Jesus went out from there and *came into [a]His hometown; and His disciples *followed Him.2 When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him, and such [b]miracles as these performed by His hands?3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of [c]James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” And they took offense at Him.4 Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in [d]his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household.”5 And He could do no[e]miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.6 And He wondered at their unbelief.
And He was going around the villages teaching.
7 And He *summoned the twelve and began to send them out in pairs, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits;8 and He instructed them that they should take nothing for their journey, except a mere staff—no bread, no [f]bag, no money in their belt—9 but [g]to wear sandals; and He added, “Do not put on two[h]tunics.”10 And He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you [i]leave town.11 Any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake the dust [j]off the soles of your feet for a testimony against them.”12 They went out and [k]preached that men should repent.13 And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.
14 And King Herod heard of it, for His name had become well known; and people were saying, “John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him.”15 But others were saying, “He is Elijah.” And others were saying, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.”16 But when Herod heard of it, he kept saying, “John, whom I beheaded, has risen!”
17 For Herod himself had sent and had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her.18 For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”19 Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death and could notdo so;20 for Herod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed; [l]but he [m]used to enjoy listening to him.21 A strategic day came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his lords and [n]military commanders and the leading menof Galilee;22 and when the daughter of Herodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and [o]his dinner guests; and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you.”23 And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give it to you; up to half of my kingdom.”24 And she went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.”25 Immediately she came in a hurry to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”26 And although the king was very sorry, yet because of his oaths and because of [p]his dinner guests, he was unwilling to refuse her.27 Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded him to bring backhis head. And he went and had him beheaded in the prison,28 and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother.29 When his disciples heard about this, they came and took away his body and laid it in a tomb.
30 The apostles *gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught.31 And He *said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.” (For there were manypeople coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.)32 They went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves.
45 Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side to Bethsaida, while He Himself was sending the crowd away.46 After bidding them farewell, He left for the mountain to pray.
47 When it was evening, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and He was alone on the land.48 Seeing them[w]straining at the oars, for the wind was against them, at about the [x]fourth watch of the night He *came to them, walking on the sea; and He intended to pass by them.49 But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed that it was a ghost, and cried out;50 for they all saw Him and were [y]terrified. But immediately He spoke with them and *said to them, “Take courage; it is I, do not be afraid.”51 Then He got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped; and they were utterly astonished,52 for they [z]had not gained any insight from theincident of the loaves, but [aa]their heart was hardened.
53 When they had crossed over they came to land at Gennesaret, and moored to the shore.54 When they got out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him,55 and ran about that whole country and began to carry here and there on their pallets those who were sick, to [ab]the place they heard He was.56 Wherever He entered villages, or cities, or countryside, they were laying the sick in the market places, and imploring Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak; and as many as touched it were being cured.
The Life of Christ on Earth – Jesus and the woman at the well John 4:1-42
Racial prejudice may appear “human”, but it is NEVER Christian. Neither is any prejudice against women or against men. But let’s go further – real Christians care about everybody and don’t divide “good” people from “bad” people. That’s because they know that Jesus Christ can transform anyone in a heartbeat. There are so many lessons to be learned in Jesus’ time with the adulterous woman at the well. Ray will share those lessons with you now.
4 Therefore when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John2 (although Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were),3 He left Judea and went away again into Galilee.4 And He had to pass through Samaria.5 So He *came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph;6 and Jacob’s well was there. So Jesus, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about[a]the sixth hour.
7 There *came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus *said to her, “Give Me a drink.”8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.9 Therefore the Samaritan woman *said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”11 She *said to Him, “[b]Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water?12 You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?”13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again;14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”
15 The woman *said to Him, “[c]Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw.”16 He *said to her, “Go, call your husband and come here.”17 The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus *said to her, “You have correctly said, ‘I have no husband’;18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly.”19 The woman *said to Him, “[d]Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.20 Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.”21 Jesus *said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.23 But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.24 God is [e]spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”25 The woman *said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.”26 Jesus *said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”
27 At this point His disciples came, and they were amazed that He had been speaking with a woman, yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why do You speak with her?”28 So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and *said to the men,29 “Come, see a man who told me all the things that I havedone; this is not [f]the Christ, is it?”30 They went out of the city, and were coming to Him.
31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.”32 But He said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.”33 So the disciples were saying to one another, “No one brought Himanything to eat, did he?”34 Jesus *said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and toaccomplish His work.35 Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest.36 Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.37 For in this case the saying is true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’38 I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.”
39 From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all the things that I have done.”40 So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days.41 Many more believed because of His word;42 and they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.”
Footnotes:
John 4:6Perhaps 6 p.m. Roman time or noon Jewish time
13 Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him. 14 But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” 15 But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted Him. 16 After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, 17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”
Matt 3:13-17 is one of the clearest pictures of the Trinity in scripture, the Father, the Son-Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. It speaks of God the Father. The Father’s voice came from the heavens saying to John the Baptist and those with him. 17 …”This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”
The Father has spoken to people down through the ages. God the Father spoke to Abram, who was later called Abraham saying, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse; and by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves.” 4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him…” (Gen 12:1-4a)
God the Father spoke to Moses, 3 when he went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: 4 ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my own possession among all peoples; for all the earth is mine, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. 6And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.” (Exodus 19:3-6)
God spoke to Job, for four chapters God challenged Job’s knowledge of God. When He was finished, Job answered the Lord and said: 2 “I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. 3 You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge? Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. 5 “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. 6 Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” 7 And so it was, after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the Lord spoke to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends; for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” Job offered a sacrifice for their sins and prayed for mercy for them and the Lord accepted his prayer. (Job 42:2-47 NASB)
Just before Israel went into captivity, God the Father spoke to Jeremiah the prophet giving him the words the Father wanted the people of Israel to hear: 10 “For thus says the Lord, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive. (Jeremiah 29:10-14a)
Throughout history, God the Father has been speaking to people and orchestrating life through covenants, blessings, and punishments. More than those, through choosing people for a special purpose. Jesus was the anointed, the chosen of God for our redemption. Matt 3:13-17 speaks of God the Father and of Jesus, His Son. Before Jesus came to be baptized 9″ … John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ 31 I did not know Him; but I knew that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.” 32 And John bore witness, saying of Jesus, 34 … I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.” (John 1:9,31-32a,34 NKJV)
John was three (3) months older than Jesus, but said Jesus came before him. And Jesus did come before him. The Lord Jesus always was. Before Jesus was born, He occasionally came in the form a man to talk with people. The theological term is a theophany, a visible manifestation of God. The Lord Jesus walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden often enough that they recognized the sounds He made as he walked. (Gen 3:8)
The Lord appeared to Abraham at the oaks of Mamre. There the Lord told Abraham that his wife Sarah would have a son within a year. And all the world would be blessed through him. Before He left He told Abraham the plans for Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham plead on behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah for his nephew Lot’s sake. The Lord granted his request. (Gen 18:1-19 NKJV)
The angel of the Lord, another name of the pre-incarnate Jesus appeared to Manoah’s wife and told her she was going to have a son. He was not to drink wine or eat anything that comes from the vine. And he was not to cut his hair. Manoah’s wife told him everything the man had said. She didn’t know he was the angel of the Lord. Manoah asked the Lord to send the man again to speak with him as well. And the Angel of the Lord granted his request. (Judges 13:1-25 NKJV)
In verses 15-20 15 Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “Pray, let us detain you, and prepare a young goat for you.” 16 And the angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “If you detain me, I will not eat of your food; but if you make ready a burnt offering, then offer it to the Lord.” (For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the Lord.) 17 And Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “What is your name, so that, when your words come true, we may honor you?” 18 And the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?” 19 So Manoah took the young goat with the cereal offering, and offered it upon the rock to the Lord, to him who works wonders. 20 And when the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar while Manoah and his wife looked on; and they fell on their faces to the ground. The woman gave birth to a son and he was named Samson. Samson delivered Israel from the oppression of the Philistines.
We read of Jesus among men before He left the glory above to be born of a woman. He lived among us as one of us, delivered us from the penalty of our sins, and rose from the dead giving us new life. After He rose from the dead he sent the Holy Spirit to live within us and teach us all things. Matthew 3:16-17 speaks of God the Father, of Jesus, the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit bore witness that Jesus was the Son of God when John “saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him (Jesus).
Down through the ages the Holy Spirit has come upon people for a purpose. After God had given Moses the plans for the tabernacle, God said to him, 2 “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 3 And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, 4 to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, 5 in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of workmanship. (Exodus 31:2-4 NKJV)
Later, in the time of the Judges, When Samuel had anointed Saul king, he told Saul, 5 … you shall come to the hill of God where the Philistine garrison is. And it will happen, when you have come there to the city … you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with a stringed instrument, a tambourine, a flute, and a harp before them; and they will be prophesying. 6 Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. 7 And let it be, when these signs come to you, that you do as the occasion demands; for God is with you. (1 Samuel 10:5-7 (NKJV))
Isaiah wrote in chapter 61 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, 3 To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” (Isaiah 61:1-3 NKJV)
Throughout time, the Holy Spirit has come upon people for a specific purpose; to do something in and through them. Matthew 3:16-17 speaks of God the Father, of Jesus, God’s Son, and of the Holy Spirit. The Father, Jesus, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are the three persons of the Trinity. Yet they are one God.
Following is a portion of the Athanasian Creed. It is the first known creed to talk about trinity and has been in use since the 6th century. Although Martin Luther, the great reformer, considered it one of the three most important statements of faith, it is not often used today. The Nicene Creed has largely replaced it.
The Athanasain Creed states:
“But our … faith is this, that we venerate one God in the Trinity, and the Trinity in oneness; neither confounding the persons, nor dividing the substance; for there is one person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Spirit; but the divine nature of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit is one, their glory is equal, their majesty is coeternal.
Of such a nature as the Father is, so is the Son, so also is the Holy Spirit; the Father is uncreated, the Son is uncreated, and the Holy Spirit is uncreated; the Father is infinite, the Son is infinite, and the Holy Spirit is infinite; the Father is eternal, the Son is eternal, and the Holy Spirit is eternal; and nevertheless there are not three eternals but one eternal; just as there are not three uncreated beings, nor three infinite beings, but one uncreated, and one infinite; similarly the Father is almighty, the Son is almighty, and the Holy Spirit is almighty; and yet there are not three almightys but one almighty; thus the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God; and nevertheless there are not three gods, but there is one God; so the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, and the Holy Spirit is Lord; and yet there are not three lords, but there is one Lord; because just as we are compelled by Christian truth to confess singly each one person as God, and also Lord, so we are forbidden … to say there are three gods or three Lords. The Father was not made, nor created, nor begotten by anyone. The Son is from the Father alone, not made nor created, but begotten. The Holy Spirit is from the Father and the Son, not made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding. There is, therefore, one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits; and in this Trinity there is nothing first or later, nothing greater or less, but all three Persons are coeternal and coequal with one another, so that in every respect, as has already been said above, both unity in Trinity, and Trinity in unity must be venerated.
Therefore, let him who wishes to be saved, think thus concerning the Trinity.”
The Athanasian Creed is a very precise and detailed statement of the Trinity. But even with such a statement the Trinity is difficult to grasp. I have heard it compared with an egg, with water, and with a triumvirate, a group of three people who share authority.
Of the three, I am not sure I like the picture of the egg or of water best. An egg is one egg, yet it has a shell, a yolk or chick, and the white. They can be compared to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Like an egg shell, the Father is the one who gives the structure. Of course, the Father doesn’t provide structure for the Trinity, but for creation. He sets for us the way we should live. The yolk of an egg becomes the chick, the creature who is part of this world. Jesus left His glory above to become a man and live among us, His creation. Jesus returned to His glory at His resurrection. Of course Jesus, the Son was not created in His birth, but is co eternal with the Father and the Holy Spirit. The white of the egg nourishes the growth of the chick. The Holy Spirit came upon Jesus and Jesus lived in the power of the Spirit while he lived among us. The Holy Spirit nurtures and nourishes all who are the called and chosen of God, all who believe and trust Jesus death and resurrection for forgiveness and eternal life. Of course the Holy Spirit is co eternal with the Father and Jesus, the Son.
I also like the picture of Trinity like water because water comes in three (3) forms: liquid, solid (ice), and steam, yet it is still water. Ice, water, and steam are of the same essence. The Trinity-the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit are of one essence. The Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one God. There is no variation within the Trinity. They are not like wind, earth, and fire, but are the same as ice, water, and steam. It is all water, hydrogen dioxide.
The nature of the Trinity wholly different from the first triumvirate I know of except the triumvirate was made of three (3) persons and they ruled together. The First Triumvirate I’m aware of was a political alliance lasting around 6 years from 59 to 53 BC. It was between three prominent Roman politicians: Gaius Julius Caesar, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Pompey the Great) and Marcus Licinius Crassus. They were tied together in the triumvirate by selfishness, ambition, and the opportunity for individual political advantage. It dissolved through the military defeat of one, and the same selfish, ambitious, and opportunistic motives.
Nothing we can think of can truly describe the Trinity with any more comprehensiveness than we can understand God, which is very limited indeed. The Trinity was never created. The Trinity was, is, and will always be united. The very nature of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are the same. And they are united in all things. “In this Trinity there is nothing first or later, nothing greater or less, but all three Persons are coeternal and coequal with one another, so that in every respect, as has already been said above, both unity in Trinity, and Trinity in unity must be venerated. Therefore, let him who wishes to be saved, think thus concerning the Trinity.” (Athanasain Creed)
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER AHEAD OF YOU, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY;
THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT."”
John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.
John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist, and his diet was locusts and wild honey.
And he was preaching, and saying, “After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to stoop down and untie the thong of His sandals.
“I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him;
and a voice came out of the heavens: “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”
Immediately the Spirit impelled Him to go out into the wilderness.
And He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by Satan; and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels were ministering to Him.
Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God,
and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
As He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen.
And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”
Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.
Going on a little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets.
Immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went away to follow Him.
They went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and began to teach.
They were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,
saying, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are–the Holy One of God!”
And Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!”
Throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice and came out of him.
They were all amazed, so that they debated among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.”
Immediately the news about Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding district of Galilee.
And immediately after they came out of the synagogue, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.
Now Simon’s mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever; and immediately they spoke to Jesus about her.
And He came to her and raised her up, taking her by the hand, and the fever left her, and she waited on them.
When evening came, after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were demon-possessed.
And the whole city had gathered at the door.
And He healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew who He was.
For The Entire Text and or Images: www.reachmorenow.com
Matthew 4:12-17 – Capernaum = San Francisco on steroids!
Matthew 4:12-17 New American Standard Bible 12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee;13 and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.14 This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:
15 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, [a]By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the[b]Gentiles— 16 “The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great Light, And those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death, Upon them a Light dawned.”
17 From that time Jesus began to [c]preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Therefore when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John
(although Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were),
He left Judea and went away again into Galilee.
And He had to pass through Samaria.
So He came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph;
and Jacob’s well was there. So Jesus, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.”
For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.
Therefore the Samaritan woman said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)
Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
She said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water?
“You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?”
Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again;
but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”
The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw.”
He said to her, “Go, call your husband and come here.”
The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have correctly said, ‘I have no husband";
for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly.”
The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.
“Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.”
Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.
“You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.
“But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.
“God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.”
Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”
At this point His disciples came, and they were amazed that He had been speaking with a woman, yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why do You speak with her?”
So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and said to the men,
“Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?”
They went out of the city, and were coming to Him.
Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.”
But He said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.”
So the disciples were saying to one another, “No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?”
Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.
“Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest.
“Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.
“For in this case the saying is true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’
“I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.”
From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all the things that I have done.”
So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days.
Many more believed because of His word;
and they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.”
After the two days He went forth from there into Galilee.
For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.
So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things that He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves also went to the feast.
Therefore He came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum.
When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and was imploring Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death.
So Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.”
The royal official said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”
Jesus said to him, “Go; your son lives.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off.
As he was now going down, his slaves met him, saying that his son was living.
So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. Then they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.”
So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives”; and he himself believed and his whole household.
This is again a second sign that Jesus performed when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.
