One of the great mistakes people can make is to think that Jesus was merely a good man, merely a good prophet, merely a good leader, merely another man. The Bible is very clear; Jesus was no ordinary man. He is, was and remains the everlasting God of the universe. In John 8:58, Jesus said "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." He was not merely saying that he was prophesied. The Jews he was speaking to clearly understood what he meant. He declared himself to be God. The Jewish leaders wanted to stone him to death for blasphemy.

Jesus shows up throughout the Old Testament both in principle and in person. The next few pages explore some of the passages in the earliest verses of the Bible where Jesus can be found. The specific passages chosen have been carefully selected to avoid controversy. Some of these are what scholars might call pre-incarnate appearances of Jesus.



Luke 24:27
And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he [Jesus] interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.


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Psalm 40:7 & 8
Then I said, "Behold, I have come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me: I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart."

Luke 24:44
Then he [Jesus] said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled."

John 5:46-47
For if you believed Moses, you would believe me [Jesus]; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?

Acts 10:43
To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.


On the next several pages we will see how Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophecy of the coming Messiah. Each page leading up to Christmas reveals an Old Testament Passage that was a clear prophecy, and the New Testament passage where we see the prophecy was fulfilled by Jesus.


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The opening pages of the New Testament announce that the promised Savior is coming. The first verses of Matthew reveal the genealogy of his earthly father, Joseph. While Joseph was not his biological father, he would be a human father to Jesus in his youth. These verses serve as a form of "certificate of live birth". To the Jews, a genealogy was a very important document. Matthew likely included the genealogy because his book was written to fellow Jews and its inclusion strengthened their connection with his writing.

The next several pages go through these early chapters in the New Testament to reveal what the Bible tells us about his birth and his life before his ministry began.


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The Bible does not tell us much about Jesus' youth. We learn a little about his early years and then the Bible begins to provide an account of his ministry. Jesus sought out twelve specific men who the Bible calls his disciples. Except for Judas, we often refer to them as apostles. Jesus preached a number of sermons, taught us by his actions and his words, performed miracles and revealed who he is.

The next several pages attempt to present Jesus' earthly ministry. These pages cannot begin to tell the entire story of his ministry. It is our hope that these pages will inform and inspire others to dig deeper into the gospel record of Jesus Christ.



John 21:25
Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.


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The final days of Jesus' earthly ministry are often referred to as "passion week". This is the week leading up to the modern Easter holiday. Jesus maintained a busy schedule throughout this week. He taught his disciples, witnessed to the Jews who would eventually crucify him, performed miracles, and prepared himself to suffer.

The next several pages present an abridged version of the Biblical account of passion week. Up to this point in the book, each day has been represented by a single page in the book. For the Passion Week series, this was not possible. Passion week was a busy time and the Bible provides tremendous detail regarding Jesus' activities. Some days are represented by as many as 4 pages.



1 Peter 3:18
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit...


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After Jesus rose from the grave, he spent 40 days with his disciples. A great deal happened during that timeframe. After he ascended, his disciples continued his work, carried his message to all parts of the world. We are the benefactors of that message. Jesus ministry never ended.

The next several pages provide a synopsis of what the scripture has to say about Jesus between his resurrection and his eventual second coming.



Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.


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There are many promises that the Bible makes concerning Jesus. One of the most precious is that he is coming back for his people.

The next few pages briefly explore some of what the Bible has to say about his second coming.



Luke 12:40
You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.


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