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JESUS

The word “Gospel” usually refers to the written record of Christ’s words and deeds.

Etymology:
Anglo-Saxon: “god” (good) “spell” (to tell)
Greek : “Evaggelion” (glad tidings)

The GOSPEL is the Good News of Salvation proclaimed by Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ himself is the GOOD NEWS.


Jesus is THE GOSPEL.

THERE IS ONLY ONE GOSPEL: JESUS CHRIST

HE IS GOD’S TOTAL MANIFESTATION OF HIMSELF.

HE IS THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD.

THE GOSPELS ARE THE WRITTEN FAITH ACCOUNTS OF THE EARLY CHURCH.
• Direct experiences by the followers of the historical Jesus
• Eyewitness testimonies that were heard and recorded
• Collections of oral preaching
• First Christians’ experiences of the Risen Lord.

THE GOSPELS ARE NOT BIOGRAPHIES OF CHRIST. THE GOSPELS ARE FAITH SUMMARIES
DESCRIBING WHAT THE EARLY CHRISTIANS BELIEVED ABOUT JESUS.

The Gospels are based on the fact that the Son of God became Man and walked on this planet in the
person of Jesus of Nazareth.

The Gospels are rooted in the words and works of Jesus, in his interactions with people, and in the
significant events of his life.

Jesus in the Scriptures:


1. The Bread of Life
2. The Light of the world
3. The Gate
4. The Good Shepherd
5. The Resurrection and the Life
6. The Way, the Truth and the Life
7. The Vine
8. The Alpha and Omega

Incarnation – to become flesh.

“The belief that for the salvation of the world, the Son of god, while remaining fully divine, became
truly and fully human.” (2001:Collins and Farrugia)

‘The fact that the Son of God assumed a human nature in order to accomplish our salvation in it.”
(Catechism of the Catholic Church)
The Word became flesh:

• TO SAVE US BY RECONCILING US WITH GOD.


• TO MAKE US REALIZE GOD’S LOVE
• TO BE OUR MODEL OF HOLINESS
• TO MAKE US PARTAKERS OF THE DIVINE NATURE.

Surely the Incarnation was not absolutely necessary. God is not bound by any form of necessity.

Jesus Christ is the meeting point of humanity and divinity. By becoming like us, we became like him.

Mary., the Mother of God

1. Mary is Mother of the Church. She is our mother in the order of grace. She is our model in faith
and charity. Because of the uniqueness of her role and her closeness to God, Mary’s prayers for
the church are powerful and efficacious.
2. Since there is only one Jesus, and Jesus is both God and Man, then the Blessed Mother is truly
the “Theotokos” or “God-bearer”. She is mother, not only of the human Jesus, but of the Christ
who is both human and divine.
3. The Church teaches that the Blessed Virgin Mary, from the very first moment of her existence,
had been preserved by God from original sin. (IMMACULATE CONCEPTION Pope Pius IX,
1854)
4. VIRGINAL MOTHERHOOD – Mary’s conception of Jesus was not through relations with
man, but by the power of the Holy Spirit. It was willed by the Father that while the Son assumes
the human nature through his human mother, he remains to be the Father’s natural son.
EVER-VIRGIN – While the motherhood of Mary was extended to all men at the foot of the
cross, Jesus is Mary’s only son. (PERPETUAL VIRGINITY – St. Augustine)
5. Because she was preserved from original sin, Mary cannot suffer the decay in the tomb. Rather,
when the course of her earthly life was over, she was taken up body and soul into heaven. OUR
(LADY OF ASSUMPTION- Pius XII, 1950)
6. Because we acclaim Christ as the King of the Universe, we honor the Blessed Mother as the
QUEEN MOTHER, THE QUEEN OF HEAVEN AND EARTH.

Hence the threefold mission of Christ:

• THE PRIESTLY MISSION


• THE PROPHETIC MISSION
• THE KINGLY MISSION

TEMPTATION OF JESUS
1. Temptation attacks us when we are most vulnerable.
2. The Gospel accounts tell us that Jesus was so hungry when the devil asked him to turn the stone
into bread. Jesus relied by quoting scriptures: “…people need more than bread for their life; real
life comes by feeding on every word of the Lord.” Deuteronomy 8:3
3. The chosen people rebelled against God in the desert because of the scarcity of food. While Jesus
did not mean that material food is not important, he was emphasizing that there is a value greater
than material things, and that is life in God.
4. Like the Israelites in the desert, we also go through moments in our lives when we want to put
our life into our own hands and impose our ways on God.
5. Jesus is teaching us that the ways of the Lord are perfect, and in faith we should let the Lord take
control over our lives.
6. Jesus makes us aware of other forms of idolatry, that is, the worship of wealth and power. Once
again, we are reminded that God alone should be worshipped, and earthly powers are bound to
end.
7. MONOTHEISM is the basic law of the covenant. Hence idolatry is a serious offense, for there
is only ONE GOD. Scriptures however reveal to us that this one God is Three Persons: the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
8. By being tempted like us, yet not falling into sin, Jesus taught us that our human nature is not a
hindrance to following God’s will, and that we have been equipped by God with all the graces
necessary to overcome temptation.

Reasons for Christ’s Execution:


1. The temple Incident
2. Jesus was regarded as a rebel.
3. Jesus was regarded a threat to the nation’s relative peace under the Roman rule.

Jesus died for our sins for us to live.

The Eve of Jesus’ Passion:


1. Before the Last Supper, Jesus surprised his disciples by washing their feet.
2. In the “Bread of Life” discourse found in John 6, we find Jesus Christ saying that he will give his
flesh as food and blood as drink for the salvation of the world.
3. At the Last Supper, Jesus gave his very self, under the appearances of bread and wine, as food
that will bring humanity to everlasting life. By breaking the bread and sharing the wine, he
illlustrated what will happen to him the next day: he will be killed and his blood will be shed, but
just as food gives life, this death will bring life to the world.
4. In his farewell discourse to his apostles, Jesus left them with a new commandment: “Love one
another as I have loved you. Greater love than this, no man has: to lay down one’s life for one’s
friends.” The love of Jesus is the measure of a Christian’s love. The Christians’ love for one
another is the most concrete proof of discipleship.
5. Before he prayed, Jesus invited his disciples to pray with him, but they were just too tired so they
fell asleep. Prayer is a Christian’s source of strength. People who hardly find time to pray are
easily enslaved by worldliness and drawn away from God.
6. During his agony in Gethsemane, Jesus saw the tremendous sufferings that he would have to go
through. His sweat became like drops of blood. A man like us, he experienced fear and anguish.
7. The prayer of Jesus was not imposing anything on the Father. While he prayed for the possibility
of being spared from his passion, he was open to what God wanted to be done.
8. Prayer is an act of total surrender to the Father’s will, accepting in faith that His will is best, even
if this holy will is beyond human understanding. We pray not to impose our will on God, but that
our will will be in communion with His holy will.
The Resurrection
1. Diverse belief about the life after death.
a. Hinduism teaches reincarnation – the soul reincarnates countless times until it actually
becomes god.
b. Buddhists believes in reincarnation as well. The cycle of repeated lives end in nirvana, a state
in which the individual ego no longer exists.
c. American Indians believe that the death returned to life in the form of animals.
d. Many Filipinos believe that the souls of the dead roam around, visiting relatives and friends,
until they finally decide to enter the light.

2. Jews” evolving understanding of their knowledge about the life after death:

STAGE 1 – No belief in life after death at all. The death of the body is the death of the person.
Bodiless existence is totally inconceivable.

STAGE 2 – The Jews began to believe in a place called “Sheol”, the realm of the dead, which itself
was also a state of non-existence, for those in it are oblivious of their existence.

STAGE 3 – Realizing the great love of Yahweh for Israel which not even death can end, Israel
began believing in life after death as a communal hope that Yahweh will save Israel from death.

STAGE 4 – Some of the Jews began to believe in the resurrection of the Body at the coming of the
Messianic age.

3. Church Teachings:
• Going through the teachings of Jesus Christ on life after deat as found in the Gospels, we
learn that:

• There is definitely life after death, and Jesus presented himself as the source of this life.

• There is reward for the good and punishment for the evil. Real death is not biological death but
eternal separation from God.

• Jesus predicted his own resurrection, that after being killed by his enemies, he will rise again.

THE EMPTY TOMB


The Gospel Accounts testifies to the fact of a physical resurrection:
• Christ was seen by his disciples.
• He was able to speak.
• He ate food, and even cooked some and served it to his friends.
• He invited Thomas to touch his wounds.

This resurrected body of Christ, however, was a glorified body, a spiritual body.
• He appeared and vanished from sight even through locked doors.
• He willfully changed his appearance so that he will not be recognized until he desired to be
known.
The Gospels present a record of the appearances of Jesus to his disciples after the resurrection.
• He appeared to Mary Magdalene
• He appeared to the disciples in the locked room
• He appeared to the disciples walking to Emmaus
• He appeared to his disciples at the shores of Tiberias
• He appeared to his disciples before he ascended into heaven.

The greatest witness given by the disciples to the truth of the resurrection was their courageous giving
up of their very lives for the sake of their faith in the resurrection. If Christ had not truly risen, they
would have renounced the faith.

The Gospels present a record of the appearances of Jesus to his disciples after the resurrection.
• He appeared to Mary Magdalene
• He appeared to the disciples in the locked room
• He appeared to the disciples walking to Emmaus
• He appeared to his disciples at the shores of Tiberias
• He appeared to his disciples before he ascended into heaven.

The greatest witness given by the disciples to the truth of the resurrection was their courageous giving
up of their very lives for the sake of their faith in the resurrection. If Christ had not truly risen, they
would have renounced the faith.

Holy Spirit in OT
• • CREATION - Since it is life that can alone beget life, there must have been always existing the
LIVING BREATH OF GOD. The BREATH OF GOD was the origin of the being and life of
every creature.•THE PROMISE – The scattered children of Abraham will be gatheredonce again
by the Holy Spirit.THEOPHANIES (manifestations of God) – To the Patriarchs, the cloud of the
Holy Spirit revealed God and concealed Him in its shadow.
• THE KINGDOM – It is the Spirit of the Lord that anointed the ruler of Israel.
• THE PROPHETS – The prophets were the mouthpiece of the Holy Spirit.
• The mysterious conception of Jesus in the womb of the Blessed Mother was by the power of the
Holy Spirit.

• During his baptism, the Spirit descended from heaven, thus revealing that Jesus indeed is God’s
Christ.

• The words and deeds of Jesus during his public ministry was a manifestion of the outpour of the
Spirit of the Lord

• Before his passion, Christ promised the coming of the Holy Spirit who will help his disciples to
testtify to the truth which he proclaimed.

• The mysterious conception of Jesus in the womb of the Blessed Mother was by the power of the
Holy Spirit.

• During his baptism, the Spirit descended from heaven, thus revealing that Jesus indeed is God’s
Christ.
• The words and deeds of Jesus during his public ministry was a manifestion of the outpour of the
Spirit of the Lord

• Before his passion, Christ promised the coming of the Holy Spirit who will help his disciples to
testtify to the truth which he proclaimed.

Second coming of Christ:


POINT OF CAUTION: APOCALYPTIC WRITINGS

• The two Biblical Books considered apocalyptic are: DANIEL and REVELATION TO JOHN
• APOCALYPSE means: “HIDDEN”; “VEILED” – because of the use of poetic symbolisms
usually understood only by the intended audience.
• Apocalyptic writings ARE NOT predictions of the future.
• An apocalyptic writing is actually an author’s symbolic depiction of the EVENTS OF HIS
TIME.
• Apocalyptic writings tell about the final victory of good over evil.
• Because this literature is symbolic, it can be APPLIED TO ANY AGE.

• •The Book of Revelation is not a narration of future events but John’s symbolic depiction of the
condition of Christians towards the end of the first century – THE ERA OF PERSECUTION•It
was not written to scare people but to ENCOURAGE Christians to bear their sufferings
patiently, since good will eventually triumph over evil.The symbolisms used by John were
understood by the Christians because these symbols were taken from the Christian Liturgy (What
we now know as the Eucharist which John called “The Lamb’s Supper)
• CHRIST WILL COME AGAIN

• UNMISTAKABLE SIGNS WILL PRECEDE HIS COMING


• THE END WILL COME LIKE A “THEIF IN THE NIGHT”, CATCHING EVERYONE IN
SURPRISE
Since salvation is not only for the soul but also for the body, on Christ’s Second Coming, the dead will
rise again, i.e. their souls will be reunited with their bodies. Then they shall join the living for the
General Judgment, where Christ shall publicly recognize those who will enjoy heaven and those who
will end up in eternal damnation.

Medieval theology describes the resurrected body as not being bound by time nor space.

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