Tawrat

The Message of the Tawrat,PRIVATE

the Zabur and the Injil

Translated by Shehe Ibulahima and Haward Issah

P O Box 405, Mangochi, MALAWI 1995

Introduction to

The Message of the Tawrat,

the Zabur and the Injil

Salaam Alaikum! (Peace be with you!)

Although most Muslims know that the Tawrat, the Zabur and the Injil is part of the Holy Writ of Islam, few have actually studied it. This book was written to help you to understand the Message of the Tawrat, the Zabur and the Injil. The Tawrat is sometimes known by the followers of Jesus as the Old Testament; the Zabur as the Psalms, and the Injil as the New Testament.

The Old Testament includes four parts:

* The Law, which is the first five books of Moses.

* Historical books describing the history of the Children of Israel.

* The Wisdom Writings, which include the Zabur, the Proverbs of Solomon the Wise and the Book of the prophet Job. Zabur was written by the prophet David and other prophets.

* The Books of the Prophets (like Jonah, Isaiah and Jeremiah).

These books of the Old Testament were revealed between 3300 and 2300 years ago.

The New Testament, which is often called the Injil, includes the following four parts:

* The four accounts of the Good Message about Jesus the Messiah (that is the Good Message according to Matthew, according to Mark, according to Luke, and according to John).

* An account of how the Good Message spread immediately after the life of Jesus the Messiah. This is called the Acts of the Apostles.

* The letters written by the Apostles to churches and believers.

* The Revelation God gave to the apostle John of the things to come in the last days.

These books of the New Testament were revealed between 1950 and 1900 years ago.

Each passage of Scripture has a brief introduction to explain the main message, how it was revealed, or to whom. This is written like this.

Each Study ends off with one or more prayers from the Holy Scriptures. You may read them aloud and offer them as prayers to God. You can also learn the prayers, or all the Scriptures, off by heart.

Each Study is followed by some questions. This is to help you to understand the Word of God. The correct answers are given at the end of the book. However, do not read the answers until you have finished all the questions of a lesson.

God is One

and has created man to serve

and to love Him

The Tawrat, which was revealed to Moses, forbids every kind of idolatry. The Ten Commandments declare that there is no God but God. He alone is to be worshipped:

³"You shall have no other gods before me.

Exodus 20: 3-5a

When Jesus the Messiah was asked which of God's commandments were the most important, He quoted words from the Tawrat that was given to people of Israel through the prophet Moses:

²⁹"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: `Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. ³⁰Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'"

Mark 12: 29-30

The apostle Paul condemns idolatry together with other serious sins:

¹⁹The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Galatians 5: 19-21

The Apostle John writes that the people that do the following sinful things will be cast into hell by God. One of them is idolatry:

⁸But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practise magic arts, the idolaters and all liars ‑ their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulphur. This is the second death."

Revelation 21: 8

In the Zabur the Prophet tells the people to praise God because we can see His greatness in the whole world that He has created:

¹Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous;

it is fitting for the upright to praise him.

⁴For the word of the LORD is right and true;

he is faithful in all he does.

⁵The LORD loves righteousness and justice;

the earth is full of his unfailing love.

⁶By the word of the LORD were the heavens made,

their starry host by the breath of his mouth.

⁷He gathers the waters of the sea into jars;

he puts the deep into storehouses.

⁸Let all the earth fear the LORD;

let all the people of the world revere him.

⁹For he spoke, and it came to be;

he commanded, and it stood firm.

Psalms 33: 1, 4-9

In the Zabur the Prophet also tells the people to worship and to praise God for the way He has revealed Himself through His mighty acts in history:

¹Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name;

make known among the nations what he has done.

²Sing to him, sing praise to him;

tell of all his wonderful acts.

³Glory in his holy name;

let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.

⁴Look to the LORD and his strength;

seek his face always.

⁵Remember the wonders he has done,

his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,

⁶O descendants of Abraham his servant,

O sons of Jacob, his chosen ones.

Psalms 105: 1-6

Prayers of worship from the Zabur:

The Prophet praises God as the Creator of the whole world:

¹Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD;

let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.

²Let us come before him with thanksgiving

and extol him with music and song.

³For the LORD is the great God,

the great King above all gods.

⁴In his hand are the depths of the earth,

and the mountain peaks belong to him.

⁵The sea is his, for he made it,

and his hands formed the dry land.

⁶Come, let us bow down in worship,

let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;

⁷for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture,

the flock under his care.

Psalms 95: 1-7

The Prophet praises God as his creator:

¹O LORD, you have searched me and you know me.

²You know when I sit and when I rise;

you perceive my thoughts from afar.

³You discern my going out and my lying down;

you are familiar with all my ways.

⁴Before a word is on my tongue

you know it completely, O LORD.

⁵You hem me in ‑ behind and before;

you have laid your hand upon me.

⁶Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

too lofty for me to attain.

¹³For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother's womb.

¹⁴I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Psalms 139: 1-6, 13-14

Questions

1. How are many gods are there according to the Ten Commandments?

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2. How many true Gods are there according to Isa?

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3. What is the punishment for idolatry according to the apostle Paul?

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4. What is the punishment for idolaters according to the apostle John?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

5. What did the prophet call the people to do in Psalm 33?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

6. Why should we praise God?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

God Gave His Laws to Man

We find the Ten Commandments in the Tawrat. God gave it to the people of Israel after He had delivered them from slavery in Egypt:

¹And God spoke all these words:

²"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

³"You shall have no other gods before me.

⁴"You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. ⁵You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

⁷"You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

⁸"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. ⁹Six days you shall labour and do all your work, ¹⁰but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. ¹¹For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

¹²"Honour your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

¹³"You shall not murder.

¹⁴"You shall not commit adultery.

¹⁵"You shall not steal.

¹⁶"You shall not give false testimony against your neighbour.

¹⁷"You shall not covet your neighbour's house. You shall not covet your neighbour's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour."

Exodus 20: 1-17

Jesus the Messiah summed up the Ten Commandments in two important commandments: love God and love your neighbour:

³⁴Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. ³⁵One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: ³⁶"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"

³⁷Jesus replied: "`Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'[1] ³⁸This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹And the second is like it: `Love your neighbour as yourself.'[2] ⁴⁰All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

Matthew 22: 34-40

Jesus the Messiah taught that God's laws does not only apply to what we do, but also to what we think:

²¹"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, `Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' ²²But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, `Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, `You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.

²³"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift."

Matthew 5: 21-24

Jesus the Messiah taught that God expects much more of us than we expect of ourselves:

⁴³"You have heard that it was said, `Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.' ⁴⁴But I tell you: Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

Matthew 5: 43-45

A Prayer

In Zabur surah 119 the Prophet says that he wants to obey the laws of God:

¹Blessed are they whose ways are blameless,

who walk according to the law of the LORD.

²Blessed are they who keep his statutes

and seek him with all their heart.

³They do nothing wrong; they walk in his ways.

⁴You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed.

⁵Oh, that my ways were steadfast

in obeying your decrees!

⁶Then I would not be put to shame

when I consider all your commands.

⁷I will praise you with an upright heart

as I learn your righteous laws.

⁸I will obey your decrees; do not utterly forsake me.

⁹How can a young man keep his way pure?

By living according to your word.

¹⁰I seek you with all my heart;

do not let me stray from your commands.

¹¹I have hidden your word in my heart

that I might not sin against you.

¹²Praise be to you, O LORD;

teach me your decrees.

¹³With my lips I recount all the laws

that come from your mouth.

¹⁴I rejoice in following your statutes

as one rejoices in great riches.

¹⁵I meditate on your precepts

and consider your ways.

¹⁶I delight in your decrees;

I will not neglect your word.

Psalms 119: 1-16

Questions

1. What two important commandments did Jesus give when He summed up the Ten Commandments?

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2. Jesus the Messiah taught that God's laws not only apply to what we do, but also to our...

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

3. What examples did Jesus give to show that what God expect of us is higher than what we expect of ourselves?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

4. How can a young man keep his life pure according to the prophet who wrote Psalm 119?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

God warns man of the consequences

if he does not keep His laws.

The story of the Garden of Eden is found near the beginning of the Tawrat. God warned Adam and Eve that if they disobey his command, they would die. This death meant that their bodies would die and that they would be separated from God:

⁸Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. ⁹And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground ‑ trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

¹⁵The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. ¹⁶And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; ¹⁷but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."

Genesis 2: 8-9, 15-17

Satan came to Eve as a snake to tempt her. First Eve and then Adam disobeyed God's command:

¹Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, `You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"

²The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, ³but God did say, `You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'"

⁴"You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. ⁵"For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

⁶When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. ⁷Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realised that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

⁸Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. ⁹But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"

¹⁰He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."

¹¹And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?"

¹²The man said, "The woman you put here with me ‑ she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."

¹³Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

Genesis 3: 1-13

God expelled Adam and Eve from the Garden to show that they no longer had any right to have fellowship with Him:

²²And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live for ever." ²³So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. ²⁴After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

Genesis 3: 22-24

The prophet Ezekiel explains to the people that God holds every man responsible for his own sins. We cannot blame our parents, friends, evil spirits or anyone else for our sins:

¹The word of the LORD came to me: ²"What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel:

"`The fathers eat sour grapes,

and the children's teeth are set on edge'?

³"As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel. ⁴For every living soul belongs to me, the father as well as the son ‑ both alike belong to me. The soul who sins is the one who will die.

³⁰"Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each one according to his ways, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. ³¹Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel? ³²For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live!

Ezekiel 18: 1-4, 30-32

The Apostle Paul declares that all men have broken the Laws of God and are therefore under the power of sin. The word `sin' means to disobey God and failure to do what the Law of God requires:

⁹What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. ¹⁰As it is written:

"There is no‑one righteous, not even one;

¹¹ there is no‑one who understands, no‑one who seeks God.

¹² All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no‑one who does good, not even one."

¹³ "Their throats are open graves; their tongues practise deceit."

"The poison of vipers is on their lips."

¹⁴ "Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness."

¹⁵ "Their feet are swift to shed blood;

¹⁶ ruin and misery mark their ways,

¹⁷ and the way of peace they do not know."

¹⁸ "There is no fear of God before their eyes."

¹⁹Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. ²⁰Therefore no‑one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.

²³..All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..

Romans 3: 9-20, 23

A Prayer

In the Zabur surah 51 the Prophet David confesses his sins to God after he committed adultery and begs for forgiveness:

¹Have mercy on me, O God,

according to your unfailing love;

according to your great compassion

blot out my transgressions.

²Wash away all my iniquity

and cleanse me from my sin.

³For I know my transgressions,

and my sin is always before me.

⁴Against you, you only, have I sinned

and done what is evil in your sight,

so that you are proved right when you speak

and justified when you judge.

⁵Surely I was sinful at birth,

sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

⁶Surely you desire truth in the inner parts;

you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.

⁷Cleanse me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;

wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

⁸Let me hear joy and gladness;

let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

⁹Hide your face from my sins

and blot out all my iniquity.

Psalms 51: 1-9

Questions

1. God warned Adam and Eve that if they sinned, they would die. What does this death mean?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

2. Adam blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the serpent for causing them to disobey God's command. Who was responsible for their sin?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

3. Who does God hold responsible for your sin?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

4. Is there any person in the world who has not sinned?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

5. What does the word `sin' means.

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

6. What did the prophet David do when He sinned?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

God is merciful and loving

and wants to forgive us

In the Zabur the Prophet says that God is like a Father who loves and cares for His children:

⁸The LORD is compassionate and gracious,

slow to anger, abounding in love.

⁹He will not always accuse,

nor will he harbour his anger for ever;

¹⁰he does not treat us as our sins deserve

or repay us according to our iniquities.

¹¹For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

so great is his love for those who fear him;

¹²as far as the east is from the west,

so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

¹³As a father has compassion on his children,

so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;

¹⁴for he knows how we are formed,

he remembers that we are dust.

Psalms 103: 8-14

God is also a righteous God. He is a just Judge who cannot let the guilty go free without punishment. God revealed through the prophet Jeremiah that sin is serious. It is not an unimportant thing for God so that he can just forget about it:

"Why should I forgive you? Your children have forsaken me and sworn by gods that are not gods. I supplied all their needs, yet they committed adultery and thronged to the houses of prostitutes.

"Should I not punish them for this?" declares the LORD. "Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this?"

Jeremiah 5: 7, 9

Because God loves us, He does not want to punish us as we deserve. He wants to forgive us. This is what God says through the prophet Hosea:

"How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel?... My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused. I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I turn and devastate Ephraim. For I am God, and not man ‑ the Holy One among you. I will not come in wrath.

Hosea 11: 8a, 8c-9

In the Tawrat God revealed to Moses that Aaron and the priests were to offer sacrifices to purify the people from their sins. A life must be given to pay for the sins of the people. The full meaning of these sacrifices was not revealed until the coming of the Messiah:

Moses said to Aaron, "Come to the altar and sacrifice your sin offering and your burnt offering and make atonement for yourself and the people; sacrifice the offering that is for the people and make atonement for them, as the LORD has commanded."

Leviticus 9: 7

Every day sacrifices were brought for the sins of the people. But there was one day every year when special sacrifices were offered. This was called the Day of Atonement:

⁵"From the Israelite community he is to take two male goats for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. Aaron is to offer the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household. Then he is to take the two goats and present them before the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. He is to cast lots for the two goats ‑ one lot for the LORD and the other for the scapegoat. Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the LORD and sacrifice it for a sin offering. But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD to be used for making atonement by sending it into the desert as a scapegoat.

"He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites ‑ all their sins ‑ and put them on the goat's head. He shall send the goat away into the desert in the care of a man appointed for the task. The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a solitary place; and the man shall release it in the desert.

Leviticus 16: 5-10, 21-22

These sacrifices could not take away the sins of the people. They were only to remind the people of God of their sins and to show them that God would one day send the real sacrafice, the Messiah:

¹The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming ‑ not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. ²If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshippers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. ³But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, ⁴because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. ⁵Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:

"Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,

but a body you prepared for me;

⁶with burnt offerings and sin offerings

you were not pleased.

⁷Then I said, `Here I am ‑ it is written about me in the scroll

‑ I have come to do your will, O God.'"

Hebrews 10: 1-7

The Messiah was sacrificed for the sins of all the people of God:

²⁵Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. ²⁶Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. ²⁷Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, ²⁸so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

Hebrews 9: 25-28

A Prayer

In the Zabur the prophet David expresses his joy because he knows that his sins have been forgiven:

Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven,

whose sins are covered.

Blessed is the man

whose sin the LORD does not count against him

and in whose spirit is no deceit.

When I kept silent,

my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.

For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;

my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.

Sela

Then I acknowledged my sin to you

and did not cover up my iniquity.

I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"

‑ and you forgave the guilt of my sin.

Sela

Therefore let everyone who is godly

pray to you while you may be found;

surely when the mighty waters rise,

they will not reach him.

You are my hiding‑place;

you will protect me from trouble

and surround me with songs of deliverance.

Sela

Psalms 32: 1-7

Questions

1. Why did the prophet David say that God is like a Father to us?

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2. All of us have sinned. Do we deserve to be punished by God?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

3. Does God want to punish us, of does he want to forgive us?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

4. What did Aaron have to do to take away the sins of the people in Leviticus 9:7?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

5. What important sacrifices were brought on the Day of Atonement?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

6. This was to show us God's scapegoat who would take away the sins of the world. Who was he?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

God revealed to His prophets

that He would come to live among men

God reveals Himself to man through His Word. The prophet Isaiah speaks of how God acts in the world through His Word:

¹⁰"As the rain and the snow come down from heaven,

and do not return to it without watering the earth

and making it bud and flourish,

so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

¹¹so is my word that goes out from my mouth:

It will not return to me empty,

but will accomplish what I desire

and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."

Isaiah 55: 10-11

In the Tawrat God commanded Moses to make a Tabernacle for worship, so that the people could know that God was with them. God rules over everything, but He also wants to be near to His people. This is the laws that He gave to Moses:

¹"Do not make idols or set up an image or a sacred stone for yourselves, and do not place a carved stone in your land to bow down before it. I am the LORD your God.

¹¹"I will put my dwelling place among you, and I will not abhor you. ¹²I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people. ¹³I am the LORD your God..."

Leviticus 26: 1, 11-13a

The LORD said to Moses:

⁴⁴"So I will consecrate the Tent of Meeting and the altar and will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. ⁴⁵Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. ⁴⁶They will know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God."

Exodus 29: 44-46

God revealed through the prophet Ezekiel that one day He would come to live among His people in a new way:

²⁶"I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them for ever. ²⁷My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people."

Ezekiel 37:26-27

God said through the prophet Isaiah that he would reveal His glory to all the nations:

³A voice of one calling in the desert:

"Prepare the way for the LORD;

make straight in the wilderness

a highway for our God.

⁴Every valley shall be raised up,

every mountain and hill made low;

the rough ground shall become level,

the rugged places a plain.

⁵And the glory of the LORD will be revealed,

and all mankind together will see it.

For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

Isaiah 40: 3-5

Similarly God said to the prophet Malachi that He would suddenly come to His Temple. But before this happens, He will send a `messenger' to prepare the way by showing the way of salvation to the people:

¹"See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the Lord Almighty.

Malachi 3: 1

When John the Baptist was born, his father, who was a priest and prophet of God, prophesied this over him:

⁶⁷His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:

⁶⁸"Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,

because he has come and has redeemed his people.

⁶⁹He has raised up a horn of salvation for us

in the house of his servant David

⁷⁰(as he said through his holy prophets of long ago).

⁷⁶And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;

for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,

⁷⁷ to give his people the knowledge of salvation

through the forgiveness of their sins,

⁷⁸ because of the tender mercy of our God..."

Luke 1: 67-70, 76-78a

John the Baptist is the `messenger' sent by God to `prepare the way for the Lord' before the Lord will suddenly `come to his temple':

²..The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. ³He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁴As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:

"A voice of one calling in the desert,

`Prepare the way for the Lord,

make straight paths for him..."

Luke 3: 2b-4

In the Tawrat, Prophets and Zabur we read many prophesies that God is going to reveal Himself more fully to men. The prophet Micah, for example, prophesies that God will raise up a descendants of David to rule over His people:

²"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times."

Micah 5: 2

Prayers:

In the Zabur the Prophet is full of joy because God is going to come to rule the world with justice:

¹⁰Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns."

The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved;

he will judge the peoples with equity.

¹¹Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;

let the sea resound, and all that is in it;

¹² let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them.

Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy;

¹³ they will sing before the LORD, for he comes,

he comes to judge the earth.

He will judge the world in righteousness

and the peoples in his truth.

Psalms 96: 10-13

The Prophet Isaiah confesses the sins of the people. He asks God to reveal Himself to men in a powerful way as He has done in the past:

¹Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down,

that the mountains would tremble before you!

²As when fire sets twigs ablaze and causes water to boil,

come down to make your name known to your enemies

and cause the nations to quake before you!

³For when you did awesome things that we did not expect,

you came down, and the mountains trembled before you.

⁴Since ancient times no‑one has heard, no ear has perceived,

no eye has seen any God besides you,

who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.

⁵You come to the help of those who gladly do right,

who remember your ways.

But when we continued to sin against them, you were angry.

How then can we be saved?

⁶All of us have become like one who is unclean,

and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;

we all shrivel up like a leaf,

and like the wind our sins sweep us away.

⁷No‑one calls on your name or strives to lay hold of you;

for you have hidden your face from us

and made us waste away because of our sins.

⁸Yet, O LORD, you are our Father.

We are the clay, you are the potter;

we are all the work of your hand.

⁹Do not be angry beyond measure, O LORD;

do not remember our sins for ever.

Oh, look upon us we pray,

for we are all your people.

Isaiah 64: 1-9

Questions

1. In what way does God make Himself known among His people?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

2. Why did God command Moses to make a Tabernacle for Himself?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

and _____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

3. What did God reveal through the prophet Ezekiel?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

4. God revealed through the prophet Malachi that would suddenly come to His Temple. Before this happens, He would send His `messenger' to prepare the way. Who was this?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

5. According to the prophet Micah, where will the descendant of David, who will be king, be born?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

God sent Jesus the Messiah as his Word

God sent an angel to Mary to announce to her that a holy child will be born out of her through the power of the Holy Spirit:

²⁶In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, ²⁷to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. ²⁸The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you."

²⁹Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favour with God. ³¹You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. ³²He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. ³³The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; his kingdom will never end."

³⁴"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"

³⁵The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.

³⁸"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.

Luke 1: 26-35, 38

The story of the birth of Jesus the Messiah:

¹In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ³And everyone went to his own town to register.

⁴So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

⁸And there were shepherds living out in the fields near by, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

¹³Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴ "Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests."

¹⁵When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

¹⁶So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Luke 2: 1, 3-20

When Jesus the Messiah was 30 years old, He started His public ministry. These were some of the miracles He performed to show God's love and care for all people:

* He raised the dead:

¹Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. ²This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. ³So the sisters sent word to Jesus, "Lord, the one you love is sick."

⁴When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it." ⁵Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.

⁷Then he said to his disciples, "Let us go back to Judea."

¹¹After he had said this, he went on to tell them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up."

¹²His disciples replied, "Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better." ¹³Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.

¹⁴So then he told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead, ¹⁵and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him."

¹⁷On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. ¹⁸Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, ¹⁹and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. ²⁰When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.

²¹"Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²²But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask."

²³Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."

²⁴Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."

²⁵Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; ²⁶and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

²⁷"Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world."

³³When Jesus saw Mary weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. ³⁴"Where have you laid him?" he asked.

"Come and see, Lord," they replied.

³⁵Jesus wept.

³⁶Then the Jews said, "See how he loved him!"

³⁷But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"

³⁸Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. ³⁹"Take away the stone," he said.

"But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odour, for he has been there four days."

⁴⁰Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"

⁴¹So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. ⁴²I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me."

⁴³When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" ⁴⁴The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.

Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."

⁴⁵Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him.

John 11: 1-7, 11-14, 17-27, 33-45

* He drove out evil spirits:

³¹Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath began to teach the people. ³²They were amazed at his teaching, because his message had authority.

³³In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, ³⁴"Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are ‑ the Holy One of God!"

³⁵"Be quiet!" Jesus said sternly. "Come out of him!" Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.

³⁶All the people were amazed and said to each other, "What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!"

Luke 4: 31-36

* He calmed the storm:

²²One day Jesus said to his disciples, "Let's go over to the other side of the lake." So they got into a boat and set out. ²³As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.

²⁴The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we're going to drown!"

He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. ²⁵"Where is your faith?" he asked his disciples.

In fear and amazement they asked one another, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him."

Luke 8: 22-25

Jesus was given the title "The Messiah." `Messiah' means `Anointed One.' In the old days they poured oil on a person's head to anoint him as a prophet, a priest or a king. Jesus was called "The Messiah" because He was chosen to be the most important Prophet, Priest and King of all.

When John the Baptist was put in prison, he began to have doubts if Jesus was the Messiah, so he sent his followers to ask Jesus if He really was the promised Messiah:

¹⁸John's disciples told him about all these things. Calling two of them, ¹⁹he sent them to the Lord to ask, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?"

²⁰When the men came to Jesus, they said, "John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, `Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?'"

²¹At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. ²²So he replied to the messengers, "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. ²³Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."

Luke 7: 18-23

A Prayer

Mary prayed this prayer to God when it was revealed to her that she was going to give birth to Jesus the Messiah:

⁴⁶And Mary said:

"My soul glorifies the Lord

⁴⁷ and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,

⁴⁸ for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.

From now on all generations will call me blessed,

⁴⁹ for the Mighty One has done great things for me ‑

holy is his name.

⁵⁰ His mercy extends to those who fear him,

from generation to generation.

⁵¹ He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;

he has scattered

those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.

⁵² He has brought down rulers from their thrones

but has lifted up the humble.

⁵³ He has filled the hungry with good things

but has sent the rich away empty.

⁵⁴ He has helped his servant Israel,

remembering to be merciful

⁵⁵ to Abraham and his descendants for ever,

even as he said to our fathers."

Luke 1: 46-55

Questions

1. Was Mary married when the angel told her she would have a baby?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

2. Has Mary ever slept with any man, even Joseph, before the birth of Jesus?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

3. How is it then possible that she could conceive a child?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

4. What was the name the angel said the child should be called?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

5. What good news was brought to the shepherds by the angel Gabriel?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

6. Why was Jesus called "The Messiah."

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

God gave Jesus the Messiah

the message of the Injil

Jesus the Messiah said that he proclaimed the "good message" from God. `Injil' means `good message.' The Good Message Isa preached was that through Him God was going to establish His Kingdom on earth:

¹⁴After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. ¹⁵"The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"

Mark 1: 14-15

When Jesus the Messiah started to preach, he read these words from the prophet Isaiah to describe the work He has been called to do:

¹⁶He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. ¹⁷The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

¹⁸ "The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

and recovery of sight for the blind,

to release the oppressed,

¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour."

Luke 4: 16-19

One of the most surprising things in the teaching of Jesus the Messiah was that He claimed to be able to forgive sins:

¹⁷One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick. ¹⁸Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. ¹⁹When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.

²⁰When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven."

²¹The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, "Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

²²Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, "Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? ²³Which is easier: to say, `Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, `Get up and walk'? ²⁴But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins..." He said to the paralysed man, "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home."

²⁵Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. ²⁶Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, "We have seen remarkable things today."

Luke 5: 17-26

The message of the Injil is summed up in a very important parable of Jesus the Messiah. This is the Parable of the Loving Father (Sometimes called the Parable of the Lost Son). This parable explains the love and compassion of God, who wants all men to return to Him to be welcomed as sons:

Man rebels against God and breaks fellowship with Him:

¹¹Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. ¹²The younger one said to his father, `Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them.

Because man is separated from God, he fails to find happiness:

¹³"Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. ¹⁴After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no‑one gave him anything.

Man decides to return to God to become His servant:

¹⁷"When he came to his senses, he said, `How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! ¹⁸I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. ¹⁹I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.' ²⁰So he got up and went to his father.

God wants man to be more than a servant who obeys the laws. He wants him to be a son who returns His love. So God comes to man to demonstrate his love in a costly and unexpected way. Man accepts God's love and God welcomes him as a son:

"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

²¹"The son said to him, `Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'

²²"But the father said to his servants, `Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. ²⁴For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.

Some people try to worship God by serving Him as servants who keep the law, in stead of loving Him as sons:

²⁵"Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ²⁷`Your brother has come,' he replied, `and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.'

²⁸"The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. ²⁹But he answered his father, `Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. ³⁰But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!'

³¹"`My son,' the father said, `you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. ³²But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'"

Luke 15: 11-32

The story has no ending - every person who serves God only as a servant must decide whether or not he will accept God's invitation to become a son:

A Prayer

Jesus the Messiah taught his disciples to pray to God as sons speaking to a loving Father. This prayer is known as the "Lord's Prayer":

⁹"This, then, is how you should pray:

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

¹⁰ your kingdom come,

your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

¹¹ Give us today our daily bread.

¹² Forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

¹³ And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one."

Matthew 6: 9-13

Questions

1. Good Message and Injil means the same. What is God's good message for all people?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

2. Who is the only person who can forgive sin?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

3. What sign did Jesus perform to show that He is able to forgive sin?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

4. Why could Jesus forgive sin?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

5. What does the parable of the loving Father teach us?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

6. Is it possible to know God as you would know a loving father?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

God showed His love for sinful man

through the death of Jesus the Messiah

The Jewish leaders wanted to kill Jesus the Messiah because He spoke of God in such a way that He put Himself equal to God. This happened after Jesus the Messiah had healed a man on the Sabbath Day.

²Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. ³Here a great number of disabled people used to lie ‑ the blind, the lame, the paralysed. ⁵One who was there had been an invalid for thirty‑eight years. ⁶When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?"

⁷"Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no‑one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me."

⁸Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." ⁹At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.

The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, ¹⁰and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat."

¹¹But he replied, "The man who made me well said to me, `Pick up your mat and walk.'"

¹²So they asked him, "Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?"

¹³The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.

¹⁴Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, "See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you." ¹⁵The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.

¹⁶So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. ¹⁷Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working." ¹⁸For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

John 5: 2-3a, 4-18

Jesus the Messiah knew that the Jews were planning to arrest Him. So He prayed that God would save Him from suffering and death. But if it was God's will, He was willing to suffer and die.

³⁹Jesus went out as usual, to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. ⁴⁰On reaching the place, he said to them, "Pray that you will not fall into temptation." ⁴¹He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, ⁴²"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." ⁴³An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. ⁴⁴And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

When Jesus was arrested He rebuked Peter for trying to defend Him, explaining that if He wanted to, He could ask God to send angels to rescue Him:

⁵⁰Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. ⁵¹With that, one of Jesus' companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.

⁵²"Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. ⁵³Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? ⁵⁴But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?"

Matthew 26: 50b-54

When Jesus was tried by the Sanhedrin, the Supreme Jewish Court, the High Priest accused Him of blasphemy:

⁶⁶At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them.

⁶⁷"If you are the Christ," they said, "tell us." Jesus answered, "If I tell you, you will not believe me, ⁶⁸and if I asked you, you would not answer. ⁶⁹But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God."

⁷⁰They all asked, "Are you then the Son of God?"

He replied, "You are right in saying I am."

⁷¹Then they said, "Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it from his own lips."

23¹Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. ²And they began to accuse him, saying, "We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Christ, a king."

Luke 22: 66 - 23: 2

The Jewish Council did not have the Authority to sentence Jesus to death, so they persuaded Pilate, the Roman ruler, to give permission for Jesus to be crucified:

²⁰Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. ²¹But they kept shouting, "Crucify him! Crucify him!"

²²For the third time he spoke to them: "Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him."

²³But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. ²⁴So Pilate decided to grant their demand. ²⁵He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will.

²⁶As they led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.

Luke 23: 20-26

Jesus was nailed to the cross:

³²Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. ³³When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals ‑ one on his right, the other on his left. ³⁴Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

³⁵The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One."

³⁶The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar ³⁷and said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself."

³⁸There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

³⁹One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!"

⁴⁰But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? ⁴¹We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong."

⁴²Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."

⁴³Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."

Luke 23: 32-43

Jesus gave his life on the cross:

⁴⁴It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, ⁴⁵for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. ⁴⁶Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last.

⁴⁷The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, "Surely this was a righteous man." ⁴⁸When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. ⁴⁹But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

Luke 23: 44-49

Many years earlier the prophet Isaiah spoke of someone whom God calls "my Servant." He prophesied that this "Servant of the Lord" will bear the sins of men through His own death. When Jesus was baptised, God revealed that He was the "Servant of the Lord."

⁴Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows,

yet we considered him stricken by God,

smitten by him, and afflicted.

⁵But he was pierced for our transgressions,

he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,

and by his wounds we are healed.

⁶We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

each of us has turned to his own way;

and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Isaiah 53: 4-6

A Prayer

In this prayer from the Zabur the Prophet feels that God has abandoned him, but he also prayed that God will rescue him. Jesus quoted the first verse as He hung on the cross. On the cross Jesus was abandoned by God as punishment for our sins, so that His followers will never be abandoned by God:

¹My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so far from saving me,

so far from the words of my groaning?

²O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,

by night, and am not silent.

³Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;

you are the praise of Israel.

⁴In you our fathers put their trust;

they trusted and you delivered them.

⁵They cried to you and were saved;

in you they trusted and were not disappointed.

⁶But I am a worm and not a man,

scorned by men and despised by the people.

⁷All who see me mock me;

they hurl insults, shaking their heads:

⁸"He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him.

Let him deliver him, since he delights in him."

⁹Yet you brought me out of the womb;

you made me trust in you even at my mother's breast.

¹⁰From birth I was cast upon you;

from my mother's womb you have been my God.

¹¹Do not be far from me,

for trouble is near and there is no‑one to help.

¹²Many bulls surround me;

strong bulls of Basin encircle me.

¹³Roaring lions tearing their prey

open their mouths wide against me.

¹⁴I am poured out like water,

and all my bones are out of joint.

My heart has turned to wax;

it has melted away within me.

¹⁵My strength is dried up like a potsherd,

and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;

you lay me in the dust of death.

¹⁶Dogs have surrounded me;

a band of evil men has encircled me,

they have pierced my hands and my feet.

¹⁷I can count all my bones;

people stare and gloat over me.

¹⁸They divide my garments among them

and cast lots for my clothing.

¹⁹But you, O LORD, be not far off;

O my Strength, come quickly to help me.

Psalms 22: 1-19

Questions

1. Why did the Jewish leaders want to kill Jesus?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

2. Was it God's will that Jesus should suffer and die?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

3. Did Jesus need the disciples to defend Him? __________________________________________________

4. Why not? __________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

5. What did Jesus answer when He was asked if He was the Son of God?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

6. What did the High Priest accuse Jesus of?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

7. What prophet prophesied many years earlier that the Messiah, who is the "Servant of the Lord," would suffer for our sins?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

8. Why did God abandon Jesus when he was on the cross?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

God raises Jesus from death

The body of Jesus was taken down from the cross and placed in a cave tomb:

⁵⁰Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, ⁵¹who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea and he was waiting for the kingdom of God. ⁵²Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body. ⁵³Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no‑one had yet been laid. ⁵⁴It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.

⁵⁵The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. ⁵⁶Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.

Luke 23: 50-56

On the third day the Disciples discovered that the body of Jesus was not in the tomb any more. An angel appeared to them and explained that He had been raised form the dead:

¹On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. ²They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. ⁵In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? ⁶He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ⁷`The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.'" ⁸Then they remembered his words.

⁹When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. ¹⁰It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. ¹¹But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. ¹²Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

Luke 24: 1-12

After His resurrection Jesus appeared to two of His Disciples and explained to them from the Scriptures why it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer before being raised by God:

¹³Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. ¹⁴They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. ¹⁵As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; ¹⁶but they were kept from recognising him.

¹⁷He asked them, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?"

They stood still, their faces downcast. ¹⁸One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, "Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?"

¹⁹"What things?" he asked. "About Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. ²⁰The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; ²¹but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. ²²In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning ²³but didn't find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. ²⁴Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see."

²⁵He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" ²⁷And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

²⁸As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going further. ²⁹But they urged him strongly, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over." So he went in to stay with them.

³⁰When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. ³¹Then their eyes were opened and they recognised him, and he disappeared from their sight. ³²They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"

³³They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together ³⁴and saying, "It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon." ³⁵Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognised by them when he broke the bread.

Luke 24:13-35

After His resurrection Jesus appeared to all the Disciples, and told them to preach the message of forgiveness of sins to all nations:

³⁶While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you."

³⁷They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. ³⁸He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? ³⁹Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have."

⁴⁰When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. ⁴¹And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, "Do you have anything here to eat?" ⁴²They gave him a piece of broiled fish, ⁴³and he took it and ate it in their presence.

⁴⁴He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms."

⁴⁵Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. ⁴⁶He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

Luke 24: 36-47

The writer of the letter to the Hebrews explains that because Jesus was willing to die on the cross, He has broken the power of death and the Devil. He is now able to help us in all our temptations and suffering because he has identified with us right to the end:

¹³And again he says,

"Here am I, and the children God has given me."[3]

¹⁴Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death ‑ that is, the devil ‑ ¹⁵and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. ¹⁶For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. ¹⁷For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. ¹⁸Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Hebrews 2: 14-18

A Prayer

In the Zabur the Prophet puts his trust in God, because he knows that God will protect him from the power of death. He is also glad that he will be with God forever:

¹Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge.

²I said to the LORD, "You are my Lord;

apart from you I have no good thing."

³As for the saints who are in the land,

they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight.

⁴The sorrows of those will increase

who run after other gods.

I will not pour out their libations of blood

or take up their names on my lips.

⁵LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup;

you have made my lot secure.

⁶The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

surely I have a delightful inheritance.

⁷I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;

even at night my heart instructs me.

⁸I have set the LORD always before me.

Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

⁹Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;

my body also will rest secure,

¹⁰ because you will not abandon me to the grave,

nor will you let your Holy One see decay.

¹¹You have made known to me the path of life;

you will fill me with joy in your presence,

with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Psalms 16: 1-11

Questions

1. What did the women discover when they went to Jesus' grave early on Sunday morning?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

2. What did the angels tell the women?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

3. Where were the two disciples going when Jesus met them on the way?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

4. What did Jesus the Messiah say must happen to Himself according to the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

5. What message must be proclaimed to all the nations, starting in Jerusalem?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

6. What power has Jesus broken by dying on the cross?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

God gave His Spirit to the Disciples.

They recognised Jesus as God's Messiah

and God's Word

While Jesus was still on earth, He told His disciples that after He will be lifted up to heaven, He will send them another Counsellor, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is also called the Spirit of God. The Counsellor will comfort and guide them:

¹⁵"If you love me, you will obey what I command. ¹⁶And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counsellor to be with you for ever ‑¹⁷the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

²⁶But the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

16⁷But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counsellor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. ⁸When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: ⁹in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; ¹⁰in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; ¹¹and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

¹³But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. ¹⁴He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.

John 14: 15-17, 26; 16: 7-11, 13-14

After the resurrection of Jesus the Messiah, before He was taken to heaven, he told His disciples that God would soon send His Spirit to live in them:

²[Before] the day he was taken up to heaven, [he gave] instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. ³After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. ⁴On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. ⁵For John baptised with water, but in a few days you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit."

⁸"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

⁹After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

Acts 1: 2b-5, 8-9

After He was taken up to heaven, the angels told His disciples that He would on day return to the earth:

¹⁰They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ¹¹"Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."

Acts 1: 10-11

After some days, the Holy Spirit came on the Disciples:

¹When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. ²Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Acts 2: 1-4

When the Spirit of God was given to the Disciples, the apostle Peter explained what had happened to Jesus the Messiah:

²²"Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. ²³This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. ²⁴But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. ²⁵David said about him:

`I saw the Lord always before me.

Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

²⁶ Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;

my body also will live in hope,

²⁷ because you will not abandon me to the grave,

nor will you let your Holy One see decay.

²⁸ You have made known to me the paths of life;

you will fill me with joy in your presence.'

²⁹"Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. ³⁰But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. ³¹Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. ³²God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. ³³Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. ³⁴For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,

`The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand

³⁵ until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet."'

³⁶"Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."

³⁷When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"

³⁸Peter replied, "Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off ‑ for all whom the Lord our God will call."

Acts 2: 22-39

The apostle Paul explains that when we receive forgiveness of our sins through the death of Jesus, we also receive the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God makes it possible for us to obey His laws:

¹Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, ²because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. ³For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, ⁴in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

⁵Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. ⁶The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; ⁷the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. ⁸Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.

⁹You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. ¹⁰But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. ¹¹And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

¹²Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation ‑ but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. ¹³For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, ¹⁴because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. ¹⁵For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." ¹⁶The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. ¹⁷Now if we are children, then we are heirs ‑ heirs of God and co‑heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Romans 8: 1-17

A Prayer

In the Zabur, sura 51, the prophet David confesses his sins to God. In Lesson 3 we have studied the first verses of this sura. In the second half he asks God to receive him back into His presence:

¹⁰Create in me a pure heart, O God,

and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

¹¹Do not cast me from your presence

or take your Holy Spirit from me.

¹²Restore to me the joy of your salvation

and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

¹³Then I will teach transgressors your ways,

and sinners will turn back to you.

¹⁴Save me from bloodguilt, O God,

the God who saves me,

and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.

¹⁵O Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth will declare your praise.

¹⁶You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;

you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

¹⁷The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;

a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Psalms 51: 10-17

Questions

1. Who is the Counsellor that Jesus mentions in John 14 and 16 that will come?

____________________________________________________________�� ________________________________________

2. What, did Jesus say in Acts 1, will happen to His followers when the Holy Spirit comes over them?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

3. How do we know that Jesus will return to this world one day?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

4. What happened to the Apostles on the Day of Pentecost?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

5. The closing words of Peter on the Day of Pentecost were

very strong words. He said that God has made Jesus

__________________________________________________ and _____________________________________________

6. What must we do to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

7. According to the Apostle Paul there are no condemnation for certain people. What people?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

8. God does not want animal sacrifices. What does please God?

_____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________

The Last Words

Thank you that you have gone through this study of selected passages from the Tawrah [Law of Moses], Zabur [Psalms] and Injil [New Testament]. As you might know, all these Scriptures have been put together in one Holy Book. This is sometimes called the Bible. We hope that you have been encouraged by the message of this study.

The Bible consists of 66 different books, written by more than 40 different writers, taking over 3,500 years to complete. Although the authors lived hundreds of years apart, and did not know each other, yet the message is the same. All 66 books support one another to give us this message: Firstly, that because of sin, man is under the judgement of God. And secondly, that because of His love, God wants to give man a second chance through Jesus the Messiah.

Perhaps you have wondered how you can become a follower of Jesus. Not everyone who has read this book is a follower of Jesus. It is also important to remember that not all Europeans are followers of Jesus. In fact, very few are. Some people even think that only Europeans or other tribes can become followers of Jesus. This is not so. Yaos can also become followers of Him.

To become a follower of Jesus, there are some things you must understand and do:

1. You must acknowledge that you have sinned against God by doing what is right in your own eyes. This is what the prophet Isaiah said:

"We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own ways.."

Isaiah 53:6a