The Ministry Of Jesus

Sunday (2/12), gather with your church family as we continue our new series in the gospel according to Matthew (4:12-25). It is the first of four gospels that chronicle the birth, life, ministry, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In the previous section (4:1-11), Matthew writes that after Jesus’ baptism, He was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. It would not be easy or comfortable. He would be alone. The Gospel of Mark records that Wild beasts surrounded him. His appetite would disappear, for the temptation was a twenty-four-hour, around-the-clock, day and night, an excruciating trial that stretched on for forty straight days.

What Jesus said and did during His temptation is an example of how a believer can be victorious over temptation. Still, more than that, He proved once and for all that He and only He, by passing the test, can provide a way for man to be reconciled to God.

A year had passed between His baptism and hearing that John had been arrested. It was at this exact moment that Jesus began His earthly ministry. Everything He did, said, and performed through the power of the Holy Spirit would fulfill Old Testament prophecy. He would move from His hometown of Nazareth to the more populated region of Capernaum. It would remain His home base for the remainder of His time on earth.

God changed the dispensation with John the Baptist’s incarceration and eventual martyrdom. Jesus said that of all the men born, John was the greatest and the last of the Old Testament prophets. With his passing, God now would speak to the world through His Son. And, the first words out of Jesus’ mouth, beginning His public ministry, were the same as John’s, “repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (4:17). And, to prove that His message was from God, He performed miracles the like that had never been seen in Israel’s history. Everyone He encountered would never be the same, for He who was God had come down in the form of man to provide the way for man to be reconciled to God.

I look forward to our time together. Please pray for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the entire Calvary Chapel family.

There are several opportunities for worship. On-campus (10:00 am), drive-in church (92.1fm), and online (Facebook, YouTube:  Calvary Inverness); (website: calvaryinv.com
In His Strong Love,
Pastor

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