Robert C. Girard - The Life of Christ

The Life of Christ

The Smart Guide to the Bible Series

Robert C. Girard

Larry Richards, General Editor

Thomas Nelson

Since 1798

www.ThomasNelson.com

The Life of Christ

The Bible Smart Guide Series Copyright 2007 by GRQ, Inc.

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Originally published by Starburst Publishers under the title Life of Christ: Gods Word for the Biblically-Inept Volumes 1 and 2. Now revised and updated.

Thomas Nelson, Inc. titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fundraising, or sales promotional use. For information, please email SpecialMarkets@ThomasNelson.com.

Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version ( NKJV ), copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

To the best of its ability, GRQ, Inc., has strived to find the source of all material. If there has been an oversight, please contact us, and we will make any correction deemed necessary in future printings. We also declare that to the best of our knowledge all material (quoted or not) contained herein is accurate, and we shall not be held liable for the same.

General Editor: Larry Richards

Managing Editor: Lila Empson

Associate Editor: W. Mark Whitlock

Scripture Editor: Deborah Wiseman

Assistant Editor: Amy Clark

Design: Diane Whisner

ISBN 10: 141850999X

ISBN 13: 9781418509996

Printed in the United States of America

07 08 09 10 RRD 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Chapters at a Glance

Part One: Gift Child

Israels Long Wait

Zacharias and Elizabeth

Mission Possible

Baby Baptist

Senseless Census

Sheepherders Hear the Good News

Three Ceremonies

The Messiah Watchers

Midnight Escape

The Boy from Nowhere

Today I Am a Man

Why Was It Necessary for Christ to Bea Man?

Part Two: The Revolution Begins

Desert Crier

Repentance

What John Said About Jesus

Water Fellowship

Testing, Testing

The Invisible Peril

Three Fascinating Proposals for Missing Gods Plan

Passing with Flying Colors

A Hymn to Him

The Ultimate Expression of God

The Big Three in One

Whats God Really Like?

Johns Authority

Connecting with Gods Lamb

The First Five

Wedding Etiquette

What Made Jesus So Angry?

The Cure for Superficial Faith

Nicodemus

Love Shock

Changing of the Guard

Rendezvous

The Right Place to Meet God

Part Three: Galilee: Battle for Home Turf

Prophets Honor

Long Distance Service

Hometown Boy

Choosing Apostles

Unwrapping the Kingdom Dream

Fishing for Sinners

The Paralysis of the Unforgiven

New Shirts and Old Wineskins

The $64,000 Question

Corroborating Witnesses

Pickinga Fight

An Assassination Conspiracy Is Born

The Power Team

Jesus and the Old Testament

First Things First

Beware of False Prophets

A Walk on the Wild Side

Medal of Honor for a Revolutionary Hero

The Impossible Fellowship

Family Matters

A Seedy Saga About Listening

Why Did Jesus Speak in Parables?

Jesuss Parables in the Four Gospels

Calming Mental Tornadoes

Stilling Windstorms of Worry and Grief

Help Wanted

Offense! Offense!

Two by Two

Power Lunch

The Royalist Movement

Sea Walker

No Place Id Rather Be

Tradition Versus Reality

A Clean Heart

Dj Vu

Seeing People as Walking Trees

Part Four: Turn Toward the Cross

Who Am I?

The Destiny of Saviorhood

The Splendor of the Son

King of the Mountain

Back Road to Jerusalem

Assassins in the Crowd

River of the Spirit

Unbelieving Believers

Witness of the Lambs

Private Lessons

The Good Samaritan

Spiritual Astigmatism

Treasure Hunt

Matters of Life and Death

Eye Opening Experience

Out with It

The Good Shepherd

The Hanukkah Challenge

Heartbreak Hotel

The Notoriety of God

The Real Rich Man

Life Giving Friend

The Resurrection and the Life

Assassins Plot

Walking Dead Men

What Is This Kingdom of God?

On Marriage and Children

Jesus on Divorce

Part Five: Six Days to Glory

All the Kings Men

Priceless Worship

The Victory Pageant

Up with the Son!

Proof of Authority

The Rejected Rock

The God and Politics Maneuver

Expos

The Fleeting Splendor of the Temple

The Beginning of the End

Jerusalems Falling

Signs of Christs Return

The Price of Treachery

The Last Meal

Power Secrets

Face to Face Versus Spirit to Spirit

Part Six: The Price of Redemption

The Insider Petitions

The Great Surrender

Night Trials

Roman Justice

Man in Purple

Street of Sorrow

Father, Forgive Them

The Day the Sun Refused to Shine

Part Seven: Sonrise

A Decent Burial

The Mystery of the Missing Corpse

Believing Without Seeing

The Final Test

Up, Up, and Away!

Linked with the Life of Jesus

Welcome to The Life of ChristThe Smart Guide to the Bible. This is a new commentary designed to uncomplicate the Bible. You will have fun as you discover whats in this amazing book that has had such a huge influence on the culture in which we live. I intend to change your outlook on the Bible forever.

To Gain Your Confidence

The Life of ChristThe Smart Guide to the Bible is designed to make the Bible user-friendly. Ive taken a sound educational approach. Ive also put a lot of effort into keeping things simple while allowing you to participate in an exciting adventure of enlightenment and joy when you discover what the Bible is all about.

The best source of information needed to understand the Bible is the Bible itselfthe real thing. Thats why I often use other Bible references to shed light on Bible statements Im trying to explain. The Bible is its own best commentary.

What Is the Bible?

The Bible is a collection of sixty-six books organized in two sections: an Old Testament of thirty-nine books and a New Testament of twenty-seven books. The Old Testament was written by different authors and poets, mostly of Hebrew heritage, between 1400 and 400 BC. It deals with events before the birth of Jesus Christ that mostly center on the nation of Israel. The New Testament was written in sixty years between AD 40 and AD 100. It tells about the birth, life, teachings, death, and resurrection of a historical person named Jesus, and about the movement begun by the people who believed Jesus was the Son of God.

Why Study the Bible?

First, even though the Bible was written a long time ago by ordinary people, it is a special book. It is special because God is its source. The writers of the Bible claim more than 2,600 times that they are speaking or writing Gods words. Millions of people over thousands of years have believed them.

Second, the Bible is the best-selling book in history, and for good reason. It offers answers to the questions we wonder about. How did the world begin? What is my purpose in life? What makes people act the way they do? What will happen to me when I die? To help us understand the answers to those questions, God gave us the Bible. Many, many people have found relief and comfort in its pages. Third, even people who dont believe the Bible owe it to themselves to find out whats in it. The Bibles stories and images have shaped Western society. The moral code in the Bible has been used as the source of most of our laws. Everyone who wants to be fully educated needs to have some knowledge of this influential book.