Returning form the wilderness, Jesus Christ again went to
the shore of the Jordan where John was baptizing. Seeing Jesus, John said to the
people, "Behold the Lamb of God that taketh upon Himself the sins of the
world;" — that is, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of the God, Who for as many as a
thousand years had been prefigured in sacrificial offerings. Like the innocent
lambs and calves slaughter for burnt offerings, He meekly takes upon Himself
suffering and death and sheds His blood for the sins of the whole world in
order to save people from eternal death.
And John witnessed saying, "I saw the Spirit
descending from Heaven as a dove, and He abode upon Him. And I saw and bore
record that this is the Son of God."
Again the next day, John looking upon Jesus as He
walked said to two of his disciples standing by him, "Behold the Lamb of
God!"
The two disciples heard John spoke, and they
followed Jesus. One of them was Andrew, who, because he was the first to
follow Christ, was called the "First-called." The other one
was John the Theologian. Then, Andrew brought to Jesus Christ his
brother Simon. The Saviour perceiving the strong faith in him said, "Thou
art Simon the son of Joan; thou shalt be called Cephas (Peter);"
which is, by interpretation, a stone. The following day the Saviour called Philip,
and Philip brought to Him Nathaniel.
After this, Jesus Christ went to the cities and
towns of the Hebrew land to preach to the people the Gospel, the joyful
news that He was promised Messiah, came to the earth to save people from the
power of the Devil, sins, and eternal death, and to give people eternal
salvation — the Kingdom of God.
Jesus Christ often set forth the teaching about
the Kingdom of God in parables, that is, in images, comparisons, or
examples from the daily life in order to more graphically and more fully set
for His teaching. Both the visible and invisible were created by God. There
exists a marvellous unity and affinity between the two worlds. Therefore, the
visible world speaks to us about the law of the invisible, heavenly world. Our
entire earthy life with all life of the invisible world is a great
parable of God about the laws of the future life in the Kingdom
of Heaven.
In order to convince people that He is the
promised Messiah and Son of God, Jesus Christ performed many miracles,
that is, unusual deeds which a person with an ordinary power could not do and
which could be accomplished only by the special power of God. Many of the Jews
believed in Jesus Christ, and multitudes followed after Him listening to His
divine teaching. others, especially rulers of Hebrew people, Pharisees,
Sadducees, elders, and priests wishing to exercise power and to rule people,
having evil hearts did not wish to accept His teaching of truth and to believe that
He is the Saviour; and they become the enemies of Christ.
Notes: See
the Gospel of John 1:29-51; Luke 4:14-15, 32-37; Mathew 4:17, 5:23-25, 21:45-46, 26:3-4.
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