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Jesus

The Christ Pantocrator icon: Jesus with a gold halo, holding a jeweled Gospel book, his right hand raised in blessing, his two eyes famously painted with different expressions.
Christ Pantocrator, a sixth-century icon from St. Catherine's Monastery at Sinai -- among the oldest surviving images of Christ. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Every other page on this site is a footnote to this one. John opens his Gospel above time itself – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” – and then writes the sentence the whole Bible turns on: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:1, 14). The eternal Son entered his own creation through a Bethlehem feeding trough, grew up in an obscure Galilean town, worked with his hands, and for about three years taught, healed, forgave, stilled storms, and gathered a people.

The study’s fifty-two weeks trace his path: born in Bethlehem, sheltered in Egypt, raised in Nazareth, baptized in the Jordan, tested in the wilderness, headquartered in Capernaum, transfigured on the mountain, and set toward Jerusalem “when the days drew near for him to be taken up” (Luke 9:51). There he was betrayed, tried, and crucified at Golgotha – and on the third day the tomb in the garden was empty. “He is not here, for he has risen, as he said” (Matthew 28:6). Forty days later he ascended, and the rest of the New Testament is the story of his continuing work through his Spirit and his church.

No caption can hold him, and the study never tries: prophet, priest, king; Lamb of God and Lion of Judah; Son of Man and Son of God. The earliest confession remains the best summary of every week that follows: Jesus is Lord.

In the New Testament

Key Locations

  • Bethlehem The city of David, where Jesus was born in fulfillment of Micah's prophecy.
  • Nazareth The small Galilean hill town where Jesus grew up, so obscure it is never named in the Old Testament.
  • Egypt The land of refuge where the holy family fled from Herod, fulfilling "Out of Egypt I called my son."
  • The Jordan River The river of Israel's crossings and cleansings, where John baptized and Jesus was baptized.
  • The Judean Wilderness The barren desert between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea where Jesus fasted forty days and faced the tempter.
  • Capernaum The fishing town on the lake's north shore that became Jesus' adopted home base.
  • The Sea of Galilee The freshwater lake at the heart of Jesus' ministry, ringed by fishing towns and sudden storms.
  • Jerusalem The holy city -- David's capital, the temple's home, the stage of the crucifixion, resurrection, and Pentecost.
  • Golgotha / Calvary "The Place of the Skull" outside the city wall, where Jesus was crucified.
  • The Garden Tomb The new rock-hewn tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, found empty on the third day.