Ch 7 Notes OBJECTIVE: To discover that God called John the

Baptist to prepare the way for Jesus Christ (pp. 80-81)

#1

The person God had chosen to prepare the way for his only Son was John the Baptist

#2

What other source than the Bible do we have to show that John the Baptist was certainly a historical figure? Josephus(in his Antiquities)

#3

From which Gospel comes the information we have about John’s birth and infancy? Luke

#4

John’s parents were Zechariah and Elizabeth.

#5

Why would Zechariah have been going to the Temple in Jerusalem? He was a priest; he was going there to offer the Temple sacrifice.

#6

What happened to Zechariah while he was in the Temple on this particular occasion? (include the name of the messenger and what the message was) The angel Gabriel appeared to him and told him that Elizabeth would bear a child who would prepare the way for the Messiah.

#7

The name “John” means “God is gracious”.

#8

How was the story of John’s birth similar to the “birth accounts” of some other famous people in the Old Testament (name 2 ways)?

The child’s mother was of an old ageHis name was announced by a heavenly

messenger

#9

How was the story of John’s birth unique and different from those other stories? John was filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb

OBJECTIVE: To explore the ways John the Baptist bridged the Old and New Testaments (pp. 82-83)

#10

What were the three roles that God gave to John the Baptist (the three “P’s”)? precursor, preacher and prophet

#11

What is a precursor? A forerunner; one who comes right before another to indicate his approach or coming

#12

How does the term precursor fit John the Baptist? He came before Jesus and announced his coming

#13

Which Scripture verse shows that John saw himself as a precursor (write out the text of the verse)? Mark 1:7, “One mightier than I, etc…”

#14

As a preacher, John’s message was repentance, which means what? Turning from sin, a change of heart and mind and behavior (various answers in that “ball park”)

#15

What was the sign of this “repentance”? Baptism

#16

If Jesus had no sin of which to be forgiven, why did he let himself be baptized by John?

Jesus did it to show the people that what John was doing was right and that they should submit to God in all things;

Jesus was symbolically repenting for sin on our behalf

this was also a sign of beginning his public ministry

#17

What was the other message of John’s preaching (see John 1:29 and John 3:30)? To point to the Messiah’s coming

#18

What is a prophet? One called to speak for God

#19

In what way(s) was John a prophet? He spoke for God in announcing Jesus coming and the coming Kingdom of God, and to prepare for it by repenting of their sin

#20

Why is John the bridge between the Old and New Testaments? He was the last of the prophets and the first to announce the coming of Jesus

#21

Why was John imprisoned and beheaded by King Herod? Herod was afraid of John’s message

#22

How is John the Baptist’s work still going on today, and why is John such an important figure during the Advent season? He is a model for the church as we prepare for the second coming of Jesus

#23 and #24

(from Scripture Insight) Who were the Essenes? A community of Jews living a life of prayer in the desert near the Dead Sea

(from Scripture Insight) What are the Dead Sea Scrolls and where were they discovered? They were copies of Scriptures and other writings discovered in 1948 in some caves near the Dead Sea

REVIEW POINTS

Look at the quote from Mark 1:7 on Pg 82. Then recall the quote from John 1:30 “He must increase; I must decrease.”

Question: What impression of John the Baptist do we get from these passages?

John knew that Jesus was greater than he; John knew and accepted God’s role for himself and did not grab attention from Jesus.

QUESTION

What is humility?

John’s attitude is expressing humility.

Humility comes from the Latin word humus, meaning “earth.” Sometimes people say that humble people have their “feet on the ground.”

John was a strong leader with his own followers. He could have led people away from Jesus. Instead he chose to be humble as well as strong—the marks of a true leader.

Outline: See if you can fill it out.

A. John the Precursor1.2.

B. John the Preacher1.2.

C. John the Prophet1.2.

Did you know?

The climate and vegetation of Palestine is the result of the buckling of the earth’s crust millions of years ago. The altitudes in northern Palestine reach to 3,300 feet in the Judean mountains; in the south, the Dead Sea is the lowest place on earth—1,300 feet below sea level. Most of the land north of the Dead Sea is hilly, and westerly winds from the Mediterranean Sea bring rain and support vegetation. In the south, hot dry winds from Africa and Arabia produce deserts.

The desert of Judea is a barren region west of the Dead Sea. It is also known as the Wilderness of Judea.

View of Judean Mountains

The Dead Sea

Infancy Narratives

Accounts of Jesus’ conception, birth, and infancy in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.

Why only Matthew and Luke?

Reasons infancy accounts do not occur in the Gospels of Mark and John or the letters of the New Testament:

-Earliest Church community was at first more interested in Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection.

*It was only when the community had time to reflect on Jesus’ life that they began to take a greater interest in the details of his birth and infancy.

Matthew Account -Writer was a Jewish Christian writing for

other Jewish Christians. -Begins with genealogy-Includes the story of the Holy Family’s

flight into Egypt. -Includes story of magi coming to adore

Jesus and offering him gifts.

Luke Account:-Writer was a Gentile writing for Gentiles-Begins with the announcement and birth of

John the Baptist -Includes Mary’s visit to Elizabeth -Includes angelic chorus announcing Jesus’

birth to shepherds -Includes Simeon and Anna meeting Jesus in

the Temple.

Jesus was born during the reign of:

King Herod the Great

Jesus was born to a virgin mother. The virgin was Mary who was betrothed to Joseph. What does betrothed mean?

Engaged

Joseph was a descendant of this famous King of Israel.

King David

How was the announcement of Jesus’ birth made?

By an angel

Jesus was born in:

Bethlehem

Jesus grew up in:

Nazareth

OBJECTIVE: To explore the Infancy Narratives in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke (pp. 84-85)

#25

What are the infancy narratives? Writings about Jesus’ birth and childhood

#26

In which two Gospels are the infancy narratives found? Matthew and Luke

#27

Why is it that the infancy narratives are only found in these two books of the New Testament? At first, Christians were interested mostly in the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus, and only later in his birth; therefore, they don’t show up, for instance, in Mark

#28

Matthew tells the story of Jesus’ birth from Joseph’s point of view and Luke tells it from Mary’s point of view.

#29

Why are there certain differences in the two infancy narratives? They are written for different audiences and therefore have a different emphasis

#30

How does Matthew’s infancy narrative show Jesus as the “new Moses”? Jesus would free the people from slavery to sin as Moses had saved the Hebrew people from slavery in Egypt

#31

Which of Matthew’s stories shows Jesus as the newborn King of the Jews, the Messiah? The visit of the Magi, because they offer Jesus gifts worthy of a king.

#32

To whom did Matthew write his Gospel? Jewish Christians To whom did Luke write his Gospel? Gentile Christians

#33

OBJECTIVE: To discover that the infancy narratives are the good news of our salvation in miniature. (pp. 86-87)

In what way are the infancy narratives the “gospel” in miniature? (summarize 1st paragraph)

#34

From where did many details of the infancy narratives come?

#35

What two literary forms were used by evangelists Matthew and Luke in order to weave Old Testament imagery into their texts? geneology and Midrash

#36

What is a genealogy? A listing of human ancestors; a family tree

#37

How and why does Matthew use a genealogy in his Gospel? To show that Jesus was a descendant of King David

#38

What is midrash? a commentary that interprets the Hebrew Scriptures

#39

How is the story of the Magi (the Wise Men) an example of midrash? Because, but the story of the Magi, we learn about who Jesus is as priest, prophet and king

#40

In what way does Luke’s infancy narrative end to show that Jesus is truly human and divine, both man and God? He is a child who gets lost in the Temple, yet is found there teaching the rabbis his wisdom.