Excerpts from the Preface
Since the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947, many fruitful archaeological findings in the land of Israel have aided us to gain a deeper understanding of the historical context surrounding the life of Christ. If the historical background of Jesus’ time could be made more accessible, supplemented by illustrations, and further corroborated by recent archaeological advances, readers may better understand and absorb this rich spiritual inheritance — thus the intent and ultimate purpose of writing this book.
To present the background of Jesus’ life on earth in a more simple and visual way, there are a large number of annotated pictures and archaeological artifacts used to explain the history and geography of Israel. These are called out in insets with graphical illustrations corresponding to the descriptions in the main text. The main text is expositional, focusing on the multiple facets of the life of Christ, while the insets are informational, providing support to the main text. The author trusts that the readers will discern between the primary message versus the supplementary information and not switch the importance of the two.
The author now entrusts this book as five loaves and two fish into the nail-pierced hands of the Lord. May He break the bread and bless. May all who finish reading this book be like Peter and say to the Lord: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God”; “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”; and “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.”
Excerpts from the Book
“The birth of the Lord was most extraordinary and different from those of other great men. He was born on earth, but He also descended from heaven. He was the Word that became flesh, as introduced in John 1:1: ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.’ The Word became flesh and was born in a manger over 2,000 years ago. This was the beginning of the earthly life of the Lord Jesus.
…in Bethany, there was the offering of Mary, the service of Martha, and the testimony of Lazarus, which is a miniaturized model of the Church. The Lord had many fond memories of this little village where He especially enjoyed rest and spent His last week on earth there. He would always return to Bethany in the evenings during that week. Jerusalem symbolizes the glory of Israel, yet it was mere appearance with no substance, like the fruitless fig tree that could not satisfy. However, Bethany, ‘the house of figs,’ could satisfy the heart of the Lord Jesus.
When the Lord was being taken up in a cloud, ‘And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven”’ (Acts 1:10-11). If the Lord Jesus was facing Bethany at His ascension, then on His return, He will still be facing His own!
‘Come, Lord Jesus!’ (Revelation 22:20).”
Sample Pages
Since the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947, many fruitful archaeological findings in the land of Israel have aided us to gain a deeper understanding of the historical context surrounding the life of Christ. If the historical background of Jesus’ time could be made more accessible, supplemented by illustrations, and further corroborated by recent archaeological advances, readers may better understand and absorb this rich spiritual inheritance — thus the intent and ultimate purpose of writing this book.
To present the background of Jesus’ life on earth in a more simple and visual way, there are a large number of annotated pictures and archaeological artifacts used to explain the history and geography of Israel. These are called out in insets with graphical illustrations corresponding to the descriptions in the main text. The main text is expositional, focusing on the multiple facets of the life of Christ, while the insets are informational, providing support to the main text. The author trusts that the readers will discern between the primary message versus the supplementary information and not switch the importance of the two.
The author now entrusts this book as five loaves and two fish into the nail-pierced hands of the Lord. May He break the bread and bless. May all who finish reading this book be like Peter and say to the Lord: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God”; “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”; and “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.”
Excerpts from the Book
“The birth of the Lord was most extraordinary and different from those of other great men. He was born on earth, but He also descended from heaven. He was the Word that became flesh, as introduced in John 1:1: ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.’ The Word became flesh and was born in a manger over 2,000 years ago. This was the beginning of the earthly life of the Lord Jesus.
…in Bethany, there was the offering of Mary, the service of Martha, and the testimony of Lazarus, which is a miniaturized model of the Church. The Lord had many fond memories of this little village where He especially enjoyed rest and spent His last week on earth there. He would always return to Bethany in the evenings during that week. Jerusalem symbolizes the glory of Israel, yet it was mere appearance with no substance, like the fruitless fig tree that could not satisfy. However, Bethany, ‘the house of figs,’ could satisfy the heart of the Lord Jesus.
When the Lord was being taken up in a cloud, ‘And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven”’ (Acts 1:10-11). If the Lord Jesus was facing Bethany at His ascension, then on His return, He will still be facing His own!
‘Come, Lord Jesus!’ (Revelation 22:20).”
Sample Pages
Contents
Chapter 1
A Star Shall Come Out of Jacob
God’s Orchestration Throughout History
The Beginning of the Incarnate Word — The Manger 17 | The Two “King of the Jews” 18
“Manger” and “Herodium” 19 | A Star Shall Come Out of Jacob 20
Foreshadowing Throughout The Old Testament 23 | Incarnation and the Second Coming of Christ 24
God’s Orchestration throughout History 26 | The Role of Israel 27 | The Role of the Nations 28
Salvation for the World 30
Chapter 2
The Silent Wilderness
The Turbulent History of the Intertestamental Period
The Political Sphere During the Intertestamental Period 35 | The Leopard Coming Out of the Sea 36
The Unknown Beast Rising from the Sea 44 | The Cultural Aspects During the Intertestamental Period 48
The Rise of the “Large Horn” 49 | “Like a Leopard” 50
The Springing Forth of Greek-style Metropolises 52 | Greece Extended Beyond Greece 53
Religious Aspects During the Intertestamental Period 56 | The Formation of Judaism 57
Chapter 3
Great is the Mystery of Godliness!
A Holistic Revelation of the Four Gospels
The Person of Christ and the Gospel of John 65 | Beginning of the Gospel of John 66 The Ministry of Christ and the Synoptic Gospels 73 | Unfinished Rituals and Unfulfilled Hope 75 Matthew and Luke — King and Priest 77 | Gospel of Mark — Prophet 77
Chapter 4
Incomparable Christ
A Multi-Faceted View of the Gospels
The Glorious Face in the Gospels 84 | Lion and Cubs 86 | Yoked with the Lord 87 Eagle and Eaglets 88 | The Extraordinary Life from Luke’s Perspective 91
The Three Stages of Jesus’ Life 93 | The Path of the Growth of Life 95
The Lord Jesus’ Ministry on Earth 96 | From John the Baptist’s Public Confession to His Imprisonment 96 From John the Baptist’s Imprisonment to Mount Hermon 97 | Beyond The Jordan 100
Chapter 5
A Tale of Two Cities
From the Manger to the Throne
The Two Cities of David 107 | The Twin Cities of David 109 | Regarding Zion 111
Finally Unearthed 111 | The Site of David’s Palace and its Vicinity 113
The Twin Cities of Christ 115 | The Prime Location for Prophesying the Birth of Christ 116
Two Springs 120 | From the Upper Pool to the Lower Pool 121 | The Aqueduct from the Upper Pool 124
Waters of Shiloah that Flow Softly 125 | The Stone the Builders Rejected 127
Waters from the River, Strong and Mighty 128 | All My Springs Are In You 131
Chapter 6
The Thirty Silent Years
The First Ten Thousand Days
Born in Bethlehem 135 | Seed of the Woman 137 | A Dependent Life 138 | A Kingly Life 139
Growing up in Nazareth 140 | Perfect Childhood 142 | House of Study 144
Learning from a Young Age 146 | Son of the Law 147
“Learned Obedience” 150 | “My Beloved Son” 152
Chapter 7
The Overflow of Life
The Beginning of the Ministry
The Lord’s Forerunner: John the Baptist 157 | Jesus Came up from the Jordan River 157
Temptations in the Wilderness 158 | The Work Manifested before Men 161
The First Year of Work 162 | Principle of the Brook Cherith 165
First Seven Days with the Disciples 167 | Cleansing the Temple 167
Life Revealed 169 | Essence of Work — that man may have life 170
Chapter 8
The Flourishing of Life
"Went About All Galilee"
“Galilee of the Gentiles” 176 | Early work in Galilee 180
Discipleship Training by the Lord Jesus 186
Chapter 9
The Outpouring of Life
"Went About Doing Good"
Appointing of the Twelve Apostles 200 | Sermon on the Mount: The Great Charter of Heaven 205
The Disciples’ Practical Training 212 | Preaching Using Parables 215 | The First Preaching Tour 216
Chapter 10
The Abundant Life
Fruitfulness and Harvest
The Second Preaching Tour 228 | The Faith of the Canaanite Woman 232
The Ancient City of Tyre in the Bible 234 | Healing of the Deaf and Mute 239
Feeding of the Four Thousand 241 | The Third Preaching Tour 241
Transfiguration on the Mountain 247 | Peter Retrieves a Coin from the Mouth of a Fish 249
Chapter 11
Ministry Beyond the Jordan
“He Set His Face Toward Jerusalem”
The Way of the Cross 252 | The Way to Bountiful Harvest 253
Symmetry of Scripture for the Way of the Cross 255
“He Steadfastly set His Face Toward Jerusalem” 258 | Sending out Seventy Disciples 261
“Who is My Neighbor?” 263 | Sitting at the Lord’s Feet 264
The Last Winter 266 | In Solomon’s Porch 269 | Retreating Again Beyond the Jordan 270
Prayers to Seek the Kingdom 271 | An Interlude While Teaching the Kingdom Prayer 272
The Lord’s Heart-to-Heart Monologue 274 | Who is more sinful? 276
“Made Straight” and Press on Toward the Goal 276
Chapter 12
From Bethany to Bethany
“Sit Down First and Count the Cost”
From Bethany to Perea 281 | Shadow of Death 284
Enter the Narrow Gate, Walk the Narrow Way 286 | Love the Lord Above all 288
Building a Tower and Making War 289 | Dropsy, Best Place at a Feast and Inviting the Poor 290
Great Gospel Feast 291 | The Unjust Steward 294 | The Rich Man and Lazarus 299
Return from Working in the Field 301 | The Resurrected Lazarus 302
Chapter 13
The Last Stage of the Journey
“Jesus Went Before Them”
The Third Leg of the Way of the Cross 307 | Cry Out Day and Night 309
A Camel Goes Through the Eye of a Needle 310 | Wages or Reward? 312
The Fourth Leg of the Way of the Cross 314 | The Blind Men in Jericho 316
The “Bread” and the “Cup” 317
Chapter 14
Jerusalem! Jerusalem!
The Final Entry into the City
Weeping for Jerusalem 327 | The Final Inspection 327
From the Lowest Place to the Highest Point 330 | “Dwell Between His shoulders” 331
The Estate of “Oil” and “Wine” 333 | “Standing Within Your Gates” 335
Passing through the Kidron Valley 339
Chapter 15
Beautiful Zion! Glorious Zion!
The Final Inspection
Staircase Under the City of David 347 | “On One of the Mountains of Which I Shall Tell You” 349
“Sitting in the Temple Teaching” 353 | “What Manner of Building” 356 | “Solomon’s Porch” 359
The “Threshing Floor of Ornan” 362 | Final Stop of Highway to Zion 365
Chapter 16
The Night before the Cross
Love and Hatred Intersect
Behold your King is Coming 374 | Second Cleansing of the Temple 377
Days of Rigorous Testing 380 | The Wrath of the Lamb 383
Chapter 17
Lamentation of the Lamb
A Glimpse of the Olivet Prophecy
The Olivet Prophecy 391 | “Surrounded by Armies” 393 | “Flee to the Mountains” 396
Foreshadowing the Great Tribulation 401 | The Intersection of Love and Hate 404
Chapter 18
The Night of Betrayal
From This Cup to That Cup
When Was the Passover Supper? 411 | Preparation of the Banquet Hall 415
Washing the Disciples’ Feet 417 | The Last Plea of Love 419 | The Last Supper 423
The Garden Where Oil Was Pressed 425 | The Struggle Regarding God’s Will 427 | Final Harmony 430
Chapter 19
The Good Confession
The Lord of Judgement is Judged
The Clan of the High Priest 434 | Trials by the Jewish Religious Authority 439
A Shadow of the Roman Empire 442 | Trials by the Roman Authority 444
Herod’s Interlude 446 | Herod and Pontius Pilate 447
Chapter 20
“Behold the Man!”
Look Unto Him Whom They Pierced
King Wearing a Crown of Thorns 453 | “Bearing His Cross” 455 | “Lifted Up from the Earth” 458
The Cross of Christ 460 | The Seven Golden Utterances on the Cross 464 | “The Night of Jehovah” 465
The Moment of His Last Breath 467 | “Truly this Man was the Son of God!” 469
“Not One of His Bones Shall Be Broken” 471 Pouring out His Soul unto Death 472 | “Buried with the Rich” 473
Chapter 21
The Ultimate Triumph
Resurrection, Ascension, and Return
The Secret Disciples 476 | The Scattered Disciples 477 | Irrefutable Proofs of the Resurrection 479
Morning of Resurrection Day 480 | At Dusk of Resurrection Day 483 | “Gathered Together” 487
Re-education after Resurrection 489 | “The Mountain Which Jesus Had Appointed Them” 491
Yet Another Trial after Resurrection 494 | His Ascension and Return 495