| What Jesus Did |
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Aged about thirty, Jesus began three years of activities that changed the course of world history. And if you are now  a Christian, it is likely that what he said and did will change the course of your story too. In Nazareth, the town in which he grew up, Jesus was making a name for himself as an inspirational speaker. In the synagogue, he preached a rousing sermon about a kingdom that God planned, in which poverty would be eradicated, oppression ended, and everyone would know that God was pleased with his people. The Jewish congregation greeted the first part of the sermon enthusiastically. But Jesus went on to say something far more controversial. He declared that the special relationship that God planned to have with men and women would not just be with the Jews, but with every other race in the world. It provoked fury, which bubbled over into a riot in which the congregation tried to throw Jesus over a cliff. However, he succeeded in fighting them off and escaped. This was the start of an extraordinary and traumatic ministry. Supporters gathered eagerly around Jesus. At the height of his popularity they numbered thousands. Broken people found hope, suffering people experienced healing, brutalised people glimpsed the possibility of justice, and for three glorious years there was wonder in the air. At the beginning of his biography of Jesus, Mark summed up everything that Jesus taught his followers. Like a great journalist, he managed to say it all in three sound-bites: Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” (From Mark 1) So the three most important teachings of Jesus were: “The time has come.” The moment when God would save his people once and for all had arrived; “The kingdom is near.” The kingdom was the place where God’s rules for the world would be obeyed, with people not driven by money or religious rules or ambition, but by a desire to bring joy to God; “Repent and believe!” Jesus called people to change their ways and ‘follow him’ in trusting the God who loved them with no limits. It was wonderfully appealing message. But the popularity that was leading people to acclaim Jesus as a potential king was threatening to both political and religious leaders. It led to an end that seemed inevitable – arrest, trial and execution. However, something unprecedented happened. Within days, the followers of Jesus began to announce that, despite having been witnesses to his death, they had subsequently met with him. They believed that their leader had been raised in a unique way from the dead. What is more, they began to proclaim that, in Jesus, God himself had been walking among them as a human. They did not just admire him as inspirational; they worshipped him as divine. They were following Jesus, and Christianity had begun. Now a Christian is a five-week, email-based introduction to the Christian faith. To find out more, or to sign up, visit www.nowachristian.org |
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