Jesus Life Essays - Prophets Of Islam, Apocalypticists,

Jesus Life "Do you see Him, do you see Him?!" the little boy whispered, while tugging on his father's robe. "Shh, Simon. Patience. He will be here soon. Can you hear the crowd getting louder?" John asked his son. He was trying to appear calm, but his beating heart and sweating palms gave him away. He and his son were in a crowd of hundreds waiting to see Jesus of Nazareth. People were claiming that Jesus was the Messiah they had been waiting for. John was skeptical, so he thought he would go see for himself. Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem, the city of David. While this might seem ordinary to some, the circumstances leading up to were not. Mary was betrothed to marry Joseph, but before they had slept together, she found out she was pregnant. Joseph was ready to call it off quietly, when an angel of the Lord came to him saying, " Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save His people from their sins." (Matt. 1:20,21) Joseph then took Mary home as his wife, and they did not lay together until Jesus was born. This proves to us Jesus was born of God, not of man. He was God's son, blameless, pure, and holy. (Mt.1:18-24) Every year Jesus and His parents would travel to Jerusalem for the Passover Feast. The year when Jesus was twelve, they went as usual; however, after the Feast days. They found Him in the Temple teaching the teachers. (Luke 2:41-50) "When His parents saw Him, they were astonished. His mother said to Him, ?Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously been searching for you.' ?Why were you searching for me?' Jesus asked. ?Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house'?" (Luke 2:48,49) He then left with His parents back to Nazareth "and was obedient to them." (Luke 2:51b) This shows Jesus' love for His Heavenly Father, as well as His respect and obedience to His earthly parents. John the Baptist, Jesus' cousin, had been "preaching in the desert of Judea and saying, ?Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is near'." (Matt 3:1b,2) He was preaching the way for Jesus and fulfilling Isaiah's prophesy, "A voice of one calling: ?In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our Lord'." (Isa. 40:3) People from all over Jerusalem were coming to be baptized by John the Baptist. Though he baptized them, he made sure all his actions pointed toward Jesus. (Matt. 3:1-12) " I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." (Matt. 3:11) While John was at the Jordan River baptizing, Jesus came and asked John to baptize him. "But John tried to deter him, saying, ?I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?' Jesus replied, ?Let is be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.' Then John consented." (Matt 3:14,15) After Jesus came up from the water " A voice from heaven said, ?this is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased'." (Matt 3:17) Jesus was setting an example for us to follow. Baptism represents our death to sin, and our new life in Christ. After his baptism, "Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil." (Matt. 4:1) Jesus was in the desert for forty days and nights,0 and Satan tempted him the entire time. Jesus used scripture to fight Satan, and Jesus came out the victor of the battle.(Matt. 4:1-11) Soon after his temptation, Jesus heard that John the Baptist had been put into prison, he then left Nazareth and went back up to Galilee. (Matt. 4:12-17) There he began to preach "repent for the kingdom of heaven is near." (Matt. 4:17) "As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (called Peter) and his brother Andrew." (Matt 4:18) They were fisherman and were busy putting their nets into the sea when Jesus called, "Come follow me, and I will make you