CHRIST'S BIOGRAPHY

INTRODUCTION
Jesus Christ is the Son of Yahweh (Mark 3:11, Luke 4:41). Yahweh sent Jesus to earth in human form to provide a perfect human sacrifice for our salvation. Jesus Christ was so important to mankind that a large portion of the New Testament is devoted to telling his story. Since various writers wrote from their own individual points of view, there will be differences in details. Some mention experiences that others don't, and at times the chronology of events seems to be a little out of order. This made it a little difficult to piece together, so please forgive any confusion that may result. Please e-mail us at CommonTruth@gmail.com to let us know if we inadvertently left something out of place.

For purposes of simplicity, we have paraphrased / simplified much of the information, though it is all accompanied with the corresponding scriptures. For a similar chronological account done nearly verbatim from scripture, please visit the site at http://www.bric.uk.com/compilation.html

Due to the amount of information from these four gospels we divided the biography into three sections: This page is the first of the three sections. And so we begin:

Christ's Conception
Jesus Christ was born from an Israelite virgin named Mary. God caused her to become pregnant with Christ by holy spirit while she was engaged to an Israelite carpenter named Joseph (Matthew 1:18). God sent his angel, Gabriel, to speak to Mary about this (Luke 1:26-27). This was the same angel that God sent previously to Mary's cousin's husband, Zechariah, to tell Zechariah he'd father a son - John the Baptist (Luke 1:5-25). Gabriel told Mary that she'd conceive a son, the Son of God Himself and would be the Messiah, and that she was to name him Jesus (Luke 1:28-33). Mary didn't understand how this was to happen since she was a virgin, and Gabriel explained it to her (Luke 1:34-37). Mary accepted the circumstance and Gabriel departed (Luke 1:38). Mary and Joseph were both descendants of King David (Matthew 1:6, Luke 3:31) as required by prophecy (1 Kings 2:45, Isaiah 9:7, Matthew 1:23, Luke 1:32). These two genealogy lists are not completely identical in places such as Matthew 1:3 and Luke 3:33, Matthew 1:6-12 and Luke 3:27-31, Matthew 1:13-16 and Luke 3:24-27. This is because in those days, the children were considered descended from the father, even in the case of the wife's ancestry. This is shown in that the listing at Luke begins with the words "And Jesus himself was beginning to be about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, son of Joseph..." (Luke 3:23) Young's Literal Translation. Thus one listing is for Mary's Genealogy, the other listing is for Joseph's Genealogy. Since they were both descended from king David, this fulfills the prophetic requirement in two ways: It is first fulfilled in that it made Christ a flesh descendant of David through Mary. The other fulfillment is that Christ would also be legally David's descendant through his stepfather, Joseph (because inheritances in that time went through the father's line). This places Christ solidly in position to be a descendant of David.

Joseph and Mary
At first Joseph did not believe Mary when she explained the pregnancy to him. He thought she had cheated on him, so he planned to secretly break off the engagement (Matthew 1:19). At that time an engagement was a binding promise, so Joseph would have had to divorce her from the engagement, which is why the scripture says he planned to secretly divorce her. Therefore, Yahweh sent an angel to explain the situation to Joseph and Joseph believed (Matthew 1:20-23). Joseph then took Mary home to be his wife and refrained from consummating the marriage during her pregnancy (Matthew 1:24). The bible doesn't say at what point Mary told Joseph about her divine pregnancy, so it is difficult to say when this occurred. However, we do know she spent the first three months of her pregnancy staying at the home of Zechariah and her cousin, Elizabeth, (Luke 1:39-56) who was six months pregnant with John. This is indicated in that after the three months Elizabeth gave birth to John (Luke 1:57-60).

Bethlehem
Not long after John's birth, Caesar Augustus issued a decree for all to be registered citizens. Consequently, Joseph had to travel to his home town of Bethlehem to register. He brought Mary along, who at this point was heavily pregnant (Luke 2:1-5). While staying in Bethlehem Mary went into labor. Because of so many coming to register there were no vacant rooms available at the inn, so she gave birth in a barn (Luke 2:6-7).

Angels Herald the Birth
After this, God's angel went out to the countryside to the shepherds who were tending their flocks that night. God's glory beamed around the shepherds, who became frightened. The angel calmed their fears and told them the good news of the Messiah's birth and that they could find him lying in a manger. Immediately a multitude of angels appeared praising God. Then the angels returned to heaven (Luke 2:8-14). At this the shepherds decided to travel into Bethlehem to find this child. Sure enough, as the angel stated, there were Joseph and Mary in the stable with Jesus in the manger (Luke 2:15-16). The shepherds told them about the spectacle of angels, and all who heard what the shepherds said were awestruck. After this, the shepherds returned to their flocks, praising God along the way (Luke 2:17-20).

Three Wise Men
After Christ was born in Bethlehem, some men from the east came to Jerusalem to see king Herod because they were searching for the newborn Jesus, king of the Jews due to following a star that appeared to them. These men are also called "scholars" (The Message) , "astrologers" (Amplified Bible, New World Translation, Wycliffe New Testament),"wise men" (New Living Translation, King James Version, English Standard Version) or "magi" (Darby Translation) This star led them first to Jerusalem to king Herod (Matthew 2:1-2). The news of Christ's birth seriously bothered Herod, so he gathered his own priests and scribes and asked them to figure out from the writings where Christ was to be born (Matthew 2:3-4). Searching the prophecies they found that he was to be born in Bethlehem in the region of Judea (Matthew 2:5-6) in reference to the prophecy at Micah 5:2-4. Bethlehem is roughly 9 kilometers/ 5 miles from Jerusalem. Next, Herod secretly summoned the men from the east and asked about the timing of the star's appearance. Then he sent the them out with specific instructions: Search for the child and report back so that Herod himself can go pay his respects to the child (Matthew 2:7-8). After that, the men from the east departed and followed the star until it stopped above the place where Christ was (Matthew 2:9-10). This apparently had taken a few days, because when they got there Mary and Jesus were in a house, not in a barn with a manger (Matthew 2:11). It was here that they gave the Christ child the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Matthew 2:11). After the men finished visiting they were given a divine warning to avoid Herod (Matthew 2:12).

Joseph and Mary Flee
After the men left Bethlehem, God's angel came to Joseph in a dream telling him to take Mary and Jesus and go to Egypt because Herod will be seeking to kill Jesus. Joseph did just so, and the family stayed in Egypt until the death of Herod (Matthew 2:13-15), which was in fulfillment of the prophecy at Hosea 11:1: When Israel was only a child, I loved him. I called out "My son!" - called him out of Egypt. (The Message) Meanwhile, as Jesus and his family lived in Egypt, Herod continued to wait for the men from the east to return. Once he realized he'd been duped he grew enraged and decreed that all the boys in the region up to the age of two years old were to be murdered. He calculated this age according to the information he got from those men when they had come to him (Matthew 2:16). The decree was carried out, (Matthew 2:17-18) in fulfillment of the prophecy at Jeremiah 31:15: Thus saith Jehovah: A voice hath been heard in Ramah, the wail of very bitter weeping, -- Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted for her children, because they are not.(Darby Translation) Ramah was a city in the region, roughly 18 kilometers/11 miles north of Bethlehem, planting it right in the area of the Benjaminites. This is interesting, because according to bible history, Rachel was the mother of Benjamin (Genesis 35:16-18), the forefather of the Benjaminites. Since Rachel was the mother of the Benjaminites, this is why the prophecy speaks of Rachel weeping for her children, causing a wailing sound in Ramah. After Herod died Yahweh's angel came to Joseph in a dream and told him to take Mary and Jesus back to the land of Israel, for it was safe now (Matthew 2:19-21). He was told by divine warning to avoid the district of Judea, therefore they settled within the region of Galilee in the city of Nazareth, which is also in fulfillment of prophecy (Matthew 2:22-23).

Law Requirements
The bible doesn't say how many days it took for the men from the east to find Jesus, so it is hard to say how much time it took, though it seems to have happened rather quickly. So it is purely by speculation of when this next bit information happened: The bible tells us when Jesus was eight days old Mary took him to be circumcised and officially named, according to the customs and the Law covenant (Luke 2:21, compared with Leviticus 12:3). And when the time came for her post-partum purification, she presented an offering of two birds, as according to the Law covenant (Luke 2:22-24, compared with Leviticus 12:1-8). By reading these verses, you'll get an idea of what their financial situation was at the time.

Simeon
Also there was an elderly gentleman named Simeon in Jerusalem and he was a righteous man. He had been told through holy spirit that he would not pass away until after he'd seen the Saviour. The power of the spirit led him to the temple in Jerusalem where Mary was performing her purification offerings. It was here that Simeon was able to hold Jesus in his arms and praised God for letting him see Jesus. Simeon blessed the child, Joseph and Mary (Luke 2:25-35). Then the elderly prophetess, Anna, came near and started speaking to all the people concerning the Christ child (Luke 2:36-38).

Nazareth
After Joseph and Mary carried out all the necessary rituals they returned to Nazareth (Luke 2:39). Jesus continued to grow and become a strong child filled with wisdom, and God's favour continued with him. As he grew, his parents customarily traveled to Jerusalem yearly for the Passover festival (Luke 2:40-41).

Young Jesus at the Temple
It was during such a yearly pilgramage, when Jesus was twelve years old, that his parents lost track of him while returning home with the crowds. At first they didn't miss him because they thought he was with some relatives in the crowd. They traveled an entire day before searching for him from amongst the relatives. This is when they realized he wasn't there (Luke 2:41-44). Immediately they returned to Jerusalem and made a thorough search for him. It took three days before they found him sitting in the temple amongst the teachers, listening to them and questioning them. He was astounding those who listened to him - yet he was but a boy! Mary exclaimed something to the effect of "How could you do this to us! We've been looking all over for you!" Jesus replied "Did you not know I'd be in the house of my Father?!" After this, he returned with them to Nazareth (Luke 2:45-50).

Christ's Baptism
Fast forward some years later: Christ's cousin, John the Baptist, came through Judea preaching repentance and baptizing people in the Jordan River (Matthew 3:1-6) outside the region of Galilee (John 1:28). This was in fulfillment of the prophecy at Isaiah 40:3 which states "The voice of one who cries, Prepare you in the wilderness the way of Yahweh; make level in the desert a highway for our God." (New Jerusalem Bible) (Mark 1:2-3). During this period, Jesus Christ came to be baptized also, essentially changing the meaning of baptism (Matthew 3:13-15). This was during the fifteenth year of Tiberias Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea and Herod was district ruler of Galilee, his brother Phillip was district ruler of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was district ruler of Abilene. The Chief priests were Annas and Caiaphas (Luke 3:1-2). Jesus was about thirty years old when he was baptized (Luke 3:23). After emerging from the river, God sent His holy spirit to Jesus in the form of a Dove and spoke from heaven saying "This is my Son and I love him. I am very pleased with him." (New International Reader's Version) (Matthew 3:16-17). John the baptist witnessed the dove shaped spirit enter and remain in Jesus (John 1:32).

Christ's Temptation
Immediately after that, the spirit led Jesus into the wilderness in order to allow Satan to tempt him (Matthew 4:1). During this time, Jesus fasted for forty days and nights (Matthew 4:2). Satan then tried to tempt Jesus into conjuring up food for himself while he was in this famished state (Matthew 4:3). Instead, Christ quoted Deuteronomy 8:3 which says "He put you through hard times. He made you go hungry. Then He fed you with manna, something neither you nor your parents knew about, so you would learn that men and women don't live by bread only; we live by every word that comes from God's mouth ". (The Message) (Matthew 4:4). Next, Satan tried to tempt Jesus into testing God, even quoting the scripture at Psalms 91:11-12. Christ's response? Another scripture: Deuteronomy 6:16 (Matthew 4:5-7). Then Satan tries to tempt Jesus with a gift of power if Jesus would do an act of worship to him (Matthew 4:8-9). Jesus told Satan to go away and replied with yet more scripture: Deuteronomy 10:20. Satan left him until he could find another convenient time (Luke 4:13), and angels came to minister to Jesus (Matthew 4:10-11).

The Lamb
The day after Christ returned from the wilderness, John the Baptist saw Jesus walking and said "Look! There is the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world! ..." (Amplified Bible) and continued to speak more about Christ's purpose (John 1:29-34). This happened at a place called Bethany-Across-The-Jordan. The next day after that, John was with two of his own disciples when again he sees Jesus walking. Again he says "Lo! The Lamb of God!" (Wycliffe New Testament) After which the two disciples go follow Jesus. Jesus sees them and asks them what they are looking for. They replied they wanted to follow him, and he lets them. They associated together the whole day (John 1:35-39).

First two of the Twelve
The day after that Jesus planned to travel to the region of Galilee. (The region of Galilee included such places as Cana, Capernaum, Nazareth, Bethsaida/ Bethesda, etc.) He invited a man named Phillip to be his follower. Phillip was from the city of Bethsaida, the same city Simon-Peter and his brother Andrew were from (John 1:43-44). Phillip found his friend, Nathanael, and told him they'd found the Messiah. Nathanael was skeptical about this, so Phillip urged him to come and see for himself (John 1:45-46). As they came towards Jesus, Jesus made mention about Nathanael's honesty. This surprised Nathanael, and asked Jesus how he knew such a thing since they hadn't met before. Jesus explained and Nathanael believed (John 1:47-51). Nathanael was also called Bartholomew (Matthew 10:3).

Wedding at Cana
The next day, Jesus, his mother Mary and his disciples attended a wedding feast in Cana (John 2:1-2). When the wine ran short, Mary told Jesus that perhaps he should do something about it. This prompted him to perform his first miracle: He ordered men to fill six stone water jars to the brim with water. When that was done he told them to pour some out and take it to the director of the feast. When the director tasted it the water had become wine! The director didn't know it was originally water, and he praised the wine as being of very fine quality (John 2:3-10). This was the first miracle Christ ever performed (John 2:11). After this, Jesus, his mother and his disciples traveled to Capernaum, though they didn't stay there for many days (John 2:12).

Christ at the cliff
After this, Jesus returned to Nazareth. On a sabbath day he entered the synagogue and stood up to read the scroll of Isaiah, reading Isaiah 61:1-2 which states "The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me; because Jehovah hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the year of Jehovah's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn. " (American Standard Version) (Luke 4:14-19), after which he rolled the scroll up, returned it to the attendant and sat down. All eyes were on him. So he said to them "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears." (King James Version) (Luke 4:20-21). At that, all there started giving a favorable witness concerning him and they marvelled at the words he spoke. However, as he kept speaking they became angry because he was telling them that God had allowed certain miracles to happen to non-Israelites in the past. They snatched him out of the city and tried to throw him down a cliff, but he managed to escape (Luke 4:22-30).

Jesus Drives Merchants Out
The Passover was drawing near, so Jesus returned to Jerusalem to observe it. When he entered the city, he saw merchants in the temple selling livestock to the people. The idea of using his Father's temple for commercial gain enraged him so much that he made a rope whip and drove the livestock from the temple, knocked over all the money tables and commanded that the animals be taken for the temple was not to be a place of merchandise (John 2:13-17). This wasn't the only time he did this, as he does this again much later on, just before his arrest and murder as you will read later. Anyway, because of his actions the Jews demanded a sign from him to prove who he was. He informed them of a prophetic sign, but they didn't get the meaning of it (John 2:18-22). He stayed in Jerusalem to observe the passover, and performed some signs so that others put faith in his name. However, Jesus didn't trust them, as he knew them and didn't need for them to bear witness to him anyway (John 2:23-25).

Nicodemus
While Jesus was in Jerusalem a Pharisee named Nicodemus approached Jesus with questions regarding Jesus being the Messiah. Jesus tried to explain, but Nicodemus couldn't grasp what Jesus was saying. Jesus explained to him what it would take for others to get into the kingdom of God, and he also explained the purpose for his earthly walk among us (John 3:1-21).

Christ's men baptizing
After these things, Jesus and his men traveled to the region of Judea/Judah. Here Jesus spent time with them and performed baptisms (John 3:22). In actuality, it was Christ's disciples that performed the baptisms, though the baptisms were attributed to Christ (John 4:2). At this time John the Baptist was also still performing baptisms not far away. Many continued going to John for baptism for he had a great quantity of water where he was (John 3:23-24). This caused a dispute among some and they told John about Jesus and his men performing baptisms (John 3:25-26). John pointed out the he'd never claimed himself to be the Christ, and he understood that Jesus was to increase his number while he himself would decrease (John 3:27-30). He explained that Jesus had a higher position than he, and how it was completely acceptable (John 3:31-36). The Pharisees soon became aware Jesus was baptizing more people than John and accruing more disciples. Jesus became aware of the Pharisees speaking about this (John 4:1). So Jesus and his disciples left Judea/Judah and returned to Galilee via Samaria (John 4:3-4).

Samaritan Woman
When they came to the Samaritan city of Sychar Jesus was tired so he rested at the water well that Jacob had given to his son Joseph of Old Testament fame. It was about the sixth hour (John 4:5-6). While he rested, a woman came to the well to draw water. Jesus's men went to buy food, so it was just Jesus and the woman there at the well. He asked her to give him a drink. This surprised her because she recognized he was a Jew, and Jews didn't usually have dealings with Samaritans (John 4:7-9). He continued speaking to her, explaining about the life giving water of the Holy Spirit, the need to worship God in truth, and that he was the Christ. He also told her some things about herself that an ordinary stranger wouldn't know, so she started believing he was a prophet. He told her he was the Christ (John 4:10-26). At this point his disciples returned and wondered about his speaking with her, but kept quiet. The woman left her water jar there and went off to tell the people in the city that she had met Christ. The citizens came out to see (John 4:27-30). Meanwhile his disciples kept urging him to eat, but Jesus refused. He explained that he was more interested in spiritual pursuits rather than physical food at the moment (John 4:31-38). The samaritan citizens entreated him to stay with them, so he stayed for two days. Thus many samaritans became believers (John 4:39-42). Jesus and his men continued on to Galilee (John 4:43).

John's Arrest
About this time John the Baptist was arrested. When Jesus heard this, he withdrew into the region of Galilee (Matthew 4:12). John the Baptist was arrested by Herod because Herod took his own sister-in-law as wife away from his brother Phillip. John spoke out against this and was arrested (Matthew 14:3-5).

Preaching Work Commences
After being in the wilderness of Galilee, Jesus traveled through the Galiliean cities of Capernaum, Zebulun, and Naphtali, in fulfillment of the prophecy at Isaiah 9:1 (Matthew 4:13-16). From that time on Christ started his preaching work, saying "Repent; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." (King James Version) (Matthew 4:17). As he went through Galilee, he called more of his chosen twelve. He walked alongside the shore of the Sea of Galilee and chose Simon-Peter and his brother Andrew as they were lowering their fishing nets into the sea. He said to them "Come follow me... and I will make you fishers of men." (New International Version) They immediately abandoned their nets and followed Jesus (Matthew 4:18-20). As they traveled, they came across two more brothers: James and John, sons of Zebedee, mending their fishing nets with their father in a boat. Jesus called them, and at once they followed, leaving Zebedee behind (Matthew 4:21-22). They continued through Galilee into Capernaum, preaching and teaching and healing. The news of his miracles spread quickly and people started sending their sick, possessed, and injured people to them, so that great crowds of people started following (Matthew 4:23-25).

Royal Servant's son
The Galileans believed in Jesus because of the signs they saw from him in Jerusalem at the Passover. He returned to the city of Cana. Here in Cana there was a certain royal servant who's son was very sick in Capernaum. When he heard Jesus had come into the territory he began asking him to heal his son who was on the edge of death. Because of the man's faith Jesus made sure that the boy was cured (John 4: 44-54).

Bethzatha
After these things there was another festival, so Jesus returned to Jerusalem. At the sheepgate in Jerusalem there was a pool with five colonnades that was called "Bethzatha". Among the colonnades the lame, sick, weak, and crippled were laying. There was one man there that had been sick for thirty eight years. Jesus asked the man if he wanted to be cured. The man answered in the affirmative, but was unable to get himself into the pool. Jesus then told him to get up, pick up his cot and walk, and he did! (John 5:1-8). This was a sabbath day, so the men near the healed man scolded him for breaking the sabbath by carrying his cot. The man explained what happened, and when questioned as to who did this for him, the man didn't know who Jesus was. It was so crowded in the place that he couldn't find him (John 5:9-13). Later, Jesus found the man and spoke to him briefly. At this point the man knew who Jesus was now, and went to tell the others that it was he who healed him (John 5:14-15). The men were angry that he would perform the work of healing on the sabbath and let Jesus know it. In reply Jesus pointed out that he was not expected to discontinue working according to God (John 5:16-17). This caused them to want to kill him (John 5:18). Therefore, Jesus told them that he existed to do the will of God, that he himself did not have his own agenda, and that he has certain responsibilities towards the people as assigned to him from God, he explained what it takes to get everlasting life, and that all needed to put faith in him (John 5:19-47).

Feeds the five thousand
Jesus then went to the city of Tiberias, on the southwestern shore of Galilee (John 6:1). He felt pity for the crowd, so he cured their illnesses. Evening was advancing, and his disciples pointed out that the people needed to go into the village to eat. To test them, Jesus asked them what they should do (John 6:5). Philip suggested that they go buy 200 denarii worth of bread to distribute to the crowd (Mark 6:37, John 6:7). A denarius was worth a day's wages, therefore 200 denarii would equal roughly eight months worth of wages. Then Andrew pointed out a boy that had five barley loaves and two small fishes (John 6:8-9). Jesus took the two fishes and five loaves, said a prayer, broke the food into pieces and had the disciples distribute it to the crowd. Miraculously, the food became enough to satisfy the hunger of all the people. Not only that, but the surplus of food left over amounted to twelve baskets full! The number of people was about five thousand men, with women and children besides. (Matthew 14:14-21). The people were amazed and recognized it as a sign of his being the Christ (John 6:14). The people wanted to make him a king. Jesus knew this, so he withdrew into the mountain alone (John 6:15). According to Luke 8:18-21, immediately after this the apostles questioned Jesus, and Jesus questioned them about what they thought of his identity and not to tell anyone.

Leper Healed
After that he returned from the mountain with the crowds following him. A leperous man approached Jesus and asked to be healed. Jesus healed the man, and instructed him to not tell anyone, but to go to his priest (Matthew 8:1-4). The man was so overjoyed that he proclaimed it everywhere anyway. Consequently, Jesus was not able to openly enter any city because of the crowds greeting him. Therefore he stayed out in the lonely areas, though people continued coming from all directions (Mark 1:40-45, Luke 5:12-16).

A Sabbath In Capernaum
He entered into Capernaum and it became a Sabbath (Luke 4:31). Jesus entered the synagogue to teach. He amazed the people as he was teaching with authority, not as one of the scribes. While there a possessed man proceeded to scream at Jesus saying "What have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Did you come to kill us?! I know who you are, the Holy One of God!" At this Jesus rebuked the demon and expelled him from the man. The demon threw the man into a convulsion before leaving, though leaving the man unharmed. This astounded the people so that the report of him spread throughout the land (Mark 1:21-28). Immediately after this they left the synagogue and came to Simon-Peter's home, where his mother-in-law had a fever. Jesus raiser her by the hand and the fever left her (Matthew 8:14-15, Mark 1:29-31). That evening he went on to cure some and releasing demons from others, in fulfillment of the prophecy at Isaiah 53:4 . (Matthew 8:16-17). The whole city was gathered at the door, bringing people to be healed (Mark 1:32-33). Jesus did not allow the demons he expelled to speak (Mark 1:34, Luke 4:41). Early the next morning while it was dark Jesus left for a place where he could be alone and pray, but Simon-Peter and the other men found him, telling him that all were looking for him. He informed them that he planned to go to other places to preach (Mark1:35-38). The crowds tried to detain Jesus (Luke 4:42), but he explained that he needed to depart (Luke 4:43). So he and his men continued through the region of Galilee preaching and expelling demons (Mark 1:39) as well as through Judea (Luke4:44).

Paralytic Healed
After some days Jesus came back into Capernaum, and was also reported to be at a home. As a result, crowds of people gathered so thickly at the house that the people were spilling out the door. At this time, some men brought a paralyzed man but couldn't get past the crowd. They climbed onto the roof, tore a hole through it and lowered the man through the roof on his cot into the house. Jesus was impressed by this display of faith and healed the man, amazing everyone. Of course, the scribes in attendance were very put off by it (Mark 2:1-12, Luke 5:17-26).

According to Matthew 9:2-8 this incident is spoken of after Jesus expels Legion from the two men further down in this reading. Here it states that Jesus then went across the sea to another place and that is where the people brought the paralyzed man to Jesus in hopes of having him healed.

Plucking Grain Heads
Sometime later, around the harvest time, Jesus and his men walked through grain fields on a sabbath day. Being hungry they plucked heads of grain, rolled them in their hands to husk them, and ate (Matthew 12:1). The Pharisees decided that the men were harvesting, which was work, on the sabbath day and made a big stink of it. In reponse, Jesus informed them that they were wrong in their attitude and why, and that he was the Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:2-8, Mark 2:23-28).

The Twelve
After this, Jesus took himself and his twelve men to ascend the mountain. The twelve were: Simon-Peter and his brother Andrew, James and John the sons of Zebedee, a.k.a. "Boanerges" which means "Sons of Thunder", Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddeus, Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot (Mark 3:13-19). The list at Luke 6:14 is: Simon-Peter and his brother Andrew, James and John, Phillip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alpaeus, Simon the zealous one, Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot. Apparently, according to the differences in these lists, Judas Son of James also went by the name Thaddeus. As for the former tax collector, Matthew, he is named as "Matthew" at Matthew 9:9, but is also named "Levi son of Alphaeus" at Mark 2:14. Evidently, Matthew also went by multiple names. And if he was the son of the same Alphaeus that the apostle James was the son of, that would make them brothers. As for Andrew, he used to be a disciple of John the Baptist, but then became a disciple of Jesus (John 1:35,40). When Andrew started following Jesus, he went and found his brother, Simon-Peter, and told him that he'd found the Messiah and then led him to Jesus. Jesus also referred to Peter by the name of "Cephas" (John 1:41-42).

Crippled Hand
On another sabbath day (Luke 6:6) Christ entered a synagogue and found a man with a crippled hand. Someone asked Jesus if it was lawful for him to heal the man on the sabbath, since healing is work. They were seeking to accuse him. (Matthew 12:9-10, Luke 6:7). Jesus replied "What man among you, if he had a sheep that fell into a pit on the Sabbath, wouldn't take hold of it and lift it out? A man is worth far more than a sheep, so it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." (Holman Christian Standard Bible) (Matthew 12:11-12). No one would respond (Mark 3:1-4), which made Jesus feel indignant, so he healed the man's hand (Mark 3:5). The Pharisees were upset over this and started speaking to the party followers of Herod (Mark 3:7-8) of ways to destroy Jesus. Jesus realized this, so he left and went to the sea. Many followed him and he cured them of their ailments. These people came from as far away as Jerusalem, Tyre and Sidon (Matthew 12:13-21). Jerusalem is roughly 70 miles/100 kilometers from the Sea of Galilee, Tyre is roughly 40 miles/60 kilometers from the Sea, and Sidon is roughly 45 miles/68 Kilometers from the Sea. Because of the vast multitude, Jesus did his preaching and works while in a boat so the throng wouldn't crush him because they were falling on him to gain healing (Mark 3:9-10). Even the demon possessed people would bow before Jesus crying out "You are the Son of God!" (Mark 3:11).

Teaching in a House
He then went into a house, and once more a crowd gathered so much so that they couldn't even eat. Jesus' relatives heard about this and went to get him for they thought he'd lost his mind (Mark 3:19-21 compared with Matthew 12:42-46). At some point a man asked Jesus what was the proper way to pray. Jesus gave him the model prayer example (Luke 11:1-4). He also, pointed out that whatever you ask from the Father you will receive, keep seeking and you will find, and the Father knows to give good things to us (Luke 11:5-13).Then a demon possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Him. Jesus cured him, which overjoyed the crowd, and they all began to reason as to whether he is the Messiah. (Matthew 12:22-23, Luke 11:14-22). Jesus also pointed out that if an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it returns with seven more to make the situation worse (Luke 11:24-26).The Pharisees were not happy with this kind of talk, so they started saying that Jesus was Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons, and that's why he could expel he demons (Matthew 12:24). Jesus responded that a kingdom divided against itself will fall, so if he were the ruler of the demons doing the expelling, then the kingdom of evil would be ruined and wouldn't currently exist, and that it's really because he is of God's kingdom that he can do so (Matthew 12:25-30). He also pointed out that speaking against such godly power is blasphemy against the holy spirit, the only unforgiveable sin (Matthew 12:31-32, Mark 3:28-30). He then pointed out that good trees produce good fruit, rotten trees produce rotten fruit (Matthew 12:33). He called the Pharisees "vipers", and reminded all present that what a man speaks comes from his heart, and that what we say will be accountable on judgement day (Matthew 12:34-37). In response, the scribes and Pharisees demanded a sign from Jesus that he was the Christ. Jesus replied by calling them wicked. He then revealed that the sign they get will be the sign of Jonah - just as Jonah was in the belly of the big fish for three days (Jonah 1:17), so too, the Son of Man would be in the grave for three days (Matthew 12:39-41, Luke 11:29-34). He continued speaking to the crowd, and his mother and brothers came looking to speak with him (Matthew 12:42-46). Someone informed him of his family's arrival, and Jesus responded that all who accepted him and did the will of the Father were his family (Matthew 12:47-50). Later this day, Jesus left the house and sat by the sea. Throngs of people gathered so he boarded a boat, went offshore and spoke to the people from his boat (Matthew 13:1-2). He told the parable of the sower with the seeds landing on different kinds of soil. His chosen men didn't understand the parable and asked for clarification, which Jesus gave (Matthew 13:3-23). Jesus next gave people another parable, the one about the wheat and the weeds. Next he spoke the parables of the mustard seed, and of the leavened flour (Matthew 13:24-35) all in fulfillment of the prophecy at Psalms 78:2. He didn't explain these to the people, but he did explain them to his disciples (Mark 4: 34). After dismissing the crowds and entering into a house, the apostles asked Jesus to explain to them the meanings of the parables he spoke. He explained it thoroughly to them (Matthew 13:36-52). After finishing explaining these things, when evening had fallen, he went across country from there back into his home territory and began teaching in the synagogue. After having spoken all this, but before leaving the area a Pharisee invited Jesus to dine with him. Jesus accepted, but when he did the Pharisee was surprised to see that Jesus didn't wash before dinner. When he made mention of it, Jesus used the opportunity to point out that the Pharisees put too much emphasis on appearances instead of the more important things (Luke 11:37-44). At this, one of the other dinner guests stated to Jesus that he had just insulted them. In response, Jesus pointed out the woes owed to the pharisees (Luke 11:45-52). After that he left the house, and the scribes and Pharisees started to press him with questions, trying to find something to accuse him of (Luke 11:53-54).

Sermon on the mount
When Jesus saw the crowds gathering around him, he went up into the mountain. They found a level place (Luke 6:17) where Jesus started teaching the crowds. He taught The Sermon on the Mountain. This included the teachings of: The Beatitudes, letting your light shine before men, explaining his purpose for being, not to continue being wrathful with others, making peace with others before presenting a gift at the altar, to settle differences quickly, not allowing yourself to be stumbled, not divorcing one's mate, hold to all vows you make to others, turn the other cheek, give more than is asked of you, love your enemies, to live unhypocritically, not show off, the Lord's Prayer, to constantly seek God's kingdom instead of glory or materialism, reminders that God will provide your daily needs, to be non-judgemental, keep seeking wisdom and understanding from God, the Golden Rule, the narrow road to life, watch out for false prophets, recognize false ones by their fruits, and the man that built on the rock-mass (Matthew 5:1-7:29, Luke 6:17-49).

Army Officer's Slave
After Jesus completed this oration he entered into Capernaum. Here an army officer sent men to tell Jesus the officer's beloved slave was ailing and soon to die. Although not an Israelite, the officer was a faithful and righteous man, so Jesus went out to see him. But then they met the officer himself coming along the road. The officer told Jesus that he didn't feel worthy to have Jesus at his home, so if Jesus could just say the words the officer would believe the man to be healed. Jesus was impressed by his display of faith, and so gave the word, and the man was healed (Matthew 8:5-13, Luke 7:1-10). Jesus was next to the Sea of Galilee. When he saw all the crowds around him he dismissed them and boarded a boat to sail to the other side of the sea (Matthew 8:18). At this time a scribe approached Jesus and stated that he desired to follow him wherever he was going. Jesus replied that he didn't have a home of his own. Another disciple approached and asked if he could follow him after he buried his father. Jesus declined (Matthew 8:19-22).

Nain
Soon after this Jesus went to the city of Nain. Here he saw a funeral procession for the only son of a widow. A huge crowd was going along with it. Jesus pitied her, and told her to stop weeping and resurrected her son (Luke 7:11-15). Although fearful, the people began to glorify God, and the news of this spread throughout the region (Luke 7:16-17).

John's Inquiry
According to Luke, it is after this that John The Baptist sent people to inquire of Jesus (Luke 7:18-23). This is because John, who was still imprisoned, heard about all the amazing things Jesus was doing, so he wanted to know if Jesus was the expected Messiah. Jesus responded to the messengers that they were to report back all the things they were seeing and his ministry as a witness to who he was (Matthew 11:2-6). After the messengers left, Jesus asked the people: "What did you come out to see? A handsome man dressed in fancy clothes? No, those kinds are in the royal homes. What? A prophet? Yes! and more!" And then he spoke to them about his identity (Matthew 11:7-8, Luke 7:24-28). This parallels the prophecy at Isaiah 53:1-9. He also explained that he was more than a prophet, that John the Baptist was the prophesied "Elijah to come" spoken of in Malachi 4:5-6, and that both he and John were destined to be spoken of abusively (Matthew 11:9-19).
Next Jesus began to reproach the cities of Chorazin and Bethsaida in which he did most of his powerful works because they had not repented (Matthew 11:20-24). After reproaching them, he then began praising God (Matthew 11:25-29), telling the people that his "yoke is light", meaning God doesn't expect burdensome worship (Matthew 11:30).

Dining at Simon the Pharisee's home
At about this time a Pharisee named Simon asked Jesus to dine with him. So Jesus went to the man's home. While there, a woman with perfumed oil came in to Jesus and washed his feet with her tears and dried them off with her hair and greased his feet with the oil (Luke 7:36-39). The host grew indignant, telling Jesus that if he was truly a prophet he'd know what kind of woman was touching him, for she was a terrible sinner (Luke 7:39). In reply, Jesus taught them about forgiveness and pointed out that the woman was good enough to wash and perfume his feet, something that the host hadn't done (Luke 7:44-46). Jesus granted the woman forgiveness (Luke 7:47-50).

Women who spoke with Jesus
Shortly after this he went to the cities and villages with his twelve, preaching God's kingdom (Luke 8:1). Mary Magdalene, whom Jesus expelled seven demons from, and Johanna the wife of Chuza - Herod's man in charge- and Susanna and many other women spoke with these men as they came (Luke 8:2-3). After this, Jesus started to speak to the growing crowd in parables: The seeds upon different soils, etc., his mother and brothers showing up, etc (Luke 8:4-21).

Calms the windstorm
After dismissing the crowd Jesus and his men boarded a boat to set sail. As Jesus slept in the stern a violent windstorm welled up, putting the men in danger. They awoke Jesus due to their fear of sinking, and he rebuked the storm so that it suddenly abated. This display of power caused the disciples to be in utter awe and fear of him. Upon this display of power the men aboard were utterly amazed (Matthew 8:23-27, Mark4:35-41, Luke 8:22-25).

Two demoniacs
When they arrived at the other side in the country of Gerasenes, they were confronted by two, unusually fierce, possessed men who lived among the tombs (Luke 8:26-27). These men were so malicious that nobody had the courage to go that way. The men screamed to Jesus "What have we to do with you Son of God! Did you come here to get us before our time?! If you expel us, send us into the nearby herd of swine!" Jesus asked the demon its name, and it replied "Legion", because it was actually many demons together (Mark 5:8, Luke 8:28-39). Jesus commanded them to "Go!". Thus the demons left the men and possessed the pigs, and the entire herd stampeded uncontrollably over a cliff and drowned in the sea (Matthew 8:28-32). The swine herders fled into the nearby city and reported the entire incident to the inhabitants. So some of the men of the city went out to urge Jesus to leave (Matthew 8:33-34). A lot of people think it's interesting that there would be swine herders, because the Jews regarded pigs as vermin and it was against their law to eat pigs. However, this passage does not say the herders were Jews themselves: Non-Jews did live in some areas, and some of them raised pigs. Jesus boarded the boat once again and then went into his own city (Matthew 9:1). As Jesus boarded the boat, one of the men who were cleansed of Legion entreated Jesus to let him follow. Jesus refused and instructed him to go home and report the matter. So the man went throughout the region of the Decapolis reporting all these things (Mark 5:18-20).

The Calling of Matthew
After this incident, Jesus was passing the tax office and noticed Matthew, a collector, sitting there. He called Matthew to be his follower, and immediately Matthew left the office and followed (Matthew 9:9). Now, this is significant, because in those days tax collectors were looked down on as dishonest, fraudulent, sinful people. Soon after this, as Jesus was reclining at the table in a house, many other tax collectors as well as sinners came to join him and the other disciples. So of course, the self righteous Pharisees saw this and started murmuring about Jesus associating with such social vermin. Jesus heard all this, and proceeded to inform them that healthy people do not need doctors, only sick people do, and in comparison he was likewise there to help the sinners (Matthew 9:10-13). According to other scriptures, the name of this tax collector Jesus called was Levi (Mark 2:15-17, Luke 5:27-32). This indicates that Matthew was known by two names, much like "Peter" was also known as "Simon" (Matthew 4:18) and "Cephas" (John 1:42). The scripture in Mark states that Matthew/Levi was the son of Alphaeus. It also says that Jesus went to Levi's house to dine, the same home mentioned in Matthew 9:10 and the Pharisees began murmuring about it.

John's Disciples
After this, John The Baptist's disciples came to ask Jesus why he and his disciples don't practice fasting though the Pharisees do. Jesus explained that since he was among them at the time then there was no need for anyone to fast. (Matthew 9:14-17).

Jairus, Bleeding woman
As he explained these things, a local ruler named Jairus approached him on behalf of his daughter, who was probably already dead by this point. He asked Jesus to just lay his hands on her so she could come back to life (Matthew 9:18-19). Jesus and his disciples rose up to follow the man to his home. A crowd of people were following. In the crowd was a woman who was afflicted with a non-stop flow of blood for twelve years. This would be quite distressing to her because according to the Mosaic Law Covenant the Jews lived under, bleeding women were considered unclean and untouchable for the entire time they were bleeding (see Leviticus 15:19-27). This woman apparently didn't have a healthy self-esteem over this, and dared not approach Jesus directly, so instead, she simply touched his robe, knowing that would be enough to heal her, and it worked (Matthew 9:20-21). Jesus immediately recognized healing power had gone out from him, he turned to her and told her to take courage because her faith had healed her (Matthew 9:22). Jesus arrived at the ruler's home, and there lay the girl, dead, on her bed. Jesus said that they should have no fear and have faith. He sent the crowd outside and brought only Simon-Peter, James and John into the house with him. Jesus took the hand of the girl and said "Talitha Cumi", which means "Maiden, get up". Immediately she rose and her parents were overcome with joy, and Jesus instructs them that she be given something to eat. (Matthew 9:23-26, Mark 5:21-43).

This ends Part 1 of the biography of Jesus Christ.