The Life of the Christ - ForMinistry

Resources for the Reader
Levi—(1) Jacob’s third son by his wife Leah. (2) One of the tribes of
Israel. The men of this tribe were to be the special servants of
the Lord at the sacred tent and later at the temple, and so the
people of this tribe were not given tribal land. Instead, they
were given towns scattered throughout the other twelve tribes
(see also “Levites”). (3) One of Jesus’ twelve closest disciples
(called “apostles”). He is also known as Matthew. See “apostle.”
Levites—Those Israelites who belonged to the tribe of Levi. God
chose the men of one Levite family, the descendants of Aaron,
to be Israel’s priests. The other men from this tribe helped
with the work in the sacred tent and later in the temple (see
Numbers 3.5-10).
local shrine—See “place of worship.”
locust—A type of grasshopper that comes in huge swarms and causes
great damage to plant life. See Joel 1.2—2.11.
LORD—In the Old Testament the word “Lord” in capital letters stands
for the Hebrew consonants YHWH, the personal name of
God. Ancient Hebrew did not have vowel letters, and so anyone
reading Hebrew would have to know what vowels to put
with the consonants. It is not known for certain what vowel
sounds were originally used with the consonants YHWH.
The word “Lord” represents the Hebrew term Adonai, the
usual word for “lord.” By late Old Testament times, Jews considered
God’s personal name too holy to be pronounced. So
they said Adonai, “Lord,” whenever they read YHWH. When
the Jewish scribes first translated the Hebrew Scriptures into
ancient Greek, they translated the personal name of God as
Kyrios, “Lord.” Since that time, most translations, including
the Contemporary English Version, have followed their example
and have avoided using the personal name of God. See also
the article on p. 33.
Lot—A nephew of Abraham and the ancestor of the Moabites and
Ammonites. See Genesis 11.26-28; 13.1-13; 14.8-16; 19.1-38.
Mary—A common name for Jewish women in Jesus’ day. Several
key women in the New Testament are called Mary. (1) Mary,
the wife of Joseph and mother of Jesus (see Matthew 1.18-25;
Luke 1.26-56; 2.1-52). (2) Mary of Bethany, a friend of Jesus
and the sister of Lazarus and Martha (see Luke 10.38-42). (3)
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Mary Magdalene, one of Jesus’ female disciples (Luke 8.1,2; 24.9,10).
According to Luke, Jesus cast seven demons out of Mary
Magdalene.
Matthew—One of Jesus’ twelve closest disciples (called “apostles”).
He is also known as Levi. See “apostle.”
Messiah—See “Christ,” and the article on p. 44.
Moses—The prophet who led the people of Israel when God
rescued them from slavery in Egypt. Moses also received
laws from God and gave them to Israel. See Exodus 2–12;
19–24; Numbers 12.6-8.
most holy place—The inner room of the sacred tent and of the
temple. In the sacred tent this room contained only the
sacred chest; in Solomon’s temple, the most holy place also
held statues of winged creatures. Only the high priest could
enter the most holy place, and even he could enter it only
once a year on the Great Day of Forgiveness. The most holy
place has traditionally been called “the holy of holies.”
Mount of Olives—A mountain just east of Jerusalem, across
Kidron Valley from the temple. Gethsemane, a place where
Jesus and his disciples often went to pray, was on this mountain,
and so were the villages of Bethany, Bethphage, and
Bahurim (see Luke 22.39).
myrrh—A valuable sweet-smelling powder used in perfume.
Nazarenes—A name that was sometimes used for the followers of
Jesus, who came from the small town of Nazareth (see Acts
24.5).
Noah—When God destroyed the world by a flood, Noah and his
family were kept safe in a big boat that God had told him to
build. See Genesis 6–9.
offerings—See “sacrifices.”
parables—Stories that use typical everyday situations in order to
teach important truths. Jesus used many parables to teach his
followers about God’s Kingdom (see Luke 8.4-15). See the
article on p. 53.
Passover—A Jewish festival held on the fourteenth day of Abib in
the early spring. At Passover the Israelites celebrated the
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Word List