Jesus Christ

As Jesus and his disciples left Jericho one day, they came near a blind man named Bartimæus, who was begging on the side of the road. There were many people, but when Bartimaeus learned that Jesus was among them, he became excited and called out to him. The people around him told him to be quiet. Jesus was important and Bartimaeus only a beggar. They did not believe it was appropriate for a beggar to bothers someone as special as Jesus. Jesus heard his calls and stopped. He asked for Bartimaeus to be brought to him. Now that he actually had the Savior’s attention, he became nervous and wasn’t sure about going. The apostles kindly reassured him there was nothing to be afraid of and he should just rise and go to the Savior. Bartimaeus did so and approached Jesus, probably very nervous. Jesus spoke to him with great respect, something not often accorded blind men and beggars. He asked the man what he could do for him. Bartimaeus, no doubt having heard... Read the rest of this entry »

A group of men the Bible refers to as Wise Men are an important part of the Christmas tradition. We know very little about them—who they are or where they came from. There are traditions, but no facts. What we do know is that at the appointed time, they knew of the birth of the Savior and began a very long journey to find Him. Despite common nativity scene portrayals, the Wise Men were not at the manger in the stable. It took them a year or two to arrive and the Bible mentions they found him in a child. It also refers to Jesus as a child, not a baby. They arrived first, however, in Jerusalem, where they asked where Jesus could now be found. Herod was not pleased to discover they were looking for a king of the Jews and he gathered his staff around him. He wanted to know where this king was born and learned the child had been born in Jerusalem. His staff told him the prophecies concerning this child. Herod then asked the Wise Men to go to Bethlehem and... Read the rest of this entry »

After Jesus’ death, the apostles chose seven men to assist them in the work of running the church and teaching the gospel. One of these seven was Stephen, a man with a strong reputation for loving and following God. He, with the others, were set apart to their new role through the laying on of hands, which means the apostles placed their hands on Stephen’s head, gave him a blessing from God, and conveyed the authority from God to do his work. Stephen quickly encountered difficulties. He was falsely accused of blasphemy and brought before a council. They may have been surprised, as they leveled their accusations, to see that Stephen was transfigured. He had the face of an angel. They had no intention of finding Stephen innocent of the trumped up charges. However, Stephen maintained his courage and preached to them concerning the blessings God had given the people and the sins of his accusers. The listeners were angry but Stephen was accompanied by... Read the rest of this entry »

The New Testament tells the story of a man named Cornelius. He was neither Christian nor Jewish, but was a Gentile. Despite this, everyone was very fond of him. He was honest and caring, giving a great deal in both time and goods to the poor. Much to his surprise, an angel appeared to him one day. The angel said that God was pleased with Cornelius’ goodness and that He wanted Cornelius to hear a message from a man named Peter. Peter had been Jesus’ apostle and now headed the church. Cornelius promptly responded to this request by sending three men to speak to Peter. While this was happening, God began to prepare Peter. Peter was a prophet and received revelation in a somewhat unusual way. He was staying in a crowded and busy home and so he had gone onto a rooftop in order to be alone and to pray. While he prayed, he received a vision in which he was given a tray of food. This vision occurred just before dinner and Peter was hungry. However, the tray... Read the rest of this entry »

One day Jesus sat by the treasury watching people pay their tithing. The wealthy came and donated large amounts of money and many were probably impressed by the size of their donations. However, the person who attracted the Savior’s attention was not the wealthy with their large donations, but a widow with very little money, who donated only two mites, a very small amount of money. He was so impressed by her he called his disciples over to see her. He told them the others had donated, but she had given everything and that in reality, she had given far more than the wealthy had. Read the story of the widow’s mite in the Bible. When God places a value on what we have given, he looks at how much it really cost us to give it. A fair tithe, which constitutes ten percent according to the Bible, is a larger sacrifice for the poor than for the rich. For that reason, God provides greater blessings to those who make the greatest sacrifices. The Bible teaches: Bring... Read the rest of this entry »

Zacchaeus was a tax collector. He was wealthy, a sinner, and much disliked by the people. However, when he learned that Jesus was coming into the area, he felt a desire to see this man he had heard so much about. There were many others who wanted to see him as well, and the streets were crowded. Zaccheus, who wasn’t very tall, was unable to see over the crowds. In desperation, he climbed a tree so he could look over the heads of the crowd. Finally, Jesus came. As he watched the man some knew to be the Savior, he was startled to hear Jesus call him by name. Jesus told Zacchaeus to come out of the tree because he—Jesus Christ Himself—was going to stay at his home that night. The crowds who heard the exchange were astonished. Of all the spiritual and moral people in the crowd, Jesus had chosen to take his meal and lodgings with a known sinner. Many probably didn’t understand why He would do such a thing. For some, it might even have been faith-challenging. For... Read the rest of this entry »