Jonathan Falwell explores the 1000 Days
The TRBC pastor’s new book seeks to help readers better understand Jesus’ ministry and the Bible
Three years of ministry is the equivalent of 1000 days — a small period of time and yet, powerful enough to be documented in four gospels, recounting the parables, gospels and ministry of Jesus on earth from the view of four of his disciples.
For Thomas Road Baptist Church’s (TRBC) Senior Pastor Jonathan Falwell, Jesus’ 1000 days of ministry reveal essential principles for every facet of life, which he shares in his new book “1000 Days: The Ministry of Christ.”
“The main thing behind the book was Jesus could have come and died on the cross. He could have been buried and rose again in three days without ever having said a word, without ever performing a miracle, without ever sharing one parable, and without ever healing one person,” Falwell said. “He could’ve done none of that and still given us salvation, but he didn’t.”
Falwell originally taught on Jesus’ 1000 Days of ministry in a sermon series at TRBC. Taking principles from those series and his own personal insights, Falwell has released the “1000 days” book with the purpose of sharing what he has gleaned from scripture.
“(Jesus’ ministry) was to teach us some very important life lessons,” Falwell said. “I thought it was important that we study those life lessons to try to figure out just what Jesus wants us to do, how he wants us to live, how he wants us to handle our finances and how he wants us to handle our relationships. All those things, Jesus gave to us.”
Falwell’s travels to Israel shaped the way he views Christ’s teaching, he said, and without a doubt, had an impact on “1000 Days.”
Falwell made his first trip to Israel when he was six years old with his father, the late Dr. Jerry Falwell Sr.
“Standing on the shores of Galilee, realizing that this is the place that Jesus walked on water, going to Jerusalem, and to be on the temple mount, and to see the spot that they believe Christ was crucified — it definitely has an impact on you that you can’t describe unless you see it for yourself,” Falwell said.
The TRBC website promotes the book, claiming that “1000 Days” gives readers “an opportunity to meet Jesus Christ like never before.” For Falwell, this opportunity is provided through a mixture of the book’s chapters, group study guide and multimedia resources found on TRBC’s 1000 Days webpage.
“There is study after study, video after video. We brought in some of the great theologians to teach on some of these things and filmed them doing little vignettes about a specific situation in the life of Christ,” Falwell said. “For every parable, every miracle, every phrase and certainly every sermon, we’ve gone beyond even what the book has to say, into every little element of Christ’s life, and present an in depth study.”
For Falwell, this offers readers clarification on what is often overlooked.
“There are scores of things that are overlooked in the gospels, not that they are necessarily ignored but in the sense of truly taking the time to understand what it means,” Falwell said. “When Jesus said ‘blessed are the poor,’ people wonder whether it means they need to be poor to be blessed by God. That’s not it. It means that blessed are those who realize that without God we are nothing.”
Falwell’s hope, he said, is for everyone, no matter if they have a personal relationship with God or not, to dig into the scriptures and become “self-feeders” in their Bible study time.
All proceeds for “1000 Days” go to funding TRBC’s church planting efforts and, as Falwell said, furthering the Kingdom, “as Christ told us — going into all the world to preach the gospel to every creature.”
The book was officially released March 12 and is in stores across the United States and available online.
For more information about the “1000 Days” study, visit 1000days.trbc.org.
I miss johnathan on tv in texas//doyou still btoadcast on the air?your dad was preaching at arnolds valley Baptist vhurch when I accepted jesus Christ as my lord and savior