New Testament Tracing Event and Elaboration Assignments
- In this session, we looked at how John the Baptist asked if Jesus was the expected one, or should one be anticipated in the future? Have you ever doubted if Jesus is all He is reported to be? Please share (as you feel comfortable) your experience with doubting.
God commanded the Adam and Eve not to eat the fruit of knowledge. But they were tricked into eating it by a serpent. Why did God create the tree of knowledge in the garden of Eden? Why couldn’t God just not create the tree of knowledge at all? I’ve also read a couple of verses in the BIBLE stating that GOD is Omniscience which means HE knows it all. Did GOD know that Adam was going to eat the fruit?
- Jesus’ popularity seems to have peaked after His feeding of the five thousand. Afterwards, the people sought to seize Jesus and to make Him the king that the Jews had always wanted. It is easy for us to see that the majority of Jews during Jesus’ time did not understand fully the kind of Messiah that Jesus was going to be.
As you reflect on your own life, can you think of some areas where those around you (or even you) may have attempted to put Christ in a box and make Christ into our image rather than allowing Christ to mold us into His image?
I have reached the conclusion that I have spent most of my life putting God in a neat little box that I can tie with a pretty bow. I have decided that I have always had a God that I could explain rather than a God who defies explanation. I have lived as if the time of miracles has ceased, and we are living in a more enlightened age than the ancient biblical characters. I have decided that I have limited God’s work in my life.
Yes, I have put Christ in a box so many times. When I’m faced with obstacles, I always reach to God for help, but when it’s a minor problem, I tend to have doubts that He is not going to solve my problems when there are millions of people out there facing a lot worse than I am. What I tend to always do is stop asking for help and let it all get better on its own. I have realized that God is Omnipotent, and as Christians, we shouldn’t presume to limit his abilities.
Assignment 1: Trace how Judea moved from Persian dominion to independence to Roman rule.
Assignment 2: Beginning with the angel’s appearance to Zacharias, trace the events in Jesus’ life up to year 12.
Assignment 3: Trace the early ministry of Jesus (up to the feeding of the five thousand).
Assignment 4: Trace the later ministry of Jesus (from the feeding of the five thousand to the raising of Lazarus from the dead).
