Life of Jesus in Chronological Order

Jesus saw the temple as truly the house of His Father. It was intended presence of God on earth where His people could come to worship. Although it would one day be destroyed, it still had a prominent purpose in the spiritual and communal life of the Jews. The money changers and other merchants were turning it into a place of commerce and taking advantage of those coming to worship. Their actions interfered with the practice of worship as well as the spiritual nature of worship. The actions of these people were symbolic of how Israel had lost sight of its true role and were adopting the practices of the world around them. Their identity as God's people was at risk.

Today, we must ensure we do not become influenced by the world. We need to keep our lives holy and pure since God now dwells in us (Ephesians 2:22). Any impurity in our lives conflicts with the Spirit dwelling within us.

Nicodemus was a religious leader of the Jews, a teacher and scholar. Jesus taught him that everyone needed the new birth. Later, we see that Nicodemus understood who Jesus was and helped defend Him. Nicodemus later proved his faithfulness by providing the necessary elements to properly bury Jesus.

We learn that God has a great love for us. We also see an example of how our spiritual growth follows God's timing and not our own. We must be patient and faithful as we grow spiritually.

John and Jesus both taught for a period in northern Judea. Both taught to repent and be baptized for the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand. John prepared the way for Jesus while Jesus prepared our way of salvation by taking a more prominent role in ministry leading to His death, burial and resurrection.

This clearly shows that John knew who Jesus was and that Jesus would be taking the prominent role while John's role diminished. John could claim success in his task of preparing the way for Jesus.

John's response helps us learn that as Christians it is not about us, it is about our Lord. Our role is to bring others to Him for salvation. It is God's grace through our obedient faith in Jesus that saves us. Paul would remind us of this in II Corinthians 4:7 as he stated that God has given us this ministry so God's power is seen, not ours.

John preached the truth fearlessly knowing he would come up against those who deliberately practiced sin and rejected God. We too must maintain our faithfulness to God no matter the consequences.

John held a similar view of the Messiah and the period of God's Kingdom. Although not clearly expressed it is very likely that he also expected a physical Kingdom on earth rather than the spiritual one Jesus taught. John was human. It would be natural to feel concerns given the treatment he received and knowledge of his possible death. The heart of his question may have been, is it worth it.

All of us need reassurance. We face and will face all types of persecution from simple ridicule to perhaps our lives and the lives of our loved ones being threatened. Jesus reminded John to look to scripture for the answer. We can do the same today.

They regarded the Samaritans as half-breed Jews. Any contact would render the Jew "ceremonially unclean." This started during the period of captivity in Assyria (II Kings 17:24; Ezra 4:2-11). Many of the Jews were taken from Israel (Northern Kingdom) and deported to pagan nations where they intermarried. Many of these eventually drifted back and settled in Samaria. The Samaritans practiced a mixed form of religion composed of some of the Jewish customs and some from the idolatrous religions they had adopted when deported to other lands. The ill feelings were held by both Jews and Samaritans.

He saw them as people needing redemption like everyone else. Jesus used the Samaritans several times as object lessons but always put them in a favorable light.

It set the stage for Jesus' later response that He was the promised Messiah. It began when He demonstrated that He knew of her situation even though He had not interacted with her before. This got her attention. When she went to the towns' people to invite them to hear Jesus, this was what she used to suggest that He was a prophet sent by God.

We should have a similar reaction when we realize who He is and our need for Him. We should be willing to tell what He has done for us and can do for them. This is not always easy but it is what we are supposed to do as disciples of Jesus.

All point to the recognition of need for a need of a savior. They saw Jesus from different perspectives and eventually came to the same conclusion that Jesus was the Savior. Nicodemus saw Jesus as a teacher (John 3:2). John saw Jesus as the Messiah (John 3:25-36). The woman eventually saw Jesus as the Christ (John 4:28-29). To all three Jesus went beyond their initial limited view and showed them He was the Son of God come to bring about man's salvation.

As we begin our relationship with Jesus, we take different views of who He is.

As we grow in knowledge, we come to see Him as more than our savior.

He becomes a complete part of who we are. We take on His identity.

That is what it means to be a "Christian", a person who takes on the character of Christ.

Answers will vary but look for the relationship of faith to the healing. The man and his entire family became disciples of Jesus.

It might be only one of a family that initially becomes a disciple. But that one person seeing the impact of Jesus in his or her life has the potential to bring salvation to the entire family. We must never doubt the power of the witness of one person.

We learn about Jesus' identity and mission by studying the events of His life. We must embrace our relationship with Him as we become more like Him.

Jesus was a powerful figure who was also compassionate and loving. He was especially harsh to those who should have known who He was but refused to obey. We must not be among that number. As we learn the will of Jesus we should respond like many of the Samaritans who embraced Him as their savior.

No matter the price, we must be faithful. John taught and showed us this by his faithfulness even to death. We do die symbolically as we are baptized, and then rise from those waters as a new creation. We now belong to Christ in every way.