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The Story of Jesus
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The Story of Jesus - Given to us by the Writers of Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). Told one short story at a time by Alan Kelly.
The Story of Jesus
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Posted on Friday, August 05, 2011 10:12 PM
From Matt 28:16-20; Mark 16:15-20; Luke 24:49-53; and John 20:30-31, 21:25 Sometime later the disciples all came together and went up on the mountain Jesus had instructed them to. Jesus met them there and told them. “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. For that reason, I command you to go into the entire world and preach the good news to every person on earth. Make disciples of the people in every nation, baptizing them in the name of Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Those who believe and are baptized will be saved; those who refuse to believe will be condemned. Teach your new disciples to obey all of the commands I have given you. The evidence that someone truly believes in me is that they will be able to cast out demons using my name and they will speak with new languages. They will be able to safely handle poisonous snakes and if they drink anything poisonous it won’t hurt them. They will lay hands on the sick and they will recover. Remember, I will always be with you, all the way until the end of the world.” The disciples worshiped him there but some of them were still filled with doubt. After that, all of Jesus’ followers got together and returned to Jerusalem. During the forty days after his crucifixion Jesus met together with his followers several times. The last time was after they were back in Jerusalem and meeting together in the house with the upper room where they had their last supper together. They had come to call that place home in the city. They were all there again and Jesus was there with them and they were all sharing a meal together this one last time. He told them, “It was written long ago that the Messiah would have to suffer and die and then rise again on the third day. You have been witnesses to all of this.” Some of disciples then asked him the same question they had asked several times since he had risen from the dead, “Lord is this the time you will restore the kingdom to Israel? “It’s not for you to know the times or the season for those things,” Jesus answered. “The Father is one who sets the dates for them to take place.” Then he got back to point he had been making, “John did indeed baptize with water but just a few days from now you are going to be baptized with the Holy Spirit. I am going to send you the Holy Spirit just as my Father promised. You are to wait here in Jerusalem until you receive power from above. When the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will receive the power to go in my name and take this message of repentance and forgiveness of sins to all the nations of the world beginning right here in Jerusalem. You will be my witness here in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the very ends of the earth.” After Jesus finished speaking, he led his followers out of the city and to the Mount of Olives. From there they headed toward Bethany. Suddenly he stopped and raised his hands and started praying for them all. As he was praying, he left them and went up into heaven where he took his rightful seat in the place of honor at God’s right hand. His follower’s watched him until he disappeared into a cloud. As they were standing there looking up into the sky, two men in white robes suddenly appeared beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring at the sky? This same Jesus you saw rise into heaven will someday return in the same way you saw him go.” So his followers left the Mount of Olives and joyously returned to Jerusalem and waited for the promised Holy Spirit. While they were waiting, they spent their time in the Temple, praising God. Jesus did many more miracles in the presence of his disciples during his time here on earth that are not recorded in this book. But I think if everyone of them had been listed one by one that the entire world would not be big enough to contain all the books it would take to do that. But the ones that are recorded here were written so you would believe that Jesus truly is the Messiah, the Son of God. And that by believing in him, you will have life. |
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Alan Kelly: Posted on Thursday, August 04, 2011 8:22 PM
From John 21:1-23 The next time Jesus appeared to his disciples it was at the Sea of Galilee. Jesus' followers had all returned to Galilee and had each gone back to their home towns. Several of them were from Cana and had returned there. They were Simon the Rock along with Thomas “the twin”, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, and two of the other disciples along with Nathaniel. One day, after they had been there for a while Peter told the others that he was going fishing. They all said they wanted to go too, so they all got in a boat and went fishing on the Sea of Galilee. But after spending the entire night out there, they hadn’t caught anything. When morning came and they could see the beach again in the daylight, Jesus was standing there. They didn’t realize it was him because they still couldn’t see him clearly. “Have you caught any fish, my friends?” Jesus yelled to them. “No,” they all answered. “Throw your net down on the right side of the boat and you will catch plenty of fish,” Jesus directed them. “They all looked at each other and decided it couldn’t hurt so they did what he said. When they did, they couldn’t bring their net back on board because it was so full of fish. Then John, the disciple who had such a special relationship with Jesus, realized who it was. “It’s the Lord,” he announced to the Rock. When Simon the Rock heard that it was the Lord, he pulled on his outer garment that he had removed for work. He then dove into the water and swam ashore. The other disciples though stayed with the boat and towed the net full of fish to shore. It was only about three hundred feet and they got there about the same time the Rock did. They all noticed that Jesus already had charcoal fire going and was cooking some fish and had some bread there too. “Bring me some of the fish you caught,” Jesus suggested. Simon the Rock went over and helped the others pull the net full of fish onto the beach. It had 153 large fish in it, yet it had not broken. When they had finished, Jesus said, “Come over and eat breakfast with me.” None of the disciples had to ask him who he was because they were sure now that it was Jesus. Jesus gave them each some bread and fish. This was the third time Jesus had appeared to the disciples since he had risen from the dead. After they had eaten breakfast, Jesus took Simon the Rock for a walk along the beach. As they passed by the beautiful catch of fish they had made, Jesus pointed to them and asked, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these?” “Yes Lord,” he answered, “You know I love you like a brother.” “Then I want you to feed my lambs,” Jesus told him. They continued in silence for a few minutes then Jesus asked again, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me unconditionally?” “Yes Lord,” the Rock answered again, “You know I love you like a brother.” “Then I want you to take care of my sheep,” Jesus told him. After few minutes Jesus stopped and looked at the Rock, “So, Simon, Son of Jonah, do you really love me like brother?” The Rock was saddened by the way Jesus asked this time whether he loved him or not. “Lord you know everything so you know that I do love you like a brother,” he answered as he looked at the ground. “Then feed my sheep,” Jesus told him. They started walking again and he continued, “The truth is when you were young you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted but when you get old, you will reach out your hands and someone else will dress you and carry you to a place you do not want to go.” Jesus told him that to let him know what kind of a death he was going have. Then he charged him, “Follow me.” The Rock looked back and saw John following them. He was the disciple that Jesus had such a very special relationship with, the one who had leaned against him at their last supper together and asked Jesus who from among them was going to betray him. “What about him, Lord?” the Rock asked. “If he were to live until I come back again, what does that have to do with you?” Jesus replied. “You just have to follow me.” From that time on the rumor spread among the followers that John was not going to die, but that is not what Jesus said at all. He simply said, “If he were to live until I come back again, what does that have to do with you?” |
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Alan Kelly: Posted on Wednesday, August 03, 2011 9:06 PM
From Mark 16:13, Luke 24:33-49, and John 20:19-29 When they arrived, one of the followers told them excitedly, “The Lord really has risen, Peter saw him too!” They went inside to tell everyone their exciting news but most of the people there were still skeptical and not believing all the good reports. They were still grieving over what had happened and hiding inside the house because they were afraid of the Jewish religious leaders. As they were discussing all these things, Jesus was suddenly standing right there in the room with them. “Peace be with you,” he said calmly. They gasped in horror; many of them thought they were seeing ghost. “Why are you so frightened?” he asked in amusement. “Do you doubt it is me? Here, look at my hands and my feet,” he said as held out his hands showed them his feet and the still visible holes from nails that had been driven through them. Then he showed them his side where he had been stabbed with the Roman soldier’s spear. They were all still just sitting there staring at him. “Come over here and touch me,” he said. “Do ghosts have bodies? You can see that I do.” They still hadn’t moved and he could see the shock mixed with doubt and fear showing in their eyes. “Do you have any food here?” he inquired. They handed him a plate of broiled fish and honeycomb and he ate it while they sat and watched him. When he finished eating, he said, “While I was still with you I told you that everything that was written about me by Moses and the prophets must come true.” Then he went through the scriptures the way he had with the two travelers earlier and explained the scriptures and how they had been fulfilled. Then he repeated, “Peace be with you, in the same way the Father sent me, I am sending you.” Now one of the disciples, Thomas, who was nick-named the twin was not there that night. When the others told him what had happened and said, “We have seen the Lord!” He replied, “Unless I see the nail prints in his hands and touch his injured side, I am not going to believe it." Eight days later they were all together again in the house and this time Thomas was there. The doors were all shut but suddenly Jesus was standing there right in the middle of all of them. “Peace be with you,” he said again. Then he turned to Thomas, “Look at my hands, put your finger right here, he said as he pointed to the nail prints in his hands. Then he said, “And here, touch the wound in my side. Now don’t doubt anymore, believe.” “My Lord and my God!” Thomas responded. Jesus replied, “Thomas, you believe me because you’ve seen me. Blessed are those who haven’t seen me but they believe anyway.” |
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Posted on Tuesday, August 02, 2011 8:33 PM
Mark 16:12 and Luke 24:13-33 That afternoon two of Jesus' followers were traveling from Jerusalem to a town called Emmaus, about seven miles away. As they were walking along they were discussing all the events of the last few days and the amazing things they had heard about that morning. Suddenly Jesus came walking down the road and caught up with them. “You seem to be having a very deep discussion,” Jesus commented as he joined them. “What is it you’re talking about and why do you seem so sad?” They stopped walking and looked at him it amazement. They had been kept from recognizing him, so one of them, a man named Cleopas, responded, “You must be the only person in Jerusalem that has not heard about the things that have happened the last few days.” “What things?” Jesus inquired. “The things that happened to Jesus of Nazareth,” Cleopas answered.“He was a mighty prophet before God and before the people. He performed many amazing miracles and was a great teacher. Three days ago our high priests and religious leaders delivered him to the Romans to be condemned to death and crucified. We had thought that he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel.” Then the other man jumped in, “But early this morning some of the women in our group went out to his tomb and came back with an amazing story. They said that his body was gone from the tomb and they saw angels there who told them that Jesus has risen from the dead. Some of the men ran out to the tomb and found it empty just like the women said. His body is gone!” “You are all such foolish people!” Jesus said in amazement. “Is it that hard for you to believe all the scriptures that were written about him? Don’t they all say that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before he comes into his glory?” Then starting with Moses he went on to explain all the scriptures that told about him. By this time they were arriving at their destination and since it was late in the afternoon, they invited Jesus to stay with them. He acted like he needed to continue on his journey but then he relented and agreed to stay. When they arrived at the house they were going to stay at, they all sat down to have dinner together. Jesus picked up a loaf of bread and broke it into pieces. He asked for God’s blessing on it then gave them each a piece. Suddenly their eyes were opened and they realized who he was. At that moment he disappeared. They looked at each other in astonishment. “No wonder it warmed our hearts so to hear him explain all those scriptures to us!” One of them exclaimed. They agreed and within an hour they had their things together and were on the road back to Jerusalem to tell the disciples and other followers what had happened. |
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Alan Kelly: Posted on Monday, August 01, 2011 8:43 PM
From Matt 28:9-10, Mark 16:9, Luke 23:56, and John 20:1-18 Meanwhile, Mary Magdalene arrived back at the house where she found John and Simon the Rock. “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb!” she exclaimed. “And we don’t know where they have taken him!” They both took off on the run to the tomb. John was the fastest but when he arrived, he stopped outside the tomb and bent over and looked inside. He saw the linen cloth Jesus had been wrapped in still laying there. When Simon the Rock got there, he ran past John and went straight inside. He also saw the linen cloth and noticed too that the piece of cloth that had been placed over his face was folded neatly to the side by itself. John followed him in. Up until then they really hadn’t comprehended the scriptures that said that Jesus was going to rise from the dead but they were starting to believe. They left the tomb and returned to the house. Mary Magdalene, the one who Jesus had cast seven demons out of, was the first person to see Jesus after he rose from the dead. She had followed John and the Rock back to the tomb and after they left, she walked over, stooped down, and looked inside. She saw the two angels sitting there, one at the head and the other at the feet of where Jesus had been laying. One of them asked, “Woman, why are crying?” “Because they have taken my Lord away and I don’t know where they have laid him,” she answered. Then she stood up and turned around. Jesus was standing there but she didn’t look at him and thought he was the gardener. “Why are you crying?” he asked. “Who are you looking for?” “Sir,” she asked, “If you have taken my master somewhere, can you tell me where he is so I can go get him? “Mary,” was his only answer. She looked at him and cried, “Rabboni (teacher)!” “Don’t grab a hold of me yet,” Jesus responded. “I still haven’t gone up to my Father. Instead go to my brothers and tell them I am on my way up to my Father and your Father, my God and your God.” She left to find the disciples to give them Jesus’ message. As the other women were on their way back to find the disciples, they were suddenly met by Jesus. “Rejoice!” He exclaimed. They fell on their faces and grabbed a hold of his feet. He didn’t push them away but said, “Go now and tell my disciples to go to Galilee, I will meet them there.” They took off on the run to tell the disciples what they had seen and by the time they got to house, Mary Magdalene had caught up with them. When they found the disciples who were still grieving and weeping, the women all started talking at once telling the disciples what they had seen and heard. The disciples had a hard time comprehending what they were trying to say and thought it all sounded like bunch of nonsense. The Rock, however, took off again and ran back to the tomb. Everything was just as he had seen it earlier with the linen cloths still lying there by themselves. He went away marveling to himself, realizing from the women’s stories that something amazing must have happened. Then, on his way back home Jesus appeared to him as well. |
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Alan Kelly: Posted on Sunday, July 31, 2011 9:05 PM
From Matt 28:1,5-8,11-15; Mark 16:2-8; and Luke 24:1-11 Then first thing that morning while it was still dark out, Mary Magdalene, Johanna, Mary the mother of James, and Salome brought the spices to the tomb they had prepared for Jesus' burial. While they were on their way, they were discussing how they were going to get the huge stone moved from in front of the tomb. When they arrived, they were shocked to see that it had already been rolled out of the way. Mary Magdalene, assuming that someone had come and moved Jesus’ body took off on the run to tell the disciples what had happened. The other women however, walked over and went inside the tomb. They saw that sure enough, the body of Jesus was gone. As they stood there wondering what might have happened, two men dressed in long, dazzling white robes suddenly appeared before them on the right side of the tomb. The startled women bowed their faces to the earth. “Why are you looking for the living among the dead?” asked the man who looked to be the younger of the two. “Don’t be alarmed, I know you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified. But he isn’t here; he has risen from the dead. Look there at the place he was laying. Remember how all the way back when you were still in Galilee, he told you that the Son of God who has come in the flesh was going to be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, but on the third day be raised from the dead? Go quickly and tell the other disciples, including the Rock that he will meet all of you in Galilee. You will see him there just as he told you he would.” The frightened women ran out of tomb shaking so hard from fear and amazement that they couldn’t even talk. But they ran to find the disciples, excited to tell them what they had seen and heard. After they left, the guards who had been awakened by the commotion, got up and ran into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. The priests called together the high council to tell them what had they had been told. They all talked it over and then gave the guards a large sum of money and told them, “Tell everyone that the disciples came at night while you were sleeping and stole his body.” Then they said, “If the governor finds out, we will stick up for you so you won’t get in trouble.” The guards agreed and that was what they did. Their story was spread widely among the Jewish people and is still told today. |
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Posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2011 9:02 PM
The 6th and 7th Days (Friday and Saturday) of the Final Week Passover (the Special High Sabbath) and the Sabbath Day From Matt 27:62-66, 28:2-4 and Luke 23:56 The next afternoon, when the Passover celebration was coming to an end and the regular Sabbath Day was about to start, the Jewish religious leaders went to see Pilate. “Sir,” they said when he came out to where they were waiting, “We remember that while that deceiver was still alive, he said, ‘After three days I will be raised up.’ We would like you to secure the tomb he has been buried in so his disciples don’t come and steal his body then tell everyone that he has risen from the dead. If that happens we will be worse off than we were before.” Then Pilate replied, “Take guards and make it as secure as you can.” So they sealed the tomb and posted guards to protect it. That is how things stayed, at least by outward appearances until sometime in the early morning hours on Sunday morning. That was when a great earthquake took place and an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled the stone away from the entrance of the tomb, and sat down on it. His face was as bright as lightening and his clothes as white as newly fallen snow. When the guards saw this, they began to tremble with fear and suddenly fell over in a dead faint. |
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Alan Kelly: Posted on Tuesday, July 26, 2011 9:03 PM
The 5th Day (Thursday) of the Final Week From Matt 27:57-61, Mark 15:42-47, Luke 23:50-55, and John 19:31-42 Because it was preparation day for the Passover celebration which was also called a high Sabbath, the Jewish leaders were required to have the dead bodies buried before 6:00 PM, the start of the holiday. They went to Pilate to request that the men who had been crucified have their legs broken so they would die quicker and could be removed from the crosses and buried. So soldiers were sent out and they broke the legs of the two criminals but when they came to Jesus, they discovered that he was already dead. Instead of breaking his legs, one of soldiers stabbed Jesus in the side with his spear and immediately blood and water came pouring out. His followers who were still watching from a distance witnessed all of this. It fulfilled an ancient scripture that said, “Not one of his bones will be broken,” and another that said, “They will look on him who they pierced.” Then one of the members of the Jewish high council, a man named Joseph from the town of Arimathea in Judea, went to Pilate to ask if he could take Jesus' body and have it buried. He was an upright and honest man who had secretly been a follower of Jesus and was waiting for the day when God would come to set up his kingdom. He did not agree with the decision of the council to have Jesus killed but he was afraid of the Jewish leaders. Now he got his courage up and went to see Pilate anyway. Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead so he called in one of his commanders and he confirmed that Jesus had actually been dead for a while now. Pilate gave him permission to take the body so Joseph and his friend Nicodemas, the Jewish religious leader who had visited Jesus in the middle of the night three years earlier, went and took Jesus down from the cross. They had brought along about seventy-five pounds of embalming ointment made from myrrh mixed with aloes. They took a long strip of brand new linen cloth and according to Jewish burial custom, wrapped it along with the ointment tightly around the body ofJesus. Joseph owned a brand new tomb that had been carved out of a rock in a garden right near the place where the crucifixion had taken place. Since it was close by, they buried Jesus there. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph were following them and sat watching as the two men placed the body in the tomb and then rolled a large stone over the entrance. Then they and the other women from Galilee went back to the place they were staying and prepared spices and burial ointment for Jesus so that after the Sabbaths were over, they could go back and prepare Jesus properly for burial. By the time they finished, the special high Sabbath for the Passover celebration had begun so they rested from their work as they were required by Jewish law. |
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Alan Kelly: Posted on Monday, July 25, 2011 9:20 PM
The 5th Day (Thursday) of the Final Week From Matt 27:45-56, Mark 15:33-41, Luke 23:44-49, and John 19:28-30 Later that afternoon Jesus suddenly cried out, “Eloi, Eloi, lema, sabachthani?” When translated it means, “My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me?” Some of people standing by misunderstood what he said and asserted, “Look, he is calling for the prophet Elijah to come and rescue him!” Then Jesus said, “I’m thirsty.” Someone there had a container filled with sour wine and offered it to Jesus. One of the people found a sponge and put it on the end of a hyssop branch. Then he dipped it in the wine and held it up to Jesus’ mouth. One of those who thought he had called for Elijah said, “Leave him alone. I want to see if Elijah comes to rescue him.” After he took a sip of the wine, Jesus shouted, “Father into your hands I commit my spirit!” Then he announced, “It is finished!” At 3:00 PM, the exact time the lambs were being slain at the temple for the Passover meals of the Israelite people that evening, Jesus bowed his head and gave up his spirit. At that moment the veil in temple in front of the Holy of Holies was torn in two from the top to the bottom. And a great earthquake took place, rocks split a part, tombs were opened,and the darkness lifted (Later after Jesus was raised from the dead, Godly men and women from times past came out of those tombs and were seen by many people walking around in the holy city of Jerusalem). The Roman soldiers who were still standing by the cross, were terrified at the earth quake and everything they had seen take place that day. They cried out, “It has to be true that this was the son of God!” Their commander said, “There is no doubt that he was an innocent man.” The huge crowd of people who had wandered away from the crucifixion site came running back. When they saw what had happened they beat their chests in sorrow and went home in deep mourning. The women who had been by the cross had backed away and were watching all of this take place from a distance. John was still with them and they had been joined by his mother, Salome, the wife of Zebedee and Mary, the mother of the younger James and Joseph. There were many other women there as well and they had all followed Jesus from Galilee to take care of him during his ministry. |
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Alan Kelly: Posted on Sunday, July 24, 2011 8:30 PM
The 5th Day (Thursday) of the Final Week From Matt 27:35-36,38-44; Mark 15:24-32; Luke 23:33-37,39-43; and John 19:23-27 This whole crucifixion process had started about 9:00 in the morning and it was exactly 12:00 noon when they finally got him hung in place. At that moment darkness fell across the entire land and it lasted until after his death at 3:00 PM. The soldiers sat down under the cross and divided his clothes among the four of them. His outer robe was an expensive, one-piece garment so they gambled for that rather than cut it up into pieces. This fulfilled the ancient scripture that said, “They divided up my clothes but gambled for my robe.” A huge throng of people stood by and watched. Some of those in the crowd began to shake their heads in ridicule and shouted insults at Jesus by saying things like “You said you were going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, why don’t you save yourself?” and “If you are the Son of God then come down off that cross!” The Jewish leaders also mocked him among themselves. “He saved others, how come he can’t save himself?” One of them asked scornfully. Another one sneered, “I think this Messiah, the king of Israel, should be able to bring himself down off of that cross.” They all laughed and one of them added, “Then we would all believe in him for sure.” Another one scoffed, “he said he is the Son of God. Why doesn’t God come down now and save him?” One of the criminals joined in. “If you really are the Messiah, Why don’t you prove it by saving yourself and us too?” The other criminal interrupted him, “Don’t you even fear God when you are dying? We are being punished because of the evil things we have done but this innocent man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” “You will be with me today in paradise,” Jesus assured him. As the afternoon went on the crowd began to thin and his followers who were there began to inch closer to the cross. There was Mary, the wife of Clopas, Mary Magdalene, and his mother Mary. They were accompanied by John; the disciple Jesus had such a special relationship with. When they had made their way all the way forward so they were standing right in front of the cross, Jesus looked at his mother and John standing together and said, “Woman, this is your son.” Then he said to John, “This is your mother.” From that day forward John took Mary to live with him in his own home. |
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