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Jesus’ life can be outlined around seven major events:
1. The incarnation, when the Word became flesh (John 1:14).
God came to this earth and lived here as a Man among men. The word “dwelt” means “tabernacled” or “pitched His tent.” His body was the tent in which He lived among men for thirty-three years. The Word became flesh when Jesus was born as a Baby at Bethlehem. He had always existed as the Son of God with the Father in heaven, but now chose to come into the world in a human body so that He can die for the sins of the world.
2. His baptism, where He was immersed by John, anointed by the Spirit, and declared by His Father to be the Messiah (Matt 3:13-17). His baptism typified in the waters of God’s judgment at Calvary. His emergence from the water foreshadowed His resurrection. By death, burial, and resurrection, He would satisfy the demands of divine justice and provide a righteous basis by which sinners could be justified.
3. His temptation in the wilderness for 40 days, where He accepted His destiny as a suffering servant Messiah (Matt 4:1-11; see Isa 52:13–53:12). The first Adam in the garden of Eden proved his unfitness for dominion when he met the adversary in the Garden of Eden. Here the last Adam meets the devil in a head-on confrontation and emerges unscathed. The purpose of the temptation was not to see if He would sin, but to prove that even under tremendous pressure He could do nothing but obey the Word of God.
4. His crucifixion on the cross, where He bore the wrath of God and paid the full penalty of sin providing salvation for all who would trust in Him (Matt 27; Mark 15; Luke 23; John 19). In the book of Hebrews we learn that the veil represented the body of Jesus. Its rending pictured the giving of His body in death (Heb. 10:19, 20). Jesus has told his disciples that he must die. He “gives his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Jesus asked his disciples, “What can a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:37). The psalmist says that no ransom avails for one’s life (Ps. 49:7-9). Jesus pays a price for others that they cannot pay themselves. Jesus’ death is not a tragic accident or a martyrdom, but a supreme act of sacrifice for all humankind. Jesus has paid with his life the infinite debt owed by humankind. He has delivered us from our captivity to sin.
5. His bodily resurrection, whereby God declared His acceptance of Christ’s sacrifice and victory over death, hell, Satan, and sin (Matt 28; Mark 16; Luke 24; John 20–21; Acts 1; 1 Cor 15). On that resurrection Sunday, the Father raised Jesus from the dead. This, Paul says, is “the gospel of God,” that “through the Spirit of holiness [he] was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 1:4). The Gospels include Jesus’ predictions of his betrayal, death and resurrection to show that these events were God’s plan from the beginning and not accidents.
6. His ascension back to heaven (Luke 24; Acts 1), where He intercedes for us at God’s right hand (Heb 7:25) and reigns as Lord and King (Phil 2:9-11).
7. His second coming, where He will establish His universal and cosmic reign as King of kings and Lord of Lords (Rev 19:11-21).
The second coming of Jesus Christ refers to the historical, visible, and bodily return of the Son of God to the earth. This return will be a great and glorious return in power. It will take place at the end of the tribulation period (Rev 6–18), and the millennial kingdom will immediately follow (Rev 20:1-6). The enemies of Christ will be totally defeated at His return.
Key texts of this event include Daniel 7:13-14; Zechariah 14:1-11; Matthew 24:29-31,36-44; 25:1-26; Mark 13:24-27; Luke 21:25-28; Acts 1:9-11; Revelation 11:15-19; 14:14-20; 16:12-21; and 19:11-21.
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