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Greetings. This is Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church with a

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moment of truth where we challenge you to think through an important issue of life and faith.

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And today, I'd like to talk to you about the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth.

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The life and times of Jesus of Nazareth. The Christian faith in all instances comes down

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to the life of Jesus of Nazareth, doesn't it? So we at New Geneva want to commend to you

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a continuation of a study that we started last year. Those of you with some memory of this program

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might remember that we began last year a series that we entitled The Life and Times of Jesus of

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Nazareth. And it turned out to be far more successful than I thought it would be.

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For a number of reasons. First of all, because there's nothing like studying the life of Jesus

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of Nazareth. If you love your Savior, if you love Jesus and you've come to know him, then there's

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no end of being with him. There's no end of studying his life and the meaning of his life because it's

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like a stone thrown into a pond. The ripples of the life of Jesus of Nazareth flow out from his walking

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the paths of Judah and Galilee, his walking the streets of Jerusalem, preaching and teaching,

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healing, doing miracles. The implications of all of this ripple, if you will, not just like the

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ripples in a pond that soon pan out. But the ripples of the life of Jesus of Nazareth continue to ripple

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and to build into waves and into a tsunami at the end of days. So to study the life and times of Jesus

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of Nazareth is to understand our times, to understand times in the future, to understand times in the past,

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the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth, which is what we began last year at New Geneva. And I thought,

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well, we can extend this over the course of our teaching year, which lasts from October through May.

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But lo and behold, the interest was so great that we barely got through a third, maybe a quarter to a

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third of the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth. And we've decided to continue then during our teaching

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year, this series on the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth. Now, those of you that were with us

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may remember our format. And that was one of the things that contributed to the success of that series

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was our format. Now, usually on our Wednesday night Bible study, we conducted at the church in our

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fellowship hall, and that has been very successful over the years, primarily for our members and regular

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attenders and the occasional visitor. But last year, we decided to go ahead and extend this Bible study

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into the homes of our people on Wednesday night. And that has done a great deal toward encouraging

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fellowship in the life of the church and visitors, too. So we want to extend that invitation again,

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in particular to visitors. Now, some of you have been listening to our program for years now, really,

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some of you, and many years, decades, perhaps, because I hesitate to think how long I've been on

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the air, wearing out the airwaves with our program. But many of you have been loyal and faithful and you

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call in from time to time and give me encouragement. But what I'd like to do with this extension of our

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study, The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth, is to go ahead and invite you to one of our homes,

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satellites, if you will, of our fellowship hall, and invite you to our study this year.

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You'll be able to pick up right away where we have left off, and you'll enjoy fellowship. One home in

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particular got into the habit of making some beverages and homemade bread, too. That homemade

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bread has been a very, very tasty refreshment. I come for the bread, if nothing else. We've got

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bread on the table, and we've got the bread of life that we put out for you, too, which is the

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life and times of Jesus of Nazareth. So we would like to invite you to this format, as well as the

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study itself, because they work together so very well. With our format, having it in people's living

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rooms, we have found that it encourages people to open up, you know, less formal. You're not in a

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church setting, so you don't have to be intimidated by being in church, but you're in one of our people's

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living rooms. And a friendly atmosphere, and an atmosphere in which you can share your opinions

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freely. There's no right, there's no wrong, there's no condemnation, there's no judgment for

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what you bring and what you contribute, for what you learn. I learned incredible things. I've been a

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pastor for 30 years, and I learned quite a bit more than I thought I would in our study. So there's no

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end to the learning, and there's no judgment, there's no condemnation for the opinions that you

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bring as well. Hopefully we find, as we look at the text, that's our authority, is the text of

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Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. We discover the life and times of Jesus, the Messiah. We come to know

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him better, we come to love him better, and hopefully you will find that experience as well. And what

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I'd like you to do is commend to you calling us and finding out the nearest home at which you can meet

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fellowship. And at which you can fellowship, we will be beginning in October, probably the second week in

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October. I'm not quite sure of the date, but I'll know by the time you call. Okay. And our phone number in

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order to reserve a place, and we want to get a sense for how many people are going to be where. So we would

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appreciate you calling us at area code 208-523-0196. That's our church phone. And I will get back to you

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and let you know when we're beginning and where you can plan on meeting myself and others in our

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congregation. Our congregation is aware of this and preparing to provide a hospitable atmosphere

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in which to study the Word of God and to fellowship with other believers. If you're not a believer,

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if you're an inquirer, for example, you're not entirely convinced of the gospel, you're not

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entirely convinced of who this Jesus of Nazareth is, then we want to provide an atmosphere for you to

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explore and discover. Once again, no judgment, no condemnation for what you believe and what you

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think. We are looking for input. We're looking for what your thoughts are. Start where you are.

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We don't expect you to be a New Testament scholar or anything like that, but rather an inquirer,

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a student, a perhaps hopefully a lover of the Lord Jesus Christ, one who knows him and is committed to

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him even as he has been committed to us. And what we're going to do then is take up where

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we left off last year, and that was right before one of the climaxes, one of the crescendos of the

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gospel, and that is Peter's confession of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Messiah, as the Christ.

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And then we're going to embark upon a study of the parables of Jesus Christ, one of those areas in

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Jesus' ministry where he was committed to teaching. In fact, they say, you know, the New Testament says

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that Jesus began to teach with parables, and he spoke to, he did not speak to them, Mark says,

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he did not speak to them without a parable. So parables were a central component of Jesus' ministry.

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And if we're going to understand the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth, then we need to understand

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what the parables mean. And they were unfolded by Jesus. They were taught by Jesus. Without a parable,

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he didn't bother to teach them, and he did this for a purpose. And the gospel of Mark in chapter 4

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tells us why he taught in parables. For example, when he told the parable of the sower, you remember

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the seed that is cast, that is scattered, and it falls on four different kinds of soils.

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And after he had told that parable, when he was alone with his disciples, he explained why he did so.

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And let me read that for you. This is from Mark chapter 4, and beginning at verse 10.

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After telling the parable of the sower, the text says,

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And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables.

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And he said to them, To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God,

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but for those outside, everything is in parables. Now you must understand the nature of parables

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in the ancient world. They were often mysterious, they were often enigmatic, and they were often

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meant to hide as much as they conceal. And a true, thoughtful person who was seeking God

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sought to understand parables. This is as true in the Old Testament as it is in the New. Many people

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don't realize that the prophets often spoke in parables to not only conceal from those who were about

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to be destroyed in judgment in the destruction of Jerusalem, but also he told parables for those

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who were genuinely repentant and sought on the living God of Israel, Yahweh. Well, Jesus does

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the same thing. And he says then to his disciples, To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of

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God, but for those outside, everything is in parables. And then he tells a parable.

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In verse 12, he says, So that they may indeed see, but not perceive, and may indeed hear,

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but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven. Lest they should turn and be forgiven.

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Jesus told a parable of one of the prophets of the Old Testament. We have just been telling you

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that the Old Testament is as larded with parables as is the New Testament. And to demonstrate that,

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Jesus goes on to tell a parable of the prophet Isaiah in chapter 6 of Isaiah. In fact, it was

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Isaiah's mission not to convert, not to turn in repentance, but rather to harden the hearts of his

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generation. He wouldn't get a single convert, Isaiah. And God told him this parable to describe

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his ministry. And Jesus says he does the same thing, piggybacking on Isaiah. Then he does the

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same thing in this parable. That is, he tells parables, and then he tells a parable, that they

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may indeed see, but not perceive. And they may indeed hear, but not understand. Lest they should turn

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and be forgiven, unquote. So the purpose of the parables of Jesus is as much to conceal as to

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reveal. Destined then for hardness of heart, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Jewish leaders,

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those who refused to repent. And this, indeed, God knows. God could see. In fact, God had ordained

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that they may indeed see. That is, they may see Jesus. They may see the miracles he does. They may

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see the wondrous teachings that he unfolds. And they may hear these things as well, but not understand.

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See, but not perceive. That is, in seeing, they do not see the reality, the spiritual truth behind what

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he teaches in his parables. Lest they should turn and be forgiven, i.e., they were destined for

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destruction. They were destined for judgment. Indeed, if they had understood, if they had seen

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and perceived, if they had indeed heard and understood, they would have turned and repented

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and thus be forgiven. But this is indeed for the disciples, rather. This is indeed for those who

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love him, for whom God had previously opened their ears and unstopped their ears and opened their eyes

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so that they might indeed understand and turn and be forgiven. Jesus will tell parables for this dual

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purpose, as much to conceal as to reveal. And this you can't get around. If you have a soft and

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sentimental view of Jesus as if, oh, all he ever wanted to do was make people feel good and save

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people. Well, no, he also intended to judge and condemn those who were lost and hard of heart.

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And the telling of parables is as much a part of Jesus' ministry in this regard as it is to open

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eyes. But he also intended to open eyes and to teach and to upbuild and to lift up his disciples.

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For he goes on to say, he said to them right after telling this parable from Isaiah, he says,

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do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? Because

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the secret of the kingdom, as Jesus said, the secret of the kingdom had been given to them.

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And Jesus then goes on to explain in great detail the parable of the sower, right? And begins to

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describe what that means in terms of the sowing of the word. So dear listener, we will be embarking

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on a study of the parables of Jesus and his ministry so that we might understand more closely

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the nature of the kingdom of God. So many of the parables describe the nature of the kingdom of God

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and reveal to us the thrust of Jesus' ministry throughout his life. And so we will be taking on

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the parables of the Lord Jesus to see what they teach us about the life and times of Jesus of

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Nazareth, how full his life was. And we'll begin to see, indeed, as the gospels tell us, he didn't

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teach without teaching of the parable. We scratch our heads sometimes and say, well, there are plenty

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of times that Jesus didn't use parables. There's one that may appear to be this way and one that's very

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pertinent to the understanding and confession of Peter that, who do men say that I am? Who do you

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say that I am? Then Jesus asks his disciples, and Peter is the first one there to say, you are the

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Christ, the son of the living God, right? Well, before this, we are given a cue as to the revelation of Jesus

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as the Messiah to the disciples. And this is done through a parable. And it may not seem on the

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surface to be a parable at first, but indeed it is a parable, for we find the semantic range of the

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word parable is very broad and covers a great deal of the ministry and teaching of Jesus. For example,

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once again, from the Gospel of Mark, we have Mark chapter 8, when they come to Bethsaida,

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just before the confession of Jesus as the Christ, I might add. And I begin at verse 22 of Mark chapter

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8. And they came to Bethsaida, and some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch

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him. Understand that blindness was often a metaphor for the inability to see the things of God. Well,

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they come to Bethsaida, and some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him.

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And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. And when he had spit on his eyes

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and laid his hands on him, he asked him, do you see anything? And he looked up and said, I see men,

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but they look like trees walking. Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again, and he opened his eyes,

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his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Oh, dear listener, was this just a

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false start in Jesus' healing ministry where he didn't heal him completely at first, right?

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He spits in his eyes, on his eyes, excuse me, and asks the guy and touches him, right? And he says,

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do you see anything? And this blind man looks up and says, I see men, but they look like trees walking.

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Oh, my goodness. Was Jesus just ineffective in his healing? Was this just a partial healing,

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and he had to do it twice in order for this guy to be healed? Was Jesus' power just not up to par

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that day? No, I tell you, this is a parabolic healing. Parable, the idea of the semantic range,

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that is the field of meaning, the stretch of the cover of meaning of this word parable is very broad,

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and it includes actions as well as words. Parables are not just words. Parables are also actions,

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and this is a parabolic action on the part of Jesus. This is a parabolic healing on the part of Jesus

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in order to teach us something, in order to teach us about the nature of Jesus' mission. That is,

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people don't see all of who and what he is immediately and all at once. Jesus, the period of

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time that we have been covering in the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth has been a gradual revealing

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of this man, a gradual revealing of the Messiah. That is, in bits and pieces, not all at once,

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even as this man was not healed all at once. He didn't see all at once, but in a gradual healing,

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so people do not see Jesus of Nazareth for who he is all at once, but in a gradual revelation.

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That is what this parable teaches us about the nature of Jesus' ministry. I see men, but they look like

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trees walking, right? He did not see wholly. He did not see clearly all at once, but Jesus is healing

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him in stages, even as he revealed himself to his generation in stages. And then he goes on to say,

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then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again, and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw

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everything clearly. Indeed, this blind man saw everything clearly after that. Now, coincidentally,

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ironically, what is it that we encounter in the very next set of texts? That is Peter's confession

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of Jesus as the Christ. Verses 27 to 30, Jesus went on with his disciples to the village of Caesarea

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Philippi, and on the way he asked his disciples, who do people say that I am? And they told him,

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John the Baptist, and others say Elijah, and others, one of the prophets, right? This is that indistinct

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seeing of Jesus and who he is. Indeed, he is a prophet, is he not? In the train, in the line of the

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prophets of the Old Testament, and he is most recently in the line and train of John the Baptist,

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but he is none of these, is he? That is, even as the blind man saw in the first stage men looking

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like trees walking. So Jesus' generation, his disciples, saw indistinctly at first who Jesus was.

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Indeed, a great man, one of the prophets. But then he goes on to say, Jesus, and he asked them,

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but who do you say that I am? And Peter answered him, you are the Christ. Aha, bingo. It is like the

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second stage of the healing of the blind man. That is, he saw everything clearly after the second pass,

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if you will. And so it is. That parable was told precisely before this to show how Jesus is seen as

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the Christ by his disciples in gradual stages. So it is with the nature of his ministry. And so it is

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with the nature of parables. This is the point of my teaching today, is that the parables teach us

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much about Christ and the nature of his ministry and the nature of who he is. Do you see why the

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parables are important, dear listener? It is part and parcel of his ministry, part and parcel of who

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Jesus of Nazareth is. We are looking at the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth. And so we will be

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looking at the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth in our Wednesday night Bible study during the course

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of our teaching year. We will be looking, taking up here at the confession, Peter's confession of Jesus.

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We will be beginning there and looking at the parable that precedes it and then launching out into the sea

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of the teachings of Jesus in his parables, because we can learn so much about the nature of parables and

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what they mean and the depth into which they go as well, because there are contours, there are features,

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there are depths, there are layers to the parables and their teaching and the nature of the kingdom of God, too.

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They have to do with eschatology. They have to do with salvation and redemption. They have to do with

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the nature of the kingdom of God. They have to do with the nature of Christ himself. So the parables

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are very important. And if we're going to understand the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth, then we are

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going to have to understand the nature of parables and their teachings. And we'll be doing this then in our

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Wednesday night Bible study beginning the second week in October. I'll give you exact dates and times

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and places as well. Because as I pointed out to you in the beginning of this period, we have decided,

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and we've done so successfully last year, we decided to decentralize our Wednesday night Bible study

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instead of having it in our fellowship hall at the church, which we've done in the past and done so

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very successfully. We have found great success, especially with the nature of this teaching year, where we're

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looking at the life and times of Jesus the Messiah. This teaching in people's homes, which is what we're

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doing, has been very conducive to fellowship and learning. So what we would like to do is invite you. We want to

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facilitate this in particular for visitors and for friends of New Geneva who have maybe been considering

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crossing our threshold, but just haven't yet. Maybe you've been procrastinating in your own soul here

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about this in the past, but we would like to invite you to finally trigger your incentive to cross our

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threshold. And you can do it in a non-threatening way, in a very warm and open way, by coming into the

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homes of our people. And we have several very hospitable homes that are very much open to

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having you cross their threshold and then join us in our study. And it's going to be one in which

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we very informally teach the parables of Jesus and invite your reflection and your response.

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And then you'll also have the advantage then of my study and teaching and passion. I'm very passionate

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about the life and times of Jesus the Messiah. I'm very passionate about my Lord who has saved me.

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And he has done so by walking the paths and ways of Galilee and Judah, walking the streets of Jerusalem.

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And during those days and times, he set up an example of life for us. And not only set up an example,

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but set up a sacrifice of his life on our behalf, the Lamb of God. Indeed, he was and is.

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So we want to look at the life and times of Jesus the Messiah with you. And so we invite you to join us

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on Wednesday evenings this year in the homes of our people. And you can find out more and more

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where these are going to be meeting by calling us at area code 208-523-0196. And I will get back to

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you, let you know the nearest home of one of our members at which you can rally. It'll be at 7 p.m.

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than the first Wednesday evening in October. And we'll be proceeding. We'll just take our time.

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Wherever we are led, we are led in the text, okay? So please plan on joining us, visit us,

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cross our threshold, and you can find out the nearest place to meet at area code 208-523-0196.

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And that's in Idaho Falls, Idaho. And I'd love to speak with you and see if we can't indeed come to

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meet you and have you come and join us. Once again, that phone number is area code 208-523-0196.

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This has been Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church. We meet for holy worship

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on Sunday at 10 a.m. at 101 4th Street on the corner of 4th and Boulevard. Come and join us for

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our worship as well. That's 10 a.m. on Sunday morning, 101 4th Street on the corner of 4th and Boulevard.