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THE FINAL WEEKSOF CHRIST'S MINISTRYo

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of God, that the[Christ] might bethereby" (John 11:4).After two days had passed, Jesus madknown His intentions to go to Bethany. Hdisciples were horrified. They were fearfulwhat might happen to Jesus if He went, sayin

"Master, the of late soughtthee; and goest thou thithagain?" (John 11:8.)The disciples knew that the religious leadewere intent on killing Christ. You maremember from the last lesson that He harebuked and publicly embarrassed the scribeand Pharisees many times for their hypocrisand self-righteousness.Jesus let His disciples know, however, ththere was no need to fear. He then told thethat Lazarus was "sleeping." The disciplewere pleased to hear this news. They thougHe meant Lazarus was recovering from hillness and was actually asleep. Then Jesus tothem plainly that Lazarus was dead!In many places in the New Testamenreference is made to the dead as being asleeawaiting a resurrect ion. Notice what thApostle Paul wrote concerning the deadChrist: "But I would not have you to b_______ , brethren, concernin_____ which are , th

not, even as others whicFor if w_____ that Jesus and ros

again, even so them also which _in Jesus will God bring withThessalonians 4:13-14).

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Photo by P Termes

This lesson covers important events thattook place during the final weeks ofChrist's ministry, in the spring of A.D. 31.We will study Christ's final preaching to thepublic and the many important principles Hecontinued to teach His disciples. We'll alsocover a number of confrontations Jesus hadwith the religious leaders of His day-eventswhich would lead to His arrest, illegal trial andcrucifixion.

THE RESURRECTION OF LAZARUSA spectacular miracle was performed byChrist in the village of Bethany, about twomiles east of Jerusalem. The account of thismiracle is found in John 11:1-44.A close friend of Jesus named Lazarus lived

in Bethany with his sisters, Mary and Martha.Mary is the one who later anointed Jesus' feetwith a precious ointment (John 11:2), shortlybefore His trial and crucifixion.Lazarus became very ill and was close todeath. His two sisters sent a message to Christ,telling Him of their brother's sickness. At thistime, Jesus was about two days journey fromBethany. He was in Perea, the area just east ofthe Jordan River.Rather than immediately come to visitLazarus, Christ decided to remain where Hewas for several more days. He said, "This_____ is unto , but for

ABOUT OUR COVER . . .The village of Bethany near Jerusalem. It was herethat Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.

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When Christ and His disciples arrived inBethany, they found that Lazarus had beendead four days . In the village were many Jewswho had come to offer their condolences toMary and Martha.Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus wascoming, went outside the house to meet Him.

She sorrowfully told Jesus that if He hadarrived sooner, her brother would not havedied, meaning that she knew Jesus would havehealed him. Christ then told her a veryimportant truth: "I am the , andthe : he that believeth in me,though he were , yet shall he live:And whosoever and believeth inme shall never " (John 11 :25-26) .

Christ was showing that He can resurrect, orrestore life to, the dead . Therefore, those whobelieve in and obey Him, even though they die,will one day be resurrected to eternal life.Martha acknowledged that she believed thisand then returned to the house. She told her

sister Mary that Christ wanted to see her.

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Traditional site of Lazarus' tomb from whichhe was resurrected.

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Mary quickly left the group of mournerWhen she saw Jesus, she wept and also toHim that if He had come sooner, her brothwould not have died.As Christ looked around at Mary and thmourners who had followed her, He beganweep, not out of sorrow for Lazarus, bbecause of their sorrow.Christ ordered that the stone be rolled awfrom the entrance to the tomb where Lazarwas laid, despite Martha's protest that his bodhad already begun to decay. After a shoprayer of thanks to His Father in heaveChrist shouted for Lazarus to come forth outthe tomb.The onlookers were astonished to sLazarus, still wrapped in his grave clothe

walk out of the tomb! This miraculous evenwitnessed by many people, enraged threligious leaders when they heard of it. Thhurriedly called a meeting to decide what toabout Christ.These men were worried that the peopwould acclaim Jesus as the Messiah, texpected deliverer. They feared He would lethe people into rebellion against the Romgovernment, which would result in a sevecrackdown by the Roman authorities upon tnation and the loss of their positions .To prevent this from happening, Caiaphathe High Priest, suggested a course of actioHe said , " I t is expedient for us, that one m[Christ] should die for the people, and that twhole nation perish not" (verse 50).

Caiaphas did not realize that he was actuaprophesying the sacrifice of Christ, not only fthe nation, but for the sins of all mankinAfter Caiaphas had spoken, the other religioleaders decided to act. "Then from that dforth they took together for___ him to " (verse 53).

Do You Remember?1. Lazarus lived in the town of _2. Lazarus' two sisters were a

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3. Why did Christ delay in going to Bethany?

4. What does the Bible often mean when itrefers to people as being asleep? _

5. What did Christ mean when He said "I amthe resurrection, and the life . . ."? _

6. How was Caiaphas' statement about theneed for Christ's death more meaningfulthan he realized? _

CHRIST ENTERS JERUSALEMBecause of the plot to put Him to death,Christ did not travel openly in Judea. He leftBethany and went to Ephraim, a town locatedon the edge of the desert. There He stayed withHis disciples .At this time, Jews from throughout Judeaand the surrounding areas were gathering in

Jerusalem to observe the Passover. Theywondered among themselves whether Christwould risk His life and come to Jerusalem forthe Passover (John 11:55-57).Six days before the Passover, Jesus returned toBethany and had dinner with Lazarus and his two

sisters (John 12:2). The following day, Christstarted out toward Jerusalem. He told two of Hisdisciples to goon ahead ofHim to a nearby villageand return with a young donkey they would findthere. It was upon this donkey that Christ wouldmake His entry into Jerusalem.As Jesus drew near and saw the city, Hewept. He knew that the time was coming whenJerusalem would be torn down stone by stone,and its inhabitants killed (Luke 19:41-44).4

Thousands of the people in Jerusalem haheard of Jesus and His miracles-especiallthe resurrection of Lazarus. Upon learning thJesus was coming into Jerusalem, they rangreet Him, spreading palm branches angarments in His path. Many hailed Him as thMessiah, shouting, "Hosanna to the sonDavid: Blessed is he that cometh in the namethe Lord" (Matthew 21:9).

Christ rode into Jerusalem, not asconquering hero on a white horse, as manythe Jews expected the Messiah would arrivbut in total humility. He came to Jerusaleknowing that He would soon lay down His lifor mankind. Notice in Zechariah 9:9 an OTestament prophecy of Christ's entry into thcity : "Rejoice greatly, 0 daughter of Zioshout , 0 daughter ofbehold, thy cometh unto thehe is , and having salvatiolowly, and riding upon an , anupon a the foal of a"

It was on a young donkey, such as the one pictureabove, that Christ rode into Jerusalem.Youth Bible Les

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-----,"

The scribes and Pharisees were filled withhatred toward Christ because of the honorbestowed upon Him by the people. "And whenthe chief and sawthe wonderful things that he did, and thechildren crying in the , andsaying, to the son of

they were sore______ " (Matthew 21:15).THE BARREN FIG TREE

During these last few days of His life, Christlodged in the town of Bethany, probably withLazarus, Mary and Martha. In the morningsHe would journey into Jerusalem and in theevenings return to Bethany.As Christ was on His way to Jerusalem onemorning, He was very hungry. Noticing a figtree by the roadside, He went over to it to picksome fruit. But all He found were leaves.Because it bore no fruit, Christ cursed the tree,saying, "Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever" (Matthew 21:19).The next day as Jesus and the discipleswalked past the tree, they saw that it hadcompletely withered and died. The discipleswere amazed at the miracle. In response totheir amazement, Christ said, " I f ye have_______ , and_____ , ye shall not only do this whichis done to the _but also if ye shall say unto this_______ , Be thou removed, andbe thou into the ; it shallbe done. And what-soever ye shall In_______ , ye shall(Matthew 21:21-22).Christ was showing His disciples that Godwill answer the prayers of those who have faithin Him. He will perform tremendous miracles-even moving mountains, if necessaryfor those who ask Him in faith.But what is faith and what must we be doingto have it? Faith is believing that God existsand that He will do what He has promised inLevel 8 / Lesson 8

the Bible. However, before God will givewhat we ask, what must we be doing? Lenotice I John 3:22: "And whatsoever_____, we of him, becauwe , a___ those things that arehis sight."Even if we have the faith, God will nnecessarily give us all that we ask for. We mube sure that what we ask Him to do is withHis will, as shown in Ephesians 5: 1"Wherefore be ye not , b_______ what the of tLord is."

I f we are striving to the best of our abilityobey God and study His Word to determiwhat His will is, we can pray with confidenasking God in complete faith to supply oneeds and even some of our desires.

MONEYCHANGERS CAST OUT OFTHE TEMPLE

During the Passover season, many thousanof people came to Jerusalem to offer sacrificat the Temple. In the courtyard of the Tempmerchants sold doves and other animalsmany of these people, who would offer themsacrifices to God. Can you imagine the noand stench coming from this menageriPeople would go from one dealer to anothehaggling to obtain the best prices.Others crowded around the tables of tmoneychangers. These men exchanged cofrom any part of the Roman Empire for tspecial Temple coinage acceptable for offings. Knowing that people had to change thmoney in order to give their offerings, tmoneychangers would take advantage of theby charging unfair rates of exchange to gainlarge profit for themselves.As Christ entered the cour tyard of tTemple, He was angry at what He saFurious at the mockery being made of HFather's House by these dishonest men,cast them out of the Temple. He overturntheir tables and chairs and drove out t

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animals! Christ was not going to allow thesemen to continue dishonoring God by misusingHis House (Matthew 21:12-13).There is an important lesson we can learnfrom this incident. When we attend Sabbathservices, we should be careful of our conduct inthe meeting hall. We should be quiet andrespectful toward God and others during theservice, remembering that we are coming intoGod's presence to worship Him, and to hearHis words taught from the Bible by Hisministers.Christ returned to the Temple each day andtaught the many people who thronged aroundHim. With each passing day, the scribes andPharisees grew more resentful of His presenceand became more determined to kill Him(Luke 19:47-48).

Do You Remember?1. Why did Christ ride a young donkey intoJerusalem? _2. Why were so many people in Jerusalem atthis time of year? _3. What lesson did Jesus teach His disciplesabout faith? _

4. What were the moneychangers and animalmerchants doing in the Temple, and why didChrist cast them out? _

CHRIST SPEAKS ABOUTHIS DEATH

Christ knew His life on earth as a humanwould end very soon. Referring to Hissoon-coming death and resurrection, He toldthose gathered around Him that the time hadcome that the "Son of man should beglorified." Then, to explain the necesssity for6

His death, Christ said that unless a grainwheat falls into the ground and dies, it wremain alone. But if it dies, it will produmuch grain (John 12:23-24).Jesus used this simple analogy to show ththrough His death, and subsequent resurection, that all who have ever lived will havan opportunity to receive eternal life.Christ then told His disciples: "He th____ his shalland he that his life in_____ shall it unto_____ " (John 12:25). He was showing that anyone whose sole purpose ispreserve his life while disobeying God wlose it. But if a person gives his lifeobedience and service to God (verse 26practicing the truly happy and joyful waygive instead of the way of get, then God wultimately give him the gift of eternal lifChrist showed that anyone wanting to be Hservant must be willing to make this totcommitment to God.

A WITNESS TO THE CROWDJesus told His disciples that He was troubleby the nearness of His death. For a fleetin

moment He wished God would spare Him frowhat would be a humiliating and painful deatBut Christ knew that this was one of threasons He had come to earth, and so Hreaffirmed His desire to do God's will (Joh12:27; also notice what Christ later saidMatthew 26:39).At this moment a voice thundered froheaven, saying, "I have both _it [the Father 's name], and wi______ it again" (John 12:28).The people standing nearby who heard thvoice were amazed. They debated as to wheththey heard thunder or the voice of an angeChrist then told them that the voice did ncome for His benefit, but rather for their sakeI t was a witness to the fact that He was sent bGod the Father.Even though Christ told the people on man

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casions to heed His message and believe inim, most did not. They thought the Messiahould come as a conquering hero to deliverm from the Romans. The people simply didt believe Christ, just as the prophet Isaiahd prophesied hundreds of years earlieriah 53:3).In Isaiah's prophecies, we find the reasonhy the people did not believe Christ anderefore rejected Him. Notice what Isaiahrote in chapter 6, verse 10, speaking of

"Make the heart of this _t, and make their ears heavy, and shut their; lest they witheir eyes, and with their ears,d with their heart, and, and be healed."Jesus knew the people did not understandho He was and that He was sent to earth byod the Father. It was because the Father hadosed their eyes to this truth! (John 12:40.)followed Him just to see what greating He would do next.Many of the Jewish rulers, however, didnderstand who Christ was and believed on

"But because of theey did not him [admit it toyone], lest they should be ofe [lose their positions of

For they theof more than theof " (John 12:42-To the many people who thronged around

Christ then said: " I f anyone reallylieves in me, he doesn't just believe in me,ut believes in God who sent me!" God thehad sent Christ to the earth, and it wasrough His authority that Christ spoke (John2:44-50). He said only what His Father toldim to say.Many were willing to follow Christ aroundd tell others that the miracles He performedere real. But most did not want to follow theample He set and heed the message from

that He proclaimed!

Do You Remember?1. What did Christ mean when He spoke ofgrain of wheat that dies?2. What did the crowds hear, which waswitness to the fact that Christ was sentGod the Father? _3. Why were the Jewish leaders who believon Christ afraid to admit it?

ATTEMPTS TO DISCREDIT CHRISTRecall that the religious leaders hdetermined to kill Christ. And so duringclosing days of His ministry, they continuaquestioned Him in an attempt to discredit Hin the eyes of the people. I f they could turncrowds against Him, they would be able

arrest Him without opposition. One suencounter is recorded in Matthew 21, begning with verse 23.While Christ was preaching in the Tempthe chief priests and elders came up to Hdemanding to know who gave Himauthority to teach and perform miracles. Chsaid He would answer their question if thwould first answer a question from Him.then asked whether they believed JohnBaptist received his authority to baptize frmen or from heaven (meaning from God).The chief priests and elders reasoned amothemselves, saying, " If we say, 'From heavHe will say, 'Why then did you not belihim?' But if we say, 'From men,' all the peowill stone us, for they are persuaded that Jowas a prophet" (Matthew 21:25-26; Lu20:5-6). Thus, their only choice was to refuseanswer Christ's question. He then turnedthem and said that He would not answer thquestion either.Jesus then gave two parables to illustratedifference between those who had belieJohn the Baptist, and the religious leaders whad rejected him.

The first parable is found in Matth

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This vineyard reminds one of Jesus' parable of thevineyard and the husbandmen.:28-32. Christ told of two sons who weresked by their father to work in his vineyard.he first son said he would not, but laterepented and did as his father asked. Theson said he would go, giving the

that he was a faithful son. But heid not go.Christ was showing that those who believedohn the Baptist and repented of their sinsould enter the Kingdom of God before orhead of the religious leaders, who had notelieved John nor repented of their sins at thatime. They made a show of being righteous, butn reality did not obey God.In the second parable, Christ described aertain man who owned a vineyard which hentrusted to certain husbandmen, or caretakrs, to tend. The owner then went away into aar country. When harvest time approached, heent servants to the husbandmen to receive theroduce from the vineyard. But they misreated the servants. They beat one, killednother and stoned yet another. Again thewner sent servants, but they were treated the

same way. Finally, believing the husbandmwould respect his son, the owner decidedsend him. But they killed him also (Matthe21:33-39) .Christ then asked the question: "What wthe owner of the vineyard do with the wickhusbandmen?""He will kill the wicked husbandmen andother husbandmen tend the vineyard." Treligious leaders did not realize it, but they hjust condemned themselves!Jesus used this parable to show that treligious leaders of Israel had , time after timrejected the prophets sent by God. Finally, Gsent His own Son to preach to them. But thwould kill Him also. Christ told them thbecause of their wickedness, God would no

give the opportunity of entering the Kingdoof God to those who would repent and briforth the fruit of obedience to God.The religious leaders were furious when threalized that Christ had spoken these parablagainst them. They would have seized Himthat moment had they not feared what tpeople might do to them.

MORE TRICKS AND QUESTIONSChrist then told another parable, comparithe Kingdom of God to a wedding fea(Matthew 22:1-14). In this parable, there wa king who prepared a wedding feast forson. The invited guests refused to come to twedding. Some of them even killed the servawho brought them their invitations. So the kihad his servants find others to attend twedding.In a similar manner, the scribes anPharisees had rejected Christ and His messa

about the Kingdom of God and woueventually kill Him. So in their place Gwould call ordinary people to become membeof His Church. These people would then hathe chance to take part in the wedding of tChurch to Christ at His Second Cominprovided they wore the proper "weddigarments."Youth Bible Le

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In Revelation 19:7-9 is described the verywedding Jesus spoke of in His parable. I t is themarriage of God's Church to the glorifiedChrist! But only those who are properly"clothed"-those who have prepared themselves by growing in grace, knowledge andobedience to God-will be allowed to marryChrist.Notice in Revelation 19:8 that this properclothing is symbolic of righteousness: "And to_____ [the Church] was granted thatshe should be arrayed in fine _clean and : for the fine

IS the ofsaints. "The Pharisees were now desperate. Theyheld a private meeting to devise a plan whichthey hoped would entangle Christ in His words.They wanted to find an excuse to have Himarrested. So they decided to send a group ofmen to ask Jesus a clever question."Is it lawful to give tr ibute unto Caesar, ornot?" they asked (Matthew 22:17). I f He wereto reply "Yes" to their question, Christ wouldhave been held in disfavor among many of theJews. But if He were to say "No," He wouldhave been arrested by government officials for

rebellion against the Roman government.Jesus, immediately perceiving their evilintentions, asked them to give Him a tributecoin. "Whose image is on this coin?" Heasked.

"It is Caesar's," they replied. Christ thetold them to give Caesar those things thabelong to him, and to give God the things thaare rightfully His. The men went awaspeechless, defeated again by another wisanswer.A short while later the Sadducees,religious group who did not believe in thresurrection, confronted Christ. They hoped tmake Christ look foolish by asking Himquestion they felt He could not answer. In sdoing, they hoped to prove their belief thathere is no resurrection of the dead.The Sadducees said to Christ: "Moses tolus that if a man dies without having childrenhis brother must marry the widow and havchildren for him. Now there were sevebrothers among us. The first one married andied, and since he had no children, he left hwife to his brother. The same thing happeneto the second and third brother, right on dowto the seventh. Finally, the woman died. In thresurrection, whose wife of the seven will shbe?" (Matthew 22:24-28.)Notice Christ's reply in verses 29-30; "Ye d_____, not knowing the _nor the power of God. For in ththey_____ , nor are gIVen In _but are as the of God iheaven."Christ then revealed the ignorance of th

Roman coins found in the area of Mt. Carmel, Israel, dating from the time of Christ.

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ll thy

CHRIST SEVERELY REBUKESTHE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES

The scribes and Pharisees of Christ's dayere leaders in their community. They were Devout Jews praying in public at theWailing Wall in Jerusalem.

respected and admired because they gave thappearance of being extremely righteous.These men kept a rigid schedule oreligious activities. They fasted twice a weeprayed in public for all to see, tithed even othe seeds from garden plants, and had theown strict rules on how to keep the Sabbath

They also gave large offerings to the Templtreasury.In all their show of righteousness, howeveChrist recognized a major character flaw. ThPharisees' great sin was hypocrisy. What dChrist call this sin in Luke 12:1? "Beware yethe of thewhich is "Because of their hypocrisy, Jesus leveledstinging indictment at the Pharisees iMatthew 23. Be sure to read this chapter anthen discuss with your parents the many wayin which the Pharisees were hypocrites.

adducees regarding the resurrection. Refering to Exodus 3:6, Christ said, "Have ye notthat which was spoken unto you by God,aying, I am the God of , and the

od of , and the God of? God is not the God of thebut of the "- - - - ,

erses 31-32).What Jesus clearly meant was that for Godo be the God of the living, Abraham, Isaacnd Jacob will have to be alive once again-atresurrection of the dead!The Sadducees were silenced, unable tospute Jesus' reasoning.The Pharisees soon heard how the Sadduceesad been shamed by Christ. They now hoped tocceed where the Sadducees failed."Which of the Ten Commandments is mostmportant?" one of them asked Christ. Jesus'eply helps us to better understand the purposer God's commandments.Jesus answered the Pharisee by summarizing

law as follows: "Thou shaltthe Lord thy with_____ , and with al l thyand with all thy ,his is the and _ommandment. And the second is _it, Thou shalt thyas thyself. On these two

hang all thend the " (Matthew 22:37-40;lso notice Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus19:18).Once again, Christ gave the appropriatenswer which greatly upset His critics. He thensked the Pharisees a question they could notnswer. (Read Matthew 22:41-46 and ask yourarents to explain the answer to you.) Afterhis, no one dared to confront Christ with anyre questions.

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Let's take a close look at some of theof the Pharisees.The Pharisees were very proud of their roless religious leaders in the community. They

wanted everyone to look up to them. They worelarge scripture passages on their garments toimpress everyone with their great "righteousness." They made sure they spoke "godly"words and that their appearance was "godly"in every way. They traveled long distances onland and sea to bring converts into theirreligion.

One might assume that someone with allhese works would be commended by Christ.But He did just the opposite. He recognizedthe authority of the scribes and Pharisees,aying they "sit in Moses' seat" (Matthew23:2). That is, they occupied an importantposition that was instituted in the days ofMoses. But He warned the people not toollow their personal example. Though theytaught part of God's truth, they themselvesid not really obey it!The religious leaders wanted only to impress

people rather than to humble themselves beforeod. Notice Christ's stinging indictmentgainst them in Matthew 23:23: "Woe untoyou, and! for ye pay _f mint and and, and have theweightier matters of the law, _

mercy, and "The scribes and Pharisees were very careful

to keep the letter of the law, even to theminutest detail. But they neglected, or omitted,the spirit or intent of the law-its spiritualapplication in their lives. They did not humblydesire to sincerely and truly obey God. Theywere proud and self-righteous.

Christ severely rebuked the Pharisees, evenmore than those who sin ignorantly, becauseHe knew they did so knowingly. He knew thatwhile they were putt ing on an outward show ofrighteousness, they were plotting His murder."Even so ye also appear

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_______ unto men, but within ye afull of and(Matthew 23:28).

Christ knew that He would soon be putdeath, so He spared no words in identifying tconspiring religious leaders for what thwere.

Following His rebuke of the scribes aPharisees, we find Jesus filled with sadness aconcern over the inhabitants of JerusaleNotice His words in Matthew 23:37-39:Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou thatthe prophets, and them whare sent unto thee, how often would I ha_______ thy children together, evas a hen gathereth her chickens under hwings, and ye ! Behoyour house is left unto you . Fosay unto you, Ye shall nothenceforth, till ye shall say,he that in the name of t

"The religious leaders no longer ca

to criticize Christ. Their sole aim now wto find a way to kill Him. They felt thhad to rid themselves of His threat to thauthority.

Christ was now through addressing tpublic. He would use the final few days befHis arrest, illegal trial and crucifixion to gimportant instructions to His disciples. Innext lesson we will study these vital teacmgs.

Do You Remember?1. Which religious group in Christ's d

did not believe in the resurrectio2. What is the first great commandment Jespoke of?3. What is the second great commandme

4. What was the "leaven" of the Pharisee

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