From Beverly Hernandez,
Your Guide to Homeschooling.
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by Stephanie Ferris: Grade 12

Jesus Christ

The greatest man who ever lived was Jesus Christ. To many, Jesus is portrayed as a helpless infant in a manger or a skinny, long-haired man in black, holding a cross to his chest. The Bible, though, paints a picture 01 a much more powerful King. In order to put faith in this perfect man, one must have an accurate understanding of who he is, what he has done, and what he will do for mankind in the near future.

God told the virgin, Mary, by means of the angel, Gabriel, that she would give birth to a son and that his name would be Jesus. Jesus seed was put into the womb of Mary by Holy Spirit from Jehovah God. He kept her safe because she was carrying His very son. Jesus was born in the city of Bethlehem which is north of Judea and south of Jerusalem. It is a common misconception that Jesus was born on December 25. The Bible, though, points to a different time. Because December is a rainy, cold season in Bethlehem, shepherds would not be out in the fields overnight with their flocks at that time of the year. Evidently Jesus was born sometime in the early autumn of the year. When King Herod of Jerusalem learned of Jesus' birth, astrologers came to him from the east, guided to him by a star, to tell him the location of the baby. The astrologers consented to this, not knowing that Herod actually wanted to kill Jesus. Then they were led north to Bethlehem by the same star. It was Satan the Devil, Jehovah's enemy that used this star to try to kill Jesus. How wicked! Jehovah definitely was not going to let this happen to the newborn child. He warned the astrologers in a dream not to tell Herod. So they left to their own country by another way. Even before he was born, there were individuals that hated Jesus and wanted to kill him because he was God's son.

Jesus' early years were spent in the very small city of Nazareth. Before long, Mary and Joseph gave birth to at least six more children. Joseph had to work very hard to support his growing family. He is a carpenter. So in time Joseph taught Jesus to be a carpenter too. The life of Joseph's family is built around the true worship of their God, Jehovah. They found great enjoyment in making regular trips to Jehovah's temple in Jerusalem. At Luke 2:46, it says that Jesus was found sitting in the temple "in the midst of the teachers and listening to them and questioning them." No doubt from a young age, Jesus had a great interest in talking about the scriptures. Jesus went on progressing in wisdom and in favor with God and men.

In 33 C.E. Jesus got baptized in the Jordan River. It was here that Jehovah proclaims, "This is my Son, the beloved, whom I have approved." Here Jesus received God's Holy Spirit, becoming Jehovah's spiritual son. Throughout Jesus earthly life he glorified his loving heavenly Father by resisting extreme temptations from Satan the Devil, and by preaching and giving Jehovah the credit for what he taught. He brought his father praise also by teaching about God's kingdom, which is going to bring an end to all forms of wickedness and vindicate Jehovah's sovereignty. In his teachings, he used illustrations and simple things that the people could relate to in order for them to get the point of his teaching. What a faithful and loyal servant Jesus was. People started to put faith in these words and become his disciples. They followed Jesus' example and started to preach the things he taught them. Jesus also performed miracles with the power Jehovah gave him, to prove to earnest ones that Jehovah should be worshiped and not Jesus. Jesus proved loyal to his Father, Jehovah to his very death. His death and resurrection to heavenly life give us all the opportunity to forever glorify his father's name if we exercise faith in the ransom. What a hope!

So, it is easy to see how Jesus' sacrifice of a perfect life in exchange for the perfect life Adam lost makes us all indebted. We should show by our life course that we are worthy to receive everlasting life, in order to worship and praise Jehovah forever in the paradise earth that he promises to faithful mankind. I am indebted to my loving God, Jehovah, for giving me and every imperfect human a chance to prove that they can live by righteous principles. We all have the opportunity to follow Jesus perfect example of obedience, and serve loyally under or King, Jesus, who now rules over God's kingdom in heaven. We owe it to our God, Jehovah for everything he has so graciously given us, to live our lives the way he tell us to in his word, the Bible.