Bible Studies, Inspired by Faith and Science

Last week our Coffee Break group looked at stories of Jesus' childhood. This week we move onto more familiar territory with the beginning of his adult ministry, by which time Jesus is... how old? I'm quite enjoying the shorter studies we're doing now. I hope you are too. (7) Baptism The first thing we know about the adult Jesus is that John the Baptist baptizes him. All four Gospels tell (at least part of) the story, and all four set the scene by describing the ministry of John. Read Matthew 3:1-3, Mark 1;1-3, Luke 3:1-6, Isaiah 40:3-5, Malachi 3:1 1.        How famous was Isaiah? 2.        How old was Jesus when John began his ministry? ( Read Luke 3: 23. Tiberius reigned for two years together with Augustus, so this could be AD 26 or 28. Pilate was procurator from AD 26 to 36, Caiaphas was high priest from AD 18 to 36.) 3.        How old was John? 4.    ...

Out of the Desert 1. How was John the Baptist related to Jesus? 2. What’s special about the birth of John the Baptist? 3. What’s special about John’s father? And his mother? 4. What’s the significance of John’s diet and clothing? 5. What sort of ministry did John have when he baptized Jesus? 6. What did baptizing Jesus do to John’s ministry? 7. What did Jesus do after his baptism? 8. How did John end up in jail? 9. Was John always convinced that Jesus was the Messiah? 10. How did John die? Does his death sound plausible? Jesus began his public ministry by receiving the sacrament of Baptism from his cousin John. John is the son of Mary’s cousin Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah. Zechariah was a priest, therefore a Levite. The fact that Elizabeth is also a Levite means Zechariah is particularly honored, but the fact that they have no children would be looked on as a curse. They lived in the hill country of Judea, south of Jerusalem, except when Zechariah had to serve in the Temple. The...