The biblical record of his life shows that Jesus was born to a virgin, lived a sinless life, taught throughout Palestine for about three years, was crucified and then rose back to life three days after his death. The Bible claims that more than 500 people saw him alive after this miraculous event. How could a mere man have lived such a life? The miracles Jesus performed, his death on the cross, his resurrection, his ascent to heaven–all point to the fact that he was no ordinary leader.

Take this study to learn about how Jesus was and how he relates to our lives today.

1. Part 1: Jesus’ Origin and Purpose
2. Part 2: Jesus the Healer
3. Part 3: Jesus the Teacher
4. Part 4: Jesus, Mediator and Redeemer
5. Part 5: Jesus the Giver

Further reading:
Find out more about Jesus Christ

At the trial of Jesus it seemed that both the weak-willed Roman governor, Pilate; and the shouts of the crowd sent Jesus to death. In fact, the Bible tells us that these events amazingly formed part of God’s purpose.

Jesus took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, “Listen! We are going to Jerusalem where everything the prophets wrote about the Son of Man will come true. He will be handed over to the Gentiles, who will make fun of Him, insult Him, and spit on Him. They will whip him and kill Him, but on the third day he will rise to life.” The disciples did not understand any of these things. (Luke 18:31-34a)

This study is about Jesus the Redeemer. To redeem means to buy something back, to recover something by payment. Jesus’ death was for the sake of other people, to bring them back to God.

Next: Part 5 – Jesus the giver

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The last chapter of Luke gives a clear account of the fantastic miracle of the resurrection. After Jesus’ crucifixion his disciples were afraid of the Jews. While they continued to meet, they did so in secret. Suddenly, Jesus came to them.

C.S. Lewis, a famous Christian writer, wrote:

“The New Testament writers speak as if Christ’s achievement in rising from the dead was the first event of its kind in the whole history of the universe. He has forced open a door that has been locked since the death of the first man. He has met, fought and beaten the king of death.”

A. The Resurrection
The resurrection of Jesus Christ was the climax of his life’s work. Jesus rose from the dead as he said he would. This historical fact challenges us to believe that the other things he said about himself are also true. The resurrection demands a response from us, one way or another.

B. Responding to Jesus
Luke wrote about one particular woman in Luke 7:36-50. Read this and see how she responded to Jesus. She could be sure that she was at peace with God. Jesus had welcomed, accepted and forgiven her because of his love and mercy. Nothing she had done could have earned his response. But she was now free to live as a new person.

We can be sure in this same way. We can never pay God the debt we owe Him for our sinful behavior. But, if we come to Jesus as this woman did, we can know that he forgives and accepts us completely. In the last session we discussed how this happens through Jesus’ death on our behalf.

C. Becoming a Christian
The sinful woman came to Jesus and recognized her sin. She trusted Jesus to forgive her and, by her actions, thanked him for the new life he offered her.  We must do the same if we want to be at peace with God, both now and eternally.

Each one of us must realize that living a good moral or “religious” life will not make us acceptable to God. 

To begin a relationship with God, you could pray something like this:

Jesus, I realize that I have been running my own life and have rebelled against You. I admit that I have sinned against you and deserve to go to hell.  Thank You for dying for my sins so I can spend eternity with You in Heaven. I open my life to You and ask You to be my Savior and Lord. Make me the kind of person You want me to be. Amen.

D. Growing as a Christian
These five studies have shown us who Jesus is and why he came. Luke 6:46-49 teaches that we must not only hear what Jesus said, but put it into practice.

⁴⁶ “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? ⁴⁷ As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. ⁴⁸ They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. ⁴⁹ But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”

A decision to become a Christian is just the beginning of a lifetime of getting to know God better.  As you get to know God by reading His Word (The Bible), you will gain assurance of salvation.

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In the last study, we looked at Jesus the healer. But people didn’t come just to be healed by him; they also wanted to listen to him. Large crowds from all over the country would come to hear what he had to say. He talked about: God’s Kingdom, prayer, wise and foolish lifestyles, love and forgiveness, and also himself.

Not everyone liked Jesus’ teaching. He was outspoken against the religious leaders who were hypocrites. He had enemies who tried to trick him with questions, but he always managed to give wise answers. Even when the religious leaders wanted to kill Jesus, they found it hard because the crowds wanted to listen to his teaching, “not wanting to miss a single word” (Luke 19:48). In this study, we will discuss two of the best known parables (stories which teach biblical truth) that Jesus told.

Next: Part 4 – Jesus, mediator and redeemer

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In this study we will see:

> How Luke’s Gospel fits into history
> That Jesus is “the Son of God.”
> What Jesus said he came to do

The New Testament is made up of several short books and letters. Our English Bibles are translations of what the early Christians actually wrote. The experts tell us that we can be sure that the text on which these translations are based is exceptionally accurate and that seeming contradictions are readily explained.

How can we be sure about the Bible accounts?
In the days of the first Christians, there were many writings about the life of Jesus. But some had special quality–they had been written by Jesus’ followers or their close friends. These gospels and letters were carefully copied by hand. Over the years, archaeologists have found thousands of manuscripts of bits of the New Testament and even some complete copies. By comparing these, we can get very close to what the New Testament writers originally wrote. Some of these copies are dated less than 100 years after the original gospel or letter was written.

For an idea of how good this evidence is, compare the New Testament with other writings that are about as old as the New Testament. For example, Julius Caesar wrote a book called The Gallic War about 50 years before Christ was born. We obviously do not have the original copy. Yet, we do have nine or ten copies, and the earliest of these was made about 900 years after the original. This is a typical gap for ancient writings.

When, however, we examine the historical evidence relating to the Bible, one learns that there are thousands of manuscripts of the New Testament books. Therefore, we have good reason to believe that we know almost exactly what Luke, Paul and the others wrote.

Who wrote the gospel of Luke?
The author of this gospel, Luke, also wrote another book in the New Testament, the Acts of the Apostles. He was the only New Testament writer who was not Jewish, and he was a doctor. Independent evidence confirms that he was a very careful and accurate historian.

Where did Jesus come from?
Luke gives details of the unique origin of Jesus and he explains how Jesus’ birth was foretold. (Luke 1:26-38)

Jesus explains his purpose
Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, in the south of Palestine. He grew up in a very ordinary town, named Nazareth, located in Galilee which was in the north of Palestine. Jesus was a carpenter, but at the age of 30, he became a religious teacher, moving from town to town.

In Luke 4:14-22, we read what happened when Jesus began teaching. He went to the synagogue, which was the local place of worship. Although he probably had no more religious education than the average Jewish man, people wanted to hear him. He was asked to speak at the synagogue in Nazareth.

Next: Part 2 – Jesus the healer

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In the first study, we saw that Jesus was not just an unusual person; he was God’s Son. He came into the world in order to meet the deepest needs of all men and women.

In this study, we will look at how Jesus met the needs of two particular people. Everywhere Jesus went, he came across needy people. Often, the people he met had incurable diseases. He was able to change their physical lives by healing them. More importantly, he changed their spiritual lives through forgiveness of their sins.

He healed Simon’s mother-in-law, a Roman officer’s servant, a man with a paralyzed hand, a crippled woman, a paralyzed man, people suffering from spiritual and mental disorders or skin diseases, blind people, and he even raised the dead. “All who had friends who were sick with various diseases brought them to Jesus; he placed his hands on every one of them and healed them all” (Luke 4:40).

Next: Part 3 – Jesus the teacher

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¹On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. ²They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. ⁵In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? ⁶He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ⁷‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” ⁸Then they remembered his words.

Read more about the life of Jesus Christ

³So Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

“Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied.

⁴Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.”
⁵But they insisted, “He stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here.”

⁶On hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean. ⁷When he learned that Jesus was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.

⁸When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform some miracle. ⁹He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him. ¹¹Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. ¹²That day Herod and Pilate became friends–before this they had been enemies.

¹³Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, ¹⁴and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. ¹⁵Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death. ¹⁶Therefore, I will punish him and then release him.”

¹⁸With one voice they cried out, “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!” ¹⁹(Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.)

²⁰Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. ²¹But they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”

²²For the third time he spoke to them: “Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him.”

²³But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. ²⁴So Pilate decided to grant their demand. ²⁵He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will.

The Crucifixion

²⁶As they led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. ²⁷A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. ²⁸Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. ²⁹For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ ³⁰Then
” ‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!”
and to the hills, “Cover us!”

³¹For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

³²Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. ³³When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals–one on his right, the other on his left.

³⁴Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

³⁵The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.”

³⁶The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar ³⁷and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”

³⁸There was a written notice above him, which read:|sc THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

³⁹One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”

⁴⁰But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence?
⁴¹We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

⁴²Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

⁴³Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Jesus’ Death

⁴⁴It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, ⁴⁵for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. ⁴⁶Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.

⁴⁷The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” ⁴⁸When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. ⁴⁹But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

Jesus’ Burial

⁵⁰Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, ⁵¹who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea and he was waiting for the kingdom of God. ⁵²Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body. ⁵³Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. ⁵⁴It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.

⁵⁵The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. ⁵⁶Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.

Next: Luke 24

³⁹Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. ⁴⁰On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” ⁴¹He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, ⁴²“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” ⁴³An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. ⁴⁴And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

⁴⁵When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow.

⁴⁶“Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”

Jesus Arrested

⁴⁷While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, ⁴⁸but Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”

⁴⁹When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?”

⁵⁰And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear.

⁵¹But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.

⁵²Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs? ⁵³Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour–when darkness reigns.”

Peter Disowns Jesus

⁵⁴Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. ⁵⁵But when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. ⁵⁶A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.”

⁵⁷But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said.

⁵⁸A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.”

“Man, I am not!” Peter replied.

⁵⁹About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.”

⁶⁰Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. ⁶¹The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” ⁶²And he went outside and wept bitterly.

The Guards Mock Jesus

⁶³The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him. ⁶⁴They blindfolded him and demanded, “Prophesy! Who hit you?” ⁶⁵And they said many other insulting things to him.

Jesus Before Pilate and Herod

⁶⁶At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them. ⁶⁷“If you are the Christ, ” they said, “tell us.”

⁶⁸Jesus answered, “If I tell you, you will not believe me, and if I asked you, you would not answer. ⁶⁹But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.”

⁷⁰They all asked, “Are you then the Son of God?”

He replied, “You are right in saying I am.”

⁷¹Then they said, “Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it from his own lips.”

Next: Luke 23

The Passion of the Christ is a story that comes from a book

The Passion of the Christ is a story that comes from the best-selling book of all time, with 40 million copies sold and 371 language translations.

The Bible tells a unified story written over a 1500 year period spanning over 40 generations, recounted through the voices of 40 authors from all walks of life, from peasants to prime ministers. It is a collection of 66 books including narratives, poetry, history and letters. Despite its diversity, this Book speaks one message, telling one unified story from the heart of God.

It is a story that has been told throughout history. The story is still being told now through film and people’s own stories.

You have probably heard bits and pieces of The Book yourself – you certainly have if you watched The Passion of the Christ. Maybe you’ve discussed religious ideas from The Book in studying novels in your literature class. Perhaps you may have even read parts of The Book yourself.

Have you actually read the Bible yourself? Read the story for yourself and see how well The Passion of the Christ tells the story from the original Book.

Read the Gospel of Luke:
Luke 22
Luke 23
Luke 24

Read the Gospel of Mark:
Mark 14
Mark 15
Mark 16

Read the Gospel of Matthew:
Matthew 26
Matthew 27
Matthew 28

Read the Gospel of John:
John 18
John 19
John 20