Class 21 looks at the life, mission, message, death, and resurrection of Jesus, as well as what Jesus is still doing today.
The Messiah would be born of a virgin in Bethlehem. God spent the entire Old Testament narrowing the identity of the coming Messiah until only Jesus fit the description.
Jesus emptied Himself (Philippians 2:5-8 ) by leaving heave, being born to financially poor parents, having to grow in wisdom as a human, getting tired, and being tempted: all while living the perfect life. Jesus succeeded where everyone else failed. He never sinned. The perfect sacrifice required a perfect life.
Jesus’ mission was to seek and save the lost.
We looked at the message of John the Baptizer, the forerunner for Jesus. John’s message was essentially: “Repent. Be baptized. Get ready. The King and His kingdom are coming.”
When John the Baptizer decreased, and Jesus increased, Jesus essentially picks up John’s message and continued it, while revealing that He is the King Who John was announcing.
John’s message became Jesus’ message. And Jesus has given us the same message to share with others! (Matthew 28:19-20).
One of the most remarkable things about Jesus’ teaching is His ability to take the entire Old Testament and summarize it in two simple principles. Love God (Matthew 22:36-40, Deuteronomy 6:5 – “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”) and Love other people (Matthew 22:36-40, Leviticus 19:18 – “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.”) Everything else flows from those two commands.
The Old and New Testaments show us that the plan was always for Jesus to die. Jesus died for us, because of us, and instead of us.
If the cross is the center of Christianity, the resurrection is the proof that everything Jesus claimed was true. Without the resurrection, Jesus would simply be another good teacher who died. But Jesus did not stay in the tomb. He rose again!
Jesus appeared to many witnesses, which proved Jesus and His message, proved the sacrifice was accepted, and defeated death. Because Jesus lives, His followers have hope beyond the grave. The cross tells us that Jesus loved us enough to die for us. The resurrection tells us that He is powerful enough to save us.
Right now, Jesus is reigning at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us, and will come for us again one day. And on the last day, He will judge the world.
Do you believe these things?
If so, what should you do about it?
Next week: If we believe this, what should we do about it? (But if you want to know, don’t wait until next week to find out. Email us at study@housetohouse.com and let’s study today!)
Notes and PowerPoint from each week will updated here every Wednesday.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/13ivIpulPiveVbO8__EvN0x0Yw1ww-n1e?usp=drive_link
Matt Wallin
