Lesson No. 12
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY
ABOUT OUR SAVIOR
IN HIS HUMILIATION ?
A Look at God's Word
by Oswald Riess
1. WHAT DO THE SCRIPTURES TEACH OF THE CONCEPTION AND BIRTH
OF CHRIST ?
THE BIBLE SAYS -
Luke 1:1-2:20. Matt. 1:18-25.A BRIEF SUMMARY OF EVENTS
CONNECTING
WITH THE CONCEPTION AND BIRTH OF CHRIST.
God's time for the fulfillment of
His many promises concerning the
Savior has come. The angel Gabriel appears to a priest called Zacharias
and informs him that he and his aged wife Elisabeth are to become the
parents
of a son, John, who is to prepare the way for the Messiah. Six months
later
the same messenger is sent to Mary, a virgin of Nazareth espoused to
Joseph,
both being of the house of David, and says to her, "Behold, thou shalt
conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call His name
JESUS
... The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest
shall
overshadow thee: therefore also that Holy Thing which shall be born of
thee shall be called the Son of God." (Luke 1:31, 35.) Mary bursts
forth
in a song of praise. Zacharias likewise exalts the Lord when John the
Baptist,
the forerunner of the Savior, is born. Later, when Joseph is troubled
because
of Mary's condition, the angel of the Lord comes to him in a dream and
says to him, "Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee
Mary,
thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And
she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS : for
He
shall save His people from their sins." (Matt. 1:20,21.)
The Roman emperor, Caesar
Augustus, now issues a decree that all
people of his empire are to be counted and taxed. This makes it
necessary
for Joseph and Mary to go to Bethlehem, the city of their ancestor
David.
Here the miracle of all ages takes place, which is described in these
simple
words: "And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped Him in
swaddling
clothes, and laid Him in a manger; because there was no room for them
in
the inn." (Luke 2:7.) An angel appears to shepherds near Bethlehem,
bringing
them the wonderful news, "Unto you is born this day in the city of
David
a Savior which is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:11), whereupon the multitude
of the heavenly host sings praises to God. The shepherds hasten to
worship
the child, and then spread the tidings of the newborn Savior.
FROM THIS WE LEARN -
(A) By the miraculous working of the Holy Ghost, Christ,
the Son of God, received life as a true man in the Virgin Mary.
(B) Christ was born of the Virgin Mary, a true man, in great
poverty.
2. WHAT DO THE SCRIPTURES TEACH OF THE EARTHLY LIFE OF CHRIST ?
THE BIBLE SAYS -
The four Gospels. A BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE EARTHLY LIFE OF
CHRIST.
On the eighth day after His birth
the Christ-child is circumcised
and given the name Jesus. When He is six weeks old His parents take Him
to the Temple and present Him to the Lord. A little later wise men from
the East come to Jerusalem, seeking the new-born King of the Jews. They
are advised to go to Bethlehem where, according to Mic. 5:2, the
promised
Savior was to be born. Guided by the star which had appeared to them in
the East, they find Jesus, worship Him, and present Him with costly
gifts.
King Herod now seeks to kill the Child, but God commands His parents to
flee to Egypt. After the king's death they make their home in Nazareth.
When Jesus is twelve years old He is taken to Jerusalem to attend the
Passover.
Here He astonishes the doctors with His wisdom, and His parents with
the
words, "Wist ye not that I must be about My Father's business?" (Luke
2:49.)
He returns with His parents to Nazareth and is subject to them.
At the age of thirty Jesus goes
out into the wilderness where John
is preaching and baptizing. John points him out to the multitude,
exclaiming,
"Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!" (John
1:29.) The sinless Jesus, desiring to fulfill all righteousness, is
baptized
by John, and a Voice is heard from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved
Son, in whom I am will pleased." (Mark 1:11.) After being tempted by
the
devil, Jesus enters upon three years of public ministry. He chooses
twelve
disciples, or apostles, mostly fishermen, and lives with them a life of
poverty. He travels and preaches incessantly, inviting men to believe
in
Him to the salvation of their souls. He performs innumerable miracles,
turning water into wine, healing incurable diseases, raising the dead,
etc., and thus proves Himself to be the Son of God and the Savior of
the
world. Some Jews accept Him, but more reject Him. Their leaders, the
self-righteous
Scribes and Pharisees, hate Him for His doctrine which demands
repentance
and faith, and vainly try to kill Him. Then, when His hour has come, He
calmly informs His disciples that He is going up to Jerusalem to suffer
and die and to rise again.
FROM THIS WE LEARN -
(A) Jesus by word and deed revealed Himself as the Son of
God and the Savior of the world.
(B) He endured poverty, contempt, and persecution.
3. WHAT DO THE SCRIPTURES TEACH OF THE SUFFERING, DEATH,
AND
BURIAL OF CHRIST ?
THE BIBLE SAYS -
Matt. 26 and 27. - Mark 14 and 15. - Luke 22 and 23.- John
18 and 19.
A BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE HISTORY OF THE PASSION AND DEATH OF CHRIST.
Having triumphantly entered
Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, Jesus, on the
evening of Maundy Thursday eats the Passover with His disciples, points
out one of them, Judas, as his betrayer, and then institutes the Lord's
Supper. Later He endures such agony of soul in the Garden of Gethsemane
that His sweat falls to the ground like great drops of blood. Thereupon
He goes forth to meet Judas who betrays Him with a kiss, and having
permitted
himself to be bound by a band of soldiers, Jesus is led to Annas, the
retired
high priest, for a preliminary hearing. Then He is arraigned before the
Sanhedrin, the Jewish high court presided over by the high priest
Caiaphas.
Here Jesus, having called Himself the Son of God, is found guilty of
blasphemy,
condemned to death, and shamefully mistreated. In the meantime His
disciple
Peter denies Him three times. Having no right to inflict capital
punishment,
the Jews in the early hours of Good Friday lead Jesus to the Roman
governor
Pontius Pilate. When Judas sees this, he goes and hangs himself. The
Jews
now accuse Jesus of being a rebel king, but when Pilate learns that
Christ's
kingdom is spiritual he declares Him innocent and sends Him to Herod.
Herod
mocks Jesus, puts a white robe on Him, and returns Him to Pilate.
Pilate
again pronounces Him innocent and seeks in various ways to release Him,
but the Jews insist that He be crucified. Finally, having scourged
Jesus,
Pilate once more declares Him innocent, and sentences Him to death on
the
cross. At nine o'clock in the morning, having carried His own cross,
Jesus
is crucified between two thieves on the hill called Calvary, or
Golgotha.
Seven times He speaks as He suffers not only the most cruel tortures
ever
invented by man but also the very agonies of hell, being forsaken by
God.
From twelve to three o'clock darkness covers the earth. Then Jesus,
having
declared the work of salvation finished, with a loud voice commends His
soul into the hands of His heavenly Father, and of His own will gives
up
the ghost and dies. Immediately there is a great earthquake, graves are
opened, and the curtain of the temple tears asunder. Friends of Jesus
lovingly
lay His body in a nearby tomb and roll a large stone before the
entrance.
Here His body rests until the third day without seeing corruption. His
enemies, remembering His prophecy that He would rise again, secure the
tomb with a seal and post a guard to watch it.
FROM THIS WE LEARN -
(A) Christ suffered extreme agony of body and soul.
(B) He died on the cross.
(C) His body was laid in the grave and remained there to
the third day, but without seeing corruption, or decay.
4. WHAT DID CHRIST ACCOMPLISH BY ALL THAT HE DID AND SUFFERED ?
THE BIBLE SAYS -
(a) Rom. 5:19. By the obedience of One shall many be made
righteous.
(b) Is. 53:5. He was wounded for our transgressions, He was
bruised for our iniquities; ... and with His stripes we are healed.
*(b) 2 Cor. 5:21. (God) hath made Him to be sin for us, who
knew no sin; that we might be
made the righteousness of God in Him.
(b) Gal. 3:13. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the
Law, being made a curse for us.
(c) 2 Tim. 1:10. (Christ hath abolished death, and hath
brought
life and immortality to light.
(d) Gen. 3:15. It (the Woman's Seed) shall bruise thy
(Satan's)
head.
(d) 1 John 3:8. For this purpose the Son of God was
manifested,
that He might destroy the works of the devil.
FROM THIS WE LEARN - Christ, our substitute,
(A) Fulfilled the Law perfectly for us, so that it can no
longer condemn us;
(B) Redeemed us from the guilt, the punishment, and the
slavery
of sin;
(C) Overcame death for us; now we need not fear temporal
death, since eternal death has no power over us.
(D) Conquered the devil for us; now he can no longer
successfully
accuse us, and we can victoriously withstand his temptations.
5.WHO RECEIVES THE BENEFIT OF THIS REDEMPTION WROUGHT BY CHRIST?
THE BIBLE SAYS -
*(a) Matt. 18:11. The Son of Man is come to save that which
was lost.
(a) 1 John 2:2. He is the Propitiation for our sins: and
not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
(a) 2 Pet. 2:1. (They deny) the Lord that bought them, and
bring upon themselves swift destruction.
(b) John 3:16. God so loved the world, that He gave His
only-begotten
son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have
everlasting
life.
FROM THIS WE LEARN -
(A) Christ redeemed the whole world, that is, all human
beings,
without a single exception.
(B) Only he receives the benefit of this redemption who by
faith accepts Christ as his personal Savior and trusts in Him for his
salvation.
Before the Next Lesson
FILL OUT Work Sheet No. 12.
MEMORIZE the Bible passages marked with an asterisk (*).
Also the Explanation of the Second Article. See Catechism.
READ Luke, chapters 8-14.
Work Sheet No. 12
ONE
Joseph was the real father of Jesus. True [_] False
[_]
(Check whether true or false.)
TWO
Why must we ever firmly maintain the doctrine of the VIRGIN Birth of
Jesus ?
.....................................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................................
THREE
During the three years of His public ministry Jesus manifested
Himself
as
and as
by
and
(Fill in the missing words.)
FOUR
(A) Jesus died because He could not escape His enemies. [_]
(B) Jesus died because he wanted to die. [_]
(Check the correct statement.)
FIVE
Search the Passion History in the Gospels for the Seven Words, or
utterances,
of Jesus on the cross.
1...............................................................
2......................................................................
3...............................................................
4......................................................................
5...............................................................
6......................................................................
7...............................................................
SIX
Jesus suffered and died as our Substitute means
................................................................
..................................................................................................................................................
(Complete the statement.)
SEVEN
(A) Jesus redeemed only those who are finally saved. [_]
(B) Jesus redeemed all men, also those who are finally lost.
[_]
(Check the correct statement.)