Reading: Lesson 4 - Exploring Further (Video Slides)

By Edwin D. Roels

1. What did God promise in Genesis 3:15? Did Adam and Eve understand what God promised them?

God promised that he would put enmity between the woman (Eve) and her offspring and the serpent (Satan) and his offspring. There would be continual strife between Satan and his allies and all the descendants of Eve throughout human history. However, Eve’s descendants would not live forever in separation from God and his blessing. Satan would not be victorious forever. One specific person, a descendant of Eve, would someday crush the head of the serpent, destroying his power. This person was Jesus Christ, God’s eternal Son. Jesus would someday make provision for Adam and Eve’s descendants to again live happily and joyfully with the God whom they had disobeyed.

However, though Satan would be crushed (defeated, destroyed), he would also cause much harm to the woman’s descendants and would bring pain and suffering and even death to Jesus himself. The “heel” of the woman’s seed would be “struck” by Satan, but Jesus and His followers would be eternally victorious.

Adam and Eve would not have understood all of this. The full meaning and significance of the promise of Genesis 3:15 would not be understood at any time before the coming of Jesus. However, the promise was there to give hope to everyone who trusted the Word of God in spite of all kinds of trials and fears and uncertainties in their lives.

Other passages in the Bible teach some of the same truths found in Genesis 3:15.

2. What do John 1:1-3 and Colossians 1:16-17 teach us about Jesus?

These passages clearly teach us that Jesus Christ was truly God in the flesh. Jesus is called the WORD of God who was with God and was God. Jesus was also the creator of our world. Nothing was made without him. All things were made for him as well as by him. He is before all things and he is the One in whom the entire world holds together (Colossians 1:17).

These verses are among the strongest and clearest statements in the Bible that Jesus was and is truly God. Though Jesus himself was visible with a human body, he is called the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation—that is, the One with authority and prestige and honor (Colossians 1:15). Some cults teach that John 1:1 teaches that Jesus was “a god” rather than GOD in the flesh. However, the original Greek of this passage does not support this heresy. Moreover, if Jesus was simply “a god” who is to be worshiped and honored alongside of the one true God, then the Bible would repeatedly contradict itself since it teaches us in many places that there is only one true God who is worthy of worship and praise. John 1:14 teaches: The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. And in John 1:18 we read: No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known. Other passages confirm this same truth about the deity of Christ. For example, in Titus 2:13 we read of our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:1 speaks of the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. Paul teaches in Philippians 2:6 that before coming to earth as a human, Jesus was in the form of God. Revelation 1:17 describes Jesus as the first and the last and Revelation 21:6 and 22:13 refer to him as the Alpha and the Omega (titles also applied to God; see Revelation 1:8). Isaiah 9:6 refers to the coming Messiah (Jesus) as Mighty God. These exact same words are used in Isaiah 10:21 to refer to the only true God. 

3. What does the Bible tell us about the birth of Jesus and the family of Jesus?

Jesus was born to a young virgin named Mary in the city of Bethlehem in the land of Israel. God sent an angel to Mary and told her that she, though a virgin, would give birth to a baby boy. The angel told Mary that the child would be conceived by the Holy Spirit of God without any involvement on the part of any man. After the angel came to Mary and told her about the coming birth of her child, he went to a man named Joseph who was engaged to Mary. Joseph was a humble and God-fearing carpenter in the city of Nazareth where both he and Mary lived. The angel told Joseph that Mary had become pregnant through the work of the Holy Spirit. Joseph was shocked by the announcement and planned to break off his relationship with Mary quietly to protect both Mary and the baby. However, the angel told Joseph that he should marry Mary but that they should not live together as husband and wife until after the baby was born. Joseph and Mary accepted the message of the angel and did what he told them.

Because both Joseph and Mary were in the line of King David, they had to go the city of David called Bethlehem to enroll and pay taxes. Bethlehem was about 70 miles away from Nazareth. Joseph and pregnant Mary made the long journey together. When the young couple came to Bethlehem, they found that there were so many visitors in town that there was no place for them to stay. An innkeeper offered a stable for a resting place for them and it was here in this very humble place that Jesus was born. Mary and Joseph later had to flee to the land of Egypt with their baby boy to escape the wrath of King Herod who tried to kill Jesus. Herod was very jealous of Jesus and saw him as a potential threat to his throne. After King Herod died, Mary and Joseph and Jesus returned to Israel and went to the city of Nazareth where Jesus lived until he was about 30 years old. See Matthew 1 and 2 and Luke 1-3 for additional information about the birth, family, and ancestry of Jesus.

Sometime after Jesus was born, Mary gave birth to a number of sons and daughters with whom Jesus grew up. (See Matthew 13:55-56). Roman Catholics, however, believe that Mary stayed a virgin for her entire life, so they teach that the persons referred to as Jesus’ “brothers” and “sisters” were really his cousins or possibly children of Joseph by an earlier marriage. But the Bible does not teach this.

The birth of Jesus was clearly foretold in various passages of the Old Testament. Isaiah 7:14 foretells that the coming Messiah would be born to a virgin. Micah 5:2 foretells that the Messiah (or Christ) would be born in Bethlehem. Both Matthew and Luke tell us that Jesus was born in the family line of King David. Matthew 1 focuses on the family history of Joseph who was regarded as the legal father of Jesus while Luke gives us the family history of Mary.


4. What does Philippians 2:5-7 teach us about Jesus?

This passage teaches that the person we know in history as Jesus of Nazareth actually lived in heaven as the Son of God before he came to earth. However, he voluntarily gave up his glory and many of his privileges and appeared on this earth in the form of a human baby. He came to earth as a servant so that he might redeem men from punishment and enable all those who believed in him to inherit eternal life.

When Jesus was on earth, therefore, he was truly a human person just like all other humans except for the important fact that he was completely without sin of any kind. At the same time, he was also the eternal Son of God who frequently exhibited divine knowledge, wisdom, and power. Sometimes his life clearly demonstrated his humanity. For example, he became tired, hungry, and thirsty, and experienced suffering, pain, rejection, sorrow, and misunderstanding. At other times he demonstrated that he was also divine as he healed the sick, raised the dead, multiplied food for the multitudes, knew what people were thinking, foretold the future, and forgave sinners.

In the Gospel accounts, therefore, we find passages which clearly show that Jesus did “empty” himself of some of his divine prerogatives—as taught in Philippians 2:5-7. In reading other stories in the Gospels, however, we recognize that Jesus, though human, was also divine. We should never forget either Jesus’ humanity or his divinity.


5. What does Philippians 2:10-11 teach us about Jesus?

Someday Jesus will be glorified by all people who have ever lived. They will bow down before him and recognize and acknowledge who he is and what he did. Everyone will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. This will be a fantastic time when all those who ignored Jesus or opposed him or doubted him or denied him or defamed him will openly and publicly acknowledge that Jesus is truly the Lord of lords and the King of kings. This does not mean that everyone will be saved. Many will not be. However, Jesus will finally receive the recognition and honor due him as the Son of God and the Son of Man—true God and true man—who is worthy of glory and honor and praise forever.


6. What does Isaiah 7:14 teach about the coming Savior?

Isaiah lived about 700 years before the birth of Christ. He foretold that the Savior to come would be born of a virgin and would be called Immanuel, which means God with us. Though many people living in Isaiah’s time may not have understood the full significance of Isaiah’s prediction, Matthew 1:22-23 clearly states that Jesus’ birth fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy. Since Matthew wrote first of all to the Jewish people, he emphasized how the birth of Jesus fulfilled the prophecy of one of their best known prophets (Isaiah). Luke also indicates that Mary was a virgin when she became pregnant with her child (Luke 1:26-35). In Luke’s account we have the clear statement that he would be called the Son of the Most High.


7. When Jesus was on earth, he did many mighty and wonderful miracles. Why did so many people oppose him and reject him when he did so many good things?

The ones who were strongest in opposing Jesus were usually people with some kind of religious authority. A group called Sadducees opposed Jesus since Jesus accepted the entire Old Testament as the Word of God and they didn’t. They may also have seen Jesus as someone who was upsetting the Roman authorities with whom they (the wealthy Sadducees) often had a good relationship. The Pharisees often opposed Jesus because many of them were self-righteous and felt that they did not need Jesus for anything. (See, for example, Luke 18:11-12.) They also saw Jesus as someone who frequently broke God’s law (as they understood it) and, in their minds, was therefore leading the people astray. (See, for example, Matthew 9:11, 12:2; Matthew 12:24; Matthew 15:1-2; and many others.) The Pharisees also were alarmed and jealous that Jesus was becoming increasingly popular (John 4:1; John 7:32). They felt that Jesus was standing in the way of their own personal goals for power and authority. They were also disturbed because of the things Jesus taught about money, since the Pharisees were lovers of money (Luke 16:14.) Jesus therefore strongly warned the people against the teachings of the Pharisees and the Sadducees (Matthew 16:6, 11, 12). Because of their hypocrisy and self-righteousness, Jesus frequently spoke against them, thus arousing them to even greater anger and hatred. (See, for example, Jesus’ exceedingly strong statements in Matthew 23:1-36.)

Some of the common people also disbelieved in Jesus (John 5:38, 6:36, 10:26, 12:37), partly because of the influence of the religious leaders. However, many others eagerly followed Jesus and believed in him. They listened to what he taught, rejoiced in his miracles, and followed him from one place to another. (See, for example, Matthew 4:25, 7:25, 8:1, 13:2, 19:2, 21:9; Mark 2:12, 6:2; 10:l; Luke 5:15, 8:42, 11:29, 14:25; John 2:22-23, 4:39, 4:53, 7:31,32, 10:42, 12:42, 16:27). The people did not always follow Jesus for the right reasons, but many of them were deeply impressed with what he said and did, and they followed him wherever he went.

Eventually, it was the Jewish religious leaders who convinced the Roman authorities that Jesus should be put to death. (See John 7:32; Matthew 26:57, 59.)


8. Why do many people reject or oppose Jesus today?

There are many different reasons why so many people oppose or reject Jesus. Some people know very little about him, and what they claim to know is often not true. Other people think that Jesus’ claims for himself (the Son of God, the Savior of the world, the only way to God) are far too strong. Others believe that the teachings of Jesus are not as good and as helpful as the things they have been taught all their lives by their parents and teachers. Some believe that the Bible is not trustworthy or true. Still others do not like (or agree with) Jesus’ teachings about sin and everyone’s need to repent and confess their sins to a holy and righteous God. Many others teach that Jesus was far too strict and are very displeased with his condemnation of many of the vices they enjoy. Jesus also stressed that no one can come to the Father except through himself, and that seems to them to be very arrogant and self-centered and far too restrictive. Many people feel absolutely no need for a Savior, since they consider their own lives to be “good enough” to earn for themselves a place in heaven.

Many people have never read most of the Bible and look upon it as something of an “antique” which has little relevance for people who live in the 21st century. They do not like the Bible’s teaching about creation or its emphasis on man’s selfishness and basic sinfulness. So, since they don’t have a sense of need, they do not look for or long for a way out of their need. If there really is a God, they are quite sure that they don’t have any reason to fear him or his judgment. They are quite confident they can do all that might be necessary without the help of anyone else. These are some common reasons why so many people today do not believe in Jesus as the only way to salvation or why they do not believe that they even need salvation.


9. Why did a perfect Savior have to die, even though he was totally sinless?

Jesus did not die because of anything he had done or failed to do. He lived a perfect life with absolutely no sin or failure of any kind. Precisely because he was sinless himself, he did not have to atone for any of his own sins AND he was able to die in our place as a perfect substitute for us. Hebrews 4:15 reads: We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 2 Corinthians 5:21 teaches: For our sake he made him [Jesus ]to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him [Jesus] we might become the righteousness of God. And in Hebrews 2:14-17 we read: Since therefore the children [human beings] share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. . . . He had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.


10. If you had only 20 minutes to talk to someone about Jesus, what are some of the things you would tell them?

Different Christians might emphasize different things. Some of them will emphasize those truths about Jesus which were particularly significant in their own conversion. Others might emphasize some important truths which they feel are sometimes neglected. Still others might emphasize truths about Jesus which are often misunderstood or misrepresented. The answer to this question depends somewhat on who you are and on whom you are telling about Jesus.

In general, however, it is important to include most of the following teachings—as time and circumstances permit. Jesus is the eternal and uncreated Son of God. He came to earth as a Jewish baby born to a Jewish virgin named Mary, who became pregnant through a special act of the Holy Spirit. Jesus had no earthly father, but he was brought up in the home of a carpenter named Joseph, who married Mary after she became pregnant. Jesus lived for about 33 years in the land of Israel, where he taught large numbers of people, performed many wonderful miracles, lived a perfect, sinless life, and eventually died on a cross at the hands of Roman soldiers. Though Jesus was declared to be perfectly innocent by a Roman official, the jealous religious leaders of the Jewish people persuaded the Roman governor to hand Jesus over to the soldiers to be crucified. After three days, Jesus rose again from the dead, remained on earth for 40 more days, demonstrating that he had conquered death and teaching about God’s kingship. Then he returned in glory to his Father in heaven where he reigns over the entire world. Because Jesus was perfectly sinless, he willingly and voluntarily died on the cross as a substitute to pay the penalty for the sins of all those who put their faith and trust in him. Someday Jesus will come back to earth again to judge all people and to reign forever in glory with all those who loved and trusted and served him.