Jesus in Action
Jesus, the Son of God, was sent to earth to save people from their sins. He did this by dying on the cross and then coming back to life three days later. He is the central figure of the Bible and the Christian Savior. (see Philippians 2:5-11)
Not everyone was happy about Jesus. Herod the Great believed Israel already had a king—him! Herod tried to have Jesus killed as a child because people were already calling him the “king of the Jews” (Matthew 2:1-18). Even the devil tried to stop Jesus from becoming king. But Jesus defeated Satan in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11). And then He started his ministry. The first thing He did was to call 12 disciples to help Him. They travelled throughout Israel and Jesus told many stories (also known as parables) and healed the sick and suffering people.
Jesus talked a lot about God’s kingdom when He was here (Matthew 4:17). The “kingdom of heaven” is where God rules. It’s where everything is the way God wants it to be. When Jesus came, He brought the kingdom of heaven to earth. He began taking the world back from sin and death. He became our King and Rescuer.
Jesus gave people a new way to live as members of this kingdom. Moses had given God’s law to Israel in the first five books of the Bible (Genesis–Deuteronomy). Jesus gave people a new law. The law of Jesus can be summed up in two simple commands: “love the Lord your God” and “love your neighbor” (Matthew 22:34-40).
Most importantly, Jesus rescued people from sin and death. He gave up His own life for us. But He didn’t stay dead. Jesus rose again and became the king over everything—the king God had promised. God the Father gave Jesus “all authority in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18). And the world has never been the same.
After Jesus rose from the dead and before He went to heaven, He gave His disciples (the people who followed Him) a very important job. He wanted them to share the good news of His sacrifice for sin and His resurrection from the dead with the whole world (Matthew 28:16-20). The disciples obeyed Him, and so the gospel (the story of how we can be saved) started to spread. And it is still spreading.
Why is it important for us to share about Jesus? If people never hear the gospel, then they won’t know what Jesus did for them. And even if they’ve heard about Jesus before, that doesn’t mean they know how to be forgiven of their sins. That’s why it’s so important for Christians to share about Jesus with others (Romans 10:14-17).
Every once in a while, someone says they know when Jesus is coming back. Maybe they should take a closer look at Matthew 24. The disciples wanted to know when Jesus would return. So He shared some of the events that would lead up to His Second Coming—wars, famines, earthquakes. But He never gave a date. In fact, He said no one but the Father knew when it would happen. While Jesus was on earth, even He didn’t know the date (24:36)! Next time someone says they know when Jesus is coming back, remember: no one’s gotten the date right yet. Jesus says no one ever will.
God in Action
A long time ago, God made a promise to King David: his throne would last forever (2 Samuel 7:16). God sent His Son Jesus into the world to complete the story of Israel—the story that was told in the Old Testament. Matthew starts with a list of names. But this wasn’t just any list. It includes Abraham and David. Jesus came from a line that included the very first Israelite and Israel’s greatest king.