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Welcome to this course called: God Loves People
Good News!
"This is the list of the ancestors* of Jesus Christ, descendant of David, who was a descendant of Abraham" (Matthew 1:1). That is the first verse in the Injil. The Injil begins with the good news that the Messiah was born whom God had promised to send!
Another word for "good news" is "evangel". Arab people used the word Injil instead of "evangel". In this course we will also use that Arabic word which you know - Injil - for the part of the New Testament which tells of the things Jesus the Messiah said and did.
We all know that some of the things Muhammad spoke during his lifetime were learned by Muslims and repeated from memory. But later these words were written down by various writers and gathered together into one book by one of Muhammad's secretaries.
In much the same way, four of Jesus' faithful disciples wrote about some of the teaching and the wonderful things Jesus did. The Holy Spirit guided these four disciples to write the truth (2 Peter 1:20-21). The names of these writers are also the names of the books which they wrote. They are:
Matthew: who had been a tax collector.
Mark: who was probably a very young man.
Luke: who was a medical doctor.
John: who had been a fisherman.
When we speak about one of these books, we use the name of the faithful disciple who wrote it. But when we speak of all four books together, we use the word "Injil".
In this course we will mostly study the words and deeds of Jesus the Messiah which the Holy Spirit guided the disciple John to write down for us.
Lesson 1: The Messiah is God's Word
Before you do this lesson, read these verses from the Injil:
John 1:1-5 -- In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
John 1:14 -- The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Luke 1:26-37 -- In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
34 "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
35 The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[a] the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. 37 For nothing is impossible with God."
Luke 2:1-20 -- In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to his own town to register.
4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Now read the lesson and do the test at the end. The lesson explains what you have read in the Injil.
The Injil reveals Jesus the Messiah as the Word of God.
The Injil says: "Before the world was created, the Word already existed; he was with God, and he was the same as God" (John 1:1). The Injil goes on to say: "The Word became a human being and lived among us" (John 1:14).
This means that the Word of God came and lived with men. This Word became a man. His name is Jesus.
The Angel Told of His Coming
In what way did the Word of God become a man? How did the Word of God come into the world? Luke, the medical doctor, tells how it happened. This is what the book of the Injil by Luke says.
Mary was a young virgin who lived in Nazareth in Palestine. She was about to marry a carpenter whose name was Joseph. Both Mary and Joseph were of the People of Abraham, and they were in the family line of King David.
Before Joseph and Mary married, the Angel Gabriel came to Mary. The angel told her that she would have a son. He said the son would be called Jesus (Luke 1:31). Jesus means "Saviour" (Matthew 1:21).
The angel also said: "He will be great, and will be called the son of the Most High. The Lord God will make him a king, as his ancestor David was, and he will be the king of the descendants of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end" (Luke 1:32-33)!
Mary asked the angel: "I am a virgin. How, then, can this be?"
The angel answered: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and God's power will rest upon you." (Luke 1:34-35).
Mary replied: "May it happen to me as you have said" (Luke 1:38).
Then the angel left. Mary was very happy! Later she began to praise God. Part of what she said is written here:
"My heart praises the Lord;
my soul is glad because of God my Saviour...
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away with empty hands.
He has remembered to show mercy to Abraham
And to all his descendants for ever" (Luke 1:46-55).
Joseph was sorry when he heard that Mary was pregnant*. He decided not to marry her. But then an angel appeared to him in a dream.
The angel said: "Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary to be your wife. For it is by the Holy Spirit that she has conceived" (Matthew 1:20).
Joseph obeyed the angel. He took Mary to be his wife, but he did not have any sex relations with her until after Jesus was born (Matthew 1:24-25).
The Birth of Jesus
At this time the Romans ruled Palestine. When the time was near for Mary to give birth, the Romans made everyone go to the home of his ancestors to be counted. Joseph's ancestors came from Bethlehem, so Joseph and Mary travelled about 200 kilometres from Nazareth to Bethlehem. This is exactly what God had revealed to the Prophet Micah 700 years before. He said that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2).
When Joseph and Mary finally came to Bethlehem, they could not find a place to sleep. At last a man took pity on them and let them sleep in the place where cows were kept.
That night Jesus was born. Mary put soft cotton cloth around the baby Jesus. Then she laid him in a little box where grass was kept for the cows to eat. That was Jesus' first bed!
While this was happening in Bethlehem, some shepherds were caring for their sheep on a nearby hill. Suddenly a great light filled the night sky, and an angel appeared. The shepherds were very afraid.
But the angel said: "Don't be afraid! I am here with good news for you, which will bring great joy to all the people. This very day in David's town your Saviour was born - Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:10-11)!
While the angel was still speaking, the sky filled with thousands of other angels, and all began to praise God and say:
"Glory to God in the highest heaven and peace on earth to those with whom he is pleased" (Luke 2:14)!
And then the angels were gone! The shepherds quickly left the hillside and went to Bethlehem. There they found Jesus and gave thanks to God.
Jesus the Messiah was Born in the Place where the Cattle were kept.
The Wise Men from the East
In the book of the Injil by Matthew we read that a special star appeared in the sky when Jesus was born. Men from an eastern country who studied stars believed that the star was God's way of telling them that the Messiah had been born. Some people think these wisemen were from Arabia or Mesopotamia. The wisemen followed the star until they found Jesus in Bethlehem. They gave Jesus wonderful gifts of gold, frankincense*, and myrrh*.
Jesus Lived in Egypt and Palestine
After the wisemen visited Jesus in Bethlehem, an angel told Joseph to take Mary and the young child Jesus to Egypt, because it was not safe for Jesus to stay in Palestine.
Joseph had to take Jesus to Egypt because one of the Roman rulers of Palestine wanted to kill Jesus.
Joseph, Mary, and Jesus lived in Egypt for several years. After the ruler who wanted to kill Jesus had died, Joseph returned to Nazareth in Palestine with Mary and Jesus. Jesus grew up in the town of Nazareth (Matthew 2:1-23).
Here is a list of difficult words in this lesson.
pregnant - soon to have a baby
conceived - became pregnant
ancestors - one's fathers who lived long ago
frankincense, myrrh - substances which come from trees and which give a sweet smell when burned
Learn this verse. It gives an important idea in the lesson.
John 1:1: "Before the world was created, the Word already existed; he was with God and he was the same as God."
NOTICE
Now turn to the question papers in the back of the book and write answers for lesson one. Do the same for each of the other lessons after you have studied them.
Test 1: God Loves People
Here is the test for Lesson 1. Write the letter of the correct answer on the line on the right side of the page.
1) Luke was a
a) fisherman.
b) tax collector.
c) medical doctor. ___
2) The angel who came to Mary was called
a) Joseph.
b) David.
c) Gabriel. ___
3) Jesus was born in
a) Nazareth.
b) Bethlehem.
c) Jerusalem. ___
4) An angel told the good news of the birth of Jesus the Messiah to
a) shepherds.
b) wisemen.
c) traders. ___
5) When Jesus was born, Palestine was ruled by the
a) Egyptians.
b) Romans.
c) Babylonians. ___
Write "True" or "False" after each of the following sentences.
6) The Quran says that Jesus is the Messiah. ______
7) Jesus was born in the place where cows were kept. ______
8) The Messiah is God's Word. ______
9) Jesus means Saviour. ______
10) When Joseph heard that Mary was pregnant, he decided marry her immediately. ______
Name:__________________________________No.:______
Address:__________________________________________
Write your, name and address in the box above. Then return this test page and all the others in this book to:
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