THIS MAN DISCOVERED JESUS

Tomorrow is the first Sunday in Advent as we start our happy journey towards Christmas.

- By Rev Tom Cant

But this weekend also marks St. Andrew's Day, and we remember our Scottish patron saint.

The times surrounding Jesus’ birth and the years when he grew up were extremely unsettled. The Jewish people were governed under the Roman Empire.

The Romans exerted their rule through Herod. The massacre of the children recorded in Matthew's gospel was only one of his many cruel deeds. He murdered one of his seven wives because he suspected her of plotting his death.

The Jewish people may well have been under Roman rule, but their defiant spirit remained unbroken. There were countless invariably unsuccessful uprisings against their Roman rule. Religious unrest was also rampant.

The strict Essene believers in Jewish society were so dissatisfied with the low religious standards shown by the temple priesthood that they established their own community in Qumran, the home of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

That is why the figure of John the Baptist is so significant. In his appearance, by his type of teaching and his challenging criticisms against his own people, John was regarded as God's promised Messiah.(Mark 1.4-8).