New Testament

Jesus Comes to Jerusalem

The Passover festivities were about to begin in Jerusalem, and Jesus left Capernaum and journeyed up to the holy city. Multitudes of pilgrims would`ve been on the roads, some in caravans and some in small groups and families. It was a great time of joy and festivity, people would sing praises to the Lord and prepare themselves for the Passover...

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The Prophecy of Malachi

The ancient Hebrew prophet Malachi was the last of the prophets of Israel recorded in the Old Testament. The prophet spoke about a messenger who would prepare the way before the Lord Himself, and then the Lord whom they were seeking so diligently would suddenly come to his temple. God had truly set up the stage for the nation of Israel, yet t...

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The Temple in Jerusalem

When Jesus entered the Temple in Jerusalem he was very aware of what was going on around him. The Temple was quite an achievement of Herod the great to impress the Jews with a grand renovation of the Second Temple, and to impress the Romans with the finest architecture in the western portion of the Roman world. But Jesus was not impressed with...

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Many Believed in Him

Jesus did many miracles while He was at the Temple and many believed in His name, yet Jesus was very aware that to follow Him meant much more than just a belief in His miracles....

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Jesus Found Those Doing Business

When Jesus entered the Temple He stood at the a large outer court of the Gentiles, and observed the men who had set up a marketplace in order to make lots of money from the pilgrims entering the Temple for Passover. The joyful songs and the festivities had been interrupted and the entrance to the Temple had turned into a place of squabbling ov...

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Jesus Wanted to Go To Galilee

This is a very powerful portion of Scripture, especially after studying the messianic prophecies in the Old Testament. Jesus desired to go to Galilee in the North, instead of Jerusalem, the holy city, where the Temple was and all the most holy Jews....

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Sellers of Oxen, Sheep, and Doves

Jesus noticed that men were selling sacrificial animals that were fit for sacrifice. Their business was very sophisticated, and the Pilgrim to Jerusalem would usually end up having to buy one of their sacrifices for a very high price, rather than trusting that their own sacrifice was clean enough for the priest to offer upon the altar....

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Philip

The next day they came to Galilee and Jesus found a man named Philip and said to him, "follow Me" and Philip followed Him. Philip was from Bethsaida, which was the home of Andrew and Peter....

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The Moneychangers

The business of the money changers was also very sophisticated. They would sit at little tables and exchange the money which the pilgrim brought to pay for the sacrifices. The common currency was in Roman coins, and in the Temple the coins were required to be changed for clean Jewish Temple currency. There was actually a fee to exchange this ...

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Nathaniel

Then Philip found Nathaniel and said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph," and Nathaniel said to him "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." When Jesus saw Nathaniel approaching He said, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in who...

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