D Earl Cripe

The Gathering Storm - Harmony of the Gospels, Part 5 D Earl Cripe

D. Earl Cripe, Ph. D (1934-2011) held firmly to Historic Orthodox Christian Theology that the Bible is the only guide to the faith and practice of the Church. Towards that end during his more than forty-seven years of ministry he penned numerous volumes of expository Bible commentaries. In them he takes the reader verse-by-verse through the chosen book of the Bible, explaining the original meanings and intentions along with the applications to the life of the serious believer of Christ in simple language that anyone can grasp. They are essential reading for the serious Christian looking to further their understanding of the Holy Scriptures. This volume is part 5 in our 6-part verse-by-verse study of the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. With the end of the Great Galilean Ministry, dramatic changes are taking place in the earthly life of Jesus the Christ. His experiences at the synagogue in Capernaum after the feeding of the 5,000 have convinced Him that the effort to reform Israel under the National Covenant of the Law cannot and will not succeed. Prior to leaving the Galilean Ministry behind Jesus has gone up the seacoast to Tyre and Sidon, crossed over into Decapolis, and then gone up to the region of Caesarea Phillipi. He has done this to complete the assignment predicted for the Messiah by the prophets that He would preach and evangelize in all the areas of the original Twelve Tribes. But now He is leaving Galilee and beginning the long journey that will eventually climax in the crucifixion at the coming Passover in Jerusalem. The dawn of the era of the Messiah came with His birth in Bethlehem of Judea. The morning light broke upon the Land when He was baptized in the River Jordan and announced to Israel that the time was fulfilled in the Kingdom of God was at hand. In the Galilean Ministry, including the great Sermon on the Mount, Jesus has borne the long and arduous heat of the day. But now the happy days are over, and forces are beginning to gather that will result in his destruction as a man after the flesh and a Jew. In Book V we will see Jesus going to Jerusalem in one final effort to persuade the Jews that He is indeed the Christ. He will do signs and wonders that will make it possible for them to believe Him if they will, and to make some of His greatest declarations about Himself to the people during the Feast of Tabernacles in the temple. We will also find Him completing the ministry to the Twelve Tribes by going into Perea, the area east of Jordan that was assigned to Rubin, and crossing over into Samaria that was originally assigned to Ephraim, the Western Half Tribe of Manasseh, and Issachar. He will also go up to the southern tip of Sea of Galilee to evangelize in some towns and localities that He did not reach during the Great Galilean Ministry. This book (Volume V, The Gathering Storm), will culminate with the raising of Lazarus and Jesus withdrawing into Samaria to the city of Ephraim to avoid the murderous efforts of the Jews until Passover and the time assigned in the councils of God for His supreme sacrifice.