Days with Jesus Part 1: Exploring the Mysterious Life of Jesus Through the Eyes of His Best Friend
By Jim Jackson
()
About this ebook
Jesus is the most interesting man who ever lived. He is also the most misunderstood man who ever lived. His influence is unprecedented. Many people profess to be his followers, but how much do you really know about him? Whether you have never looked into the life of Jesus or have followed him for years, Days with Jesus can transform your perspective of him forever.
In a groundbreaking combination of book and on-location videos shot in Israel, Jim Jackson takes readers through an immersive experience like no other. Read the words of Jesus. See the place where he said those words. Connect with Jesus in a new way. Watch the adventure begin in Bethlehem as Jesus is born and placed in a stone feeding trough. Walk to the Jordan River, where he is baptized by a locust-eating prophet. Go to the corner of the Temple, where Jesus is tempted to jump. See the place where Jesus cracks a whip and makes the religious leaders seethe with anger. Hear Jesus tell people to eat his flesh and drink his blood in Capernaum. Observe Jesus pardon the adulterous woman.
In Days with Jesus, we encounter the life of Jesus as told through his best friend, John: Jesus as the scandalous preacher; Jesus as the lover of people; Jesus as the miracle worker; Jesus as the hated rabbi. There is a lot to learn. There is much to behold.
Get to know the man many know of but dont know much about.
See more at www.DaysWithJesus.com.
Related to Days with Jesus Part 1
Related ebooks
One-On-One: One Hundred Days with Jesus Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDiscovering Jesus: A 21-Day Devotional Through the Gospel of John Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJohn the Baptizer: Step into Scripture Bible Study Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhy Jesus? Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Woman Who Reflects the Heart of Jesus: 30 Ways to Christlike Character Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5You Are Loved: An Affirmation of Unconditional Love Third Edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Year of Living like Jesus: My Journey of Discovering What Jesus Would Really Do Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Unfiltered Jesus on Salvation & Discipleship Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHe Came To Dwell: Seeing Jesus Interact With Our World Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWho Do You Say I Am?: A Practical and Relevant Reflection of the Life of Christ Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUnexplainable Jesus: Rediscovering the God You Thought You Knew Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Trust: Meet the World’s One Savior and Lord Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Stories Jesus Told: A Bible Study on the Parables of Christ Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Jesus I Never Knew Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Flesh-and-Blood Jesus, Second Edition: Learning to Be Fully Human from the Son of Man Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Good Books Devotional Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJesus: (God, Man, Myth) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTwelve Ordinary Men: A Believer's Guide To Sharing Your Faith Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKnow My Voice V: The Jesus You Never Met Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Doubter's Guide to Jesus: An Introduction to the Man from Nazareth for Believers and Skeptics Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Converge Bible Studies: Who Is Jesus? Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsYou Always Have a Friend in Jesus for Girls: A Tween's Guide to Knowing and Loving Him More Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTo Teach as Jesus Taught: 11 Attributes of a Master Teacher Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Stranger in Jerusalem: Seeing Jesus as a Jew Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Who Is Jesus? Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Transforming Believer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLove Walked among Us: Learning to Love Like Jesus Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Jesus: More Than A Superstar Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Christmas Story Step into Scripture: A Bible Study for Advent Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhy Would Anyone Follow Jesus?: 12 Reasons to Trust What the Bible Says about Jesus Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Christianity For You
The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Decluttering at the Speed of Life: Winning Your Never-Ending Battle with Stuff Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Boundaries Updated and Expanded Edition: When to Say Yes, How to Say No To Take Control of Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Screwtape Letters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Good Boundaries and Goodbyes: Loving Others Without Losing the Best of Who You Are Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Law of Connection: Lesson 10 from The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies About Who You Are so You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Mere Christianity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Four Loves Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Uninvited: Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5NIV, Holy Bible Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Winning the War in Your Mind: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Less Fret, More Faith: An 11-Week Action Plan to Overcome Anxiety Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I'll Start Again Monday: Break the Cycle of Unhealthy Eating Habits with Lasting Spiritual Satisfaction Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Good Girl's Guide to Great Sex: Creating a Marriage That's Both Holy and Hot Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Boundaries Workbook: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Changes That Heal: Four Practical Steps to a Happier, Healthier You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wild at Heart Expanded Edition: Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Grief Observed Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Story: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Enoch Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Draw the Circle: The 40 Day Prayer Challenge Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for Days with Jesus Part 1
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Days with Jesus Part 1 - Jim Jackson
DAYS WITH JESUS
PART 1
Exploring The Mysterious Life Of Jesus Through The Eyes Of His Best Friend
Jim Jackson
logoBlackwTN.aiCopyright © 2012 by Jim Jackson.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
WestBow Press books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:
WestBow Press
A Division of Thomas Nelson
1663 Liberty DriveBloomington, IN 47403
www.westbowpress.com1-(866) 928-1240
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.
ISBN: 978-1-4497-4135-8 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-4497-4133-4 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-4497-4134-1 (e)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2012903229
WestBow Press rev. date: 04/18/2012
CONTENTS
FOREWORD
PRE-STORY
STORY
DAY 1
The Creator Creates
DAY 2
God Puts on An Earth Suit
DAY 3
The First Step of A Thousand Miles
DAY 4
God Goes to A Party!
DAY 5
Cleanliness is Next to Godliness
DAY 6
The Teacher Gets Schooled
DAY 7
John Goes to the Back of the Line
DAY 8
The Reject Becomes Righteous
DAY 9
Divine Cuisine
DAY 10
Like the Blind Reading the Signs
DAY 11
Healing of A Handicapped Heart
DAY 12
Like Father, Like Son
DAY 13
Can I Get A Witness?
DAY 14
"I’d Like to Make Reservations
for 15,000, Please"
DAY 15
Walking on A Sea Like Walking on Cement
DAY 16
Stand and Deliver
DAY 17
Jesus the Cannibal
DAY 18
The Army of Jesus Defects
DAY 19
My Family, My Enemy
DAY 20
Taught by The Master of Divinity
DAY 21
The Dehydrated Heart
DAY 22
Public Opinion: Clear as A Cloudy Day
DAY 23
Sex, A Stone, and A Savior
DAY 24
When the Son Shines
DAY 25
Suicide of The Son of God
DAY 26
A Slave or A Son?
DAY 27
Jesus Gets Stoned for Bad Grammar
DAY 28
Lessons in the Darkness:
The Secrets of Suffering
DAY 29
Mud Optometry
DAY 30
Blindsightedness
DAY 31
Your Savior is A Shepherd,
and Your God is A Gate
F Y I
THANKS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
This book is dedicated to Jesus—
A man whom I have never met but the God who dwells in my heart. Strange but true.
FOREWORD
65458.jpgThe exciting thing about Christianity is that it is not built on a religion or upon religious activities. Christianity is built upon a personal love relationship with Jesus Christ Himself! It is a love relationship that grows more real each day as we have the privilege to know Him in a very intimate way.
We cannot have a deep, abiding relationship with God Almighty by having a very shallow Sunday morning only
experience at church—or whenever it might be convenient for us. Like any relationship, for it to be real and satisfying, it takes uality time spent together. Christians do this through prayer, reading the Bible, and thinking deeply about the things of God. Sadly, too many people just know about God in a shallow manner. They can answer many of the Sunday School uestions, but they do not know Jesus in a loving and lasting kind of way. That breaks my heart. More than that—it breaks God’s heart, because He has so much to reveal to each one of us—if we will only spend time with Him.
The exciting thing about Days With Jesus is that it is set up for the reader to spend uality time learning about Jesus and connecting with Him on a deep level. I love the concept of the Docuvotional
. Jim is a church planter/pastor who knows what we need in order to go further in our relationship with Jesus. He has set up this project so that we can know Jesus from a variety of angles—an in-depth study of the story of Jesus from the book of John, exposure to the world and culture Jesus lived in, uestions to help us apply the teachings, and on-location videos to help us see it.
WOW! This book is rare in that it will work for anyone and everyone. It is an excellent way to both study the life of Jesus and to help anyone connect with Him more tangibly. I strongly recommend this book to you as a great devotional guide, an excellent study book and an exciting visual aide in order for the reader to draw closer to Christ and fall deeper in love with Him each and every day.
—Don Overstreet, Author of God’s Call to the City
PRE-STORY
65506.jpgDOCUVOTIONAL
Docuvotional
is a term I coined to describe my aim for this book. It is a documentary in the sense that I follow the life of Jesus as told by his disciple, John, in the Gospel of John from the Bible. Along with John’s testimony, I attempt to explain many of the important historical, theological, and philosophical elements in each section that fit into the overall context of Jesus’ life.
It is devotional in the sense that I want you to interact with it. The Bible is not just a story about history; it is a story about your history. How? The things that are spoken of in John’s book relate to you because it is the story of a loving God and His pursuit of humanity. That means you and me. You will get a lot out of this book by reading both the chapter for each day and the passage in John along with it. You will get the most out of this book by looking up the additional verses, using the FYI section in the back, answering the uestions at the end of each day by yourself or with a group and watching the videos.
VIDEOS
To go along with many of the Days in the book, there are videos at www.DaysWithJesus.com. As you read a particular Day in the book, go to the website and watch the corresponding video that was shot on-location in Israel. There you will be able to view the places where Jesus was and get a feel for the environment that he was in when those events happened. I will attempt to take you on a tour of each spot to increase your understanding of Jesus and his days on this earth.
FOR YOUR INFORMATION
The FYI section in the back of the book is for additional information and insight into what was discussed for the day and is designated with the * symbol. So, go get a Bible with wording you can understand (such as the ESV, NASB, or NIV) either at a bookstore or online, or blow the dust off the one you have. Look in the Table of Contents and open it to the Gospel of John. Then get ready to take an intense, sometimes humorous, and often surprising look at Jesus—the man many know of, but don’t know much about.
Give Jesus a moment and he will change your life.
Give him a Day and he will change your world.
STORY
65571.jpgJESUS
Why should anyone care about Jesus? Good uestion. Jesus is the most important and interesting man who ever lived. He is also the most misunderstood and misrepresented man who ever lived. Multiple billions of people all over the world claim to follow his teachings. More books have been written about him and love songs sung to him than any other person in the history of the world. The Bible, which was the first book ever printed on the printing press, as well as the biggest selling book of all time and perennial best seller, focuses on his life.
His influence is unprecedented. Many people—from some of the greatest leaders the earth has ever seen to the homeless living under a bridge—declare their devotion to him. His life is so monumental that the majority of the nations around the world mark the years with reference to his birth (I.e., the United States landed on the moon July 20, 1969. The year of 1969 means 1,969 years from Christ’s birth). The time designations of B.C. (Before Christ) and A.D. (Latin, Anno Domini meaning ‘year of our Lord’) relate to the coming of Jesus into the world. Multitudes profess to be inspired by him. But how much do you really know about him?
Consider this—he didn’t own a house, wasn’t a king or ruler with land and subjects, had no army, penned no books of his own, never traveled more than 320 miles from his birthplace, chose disciples that were either formally uneducated or social outcasts, ministered during a time when his homeland was conuered by a foreign power, lived in lower middle-class conditions for most of his life, only spoke publicly for three years, and was executed in his early thirties like a criminal.
No one should remember Jesus. No one should care about a Jewish peasant teacher from thousands of years ago. Would you expect this person to even be remembered in his own lifetime? Probably not. However, he is not just recalled from the pages of history like George Washington or Napoleon or King Tut or Tupac Shakur. He is adored. He is cherished. He is worshipped. Does Jesus deserve such veneration from one person much less billions of people? Is this just more misplaced attention from desperate people looking for something or someone to hope in? Let’s see. Take a journey with Jesus as we see him through the eyes of his best friend, John.
BFF
Why is John considered Jesus’ best friend? He was one of the first disciples chosen by Jesus. He was one of three people (Peter and James were the other two) who had private training and conversations with him. He was the only disciple to risk his life by following Jesus all the way into his trial, never denying his association with him. John is known as the disciple who Jesus loved
throughout the Gospel of John. Of all the disciples, including Jesus’ own brothers, John was the one who was entrusted by Jesus to care for his mother Mary just before he died on the cross. Now that’s a best friend!
BACKGROUND
While the language spoken by Jesus was probably Aramaic or Hebrew, nearly all of the New Testament was written in Greek by Jewish men. Why Greek if they are Jewish? They wrote in Greek because it was the common international trade language of their day and could be understood by the majority of people (similar to English being the common trade language of our day). Conseuently, the English name ‘Jesus’ is translated from the Greek word Iēsous. This word is a transliteration of the Hebrew name he was given at birth which was Yĕhōshua (or Joshua) meaning YHWH God is Savior
. So, his name comes from Yĕhōshua in Hebrew to Iēsous in Greek to Jesus in English.
But what about Jesus’ last name?
The word Christ is not the last name of Jesus. It is actually not a name at all but a title. ‘Christ’ comes from the Greek word christos which is translated from the Hebrew word mashiach meaning anointed one
, also known as Messiah
. So, when someone says Jesus Christ
(even in profanity!), they are referring to his Jewish name and title—Yĕhōshua Mashiach. In doing so, they are either knowingly or unknowingly acknowledging that Jesus is the Savior-Anointed One
of God.
Many people are familiar with the narrative of the birth of Jesus—Joseph and a virgin named Mary, the city of Bethlehem, no room at the inn,
the manger, shepherds, angels, a star, three wise men, etc. If you don’t know the story, it is found in Matthew 1:1-2:23 and Luke 1:1-2:52. Since Matthew and Luke had already detailed the birth of Jesus, John starts his story later, at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry when he was about 30 years old. And this is where we will start.
Before John writes his book, three other recollections of Jesus’ life have previously been written: the book of Matthew around 50 A.D. (primarily written to Jews); the book of Mark around 55 A.D. (primarily written to Romans); and the book of Luke around 60 A.D. (written for a Greek man named Theophilus). So, John writes the history of Jesus for a general audience around 85 A.D. Because all the other disciples had died by this time and John is the last living disciple and eyewitness to everything Jesus did, he writes his book to help us better understand his best friend—the most amazing man in history.
DWJ%20book%20website%20pic.jpgIsraelmapfrontofbook.jpgDAY 1
The Creator Creates
John 1:1-5
DWJchapter1header.JPGWe have a couch in our living room. A big, comfy, inviting couch. When you sit in it you want to stay there. And maybe sleep. We also have a TV that plays sporting events which are full of competition, ‘chick flick’ movies which are full of relational drama, and Sesame Street* which is full of small words and letters. Oh, and the TV also plays a little local news as well. But mostly sports.
Despite the roles that these two pieces of furniture play, more times than I can count, they have hosted some of the most meaningful conversations that humans can have.
How did the universe get here?
How did life start?
What is our purpose here on earth?
Is there a God, and if so, who made Him?
Why does peanut butter taste so good with grape jelly?
It turns out everyone throughout history has had these uestions (well, except for the peanut butter one), and the Apostle John gives us an answer to all of them in the first five verses of his book.
DARKNESS. NOTHING. WORK WITH THAT
Let’s take a journey back. Back into history long ago—before cell phones, the internet, Santa Claus, and Coca-Cola (no, these things are not eternal!)*. According to John, if we are going to talk about Jesus, then we need to talk about the beginning. Not the beginning of Jesus’ life, but the beginning of everything. Writing almost 2000 years ago, John knows about the Greek philosophies of life and the confused Roman religions. So he starts at the beginning of all things to clear the air. Right out of the box John gets philosophical, scientific, spiritual, and historical.
So what is created at the beginning? Angels? Yes. Light and energy? Yes. All types of physical matter? Yes. Human, animal and microscopic life? Yep. Space and suirrels, uasars and uarks, galaxies and gorillas? Yes again. Are you ready to jump into the deep