U. Did the prophets say who Jesus’ parents would be?
B. In a way, but he didn’t identify them by name. For example, do you remember the promises God made to Abraham.
U. I think so. The first one said Abraham’s descendants would become a great nation and the second said all nations would be blessed through him.
B. So, the Christ had to be a descendent of Abraham. There are two genealogies given in the Gospels, one for Mary and one for his adoptive father Joseph. Both were descendants of Abraham.
U. Wasn’t everyone in Israel a descendant of Abraham?
B. That’s about right, so read what Isaiah also said in 11:1
U. A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him-- the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD-- and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. That sounds like a special person. Who was Jesse?
B. Jesse was King David’s father, but this was said some 300 years after David lived. So Isaiah must have been talking about some other person. Notice the description, sounds like Christ. Also God had told David that his kingdom would endure forever in 2 Samuel 7:16.
U. Do the genealogies say Mary and Joseph were descendants of David?
B. They do. We said Joseph and Mary did not live in Bethlehem. They lived in Nazareth which was in the district of Galilee, which was a poor area and not held in high esteem by the people of Jerusalem.
U. Don’t tell me, someone predicted that too.
B. Read what Isaiah said in 9:1
U. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan-- The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.
So Jesus was the great light.
B. About 400 years before Jesus was born, Malachi 3:1 promised that someone would come just before the promised one.
U. "See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the LORD Almighty.
B. About three months before Jesus was born, his cousin John was born. We just read about his mother Elizabeth being very old when he was born. He became known as John the Baptist because he warned people that the Christ was coming and told them to change and be baptized. That should have been a warning, but seems like no one picked up on this clue.
U. I like to read “who done it” novels and I don’t always see the clues until after I find out who did it.
B. That sounds like me. And that’s the way the Hebrews were, they didn’t always understand the clues. Clues are always easier to understand when looking back.
U. That’s what they say, hindsight is 20-20. Were there any predictions of what Jesus would do when he came?
B. In Psalms 78:2, it predicts the promised one would speak in parables. And Jesus spoke in parables.
U. What is a parable?
B. They are illustrations based on real life situations and have spiritual meanings. Jesus taught a lot using these because they cause a person to think about what the story means rather than just being told. For example, this is one Jesus told about a man who went out to plant his field. Read Matthew 13:3-9.
U.: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop--a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear."
Am I supposed to understand that?
B. Fortunately, Jesus explained it later to his disciples. Read 18 through 23.
U. "Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."
Oh, I get it now. He’s talking about people who hear his message. He’s comparing the people to soil. What kind am I?
B. That depends on what you do with Jesus’ words. I hope you will be good soil and produce a bountiful crop. It’s all up to you.
U. But why didn’t Jesus just speak plainly to them?
B. Matthew 13:34-35 explains it.
U. Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world."
So it was to fulfill prophecy.
B. Yes, and it gives us truths to ponder, remember, and explore in our thoughts. That’s much more effective that just spelling it out.
U. Guess it is.
U. What else did the prophets say about Jesus?
B. Isaiah had a lot to say about this person who was to come. Read chapter 35:3-6.
U. Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, "Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you." Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer and the mute tongue shout for joy.”
This talks about both vengeance and healing. They don’t seem to match. You sure this was referring to Jesus?
B. Let’s take the last part first. When times got hard for John the Baptist, he wondered if Jesus was really the Christ so he sent men to ask him. Here is what Jesus told them.
U. “Go and show John again those things which you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news preached to them. Blessed is the one who shall not be offended in me.” That’s what Isaiah said would happen plus some more. So John must have been happy to hear that.
B. I’m sure he was. So if the healing part referred to Jesus, the vengeance and retribution must have also.
U. I like healing better. Is he referring to the Day of Judgment which we discussed a couple of weeks ago?
B. I think so. Jesus didn’t take vengeance while he was here on earth, but he did promise to come back again. Look at what Isaiah said in 42:1-3
U. "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations. He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.”
It said he would bring justice, but not with violence.
B. The Jews expected a king which would drive out the Romans. Jesus never encouraged violence and never got violent himself. So they wouldn’t accept him as the promised one.
U. God must have miscalculated if he expected the Jews to take Jesus as their king.
B. Actually, God knew beforehand that Jesus would be rejected and be killed. Yet he sent his son anyway, because he loved the people so much he was willing for Jesus to die. And Jesus knew he was going to die, but came anyway.
U. That’s hard to believe, why would anyone do that? I know a lot of people in wartime give their life for someone else, but they probably don’t know they are going to do so before the time, they react to circumstances. You’re trying to convince me that God knew Jesus would die many years before he did.
B. Don’t take my word for it. There are a bunch of prophecies that talk about his death. Do you know who Judas was?
U. He was Jesus’ betrayer.
B. Here are two prophecies about him, both referenced in Matthew 26 an 27.
U. Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.
I told them, "If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it." So they paid me thirty pieces of silver. And the LORD said to me, "Throw it to the potter"--the handsome price at which they priced me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD to the potter.
I think I remember that King David lived about 1000 years before Jesus. When did Zechariah live?
B. About 500 years before Jesus. When Judas betrayed Jesus, the priests paid him 30 pieces of silver. When he saw that Jesus was going to die, he took the money back to them. They wouldn’t take it, calling it blood money. So threw the coins at them while they were in the temple. The priests picked them up and bought a field they called potter’s field to bury poor people in.
U. Hmm. That’s what Zachariah said.
B. When Jesus was arrested, what did the disciples do?
U. I suppose they were arrested too.
B. No, they all ran away. Jesus called himself a shepherd. Look at what Zechariah said in 13:7 about his sheep.
U. "Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones.
His disciples all ran away! He must have been disappointed.
B. I think he knew they would and that was also part of the plan to save them so they could witness about Jesus later. If they had died, there would be no Christianity. After he was arrested, the Jews had a trial. Look at what Isaiah said about that.
U. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
Does this mean he didn’t defend himself?
B. Exactly. The Jews tried to find some reason to condemn him to death, but they couldn’t. Finally, they asked him if he was the Son of God, and he said he was. Then they condemned him for blasphemy, although Jesus was really the Son of God. Isaiah said he would be rejected by men.
U. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
To Be Continued.
All of these blogs are on http://thinkersdiscuss.weebly.com/blog
B. In a way, but he didn’t identify them by name. For example, do you remember the promises God made to Abraham.
U. I think so. The first one said Abraham’s descendants would become a great nation and the second said all nations would be blessed through him.
B. So, the Christ had to be a descendent of Abraham. There are two genealogies given in the Gospels, one for Mary and one for his adoptive father Joseph. Both were descendants of Abraham.
U. Wasn’t everyone in Israel a descendant of Abraham?
B. That’s about right, so read what Isaiah also said in 11:1
U. A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him-- the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD-- and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. That sounds like a special person. Who was Jesse?
B. Jesse was King David’s father, but this was said some 300 years after David lived. So Isaiah must have been talking about some other person. Notice the description, sounds like Christ. Also God had told David that his kingdom would endure forever in 2 Samuel 7:16.
U. Do the genealogies say Mary and Joseph were descendants of David?
B. They do. We said Joseph and Mary did not live in Bethlehem. They lived in Nazareth which was in the district of Galilee, which was a poor area and not held in high esteem by the people of Jerusalem.
U. Don’t tell me, someone predicted that too.
B. Read what Isaiah said in 9:1
U. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan-- The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.
So Jesus was the great light.
B. About 400 years before Jesus was born, Malachi 3:1 promised that someone would come just before the promised one.
U. "See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the LORD Almighty.
B. About three months before Jesus was born, his cousin John was born. We just read about his mother Elizabeth being very old when he was born. He became known as John the Baptist because he warned people that the Christ was coming and told them to change and be baptized. That should have been a warning, but seems like no one picked up on this clue.
U. I like to read “who done it” novels and I don’t always see the clues until after I find out who did it.
B. That sounds like me. And that’s the way the Hebrews were, they didn’t always understand the clues. Clues are always easier to understand when looking back.
U. That’s what they say, hindsight is 20-20. Were there any predictions of what Jesus would do when he came?
B. In Psalms 78:2, it predicts the promised one would speak in parables. And Jesus spoke in parables.
U. What is a parable?
B. They are illustrations based on real life situations and have spiritual meanings. Jesus taught a lot using these because they cause a person to think about what the story means rather than just being told. For example, this is one Jesus told about a man who went out to plant his field. Read Matthew 13:3-9.
U.: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop--a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear."
Am I supposed to understand that?
B. Fortunately, Jesus explained it later to his disciples. Read 18 through 23.
U. "Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."
Oh, I get it now. He’s talking about people who hear his message. He’s comparing the people to soil. What kind am I?
B. That depends on what you do with Jesus’ words. I hope you will be good soil and produce a bountiful crop. It’s all up to you.
U. But why didn’t Jesus just speak plainly to them?
B. Matthew 13:34-35 explains it.
U. Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world."
So it was to fulfill prophecy.
B. Yes, and it gives us truths to ponder, remember, and explore in our thoughts. That’s much more effective that just spelling it out.
U. Guess it is.
U. What else did the prophets say about Jesus?
B. Isaiah had a lot to say about this person who was to come. Read chapter 35:3-6.
U. Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, "Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you." Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer and the mute tongue shout for joy.”
This talks about both vengeance and healing. They don’t seem to match. You sure this was referring to Jesus?
B. Let’s take the last part first. When times got hard for John the Baptist, he wondered if Jesus was really the Christ so he sent men to ask him. Here is what Jesus told them.
U. “Go and show John again those things which you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news preached to them. Blessed is the one who shall not be offended in me.” That’s what Isaiah said would happen plus some more. So John must have been happy to hear that.
B. I’m sure he was. So if the healing part referred to Jesus, the vengeance and retribution must have also.
U. I like healing better. Is he referring to the Day of Judgment which we discussed a couple of weeks ago?
B. I think so. Jesus didn’t take vengeance while he was here on earth, but he did promise to come back again. Look at what Isaiah said in 42:1-3
U. "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations. He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.”
It said he would bring justice, but not with violence.
B. The Jews expected a king which would drive out the Romans. Jesus never encouraged violence and never got violent himself. So they wouldn’t accept him as the promised one.
U. God must have miscalculated if he expected the Jews to take Jesus as their king.
B. Actually, God knew beforehand that Jesus would be rejected and be killed. Yet he sent his son anyway, because he loved the people so much he was willing for Jesus to die. And Jesus knew he was going to die, but came anyway.
U. That’s hard to believe, why would anyone do that? I know a lot of people in wartime give their life for someone else, but they probably don’t know they are going to do so before the time, they react to circumstances. You’re trying to convince me that God knew Jesus would die many years before he did.
B. Don’t take my word for it. There are a bunch of prophecies that talk about his death. Do you know who Judas was?
U. He was Jesus’ betrayer.
B. Here are two prophecies about him, both referenced in Matthew 26 an 27.
U. Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.
I told them, "If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it." So they paid me thirty pieces of silver. And the LORD said to me, "Throw it to the potter"--the handsome price at which they priced me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD to the potter.
I think I remember that King David lived about 1000 years before Jesus. When did Zechariah live?
B. About 500 years before Jesus. When Judas betrayed Jesus, the priests paid him 30 pieces of silver. When he saw that Jesus was going to die, he took the money back to them. They wouldn’t take it, calling it blood money. So threw the coins at them while they were in the temple. The priests picked them up and bought a field they called potter’s field to bury poor people in.
U. Hmm. That’s what Zachariah said.
B. When Jesus was arrested, what did the disciples do?
U. I suppose they were arrested too.
B. No, they all ran away. Jesus called himself a shepherd. Look at what Zechariah said in 13:7 about his sheep.
U. "Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones.
His disciples all ran away! He must have been disappointed.
B. I think he knew they would and that was also part of the plan to save them so they could witness about Jesus later. If they had died, there would be no Christianity. After he was arrested, the Jews had a trial. Look at what Isaiah said about that.
U. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
Does this mean he didn’t defend himself?
B. Exactly. The Jews tried to find some reason to condemn him to death, but they couldn’t. Finally, they asked him if he was the Son of God, and he said he was. Then they condemned him for blasphemy, although Jesus was really the Son of God. Isaiah said he would be rejected by men.
U. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
To Be Continued.
All of these blogs are on http://thinkersdiscuss.weebly.com/blog