Jesus left

Jerusalem,

it was not the
place to make

His home.

We are told that the 12 disciples had
begun to make other disciples and to
baptize.

But as soon a John was put in prison

they had stopped until Jesus gave

them the 'Great Commission after

His resurrection.

The baptism that He would authorize
would be different than John's. Many
of John's followers turned to the disciples.

The ministry of Jesus' began with the
end of John the Baptist's.

The priests may have sent Nicodemus
to find out more from Jesus because
they were not satisfied with the answer
He gave them.

Whether He went for them or on his
own, we know he went secretly not
wanting anyone to know of his visit.

Nicodemus saw Jesus as a prophet and
said that He must be of God. But had
not accepted Him as Messiah.

John 3;2 in verses 3 & 4 Jesus tried
to explain to him of the kingdom of
God.

Nicodemus was puzzled by this and
said very little. Jesus continued on
explaining spiritual things. He left
Jesus bewildered, each time he is
seen in public he defended Jesus.

The Jews

took it as

the literal

temple

not Jesus'

body from

the answer He gave them in John 2:18-22.

Even the disciples did not really

understand the meaning at the time.

Only after His resurrection did this

become plain to them.

The Temple held the Shekinah Glory

but now the Spirit of God dwelt in

this temple made without hands.

This truth was involved in building

the Church, the Body of Christ.

The Temple

was a sacred

place to

Jesus.

It held His Father's presence.

It hurt Him to see it desecrated.

It had been turned in to place of

business by the priests who took

advantage of the worshippers that

came for the passover.

It was to be a house of prayer for all

nations but had been turned into a busy

bazaar, showing no reverence.

John 2:15-17 Jesus began throwing

them out, chasing animals and men.

John 2:18-22 tells of His answer when

they wanted to know by what authority

He was doing these things.

The fruit of the vine was a type of the
blood Jesus was going to shed for us on
the cross.

Although "His hour had not come", He
did give this miracle as a kind of His
redemption.

Being at the wedding shows us that we
can be joyful. But it must be done in
context with God's holiness and right-
eousness.

This miracle showed the nature of
Jesus' ministry which would be a
work of transformation, blessings,
and of the supernatural.

Jesus was not against joy. pleasure
and laughter. He wanted to share in
them and their problems and sorrows
to give them victory over sin.

It is proven

that the

Word tells of
more than one kind of wine.....the

fermented and the unfermented.

One is a great wholesome beverage
and the other is a poison that degrades
and makes alcoholics out of people.

Jesus certainly made a fresh, pure,
and unfermented wine at the wedding
of Cana.

The Old Testament disapproves of the
use of fermented wine. Proverbs 23:31
Lev 10:9 and others.

He did not perform the same works as
breweries.

His reason for being at the wedding was
to give His approval of marriage not to
turn water into wine.

Many have perverted this first miracle
He performed and lost the fact that it
was His sanctity of marriage that was
the real reason for His being there.

At the

moment

Satan left,

the angels

come to

minister to Jesus.

They came to minister, and strengthen

Him (they did not need to deliver Him).

Jesus' words and actions delivered himself

from the situation. He fought that battle and

won.

Jesus has now given the same power and

authority to the believers' that we can win

against the devil by doing the same as He

did.

But Satan tries to lie to us the same way

by putting doubt in our minds 'if we really

are believers and if God really has said....."

just as he did Jesus.

We can fight the battles and win also!

Jesus consistantly used the word of
God to defeat Satan. The Word of
God's power has a force much greater
than mere words could say.

Satan always uses material things to
get a hold on man, because man clings
to worldly goods and is centered on
temporal things rather than spiritual.

Jesus came to turn that order around
and have man center on treasures in
heaven rather than treasures on earth.

The Lord left palaces in heaven to come
to earth. He gave up 'riches that through
His poverty we may become rich'.

"The kingdoms of this world are

become the kingdoms of our Lord,

and of his Christ; and he shall reign

for ever and ever." Rev. 11:15

God has never left or forgotten His

plan to rule over the earth, and in

'due time' the kingdoms of the world

will be given to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus planned to build the Kingdom

of Heaven within Satan's principalities.

And He said that the 'gates of hell' shall

not prevail or win against it.

As Jesus did, so must we

"For we wrestle not against flesh and

blood,but against principalities, against

powers, against the rulers of the darkness

of this world, against spiritual wickedness

in high places."Ephesians 6:12

The third temptation made the first
two look trivial. Here Jesus was taken
up to a high mountain and shown the
kingdoms of the world.

Satan changed from testing His Son-ship
to testing His human-ship.

"Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee
hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt
worship the Lord thy God, and him only
shalt thou serve.

Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold,
angels came and ministered unto him."
Matt. 4:8-10

Satan could only tempt Jesus with that
which he possessed. Satan received
these kingdoms when Adam reliquished
his rule of the earth at his temptation in
the garden.

Jesus didn't tell him that the kingdom
didn't belong to him because they did.

Next Jesus

was carried

away or all

of a sudden

taken to a

pinnacle

to be

tempted by Satan to cast Himself

down to prove the angels would take

care of Him.

Jesus ansered him by saying,

"It is written again, Thou shalt not

tempt the Lord thy God."

Read Matt. 4:5-7

This was an attempt to get Jesus to

do some sensational act to attract the

people to see who He was.

Again Satan wanted to find out if He

really was the Son of God or just a

man that would fall to his death.

Jesus concentrated on feeding the
"meat which lasts forever" more
than feeding the physical body.

"Therefore I say unto you, Take no
thought for your life, what ye shall
eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet
for your body, what ye shall put on.
Is not the life more than meat, and
the body than raiment?" Matt. 6:25

Man needs bread, but not bread
alone. Man's moral and spiritual
life is more important and needs
to be provided for.