The Apostle John would like to fellowship with you. He wrote you a letter. The letter is known as the First Epistle of John. It is a love letter. He wrote it so that you would have complete joy.

Dr. J. Clontz – Editor, The Comprehensive New Testament

That which was from the beginning,
which we have heard,
which we have seen with our eyes,
which we have looked upon,
and our hands have touched,
concerning the Word of life –

The life was revealed,
and we have seen it,
and testify to it,
and proclaim to you
the eternal life
which was with the Father
and was revealed to us –

That which we have seen and heard
we proclaim also to you,
so that you too
may have fellowship with us;
and our fellowship is with the Father
and with his Son Jesus Christ.

And we write this that our joy may be complete.

John 1.1-4

What is God’s Plan for You?

God’s plan for you happens every day. Everything that happens around you involves God’s plan. We can either rise or fall to the challenges that God has planned for us. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, the priest and the Levite failed to rise to the challenge. On the other hand, the Samaritan rose to the challenge. If you are wondering what God has called you to do, then look around. There are plenty of people that you will come across in your daily journey that will need your help. Hopefully, you will always rise to the challenge and with God’s help will rise on the Last Day!

Dr. J. Clontz, The Gospels in Perfect Harmony

Gospel Section 34.1 - The Parable of the Good Samaritan

Luke 10:25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read?” 27 And he answered, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind’; and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered right; do this, and you will live.” 29 But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him of his clothing, beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was; and seeing, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed mercy on him.” And Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

 

Why did God Choose the Land of Canaan for the Location of the Birth of the Messiah?

If you look at a map of the world, Israel is positioned on an axis between Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Asia. God could have placed the nation of Israel anywhere on the planet for the arrival of the Messiah. According to the Book of Genesis, God directed Abraham to migrate from Ur in the Chaldees to his ultimate destination - the geographic position where Israel is located. Abraham’s journey covered thousands of miles and ended in a sparsely settled area of no seeming importance in 1700BC. The spot selected by God would eventually be centrally located among the civilized nations of the world. That spot would also be on the junction of two road and water transportation routes between two of the largest empires in the history of the world – the Roman Empire in the West and the Han Empire in the East.

For the message of the gospel to spread rapidly through the world, the followers of the Messiah would need access to rapid transit. Jesus was born just as the two largest road systems on the planet were completed and connected together. The Roman road system ringed the entire Mediterranean and reached the Euphrates River by the time of Augustus Caesar. At the same time, the Silk road system was being completed that reached from the Euphrates River to the East coast of China. A person could travel by road from the Atlantic coasts of Europe and Africa to the Pacific coast of China. The road system interlinked Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

In addition to the world’s largest road system, there were two water routes that expanded the reach of travelers on the road system. The Roman water route extended from England to the Mediterranean Sea coast of Israel and the Black Sea coast of Ukraine. The Silk water route extended from southern Israel down the East coast of Africa then north around the Arabian Peninsula to India then Malaysia and finally China and Indonesia in the Far East.

The crucial time period for the spread of the gospel began at Jesus’ ascension and slowly ended as his followers who were eyewitnesses to the gospel events died one by one. From the birth of Jesus until 69 AD, the Roman empire was extremely peaceful. The Roman road and water routes were unusually safe since the the Mediterranean Sea had been completely cleared of pirates and the road system was clear of bandits due to the efforts of the Roman Empire. Since there were no active wars inside the borders of the Roman empire the roads were relatively free of military traffic and easily accessed by private citizens. During that time period, the apostle Paul travelled from Syria to Greece, Spain, and then Rome. Many of the other apostles travelled throughout the two transportation systems. Peter travelled to Egypt and then to Syria and eventually Rome. According to traditional sources, Matthew travelled to the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula and Thomas travelled to India.

The list of the seventy disciples provided by the second century church leader Hippolytus shows that the disciples became bishops of the major cities along the entire Roman road system. This road system was used to move mail throughout the empire. The letters of Paul travelled along these roads to their addressees. The Roman and Silk transportation routes enabled the early leaders of the Christian church to stay closely connected with each other while they spread the gospel and shared the texts of the New Testament. The Christian missionary effort was unprecedented in the ancient world for the amount of distance it covered in a single generation. In fact, no other religion has ever covered that amount of distance in that amount of time in history. God selected the perfect geographic spot for the rapid spread of the gospel through the civilized world - 1700 years before the birth of the Messiah.

Dr. J. Michael Clontz – Editor of The Comprehensive New Testament

Jesus was the Greatest Speaker of all Time

According to the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, a crowd of over four thousand people stayed with Jesus for three days. They had run out of food while listening to him speak. How many speakers do you know have held the attention of a crowd numbering in the thousands for three days that had run out of food?

Dr. J. Clontz – Editor of The Comprehensive New Testament 

Matthew 15:32 Now Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.”

Mark 8:1 In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called the disciples to him, and said to them, 2 “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me three days and have nothing to eat. 3 And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come from a long distance.”

 The Gates of Hades

When Jesus told Peter that the gates of Hades would not prevail against the church, Jesus and his disciples were standing near a place called the “Gates of Hades.” That place still exists today. It consists of a cave under a hill that the ancient pagans claimed was one of the entrances to Hades. There were several of these pagan cave shrines in Europe and Asia. Many of the “Gates of Hades” shrines had false prophets who claimed to be able to talk with the dead and with the gods of the underworld. This provides the setting for the discussion between Jesus and his disciples concerning who Jesus is. The church of living stones like Peter was built by the Son of the living God as opposed to the pagan “Gates of Hades” shrines composed of holes in the rocky ground.

Dr. J. Clontz – Editor of The Comprehensive New Testament

Matthew 16:13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do men say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 But Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

 The original gospel events occurred in a set piece of history like a jewel in a crown. Just like a jewel sparkles in the light - the earth sparkled with the Light from the Messiah. The entire planet had been staged to create the perfect setting for the Messiah to deliver his message.

Jesus lived during the time period that is often referred to as the Pax Romana. According to all surviving historical records, there were no major wars during Jesus’ lifetime. While Jesus was alive humanity experienced the least amount of violence in the history of the planet. The period of peace provided a quiet setting that allowed large crowds to gather and hear the message of the Messiah unmolested or disturbed by warfare.

The reconstruction of the temple of Jerusalem was completed by Herod just over a decade before Jesus was born. Herod’s temple was the largest version of the temple that had been created and was possibly the largest building erected on the planet in the 1^st century BC. Some of the stone blocks used for the temple weighed over 100 tons with the largest over 500 tons. It was one of the most famous structures in the Roman Empire at the time of its completion. When Jesus taught in the temple prior to Passover visitors to the building may have numbered as high as 400,000 people. When Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem for the last time riding a donkey – he was hailed as the Son of David by the largest crowd of people anywhere on earth.

Israel was ruled for the last time by a Jewish king prior to Herod’s takeover of the nation. The Jewish nation would be conquered by the Romans forty years after Jesus’ crucifixion and destroyed slightly over a hundred years after his ascension. Paganism had taken over the entire planet with the exception of Israel. The last group of people on the planet who weren’t pagans were about to be conquered and forcibly converted to paganism or become slaves. The instructions Jesus gave his disciples in the Olivet discourse saved the Christians from the Roman destruction and preserved the Christians to convert humanity from paganism.

Dr. J. Michael Clontz – Editor of The Comprehensive New Testament