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Explore the Life of Jesus
Many great leaders have influenced the world, but none more than Jesus. How did He do it? He was a tradesman with no wealth, from an unknown family, with few connections. From the time He made the momentous announcement of the kingdom of God, He was given only three years to accomplish what He had to do. The belief of His followers—that He is Lord of the Universe and the Saviour of the world—spread through the ancient civilisation of Greece and Rome. It transformed Europe, much of Asia and North Africa. Two thousand years later there is no country in which the influence of Jesus is not felt. In fact, there are more people alive today who call themselves Christian than in all other centuries put together. How can anyone explain this? How did it come about? Explore His life and teaching and you will begin to understand.
Explore the Life of Jesus - Contents Page
Introduction
How to get the most from this module:
Unit 1: Portraits of Jesus
- Do you remember what we discussed in Module 1?
- Where does our knowledge about the life of Jesus come from?
- Writing about Jesus by people who didn’t believe in Him
- The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
Unit 2: A king is born
- The stories of Jesus’ birth
- Jesus’ ancestors
- Jesus’ conception
- Jesus’ mission
- When was Jesus born?
- Why was the King born in such poverty?
Unit 3: The king is commissioned
- The years before Jesus’ public ministry
- John the Baptist
- Jesus’ baptism
- Jesus’ temptations in the wilderness
- Jesus begins His work
Unit 4: The kingdom is announced
- Galilee: the place where Jesus first talked about the kingdom
- What led Jesus to begin a new ministry in Galilee?
- Jesus’ message
- How could Jesus say that the kingdom had come; what did He mean?
- Jesus and the demons
- Absence of political expression in the kingdom of God
- How did Jesus say the kingdom of God would come?
Unit 5: The friend of sinners
- How did Jesus call His followers to Him?
- What first impression did Jesus make on ordinary people?
- Notable characteristics of Jesus
- The religious leaders
- How did Jesus relate to women?
- Jesus’ attitude to children
- Jesus’ priority in ministry
Unit 6: Who is this man?
- Why didn’t Jesus openly declare Himself the king?
- How did Peter come to see that Jesus was the Messiah?
- How did Jesus establish the kingdom of God?
- Did Jesus say anything more about Himself than that He was the Messiah?
Unit 7: Setting His face towards Jerusalem
- The areas in which Jesus carried out His ministry
- Why and when did Jesus leave Galilee?
- Jesus in Jerusalem
- Jesus’ view of His approaching death
Unit 8: The last week
- Jesus emerges from hiding
- The fateful journey to Jerusalem
- Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem
- Jesus’ last week in Jerusalem
- How did Jesus say the future would be?
Unit 9: The king is rejected
- Jesus’ ‘last’ night
- Jesus’ arrest
- Jesus’ trial
- Why was Pontius Pilate involved?
- Jesus’ execution
- The significance of the events surrounding Jesus’ death
Unit 10: The King Rises
- Did Jesus really come alive again?
- Evidence of the resurrection
- Events after Jesus’ death, as described in the oldest Gospel
- Why does Mark’s account break off without describing Jesus’ appearances to His followers?
- What does Matthew add to Mark’s account?
- What does Luke add to what we have learnt in Mark and Matthew?
- What does John tell us happened on the first Easter Day?
- What is the significance of Jesus’ life and ministry?
