. That would be way easier. Haven't I been with you this whole time? Haven't I been talking about this for three years now? If you've seen Me, you've seen God. I thought I made that clear.

Jesus tells them that God is going to send them an Advocate (a.k.a. The Holy Spirit). The world isn't really going to get the Spirit, but the disciples will. He'll be with them always. Jesus promises that He'll come to them, too. If they love Him, He'll be there for them forever. Anyone who loves Jesus will be welcome with God. But anyone who doesn't love Jesus won't be so lucky. Jesus isn't going to be around much longer. He's leaving very soon. But if the disciples really loved Him, they'd be happy to see Him go. After all, He's going back to God. The place we all wanna be.

Jesus tells His disciples that He is like a vine and God is the caretaker of the vineyard. God cuts off all the branches on the vine that don't grow grapes. The branches that do produce grapes, though, He prunes and trims, so that they can make even more beautiful, delicious grapes. Everyone wants to be a delicious grape. Without Jesus, the branches can't grow at all. If people don't believe in Him, their branches will be cut off from the vine and end up dead and withered. Branches like that are usually gathered up and thrown in a fire.

If the disciples listen to Jesus, they'll know what love is. He's got the secret. The greatest love in the whole world is self-sacrificial love—when you lay down your life to save your friends. So, the disciples have some pretty big shoes to fill. Sure, Jesus is the boss, but the disciples are no longer just His underlings. They're His friends. That's why He's going to die to save them.
Jesus tells the disciples that people are going to hate them. The naysayers came after Jesus and they're going to come after the disciples, too. These people are filled with hate and they don't know or understand God.

Jesus tells all the disciples to watch out so they won't trip up along the way. He wants them to have a heads up because the people that hate Him aren't going to stand by and let the disciples just run around worshiping and teaching. Nope, they're going to try to kill them. Some of them will even think that, by killing the disciples, they'll be doing right by God. But, they'll be wrong. Very, very wrong. In case it wasn't clear, we're reminded that Jesus is telling them all this so they don't forget—not much chance of that—and so that when all this stuff happens, they'll remember that Jesus predicted it.

All this talk of endless persecution has got the disciples seriously depressed. Don't worry, Jesus tells them. It's all for the best, really. You'd rather know, than not know, right? When the Holy Spirit comes, things are going to be much better. First, the disciples will be suffering. Then they'll be overjoyed. It's kind of like a mother giving birth. The labor pains are terrible, but once she holds that baby in her arms, it's all forgotten. So it's going to be tough for a little while (when Jesus dies), but then things are going to get way better.
Before, Jesus used all kinds of metaphors to tell the people what He meant. Now He's just going give it to them straight. Jesus came from God. Now, He's going back to God. The end. The disciples are excited. Jesus has finally gotten through to them. No questions, right? And they all believe in Him to boot. Sure, but Jesus reminds them that one day they're going to leave Him all alone. We're thinking this day is coming pretty
soon.

Here is one of my paintings

soon.

70 Jesus is Crucified

Once Jesus says all this, He looks up to the sky and addresses God. He tells God that He knows He's going to die and that's just fine by Him. But He does have one little favor to ask before He goes: He wants God to protect the disciples. It's going to be rough out there for them in the future and they're going to need some serious divine intervention to keep alive. This is really the least God can do since He's the one who has commanded them all to go out and speak the truth. Especially since the truth tends to enrage the people in power. Jesus ends by asking God to always be with the disciples and to love them.

After Jesus and His disciples go to the Kidron Valley where there's a garden. Judas leads a group of soldiers to the garden to arrest Jesus. They're carrying torches and all kinds of weapons, so they clearly mean business. Jesus, of course, knows that this is all going to happen. The men come into the garden and Jesus identifies Himself. He'll go quietly, but Jesus wants the soldiers to let the disciples go unharmed. Peter springs into action. He whips out a sword and cuts off one of the soldiers' ears. Well, then. Jesus quickly fixes things. He tells Peter to stop it and put the sword away. The soldiers and the temple police tie up Jesus's hands and lead Him away.

The first place they take Jesus is to the house of Annas. Annas is the father-in-law of Caiaphas (the high priest) and a former high priest himself. Peter follows Jesus there, but has to wait outside the gate to the house. The woman guarding the gate sees Peter and asks if he was one of the people she has seen following Jesus. Peter denies that he is. Strike one. Meanwhile, inside the house, Annas questions Jesus about His disciples and the things He taught. They've all heard what He had to say before. One of the soldiers doesn't think Jesus's answer is very respectful, so he gives Jesus a smack. Jesus says. I'm just telling the truth over here. While this is all happening inside the house, Peter is still outside, warming himself by a fire. There are other people standing around, trying to keep warm, too. One of them asks him if he is one of Jesus' disciples. Again, Peter denies that he is. Strike two. Another guy starts to question him, too. He happens to be related to the solider whose ear Peter cut off and was there when they arrested Jesus. "Didn't I see you in the garden with Him?" he asks Peter. But Peter denies it again. As he says this, a rooster crows in the distance. That's strike three.

The soldiers take Jesus to see Caiaphas, and from there, they take Him to Pontius Pilate, the Roman emperor of the province of Judea. It's his job to determine an appropriate sentence for Jesus. The religious authorities are there, of course. Except they won't go inside Pilate's house. It's going to be Passover soon and they want to avoid "ritual defilement," so they remain outside. Pilate wants to know what Jesus has done. The religious authorities tell him that Jesus is nothing more than a common criminal. Guys like Him need to be off the streets for good. Well, Pilate tells them, if He's a criminal, then sentence Him yourself under Jewish law. Problem solved. Ah, but the religious authorities aren't allowed to put anyone to death under Jewish law. They won't settle for anything less than execution. So, Pilate goes back inside and questions Jesus. Is He "the King of the Jews?" Did you come up with that on your own? Jesus asks. Or is that just what you've been hearing around town? Pilate tells Jesus that he could care less what the Jews say. He isn't a Jew. But, if Jesus's own people turned Him in, He must have done something terrible. What is it? Jesus answers that His kingdom is not in this world. If it were, He wouldn't be in this predicament. Oh, so you are a king? Pilate asks. Jesus tells him He was just born to tell the truth. "What is truth?" Pilate asks, but we never get any answer. Again, Pilate goes outside and tells the religious authorities that he can't figure out what Jesus has done wrong. He's feeling generous today, so he'll release one prisoner. How about Jesus? The religious authorities immediately shout that they want a thief named Barabbas to be released instead of Jesus. Go figure! Oh that heart of stone again.

And with that, Pilate gives the order for Jesus to be executed. The soldiers take Jesus to Golgotha. There, they will crucify Him with two other men. Pilate orders Jesus to be flogged. The soldiers take branches from a plant with sharp thorns and weave them into a crown shape and place it on Jesus's head. They take a purple robe, the color of royalty, and drape it around His shoulders. Then they mock and bully Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" and hit Him in the face.

Pilate thinks that this small gesture of torture might make the crowd happy. Jesus has been whipped, but that's as far as he'll go. Jesus hasn't done anything wrong, so he can't just sentence Him to die. The religious authorities see Jesus standing there beaten, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe and start screaming bloody murder. They demand that Pilate crucify Him right now. He broke the law! He claimed to be God's son! This makes Pilate a little worried. He tries to question Jesus again, but Jesus is unwilling to contribute to His own defense. He just stands there silent. Pilate tells Him that he has the power to have Him killed. Jesus replies that Pilate actually has no power. God's the one with the power. He's already set all this in motion. Again, Pilate tries to release Jesus, but the religious authorities are not having it. They tell Pilate that if he lets Jesus go, he is a traitor to the Roman emperor. Jesus has claimed to be king, which means He has set himself up as a political opponent to the emperor. Pilate brings Jesus outside and asks the people if he should really crucify their king. No, you've got it all wrong, they shout. We love the emperor! He's our only king! Crucify Jesus! Crucify Him now! So Pilot ordered to be put on the cross the saying, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." This further annoys the religious authorities. They tell Pilate that it should really say that Jesus says he is the King of the Jews. But Pilate doesn't really care what they think. Four soldiers nail Jesus to the cross. They strip Him naked and tear His robe into four pieces, one for each of them to take. They also take His tunic and "cast lots" to decide who gets it.

Standing by the cross are four women: Jesus' mother, his aunt, Mary (who is the wife of someone named Clopas), and Mary Magdalene. The Beloved Disciple John is also there, standing beside Jesus's mother. Jesus tells the Beloved Disciple John to take care of His mother after He dies. He knows that His life is almost over. He tells the onlookers that He is thirsty, and they put a sponge soaked in wine on a branch and hold it to His mouth. After Jesus drinks the wine, He says His last words: "It is finished." Then, He lowers His head and dies.

Passover will start soon and the religious authorities don't want bodies left up on the crosses during the festival. So, they ask Pilate to have the soldiers break the men's legs. The soldiers break the legs of the other two men crucified with Jesus, but when they come to Jesus, it looks like He's already dead. One of them tests this by stabbing Him in the side with his spear. Blood and water flow out of the wound. Joseph of Arimathea (who was never mentioned before but is secretly one of Jesus's disciples) asks Pilate if he can take Jesus's body away for burial. Nicodemus helps by bringing one hundred pounds of spices in order to prepare Jesus's body for burial. They wrap the body in the spices and some linens and place it in tomb in a nearby garden. This happens to be a new tomb, where no one has ever been buried before.


Here is one of my paintings

71 Three Days later

Three days after Jesus is killed, Mary Magdalene comes to visit the tomb. It's very early in the morning, so it's still dark outside. When she comes closer to the tomb, she sees that the stone that laid over the opening has been removed and the tomb has been open. That's weird. Mary runs to tell Peter and the Beloved Disciple this odd piece of news. Peter and the Beloved Disciple John rush with her back down to the tomb. When they arrive, Peter goes inside and sees the linen cloths that had wrapped Jesus's body lying on the ground. The Beloved Disciple sees it, too, and believes that Jesus has risen from the dead. He gets it!

The two men return to their homes, leaving Mary alone at the tomb, weeping in despair. When Mary looks into the tomb, she sees two angels dressed in white sitting in the place where they laid the body of Jesus. The angels ask Mary why she is crying. She tells them it's because someone must have taken Jesus's body and she has no idea where they could have put it. As she says this, she turns around and sees Jesus standing there, only she doesn't recognize Him.

Like the angels, Jesus asks her why she's crying. Mary thinks that He must be the gardener and asks Him if He took the body. "Mary!" Jesus says to her, and——she recognizes Him. Jesus tells her not to touch Him though; He hasn't yet gone back to God. But, what she could do is go tell His disciples that He is going to God. Mary rushes back to the disciples once again to give them the good news.

That evening, the disciples meet at a house. They lock all the doors because they're still afraid of what might happen to them if the religious authorities find them. Suddenly, Jesus comes into the room and greets them. He shows the disciples the wounds on His hands and in His side, and the disciples are thrilled to see Him again. Jesus tells them that they are being sent out, and then… He breathes on them. They have now received the Holy Spirit and have the power to forgive the sins of others.

Thomas however, wasn't around to see any of this. Later, he rejoins the disciples and they tell him everything. Thomas isn't buying it. He says that, until he sees the nail marks and wounds on Jesus first-hand, he's not going to believe their story. Thomas needs proof of life. A week later, the disciples are meeting again in the same house and Thomas is there. Again, all the doors are locked, but again, Jesus comes. He greets the disciples and then tells Thomas that he's free to put his hand in the wound in His side and shows Him the nail marks on His hands. Jesus tells him not to doubt, but to believe. Faced with some pretty strong evidence, Thomas believes whole-heartedly. Jesus says it's great that he believes, but it's even better when people who haven't seen Him believe. Like Christians are going to have to do for the next couple millennia.

After this, Jesus appears again to the disciples on the sea near Tiberius, back up in Galilee. Peter is there, along with Thomas, Nathanael, the Beloved Disciple John, and three other unnamed disciples. The group decides to go fishing. Guess they think they should go back to their old jobs. But they don't catch anything that night. At dawn, Jesus stands on the beach and calls out to them. He tells them that if they try casting their nets on the right side of the boat they're sure to catch some fish. The disciples don't realize it's Jesus. They catch so many fish that they can barely haul them all into the boat. Then the Beloved Disciple realizes—that's Jesus standing on the beach. Peter is so excited to hear this that he jumps out of the boat and swims to shore. The other disciples are only about a hundred yards off, so they bring the boat in along with the gigantic catch of fish. When they reach the shore, they see a fish cooking over a fire and some bread. Jesus tells them to bring the fish they caught. Peter helps bring in the haul. They've caught 153 huge fish. That is what you get when you put your faith in Jesus and ask for His help. Without Christ the disciples' (and any believer's) attempts to accomplish something great on their own will fail, but that with Jesus all things are possible Not only is that a really specific number, it's amazing because their net isn't even torn. They are no longer Fishermen.. but Fishers of Men. They now worked for God whose will, was for them to catch men and not fish. Jesus invites them to have breakfast with Him. He takes the bread and gives it to each of them and does the same with the fish.

When they all finish eating, Jesus asks Peter if he loves him. Of course, Peter says. Jesus asks Peter a second time if he loves Him. —Peter still does. Then, Jesus asks him a third time. Peter is starting to feel a little hurt. Of course he loves Jesus. Jesus knows everything—He should know that, too. Funny how Peter denied Jesus three times and now Jesus is asking him three times. Jesus explains to Peter that when he (Peter) was young, he could go wherever he wanted, but when he gets older, he will be taken by force somewhere he doesn't want to go. Peter's going to be a martyr. Peter doesn't seem too excited by this. He asks what's going to happen with the other disciples, specifically The Beloved Disciple John. The Beloved Disciple looks like he's going to die a natural death. Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow Me.” Because of this, the rumor spread among the believers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”

The gospel writers tell us that the Beloved Disciple John is the one who saw all this and wrote it down. He's vouched for it, so no worries. The stories in this gospel are just the tip of the iceberg though. Jesus also did so many other amazing things. If someone ever tried to write them all down, there wouldn't be enough paper in the entire world.

Here is one of my paintings

72 Acts and Peter

Acts starts with Jesus and He is back!.. He will be here for forty days. So while Jesus is hanging around, He gives the disciples (whom Luke calls apostles) some advice. Don't leave Jerusalem—good stuff is about to start happening. Also, don't worry so much about how Jesus is gonna fix all the Jewish people's problems. He's totally going to. He's just not telling when.

One day, while on the Mount of Olives, Jesus tells the apostles that they're gonna be His "witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Just then, Jesus is lifted up into the air and a cloud takes Him away. The apostles are all shocked when two other guys dressed in white robes come along. And, the two guys tell the apostles. Jesus went up into Heaven and He's gonna come back in the same way. So look for that. It will happen again! After that, the apostles head back into Jerusalem. There's a whole group of them staying in a room in the city. You've got Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. That brings their number to eleven. In addition them, there were also some women who stayed with them, Mary the mother of Jesus, and some of Jesus's brothers, too.

Around this time, Peter gives a little speech to a crowd of about 120 believers. He explains that Judas was part of the inner circle before he became a traitor. Now he needs to be replaced. So, we need a new apostle #12. Peter lays down the qualifications: this new man has to have been hanging around since the baptism of John and until Jesus was taken up into Heaven. Surprisingly, two different guys fit the bill exactly—Joseph called Barnabbas and Matthias. The apostles pray for God to help them choose. Then they cast lots and Matthias comes out on top. He is not mentioned again in the New Testament, but I'm sure he did his duties.

Fifty days after Passover, Pentecost comes around. All the apostles are hanging around together when the sound of a really strong wind rushes through the house. "Tongues of fire" that drift into the house and then settle on each of the apostles. Now, all the apostles can now speak in any other language. Other Jewish folks in Jerusalem hear this ruckus and come to check it out. They're pretty amazed that the twelve apostles—who they know are from Galilee—can perfectly speak dozens and dozens of different languages. This is what they call talking in tongues.. different languages. Some people are awed and others just think the apostles are a bunch of crazy drunks. ….Peter decides to give a speech. He claims the apostles aren't drunk, its like 9 o’clock in the morning, so gimme a break! instead that what's happening here is what the prophet Joel (from the Hebrew Bible) predicted would happen, 800 years before!!! God is just pouring out his spirit so that everyone is able to prophesize. Joel said this would all happen before God decides to end the world. This will also probably involve the moon turning to blood. Peter then goes on to tell them a little bit about Jesus and how He is the fulfillment of everything it says in Hebrew scripture. He quotes a couple psalms to prove that Jesus is the Messiah they've all been waiting for. They're Converted…..and this convinces about 3,000 people in the crowd. They all decide to repent and be baptized so that their sins can be forgiven and, they also receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. These new Christians spend their time hanging with the apostles and each other, breaking bread together, and praying. They also sell all their stuff and distribute the money among the whole community so that everyone can be equal. One day, Peter and John are taking a stroll through the temple in Jerusalem when they see a man who can't walk. He is begging for money at one of the gates. Peter tells the man to look at him and the guy does. Peter tells him he doesn't have any money for him . Instead he does bring some miracles in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. He grabs the man's hand and pulls him up. He can walk now. In fact, he's so strong, he can jump and shout and praise God all over the temple.

So, the temple goers see the guy and realize he's been amazingly healed. Peter tells them there's no need to be so amazed. The same God that they worship in the temple brought Jesus into the world. The apostles now can perform miracles in His name. Of course, these same people in the temple weren't too interested in hearing this a little over fifty days ago when they turned Jesus over to the Romans to be executed. Peter forgives them and tells them. If the people repent and get right with Jesus their sins are totally gonna be forgiven. Peter name checks Moses, Samuel, and Abraham to let the people know he means business. The Jewish people need to start listening to Jesus!

As Peter is giving his big talk, some of the priests and Sadducees stroll by. As usual, they're not happy that Peter and John are still going on about Jesus. So they have Peter and John arrested. They are not going to tolerate this! Good things are happening though, thanks to Peter's little speech, about 5,000 people decide to start following Jesus.

The next day, the religious authorities get together to question Peter and John. They want to know exactly how Peter and John healed the man who couldn't walk. Peter is filled with the Holy Spirit and goes off on another long defense. First of all, what they did was a good deed (not a crime). Second of all, they did it by the power of Jesus Christ. Now the religious authorities are between a rock and a hard place. They know that Peter and John were with Jesus from the beginning. They also know that they're just a bunch of uneducated commoners. And yet somehow, they managed to convert 5,000 people to their cause. Even the guy they healed is standing beside them in defense. What are they supposed to do? The religious authorities decide that, if they can't deny what happened, they'll just order Peter and John not to talk about it. Yeah, this plan should work. Peter and John straight out tell them, they're not gonna stop talking about Jesus. Then the religious authorities release them since they can't think of any way to punish them.

Peter and John head back to the other apostles and company and let everyone know what happened. Everyone prays that God will protect them from these people and let them keep healing people because they're not gonna stop doing His good work. After they finish praying, the whole place starts to shake and everyone is filled with the Holy Spirit. Meanwhile, the followers of Jesus keep on living their lifestyle. No one owns anything; they just pool all their resources together to live. People sell their houses and donate the proceeds to the community. No one is poor or needy, and everyone shares everything.

There's this one guy, though—Ananias—who sells some property in order to pass along the proceeds to his fellow Christians. His wife, Sapphira, knows about it, but they agree between themselves that, while they will give money to the apostles, they won't give all of it. Ananias comes to bring the money and Peter instantly knows that the community is being short-changed. Peter calls Ananias out as a liar and Ananias falls down dead right in front of him. Later, Sapphira stops by to check in and Peter accuses her of being not so great at sharing either. She drops dead, too. The moral of the story: don't lie to God, just don’t do it. There is always a price to pay.

Parables in the Bible

Lets take a break and look at the Parables in the Bible..

The Gospels of the New Testament provides us with the parables of Jesus. The majority of the parables of Jesus come from the books of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. A Bible parable is “A simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson, as told by Jesus in the Gospels”. In Matthew 13, the disciples asked Jesus why he spoke in parables. Jesus answered that those who love the truth will understand the parables, and those that do not love the truth will not understand his parables. From Jesus’ answer to his disciples, it is important that we understand and reflect on the parables of Jesus Christ. More importantly is that we take action on our understanding of the parables.

Many of the parables have similar themes. Key Bible themes include giving us an understanding of the Kingdom of Heaven. Matthew 13 has several Kingdom of Heaven parables. Another Biblical theme from the parables is dealing with loss and redemption. Example parable of this theme is the Prodigal Son. Another key theme from the parables is preparing for the day of reckoning. Example parable of this theme is The Wise and Foolish Virgins. Other parables standalone dealing with such themes as forgiveness, love, and prayer. See below for a complete listing of the parables of Jesus Christ. They are also cleverly designed to draw listeners into new ways of thinking, new attitudes and new ways of acting. It is good for you to read these yourself in the Bible and try to understand them in your own way. Its all about reading for yourself and asking God to help you with the understandings of each parable. Its most comforting to read the parables and understand that the people in the bible were real, just like us, facing the same issues then as we are now.


Parables of Jesus in Chronological Order

1. New Cloth on an Old Coat. A parable concerning salvation. The old and new cannot mix (Matthew 9:16, Mark 2:21, Luke 5:36).
2. New Wine in Old Wineskins. A parable concerning salvation. The old and new cannot mix (Matthew 9:17, Mark 2:22, Luke 5:37).
3. Lamp on a Stand. A parable concerning how truth and light must shine and be free of evil and darkness (Matthew 5:14, Mark 4:21-22, Luke 8:16, Luke 11:33).
4. Wise and Foolish Builders. A parable concerning the importance of doing the will of the Father. (Matthew 7:24-27).
5. Moneylender Forgives Unequal Debts. A parable concerning God’s forgiveness and how little or much we can love God (Luke 7:41-43).
6. The Rich Fool. A parable warning not to place material things above God (Luke 12:16-21).
7. The Watchful Servant. A parable concerning being blessed for those who are watchful in preventing evil and focusing on Christ’s coming (Luke 12:35-40, Mark 13:35-37).
8. The Faithful Servant. A parable concerning being faithful servant where much is given and much is required. (Luke 12:42-48, Matthew 24:45-51).
9. Unfruitful Fig Tree. A parable concerning the importance in being fruitful (Luke 13:6-9).
10. Sower and Four Types of Soil. A parable comparing how people receive the word of God where some bear no fruit and others much. (Matthew 13:3-8, Mark 4:3-8, Luke 8:5-8).
11. Wheat and Tares (Kingdom of Heaven). A parable about end-time judgment of the good and evil (Matthew 13:24-30).
12. Growing Seed (Kingdom of Heaven). A parable that describes how we may not know how the word of God grows in a man’s heart, but be certain the harvest and judgment will come(Mark 4:26-29).
13. Mustard Seed (Kingdom of Heaven). A parable describing the kingdom of heaven as having small beginning and becoming the greatest, a refuge to many (Matthew 13:31-32, Mark 4:30-32, Luke 13:18-19).
14. Yeast (Kingdom of Heaven). A parable describing the kingdom of heaven as a phenomenon that affects the whole and not just a part (Matthew 13:33).
15. Hidden Treasure (Kingdom of Heaven). A parable describing joy and commitment of those who find the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 13:44).
16. Valuable Pearl (Kingdom of Heaven). A parable describing a person that knows the value of the kingdom of heaven and seeks it above all else (Matthew 13:45-46).
17. Fishing Net (Kingdom of Heaven). A parable about end-time judgment of the good and evil (Matthew 13:47).
18. Owner of a House (Kingdom of Heaven). A parable about the kingdom of heaven consisting of both new and old truths from God (Matthew 13:52).
19. Lost Sheep. A parable describing how God’s outlook concerning the lost and their redemption (Matthew 18:12-13, Luke 15:4-7).
20. The Good Shepherd. A parable that describes Jesus as the Savior in terms of the good shepherd (John 10:1-18).
21. Master and His Servant. A parable that provides a parallel between our relationship with God and servant’s relationship with his master ().
22. Unmerciful Servant (Kingdom of Heaven). A parable teaching us to forgive others as God is ready to forgive us (Matthew 18:23-34).
23. Good Samaritan. A parable describing how God expects us to be neighborly to anyone that is in need and we have an opportunity to help (Luke 10:30-37).
24. Friend in Need. A parable showing the parallel of boldly asking a friend for something and being bold in bringing our prayers before God (Luke 11:5-8).
25. Lowest Seat at the Feast. A parable concerning being humble, selfless, and giving with no thought of return in kind with avoiding pride at all costs (Luke 14:7-14).
26. Invitation to a Great Banquet. A parable that illustrates that God will reject those who do not appreciate Him and He will seek those that appreciate Him (Luke 14:16-24).
27. Cost of Discipleship. A parable that illustrates that we must understand the cost of discipleship and the impossibility of being saved unless we forsake all (Luke 14:28-33).
28. Lost Coin. A parable illustrating the joy of God in a lost sinner repenting and being found in God (Luke 15:8-10).
29. Prodigal Son. A parable describing a sinner’s life that leads to repentance, the Father’s love of the sinner, the Father’s joy in the sinner’s repentance, and the brother’s murmuring who hates the sinner (Luke 15:11).
30. The Unjust Steward. A parable that illustrates to be right with God takes more than being wise and being blameless (Luke 16:1-8).
31. Rich Man and Lazarus. A story warning us to prepare for the afterlife as it will determine how we spend eternity (Luke 16:19-31).
32. Workers in the Vineyard (Kingdom of Heaven). A parable that illustrates the need for humility before God and of being content with rewards to come (Matthew 20:1-16).
33. Persistent Widow and Crooked Judge. A parable showing the parallel of the unjust judge granting the request of the persistent widow and we being bold in bringing our prayers before God (Luke 18:2-8).
34. Pharisee and Tax Collector. A parable illustrating how wrong it is to trust in ourselves for our righteousness and despising others (Luke 18:10-14).
35. The Ruler Gives Charge to His Servants. A parable illustrating the need to have diligence over what God has given us until Jesus’ coming (Luke 19:12-27, Matthew 25:14-30 – The Talents).
36. Two Sons. A parable that illustrates sinners who first reject the truth and then repent and do the will of God versus the hypocrites who say yes to God and do not (Matthew 21:28-32).
37. Wicked Tenants. A parable concerning the responsibility of advancing the kingdom of God or all will be taken away from the wicked (Matthew 21:33-44, Mark 12:1-11, Luke 20:9-18).
38. Invitation to a Wedding Banquet. A parable that illustrates that God calls everyone, some reject his calling while others respond to his calling, but few are chosen by God (Matthew 22:2-14).
39. Signs of the Future from a Fig Tree. A parable that illustrates the nearness of Christ’s coming (Matthew 24:32-35, Mark 13:28-29, Luke 21:29-31).
40. Wise and Foolish Virgins (Kingdom of Heaven). A parable illustrating the diligence we must have in waiting for the return of Christ (Matthew 25:1-13).
41. Sheep and Goats will be Separated. A parable that illustrates the coming of the two judgments, one for the wicked and one for the righteous (Matthew 25:31-46).

73 The apostles run into trouble

The apostles still keep performing all kinds of awesome miracles. They even go to the temple and manage to win some more believers. They also heal the sick and everyone gets cured. Naturally, the high priest does not like this at all. He and the other religious authorities have the apostles arrested. But as luck would have it, an angel of the Lord sneaks into prison during the night and unlocks their jail cell. The angel tells them to head up to the temple and keep on preaching on. The next day, when the religious authorities find out that these guys have broken out of their cell and are preaching in the temple, they are not pleased. They have the apostles re-arrested and then start questioning them. The religious authorities are wondering why the apostles are talking about Jesus when they've been expressly forbidden from doing just that. The apostles tell them that they have to listen to God, not ordinary humans. After all, the apostles know about all the amazing things God is trying to do through Jesus. Well, they just dont want to stop talking about Jesus. At this point, the religious authorities pretty much want the apostles to go the way of Jesus.

One of the Pharisees (his name is Gamaliel) stands up and tries to reason with everyone. Look, he says, these so-called prophets come along all the time. Remember Theudas, or Isiah? He had a whole bunch of followers, but when he died they disappeared. Same thing with Judas the Galilean. So these followers of Jesus are gonna die out soon, too. Gamaliel tells them not to worry. If they're just a bunch of peoples running around preaching a false message, it'll all fall apart on its own. But if, just by chance, they are following God Himself, then it would probably be best not to mess with them. The religious authorities seem okay with this. They have the apostles flogged and then release them and tell them not to talk about Jesus any more. As soon as they leave, the apostles all start celebrating because they got to suffer for Jesus. And they also head right back to the temple and start talking up Jesus again. Everything is going pretty well for a while, but then a little issue comes up. Some of the Christians claim that they aren't getting the same quality charity as other Christians. The twelve apostles don't have time for this nonsense—they need to spend time preaching about Jesus and making the religious authorities stew with anger. So they appoint seven other men to oversee these ministries and make sure everything is running smoothly. Their names are Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus. This fixes the issue and the good word about Jesus keeps spreading and more new recruits join up every day.

So, of this group of seven, Stephen is very good. He can even perform miracles. Naturally, some of the people in the temple don't appreciate this too much. One day they start arguing with Stephen. When they can't win the argument fair and square, they get him arrested on charges of blasphemy even though Stephen would never blaspheme. Stephen goes before the council and the baddies get people to come foreword and tells lies about Stephen and the things he's been saying. The whole time Stephen just stands there not saying a word. Soon though, Stephen gets his chance to speak and goes on for a really long time. His topic? The Old Testament. The whole speech is a summary of the story of the Jewish people. He goes through highlights on Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David, and Solomon all in one chapter. Its amazing. It's not easy packing all of history into one lecture. I just love it!.. Read it ok.. its important. The point of all of this is that the people from the temple are just as stubborn as their ancestors were. Just like the ancient Israelites didn't always welcome God's prophets and the chosen ones with open arms, these guys are doing the same thing to Stephen. Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it. Stephen tells them that they're "uncircumcised in heart and ears" and that they're opposing God. They've been given God's law, but they're tossing it aside because they're too pig-headed to recognize the truth. When Stephen looks up into the sky and says that he sees Jesus in the heavens, it's just too much for them. The crowd grabs him and drags him into the city to stone him. Between peltings, Stephen prays that God will receive his spirit and also asks God not to hold this whole stoning against the crowd. Stephen finally dies from rock-related injuries. Stoned to death!! The first Martyr in the Bible. All the while, there's a guy named Saul hanging around thinking all of this is a-okay. He'll become pretty important later. The same day Stephen is killed, the baddies start persecuting other Christians, too. Everyone, except the main apostles, makes a run for it to avoid meeting the same rock-hurling fate as Stephen. Saul is one of the ringleaders of all this. He's having people arrested left and right all on account of them being followers of Jesus.

FYI - Stephen’s Speech to the Sanhedrin Straight out of the Bible

Stephen’s Speech to the Sanhedrin

Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these charges true?”

To this he replied: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Harran. ‘Leave your country and your people,’ God said, ‘and go to the land I will show you.’

“So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Harran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. He gave him no inheritance here, not even enough ground to set his foot on. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child. God spoke to him in this way: ‘For four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,’ God said, ‘and afterward they will come out of that country and worship me in this place.’Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. And Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him eight days after his birth. Later Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.

“Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him and rescued him from all his troubles. He gave Joseph wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh king of Egypt. So Pharaoh made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace.

“Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering, and our ancestors could not find food. When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our forefathers on their first visit. On their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family. After this, Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family, seventy-five in all. Then Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our ancestors died. Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a certain sum of money.

“As the time drew near for God to fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt had greatly increased. Then ‘a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.’He dealt treacherously with our people and oppressed our ancestors by forcing them to throw out their newborn babies so that they would die.

“At that time Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child.For three months he was cared for by his family. When he was placed outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son. Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.

“When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his own people, the Israelites. He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian. Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not. The next day Moses came upon two Israelites who were fighting. He tried to reconcile them by saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why do you want to hurt each other?’

“But the man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian, where he settled as a foreigner and had two sons.

“After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. When he saw this, he was amazed at the sight. As he went over to get a closer look, he heard the Lord say: ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’ Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look.

“Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. I have indeed seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.’

“This is the same Moses they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself, through the angel who appeared to him in the bush. He led them out of Egypt and performed wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea and for forty years in the wilderness.

“This is the Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your own people.’ He was in the assembly in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors; and he received living words to pass on to us.

“But our ancestors refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt. They told Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who led us out of Egypt—we don’t know what has happened to him!’That was the time they made an idol in the form of a calf. They brought sacrifices to it and reveled in what their own hands had made. But God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the sun, moon and stars. This agrees with what is written in the book of the prophets:

“‘Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings
forty years in the wilderness, people of Israel?
You have taken up the tabernacle of Molek
and the star of your god Rephan,
the idols you made to worship.
Therefore I will send you into exile’ beyond Babylon.

“Our ancestors had the tabernacle of the covenant law with them in the wilderness. It had been made as God directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen. After receiving the tabernacle, our ancestors under Joshua brought it with them when they took the land from the nations God drove out before them. It remained in the land until the time of David, who enjoyed God’s favor and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. But it was Solomon who built a house for him.

“However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says:

“‘Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
What kind of house will you build for me?
says the Lord.
Or where will my resting place be?
Has not my hand made all these things?’

“You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.”

The Stoning of Stephen

When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.

While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.

74 Saul sees the light

Philip (one of the newly appointed seven) makes his way over to Samaria. There he starts preaching the good word about Jesus, healing people, and exorcising demons and all kinds of evil spirits. Everyone in the area is pretty impressed. He runs into a guy in Samaria named Simon the magician. Simon is kind of a big deal in Samaria. He goes around town doing all kinds of magic. Even Simon is impressed by the wonders Philip is able to produce, so he decides to be baptized and start following Jesus too. Not for the right reasons though. The apostles hear about the headway Philip is making in Samaria, so they send in Peter and John to help out.

Peter and John pray for the Samarians who converted to receive the Holy Spirit. They put their hands on them and they have the Spirit. Hallelujah! Simon is pretty darn impressed by this, too. He comes up to Peter and offers to pay him if he can give him a share of that Holy Spirit summoning power. Peter tells him that you can't buy yourself into God's good graces! Simon seems pretty frightened and he asks the apostles to pray for him. After they stay in Samaria for a while spreading the good news, Peter and John head back to Jerusalem.

Philip Helps A Eunuch (Eunuch means celibate, or otherwise not inclined to marry and procreate). Meanwhile, an angel of the Lord tells Philip that he should take a trip south. On his way, he meets this eunuch who serves as the minister of finance to Ethiopia's Queen Candace. The eunuch is on his way home from Jerusalem, when Philip comes across him and sees that he's reading Isaiah. That's a book Philip knows about. The eunuch invites Philip to travel with him and explain. He just so happens to be going over Isaiah 53:7-8. Isaiah says that someone will suffer and die, Luckily, Philip knows the answer—it's Jesus! Philip tells him the truth and about the gospel, the eunuch is convinced and decides to be baptized in a river right there on the road. Philip does the baptizing, but when the eunuch comes up out of the water, Philip is gone. Turns out the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away and sent him to Azotus and Caesarea to keep right on preaching the word.

Meanwhile, Saul is still hard at work persecuting Christians. He is obsessed with getting rid of the Christians. He's on his way to Damascus to find even more Christians he can throw in jail, when he sees a light suddenly flash from Heaven. Saul falls on the ground and hears a voice—"Saul, why do you persecute me?" Saul asks the voice to be more specific. "It's me, Jesus" the voice tells him. The voice of Jesus tells Saul to keep heading towards the city and that he'll let him know what to do. Saul gets up and he's blind. He's traveling with a couple other guys,they are confused because they too heard a voice from Heaven. They help him into Damascus, but it's three days before Saul can see anything again. There just so happens to be a follower of Jesus named Ananias living in Damascus. Ananias has a vision where God tells him to go find Saul and restore his sight. Ananias is a bit skeptical, though. Because this is the same Saul that has been rounding up Christians left and right? He is ok, God tells him. He's gonna bring my message to the Gentiles. And he's gonna suffer quite a bit, too. So Ananias goes and heals Saul and "something like scales fell from his eyes." After that, Saul is baptized and eats a little and then starts to feel better
Once he feels better, Saul rushes out into the synagogues and starts talking up Jesus. The people are pretty astonished. Didn't Saul come to town to arrest Christians? Now he's become one? Naturally, after Saul's been preaching for a while and convincing lots of people, the religious authorities hatch a plot to kill him. The disciples find out about it, though, and sneak Saul out of town at night by lowering him down the wall outside the city in a basket. Saul makes his way to Jerusalem to meet up with his fellow disciples, but they're a little bit skeptical. Barnabas vouches for him in front of the apostles, which puts them a little more at ease. You know what really puts them at ease though? Sending Saul home to Tarsus to do some preaching there instead. Peter's Doing Stuff Too, You Know Peter's also having his own adventures all over the country. He heals a man who's been paralyzed and converts lots of other people in the process. When he hears that a disciple named Tabitha (her Greek name is Dorcas) has died in Joppa he rushes there and brings her back to life.

In Caesarea, there's a guy named Cornelius who's a Roman centurion. (A Centurion was a professional officer of the Roman army that commanded large groups of men) He's a Gentile, but he observes Jewish customs and prayers. Basically he's living the Jewish life, but hasn't made things official. One day, while Cornelius is praying, an angel of God appears and tells him to send some men to Joppa to pick up Peter. Cornelius is a little weary, but he sends two of his slaves and a soldier right away.

75 Peter is onto things

Meanwhile, the next day in Joppa Peter is on the roof praying when he gets hungry and sees yet another vision. He sees a sheet being sort of lowered down from the sky with all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds running around on it. God tells him to go ahead and kill one and eat it. Peter tells the Almighty. I don't eat unclean foods. I keep kosher all the way. The voice tells him again, I just told you it was fine. "What God has made clean, you must not call profane." Peter hears this three times and the whole vision disappears. Just then, Cornelius's men come into town looking for Peter. God tells Peter that there are some guys searching for him, and he should go ahead and meet them. Peter meets the guys, they talk, and Peter agrees to head with them to Caesarea the next day. When Peter gets there he explains, that it's actually against Jewish law for Jews to associate with Gentiles. But Peter decided to come because God showed him in that vision that he shouldn't go around labeling things as unclean. Cornelius tells Peter about his vision and asks Peter to tell him whatever it is that God needs him to hear. Peter tells him that God doesn't play favorites. Jew? Gentile? God is good with whatever your background is because he's "Lord of all." Amen.

Peter gives a quick backstory about Jesus (lived, died, rose again) and the Holy Spirit falls on everyone who hears him. Since the Gentiles in the group want to be baptized, Peter doesn't see any reason why they shouldn't be. Gentiles Are In! Back in Judea, word reaches the apostles and Jewish followers of Jesus that Peter has been baptizing Gentiles. They don’t get it, that is for Jews only! Later, Peter tells them all about the vision and that God said unclean things are now a-okay. He explains that it was God who let the Holy Spirit fall on the Gentiles while he was speaking. The other apostles are speechless, but then they realize this is actually a great thing. God wants to save everyone.

Lots of disciples are still traveling around. Some only preach the good news to fellow Jews, but others started telling Gentiles, too. And it's working! The church in Jerusalem sends Barnabas to Antioch to check out the new Gentile converts. Things look good, so Barnabas heads to Tarsus to pick up Paul and bring him to Antioch. The two men stay there for a year and help the church get up and running. This is the first place that the disciples were called "Christians." Around the same time, a prophet named Agabus comes to Antioch and says that there's gonna be a really terrible famine soon. The disciples decide it's up to them to make sure that fellow believers are cared for if this happens, so they send supplies with Barnabas and Paul.

Around this time, King Herod decides to stir up a little trouble for the Christians. Typical. He has one of the disciples, James, beheaded. James was executed by the sword. He is the only apostle whose martyrdom is recorded in the New Testament. He is, thus, traditionally believed to be the first of the twelve apostles martyred for his faith. This was James son of Zebedee and brother of John. Then he arrests Peter. All the followers of Jesus are praying for Peter in prison Their prayers are answered in the form of an angel of the Lord who appears and releases Peter from his chains. At first, Peter thinks he's having another vision , but when the angel leads him outside the gates of the city, he knows it's for real.

He rushes over to Mary's house (she's John's mother) and knocks on the door. The maid, Rhoda, answers and recognizes Peter right away. But she's so excited that she forgets to let him in and just runs to tell everyone he's back. They all think she's nuts or worse, that Peter's dead and she's just seen his angel. Eventually, everyone opens the door and sees Peter and starts celebrating. Peter's out of prison! The next morning, the soldiers and Herod are pretty confused about what happened to their prisoner. They had chained him up so nicely! Since Herod's a jerk, he questions the prison guards and then has them put to death. Later, Herod is sitting in front of his subjects and they start chanting about how he is a god, not just a mere man. Now it's God's turn to be angry. An angel of God strikes him down and Herod is eaten by worms and dies. Even though King Herod's dead, the church lives on and gains even more new members. Meanwhile, Barnabas and Paul head back to Jerusalem with their new pal, John Mark.

76 Paul and Barabas onto some special duties

In Antioch there are a group of prophets and teachers hanging around, but God singles out Barnabas and Saul for some special duties. The pair head over to Cyprus where they run into a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. When the Roman governor in the area asks Paul and Barnabas to come chat with him about Jesus, Bar-Jesus tells the governor that they're just spewing lies. Oh, Bar-Jesus. Saul (who, did we mention, is better known as Paul?) tells Bar-Jesus that he's a terrible, awful, no good guy and that he's gonna be blind for a while. It matches his spiritual blindness. Sure enough, Bar-Jesus goes blind and the governor believes that what Saul/Paul said about Jesus must be true.

Paul and friends leave Cyprus and head to Galatia where they head straight for the synagogue. The religious officials there invite them to speak (this is a first). Paul stands up and gives a little speech about the history of the Jewish people leading up to King David. From David, Paul claims, comes Jesus, who is the fulfillment of everything God has ever promised the Jewish people. Of course, the people down in Jerusalem didn't realize this (even though it was obvious) and they had Jesus put to death on trumped up charges. Paul ends by telling that they can free themselves from sin if they put their faith in Jesus (and, of course, God). Everyone that doesn't listen is going to die.

As Paul and Barnabas are leaving, the people in the synagogue ask them to come back next week to talk some more. Loads of people start to become followers of Jesus, too. The following week, almost the entire city turns out to hear Paul preach. But there's a group of Jews who aren't so pleased with what's going on, and they let everyone know that they think Paul's full of it. Paul and Barnabas tell everyone that the good news about Jesus was passed on to the Jewish people first. But since they're so good at rejecting it, God has asked them to move onto the Gentiles. Lots of Gentiles start following Jesus after this, but the naysayers get someone to spread rumors about Paul and Barnabas and they're forced to leave town and head for Iconium. Preaching is never easy. Same thing goes down in Iconium. Paul and Barnabas make some headway getting people to follow Jesus, and then the naysayers start spreading the seeds of doubt. When the naysayers threaten to stone them, Paul and Barnabas get out of Iconium.

They head to Lystra, where they meet a man who has never been able to walk. Paul heals him and then the man can walk. The people are amazed (as usual) and decide that Paul and Barnabas must be gods come to Earth. Obviously. They call Barnabas Zeus and Paul Hermes and they rush off to the temple to offer a sacrifice to their new gods. Paul and Barnabas are pretty upset when they hear about this. They tear their clothes and tell all the people that they're just regular guys like them. Their job is to tell people about the one true God, not to become one!! Later on, some Jewish naysayers come from Antioch and Iconium to speak against Paul and Barnabas. The naysayers get the crowd so worked up that they actually get them to stone Paul. When the crowd of stone-throwers thinks Paul's dead, they drag him out of the city and leave him there. But when the disciples come to find him, they see that Paul hasn't quite been stoned to death. Paul gets up and walks back into the city. Paul and Barnabas travel around to lots of other places preaching about Jesus and converting Jews and Gentiles alike. All the time, they're happy to be persecuted because it means they're doing right by God. In the end, Paul and Barnabas head back to Judea and give a report to everyone there on the status of the church around the Roman Empire. Everyone is pretty excited.

In Judea, there's a bunch of guys talking about circumcision. Mainly, they're saying that no one can be saved unless they're circumcised. Paul and Barnabas don't agree. Male Gentiles everywhere rejoice. Paul and Barnabas decide to head to Jerusalem to take up the topic with the twelve apostles and elders to get their opinion on everything. Some of the Christians there say that male converts need to be circumcised. After all, a follower of Jesus still has to follow the laws of Moses. But Peter stands up and tells everyone that God is good with the Gentiles.And he wants to give them the Holy Spirit. Besides, they all know that the path to salvation goes through Jesus, not Jewish law. Paul and Barnabas agree and tell all kinds of stories about how faithful and spirit-filled the new Gentile-Christians are. James also tells everyone that he agrees with Peter. He decides that there are only a few things Gentiles need to avoid. They shouldn't worship idols, have sex outside of marriage, eat any animal that hasn't been ritually slaughtered, or drink animal blood. They all agree. The apostles write up a letter that Paul and Barnabas will circulate to the Gentile believers. Judas Barsabbas and Silas also tag along with them. In Antioch, everyone is glad to hear the news. Sadly, Paul and Barnabas have a bit of a falling out over who gets to come to the next town with them. Paul doesn't want John Mark tagging along with them again. The dynamic duo splits. Barnabas takes John Mark with him and Paul goes on ahead with Silas. John Mark is also Mark the Mark that wrote the gospel of Mark.