Jesus begins to preach

This is John, he is a prophet. God has given him the task of telling people that the Messiah is coming. John lives a simple life: he wears fabrics made of camel hair and lives on wild honey and grasshoppers. He lives in the wilderness on the outskirts of Jerusalem where he teaches people about God and the coming Messiah. Yeah… some people think he’s a bit weird, but there are people from the whole region who are coming to learn about God.

What he’s doing now? John is performing a religious ritual for those who regret their sins. He cleanses people’s souls by dipping them in the Jordan river. He performs baptism. Since he is known for baptising people, he is often called John the Baptist.

Many people believe that John is the Messiah that they are waiting for. Is that true? No, someone more powerful than me is coming. I baptise with water. He will baptise with the Holy Spirit.

One day Jesus walks by. He has heard of John’s work and wants to be baptised by him. When John baptises Jesus in the river Jordan, the sky opens up and the Holy Spirit descends in the form of a dove. A voice is heard from the heavens, telling Jesus “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” John then understands that Jesus is the Messiah. After Jesus’s baptism, the Holy Spirit leads him to the desert, where he wanders for forty days.

He does not eat during this entire time. This is where the Christian tradition comes from of fasting for forty days before Easter. When Jesus wanders in the desert, the Devil appears to put Jesus’s faith to the test. He tempts Jesus three times. Prove that you are God’s son!

Turn these stones into bread. But even though Jesus is hungry, he has read the Hebrew holy texts, and answers that one needs more than just food to live. The Devil then tries to test Jesus in another way: Jump down from that temple! If you are God’s son, God will send angels to catch you. But Jesus answers that the holy texts say that one shouldn’t test God.

The Devil tries one last time and shows Jesus all of the world’s riches. Follow me! Bow down to me! Worship me! If you do that, I will give you all of this!

But Jesus tells him to be gone, that one should only serve God. The Devil gives up. When Jesus has passed the Devil’s test angels appear with food for him. Jesus has now finished wandering, and returns to Galilee to tell people about God. He starts to preach.

Jesus surrounds himself with all kinds of people: poor people, outcasts, prostitutes... There are a lot of people who want to listen to Jesus, and who want to learn from him, who want to be his disciples. Jesus tells them to live a simple life, to not have any belongings. He chooses twelve of his disciples to be closest to him, and to be his emissaries. He calls them apostles.

Jesus only selects men to be his apostles. But both men and women follow him and listen to what he has to say. This woman for instance, Mary Magdalene, is one of Jesus’s most faithful disciples. Jesus and his disciples wander around in Galilee, and teach more and more people about God’s word. One day Jesus, his mother Mary and his apostles get invited to a wedding in a city called Cana.

Jesus finds out that there is no more wine. So Jesus calls the servants and asks them to fill the pitchers with water instead. Water? But the guests want wine! But then, when the servants fill the glasses it turns out that the water has turned into wine.

Jesus has performed a miracle. And he will soon perform many more.