0:03 It's 5 BC and Jesus is coming into the
0:06 world in a small town called Bethlehem
0:08 in ancient Israel. You probably think
0:10 you know this story, but it isn't the
0:13 way you've heard it. This is Jesus' life
0:15 on a map. We're going to trace every
0:17 step of his ministry all the way to his
0:20 final journey to the cross, but also
0:23 where he appeared after the resurrection
0:25 and where Jesus was seen for the last
0:29 time. It's 5 BC. The people of Israel
0:32 were crushed under Rome's iron fist.
0:35 They had not heard God's voice for 400
0:38 years. But they kept waiting for a sign,
0:40 clinging to the faith that one day the
0:42 Messiah would come to free them from
0:45 slavery. The world doesn't know it yet,
0:48 but history is about to split in two. A
0:51 teenage girl, 9 months pregnant, has
0:54 spent 4 days walking from Nazareth to
0:57 Bethlehem, 90 mi. Mary shouldn't have
0:59 made this journey. It was far too
1:01 dangerous in her condition. But Roman
1:03 Emperor Caesar Augustus had ordered a
1:06 mandatory census. And Joseph, her
1:08 husband, who was a descendant of King
1:10 David, had to register in his ancestral
1:13 city, Bethlehem. And so the prophecy was
1:15 fulfilled. When they arrived exhausted
1:18 in the small village, the contractions
1:21 began. Mary was in labor. Joseph knocked
1:23 on door after door, but there was no
1:25 room for them. Night closed in on them
1:29 until they found a cave. Many imagine a
1:31 wooden stable, but no, it was a dark
1:34 cave the shepherds used to shelter their
1:36 animals from the cold. There, in
1:38 absolute humility, the King of Kings was
1:41 born. The first to know were the most
1:43 marginalized of that time, the
1:46 shepherds. Shepherds were considered
1:48 unclean. They couldn't enter the temple,
1:50 and their testimony wasn't even valid in
1:52 court. But the only ones who worshiped
1:55 the Messiah that night were they, the
1:58 outcasts of society. 40 days later,
2:00 Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to the
2:02 temple in Jerusalem. They offered two
2:05 turtle doves. It was the offering of the
2:07 poor. If they had had money, they would
2:09 have brought a lamb. Then an old man
2:12 named Simeon took the baby in his arms.
2:14 He prophesied the child's greatness, but
2:17 then turned to Mary and spoke words that
2:19 would mark her forever. A sword will
2:21 pierce your own soul. She wouldn't
2:23 understand those words until 33 years
2:26 later, standing at the foot of a cross.
2:28 Many assumed that after this moment, the
2:30 family went back to their home in
2:32 Nazareth. They didn't. They returned to
2:35 Bethlehem. And to grasp what was about
2:37 to happen, you need the backdrop. Israel
2:40 lived under a double terror. Roman taxes
2:42 skimmed off 40% of everything people
2:45 earned. Crucifixions were a constant
2:47 public spectacle, a warning to anyone
2:49 who dared think of rebellion. And
2:52 presiding over this chaos was Herod the
2:55 Great, a paranoid, brutal king, and at
2:58 that point a dying man. Because while
3:00 Jesus was growing up, Herod was wasting
3:03 away. He had gang green in his genitals.
3:06 And each day the pain drove him deeper
3:09 into paranoia. This was the man who
3:11 drowned his favorite wife, Mariam. The
3:14 one who executed three of his own sons
3:16 for fear they would steal his throne.
3:18 And then they came. We call them the
3:21 wise men, but they weren't kings. And
3:23 they didn't arrive the night he was
3:25 born. They were magi, astronomer priests
3:27 from Persia. They had seen something
3:30 extraordinary in the sky, likely a
3:32 conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, and
3:34 they spent 2 years on the road following
3:37 that sign. The magi entered Jerusalem
3:40 and innocently asked, "Where is the one
3:42 who has been born king of the Jews?"
3:44 Herod had not been born king. Rome had
3:47 installed him. He had no blood of David.
3:49 And these foreigners were talking about
3:50 someone who actually had been born to
3:53 reign. So Herod called in the chief
3:55 priests and asked, "Where is the Messiah
3:58 to be born?" They knew the answer cold.
4:01 In Bethlehem of Judea, only about 6 mi
4:04 away, just a couple of hours walk. Yet
4:06 not one of them went to check. The magi
4:08 traveled 2 years to worship him. The
4:10 priests wouldn't walk 2 hours. These
4:13 would be the same religious leaders who
4:15 33 years later would cravenly shout,
4:18 "Crucify him!" When the Magi found Jesus
4:21 in Bethlehem, he was no longer a baby.
4:24 He was a small child. They presented
4:27 their prophetic gifts. Gold for a king,
4:30 frankincense for God, and myrr for his
4:32 death. and warned in a dream. They
4:34 returned to their homeland by another
4:36 route. Herod waited for the magi to
4:39 return to his palace. When he realized
4:41 he'd been deceived, he exploded with
4:43 rage. He ordered the massacre of all
4:46 children under 2 years old in Bethlehem
4:48 and the surrounding area. Bethlehem was
4:50 small. There were only 20 or 30
4:53 children. To Roman historians, it was
4:55 just one more of Herod's atrocities, not
4:57 even worth recording. But for the
4:59 mothers of Bethlehem, the world ended
5:02 that night. Suddenly, an angel woke
5:05 Joseph. Get up, take the child and his
5:07 mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there
5:09 until I tell you. But it was more than
5:12 400 m from Bethlehem to Egypt. How would
5:15 they pay for such a long journey? God
5:18 had already provided. The Magi's gold
5:20 became the money that funded their exile
5:22 and saved Jesus' life. And so, another
5:25 prophecy was fulfilled. Out of Egypt, I
5:28 called my son. Everything had to happen
5:30 exactly this way. That same night, they
5:33 fled Bethlehem and set out on a long
5:36 journey, weeks on the road until they
5:38 reached Egypt. Tradition holds they
5:40 found refuge in Alexandria, where a
5:43 large Jewish community lived. Months
5:45 later, Herod died in the most grotesque
5:48 way imaginable, worms devouring him from
5:51 within. The stench was unbearable. Word
5:54 of it raced across the empire. The
5:57 monster had fallen. Yet Joseph did not
6:00 return when he heard the news. He waited
6:03 until an angel spoke to him. Rise, take
6:05 the child and his mother, and go to the
6:07 land of Israel, for those who sought the
6:10 child's life are dead. After months in
6:13 exile, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph finally
6:16 returned to Israel. Jesus was now about
6:19 2 or 3 years old. They chose the coastal
6:21 route, avoiding Jerusalem. a journey of
6:26 more than 600 km over 370 mi. But as
6:29 they neared the borders of Judea, Joseph
6:31 heard news that stopped him in his
6:34 tracks. Archelaus, Herod's son, now
6:36 reigned in his father's place, and he
6:39 was even more cruel. He had begun his
6:42 rule by massacring 3,000 Jews during a
6:45 festival at the temple. Fear paralyzed
6:47 them. But once again, an angel spoke to
6:50 Joseph in a dream and said, "Do not go
6:53 to Judea. Go to Galilee." Without
6:56 hesitation, Joseph obeyed, took Mary and
6:58 the child, and headed north, crossing
7:01 valleys and hills. Thus, God steered the
7:03 family north to a small village in
7:05 Galilee called Nazareth. This town does
7:07 not appear even once in the Old
7:09 Testament. It was a village of barely
7:12 300 people, a place where no one,
7:14 absolutely no one, would look for the
7:17 Messiah. But Nazareth held a secret.
7:21 Just 6 km away ran the Viamaris, the
7:23 international highway that connected
7:25 empires. From the hills above his
7:27 village, a young Jesus could see the
7:30 Valley of Armageddon, the setting of the
7:32 final battle. And about an hour's walk
7:36 away stood Sephoris, a cosmopolitan
7:38 bustling capital that Herod Antipus was
7:41 rebuilding. Jesus did not grow up
7:43 isolated from the world. He grew up
7:45 watching the world pass by, hidden in
7:49 plain sight. God chose to hide his son
7:51 where no one would look for him, yet
7:54 where everyone would see him without
7:56 recognizing him. The son of God grew up
7:59 like any other child in a small home
8:02 surrounded by his parents. But here the
8:05 scriptures fall silent. Of the next 30
8:07 years of Jesus' life, we know only a
8:10 single moment. When Jesus turned 12, he
8:13 became a young adult under Jewish law.
8:15 And for the first time, he could go with
8:17 his parents to celebrate Passover in the
8:20 holy city, Jerusalem. They set out on
8:23 the journey, a trek of over 60 mi to the
8:25 spiritual heart of Israel, the temple.
8:28 But on the way back home, Jesus went
8:30 missing. Mary and Joseph were traveling
8:32 in a caravan with a group. And for a
8:34 whole day, they assumed he was with
8:36 another group. They searched desperately
8:39 until 3 days later they found him in the
8:41 temple sitting among the teachers of the
8:44 law. But he wasn't there to learn. He
8:46 was asking questions. and his questions
8:49 were so profound they left the experts
8:51 without answers. When his anguished
8:53 parents asked why he had done this,
8:56 Jesus replied, "Didn't you know I must
8:58 be about my father's business." It was
9:00 the first time in history anyone spoke
9:03 of God with such intimacy so personally.
9:06 No one had ever called God father. It
9:09 was scandalous. Not even Mary and Joseph
9:11 understood. But after that moment they
9:14 returned to Nazareth and the Bible falls
9:17 silent again. Another 18 long years of
9:20 silence until finally after three
9:22 decades of waiting, work and quiet,
9:24 Jesus left the town that watched him
9:27 grow up. He left his family who tried to
9:29 stop him and walked toward the Jordan
9:31 River where a prophet named John was
9:33 baptizing. Did you know that the story
9:36 of Jesus begins literally at the lowest
9:39 place on earth? Yes, the Jordan River,
9:43 where Jesus was baptized, flows 430 m
9:46 below sea level. It is the lowest land
9:48 point on the planet. It is also a place
9:51 loaded with beginnings and endings. It
9:53 is the exact spot where Israel, led by
9:56 Joshua, first crossed into the promised
9:58 land, the same place where the prophet
10:00 Elijah was taken up to heaven in a
10:03 chariot of fire. We are on the banks of
10:05 the Jordan River. A man named John is
10:08 baptizing one by one a long line of
10:10 people. Then Jesus came to be baptized,
10:13 but John recognized him at once, his own
10:16 cousin. John tried to stop him. Baptism
10:18 was for sinners, and he knew Jesus had
10:21 no sin, but Jesus told him it was the
10:24 sign to inaugurate his mission. And John
10:26 immersed him in the water. And then it
10:28 happened. The moment Jesus rose from the
10:31 water, the heavens were torn open. and a
10:35 voice said, "This is my beloved son."
10:36 For the first time in history, the
10:39 Trinity revealed itself together. The
10:41 Father spoke, the Spirit descended like
10:43 a dove, and the Son came up out of the
10:46 water. The silence was over. The Messiah
10:48 had been presented to Israel. Then the
10:50 Holy Spirit led him into the vast
10:53 Judeian wilderness. There Jesus fasted
10:56 for 40 days and 40 nights, and Satan
10:59 tempted him without rest. 40 days of
11:01 relentless assault. We know only the
11:04 final three temptations, the three that
11:06 nearly broke him. But Jesus overcame
11:09 every temptation and defeated Satan.
11:12 Exhausted, he was now ready to begin his
11:14 ministry. Jesus came home. He returned
11:17 to Nazareth and filled with the power of
11:19 the spirit, walked into the synagogue.
11:21 But the people who had watched him grow
11:23 up, his neighbors and friends, weren't
11:25 ready for what was about to happen.
11:27 Before everyone, he spoke the sentence
11:30 that changed everything. Today this
11:32 scripture has been fulfilled in your
11:34 hearing. At first the people marveled,
11:37 but then someone whispered, "Wait, isn't
11:39 this Joseph's son, the carpenter?" The
11:41 murmur swelled. Wonder turned to doubt
11:44 and doubt to offense until rage erupted.
11:46 They seized him and dragged him out of
11:48 the town to the edge of a cliff to kill
11:51 him. But Jesus, with sovereign calm,
11:53 simply walked right through the furious
11:55 crowd and went on his way. No one could
11:58 lay a hand on him. Jesus left Nazareth.
12:00 His own people had rejected him. He
12:02 would never go back to Nazareth. But he
12:05 didn't stop. He traveled to the shore of
12:07 Galilee. And there, as he walked along
12:10 the sea, he saw two fishermen exhausted
12:12 and frustrated because they had caught
12:14 nothing. Jesus urged them to cast their
12:17 nets into the water. And what happened
12:19 defied all logic. The nets filled with
12:22 so many fish, they began to tear. In
12:23 that moment, the catch no longer
12:26 mattered. Simon, Andrew, James, and John
12:28 left everything, and they followed
12:31 Jesus. The journey continues. Jesus, his
12:33 mother, and his new disciples are
12:36 invited to a wedding in Kaa, a small
12:38 town in Galilee. But in the middle of
12:41 the celebration, a social disaster
12:44 strikes. The wine runs out. It was
12:46 there, at the most inconvenient moment,
12:48 that Jesus performed his first public
12:51 miracle. He turned six water jars, about
12:54 26 gallons each, into the finest wine
12:56 anyone had ever tasted. There was no
12:59 spectacle and no announcements. No one
13:00 knew what had happened except the
13:03 servants, but this was only the
13:05 beginning. From there, Jesus went down
13:07 for a few days with his family to the
13:10 bustling fishing village of Capernaam.
13:12 But soon the Passover festival arrived,
13:15 and he had to go up to Jerusalem. There
13:17 on a quiet night speaking with a
13:19 religious leader named Nicodemus, he
13:21 delivered one of the most famous lines
13:24 in history. For God so loved the world
13:27 that he gave his one and only son that
13:30 whoever believes in him shall not perish
13:33 but have eternal life. With these words,
13:35 Jesus made it clear that his message
13:38 wasn't just for the Jews. It was for the
13:41 whole world. Jesus kept moving. To head
13:43 back north, he took a route most Jews
13:46 avoided. Samaria. There he stopped at a
13:48 place steeped in history, the well of
13:51 Jacob. And here's an amazing fact. That
13:53 well, already ancient in Jesus' day,
13:56 still exists. It sits beneath a church
13:58 in today's West Bank. There, after
14:00 speaking with a Samaritan woman about
14:03 the living water of eternal life, Jesus
14:05 returned to Kaa where he healed a royal
14:08 official son without even being there.
14:10 His fame was growing, but that was
14:12 nothing compared to what Jesus would do
14:14 in the town of Capernaum on the shore of
14:16 the Sea of Galilee, which is where he
14:19 went next. Jesus chose this bustling
14:22 town as his base with his followers. Why
14:24 here? Capernium sat at a strategic point
14:27 on the Via Maris, the ancient trade
14:28 route that connected Egypt with
14:31 Damascus. But it was also a corrupt
14:34 border town with a custom station where
14:36 tax collectors like Matthew collected
14:39 taxes for Rome. So why didn't Jesus
14:41 settle in Jerusalem? He had everything
14:43 he needed to succeed in the religious
14:46 capital. He performed miracles, knew the
14:49 law, and had charisma. Yet Jesus chose
14:52 Galilee, a region despised by the
14:54 religious elite because it was full of
14:56 Gentiles. And it was there that the
14:58 miracle happened that set everything in
15:01 motion. Jesus healed many and one day a
15:03 man with leprosy approached him. At that
15:06 time leprosy was incurable. It was more
15:09 than a disease. It was seen as a divine
15:12 curse, a living death sentence. No one
15:15 touched a leper. But Jesus reached out
15:17 his hand and the man's skin was restored
15:20 in an instant. It stunned everyone.
15:22 There was an ancient belief that only
15:24 the Messiah, the Savior King, would have
15:27 the power to heal a leper. So this
15:30 wasn't just another miracle. It was a
15:33 declaration of identity so powerful that
15:36 the news spread like wildfire and crowds
15:38 began to follow Jesus wherever he went.
15:41 People packed the doorways searching for
15:44 a word, a touch, a hope, the sick, the
15:46 oppressed. Those who had lost everything
15:48 came to him with hearts heavy with
15:51 desperation. And then the miracles
15:53 began. At the pool of Bethesda in
15:56 Jerusalem, Jesus made a paralyzed man
15:58 walk. But the miracle was the least of
16:00 it. Jesus did something that made the
16:03 Pharisees blood run cold. He compared
16:06 himself to God. He said he had the power
16:08 to give life just as the father does.
16:10 The Jewish people had gone 400 years
16:13 without hearing from a prophet. And now
16:15 this young man was claiming to be not
16:17 only a prophet, but the promised king
16:20 who would overthrow Rome. To the
16:22 religious leaders, this was intolerable
16:25 blasphemy. From that moment on, they no
16:28 longer wanted merely to argue with him.
16:31 They began actively plotting his death.
16:33 After Jerusalem, Jesus went to the
16:35 Jordan River to baptize alongside his
16:38 cousin John. But tragedy struck. King
16:40 Herod, enraged by John's rebukes,
16:43 ordered his arrest. Not long after, John
16:46 was executed. With his cousin in prison,
16:48 Jesus returned with his followers to the
16:51 region of Galilee where he chose 12 men,
16:54 fishermen, tax collectors, zealots.
16:56 Together, they traveled through nine
16:58 cities of Galilee. Jesus would say,
17:01 "Let's go on to the nearby town so I can
17:03 preach there as well. That's why I've
17:06 come." People came from every direction
17:08 seeking the healing only Jesus could
17:11 give. There was no pause, no rest. In
17:14 Kaa, he healed a Roman centurion servant
17:16 without even being there. Then he went
17:18 to Nine and raised a widow's only son.
17:21 He visited Chazine, preaching and
17:23 healing. But none of this compared with
17:25 what was about to happen. Jesus returned
17:28 to Galilee to prepare the most important
17:30 message of his life, the sermon on the
17:32 mount. Jesus' fame had spread throughout
17:35 the region. The hills around the sea
17:37 were packed. The air was electric with
17:40 expectation. Then Jesus appeared on the
17:42 crest of a hill and delivered the most
17:44 revolutionary address in history. Jesus
17:46 took everything the world admires,
17:50 strength, money, power, and turned it
17:53 upside down. He declared the poor, the
17:56 mourers, the meek, and the persecuted to
17:58 be heirs of the kingdom. He commanded us
18:01 to love even our enemies and to turn the
18:03 other cheek. Facing a crowd of
18:05 fishermen, farmers, and the forgotten,
18:08 he proclaimed, "You are the salt of the
18:11 earth. You are the light of the world."
18:14 And he gave them a mission to live in
18:16 defiance of everything the system
18:18 rewards. This message changed the course
18:21 of Western civilization. It was so
18:23 revolutionary that even today it is
18:26 still breaking every established system.
18:28 It challenged the beliefs of its time
18:31 and of all times. and it redefined
18:33 success and happiness. When the sermon
18:35 ended, Jesus looked across the Sea of
18:38 Galilee toward the region of Gdara, a
18:41 gentile land. With his 12 disciples, he
18:44 climbed into a boat to cross over. Out
18:46 on the water, the fiercest storm they
18:48 had ever seen rose up. Panic gripped
18:51 them, but with only three words, Jesus
18:54 stilled the storm. As the disciples were
18:56 still trying to process what had just
18:58 happened, they arrived at Gdara.
19:00 Something dark was waiting for them
19:02 there. A naked man covered in
19:05 self-inflicted wounds and possessed by a
19:08 legion of demons came charging at them
19:10 with inhuman strength. Jesus, however,
19:13 didn't flinch. He raised his hand and
19:15 set the man free from the demons. But
19:17 that was nothing compared to what Jesus
19:19 would do when they returned to
19:21 Capernium. A crowd was waiting for them
19:25 on the shore. And so was terrible news.
19:27 Gyrus's daughter had died. He went to
19:29 the room where the 12-year-old girl lay
19:32 lifeless. Jesus took her by the hand and
19:34 said, "Talithumi,"
19:36 which means, "Little girl, I say to you,
19:38 get up." In that moment, the girl's eyes
19:40 opened. She drew a deep breath and sat
19:43 up. A hush of astonishment fell over
19:45 everyone in the room. They were aruck.
19:48 Each miracle outshone the last. Jesus
19:50 not only healed diseases, but held power
19:53 over death itself. Jesus warned them
19:55 sternly, "Tell no one what has
19:57 happened." But the news could not be
19:59 contained. As they left the house,
20:02 whispers began to spread. The sick, the
20:05 desperate, the curious, everyone crowded
20:07 around the master, eager for a word.
20:09 Knowing the weight he carried, Jesus
20:12 chose to cross to the far side of the
20:14 Sea of Galilee to find a moment of
20:17 quiet. But the calm didn't last. When
20:19 they reached the shore at Bethsida, a
20:21 crowd was waiting. Instead of
20:24 withdrawing, Jesus spent hours preaching
20:26 about the kingdom of God. And when
20:29 hunger swept through the vast multitude
20:31 with only five loaves and two fish, he
20:34 fed more than 5,000. The bread kept
20:36 multiplying in the apostles hands as
20:39 they broke it. For hours, each of them
20:41 felt the laws of physics shatter between
20:44 their fingers. In the end, 12 baskets
20:46 were left over, one for every tribe of
20:48 Israel. But then the crowd tried to make
20:51 him king by force. Their plan was to
20:53 seize him and march on Jerusalem.
20:56 Suddenly, Jesus withdrew alone to the
20:58 mountain and told the 12 disciples to
21:01 get into the boat and cross the Sea of
21:02 Galilee. But out in the middle of the
21:06 sea, a deadly storm trapped them. Panic
21:08 took hold. For hours, they fought the
21:11 power of waves over 16 ft high. Then, in
21:13 the dark of night, they saw the
21:15 impossible. A figure was walking on the
21:18 water toward them. It was Jesus. Here's
21:20 a detail few people know. His plan
21:22 wasn't to rescue them. He was heading
21:24 for the far shore, and his route passed
21:26 right by them. Peter leaped toward him
21:28 in faith, and he too walked on the
21:30 water. And the moment he doubted and
21:32 began to sink, Jesus caught him. When
21:34 the two of them climbed into the boat,
21:37 the wind died down. In an instant, the
21:39 storm vanished as suddenly as it had
21:42 begun. The boat sailed on beneath stars
21:44 that lit a clear sky. They left Galilee
21:47 behind, taking quieter roads and moving
21:49 away from the crowds. He traveled north
21:52 to the gentile cities of Ty and Siden.
21:54 There, though many rejected him, he
21:56 worked astonishing miracles. Then he
21:59 went down to the region of the Decapus,
22:01 where he healed a man who was deaf and
22:03 mute. And again, his compassion
22:05 overflowed when he saw another hungry
22:08 crowd. With only a few loaves and fish,
22:11 he fed 4,000 people. Afterward, he went
22:13 up to Magdala, the hometown of a woman
22:16 named Mary Magdalene. Seven demons had
22:19 tormented her. Jesus cast them all out.
22:22 From that moment on, she never left him.
22:24 She became one of his most faithful
22:26 followers, traveling with him wherever
22:29 he went. When they arrived in Capernaum,
22:31 the crowds who had eaten the loaves and
22:33 fish welcomed them. They wanted more
22:36 miracles. But Jesus had something to say
22:38 to them. He declared, "I am the bread of
22:41 life. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks
22:44 my blood has eternal life." Many were
22:46 scandalized. To them this sounded like
22:49 madness. Many of his followers turned
22:51 back and stopped following him. But
22:55 Jesus kept going. And so at last Jesus
22:57 came with his disciples to a strange
23:00 place, Cesaria Philippi. The place
23:03 everyone knew as the gates of hell. A
23:05 mountain so high its peak stays
23:07 snowcapped even in summer. The pagans
23:10 called it the mountain of the gods and
23:12 built temples on its slopes to worship
23:15 Bal and Pan. They literally believed it
23:17 was an entrance to the realm of the
23:20 dead. And Jesus chose this place, the
23:22 farthest from the temple in Jerusalem to
23:25 reveal who he truly was. There Peter
23:27 received a revelation and said aloud,
23:30 "You are the Christ, the son of the
23:33 living God." It was a moment of perfect
23:35 clarity. Jesus turned to Peter and said,
23:38 "You are Peter, and on this rock I will
23:40 build my church, and the gates of Hades
23:42 will not prevail against it." But then
23:45 Jesus dropped a bombshell. He told them
23:47 he would suffer, be rejected, and die in
23:50 Jerusalem. The disciples were stunned.
23:53 The Messiah dead. Impossible. Peter even
23:56 rebuked him. They didn't understand. Yet
23:59 the real message Jesus wanted to drive
24:01 home in that dark place was that no
24:04 matter how evil the world becomes,
24:06 nothing will ever stop God's plan for
24:09 those who love him and believe in him. 6
24:11 days later, Jesus led his three closest
24:15 disciples, Peter, James, and John, up to
24:17 the heights of Mount Hermon. And there,
24:20 right before their eyes, the impossible
24:22 happened. Suddenly, Jesus was
24:24 transfigured. His face shone like the
24:27 sun. His clothes became whiter than
24:30 snow. But that wasn't all. Moses and
24:32 Elijah, the greatest of the prophets,
24:34 appeared. They were talking with Jesus
24:36 about his departure in Jerusalem. Peter
24:38 blurted out awkwardly and suddenly a
24:41 cloud covered them and a voice thundered
24:43 from heaven. This is my beloved son.
24:46 Listen to him. The disciples fell to the
24:49 ground terrified and when they looked up
24:51 only Jesus was there. This
24:53 transfiguration confirmed an unthinkable
24:56 truth. Jesus was divine. It was no
24:59 longer a question. It was a certainty.
25:01 Jesus was the fulfillment of the law and
25:04 the prophets and his glory was real. The
25:07 death he spoke of would not be the end,
25:10 but the road to an even greater glory.
25:11 Coming down the mountain, they walked
25:14 into chaos, an anguished father, his son
25:16 convulsing on the ground, and the rest
25:19 of the disciples, frustrated, unable to
25:21 heal him. Jesus set the boy free with a
25:24 single command. And moments later, with
25:27 the crowd still amazed, he turned to his
25:29 disciples and repeated the message. He
25:31 would be handed over into human hands
25:34 and killed. The map of his life now
25:36 pointed to a single place. His destiny
25:39 was set, but time was running out. Then
25:43 Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem.
25:45 He had to arrive in time to deliver a
25:47 crucial message. The journey was long.
25:49 He passed through the villages of
25:52 Samaria and the region of Perea across
25:54 the Jordan River, teaching about the
25:56 kingdom of God and preparing his
25:58 followers for the end. When they finally
26:00 arrived in Jerusalem for the feast of
26:03 tabernacles, Jesus went straight to the
26:05 temple and began to teach. The tension
26:07 with the religious leaders could be cut
26:09 with a knife. Right in the middle of the
26:12 debate, Jesus threw down a challenge.
26:16 Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever keeps
26:18 my word will never see death. The
26:21 Pharisees scoffed. Are you greater than
26:24 our father Abraham? He died. You're not
26:26 even 50 years old. And you say you've
26:29 seen Abraham, Jesus fixed his gaze on
26:31 them and spoke the words that sealed his
26:35 fate. Before Abraham was, I am. The
26:37 impact was immediate. I am was the
26:40 sacred name of God revealed to Moses at
26:42 the burning bush. Jesus wasn't just
26:45 saying he existed before Abraham. He was
26:48 claiming to be God. For them, that was
26:50 the limit. An intolerable blasphemy.
26:52 They grabbed stones from the ground to
26:55 kill him on the spot. But Jesus slipped
26:57 through the crowd and disappeared from
26:59 the temple. His hour had not yet come.
27:02 He escaped to Bethany to the home of his
27:04 friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. He
27:07 needed time, but time was exactly what
27:09 he didn't have. When the waters finally
27:12 calmed, Jesus returned to Jerusalem.
27:15 There he healed a blind man at the pool
27:17 of Silleum, a place you can still visit
27:20 today. But that fresh display of power
27:23 only stoked the flames. During the feast
27:26 of dedication, what we call Hanukkah.
27:28 The religious leaders cornered him in
27:29 the temple. They demanded a straight
27:32 answer. Are you the Messiah? The saving
27:34 king were waiting for. Tell us plainly.
27:37 Once again Jesus left them speechless.
27:40 He said, I and the father are one. Five
27:43 simple words, the definitive claim. And
27:46 once again, the reaction was the same.
27:48 They picked up stones to execute him for
27:51 blasphemy. For the second time Jesus
27:53 slipped away, this time fleeing to the
27:56 region of Perea. There he received
27:58 terrible news. His friend Lazarus was
28:01 gravely ill in Bethany. But Jesus didn't
28:05 go to save him. He waited two full days.
28:07 His disciples couldn't make sense of it.
28:09 When they finally reached Bethany,
28:11 Lazarus had been dead and buried for 4
28:14 days. Then Jesus did something that
28:16 would make almost the entire nation hail
28:19 him as king. The most public miracle of
28:22 his life was about to unfold. Martha
28:25 heartbroken said, "Lord, if you had been
28:27 here, my brother would not have died."
28:30 Jesus looked at her and said, "I am the
28:32 resurrection and the life. Whoever
28:34 believes in me, even though he dies,
28:36 will live." And standing before the
28:38 tomb, with a voice that thundered with
28:41 divine authority, he shouted, "Lazarus,
28:44 come out." Suddenly, the man who had
28:46 been dead walked out of the tomb. It was
28:48 the most public and provocative miracle
28:51 of all. There was no going back. The
28:55 news spread like wildfire. All Jerusalem
28:57 was talking about the resurrection of
28:59 Lazarus. For the religious leaders, this
29:02 was the last straw. The Sanhedrin, the
29:04 Jewish ruling council, called an
29:07 emergency meeting. They were terrified.
29:09 Caiaphas, the high priest, argued that
29:12 Jesus had to die because if everyone
29:14 started following him, the Roman emperor
29:16 would see rebellion and crush the
29:18 nation. But that wasn't the truth. They
29:20 were jealous, envious that the crowds
29:23 followed him and not them. They voted
29:26 and the decision was unanimous. Jesus
29:29 had to be executed. From that day on,
29:31 they officially plotted his death. The
29:34 end was drawing near, and Jesus knew it.
29:37 It was time to fulfill the purpose for
29:39 which he had been born, to die. After
29:41 preaching in Perea and Jericho, he
29:44 returned to Bethany. "There, 2 weeks
29:47 before his death, Mary anointed his feet
29:50 with an extremely expensive perfume."
29:53 "For my burial," Jesus said softly. She
29:55 was the only one who understood. The
29:58 appointed moment had arrived. Passover.
30:00 The final week of his life was a
30:02 masterpiece of provocation. It began
30:05 with the triumphal entry. Jesus headed
30:07 for Jerusalem. And the news that the man
30:09 who had raised someone from the dead was
30:12 nearby, so close to the city, drew a
30:14 massive crowd. Then Jesus mounted a
30:16 young donkey and began descending the
30:18 Mount of Olives toward the city,
30:21 fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah 9.
30:23 The crowd welcomed him like a king,
30:25 waving palm branches and shouting,
30:28 "Hosana! Blessed is he who comes in the
30:31 name of the Lord, the King of Israel."
30:33 The next day, Jesus went into the
30:35 temple, and when he saw the marketplace
30:37 they had made of his father's house, his
30:40 anger flared. The court of the Gentiles,
30:42 the only place where non-Jews could
30:45 pray, had been turned into a noisy,
30:47 crooked bazaar. He braided a whip from
30:50 cords and unleashed chaos. He overturned
30:52 the tables of the money changers, set
30:55 the animals free, and drove out the
30:57 changers and merchants, shouting, "It is
30:59 written, "My house shall be called a
31:01 house of prayer, but you have made it a
31:04 den of thieves." The final act had
31:06 begun. The merchants fled while the
31:07 religious leaders watched from the
31:09 shadows. "You could cut the tension in
31:12 Jerusalem with a knife. The religious
31:14 leaders were desperate to stop Jesus,
31:16 but they faced a serious problem. The
31:19 crowd adored him. How could they do it
31:21 without sparking a riot? Their
31:23 opportunity came from where they least
31:26 expected. On a dark night, Judas
31:28 Iscariat knocked on their door. He was
31:31 one of the 12, the treasurer who handled
31:34 the group's money. The Bible says Satan
31:37 entered into Judas, and he made them an
31:39 offer. He would hand over his master for
31:42 30 pieces of silver, the price of a
31:45 slave. The priests accepted at once. The
31:47 plan was set in motion. The next day,
31:50 Jesus gathered his disciples. He knew
31:52 what was coming. They were going to
31:54 celebrate Passover, but this supper
31:57 would be the last. During the meal,
31:59 Jesus dropped a bombshell. Truly, I tell
32:02 you, one of you will betray me. A murmur
32:05 swept around the table. Then Jesus
32:07 dipped the bread and gave it to Judas.
32:09 What you're going to do, do quickly.
32:12 Judas's heart pounded in his chest. He
32:14 stood without a word and stepped into
32:15 the night. The traitor had been
32:17 revealed. The others didn't understand
32:20 what had just happened. Then Jesus took
32:22 the bread. He broke it and said, "This
32:24 is my body." Then he took the cup of
32:26 wine. "Drink from it, all of you, for
32:28 this is my blood of the new covenant
32:30 poured out for many for the forgiveness
32:33 of sins." The disciples drank without
32:35 realizing they were witnessing the birth
32:37 of a sacrament that would still be
32:40 celebrated 2,000 years later. And just
32:42 when they thought the night couldn't
32:44 grow any more intense, Jesus did
32:46 something unexpected. He took off his
32:49 robe and one by one began to wash their
32:53 feet. Only gentile slaves did this. The
32:55 teacher knelt like a servant, teaching
32:57 that leadership in his kingdom was
32:59 rooted in humility and service to
33:01 others. When the meal was over, they
33:04 went out to the Mount of Olives. Jesus
33:07 didn't alter the plan. Judas knew that
33:09 once dinner ended, Jesus would head to a
33:12 garden called Gethsemane, just outside
33:14 Jerusalem's walls, where he often went
33:17 to pray late into the night. In fact,
33:19 that olive grove still stands today.
33:22 Some of those trees are over 2,000 years
33:24 old. They may be the very ones under
33:27 which Jesus prayed that night. Jesus
33:29 knelt to pray, but his anguish ran so
33:32 deep that the inexplicable happened. The
33:35 Bible says his sweat became great drops
33:37 of blood that fell to the ground. This
33:39 is not just a metaphor. It's a real
33:42 extremely rare medical condition called
33:44 hematidrosis, where crushing stress can
33:47 rupture the skin's capillaries so that
33:49 blood mixes with sweat. Jesus knew the
33:51 physical and spiritual agony that
33:54 awaited him. Even so, his prayer was
33:58 complete surrender. Father, not my will,
34:00 but yours be done. Suddenly the silence
34:04 shattered. Torches, swords, the roar of
34:06 a crowd. Judas had arrived with the
34:08 temple guards to arrest him. A kiss on
34:10 the cheek was the signal. The kiss of
34:13 betrayal. Peter drew his sword and
34:15 sliced off the ear of the high priest's
34:18 servant. But Jesus touched the man,
34:20 healed him instantly and said, "Whoever
34:23 lives by the sword will die by the
34:25 sword." And then the unthinkable
34:28 happened. Seeing Jesus in custody, all
34:31 the disciples fled. All of them. The
34:34 very ones who hours earlier had sworn to
34:36 defend him to the death abandoned him.
34:38 Why? What changed in a heartbeat that
34:41 made his loyalty disappear? It will all
34:43 make more sense in a moment. But first,
34:46 you need to see what happens to Jesus
34:48 next. The soldiers dragged Jesus through
34:51 the darkness toward the upper city. It
34:53 was an exclusive neighborhood, home to
34:56 the rich and powerful. Here in a lavish
34:58 mansion, Annas, the former high priest,
35:01 was waiting. The Jewish priests ruled
35:03 like monarchs over their people. But
35:06 they had no authority to execute anyone.
35:08 They needed help from someone else. From
35:10 whom that question would shape the
35:13 coming hours by their own law. Jewish
35:15 trials were forbidden at night. Trials
35:18 during Passover were forbidden.
35:20 Executions on the same day as the
35:22 verdict were forbidden. That night, the
35:24 religious leaders broke all their own
35:27 rules. Anna's questioned Jesus, "Where
35:28 are your followers? What is it you
35:30 teach?" What Anna didn't know was that
35:33 two of his closest disciples, Peter and
35:35 John, were right there, hidden among the
35:38 crowd, watching everything in silence.
35:41 Jesus answered calmly, "I have spoken
35:44 openly. Ask those who heard me in the
35:47 temple." At that, a guard struck him. It
35:49 was the first blow of many, but the
35:51 worst was yet to come. Jesus was about
35:53 to say something that would seal his
35:55 fate and turn nearly everyone against
35:58 him. But before he spoke those fateful
36:00 words, something terrible was unfolding
36:03 outside in the courtyard. While Jesus
36:06 was being questioned, Peter waited in
36:08 the courtyard. A servant girl stared at
36:10 him. "You were with Jesus." "I don't
36:13 know him," Peter lied. Twice more he was
36:15 recognized. Twice more he denied his
36:18 master. Then the rooster crowed. At that
36:21 moment, Jesus, beaten and bleeding,
36:24 crossed the courtyard. His eyes met
36:26 Peter's. Jesus had predicted this
36:29 exactly. Before the rooster crows, you
36:31 will deny me three times. Peter fled,
36:33 weeping bitterly. Midnight was
36:35 approaching. They now brought Jesus
36:37 before the high priest at the time,
36:39 Caiaphas. Caiaphas had been planning
36:42 this night for some time. He looked at
36:44 Jesus and demanded, "Are you the Christ,
36:47 the son of God?" Jesus answered, "I am,
36:50 and you will see the Son of Man seated
36:52 at the right hand of power." Jesus
36:54 wasn't improvising. He was quoting the
36:57 prophecy of Daniel 7 written 500 years
37:00 earlier. By claiming this text for
37:03 himself, Jesus wasn't just saying he was
37:05 the Messiah. He had just proclaimed
37:07 himself to be God. The verdict was
37:10 immediate, guilty of blasphemy. They now
37:12 had their excuse to do away with him.
37:14 But there was a problem. The Jewish
37:17 leaders couldn't execute him. Judea was
37:19 under Roman rule and only Roman
37:22 authority could issue a death sentence.
37:24 They needed Ponteus Pilate. The sun was
37:27 beginning to rise. Jesus now stood for a
37:30 third trial. This time a formal one
37:32 before the full Sanhedrin. Meanwhile,
37:35 elsewhere in the city, Judas was running
37:37 toward the temple. It seemed Satan's
37:39 grip on him had lifted because an
37:41 unbearable guilt was crushing him. He
37:44 went before the priests, hurled down the
37:46 30 pieces of silver, and cried out, "I
37:48 have sinned. I have betrayed innocent
37:50 blood." But his confession changed
37:52 nothing. He left the temple, likely
37:55 through these very gates, and made for a
37:57 nearby valley, the valley of Hinnam. And
38:00 here is where it all connects. This
38:02 valley, Gehenna, the very one we
38:04 mentioned at the start, is the oursed
38:07 place that gave hell its name, a place
38:10 of evil and pagan sacrifice. And there
38:13 consumed by guilt, Judas chose to end
38:16 his life. Caiaphas led Jesus to the
38:18 palace of Herod the Great from which
38:21 Ponteus Pilate now governed. The Jewish
38:23 leaders led Jesus to the palace gates
38:25 but did not go in. They didn't want to
38:28 be defiled right before Passover and the
38:30 palace was filled with statues of Roman
38:32 gods. So where did the trial actually
38:34 happen? The answer lay hidden
38:37 underground for centuries until
38:40 archaeologists uncovered the foundations
38:42 of a raised platform. Pilate would come
38:43 out of the palace and sit on his
38:46 judgment seat on that elevated platform.
38:49 This was already Jesus' fourth trial in
38:51 less than a day. And his enemies didn't
38:53 want a quick death. They wanted the most
38:56 torturous death the empire knew.
38:58 Crucifixion reserved only for rebel
39:00 slaves and enemies of the state. But
39:03 Pilate hesitated. History shows he
39:06 questioned Jesus multiple times going in
39:08 and out of the palace. "Are you the king
39:10 of the Jews?" he asked bluntly. And
39:13 Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of
39:15 this world." With those words, Pilate
39:18 saw no threat to Rome. He came out and
39:20 declared Jesus innocent. The crowd
39:23 erupted in fury. Pilate was bewildered.
39:25 What had this man done to stir up so
39:28 much hatred? But then, amid the chaos,
39:31 Pilate noticed a crucial detail. Jesus
39:33 was from Galilee and Galilee fell under
39:36 the jurisdiction of another ruler, Herod
39:39 Antipus. And by an incredible historical
39:41 coincidence, Herod was visiting
39:43 Jerusalem for Passover. Pilate saw a
39:45 chance to hand the problem to someone
39:48 else and sent Jesus to Herod's vacation
39:50 palace. Herod, unlike Pilate, was
39:52 excited. He had heard about Jesus'
39:54 miracles and wanted a show. He asked
39:57 Jesus to perform one of his tricks. But
40:00 Jesus didn't say a single word. By then
40:02 he had already been beaten and spat on
40:05 by the temple guards. Now Herod's
40:07 soldiers wanted their turn. They draped
40:10 a royal robe over his blooded back to
40:12 mock his supposed kingship. Herod
40:15 laughed, declared him innocent as well,
40:17 and like a package sent him back to
40:20 Pilate. But when Jesus returned, things
40:23 had gotten worse. The sun was already
40:25 high, and the crowd had swelled
40:27 dramatically. Here's where the story
40:29 takes a terrible turn. But you might be
40:32 wondering why was this same crowd who
40:34 days earlier had hailed him now
40:37 demanding his death. These same Jews had
40:39 welcomed Jesus as king just 5 days
40:41 earlier. They believed Jesus would
40:44 defeat Rome. They wanted a warrior, a
40:46 political liberator. But now they saw
40:50 him chained, spat on, beaten. They saw a
40:53 fraud. Their warrior messiah was a weak,
40:56 defenseless prisoner. disillusionment
40:58 turned to rage and they shouted without
41:01 stopping, "Crucify him!" Pilate,
41:04 desperate, tried one last compromise. He
41:06 would hand Jesus over to his soldiers to
41:09 be flogged. A brutal punishment he hoped
41:12 might satisfy the crowd. A scourging was
41:14 no mere whipping. The soldiers used a
41:16 whip with several leather straps, and at
41:18 the ends of those straps, they tied
41:21 sharp pieces of bone and small metal
41:24 balls. It was a torture designed to flay
41:26 a man alive. Many never survived the
41:29 scourging, and for Jesus, this was only
41:31 the beginning. The Roman soldiers took
41:33 pleasure in tormenting him. It was their
41:35 entertainment. They wo a crown of thorns
41:37 and pressed it into his head as they
41:39 mocked him. When they brought him out
41:41 before Pilate and the crowd, Jesus was
41:44 unrecognizable. Even then, the crowd
41:46 wasn't satisfied. They shouted again and
41:49 again, "Crucify him!" Then Pilate tried
41:52 one last move. It was Passover and
41:54 tradition required releasing a prisoner.
41:57 Who do you want me to release? He asked.
42:01 Jesus or Jesus Barabus? Yes, you heard
42:03 that right. Barabus's name was Jesus,
42:05 too. That detail often lost in the
42:08 telling, is one of the Bible's most
42:10 chilling ironies. Pilate was literally
42:13 asking, "Which Jesus do you want? The
42:16 murderer or the savior?" They chose the
42:18 murderer. And not only that, they
42:20 shouted one of the most tragic lines in
42:23 history, sealing their decision. Let his
42:25 blood be on us and on our children.
42:28 Pilate gave in. He washed his hands and
42:31 handed him over to be crucified. Jesus
42:33 was only hours from his final breath.
42:35 The soldiers dragged him out of the
42:37 ptorium. They hoisted the cross beam
42:39 onto his shoulders, rough, heavy,
42:42 already stained with the blood of other
42:44 condemned men. Every step was agony.
42:47 Jesus went from the Ptorium to Golgatha,
42:49 threading through the heart of
42:52 Jerusalem's old city. That path, barely
42:56 600 m, is today one of the most sacred
42:58 places on earth, the way of the cross,
43:01 the Via Dolar Roa. But that day, it was
43:04 just an ordinary street turned into a
43:06 corridor of death. Jesus was so weakened
43:09 by the scourging that his body gave out
43:12 on the way. He fell to the ground, the
43:14 weight of the wood crushing him into the
43:16 dust. At last, he reached his final
43:19 destination, a rocky hill outside the
43:22 city walls called Golgatha. There they
43:24 stripped him in front of everyone. His
43:27 body was a road map of pain. And as they
43:29 exposed him, the soldiers divided up his
43:31 clothes, unwittingly fulfilling a
43:33 prophecy written hundreds of years
43:36 earlier. Then the moment came. At 9 in
43:39 the morning, they nailed him to a cross.
43:41 Beside him, two other criminals met the
43:44 same fate. One hurled insults. The
43:47 other, however, did something no one saw
43:49 coming. He admitted his guilt, and he
43:52 affirmed Jesus's innocence. Most people
43:55 assume a crucified person died from pain
43:57 or from blood loss caused by the nails.
44:00 But the truth is far more horrific. The
44:03 real cause of death was asphyxiation, a
44:05 slow, agonizing struggle for every
44:07 breath. And understanding that is the
44:09 key to grasping what truly happened that
44:12 day. Roman crucifixion was a public
44:14 warning. It was engineered to inflict
44:16 maximum pain for the longest possible
44:19 time. To draw even a single breath,
44:22 Jesus had to push his whole body upward
44:25 using his feet as a lever again and
44:29 again for hours. Meanwhile, the crowd
44:32 mocked him. Mary and John, the beloved
44:35 disciple, wept together. He was the only
44:37 disciple who stood there in the darkest
44:40 moment. But then something unexplainable
44:42 happened. From noon until 3:00 in the
44:45 afternoon, darkness covered the land. In
44:47 broad daylight, the sky grew heavy,
44:50 thick. It was as if all creation held
44:53 its breath. The lamb was bearing the
44:55 weight of the world's sin. And in the
44:57 midst of that strange twilight, Jesus
45:00 breathed out his final words. It is
45:03 finished. That was his mission. No one
45:05 took his life from him. He gave it. He
45:08 suffered willingly for every wrong you
45:10 and I have ever done. In that instant,
45:13 the earth responded. An earthquake split
45:15 the temple in Jerusalem in two. The
45:17 symbolic barrier between God and
45:20 humanity was torn apart. Access to the
45:22 Father would no longer be limited. But
45:24 Jesus didn't just defeat death on the
45:27 cross. He conquered it by rising 3 days
45:29 later. Because the cross wasn't the
45:32 final destination. It was the doorway,
45:34 the beginning of something
45:36 extraordinary. To understand how he
45:39 overcame death, we must follow in his
45:42 footsteps. For 40 days, Jesus appeared
45:44 in places all across the map. In
45:47 Jerusalem, in Galilee, on the road to
45:50 Emmas. More than 500 people saw him, and
45:52 many of these witnesses died for
45:55 proclaiming what they saw. After Jesus'
45:58 death, the disciples hid in Jerusalem.
46:00 The religious leaders had sealed Jesus
46:03 tomb and stationed Roman guards. 3 days
46:06 later at dawn on Sunday, Mary Magdalene
46:08 came to the tomb with other women. And
46:10 then the impossible happened. The
46:13 two-ton stone had been rolled away and
46:15 the tomb was empty. The body of Jesus
46:18 was no longer there. In the midst of the
46:20 confusion, Mary Magdalene sat down
46:23 weeping. Then a man approached her, but
46:25 her tear blurred eyes kept her from
46:28 recognizing him until the man called her
46:31 by name. Mary. Mary looked up and
46:34 recognized him. It was him. In that
46:37 instant, everything changed. Jesus was
46:39 alive. She wanted to come close to
46:42 embrace him, to cling to him. But Jesus
46:44 lifted his hand gently and said to her,
46:48 "Don't hold on to me, for I have not yet
46:50 ascended to the Father. Go to my
46:52 brothers and tell them, I am ascending
46:55 to my father and your father, to my God
46:58 and your God." Mary understood this was
47:00 not a reunion to linger in. It was a
47:03 mission. Without a moment's delay, Mary
47:05 ran back to the upper room where the
47:07 disciples were hiding. The other women
47:09 who were with her saw the same thing and
47:12 ran back to the city. But on the way,
47:14 Jesus suddenly appeared. He greeted them
47:17 with a simple greetings. They embraced
47:20 him. He was real flesh and blood. Jesus
47:23 was alive. And he said to them, "Do not
47:26 be afraid. Go and bring the news to my
47:29 brothers." The women ran overjoyed to
47:32 deliver the great news to the disciples.
47:34 But the disciples did not believe them.
47:36 In those days, a woman's testimony
47:38 counted for nothing. It wasn't even
47:41 admitted in a Jewish court, no matter
47:44 how many women testified. Jesus chose a
47:46 group of women, the very ones the world
47:48 rejected, to announce the most important
47:51 event in history. Everyone had lost
47:54 faith. Everyone except Peter and John,
47:56 who ran to the tomb with a spark of
47:58 hope. When they arrived, the grave was
48:01 empty. Jesus wasn't there. All they
48:04 found were the linen strips, neatly laid
48:06 out, as if the body had evaporated from
48:09 within them. The headcloth was folded up
48:12 by itself, set apart in another place. A
48:15 strange detail John never forgot. But
48:17 not all the disciples were in Jerusalem
48:20 waiting for news. Two of them, hearts on
48:22 the floor, had lost all hope. They were
48:25 walking to their village, Emas, about 7
48:28 mi away. For them, it was over. On the
48:30 road, a stranger joined them and began
48:33 charting a path through the scriptures.
48:35 From Moses to the last of the prophets,
48:37 he showed how everything pointed to a
48:39 Messiah who had to suffer before
48:42 entering his glory. Like Mary, they
48:44 didn't recognize him either. They walked
48:47 and talked with him for hours. It wasn't
48:49 until they sat down to dinner in Emmas
48:52 when Jesus took the bread, blessed it,
48:54 and broke it that their eyes were
48:57 opened. It was him, and in that very
49:00 instant, he vanished. The shock was so
49:02 great that they retraced their steps.
49:04 They ran the 7 mi back to Jerusalem in
49:06 the dead of night to tell the others.
49:08 And as they told the rest of the
49:11 disciples their incredible story, Jesus
49:13 himself appeared in the middle of the
49:15 room. It was his third appearance, he
49:18 didn't open the door. He simply appeared
49:21 and his greeting was the same. Peace be
49:24 with you. But they didn't feel joy. They
49:26 felt terror. They thought they were
49:28 seeing a ghost. Even with him right in
49:31 front of them, doubt was stronger. It
49:33 wasn't until he showed them the wounds
49:36 in his hands and feet and ate a piece of
49:38 broiled fish in front of them that they
49:41 began to believe. Even so, one was
49:44 missing. Thomas wasn't there that night,
49:46 and when they told him, he refused to
49:49 believe. A week later, Jesus appeared
49:52 for the fourth time with a clear
49:54 purpose. He went straight to Thomas and
49:56 said, "Put your finger here. Look at my
49:59 hands. Reach out your hand and place it
50:02 in my side. Stop doubting and believe.
50:04 Thomas didn't need to touch him. He fell
50:06 to his knees and cried out one of the
50:09 greatest confessions of faith in all of
50:12 scripture. My Lord and my God. Up to
50:15 this point, every appearance of Jesus
50:18 seemed designed to overcome doubt and to
50:20 prove that he had truly risen. But the
50:22 last three appearances are different.
50:25 They unfold far from Jerusalem's turmoil
50:28 in the calm of Galilee. 8 days later,
50:30 the disciples were back home doing what
50:32 they knew best, fishing. They were in
50:34 their boat, discouraged, when a man
50:36 called out to them from the shore. It
50:39 was Jesus. There by the sea, Jesus
50:40 looked at Peter and asked him three
50:43 times, "Do you love me?" Three times
50:45 Peter answered that he did. Then Jesus
50:48 revealed his future. When you are old,
50:50 you will stretch out your hands, and
50:52 someone else will dress you and lead you
50:54 where you do not want to go. Peter
50:56 didn't grasp it then, but Jesus had just
50:59 foretold his death. Peter and all the
51:01 disciples would die in horrific ways,
51:04 crucified, stoned, burned alive. Just
51:06 for saying that Jesus rose from the
51:09 dead, believing that someone rose from
51:11 the dead is hard for many to accept.
51:14 Jesus knew that and he staged his final
51:16 two appearances accordingly. Jesus asked
51:19 the disciples to meet him on a mountain
51:21 near the Sea of Galilee and there
51:23 something extraordinary happened. Not
51:25 only did the 11 disciples appear, but so
51:28 did 500 of his followers. Suddenly, we
51:31 weren't talking about 11 witnesses
51:34 anymore. We were talking about 500 500
51:36 people who claimed to have seen the
51:39 risen Jesus. This helps explain why
51:41 Christianity exploded and became the
51:44 fastest growing faith in history. And so
51:46 we come to the final appearance. They
51:47 gathered on the Mount of Olives near
51:50 Jerusalem. There they saw with their own
51:53 eyes as Jesus ascended into heaven until
51:55 a cloud hid him from view. In that final
51:58 moment, Jesus didn't give them a
52:00 physical sign, but a promise, one that
52:02 would become the most powerful evidence
52:04 of all. He promised that the spirit of
52:07 God would descend on them and that this
52:09 spirit would draw people to him
52:12 throughout history. 50 days later, 3,000
52:15 people were converted in a single day.
52:17 Within a few years, the message had
52:20 reached the entire Roman Empire. Maybe
52:22 as you've read these words, you felt
52:24 something in your heart, an echo of
52:27 truth. Perhaps deep down, you know these
52:30 events are real. But you feel too lost
52:33 or unworthy to come near to him. I want
52:35 to tell you something. Jesus came into
52:37 the world to save you. He did this by
52:40 dying on a cross, paying the price for
52:43 your sins and mine so that you could
52:45 know God. And to help this message reach
52:48 more people who don't know Jesus. It
52:50 would help us a lot if you'd like this
52:53 video. Leave a comment thanking God for
52:55 giving us his greatest gift, eternal
52:58 life with him. Now you know Jesus full
53:02 map. But before he left, he gave his 12
53:05 disciples one unfinished mission to take
53:07 the gospel to the whole world. How did
53:10 they do it? Where did they go? To
53:12 understand how the apostles changed the
53:15 world, you have to watch this video, the
53:18 apostles map. You'll see on a map where
53:20 each apostle went, the roots and
53:22 journeys where they proclaimed Christ,
53:25 and where they faced death. Without that
53:27 map, this story is incomplete because
53:29 you won't understand how the gospel
53:31 reached you. You have to watch this
