Because He Loved Us

By Sharon Williams

In a Pew Research Center, survey conducted in 2018 and 2019, showed that 65% of American adults described themselves as Christians when asked about their religion; however, this is down 12 percent in just the past decade.
It is being felt that the world is changing rapidly and moving away from its Christian roots. In order to keep the roots in America firmly established, there was a need felt to write about the ministry of Jesus and how everything came together centuries ago and continues to change lives today. Like the tiny mustard seed, Christianity started with Jesus and his followers. Today it is the leading religion stretching into the entire Western hemisphere, most of Europe, much of sub-Saharan Africa, and even small parts of Asia.
From a tiny seed of perspective truth into a number one religion, it should be an interest to everyone of the journey taken by Christ during the time he walked upon this earth as man and God.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jan 16, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669805618

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Copyright © 2022 by Sharon Williams.

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Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the Holy Bible, King James Version (Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Quoted from the KJV Classic Reference Bible, Copyright © 1983 by The Zondervan Corporation.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. [Biblica]

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®). Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Website

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Rev. date: 01/14/2022

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CONTENTS

When Jesus Walked upon Earth

How Could God Be Described?

Two Divine Births

Jesus during His Youth

A Love for Child and Parent

Jesus at the Beginning of His Ministry

Baptism of Jesus

Jesus Selects His Disciples

The Wedding

The Temple Cleansing

A New Beginning and the Close of Another

The Samaritan Woman

Ministry of Jesus in Galilee

Jesus Goes to Capernaum

Paralytic Man descended through roof

Jesus Heals Paralytic on the Sabbath

The Sabbath Controversy

Sermon on the Mount

John the Baptist’s Imprisonment

The Woman Who Washed the Feet of Jesus with Her Tears

Doubt of Jesus’s Ministry

Parables Spoken from the Sea of Galilee

Jesus Heals the Daughter of a Synagogue Leader

Disciples Sent out for the first time

First Follow Jesus

Jesus Feeds 5,000

Jesus Walks on the Water

Temple Sermon: True Life in Jesus

Jesus and the Syrophoenician Woman

Jesus feeds a second crowd

The Son of Man Is Given Dominion

The Transfiguration

October’s Feast of Tabernacles

Jesus Teaches in the Temple

The Seven I Am Messages

Opposition of Jesus

Parable as a Method of Teaching

Words of Wisdom

A Sign of the Times

The Raising of Lazarus

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When Jesus Walked upon Earth

Believing in God and having faith is the greatest gift in life. Jesus has always been the most influential man to walk on earth. Foremost, he was not only a man but also the son of man through God, his Father.

When we take the time to enjoy nature, there is nothing more beautiful than all the creativity that goes into the various imaginable life-forms. This is not a coincidence but a sure proof of an intelligence beyond our understanding. The vastness of the oceans and the height of the mountains are just as breathtaking as the beauty in the fall with the colored leaves or the rich green in the spring. Each spring brings hope that what seems lifeless now has the promise of new energy, new life. All of this and more shows that God made this earth for man, and the beauty he instilled through his creation reflects his love for mankind.

Our planet is a miracle that took millions of years to become perfect for man. A small moon that is exactly right for the earth. The earth that is just the right distance from the sun. The planets in our immediate solar system acting as our defense against meteorites. All of this increases the assurance to sustain life on earth.

In physics, regarding string theory, at the subatomic level, vibration produces energy, and everything, however dim it may appear, has an energy field. To comprehend a better understanding, scientists have turned to mathematics and calculated this balance to make sense of the heavenly bodies with their gravitational pull, dark matter, or quantum physics.

But who created these forces? How did they come together and work in such harmony? There is an intelligence and mighty power for which we know very little about and yet it lives within us. This source knows us better than we do and still loves us.

When we look around, we are reminded that all we see did not just happen to be; nothing on such a grand scale is by chance. God is three in one and the creator of all that we see. He knows each of us by our name. He knows you and me personally. Yes, there is logic and reasoning behind the creation to make sense of what we perceive, but we are just beginning to realize how little we know. Therefore, by God’s power and word alone, the world was created.

We are all meant to see his glory, but our choices determine how we may do that. Each of us brings different social backgrounds, education, personality, and character flaws. God takes the differences in each to display his will, according to his plan.

This book is about a man who was both human and God. This factual story begins with an older couple to whom God had promised that they would bring a male child into the world, and he would have a significant importance for the coming Messiah. This conception of birth occurred several months before a young virgin girl would conceive and soon give birth to the redeemer of the world. In history, women were treated mostly as property and had a status just above a slave. But this story is about her son and the way he changed man’s thinking and principles. Jesus’s life is written in this book mostly by the order in which they occurred and through the eyes of his disciples who followed him, learned from him, and in turn, found deep unconditional love in the process.

The disciples were ordinary men with character flaws, but they were seeking the prophesied messiah who would free them from the oppression of the Roman Empire. However, that was not God’s plan. Jesus came in the body of a man free of sin and with a spirit of God only to free them of their sins.

The four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were written to testify of events that transpired during the three years of Jesus’s ministry. However, we could go back to the beginning because there was a time in which man (Adam) sinned and our problems began. But the life of Jesus is best understood, if we look at these events in the order they occurred and in the frame of God’s time.

How Could God Be Described?

This story is about the life of Jesus to inspire you and bring you to know the only one, who is always by your side here and beyond. His name is powerful enough to have influenced mankind since the beginning, and he does this with pure love, having an interest in the affairs of mankind.

It is best to stop and take some time and question the quality of your faith and ask yourself how you would rate the sincerity of your relationship with God. It is important to remember that we have one brief life, and the sincerity of our relationship with our creator is needed more today than ever before. Faith is necessary for us to grow spiritually in our belief and is manifested by our words and actions.

Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

Hebrews 11:3 KJV

Since our belief can fluctuate, causing us to take the wrong direction, we cannot rely on our senses or capabilities to determine what is real as this may be our initial mistake. Although we have never seen God, a new recent Gallup poll showed that 89 percent of Americans do believe in God at various levels.

We know that the infinite God has influenced mankind since he formed the dust and gave it breath, yet we have never seen the image of God. There is a knowing deep within us that neither our eyes have seen, nor we have ever touched, but it permeates within our soul.

If we try to imagine God, even then our language will be insufficient. For if the answer were available, we would be fitting God into our way of thinking, resulting in restraints of who he is and limiting the vastness of his being. We do know that God is spirit and can be at multiple locations. An example may be that while watching over his followers on earth, he can also be in another galaxy. Since God is spirit, he is not made of matter and therefore has no physical limitations. Jesus told his disciples:

¹⁷ For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

John 1:17–18 KJV

When the earth was formed, in the beginning of creation, Jesus was there as well as the Holy Spirit.

¹⁶ For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

Colossians 1:16 KJV

However, it would take many thousands of years before we would see God in the form of a man born in the flesh, but still holy. The Messiah would remove the barrier between God the Father and ourselves. Jesus has the ability to take away our sins and become the gate that leads to our heavenly home.

Still, we have heard from the many prophecies that a Messiah would come and deliver us from all evil. Jesus or the Messiah is mentioned in the Old Testament 925 times, but this number can vary according to the version of the biblical translation. There are about 50 versions of the English Bible, and in place of the name Messiah or Jesus, they might refer to our savior in other metaphors.

Isaiah, a prophet who wrote of the Messiah many times once said:

5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed

Isaiah 53:5 KJV

The price that was paid for our sins came through the agony Jesus endured. He was God incarnate, yet when he was born, he humbled himself to do his Father’s will by taking on the human form.

What better way to teach us the ways of the Father than by appearing to be human with one exception? He was born without sin, living his life accordingly and having the authority and power over all the elements of the earth.

Malachi was the last prophet to write about the time of Jesus, but he also spoke of John the Baptist as seen in the following:

Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the LORD, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple,

Malachi 3:1 KJV

Malachi wrote of these events roughly four hundred years before they occurred, and from that time, all scribing ceased, and the heavens went silent.

Seed for Thought

Just as our life has a beginning and an end, we will look at the life of Jesus and the sequence of events as they occurred. It would have been wonderful to sit at his feet and listen to his words of wisdom and truth. We will follow his earthly journey as his ministry begins.

Blessed is his name that looks on us through loving eyes.

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Two Divine Births

Zechariah, a priest, had just been chosen by selection to go into the temple and burn incense, which was pleasing to God, for the sins of the people in the Jewish nation. While inside the temple, the angel Gabriel appeared and spoke to Zechariah, telling him that his wife, Elizabeth, would soon give birth to a son. His name was to be John, meaning the Lord is gracious, and he would be a godly man with Elijah’s power, preparing the people for the coming of the Messiah.

2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap:

Malachi 3:2 KJV

Elizabeth and Zechariah had waited their entire life for a child and were now old and beyond childbearing years. However, nothing is impossible with God, so it came to pass that God sent Gabriel, as a messenger, announcing the birth of their son, John. He would be a forerunner announcing the coming Messiah.

It came to pass when Elizabeth was about five to six months with child, an angel appeared to a young woman in Nazareth. Her name was Mary, a virgin, and she was betrothed to a man named Joseph.

Now imagine that if Zechariah, a priest, had been afraid at the sight of Gabriel, wouldn’t Mary have felt the same apprehension? Not only by the sight of Gabriel, but also by the message that he delivered. Angels have been described as quite tall, with wings, and having the glory of God surround them. They are spirit but have also appeared as ordinary men when necessary.

Surely the message delivered by the angel must have been troublesome. First, she had not been with a man, and what would she tell her parents and Joseph? She also knew of the consequences from society and the possibility of being stoned according to the Mosaic Law.

She could lose all and be labeled a scarlet. But her answer was May it be to me as you have said. This revealed much about her faith in God. It would be God’s will in her heart despite man’s law. With Mary’s willingness, the angel told her the following:

35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

Luke 1:35 KJV

It was shortly thereafter that Mary learned of Elizabeth’s pregnancy and quickly decided to make the long trip, traveling from Nazareth to Judea, to visit her relative.

Upon arriving and greeting Elizabeth, something wonderful happened. Although John was still unborn, he was aware that the Son of God was near and leaped in the womb with joy.

⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴² In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! ⁴³ But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴ As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.

Luke 1:41–44 KJV

Now Mary may have been seeking solace, or seclusion during the first months of her pregnancy, but here she was suddenly inspired to recite a poem of complexity. The poem is called the Magnificat, which expresses God’s favor toward Mary and the nation of Israel.

⁴⁶ And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, ⁴⁷ And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. ⁴⁸ For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

⁴⁹ For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.⁵⁰ And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. ⁵¹ He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

⁵² He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.⁵³ He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. ⁵⁴ He hath helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; ⁵⁵ As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.

Luke 1:46–55 KJV

Mary’s visit is said to have lasted about three months. On Mary’s return to Nazareth, it was found that she was with child. Since Joseph was an honorable man and did not want Mary to suffer any dishonor, he planned to send Mary away from those who would judge her. However, as Joseph thought on his situation, an angel appeared to him in a dream.

²⁰ But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. ²¹ And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

Matthew 1:20–21 KJV

So, Joseph took Mary as his wife. Some dreams, especially those that we remember, seem to have importance in our lives. Today, the Holy Spirit that lives within us speaks to us in many ways and music, foremost, has a way of connecting with our soul in subtle ways.

During the period before Mary would give birth, there went out a decree from Emperor Caesar Augustus that everyone should be taxed, and it was to be collected in the town of a person’s origin of birth. Joseph and Mary came from the family of