JESUS MESSIAH

                                Catechism # 422-658

Outline

                                            

1.  Jesus - His Nature and Teachings

2.  Historical Records of Jesus' Life

3.  Early Years

4.  Public Life

5.  Titles Ascribed to Jesus

6.  Fathers of the Church and General Councils

7.  Jesus as a Teacher

8.  Message of Jesus

9.  Passion, Death and Resurrection

10. Legacy of Jesus

11. Our Response to Jesus

12. Meaning of Being Saved

13. Suffering

 

1.  Jesus - His Nature and Teachings  

  

Jesus Is True God and True Man

       The Second Person of the Trinity

He has a Divine Nature and a Human Nature

'I Am the Way, the Truth and the Life'  Jn 14:6-7

In this presentation we will survey what we know about Jesus,

       and what He has done for us

We will stress His Teachings,

       the Way of Life that He Proposed,

       and His Love for us as Messiah and Redeemer

 

2. Historical Records of Jesus' Life 

 

Early historians Tacitus and Pliny the Younger,

       plus the Jewish historian Josephus, refer to Jesus

Jesus fulfilled prophesies of the Old Testament

Most of what we know about Jesus comes from the   

       Gospels and Epistles of the New Testament (NT)

Mark wrote 65 AD, Mat & Luke 75-85, John 95 AD

New Testament Apocrypha (e.g. the Gospel of Thomas)

      are much less reliable

 

3.  Early Years

 

The Gospels of Matthew and Luke provide short

       genealogies and facts about Jesus’ Early Life

They recount His Birth by His Mother Mary,

His escape to and return from Egypt,

They tell about Joseph, His trade of Carpentry,

His obscure home town of Nazareth,     

Visits to Jerusalem at Religious Feasts 

       The 12 year old Jesus astounded temple teachers

 

4.  Public Life  

 

The Public Life began with the Baptism by John and

       the Miracle at the Cana Wedding. 

Jesus was a healer, compassionate with outcasts; he

      denounced hypocrisy

He was Humble and Poor, had no Possessions

He spent 3 years traveling around Palestine teaching

He spent much of his time training the Apostles

By Tradition references to brothers and sisters are to

       near relatives; the Greek word can mean cousins

 

5. Titles Ascribed to Jesus: 

 

Jesus or Yehoshua means God Saves

       Christos  means Anointed One (refers to Messiah)

At his baptism we heard: "This is my beloved Son"

Jesus Is referred to by other titles such as

       Rabbi, Teacher. Master, Word of God, Son of God,

       Son of Man (used by Ezekiel), Suffering Servant,

        Prophet, Anointed One of God, Lamb of God

Pilate Asked "Are you the King of the Jews"

       and Jesus replied in the affirmative

      

6.  Fathers of the Church and General Councils

 

Early Christian writers, quoted the Old and New

      Testaments, preserved and explained the early Faith

They comment on and clarify all our main beliefs

Thousands of their homilies have been preserved

The first four Ecumenical Councils

Nicaea 325, Constantinople 381, Ephesus 431, Chalcedon 451 

Clarified our beliefs about God, the Trinity, and Jesus

They affirmed Jesus as both True God and True Man

They attested to Mary as the Mother of God

 

7.  Jesus as a Teacher  

 

Jesus taught individuals, small groups like the

       Apostles, and large crowds

He taught by Example, as well as by Healing

He asked and answered questions well

He pointed out hypocrisies, that is preaching one way

       and acting the opposite,

One main task was preparing Apostles for leadership

He taught both directly and in Parables

 

8  Message of Jesus

 

The Sermon on Mount (Mt Ch 5-7) summarizes the

       Message

Jesus denounced Justice without Mercy

He taught that the Kingdom of God Is here,

God Is Merciful, God loves all of us,      

God redeemed all of us from our sins, He will be with us

       always,

He sends us the Holy Spirit

Jesus urged us to love each other, even our enemies, to

       have faith, renounce possessions, lead a humble life

Jesus taught us how to pray (the Our Father)

 

9.  Passion, Death, and Resurrection

 

At the Last Supper Jesus gave us His Body and Blood for

       our nourishment

He suffered and died on the Cross to Redeem us from our

       sins

Jesus went to the abode of the dead

Jesus rose from the dead on the 3rd day

He remained on Earth 40 days,

       then He ascended into Heaven

He fulfilled many prophesies about the long promised

       Messiah and Redeemer. 

 

10.  Legacy of Jesus    

 

To follow Jesus we must 

       Obey the Commandments

       Love God and one another

We must develop a personal relationship with Jesus.

We must live our lives to save our souls.

Jesus' final Commission was (Matth 28:19)

Make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name

       of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit   

 

11.  Our Response to Jesus

 

We should develop a personal relationship with Jesus

We should do what Jesus asked, we must Love God

       and love our neighbor (and our enemies) as ourselves

We should read and meditate on the scriptures often

       and apply them to our daily lives

We should worship Jesus, by attending Mass often

       and by receiving the Eucharist

Jesus should be the Center of our Lives!

 

12. Meaning of Being Saved

 

Saved means transformed by a Loving God

       from leading a sinful life to living a real Christian Life

Accepting Jesus as my Lord and Savior

Developing a personal relationship with Jesus

We must still fight concupiscence, our fallen nature,

       our inner desires to give in to sin

 

13. Suffering

 

Jesus suffered and died to atone  for our sins

Suffering is a consequence of original sin

Suffering can bring us closer to God and keep us humble

We must comfort others in their suffering

 

CPPoole  August 23, 1999;  September 16, 2000, October 13, 2005