5 Events from the Life of Christ

Session 2: Five Events

The Gospels

In our first session, we looked at five people in the Old Testament. They all point to one person, Jesus Christ. The whole Bible story is about Him.

The story of Jesus is told in the Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. In this second session, we will look at five events in the life of Jesus. Jesus was born, He was tempted, He was crucified, He is risen, and He has ascended. We begin with the birth of Jesus.

1. Jesus Was Born

The birth of Jesus was the first evidence that He is unlike any other person who has ever lived.

This is how it came about: Mary was a young woman preparing for marriage to a man named Joseph. God spoke to her through an angel who appeared to her and said,

     “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
     And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
     and you shall call his name Jesus.” (Luke 1:30-31)

Mary was a virgin, so she asked, “How will this be?” (1:34). The angel’s answer takes us to the heart of the most wonderful mystery in the Bible.

     “The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
     and the power of the Most High will overshadow you;
     therefore the child to be born will be called holy— the Son of God. (Luke 1:35)

This verse tells us three things that we need to know about Jesus: Jesus is God, Jesus is man, and Jesus is holy.

Jesus is God

     “The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
     and the power of the Most High will overshadow you;
     therefore the child to be born will be called holy— the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35)

Mary’s child was born as the result of a direct initiative of God. Joseph made no contribution whatsoever.

Mary was a virgin. The life in her womb came to be there through a creative miracle of God. God did not wait for a deliverer to arise from the human race. He came to the human race. God became a man, taking flesh from Mary.

Your life began when you were conceived in your mother’s womb. Before that moment you did not exist. But with Jesus, it is different. His life did not begin in Mary’s womb. Before He was born in the stable, He shared the life of God in heaven (John 1:1).

The angel announced to Mary that her child would be “the Son of the Most High” and “the Son of God” (Luke 1:32, 35). Then, in a separate appearance to Joseph, Jesus was announced as “Immanuel,” which means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). God came to us, entering the world as a baby, born in a stable, and laid in a manger.

Jesus is man

     “The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
     and the power of the Most High will overshadow you;
     therefore the child to be born will be called holy— the Son of God. (Luke 1:35)

We’ll never be able to understand how God could take human flesh and be born as a baby, but the central claim of the New Testament is that He did.

This miracle is an unfathomable mystery, but it makes sense of everything else that the Bible tells us about Jesus. Everything else revolves around this one miracle. If God became a man in Jesus, then His claims, His miracles, and His resurrection should bring no surprise.

Jesus is one with God and one with us, and that qualified Him to do what no one else could do. Only God can reconcile us to Himself. Only a man could fulfill all that God requires of us.

The incarnation is the mystery that makes sense of everything else.

     “We believe that the sun is in the sky at midday in summer,
     not because we can clearly see the sun…
     but because we can see everything else.” C. S. Lewis.

Jesus is holy

     “The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
     and the power of the Most High will overshadow you;
     therefore the child to be born will be called holy— the Son of God. (Luke 1:35)

Jesus is holy. This means that He did not at any time commit a single sin. Jesus was holy in His thoughts, in His intentions, in His character, in His words, and in His deeds. That could not be said of any other person who has ever lived.

The holiness of Jesus opens a whole new world of hope for us. There is a human being who is holy. There is a person who is everything that God calls all of us to be. He is the gift of God to us, and there is hope for all of us in Him.

• Born
• Tempted (30 years)
• Crucified (3 years)
• Risen (3 days)
• Ascended (40 days)

After His birth, the Bible tells us that Jesus grew “in wisdom, in stature, and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52).

Then, at the age of 30, Jesus began His public ministry. He was baptized in the River Jordan, identifying Himself fully with men and women who seek to live for the glory of God.

The Holy Spirit descended on Jesus, and an audible voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). Then, filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus went into the desert, where He was tempted. 

2. Jesus Was Tempted

Matthew records that Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1).

Jesus came into the world to destroy Satan’s work, and the first step in His ministry was to confront our enemy and triumph where Adam had failed.

Strategy #1 – Create confusion

Satan’s first strategy in the Garden of Eden was to create confusion. He asked Eve, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1).

The enemy tried the same strategy on Jesus. “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread” (Matthew 4:3).

The enemy was trying to create confusion in the mind of Jesus about His own identity. But Jesus did not need to perform a miracle to know that He was, and is, the Son of God.

He answered,
     “It is written,
     ‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
     but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4)

Strategy #2 – Promote presumption

Satan’s second strategy in the Garden of Eden was to promote presumption. He tried to convince Eve that she could disobey the command of God without consequence. “You will not surely die” (Genesis 3:4).

The enemy tried to promote presumption in Jesus. He led Him to the highest point of the temple and said, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written ‘He will command his angels concerning you…’” (Matthew 4:6).

The angels won’t let you fall. “On their hands they will bear you up.”
But Jesus knew the difference between faith and presumption.

     Jesus said to him, “Again it is written,
     ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” (Matthew 4:7)

Strategy #3 – Arouse ambition

Satan’s third strategy in the Garden of Eden centered on ambition. When he tempted Eve to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he said, “You will be like God…” (Genesis 3:5).

Again, he tried the same strategy on Jesus. Satan showed Jesus the kingdoms of the world and their glory, and he said, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me” (Matthew 4:9).

But Jesus said,
     “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,
     ‘You shall worship the Lord your God
     and him only shall you serve.’”  (Matthew 4:10)

We all know about Satan’s strategies of creating confusion, promoting presumption, and arousing ambition. We experience these temptations in our own lives. But you may wonder, How real were the temptations of Jesus? Can a person who is holy really be tempted?

Only Jesus knows the full power of temptation because only Jesus has withstood the full force of the enemy’s assault.

Imagine three airmen flying jets over enemy territory during a war. They are shot down, captured, and then taken by the enemy for interrogation. One by one they are brought into a darkened room.

The first airman gives his name, rank, and serial number. His captors ask him for the positions of his forces. He knows that he must not give this information, but he also knows that the enemy is cruel. So he tells them what he knows.

The second airman is brought in and they begin to question him. He is determined not to give in. So the cruelty begins. Eventually it overwhelms him. He breaks and tells them what he knows.

Then the third airman comes in. “You will not break me,” he says. “Oh yes, we will. We have broken every man who has ever come into this room. It is only a matter of time; you’ll see.”

The cruelty begins, but he does not break. So it is intensified, and still he does not break. It is intensified more, until it feels unbearable, but still he does not break.

Finally, there comes a point when they have tried everything they know. “It’s no use,” they say. “He is not like any other person we’ve had in this room. We can’t break him.”

Which of these airmen faced the full force of the enemy? The only one to know the full force of the enemy’s assault is the one who did not break.

So don’t ever think that Jesus’ temptations were less than yours. Only Jesus knows the full power of temptation, because only Jesus has withstood the full force of the enemy’s assault.

• Born
• Tempted (30 years)
• Crucified (3 years)
• Risen (3 days)
• Ascended (40 days)

After He was tempted, Jesus engaged in three years of public ministry in which He taught, performed miracles, and called people to follow Him.

His message was clear: “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). “Repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15).

Crowds followed Jesus but, from the beginning, the powers of the state and of religion opposed Him. After three years, He was arrested, tried, condemned, and crucified.

3. Jesus Was Crucified

Jesus was crucified at 9 in the morning, and He died at 3 in the afternoon. What happened during these six hours on the cross takes us to the heart of the Bible story.

Jesus released forgiveness

Human rebellion against God reached its full horror and its most awful expression at the cross. We had disobeyed God’s commands. Now we were crucifying God’s Son.

If there was ever a moment in human history when God’s judgment had to fall, this was it. But Jesus cried out:

     “Father, forgive them,
     for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)

When Jesus said, “Father, forgive them,” He was asking the Father to divert the punishment for our sin away from us and onto Him.

Jesus knew that God’s judgment would come, but He was saying, “Don’t let it fall on these people. Let it fall on Me, and on Me alone. Let Me be the lightning rod for Your judgment on their sin.”

We saw that God spared Adam when the curse fell on the ground, and God spared us as the judgment for our sin fell on Jesus.

This prayer of Jesus covers the sin of every person who will come to Him. And if His prayer was sufficient for the sins of those who nailed Him to the cross, it can cover every sin of yours.

Jesus opened heaven

A few feet away from Jesus was a man who had made a tragic waste of his life. He had pursued a life of crime, and now he was paying the price. He is known as the thief on the cross.

This man turned towards Jesus and said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” (Luke 23:42). He had heard Jesus praying, “Father, forgive them.” Perhaps Jesus could forgive him too?

     Jesus said to him,
     “Truly, I say to you,
     today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43)

Paradise! This man’s life had been a series of disastrous choices, but Jesus promised him an immediate translation, through death, into a life of unclouded joy.

Before the day was over, Jesus would usher this man into the presence of God. Suddenly this man, who had been on the brink of hell, found that because of Jesus, he was about to enter the joy of heaven!

When Jesus died, the way back to God’s presence and blessing was opened, not only for the thief, but for all who, like him, will trust in Jesus.

Jesus endured hell

     And when the sixth hour had come,
     there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.
     And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice,
     “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” Which means,
     “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:33-34)

This darkness was not an eclipse. Eclipses don’t last for three hours. God turned out the light.

The Bible tells us what happened in that awful darkness:

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree… (1 Peter 2:24)

The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)

     He was pierced for our transgressions;
     he was crushed for our iniquities;
     upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
     and with his wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)

These Scriptures, and many more, point to this one marvelous truth: that God reconciled sinners to Himself by coming to us and bearing our sin in Jesus Christ.

Think about what this meant for Jesus:

• He was plunged into complete darkness.
• He was in conscious suffering.
• He was surrounded by demonic powers.
• He was bearing the guilt of sin.
• He was under judgement.
• He was separated from the comfort of His Father’s love.

Jesus endured hell on the cross. Hell is conscious suffering in complete darkness, surrounded by demonic powers, bearing the guilt of sin, under the judgment of God, separated from the comfort of His love. And Jesus endured hell on the cross so that you would never know what it is like.

On the cross, Jesus released forgiveness, He opened heaven, He endured hell, and then…

Jesus died in triumph

After 3 hours, the darkness passed. The judgment poured out on Jesus was exhausted and spent. Justice had been satisfied, and Jesus shouted:

     “It is finished.” (John 19:30)

     Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said,
     “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!”
     And having said this he breathed his last. (Luke 23:46)

When someone dies, their voice becomes weaker and weaker until they are hardly able to speak at all. No one speaks in a loud voice at the moment of death. But Jesus did.

Jesus was not overwhelmed by death. It didn’t overcome Him. He said, “No one takes my life from me. I have power to lay it down and power to take it up again” (John 10:18, paraphrased). The life of Jesus was not taken. It was given. And He gave Himself for us.

Jesus entered death in triumph. And Mark records that
     When the centurion, who stood facing him,
     saw that in this way he breathed his last,
     he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” (Mark 15:39)

• Born
• Tempted (30 years)
• Crucified (3 years)
• Risen (3 days)
• Ascended (40 days)

After Jesus died, His body was taken down from the cross and laid in a tomb that belonged to a man called Joseph.

Then the tomb was sealed with a large stone. But on the third day, the tomb was empty. Jesus, who had been crucified, had risen!

4. Jesus Is Risen

The Gospels record that a group of women went to the garden where the body of Jesus had been laid to rest in a tomb.

When they arrived, they found that the stone in front of the tomb had been moved. The tomb was empty, and the women had absolutely no idea what to make of this. Luke records that the empty tomb left them “wondering” (Luke 24:4).

So how did they know what happened?

God told them.

     While they were perplexed about this,
     behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel …
     “Why do you seek the living among the dead?
     He is not here; but has risen!” (Luke 24:4, 5-6)

God called two angels, and said, “Go and tell them what I have done!”

Christian faith rests on believing God’s explanation of what He has done.

For example, when Mary conceived a child, there was no way that she could have known what was happening to her. So God sent the angel to explain what was about to happen.

It was the same when Jesus was crucified. Many people saw him die, but they didn’t know what God was doing in the darkness. God tells us that, on the cross, Jesus bore our sin and laid down His life as a sacrifice. God tells us that He was reconciling the world to Himself through the cross.

Christian faith doesn’t rest on feelings, impulses, or personal insights. It is believing God’s explanation of events, given to us in the Scripture.

     “He… has risen!” (Luke 24:6)

 What does the resurrection of Jesus mean for us today?

Risen means that Jesus is alive

     Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
     looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith,
     who for the joy that was set before him
     endured the cross, despising the shame,
     and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2)

The Bible does not present us with a dead religion, but with a living Savior. Right now, Jesus is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

At its heart, the Bible story is not a set of beliefs to be debated or a way of life to be considered. The Bible presents us with a person who is alive today. You can know Him and knowing Him will change your life.

If Jesus was simply a great figure of history, you could choose to learn from His teachings or you could choose to ignore Him. But Jesus is much more than a great figure of history.

He is God with us. He is the Lord of heaven and earth. He came into the world for us. He suffered and died on the cross for us. He rose from the dead for us. And now He lays claim to our lives, our love, and our loyalty.

Risen means that Jesus is alive. There is a Savior to whom you can come. He will hear your prayers. He can give you strength and courage and patience and hope.

Jesus is God’s answer to the human problem: We have a knowledge of evil, and we are excluded from paradise.

The message of the Bible is not that you have to save yourself from evil and find your way into heaven by reading the Bible, saying your prayers, and trying to live a better life.

The message of the Bible is that Jesus Christ is able to save you. He can deliver you from the power of evil. He can open heaven’s door.

So commit yourself to Him as your living Lord and Savior, trust Him to make you the person God is calling you to be.

Risen means that death is defeated

     God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death,
     because it was not possible for him to be held by it. (Acts 2:24)

Throughout human history, death has been like a tyrant, exercising a reign of terror over the human race. No one can escape it. But the resurrection of Jesus is God’s guarantee that death will be an entrance to life for all who belong to Him.

When I was in grade school, our class had a pet mouse. We all had the chance to take the mouse home at weekends, and when my turn came, I decided to let the mouse play with my toys.

The mouse was intrigued by my bright red, double-decker London bus, and after sniffing around, it climbed inside. This was tremendous entertainment, until the mouse reached the front of the bus. Then I had a problem. The mouse couldn’t move forward, and it couldn’t climb back. It was completely stuck.

I remember my father saying, “There’s only one thing to do, son, we’ll have to destroy the bus!” He took a knife and cut a hole in the roof.

I can’t tell you what a relief that was. But my bus was never the same. It really was rather curious; a bright red, double-decker London bus with a hole in the roof.

Of course, this made things even more interesting for the mouse! Before, the bus had a way in but no way out. Now, the mouse could go in the door, climb up the stairs, and come out through the roof.

When Jesus died, He cut a hole in death. For those who belong to Him, death is no longer a prison, but a passage that leads right into the presence of God.

Risen means the whole person will be redeemed

All religions have some idea of life after death. But the resurrection is unique to Christianity. The good news is not simply that Jesus is alive, but that Jesus has risen! It is worth thinking about the difference.

The Son of God was alive in heaven before He took human flesh. So why did He not simply leave His crucified body in the tomb and return to the Father? After all, it was only flesh and bone. Why bother with it?

The angels could still have appeared on Easter morning and said, “His body is here in the tomb, but don’t worry, His Spirit is with the Father in heaven.” After all, isn’t that precisely what we say at a funeral service when a Christian dies?

But that’s not what we find in the Gospels:

     As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them,
and said to them “Peace to you!

     But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit.
And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts
arise in your hearts?

     See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself.
     Touch me, and see.
     For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”

     And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.

     And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them,
“Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish,
and he took it and ate before them. (Luke 24:36-43)

The resurrection tells us that the body matters. You’re a marvelous union of soul and body, and Jesus came into the world not to save part of you but to redeem the whole of you. He came to bring you, soul and body, into His presence.

The good news is that Jesus is risen. The resurrection body is the glorious future that lies ahead of every Christian believer.

     Because Jesus is risen, those who belong to Him will also rise.
     This is the clear promise of Scripture:
     Christ has been raised from the dead,
     the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
     For as by a man came death,
     by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.
     For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
     But each in his own order:
     Christ the firstfruits,
     then at his coming those who belong to Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:20-23)

• Born
• Tempted (30 years)
• Crucified (3 years)
• Risen (3 days)
• Ascended (40 days)

After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to His disciples on multiple occasions.

Luke records that Jesus “presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3).

Jesus met with His disciples at a mountain in Galilee and commissioned them to go and “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19). Then He gave them this wonderful promise: “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (28:20).

The resurrection appearances of Jesus were spread over a period of nearly six weeks. But Jesus had already told His disciples that He would return to the Father, and forty days after the resurrection, Jesus ascended into heaven. 

5. Jesus Has Ascended

Luke records how Jesus ascended into heaven:

     And he led them out as far as Bethany,
     and lifting up his hands he blessed them.
     While he blessed them, he parted from them
     and was carried up into heaven.
     And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. (Luke 24:50-52)

Why would the disciples have great joy when Jesus left them?

I will never forget the day when we said goodbye to my parents at Glasgow Airport, as we left Scotland for America.

We were well prepared and everyone believed it was the right thing. But we were emigrating. We would no longer be physically present with loved ones. And however well you are prepared to say goodbye, it is never easy when the moment comes.

If we had heard that after we left my parents returned home with joy, we would have been surprised to say the least! So, why were the disciples filled with joy when Jesus ascended?

Disciples have joy because Jesus is in heaven

     While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. (Luke 24:51)

Think about the significance of Jesus entering heaven. The Lord Jesus Christ assumed our humanity on earth, and now, He has taken our humanity into heaven.

Adam was expelled from God’s presence, and all his children were alienated from God. Jesus has been welcomed into heaven, and all who belong to Him will be welcomed into heaven as well.

When Jesus ascended into heaven, the disciples knew He was exactly where they needed Him to be.

Suppose you are in prison, charged with a serious crime. You need an attorney.

As you get to know your attorney, you discover that he is a man of great compassion. When He visits your cell, you draw comfort from His presence.

But what you need most from your attorney is not his comfort in the cell, but his performance in the courtroom. And our greatest need is a representative who will advocate for us before God the Father. And that is precisely what Jesus does for us in heaven.

     We have an advocate with the Father,
     Jesus Christ the righteous. (1 John 2:1)

When Jesus ascended, the disciples were filled with joy, because they understood that in heaven, He would speak to the Father on their behalf.

Disciples have joy because Jesus is blessing His people

     While he blessed them,
     he parted from them
     and was carried up into heaven. (Luke 24:51)

A last glimpse always makes a lasting impression, and the last glimpse that the disciples had of Jesus was with His hands raised to bless them.

Jesus ascended while He was still blessing His disciples. And if we ask what Jesus is doing now, the answer is that He is still blessing His people.

The book of Hebrews tells us that…

     [Jesus] is able to save to the uttermost
     those who draw near to God through him,
     since he always lives to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25)

Jesus intercedes for us. He speaks to the Father on our behalf, and what Jesus asks, the Father gives. You will have all that you need for all that you face in every circumstance of your life because Jesus speaks to the Father on your behalf.

Disciples have joy because Jesus will return

When Jesus ascended, an angel appeared to the disciples and said,

     “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven?
     This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven,
     will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11)

This was the promise of Jesus Himself. He told His disciples that He was going to prepare a place for them. He did this through His death, His resurrection, and His ascension.

Then He said, “I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14:3). Jesus entered heaven so that heaven would be open to us. No wonder the disciples were filled with joy!

The four Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – tell us that Jesus was born, that He was tempted, that He was crucified, that He is risen, and that He has ascended.

John says,

     these are written so that you may believe
     that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
     and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:31)

God gives some marvelous gifts to those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. They are described in the New Testament letters, so stay with us. We’re going to look at five of them in our last session.