Have you ever wondered why Bethlehem was chosen for the birthplace of the Messiah?

 

The Parables of Jesus

The parables of Jesus illustrate spiritual truths that are mysteriously hidden in our everyday surroundings. His parables are the most important collection of wisdom sayings ever created. Billions of people during the past two thousand years have read and been affected by the philosophical concepts that are encapsulated in His parables. The secrets hidden in His parables have led to the rise of hospital systems, changes in legal codes, and the distribution of food and clothing to those in need. Below is a list of his parables based on the book – “The Gospels in Perfect Harmony.” If you haven’t read them all, then you are missing out on a life changing experience.

The Growing Seed, Mark 4:26–29                 

The Two Debtors, Luke 7:41–43                    

The Lamp under a Bushel, Matthew 5:14–15, Mark 4:21–25, Luke 8:16–18

The Good Samaritan, Luke 10:25–37             

The Friend at Night, Luke 11:5–8                  

The Rich Fool, Luke 12:16–21            

The Wise and the Foolish Builders, Matthew 7:24–27, Luke 6:46–49

New Wine into Old Wineskins, Matthew 9:16–17, Mark 2:21–22, Luke 5:37–39

The Strong Man, Matthew 12:29–29, Mark 3:27–27, Luke 11:21–22

The Sower, Matthew 13:3–9, Mark 4:3–9, Luke 8:5–8

The Tares, Matthew 13:24–30            

The Barren Fig Tree, Luke 13:6–9                  

The Mustard Seed, Matthew 13:31–32, Mark 4:30–32, Luke 13:18–19

The Leaven, Matthew 13:33–33, Luke 13:20–21        

The Hidden Treasure, Matthew 13:44

The Pearl, Matthew 13:45–46             

Drawing in the Net, Matthew 13:47–50                     

Counting the Cost, Luke 14:28–33                 

The Lost Sheep, Matthew 18:10–14, Luke 15:4–6      

The Unforgiving Servant, Matthew 18:23–35            

The Lost Coin, Luke 15:8–9               

The Prodigal Son, Luke 15:11–32                  

The Unjust Steward, Luke 16:1–13                

The Rich man and Lazarus, Luke 16:19–31               

The Master and Servant, Luke 17:7–10                      

The Unjust Judge, Luke 18:1–8                      

The Pharisee and the Publican, Luke 18:9–14           

The Workers in the Vineyard, Matthew 20:1–16                   

The Two Sons, Matthew 21:28–32                 

The Wicked Husbandmen, Matthew 21:33–41, Mark 12:1–9, Luke 20:9–16

The Great Banquet, Matthew 22:1–14, Luke 14:15–24           

The Budding Fig Tree, Matthew 24:32–35, Mark 13:28–31, Luke 21:29–33

The Faithful Servant, Matthew 24:42–51, Mark 13:34–37, Luke 12:35–48

The Ten Virgins, Matthew 25:1–13                

The Talents or Minas, Matthew 25:14–30, Luke 19:12–27     

The Sheep and the Goats, Matthew 25:31–46            

The Wedding Feast, Luke 14:7–14      

Did you know that Jesus met with Abraham prior to 1000 BC?

The meeting between Abraham and the Lord is described in Genesis 18:1-33. The account in Genesis is the longest and most detailed interaction of the Lord physically in the presence of a human being in the Old Testament.

In John 8:56 Jesus refers to the meeting between Abraham and Himself: “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; he saw it and was glad.” 57 The Jews then said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”

 

Below is the account in Genesis 18:1-33:

 

Genesis 18:1 And the LORD appeared to him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; 2 And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, 3 And said, My Lord, if now I have found favor in your sight, pass not away, I pray you, from your servant: 4 Let a little water, I pray you, stay, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: 5 And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort you; after that you shall pass on: for therefore are you come to your servant. And they said, So do, as you have said. 6 And Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth. 7 And Abraham ran to the herd, and fetched a calf tender and good, and gave it to a young man; and he hurried to dress it. 8 And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat. 9 And they said to him, Where is Sarah your wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent. 10 And he said, I will certainly return to you according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah your wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. 12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? 13 And the LORD said to Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? 14 Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. 15 Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, No; but you did laugh. 16 And the men rose up from there, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way. 17 And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; 18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he has spoken of him. 20 And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; 21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come to me; and if not, I will know. 22 And the men turned their faces from there, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD. 23 And Abraham drew near, and said, Will you also destroy the righteous with the wicked? 24 Peradventure if there is fifty righteous within the city: will you also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? 25 That is far from you to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that is far from you: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? 26 And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. 27 And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak to the Lord, which am but dust and ashes: 28 Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: will you destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it. 29 And he spoke to him yet again, and said, Peradventure forty should be found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty's sake. 30 And he said to him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure thirty should be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there. 31 And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak to the Lord: Peradventure twenty should be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake. 32 And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten should be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake. 33 And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned to his place.

 

Based on the book, “Finding Jesus in the Old Testament”

Is Jesus the Messiah?

According to Peter in Acts 3, Jesus fulfilled the Messianic prophecy in Deuteronomy 18:15-18 concerning the prophet like unto Moses. To this day, the only two people who have miraculously fed a multitude in the wilderness with bread are Moses and Jesus (Exodus 16:15-18 / Matthew 14:19).

Based on the book “Finding Jesus in the Old Testament.”

Is Jesus the Messiah?

Genesis 49:10 is universally considered a messianic passage. Targum Onkelos circa 135AD which was preserved by the Pharisees contains the following: “…Kings shall not cease, nor rulers, from the house of Judah, nor sapherim teaching the law from his seed, till the time that the King, the Messiah, shall come, the youngest of his sons; and on account of him shall the peoples flow together. How beautiful is the King, the Messiah who will arise from the house of Judah: He has girded his loins, and descended, and arrayed the battle against his adversaries, slaying kings with their rulers; neither is there any king or ruler who shall stand before him. The mountains become red with the blood of their slain; his garments, dipped in blood, are like the pressed juice of grapes. How beautiful are the eyes of the king Messiah, as the pure wine…”

Genesis 49:10 "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be."

After Herod the Great became the king of Israel the land of Israel was ruled by non-Jews. The last Jew of the Davidic dynasty who was acclaimed as the king of the Jews was Jesus when he was crucified. Genesis 49:10 indicates that there would be an uninterrupted line of rulers over the tribe of Judah all the way up to the advent of the Messiah. Jewish dynasties ended when Herod the Great who was a non-Jew ascended to the throne of Judea. As we all know, Jesus arrived at that time. So, according to the prophecy - Jesus, the Messiah, arrived exactly on time.

It is not possible for someone born now or in the future to fulfill the messianic prophecy in Genesis 49:10 - since the time period for that prophecy undeniably expired. This leaves the inescapable conclusion based on the messianic prophecy in Genesis 49:10 – Jesus is the only person who can be the Messiah!

From the book "Finding Jesus in the Old Testament"

God has Invited you to a Reunion

After my dad had cancer surgery, he wanted to have a reunion with his children and grandchildren so he could see them all again in case he didn’t have much more time. So, he called his children and grandchildren and invited them to spend a weekend with him starting on Friday and ending on Sunday. One grandson lived thousands of miles away and wanted to come but couldn’t afford the plane ticket. My dad told him that he would pay for the plane ticket with his frequent flyer miles. The grandson also wanted my dad to meet his girlfriend. So, my dad also used his frequent flyer miles for her also. My brother has a family of four and they needed a place to stay during the reunion. My dad has a cabin that sleeps up to eight people that he rents out as a vacation rental. My dad told my brother that he would clear the cabin schedule for that weekend so my brother and his family could stay there. My dad also cooked an extremely large ham so that everyone would have something to eat if they needed it. His granddaughter said that she would only be driving up on Saturday to visit with everyone. She lived close by and couldn’t easily accommodate a place for her dogs to stay while she was gone so she only planned for a day trip.

By Friday evening everyone except my niece had arrived. Unfortunately, my dad had a large wound on his leg from a fall that had become infected. I had to take him to the hospital late Friday night to get antibiotics administered through an IV. We didn’t know how long he would have to be at the hospital. On Saturday, we all waited at my parent’s house for any word from the hospital about my dad’s release time. On Saturday afternoon, a mysterious wail from an air horn filled the neighborhood. Shortly afterwards, my niece and her husband had to leave because evening darkness was coming and they needed to head home.

On the third day of the reunion, early Sunday morning we got the call from my dad that he was being released from the hospital and could come home. He still had the wound on his leg but no more infection. That afternoon he took everyone on a boat ride with a float that his grandsons had a blast riding. That was the last time we saw my dad. He died a few weeks later.

For most of his family, we will always remember that Sunday afternoon where we were together having a great time. Unfortunately, that’s not true for my niece. When her grandfather passed away she was extremely distraught since she had missed her chance to see him again. She will remember for the rest of her life that she failed to appreciate that there wasn’t another chance to see her grandfather.

This is similar to the reunion God has prepared. For those who want to come to God’s reunion, they will be brought by God from all the corners of the globe (Matthew 24:31). God has prepared a place large enough for everyone to stay (John 14:2-3). He has made all the preparations to take care of their needs (Matthew 25:34). There will be no renters at his house who can buy a place to stay when he clears his house for his family (Luke 20:16). Those who have been called to the reunion can invite their friends who will also be welcome if they wish to attend (Matthew 28:19-20). However, we don’t know when God will return for the reunion (Matthew 24:37-44). No one knows the time (Matthew 24:36). We have to wait for the call (1Thessalonians 4:16). Those who are prepared to stay the whole time will get to see him again and will remember that day forever as a day of great happiness and joy (Matthew 25:1-13). Those who only want to visit with God and are too busy with the things of this world will leave after the last trumpet sounds and go into the darkness (Matthew 25:30). They will not meet again at the reunion (Matthew 25:10-12). They will lament for the rest of their existence that they failed to appreciate that there weren’t any more chances except the one that they got in this life to be with God (Luke 16:19-31).

Hope to see you at the reunion that God has prepared for you. Don’t miss your chance to be with God!

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