• Teaching Point 1

There is one true God, the maker of all things. With compassion, God interceded when His creation fell into bondage to the devil. He made the ultimate self-sacrifice to redeem mankind. In the person of Jesus Christ, He came to earth to set us free. Jesus had an earthly birth as a man, yet He is fully God as well. Before time began, Jesus existed and the Bible calls Him many names, like The Beginning and the End, The Way, the Truth, and the Life. But, most importantly, He is referred to as the Word of God. Scripture teaches all things were created through Jesus Christ, and He is the one holding all things together. In DBS#1, we learned God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. Day after day, God would speak and things came into existence. The Word, which creates, is Jesus Christ Himself. For our sakes, the Word became flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. In order to save humanity, Jesus had to be born with flesh and blood as a man, but without the sin nature passed down from Adam. How could God do this? How could He become a man without being tainted by Adam’s sin? He did this by being born of a virgin who conceived a child by the very power of God Himself. God gave His command and the Holy Spirit overshadowed a young woman named Mary. She became pregnant with Jesus; fully God and fully man.

Luke 1:26-38 (NLT) In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, 27 to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. 28 Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” 29 Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. 30 “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” 34 Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” 35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. 36 What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. 37 For the word of God will never fail.” 38 Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.

• Teaching Point 1 Questions…

1. How did Mary react when the Angel showed up to her with an announcement that God was with her? (vs. 29)
2. How was Mary able to become pregnant without ever having relations with a man? (vs. 35)
3. Is there anything that God cannot do? (vs. 37)

• Teaching Point 2

Jesus is kind, gentle and loving. Jesus is not angry or ill-tempered. Jesus isn’t hateful. Jesus shows the very love of God to all people. While on earth, Jesus spent most of His time with sinners, with poor people, with common people, and with those who were the outcasts of society. Jesus became friends with a woman who was a prostitute. Jesus’ love towards her helped her see her own worth, and her life changed forever. Despite all the nice things Jesus did, He always had enemies. Jesus made the Romans extremely nervous. The empire knew, with the right leader, the Jewish people were prone to start another revolution. However, Jesus’ greatest enemies weren’t the Romans, but the religious sects who, supposedly, loved God and obeyed His commandments. The religious people loved to appear holy and godly, yet their hearts were far away from God. They didn’t like Jesus spending time with people who had obvious sin in their lives. They were also jealous because the common people loved Him in return. Jesus shows how loving people is far better than judging them. Through the life of Jesus Christ, we see the best way to win people over is to be good to them. When a person is mean to us, we should be kind to them. When they persecute us, we should pray for them. Jesus does not condemn people for their sin, He loves them instead. He hates sin, but He loves people even though they are sinners. Scripture has proven this over and over again. Still to this day, He rejects none who come to Him, no matter their sin or their background.

John 8:1-11 (NLT) Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, 2 but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. 3 As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd. 4 “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?” 6 They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. 7 They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” 8 Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust. 9 When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. 10 Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” 11 “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”

• Teaching Point 2 Questions…

1. The religious crowd wanted to stone a woman for committing adultery, but first they wanted to know what Jesus would say about it. Why did they ask Jesus what He thought? (vs. 6)
2. What words did Jesus use to cause them to put down their rocks? (vs. 7)
3. Jesus said to the woman she should stop living in adultery going forward, but what did He say to her before this? (vs. 11)

• Teaching Point 3

As Jesus matured, He grew in favor with man. He was fully God and fully man at the same time. Meaning, He needed food, drink, and to sleep just like other people. Interestingly, He also revealed the way to live as a follower of Christ. His cousin, John the Baptist, baptized Jesus in the Jordan River. When He came up out of the water, the Holy Spirit came upon him. Jesus then went about doing miraculous things. The Bible says He calmed the wind and waves when His disciples got caught at sea in the middle of a storm. They called out for his help, fearing for their lives. Jesus rebuked the wind and the sea and said, “Peace. Be still.” Immediately, the wind and storm ceased. Another time, Jesus spoke to thousands of people for several days. The people were tired and hungry, but they didn’t want to leave. Jesus wanted to feed them, but only had five loaves of bread and two fish. Jesus prayed a blessing over the food and then broke them into pieces for distribution. As He did this, the bread and fish multiplied and, when they finished feeding over five thousand people, there were twelve baskets of food left over. Jesus did miraculous things, though He is most well known as a healer. People suffered from all manners of sickness and oppression from the devil. Jesus healed everyone He encountered. He cured lepers of disease. Blind eyes opened. The lame walked. He healed the deaf and even rose people from the dead. One of Jesus’ most famous miracles happened when His friend, Lazarus, died. By the time Jesus arrived, Lazarus had been dead four days. The man’s sister said to Jesus, “If you had come earlier, he would not have died, but I know we will see him again in the resurrection at the end of time.” Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Jesus told her, “If you believe, you will see miracles.” He explained He was life itself, and anyone who believed in Him, even if he dies, yet shall he live. Jesus then commanded the tomb be opened, and called out, saying, “Lazarus, come forth!” His friend rose from the dead. His fame spread across the entire nation because of this miracle. Jesus showed us His power over death, disease, natural disasters, and everything else Adam’s sin brought upon humanity.

Matthew 8:1-17 (NLT) Large crowds followed Jesus as he came down the mountainside. 2 Suddenly, a man with leprosy approached him and knelt before him. “Lord,” the man said, “if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.” 3 Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared. 4 Then Jesus said to him, “Don’t tell anyone about this. Instead, go to the priest and let him examine you. Take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy. This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed.” 5 When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a Roman officer came and pleaded with him, 6 “Lord, my young servant lies in bed, paralyzed and in terrible pain.” 7 Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the officer said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. 9 I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.” 10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to those who were following him, he said, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel! 11 And I tell you this, that many Gentiles will come from all over the world—from east and west—and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven. 12 But many Israelites—those for whom the Kingdom was prepared—will be thrown into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 Then Jesus said to the Roman officer, “Go back home. Because you believed, it has happened.” And the young servant was healed that same hour. 14 When Jesus arrived at Peter’s house, Peter’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with a high fever. 15 But when Jesus touched her hand, the fever left her. Then she got up and prepared a meal for him. 16 That evening many demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus. He cast out the evil spirits with a simple command, and he healed all the sick. 17 This fulfilled the word of the Lord through the prophet Isaiah, who said, “He took our sicknesses and removed our diseases.”

• Teaching Point 3 Questions…

1. When someone asked Jesus if it was His will to heal them, what was Jesus’ reply? (vs. 3)
2. What did the centurion say Jesus could do to heal his servant even without having to go and touch him? (vs. 8)
3. What happened when Jesus touched Peter’s mother-in-law? (vs. 15)

Summary

Jesus' supernatural virgin birth proves He came into the world without inheriting Adam’s sin nature. He came equipped for a specific purpose. When confronted by one group of religious people asking why He was always with those who sinned a lot, Jesus gave an answer. He said, “It is not those who are well who need a doctor, it is the sick. I did not come to call the righteous but the sinners to repentance.” Because of His great love, Jesus died for us while we were still sinners. We see from His miracles, He had a special job to do. Jesus reveals God’s will to heal and deliver the oppressed. No matter what you have done, God says, “Do not be condemned.” He loves people and does not wish for any to suffer or go without good things. It is not just out of concern about the next life, God also wants people to have a good life now. He cares about everyday life and issues. Jesus’ example of goodness and kindness demonstrates His concern for sinners. He loves you exactly as you are, yet too much to allow you to stay enslaved to sin. Jesus fulfilled His purpose, that all who trust in Him will be forgiven of their sin and delivered from the bondage of that sin as well.

Application Questions

1. What are some things we can learn about God from this study?
2. What are some things we can learn about people from this study?
3. Is there anything in this study that Jesus wants us to obey?
4. What will I do now that I know this?