| Lambs
are born in the spring. The lambs born where I live, have to deal with
snow. Twin lambs were born near to our home and we wanted the experience
of holding one. Since it has been chosen by God as an animal to be a
symbol of Jesus, I wondered what it would be like to feel a lamb. I want
to think about what God means when He said Jesus is like a lamb. The Bible
talks about the lamb in over 178 places.
Most people are not afraid of a lamb. God does not want us afraid of Him. But how else is Jesus like a lamb? We hope to soon have our video clips up so you can learn as we did about the lambs. We just need to learn how to condense our video and Scripture music so it fits on our page and we will put it up for you. |
 We
were thrilled that the lambs snuggled in and seemed to enjoy the
experience as much as we did. Their coats had a sort of waxy feeling and
so spongy and soft. Their strong "baa's" responded to their
mom's anxious calls. |
 These
lambs were not afraid of us and the experience was really fun. As we made
video clips of the sound and action, I began to think about what I was
learning about Jesus. Why do you think He chose a lamb of all the animals
He made to be a symbol of Him? |
 He
was brought as a lamb to slaughter and as a sheep before her Shearers is
dumb, so he opened not his mouth. Isaiah 53 Jesus was not stupid and dumb
but He was very quiet. He was not protesting about how ugly and mean
people were to Him.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. John 3:16
|
 The
angel Gabriel appeared to a young girl Mary, who was engaged to be married
to Joseph. This young girl was a virgin with high moral standards. She
loved God and obeyed His laws. Mary was surprised the angel came to her.
Yet in faith, she told the angel to let it happen as God had planned. |
 When Mary told Joseph that she was going
to have the promised baby Jesus, Joseph was angry. He thought she was
lying about having had some affair with another man. He decided to break
off their engagement privately so Mary would not be embarrassed. Joseph
knew he had not slept with Mary. That is why he was so angry. The Bible
tells this detail so no one can even say that baby Jesus had an
earthly father. No one understands how the Creator of the Universe could
become a baby and live here. It is the gift of the Universe. It is a
miracle. An angel was sent from heaven to tell Joseph that his dear Mary
was faithful and that heaven's miracle had been sent to be born of her. He
was glad he could trust Mary and they went ahead with their wedding plans.
He was kind and tender with her and was her protector and helper. |
  There
was a new law that forced all to go to the town they were born in to be
counted and taxed. This law caused Mary and Joseph to set out on a long
donkey ride to Bethlehem about the time baby Jesus was to be born. When
they arrived, so many other visitors crowded in and took up all the guest
rooms of the city. Joseph and Mary found a stable where the animals were
kept. Baby Jesus was born that night. His mother was exhausted. She
wrapped up baby Jesus and laid Him in the manger where the animals usually
ate their food. |
 Angels looked for someone to share the
good news with. They went from home to home and looked among the pastors
and priests. No one seemed to care about the prophecies of the arrival of
Jesus. Finally they discovered there were some shepherds and some wise men
in the East that were watching for the promised event. First one angel
appeared to the shepherds and shared the news. After the frightened
shepherds were used to the light from one angel, the sky filled with
choirs of angels all excited about the birth of their adored Jesus. |
  When
the wise men saw the star they followed it many miles excitedly hoping to
see the King of the Universe as a baby. They had been studying the stars,
read prophecies of Balaam and had dreams that they should follow the star.
They brought expensive kingly
gifts. Stopping at the palace in Jerusalem, it seemed strange no one was
talking about the baby king. King Herod pretended to want to come
and worship the baby too, so the wise men promised to let him know when
they found baby Jesus. They were shocked to discover no one cared or
seemed to know anything. |
  The star led them on to Bethlehem where they
found the miracle baby KING of the universe. Angels warned the wise men to
go home a different way and not to tell Herod. He became furious. |
  The
expensive gifts these very intelligent scientists brought, helped poor
Mary and Joseph when they had to flee to another country. It costs money
to go to another country and to rent a place to stay and get food and
clothes. They had all the money they needed to get the right foods for
Mary to eat so Jesus would grow just right. |
 King
Herod declared all babies
under age 2 should be killed. |
Just in time, an angel from heaven told Mary and Joseph
to take baby Jesus and flee into Egypt to live for awhile. After Herod died,
the child Jesus, with his parents Mary and Joseph, went back to their homeland.
Satan was defeated again in His efforts to destroy the King of the
Universe. |
| The little family lived in Egypt on the money provided by the rich gifts. They eventually went back to Nazareth where Joseph had his business of carpentry. |
 As
a young child, Jesus was obedient to Mary and Joseph. His mother taught
Him scripture songs. He was schooled at home. He did extra chores to be
helpful. He was always gentle and kind to animals. Often He went without
eating so He could share his food with poor people. Every day Jesus prayed
to God in heaven. Jesus showed us how to be loving. He never sinned. |
 Jesus
was baptized by His cousin John when He was 30. After His special time
with God in the wilderness, Satan tried to get Him to sin but He only
responded with Scriptures. |
  The
first miracle Jesus performed was at a wedding of His relatives where they
ran out of grape juice. He had them fill jugs with water and then pour it
into the glasses of the guests. The water turned to pure grape juice. This
was a symbol of Jesus. He is the living water. The grape juice is a symbol
of the ultimate gift of His life. |
| The sick, demon possessed, and poor were brought daily to Jesus for help. The blind were made to see, the deaf were made to hear. The lame were made to walk again. The hungry crowds of 5-12 thousand were fed with bread Jesus made miraculously from small donations of food. The lepers were healed. These same things Jesus could do for us today if we asked Him to in faith. His arm is not any weaker than it was then. Jesus stopped storms on the lake and sent demons running whenever He was around. He obtained this power during hours of praying to His Father God in heaven. You and I can have the same results if we spend time daily reading our Bibles, praying and thinking about heavenly things. There is nothing impossible with God. He had many death threats but His life was protected until it was time to die for the sins of the world. |
 Jesus
prayed all night outside in a garden called Gethsemane. He knew Judas, his
disciple would betray Him that night. He had always known the heart of
Judas and tried all He could do to win the heart of Judas. However, Judas
loved money so much, he was sneaking for himself, funds given to keep
Jesus comfortable. Jesus did not tell everyone about the problem Judas
had. He kept it quiet and kept giving him many chances to ask forgiveness
and be saved. Jesus knew ahead of time about the final trials and
persecution torture of the cross. He sweat great drops of blood as He
agonized over the events at hand. He was so close to God that when He took
our sins on His shoulders, it caused separation of God and Jesus. The
wages of sin is death. Jesus took our punishment so that we by believing
on Him could have eternal life if we trust and obey. This separation was
so painful to Jesus that He almost died there in the garden. An angel came
and strengthened Him. |
  All
that Satan could do was done to torture Jesus at the cross. He failed.
Jesus did not give up on us. He went through as He had planned. In
the darkness about the cross was hidden God and the angels. They were not
singing. They were trembling and crying as they saw their beloved Jesus
suffering. God had to hold back the angels from rushing to comfort Him. He
had to drink the bitter cup of death for our sins. They had agreed ahead
of time He would take what we deserved so we could live. He died the death
of sinners who have no hope. He looked out on the crowd about the cross
and saw people He had helped. They were very ungrateful and mean. It
seemed no one cared about His great gift of life He was making available
to those who believe and obey. He died of a broken heart.
The whole universe watched the drama of Satan's hatred of Jesus. This was the point at which all were completely convinced how hateful the heart of the banished angel, Satan, was. He only wanted to torture God and all that He created. There is no sympathy left for this banished angel. He is now defeated. |
 Jesus
felt the horrible sadness that sin brings. It made Him feel so bad that he
hurt all over. He went to the Garden with olive trees, and prayed. He
asked Peter James and John to be near while He prayed. Then He went a
little ways and prayed. In Gethsemane He had a hard time breathing. His
face turned white. It almost looked blue. He was so sad. Then Jesus
started sweating blood because he was under the pressure of all our sins
and it made Him so sad to feel separated from God. It was real quiet in
heaven. No one sang. They grieved as they watched God separating His love
and joy from Jesus |
 Jesus
came to save us as we are like the lambs belonging to Jesus the Shepherd.
All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned everyone to his own way. Isaiah 53:6 In the garden Jesus did not like the separation that our sins cause. He took our sins so we could live. He paid the price we should have paid so we could have eternal life if we believe and obey. God had to hold the angels back for awhile while Jesus prayed in the garden. Finally after He determined to go through with the plan, God sent the strongest angel from heaven to strengthen Jesus for the trial ahead. |
 God
suffered with His Son. Angels cried as they watched how man hated the One
who came to save them. |
| Satan
himself was present at the cross adding insults and horrible statements to
stop Jesus from His plan to save us. He was put on a cross on a hill
called the skull. He never did anything wrong. He never even told a lie. |
 Just like the lambs, he was quiet when his things were taken off. He
did not even open His mouth to yell or scold anyone.
He quietly asked God to forgive them for they did not realize what they were doing. Luke 23:34 I am so thankful for the BIG GIFT God gave, aren't you? You can be brave like Jesus was if you ask Him for help to tell His story. Satan does not like us to tell the story of Jesus but God will give you courage. Everyone needs to know the story how He died to save us from sin. |
 Now
put on your thinking cap
Quiz: |
| 1. Who was watching Jesus when He prayed? What were his
friends doing while He was so sad?
2. Who came to make Jesus feel better? 3. If you had been there, would you have wanted to comfort Jesus? 4. What was the hill called that Jesus was stuck on , on the cross? (Mt. 27:32) 5.What was the color of Jesus face during his time in the garden praying? 6. What was the pressure that He felt? 7. What does the sheep do when it is to have its coat taken off? 8. What did Jesus do when people beat, spit, smashed thorns on His head, and tore out his hair in His beard? 9. Extra hard question: What is on the wool that makes it feel so waxy? 10. Extra extra hard question: What happened that made Jesus sweat blood? What happened inside His body? This just never happens. He must have had a very high blood pressure while He was so sad about being separated from God. He almost died in the garden during this experience but an angel strengthened Him.
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The next lesson is lesson 6 and we will look at the amazing things that happen during migration. Who controls how and where the creatures go that migrate. Look in Lesson 6