Jesus the Christ: Chapters 11-13

I am SO far behind! Well, chapters 11 to 13 are about the ministry of Christ and while it was all interesting it wasn't really new information to me so I don't have a lot to share on these chapters. A couple of thought provoking items were the time Jesus turned water to wine at a wedding and when he told the people of his home synagogue that he was the Messiah.

The wedding story makes me wonder a little...I think there's something missing in this story, or maybe it's just something I'm missing. Mary asks him to do it, and he sort of puts her off, but then he does it anyway. Was he annoyed that she asked? Did he do it just to make her happy? Was there some greater reason that he did it? If he was going to do it anyway why did he say no at first? I don't know, there's something to this one that I just haven't quite wrapped my head around yet.

At the synagogue, isn't it interesting that the people wanted to throw him off a cliff? Really? Doesn't that seem a bit harsh? Wow! So glad I don't live among people like that! I'd have been killed several times over by now! The other interesting thing about this story is that he just walked away from it...how did he do that? Was it just because he was really good at calming people down? Was it a miracle? How did he do that? Really, I want to know. :)

So there you have it. My thoughts on three chapters of reading. Have a great week!

funny!

Spring

Erin and I took Spot (aka "Crazypants") for a nice leisurely walk along the Snake River yesterday, here's some of the pictures...

Jesus the Christ: Chapter 10

Chapter 10: In the Wilderness of Judea

I liked this chapter too! I love that John the Baptist was kind of a non-conformist, living in the wilderness, eating locusts and honey, and wearing "rough desert garb". I can see him now, looking a little like a wild man and preaching with energy and enthusiasm, he must have been quite a sight! He was clearly a very effective preacher, there were those who thought he was the Messiah. He called for repentance and charity and prophesied of Christ.

Jesus came to John to be baptized and John tried to turn him away, saying "I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?". Jesus answered, "suffer it to be so now; for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness". What must it have been like to be there? to witness this conversation?

The next part of the story is after Jesus is baptized and the Spirit of God descends like a dove while God speaks from above. We believe this is evidence of the separateness of the Godhead. We believe they are separate physical beings, but one in purpose. Our belief that the Godhead is made up of three separate individuals is one of the reasons that many people do not believe Mormons are Christians.

The last thing this chapter talks about is the temptations of Christ. This is a part of Christ's life that I really haven't given much thought to before now...of course, I'm familiar with the basics, that he went into the wilderness and fasted for 40 days and then Satan tempted him...but that's about it. So this was a good refresher and went into it in more depth than I remember studying it before.

I never thought about why Jesus spent 40 days fasting in solitude in the wilderness, but Talmage points out that he had a lot to think about...duh...I should have thought of that! Of course he had a lot to think about, he had some major events ahead of him. I'm sure he needed to mentally prepare for what he was sent here to do - to atone for the sins of the world. No small task and definitely not an easy one. Then, to be tempted...