Page 95 - Advanced Life of Christ - Student Textbook

Jesus at the Feast
Jesus used the traditional practices of the Jewish religious festival to set the stage for His message. He
went to the temple because that is where the crowds of people would be. During the Feast of
Tabernacles, the people would offer prayers for the fall rains that were necessary to assure a bountiful
springtime harvest. On the final day of the festival, the priest would present a special offering of water,
along with the daily drink offering of wine, in thanksgiving and prayer to God who supplies the life-giving
rains. It probably was at this moment that Jesus rose and spoke to the people, “If anyone thirsts, let him
come to Me and drink” (John 7:37). Then in the next breath, He reminded the people of the rock in the
wilderness that provided the Israelites with water. He said, “He that believeth on me, as the scripture
has said, from within him shall flow rivers of living water” (v. 38). He spoke of the Holy Spirit that would
indwell all those who believed in Jesus, the Messiah.

At that point, some believed, but most did not, stating that the Messiah must come not from Galilee as
Jesus had come, but from Bethlehem. This demonstrated an ignorance of who Jesus was, for He did
come from Bethlehem.

Jesus Ministers in the Region of Judea (Luke 10; Luke 10:25-37; Luke 10:38-42; Luke 11:1-13)

This period of Jesus’ ministry is
often called “The Later Judean
Ministry” of Jesus. You recall that
Jesus ministered for several months
in the Judean region at the onset of
His public ministry, along with John the
Baptist and before the calling of His
disciples. Even though Jesus had visited
the region briefly on several occasions,
He had not spent any extended time
there concentrating on the effort to
saturate the area with His claims
concerning Himself. Now that He is in
Judea, He did just that. By now it was
clear that the nation as a whole was
determined to disbelieve in Him, even
though some individuals have believed.
Also, the area of Judea was very much
under the domination of the religious
leaders centered in Jerusalem. So, Jesus
spent time in Judea so that the masses there could also hear His claim to be the Messiah and the Son of
God accompanied with validating miracles. He did this so that no person in Judea could assert that they
did not know who Jesus claimed to be. They would be without excuse.

Jesus organized a group of disciples to share the Gospel of the Kingdom among the villages and towns in
Judea. He appointed 72 men and sent them two by two to all the places He intended to go. Some
translations say 70 were appointed, but the older manuscripts add “and two”. He gave them careful
instructions, warning them that some towns would not receive their message. He illustrated His point
by cursing three Galilean cities: Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum. He had preached and healed

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