Sabbath. Capernaum gathered at the Synagogue. The townspeople listened as one of their elders read from the scroll about the coming prophet like Moses (Deut 18:15-19). Perhaps some wondered, “Is Jesus that prophet?”<\/p>\n
[In the SpendaYearwithJesus timeline, the reading took place Saturday.]<\/p>\n
The scroll reading continued by posing the question, “How will we know?” (Deut 18:21)\u00a0It was a difficult, urgent question with no easy answers.<\/p>\n
For the average person, most of what they knew about Jesus’ experience\u00a0was gathered from hearsay or rumor — not from first-hand experience. (What do you know about your doctor’s medical training, for example?)<\/p>\n
There was constant speculation around Jesus’ identity.\u00a0His teaching tours and healing activities sometimes aligned with and sometimes\u00a0collided with his listeners’ expectations.<\/p>\n
Jesus himself posed the\u00a0question among his followers. Earlier this month, subscribers received\u00a0this text message:<\/p>\n
After bread. Secluded area of woods by a stream. Jesus asks the disciples: Who do you say I am?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
. . . later, Jesus’ followers, Peter and Stephen, quoted the\u00a0scroll to validate their conclusion concerning Jesus’ identity (Acts 3:22-23, 7:37).<\/p>\n