Narratives of the Earthly Ministry of Jesus of Nazareth: Book Two

By Del Mueller

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have been with Jesus as he traveled about the Holy Land; to have observed the people he helped; the miracles he performed; the teachings he proclaimed; the problems he faced? Then, imagine how you would have reacted when a storm suddenly and without warning began to lash against your boat while Jesus slept; or when you were miraculously cured of leprously; could see again, could hear again, could talk again, could walk again.

Del Mueller takes readers into the thoughts and hearts of the key witnesses to Christs three year earthly ministry. He writes first-person accounts that provide readers with a unique historical perspective of the stories as they really could have happened. Narratives of the Earthly Ministry of Jesus of Nazareth will personalize the events that transformed the world and show readers the humanness of those who were changed because of Jesus.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Sep 18, 2012
• ISBN: 9781477211229

Del Mueller

Author Delbert “Del” Mueller is a retired university professor, Concordia University Chicago, who previously served as a Lutheran school teacher and principal. Prior to writing this five book Narrative series, Dr. Mueller authored four college level textbooks. Del remains active in his local church, serving as a lay minister. He and his wife Dorleen currently reside in Maywood, Illinois. They are world travelers who have led numerous overseas tours including trips to Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Italy, all regions associated with the early Christian Church. Frequent visits with their children and grandchildren are a special joy. Dr. Del’s narrative series: Narratives of the Nativity of Jesus of Nazareth Narratives of the Earthly Ministry of Jesus of Nazareth Narratives of the Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus of Nazareth Narratives of the Beginning of the Early Christian Church Narratives of Paul’s Missionary Journeys and Rome

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© 2013 Del Mueller. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 1/7/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4772-1123-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4772-1122-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012909194

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid.

The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Appendix A – Jesus’ Genealogy

Appendix B – Jesus And John The Baptist’s Genealogy

Appendix C – Map Of Israel During Earthly Ministry Of Jesus

Appendix D – Map Of Jerusalem During The Earthly Ministry Of Jesus

Appendix E – Herod’s Temple Mount

Discussion Questions

Dedicated

To my best friend and spouse of 60 years

Dorleen

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Acknowledgements

A project of this magnitude requires the care and attention beyond that of the author. To help bring this book to fruition I owe a special thanks to Dr. R. Allan Zimmer, Professor emeritus, Concordia University Chicago for his detailed editing of the manuscript. I am also indebted to Rev. Dr. Kenneth Heinitz, Professor emeritus, Concordia University Chicago, and the Reverend Martin Doering, Vacancy Pastor, Tabor Lutheran, Chicago, and Plan Coordinator, Aspire of Illinois. All have offered helpful suggestions to the manuscript. I am also blessed to have the participation of my wife, Dorleen. Her careful examination of what I had written was invaluable. Finally, my thanks to Jewel Laabs for her critical reading of the galley proof.

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Special thanks to Jeffery W. Hamilton, pastor of La Vista Church of Christ, La Vista, Nebraska, for his invaluable help securing many of the intext graphics used in this series.

Permission granted by the La Vista Church of Christ, La Vista, Nebraska for inclusion of the following graphics:

The temptation of Jesus drives Satan away

Jesus changes water into wine

Jesus and the woman at the well

Jesus raises Jarius’ daughter

Jesus walking on water, rescues Peter

Jesus’ transformation

Note to the Reader

The four Biblical authorities on whom these narratives are based are the Gospel writers: St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Luke, and St. John. Each contributed a unique perspective to the events associated with the earthly ministry of our Lord.

While Matthew and John wrote of their personal contacts with Jesus, the same does not appear to be true for Luke.

Since it is generally agreed that Luke never met Jesus while he was on earth, it may be assumed that all of Luke’s Gospel writings were the consequence of conversations with those who had personally witnessed life with Jesus.

Mark, as a young man, probably did have personal contact with Jesus, since his mother, Mary, offered her home to the disciples following the Resurrection. However, it may be assumed that much of the detail in Mark’s Gospel was not based upon personal experience, but rather gained through conversations and inquiries with his spiritual father, Peter, and with others who walked with Jesus during his three year ministry.

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The story you are about to read may be considered an historical novel. The narratives in this book begin as John the Baptist tells his part in the holy story, and ends with a description of an event that occurred shortly before Jesus began his last trek from Jericho to Jerusalem, just prior to the Palm Sunday happening; thus preparing the reader for Jesus’ final earthly acts: the passion, resurrection, and ascension of our Lord.

Each narrative is written as I envisioned the eye-witness would have told it. There is no certainty that my imaginations are correct; thus – a novel. The narratives are presented as a first-person account of events related to Christ’s three-year ministry, told by the various persons who witnessed them.

I have attempted to posture the reader as the one who is listening to the teller, the person who lived the event. Therefore, I entitled each narrative as: Then The Teller Said, and provided a graphic and brief biography of that person.

I tried to tell the Biblical stories accurately, attempting to assure that nothing in the narratives conflicted directly with what is recorded in Holy Scriptures. However, to make a story line flow it became necessary to provide anecdotal information when no detail was offered in the Scriptures. Where this happened, I invented actions, relationships, and dialogue that to me seemed possible and reasonable. While there is no reference to Bar Mitzvah in Scripture, I assumed a similar rite of passage that I named, Day of Dedication, was practiced by Jews.

Assigning identities to the various persons who told their stories proved to be an unresolved challenge. There is no certainty about some relationships. I chose to assign the identity of the women who witnessed Christ’s ministry as follows: Mary, the mother of James the Less and Joseph, as the wife of Cleopas, one of the two men on the way to Emmaus; Salome as the mother of James and John, wife of Zebedee and the sister of Mary, Jesus’ mother. Thus James and John are cousins of Jesus. I also chose to identify Cleopas as brother to Jesus’ step-father, Joseph. [See Appendix A] There is no way to prove these relationships are correct. For some interpretations, acceptable supporting tradition can be found; for others, minimal or no traditional support. Ultimately, the reader will decide the legitimacy of the choices.

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The narratives attempt to integrate the various events in Jesus’ earthly ministry as told by the four writers, each writing from a different perspective into a single, logical, believable sequence of events.

It may be assumed that some anecdotal narrative is poorly chosen and some imagined actions are not sufficiently supported by known facts. What is certain and faith building is not the peripheral information I have incorporated, but rather the teaching of Scripture alone.

My purpose for this book is to help the reader gain a comprehensive overview of the activities related to our Lord’s earthly ministry, providing a satisfactory story line that flows from event to event.

My hope is that these narratives will provide some additional degree of reality to the events surrounding the life of Jesus, and thus make these happenings more understandable and acceptable as truth.

I ask the reader to pardon any errors and/or weak assumptions, and thus enjoy my version of selected episodes related to the earthly ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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The Good News Bible and Good News for Modern Man were used as a guiding source when quoting or paraphrasing. Discussion questions are found at the end of the book. These will hopefully encourage thoughtful inquiry regarding each narrative. Since I acknowledge that many, perhaps all of the narratives could be edited to represent a more reliable interpretation of the Scriptural events, I have added a last question to each narrative which states: If you had written this narrative, how would the content of the story differ?

Hopefully, readers’ understandings will lead toward more scripturally credible versions of particular narratives. The author welcomes readers’ feedback.

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Delbert Mueller

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THEN THE BAPTIST SAID

I am John; the name given to me by my father at the time of my circumcision. Our family and friends were not pleased. There is no relation so named and John is not a Scriptural title. I was named John because the angel Gabriel instructed my father to do this.

My father Zechariah was a priest of the order Abijah, eighth of the twenty-four orders into which Jewish priests are divided. Twice each year he was called for a one week service as priest in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. During one particular week my father was chosen to direct the Rite of Offering Incense. On the last day of his Temple service, while performing the Rite, he was visited by the angel Gabriel. The angel’s message was that while both he and his wife had passed childbearing age, his wife Elizabeth would have a son. He would be a Nazarite and his name would be John. I am that son.

That was then; this is now.

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I am now a prisoner; held in a filthy dungeon because I spoke out; because I spoke the truth; because I condemned sin. Herod Antipas put me in these chains. Why? Had I committed a crime? No. Had I broken some law? No! I had done nothing against the state or its people. I am a prisoner because I did what was right; what Yahweh demanded!

The one who committed the crime was Herod. Not a crime against the state’s law, but a crime against Yahweh’s law; against the Torah.

Herod committed a grievous sin; a crime against God. And I spoke openly about it. I preached publicly about his unlawful marriage to Herodias, the wife of his half brother. Because of that I am now miserable and cold, in Herod’s dungeon below his Machaerus Fortress, his retreat away from his people, located on a mountain top just to the east of the Salt Sea.

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During the early years of my life, my parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth, impressed upon me the unusual circumstances surrounding my birth. Events such as the angel Gabriel’s visit to Father while he was performing the Rite of Offering Incense in the Holy Temple, Gabriel’s command that Father would be unable to speak, the visit by our pregnant Cousin Mary, my birth, and Father’s ability to again speak.

As I got older, Cousin Mary’s pregnancy became a focus of discussion. Not only did my parents consider my mother’s pregnancy a miracle from God, they also regarded the unique circumstance of Mary’s pregnancy as a miracle from God. They contended that Mary’s pregnancy was not by Joseph, her betrothed, but rather that the Holy Spirit of God had impregnated Mary. They insisted that Jesus was both the Son of God and the Son of Man; his natural father was Yahweh and his mother was Mary.

They explained how Gabriel’s visits to Mary and to my father were linked; how my purpose in life was to prepare the way for Mary’s child’s ministry; that Mary’s child was the Messiah!

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My youth was underscored with a single assertion: you are a unique gift from God and you will follow the angel Gabriel’s prophecy. You will live the life of a Nazarite. You will be the one who prepares God’s people for the mighty Savior, the descendant of David, whom Yahweh will send.

My parents had saved the parchment on which Mary had written, in honor of her virgin-conception, her Song of Praise. I memorized it. They also saved the parchment on which my father had written, in honor of my circumcision, his Prophecy of Praise. That also was burned into my memory. The words of Father’s poem that hold most meaning for me are:

You, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High God.

You will go ahead of the Lord to prepare his road for him,

To tell his people that they will be saved by having their sins forgiven.

There were rules to follow; and I knew them. Even before my Day of Dedication, I knew all the rules a Nazarite had to obey. I’ve always had long hair; never had them cut. And I’ve never drunk wine. Those were two very important rules.

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My parents died when I was in my early teens. It was an especially distressing time for me because since I was a Nazarite I was not allowed to go near a dead body. I had to miss my own parents’ funerals. I could not share my grief with Father when Mother died, and I had to stay away from our house when my father entered heaven a year later.

My parents had carefully planned my