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Chapter 4 -- If You are . . .
Jesus went to the wilderness, aparently led there by God and tempted there by the devil. He fasted forty days and then was hungry.
"Ir you're really the son of God," said the devil, "make these stones into bread."
"Bread is not sufficient," Jesus replied with a quote from Scripture. "A person really lives by every word of God."
Then the devil took him to a pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem. "If you are the son of God, jump!" he said. Then he quoted Scripture himself, "God will tell his angels to take care of you. They will catch you so you won't even stub a toe!"
"Scriptures say, Don't dare God," Said Jesus.
Next the devil took him to a very high mountain where they had a panoramic view of cities and glittering lights and money and power. He said, "If you are the saviour of the world, I'll give it to you without a fight. All you have to do is drop down and worship me just once--right here, right now."
Jesus said, "Go away, Satan! Scripture says one should worship only God."
Then the devil left and angels came and helped him.
When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he went into Galilee, back to Nazareth and then to Capernaum. There are prophecies that can be cited to match this move, too.
From that time Jesus began to preach. "Repent!" he said, "for the kingdom of heaven is here."
By the Sea of Galilee one day, Jesus saw two brothers, Simon and Andrew, net-fishing in the sea. He said, "Follow me, you fishermen, and I will make you fishers of men." Right away they left their nets and went with him.
Going on, he saw two other brothers, James and John, mending nets in a ship with their father Zebedee. He called them and they left the ship and their father, and went with him.
All through Galilee Jesus traveled, teaching, preaching, and healing. Through all Syria his fame spread, so people brought to him all sick with all manner of diseases and torments, and he healed them. And great multitudes followed him from Galilee, from Decapolis, from Jerusalem, from Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.
Apparently Jesus taught them in synagogues, and along the footpaths as they walked between towns, and on mountainsides where people could sit on the stones or grass. It seems he was fond of repeatable sound bites and stories. I was often in the crowd, and here I will try to relate the punch lines and the major sound bites from one such instance. Actually, I found that Jesus' sayings and teachings were so many and varied that no one could ever get their totality in one book. This is a sampling. Enjoy. (Next chapter.)
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