God Cherishes You Blog

Christ the Miracle Worker is a Healer

We had just left Jesus as He was passing through Samaria, where He publicly declared His Messiahship to the Samaritan woman, who in turn, evangelized that information throughout her city. (See Choosing a Water That Makes a Difference.)

John the Baptist had just been thrown in prison by Herod Antipas, the governor of Galilee, because John had the audacity to rebuke him in public for forcing his sister-in-law to divorce her husband so that Herod could have her.

One year has elapsed since Jesus was baptized. Along with his 5 disciples, return to Galilee. And as if right on cue, Jesus is preaching the Gospel for real – bringing John’s message to its final fruition.

“The [appointed period of] time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent [change your inner self—your old way of thinking, regret past sins, live your life in a way that proves repentance; seek God’s purpose for your life] and believe [with a deep, abiding trust] in the good news [regarding salvation].” Mk. 1:15 AMP

Christ is astonishing his audiences with His teachings in various synagogues.

He and His retinue returned to Cana, (the city where He performed His first miracle), in Galilee (where Jesus had said a prophet had not honor in his own country[1] indicating that the people were impressed with the miracles, but did not tie it to Christ being the Messiah).

And there was a certain royal official whose son was sick in Capernaum. Having heard that Jesus had come back from Judea to Galilee, he went to meet Him and began asking Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death. Jn. 4:46 AMP

It was an official under Herod Antipas. Jesus first responded (including as well to the onlookers):

“Unless you [people] see [miraculous] signs and wonders, you [simply] will not believe.” Jn. 4:48 AMP

The official pleads with Jesus to come before his child dies. Jesus answers with complete authority, healing the child without being there. He exclaims:

“Go; your son lives!” Jn. 4:50 AMP

The official had faith, went home, and his attendants said his son rose at the very moment Jesus had spoken…

Christ and His disciples enter a synagogue in Nazareth. Jesus reads aloud from the official Scriptures of the prophet Isaiah:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me (the Messiah), because He has anointed Me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent Me to announce release (pardon, forgiveness) to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed (downtrodden, bruised, crushed by tragedy), to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord [the day when salvation and the favor of God abound greatly].” Lk. 4:18, 19. AMP

Jesus hands the scrolls to the attendant, and sits down to teach, gathering everyone’s attention and says:

“Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing and in your presence.” Lk. 21: AMP

This was an obvious admission that He was the Messiah. The people’s response was however one of ‘prove it by performing more miracles.’

Christ responded saying that ‘no prophet was welcome in his own town and told them that in the prophets’ Elijah and Elisha time, they were only sent to Gentiles to heal, inferring that the same would happen here. The townsfolk were not happy:

…the people in the synagogue were filled with a great rage; and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the crest of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to hurl Him down the cliff. But passing [miraculously] through the crowd, He went on His way. Lk. 4:28 – 30. AMP

The bottom line was that Jesus performed no miracles because the people had no faith.

Christ and His followers went to Capernaum and entered a synagogue and was teaching with miraculous God-like authority, when a demon-possessed man in the synagogue cried out:

“Let us alone! What business do we have [in common] with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” Lk. 4:34 AMP

Jesus responded:

“Be quiet! Come out of the man,” he ordered. At that, the demon threw the man to the floor as the crowd watched; then it came out of him without hurting him further. Lk. 4:35 NLT

This miracle spread far wide in the region.

Afterward Jesus and crew went to Simon’s mother-in-law’s home and found her to be sick with a high fever. Jesus rebuked it and the sickness left her.

While they were there, many people brought their sick to be healed:

…people throughout the village brought sick family members to Jesus. No matter what their diseases were, the touch of his hand healed everyone. Many were possessed by demons; and the demons came out at his command, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But because they knew he was the Messiah, he rebuked them and refused to let them speak. Lk. 4:40, 41. NLT

We are going to look at the apostle Mark’s account of the gathering of Jesus’ disciples and compare that with that of the apostle John’s which we’ve previously examined: (See Jesus Gathers Disciples, Performs a Miracle, and Cleans House).

One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living.

Now, He was going to expand upon their grasp of their calling, as He presses in:

“Follow Me [as My disciples, accepting Me as your Master and Teacher and walking the same path of life that I walk], and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed Him [becoming His disciples, believing and trusting in Him and following His example].” Mk. 1:17, 18. AMP

These are the same two disciples of John the Baptist, who left him to follow Jesus. This is just an official recognition on Christ’s part to ensconce them as official apostles.

A crowd was gathering and Jesus asked Simon Peter to use his boat on the shoreline to have a 180-degree venue to preach to the crowd.

When He finished, He told Simon Peter to cast out his fishing net, (he knowing they had no luck fishing the night before, and the fish were less likely to bite in the day. But it’s Jesus. Peter acquiesces.

…this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking. Simon realized the power of Jesus once more, and his commitment to Him was strengthened.

They walk together a little farther and come upon John, (who’s already on board with Jesus), and his brother James, and father Zebedee. Jesus called John and James, and they became conscripted as new disciples, bringing the number to six.

Traveling along into a village, they meet a man with leprosy (or similar skin lesions) who bows to the ground begging to be healed, saying:

“Lord,” he said, “if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.” Lk. 5:12 NLT

The drama is tense. We don’t know how many years this man has gone without being touched, as ‘lepers’ were cursed as ‘untouchables’ in Jewish society. Secondly however, the ‘leper’ is not doubting Jesus’ ability to heal him at all. Indeed, he is demonstrating his great faith. Jesus sees this and extends His endless compassion:

Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared. Then Jesus instructed him not to tell anyone what had happened. He said, “Go to the priest and let him examine you. Take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy. This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed.” Lk. 5:13, 14. NLT

Jesus might have been wanting to be a little more discreet at this time, but the knowledge of His healings was spreading like wildfire.

Jesus did the healing but is still showing respect for Mosaic Law.

One day while Jesus was teaching, some Pharisees and teachers of religious law were sitting nearby. (It seemed that these men showed up from every village in all Galilee and Judea, as well as from Jerusalem.) And the Lord’s healing power was strongly with Jesus. Lk. 5:17 NLT

The place was packed and some people outside wanted to bring a paralyzed friend for healing but couldn’t get through the crowd. So, his friends removed some roof tiles and lowered him on a bed down to Jesus.

Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.” Lk. 5:20 NLT

Christ’s declaration threw the Pharisees into a tizzy because they believe that only Jehovah can forgive sins. He answers them:

“Why do you question this in your hearts? Is it easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!” And immediately, as everyone watched, the man jumped up, picked up his mat, and went home praising God. Lk. 5:22 – 25. NLT

Jesus was walking by the house of a tax collector named Matthew, stops, and says to him:

“Follow Me [as My disciple, accepting Me as your Master and Teacher and walking the same path of life that I walk].” And Matthew got up and followed Him. Mt. 9:9 AMP

Moreover, He and His disciples ate at Matthew’s house with many tax collectors and sinners present. The Pharisees saw this and questioned the disciples as to why Jesus ate with sinners. Christ overhears them as says:

“Those who are healthy have no need for a physician, but [only] those who are sick. Go and learn what this [Scripture] means: ‘I desire compassion [for those in distress], and not [animal] sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call [to repentance] the [self-proclaimed] righteous [who see no need to change], but sinners [those who recognize their sin and actively seek forgiveness].” Mt. 9:12 – 13. AMP

They went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. They were completely amazed at His teaching; because He was teaching them as one having [God-given] authority, and not as the scribes. Mk. 1:21, 22. AMP

Jesus is filled to the gills with the Holy Spirit. He went out in the morning to pray by Himself, but eventually the disciples find Him, telling Him everyone is looking for Him. He replies:

“We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too. That is why I came.” So he traveled throughout the region of Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and casting out demons. Mk. 1:38, 39. NLT

We’ve been blessed by a lot of revelation about our Savior today. The Son of God is without prejudice, fervently pursuing the salvation of all peoples. He heals the sick, casts out demons and cures paralytics. Even fish obey Him!

His Gospel (of which we are only scratching the surface) is amazing and life changing. He wipes out our sins with His forgiveness.

Christ loves you. Look at the lengths He is going to, to prove it to you. He’s building your faith.

There can be no doubt. Our Savior is a healer!

Personal addendum: As you know, I’ve alluded to a present health problem. Over the last 9 years, God has delivered me from 3 cancers, and He is about to knock my 4^th and last one out of the park as well – all to His glory. He’s been with me all the way, healing me through His Son and the Holy Spirit as well. In this particular situation, I will require surgery to remove my colon so that colon cancer can’t come back, which will require a colostomy. It’s just a new phase in life where He is granting me the time I need to finish my work for the Kingdom.

So, having said that, I will not be making blog posts until the first of the new year. Happy Thanksgiving! Merry Christmas! And I hope to be back on New Year’s Eve.

Love you guys. Jesus has got this. He will be guiding my surgeon’s hands. Amen!

[1] Jn. 4:44, 45.

Choosing a Water that Makes a Difference

We had just studied the nighttime meeting between Christ and Nicodemus, as He tried to help him comprehend the wonder of a being spiritually reborn (see Nighttime Revelations of the Holy Spirit).

Now, we watch Jesus and His disciples as they travel through the region of Samaria. There was a city of Samaria as well as an associated territory. The city used to be the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel. The territory was bordered by Galilee to the north and Judea to the south.

During the time of Jesus, the Jews looked down upon the Samaritans because it had been previously conquered by the Assyrians and the races were subsequently ‘mixed’, i.e., they were not ‘pure Jews’. Also, they did indulge in some paganistic practices.

Most Jews would travel around Samaria so as not to be ‘contaminated’. But look at this:

So when the Lord learned that the Pharisees had been told that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were), He left Judea and returned again to Galilee. Now He had to go through Samaria. Jn. 4:1 – 4. AMP

So, Jesus wanted to leave the area where His disciples (not Him) were baptizing because He didn’t want there to be any conflict with John over this misunderstanding. But look at the last sentence: ‘…He had to go through Samaria. No, he didn’t. He could have circumvented it like most of the Jews. He was being Holy Spirit-driven to go through for reasons we shall shortly see.

Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food. Jn. 4:5 – 8. NLT

The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?” Jn. 4:8. NLT

The Samaritan woman is well-versed with the prejudices at that time. However, in typical Jesus’ fashion, He begins to open her mind:

Jesus answered her, “If you knew [about] God’s gift [of eternal life], and who it is who says, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him [instead], and He would have given you living water (eternal life).” Jn. 4:10 AMP

Jesus is pursuing this Gentile’s salvation!

She replies that He has no means to draw water and the well is deep. The Samaritan adds:

Where then do You get that living water? Jn. 4:11 AMP

Jesus keeps her on her toes:

“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. But whoever drinks the water that I give him will never be thirsty again. But the water that I give him will become in him a spring of water [satisfying his thirst for God] welling up [continually flowing, bubbling within him] to eternal life.” Jn. 4:13, 14. AMP

He’s piqued her interest now. She says:

“Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.” Jn. 4:15 NLT

But Jesus is not done with her. She is still not in a place where she can hear His message for her. Seemingly unrelated, He says:

“Go call your husband,” he told her, “and come back here.” Jn. 4:16 CSB

She retorts:

“I do not have a husband.” Jn. 4:17 AMP

Now He’s got her where he wants her, a place to begin opening her mind. And He does it through His divine omniscience:

“You have correctly said, ‘I don’t have a husband,’” Jesus said. “For you’ve had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” Jn. 4:17, 18. CSB

Five divorces and shacking up with a 6^th partner! Jesus is purposely exposing her sin, (without condemnation) so that she can be convicted by them. No one comes to Christ unless they first feel the weight of their sins on their soul. Only then can they see the value of salvation.

Jesus speaks no more of her sin. That’s love in action. He knows everything we’ve ever done, but His love doesn’t waver. Christ is ready to save all sinners.

The Samaritan woman is opening her mind:

“Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?” Jn. 4:19, 20. NLT

She is asking him what she believes is a poignant spiritual question (and perhaps she wanted to shift the focus off her sins). Jesus expands upon her inquiry:

“Woman, believe Me, a time is coming [when God’s kingdom comes] when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You [Samaritans] do not know what you worship; we [Jews] do know what we worship, for salvation is from the Jews.But a time is coming and is already here when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit [from the heart, the inner self] and in truth; for the Father seeks such people to be His worshipers.” Jn. 4:21 – 23. AMP

“God is spirit [the Source of life, yet invisible to mankind], and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” Jn. 4:24 AMP

Jesus is saying that that time for worship is now. God is a Spirit that occupies all space and time but independent of both. Thus, He can be worshipped anywhere, at any time – regardless of race or ethnicity.

Worshiping in the spirit is only possible when we are spiritually ‘born again’.

This must be a little over her head. She reveals her heartfelt hope:

The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ—the Anointed); when that One comes, He will tell us everything [we need to know].” Jn. 4:25. AMP

Jesus swings the doors of salvation wide open:

Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you, am He (the Messiah).” Jn. 4:26 AMP

At that very moment, the apostles return with the food He had asked for, as the Samaritan ran into town telling everyone she had met the Messiah. The disciples were taken aback that Jesus was talking to a woman, much less a Samaritan.

They try to get Jesus to eat, but He never lets a teaching moment pass. He says to them:

“I have food to eat that you do not know about.” Jn. 4.32 AMP

The disciples are scratch their heads, wondering who had brought Him any food. Christ elaborates:

“My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to completely finish His work. Do you not say, ‘It is still four months until the harvest comes?’ Look, I say to you, raise your eyes and look at the fields and see, they are white for harvest. Already the reaper is receiving his wages and he is gathering fruit for eternal life; so that he who plants and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this case the saying is true, ‘One [person] sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap [a crop] for which you have not worked. Others have worked and you have been privileged to reap the results of their work.” Jn. 34 – 38. AMP

In other words, Jesus is repositioning them back into His imperative – to save as many souls as possible, which outweighs the desires of the flesh.

Jesus and His quintet stayed in Samaria for two more days, whereupon many of the townsfolk received salvation and faithfully believed in their Messiah…

Goodnight and God Bless.

Nighttime Revelations of the Holy Spirit

Last time we saw Jesus gather His first five disciples, change water into wine, and cleanse the temple of ungodly practices (See Jesus Gathers Disciples, Performs a Miracle, and Cleans House).

One night, while Jesus was still in Jerusalem, a nighttime meeting was arranged between Jesus and a leader of the Pharisees – by the name of Nicodemus. We can conjecture that Nicodemus wanted the meeting to be clandestine…

Now there was a certain man among the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler (member of the Sanhedrin) among the Jews, who came to Jesus at night and said to Him, “Rabbi (Teacher), we know [without any doubt] that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs [these wonders, these attesting miracles] that You do unless God is with him.” Jn. 3:1, 2. AMP

Nicodemus is approaching Jesus with a seed of faith! Note too that Nicodemus was a member of the Sanhedrin, the ruling rabbinical body, in the upper echelon. Somone highly regarded.

(The Pharisees were a Jewish sect that existed from (536 B.C. – 70 A.D. Afterwards, they regrouped as teachers of Rabbinic Judaism, whose teachings form the foundation of modern-day Jewish theology. The problem was that they believed the Mosaic laws required continual updating, supposedly through divine revelation. Thus, these modified laws were passed down and altered by the next modifier. God told us not to add or subtract to His word.[1])

Thus, Nicodemus would have been highly trained in Jewish law and theology.

Well, Jesus immediately throws Nicodemus a curve ball. I love to see how He gets people’s attention: (Also note: this is Christ’s first ministerial teaching.)

Jesus answered him, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless a person is born again [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified], he cannot [ever] see and experience the kingdom of God.” Jn. 3:3 AMP

Whoa! Nicodemus missed the point entirely. He asks Jesus how someone could crawl back into their mother’s womb to be born again.

Jesus chips away at his misunderstanding with a repeating emphasis:

“I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot [ever] enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh [the physical is merely physical], and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be surprised that I have told you, ‘You must be born again [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified].’ Jn. 3:5 – 7. AMP

Christ’s reference to ‘water’ cannot be talking about water baptism, because that would hold no meaning for Nicodemus in this space of time. Jesus must be alluding to the cleansing of the Spirit.[2]

Because the Spirit is physically intangible, Jesus helps Nicodemus with an analogy:

The wind blows where it wishes and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it is coming from and where it is going; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Jn. 3:8 AMP

(Our spirit and flesh are separate from each other. The flesh houses no spirit, yet it is animated by it. It is our very own piece of God. When we are born of the Spirit, it changes us inwardly, from sinfulness to holiness, so that we can enter the presence of God.)

Jesus is telling Nicodemus that the only way to salvation is not by being in high standing in government, society, religions, or by race or riches or by doing good deeds.

Nicodemus is struggling:

Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be possible?” Jn. 3:9 AMP

Jesus renders a poignant answer to this ‘Teacher’:

“You are the [great and well-known] teacher of Israel, and yet you do not know nor understand these things [from Scripture]? I assure you and most solemnly say to you, we speak only of what we [absolutely] know and testify about what we have [actually] seen [as eyewitnesses]; and [still] you [reject our evidence and] do not accept our testimony. If I told you earthly things [that is, things that happen right here on earth] and you do not believe, how will you believe and trust Me if I tell you heavenly things? Jn. 3:9 – 12. AMP

Jesus acknowledges Nicodemus’ struggle. He offers His bona fides:

No one has gone up into heaven, but there is One who came down from heaven, the Son of Man [Himself—whose home is in heaven]. ¹⁴Just as Moses lifted up the [bronze] serpent in the desert [on a pole], so must the Son of Man be lifted up [on the cross], ¹⁵so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life [after physical death, and will actually live forever]. Jn. 13 – 15. AMP

Christ is revealing to Nicodemus that He came from heaven, so that He is an authority about it. He refers to Moses lifting a bronze serpent for those who were bitten by serpents for their sin,[3] that when they looked at it, that one sin was forgiven as analogous to Jesus at His crucifixion, where salvation is offered to those who look upon and accept Him as Savior for all sins.

Jesus continues and paints the BIG picture for him:

“For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge and condemn the world [that is, to initiate the final judgment of the world], but that the world might be saved through Him. Jn. 3:16, 17. AMP

Whoever believes and has decided to trust in Him [as personal Savior and Lord] is not judged [for this one, there is no judgment, no rejection, no condemnation];” Jn. 3:18a. AMP

Accepting Christ as our savior liberates us from sin and condemnation, now and forever, if we try our best to align with His dictates and repent when we don’t.

However, things don’t bode well for those who reject Him:

“ …but the one who does not believe [and has decided to reject Him as personal Savior and Lord] is judged already [that one has been convicted and sentenced], because he has not believed and trusted in the name of the [One and] only begotten Son of God [the One who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, the One who alone can save him].” Jn. 3:18b AMP

This is the judgment [that is, the cause for indictment, the test by which people are judged, the basis for the sentence]: the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For every wrongdoer hates the Light, and does not come to the Light [but shrinks from it] for fear that his [sinful, worthless] activities will be exposed and condemned. Jn. 3:19, 20. AMP

Again, it doesn’t have to be this way:

But whoever practices truth [and does what is right—morally, ethically, spiritually] comes to the Light, so that his works may be plainly shown to be what they are—accomplished in God [divinely prompted, done with God’s help, in dependence on Him].” Jn. 3:21 AMP

Christ always has an extended hand.

We are not told of any of Nicodemus’ responses to Jesus’ revelations…

Lastly, I want to segue for a moment. We learned about the cleansing water of the Spirit. But I’d like to touch upon ‘water baptism’ because that has become our public confession in the Christian faith, and we base it upon this Scripture:

“Therefore, the one who confesses and acknowledges Me before men [as Lord and Savior, affirming a state of oneness with Me], that one I will also confess and acknowledge before My Father who is in heaven.” Mt. 10:32 AMP

It is also a way that we can potentially help bring others to the kingdom – through our example of faith. Without faith, water baptism would be worthless. Water is only water. It is the connection of the word of God to the water, with faith, that fulfills our requirement.

What it is not, is the way to salvation. It is a declaration of the believer of his or her faith in their salvation, by the Holy Spirit sent by Christ.

Water baptism is a metaphorical demonstration of you being re-birthed as a newly cleansed child of God. Freed from the penalty you rightly deserved for your old worldly behavior, which is now removed by you receiving divine forgiveness.

During the baptism, you are confirming that your old worldly self has been buried (symbolized by the immersion process), and that you have been resurrected cleansed from sin (represented by rising out ot the water).

We must die to the life we lived and the meanings we brought to it, to be able to live a new life – one that is revealed in the word of God. Water baptism begins with the repentance of the actions of your flesh and ends with your declaration of your faith in the Godhead.

True Salvation comes (your having been made righteous from the cleansing blood of Christ), comes when you ask Jehovah for Spiritual rebirth by petitioning Him to fill you with the Holy Spirit.

Only then do you become related to God in the most intimate way, becoming His child for all eternity if you continue to do your best to live a godly life and repent when you don’t. Jesus will always be by your side.

Next time, we will learn about the living waters!

Goodnight and God Bless.

[1] Dt. 4:2

[2] Ezk. 36:25 – 27.

[3] Nm. 21:4- 9.

Jesus Gathers Disciples, Performs a Miracle and Cleans House

In our last encounter, we got a brief glimpse of His childhood, witnessed His baptism, and Jesus’ victory over Satan. (See Christ as a Boy and a Warrior). Here’s what happens next…

Immediately after His victorious battle with the devil, Jesus begins His return journey to Galilee. Along the way, He encounters John the Baptist and his disciples. John immediately exclaims.

“Look! The Lamb of God!” Jn:136 AMP

Two of John’s disciples decide to follow Jesus:

The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. And Jesus turned and saw them following Him, and asked them, “What do you want?” They answered Him, “Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?” He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they went [with Him] and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard what John said and [as a result] followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first looked for and found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means the Christ). Jn. 37 – 41. AMP

(The unnamed disciple has traditionally been identified as John). When Simon Peter approaches, Jesus says:

“You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas (which is translated Peter).” Jn. 11:42 AMP

The following day, Jesus and His trio of disciples went to Galilee, where He conscripts a man named Philip, who in turn ran to get his friend, Nathanael, telling him that he found the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth.

Nathanael responded by asking if anything good could come from Nazareth, seeing as how it was a small insignificant town. Philip asks him to see for himself.

As they approached Jesus, He said:

“Here is an Israelite indeed [a true descendant of Jacob], in whom there is no guile nor deceit nor duplicity!” Jn. 1:47 AMP

Jesus is alluding to Nathanael as being a true man of faith. Nathanael retorts:

“How do you know these things about me?”

And Jesus responds: “Before Philip called you, when you were still under the fig tree, I saw you.” Jn. 1:48 AMP

That Jesus could have seen him in a vision, where he indeed had been under that very, tree was enough to convince him:

“Rabbi (Teacher), You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.” Jn. 1:49. AMP

Jesus answers him basically telling him he hasn’t seen anything yet:

“I assure you and most solemnly say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man [the bridge between heaven and earth].” Jn. 1:51 AMP

Two days later, Jesus and his quintet of disciples are invited to a wedding, where Mary, his mother, was in attendance as well. She approaches Jesus and tells Him that the host has run out of wine, (a social disaster in Jewish culture.)

Jesus answers:

“[Dear] woman, ^[b]what is that to you and to Me? My time [to act and to be revealed] has not yet come.” Jn. 2:4 AMP

Mary cleverly ignores her Son and tells the servants to do whatever He says. Jesus tells them to fill six each 20-gallon or 30-gallon pots with water, which He transforms into unparalleled wine.

This, the first of His signs (attesting miracles), Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and revealed His glory [displaying His deity and His great power openly], and His disciples believed [confidently] in Him [as the Messiah—they adhered to, trusted in, and relied on Him]. Jn. 2:11 AMP

Passover was approaching; so, Jesus and His retinue went to the temple in Jerusalem. In the outer courtyard, He saw money changers, and people selling animals for sacrifice. He was not pleased:

He made a whip of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; then to those who sold the doves He said, “Take these things away! Stop making My Father’s house a place of commerce!” His disciples remembered that it is written [in the Scriptures], “Zeal (love, concern) for Your house [and its honor] will consume Me.”[1] Jn. 2:15 – 17. AMP

The Jews were upset at His behavior and asked what kind of miracles He could show them that would attest to Jesus’ authority for His behavior. He answers:

“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” Then the Jews replied, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and You will raise it up in three days?” But He was speaking of the temple which was His body. So when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered what He had said. And they believed and trusted in and relied on the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken. Jn. 2:19 – 22. AMP

Jesus increases in stature every time we encounter Him, yes?

Next time, a big mental shuffling for Nicodemus…

Goodnight and God bless.

[1] Ps.69:9