For instance, the Old Testament indicated Jesus would be betrayed by someone he trusted, "Even my close friend whom I trusted, he who has shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me" (Psalm 41:9). The New Testament, which records Jesus' life and resurrection, reveals that one of the 12 people Jesus chose to be part of his inner circle betrayed him, "Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them" (Mark 14:10).

More than 300 Messianic prophecies like this were made in the Old Testament and then fulfilled through Jesus' life, death and resurrection. The chances of one person fulfilling a mere 8 of these prophecies are 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000. For one person to fulfill 48 of these prophecies, the number becomes staggering--1 chance in 10 to the 157th power (1 with 157 zeros after it). Add to that the 250 other prophecies and it becomes impossible for any other person except Jesus to ever fit that particular sequence of time and events. (For a more thorough discussion of Messianic prophecies fulfilled by Jesus,  click here .)

PROPHECY		FULFILLMENT
Descendant of Abraham
Genesis 18:18 "Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him."		Acts 3:25 "And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, 'Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.'"
Descendant of Isaac
Genesis 17:19 "Then God said, 'Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.'"		Matthew 1:2 "Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.
Descendant of Jacob
Numbers 24:17 "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel."		Luke 3:34 "The son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor."
Will descend from the tribe of Judah
Genesis 49:10 "The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his."		Luke 3:33 "The son of Amminadab, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah."
Place of birth to be Bethlehem
Micah 5:2 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times."		Matthew 2:1 "After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod..."
Will be born of a virgin
Isaiah 7:14 "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel."		Matthew 1:18 "This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit."
For more information regarding Jesus' virgin birth, click here . Infants will be slaughtered
Jeremiah 31:15 "This is what the Lord says: 'A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because her children are no more.'"		Matthew 2:16 "When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi."
Will escape into Egypt as a child
Hoseah 11:1 "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son."		Matthew 2:14 "So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt."
Will minister in Galilee and along the Jordan River
Isaiah 9:1-2 "Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. 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."		Matthew 4:12-16 "Jesus...returned to Galilee. Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali--to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles--The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned."
He will be rejected by the Jewish people
Isaiah 53:3 "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."		John 1:11 "He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him."
Character of wisdom and understanding
Isaiah 11:2 "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."		Luke 2:52 "And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men."
He will enter triumphantly into Jerusalem on a young donkey
Zechariah 9:9 "Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey."		John 12:13-14 "They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, 'Hosanna!' 'Blessed is the King of Israel!' Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written."
The time of his entry prophesied to the very day
Daniel 9:25-26 "Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Annointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven 'sevens' and sixty-two 'sevens.' It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. After the sixty-two 'sevens' the Annointed One will be cut off and will have nothing."		This prophesy refers to weeks of years, or 483 biblical years. Beginning with the exact day on which Persian King Artaxerxes gave the decree to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem (March 5, 444BC), exactly 173,880 days later--Palm Sunday, March 30, AD33--Christ rode into Jerusalem the week before he was 'cut off' (crucified). This is the precise number of days spanning 483 biblical years, which were then measured as 12 months of 30 days each. 1
Betrayed by a close friend
Psalm 41:9 "Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me."		Mark 14:10 "Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them."
He will be sold for thirty pieces of silver
Zechariah 11:12 "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."		Matthew 26:15 "And asked, 'What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?' So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver."
Money returned and used to buy potter's field
Zechariah 11:13 "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."		Matthew 27:6-7 "The chief priests picked up the coins and said, 'It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.' So they decided to use the money to buy the potter's field as a burial place for foreigners."
Silent when accused during his trial
Isaiah 53:7 "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."		Matthew 26:62-63 "Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, 'Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?' But Jesus remained silent. The high priest said to him, 'I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.'"
He will suffer for others
Isaiah 53:4-5 "Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed."		Matthew 8:16-17 "When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: 'He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases.'"
He will be crucified with sinners
Isaiah 53:12 "Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors."		Matthew 27:38 "Two robbers were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left."
His hands and feet will be pierced
Psalm 22:16 "Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet."		John 20:27 "Then he said to Thomas, 'Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.'"
Will be mocked and insulted by the people
Psalm 22:6-8 "But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: 'He trusts in the Lord; let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.'"		Matthew 27:39-40 "Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, 'You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!'"
Will be given gall and vinegar to drink
Psalm 69:21 "They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst."		John 19:29 "A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips."
His side will be pierced with a spear
Zechariah 12:10 "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son."		John 19:34 "Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water."
Soldiers will cast lots for his clothing
Psalm 22:18 "They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing."		Mark 15:24 "And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get."
Not a bone of his body will be broken
Psalm 34: 20 "He protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken."		John 19:33 "But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs."
Will be buried in a rich man's tomb
Isaiah 53:9 "He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth."		Matthew 27:57-60 "As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away."
He will be resurrected after his death
Psalm 16:10 "Because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay."		Matthew 28:9 "Suddenly Jesus met them. 'Greetings,' he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him."
He will ascend into heaven
Psalm 68:18 "When you ascended on high, you led captives in your train; you received gifts from men, even from the rebellious--that you, O Lord God, might dwell there."		Luke 24:50-51 "When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven."

If you have a question regarding how you can believe our interpretation of the Bible, click here .

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Since Jesus claimed to be equal to God, what did he do to prove it?

He healed the lame and the blind, controlled the movement of fish, and calmed storms. Not only did Jesus heal hundreds of people from sickness and disease, but on several occasions he raised people from physical death!

If you wonder how one can believe the miracles reported in the Bible, click here .

A detailed look at the miracles of Jesus

He himself was raised from the dead three days after his crucifixion, just as he had predicted. Was his resurrection a real event, or a myth?  Can we trust the Gospel accounts of his life?  Take a look at the facts and make your own informed decision.

A fact-based analysis of the resurrection of Jesus

Nobody has changed the world the way Jesus has. Nobody.

First Century Christians

Following Jesus' crucifixion, his disciples were devastated. They had forsaken him in the Garden of Gethsemane to save their own lives. But after they met the resurrected Christ, they were radically changed. Suddenly, they were willing to give their lives to tell Jesus' story to the world. Many were tortured and killed because they proclaimed Jesus was alive.

Skeptics and enemies were also transformed. Jesus' younger brother, James, didn't think Jesus was anybody special. But after his resurrected brother appeared to him, James not only believed Jesus was Lord but became the leader of the Jerusalem church and died a martyr in 62 AD.

Saul of Tarsus was the chief persecutor of early Christians. He dragged people to prison. When they did not recant their faith, he was a party to their execution. But he had a dramatic encounter with the risen Christ on his way to Damascus and he was transformed from Saul, the enemy of Christianity, to Paul, the main propagator of its message. He left his position of prestige in Jewish society, to become a traveling missionary who experienced incredible suffering in order to share the love of Christ throughout the Roman empire.

Roman governor Plinius Secundus wrote in his Epistles X96 that Christians were people who loved the truth at any cost. Although he was ordered to torture and execute them for refusing to curse Jesus, he was continually amazed and impressed with their firm commitments "not to do any wicked deeds, never to commit any fraud, theft, adultery, never to falsify their word, not to deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up." For centuries, true Christians around the world have stood as shining examples of the standards of truth and love established by Jesus of Nazareth.

Historian Philip Schaff described the overwhelming influence which Jesus had on subsequent history and culture of the world. "This Jesus of Nazareth, without money and arms, conquered more millions than Alexander, Caesar, Mohammed, and Napoleon; without science...he shed more light on things human and divine than all philosophers and scholars combined; without the eloquence of schools, he spoke such words of life as were never spoken before or since, and produced effects which lie beyond the reach of orator or poet; without writing a single line, he set more pens in motion, and furnished themes for more sermons, orations, discussions, learned volumes, works of art, and songs of praise than the whole army of great men of ancient and modern times."

Modern Day Christianity

The power of Christ knows no boundary of time or space. In our own age, many skeptics have been convinced just as thoroughly their first-century counterparts. For example, Lew Wallace, a famous general and literary genius, was a known atheist. For two years, Wallace studied in the leading libraries of Europe and America, seeking information that would forever destroy Christianity. While writing the second chapter of a book outlining his arguments, he suddenly found himself on his knees crying out to Jesus, "My Lord and my God."

When confronted by solid indisputable evidence, he could no longer deny that Jesus Christ was the Son of God. Later, Lew Wallace wrote the book Ben Hur , one of the greatest English novels ever written concerning the time of Christ.

Similarly, the late C.S. Lewis, professor at Oxford University in England, was an agnostic who denied the deity of Christ for years. But he, too, in intellectual honesty, submitted to Jesus as his God and Savior after studying the overwhelming evidence for his deity. Over the years, he wrote many books to uphold the ideals of Christianity, including Mere Christianity and The Screwtape Letters .

Many other men and women in our century have dedicated their lives to spreading the Christian message, often braving torture and death. For example, one of Romania's most widely known Christian leader, Richard Wurmbrand, spent 14 years in prison and was repeatedly tortured for running the underground church under Communist rule. Even after international pressure secured his release from Romania, he continued to receive death threats from the Communist regime. But these attempts at intimidation did not silence him. He kept publicly spreading the good news of Christ.

Similarly, in Korea, Joon Gon Kim, a well-known Christian leader, witnessed his wife and father slaughtered before his eyes by Communist sympathizers from his own village. He himself was beaten senseless and left for dead. He survived the beating and asked God to give him love for the souls of his enemies. He eventually led 30 Communists to believe in Christ, including the person responsible for the death of his family members.

Not only does the love of Christ impel Christians to face persecution and death but also to work to make the world a better place. Mother Theresa was an outstanding example of a life poured in the service of Christ. Of her well-known ministry among the poor, she said: "Our work is only the expression of the love we have for God."

Like her, many others have given their lives to serve the destitute and the outcast, either in their homeland or abroad. William and Katherine Booth, founders of the Salvation Army, believed that ministering to the poor was like ministering to Christ himself. The movement they launched enlisted the tireless efforts of enthusiastic people who wanted to make a difference in the world around them.

All of these Christian men and women have found fulfillment and joy in following the teachings of Jesus. They were transformed when they met Christ and yielded their lives to him. Each of them has made a positive impact on the world.  They realize that agnosticism, atheism, and secular humanism hold no true answers.  Christianity is still relevant to the needs of today.  To read how Jesus still changes lives, click here .

You may also wish to encounter the living God and experience His transforming power. Christ's desire is to enter your heart and give you a new life in him. To learn how to develop a personal relationship with Jesus, just go to the You section.

Those are good questions, and typical of someone who understands the significance of Jesus. Here is some information to help answer these and other questions you may have about Jesus.

Because of Jesus' resurrection, his followers do not honor a dead founder

They have a vital, personal relationship with him. Jesus Christ lives today and faithfully enriches the lives of all those who trust and obey him. Throughout the centuries, multitudes have acknowledged the worthiness of Jesus Christ, including many who have greatly influenced the world. French physicist and philosopher Blaise Pascal spoke of people's need for Jesus when he said, "There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every man, which only God can fill through his Son Jesus Christ."

WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW JESUS PERSONALLY?

You can! Because of God's deep love for you, he has already made all the necessary arrangements. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, you can enjoy a personal relationship. Jesus made it possible to bridge the chasm which separates us from God. The following four principles will help you discover how to know Jesus personally and experience the abundant life he promised.

PRINCIPLE 1

God LOVES you and created you to know Him personally

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

John 17:3 "Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."

What prevents us from knowing God personally?

PRINCIPLE 2

Man is SINFUL and SEPARATED from God, so we cannot know Him personally or experience His love

Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

Romans 6:23 "The wages of sin is death" [spiritual separation from God].

Romans 8:6-8 "The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God."

A great gulf separates man from God. Man is continually trying to reach God and establish a personal relationship with Him through human efforts, such as living a good life, philosophy, or religion. But he inevitably fails.

The third principle explains the only way to bridge this gulf...

PRINCIPLE 3

Jesus Christ is God's ONLY provision for man's sin. Through him alone we can know God personally and experience God's love

Romans 5:8 "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

1 Corinthians 15:3-6 "Christ died for our sins... he was buried... he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures... he appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. After that he appeared to more than five hundred..."

John 14:6 "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'"

God has bridged the gulf that separates us from Him by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross in our place to pay the penalty for our sins.

But it is not enough just to know these truths...

PRINCIPLE 4

We must individually RECEIVE Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior; then we can know God personally and experience His love

John 1:12 "As many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name."

Ephesians 2:8-9 "For it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith. This does not depend on anything you have achieved, it is the free gift of God; and because it is not earned no one can boast about it."

Receiving Christ involves turning to God from self (a spirit of repentance) and trusting Christ to come into our lives to forgive us of our sins and make us what he wants us to be. Just to agree intellectually that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that he died on the cross for our sins is not enough. Nor is it enough to have an emotional experience. We receive Jesus Christ by faith, as an act of our will.

Jesus Christ is waiting for an invitation to come in to your life. In fact, he says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in" (Revelation 3:20).

Perhaps you can sense Christ knocking at the door of your heart. You can invite him in by faith right now. God knows your heart so it doesn't matter exactly what words you use. Here's a suggested prayer:

Lord Jesus, I want to know you personally. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life to you and ask you to come in as my Savior and Lord. Take control of my life. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be.

If this prayer expresses the desire of your heart, pray it right now and Jesus Christ will come into your life just as he has promised. Once you invite Christ into your life, he promises to never leave you.

Hebrews 13:5 "God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'"

To know God personally is the greatest decision you will ever make. If you've just asked Jesus Christ into your life, please click here and tell us about it. We would love to hear from you.

A five part interactive study. Discover Jesus for yourself.

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Jesus: A comprehensive look at his origin and purpose.

• How Luke's Gospel fits into history.
  
• That Jesus is "the Son of God."
  
• What Jesus said he came to do.

The New Testament is made up of several short books and letters. Our English Bibles are translations of what the early Christians actually wrote. The experts tell us that we can be sure that the text on which these translations are based is exceptionally accurate and that.

How can we be sure about the Bible accounts?

In the days of the first Christians, there were many writings about the life of Jesus. But some had special quality--they had been written by Jesus' followers or their close friends. These gospels and letters were carefully copied by hand. Over the years, archaeologists have found thousands of manuscripts of bits of the New Testament and even some complete copies. By comparing these, we can get very close to what the New Testament writers originally wrote. Some of these copies are dated less than 100 years after the original gospel or letter was written.

For an idea of how good this evidence is, compare the New Testament with other writings that are about as old as the New Testament. For example, Julius Caesar wrote a book called The Gallic War about 50 years before Christ was born. We obviously do not have the original copy. Yet, we do have nine or ten copies, and the earliest of these was made about 900 years after the original. This is a typical gap for ancient writings.

When, however, we examine the historical evidence relating to the Bible, one learns that there are thousands of manuscripts of the New Testament books. Therefore, we have good reason to believe that we know almost exactly what Luke, Paul and the others wrote.

Who wrote the gospel of Luke?

The author of this gospel, Luke, also wrote another book in the New Testament, the Acts of the Apostles. He was the only New Testament writer who was not Jewish, and he was a doctor. Independent evidence confirms that he was a very careful and accurate historian.

Luke's Gospel: fact or fiction?

Read Luke 1:1-4

• Where did Luke get his information? (1:2)
  
• How did he write it? (1:3)
  
• Why do you think Luke wrote this introduction?
  

Where did Jesus come from?

Luke gives details of the unique origin of Jesus, and the following passage explains how Jesus' birth was foretold.

Read Luke 1:26-38

• What would the future hold for Mary's child? (1:32,33)
  
• How would Jesus be conceived? (1:35-37)
  
• Jesus is said to be the Son of God. What do these verses say about Jesus' "double" origin?
  

Jesus explains his purpose

Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, in the south of Palestine. He grew up in a very ordinary town, named Nazareth, located in Galilee which was in the north of Palestine. Jesus was a carpenter, but at the age of 30, he became a religious teacher, moving from town to town.

In Luke 4:14-22, we read what happened when Jesus began teaching. He went to the synagogue, which was the local place of worship. Although he probably had no more religious education than the average Jewish man, people wanted to hear him. He was asked to speak at the synagogue in Nazareth.

Read Luke 4:14-22

• What kinds of people had Jesus come to help? (4:18)
  What do you think this means?
  
• What was he going to announce? (4:19)
  What does this mean?
  
• What do you think the people in the synagogue understood when he said the words in verse 21?
  

TO THINK ABOUT

Jesus came to help the "poor", the "captive", the "blind", and the "oppressed." What are ways in which people today are poor, captive, blind or oppressed?

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SECTION 4
Jesus: Sent by God to die as our Mediator and Redeemer.

At the trial of Jesus it seemed that both the weak-willed Roman governor, Pilate; and the shouts of the crowd sent Jesus to death. In fact, the Bible tells us that these events amazingly formed part of God's purpose.
Jesus took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, "Listen! We are going to Jerusalem where everything the prophets wrote about the Son of Man will come true. He will be handed over to the Gentiles, who will make fun of Him, insult Him, and spit on Him. They will whip him and kill Him, but on the third day he will rise to life." The disciples did not understand any of these things. (Luke 18:31-34a)

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A. The Passover meal and "The Last Supper"

On the last night of his life, Jesus ate a meal with his disciples.

Read Luke 22:7-20

What do you think the atmosphere was like during that meal?

What did Jesus say about the bread and cup of wine? (22:19,20)

What did you think Jesus meant when he said his body was "given for you," and his blood was "poured out for you"?

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B. The trial

After the Passover meal Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, he was taken before the Jewish ruling council.

Read Luke 22:66-71

What did the Jewish leaders want to find out from Jesus?

What did Jesus tell them?

How did the Jewish leaders respond? (22:71)

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C. The Cross

Jesus was not condemned to death for anything he had done. He was condemned for who he claimed to be.

Read Luke 23:32-49

What did the following groups say about Jesus:

(v.35) Jewish leaders?

(v.36) soldiers?

(v.39) the criminal?

How was the second criminal's reply different from that of the first? (23:39-42)

What did he recognize about Jesus?

What did the army of officer say when Jesus died? (23:47)

What do you think Jesus' attitude was while he was being crucified? (23:34,43,46)

This study is about Jesus the Redeemer. To redeem means to buy something back, to recover something by payment. Jesus' death was for the sake of other people, to bring them back to God.

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TO THINK ABOUT

As the criminal faced his own death, he asked Jesus to remember him in his future Kingdom. Jesus promised that the robber would be with him that day in Paradise. In what ways can we have the same hope as the criminal did after hearing Jesus' words?

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