Participants: Pr. Tony Moore
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR000708
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01:00 Welcome back to Bible prophecy seminar
01:04 digging up the future, Bible prophecy expose. 01:06 We are glad that Tony Moore has been with us. 01:08 Has it been a blessing to you listening to Tony? 01:10 It's been great. 01:11 And, you know, tonight's lecture is one of my favorite 01:17 and it's gonna be looking at Christ, 01:19 looking at the footsteps of Christ, 01:21 and we've looked at the Nile, we've been to Egypt with Tony, 01:24 we've been many different places. 01:26 Tomorrow night we are going to be our seminar, 01:28 we're going to be in Iraq or Iraq 01:30 I guess it's the way to say that. 01:32 And we are gonna be looking at when Iraq ruled the world. 01:35 That's gonna be fascinating and I hope that you can bring 01:37 your friends back tomorrow evening, 01:39 but tonight more important than even Iraq 01:42 is looking at where Christ walked. 01:44 Would you agree with that? 01:45 So let's just ask the Lord's presence 01:48 as we consider this important 01:50 and heartwarming topic this evening. 01:53 Let's bow our heads together. 01:54 Father in heaven, today we are indeed grateful 01:57 that we can be digging up 01:59 as it were the past, but also the future. 02:02 We can be looking at the past 02:04 where our Lord walked this evening, 02:06 it can guide us in the presence 02:08 and present and hopefully also for the future. 02:10 We ask that Your presence would be with here, 02:12 be with Tony Moore as he speaks with us this evening, 02:17 give him Your words and Your wisdom 02:20 and we thank You 02:21 and we come in Your all powerful name, amen. 02:26 We have been blessed the last few evenings 02:28 with Rafael Scarfullery. 02:30 Some of you asked about his music, 02:32 we are gonna be making some of that available to you, 02:34 but this evening let's listen as he plays that wonderful hymn 02:39 that reminds us of our Lord "Nearer Still Nearer." 05:44 Again I want to say thanks 05:45 for that wonderful music, Rafeal. 05:47 I have totally enjoyed that. What a beautiful number. 05:50 We praise God for your talents 05:52 and your gifts that He has given to you. 05:54 Well, tonight we want to take a journey 05:57 in the footsteps of Jesus. 05:58 I'm gonna ask this question. 05:59 How many have you been to the Galilee? 06:03 Okay. Wow. 06:04 More to Galilee than to Egypt? That's great. 06:06 Well, tonight we are going to be traveling 06:08 throughout the land that Jesus traveled in. 06:10 And I hope it brings back memories for you. 06:13 Positive memories of when you were there. 06:15 And if you hadn't been there, 06:16 I want you to be all just to imagine the places 06:18 where Jesus walked and taught 06:20 of all the presentations that I'll be giving here. 06:23 This is my favorite 06:25 because I get to talk about Jesus 06:26 and the most wonderful stories ever told. 06:29 I have to compact a lot of material. 06:33 I'm actually writing a series right now 06:36 on the 20 presentations, just on the life of Jesus. 06:40 So we are gonna try not give you all 20 tonight. 06:43 But we are going to give you a little tour 06:44 and I hope that will forever live in your mind. 06:48 Tonight, I want to take you in a fascinating journey 06:50 to the near east in the footsteps of Jesus. 06:52 We want to visit the land where He was born, 06:54 where He's been His childhood, 06:55 where He gave us wonderful teachings. 06:57 It's been known for centuries as the Land of Palestine. 07:01 Now why is it called the Land of Palestine? 07:04 Because the philistines lived there. 07:05 Exactly. 07:06 It was also known as the Land of Canaan. 07:08 Any idea why it was called the Land of Canaan? 07:11 'Cause Canaanites live there, of course. 07:14 Well, actually Canaan means red purple 07:17 and they would dye for the Murex Shell 07:19 off the coast in the Mediterranean Sea 07:21 and they would take the gland out of Murex Shell 07:22 and they would snatch it 07:23 and that's how they made purple dye. 07:25 It was so expensive, only royalty could afford it. 07:28 And so it was known as the land of red purple 07:30 or the Land of Canaan. 07:32 Now this land is a small land 07:33 and that's from the first scene that stands out. 07:35 From Old Testament Times, 07:36 it was known form the headwaters of the Jordan River at Dan 07:40 down to the south in a place called Beersheba. 07:43 A distance of about 140 miles. 07:45 That means this land is slightly larger 07:48 than the American State of Vermont. 07:51 Yet this small region contains snowy mountain peeks 07:56 and the lowest bottom earth the Dead Sea. 07:58 It has lush coastal plains 08:00 which reach out in almost touch barren deserts. 08:04 It's a void of natural resources, 08:06 it'sValgarde by inhospitable climate, 08:09 it possessive some of earth's most forbidding landscapes 08:12 and yet it is known as the land 08:14 that God promised to Abraham. 08:18 What it lacks in natural resources 08:21 was made up in a strategic location? 08:24 You see, it's the only intercontinental land bridge 08:27 between the three continents of Europe, Asia and Africa. 08:30 It connected the Indian Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean 08:34 via the Red Mediterranean Sea. 08:36 And so it was very, very strategic. 08:39 As a matter of fact, the great empires of the past. 08:41 We have talked about Egypt. 08:42 In our next presentation, 08:44 we will talk about ancient Mesopotamia or Iraq. 08:46 These were the great powers of the past 08:49 and to go between Egypt and Mesopotamia 08:51 or Iraq or Babylon, 08:53 you had to travel right through this little strip of land 08:55 just a 140 miles long and about 50 miles wide. 08:59 Now the first thing that happens 09:01 when most people go to this land is 09:03 that they are kind of surprised, not because so small, 09:06 but they are kind of shocked by what they see. 09:09 My wife was so shocked 09:11 because she was expecting to find a land 09:15 flowing with milk and honey 09:17 and what she saw was a bunch of rocks. 09:19 She said, "Oh, they doesn't flow in milk and honey. 09:22 It's terrible looking." 09:23 It happens to almost everybody who goes there. 09:25 And so of course, people say 09:27 "Well, of course the land has changed through the years." 09:29 Well, actually there is no evidence 09:33 that the rain fall amounts have changed 09:35 that much through the years. 09:37 The archeological evidence does not say 09:39 there has been significant change, 09:41 so what do we mean 09:43 a land flowing with milk and honey. 09:44 Well, where do we get milk? Cows. 09:48 Where do they get milk? Goats, okay. 09:51 Where do you get honey? Bees. 09:54 Where do they get honey? 09:55 They didn't keep bees back in Bible times. 09:57 Once in a while someone like Samson 09:59 might find some in the carcass, 10:01 but they didn't really cultivate these, 10:03 but what they did do they raised, they grew grapes. 10:07 And they would boil the grapes down to a thick paste 10:10 that's called dope and or honey, okay? 10:15 And so then they could reconstitute the paste 10:17 and they make grape to you, 10:18 so the land for growing grapes and raising goats. 10:20 Much like Southern California where I live, 10:23 not like North Carolina where I grew up, all right? 10:26 And perhaps that's the problem. 10:27 We compare this land with our land, 10:30 with Canaan in the summer is all green 10:32 instead of with Southern California 10:34 or New Mexico or Texas 10:36 and so there are some lush plains, 10:39 but they are very, very few and far 10:41 between especially by US standards 10:43 or at least, eastern standards of the United States. 10:46 And perhaps that's the problem. 10:47 We should be really comparing it 10:49 with other areas, Texas, New Mexico, California. 10:52 Well, that's geographical background. 10:54 I want to take you to the land in the footsteps of Jesus. 10:56 We want to begin tonight in Bethlehem. 10:59 Now Bethlehem is interesting 11:00 because Bethlehem means house of bread 11:04 or house of the baker. 11:06 So significant that Jesus the bread of life 11:10 will be born in the house of bread 11:12 or house of the baker, isn't it? 11:14 And so this was a land of David, 11:16 it was a home of Boaz and Ruth and David. 11:19 Gospel of Luke says that Joseph and Mary came to Bethlehem 11:23 before she gave birth to Jesus. 11:25 And we have a quote here on the screen from Luke, 11:30 "In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree 11:33 that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world, 11:36 and everyone went to his own town to register. 11:39 So Joseph and Mary went down to a town in Nazareth." 11:44 I'm sorry. 11:45 "So Joseph also went up 11:46 from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, 11:49 to Bethlehem the town of David, 11:51 He went there to register with Mary." 11:54 Well, this city was a small town and then-- 11:57 This town was a small town 11:58 in antiquity was built on a ridge of granite 12:01 and today it's also a small town about five miles from Jerusalem. 12:06 Animals were actually kept in caves. 12:09 Most people started living in caves. 12:11 And if you got a real more wealthy, 12:13 you build your house on top of the cave, 12:15 but you still bring your animals inside of your house at night. 12:18 You bring them in for protection, 12:20 you wouldn't once want you to steal them, 12:21 also in the winter time for warmth. 12:23 And so we still see that people live this way today, 12:26 they still bring their animals in. 12:28 Now we think about Jesus and being born in a barn. 12:32 And we like to think about Christmas cards 12:35 out of all these nice wooden mangers. 12:38 And European artists were very used 12:40 to all this wood and so built it, 12:42 but in that part of the world there is not many trees. 12:45 So mangers were actually carved out of stone. 12:48 And so in every home would it basically down the basement, 12:51 they will have a stone manger, 12:54 a feeding trough or a watering trough. 12:56 And the Bible tells us 12:57 that Jesus was born and placed into a manger. 13:01 It would have been more of a manger like this. 13:03 And so Jesus was most likely more and there in the cave. 13:07 As we go to Bethlehem, we want to go to manger square. 13:10 This is the centre of the town for the modern tourist. 13:12 This is the church of the nativity. 13:14 It was originally built by Constantine's mother Helena 13:17 who also built the church of the Holy Sepulcher. 13:19 We talked about in the previous episode on Jerusalem. 13:22 As she just came, she searched out the area. 13:25 This is where they said Jesus was born. 13:27 Was it the place? I don't know. 13:28 But it's certainly is beautiful that she has built that. 13:32 And this is the oldest church in the Bible lands. 13:36 Now pay attention to this, it's kind of interesting. 13:38 You see, oldest church in the bible 13:39 and you see the Persians came through the seventh century 13:41 and they destroyed all of the churches 13:44 that had been built in the Babylon 13:46 except the church of the nativity. 13:48 Now why would Persians not destroyed 13:50 the church of the nativity? 13:53 Let me say it again. 13:54 Why would Persians not destroy the church of nativity? 14:00 Well, they went in and they were Persians 14:02 and they came in and they saw mosaics of the Wise Men 14:07 who were from the region of Persia. 14:08 And they said, "Our guys have already been here. 14:10 We can't destroy this place." And they preserved it. 14:13 So this is the oldest church in the Bible lands 14:15 has these fabulous columns of marble 14:18 just a wonderful area to go and visit. 14:21 And as you go into the church, 14:22 you go down underneath 14:24 the Rostam Area there underneath the stage 14:27 and you go down to where there is a cave 14:29 and a crypt and they covered all the way 14:32 and here there is a silver star and hasn't latent here 14:36 Jesus Christ was born of the virgin Mary. 14:39 Was it the place? I don't know. 14:41 I know that I have personally full back the tapestries 14:44 and you can see that it was a cave 14:45 and certainly was a cave in antiquity. 14:47 The important thing to me as it preserves the memory 14:50 that Jesus was born in this part of the world. 14:53 And that's important. 14:55 Now a lot of people who go to the Bible lands 14:57 they get disappointed 14:58 because every where you go there is a church. 15:00 And they say, "Ha, like Galilee 15:02 because I get up to Galilee and there is no churches." 15:04 And you know what I tell people? 15:06 I thank the Lord 15:07 that there are churches built on these sights 15:09 because if there wasn't a church 15:10 in apartment building or shopping mall, 15:12 it leaves the church preserves the memory 15:14 of where these stories took place 15:16 or the vicinity of the stories. 15:17 And so, it's a very special place to go. 15:20 I really enjoy going there so much. 15:22 Well, the Wise Men followed the start at Jerusalem 15:26 where they met King Herod. 15:27 After they left, the sages of Jerusalem 15:31 were called in by King Herod 15:32 and he said, "Tell me what's going on." 15:34 And they quoted a prophecy. 15:35 They quote in Micah 5:2. 15:38 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, 15:40 though you are small among the clans of Judah, 15:43 Out of you will come for me 15:45 one who will be ruler over Israel, 15:47 whose origins are from of old, from ancient times?" 15:51 So when the sages were put under the test, 15:54 they knew exactly where Messiah will be born in Bethlehem. 15:58 Well, the Wise Men went and they visited Jesus, 16:02 it's at least six weeks have passed 16:04 because he's already went to the temple, 16:06 he's already went to the temple 16:07 then registered after the 40 day period there 16:10 and so several weeks have passed and they bring their gifts-- 16:15 What was it? 16:16 Gold and frankincense and myrrh and these tremendous commodities 16:21 paid the expenses of the Holy family 16:24 as they went down into Egypt 16:26 and they took care of the expenses 16:28 until after the death of King Herod. 16:30 Now Herod was so incensed over the fall of a rival king 16:34 that he ordered the massacre of all male children 16:36 living there in Bethlehem two years and under. 16:38 This marked his character well. 16:41 You see, Herod in the feel of Jealousy 16:44 ordered his beautiful executed. 16:47 He had her mother and her brother-- 16:49 I'm sorry. The high priest drowned. 16:52 He had three of his sons killed, two by strangulations. 16:57 Since he wouldn't eat pork, 16:58 his good friend Caesar Augustus said, 17:00 "I would rather be Herod's pig than his son." 17:07 Well, all in the distance we can see the Herodion, 17:10 this was built by King Herod and it's a fabulous building. 17:13 I want to just tell you a quick little story, 17:15 don't have much time. 17:16 We've talked about potshots. 17:17 A number of years ago there were some tourists there 17:19 and near the old pot tops on cans in the old days, 17:22 you know, and people you wouldn't do this, 17:24 but some of the people would just throw them on the ground, 17:26 and this tourist is walking along 17:28 finds a pot top there on the ground 17:29 and she kicked it with her foot 17:31 and then she bend over and picked it up 17:33 and it wasn't a pot top at all, 17:35 it turned out to be a silver earring 17:38 from one of Herod's wives. 17:39 That was found here in the Herodion. 17:41 He uses as his summer fortress or summer palace. 17:45 He was a greatest builder of antiquity, 17:47 he had a swimming pool down at the bottom, 17:48 he was a fabulous builder, but he built many other places. 17:52 Here we see Masada, he built Machairas, 17:54 he had these fortresses all around in case 17:57 you would try to attack him and kill him 17:59 and so he also built Caesarea, 18:03 he named this greatest port on the east of Mediterranean 18:05 after he has been a factor Caesar. 18:07 And then of course, he expanded the temple 18:10 as we talked about 18:11 in our presentation on Jerusalem. 18:13 He was a part of the biggest builder of all time. 18:16 Well, the family went down to Egypt 18:17 and then when they returned the Lord instructed them 18:20 not to go back to Bethlehem, 18:22 but to return to their home in Nazareth. 18:24 Now Nazareth was not 18:25 one of the favorite places of the rabbis, 18:28 up in the northern part 18:29 they were far away from Jerusalem 18:30 and so they didn't tend to follow the tours. 18:33 As a mater of fact one rabbi cried out, 18:35 "Galilee! Galilee! Though that hate us the Torah." 18:38 And one of the worst villages 18:40 that quoted they didn't love 18:41 the Torah they said was Nazareth. 18:43 And it was to that village that God shows a young woman 18:46 who was to become the mother of Jesus. 18:49 She was engaged to a carpenter. 18:52 This young woman had probably just in her puberty 18:55 if she was typical of the girls of her time, 18:57 probably 13 or 14 years old just entered in her puberty. 19:01 She had a wonderful character and a lovely spirit. 19:04 Now the Church of the Annunciation 19:05 in the Nazareth marks the spot 19:06 where tradition says the ancient Gabriel appear to her 19:09 with her a heavenly message. 19:11 And what the message was? 19:12 Bible says, "The angel said to her, do not be afraid, Mary, 19:16 you have found favor with God. 19:18 You will be with child and give birth to a son, 19:20 and you are to give him the name Jesus." 19:23 Oh, I love the story of Mary. 19:24 Down below the present day church there are caves 19:27 that they believe that Mary's family lived in. 19:31 We don't know if it's true, 19:32 but we do know that this sight here 19:34 that's on the screen is a well of Mary. 19:37 This was the only spring, 19:39 that the only source of water in Mary's day 19:41 so certainly she would have come here 19:43 and she would have come here to draw water 19:47 and so it's very moving to go there. 19:49 Well, as I went through the City of Nazareth, 19:51 I was exploring the city with my camera 19:53 I saw this pregnant lady and immediately I thought 19:56 of scandal living in honors society 19:59 becoming pregnant out of wedlock what do this mean? 20:02 We will monetize a story 20:04 from this side of the 21st century, 20:07 but it would have been terribly difficult 20:09 for her and her family. 20:11 I saw these children all dressed in their uniforms for school 20:14 and I thought about Jesus how He went to the synagogue 20:17 and how He was cursed by the rabbis in Jerusalem, 20:20 and He was only 12 years old 20:22 and how His mother had taught Him the Torah. 20:24 And the Hebrew Scriptures, homes have changes very little 20:28 during the past 2,000 years. 20:30 Jesus probably grew up in a one room, 20:33 mud brick house, ruffed with mud covered red mass. 20:38 They don't even having a sleeping mats 20:40 where they lay out during the night for sleeping, 20:43 very simple house as you can see on the screen 20:46 kind of a courtyard in the middle 20:48 and they lay out their mats 20:50 and they would have their simple utensils 20:52 for eating and cooking 20:54 and then they would move those 20:55 and that's where He would sleep at night. 20:57 Homes have changed very little. 20:59 Each home would have a loom 21:00 where can weave their garments 21:02 that they would wear by day we will keep them warm by night. 21:05 And of course, some infinite soul created this shelf 21:09 where you could actually keep things in your house. 21:13 Each home would probably have a little bronze, mirror 21:15 and some little jars like 21:16 we have shown you here on the table. 21:17 They could keep the oils 21:18 and the precious things that ladies would have. 21:20 And so the basic house really hasn't changed very much 21:23 during the past 2,000 years in the village. 21:25 Well, Jesus when He is about 30 years old, 21:27 He left Nazareth, He left the carpenter shop 21:30 and He began to journey down to the Jordan 21:32 where John the Baptist was teaching 21:34 and preaching and baptizing. 21:35 He walked through the hills on to the Elle of gardens 21:38 to the trio that lead down to Tiberius 21:40 he then scattered around the Sea of Galilee 21:42 as he made us way down 21:43 to the God, to the Jordan valley. 21:46 Today, this is a no man's land. 21:48 It's a carefully patrolled area 21:50 between Jordan and Israeli held West Bank. 21:53 Everyday this road is patrolled looking for footprints 21:56 any evidence of infiltrations, heavily laid with mines, 22:00 but when Jesus walked down there were no mines, 22:02 there were no fences because Rome ruled all. 22:05 Rome ruled all. 22:07 Jesus continued on down to the fricative Jordan 22:11 and to a place near Jericho. 22:13 Now today the lake and river have largely been drained 22:17 due to the intensive agricultural program 22:20 that's carried on by both Jordan and Israel. 22:23 In ancient times, 22:24 however the River Jordan overflowed its banks 22:26 and could be a very, very dangerous place. 22:28 There were wild animals 22:29 that would live there in the Gore 22:31 in the thicket of the Jordan. 22:33 Today it's a wonderful place to go down. 22:35 There is a place near the outlet of the Red Sea 22:38 of the Sea of Galilee where tourist love to come 22:41 and here we have some Greek orthodox pilgrimages 22:44 that have come to make a journey of the life time. 22:47 They are being baptized by immersion 22:49 you can see if your joy that's on their face. 22:51 It's very impressive to go there, 22:53 but personally I prefer this little spot 22:55 that I have found on one of my journeys, 22:58 it's a little quite place south of Buchan 23:01 and I was able to pull over my rental car and went out 23:04 and it's kind of dangerous 23:05 because as I went down to the door 23:07 there were Israeli tanks 23:08 that were covered with camouflage nets 23:10 on the right side and the left side, 23:12 but anyway I got out here 23:13 and I was there by the Jordan I saw that white bird 23:16 and immediately I thought about the dove 23:20 because Jesus was baptized. 23:21 You remember Luke Chapter 3 says, 23:23 "And the Holy Spirit descended on him 23:25 in bodily form like a dove. 23:26 And a voice came from heaven, 23:28 'You are my son, whom I love, with you I am well pleased.'" 23:32 And wow, that was a special moment for me. 23:34 Now that Jordon is not the clearest of rivers 23:37 or the largest of rivers. 23:38 Today it's only a stream, but it was here in this river 23:40 that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. 23:44 And here was the God said, "This is My Son whom I love 23:51 with him I'm well pleased." 23:55 that "Jesus was then lead by the spirit 23:58 into the wilderness." 23:59 Jesus was led up into the wilderness 24:00 to be tempted by the devil. 24:02 Matthew 4:1, immediately he left the serenity 24:06 and the security of John the Baptist in the Jordan. 24:08 He began his steepest sin up into the wilderness 24:11 to the place where he was to be tempted by the devil. 24:14 Now this wilderness I used to read about in the Bible. 24:16 I thought it was like Oregon, all right? 24:18 You know, all those trees, you know, the Paul Bunyan type, 24:21 but it really is better the desert 24:23 because it's a deserted area. 24:25 There aren't any trees. 24:26 This is a terrible wild place for this. 24:28 There is nothing. 24:30 He went up to be tempted by the devil 24:33 where the wilderness of temptation. 24:34 Now here on the screen, 24:36 it's a little difficult to make out, 24:37 but can you see this? 24:39 These orthodox priests have carved out and made this area, 24:44 this monastery where they have lived on precipitous cliff 24:47 of the Jordan River Valley above Jericho. 24:51 And this is to commemorate 24:53 the story of Jews being there for 40 days. 24:56 Now the Jordan River at this location near Jericho 24:59 is a 1,000 feet below sea level. 25:01 This is 3,000 feet above sea level, 25:03 so you scale a cliff 4,000 feet up, okay? 25:07 And these monks have been there 25:10 keeping alive the story of Jesus fasting in the wilderness. 25:15 Well, after he fasted for 40 days 25:18 the Bibles tells us that the devil came to him 25:21 and while he was hungry in an intense seed 25:24 and he tempted him to turn the stones into the bread. 25:26 Now the stones aren't like the stones here in Kansas. 25:29 They're really flat and they're round 25:30 and they look like the little Palestinian loaves. 25:33 And you can imagine if you are in the sun 25:34 and you see that and you are hungry. 25:36 You could think it's like Peter bread and, 25:39 but Jesus met him 25:40 and said, "Man does not live on bread alone, 25:44 but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." 25:46 Mathew 4:4. 25:48 Then the Bible says Jesus was taken 25:49 to the pinnacle the temple 25:51 and he was encouraged to reveal his divine powers 25:54 by throwing himself down, 25:56 but Jesus had chosen to live as a man 25:59 and he would not use his God powers 26:01 for shower your selfish purposes. 26:04 And so he said to the old devil, 26:06 "Do not put the Lord your God to the test." 26:09 Matthew 4:7. 26:11 I have often wondered if the devil took 26:13 Jesus there to the edge of the Jordan River Valley 26:16 and there's just there is nothing growing 26:18 in the wilderness and then you look down 26:20 and you see the Jordan River and it's coming down in it, 26:23 there is a City of Palms called Jericho. 26:27 And there in Jericho, Herod had his winter palace 26:31 and it was in white cleaning marble. 26:33 I wonder if the old devil took him right to the edge 26:35 and pointed down to that green oasis 26:37 with that white marble palace of Herod 26:41 and said, "If you worship me 26:44 I'll give you all the kingdoms of the world." 26:46 But you know what Jesus said? 26:47 Matthew 4:8, "Again, the devil took him 26:50 to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms 26:52 of the world and their splendor. 26:53 All this I will give you, if you bow down and worship me." 26:57 And of course Jesus once again read him the scripture 27:01 and said, "Away from me, Satan! 27:03 For it is written, you shall worship the Lord 27:06 your God, and him only shall you serve." 27:09 Jesus left the desert, He returned to the Jordan River 27:13 where John identified Him as the Lamb of God, 27:18 remember that? John 1:29. 27:20 "The next day John saw Jesus coming towards him 27:22 and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, 27:24 who takes away the sin of the world." 27:28 Some of the disciples overheard that some of John's disciples 27:31 and they began to follow Jesus. 27:33 Oh, John, the disciple John, the young John 27:39 when he is an old man in his 90s, 27:41 he writes a gospel called John 27:43 and he still remembers the day it happened 27:45 and he still remembers the hour says about the ninth hour 27:48 when I first heard that about Jesus. 27:50 Changed his life. Incredible, isn't it? 27:52 He began to follow. 27:53 Well, the Bible says they went up 27:55 to a village up in Galilee in your Nazareth called Cana. 27:58 There was a wedding there 27:59 and there Jesus performed his first miracle 28:01 turning water into sweet wine. 28:04 There is a church that's built there today 28:06 commemorates a stories 28:07 and the church is an Orthodox Church 28:11 and there is also a Roman Catholic Church next to it, 28:14 there's some very large clay pots there that help us 28:18 to envision the size of the pots of the water 28:22 that Jesus changed into wine. 28:23 It's very special to be there. 28:25 On my visits, I met this priest he insisted 28:27 I come into his church and drink from his well 28:29 because it was the only well on those days. 28:31 And so that would've been the water, 28:33 the source of water at least 28:34 that Jesus would've used for that miracle. 28:36 When Jesus returned to his home town, 28:38 Nazareth His fame had preceded him. 28:40 He was invited teaching the synagogue 28:43 on the Sabbath day. 28:44 Now the passage they were reading that day 28:46 was from Isaiah the prophet, 28:49 and Luke records this and it's quoting from Isaiah, 28:54 "The spirit of the Lord is on me, 28:56 because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. 28:59 He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners 29:02 and recovery of sight for the blind, 29:04 to release the oppressed, 29:05 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. 29:08 Then he rolled up the scroll, 29:10 gave it back to the attendant and sat down." 29:12 That's a little different, isn't it? 29:13 Because He was sitting in the seat of Mosses to teach. 29:15 He stood up to read the scripture 29:16 and He sat down to teach. 29:17 The eyes of everyone in the synagogue 29:19 were fastened on him 29:20 and He began by saying to them, 29:22 "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." 29:25 And they said Hallelujah, right? 29:27 The Messiah is here right? 29:28 No. 29:30 Bible says they were curious, 29:33 they grabbed Him and they took Him out of the synagogue 29:35 and they took Him out to the brow of the hill 29:39 to throw Him over and kill Him. 29:42 But his time has not yet come, 29:43 so He slipped through their hands 29:46 and He escaped and he went down to Capernaum 29:49 where He began to teach down by the Sea of Galilee. 29:54 He left Galilee's-- He left-- 29:56 Nazareth saying, "No prophet is accepted 29:58 in his own home town." 30:00 He went out to Capernaum. 30:01 Now Capernaum would become known as his own town. 30:05 This became the place of his residence. 30:07 And Jesus move down there, 30:09 He established His ministry there for the next few years. 30:11 He has one of the most ideal climates in the land, 30:14 but that's not why Jesus went there 30:16 because of the climate, 30:17 He went there because of a strategic importance. 30:20 You see, in those days the Great Trunk Road, 30:23 what is it Interstate 70 30:25 kind of went through their, all right? 30:26 And the Great Trunk Road went there 30:28 and connected Egypt down the south 30:29 with the Damascus in the north 30:31 and it went right through Capernaum. 30:33 And so Jesus wanted to be on the trade rows. 30:35 He wanted people passing in those caravans 30:37 to pick up the stories of what He was doing. 30:40 And so He positioned Himself there. 30:42 You can see the Via Maris, the milestone. 30:45 There is a roman roll the way of the sea. 30:47 And so this is where Jesus went and established His ministry. 30:51 Capernaum was also the home port 30:53 of Andrew and Peter, James and John. 30:56 And one day Jesus came 30:57 by as they were cleaning their nets 30:59 and He said, "Follow me and I'll make you. 31:03 Fishers of men and they left their nets 31:06 and became full time disciples of Jesus." 31:08 The ruins of the synagogue 31:10 here in Capernaum are very interesting. 31:12 The ruins of the white-- 31:14 You can see the white stones here 31:15 that's from the third century, 31:16 but down at the bottom 31:17 you can see the black basalt stones. 31:19 This is the foundation of the first century synagogue 31:23 that was built by a Roman Centurion 31:28 who's servant Jesus healed by speaking the word, right? 31:32 By just speaking a word. 31:34 Well, that was a synagogue 31:35 and that was a new synagogue the foundation of it 31:37 are new synagogue on the old foundation walls. 31:40 Jesus used this as a source of His teaching in ministry. 31:45 This was a home of another woobies disciple. 31:48 Another disciple he would call very soon. 31:50 Now this disciple would not be 31:51 very well accepted because of his profession. 31:53 He was a republican, right? I mean I'm sorry. 31:57 You are the publican. Publican. 31:59 I got to get that straight. 32:01 He was a publican, he was a tax collector. 32:02 Now most of us don't say you our children. 32:04 Now, children, when you grow up 32:05 I hope you can be a tax collector, right? 32:08 And especially at this time 32:10 because tax collectors were considered 32:12 working for the enemy. 32:14 Do you know that a tax collector in Jesus day 32:16 could not go in synagogue to worship? 32:19 A tax collectors testimony 32:20 was not permitted in the court of law. 32:23 They are considered as unclean like a pig or a dog. 32:28 And yet, Jesus was about to call a tax collector to follow Him, 32:32 that tax collectors name was Levi. 32:34 Now it's interesting. 32:35 Jesus knew that this guy name Levi 32:37 which means join in Hebrew 32:39 that he wouldn't be very well accepted 32:41 because, you know, Jesus has some interesting disciples. 32:45 They had two names Simon. 32:46 Simon Peter and what was the other Simon name? 32:50 Simon the Zealot. 32:51 He was jealous for Jesus, right? 32:53 That why he was called the Zealot? 32:54 No. 32:55 He was part of the Sakkara. 32:57 Remember I talked about them in Jerusalem 32:59 the guy who into the two cliffs of bullets 33:03 from the machine gun into the Palestinians. 33:05 The part that dagger man, they care this daggers around 33:08 and they go and if they saw Romans soldier in the crowd 33:10 they just stricken or they saw someone 33:13 who was cooperating with the enemy 33:16 they will take him out. 33:17 And so one of Jesus' disciples 33:19 is actually part of this Sakkara Group. 33:23 Amazing, that Jesus would choose 33:25 a man like that to be a disciple. 33:28 Jesus knew that Simon the Zealot would never accept Levi, 33:32 so he gave him a new name. 33:35 He gave him a new name of Matthew. 33:38 Do you know what Matthew means? 33:40 Gift of God. Don't you love it? 33:43 It's pretty hard for me look down my nose 33:45 and say, "Hey, Gift of God, all right. 33:47 It's hard to look down your nose at somebody him a gift of God. 33:50 Jesus wanted every time that Simon the Zealot 33:52 or Simon Peter called Matthew to dinner, 33:54 but they knew that he was a gift of God. 33:58 And you know what? You too are a gift of God. 34:02 You know, the Bible says 34:03 we will all receive a new name and glory. 34:04 Levis already received his name from Jesus, hasn't He? 34:08 Isn't that like Jesus? 34:10 And what a gift for God Matthew was. 34:13 You know, He give us the most detailed gospel, 34:15 all His fabulous quotations and prophecies 34:17 from the Old Testament 34:18 how to fulfill them in the life of Jesus was special, special. 34:24 That's just like Jesus, isn't it? 34:26 Well, you know, the lake the Sea of Galilee was a scenes 34:28 for so many of Jesus' teachings and miracles. 34:30 Great crowds came one day. 34:32 Jesus was teaching the crowd, it was so great, 34:34 they were pressing and that He had to step 34:35 into a boat, probably Peter's boat 34:39 and there up in the boat He taught the crowds, 34:42 and then after they taught, 34:44 he said let's push off into the water 34:46 and they went off into the water 34:48 and there they caught a big haul of fish. 34:51 Several years ago, because of a drought 34:55 and because of all the intensive irrigation 34:57 the water level and Sea of Galilee drought 35:00 and guess what they found in the mud. 35:03 A first century boat. 35:05 Was it Peter's boat? Probably not. 35:07 But it was a boat much like Peter would have been in. 35:09 And we can see the boat here on the screen 35:11 and this is a boat much like Peter would have been in. 35:14 A boat much like Jesus would have slept in 35:16 when the storm was coming. 35:18 Well, I can tell you this. 35:19 I have been on the Sea of Galilee 35:21 and we've had beautiful calm mornings 35:24 with by evening time 35:25 the ferocious winds are whipping down. 35:27 As a matter of fact, wind surfing is a favorite sport 35:29 today on the Sea of Galilee. 35:31 It whips right down the Plain of Gennesaret 35:33 and comes down to the water, 35:35 two miles from Capernaum was Togba. 35:38 Church was built there that commemorated 35:39 the miracle of Jesus performed the feeding 5,000 people 35:43 with just a few loaves and fishes. 35:45 There is a large rock here 35:46 and it serve as an alter marking the traditional spot 35:49 where Jesus broke bread and fish. 35:52 In 350 AD, a church was built over, 35:54 the present church dates back to the 1980s, 35:56 but it's on the foundation of the old one 35:58 and that mosaic that you saw on the screen 36:01 that mosaic actually dates back to the century. 36:04 It's one of the most perfectly formed mosaics 36:07 in the country today. 36:08 Outside of this church there is an interesting baptistery 36:11 showing that this-- That at this particular time 36:14 the actually baptized by immersion 36:17 interesting enough, isn't it? 36:19 And so my son is there in that picture 36:20 he is ready to be baptized, 36:22 but there was no water. 36:24 Well, there is an ancient garden 36:27 showing that the practice was immersions I mentioned. 36:29 I thought about Peter 36:31 as I saw these brothers casting their nets 36:34 as I walked around the Sea of Galilee 36:35 one day they were casting their nets 36:37 and they were rewarded by these interesting fish, 36:39 a very small fish, 36:40 but you know what they call them? 36:42 Saint Peter's fish. Saint Peter's fish. 36:45 Interesting, isn't it? 36:47 Well, you know, it's so wonderful 36:48 to be there on the Sea of Galilee. 36:50 This rock commemorates the place where Jesus prepared 36:53 that fish breakfast for the disciples 36:55 after the resurrection and He met with them. 36:57 So many stories about Jesus. 36:59 This is impressive because this is the hill 37:02 where tradition says Jesus fed the 5,000 37:06 and He gave the Sermon on the Mount. 37:08 Now what's unusual about this is it's a natural amphitheatre. 37:11 I've had two groups there 37:12 and I can stand way down by the road 37:14 almost on the shore of Galilee 37:15 and had to go almost all the way up to the church 37:18 and they can hear me speaking without amplification. 37:21 Jesus chosen natural amphitheatre 37:23 to address these big crowds of people that had gathered. 37:26 It's very interesting. 37:27 Well, this church on the hill that commemorates 37:30 that beatitude is a beautiful Roman Catholic Church 37:32 built by Mussolini, don't figure. 37:35 Any way, it's a beautiful spot to look back down 37:38 over the Sea of Galilee and provides a wonderful view 37:41 and there was wonderful just to pause there. 37:43 I spent many of Sabbaths sitting there and reading 37:46 Sermon on the Mount 37:47 pondering the words of Jesus in the beatitudes. 37:50 Several miles around the lake is the big City of Tiberias, 37:54 and I wonder if that was what Jesus had in mind 37:57 and he said a city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 38:01 It was a real place that he was pointing to. 38:04 Yes, it was a fabulous place. 38:07 Jesus went up from Galilee 38:10 to a place called Caesarea Philippi now. 38:13 And I first started my Biblical journey. 38:15 I didn't know that Caesarea Philippi in Caesarea. 38:18 But Caesarea Philippi was very, very special place. 38:21 Here is a first place that Jesus proclaimed 38:23 His Messiahship to His dispels. 38:25 Today it's known as Banias. 38:27 Anciently it was known as Panias, 38:29 you see in Arabic there is no P, so they call it Banias. 38:33 It's one of the three sources of the Jordan River. 38:34 The water comes gushing out from it use to be out of a cave, 38:38 now just kind of springs up from the ground, 38:40 but in ancient times this was a cannon of high place 38:43 where Baal was worshipped. 38:45 Then Alexander the great came through 38:46 and they began to worship pan there 38:48 and in Jesus day, Herod had built a temple to Caesar. 38:55 Thus it was called Caesarea Philippi. 38:58 So here is our Canaanite high place, 38:59 where Baal is worshiped, Pan was worshiped, 39:01 Caesar was currently being worshipped 39:02 and Jesus takes the disciples 39:04 and that's where ask the question 39:06 who men say that I'm, 39:08 and that's where he first reveals as Messiahship to them 39:11 and in fact he is saying I'm above Baal. 39:13 I'm above Pan and I love Creaser. 39:16 And of course, Peter said you are the Messiah, 39:20 the son of the living God, 39:22 Jesus accepted the worship there. 39:25 So fabulous place to go for visit. 39:26 Here on the screen is something very interesting 39:28 the other source of the Jordan River 39:29 there is a dam, this was actually 39:31 a 4,000 year of Canaanite gate 39:34 that was discovered until dam 39:36 and of course, Jordan means descending from them, okay? 39:41 Descending from dam the re-sender. 39:43 Well, we have to go back down 39:45 and look at some of the other stories 39:47 that take place as we leave Caesarea Philippi. 39:49 We go down to Mount Tabor. 39:50 This was a hill rising up from the Jezreel Valley 39:53 as we have seen many of the Old Testament stories, 39:55 including the Deborah the prophet and Barak, 39:58 but today as visited the cause. 40:00 This is a place that many people believe. 40:01 Jesus took Peter, James and John upon to a high hill 40:04 and there he was transfigured before them 40:06 and of course there Moses and Elijah appeared to him. 40:10 It's interesting that Peter said, 40:12 "The Lord, can we build a church or shrine to commemorate this?" 40:17 And the voice of God spoke and they fell to the ground, 40:20 but of course today there is a shrine and a church 40:22 and mosaics commemorate Moses and Elijah 40:26 appearing to Jesus on top of that mount. 40:29 Well, across the valley the small village of Maine, 40:31 here Jesus performed one of His most 40:33 touching miracles raising the son of a widow. 40:37 Isn't that like Jesus? 40:38 Interrupting a funeral in process? 40:41 This church keeps the memory of that story alive. 40:45 Now it was closer to go from Galilee to Jerusalem 40:49 by going down the central mountain spine, 40:53 but you had to go through the land of the Samaritan 40:55 so most Jews wouldn't do that 40:57 because they didn't like Samaritans. 40:58 Samaritans, we will talk about them tomorrow evening 41:01 and the presentation on Iraq, but Samaritans were kind of 41:04 an amalgamation of other groups of people 41:06 and the old Israelites. 41:08 The Syrians have mingled them together. 41:10 And so the Jews didn't like the Syrians 41:11 be out of the Samaritans because they have half breeds 41:14 and yet Jesus chose to go down the central mountain spine 41:18 and He stopped at a place called Shechem, 41:20 today it's called Nablus. 41:22 And there was a well there that was dug by Jacob. 41:27 And He stopped at Jacob's well and the disciples were hungry 41:30 so He sent them in the town to get something 41:32 and here it was noon, hottest part of the day 41:34 probably hot just like it was here in Kansas 41:37 a couple of days ago over 100 degrees over, 41:39 and Jesus was sitting there by the well 41:42 and loe and behold a woman comes up to draw water. 41:45 What on earth is she doing at noon? 41:47 It's a hot part of the day. 41:48 You know, most women when you draw your water. 41:52 If you need water when will you draw 41:54 in the morning, early at night, 41:56 when you work in your garden, morning late you know, 41:58 morning, early morning, late in the evening. 42:00 She is there because she is an outcast 42:04 and so she comes at noon. 42:05 Jesus reads her story right away, 42:07 He reads your life and He ask her for drink 42:10 and she say, "How is it that you are Jew 42:11 and you are asking me for a drink?" 42:13 Well, number one, men didn't really talk 42:15 with woman they didn't know 42:16 and Jews didn't talk with Samaritans of all things. 42:19 And you know what Jesus said? 42:21 "If you only knew who it was you are talking to, 42:23 you would ask me for a drink 42:25 and I would give you living water." 42:28 She said, "My Father Jacob dug, he dug this well along time ago 42:33 and you can give something better than he gave." 42:35 Well, Jesus then revealed her life to her. 42:38 She is impressed, he is a prophet. 42:40 She goes back in the town and says, 42:42 "Hey, come here a man who told me everything I've ever done." 42:45 And they came back and they listen to Jesus 42:47 and they believed not because of her words, 42:49 but because of what they heard Jesus say. 42:51 Isn't it like Jesus? 42:52 You know, Jesus breaks right through the culture 42:54 to those that people have. 42:55 He breaks through the culture of barriers. 42:57 He addressed a woman. 42:58 He addressed a woman from the Samaritans. 43:00 He broke down those bridges that people had built. 43:04 The Jesus saw a woman who was right for the harvest, 43:08 her decedents still live on Mount Gerizim today. 43:11 They posses an ancient copy of the Torah, 43:14 they still sacrifice a Passover lamb. 43:16 Here on the screen we can see this interesting picture. 43:18 This is actually Jacob's well. 43:20 You can see they've got a bucket of water coming up 43:22 and the flash is actually reflecting off 43:24 of the water in the bucket. 43:26 And it's pretty impressive to drink it, 43:27 but of course when you drink it, you see that really drinks it 43:30 and then they pour back into the well. 43:33 You may go, no. 43:35 And thousands of people 43:36 who have been drinking this water any way. 43:40 It's still worth drinking from to go there. 43:43 It's the same well that Jacob would have built long, long ago. 43:48 Well, her decedents were still there on Mount Gerizim today 43:53 and they possess some ancient copy of the Torah 43:58 and that reminds me of a trick question 44:01 that some people came along and ask to you this one day 44:03 they said, "Which is the greatest commandment?" 44:04 Remember that? 44:05 And Jesus invented something really new. 44:07 He said, "You know, you should Love the Lord your God 44:09 with all nor heart and with all nor soul nor your mind, right?" 44:11 No. He quoted the Shema here. 44:14 "O Israel the Lord our God the Lord is one, 44:15 and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart 44:17 and all your soul and all your mind." 44:19 And the second commandment where I can do it, 44:21 you shall love your neighbors yourself. 44:22 He quote Moses again. 44:24 And I said, "Yeah, that makes sense. 44:26 That makes a lot of sense, 44:27 but the trick question was who is my neighbor, right? 44:33 Who is my neighbor? Well, Jesus told a parable. 44:38 We quote in the tenth Chapter of Luke 44:39 which answered this question. 44:40 "And the parable a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho." 44:43 Those words are very true, by the way. 44:45 Jerusalem's 25,000 feet above sea level, 44:48 Jericho is a thousand feet below sea level, 44:50 3,500 foot decent and 15 miles 44:53 a man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. 44:55 Now many people who go there they're pointing 44:57 to this modern kiosk along the modern highway, 45:00 but the real high, the real road have gone down the Wadi Qelt 45:03 and He was then walking down the Wadi Qelt 45:06 that we can see on the screen here 45:07 and as he walk down the Wadi Qelt 45:09 and if you ever walk that you know 45:11 what I'm talking of there is just caves everywhere 45:12 and robbers would hide in there. 45:14 And so Jesus told the story about this man was going down 45:17 and as robbers jumped out and they beat him up 45:19 and they stole his money, they left him for dead. 45:22 And then he had a good fortune that a priest came by 45:25 and the priest came by and said, 45:26 "My priest, God has reviled this to me, 45:28 I must take care of this man, right? 45:30 Don't worry. It might be a trap? 45:32 He walked on the other side. 45:33 Then I came down and he said, 45:35 "Oh, you know, I'm on my way to temple I can't stop. 45:38 And then a lonesome Samaritan came by. 45:42 And the lonesome Samaritan was not worried about it 45:46 being a trap and here was his enemy the Jew 45:50 and he went down and he nursed the man 45:53 and he poured oil and wine on to his wounds 45:56 and then he put him on his donkey 45:57 and they carried them to an den, 45:59 he told the innkeeper to take care of him 46:01 and he gave him money to take to pay his expenses he said. 46:03 If there is anything else you need 46:04 when I come back I'll take are of it. 46:07 And then Jesus gets to the point 46:10 that people are listening to the story there. 46:11 They are listening to what he is saying 46:13 and then Jesus asks the million dollar question. 46:16 Which of these three do you think was a neighbor 46:19 to the man who fell into the hands of robbers? 46:23 I can't even say the word. 46:25 They said, "An expert in the law replied, 46:27 the one who had mercy on him." 46:28 We can't even say Samaritan, still hard to get it out. 46:33 And Jesus said, "Go and do likewise." 46:38 Isn't that like Jesus? 46:40 He broke through the culture 46:41 to booze of His days spoke to foreigners. 46:44 He said Pedigree is not nearly 46:46 as important as what's in the person heart. 46:48 He spoke to woman, 46:49 He shared the good news that He brought to earth. 46:52 Did you know that that woman at the well was the first person 46:55 He revealed His Messiahship to? 46:57 That woman that we believe is a prostitute, 47:00 a Samaritan prostitute. 47:02 Jesus told a very practical religion. 47:04 He said, "Love your neighbors and even love your enemies." 47:10 It's so sad today that Jesus words have fallen on deaf ears 47:15 in this part of the world, but you know what else is sad? 47:19 It's fallen on deaf ears even here 47:21 in which he taught, hasn't it. 47:24 Jesus said to love your enemies 47:27 love your enemies Jesus in Jericho 47:30 and count of blind man by the gate, 47:33 compassionately he reached out and touched his eyes. 47:36 The man received his sight, here Jesus encounters Zacchaeus 47:39 and there is a tree that's pointing 47:41 to as a sycamore tree there in Jericho. 47:43 And he looked up and he saw 47:44 that little short tax collector. 47:46 And remembers what he said? 47:48 "Zaccheus, you come down, I'm going to your house today!" 47:53 Poor the people were just 47:54 they were whistling when that happened. 47:56 That was unbelievable to go and eat. 47:59 You see meals are covenant meals. 48:01 He was accepting Zaccheus in a covenant way 48:05 as He ate that meal and he was criticized 48:06 for touching the untouchable 48:08 through eating with the outcasts. 48:11 Jesus responded by saying, 48:13 "I have come to seek and to save those who are lost." 48:18 He told so many parables to counter the criticism, 48:21 but none so beautiful as that of the one lost sheep. 48:24 You know the whole country is so pastoral, 48:27 doesn't matter if you are up in the north 48:28 where the Jews are and the foothills of Mount Hermon 48:31 everything is so beautiful with all the grass 48:33 or if you are down there in the south 48:34 with the better one to dry hills Negev and the wilderness. 48:37 The Sheppard tenderly cares for his sheep. 48:40 Now, I shot these pictures of some sheep 48:45 and up in the Galilee area was a drew's Sheppard 48:49 and I always thought seep are very, very docile animals 48:51 you know, but I've taken these pictures. 48:53 You guys, that one right in the bottom left hand corner. 48:56 I had a pair of flip flops on and I'm taking this picture 48:59 and this sheep comes up and bites my foot. 49:03 It actually draws blood. 49:06 I'm one of the few people to be attacked by a sheep 49:07 in Israel I guess, but any way it was very surprising, 49:11 but Sheppard would still love their sheep 49:13 in spite of all of that, of course. 49:15 And Jesus tells a story about a Sheppard He had 100 sheep. 49:18 Remember the story? 49:19 And then we came into the sheep farm 49:22 and he counted them 98, 99, 49:25 one was missing, he left the hunt to 99. 49:28 He went out to look for that lost sheep 49:30 and he looked and he looked and he looked 49:32 until finally he discovered that lost sheep 49:34 and he got that lost sheep he gave him one ton lashing, 49:36 you stupid sheep, you better don't do this, 49:39 you could have been killed out her and so what he did? 49:41 No, no. 49:44 He bent over and he picked it up, 49:46 put it on His shoulders, 49:48 carried it back, rejoicing they found 49:52 that one sheep that had been lost. 49:55 And remember the punch line? 49:56 Jesus said, "I tell you, there is great rejoicing 50:00 in heaven when one sinner repents. 50:03 That's Jesus, that's what Jesus is all about. 50:08 Well, toward the closing of His ministry 50:10 His footsteps let Him back to Bethany. 50:11 It's just a mile-and-a-half from Jerusalem over the hill, 50:14 over the Mount of Olives. 50:15 It's a home of Mary and Martha, Lazarus. 50:17 He loved to visit with his friends. 50:20 He loved to visit with them. Martha was a best cook in town. 50:22 Mary had an incredible faith and she had been delivered 50:25 from the life of sin by Jesus and Nazareth. 50:27 What a joy it was. 50:28 He loved just to hang on the words of Jesus. 50:30 Jesus love to be with His friends there. 50:32 There are so unlike those wily scribes in the law 50:35 who constantly trying into entrap Jesus. 50:38 Bethany, Jesus s could just kind of relax 50:40 and mutual friends in the confront their home. 50:42 And one day Jesus got word 50:44 that His good friend Lazarus was sick. 50:46 He was sick. Jesus didn't go by the way. 50:49 He tarried for four days. 50:51 And they got word that Lazarus had died. 50:55 Lazarus had died they've been buried there 50:56 in the family tomb in Bethlehem, in Bethany. 51:00 He was buried in the family tomb Jesus arrived 51:02 and there were mourning and they were crying 51:04 over the loss of their brother and friend 51:05 and Martha came to Jesus, remember? 51:07 She said, "Lord, if you have been here, 51:08 my brother wouldn't have died." 51:11 And He said, "I'm the resurrection of the life." 51:13 If you believe you are gonna see some really great things. 51:15 She said, "But Lord, if you'd only been here he will be life." 51:18 Remember the story? Jesus takes an alt to the tomb. 51:21 He says, "Role the stone away." 51:22 They said, "But, Lord, you can't do that 51:24 because it's already stinking. 51:26 It's been four days." 51:27 Remember the purpose? 51:28 They told about tombs, they take him down, 51:30 they put him in that cave and put the stone over 51:32 and put all spices on because the body is gonna decay. 51:35 And he is says, "It's already stinking, 51:36 it's already routing in the tomb." 51:39 Role the stone away 51:41 and he spoke those words, remember? 51:43 Lazarus come forth and Lazarus stood in the tomb 51:48 and he came back to life. 51:50 And Jesus unwrapped him and they were just rejoicing. 51:53 Wow, 51:54 this is considered the crowning point of Jesus ministry 51:56 when He raised Lazarus from the dead I want to tell you, 51:59 it's just as important when He raises you and me 52:01 from the spiritual dead as what He did for Lazarus. 52:05 Well, this flew in the face of a group 52:08 of rulers named the Sadducees. 52:10 You see the Sadducees didn't like the Pharisees. 52:12 Pharisees, they live the law 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 52:15 Sadducees, they were the power holders 52:17 of the high priest, the chief priest 52:19 and they believe that there was no resurrection from the dead. 52:22 When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead there was proof 52:24 that they were wrong and so they laid aside 52:26 their scruples with the Pharisees, 52:28 they are united together for one purpose 52:30 destroying Jesus. 52:33 And it was just a matter of time until they would arrest Jesus 52:39 and putting the lives to death. 52:40 Soon Jesus would make His last trip to Jerusalem. 52:44 He will be arrested on friends Olive Garden called Gethsemane. 52:47 Gethsemane simply means the oil press. 52:49 The garden of the oil press. 52:50 He betrayed, convicted in the morning. 52:52 Those tireless feet that tried the land 52:55 and ministry for just three-and-a-half years 52:58 on so many errands of mercy will now be spiked to the tree. 53:03 Those lovely hands that touch the eyes of the blind 53:07 and the ears of the deaf will be stretched out on the bar 53:10 that mouth which uttered the greatest teachings 53:13 ever heard would be silenced in the tomb. 53:17 Just three-and-a-half short years, 53:19 Jesus was arrested taken, 53:21 He was tried before the Sanhedrin, 53:23 He was tried before Pilate, 53:26 He was sent to Herod the person who executed John the Baptist 53:29 and He was sent back to Pilate again. 53:31 Pilate said, "I find no fault in him 53:33 and yet he was condemned 53:35 to go out to a place with a skull." 53:37 He was placed a place with the skull 53:39 just three-and-a-half short years. 53:42 We talked about in our presentation on Jerusalem. 53:45 You know, that doesn't really matter garden tomb, 53:47 the church of the Holy Sepulcher. 53:49 He was taken out to a place where they executed people, 53:51 the purpose of the cross, was a strike fearing 53:54 that leave you on a cross 53:55 and you cry out for days and days, 53:57 it was a terrible experience. 54:00 Jesus was put on the cross, hung between heaven and earth. 54:03 The law said, "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." 54:05 Jesus was hung on that tree at the gate of Jerusalem. 54:11 Three-and-a-half short years, but the incredible thing 54:14 is the story doesn't end at the cross. 54:18 Jesus was hung there on the cross, 54:20 but it doesn't end there 54:21 because the stone was rolled away, right? 54:24 The stone was rolled away. 54:26 And I want to tell you this evening, 54:28 there are mausoleums in this land 54:30 to Samuel the prophet, to Jacob, 54:32 to Abraham, to Rachel, to Joseph, 54:36 but there is no mausoleum to Jesus. 54:41 There are mausoleums to Mohammad in this part of the land, 54:46 but there is no place claiming to have the bones of Jesus 54:49 because He came back to life 54:52 that door there on the garden tomb says it all. 54:55 It says, "He is risen. He is not here." 55:02 In 1987, I took a five-week course in archeology 55:05 in Jerusalem by the scholar William Shay. 55:08 We toured hundreds of archeological sites. 55:10 We saw more sites we never wanted to see. 55:13 We kind of almost became a joke. 55:14 Dr. Shay said, "What is that? 55:16 One or four in this right house 55:18 or be at temple one of the other. 55:20 And about 50-50 chance has seemed to being right. 55:24 Finally exam question came 55:26 I was taking the class for credit 55:29 And the question was this, what difference does it make? 55:33 As I thought about that and pottered after 55:35 spending five weeks with him traveling around 55:37 and looking all these sites, 55:40 I came up with a two word answer. 55:42 It happened. It happened. 55:46 Now you have seen the land where the story took place. 55:49 You've been able to go in your minds 55:50 and eye retrace the journey that Jesus made 55:53 and hear His teachings. 55:55 Now I'm gonna tell you this evening that it happened. 55:58 It happened Jesus came back to life on a day 56:00 that was just as real as this day. 56:03 He came back to life and He defeated death 56:06 and because of that He offers to us life everlasting. 56:11 He defeated death so we no longer 56:12 have to be afraid of it. 56:15 That's the Jesus. I know He served in love. 56:19 Let's pray together. 56:20 Father in heaven, thank You tonight 56:21 for the opportunity to follow in the footsteps with Jesus. 56:24 What a wondrous thing it is. 56:26 Thank you so much for allowing your son to come 56:28 and be born of Mary. 56:30 It's amazing towards, it's just-- 56:31 It can hardly fathom it. 56:33 But we thank You for it. 56:35 We thank You for the great prophecies 56:36 that we've also talked about that have confirm that story. 56:39 Jesus most of all, we thank You 56:41 that You not only raise ladders from the dead, 56:43 but You came back to life Yourself 56:45 and broke the bonds of death, 56:46 so we no longer have to be afraid of it. 56:48 Thank You for that, Jesus. 56:50 And I pray that each one 56:51 who was hearing this presentation 56:54 will come to know You as that death defined savior. 56:58 They'll come to know You as the living savior 57:00 that there's no mausoleum keeping Your body 57:03 anywhere in this world, 57:04 that You're alive for ever never. 57:07 We thank You for that and we worship and adore You 57:08 because of it we pray in Jesus' name, amen 57:12 Well, indeed it happened 57:14 and we want to remind you of that. 57:15 God bless you all. |
Revised 2014-12-17