1

IGNATIAN INSTITUTE OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION FOUNDATION, INC.

(IIREF)
Third Floor, John XXIII Hall, Holy Cross of Davao College, Inc.
Sta. Ana Avenue, Brgy. 14-B, corner C. Guzman St. Davao City

TH 211 – JESUS, THE ULTIMATE BRINGER OF HUMAN AND CHRISTIC

PEACE

OUTLINE

Part 1 General Introduction

Introduction of the Course

I. God's Plan of Salvation

A. God's plan of Salvation in Jesus Christ
B. The unfolding of God's plan of Salvation
 The Five Great Events of the History of the Israelites

II. The pre-existence of Jesus Christ

A. His Person
1. His relationship to God (the Father)
2. His relationship to creation
B. His work
1. That of the Creator
2. That of the Sustainer

C. The Sources of our Knowledge of Jesus' Existence

 Non-Christian Sources
 The Christian Sources: The New Testament

Part 2: The World of Jesus

 The Country of Jesus: The Economic System
 The Religio-Cultural and Political System of Palestine

The Messianic Expectation, Early Stage, and the Beginning of Jesus' Ministry
A. The Messianic Expectation
B. The Early Stage of Jesus' Life
C. The Beginning of Jesus' Ministry

The Kingdom of God as Jesus' Term for Salvation

A. Biblical Term for Salvation
B. Jesus and His Mission of Salvation
 Salvation in the Beatitudes
 Salvation as Good News to the Poor
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Part 3 Jesus and His Mission of Salvation in the Miracles and Parables
A. Miracles of Jesus as the Kingdom of God
B. The Kingdom of God in the Parables of Jesus
C. Jesus and His Mission of Future Salvation
D. The Law in the Ministry of Jesus
 Gospel and Law Aspects of the Biblical Religion
 The Ministry of Jesus: A concretization of the Heart of the Law.
E. The Conflict Established by the Ministry of Jesus

Part 4 Jesus and His Mission of Salvation

A. The Paschal Mystery of Jesus
His Death on the Cross
The Resurrection of Jesus
The Coming Again of Jesus

B. The Title and Images of Jesus in Faith

C. The Discipleship of Jesus and His Work of Salvation

Conclusion
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TH 211
JESUS, THE ULTIMATE BRINGER OF HUMAN AND CHRISTIC PEACE

Part 1 - INTRODUCTION OF THE COURSE

Who is Jesus?

I. God's plan of Salvation

A. God's plan of Salvation is realized in Jesus Christ
The word "salvation" includes everything God has done to save fallen humankind from Sin.
This Salvation or deliverance embraces all that God has done to achieve for humanity the
plan of Salvation that he prepared before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4; 1
Peter 1:20).
The eternal and omniscient God knew in advance that man would sin. That, however, does
not mean that God wanted it to be this way and that he is responsible for it. No, man
misused his moral freedom just as Satan did before him and the angels who followed him in
his rebellion against God (cf. Revelation 12:2-3; Isaiah 14:9ff; Ezekiel 28:11ff; 2Peter 2:4
and Jude 6).
That does not change that God is and will always remain sovereign over the universe he
created through his Son Jesus Christ (cf. John 1:3ff; Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:2-3). God
also knew in advance that he would send his Son into this world to save humankind from
Sin (cf. 1 Peter 1:20) and who would accept his offer of grace in Jesus Christ (cf. Romans
8:29-39; Psalm 139:14-16). God's complete plan of Salvation existed before the foundation
of the world. If this were not so, then God would not be God, or at least not the eternal,
almighty, and omniscient God of whom the Bible speaks.
This complete Salvation which through Jesus Christ must:
 be pleasing and acceptable to God to restore the fellowship between him and humankind.
 it is practical to blot out Sin because this man separated from God as a consequence.
 be effective in executing judgment over Sin because the Word of God must be fulfilled (cf.
Genesis 2:16-17; Romans 6:23; Ezekiel 18:4; Number 23:19).
 be effective in disarming Satan, the murderer and old liar (John 8:44), because he was
and is the originator of Sin (cf. John 8:44; Hebrews 2:14-16; 1 John 3:8).
Modern humanism assumes that man's inner equilibrium and relationship with his neighbors
and surroundings are disturbed. Therefore, man seeks a way to save himself, e. g. through
meditation or psychotherapy. That is the old attempt of a man trying to save himself, just as
he did at the beginning of human history:
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Gen 3:7 The eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked, so they
sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. The Bible rejects every
attempt at self-redemption:
Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots?
Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil.
Psalm 49:7ff No man can redeem the life of another or give God a ransom for him – the
ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough – that he should live on forever and
not see decay! There is only one way of Salvation: the way offered to us by Jesus Christ (cf.
John 14:6; 1 John 5:12-13; Acts 4:12).
Romans 4:5 However, to the man who does not work but trusts God, who justifies the
wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. Man cannot save himself without effort, even if
all religions maintain this. The Biblical Christian faith solely says that man, by grace alone
saved. In the final analysis, Satan is the Creator of all faiths. He exploits the emptiness in
the hearts of (sinful) men by offering each individual a religion that suits him.
Therefore, everyone, rich or poor, educated or uneducated, sophisticated or
unsophisticated, finds the religion that appeals to them. All religions are, in fact, a lie or an
illusionary deception of Satan.
John 8:44, …” for he is a liar and the father of lies.” When considering redemption, we can
and must only trust the revelation of God through his Word: Jesus Christ is the "Word" made
flesh cf. John 1:1.14.18).
If we want to consider what Salvation or redemption is, we must first consider the
Redeemer, the author of redemption (cf. John 4:22.42).
The study of the person of Jesus Christ is into three chapters (parts): What took place on
the cross is the central event in world and salvation history. We can thus understand why
God gave Adam the promise of Salvation before he punished him. Genesis 3:15 'And I will
put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush
your head, and you will strike his heel.'
God's promise here is called the "Proto-Gospel."
It compares with a bud that grows and becomes a beautiful flower or fruit. "The seed" or "the
descendant" of the woman signifies a descendant who will overcome the devil (the serpent).
In the New Testament, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, fulfills this promise (cf. Galatians
3:16.19; 4:4- 6).
This theme traces throughout the whole Old Testament. Announce the coming of the
redeeming offspring in the Old Testament through symbolic types and prophecies. Here are
some well-known examples:
1. Christ's pre-existent
2. Christ incarnate
3. Christ exalted
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 Genesis 49:10: "The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between
his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his."
 Exodus 12: the Passover lamb (cf. John 1:29; 1Corinthians 5:7-8)
 Leviticus: The high priest (cf. Hebrews 4:14-16; 8:1ff)
 Numbers 24:17-19: "I see him, but not now, I behold him, but not near."
A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel. He will crush the foreheads of
Moab, the skulls of all the sons of Sheth." (cf. Rev 22:16)
 Deuteronomy 18:15ff: "The Lord your God will raise for you a prophet like me from among
your brothers. You must listen to him." (cf. John 4:25-26; Acts 3:21ff)
2 Samuel 7:12-13.27: "When your days are over, and you rest with your fathers, I will raise
your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body and I will establish his
kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish his throne
forever." (cf. Isaiah 11:1.10; Jeremiah 33:15; Matthew 22:42-44; Luke 1:32-33; 15 Acts
2:29ff; Romans 1:3-4; Revelations 5:5)
 Psalms 22; 69 etc.: Many psalms are "Messianic psalms" because they incorporate
prophecies concerning Christ (cf., e.g., Psalm 22:2 with Matthew 27:46; Psalm 22:9 with
Matthew 27:43; Psalm 22:19 with Matthew 27:35 and John 19:24; Psalm 69:10-11.24-25
with John 2:17; Romans 15:3; 11:9-10 and Acts 1:20).
 Isaiah 7:14: "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: the virgin will be with child
and will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel." (Matthew 1:23)
 Isaiah 53: The servant, who bears the Sin of the people: Mark 15:28; Luke 22:37; John
12:38; 1 Peter 2:22-24.  Daniel 7:13: "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me
was one 25 like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the
Ancient of Days and into his presence." (cf. Matthew 24:30; Revelation 1:7)
 Micah 5:1-2: "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of
Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from
of old, from ancient times." (cf. Matthew 2:6)
 Zechariah 9:9; 12:10: "Rejoice greatly, oh daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of
Jerusalem! See your King coming to you, righteous and having Salvation, gentle and riding
on a donkey, on a colt, the donkey's foal.
They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourn
for an only child and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son." (cf. Matthew
21:5; John 19:37; Revelation 1:7).
It is probably how Jesus, following his resurrection, explained that all Scripture (at that time,
the Old Testament) testified to him. (cf. Luke 24:27.44-46).
"But when the time had fully come," the Son of God came into the world: Galatians 4:4 But
when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law.
The expression "the time had fully come" means "end of time": 1 Peter 1:20.
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He was chosen before the world's creation but revealed in these last times for your sake.
Hebrews 1:2, in the last days, he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of
all things, and through whom he made the universe.
The following question arises. Why did Christ appear at the time he did and not earlier, e.g.,
directly following the fall of man?

B. The unfolding of God's plan of Salvation

God created man in his image, male and female he created them (Genesis 1:26-27). Man
bears the "image of God," implying a special relationship between him and his Creator. Man
is for fellowship with his God, his Creator.
It is in Genesis 2–3: that Yahweh conversed with man. Because man is the image of God,
he is a moral (ethical) being. There is a relationship of love between the Creator and his
creation. Love is contingent upon freedom as well as responsibility. The boundaries of
freedom and responsibility contained in the command which
Yahweh gave to man in the Garden of Eden following his creation: "And the Lord God
commanded the man: 'You are free to eat from any tree in the garden, but you must not eat
from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it, you will surely die.'"
(Genesis 2:16-17).
Without freedom of choice, there is neither love nor valid fellowship; life reduces to the
existence of a robot or puppet!
Unfortunately, the man let himself be deceived by the serpent (Satan); he wanted to "be like
God," a status that God had not planned for him (cf. Genesis 3:5-7). Satan managed to
draw man into the same Sin he had committed (cf. Isaiah 24:11-14; Ezekiel 28:13-17; 2
Peter 2:4; Jude 6).
At the end of time, man's rebellion against God will culminate in the same Sin: the Antichrist
will proclaim himself to be God and demand the worship of all humankind (cf. 2
Thessalonians 2:4 and Revelation 13:14ff).
God is holy, and there is no darkness in him (cf. Isaiah 6:3; James 1:17; 1 John 1:5). His
holiness also demands the righteousness of his creation, man, created in his image (cf.
Leviticus 19:1; 1Peter 1:16). Sin cannot exist in the presence of God. It is also why Sin
brought separation from God (cf. Isaiah 6:5; 59:2).
It became clear when Adam and Eve wanted to hide from Yahweh in the Garden of Eden.
After their punishment, they were driven out of the Paradise garden, away from Yahweh's
presence (cf. Genesis 3:22-243).
As already mentioned, if God had wanted to, he could have slain Adam and Eve directly
after the fall – he could, for example, have gotten rid of the whole universe and created a
new one. But he did not do this. Why not? Because God loves man and made him in his
image, he had a plan of Salvation ready for him.
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His Son was to come into the world, become man, and take upon himself the punishment of
man, i.e., his Sin (cf. Isaiah 53; 1Corinthians 1:30; 2Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:14-16;
9:24-26).
This way, the fellowship between God and man would be restored (Romans 5:1-2;
Colossians 1:19-20; Hebrews 10:19-22). But God the Father did not choose to send his Son
into the world directly following the fall of man. Instead, he promised to send the Savior who
would vanquish Satan (Genesis 3:15; 1 John 3:8).
Until the fulfillment of this promise, man should realize the tragedy of his Sin and discover
his inability to free himself from his lost state through his strength or devices. We do not
know what instructions or means of absolution God gave to Adam and Eve so they could
obtain forgiveness for their sins. We can only put forward suggestions. To use the word
"speculation" here would have pejorative overtones. Maybe we could speak of "reading
between the lines."
Genesis 3:21 says that after Adam and Eve had sinned and God had judged them, he made
them garments of skin and clothed them. More information cannot be in the context. In the
light of the whole of Scripture, however, we could deduce certain things. It is no use seeking
more information on the subject in this passage.
However, some conclusions are in light of the entirety of Scripture. An animal must pass
away before it may serve as clothing. Since God can do anything, he might have made an
animal's skin out of nothing (ex nihilo). But we may deduce from Genesis 4 (which speaks of
Adam and Eve's Son, Abel, sacrificing from the firstborn of his flock) that Yahweh had
already given the first of humankind (directly following the 'fall') directions to seek
forgiveness of Sin through the sacrifice of an animal.
Hebrews 9:22 tells us that without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness because
life is in the blood (Leviticus 17:11).
However, it was the man who sinned, and consequently, he was the one who should have
died. The consequence (wages) of Sin is death (Genesis 15 2:16-17; Romans 6:23), and
the soul who sins is the one who will die (Ezekiel 18:20). The letter to the Hebrews teaches
us that the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away Sin (Hebrews 10:4).
Since the fall of man, the blood of animals has only had a symbolic or typological meaning.
It pointed to (or was a picture of) the perfect blood of the incarnate Son of God. But the man
that sacrificed testified who (since the time of Adam).
(1) to his need for forgiveness and
(2) to his dependence on someone who would pay the price of redemption (propitiation) for
him (cf. Mark 10:45; Hebrews 2:9-11).
Scripture shows that the sins committed by believers under the old covenant were
provisionally by the sacrifices offered according to Mosaic law through the longsuffering of
God and in anticipation of the final and eternal sacrifice of Jesus Christ blotted out our sins
once and for all (cf. Hebrews 9:15).
The Christian faith is logical: The person who sins must die. Consequently, Adam and all his
descendants who have inherited his sinful nature must die with him. Since all have sinned
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(Psalm 51:7; Romans 3:10.21-23), no one can escape this predicament in his strength. Only
God could (and can) provide a way out. And this could not be just any old solution. God had
warned the man that if he disobeyed, he would die.
Since God cannot lie (Numbers 23:19), man had punished for his Sin. Is there a way out of
this dramatic situation? There is only one, and that is that God, without Sin, should pay
man's debt. This solution was only possible because God became a man to die in the place
of a sinful man. The eternal and omniscient God had made provision for this from eternity.
We could object to this by saying that if God were to become a man and die, he would
cease to exist.
Otherwise, he would not have died! It is further proof of the plurality of the Godhead. It is
also an important argument for the teaching of the Trinity! God the Father sent his Son to
die on behalf of humankind (John 3:16).
The Son obeyed the Father and sacrificed himself through the eternal Spirit (Hebrews 9:15);
on the third day, the Father raised him from the dead by the same Spirit (Romans 8:9-11; cf.
1Peter 3:18). This plan of Salvation, especially the incarnation of Jesus Christ the Son of
God, is a mystery (cf. 1Timothy 3:16) into which angels desire to look.
The Old Testament prophets sought to search out and understand the time and
circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing: 1Peter 1:10-12 Concerning
this Salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched
intently and with the most outstanding care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to
which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and
the glories that would follow. It revealed that they were not serving themselves but you when
they spoke of the things that have now been announced to you by those who have preached
the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these
things. Christ is the ultimate Word of God (cf. Hebrews 1:2).
There is no sacrifice for redemption following his. Christ is the end of the law (Romans
10:4), and through his gift, the believer was made perfect once and for all: Hebrews
10:10.14 And by that will we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus
Christ once for all. Because by one gift, he has made perfect forever those who are
sanctified. The example of old, pious Simeon (cf. Luke 2:25-35) clearly shows that there had
always been people who feared God and believed in the promise of the coming of the
Redeemer. The Holy Spirit had revealed to Simeon that he would not die before seeing "the
Lord's Christ." Since the beginning, there have always been people who believed in the
coming of the Redeemer.
Chapter 11 of the letter to the Hebrews gives us a list of men and women of God who
believed that God would fulfill his promises and was waiting for the future (heavenly) city.
Verse 13 of this chapter summarizes this pertinently: Hebrews 11:13 All these people were
still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the promised things; they only saw
and welcomed them from afar. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on
earth. The message of Salvation is unfolded through the whole of Scripture, beginning with
the promise of the coming Redeemer (Genesis 3:15 – the proto-gospel) until its fulfillment
with the incarnation into this world of the Son of God.
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The whole Bible revolves around this pivotal event in world history. I will attempt to trace
God's plan of Salvation by summing up the most important events and examples (types)
chronologically that led to its completion in the coming of Christ and his saving work: Directly
following the fall (Genesis 3), we read that Abel, the Son of Adam and Eve, feared God and
brought him a pleasing sacrifice (Genesis 4). Abel is the first to be mentioned in the long list
of the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11 (see v. 4). Abel's sacrifice points to the coming final
sacrifice of Christ.
Sadly, humankind moved further from God until God finally pronounced judgment in the time
of Noah. Noah and his family were the only ones who feared God (Genesis 6–9; cf. Matthew
24:37ff; 2 Peter 2:5). After the flood, Noah offered sacrifices showing his trust in God
(Genesis 8:20-21). Shortly after the time of Noah, humankind distanced itself from God
again, only too quickly. This time, following their building of the tower of Babel and resisting
his command to the people of the earth, God judged them by confusing their language
(Genesis 11).
Unfortunately, humankind again had not learned its lesson and turned from God. This time
was a turning point in salvation history: God called one man, Abram, to be the Father of all
who, like him, would put their trust in the one true God and not in heathen gods or idols. At
this time, the worship of idols was practiced everywhere, even in Ur, where God had called
Abraham (cf. Genesis 11:27ff; 15:7; Joshua 24:2-3).
God had promised Abram that he would make of him a great nation (Genesis 12:1ff). Abram
and his people should be a testimony to all nations. God promised him a country, Canaan,
which would later be called Israel, after the new Name of Jacob, Abraham's grandchild (cf.
Gen 32:28)). He expressed his faith in God wherever Abraham went by offering him
sacrifices. His faith in God culminated in his willingness to sacrifice Isaac, the Son of
promise (Genesis 22).
This sacrifice prefigured the eternal gift of Jesus Christ in many ways: Abraham was ready
to sacrifice Isaac, the Son of promise, on mount Moriah. Solomon later constructed the
Jerusalem temple there (cf. 2 Chronicles 3:1). In the same way, in Jerusalem, God the
Father offered his one and only Son as a sacrifice (John 3:16; 1 John 4:9–10). (cf. Luke
13:33). This demonstrates a tendency toward Jerusalem in the earliest book of the Bible,
Genesis. But first of all, Abraham's descendants had to go through a particular (typological)
experience that would point to final Salvation through Jesus Christ:
God announced to Abraham that his descendants would pass four hundred years as
enslaved people in another country, that he would free them and give them the promised
land, which would stretch from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates (Genesis 15:13-21).
Israel's slavery in Egypt and deliverance are types of the redemption of believers from the
slavery of Sin and their eternal life in Jesus Christ. This typology emphasized that Mary and
Joseph had to flee to Egypt after the birth of Jesus because of the fear that Herod would kill
their child (cf. Matthew 2:13ff). The exodus of Israel from Egypt prefigures the return of
Jesus to Israel with his parents: Matthew 2:15, where he stayed until the death of Herod.
And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt have I called
my Son" (cf. Hosea 11:1). It was the Angel of the Lord who led Israel out of Egypt (cf.
Exodus 3:2ff).
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In the next chapter (The Preexistence of Jesus Christ), we will see that the Angel of the Lord
is identical to the Son of God before his incarnation. The apostle Paul confirms in 1
Corinthians 10:1-4 ("and that rock was Christ") that Christ led Israel out of Egypt and guided
them in the desert. After the exodus from Egypt, God led his people to the desert of Sinai
and gave them his law (the Mosaic Law) through Moses.
So, Moses became the mediator of the Old Covenant and, therefore, a precursor of Christ,
the mediator of the New Covenant (cf. Galatians 3:19ff; Hebrews 7:22; 30 8:1-11; 9:15;
12:24; 2Corinthians 3:6; Matthew 26:28). God had already announced through Moses that
he would send a prophet like him (i.e., like Moses) and that all who would not listen to him
would be judged (cf. Deuteronomy 18:15-18).
The apostle Peter confirms that this prophecy was fulfilled in the coming of Jesus Christ (cf.
Acts 3:22-26). It is mainly the apostle Paul who explains the purpose of the Mosaic Law: It
shows man his sinfulness and inability to keep the demands of the law (cf. Romans 3:19-20;
7:7; James 2:10). It was put in place to lead us (pedagogue) to Christ: Galatians 3:19.24-
What, then, was the purpose of the law? It added transgressions until the Seed to whom the
promise referred had come. The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator. So,
the law is in charge of leading us to Christ so that justification by faith may happen. Now that
faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.
God instructed Moses to build the tabernacle (see Exodus 25–40). The tabernacle would
serve as a sanctuary for God among his people: Exodus 25:8 Then I will have them make a
sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. In this tabernacle, Moses spoke with the
Lord's face to face:
Exodus 33:7-11 Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance
away, calling it the "tent of meeting." Anyone inquiring about the Lord would go to the tent of
meeting outside the center.
The Lord would speak to Moses as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses returned to
the camp, but his young assistant, Joshua, Son of Nun, did not leave the tent. The Lord who
spoke with Moses was, without doubt, Christ, the Son of God. No one can see the Father
except the Son (cf. Joh 1:18; 1Ti 6:16; probably also Exo 33:20). As I said before, in the new
creation, the glorified believers will, at last, see the Father face to face (Rev 22:4). The
tabernacle represented God dwelling among men. The sacrifices brought (see Leviticus)
prefigured Christ, the perfect high priest, and his work of Salvation. The primary purpose of
the letter to the Hebrews is to demonstrate the superiority of the person of Jesus over the
angels (chapters. 1 and 2), Moses (chapter. 3), Joshua (chapter. 4), and Aaron (chapters. 5
and 7), also the superiority of the work and ministry of Christ over that of Moses and Aaron
(chapters. 8 to 10:18).
The introduction of the feast of the Passover in Exodus 12 justifies a typological
interpretation of many events and rituals in the Pentateuch particularly. The slaughter of an
unblemished lamb and its shed blood would protect all those from the Angel of death who
obeyed God's instructions and put some on the sides and tops of the doorposts of their
houses. It helps us to understand why Jesus in the New Testament is called "the Lamb of
God" who takes away the Sin of the world (cf. John 1:29; Revelation 5:6.12) and "our
Passover lamb" (1Corinthians 5:7). As far as the tabernacle and the temple are concerned,
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Jesus, the incarnate Son of God, spoke of his body as a temple (cf. John 2:19-22). It is also
the reason why Jesus said the kingdom of heaven was near (Matthew 4:17), yes, even
(already) among them his contemporaries (cf. Luke 17:21; Matthew 12:28).
How are we to understand this?
Very simply, the kingdom of God is where Jesus is. Because the Jews rejected their
Messiah, their King, the kingdom of God was taken away from them and given to another
people (Matthew 21:43). "Another people" refers to all those out of the nations who have
received Jesus as their Lord and Savior and who thus inherit the kingdom (cf. 1Peter 2:9;
Revelation 2:26-28; 5:10; 20:4-6). However, this kingdom is not yet manifest. This
interpretation is required for the disciples' query to the risen Lord in Acts 1:6.At the
ascension of Jesus, the kingdom of God (in the total sense) went to say with him. It will only
(in its entire fullness) be established on earth when Christ returns (cf. Luke 19:11-12; 1Co
15:23-28; 2Ti 4:1).
According to the apostle Paul, a Christian who believes he reigns in this life already is living
under an illusion (cf. 1Co 4:8-13). Let us return, though, to the tabernacle and temple. After
the death of Jesus, the curtain which separated the holiest place from the sanctuary tore in
two (Matthew 27:51). This was a visible sign that henceforth, every true believer would have
access to the most sacred place (cf. Hebrews 10:19ff) and that it would no longer be
necessary for the high priest to bring blood into the holiest site once a year (on the day of
atonement, Yom Kippur: cf. Leviticus 16:2.34; Hebrews 9:7).
When Christ returns, he will rule over the whole world in Jerusalem (cf. Daniel 2:35;
Zechariah 14:8-9.16-17; Isaiah 24:23). He will be both King and High Priest. There is
probably no mention of a high priest in connection with the temple during the kingdom
spoken of in Ezekiel 40–48. Only in eternity, when glorified believers live in the presence of
the Father and the Son, will there be no more temple because then the Father and the Son
will themselves be the temple (cf. Rev 21:22). Once the people of Israel settled in the
promised land, the tabernacle, substituted by the temple which Moses had warned the
people of Israel that if they were unfaithful, God would cast them out of the land (cf.
Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28–30).
Sadly, Israel was unfaithful to God and his laws soon after taking the promised land (see the
book of Joshua). This led time and time again to judgment (see Judges). Later, the infidelity
and idolatry of King Salomon (1 Kings 11) led to the division of the kingdom under his Son
Rehoboam (1 Kings 12). All the kings of the Northern Kingdom (the ten tribes) were
apostates, and most people followed them in serving other gods (Baal and Asherah).
Should God speak but not act?
Yes, he kept his Word, and his patience reached the limit. The Northern Kingdom was sent
into captivity in 722 BC (cf. 2 Kings 17). The following verse well summarizes these events:
2 Kings 17:7 All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their
God, who had brought them out of Egypt from under the power of Pharaoh, King of Egypt.
They worshipped other gods.
Sadly, most of the Southern Kingdom's kings (Judah) and most of the population followed
the example of their brothers in the Northern Kingdom (Ephraim). They did not learn from
 12
the sad fate of Ephraim but sometimes acted even worse. Consequently, God led them into
Babylonian captivity through King Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 25).
In 586 BC, Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the temple in Jerusalem (2 Kings 25:9) and carried
away all the articles of value to Babylon (2 Chronicles 36:7.18-19). This way, the warning
from Moses and other prophets after him (for example, Jeremiah: cf. 2 Chronicles 36:12.21)
happened. When the exiled Jews humbled themselves, they were able to return to their own
country and rebuild the temple (cf. 2Chronicles 36:22-23; Ezra 1–7; Zechariah 4:6-10;
Haggai 1–2), just as God through Moses (cf. Deuteronomy 30:1 ff) and other prophets after
him (for example Jeremiah: Jeremiah 25:11-12; 29:10-15) had said. But since the
deportation of Judah to Babylon, the Jewish people have, until this day, been without a king
(cf. Hosea 3:4).
And when their faithful King Jesus Christ came, they rejected him (cf. John 19:15-21). So it
is that this period from the destruction of Jerusalem through Nebuchadnezzar to the return
of Christ is called "the time of the Gentiles" (cf. Luke 21:24; Romans 11:25) because, during
the whole of this epoch (until this day), Israel has been without a king.
The return of Christ will bring the "time of the Gentiles" to an end, then, on that day, he, the
King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 19:16), will finally reign over all nations and the
whole earth (cf. Daniel 2:35-36, Zechariah 14:9ff). With the help of an analysis of the
message and structure of the book of Isaiah, I want to show that the person and work of
Jesus Christ are central to the announcement of the Bible. But in fact, this reality does not
only reflect the book of Isaiah but is visible throughout the Old and New Testaments.
The book of Isaiah is teleological; it is written according to an exact plan and aim from
beginning to end:
1st part, chapters 1–39: A descendant of David is still reigning in Jerusalem. But because
the house of David and the people have turned away from Yahweh (just as their brothers did
in the Northern Kingdom), they cannot escape the verdict.
The prophet Isaiah warns people about the approaching exile: Isaiah 5:13; 6:11-13; 39:5-7.
Zedekiah was the last King of Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar caused his eyes to be out
(because of his rebellion), while Jehoiachin, following Nebuchadnezzar's removal of the
government and exile, was pardoned by him (2Kings 25; 2Chronicles 36). But he did not
return to Jerusalem. As mentioned, there was no further king of Israel except Jesus of
Nazareth. But he was rejected by his people (cf. John 1:11; 18:36; Luke 19:14.27).
It is he who, in Isaiah 1–39, constantly contrasted with the rebellious house of David. He is
the Neo-David who will restore Israel and reign in Zion in Jerusalem. In chapters 1–39, we
see two parallel lines: the house of David of that time disappears from the center of things
(Isa 39:7); his descendants replaced the coming Neo-David (Isa 9:5; 11:1.10; 22:22; cf.
2Samuel 7:12-16; Jeremiah 23:5; Ezekiel 34:23-24; 37:24-27; Luke 1:27-33, etc.).

2nd part: ch. 40–55: The prophet anticipates the exile of the children of Israel.
 13
Israel no longer has prophets or temples. No mention of the house of David; only in chapter
55, which is a transition chapter, is the New Covenant, i.e., the "everlasting covenant . . . my
faithful love promised to David" is announced (Isaiah 55:3; cf. 37:35).
But according to the prophet's perspective, the events described in these chapters are still
to come. Israel is called "Jacob's servant" or simply "servant."
As in chapters 1–39, the coming King is in contrast with the King of Jerusalem (Juda), so in
chapters 40–55, we are presented with the children of Israel as a servant in exile – because
of their Sin – in contrast to another servant, namely "the servant of the Lord," that is the
Messiah, who, as we know, is without Sin (Isaiah 53:9; cf. 2Corinthians 5:21). It is simply
incorrect to identify the servant in all these passages as Israel. In this second part, the
theme is not only Cyrus as the chosen deliverer but also the Servant of Yahweh as the
Redeemer. Let us analyze the section Isaiah 42:1-17: On him rests the Spirit of Yahweh;
called him to bring justice to the nations and to be a light for them. It undoubtedly alludes to
Christ's first coming and not to the people of Israel (compare Isaiah 42:1-4 with Matthew
12:18-21).
The Servant of Yahweh here cannot possibly be Israel because he brings Israel back to
Yahweh (cf. Isaiah 49:5-6)!9 As well as this, Israel can hardly be the mediator of the new
covenant (Isaiah 42:6; 49:8); this applies much more to the incarnate Son of God (cf. the
New Testament: 1Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 9:15; 12:24; see also Matthew 26:28; Luke 22:20).
He shall bring light to the nations (Isaiah 42:6).
The Servant of Yahweh, the Messiah, who was is and remains without Sin (Isa 53:9-12; cf.
John 8:46; 2Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; 7:26; 1Peter 1:19; 2:22- 5 25; 3:18), died for
our sins, which demand our punishment (that is our death) (cf. Isaiah 53:11: "and he will
bear their iniquities"). Compare this with Isaiah 26:21a (visitation and punishment of the
inhabitants of the earth for their sins) and Isa 27:9 (Jacob's guilt), also Isaiah 64:9 (that
Yahweh should not remember the sins of his people forever).
The Servant of Yahweh comes to wipe out this guilt and dies as a substitute. Transgression
weighs so heavily upon the earth that it falls, unable to get up (Isaiah 24:20). The
transgressors must perish (Isaiah 1:2.28; 50:1; 66:24), but the Servant of Yahweh comes to
wipe out their sins (cf. Isaiah 43:1.25; 44:22) in that he takes them on himself (Isaiah
53:5.8.12).
3rd part: chapters. 56–66: All who repent may participate in the feast on mount Zion.
The prophet already sees Yahweh with his people and all those who have turned to him
from the nations on the mountain (of Zion). With whom is the Lord in this third part of the
book contrasted? Why is it that in this part of the book, the root letters (Malak = King, to be
King, rule) are not used for Yahweh (but only for the kings of the nations!)?
Why is David's Name not mentioned in it? Why don't we find in this section the phrases the
shoot of Jesse, the root, Immanuel, the Servant of Jacob?
Here, where it is about the mediator, the expression "Servant" is no longer used (cf. Isaiah
59:15-17; 63:5-7). He is called Yahweh.
 14
Why? Because the prophet does not have to contrast the Lord with another person here
(whoever it may be) whom he will replace (the King of Judah or Israel in chapters 1–39) or
represent as a substitute for (like the Servant of Yahweh for the servant of Jacob in chapters
40–55) as is the case in the first two parts of the book. There is no mention of a king of
Israel (or Judah).
Also, the Lord himself no longer has the title of "King" in this book's third part. It is no longer
necessary to say that the King has begun to reign because the theocracy is (finally) a fact.
Yahweh is both King and High Priest. His house, his house of prayer, his temple, is there,
and some priests perform their ministry. As in Ezekiel 40–48 (this passage also, without
doubt, refers to the Messianic kingdom), no mention of a high priest.
Then in this temple, the crucified and risen Christ will be Prophet, High Priest, and King.
Prophet, because from him the Word, righteousness, and the law will go out (cf. Isaiah 2:3-
4; Micah 4:2). High Priest, because he has paid the price for his people through his sacrifice
(cf. Isa 53), and 5 when he returns (Isaiah 59:20-21; cf. Zechariah 14:3-5), he comes as the
one whom men have pierced (Isaiah 53:5; cf. Zechariah 12:10; Revelation 1:7). When men
looked upon him when hung on the cross (John 19:37), he accepted the position of a
servant. At his return, however, when men will again see him whom they have pierced
(Revelation 1:7), he will hold the position of Lord of Lords and King of Kings (cf. Revelation
19:16). In other words, he left glory (cf. Isaiah 9:5; John 17:5), came to this earth and was
obedient unto death (Isaiah 53:5-12; Philippians 2:6ff; 2Corinthains 8:9). Then the Father
exalted him above all things (cf. Isaiah 52:13; Philippians 2:9).
The Son is Messiah and Lord simultaneously (cf. Acts 2:34-36). He will return to finally take
place destined for him among men through all eternity (the meaning of the Name Immanuel
= God with us). These two parallels are right through all three parts of the book of Isaiah:
From glory and exaltation to humiliation and back to exaltation! The lines of the people and
their Lord run parallel, but there is a significant difference: Israel and their King (and finally
all humankind with them: cf. Genesis 3:1-6; 11:1ff; Romans 5:12; Isaiah 24:5-6.20) have
become apostate; they have turned away from Yahweh, the covenant God because they
want to exalt themselves. For this reason, Yahweh had to humble and humiliate them by
sending them into exile so that there, if possible, they might come to their senses, repent
and humble themselves so that Yahweh could again receive and restore them.
The line of man in the book of Isaiah is as follows: SELF EXALTATION (1–39)
EXALTATION BY YAHWEH (56-66) HUMILIATION (40–55)
This re-acceptance and exaltation of man is only possible thanks to the works of the Lord,
who, according to the message of the prophet Isaiah, as the royal child (Isa 7:14; 9:5;
11:2.10) came from eternity into the world (Isaiah 9:5; cf. Micah 5:1 and in the N.T.: John
1:1; 17:5.24; Hebrews 7:1-3) and lived as a servant. The people were exiled because of
their Sins and received blows on their backs (Isa 51:23).
The Servant of Yahweh comes to take these blows on his own (Isa 50:6) to deliver the
people. Through freeing those enslaved by Sin, the Servant of Yahweh humbles himself,
takes the guilt of humankind on himself, and is willing to die for them, although he is without
blame. Then he lives again, sees his descendants, and will reign (compare the words "he
will raise and lift up and highly exalted" in Isa 52:13-15 with "For this is what the high and
 15
lofty One says – he who lives forever whose name is holy" in Isaiah 57:15). The book
structured in this way: In the first part of the book (chapters 1–39), the Messiah is the
coming King who will strike the tyrants with the rod of his mouth (Isaiah 11:4); in the second
part (chapters. 40–55), the prophet announces the humiliation and shame of the Servant of
Yahweh, how he offered his back to those who beat him (Isaiah 45 50:6) as a substitute for
the sins of others (Isaiah 53:5). In the book of Isaiah, the line of the Son of God, the
Messiah, is as follows:
EXALTATION (1–39) RE-EXALTATION (56-66) SELF-HUMILIATION (40–55)
Paul's admonition in Philippians is in this way. Just as Jesus was ready to relinquish all his
privileges and glory (with his Father) in that he humbled himself and exalted by his Father;
we humble ourselves. The Holy Scripture says that there is nothing that God hates as much
as pride in man: Jam 4:6, but he gives us more grace. That is why the Scripture says: God
opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.1Pe 5:5-6. All of you clothe yourselves
with humility towards one another because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the
humble. Therefore, humble yourselves under God's mighty hand so he may lift you in time.

III. The preexistence of Jesus Christ

We know Jesus Christ mainly through the New Testament. He was born to us at
"Christmas." Who is this one who was born for us? When we examine the testimony of the
apostle John concerning the origin of Jesus, we discover beautiful verses: John 1:15, John
the Baptist says concerning himself: "He who comes after me has surpassed me because
he was before me." But Jesus was born six months after John the Baptist! How could he
have been "before John the Baptist"? Jesus gave a much older date: John 8:58." I tell you
the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am." And he also said: John
17:5.24 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before
the world began. Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am and to
see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the
world. John 1:1, In the beginning, was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God.
A. His Person
The Holy Scripture teaches the preexistence of Jesus, that is, that he existed before he
became man: Proverbs 8:22-23 The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his work, before
his deeds of old; I was appointed from eternity, from the beginning, before the world began.
Micah 5:2 But you Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times.
Colossians 1:17 He is before all things and all things hold together in him. Hebrews 1:8 But
about the Son, he says: "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter
is the scepter of your kingdom."
On the subject of his nature (or his essence or substance; see more on this in the chapter
over the two characters of Jesus Christ), Christ is identical to God:
 16
John 1:1, In the beginning, was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God.
John 10:30, the Father and I are one. He must unavoidably be eternal, that is, without
beginning. He always existed for eternity.
The question of his relationship to God the Father and creation naturally pose itself.
1. His relationship to God (the Father)
John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory as
the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 3:16 For God so loved the world
that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have
eternal life. The relationship between God and Christ in Holy Scripture is Father and Son. It
does not mean it is like a "natural human" relationship; it is instead a "relationship of
revelation."
A suggestion: About Psa 2:7, the following question must be asked: What does the word
"today" mean in this passage? Compared with Heb 1:5, Act 13:33, Rom 1:4. The word
"today" seems to relate to the event of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
2. His relationship to creation: Christ is called the "firstborn": Col 1:15. He is the image of the
invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. This Word relates to our present creation. He is
the firstborn because he already existed before all things. All eyes fixed on him (like the first
in a column)!
Compare Col 1:16b17. Col 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the
beginning and the firstborn from among the dead so that he might have supremacy in
everything. He is the firstborn because he was the first who rose from the dead. He was the
first who rose with a glorified body: 1Co 15:23 But each in his turn: Christ the first fruits;
when he comes, those who belong to him. The same concerns our spiritual life here on
earth; he is the firstborn: Rom 8:29 For those whom God foreknew he also predestined to
the image of his Son that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. The beginning,
and what proceeds from it, comes from him (Christ). All things are centered on him. He is
the norm, the model, and the aim simultaneously! Col 1:16 For by him created all things in
heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or
authorities; all created things by him and for him. Col 1:17 He is before all things; in him, all
things hold together. Col 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the
beginning and the firstborn from among the dead so that he might have supremacy in
everything. Col 1:19 For God was pleased to have all [his] fullness dwell in him [Christ]…
Are we fixing our eyes on him? Are we following in his footsteps? Are we living according to
his will? Compare Phi 2:5; 1Pe 2:21; 1Jo 2:6 .
B. His work
There is perfect cooperation within the Trinity. The will of God the Father is carried out by
the Word (the lógos, cf. Joh 1:1), that is, through his Son. And the Son works through the
Holy Spirit, who proceeds from both, that is, from the Father and the Son (cf. the Latin
expression 5 "filioque" = "and also from the Son," cf. my brochure on Pneumatology). Christ
fulfilled the following two tasks in his preexistence:
 17
1. That of the Creator Joh 1:3 Through him, God made everything, and nothing would have
been created without him. Through the Word (the lógos), everything was completed.
Therefore, Christ is the actual Creator of the universe. We could say he was the one who
carried out (executed) creation: Colossians 1:16 For all things were created: things in
heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or
authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is therefore also "my Creator" (cf.
Genesis. 2:7: "Yahweh"!): it is he who created me. What a wonderful truth: our Redeemer is
also our Creator. So, he has a double right to our lives! (cf. 20 Isa 43:1)
2. That of the Sustainer Col 1:17 He is before all things; in him, all things hold together.
Hebrews 1:3 The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his
being, sustaining all things by his powerful Word. After he had provided purification for sins,
he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
Creation is not a chance to happen, and the creation is not abandoned to itself. It has come
from the hands of the Creator and still exists. In the same way, time and world history, as
well as salvation history, are in his hands (cf. Daniel 2:21; Revelation 5:6-9; 12:12). Parallel
to this, Jesus Christ is not only my Creator but also the Sustainer and Guarantor for my
spiritual life (cf. Philippians 1:6; Hebrews 12:2).
C. The testimony concerning him in the Old Testament
A careful reading of the Old Testament leads to the clear conclusion that Jesus Christ was
and is indeed the Son of God. We must understand that the Old Testament testifies to Jesus
Christ.
The words of Jesus to the disciples on the Emmaus' road confirm this: Luke 24:26-27 "Did
not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" And beginning with
Moses and all the prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures
concerning himself. The expression "the Word became flesh" (about the incarnation of
Jesus Christ) indicates that the "Word" already existed before his incarnation before he
became man.
John 1:1, In the beginning, was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God. John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his
glory as the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

At the same time, some of the names of God (Yahweh and combinations of Yahweh) also
refer to Jesus Christ.
1. His appearances
The Old Testament reports appearances of Jesus Christ (called "Christophanies"), which
confirm his preexistence. Only a real being can appear to someone else!
Genesis 3:8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God [Yahweh] as he
was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the
garden's trees.
 18
Genesis 18:1 The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was
sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. Evangelicals agree that the Lord
here was the pre-existent Christ because no man has seen the Father (except Jesus Christ:
cf. John 1:18; 1 Timothy 1:16).
Yahweh, the pre-existent Christ, appeared to Abraham in the company of two angels (cf.
also Genesis 18:22).
Genesis 19:24 in the Hebrew text speaks of "two Yahwehs": first, the Yahweh standing
directly beside Abraham and then the Yahweh in heaven.
The first of these rained down, burning Sulphur on Sodom and Gomorrah. The one who
stood beside Abraham was the pre-existent Christ, and the other in heaven, God the Father.
Exodus 3:4 When the Lord [Yahweh] saw that he had gone over to look, God called him
from within the bush and said, "Moses! Moses!" And Moses said, "Here I am."
In Exodus 3:3, the same person who appeared to Moses in the burning bush is identified as
the Angel of the Lord. In effect, apart from the passage in Haggai 1:13 (where the
expression Angel of the Lord is applied to the prophet Haggai himself), it always means the
Son of God before his incarnation.
Here are some passages where the Angel of the Lord is mentioned: Judges 13:3 The Angel
of the Lord appeared to her [Samson's mother] and said, "You are sterile and childless, but
you are going to conceive and have a son."
Zechariah 1:11 And they reported to the Angel of the Lord, standing among the myrtle trees,
"We have gone throughout the earth, and found the whole world at rest and in peace."
2. Symbols
Jesus, who was to come when the time was fulfilled (cf. Galatians 4:4), is described as a
"shadow" in the Old Testament. Where there is a shadow, however, there must be a body!
These shadows are known as symbols or types. The signs refer to his person as well as his
work.
There are many examples of this; I want to mention a few of them, namely those which are
confirmed through the New Testament:

a.) Concerning his person, I want to mention four biblical figures:

Adam (Romans 5:14): Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of
Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as Adam did, who was a
pattern of the one to come. (cf. 1Corithians 15:45-47))
Melchizedek (Hebrews 7:3): Without Father or mother, without genealogy, without
beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God, he [Melchizedek] remains a priest
forever.
 19
Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15): "The Lord your God will raise for you a prophet like me from
among your brothers. You must listen to him" (cf. Acts 3:22-23). Compare this with John
1:17, for the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ).
David (2 Samuel 7:12-13): "He is the one who will build a house for my name, and I will
establish the throne of his kingdom forever." Compare Luke 1:31-33: "He will be great and
called the Son of the 30 Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his Father
David."
b.) Concerning his works
Here also are four well-known examples:
The Lamb (Exodus 12:3): Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this
month, each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. (Compare John
1:29: "Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" and 1Peter 1:18-20: "but
with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”)
Sacrifices (Leviticus 1–7): Compare Hebrews 9:14: "How much more, then, will the blood of
Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our
consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God." Hebrews
10:14: "Because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made
holy."
Tabernacle (Exodus 25:40): "See that you make them according to the pattern shown on
the mountain." Compare Hebrews 8:5: "They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and
shadow of what is in heaven. Moses was warned when he was about to build the
tabernacle: 'See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the
mountain.'
The Snake (Numbers 21:8): The Lord said to Moses: "Make a snake and put it up on a pole;
anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." Compare John 3:14: "Just as Moses lifted the
snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted." These symbols or shadows in the
Old Testament, which (as shown above) only exist when there is also "a body," prove that
the whole of God's plan of Salvation existed before the incarnation of Jesus Christ.
3. Prophecies
The Old Testament contains many prophecies concerning the coming of Jesus, which run
like a red line throughout the Old Testament. I will mention a few well-known examples from
the book of Genesis: Genesis 3:15.
And I will put enmity between you and the woman and your offspring and hers; he will crush
your head, and you will strike his heel. (cf. Colossians 2:14-15 and Romans 16:20)
Genesis 12:3 I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you I will curse, and all
peoples on earth will be blessed through you.
Genesis 49:The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his
feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.
 20

Five Great Events of the Israelites

The Israelites perceived history not as a "Chronos" but as a "Kairos," a moment of

life, and every moment of life is a moment of God. Throughout the Scripture, the history of
Israelites follows the moment of blessing, the moment of fall, the moment of punishment, the
moment of repentance, and the moment of restoration. This timetable of life is the
framework that ran throughout Biblical history. The Israelite people possessed a strong
sense of history as a people. For them, the importance of people's history helped the nation
establish a strong unity among the race. It is a way of continuously appreciating and living
the authentic traditional values, conviction, and commitment as a people. Like any Jew of
His time, Jesus considered knowing their history as extremely important as knowing himself.
The Israelitic Declaration of Faith summarizes their history as found in Deuteronomy 26:5-9.

“My Father was a wandering Aramean, he went down to Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in
number and there he became a nation, great, mighty and numerous. But the Egyptians maltreated
us, afflicted us, imposed forced labor upon us and reduced us to slaves. Then we cried out to the
Lord, the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor
and pains. So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with mighty hand and outstretched arms, and with
great terror and with signs and wonders, He brought us to this place and has given us this land, “ a
land flowing with milk and honey.”

This passage from Deuteronomy is in Psalms 105 and 106. These are brief
BIBLICAL FORMULATIONS of the Basic Faith statement containing the substance of the
Israelites' Act of Faith based on their historical events. This faith declaration expresses that
the significant events in their people's history, particularly those associated with the founding
of their people, their nation, and their Religion, are part of the Israelites' Faith Statement or
Creed.

To get a hold of the foundation of the Faith in Jesus Christ, one may go through the
pages of the history of the Israelites. One of the best routes is to sketch in board
brushstrokes the five significant events in the history of the Israelite people. If God wished to
reveal himself, that is, to communicate his life and love to humanity, He had to start
somewhere with a substantial group of people at a definite time. The starting point for God's
marvelous intervention in human history was with a wanderer.

This first significant event, MIGRATION TO CANAAN,

The Migration
revolved around the story of Abraham's covenant with Yahweh. As
of Abraham
to Canaan
national literature, the Bible wished to address the question of the
(before 1900 BCE) origin of race. The authors approached the problem unfolding the
saving actions of God in their history. Yahweh promised Abraham
and his descendants land, descendants, self-rule, and self-identity.
Abraham had nothing to give except faith and obedience to Yahweh. Yahweh's blessings
will never end; there is always a blessing when there is a descendant of Abraham.
 21
The Authors of the Old Testament interpreted in faith an ordinary and everyday
experience of people migrating from one place to another as God's Call to Abraham to
begin the story of God's saving action. The Scripture recorded that Yahweh called Abraham
and established with him a covenant that included a descendant (posterity), land
(property), self-rule (power), and self-identity (prosperity) as a people. With all his faith in
God, Abraham, with his kinsfolk, left Ur in Aram in Chaldea and reached the land called
Haran. However, Abraham was searching for a new spirituality and life's meaning. He
continued the journey with a small band of the tribe and settled in Canaan. His faith in the
word of Yahweh with the creation of his family and the giving of land. It is when he was a
significantly older man. As the story continues, tradition holds that Abraham's grandson
Jacob, later named Israel, reared a family called the Hebrews north of Canaan. The colorful
account of his 12 sons answered the origin of the 12 tribes of Israel. One of his twelve sons,
Joseph, was sold to Egypt as an enslaved person. In Egypt, Joseph eventually became the
assistant to Pharaoh, was in charge of the agricultural sector, and made Egypt known for its
bountiful food supply in the Ancient Near East.

The second significant event, SOJOURN IN EGYPT, centered on the answer to

the question, why did the Hebrews reach Egypt and become enslaved
The Transfer of people? The Bible recorded that famine hit the land of the Ancient Near
the Family of East, and the family of Jacob wished to preserve the clan. They
Jacob to Egypt
(before 1900 BCE)
journeyed into the northeastern part of Egypt called Goshen. Jacob's
family's stay in Egypt was just temporary. It was in that manner that the
authors of Genesis viewed this event. However, as years went by, Hebrews increased in
number and became the real power of Egypt. They composed the working class. The
Hebrews made Egypt a prosperous, abundant, and wealthy nation. The Land of Egypt
became powerful. Yahweh has blessed the Hebrews in a foreign land. As they grew in
number, the descendants of Abraham became objects of fear for the Egyptians. As a result,
the Egyptians persecuted the tribe, who took their lands, revoked their privileges as
foreigners, forced them to practice severe family planning, subjected them to hard labor, and,
most importantly, slaughtered all the infant males as soon as they were born. About 500–600
years have passed during this prolonged time of severe persecution and servitude.

The third significant event, THE ESCAPE FROM

The Exodus
SLAVERY IN EGYPT, tells us how the Hebrews struggled against
Event: The
Escape from the oppression of the Egyptians and helps us understand why they
Slavery in Egypt took refuge in the Desert of Sinai. The Biblical story began with the
(around 1280 BBCE) heroic life of Moses. The Liberator, Moses, entered the Israelites'
history as a warrior, teacher, and leader. As a warrior, he
defended the lowly Hebrews from violating human rights, so he killed an Egyptian supervisor
(Ex. 2:11-14) as a teacher and raised the awareness of simple Hebrew enslaved people of
their oppressive social situation. He unfolded to them the covenantal promises of God to their
Fathers: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This raising of awareness among the enslaved people
was symbolically told in the ten plagues story (Ex. 7:1-11:10). As a leader, Moses designed a
plan and organized the systematic escape from the hands of the cruel Egyptians. The flight
was so routine that Egyptians just woke up one day that the Hebrew enslaved people were
no longer in their claws (Ex. 12:1 – 14:31). The Biblical Authors narrated this event as a
magnificent work of Yahweh through Moses, "HE brought us ought of Egypt with his strong
hands and outstretched arm, with terrifying power, with signs and wonders" (Deut. 26:8)
 22
The escape from the hands of the cruel Egyptians was only possible because of the
matured awareness of the Hebrew masses of their social situation, as the ten plagues
symbolically interpreted it. The Hebrews escaped in small groups and hid in the Sinai
Desert's mountainous region. It was a great event in their history to which all subsequent
generations looked back under the leadership of a defender, liberator, and prophet, Moses.
This incredible event of the Hebrews was unparalleled in human history in that this simple
person was freed from the shackles of slavery and had a new lease on life. It was indeed
Salvation, Liberation, and Redemption for them. All these were significant actions of God.

The fourth great event, THE RELIGIOUS ASSEMBLY AT

People’s SINAI, unfolds the life of 12 tribes that became a community. The
Religious mission of Moses to the Hebrews did not end after the successful
Assembly at Mt.
Sinai
systematic escape. He was to unite the twelve tribes into one
(around 1250 B.C.E.) Community, the Qahal Yahweh. It is the essence of their covenant
with Yahweh to be one People. Mt. Sinai was the most suitable place
for the 12 tribes to shape into a community. Moses went around Sinai and gathered the
twelve tribes into a people's confederation near Mt. Sinai based on two strong pillars: the
belief in ONE GOD (Yahweh) and subscription to ONE RELIGION (Yahwism). This
religious assembly made them into a covenanted people of Yahweh, the so-called
Community of Yahweh (Qahal Yahweh). The Qahal Yahweh upheld the spirit of solidarity
within the Community. They firmly believed that God was present in the unity of the
Community. Yahwism further accepted the principle that God is the center of the whole
system of a community. God is the supreme ruler; the Kings and priests were just the
representatives of God. It is what we call the Theocratic form of society (Theocracy).

The common faith reflection strengthened the spirit of a community. As Religious

people now, they called themselves Israelites in honor of the great father of the twelve
tribes, Jacob, whose name became Israel. The story of the Ten Commandments is part of
that process of confederation. These are sets of guidelines to maintain living a life of one
single Community, living the faith in Yahweh, and subscribing to the Religion (Yahwism) that
was born out of their struggles, pains, and affliction to the experience of freedom in the
hands of Yahweh.

The fifth great event, THE OCCUPATION IN THE LAND OF

The CANAAN, unfolds the plight of the life of the covenanted Community
Occupation of when they capture the Land of Canaan.
the Promised
Land
(around 1200
BCE)
The Capture of Canaan The desire, however, for the greener
people and their leader to look for the
Promised Land made the people move from one desert place to another. Finally, after many
adventures, suffering, and years, they arrived at the Canaan borders, known to them as the
land God gave to Abraham, Isaac, and thus given to Jacob. "At long last, we are in the land
promised to us by Yahweh."

Yahweh's creation of the 12 Tribes into one Community: the Israelites, His
sustenance to them by protection, care, and love, and the Israelites' responses to Yahweh's
loving intervention in their history are the features of a unique covenantal relationship with
them. Joshua dramatically led the Israelites into the land of Canaanites. Together with the
 23
Tribal Chiefs or the charismatic leaders, the Judges, the Israelites settled in the
mountainsides with their cattle, sheep, and goats. From these locations, they gradually
captured Canaan villages and absorbed the people residing in Canaan. In Canaan,
Israelites could experience the fullness of the covenantal promises of Yahweh: land,
descendants, self-rule, and self-identity. The one Community (Qahal Yahweh)
experienced the abundance of the blessings of life. They considered this as the spirit of
Yahweh present in the Community.

One of the most vital features of the

Creation of Monarchy (C- 1020 B.C.E.) covenant with Yahweh was establishing an
Israelite nation when they occupied the
land. After many ordeals, the Israelite government wished to become a kingdom. Under the
leadership of kings Saul, David, and Solomon, Israel garnered one of the best-organized
and wealthiest countries in the Ancient Near East. They considered this period the golden
age of the Chosen People of God.

But if the Community has two strong Pillars: belief in Yahweh and subscription to
Yahwism, then Kingdom has three pillars: Wealth, Power, and Fame. Opposite a
community, the structure of the Kingdom is a habitat of idolatry and injustices. The kings
were men of God and led the people on behalf of God. However, kings ended their reigns,
sinning people and God. Saul sinned, and David also followed his steps. Solomon was not
able to manage his power and wealth and was not able to maintain the Golden Age of
Israelites' might and power. Solomon imposed higher taxes because of his infrastructure
project, the building of the Temple.
The people intensely felt oppression
The Division of the Kingdom of Israel and injustice at the hands of the King. The
people of Israel reflected in faith that Yahweh
did not will the putting up of the Kingdom. Instead, it violates the covenant they entered with
Yahweh in the Desert. However, some Israelites were not able to realize this reflection. After
Solomon's death, conflicts confused the leadership, and the political power of the Israelites
slid downhill. Some believe that kings should not replace God in their hearts. The Northern
Kingdom, Israel, and the Southern Kingdom were called Judah in the divided Kingdom. The
might and glory of the once united nation vanished.

The Fall of the Norhern Kingdom to the Assyrians ( C. 722 B.C. E.)

Israel and Judah weakened because of the separation. These two tiny nations
became the prey of the superpower nation of those days, Assyria and Babylon. Assyria, in
about 722 B.C.E., captured the Northern Kingdom. Most of its people settled in
Mesopotamia, where the Assyrians absorbed them. The disabled, the blind, the sick, the
elderly, and a few who could hide were left. From Assyria came migrants who mingled with
those left behind in the North. In time, these groups intermarriage, and their descendants
became known as the Impure Jews (in the Gospels, they are the SAMARITANS). These
descendants settled in their chief city of the region known as Samaria in the New
Testament.
Yahweh sent messengers to interpret the event for the despairing Israelites in faith
during this strife and dissolution. The prophets appeared in the Ministry as voices of hope to
the dispersed Israelites. The prophets' message condemned the twin sins of society:
Idolatry and Injustice.

The Fall of Southern Kingdom and Exile in Babylon (587-537 B.C.E.)

 24

What happened to the North, Israel, and the South, Judah? At about 587 – B.C.E.
The other superpower nation, Babylon, led by Nebuchadnezzar, captured Judah and
deported most people as captives of war to Babylon. The Israelites were allowed to maintain
their Religion and keep a separate ethnic identity as Israelites. Despite the difficulties, the
fifty-long years as captives of war in Babylon were just a brief period of a profound
encounter with God. The prophets continued to give them hope that Yahweh would gather
the scattered people of Israel. They shaped among the hearts of the Israelites the moment
of restoration, the moment of God. Biblical authors interpreted this event as a great spiritual
retreat.

The Return, Rebuilding of the Temple and Renewal ( C. 537-428 B.C.E.)

King
Cyrus of Persia took over Babylon around 538 B.C. E. Cyrus allowed the captured people
to return to their homelands to reconstruct and develop their land in favor of the might of
Persia. The Israelites who maintained love and fidelity for their homeland returned and were
called the "Rest of Israel" or the Jews. Those who returned to their land found Palestine
empty, devastated, and alien land. Yet their deep faith in Yahweh and adherence to one
Religion had given them renewed life. It gave them the courage they needed to rebuild their
country, and they did it.

However, many probably remained near Tigris and Euphrates rivers because the soil
was more fertile there. Today, they are the "DIASPORA," or the wandering Jews. Under the
leadership of Zerubbabel and the prophets: Haggai and Zechariah rebuilt the Temple in
Jerusalem, but their city was still in ruins. Nehemiah rebuilt the city. Priests, scribes, and
Ezra restored the renewal of ancient Religion. There was relative peace in Palestine under
the rule of Persians, which lasted a couple of hundred years.

Tribulations under Greeks (332-175 B.C.E.)

The country was captured again by the fast-growing superpower from the west,
Greece. The dashing Alexander the Great conquered Palestine. In a short period, Alexander
the Great brought Greek culture and thought to Palestine.

The Jews experienced the cruelest occupations by foreign nations. Alexander the
Great's successors, the Ptolemies, exiled many Jews to Egypt. The Greeks tried to replace
the solid Jewish belief in one God with their museum of gods and goddesses. Antiochus IV
was the worst of these rulers, who came to hate the Jews as dangerous enemies. He
attacked Jerusalem on the Sabbath; he ordered the worship of the Greek gods and
goddesses. It was prohibited for Jews to keep the Sabbath. They forbid the practice of
circumcision (the covenant signed with Abraham). The Hebrew Bible was off-limits to them.
In December of 163 B.C.E, they performed sinful heathen rites in the Temple courts, and
worst of all, from the Jewish standpoint, they sacrificed pigs on the altar.

h) The Maccabean Revolt and the Hasmonean Rule

 25
The oppression under the Greeks was too much. The Jews were not able to bear the
pressure brought by foreign domination. When they curtailed religious freedom, they could
not tolerate it anymore. Antiochus IV attacked their Religion with cruel actions against the
Jews. The last recourse that the Jews could do was Revolution. The family of Maccabees
organized and led this bloody protest against the Greeks. They established allies with
Hasmoneans. Eventually, the revolt century brought them relative peace and independence
with their ally nation, the Hasmoneans, for almost a century. It was a period of political
instability in warding off the pangs of Greek influence and the quasi-self-rule of the Jews.

However, the Hellenistic civilization had a significant impact on the Hasmoneans.

Like the Greeks, they also did injustices and oppression to the faithful Jews. They made an
abomination to the worship of One God among the Jews. The temple priests were
scandalized by what the Hasmoneans had done to the Temple. This abuse led the Temple
priests to leave their positions in the Temple and hid away from the Temple but professed
religiosity, which is of the priests like the spirit of one single Community, celibate and
monogamous relationship. Recent studies believed that this group of priests was the origin
of the religious group called the Essenes in the New Testament period.

Roman Rule

Jewish self-rule did not mature. It ended when Roman General Pompey captured
Jerusalem in 63 B.C.E. The Romans controlled the area of Palestine for centuries after
Pompey's victory. Many Jewish leaders were happy to be rid of the pangs of the cruel
Greeks. They welcomed the Romans and tried to get as many privileges as possible by
collaborating with the occupying power. The typical Jewish masses suffered much because
of the high taxes imposed by the Romans and the corrupt Jewish collaborators.
The people experienced intense difficulties from one oppressor to another. Evil
abounded, strife and dissolution hovered in every corner of life, and terror and wailing
lacerated women's and children's throats. Leaders became bloodthirsty like a lion searching
for someone to devour. The people and the land shout, "Lord, when will Your Kingdom
come?" Now is the time for a significant restoration of Yahweh's covenantal promises.

During this socio-political and cultural milieu, Jesus Christ was born.

The World of Jesus

THE JEWISH BACKGROUND

By concentrating on the social context of his society, first-century Palestinian Judaism in

general, and the country of Galilee in particular, we can better create a portrait of the
historical Jesus. Galilean society at the time of Jesus was strongly patriarchal, religiously
conservative, and increasingly divided economically.
 26

Jesus challenged this world's social and religious values, as in his parables. But it would be
a mistake to assume that his critique was social rather than religious.

First, such distinctions would not have occurred to someone in his time. Modern
commentators can separate social issues, but for those in Jesus' time, social issues were
seen within a pervasively religious culture.

Second, Jesus cannot be understood apart from the religious tradition that formed his
culture and shaped his spiritual imagination. We can take it for granted that he was a
profoundly religious person. As a Jew, he was a member of a people whose history was the
story of their relationship with the God whose name they declined even to pronounce out of
reverence. Jesus' education was primarily religious, learning the stories and traditions
contained in the Jewish Scriptures, certainly in his home and from elders in the synagogue
school in Nazareth. His public life begins as a result of a profoundly religious experience, his
baptism at the hands of John.

Finally, the religious climate of his time was one of anticipation. The sacred texts of Jesus'
people rehearsed a tragic history of covenantal infidelity, social tensions, failed kings, lost
sovereignty, religious persecution, exile, and martyrdom, and an effort to come to terms with
the mystery of suffering, injustice, and death in theological terms. Through it, the hope
remained that the God who promised not to abandon his people would again be shown to
be gracious to them.

The traditions that emerged through the people's suffering were still influential in Jesus' time
and were used by the early Christians to interpret the story of Jesus. Three stand out: the
messianic tradition, the sapiential or wisdom tradition, and the relatively late apocalyptic
tradition.

The messianic tradition has its roots in the Israelite Monarchy, particularly in the person of
King David, who remains the ideal Israelite King.

The Wisdom Tradition, the post-exilic period which took shape in Israel, is a tradition
focused on the "good" life, a life from the Jewish perspective that necessarily involves one's
relationship to God. Dealing with Divine wisdom, the mystery of suffering and death, and the
plight of the just man (woman), this Wisdom tradition is both existential and speculative. It is
very concerned with the individual's everyday life but reflects God's wisdom.

PALESTINE DURING THE TIME OF JESUS

Anyone who begins to search out the Historical Jesus will soon discover the buffing
traces of another world. Jesus was not a third-millennium person but a Jew of the first
century. The Gospel story contains strange people and parties, unfamiliar lands and places,
conflict, and debate whose points and emotions have been tempered over centuries. The
 27
more we want to know about Jesus, the more we should know about his country and its
social realities.

1. PALESTINE: THE COUNTRY OF JESUS

Jesus, like his fellow countrymen and women, had lived under foreign occupation for
some five hundred years since they returned from Babylon. By 63 B.C.E., Roman general
Pompey incorporated Palestine into the Roman Province of Syria. The 63 until 67 B.C.E.
saw the definitive establishment of Roman Power in Palestine. And so, Jesus was born in
Palestine when it was under the rule of the Roman Empire.
M
Harper's Bible Dictionary described Palestine as the small land in Southwest Asia
E
immediately behind the Sidon Southeastern seaboard of the Mediterranean, where the significant
D
Biblical period occurred from Joshua to Herod and on through the Apostolic Age. Palestine
I
is the late name given to the place known as Israel in Biblical history, whose ancient name
T
was Canaan. The name PALESTINE is derived initially from Israel's arch-enemies, the
E
Philistines. It is from the Hebrew word "PELISTHIM," meaning "the land of Philistines."
R
Eventually, Greeks and Romans named the areas as SYRIA PALESTINA since they
R
belonged to the Province of Syria. Capernaum
A Tetrarchy of Philip
Cana
N Genesareth
a. Natural Borders :
E
A Magdala Sea of
On the west of Palestine is the Mediterranean or the Great Sea as the Jews referred
N Tiberias
Galilee
to it, the Egyptian Desert on the South, the Syrian Desert on the east, and the mountain
Sepphoris
DECAPOLIS
area of Hermon on the North. The New Jerome Bible Handbook describes the size of
S Nazareth
Palestine as a small region with a total area of 10,000 square miles. The length from Dan to
E Ceasarea
Beersheba is only 150 miles, and the width J from the Mediterranean to the Jordan Valley
A Gerasa
would be only some 30 miles in the North and o 50 miles at the level of the Dead Sea.
Gadara
r
b. Physical Features of Palestine : d
Aenon a
Sebaste n
Palestine has valleys, mountains, plains, and bodies of water. Of particular note are
Shechem
the two bodies of water where Jesus spent some of his time. The first, Lake Genesareth
(also called the Sea of Galilee or Lake Tiberias), is 13 miles long and 7 miles wide.
Capernaum, Arimathea
one of Jesus' favorite towns, is situated on its shores. The Dead Sea is the
second (also known as the Salt Sea). It is 10 miles broad and 47 miles long. The depth of
the seaJoppa Emmaus
is 1,292 feet. All land deposits found their home in the depths of this sea. Some
Ephraim Jericho PEREA
archaeologists believe that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were submerged under its
waters.
LyddaJohn the Baptist preached in this area. Jesus walked along its shores.
Its most important river, the Jordan, flows from the North to the South, cutting the
Qumran
The Jordan is an outlet of LakeBetharam
country into two.Jerusalem Genesareth and empties into the Dead
Sea.
Bethany
Bethlehem Dead
Gaza Sea

Masada

Hebron

FROM: (1995) Christian Community Bible, Claretian Publications

Figure No. 2
 28

Tyre
 Ceasarea Philippi

Gualanites

Bethsaida

Cana

Nain

c. Climate :

The climate of Palestine varies according to the main natural features of the land: the
coast, the mountains, and the Rift of Jordan valley. Jesus experienced two seasons: the
hot, dry summer and the cool, wet winter. The summer season brings hot sunny days and
cool nights. On days when the burning desert wind (sirocco or Khamsin) sweeps from
Arabia, the heat is intense and will cause drought, "El Niño." It is very comfortable when the
wind blows from the seacoast, reaching cities like Jerusalem. The winter is wet, especially
during October, November, March, and April. The rest eight months of the year are the
summer season, and is a tremendous loss of rain in June, July, August, and September, but
there is sufficient water.
 29

d. Provinces of Palestine :

d. 1 Judea: (Judaea)

Judea is the Graco-Roman equivalent of the Old Kingdom of Judah. It is the

southernmost part of Palestine. It is known as "the throne of Israel's one enduring dynasty, "
the site of the Jew's Temple, and most of all, where their most essential prophets spoke.
Never did it cover more than 2,000 square feet of miles. Three maritime plains and low
terrain were present in the area. Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Jericho, Bethel, Emmaus, and other
significant towns are present.
The naked, stony hill of the Judean wilderness dots with grazing flocks; even now,
Judea is still a land of Shepherds. Its slopes are terraced with stone-walled vineyards, olive
groves, and palm gardens. Judea is the center of Jewish civilization after their return from
exile.

d. 2. Samaria :

Samaria derived its name from the capital city or the geographical center of Palestine
during the olden times. In Jesus' time, Samaria was one of the political divisions of Palestine
that Herod the Great's will had partitioned. Archelaus ruled over it after Herod's death.
Augustus Caesar made Archelaus a tetrarch of Palestine until he should become worthy of
the Royal Title. Still, the nation's political unrest deposed Archelaus and Augustus and gave
Samaria into the custody of the Roman Procurator.

Because of Samaria's Hellenistic culture, materialistic outlook, and disregard for

spiritual development, the average Jew avoided it. Jesus traveled from Galilee to Judah
using Samaria as a pathway along the Jordan. According to the Gospel, Jesus resolved a
conflict between Jews and Samaritans.

d. 3 Galilee:

Galilee is the Province in the North of Palestine. With the fertile land, so many
villages and towns rose in Galilee. It is called the "Flower Garden of Palestine," and one
might apply to it the description from Canticles of Canticles … "a paradise of pomegranates
with one fruit of the Orchards, expresses with spike head and saffron." (4:13-15)

The people were like the earth, rough and uncultured, and less educated in the
written Law but relied so much on the Oral Law and less rigid in its observance. They are
sturdy, open and friendly, and fundamentally free-loving. For these reasons, Galileans were
the object of jest in Judea. They mocked them because of their provincial origin and accent.
In this region, Jesus spent a significant part of His Ministry; he drew almost all His disciples
and performed many miracles.

2. THE ECONOMIC SYSTEM OF PALESTINE

In society, realities are entangled with each other there is no demarcation line to
segregate aspects of social realities from each other. In her pamphlet, Palestine During the
 30
Times of Jesus, Myrna Arceo presented Palestine's social facts as intertwined. Figure no.
The three below illustrate how central the economic system is in people's life in society.

Figure No. 3

a. International Economic Situation

The Economic system of Palestine is best understood concerning the international

set-up of the invading countries during the time of Jesus. Throughout the various countries
around the Mediterranean under the domain of the Roman Empire, the economic conditions
were identical. Most of the population was objectively poor and made even poorer by the
ever-increasing taxes and servitude. The ruling elite, composed of military officers and
nobles, was not only wealthy but also intolerably abusive. They owned numerous enslaved
people who would do all the work for them. The ruling elite were also the big landowners
and the prominent businessman.

b. National Economic Situation

Jerusalem was the capital city of Palestine, its Temple was the center of its people's
religious and business life, and the essential residents, the big landlords, tax leaders, and
retired state officials spent their lives in the city. But how did people survive? How did they
live, and what was the flow of their economy? Like any other country in the world, Palestine
has enough resources to sustain the people's living.

Palestine's sources of wealth:

Agriculture and associated pursuits were significant to Jewish people. The agricultural
sector dominated Palestine's economy. The land's resources sustained people. The fruits of
the land were essential to the people's way of life. In outlying areas, the economy was
largely self-sufficient and independent. However, the heavy taxation of both the Jewish
State and the Roman Empire made a miserable life for the people.

a. Agriculture. The country of Jesus depended on the products which the land could
give and considered it the base-level economy. The property was in the abstract. It
means that land was collectively owned but worked by individuals and could be inherited.
The ground outside the village was communal. The peasants in the village communities
were all landowners and had to pay tribute to the State. There was an extensive
production area in the form of large estates (significant lands). These were worked either
by hired day-workers or by enslaved people. The stewards or managers often organized
the work for the owner who lived in the city or even a tenant farmer. Wheat and other
grains were grown in big and small lands. Galilee, Samaria, and Trans-Jordan were
known agricultural areas of Palestine. Most of the significant lands were also found in
these areas. The methods of cultivation were empirical (wheel-less plows, scythes.)
 31
As part of Agriculture, Wood, and Fruits are significant livelihood products. Judea was
less favorable to large scale-cultivation, and the farmers went in for wine, fruits, olives,
vegetables, and cereals. Some parts of the area were wooded. Hence lumber industry
flourished to a sore extent.

b. Fishing. Galilee was noted for its industry. Fishing also took place along the Jordan
River. Fish were dried and packed for export throughout the Roman Empire. The most
popular method was using large nets of about 500 meters long involving several boats
and terms of 6-8 fishermen.

c. Animal raising. Extensive stock – farms for cattle – raising were located in Galilee
and Transjordan. Goats and sheep were raised in Judea. The peasants in the village
presented a few animals around their houses, while extensive stock – farm owners hired
shepherds to take care of their vast flocks.

d. Construction. The State hired thousands of workers employed in construction, such

as rebuilding the Temple and building Herod's palace, monuments, aqueducts, and city
walls. Workers were also woodworkers' sculptors, goldsmiths, and mosaic workers.

e. Trade. The artisans manufactured wares and products such as clothing (wood, flux);
food (cheese and baked products); luxury items and souvenirs, carpentry products;
pottery; and tents. Small merchants distributed these goods, or the wholesalers
transacted grains, gold, silver, metal, and enslaved people. In the rural areas, the
economic transaction was mixed; barter and cash. In urban areas, business transactions
involve money.

f. Temple (Financial Center). The Temple was the economic and financial center of
Palestine. Vast of their income was generated from: gifts from Diaspora Jews, taxes
assigned by the Law (double-drachma), trade in sacrificial victims, fulfillment of vows,
deliveries of wood, and revenues from the actual State. They spent the amount on the
rebuilding of the Temple, salaries of the high priest and Chief Priests, and wages of
lower echelons of priests who served as temple staff.

g. Roman Taxes. Taxes collected by Roman occupiers were draining off a good deal
of Jewish surplus to the profit of Rome. Judea had to pay 600 talents per year to Rome
600 talents = 6 million denarii.
Types of taxes that the Romans collected.
a. Tribute = a land tax or personal tax.
b. Annona = tax on the yearly produce (taxes to sustain the Roman
Garrison)
c. Public tax = duties and indirect tariffs on goods

Generally, though independent, people live on the brink of poverty. The imposition of
heavy taxes by the occupational forces left very little to sustain people's lives. Thus, it was
inevitable that the Jews detected the socio-economic difficulties caused by oppression.

3. THE SOCIAL STRATIFICATION OF JESUS' SOCIETY

The formation of different social classes can detect the economic system of a nation.
Social Stratification results from the design of the distribution of the nation's wealth. When
 32
there is an almost equal distribution of resources, at least the people will enjoy equity and
equality of living.

Social stratification in Palestine results from this kind of imbalance distribution of the
resources of the land. It is tangible in the economic situation that the most significant portion
of the nation's wealth is shared among the chosen few, called the elite group. The most
crucial percentage of the total population is sharing among themselves the minor portion of
the resources of the land. It caused them to suffer economic deprivation, called poverty.
Figure 4 shows the unjust distribution of the nation's wealth to its citizen.

Wealth distribution:
Chief Priests, Big
Merchants, High Officials,
,Big Landlord

Small Merchants, Scribes,

Levites, Priests, Artisans

People
Small Peasants, shepherds,
workers, Small Fishermen,
beggars, Slaves

Mentally ill, Lepers, Prostitutes,

Figure No. 4 Impure Jews, Women

The society of Palestine during the time of our Lord Jesus Christ experienced an
unjust economic system. What follows are the different social strata present when Jesus did
the Ministry. Myrna Arceo went further and carefully outlined the people belonging to the
various strata of society when Jesus appeared in history.

A. THE WEALTHY SECTOR

The Elite group of Jesus' society comes from a tiny percentage of the total
population. They had access to and control over the wealth of this society. The wealthy
sector is composed of the following:

a. The Chief Priests. The Chief Priests were composed primarily of four (Annas,
Boethus, Phiabi, and Kameth) from whom the Procurator chooses the High Priest. They
shared large incomes from the various sacrifices (ex., Animal hides were valuable). They
received salaries from the Temple Treasury. They profited from trading and commerce
connected with the Temple, thus partnerships with merchants and traders. They
allocated prime commercial space in the Temple to their relatives. They also owned
extensive lands.
 33
b. Big Merchant. They engaged in wholesale trading (ex., Grains, enslaved people,
gold, and silver). Though they lived in the city, they often also owned extensive estates in
rural areas.

c. High Officials. They were salaried officials of the State, like prominent tax collectors.

d. Big Landlords. They were the owners of sizable estates in Palestine's farming
areas. In these vast lands, the work was organized by stewards or managers. Either
wealthy clergy families or powerful merchants were the landowners.

B. MIDDLE SECTOR:

They were those people who had almost enough subsistence of life and fell between
the wealthy and poor. Middle class because they earn enough to survive. They also
consisted of a small percentage of the total population. They possessed only a minimal
degree of economic security. They were the following:

a. Small Merchants. Most of the artisans sold their products. Thus, they were, at the
same time, small merchants themselves. Most of them were engaged in miniature
trading and retail. In the rural areas, they bartered goods. In the urban areas, they
used cash.

b. Scribes/Priests/Levites. They were priests in the lower echelons who carried out
the day-to-day work in the Temple. They received some portions of the tithes for
their pay.

c. Artisans. They were self-employed handicraft workers. Most dealt with clothing,
food production, and construction (ex., carpentry and smithing jobs). They were
primarily concentrated in urban areas, although some artisans did simple crafts in
rural areas. Many of the Pharisees were artisans. Examples of artisans were potters,
water carriers, ointment makers, spices, perfumes, luxury items, goldsmiths, seal
makers, and copyists.

C. THE POOR:

The poor sector composed a large percentage of Jesus' society. They lived on the
brink of poverty. The inferior classes were the following:

a. Small Peasants. They owned parcels of land that were unprofitable. They paid
taxes to the Temple, Romans, and Herodian King. They lived on the edge of
poverty.

b. Shepherds. They tended the flocks of sheep of the big stock-farm owners. They
owned a few animals around their houses. They were poor.

c. Small Fisherman. Most of the small fishers were from Galilee. They were engaged
in simple fishing methods, with the catch equally shared.
 34
d. Workers. Receive one denarius a day. In the rural areas, they were agricultural
workers. In the city, they worked in construction. There were 18,000 workers in
Jerusalem in 60 A.D.

e. Enslaved people. Slavery, in a strict sense, did not exist in Judea and Galilee but
was a form of adventured servitude embraced voluntarily by individuals. Jews who
had no means of paying off their debts frequently sold themselves to persons of
wealth, paid off what they owned through labor in fields, service households, etc.,
and was an attractive alternative to a life of deprivation.

f. Beggars. The people who lived off begging. The presence of beggars in a nation
indicates economic struggles among the populace. It became a significant number
in the government under imperialist rule because the increased taxation had
drained the meager income of low-income people.

D. THE MARGINALIZED AND OUTCASTS SECTOR

The outcasts and marginalized society caused racial discrimination, religious taboos,
strict observance of the Law, and gender issues inherited during the clanic period. They are
the following:

a. Mentally – ill, Lepers, Prostitutes: These people were considered Transgressors of

the Law. They cannot fully observe the Law because of their condition. In one way or the
other, they are "sinners." This qualification was generally transitory but demonstrated a
sanction of a religious legalistic type.

b. Impure Jews: Illegitimate Jews also fell under this category. The purity assured the
character of the legitimacy of race. Thus they were classified as 75% or 50% Jew. Those
with solid illegitimacy (impurity) were excluded from all social participation. Most of them
were in Galilee and Samaria.

c. Women, Widows, and Orphans: They held subordinate positions in the family
and public life. Their husbands and dads had legal authority over them. They had no
legal claim to their spouses' filing for divorce. They were unable to remarry.

THE RELIGIO-CULTURAL AND POLITICAL SYSTEM OF PALESTINE

Jesus was born in a Religio – Cultural and political milieu confronted with issues deeply
rooted in their history. As part of the journey of His people, Jesus faced the situation with the
great conviction of God's intervention in their lives as people.
 35
A. THE POLITICAL SITUATION

Like the economic system, Palestine's political situation can be best understood if
one knows what is happening in the international relationship, especially with the Roman
Empire's dominating power.

a. International Political Situation

The total area of Syria from the Euphrates down to Egypt was incorporated into the
Roman Empire. Some countries within the region, especially Palestine, resisted the Roman
occupation because colonization meant paying for foreign domination through MONEY
(through ever-increasing taxes) and LIVES (through forced military service). The Roman
colonial government was an absolute military dictatorship (Martial Law).

b. National Political Situation:

Pompey declared Palestine a Roman Province in 63 B.C.E. Palestinian political

leaders welcomed the Romans to ingratiate themselves with the colonizers and thus
ensure their privileges. But the common masses refused the occupation of the Roman
government. Pompey himself visited Jerusalem and stepped into the Temple that strictly
prohibited pagans. The Temple priests resisted Roman occupation for three months but
later surrendered. Pompey then appointed Hyrcanus to the position of high priest.

Because of the resistance of the Jewish majority, the Romans exercised absolute
military dictatorship or Martial Law tightly in the land. It caused the rise of people's
movements to fight against the Roman government's violation of human rights, oppression,
and injustices. Among the Jewish masses was hatred and rebellion against the abusive
and cruel Roman leaders, mainly Roman general Pompey.

1. Herod Antipater:

Roman colonial oppression worsened due to the civil war between Pompey and Julius
Caesar around 49 B.C.E. The taxes were increased incessantly to finance the war. Herod
Antipater, the leader in Palestine at the time, supported Julius Caesar and his Army in Egypt
because they knew that Pompey had weakened his control and power over the people due
to the cruelty they experienced with him. Julius Ceasar won the fight in Egypt. In exchange
for Jewish support, Julius Caesar granted the following privileges to the Jews:
1. The Jews were allowed their court, called the Sanhedrin.
2. No Roman soldiers were stationed in Palestine.
3. Jews were exempted from conscription into the Roman Army.
4. Some important places, such as Joppe, were returned to Jews (territorial
expansion).

2. Herod, the Great :

Herod the Great was the victorious King of the Jewish nation during the Roman
period. He ruled the country in the name of the Roman Empire and was highly regarded by
the Romans but hated most by His people. Around 40 B.C.E., his father, Antipater,
appointed Herod the Great as Governor of Galilee, only 25 years of age. The first thing he
did was to rid Galilee of its many bandits who were freedom fighters and human rights
 36
defenders of the masses supported by the people. This act of Herod was pleasing to the
eyes of the Romans. Herod the Great continued to pursue any suspicious movements that
would rather be an opposing force against Roman national stability and taxation.

In that same year, 40 B.C.E., Herod the Great was appointed King over Judea,
Galilee, and Perea. Why? He killed his father, Antipater. As King, His first concern was to
eliminate all his opponents in the Jewish political structure and anybody who would threaten
his interest and power. Herod the Great killed his two Sons, his brother-in-law, his wife's
mother, his wife Marianne, his wife's brother, and the new high priest he didn't like.

When the time came for Herod the Great to die (due to serious illness), he ordered
that the most critical Jews (45 of the most important members of the Sanhedrin) be brought
to Ceshrea and imprisoned. He ordered that all these 45 members of Sanhedrin in prison be
put to death immediately after his death so that "some tear will be shed in Palestine." He
knew that the people hated him so much. He was right, no one mourned his death, but the
whole nation of Palestine wailed because their leaders, husbands, and fathers were
slaughtered after his death. As recorded in the Gospel, the killing of innocent children in
Bethlehem should be viewed from such a context.

Having killed such a number, Herod was supposedly a criminal and a threat to all. In
contrast, he was highly favored and well-praised by his friends and followers, who were
influential in the political system.

3. Sons of Herod :

After Herod's death, a few years after the Birth of Christ, Palestine's unity collapsed;
Emperor Augustus divided the Kingdom and appointed the sons of Herod as rulers.
Herod Archelaus was appointed ruler of Judea, Idumean, on Samaria. He was
expected to be heir to his father's kingship when he was worthy of it. Archelaus failed as
ruler of Judea due to the political unrest during his leadership. He could not please Rome,
so the Roman Procurator replaced him.

Herod Philip (Phillipus) was appointed ruler of the Trackonites, Gaulanites, and
Perea.

Herod Antipas was appointed ruler of Galilee and Perea even at the early age of 17
at the time of his appointment. It was he who ruled Galilee during Jesus' stay on earth. It
was also he who, believing his wife's malicious gossip, had John, the Baptist beheaded.
Herod Antipas used the Pharisees to create and spread the negative word about Jesus to
eliminate Him. Christ called him a "fox" (Lk. 13:22).

4. The Roman Procurator:

Because Archelaus had failed as ruler of Judea, Augustus Ceasar appointed a

Roman procurator in his place. The tasks of the Roman Procurator were to collect taxes
for the emperor (and most surely for himself) and to maintain peace and order. He was
armed with tax collectors and military auxiliaries. The Jews did not respect the procurators.
They called them "unclean dogs." As an indirect ruler, a Roman procurator did not have a
Roman army but had auxiliaries recruited from neighboring countries.
 37
Every Roman Procurator aimed to become rich in the shortest possible time. One
such was Pontius Pilate, a strange character – cruel, lustful in his quest for power –
according to the historian Flavius Josephus. He described Pilate as a narrow-minded man
with no understanding of Jewish sentiments.

The people were divided in their attitude toward the Roman occupation. Some were
opportunistic and did not hesitate to collaborate – mainly from the upper class. Some
continued to resist – specifically the lower class.

The Roman Procurator exercised powers like:

a.) He could appoint and depose the High Priest of the Sanhedrin as he pleased
among the chief priests.
b.) He could confiscate land ownership as he will; that is why the big landowners and
elders depended on him.
c.) He alone could pass the death penalty.

Despite the internal autonomy of the Jewish apparatus and reservation of decisive
functions to local officials, the Roman Procurator had the only power to pass capital
punishment, and it must be in the Roman form: CRUCIFIXION.

5. Roman Soldiers:

There were 3,000 soldiers stationed in Samaria. They were recruited in Syria and
Palestine from the non-Jewish population. Only one garrison composed of a handful of
soldiers was assigned to Jerusalem. They were directly under the control of the Procurator.

B. THE RELIGIO-CULTURAL SYSTEM

Jewish society had no separation between the Church and the State. Jewish Law
governed goods' production, distribution, and consumption in the economic, political, and
ideological spheres.

a) The Temple:

The Temple served as the Religious Center of Judea and for the Jews everywhere. It
served as the center of religious ambition. However, it was much more. It served as the
center of nationalist fervor. It served as the nation's and religion's emblem. So central was
the Temple that when the Romans destroyed it in 70 A.D., the Jewish State rose again until
1947.
The Temple was the seat of government. It stayed in 6 B.C. when Judea became a
Roman province ruled by a Procurator. The Temple also served as the apparatus of the
State for the whole of Judea. Its political and religious influence extended to the Jews
outside Palestine – to the Diaspora. In Jerusalem, purification rites and worship (sacrifice)
was performed in the Temple. The priests (high and low clergy) had a monopoly on the ritual
language officiated in the Temple. The priest may define dominance in this institution as the
dominance over the masses' mentality/consciousness through the purification rites in the
Temple. In other words, the Temple was the center of Jewish political activity, including the
sessions of the Sanhedrin and collecting taxes. It was also the chief source of income,
 38
usually employing: 1,000 priests and religious functionaries and 10,000 – 18,000
construction.

In addition to tax gathering and employment, the Temple was a bank "where Jews,
both rich and poor," kept their money on deposit. (Neil Hamilton) It is where possibly a place
where people could secure loans. The Temple authorities also controlled a lucrative
enterprise: the trade of animals for sacrifice. As privileged treasury guardians, Temple
priests supported and allied with Rome. The Sadducees monopolized the authority in the
Temple. They have dominance over religious and civil matters all over Palestine.

RELIGIOUS STRUCTURE IN THE TEMPLE

HIGH PRIEST

Temple Commanders

Worship Heads of Temple Guard Temple Finances

24- week sectors Supervisors (3 Treasurers)

Chief Levites about 7,200 priests were divided into 24

Heads of 156 Daily sections about 9,000 levites divided into 24 sections
Sections

b) The Sanhedrin:

The Sanhedrin was the highest court and council of the ancient Jewish nation. It was
the most important council of Elders. The high priest presided over it with elders, lawyers,
and prominent business people. As the supreme tribunal, the Sanhedrin dealt with criminal,
political, and religious matters. All Jews in and outside of Palestine recognized the authority
of the Temple. It was the highest spiritual body in the country and, therefore, to a certain
extent, stood as an opposing force to the political power of the Romans. The Sanhedrin
was composed of 71 members:

1. THE HIGH PRIEST was the head convener of the Sanhedrin. The Roman Procurator
appoints him from among the Chief Priests. He took over the role of the King when the
Monarchy fell and was destroyed after their return from exile; hence he was the most
powerful in the Jewish Political structure of Palestine. The High Priest was the center of
the whole system. He served as the head of the political and religious institution.

2. THE CHIEF PRIESTS are people next to the High Priest in rank. They were powerful
too. Only the families of Annas, Boethus, Phiabi, and Kamith can become Chief Priests.
The Sadducees, who served as the permanent Staff of the Temple, composed them.
They received a significant income for their functions: Supreme Police, Commander of
 39
the Temple, and Treasurers. Table 3 below presents the different roles and functions
performed by the Chief Priests in the Temple.

Table 3: Roles and Functions of the Chief Priests in the Temple

a. Seven Supervisors of b. Three Treasurers: c. Commanders of the

the Temple: (Supreme Temple:
Police)
- as Guards of the - in charge of - a supreme
keys of the Temple administering the supervisor of the cult
- as controller of the revenues of the - in charge of the
use of the square in Temple, repressive sector
front of the Temple - in control of the - Supreme police
(prime commercial Temple's wealth officer (Levites served
spot) - , in charge of the as police assistants in
- One who saw to it Temple Store (in the Temple. Levite
that external order short, all the finances police were the
was maintained. of the Temple) arrestors of Jesus.)

3. THE SCRIBES were experts of the Law and the official interpreters. They were the
language specialists and custodians of the texts. Most were from the Pharisees group,
representing the people against the priestly aristocracy in the religious and social sphere.
Although bringing the people's voice, the Pharisees had limited influence in the Council.

4. THE ELDERS were the heads of the patrician families in Jerusalem who were primarily
owners of extensive stocks of lands and farms and hired stewards to take care of their
property. They were heads of the tribes and were called the lay aristocracy.

The SANHEDRIN had legislative and judicial authority over religious or secular matters. The
members of the Sanhedrin were very conservative on spiritual issues and were inclined to
political compromise to safeguard their positions.

c) The Synagogue:

In villages and towns, ordinary Jews gathered on the Sabbath day in the Synagogue,
where the ancient writings were read and commented on or interpreted. The Scribes who
were experts in the written text dominated the Synagogue or may be defined as the
dominance over masses mentally/consciously through the reading interpretation of written
texts, namely TORAH, WISDOM, AND PROPHETS. The Apocalyptic beliefs:
(Resurrection from the dead, Kingdom of God, End of the World, Judgment Day, Coming of
the Messiah) were dominant among Jewish people in the synagogue during this time,
except for the Sadducees in the Temple. Sadducees did not accept Apocalyptic Beliefs such
as the establishment of God's kingdom end of the world, the day of Judgment, the coming of
the Messiah, and the Resurrection of the Dead.
The Pharisees ranked as the lower echelon who shared the apocalyptic beliefs among
the masses but possessed a pessimistic view of humanity, the world, and a history marching
to its doom, typical of a politically distressed class.
 40

d) The Religious Groups

Despite the fundamental religious belief in One, True and Living God and Jewish
adherence to One Religion, the Jewish people's thoughts and convictions vary according to
their life orientation. This religious division is based on the point of view or where they are in
the economic standing of life, Historical origin, Religious discipline and principles, and their
response to the socio-political situation. As they grouped themselves, they created a political
and cultural influence among the masses and established a response system to Roman
exploitation. Arceo, Myrna (1995) presented, in her booklet on Palestine in the Time of
Jesus, the different religious groups tracing their class and historical origin, political and
cultural influence, beliefs, and response to the Roman occupation. Lode Wostyn (2002)
described who are these religious groups. Table 4 below presents a schema of the religious
group present in Palestine during the time of Jesus.

Table 4: Different Religious Groups in Palestine

Religious Class and Political and Beliefs Response to the
Group Historical Cultural Roman
Origin Influence Occupation

SADDUCEES Sadducees Sadducees had Sadducees were Sadducees

It is from the were from the a strong voice in very conservative. collaborated with
Hebrew word upper class of the Sanhedrin. They rejected the the Romans. They
"Saduq," society (priestly They were dead's upheld two Roman
which means and secular influential both resurrection, the Objectives:
"righteous aristocracy). politically and Messiah's a. General
ones." It is a They controlled culturally. coming, and the stability
part of the elite the rites in the Oral Tradition. b. Regular
group and Temple. They They accepted payment of
influential were the illegal only the written taxes. For
party of the priests of the Law without example, during
nation Temple interpretation. the property
installed by assessment
Herod. (census),
people resisted,
but the High
Priest
supported the
Romans.
PHARISEES Pharisees Though Pharisees Pharisees were
from Hebrew came from the respected by the believed the indifferent to
"perusim" or Middle Sector. masses, Apocalyptic Roman Rule. They
"parash" They were Pharisees had beliefs: had no direct
means "the primarily self- little power in the - The end of involvement in the
separate employed. Sanhedrin. the world struggle against the
ones," that is, - Judgment Roman Occupation.
the Holy day They were alert to
Community of - Coming of any transgression
Israel. They the Messiah of the Law. They
were attached - Establishm did see an inherent
 41
to the Hasidim ent of the conflict between
means "the Kingdom of Roman Rule and
pious." They God. allegiance to the
were the - The Law.
legalistic Resurrection
fanatic group. of the Dead
They were
legalistic. They
regarded purity as
binding on all
Jews. They
regarded Law as
imperative to
Salvation.

Religious Class and Political Beliefs Response to the

Group Historical and Cultural Roman
Origin Influence Occupation
ZEALOTS were Zealots Zealots Zealots were also Zealots could
known for their participated were popular Apocalyptic in their not tolerate
Zeal for God, in the among the beliefs: Roman rule while
His Temple, His revolutionary small - Coming of they maintained
Land, and struggle from peasants. the Messiah allegiance to
freedom. They Judas of They were - establishme God. They
were a secret Galilee to considered nt of the opposed the
resistance oppose defenders of Kingdom of assessment of
group. citizens' the rights of God. properties. They
enrollment the poor and - the engaged in
under oppressed. resurrection of assassinations
Quirinus and the Dead and guerilla
taxation. - day of warfare or holy
They were judgment war of the end
mainly rebels - end of the time against
from world Israel's enemies.
peasants, Among the five Their main goal
dregs of Apocalyptic beliefs, was to overthrow
society, they strongly Roman rule.
outcasts, and upheld the
escaped establishment of
enslaved the Kingdom of
people. God when the
Messiah comes.
ESSENES was Essenes Essenes Among the The Essenes,
a Hellenized were the have a Essenes, the together with the
version of former priests significant Apocalyptic beliefs Zealots, were
Hasidism in the Temple monastic are preserved: anti – Roman
means "the during the influence - Coming of Rule. They joined
pious." They time of the among the the Messiah forces with
 42
were busy Maccabees. masses. Like - establishme Zealots in
making the They left the the Zealots, nt of the Masada.
ordinary "holy." Temple when they could Kingdom of
The group lived they could no not tolerate God.
in a tightly longer Roman rule - the
structured tolerate the and maintain resurrection of
community and abuses of the allegiance to the Dead
followed a kind Hasmoneans. God. - day of
of religious rule. judgment
They opposed - end of the
all that world
Sadducees They were experts
stood for. in Oral Law, which
was significant in
their relationship
with God.
As one goes through the table, one may find a specific social dynamic, orientation, or
probably the philosophy of different Religious groups. It may hint at the context of the
society where Jesus has to usher in fulfilling God's promise to restore the covenantal
relationship with His people.

Figure 5 below is an attempt to sketch the Religio-Political Structure that ran through the
Society of Palestine when Jesus appeared and performed the Ministry for the poor and
oppressed (Anawim or Aniyim). These economic, political, and Religio-Cultural realities
wrapped the whole system of Palestine. This economic, political, and Religio-Cultural
situation moved Jesus to search for the accurate and authentic system that His Father
initially designed. Thus, as a whole, we can sketch the Religio-Political Structure of
Palestine when Jesus did His Ministry.
 43

RELIGIO-POLITICAL STRUCTURE OF PALESTINE

THE
Roman JEWS Other
Empero
Group
r
s

Roman Governmen Templ

Diaspor
Procurato t e
a
r

Sanhedri
Herod n Samarita
ns

Herodian Publica
n High Essenes
Priest

Roman
Businessm
Gentiles
an
Tax
Council
Collecto
of
r Zealot
Elders
s

Pharisees
Sadducee
s
Scribes
Temple
Temple
Tax
Police
Collector

ANAWIM
(POOR AND OPPRESSED)

In the structure, we can find the division among the Jewish people. Some collaborated with
Roman Power and Herodians. The Temple remained to be the domain of the High Priests.
 44

THE EXPECTATION OF THE MESSIAH, THE EARLY STAGE

AND BEGINNING OF JESUS’ MINISTRY.

I. THE EXPECTATION OF THE MESSIAH

When intense difficulties come, any person's most essential natural reaction is to
overcome those difficulties and hope for somebody to liberate them from difficult situations.
This reality of human life is similar to the Israelite people's experience. Please take a closer
look at the intensifying difficulties experienced by the Israelites in their history. The
intensified difficult situations such as the different foreign domination, the devastation of their
once fertile land where honey and milk flowed, the division and the dispersion of the once
united community of Yahweh, the loss of their identity as people and a race, and heavy
taxation and military servitude to the dominating power were perceived as consequences of
their decision to break God’s covenant with them. They struggled to overcome the results of
their decision could only be restored when Yahweh sent the Anointed to usher salvation in
their midst.

A. The Inter-Testamental Period

The inter-testamental period is a period between the Old and the New Testaments.
Vitaliano Gorospe (2000, pp. 91 and 111), in his book “Forming the Filipino Social
Conscience,” described the Inter-Testamental period as the period between the Old and the
New Testaments around 400-200 BCE. He further notes that it may be intensifying about
150 or 200 years of the Old Testament era and the beginning of the New Testament era
(about 4 B.C.E.).

In this period, the life of the Jews and the teachings of Jewish teachers, especially
the apocalyptic writers, provide the bridge between the Old Testament and the New
Testament. The inter-testamental life was characterized by intense difficulties and suffering,
leading to the excellent expectancy for total liberation. Understanding inter-testamental life
and writing is necessary for understanding the New Testament and Jesus.

A new tradition was developed within this period as the people intensely hoped for
the Anointed One of Yahweh. This tradition is known as the Apocalyptic Tradition, which
influenced the people's religiosity. The Apocalyptic Tradition is a tradition that grew out of
the everyday inspiration of the Divine Spirit and the belief in the ultimate reign of God. It
upheld the conviction that all tribulations, miseries, and difficulties would end when God
reigns among the people. It shaped the five apocalyptic beliefs, namely:
a. the judgment day
b. the End of the world
c. the Coming of the Messiah,
d. the Resurrection from the dead.
e. The establishment of the Kingdom of God,
It is the tone of the prophetic message of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Joel, Zechariah, and Isaiah.
 45

B. The Hope for a final and definitive Salvation

The period after their return from Exile in Babylon was marked with a sincere hope for
restoring the covenantal promises of Yahweh: land, descendants, self-rule, and self-identity.
The prophetic message puts more significant stress on the hope for future salvation. This
message signaled intensive waiting for somebody sent by Yahweh, the Anointed One, and
the Messiah, who alone can restore the original shape of the Qahal Yahweh.

The prophetic message brought an apparent reason why Jewish has to hope for the
coming of final and definitive salvation:
a. The heads of noble families and the princes amassed wealth by looting the fields of
people with low incomes and stock in their mansions with the produce from the labor of
people experiencing poverty. (Isa. 3:14)
b. The rich confiscated lands of the indebted poor and thus multiplied their mansions and
grounds until the whole countryside was alone. (Isa. 5:8)
c. the leaders made unjust laws and issued oppressive decrees which robbed people with
low incomes of justice.
d. Courts and judges were corrupt.
e. The rights of the weak and defenseless people were trampled upon and not defended.
f. Idolatry and injustices hovered upon society.

The prophets exposed the injustices. They accused the rich and the powerful of the
perpetrator of injustices and oppression. They critiqued, condemned, and reminded
pronounced woes; they threatened punishment and destruction and finally shaped a hope
for final and definitive salvation to be brought by the Anointed One of Yahweh, the Messiah.

This conviction helps them firmly ground themselves to the covenant of Yahweh that
the prophets proclaimed to their fathers of old. God’s promise of land (property),
descendants (posterity), self-rule(prosperity), and self-identity (popularity) kept ringing
into their faith, tradition, and culture. The presence of the prophets of their times
continuously anchors the people to this bond with their God, who chose them to be His own.
Since the experiences of oppression were so intense, there was fierce waiting for somebody
to rescue them. It was made clear in the trends of the faith interpretation. However, it
became more vital as their experience of oppression and suffering became unbearable.

C. Messianism

Messianism refers to the faith conviction that the restoration will happen at the initiative of
Yahweh God by sending the Messiah. Ian Knox (2003), in his book, “Theology for Teachers”
p. 114, explained Messianism in the culture of the Jewish people. The word “Messiah”
means “anointed,” “specially chosen,” and “specially designated.” Anointed means
anointed with oil. Anointing with oil is a ceremony for kings' crowning and the high priest's
installation. The named person is “set apart,” viewed as specially designated by God. The
Greek form of the Hebrew word “Messiah” is “Christos,” from which we get the English
“Christ.”
The prophets' coming of a Messiah was a deep and constant theme. These prophecies
are of great importance because our Christian faith proclaimed that Jesus is the promised
Messiah of God – God's special chosen one (CCC # 840). At the time of Jesus, the hope for
the Messiah who would deliver the people from the misery of colonial and pagan exploitation
 46
was strong. In a sense, one may say that the Old Testament is messianic in that it looks
forward to the coming of Christ (CCC 711-716).

As perceived by the biblical writers, the history of Israel revolves around the theme of
Israel as a kingdom. God was King over all nations, and His kingship will never end. The
kings, specifically King David, were God’s instrument for fulfilling his promises to make
Israel a great nation. Out of the history and experience of kingship arose the motion of the
messianic kingdom. It would be a kingdom that God would use to accomplish his promises:
land, descendants, self-rule, and self-identity. Such a kingdom would be one of peace
and prosperity, a kingdom in which God’s law would be respected and followed, a kingdom
in which the covenant would be faithfully kept; all enmity would disappear, and all living
things would dwell in perfect harmony on earth. In Isaiah 11:6-9, one can find an idyllic view
of this kingdom.

“Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the
kid; the calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide
them. The cow and the bear shall be neighbors; together, their young shall rest; the
lion shall eat hay like the ox. The baby shall play by the cobra’s den, and the child
shall lay his hand on the adder’s lair. There shall be no harm or ruin on my holy
mountain; for the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the water
covers the sea.”

Indeed, the messianic hope is the hope for restoring the covenantal relationship with
God. The realization of the promises of Yahweh is the experience of the final and definitive
Salvation. As the people of Israel continuously experienced too many tribulations,
oppressions, and sufferings, they also intensely experienced the loving presence of God in
their history. Despite this miserable situation, Israelites anchored their strong faith in the
God of History, the God of Salvation, and the God of Justice. They believe that one day, the
moment of God (kairos) will be experienced.

D. Jesus Christ – the Messiah

Israelites continued faith in the Messianic Kingdom despite their clashing beliefs and
experiences. Foreign dominion over the Chosen People persisted across the years and
centuries. Over time, the belief in a personal messiah began to take on political overtones.
The Messiah came to be understood as some militaristic political leader who would restore
the fortunes of Israel, much as they have known in the time of David and Solomon. This
attitude made it difficult for the Jewish leaders to believe Jesus was God's promised
Messiah.

The authors of the New Testament Faith Proclamation clearly understood Jesus to be
the Messiah of God, and that also is our faith. In Jesus, all the Messianic prophesies are
fulfilled. It is in Jesus that all the Old Testament hopes to found a home. In this, we believe
that:
1. Jesus comes from the Davidic line.
2. Jesus admits that he is a king.
(Though not a political king, Jesus is a king over the hearts and minds of those
who believe and
accept him as Savior.)
3. Jesus brought “peace that the world cannot give.”
 47
4. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies.
5. Jesus made it possible for the Reign of God to extend over all the earth.
(The Church continues following the mandate to “go into the world and proclaim
the good news to the whole creation.)
6. Jesus has restored the covenantal promises: Land, descendants, self-rule, and
self-identity in the context of a new Kingdom, the Kingdom of God.
7. Jesus has established the kingdom of God, a renewal of the covenant today and
in the future.
One may wonder if Jesus was the Messiah who established God’s kingdom, “Why
does the Messianic age still seem far away?” Then it is essential to ponder the words of an
Englishman, G. K. Chesterton: “Christianity has not failed; it has just not been tried.”

For a thousand years, prophets announced the coming of the Anointed One of
Yahweh or Messiah, who would realize the restoration of the covenantal promises of
Yahweh. Initially vague and tied to the nation’s monarchy, the announcement gained
momentum as the Israelites experienced difficulties beyond their strength to deal with. The
prophets offered glimpses of what God had revealed in history that had already appeared;
however, they all faded into the oblivion of history.

II. THE BIRTH AND EARLY STAGE OF JESUS’ LIFE

Now there seemed to be a new ground for hope. The moment of God has come, the
moment of Salvation has arrived, and the “KAIROS” has happened. Somehow, a savior
would come as God had promised through the prophets of the Old. This new hope of peace
seemed the ideal time for it. Expectancy of the Messiah electrified the air of the Jewish faith
and culture. Let us begin with the essential documents that talk about the early stages of
Jesus’ life as well as His entrance into History:

1. The Gospel Stories about the Early Stage of Jesus' Life:

The Gospels of Matthew and Luke give us an account of the early stage of Jesus’ life.
The opening chapters of Matthew and Luke announce the Good News that Jesus was that
long-awaited Messiah that would restore the covenantal promises of the God of History,
Justice, and Salvation. The Gospels then consider the factors that enhance this Person's
Birth: Mary, Joseph, and Bethlehem. Thus, after the Birth of the Son of God, the two
Gospels further shape up and prepare the Child Jesus for the Mission intended for Him to
perform.

JOHN LUKE MARK MATTHEW

Announcement of the birth of John, the - 1:5-25 - -
Precursor
The Announcement of the Birth of Jesus - 1:25-38 - -
The Visit of Mary to Elizabeth - 1:39-56 - -
The Birth and Circumcision of John - 1:57-80 - -
The Apparition of Joseph and the Birth of Jesus - 2:1-20 - 1:18-24
Circumcision of Jesus and Presentation in the - 2:21-38 - -
Temple
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Adoration of the Magi - - - 2:1-12
Flight to Egypt, Massacre of the Innocents - - - 2:13-18
Return to Nazareth - 2:39 - 2:19-23
Jesus among the Doctors - 2:40-52 - -

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) echoed that “the coming of the Son of
God to earth is an event of such immensity that God willed to prepare for it over centuries.
He makes everything converge on Christ: all rituals, sacrifices, figures, and symbols of the
“First Covenant.” He announces him through the mouths of the prophets who succeeded
one another in Israel. Moreover, he awakens in the hearts of the pagans a dim expectation
of the coming of the Messiah.” (CCC # 522)

John, the Baptist, is the Lord’s immediate precursor or forerunner sent to prepare
his way. The “Prophet of the Highest” was the title given to John, which made him surpass
all the old prophets, of whom he is the last. John inaugurates the Gospel, already from his
mother’s womb, welcomes the coming of the Christ.” (CCC # 523)

2. The Birth of Jesus

Whenever God chose someone to play an essential role in the

History of Salvation, the Scripture signaled that choice by a story of
wonder surrounding his Birth; e.g., a heavenly visitor told Abraham that
his aged wife would have a son, Isaac. An angel announced the Birth of
Samson to his barren mother. The childless Hannah prayed to God and
gave birth to Samuel. Rebekah gave birth to Jacob, and Rachel bore
Joseph after they prayed intensely to God.

a) The Christmas Mysteries

Jesus was born in a humble stable into a low-income family. Simple shepherds were
the first witnesses to this event. In this poverty, heaven’s glory was made manifest. The
Church never tires of singing the praise of the night.
“The Virgin today brings into the world the Eternal, and the earth offers a cave to the
inaccessible. The angels and shepherds praise him, and the magi advance with the
star, For you are born for us, Little Child God eternal.”(CCC# 459)

The Christmas stories brought the vital treasure of our belief.

Firstly, in revealing the mystery of the conception and birth of Jesus in this child, they
proclaim his unique identity as the Son of God, the Messiah foretold by the prophets. He is
the Good News.

Secondly, they say that although the power conceived Jesus of God, God’s presence was
concealed in weakness – a swaddled (diapered) baby hunted by murderers from his first
day.

Thirdly, they say that this “Young God” did not force worship like the emperors of Rome;
instead, he allowed people to respond freely. Those who accepted him – the humble Jews
and the searching Gentiles- broke into song at their discovery. Those who rejected him –
Israel, Herod, and the Chief Priests – were destined for destruction.
 49
Above all, the Christmas story teaches us that God’s love is more significant than human
rejection. According to His Father's plan, Jesus was a suffering Savior who willed to give
his life, even for his enemies. The infancy narratives are actual –mini versions of the
Gospel.

b) Symbols in the Birth Narratives

Three important symbols are used in the Gospel narrative of Jesus’ Birth, Mary,
Joseph, and Bethlehem, to wrap the surroundings with wonder and awe. Mary is the most
critical person in the Gospel narratives of Jesus’ Birth. Mary, a young Jewish daughter of
Joachim and Anne, became the vessel of the realization of God’s promise. She is a woman
who survived a patriarchal culture. She is the first and the best disciple of the Kingdom of
God of her authentic faith and obedience. When Mary surrendered to God’s mysterious
Word in the annunciation, she was filled with God’s power and presence.

The Gospel highlights Mary’s purity and virginity by emphasizing Joseph’s

predicament: his young bride-to-be was found pregnant before they lived together. Joseph
had to keep it by heart. Mary would be stoned for adultery if he made the situation public. A
dream –direct enlightenment from God – settled Joseph’s problem and, at the same time,
revealed the child's identity to be born. Joseph must stand as the father of Jesus, for the
pangs of women's exploitation and patriarchy threatened Mary and the life of the Son of
God.

The Birth of Jesus was realized in Bethlehem, which means “House of Bread,” a little
town long ago threatened by fears of the occupying power. It was a farmland that became a
killing field of Absolute Military Dictatorship. On its dark street, once threatened by the
cruelty of the absolute military dictatorship of Rome, shone the light of the world, Jesus.
So quietly, so silently did the great mystery of Incarnation take place that many of those who
had waited missed the entrance of the Messiah.

2. Infancy of Jesus

The Infancy of Jesus was wrapped with symbols as the Gospel writers unveiled the
entrance of the Anointed One of Yahweh into the life of humanity, the world, and history as
the fulfillment of the promise.

Jesus’ circumcision, on the eighth day after his birth, is the sign of his incorporation
into Abraham's descendants and the people of the covenant. It is a sign of his submission to
the Law and his deputation to Israel’s worship, in which he will participate throughout his life.
The Epiphany is the manifestation of Jesus by the wise men (magi) from the East. The
magi’s coming to Jerusalem to pay homage to the king of the Jews shows that they seek the
one who will be king of all nations in Israel.

The presentation of Jesus in the Temple shows him to be the firstborn who
belongs to the Lord. Simeon and Anna symbolize the whole of Israel waiting for the
encounter with the Savior. Jesus is recognized as the long-awaited Messiah, the light to the
nations” and the glory of Israel.
 50
The flight to Egypt and the massacre of innocents manifest the darkness's
opposition to the light. God in Jesus came in his own home plundered by evil, and his people
received him not. Jesus has His share of the sins reigning in their history. (CCC # 527-30)

3. The Boyhood of Jesus

If this were how the authors interpreted the infancy of Jesus in faith, did they wish to
communicate that Jesus, as a child knows He is the Messiah? How did Jesus know that he
was called to preach the kingdom? We have no detailed account of his
years at Nazareth, but we know that his vocation came about as a
gradual and natural revelation. Gradual and natural revelation is on
the levels of spiritual maturity vis-à-vis the social realities.

It is important to note that Jesus felt drawn to prayer early. His

decision at thirty to retreat to the desert for forty days had to come
from a profound realization of the importance of devotion to his
vocation. His habit of praying alone for long periods while he was on the road in later years
certainly had its roots in his earlier life. Like the crowds drawn to Jesus during his
preaching, his friends must have found encouragement when Jesus shared what he had
gained in prayer with them.

But he didn’t impress others as unusual during all those years in his Father’s worship.
Later, when he began his mission, his Galilean neighbors were the first to reject him. They
had watched him grow up and thought of him as no more than the carpenter’s son. Jesus
said, “No prophet without honor except in his native place, among his kindred, and his own
house.”

Jesus also loved the Scripture from his boyhood. Although after twelve, the Gospel
became silent about the life He had gone through. But it is well-emphasized that Jesus
became so involved in discussing the Law with the Doctors in the Temple that Jesus let his
parents leave for home without him at twelve. By the time he reached adulthood, the
Scriptures were not just part of his thinking but made the whole of His being. With the
Pharisees, He showed that He understood even the fine points of the Torah, which could
only have been the result of long years of daily meditation. From Luke’s description of the
incident in the synagogue in Galilee, we know that, like other men, Jesus took His turn at
reading the Scriptures.

The decisive impulse he felt publicly to make known his Father’s ways must have
begun while he was still in Nazareth. The urgency of this need kept mounting until one day,
when he was about thirty in the fiftieth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, Jesus set out for
his ministry.

WHY DID THE WORD BECOME FLESH? (CCC 456 – 460)

With the Nicene Creed, we answer by confessing: "For us men and our salvation he came
down from heaven; by the power of the Holy Spirit, he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary
and was made man."
By bringing about our reconciliation with God, who "loved us and sent his Son to be the
expiation for our sins," the Word took on physical form for us to save us. The Father has
sent his Son as the Saviour of the world, and "he was revealed to take away sins":
 51
Our nature compelled us to seek healing for our illnesses, rise from the dead, and be raised
from the dead. The item had been misplaced and needed to be returned to us. In the
shadows, closed, it was necessary to bring us the light; we awaited a Savior, prisoners,
help, enslaved people, and a liberator. Are these things minor or insignificant? Did they not
move God to descend to human nature and visit it since humanity was so miserable and
unhappy?
The Word became flesh so that thus we might know God's love: "In this, the love of God
was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world so that we might
live through him." "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever
believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."
The Word became flesh to be our model of holiness: "Take my yoke upon you, and learn
from me." "I am the way, truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but by me." On the
mountain of the Transfiguration, the Father commands: "Listen to him!" Jesus is the model
for the Beatitudes and the norm of the new law: "Love one another as I have loved you."
This love implies a compelling offering of oneself after his example.
The Word became flesh to make us "partakers of the divine nature": "For this is why the
Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, to receive
divine sonship, one must come into fellowship with the Word. might become a son of God."
"For the Son of God became man so that we might become God." "The only-begotten Son
of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature so that he, made
man, might make men gods."

THE INCARNATION (CCC 461 – 469)

Taking up St. John's expression, "The Word became flesh," the Church calls "Incarnation,"
the fact that the Son of God assumed a human nature to accomplish our salvation. In a
hymn cited by St. Paul, the Church sings the mystery of the Incarnation:
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the
form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself,
taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human
form, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.
The Letter to the Hebrews refers to the same mystery:
Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, "Sacrifices and offerings you have
not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings, you
have taken no pleasure. Then I said, Lo, I have come to do your will, O God."
Belief in the true Incarnation of the Son of God is the distinctive sign of Christian faith: "By
this, you know the Spirit of God: every spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ has come in
the flesh is of God." Such is the joyous conviction of the Church from her beginning
whenever she sings "the mystery of our religion": "He was manifested in the flesh."

HOW IS THE SON OF GOD-MAN? (CCC 470 – 478)

Because "human nature was assumed, not absorbed," in the mysterious union of the
Incarnation, the Church was led over centuries to confess the whole reality of Christ's
human soul, with its operations of intellect and will, and of his human body. In parallel
fashion, she had to recall on each occasion that Christ's human nature belongs, as his own,
 52
to the divine person of the Son of God, who assumed it. Everything Christ is and does in this
nature derives from "one of the Trinity."
Therefore, the Son of God communicates his mode of existence in the Trinity to his
humanity. Christ thus expresses the divine ways of the Trinity humanly in his soul and body.

The Son of God worked with human hands; he thought with a human mind. He acted with a
human will and with a human heart he loved. He has been made one of us born of the Virgin
Mary, like to us in all things except sin.
Christ's soul and his human knowledge
Apollinarius of Laodicea asserted that the divine Word had replaced the soul or spirit
in Christ. Against this error, the Church confessed that the eternal Son also assumed a
rational, human soul.
This human soul that the Son of God assumed is endowed with actual human
knowledge. As such, this knowledge could not in itself be unlimited: it was exercised in the
historical conditions of his existence in space and time. It is why the Son of God could when
he became man, "increase in wisdom and stature, and favor with God and man" and even
have to inquire for himself about what one in the human condition can learn only from
experience. It corresponded to the reality of his voluntary emptying of himself, taking "the
form of a slave."
But at the same time, this truly human knowledge of God's Son expressed the divine
life of his person. "The human nature of God's Son, not by itself but by its union with the
Word, knew and showed forth everything that pertains to God." Such is the case with the
intimate and immediate knowledge that the Son of God made man has of his Father. In his
human understanding, the Son also showed his divine penetration into the secret thoughts
of human hearts.
By its union with the divine wisdom in the person of the Word incarnate, Christ
enjoyed in his human knowledge the fullness of understanding of the eternal plans he had
come to reveal. He declared himself not sent to tell what he admitted to not knowing in this
area.
Christ's human will
Similarly, at the sixth ecumenical council, Constantinople III, in 681, the Church
confessed that Christ possesses two wills and two natural operations, divine and human.
They are not opposed to each other but cooperate in such a way that the Word made flesh
willed humanly in obedience to his Father all that he had decided divinely with the Father
and the Holy Spirit for our salvation. Christ's human will "does not resist or oppose but rather
submits to his divine and almighty will."
Christ's true body
Since the Word became flesh in assuming true humanity, Christ's body was finite.
Therefore the human face of Jesus can be portrayed; at the seventh ecumenical council
(Nicaea II in 787), the Church recognized its representation in holy images as legitimate.
At the same time, the Church has always acknowledged that in the body of Jesus,
"we see our God made visibly and so are caught up in the love of the God we cannot see."
The individual characteristics of Christ's body express the divine person of God's Son. He
 53
has made the features of his human body his own, to the point that they can be venerated
when portrayed in a divine image, for the believer "who venerates the icon is venerating in it
the person of the one depicted."
The Heart of the Incarnate Word
Jesus knew and loved us each and all during his life, his agony and his Passion, and
gave himself up for each one of us: "The Son of God. . . loved me and gave himself for me."
He has loved us all with a human heart. For this reason, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, pierced
by our sins and for our salvation, "is quite rightly considered the chief sign and symbol of
that. . . love with which the divine Redeemer continually loves the eternal Father and all
human beings" without exception.

I. THE BEGINNING OF JESUS’ MINISTRY

The Gospel story presents a figure of the Messiah according to the preaching of
John the Baptist, “One more powerful who is to come.” The Baptism given by John prepares
for the purifying action in the Holy Spirit and fire, which Jesus will effect. The Synoptic
Gospels concentrate on the baptism of Jesus, while the fourth Gospels are concerned with
the Baptizer's role in identifying Jesus as the One who is to come.

A. The Baptism of Jesus

Gospel accounts on
You are my Son, the Beloved, Baptism of Jesus: John 1:32-34,
the One I have chosen Luke 3:21-22, Mark 1:9-11,

Matthew 3:13-17

According to
the earliest
tradition,
when Jesus
approached
to be
baptized,
John
recognized
him and asked instead to be baptized by Jesus.

Again, the Gospel writers use symbols to convey meaning in this story: = Jesus’ actions:
a) submitting to John’s baptism, Jesus did two things, He identified Himself with our sinful
human race, and He formally accepted His vocation – the Mission of being the Messiah, the
one who would conquer evil by willingly submitting Himself to it for love of the Father and the
whole human race.
b) submerging underwater signifies Jesus’ willingness to accept the consequences
of His decision to fulfill God’s promise for salvation.
By the symbols of the heavenly voice and the dove, the evangelists expressed what they
had learned after the resurrection: that God at this time anointed Jesus for his role as the
Savior.
= The dove is the symbol of the Holy Spirit (Mk. 1:10), derived perhaps from the image
of the creative spirit of God hovering over the waters. Jesus is the possessor of the
 54
Holy Spirit. He is the creator of the new people of God.

= The Voice from Heaven, “You are my well-beloved Son. The world’s salvation
was
now underway.” symbolizes the event of the Baptism of Jesus as a response to
the prayer in Isaiah 64:1 for the heavens to open and rain down messianic
salvation. The designation of Jesus as God’s Son reflects the early Christian
Faith image fulfilled in Jesus.

After the other people had been baptized, Jesus himself was baptized; while he was
praying, He saw the sky rent in two and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. Then a
voice came from heaven: “You are my well-beloved Son. The world’s salvation was now
underway.”

B. Temptation of Jesus in the Desert

Jesus, the possessor of the Spirit, is directed irresistibly to confrontation with Satan
over forty days. Following the lead of this spirit within, Jesus went
into the desert after His baptism. Both angels and wild beasts are
present. Though the sense of imagery is uncertain, some
evidence in the New Testament time shows demons symbolized
by fantastic beasts.

1. Gospel accounts on Temptation of Jesus:

The Gospel, according to Luke 4:1-13, Mark 1:12-13, and Mt. 4:1-
11 accounted that after the Baptism of Jesus, He went to the
desert and was tempted by the devil.

A desert is a desolate, lonely place with nothing but brown land and blue sky. The
Scripture uses the desert as a symbol of a “space” in which we are to meet God. A desert is
any experience where we directly confront God and ourselves, Jesus.

One of the greatest mysteries surrounding Jesus’ early career was that the devil
tempted him on a high mountain after forty (40) days and nights of fasting. This event
recalls the test of Israelites in the desert after their release from Egypt. Unlike the Chosen
People, who had proved to be faithful to idols, Jesus, the New Israel, came through his test
firmly faithful to God his Father.

The Temptation of Jesus (Matthew 4:1-11: Mark 1:12, Luke 4:1-13) is an example of
the effort of Satan to mar the personality or the Being of Jesus at the opening of his ministry.
The nature of Jesus is unique, and he cannot be tempted like ordinary men. Jesus'
wilderness temptation is an assault on his role as the Son of God and Savior of humanity,
the world, and history. Jesus was tempted by the devil “to make desert stone to bread, to
cast Himself down from the tower of the Temple area.” Together with these temptations, the
proffered bribe of “all the kingdom of the world and all their glory will be yours.” If you would
fall and worship Satan, you resemble the so-called pillars of Evil in society: wealth, power,
and fame. All these are to be destroyed by the Anointed One of Yahweh to usher life's
blessings for all humanity.
 55
In the story of the temptation, the evangelists summarize the entire Gospel: Jesus,
the all-holy one, was sent to confront the evil one and, after a struggle, was victorious. He
rejected Satan’s kingdom in favor of his ministry with a clear understanding of his goals. He
spoke and acted within a great reservoir of inner strength, the Spirit of the Father. The story
of Jesus in the desert teaches the following important lessons:

1. Jesus gives us an example of the need to go apart to consult God’s will before the
significant enterprise of life – to distance ourselves from the clamor of daily
pressures to hear God's tiny voice.

2. Jesus’ struggle with Satan teaches that the devil is alive and active in the world, a
force to be reckoned with.

1. Jesus’ experience of temptation makes it possible for us to approach him

confidently, knowing that he understands what we must face as faithful.

In terms of drama, the temptation narrative expresses Jesus’ Ministry, passion,

and death as a conflict with satanic powers.
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THE MINISTRY OF JESUS

I. Introduction:

Jesus’ baptism was the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. When his forty-day fast
was completed, Jesus began his work. Instead of going to the area where John had
preached, on the lower Jordan, Jesus made his headquarters in Galilee, in the North. There
the things he said sent waves of excitement throughout the countryside.

One vital remark before we set out in our study of the historical Jesus is that our task
is to know Jesus beyond our mind. Thus it is to be in touch with Jesus Christ, who lives
within us, without words and thoughts. It is the silent way of “knowing without knowing.” It
means that as we study, we allow the indwelling Spirit within us to soothe and permeate our
being. It is not our effort to know Jesus, but it is of the Spirit. The knowing of Jesus becomes
beyond our knowledge, but this knowledge would become part of our being. There is no
authentic knowing of Jesus without it.

Jesus' message was similar to John's – the need for an immediate change of heart:
“Reform your lives and believe in the Gospel.”(Mk. 1:15) However, to those who listened
closely, the keywords were not “prepare the way of the Lord” but rather, “The Kingdom of
God has already come to you.” It is here now.” One Sabbath, Jesus went as usual to the
synagogue at Nazareth. But on this occasion, the Scriptures he reads from the prophet
Isaiah seem to have special significance.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; therefore, he has anointed me. He has sent me to
bring glad tidings to the poor, proclaim liberty to the captives, recover sight to the
blind, release prisoners, and announce a year of favor from the Lord.” (Luke
4:18)

When he had finished reading, “he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the assistant,
and sat down.” All the people in the synagogue had their eyes fixed on him. Then Jesus
said to them, “Today, this passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” Then Jesus traveled the
countryside fulfilling what he had read – teaching the Good News of Salvation, healing the
sick, and freeing those suffering from guilt and oppression of sin.

II. THE TOTAL STORY OF JESUS

As the most important event happened in history, the story of the Messiah does not
cover only His appearance with the disciples. It covers the totality of His life on earth as well
as the preparation of His coming and reverberation of the phenomenon of His existence.
 57

TOTAL STORY OF JESUS

Resurrection
Resurrection
Ministry Death Coming Again

The responsible study of Jesus and Salvation should cover the His whole story. The
story of Jesus is complete, or at least the core of it. The entire story of Jesus includes
(1) Ministry: the proclamation of the Kingdom throughout His lifetime
(2) Death: Jesus died for the Kingdom and the atonement of sins, which is a
Kingdom blessing,
(3) Resurrection: a vindication of His life and death for the Kingdom. As Risen one,
He is the first fruit of the Kingdom and the indwelling spirit that compels and moves us
towards our future resurrection.
(4) Coming Again: the bringing about the final and definitive Kingdom at its
consummation in the end.

All the events in the life of Jesus shed light on each other to that the believers could
comprehend and embrace the commitment and life purpose of this Man, Jesus.

I. JESUS’ MINISTRY: THE KEY EVENT

Jesus’ phenomenon was felt when He went into the Ministry. The sight of the
Messiah among the oppressed people came with the announcement of the Good News. The
focal point of the entire narrative was thought to be Jesus' ministry. As a Savior, Jesus
made an appearance during his ministry. This Ministry of the Reign-Kingdom of God has
fulfilled God’s work of Salvation. “The Time is fulfilled.” The moment of God for restoration
has been launched in the Ministry of Jesus. “Yes! Salvation is at hand.” As the core
message of the Biblical Faith, JESUS and SALVATION is the focus of this Christology. To
understand the Person of Jesus is to embrace the authentic picture of Salvation brought by
this Man.

The Catechism for Filipino Catholics (CFC# 475) states that the irreplaceable starting
point for knowing Christ is the historical Jesus. How this historical Jesus understood His
ministry and the essence of His being are necessary for embracing His mission and person.

II. BIBLICAL TERMS FOR SALVATION

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Jesus and Salvation are the oldest and most fundamental insights of the New
Testament writers; though different in points of view, yet sharing one common Faith. As the
Acts of the Apostles pointed out, “Surely, we cannot help speaking of what we have seen
and heard.” (Acts 4:10-12). “There is no salvation in anyone else; for there is no other name
in the world given to men by whom we are saved (Acts 4: 18-20). It is only in Jesus that we
find Salvation.

A. The Mission of Jesus: SALVATION

1. Mission as Purpose of Life

Whenever we speak of Mission, we do not simply mean what a person does or says,
but we are referring to what the person is here for, what the person is committed to, and
what the purpose of the person’s life is. In other words, this refers to a life commitment to
which the person devotes the entire life until the last drop of their blood.

In our search for the Mission of Jesus, we not only limit ourselves to what Jesus said
or did in His ministry but, in full faith, we tried to search for the overarching purpose of his
life when He appeared in the history of humanity. What is Jesus here for? In other words,
in all that Jesus did and said, what was he committed to?

Of course, we believe that the Purpose of the Life of Jesus was indeed the
SALVATION, the Salvation of all humanity, all history, and the total universe. In what way
does Jesus understand His Mission? Did His understanding of Salvation the same as what
we have today? In what terms did He use the word of Salvation? The New Testament can
lead us to understand Jesus’ understanding of Salvation better.

2. The mission of Salvation as understood by Jesus

Our first step towards understanding the meaning of “Jesus and His work of
Salvation” is to ask, what was the Mission of Jesus? The basic answer is, “He came to
bring Salvation to all humanity.” Salvation is a derivative English word from “Salve, " a
kind of cream or lotion used to heal sores or wounds. As Greco-Roman Christianity
influenced, Salvation is commonly understood as “Salvation of Soul from sin so that after
death the soul will go to heaven.” In turn, this shaped mainly our most basic and standard
view of Jesus’ Mission. Jesus’ mission was to die on the cross in atonement for our sins .
Thus to describe Jesus’ mission in terms of his death on the cross, his atonement for our
sins, our redemption from sin, spiritual grace for the soul now, and beatific contemplation of
God in heaven hereafter.

Does this view on Jesus’ mission correct and Biblical? Yes, this standard view is
right and Biblical. Romans 5:6-10, John 3:16, 1 John 4:10, Mt. 1:21, Mk. 10:45, 1 Cor. 15:3
following, we can find this being recorded. However, this prevalent view on Salvation is
incomplete and inadequate understanding. The Biblical Religion embraces a more
complete, correct, Biblical, and adequate knowledge of Salvation as Jesus and His mission
embrace it.
 59
Jesus, like His Jewish contemporaries, understood Salvation as TOTAL SALVATION.
It means it is salvation not just of the soul but the totality of the whole person,
humanity, and peoples of the whole-created universe. It is a salvation not just from sin
(although sin remains the most important of all human evils to be liberated from) but from
all human evils such as disease, hunger, poverty, death, corruption, wars,
oppression, weeping, and mourning. Salvation does not just mean a soul going to
heaven. It is instead a world to come, a transformed universe in the future at the end of
history, a new heaven and new earth, where there will be no more mourning, no more
tears, no more pain, no more death, and where all things will have been made new. In
Jesus, Salvation is Total Salvation, which means life, peace, health, joy, justice, the
Spirit of God in and among people, resurrection, glory, a re-born and transformed
cosmos, and God all in all.

In Jesus, Salvation is experienced in two realities: Present Reality and Future Reality.

SALVATION IN JESUS
(is Total Salvation)

PRESENT REALITY FUTURE REALITY

As Present Reality, this is the Salvation As Future Reality, this is Salvation in the
today in this life which takes its form in life here-after that would be in the form of
the concrete life-giving blessings we the blessings of the life-here-after like
people experience today in this life like resurrection, glory, rebirth of the universe,
land, health, food, shelter, joy, justice, the transformation of the world into a New
. Spirit of God in and among people and the Haven and New Earth where new
like. Jesus has ushered this reality of Humanity lives in a new history, in other
Salvation in His Ministry words, God will be all in all.

3. KINGDOM OF GOD: Jesus' Term for Salvation

The “Reign-Kingdom of God” is a general name for Salvation. Jesus’ basic

image in the New Testament is “SAVIOR,” and He has brought us “SALVATION.” He is the
proclaimer of Salvation. Did Jesus use the word Salvation in His Ministry? No! Jesus did
not use the term Salvation in His Ministry but His word based on the language and culture of
His people.

The society where Jesus belongs had long been embracing a faith that the Reign of
God would be established in their times to plunder the Reign of Satan, causing miseries,
afflictions, and suffering in their midst. It is the belief that shaped their culture and ran
through the veins of their society. They called this culture the Reign of God Culture or the
Kingdom of God Culture. The Kingdom of God or Reign of God took its root from the
Hebrew word “Malkuth,” which has two meanings: Reign (Paghahari) and Kingdom
(kaharian). The Kingdom of God and Reign of God are similar terms, equivalent to
Salvation, in our language today.
In the synagogues where the familiar Jews gathered and expressed their faith and
communal life, they sang the plaintive plea: “May your Kingdom be established soon in our
 60
day.” Its appeal was lodged in the hearts of the first-century Jews who sincerely hoped for
the Messiah. To this plea, Jesus responded as He began His ministry, “The time has fulfilled
the Reign of God/Kingdom of God is at Hand!” (Mk.1:14-15) What is the meaning of this?
Incidentally, for Jesus and this Jewish culture, the final and definitive salvation is launched.
The coming of the Reign-Kingdom of God is now underway.

As a general term for Salvation in the Gospel, "Reign of God or Kingdom of God"
is used. In Jesus' day, it was the most beautiful sound that anyone could hear. “Kingdom of
God” is a Good News. Jesus’ basic image as Savior in the New Testament is “SAVIOR”
because He brought “SALVATION.” Jesus is the proclaimer of Salvation, the proclaimer of
the Kingdom of God.

4. Two Phases of Jesus’ Mission:

The New Testament tradition can speak about an earlier phase in the Mission of
Jesus to understand Jesus' mission adequately. Jesus entered the stage of human history,
and his initial task was the coming of the final-and-definitive salvation. Initially and
originally, before Jesus died on the cross at the beginning of His ministry, Jesus proclaimed
the Reign-Kingdom of God.

In exploring this initial and original mission of Jesus, we can identify two phases of
Jesus’ Mission:

Phase I - Initially and Originally: To proclaim the Reign-Kingdom of God.

Phase II - On the Cross: To die for our sins.

Ministry

Cross

JERUSALEM
GALILEE

Phase 1:
Phase II: To die for our sins
To proclaim Salvation in terms of
the Reign-Kingdom of God
Succinctly, the life purpose of Jesus, as it is unfolded on our planet, is this: on the
cross, His mission was to die in expiation for sin, but before that, originally and initially, His
mission was the proclamation of the Kingdom of God. Jesus did not just appear in human
history to die but to usher Salvation, and because of this, He died on the cross.

The whole life and mission of the pre-crucifixion Jesus can be put in this one
sentence from Mark 1:14-15. “Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the Gospel of God and
saying; the time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand.” This sentence is expressed the
whole historical message f Jesus and His original Mission. The single focus was the Reign-
Kingdom of God, the announcement of Salvation, and the generic Biblical term for the work
 61
of the Messiah. “Reform your lives and believe the Gospel” is a moral responsibility of the
hearer or the believer's action. Thus, it is not the term Salvation in the Gospel.

B. JESUS REFLECTS ON ISAIAH:

What is the Reign or Kingdom of God as Jesus and His contemporaries understood
it? Where did Jesus get His idea of the Reign-Kingdom of God? Abesamis made his point
by stressing that one of the principal sources of Jesus is the book of Isaiah. Isaiah’s
prophecies were soothing and relevant to a nation that lived in a death-prone society. From
a profoundly spiritual, cultural, and social longing for a Savior, prophet Isaiah inspired
reflections, decisions, commitment, and actions among the expectant believer of the Reign
of God. From specific Isaiah texts, some of which we saw above, Jesus drew His picture of
Salvation.

[The Book of Isaiah is split into two or three separate sections. Each section was
authored by a different author living in another century. It is according to modern
scholarship (roughly the 8th to 6th century BCE).

Since we are only interested in Isaiah as Jesus read it, there was no distinction
between these sections during Jesus' time.

From the Isaianic prophecies, especially those found in Isaiah 40 until 66 (please refer to
your Bible at this point), there emerged a picture of a future Salvation in the following terms:

Isaiah 58:6, 61:1-3 (until 66) Jesus reads Isaiah:

The Good News of the Reign of “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. He has
God would be announced. An anointed me to bring good news to the poor,
anointed prophet (not a king) to proclaim liberty to captives and new sight
filled with God's Spirit will come. to the blind, to free the oppressed, and
Good News (of liberation and announce the Lord’s year of mercy,”
Justice) will be reported to the
poor and oppressed. The Blind Today, these prophetic words come true even as
will see people who are deaf or you listen.
hard of hearing hear, the lame -Luke 4:16-20
walk, and the dead rise. Just and
salvation will come to Israel.
Though composed five centuries earlier, Prophetic sayings such as these were read,
studied, and meditated on in synagogues and schools of Jesus’ time. These passages from
Isaiah were the subject of Jesus' meditations from His childhood to the time He intensely
prepared for his ministry and much more when facing society's realities. Jesus and His
people meditated on the prophecy of Isaiah, and the time of its fulfillment has come.
 62

THE REIGN-KINGDOM OF GOD (Salvation) IN THE BEATITUDES

When leaders of a group or nation wish to start their leadership, they ought to set a
plan for their leadership. It is to let the group or nation know their leadership platform. So
was with Jesus when He started the Ministry. He unfolded the medium of His Ministry in the
Beatitudes as recorded in Matthew 5:3-12 and Luke 6:20-22. The Beatitude is the blazing
introduction of His Sermon on the Mount in chapters five until 7 of Matthew.

a.) What are Beatitudes?

The Beatitudes are not an appeal to virtue and morality, advice toward a certain way
of living, recommendations for particular virtues, or conditions for entry into the Kingdom.
Like “Blessed are you poor, so be Poor,” or Blessed are you who are Hungry, so be hungry.”
In other words, the Beatitudes do not tell us how to live or be. What do the Beatitudes tell
us if this is not the case?

Beatitude is a form of speech that proclaims the happiness or blessedness of one or

more persons in certain circumstances or under certain conditions. It comes from the Latin
word “BEATUS” or “BEATITUDO,” which means “MADE HAPPY.” Why were people “made
happily”? Indeed, because Salvation comes into the midst. In the Beatitudes, Jesus gives
clear-cut statements about the blessedness of those who will receive Salvation (Harper’s
Bible Dictionary). In its present form in the Gospel, the Beatitudes are the preface or
introduction to the Sermon on the Mount, though they may have been spoken at various
times when Jesus did His Ministry. As a blazing introduction to the Sermon on the Mount,
we can find the platform of Jesus’ Ministry in the Beatitudes and a summary of the Gospel.

Abesamis cited that the Beatitudes can be compared to a gold mine. It is a mine for it
is a wealth of Christian Religion and gold for its inspiration to nourish the Christian Faith.
However, a believer must take extra care in reading the Beatitudes, for it might not be gold
to dig but dirt to scramble in our faith life. It would happen when we treat Beatitudes as
endorsing virtues or imperatives for meritorious moral behavior.

There are two aspects of the Biblical Religion, namely:

1. Gospel Aspect (Kerygma) 2. Law Aspect (Parenesis)

=Refers to the announcement or =Refers to the moral demands of the
proclamation of the good news of believers of God and the appeal to virtue
Salvation and morality.

Originally, on the lips of Jesus, the Beatitudes were intended to be

PROCLAMATION OF SALVATION, good news, and NOT bits of advice towards a certain
way of living NOR a recommendation for certain virtues NOR conditions for entry into the
kingdom of God. The Catechism for the Filipino Catholics (CFC), quoting PCP II # 272, 276,
states, “Beatitudes… are marks of the Kingdom –a new, mysterious life-giving vision.
Beatitudes are not a series of commands”. They offer paradoxical promises which sustain
 63
hope in our tribulations; they announce the blessings and rewards already and obscurely
experienced by the faithful. (CFC #744)
It is ridiculous to picture Jesus giving this message waiting for Salvation in his time:
“Be POOR and Be hungry,” or “It is good for you to be hungry,” or “God wants poverty and
hunger,” or “Hunger is a ticket for entry into the Kingdom of God.” No, Jesus did not mean
salvation as such. The Beatitudes were announcing redemption. They weren't initially
Parenesis; they were kerygma, a GOSPEL. They weren't imperatives; they were happy
indicative. If the Beatitudes are a proclamation of Salvation, where could we find Salvation
or the Kingdom of God in the Beatitudes?

b.) Two parts of the Beatitudes: Recipients and Blessings of Salvation

In using the Beatitudes to discover how Jesus understood the blessings of Salvation
and the Kingdom of God, one must consider that there are two parts to the Beatitudes.

The First Part of the Beatitudes The Second Part of the Beatitudes
It contains the recipients or persons It is where we search the Biblical Terms or
who will receive salvation; thus, they blessings for Salvation since it describes the
are the Recipients of Salvation different faces of salvation or blessings of salvation.
brought by Jesus. These are the specific aspects of the Kingdom of God.
Ex. “Blessed are you poor (in Spirit).” Ex. “For yours is the Kingdom of God.”

To know what the kingdom of God and Salvation meant for Jesus, one must look for
it in the second part of each beatitude. The assertions in the second portion of each
beatitude are nothing but different ways of talking above the kingdom and its Salvific
Blessings. It can be outlined in the following manner: the first part contains the beneficiaries
of Salvation, and the second part of the Beatitudes has a specific aspect or blessing or
description of the Reign-Kingdom of God.
(Matthew and Luke)
First Part: RECIPIENTS Second Part: Blessings of the Kingdom
1. Blessed are You Poor (in Spirit) for yours is the kingdom of God/Heaven
-
2. Blessed are the Hungry (and the thirsty) for they shall be filled
-
3. Blessed are those who mourn/weep for you will laugh/will be comforted
-
4. Blessed are the Meek for they will inherit the earth
-
5. Blessed are the Merciful for they will receive the mercy
-
6. Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God
-
7. Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called children of God
-
8. Blessed are the persecuted for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven
-

Again, it is essential to remember that the Salvation or Reign-Kingdom of God that

Jesus talked about in the Gospel has both present and future reality. As a current reality,
the Reign-Kingdom of God was the life-giving blessing to the concrete person Jesus brought
 64
during his ministry. As a future reality, it is the final destiny of this life. This earth, this
history, is the Biblical equivalent of Utopia, Shangri-la, or Nirvana to be experienced. The
Beatitudes talk about the aspects or some of the elements of this reality about the Kingdom
of God.

Let us look closely at the Beatitudes Matthew and Luke recorded. Our task is evident.
We will understand the way Jesus understood them in His ministry.

The FIRST BEATITUDE: Blessed are you poor (poor in

spirit), yours is the Kingdom of God/Heaven, was
announced to the poor in Luke or to the Poor in Spirit in
Matthew is the Kingdom of God in Luke or Kingdom of
Heaven in Matthew.

“Blessed are you poor; Yours is the Kingdom of God.” (Luke)

“Blessed are the Poor in Spirit; Yours is the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew)

a. Clearing out differences:

We can encounter two differences in the Gospel of Luke and Matthew regarding the
first Beatitude. First are the POOR and POOR in SPIRIT, and second is the Kingdom of
God and Heaven.

a.1 Difference: The Poor and the Poor in Spirit

Poor and Poor in spirit are the recipients of Salvation in the first Beatitudes. There
is no doubt; that Luke recorded what Jesus meant by being poor. He referred to the really
poor, the sociologically, economically, and materially. They are the POOR suffering
from poverty brought on by injustices and oppression. It seems to be the tone of Jesus
throughout the Gospel when He referred to the Poor (Anawim or aniyim).

On the other hand, Matthew recorded “POOR in Spirit” in chapter 5, verse 3. It is the
only passage that qualifies people with low incomes. Matthew possibly means:

a) Poor in Spirit refers to inwardly poor people, in our terms: HUMBLE. Thus, this
means rich or poor can be deficient in Spirit. It is the adoption or modification of
Matthew for the original statement of Jesus to tell the Poor.
b) The poor in Matthew's spirit may also refer to the concrete-sociologically
poor who, in their economic poverty, are religiously (in nature) HUMBLE and
OPEN to God’s Salvation. In this meaning, the Poor in the Spirit of Matthew is still
the ECONOMICALLY POOR, but Matthew gives the Religious dimension of being
poor.

In the ministry of Jesus, what He referred to are the poor such as the beggars (Mk.
10:46), casual workers (Mt. 20: 1-9), tenants (Mt. 21:33), enslaved people (Mt. 8:6), debtors
(Luke 16:5), the poor of the Land (Jn. 7:49). The most accurate expression in the Bible is
the “POOR and OPPRESSED” based on the underlying Hebrew word “ANAWIM” or
“ANIYIM” which means people who were oppressed due to economic poverty. In the
Jewish-Roman Structure, these are the poor masses who suffered intense economic and
sociological poverty:
 65
Payment of taxes and tribute (both the Temple and Rome)
Breakdown of traditional village-based social structure
Absence of political participation
Reduction into debt-slaves
Indebtedness
Loss of Land

In other words, the Poor and Oppressed, or ANAWIM suffered the effects of social
injustices from the oppressive social structures. They fall victim to injustices and oppression.
The Kingdom of God or Salvation is what they most need. They are the settlers, sporadic
employees, tenants, enslaved people, small-scale fishers, borrowers, or the underprivileged
in the country.

It means that the first Beatitude is addressed mainly to people suffering from and
victims of a social illness called poverty. Note that we can discern three different kinds of
poverty in the New Testament. Let us be sure not to mix them up while we journey with
Jesus as He did the ministry. When mixed up, our understanding of Salvation will be far
from how Jesus perceived His mission.

1. Poverty of destitution
This kind of poverty is a poverty that can kill and can cause people to lose dignity
as humans because it is a dehumanizing situation or condition of life. It is not a
blessing but an evil that attacks the life of humans. The God of History wanted His
people to be liberated from it. It is the kind of poverty that most of the world’s
population, including most indigenous people, suffers; this is the kind of poverty
that is life-threatening.

2. Poverty in Spirit
It is what Matthew 5:3 emphasizes. It most likely meant humility for both the rich
and the
poor. In later times, it got to tell detachment from possessions.

3. Evangelical poverty.
It is poverty referred to by religious circles. It is the practice of leaving home,
family, and possessions in the following of Jesus. Thus, the first followers of
Jesus left their boats, nets, parents, and servants to follow Him (Mk. 1:16-20);
Levi left the tax collection office and did the same.

The tone of the first Beatitudes is to arrest the massive and dehumanizing Poverty
that proliferates in the land of Jesus, the Poverty of destitution.

a.2 Difference: Kingdom of God and Kingdom of Heaven

The second difference in Matthew and Luke’s accounts of the first Beatitude is on the
Blessing of Salvation: for Luke is the Kingdom of God, while for Matthew, it is the Kingdom
of Heaven. For sure, we are sufficiently familiar with the Kingdom of God, but what is the
Kingdom of Heaven? It adds that the Kingdom of Heaven and Heaven are two different
things.
 66
Term: Heaven as an entity
In Biblical culture, heaven is commonly understood as a “place” above where God
ordinarily resides. Typically, the word heaven designates the entity, the blue roof or layers
of roof believed to be the residence of Yahweh.

Term: Heaven as a Substitute for God:

But there are times when the word Heaven does not refer to the entity: heaven. It
happens when the word ‘Heaven’ substitutes for the word ‘God.’ To show reverence for the
Sacred Names of God, the Jews avoided pronouncing “God,” and instead of the word “God,”
they used other words, such as “the Glory, the Power, the Almighty, and of course,
“Heaven” cf. Luke 15:18.
In the phrase “Kingdom of Heaven,” the word ‘Heaven’ here does not mean entity but
a substitute for the word “God.” Therefore, the kingdom of Heaven and God mean precisely
one thing: the term for Salvation, as Jesus and His contemporaries understood. None of
them refers to the entity or place, heaven. It refers mainly to Salvation.

b. KINGDOM OF GOD as SALVATION: JUSTICE AND LIBERATION

Let us return to our original quest, what is the meaning of salvation as the
Kingdom of God in this Beatitude: Blessed are you poor, for yours is the Kingdom of
God? What does the second part of the first Beatitudes imply? What is the proclamation of
Salvation intended for the poor and oppressed (Anawim)? Or What is the image or blessing
of Salvation in the first Beatitude? It is termed the Kingdom of God. Kingdom of
God/Heaven is a generic name used by Jesus in the Ministry to mean SALVATION. It is
from the word “Malkuth.” The answer to this question will lead us to discover one underlying
meaning of salvation.

The first Beatitude wished to arrest the Poverty of Destitution, making people’s lives
miserable and destitute. It is the kind of poverty that results from injustices and oppression
in the socio-political and economic sphere. Poverty is a condition or quality of being
poor. It is not merely the absence of wealth but a condition where wealth or resources have
not been distributed justly. (Harper’s Bible Dictionary). Faith taught us that God willed that
all people should have access to the works of God’s hands (the blessings of life) and that all
people will live in harmony and solidarity with the people and the earth. If this is what God
will do, why is there poverty? Why are people living in squalor and misery? A multi-Billion
question from which the people of Jesus were not exempted. Jesus' society had suffered
the bitterness of full-grown poverty due to the unjust social structure under foreign (Roman)
domination. Poverty is where there is no absence of wealth, but there was enough wealth,
only it was not distributed justly.

b.1 Kingdom of God as Deliverance from Poverty and Oppression (Justice and
Liberation)
The Salvation that this beatitude proclaimed to the poor and the oppressed
includes their deliverance from poverty and oppression that made their lives so
miserable and humiliating.

This deliverance from poverty and oppression is what our modern times call
JUSTICE and LIBERATION. It is a goldmine to the ears of the poor and oppressed
to hear that the Biblical God wants Liberation and Justice for them.
 67

Jesus does not say in this Beatitude, “Blessed are poor because you will
become wealthy,” nor does He suggest that wealth is an antithesis of poverty. Jesus
meant that the POOR must live a life worthy of a human being. That is what we
call Humane Life to be experienced by people with low incomes.

Why did Jesus seem to favor people with low incomes in this beatitude? Are
people with low incomes excellent and holy? No, Jesus here does not refer to the
poor's moral standing, uprightness, or virtuousness. But Jesus favored people with
low incomes because of this miserable economic condition, the deprivation, the
needs, and the oppression that destroyed their life and dignity as persons. The
simplicity, openness, purity or giftedness, and other noble qualities of people with low
incomes are outside the point of Jesus in this beatitude. However, this does not deny
the moral demands of the poor and oppressed. The message of Salvation that Jesus
wants the poor to taste is living a humane life which means Justice and Liberation for
the poor and oppressed, the ANAWIM.

b.2 KINGDOM OF GOD as GOOD NEWS TO THE POOR (GNP)

a. Kinds of Good News:

There are many kinds of Good News. There is good news for mothers,
business people, and low-income people. Is Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount good news
to people with low incomes in Matthew 5-7? No. That is not precisely good news for
the poor only, but that is good news for everyone. What about the dogmatic truths in
Christian Faith packaged in Homilies and Catechisms? Not so, either. But it is good
news for all Christians.

Outside the Good News to the Poor, what is other good news? Of course,
there is good news for the outcasts (tax collectors, lepers, children, women,
possessed, sinners, and sick) suffering from cultural, psychological, and religious
marginalizations. Jesus was favoring someone who is deprived of the blessings of
life. Since women were deprived of their rights, Jesus proclaimed the good news for
them. It is the tone in John 8:1-11, Mt. 15:21-28, Luke 7:36-50, and others.

c. What is Good News to the Poor (GNP)?

The Gospels stood for the centrality of Good News to the Poor in the Ministry of
Jesus. However, there are misleading platitudes that detour our understanding today.

Misleading Platitude VS What is GOOD NEWS TO THE

POOR
 68
Common notions would lead our The impoverished are waking up today
understanding of Good News to the Poor —the poorly orchestrated campaigns
away from that of Jesus. It is when: to end poverty. Jesus would not have
a) The Good News is reduced only to a approved of this false paradigm. From
copy of the Bible. the lips of Jesus, Good News to the
b) b) A zealous distribution of Holy Bible Poor is quite the opposite.
copies to the colonies, the urban
poor, the peasants, and the If the Kingdom of God or
fishermen. Salvation in the first Beatitude is
c) We used to equate Good News or JUSTICE AND LIBRATION for the
Gospel with the “Word of God,” with Poor and Oppressed, what is it about
the “Christian Faith,” or with the the Good News to the Poor message
“saving death and resurrection of which runs through the pages of the
Christ.” Gospel? Justice and liberation are
Thus, “Good News to the Poor” would domestic words among the Church
mean “distributing the Bible to the needy people of today. The terms “justice
or catechizing.” them about the Christian and liberation” are not found in the
faith's truths. It is not what Jesus meant lips of Jesus; the suitable word for
by the Good News to the Poor. their culture is the kingdom of God for
the poor and oppressed (Malkuth –
Other misleading platitudes would detract Anawim). The phrase “GOOD NEWS
from our understanding, like: TO THE POOR” is artlessly simple.
1. Jesus is with you in your poverty so
that you can bear poverty with Jesus. The Good News to the Poor as
2. The poor are God’s particular the image of Salvation is the good
favorites. God loves and blesses the news to the poor of any era:
poor. Bear poverty in God’s strength FOOD, HEALTH
and be patient; God is with you in LAND, SECURITY
squalor and misery. HOMES, HUMAN RIGHTS,
3. Good News is Good Will. The wealthy JUSTICE and LIBERATION
and middle-class act to become FROM POVERTY.
benefactors (Sta. Claus), and the
poor are just beneficiaries of their
resources.

In other words, Good News to the Poor is JUSTICE and LIBERATION from
poverty and oppression. There are many other blessings for the poor, including
moral and religious. These are present in the making of the Gospel for the Poor, but
it cannot be a Gospel without justice and liberation for them. Thus, proclaiming the
good news to the poor is to proclaim liberty and justice for the Poor and oppressed.

c. GNP: central in Jesus’ Mission Statements.

We can read in Mt. 11:2-6, Luke 7:18-23, Luke 4:15-21 (cf. Isa. 61:1-2), Luke
6:20, and Mt. 5:3 the Mission statements of Jesus mentioning various Kingdom
blessings. In these statements, one item is constantly said and never omitted in
writing: the “Good News or blessing to the poor.” Every time Jesus opens his
mouth to talk about his mission, Good News to the Poor (GNP is always on the lips
of Jesus, “Bukam-bibig,” as we say in Filipino).

d. GNP: central in Jesus' Actions among the Sick, Possessed, Multitudes, Sinners
 69

Mission statements are just mere words unless deeds or actions back them
up. How central is the Good News to the Poor in Jesus’ actions and teachings? In
Mark 3:7-12, we read that Jesus is stretching his healing hand over the sick, the
possessed, the multitudes, and the sinners (included). It is what Jesus had been
busied with. His three-year Ministry in Palestine was devoted to this work.

In a poverty-stricken Palestine, Jesus was surrounded by different images of

the Poor, namely:
a. The sick are the malnourished poor, vulnerable to various illnesses.
b. The possessed would have been the mentally ill affected by malnutrition and
poverty.
c. The multitudes were the uneducated or unschooled poor of the land attracted by
a famous preacher and wonder worker.
d. The sinners are of many kinds. They are not necessarily people of evil morals,
but rather they are the poor. We can surmise three categories of people labeled
as sinners.

1. Sinners are 2. Sinners are 3. Sinners are the

the real sinners People forced into uneducated poor who did not
who can be dubious know the Law and its
presumed to have professions due to interpretations, and those who
moral guilt (Mk. poverty, e.g., were sick and could not
2:5). prostitutes, thieves observe it were considered
sinners.

Whenever we encounter the word SINNERS in the Gospel, they refer to the
Uninstructed POOR, transgressors of the Law. Jesus was so concerned for the Good
News intended for them.
e. GNP in Jesus' teaching on Property and Possessions:

As we turn to Jesus’ teachings, we discover that he was not just a healer but
also a prophet-teacher. Did Jesus’ healing touch alleviate the poverty of the poor? It
would seem not, but at least not directly. If He was a prophet-teacher, how did Jesus
teach property and possessions? Read Mark 10:21, Luke 12:33, Luke 6:21, and 24.
Luke 16:19-23, Mt. 6:24, Luke 12:15, Luke 12:16-21, Mk. 10:23-25. What is Jesus’
stand on property, possessions, assets, goods, and wealth? For Jesus, wealth and
control must be shared with the poor. Jesus taught how to have a sense of
sufficiency, “sapat,” so as not to crave more, which causes the few to accumulate the
things meant for others. Thus, Jesus wants social justice to reign over humanity.

a. The Rich in Jesus's Ministry of the Good News to the Poor:

Did Jesus not come for the Rich and Poor alike? Yes, He did. Why is it all so heavily
in favor of the poor? Did Jesus favor the poor because they were subjectively good,
simple, holy, or for any moral qualification? No. Jesus proclaimed the good news to
the poor primarily because they were POOR and had been deprived of life's
blessings. Note Jesus’ remarks in Luke 16:190-31, Luke 6:20, Mk. 10:21 were not
the poor's goodness but the POOR's poverty. We have to realize that we cannot
invent the Gospel story. His favor for the poor allows us to peep into the heart of
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Jesus. We further ask, “How did Jesus view the rich or the non-poor? How did he
relate to them? What is the Kingdom of God for the Rich? The rich in Jesus’ life
seems to be the following:

1. Jesus critiqued the Rich

e.g., “Woe to you rich” (Luke 6:24, 16:19-31, Mt. 6:25-33). When Jesus
critiqued the rich, He did not judge them to damnation but was a way of telling
them, "You stop getting rich!” The poor become poorer in favor of you getting
richer. It is an invitation, a blazing declaration of the Rich to partake in the work
of Liberation and Justice for the poor and oppressed of the land.

2. Jesus challenged the Rich

e.g., the Rich young man was told by Jesus to go and was asked by Jesus to
sell his possessions and share them with the poor (Mk. 10:21) and then follow
Him. Such a challenge does not mean antagonism on the part of Jesus
against wealth and possession. On the contrary, according to Mark, Jesus
looking upon him, loved him (Mk. 10:21). This is an invitation to the Rich who
are living in comfort and convenience to shift the paradigm to taste the beauty
of seeing others partake in the concrete blessings of life that are from God. It
is a chance to look at God from another point of view other than the elitist point
of view.

3. Jesus converted and asked them to return their riches

e.g., Luke 19:1-10. Jesus’ word to Zaccheus, “Today Salvation comes to this
house,” declares that the openness of the Rich to share riches is indeed a
work of Salvation. Zaccheus was like the significant few wealthy in our time
who wanted to return their wealth to the poor.

4. Jesus appreciated them for their strong Faith in Him

The Rich had faith in Jesus (and presumably in everything Jesus stood for,
including justice and liberation of the poor) and did not have oppressive
actions toward the poor and oppressed. Jesus did not take this kind of faith but
appreciated them in the Ministry.
e.g., the women who followed Jesus (Luke 8:2) and the Roman centurion
(Luke 7:1-10)
It has been the attitude of Jesus that even in the virtually friendliest encounter with
the non-poor, there is always a moment of critique, challenge, conversion, or faith for the
rich.

We must hold on to our conviction that Jesus died for the rich and poor. Jesus
brought salvation to the rich and poor. But consider that while Jesus lived, he stood for
justice and liberation for the poor. It means that His stand for the “Anawim” had something
to do with his death at the hands of the oppressive rich, the powerful, and the wealthy in his
time.

The Second Beatitude addressed the Poor and Oppressed is:

“Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled” (Luke
6:21) or “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.” (Mt. 5:4)
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a.) The Recipients of Salvation: The Hungry

Briefly, we look at the first part of this second Beatitude in which Matthew and Luke
differ again. Luke talks about the people with empty stomachs who hunger for food, while
Matthew refers to people who desire moral uprightness and holiness.
Again: Luke refers to Hunger - as concrete – sociological hunger
(no food in one’s stomach)
Matthew refers to Hunger – as religious – moral hunger
(thirst for righteousness)

Our concern is to closely hear the word that came from the lips of Jesus. Luke had
no moralizing tendency because of the context of his writing, unlike Matthew, whose
audience was Jews. However, we would not think that this moralizing tendency of Matthew
emphasizes the spiritual aspects. Still, the underlying truth is that he was referring to
naturally hungry persons.

This second beatitude addresses the problem/issue closely related to poverty,

which we call hunger. It is an issue faced by those people who have nothing to eat. The
dictionary provides that hunger is chronic undernourishment or outright starvation. It is not a
prohibition of food but a deprivation of food when you most need it. It is a condition that the
majority of the citizens of the world suffer from. Scarcity of Food has suffered more than
three-fourths of the population of the globe. Those people who have no food in their
stomachs. Jesus and his contemporaries had strong bands of Semitic culture (refer to Afro-
Asiatic people such as Hebrews, Arabs, and Phoenicians). Hebrew Scriptures tend to be
concrete and earthly, solid food for the hungry. In terms of a new earth, the Hebrew
Scriptures described future salvation. Food, justice, and complete well-being can all be on
that renewed earth. Isaiah portrays the last deliverance as a literal feast, not a metaphor.

b.) SALVATION OR KINGDOM OF GOD: SHALL BE SATISFIED

Satisfaction means to fill in a specific basic need for survival. Who needs to be
satisfied? The people with no food in their stomachs yearned earnestly for the satisfaction of
their hunger. The hungry would be happy if given any food that would nourish their thin
body. But the people who are not hungry would not be satisfied even with how delicious
and nutritious is the food on the table.

FOOD for the Hungry Poor is in Jesus’ message. However, note that Jesus is not
talking about food in general. He is, in particular, talking about food and feasting for the
hungry of the earth. Recall that the Beatitude about food was to the hungry.

FOOD IS A KINGDOM OF GOD OR SALVATION

b.1 Gospel Terms for Food

In Luke 6:21,13:29,22:29-30, 14:15, 14:16-24, 22:15-26, 12:37, Matthew 6:11,

8:22, 25:10, 11:2-10, and Mark 14:25, we can find different biblical terms related to food,
such as, sitting at the table, eating and drinking, feasting and dancing, banquet, bread and
the like.
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According to one of the Beatitudes, food was what God wanted to see on the tables
of the hungry poor. In the New Testament, one of the most significant images of the
Kingdom and its blessing is: sitting at the table, eating and drinking, feasting and dancing.
It is essential because it overturns some cherished hypotheses that tend to rule out, of
course, anything “material” hunger.

What truly makes this image significant and striking is the frequency with which
FOOD-and-KINGDOM is in the New Testament Faith Proclamation. Note that the New
Testament writers generally take for granted to give meaning, explanation, or description of
the Kingdom of God because they addressed first-generation readers. Yet, in the scarcity of
reason, the most frequent blessing associated with the kingdom of God that Jesus imparted
is FOOD. Here is one of the happy surprises that Jesus as a Messiah proclaims the Reign-
kingdom of God as sitting at the table, FOOD, drinking, absence of hunger, meal, feast, and
banquet.

b.2 Food as the Kingdom of God: today or in the future?

Undoubtedly, the FOOD discussed here refers to God's future and definitive salvation
or final Kingdom. However, let us consider that one main petition of the ‘Lord’s Prayer is:
“Give us this day our daily Bread” (Mt. 6:11)

Daily = comes from the original Greek word, “EPIOUSION,” which has several
possible meanings:

1.) Epiousion – can refer to “daily” or from day to day. In other words, it can refer to
the usual food we ordinarily eat daily. Thus, it may refer to “Fish or earth and a
good meal.” We usually and regularly need fish, rice, and pan de sal daily.

2.) ‘Epiousion’ - can also have other meanings, tomorrow or future. It comes from the
mouth of Jesus to refer to the food of God's coming Kingdom at the end of time.
Thus, it could mean FOOD for the future. It refers to the banquet people will enjoy
in the new world/earth at the final and definitive Kingdom's end of our present
history.

Thus, Food as the Kingdom of God can refer to the food that we enjoy today that
sustains our life and to the barrio fiesta of the final Kingdom of God. It is, therefore, a
parallel to “May your kingdom come.”

b.3 Food as Kingdom of God: Real or Symbolic?

Jesus, who is talking to the hungry poor, cannot dare to use figurative or
metaphorical language, but speaking about the concrete relief from hunger, REAL FOOD
and not SYMBOLIC. It is the tone of our petition to the Father, “Give us today our daily
bread.” We ask for real FOOD, the Bread, and the Kingdom of Real Bread.

A whole parable in Mt. 22:1-10 and Luke 14:16-24 describes the kingdom as a
banquet or a marriage feast. Luke describes it as a banquet for the poor. Many of those
invited gave excuses, “I cannot come.”
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So from out of the streets and alleys were invited the poor, the disabled, the blind,
and the lame. Some were too busy with their business and affairs and were not hungry.
They could not appreciate the food as God’s blessing or Kingdom. But food is gold to the
unclouded eyes of the poor/hungry who spend their lives searching for food. FOOD as a
Kingdom is for the malnourished poor of the land. Therefore, it is for the lame, blind,
crippled, and hungry for food.

b.4 Food for the hungry of today

It is a remarkable statement to say that Jesus was probably very much happy
with our fiesta where (Lechon, Kare-Kare, panga, adobo, embutido, potsero, kinilaw, Leche
flan, matamis na makapuno, ube, Suman sa latik, beer, tuba, soft drinks) all kinds of Foods
are on their array on the table. For his blessed idea of the kingdom of God – and that of
many other Jews – is a BANQUET.

While we celebrate our fiestas today, we know that poverty and hunger will mark our
tomorrow. Let us expand to millions of others who can do no more than hallucinating about
barrio fiestas. Many of our people coax their sustenance out of garbage heaps and
restaurant leftovers.

How do we deal with “food for the hungry today”? A love that puts a kilo of rice into a
beggar's cupped hands remains a way of feeding the hungry, but this remains a band-aid
solution and will not do in the long run. A precise diagnosis of hunger and surgery is
needed.

What causes massive hunger? Do not say, “They’re lazy,” nor say, “It is the will of
God.” But say, “It is the social system.” Thus you are challenged to:
1. Dismantle the unjust social structure that causes hunger among the many.
2. Rebuild a more humane and just society as a follower of Jesus.
It is a proper time to be concerned with the wasted “butil ng palay” from our table and
contemplate the needed food for the malnourished poor.

The Third Beatitude pronounced by Jesus is, “Blessed are

you who weep now, for you will laugh” (Luke 6:2) or
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted”
(Mt. 5:4)

a) The Recipients of Salvation: The sorrowing

Why are people crying? What made them so sorrowful and mournful? Indeed, we will
answer because of pain. Our natural knowledge would tell us that the poor took no proper
nutrition. Thus, they are prone to sickness. The first three recipients of Salvation are the
same group of people in society: the Poor, the Hungry, and the sorrowing. They refer to one
group of people, the Poor and the Oppressed (Anawim), who are always hungry and
become ill because of oppression and hunger. They are crying because of the pain of
sickness, the pain of inhuman treatment, the violation of human rights, and the loss of
integrity. Therefore, they need liberation.
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b) The Kingdom of God or Salvation: Comfort, Joy, Laughter

The Salvation or Kingdom of God in this Beatitude means joy, comfort, and
laughter for those crying. There will be no place for tears of sadness in the Kingdom of
God. What is the full-throated bliss of flesh and blood, people? The unrehearsed joy
smiles, and laughter of our openhearted fellowmen and fellow women are perhaps an
anticipation of the eternal happiness we will share in our final destiny with God. People
laugh and are joyful because they are unburdened by wealth and worries. They can wear a
smile, not of resignation but hope in the struggle amidst difficulties.

The Fourth Beatitude announced by Jesus is.

. “Blessed are the Meek, for they will inherit
the Earth.” (Mt. 5:5)

a.) Recipients of Salvation: THE MEEK, THE HUMBLE

Who are the Meek? Who are the humble? The meek refers to the humble person
sociologically and economically. They are the people who have no choice because of
poverty. They have to bear the difficulties, sufferings, and miseries of life with humility,
opposite to the rich, who are wicked.

These humbled poor and oppressed have been dislocated and lost their land
because of indebtedness and poverty. For ordinary people, LAND is LIFE, and LAND is
SECURITY. If one has no land, they are prey to injustices and oppression. To whom would
the God of Justice assign the Earth? Of course, those who have not savored or been
deprived of the Earth's resources. EARTH or LAND is SALVATION

Psalm 37:11 reads, “The ‘anawim’ shall inherit the land and delight themselves in
abundant prosperity,” And if we continue, we can find that the “anawim” is counter-posed
with the WICKED, which refers to the oppressors who possessed the wealth and the power
of the land.

b.) Salvation or Kingdom of God: Inheriting the Earth

Earth is God’s. It is His gift to people to sustain the life He gave to us. It is the
conviction of the Biblical Religion, the religion of Jesus. Land! Inheriting Land! Possessing
Land is the Kingdom of God! It is a salvation for those who do not have land. To the ears of
the Israelites, “POSSESSING THE LAND” is a broken but most welcome refrain of their faith
relationship with Yahweh. Yahweh promised and gave land to their ancestors and them as
a people. The land is a gift from Yahweh; indeed, they were just stewards of the land and
ought not to enjoy the resources alone but with the whole community. This land/earth for
Jesus is the Real Earth, natural land to live and not be oppressed again.

Salvation here in this Beatitude is not heaven but earth. The Final Salvation viewed
in this passage is the possession of the transformed Earth, the New Earth that is the final
destiny of everything: Thus, the Kingdom of God is inheriting the Earth.

Note that the first three recipients of the Kingdom of God are the POOR, the hungry,
the sorrowing, and the afflicted. They refer to one group of people in society, the Anawim,
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the poor, and the oppressed. They are not, therefore, three different sets of people. They
are the anawim, who are poor, deprived of resources, have no food in their stomach, and
are profoundly crying for the equal distribution of resources; therefore, they were afflicted.
The salvation Jesus wants for them is (1) LIBERATION, (2) FOOD, (3) LAUGHTER, and (4)
LAND.

The fifth Beatitude is, “Blessed are the merciful, for

they will receive mercy” (Mt. 5:7)

Did Jesus not also wish more than liberation, justice,

food, laughter, and land for the poor? Does He not also
want a Spiritual gift for them?

Of course, He does. This particular group of people was the one to whom Jesus addressed.
Jesus cares for the poor, their misery, and their right to freedom and justice. In response to
the HUNGRY and their STARVATION, Jesus requests food. Jesus wants to provide joy and
healing to those who are SICK, OPPRESSED, suffering from suffering, and experiencing
human rights violations. Jesus' request is a land in response to MEEK and their humiliation.
Jesus is a problem-oriented God; he doesn't avoid responsibility or preaches irrationally.
Jesus, however, wants the underprivileged to encounter the virtue of heart in the fifth
Beatitude.

a.) Recipients of Salvation: THE MERCIFUL

Who are the Merciful? The merciful are those who are merciful. People who have
demonstrated moral or ethical virtue in their daily interactions with others are said to be
compassionate. They are those who practice social responsibility, fairness, and compassion
toward one another. Just work, and lovable kindness of character is related to empathy.

b.) Kingdom of God or Salvation: THEY SHALL OBTAIN MERCY

Mercy, in this Beatitude, does not refer indiscriminately to any compassionate act.
The underlying Hebrew word is “checed.” It relates to compassion that goes hand in hand
with justice. It is the feeling partner of justice (Mishpat). Together, checed and mishpat
forge a fellowship with what can be called social justice with a heart.

The sense of our Beatitude then is; “Blessed are those who have a compassionate
heart do the works of social justice, for the Kingdom of God for them will likewise be the
experience of mercy and compassion.” “The Mercy of God shall be theirs” means that the
justice of God shall be upon them. It is a Salvation. It is the Kingdom of God.

The sixth Beatitude announced by Jesus as one of His Platform

is:
“Blessed are the PURE in HEART, for they shall
see God.” (Mt. 5:83)
Just as Jesus wished mercy for the Anawim, He also
wished purity of heart.
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a.) Recipients of Salvation: THE PURE IN HEART

Who is the Pure in Heart? It is the Person whose eyes are not clouded with the
comforts and conveniences of life. They are the people who do not enthrone money,
wealth, power, and fame as gods in their hearts. People with pure hearts can better
appreciate the preciousness of the Kingdom's blessing. They are the people who are more
in touch with the primordial or essentials of the Earth. They have the taste of the essence-to-
essence experience of God’s presence in the concrete life-giving blessings.

b.) Kingdom of God or Salvation: Seeing God or Vision of God

Seeing God does not mean having an eye-to-eye encounter with him. The presence
of God in the concrete works of His hands. In the culture of Jesus, to see God’s face brings
death. But in this Beatitude, Jesus meant that human life reaches its absolute fulfillment
when they can see God face to face.

“Seeing God” is one of the several blessings of God’s Kingdom or Salvation that is
more than an eyeball-to-eyeball vision of God. It is an “Essence-to-Essence experience” of
God. The essence of a human being experiences the nature of the Divine. It happens only
to the “pure-hearted,” who have no other wish but to experience the real God. Their eyes
can find the face of God in the simple blessings of life, in the land, in the food, in their good
health, in their strength, and the like. Their eyes are not blinded by profit, over-accumulation
of properties, and excessive wealth possessions.

In real-life conditions, the poor better appreciate life's simple blessings and consider
them kingdom blessings. The poor are in touch with the earth's primordial, like food, land,
home, and health, and not with the superficialities of life. They are contented with what the
world is giving them and respect the earth's capacity. They are connected not only with the
rocks and trees but also with the luminous silence of the outer and inner worlds. Beneath
the earth is the experience of the God who loves them and is designed for their liberation
and humane life.

The Seventh Beatitude “Blessed are the peacemakers

for they will be called Children of God” (Mt. 5:9)

The God who wished for the Poor and oppressed salvation
wanted to find the poor to be agents of peace.

a.) Recipients of Reign-Kingdom of God or Salvation: The Peacemakers

Who are the Peacemakers, and where are they now? Amidst the intense
misunderstanding, chaos, conflicts, and troubles in the world, there is a cry for the
makers of peace. Who are they? What are they doing? Are they around? We are
confronted with words, peacemakers, and peacekeepers. Peacemaking is undoubtedly
different from peacekeeping. Peace-making would exhaust all the means to achieve the
destined peace for all, but peacekeeping would try all angles to keep peace from
reigning in our midst. In other words, peacemakers are not afraid, to tell the truth or to
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achieve the desire for peace. They seek the truth and proclaim it so that darkness will
be overcome.

b.) Reign-Kingdom of God or Salvation: Children of God

Divine Filiations have several levels of meaning in Biblical culture, but the bottom
line – is becoming sons and daughters of God - a special relationship with God. In
this Beatitude, Jesus wants to tell His people that we savor the quality of the blessing of
Divine Filiations: special children of God. It strikes the beating of His “Abba” experience,
“Our Father,” ‘My Father, “your Father.” In this Beatitude, we can feel the tune echo the
Kingdom blessing, experiencing the Parenthood of God – in the fullest, most exhaustive,
and most absolute way.

The last Beatitudes go back to the first

Beatitude, addressing the poor as Jesus
wished Salvation for them. “Blessed are
those who are insulted persecuted for the
cause of justice; the Reign of God is theirs”
(Mt. 5:10)
a. Recipients of Salvation: PERSECUTED FOR THE CAUSE OF JUSTICE

These people suffered so much persecution because of socio-economic and

political oppression. They are the poor, the hungry, the weeping, the meek, the merciful,
the pure in heart, and the peacemakers. They are the people who defended justice,
which allowed “justice” to reign over the life of the people. However, they have been
deprived of the primordial sense of justice needed for their existence.

Reign-Kingdom of God or Salvation: KINGDOM OF HEAVEN

This eighth feature of Salvation, or the Kingdom of God, has the same tone as the
first Beatitude. For those who are persecuted for the cause of justice, then JUSTICE AND
LIBERATION are intended for them. It is their Salvation; this is their Kingdom of God.

Let's bring these Beatitudes into the context of concrete life situations today. We find
that the Salvation experience is a blessing of life or life-giving benefits in our language
today.

Recipients In these Beatitudes Reign/Kingdom of God today means:

Poor KINGDOM OF Justice and liberation for the Poor and

GOD/HEAVEN oppressed.
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The hungry Poor SHALL BE SATISFIED Food, Rice, Good Meal for the Hungry
Poor.
Those who weep SHALL LAUGH Laughter and Joy for the Sorrowing Poor.
(Poor)

The Meek SHALL INHERIT THE The Earth, Land for the Humbled Poor
EARTH (Meek).

The Merciful SHALL OBTAIN MERCY Experiencing Mercy (Social Justice).

The Pure in Heart. SHALL SEE GOD Seeing God.

ThePeacemakers SHALL BE
CALLED SONS AND Children of God
DAUGHTERS OF
GOD

The Insulted and the REIGN OF GOD Justice and Liberation

persecuted KINGDOM OF

The CFC # 745 emphatically confirms, “The blessings of the Kingdom are promised to the
poor and the powerless; to the gentle and the afflicted; to those who seek eagerly for
righteousness beyond external observance; to the compassionate and the pure-hearted; to
those who turn from violence and seek reconciliation. To these, Jesus promises a unique
type of happiness: to inherit God’s Kingdom, to possess the earth, to be a child of God, to
receive mercy, to see God.”

JESUS AND SALVATION IN THE MIRACLES AND THE PARABLES

The Total Salvation brought by Jesus has two realities, the salvation of the here and
now (present) and the salvation of the life hereafter (future). As a present reality, it is an
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experience of the concrete blessing of the life of a substantial human being. As a future, it is
the final destiny of all things, the final destiny of humanity, the world, and history, wherein
God will be all in all.

Luke 7:22-23 recounts what Jesus had done in his ministry when John’s disciples
asked about the Messiah.
“Go and report to John what you have seen and heard. The blind recover their sight,
the crippled walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hears, the dead men are raised to
life, and the poor have the poor news preached to them.”

Jesus as the agent of Salvation or Kingdom of God, did not affirm that He was the
Messiah; instead, He enumerated indicators of the presence of the Messiah in the midst.
The tone of Luke’s Gospel aired out the concrete blessings of the concrete life of the person
ushered by the Anointed One, therefore an experience of the present reality of Salvation. It
is the spirit of the Miracles performed by Jesus is the Ministry.

I- THE SALVATION (REIGN-KINGDOM OF GOD) IN THE MIRACLES OF JESUS

Ordinary people, when asked about what miracles are, would surely think of something
extraordinary event

A. Meaning of Miracles

The miracle comes to us through the Latin word “Miraculum.” which means
something to be marveled at. As a word, “Miraculum” is a weak translation of the Greek
words: Dynamis, Simeon, and Ergon.
“DYNAMIS” means force, energy, the act of power or
“Simeon,” which implies a Sign or
“Ergon,” which means activity or work. (Harper’s Bible Dictionary)
Why weak translation? It is because the meaning “something to be marveled at” as
“miraculum” would mean we need to look for something we can marvel at before we
consider it a Miracle. The standard and ordinary phenomenon cannot be a miracle in that
sense. But if we go back to the Greek translation, “Dynamis, ergon, Simeon,” we are given
the idea that any force, act of power, sign, activity, or work is a miracle. To wake up in the
morning, bath ourselves, prepare food and take it into our body, go to work, and the rest of
our activities are works that need force and energy. Therefore, they are miracles.
The Greek Bible used “Dynamis,” Simeon, or Ergon as the works of Jesus in His
Ministry. It brings us to the idea that our Miracle in English would mean jobs and signs of
God’s power, force, and energy. Miracles are beautiful signs of the power or strength
that God exercises in less obvious ways. It showed more clearly God’s control over this
world, history, and humanity which is ruled over by injustices, violence in all forms, and
senseless suffering rampant across the globe. How can we honestly acclaim the power,
force, and energy of God to reign over and eradicate evils in the world to allow us to acclaim
that Jesus is a Savior? In what way did He perform his saving energy and power in history?

Fundamentally, the Catechism for Filipino Catholics (CFC # 495-499) upheld that
Jesus exercised his force, power, and energy by saving us from
1. the cosmic demonic powers of evil. (Catechism for Filipino Catholic #495)
2. the enslaving, oppressive forces in the socio-economic and political areas. (CFC
#496-98)
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3. the absurdity and meaningless of life. (CFC # 499)
To be relieved from this coil of evil is to experience liberation from this bad situation is a
Reign-Kingdom of God and, therefore, salvation.

B. The Miracles in the New Testament

Jesus worked miracles of all kinds, including exorcisms, healing the sick, mastery
over nature, and power over death. All evangelists present Jesus as a person who
demonstrated extraordinary powers. In Mark, Jesus started His ministry in Capharnaum
with a great shower of miracles. Matthew nearly clusters ten miracles and reports the outset
of Jesus' ministry when the people of Galilee and all the surrounding areas “carried to him
all those affected with various diseases and rocked with pain.” Jesus cured them all. (CFC
# 492-93)

John’s gospel contains only seven great miracles, but each was carefully chosen to
illustrate a different part of Jesus’ Mission. The Acts of the Apostles also mention a gift.
Finally, the Gospel of Luke introduces the public ministry of Jesus by reading Isaiah’s
description of a Messiah as one who would perform works of mercy. It somehow serves as
Jesus’ Mission Statement that weaves the Accounts of Jesus’ miracles to show Jesus
fulfilling that prophecy and concretizing his Mission agenda.

C. Purposes of Jesus’ Miracles

Why must Jesus perform Miracles? Does Miracle a need? These are some of the
fundamental questions one faces when dealing with Miracles. If Jesus performed Miracles
during His ministry, He had the holy intention in line with God’s wanting always to save.
Jesus was a task to be a restorer of the promises of Yahweh for His people Israel, therefore
to exercise powers, force, and energy that is part of the fulfillment of the promise of God.
The most common thing that would come to our mind is that this is part of His confrontation
with the power of Evil that plundered the beauty and goodness of the House of God. In her
book, “The Mystery of Jesus of Nazareth,” Agnes Pastva (1982) explains the outcome of
Christological studies providing us some fundamental reasons why Jesus must perform
miracles as follows:

C.1 For Imitation

"Action speaks louder than words" is a classic adage. Jesus made effective use of the
"show and told" technique. The disciples took their lessons in empathy and tolerance from
Jesus. By not brushing aside the children and the pressing crowd, Jesus taught that, in a
loving heart, there is always room for one more. As they watched Jesus sympathize with
parents and enslavers and those who mourned their dead, the Apostles entered more
deeply into the sufferings of others. Observing Jesus’ tenderness, the Apostles become
tendered; in experiencing Jesus' sensitivity, the Apostles become more sensitive. The
personal service of Jesus to the poor and the miserable has invited millions of Christians to
do the same. True enough, millions have imitated Jesus’ works.

C.2 Signs of Father’s Compassion

The relationship of the Son to the Father is indeed unquestionable. Jesus is very close to
the Father, saying, “The Son and the Father are one, Anyone who has seen the Son has
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seen the Father.” On a deeper level, Jesus’ miracles were the natural outflow of his close
relationship with God. In his prayer and meditation on the Scripture, He had profoundly
experienced his Father as a God of mercy and compassion. Jesus lavished His Father’s
love on others. It would also have been contrary to what he knew of his Father’s way.

As he preached God’s mercy by word, his deed showed that God’s love extends to the
neediest people in society. It has reached beyond our imagination.

C.3 Signs of the Kingdom

Jesus is not just a social worker or a physician. The Gospel describes Jesus’ miracles
not as kindness but as signs and power. Jesus’ miracles are signs of God's power versus
Satan's power. And so, the key to understanding why the early Church made the miracles
of Jesus so prominent in the Gospel is the Kingdom. As Jesus’ teachings centered on this
basic theme, his miracles showed that God’s kingdom was to destroy the world's evil. The
four types of miracles that Jesus performed light up different aspects of the mystery of that
kingdom: exorcisms of demons, physical cures, power over nature, power over death

C.4 A Call to Faith

Jesus’ miracles symbolize the very meaning of his life: he is a great forgiver. In calling
forth faith, they open the way for God to heal all creation through Christ.

Jesus’ main intention in working on cures was not to do away with suffering. After all, the
people he helped would possibly get sick again, and all would die, even those he had raised
from the dead. The miracles were ultimately meant to stir up faith. A miracle may be
defined as a visible sign of God’s power that brings about the invisible sign of God’s
power, the miracles of faith in Jesus as the one sent by God.

The people responded to the miracles with varying degrees of faith. Some, like
Caiaphas refused to believe. Some followed Jesus for the sake of material benefits, but,
like the multitudes at the multiplication of the loaves, many turned from him when their faith
was tested. Some, like the Apostles, wavered in their faith but gave Jesus their un-
vanishing fidelity. The miracles they saw with their eyes helped their faith. At the end of the
last Gospel, praises are given to those who do not see and believe.
Jesus continues to work through the Spirit. Just as he shared the life of his Father with
the people of his day, he now makes it mysteriously possible for us to experience his
miracles and to do the work of God in Scripture; Jesus gives us the eye to see him in the
sacraments, He uses us to bring consolation and healing to others. To believe that he is
present in ordinary events is to accept Jesus as the Son of God, the One who still does the
works of God. To say yes to this mystery is to live the petition of the Lord’s Prayer – “Your
kingdom comes on earth as it is in heaven.”
Miracles remain mysterious even after two thousand years. Today, they are still
part of our world. Just as Jesus’ deeds in his own time were a promise of God’s final
victory, each “miracle” in our day brings that victory closer. “This is how we win the victory,”
says St. John, “with our Faith,” Jesus’ miracles are a call to us to believe, to be healed, and
to be Christ’s instrument for the healing of others.

Kinds of Miracles as Features of Reign-Kingdom of God or Salvation

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The Biblical Scholars have divided the miracles of Jesus into four broad categories:
healing miracles, casting out devils (exorcisms), powers
over nature, and power over death. These categories
unfolded the Reality of the Reign-Kingdom of God.

1. Healing Miracles:
For Jesus, Salvation consists in making whole both
humans and nature. Jesus was so busy healing the wounds of humankind, the gaping
wounds that separate him from God and his fellow humans. He was even penetrating the
festering psychological and spiritual sores that cause people to hate and reject themselves
and the physical suffering due to illness, congenital disabilities, old age, and the like.
Sickness is the domination of the “flesh-eating evil,” if not a “flesh-destructive evil,” over the
person's body. Believers of God see sickness as a sign of the oppressive presence of evil in
the person's physical body. (CFC p. 528)

Healing John Luke Mark Matthew

Cure of the Two Blinds - - - 9:27-34
Jesus heals the Deaf-mute - - 7:31-37 -
Two Blind men in 9:1-7 18:35-43 8:22-28 9:27-31
Bethsaida/in Jericho
Cure of Man in Jericho - 18:35-43 10:46-52 20:29-34
(Bartimaeus)
Cure of a Leper - 5:12-16 1:40-45 8:1-4
Paralytic Cure (in Capharnaum) - 5:17-26 2:1-12 9:1-13
Paralytic in Bethsaida 5:2-15 - 6:53-56 14:22-23
Peter’s Mother-in-law - 4:38-39 1:29-31 8:14-15
Centurion’s Servant - 7:1-10 - 8:5-13
Cure in Genesareth - - - 14:34-36
Man with Withered Hand - 6:6-11 3:1-6 12:9-14
Cure of the Dropsical Man - 14:1-4 - -
Ten Lepers - 17:11-19 - 8:1-4
A Cure on a Sabbath/Sabbath 5:1-15 13:10-13 3:1-6 -
Feast
Cure of a Woman in - 8:43-48 5:25-34 9:20-22
hemorrhage

2. Casting Out Evil:

In Jesus’ time,
belonged to the apocalyptic tradition. In the Bible, Evil was
not just an impersonal force. It was not something, but it
was someone. Satan was one of the names given to this
personalized evil force. Satan is a Hebrew word that means “enemy, adversary, or evil.” The
Greek translated this into “Diabolos,” which means “Slanderer.” Evil is to be the opponent of
God (who is Life) and His plan for all humanity, the world, and history. Satan is the enemy of
Life, the enemy of Christ, and therefore the enemy of the believers of Christ, the Christians.
In the life of humans and nature, this Satan and his army/agents worked evil in the
world, causing sickness, suffering, injustice, oppression, war, sin, and death. The expected
Salvation would be the destruction of the Reign of Satan by the Reign of God. The coming
of the kingdom of God means the defeat of the evil one and his rule over the Person,
History, and the world.
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Jesus casts out Satan. “If it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the
kingdom of God has come to you. (Luke 11:20 – Mt. 12:28). One of the more frequently
reported works of Jesus was his casting out evil spirits (Mk. 1:25; 3:11, 5:8, 7:29, 9:25, 3:22-
27). Statements that summarize his ministry mention this kind of activity.

“Wherever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell before him and shouted, “You are the
Son of God.” (Mk. 3:11)

Jesus saw the cases of epilepsy, mental illness, and possession as works of Satan,
and exorcising them was a destruction of the Reign of Satan. Satan exercised his way:
a) over individuals, causing physical or mental affliction
b) over nature, causing calamities,
c) over history and world, engineering the inhumanity of the Imperialist Rome.

In the Gospels, Jesus portrayed a vanishing Satan's power in individual people’s

lives. Satan is the strong man now bound and whose house is being plundered by Jesus
(Mk. 3:22-26). A kingdom of blessing, then, would be the destruction of satanic powers
present in each person in culture/History and the world. It remains so today.

What are to be exorcised in the Name of Jesus today?

In our continued exploration for Salvation in terms of the Reign-Kingdom of God,

we’ve encountered the different forms of evils in society, namely: the insanity of the arms
industry, hacking away the remaining forest covers, foolish destruction of the body by drugs,
population control, and so many others.

The Kingdom of God is far from our reach as long as there are people who
produce guns, warplanes, war tanks, and biological weapons of mass destruction. The
production of these instruments of war is itself against life and, therefore, a work of Satan in
the guise of defense. In reality, this arms industry is a multi-billion business that serves as
the life-blood of superpower countries. It is multi-billion dollar businesses that create the
family of the super-rich existing on the same planet as their destitute brother and sisters do.
The mentality of war peddling is one of the evils that need to be cast out of our system. The
same is true for the production of prohibited drugs, the circulation of bold films, pornographic
materials, food poisoning, medicines with side effects, hacking away the remaining forest
cover, opening large-scale pit mining, and all the rest.

It was never in the Plan of the Source of Life and the Owner of the universe that
these powers would destroy life on earth. Exorcising them today needs the bottomless
energy from the poor and victims of injustices. It is drawn from silence to allow the healing
energies of the universe to radiate similar power to those released from Jesus when he
dethroned the forces of Satan.

Some Texts on Exorcisms:

Casting Out of Demons John Luke Mark Matthew
Cure of the Blind and Beelzebul - 11:14-28 3:20-30 12:22-27
Cure of the Demoniac - 4:33-37 1:21-25 -
Cure of the Demoniac at Caesaria - 8:26-39 3:1-20 8:28-34
Cure of the Canaanite Woman - - 7:24-30 15:21-28
Cure of the Possessed Boy - 9:37-43 9:13-28 17:14-20
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Cure of the Stooped Woman - 13:10-47 - -

It is easy to see how healing miracles and exorcisms become images or features of the
kingdom or salvation, but how do acts of power over the forces of Nature fit in with the
Reign-kingdom of God?
3. Power over Nature:
In the Jewish Scriptures, Yahweh is pictured as the Master of
Nature. He brings rains and storms and sends winds to dry the
flood. In fact, in Psalm 89:9, immediately following the statement
that the Lord God Almighty “rules over the surging of the sea” and
“stills the dwelling of its waves,” there follows this line. “You have crushed Rahab with a
mortal blow” Rahab was a legendary sea monster representing the forces of chaos and evil.
So when Jesus calms the storm, like Yahweh, He “treads upon the crests of the sea.” He is
exhibiting the power of Yahweh himself in controlling nature. Genesis says that God
became hostile to humanity due to the sin of Adam. Jesus is the restorer of the original
order of the universe.

Jesus was not the first person in Israel’s history to exhibit divine power over
nature. The feeding of the multitude echoes the miraculous manna in the desert and the
prophet Elisha feeding a hundred men with twenty loaves of barley. The early Christians,
who were very familiar with the Old Testament, saw continuity and fulfillment of God’s
actions in Jesus.

Texts on:
Nature Miracles John Luke Mark Matthew
Miracle at Cana 2:1-11 - - -
First Miraculous Catch - 5:1-11 - -
Calming of the Tempest - 8:22-25 4:35-44 8:23-37
Jesus Walks on the Water 6:16-25 - 6:45-52 14:23-33
First Multiplication of the Bread 4:1-15 9:10-17 6:30-44 14:13-23
Second Multiplication of the Bread - - 8:1-10 -

Nature Miracles Today:

The Kingdom of God is beyond our reach if there exist people who still produce
chemicals that would surely devastate our earth and continue to use the earth's resources
for their profit. The continued destruction of our forest cover needed for our existence in
favor of industrialization through developmental aggression indicates that we hailed nature
to be dominated by evil forces. Overpowering them today means the restoration of the real
essence of the earth and the primordial sense of Justice, thus transforming the world for
our benefit as its dependents. Restoration of nature is a kingdom Blessing.

4.Power over Death

Death is the most vital sign of Satan’s reign over life which no
one can avoid. Some prophets had shown that God’s power
could postpone death; Elijah brings back the dead son of the
widow Zarephath, for example, and Elisha revives the son of Shunammites. By raising the
daughter of Jairus, the son of the widow of Naim and Lazarus, Jesus demonstrates the
same power. Although none of these miracles permanently defeated death, they pointed to
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his resurrection's greatest blessing. By freely accepting death, Jesus crushed Satan
forever, and God’s eternal life became available to all.

Life over Death Texts John Luke Mark Matthew

The widow of Naim’s Son Cured - - 7:11-17 -
Raising to Life of Jairus’ Daughter - 8:40-56 5:21-43 9:18-26
Sadducees and Resurrection - 20:27-40 12:18-27 20:23-33
Raising to Life of Lazarus 11:1-53 - - -

Jesus’ miracles show that he was so close to God that God’s creative life flowed out
to heal and liberate those who came in contact with him. His success in molting sickness
and possession and nature and death reveals his vocation to destroy Satan’s hold over
humanity and re-establish God’s life.

I- THE SALVATION (REIGN-KINGDOM OF GOD) IN THE PARABLES OF JESUS

Very well enough that we supplied the Kingdom of God as a present reality, but it is
also essential to be curious about its fullness. A dull formula goes this way: “the Kingdom
of God is already here but not yet.” Jesus, as a Prophet, also taught us about the Reign-
Kingdom of God as a future reality. It is the tone that dominates his Teachings, his
conviction about life after death, the end of history, and the new heaven and new earth. But
how did Jesus teach? Did He bluntly declare the immense Truth about the Kingdom of God?
Did Jesus tell His people the TRUTH about God’s enormous love for them? No!

God, the owner of all things in the universe, has entrusted all things to Jesus. Jesus
cannot just tell it directly to the people; they might not be able to contain the outburst of the
Divine truth due to the clouds of struggle and suffering brought about by idolatry and social
injustices of their times. He has to make the bulk of the excellent news simple and
acceptable to the intellectual capacity of the people. Jesus has to use literary styles
common to His time to tell about the nature of God’s Reign over the world. Throughout the
four Gospels, we may find Jesus using different teaching methods home to His audiences,
like proverbs, pronouncements, prophetic statements, and apocalyptic images. The most
common is the use of PARABLES. Jesus taught the kingdom of God experience in the form
of a PARABLE. The Parables occupy a good part of the Gospel.

1. Meaning of a PARABLE

The word PARABLE comes to us from the Latin “Parabola,” which means
“comparison.” This parabola is also from the Greek word “parabole,” which means “placing
beside a comparison.” It was from the Hebrew word “MASHAL,” which means “to set side
by side.” (Harper’s Bible Dictionary). The parable invites us to compare a story drawn from
ordinary everyday life and some other less evident, perhaps hidden reality. (Ian Knox (2003)
Theology for Teachers).
The parable is a kind of storytelling. Storytelling is a powerful means of teaching. The
story is a good way of conveying profound truths that are difficult to describe directly. Stories
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should never be too obvious. It must leave the listener to imagine the beyond of what was
told. As a literary style, a parable is a fictitious short story based on a familiar
experience and has an application to spiritual life. It was a “throwing alongside” with a
pity old definition of “an earthly saying with a heavenly meaning.” The parable has to be
distinguished from
a) fable, a short story not based on facts
b) allegory, a symbolical narrative,
c) myth, an invented legend or story to tell the truth.

The parable is different from theirs.

The parables are not factual. They are simple, true-to-life stories that teach religious
truth through comparison. There are more than thirty-five parables in the Gospel; if simple
comparisons are included, there are nearly seventy.

Let us now turn to the pages of the Bible and explore the different parables that
Jesus taught:

Parables in the Gospel John Luke Mark Matthew

The Parable of the Sower/Seed - 8:4-8 4:1-9 13:1-9
The purpose of the Parable - 8:9-10 4:10-12 13:10-17
Jesus Explains the Parable of the - 8:11-15 4:13-20 13:18-23
Sower
The Parable of the Lamp - 8:16-18 4:21-25 -
The Parable of the Mustard Seed - 4:30-34
The Parable of the Good Samaritan 10:25-37
The Parable of Possessions 12:13-21
The Parable of the Barren Fig tree - 13:6-9
The Parable of the Mustard Seed - 13:18-19 4:30-32 13:31-32
The Parable of the Yeast - 13:20-21 - 19:16-30
The Parable of Divine Mercy - 15:1-7 10:17-30 25:14-30
Jesus Explains the Parable - 15:8-10 4:33-34 14:15-24
The Parable of the Merciful Father - 15:11-31 - 13:24:30
The Parable of the Corrupt Judge - 18:1-8 - 13:31-32
The Parable of the Pharisee and Tax - 18:9-14 - 13:33
Collector
The Parable about children 18:15- - 13:34-35
17
The Parable of the Rich Man 18:18-
30
The Parable of the Sum of Money 19:11- - 13:36-43
27
The Parable of the Tenants 20:9- 12:1-9
19
The Parable of the Fig Tree 21: 29- 11:12-14
36
The Parable of the Widow and the - 13:44
Judge
The Parable of the Gold Coins/Talents - 13:45-46
The Parable of the Rich Fool - 13:47-50
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The Parable of the Narrow Gate 14:15-24 10:17-31 13:51-52
The Parable of the Wedding Feast 19:1-10 - -
The Parable of the Laborers in the - -
Vineyard
The Parable of the Two Sons 18:1-8 - -
The Parable of the Tenants in the 18:9-14 - 19:16-30
Vineyard
The Parable of the Ten Virgins - -
Other Teachings 13:22-30 - -
Sermon on the Mount 14:15-24 - -
Question on Fasting - - 7:13-14
Disciples pluck ears of corn 19:11-28 12:1-12 21-25
Jesus, Lord of the Sabbath - - 22:1-14
Penitent Woman 20:1- - 20:1-16
10
Temple Tax - - 25:14-30
Instructors of Disciples: 6:17- 2:18-28 21:28-32
49
Humility and Spiritual, Infancy 5:33-39 - 21:33-46
Avoiding scandal, fraternal correction, - 2:23-28 25:1-13
United prayer,
The parable of the unmerciful servant 6:1-5 - 5,6,7
Adulteress 7:36-50 9:32-49 9:14-17
Lessons on Prayer - - -
Instructions: 10:48-50 - 12:1-8
Hypocrisy and Covetousness - - -
Vigilance 12:1-34 - 17:23-26
Necessity of Struggle 12:35-48 - 18:1-35
Signs of the Times 12:49-53 -
Necessity of Penance 12:54-59 -
Various Virtues 16:14- -
31
Indissoluble Marriage 16:18 10:2-12
Jesus and the Children 18:15- - 9:3-12
17

The Parables of Jesus represent the highest development of this narrative form as
they appear in the three Synoptic Gospels. In the Parables, Jesus focused on the ordinary
life of listeners and drew them into recognizing God’s presence therein. Jesus taught the
people that God was their Father, not in competition with them. Then he was not calling
them out of their humanity but making their creative human efforts possible through his
divine presence. (CFC # 482)

2. Why must Jesus use parables? (Pastva. The mystery of Jesus Nazareth. Pp. 147-
150)

In her book, the Mystery of Jesus of Nazareth pp. 147-150, Agnes Pastva (19 )
designed reasons why Jesus must use parables in His teaching. She emphasized that, like
any first-century Jew, Jesus is a person who will tell something by starting with “let me tell
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you a story.” Since that was the culture, but why in a parable? We can surface some
reasons.

a. to get his message across without antagonizing his audience

Once again, let us ground our faith in the social realities of Jesus’ society. The Jews
were not one in mind about what kind of Messiah they expected. The rich had a
different perspective than that the poor. A significant gap existed to strike a balance
with the already struggling poor and to confront the oppressive rich directly because
they all need a Savior or Liberator.

b. To preserve the mystery of the kingdom.

Jesus wants to explain the Reign-Kingdom of God by describing what the world is like
to someone from another galaxy. It is a mystery that can be understood but can
never be exhausted through the parable. The listeners are drawn into the unknown
and perceive a part of it though God’s Reign-Kingdom is greater than the mind can
comprehend.

c. to involve the audience

Parables do supply concrete answers to particular problems. Instead, they make us
examine our own life in the light of the story and the light of our Christian duty and
question our convictions, assumptions, attitudes, and our way of acting. (CCC 546)
Jesus aroused his listeners' curiosity, and they could not resist listening to the whole
story. They were giving the unreceptive a break from having to hear and reject God's
message, which would be a terrible responsibility. They suddenly realized that the
story demanded a personal response from them at a certain point. They were
involved before they knew it.

3. The levels of understanding in Jesus' parables

In understanding the Parable, we must consider the two senses of understanding.

a. Literal Level:
It refers to the typical story situation that Jesus describes. Usually, there is a little
trouble grasping this level of understanding. We only need to know, What the words mean at
their face value and what the author intended them to mean. It means we only look for the
author's meaning in writing those words. (CCC 116)
b. Spiritual Level:
This sense refers to the beyond of the Literal Sense. This level requires thinking on
the part of hearers. This sense will focus on the spiritual benefit we get from the parables.
We may ask this: How does the message I perceive in the Parable affect my life today? We
may be able to read into the Parable a meaning that is particularly significant for my faith life
today, even though this meaning may not be what the author intended to convey. Jesus
does not state the importance of the Parables but leaves it open – a riddle to figure out.
When the listeners understand, they have to change their lives.
We may have an example to which Jesus had given the literal and the spiritual
senses of the Parable. In the Parable of the Sower – Mark 4:3-20, two purposes are in the
Gospels. In this passage, not only is the story told, but it gives the meaning of the story. We
may spot some problems in the explanation and think of other purposes not mentioned in
the description.
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4. The Reign-Kingdom of God in the Parables
Jesus told stories to bring about the reality of the Kingdom of God. It took his
followers a long time to understand what Jesus meant by the Kingdom in the Parables.
Jesus taught that the Kingdom is not a nation or a state. Jesus said to Pilate, “My Kingdom
does not belong to this world… My Kingdom is not here.” Jesus meant that His Kingdom is
an experience of God’s goodness, justice, and truth winning out over the kingdom of
Satan and his evil deeds. This victory brings peace to the world. (CFC # 479-480). This

The Kingdom is invisible and mysterious, “You cannot tell by careful watching when
the reign of God will come.” Jesus told some Pharisees who asked him when the kingdom
would arrive. “Neither is it a matter of reporting that it is here or there. The Reign of God is
something in the future – like a seed still growing. The Kingdom is the coming of the final
blessings of the last and definitive salvation for the New World and human history. The
Kingdom of God begins secretly in each heart, as noiselessly as a mustard seed dropping
into the ground.

This kingdom grows mysteriously, takes root, and develops into a great tree where
many birds make their nests. This kingdom of love is not all at once but in stages. Jesus
launched it through his presence and preaching, but its power has not become noticeable
until Jesus passed through his hour of darkness. This kingdom calls on us today to change
our hearts and bear and keep God's Word. Only we, in the secret of our mind, can respond
to Jesus and the Father in love and trust.

THE KINGDOM OFGOD: A FUTURE REALITY

Jesus’ total salvation taught His believers two realities of the reign-kingdom of God,
the present and the future realities. It is time to look at saving as an experience of the future.

A. THE REIGN-KINGDOM OF GOD AS RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD

(New Life, New Human Being, Transformed life)
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In the New Testament, we can identify keywords indicating a feature of the Reign-
Kingdom of God as Resurrection from the Dead. The keywords that describe a component
of the Reign-Kingdom of God that will happen in the end time, as Jesus taught, are:

I Cor. 15:21-26 John 6:4 Luke 20:34-36

-the resurrection of the dead “I will raise - To attain that age
- Shall all be made alive, then him on - and to the resurrection from
comes the end the last the dead
- the kingdom, day.” - for they cannot die Anymore
- death IS the last enemy - Bring sons of the
Resurrection

These descriptions of the above readings point to a feature of the Reign-Kingdom of God
that we Christians preciously uphold in faith, that is, the Resurrection.

1. What is Resurrection?

The New Testament pictures the Reign-Kingdom of God

at the close of history as a time when humankind will
experience its victory over death. There will be a resurrection
of the dead. It is a belief that emerged clearly in Jewish
tradition from 200 B.C.E. onwards (see 2 Mac. 7:4, 14, 23,
Daniel 12:2-3). Those conquered by death will one-day defeat death itself. Those who had
died will live again. Those who lie in the sleep of death will be alive. Humankind is ultimately
for the resurrection of the total self, total person, and entire life, which takes from the
Hebrew word “NEPHESH,” which means life, person, being, or self.

Resurrection (from Latin “Reusrrectio”) means the return to the dead person's life or
the raising from the dead again. It, therefore, means more than simple resuscitation, for
resuscitation implies that the person was only, apparently, not dead. Resuscitation (from
Latin Resuscitate, to raise or revive) is the revival of the life of someone who is only
apparently dead and becomes conscious again. The resurrection is an experience of victory
over death wherein the whole person or the total person will live again.
Death is an enemy of life. It is the cessation of life, an enemy that overcame. The
Biblical religion asserts that all oppositions of life will be defeated: hunger, sickness,
oppression, tears, and pain, including sin and death. And death will be destroyed on the last
day, the last enemy of life. In the new history (Age-to-come) and the new world (kingdom),
LIFE, not death, WILL TRIUMPH.

The ultimate destiny of our newborn child is not shriveled old age or corruption, but
the infant child who sleeps in death reawakened unto life. God is the Source of Life.
Therefore, Life returns to God. It is a feature of the final and definitive Salvation that the
Christians strongly upheld. Resurrection from the dead is the making of a New Person, a
New Being in a New Dimension. The Human Being transforms where there will be no more
power of evil that can infringe on this life. There will be no more hatred, fear and ignorance,
sickness, or pain that may overpower this New Person. In the New World (kingdom of God),
life will reign, and the dead will rise to new life.

a) What will resurrect: the Soul or the Body?

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In what manner will this vanquishing of death happen? What is the form or shape of
the risen person? These are the usual questions that a believer in Jesus will face. The
third-millennium person confronted the problems brought by Greek culture, the culture of
European Christianity. The Semitic culture, the culture of Jesus and the Biblical people, is
sometimes, if not most of the time, overridden by the Greek influence. Our average
knowledge about death is that the soul will live an eternal life, and the body will corrupt and
turn to dust.

We, Filipino Christians, are formed mainly by Greek philosophy. Still, in our desire to
enter into the inside philosophy of Jesus and to understand the Kingdom of God or Salvation
that came out from the lips of our Lord Jesus, we have to trace some essential points.

Questions Greek Culture Semitic Culture

(Culture of Jesus and Biblical People)
The human Being
1. What is is composed of - one living being.
Human - SOUL (spiritual)
Being? and BODY
(material)

2. What -the SOUL gives - the breath of God (Ruah) infused in us

gives life life (the - the blood that courses through our veins
to the incorruptible - the energy or strength that a living person
Human element) experiences.
Body?
- initially, in the Old Testament, there was no belief in
3. What is life - the SOUL resurrection; after death, one became a shadow of
after survives while Sheol or Hades.
death? the body - Later, 150 years B.C.E., the belief was that the
corrupts person awakes from sleep at the resurrection (Dan.
12:2). This happens on the last day.
- Meanwhile, right after death, the person (not the soul)
is somehow with God until they raise the dead on
the last day.

In the Semitic view, the human person is always a unity of one, a mono-entity. The
human person is not a composite, compound, but aggregate- no matter how blended the
elements are. In every stage of existence, our newborn child, the HUMAN BEING, is one: in
life, after death, at the Resurrection.
Our Biblical God, Jesus, is not afraid to be physical.
Therefore, the religion that believes in him is not afraid to be
Life so. Christianity holds that individually and collectively,
humankind will experience a bodily resurrection. How is it
shared? Jesus’ culture does not explain but views the person
after death as one and whole entity in “another mode” of
death existing, “another mode” of being.

Thus, Jesus taught that the human person is ONE in this life. After death, the human
person is ONE. At the resurrection, the human person is ONE. It is just one way of saying
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that the Jesus who taught us about resurrection possessed a concretist culture, not
metaphysical, as the Greeks do.

Henceforth, the feature of the Reign-kingdom of God as a Resurrection is the coming

back to a life of the total person, a renewed entire self, a transformed total being who will be
living in the new world. This whole person cannot be harmed anymore by any form of evil in
this world. Contemplate herein that the frames of clay in the newborn child have their
beauty; such beauty will not evaporate but will transcend to another dimension of beauty.
When that happens, we will have arrived. It is the kingdom of God.

b) When would Resurrection happen?

Being one of the five apocalyptic trends, Resurrection from the dead is evident
among the Biblical people. It is one of the features of the final and definitive Salvation.
Therefore Resurrection happens only on the Last Day. Resurrection does happen right after
a person dies; it happens on final and absolute Salvation. “This is the will of the Father that
whoever sees the Son and believes in Him shall live with eternal life, and I will raise him on
the last day.” (John 6:40). “I know that he will rise in the resurrection, at the last day.”
(John11:24).

If resurrection happens only on the last day, what happens to the person right after
death? Where will the person go? These questions commonly lodge in the minds of the
believers and non-believers of the Resurrection. The Gospels attest that those who lie in the
sleep of death will one day resurrect. The person lies for the rest of death in the “bosom of
the earth” and will joyfully wait for the final day of the resurrection.

Spiritual: Aroma of God

Jesus, molded by the Semitic culture, is a person who is concerned with what is
spiritual. Spiritual refers to anything or anybody with the taste, aroma, or touch of God’s
Spirit. For example, if we people of today believe that the Holy Water blessed by the Holy
Father is indeed spiritual. So is:
- a glass of water given to a thirsty beggar
- humane treatment of home helpers
- a decent wage to workers
- A concrete application of our reception of Sacraments, prayers,
novenas, speaking in tongues, a blessing of holy water or
incensing, and many others.
In other words, a whiff of God’s breath on any creature is the Spirit that makes a
commonplace existence spiritual.
Social Causes of Death:

The New Testament inspires us today:

- to help remove the social causes of death and disease
- to move a step forward to that transformed life
 Where malnutrition, TB, Cancer, and death will have given way
to health and life.
It is where God’s life-giving breath will give splendor to our frames of clay.
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B. REIGN-KINGDOM OF GOD or SALVATION A NEW

HEAVEN AND NEW EARTH
In our constant search for SALVATION, as Jesus
domestically called the Reign-Kingdom of God in his Ministry,
another feature of Salvation emerges to be experienced by the resurrected total person in
the end. What would that feature be? We may find truths about this final and definitive
Salvation image in the New Testament.

2 Peter 3:13 Mt. 19:28 Luke 22:29-30 Rev. 21:1-55

“We wait for a new “… listen to my “…you will sit on “Then I saw a new
heaven and earth words on the day thrones and govern heaven and a new
where justice of Renewal….” the 12 tribes of earth….”
reigns.” Israel

The keywords that might be helpful for us are the words: NEW HEAVEN AND NEW EARTH.
There is a need to be clarified with how the Biblical writers view this on Heaven and earth.

1. The essential features of the universe, according to a pre-scientific view, are these:

“earth” – is the flat hard surface on which we stand below.

“Heaven” – is the blue roof above. It is an entity that we discuss in the previous
lesson. It is not a space. But like a dome or inverted bowl, it is solid.
Sometimes this roof is seen as having not one but several layers. Onto the
downside of this roof, as on a ceiling, are attached the ornaments. These
are the stars, moon, and sunset like jewels in the sky.
- It is to be Yahweh’s dwelling place (or, more accurately, above the
heaven(s).)
SCIENTIFIC VIEW PRE-SCIENTIFIC VIEW

We modern scientific people discovered and The Biblical people, including Jesus’
studied the basic features of the universe. The were pre-scientific. They simply view the
universe is limitless space wherein the sun is universe as the floor and the roof. They looked
positioned at the center and everything revolves around and saw the trees, the birds, the rocks,
around it. The earth is round and engulfed with the oceans, and the people and then looked up
gravitational forces and the sky is the limitless and see the heavenly bodies: the sun, the moon
space we perceive here on earth. and the galaxies. For them, this is the universe
and they termed it as: HEAVEN AND EARTH.

The HEAVEN AND EARTH is a Biblical formula used to refer to the world or the
universe in the language of the scientific people today. In the keyword, NEW HEAVEN AND
NEW EARTH are also equivalent to NEW WORLD OR NEW UNIVERSE or the
Transformed Earth in the end time.
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The Semitic culture in Jesus’ time envisaged God as a NEW WORLD. Many New
Testament writers held this view. How about Jesus Himself? Of course, Jesus shared this
view, as it is self-evident in his ministry. How could he be intelligible among his people if he
did not share the people’s outlook?

a.) Profiles of the New Heaven and New Earth or New World

What would be the profile of this New World, a new universe, a new creation? It is the
fundamental question asked by a person who hopes for the transformation and liberation of
a BLIGHTED UNIVERSE wrought with wrongdoings, pains, and death in all forms. Let us
carefully design the same broad strokes to have a picture of this.

1. New Heaven and New Earth: Universe where there is JUSTICE

Prophet Isaiah 65:17-25 would beautifully describe this new universe, garnering
JUSTICE as the ultimate destiny of all things in this New World. An evident tone expressed
in a simple and concrete experience:
“… they shall build houses and inhabit them.”
“… they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruits.”

In a casual and self-evident tone, 2 Peter 3:13 directly expresses, “But following his
promise, we wait for new heavens and new earth where “justice” dwells. The Biblical people
never thought of fleeing away for this “valley of tears” and go up to heaven. Instead, this
same world cleanses all social injustices. Thus, from eliminating ecological degradation to
restoring the natural potential of the entire universe, we move from the ills underlying
unequal employee salaries to agrarian reforms for peasants.

1. New Heaven and New Earth: A world where ALL THINGS NEW:

Those with some detailed specifics about the new heaven and earth will find it in
Revelation 21:1-5 (Please read). With the writer, you have a vision of an old universe fading
away and giving way to the new one. People who love water will be disappointed that “the
sea will be no more.” But we have to understand in that culture; the sea was a place of
storms, shipwrecks, and disasters. There will be a new capital city, radiant as a bride. One
thing that should not go unnoticed about this city is coming down to earth! And on this new
earth, God will dwell. And God will have a special place with his people. God himself will
wipe away every trace of suffering, pain, and death, “Behold, I make all things new!” Thus,
the chemical and moral smog will dissipate, and the galaxies will smile and breathe again
with relief.

Yes, Revelation seems to speak in symbols. However, we have also to view that not
everything therein is purely symbolic; some paintings convey reality. Thus, a new heaven
and earth where all things become new points to a New World where everything becomes
new.

2. New Heaven and New Earth: Rebirth of the Universe

The New World envisioned and taught to us by Jesus is a world that will be born
again. There are two noteworthy passages of this profile: Mt. 19:28 and Luke 22:24-30,
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which speak of the New World. Once more, justice is a tribute. (Please, reread the
passage).

Note that these two statements are two slightly different versions of the same saying
of Jesus. What Luke calls ‘KINGDOM’ is the same as Matthew’s ‘new world’ or transformed
Creation. Again, God's Kingdom is not about heaven but an altered Creation. Matthew’s
“New World” takes root in the original Greek “PALIGGENESIA.” Paliggenesia comes from
the words PALIN (again) and GENESIA (begin) to start again. It refers to a colorful world, a
descriptive term for re-birth and transformation of the whole-created universe. The sky and
the earth, the whole of nature and human beings, this world of hunger, disease, and decay,
all will be into a New World and new history, there the King of justice will reign.

3. New Heaven and New Earth: Universal Restoration of all things

Jesus appeared in history as a restorer of the original shape of the world. Another
profile of this New World is the restoration of all things. It is evident in Acts 3:21. There is
the scenario: Jesus ascends into heaven. The apostles looked to heaven but returned to
their everyday lives. They said that God would eventually send Jesus back to earth as
Christ. In the meantime, heaven will keep Jesus “until the universal restoration” comes. All
reality will be remade, rehabilitated, and rejuvenated in this universal restoration. It is a new
universe at the end of history. It is a New World. And there is an even lovelier Davao,
lovelier Mindanao, and more beautiful Philippines. All its mountain ranges, thick forest
covers where streams, springs, and rivers flow out, bringing life to lands, and the beautiful
shapes of the shores where mangroves have fully grown to cuddle young sea creatures and
all marine life and protect the lives of the earth as well.

One can almost hear the songs and dances and the re-assembly of planets in the
universe. One can dance together with the jubilation of this exciting restoration of all things.

4. New Heaven and New Earth: Unity of All Things in heaven on earth

God willed for the living in this world the harmony of all peoples and all creation. It is
a similar panorama presented by Ephesians 1:1-10. That plan and the purpose of God,
when history has reached its culmination, is to draw all things together into one unity, things
in heaven and things on earth. The roof and floor – everything in them will be one through
the action of Christ.

It simply represents the unity experience by all things when God created the world;
when the world powerfully began, there was harmony in all things, and the fullness of life
was experienced. Thus, the whole universe permeates by the Divine Energy; Divine Energy
permeates all of existence and binds all reality together (cf. I Cor: 15:24-28).

Creation itself will be set free from its Bondage

All of us have witnessed, if not have been, victims of the demonic powers or evils
experienced by the cosmic world. In Jesus, the concern of the human person should also
be a concern of this person's home. The creation must be set free from everything that
imprisons it.
Romans 8:19-23, though couched in language that needs to be clarified, is precious.
It is saying that human persons are heading toward a new creation. It is also explaining its
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experience in Total Salvation. It is not only humans who had the privilege to be saved but
also the mountains, the forests, the rivers, the trees, the birds, the bio-diversity—the whole
creation, human and nature – long for total Salvation.

We, humans, who already possess the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly, longing
for our bodily resurrection and to become children of God. But not just we humans long for
it, NATURE too. Nature has experienced meaninglessness, mistreatment, suffering,
disease, and even death. Jesus' act of complete Salvation must not ignore this.
Furthermore, this must be a Christian truth. “Creation itself will be set free from its
enslavement to decay, and it will also obtain the glorious liberty that we humans will enjoy
as children of God.”

Meanwhile, the whole creation has been groaning like a woman in the birth pangs of
labor. Both nature and humans long for liberation. If humans long for Resurrection, then
Creation waits for its transformation. It is the foundation of our Ecological Theology.
Romans 8:19-23, we find a firm foundation for our ecological concerns today. Nature and all
creation: forests, rivers, seas, environment – are our brothers and sisters and longing for
liberation. It would be a challenge for us:
* What have we done to liberate the whole of creation and ourselves?
* What have we contributed to solving the threatening Global Earth warming
problem?
* How have you been of help to the local problem of ecological imbalances?

C. REIGN-KINGDOM OF GOD or SALVATION AS NEW AND DIFFERENT HISTORY

One longs for salvation in the story of humanity. So replete with wars, violence,
disease, pain, and sorrow. All forms of evils that threatened the life of persons and the life of
nature today characterize history. Still, this alternative history would be an experience of life
and personality without threats. For Biblical people, Salvation is to experience another kind
of history, a different account. It is an alternative history. It is a new history that is different
from our history today.

1. History as viewed by Jewish people:

As a background, the Jewish viewed History in many different models. There is a

history not following the chronological events (Chronos) but on the moments of life (kairos), a
moment of God. In the time of Jesus, Jewish people spoke of history in terms of two ages.
They are two epochs, eras, or histories, namely:

This Age Age-to-Come

It is the presently on-going history of Israel It is the future history that would come in the
and humanity. It is a history characterized by end. It is a history when there will be no more
pain, suffering, wars, sin, hunger, sorrows, pains, no more sickness, no more hatred, no more
oppression, and death. A history governed by sorrows and no more death. This is a history
evil. when Life triumphs and God is all in all.

Searching for Salvation, the Jews looked forward to the end of this ongoing history
and to entering into a different and new record in the future, an age-to-come. This age-to-
come is a history where justice, peace, life, health, and joy reign. Salvation for the Jews
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means experiencing a new account, era, epoch, and age. Of course, it will be a history of or
on this earth. This age-to-come is synonymous with the Kingdom of God.

B. Jesus and the Age-to-come

Was it very clear from the lips of Jesus that He was talking about the New Age or the
Age-to-come? Did Jesus point out this element or matter of birth? We are now dealing here
with some unfamiliar aspects or features of the Reign-Kingdom in the future. Though not so
clearly touched in our previous topics, we noticed some brush strokes as we discussed the
resurrection and the coming of the new heaven and new earth.
In the New Testament, we find Mark 10:29-30, Mt.
12:32, Luke 20:34-35, Mt. 13:27-43, and Mt. 24:3 talking
important keywords leading to the perception of the New
and different history. We can also read in Eph. 1:20-21 and
Heb. 6:4-5. Gal. 1:3-5 about the hope for another account
to be experienced by the new human being in the end.

Just as Nature or Earth is groaning to experience total salvation like humans,

history must be saved. As the passages above have pointed out, the redemption or Reign-
Kingdom of God for Jesus and the New Testament people is not about the souls seeing God
in heaven. Instead, it is a new history for people possessing justice, peace, life, and other
concrete blessings for the human family. Typically, it is from down here to up there. Instead,
it is from the old history to a new narrative on this earth. This Earth will undergo a
transformation, and with this transformation process, the old account will banish and shape
recent history.

C. The dimension of the New History

This biblical idea of an age-to-come is one of the new and refreshing bits of learning
we can embrace in our search for the actual image of Jesus and his work of Salvation which
he called the Reign-Kingdom of God. It provides a whole new dimension to the
understanding of ultimate salvation. It teaches us that the total salvation, which Jesus
started in his ministry, will finally and definitively culminates in a new and different history for
nature and humankind, collectively and individually.

The Gospel of Mark 10:17-30 offers fascinating and pertinent words about this
dimension of this new history like:
a.)inherit eternal life (vv. 17,30)
a.)enter the Kingdom of God (vv. 23, 24, 25)
b.)to be saved (v. 26)
c.)age-to-come (v. 30)
None of these four expressions means going to heaven after death; instead, from the
context, it is clear that these four expressions are suitable synonyms and refer to a new
world, a new history for a new community. It would be the age when people will participate
and experience justice, compassion, truth, and peace. In particular:

Eternal Life is a favorite Graeco-Roman Christianity expression superficially

understood as the life of Beatific vision for the soul in Heaven.
But Biblically speaking, it means fullness of life with resurrection, banquet,
justice, joy, and experiencing God on new earth at the end of time.
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Salvation, Biblically speaking, is entering God's kingdom and experiencing life's
fullness.

Thus, the Reign-Kingdom of God as a new and different History is the same as
Salvation, the fullness of life in the age-to-come, where you and every human being, having
defeated death, will participate in a new history of life-giving justice, peace, harmony, unity,
joy and the like.

D. Workers for the dawning of New History:

This new and different history would only be possible when the believers of Jesus are
ready to take on the task. If our ardent wish is to change the earth's contour and reshape
the course of history, then the commission has to start in this history today. Two existing
groups are ready to take on the task. They are the Women and the Nature Carers
a. Women of today have united to work to end the millennia of patriarchy and to re-
create a history of gender equality. Women should assert what is right for them
and not allow this history of abuses to prolong.

b. Nature carers work to end the brutal shape of Mother Nature, and they help us to
see the trees, the birds, and the water as our brothers and sisters to rediscover
our bondedness with them.

Working for eternal life is not just bringing souls to an everlasting life of heaven but
includes working towards the fullness of life for each human being, for all humanity, and for
Mother Nature, as we journey towards the final and definitive Age-to-come. The Second
Plenary Council of the Philippines (PCP II) is outstanding in this consciousness. Our
participation in ongoing history today will not be a matter of occasional rallies but a part of
habitual Christian consciousness and action. Shaping history toward the kingdom of God
becomes an everyday chore in the household of God.
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THE LAW IN THE MINISTRY OF JESUS

I – Introduction

In actual life, parents work hard to make their children happy and to provide for their
needs, especially for food, shelter, clothing, education, and the like. When they give these
incredible things, parents expect that their children must do well in their life. As a family, we
celebrate the goodness and blessings of life together. The children must see that they are
taking good care of their life, corresponding to their parents' love for them. It feels good to
please our parents with our full volition and free will. Jesus is the same as our parents; he
wanted us to be virtuous and worthy of the unconditional love of the Father for us.

II – The Law in the Ministry of Jesus

The Biblical Religion is a Religion that upholds the experience of God’s Goodness
with responsibilities. When God created humans, He gave blessings: Land, Freedom, and
Justice are responsibilities. Whenever Yahweh God gave gifts, there was a corresponding
demand, “God planted a garden in Eden in the East, and there he placed the man whom he
had created to till it and to take care of it.” (Gen. 2:8, 15)

1. Two aspects of Biblical Faith:

There are two aspects of Biblical religion: the Gospel and Law. The God of Salvation
is overflowing with Goodness, and He wanted us to be responsible and worthy of that
goodness from Him.

a. The Gospel Aspect.

The Gospel aspect refers to the announcement of the Good News of Salvation. This
aspect relates to the experience of goodness and the blessings of life in God. It means the
joyful proclamation of the establishment of the Reign of God or Kingdom of God, the
kerygma, or positive restoration of the covenantal promises of Yahweh when the Messiah
comes.

b. The Law Aspect

The Law Aspect of the Biblical Faith refers to the precepts as the implication of the
announced goods. The tenets are sets of guidelines, ethical demands or requirements,
recommendations of virtues, and Paraenesis (Exhortation to virtue and Morality) so that one
can participate in the work of salvation. The Biblical Faith does not mean salvation when
one obeys the law. It guides us to savor the experience of the Kingdom of God.
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GOSPEL ASPECT LAW ASPECT

“Good News of Salvation” “Commandments/Obligations”

Proclamation of the Reign-Kingdom of Righteous requirement for entry into the
God Reign-Kingdom of God
Change your lives! Believe in the Good News.
The Kingdom of God is at hand Human Response
God’s or Jesus’ announcement of Ethical conditions for entry into the Reign-
Salvation Kingdom of God
Reign-Kingdom of God Parenesis: Moral Code, Commandments,
Kerygma: Good News, Blessings Ethics
Joyful announcement of Salvation The do’s and don’ts of Religion
Goal or reward to be attained Way of life
Indicative Imperative

Consider this in the essential faith records in the Old and New Testaments:

GOSPEL LAW
Ex. 20:1-17 – “I am Yahweh -Do not have other gods before me.
your God who -Do not make yourselves image and bow down to them
brought you out of and serve them.
the land of Egypt, -Do not take the name of Yahweh, your God, in vain
out of the house - Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy
of slavery. - Honor your father and your mother
- Do not kill
Mark 1:14-15- “Jesus came - Do not commit adultery
into Galilee - Do not steal
proclaiming the - Do not give false witnesses against your neighbor
Gospel of God - Do not covet your neighbor’s house, wife, servant,
and saying, ‘The or anything that is his.
time has fulfilled - Repent and believe the Gospel
the Kingdom of
God is at hand.”

The believers of God do not have only to consider the Bible simply as Good News but to be
always conscious of the moral obligation natural to God’s blessings. We must receive life-
giving gifts, but we also have to accept the corresponding responsibility worthy of being an
image of God. When God laid down the foundation of His work of Salvation, He saw to it
that it must be participated by all of His Creation.

2. Salvation is both a Task and a Goal

The Salvation offered by our God is both a TASK and a GOAL. It is the way the Biblical
Religion painted an image of Salvation. As a Task, Salvation is something that a believer
should be busy with; It means that the followers of Jesus have to work to generate life-giving
blessings for the household of both humans and nature. This study on Christology exert
much effort to unfold different features, images, or models of Jesus’ works of Salvation. The
work Jesus had busied about in the Ministry. Every believer must have a full grasp of this
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task, for, in the great and final day, judgment is according to what we do to the least of our
brethren, as Matthew 25:31-46 recorded.

As a Goal, Salvation is a destination to be reached, a reward to be attained, a prize

to be won, and a treasure to be cherished by all humanity and the whole world. It means
that Salvation is a finish line to arrive at, a final home to go to, new earth to inherit, and final
and definitive salvation to be achieved for those worthy of it.
In the life and ministry of Jesus, He announces Salvation as the final and definitive
Salvation to be possessed and invites all people, rich or poor, to attain it. Earlier, the Jews
expected the coming of the Kingdom of God as Salvation to be reached. Jesus then
responded to this expectation and invited people to enter into it. The pages of the Bible may
lead us into the prominent place of Salvation as a Goal in Jesus’ teaching – cf. Mt. 21:31,
Mt. 7:21, Mk. 10:15, Lk. 9:62, 1Cor. 15:50- these passages speak of Salvation as final and
definitive to be achieved, as a possession to be inherited, and as something to enter into it.
Therefore, the Kingdom of God also held a prominent place in Jesus’ works and words in
the ministry.

3. Corresponding Ethics of the Good News

In the Kingdom-as-goal, there are corresponding Codes or moral demands. There

are laws required or conditions for entry, a moral requirement. These constitute a CODE
OF BEHAVIOR for the individual to actively participate in that final and definitive Salvation.
Jesus would say: “If you want to enter into the Kingdom of God, this is what you do. Be
this. Do this.” Much of the Sermon on the Mount (Mt. 5:14-7:29) would belong to the
precept part of the New Testament Faith but not the Beatitudes (This will be expounded in
the following chapters).

4. Samples of the Precept or Law in the Biblical Faith:

What follows is an enumeration of sample passages of the ethical teaching of Jesus.

After you go through the list, get ready with your comment. These are just representative of
the precepts of Jesus:

Mt. 5:24 Mt. 9:17 Mt. 19:14

Mt. 5:29 Mt. 10:18 Mt. 19:21
Mt. 5:39 Mt. 10:16-21 Mt. 19:24
Mt. 5:44 Mt. 10:32 Mt. 19:29-30
Mt. 6:3 Mt. 10:37-39 Mt. 20:22
Mt. 6:6 Mt. 11:21 Mt. 20:25-28
Mt. 6:7 Mt. 12:7 Mt. 22:37-40
Mt. 6:19-21 Mt. 12:33 Mt. 23:23-24
Mt. 6:24 Mt. 15:6-7 Mt. 23:27-28
Mt. 6:25 Mt. 15:18 Mt. 24:42
Mt. 7:5 Mt. 16:17 Mt. 25:34-36
Mt. 7:7 Mt. 16:23 Mt. 5:20
Mt. 7:12 Mt. 16:24-27 Mt. 5:48
Mt. 7:21 Mt. 17-20 Mt. 7:24-27
Mt. 8:22 Mt: 18:21-22
At this juncture of exploration, perhaps we have realized that the ethical teaching of
one, expecting the world's imminent end, is impossible; is radical and demands ethics; tried
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with gritted teeth, willpower, and the grace of God. It’s like a “rubber band spirituality.” We
need to pull, stretch, strain, and force, and the rubber band either breaks or snaps to where
it started.

Could there be another way of comprehending these ways of acting and being? Are
they perhaps natural raindrops when the cloud is full? Are they not the most spontaneous
drizzles, the outpours of a cloud seeding with the Spirit of God? Is this not what one would
instinctively do and say if in touch with the source?

5. Jesus’ Precepts are By Being, Not By Doing:

Indeed, as we read the Bible's pages, we found and felt the precepts were irrational
and impossible. But we must reckon with the author of this ethics. And perhaps he
expected his followers to be the same. Is this our excuse for falling? Because Jesus was
divine, and we are not? Let us try this: Jesus was in touch; we are no less in touch. Our
cloud is less seeded.
Just remember a cloud in silence. The rains may come down hard and strong and
loud, but the cloud is always still. Jesus’ Ethics or code is the kind of moral demand you
need not try hard to follow by doing; it is more the kind of ethic that happens to you by just
being in touch. The best type of spirituality is one that happens to you rather than one that
you make happen. Be in touch, and there are no longer precepts – only the spontaneous
dance movements of the heart.
1. Name a person who has enfleshed the precepts of Jesus in their life.
2. Make personal prayers: How will you observe the Law of Jesus as life?

In our quest to understand Jesus and His work of salvation, we commit to searching
for the meaning of the Kingdom of God or Reign of God since this is also how Jesus’
contemporaries understood what salvation is.

III – The Ministry of Jesus: A CONCRETRIZATION OF THE HEART OF THE LAW

We hinted at the difficulty of following the precepts of Jesus but relieved with the
concept that is simply doing does not fulfill these precepts but is fulfilled by merely being.
Let us go deeper to excavate the hardcore or the most basic principles of Jesus. Huddling
many barriers to following the Law, we discovered one fundamental requirement:
Conversion. A conversion is a joyful event of transformation of one’s heart, mind, and will.

1. Metanoia, a change of life

We share at this point the original Greek word, “Metanoia,” which means turning
around. This Metanoia is a translation from Hebrew “Shub,” an excellent word to mean
‘self-transformation’ ‘total change of life’ ‘basic reorientation of one’s life – values,’
and ‘radical sharing of one’s wealth. Metanoia and Shub both mean a new basic attitude
of unconditionally accepting God’s will in one’s life. As we look back in the history of
Christianity, this total conversion or Metanoia is poorly translated as ‘Repentance’ or
becoming sorry for one’s sins as we hear it only during Advent and Lenten seasons.

Metanoia, conversion, or self-transformation, is going from darkness to light,

completely warding off the old self to the new self. We made clear that the Biblical Religion
has two aspects, the Gospel and moral obligation or the Commandments. The salvation that
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Jesus brought to us demands us to be faithful to the observance of the Law. To follow the
Law of Jesus, we need to change our lives, transform our being into the being of Jesus,
change the basic orientation of our lives, and commit to the direction or lifestyle of Jesus
alone as He had shown it in His ministry.

2. The Greatest Commandment

a.) The Law of Love

Jesus was once asked by the Rich Young Man in the Gospel, “What must I do to
enter eternal life? Jesus politely answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your
heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and love your neighbor as you love yourself.”
We are constantly confronted with the question, “What is the greatest
Commandment?” Without hesitation, we responded, “Love of God and Love of Neighbor.”
Biblical Literature may well attest to this. But we are probably puzzled by self-evident
observation after more than 2000 years of Christian love; among the most loveless and
exploitative societies are Christian societies. (Take an essential look at our Philippines, the
only Christian country in Asia, and picture what is happening in political, economic, and
religio-cultural areas.)

b.) Social Justice as Greatest Commandment

Is the ‘law of love’ the only premier commandment for Jesus? No. In response to
Jesus, the Rich man then said, “I have done all these since I was young. . .” Then Jesus
pained the man, saying, “Go, sell your possessions, give them to the poor, then follow me.”
Love is only half of the correct answer to the question. For Jesus, in addition to a love of
God and love of neighbor, are “tzedakah, mishpat, checed, and emet or SOCIAL JUSTICE,
" which constitute the weightier matters of Biblical Religion. (Please refer to Mark 12:28-34
and Mt. 23:33) JUSTICE, MERCY, AND FAITHFULNESS are heavier than giving one-tenth
of your livelihood for religious purposes. Thus for Jesus, SOCIAL JUSTICE is also the
greatest commandment that corresponds to the law “law of love.”

Of course, many would argue and justify that the “Law of love” embraces the “Law
of Justice” or justice is a fruit of love. “When you love, you do justice.” The Filipino
people are not philosophers and are not wanting to reduce Biblical Moral demands to
syllogisms. Perhaps, our Filipino believers are comfortable talking about the truth of history
and the truth of reality, which are in their concrete experiences. We can trace the history of
living “Christian love” We see this embarrassing picture after more than two thousand years
of love. In Christian societies, you have the Rich Man’s mansion and the Bishop’s palace
rubbing walls with the hovel of the poor. What an awful situation of Christian love! Jesus
wants to say, “Give justice a chance in Christian love.”

Take a unique look at Matthew 25:31-48, which is about the last judgment;
Matthew had been straightforward and clear: Open your heart and hand to another
human in need. If you do, you are the sheep that will possess the Kingdom. You are the
goats that will wind up elsewhere if you don't. So radical and explicit in spelling our criteria
for belonging or not belonging. Social responsibility and social justice cannot be
misconstrued as implied when you love, but this must be taken as the fundamental
essence of God.
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3. Moral Conversion is Not the Kingdom of God

As a generic name for Salvation in the New Testament, the Reign-Kingdom of God
cannot be reduced simply to Moral Conversion or Metanoia. Repentance or conversion is a
response, a requirement for a believer to enter the goal, the kingdom of God. Total Change
of heart is not yet the Salvation or kingdom of God itself. The kingdom of God is new
humanity living in the New World and experiencing a unique history. Conversion is a
precept, while the kingdom of God is a proclamation.

Mark 1:14-15 recorded, “the kingdom of God is at hand… repent and believe in the
Gospel” should not be taken as one single precept but should be understood as both the
Gospel and the law.

The Moral Acts are not Kingdom of God (blessing)

Below are two columns. One of them is the kingdom of God, and the other, strictly
speaking, is not:
A (Life-giving Blessing) B (Moral Acts and Virtues)

Food, land, good health, education, jobs, Kindness, humility, simplicity, truth, faith,
wages, decent housing, security, hope, charity, goodwill, loyalty, compassion,
contentment, resurrection, total liberation, conversion, courage, prayerfulness,
just socio-economic system, would order, selflessness, zeal, openness, generosity,
gender, equality, healthy environment, blue love, dedication, temperance, patience,
skies, clean rivers, divine filiation, the vision perseverance, cheerfulness, honestly,
of God, etc. uprightness, honor, purity, etc.

4. Jesus Ministry: Concretization of the Heart of the Law

They reiterate once more that the kingdom of God is not moral
acts or virtues. It is a life-giving Blessing. Of course, moral
demands and life-blessings of the Kingdom are closely related.
In actual life, the Kingdom's blessings are usually realized
through the concrete practice of moral virtues. Yet, they are not
the same.

5. The Law in Jesus's Ministry:

We had cited that Jesus was a concretist and actualizer. He stood firmly on
the very heart of the law: Justice, Mercy, and Faithfulness in His words and actions.
Jesus was so radical and specific to relieving a person's life from the pangs of oppressive
law and tradition. He exposed the violations of the authorities of the law as far as the Torah
is concerned.

Jesus demanded locating the law in the heart, not merely an exterior appearance.
He desired that those who follow him should love God and His neighbor and concretize the
work of justice in life.
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If Jesus were walking on this earth today, He would probably demand the same
as what he did for his people in his time. He would have required you to work for the
following:
1. authentic land distribution
2. a viable alternative to globalization
3. self-determination for the powerless
4. rights for women and children
5. the well-being of Mother Earth

God dares us to invent a just and humane global order. For the kingdom of God
for our time is just that: A PLANET WHICH WE ANTICIPATE TO EXPERIENCE of the New
Heaven and the New Earth in which justice dwells: In what way are you going to help this
justice to live in our land, the Philippines. Mindanao, particularly Davao.
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THE CONFLICT ESTABLISHED IN THE MINISTRY OF JESUS

At this point of our study, we might have been overwhelmed by the grandiose purview
of the features of the future Reign-Kingdom of God or final and definitive Salvation. We
want to return our memories to the underlying dynamic that runs through the Society of
Jesus. A society where Jesus urges us to undergo a total transformation, reorientation if not
an entire paradigm shift to give way to Metanoia is a society where grown-up idolatry and
injustices reigned over the social structure, culture, people, and the shape of history.

The Kingdom works or saving deeds of Jesus established conflicts. The life purpose
of Jesus built up an opposing force against the existing rich and powerful of the nation. Let
us beneficially recall the social situation of Jesus’ society.
Two-fold domination suffered by common people:

Imperial Rome Domination Jewish Local Elite Domination through

through
Control of Land and Commerce: Land and
Political occupation either by direct rule of the commerce were the people’s main sources of
Roman Procurator or by indirect rule through Herod wealth. Common people relied so much on
the Great and his sons. these. The local elite controlled it and
Military occupation The Roman garrison in monopolized their distribution, so the poor
Jerusalem was adjacent to the Temple. The Roman suffered intense dehumanizing poverty.
procurator’s residence and forth in coastal Ceasarea
was just some hundred kilometers from Jerusalem. 2. Control of Political Powers: The Prime
Roman armies raided villages and massacred people holders of power were kings like Herod as well as
suspected of rebellion against Rome. the high priestly class, heads of aristocratic
Tribute: Paying tribute to imperial powers (Assyria, families, and scribes. Many of them belonged to
Persia, Greece, Rome) had been for a long time part the Sanhedrin.
of the life of the Palestinian peasantry. In Roman
times, non-payment of tribute and taxes was 3. Religio-cultural domination: The Pharisees
considered an act of rebellion. and the Scribes, and also the priests produced
Cultural colonialism: This type of domination did not the system of values and meaning (Religio-
seep as much into the common folk as into the elite cultural Ideology). They prescribed the rules and
who took on Graeco-Roman political and cultural regulations about the Sabbath, purification, and
forms, language and education. tithing and marry other matters.

I- THE CONFLICT WITH THE PHARISEES, SCRIBES, CHIEF PRIESTS, AND ELDERS

The Palestine of Jesus’ time was a Palestine of a big gap, the economic, political,
and cultural elite on the one hand and the impoverished and voiceless ordinary people. The
primary sources of wealth were land and commerce. Access to political power was through
political office, family lineage, wars of conquests, social connections and manipulation, and
economic standing. Moreover, social privilege was determined by blood: Jew or non-Jew,
noble or common, pure or impure. People recognized the authority to interpret traditions
primarily shaped by the dominant culture, customs, values, and meaning based on the
Torah.
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The Pharisees, Scribes, Elders, and the Chief Priests
Let us locate the role of Pharisees, Scribes, Elders, and the Chief Priests in the
Society where Jesus belongs.
The ELDERS and the CHIEF PRIESTS belonged 2. The SCRIBES and PHARISEES, and also the
to the economic elite of Palestine. They were the simple poor priests in the synagogue wielded
landed gentry and big traders whose base was religio-cultural power. They were the molders
land and commerce. The elite, most by the priestly of the system of values and meanings or
class, had religious association, the Sadducees. ideology that is anti-poor and anti-outcasts.
This was an aristocratic and wealthy group, They, however, gained sympathy and loyalty
conservative and fundamentalist. They accepted among the common people.
only the written tradition and not open to new
beliefs. Majority of them was members of the The Scribes in particular, were the scholars or
highest authoritative body in Palestine, the intellectuals, experts of the TORAH. The
Sandherin. produced oral interpretations, commentaries,
(Ever since the Persian colonial period, 500 rules and regulations for contemporary life
years B.C. when instead of kings, high priests, based on their point of view of the TORAH.
under various imperial powers, became the Thus, they provided the values and meanings
heads-of-state, the high priestly class enjoyed that governed Jewish life. They were
supreme social, political and economic power.) commonly called “RABBIS” in the Gospels.

Due to their wealth, position, purity of blood, and knowledge, the Elders, Chief
Priests, and Scribes combined constituted the socio-political elite. Together with the
Herodians, they wielded political power and influence in the society of Palestine. The
Scribes, Pharisees, and the simple poor priests in the synagogue wielded Religio-cultural
authority and power. This group of people molded the system of values and meanings
(Religio-cultural ideology) against the poor and the outcast.

The religio-cultural ideology wielded by the Elders, Chief Priests, Scribes and
Pharisees characterized an ANTI-POOR and ANTI-OUTCAST ideology. This ideology had
influenced the mind and lifestyles of the masses that lost their almost lost self-worth. We can
find in the Gospel, according to John, a net message of these people to the groups:
“You do not know the Torah. You do not obey the Torah. You do not observe the
purification Laws. You do not follow Tradition. You are adulterers, murderers, and
thieves. You are sinners. You are the accused masses.” (Jn. 7:49)

The religio-cultural ideology taught by the Scribes, Pharisees, Elders, and Scribes to
the poor and the outcasts made the society's least become the least. It taught them to
despise themselves, to reject completely their almost lost self-esteem and human self-worth.
It gave way for them to accept the prevailing system of the institution (Jewish-Roman Order)
as GOOD and WILLED by Yahweh, where in fact, it had lost the life-giving Spirit of the Plan
of Yahweh and the Ancient Law (Torah). At least tacitly, the ideology blessed the
domination of the Romans and the local Jewish elite with power, privilege, and authority. It
was indeed an OPPRESSIVE and REPRESSIVE IDEOLOGY.
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Conflict in Jesus' Ministry

We hinted at the conflictive works of Jesus in his Ministry with the existing social
strata, structure, and ideology. Naturally, liberation results threaten an oppressive social
system, especially those who maintain the status quo in society.

 The Gospels, according to Mark 3:1-6, Mt. 23:29-33, Mk. 12:1-10 have
expounded this assertion. These faith records of Jesus traced pictures or images of
conflicting issues between the socio-political and religio-cultural leaders and Jesus.

a) Conflict of Jesus' Ministry with the Pharisees and Scribes

As courageous and prophetic groups, the Pharisees and Scribes were colored by
negative spirits. They considered Law as imperative to Salvation. To observe the Torah
means a person is saved. However, we must note that not all the Pharisees and Scribes
were “bad” and that many viewed things similar to Jesus. But a majority of Pharisees and
Scribes, especially those who wanted to gain much power, had conflicted with Jesus,
particularly in issues dealing with the observance of the Law or Torah just as the following
points:

1. Jesus put more value on “tao” or life than on the Sabbath, the law, or the
tradition.
He wants the people to be liberated from the oppressive observance of the law,
Sabbath, and tradition. He wants to show that rules and practices are formed to
enhance life, not to kill life.

2. Jesus critiqued the religious establishment for neglecting the Torah's heart,
justice, mercy, and faithfulness.
He wants to put in place the observance of the Torah and surface the acts of justice,
mercy, and faithfulness that the religio-political leaders had neglected.

3. Jesus put more value on compassion for the poor and the outcasts than on the
worship of God.
A society that upheld the anti-poor and anti-outcast ideology surely would hate them
and not accept them in the worship of Yahweh. Jesus places the poor and outcast as
a priority over the worship of Yahweh. Thus, he concretized His love for them.

4. Jesus critiqued the establishment for locating Religion in the exterior show
than in the heart.
The integration of their religious faith into life had been lost. Jesus wanted to restore
the authentic faith of Yahweh, not only an exterior show.

b) Conflict of Jesus' Ministry with the Elders and the Chief Priests and Scribes

If we have embraced what Jesus truly meant about Salvation in his ministry, then we
are pretty sure to see the natural conflict established by his works and message. What
would Jesus say about political and social leadership? Was he in an intense conflict with the
Elders, Chief Priest? Yes! Jesus could not take their oppressive union to oppress the people
continuously.
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We may find in Mark 12:1-20 a Parable of the Vineyard. This parable tells us of a
very concrete situation of His conflict with the Elders, Chief Priests, and Scribes.
Think of the symbols in the Parable of the Vineyard (Mark 12:1-20):
Owner of the Vineyard = Yahweh God
Vineyard = Nation of Israel
Tenants or Caretakers = Chief Priests, Elders, Scribes
Servants or messengers = Prophets
Son = JESUS
Jesus would have addressed this to them:

“Yahweh entrusted you with the care of the Israelite people he loved very
much. From time to time, Yahweh sent prophets to show his concern. You had
nothing to show. Instead, you tortured and murdered the prophets. And now he sends
his son, thinking you would respect him. But no, you will conspire to kill him and will
kill him. Yahweh will come to destroy you.”

Jesus addressed this Parable to the religio-political leaders and called them
MURDERERS OF THE PROPHETS. They were worthless leaders of God’s people, and
God will destroy them. In other words, the whole life and work of Jesus and what he stood
for was to do good and to save the total person and life. As a result of this stand, “the
Pharisees went out and held counsels with Herodian against him, how to destroy him.”

Indeed, a conscientious person must go against the current despite how strong the
current is. If you are a conscientious Christian, you also stand for what Jesus defended.
Many issues confront today’s Christians: the evil behind globalization, the threats brought by
global political and economic interests, and many others.
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II - THE JEWISH CONFLICT WITH TEMPLE AND ROME

Establishments are not usually perceived as working for destruction, just as we don’t
consider the malls, cinemas, beer houses, and the like have done something terrible. But at
this point of our study, we cannot but perceive the institution, Temple, and Rome as having
done the growing reasons for Jesus’ death. We have already seen the conflictive actions
and words of Jesus with the people in authority. Now, we have turned our attention to the
establishment focusing directly on the Temple
The Temple in Jesus’ Time The Empire of Rome in Jesus’ Time

Again, we have to remember what the Rome was indeed politically

Temple was so that we would appreciate powerful over Palestine during the time of
Jesus’ attack on it. The Temple was Jesus.
the principal Religious Institution: The country of Palestine has to
There was only one Temple for the whole nation pay tribute to Roman government and
found in the capital city of Jerusalem. It is serve in the Roman Army. It has created
where the sacrifices of the people were offered. system or dynamics to serve its interests.
The Synagogues in the countryside were merely The presence of the tax collectors is an
for study and reflections. indicator of this end.
the principal national symbol: Jewish masses resisted the
In a society where there was no sharp occupations of the Roman government
distinction on religious and political affairs, the but the upper class connived with the
Temple served, like the modern flag, a principal Roman interests.
national symbol. Due to the resistance of the
an important political institution: masses Rome has declared absolute
Temple had also political associations. The military dictatorship in Palestine. Roman
Sanhedrin met within the Temple complex and officers cited any organizations or
the in-charge of the Temple were the Chief movements among the masses as acts of
Priests, leading political figures. rebellion against Rome. Anybody who
a principal economic institution: found guilty will suffer Roman death
The Revenues flowed freely here, with the sale penalty, Crucifixion.
of sacrificial animals, fees and taxes, donations And of course, Roman Procurator
and money exchange. has the full domain of the Roman political
And of course, the Temple was the special and economic interest.
domain of the priestly aristocracy.

Jesus' Conflict with the Temple and Rome

We may be wondered why this faithful Jew, Jesus, is staging an assault against this
holy place of the Jews, the Temple. The passages from Mark 11:15-19 and Mark 15:2-3, 6-
15, 22-27 would help us excavate the conflictive actions of Jesus with the fundamental role
played by the Temple.
But why must Jesus attack the Temple?

As a significant religious institution, the Temple is an institution where authentic prayer and
worship be celebrated. It is a place where the poor should seek help and is served faithfully
by the authorities. In other words, the Temple should be where the poor and oppressed find
hope and maintain their dignity and integrity as believers of Yahweh. The TEMPLE should
be an INSTITUTION that would promote life. It must be an agent of the Reign-Kingdom of
God or SALVATION.
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A faithful Jew was a failure of what the Temple was doing to the people. Conversely, the
Temple was a means of robbing the poor of their meager income. It no longer became life-
giving but a death-prone institution for the poor and oppressed (Anawim).

a.) Jesus’ Action Against the Temple

Jesus did not, of course, spare the Temple. His assault was double-barreled in
word and action.

In Mark 11:15-19, Jesus complained clearly about all the goings that restyled the Temple
from a place of prayer into commerce. As we look closer, we notice Jesus singled out
related to robbing the Poor: money changing and sale of doves. For the poor, currency
exchange was difficult. The impoverished offered doves as sacrifices. These issues relating
to their religious practices received specific attention from Jesus. The Temple, which was
supposed to serve the poor, considered to be where the poor would seek help and where
the poor find strength and make themselves whole, had become a means of oppressing
them and losing their almost lost self-worth. Jesus described this as making the Temple
a “den of thieves,” where the poor and the oppressed (Anawim) had been robbed of their
meager income to express their faith in Yahweh.

Jesus’ actions against the Temple

(Mark 11:15-17)

Jesus drove out Jesus overturned Jesus did not let Jesus began to
all those who the tables of the anyone carry teach in the
are buying money anything Temple
and selling in the changers and those in the temple
open space. who sold pigeons. courtyards.
b.) Jesus’ Verbal Attack on the Temple

With His action attack, Jesus also pronounced threatening words against the Temple.

“Does not God say in the Scriptures: ‘My house will be called a House of Prayer for
all the nations?’ But you have turned it into a den of thieves.” (Mark 11:17)

This statement might be politely said, but any faithful Jew would have understood the
underlying tone of Jesus’ condemnation of the people running the operation of the Temple.
By this statement, Jesus wanted to pave the way for restoring the original purpose of why
the Temple was built. But since Jesus found the mess that Temple had made to the people
loved by Yahweh, he then pronounced an attack against the Temple.

“As Jesus came out of the Temple, one of his disciples said, ‘Look, Teacher, what
large stones and what large building! Then Jesus Asked Him, ‘Do you see these
great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.”
(Mark 13:1-2)

You would probably imagine a Cathedral today, massive and towering, threatened
with utter destruction. What would the hierarchy do? Jesus’ threat to the Temple was
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consequential enough to constitute one of the charges against him during his trial, as
mentioned in Mark 14:58 and Mark 15:29-30. This oft-repeated mention of Jesus’ verbal
attack makes it one of the few historical facts about Jesus. It paved much of the way to the
cross.

1. Jesus's Conflict with Rome

Was Jesus anti-Roman? There is not enough evidence about Jesus’ stance toward
Rome. Jesus said, “Give Ceasar the things that are Ceasars.” Usually, this statement
leads to a notion that money is of Ceasar’s because it is his face inscribed in cash.
However, this statement cannot guarantee that Jesus endorsed Rome. If it is the face of
Ceasar marked in money, Jesus wishes to emphasize what is inscribed in the being of each
person. Isn’t it that human beings are created in God's image and likeness? So then, it is the
image and likeness of God that is inscribed in our being. The statement could mean, “give
to Ceasar what belongs to him” Does Ceasar has the right to own anything? If Ceasar
has owned something over the Jew. Like any ordinary Jew, Jesus knew that nothing
belonged to Ceasar. All things in heaven, earth, and under the world belong to
Yahweh alone. What is clear is his repudiation of imperial values. (Mk. 10:42-45)

However, this statement cannot be good data to say that Jesus was against Rome.
There is enough data that can provide about Rome’s attitude toward Jesus. The conflict of
Jesus with Rome must be perceived from the Romans' point of view, not clearly from Jesus
Himself. The following are some of the indicators:

a. Jesus was regarded as a Rebel:

From the point of view of the Romans, Jesus was a Rebel against Rome. At that
time, there were certain Jews who led protest movements against Rome and were regarded
as Jewish kings. These persons organized peasantry, fisher folks, poor masses, or
outcasts. The “King of the Jews” title was attached to a leader of protest movements against
Rome. Jesus was given the title “King of the Jews.” Let us note the initials on the cross of
Jesus, “I.N.R.I, which means Ieasus, Nazarenus, Rex Ieuderum, or Jesus of Nazareth,
King of the Jews.” A soldier placed this inscription on the cross of Jesus with mockery.

b. CRUCIFIXION executed Jesus:

Crucifixion is a Roman capital punishment meted out to the rebels against Rome. It is
a shameful death given to those threatening Roman stability in Palestine, including the
criminals and robbers. Crucified people were daily sightings in place of Golgotha. Take note
that the Sanhedrin had no power over the death penalty. Only the Roman procurator could
pass the death penalty. If the Romans did not see Jesus as a threat to them, why must he
be put to death in that Roman capital punishment?

c. Jesus was associated with two thieves:

Jesus was crucified together with two thieves/robbers or, better, bandits. Rome
associated Jesus as one of them. Social bandits were present when there was a violation of
human rights. Roman domination abused so much the human rights of people. The rise of
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social bandits was rooted excessively in the oppressive imperial regime. The social bandits
were considered “Robin Hoods” of the peasantry. Barabbas might have been a social
bandit.

The Conflict between Temple and Rome made the Story Complete:

Without the conflict in Jesus’ ministry, there is no Jesus' story to tell. We will go back
to the belief that Jesus was immune to human struggle because he was God. We have to
stand on a position that Jesus’ Kingdom practice included the strong counter positions
regarding the Sabbath, purification laws, justice, poverty-riches, and especially the temple,
which would lead us to a deeper understanding of his life and death.

Jesus did not die in bed:

Most Christians have to lie in bed and wait for the claw of death to take back their
breath. Why was Jesus’ death different from most of us Christians? Is it because his life
was different from that of most of us? Usually, people would not be killed for wanting to save
only their souls. But people could want to kill you for proclaiming an alternative world,
demanding just wages, claiming domains of the land, and many others that concretize
justice in all affairs. Such were the people who had shed blood and spared others' lives to
come up with an alternative world, to name some of them
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THE DEATH OF JESUS

I. INTRODUCTION:

At last, it is time to let Jesus die. They hoped that we are now embracing how
important his pre-crucifixion mission was and that we realized His Kingdom works became
conflictive with the existing social structure, ideology, and philosophy of His society. We
have now realized that the ministry of Jesus was conflictive with the Jewish-Roman order;
the rich and the powerful have now to end Jesus’ life. But if in the case of your study, you
have not realized this, do not allow Jesus to die; go back to the essence of his
proclamation of the Reign-Kingdom of God.

A. Word about the PASCHAL MYSTERY

What is a PASCHAL MSYTERY? Paschal comes from the word “PASCH,” which
means pass over. The key to the experience of the Israelites was when the Angel of death
“passed” over the houses of the Israelites while the firstborn of the Egyptians were dead. A
mystery is not something we cannot understand; it is a truth that can be understood but
whose essence cannot be exhausted by our human mind. As a truth, our full faith as
believers must embrace Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection from the shadow of his
most original mission concerning his coming again with commitment. The Paschal Mystery
of Jesus must connect with the Reign-kingdom of God's proclamation in His Ministry.
Together with it was the conflict that rose with his statement of Salvation.

The story of Jesus has not yet ended. Jesus was arrested, put on trial, and
executed. The disciples, except for a few women of Jerusalem, abandoned him: upon his
arrest, “all deserted him and fled.” (Mt. 14:50), yet there is a remarkable turnabout. A few
days later, these same disciples proclaimed Jesus as being “no longer held by death” (Acts.
2:24). These last events of the story from the Core of the Oldest Faith Proclamation, “I
delivered to you as of first importance what I received, that Christ died following the
Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day following the scriptures
and that he appeared…” (1 Cor. 15:3-5)

In this module, we are dealing with this Paschal Mystery: Suffering, Death,
Resurrection, and the coming again of Jesus, considering the life of the Spirit among the
community.

B. Jesus’ death on the Cross: The Second Phase of His Mission

It mentioned that Jesus’ mission on earth has two phases. These are the first
phase: TO PROCLAIM SALVATION IN TERMS OF THE BLESSINGS OF LIFE TODAY
(Reign-Kingdom of God), and the second phase: TO DIE ON THE CROSS FOR OUR SINS.
This second phase of Jesus' mission was misconstrued as the only mission of Jesus’
coming to earth. Note that Jesus had hardly settled in on the crib when he was sent off to
his passion and death.
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Take a simple look at considering our official creed formulated in the 4 th century.
It could have lost the touch of the first phase of Jesus’ Mission from “being born of the Virgin
Mary…” to …suffered-crucified… died and was buried.” It escaped from the most dangerous
life Jesus lived, which painted a torturous death that Jesus must offer. It is now the time
that we restore in our faith the actual score behind the death of Jesus.

II – THE TWO ASPECTS OF JESUS’ DEATH

When believers want to speak about the death of Jesus, the usual trend is to
answer the question, “Why did Jesus die?” to which comes the typical answer: “to
redeem us from sin.” While it is true that Jesus died to save us from sin, it is also a
demand to answer the other question, “Why was Jesus killed?” Thus, the latter would
allow us to excavate the solid grounds for Jesus’ death or the actual motive for killing Him.
One, who has a grip on the real reason he was killed, has a solid ground for the faith
meaning of Jesus being put to death. In other words, Jesus’ death has two aspects, the
historical reasons and the theological aspect or Faith Meaning. The Historical element of
Jesus’ death refers to the historical causes of Jesus' death. The Theological Aspect refers to
the faith explanation or faith meaning of His death on the Cross. As our priority, we must
deal with the first aspect and move to the second, as our quest for faith means historical
reality.

A. Historical Aspect of Jesus' Death

In talking about the person's death, we need to be clarified between motives and
allegations. It is essential to answer the question, Why was Jesus killed? Why should they
(the rich and powerful) take Jesus’ life?” How heinous was the crime Jesus committed
that He should pay His life for? It is a reality that many Christians dared not to excavate
the answer to it because it is difficult to identify the exact historical causes of Jesus’ death.
But with bits of pieces from the Gospels, we could gather some thorny issues as bases for
his enemies to kill him:

Issues behind THE KILLING OF JESUS

We may gather in the Gospel passages bits of information about some thorny
motives for why they murdered Jesus.

a. Jesus prioritized the human being and human life over and against the
accepted tradition and law.
Jesus violated the Law of the Sabbath by healing people and letting the hungry
pluck corn. For Jesus, tax collectors, the poor, outcasts, and sinners were human
beings worthy of respect with human dignity in His eyes. (Mk. 3:1-6, 2:15-17, 23:28).
The Pharisees considered Him as a person who did not help the implementation of
the Law on the Sabbath. He was under the surveillance of the Pharisees.
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b. Jesus was a rebel against Tradition.
In the eyes of the institution, Jesus was not only a conformist but also a heretic, an
apostate. (Mk. 2:22, Mk 7). From the perspective of the Scribes, Jesus is creating His
own. He is a rebel against the Jewish holy Tradition.

c. Jesus was an uncompromising critic of the value system or ideology of the

establishment.
Jesus asserted that justice, mercy, and compassion for the poor and the oppressed
must be observed strictly by the implementers of the law. He demanded that the
heart of the Law must be seen in the concrete actions of the rich, powerful, the
authorities, and the most privileged. (Mk. 23:23, Mt. 9:10-13)

d. Jesus attacked the establishment and the Temple:

Jesus censured the aristocracy (Mt. 11:17). He staged a double assault – in speech
and feat – against the Temple (Mk. 11:15-19, 13:1-2). He wrestled with the experts
and the erudite of their power and authority (Mk. 1:21-28) and usurped the status of
the priest. (Mk. 1:40-45). From the people's point of view in the Temple, Jesus
intends to destroy the Temple. The Sanhedrin considered Jesus as the destroyer of
the comfort and convenience they enjoyed in their position.

e. Jesus exposed authority’s hypocrisy and love for externals. (Mt. 23)
The Sanhedrin considered Jesus the destroyer of the comfort and convenience
(status quo) they enjoyed in their position. Jesus was killed; he did not just die. He
was executed. Why? The thorny issues about Jesus’ death above are hardly seen
to point out the causes that Jesus was crucified. After all, he wanted to save souls
because His Father in heaven wanted him dead and because he disappointed
people’s hope of a political or military Messiah. No, these are not the real reasons
for Jesus’ execution. But this is because Jesus revealed the inconsistencies,
hypocrisy, and love of externals of the authorities. From the authorities' point of view,
enough is enough for persons like Jesus. Leaders had to get rid of him.

The execution of Jesus of Nazareth on a cross is a securely established historical

fact. From the report of the Pharisees and Scribes to the Sanhedrin, there is a good ground
for handing Jesus to the cruel Romans. Crucifixion was a Roman form of capital
punishment used for enslaved people and rebels. Jesus was then executed as a political
rebel. From the Roman side, Jesus has hardly been anything more than a nuisance that
needs to be dispatched by all means. The Romans were suspicious of any mass
organization in the unstable political climate. Once Jesus was handed down to Pilate, any
charge against him could have done it. Pilate’s record with Rome was poor, which made
him an easy target for pressure. He did just what was expected of him: HE HAD THE JUST
MAN EXECUTED.

Jesus’ condemnation by the Romans is no problem at all. A faithful Jew cannot just
submit somebody to an unjust and oppressive socio-political structure. But why did the
Sanhedrin decide to hand a compatriot, Jesus of Nazareth, to the so much hated Romans?
To understand this, we must stand on Jesus as a prophetic figure. Jesus did not just
announce the Good News as a prophet, but He radically denounced evil idolatry and
injustices that the Sanhedrin had tenderly taken care of. The Jesus prophet had been a
threat to the political power of Israel’s rulers. Hence, we need not de-politicize Jesus’ death,
and we need not insist that Jesus was only condemned for religious reasons. He was a
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victim of a death-prone religio-political structure. He was executed as a political rebel of
Rome.

A dangerous life courts a scary death. Jesus stood squarely FOR LIFE, for THE
HUMAN BEING, for the POOR, and JUSTICE. Jesus was confronting a TRADITION, a
LAW, and an AUTHORITY that had become meaningless and destructive to people’s
lives. It is the stance that our LORD, JESUS, stood for that ends his life in death. Do you
want to follow Him? A true believer in Him should pattern this kind of life. Jesus works and
contemplates. If you wish to read Jesus’ life well, you are reading life of action and
contemplation, but that action led him to his being killed.

f. Other Possible Reasons for Jesus’ Execution on the Cross

The Gospel accounts also mention other possible causes or motives for Jesus’ death.
However, it is difficult to tell the real motives and false charges. Other possible reasons
would include:
1. Jesus claimed to be the Messiah and Son of God (Mt. 26:63-64)
2. Jesus uttered blasphemy (Mt. 26:65)
3. The Jewish authorities delivered Jesus out of envy (Mt. 27:18)
4. Jesus performed many signs (Jn. 11:47-48)
5. Jesus was perverting the nation and forbidding it to give taxes (Luke 23:2)
6. Jesus was agitating the people throughout the land (Luke 23:5)

These charges might be so shallow to be paid with the precious life of Jesus, who restored
the life of many. It would be fine if we stand on the grounds opposing the system, ideology,
structure, and conviction which triggered the status quo of the authorities and powerful as
the fundamental reason for the killing of Jesus.

g. THE JESUS IN THE FACE OF DEATH

On the questions: “How did Jesus face his on-coming death on the cross? Did Jesus
fight; did He go through a real human fear of death? How did He stand in the face of death? ”
believers would like to view this as a heroic act always and nothing else but we should
accept views that would guide us into correct perspective.

1) Ill-considered views: Jesus was not afraid

We sometimes harbor particular ill-considered views. Jesus was God. As God, He

can foresee anything and everything that may happen to him. Jesus took his death as a
matter of course. His death was pre-programmed for him for all eternity. His Father in
Heaven, who sent His Son, wants to see Jesus die on the Cross. He was the one who
planned Jesus’ Death. We have an unuttered suspicion that he did not go through a real
human struggle in the face of his on-coming death. If we have the views mentioned above,
we upheld the belief that Jesus was staging a drama or a play. All these views lead to false
religiosity.

2) Jesus was afraid of His coming Death

The fact was that Jesus went through a real human struggle to accept this death on
the cross. The death on the Cross was a shameful death to bear. It is time now that this
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man, who values a person's life and makes it a priority to nourish this life in his Ministry, is
be taken away from his own life. Jesus was struggling to face this death at the hands of
Israel's oppressors and unjust rulers. We may follow Jesus’ real human struggle of his on-
coming death on the cross.

2) a. Jesus economized His Death on the Cross

We can discover that he employed the economy of death through the New
Testament. Unlike John the Baptist, Jesus did not launch His ministry in Jerusalem.
Galilee, the typical destination of the oppressed and underprivileged, became His
station and base of operations. Galilee symbolizes acceptance and living a simple
lifestyle so that others may have a lease on life. In Galilee, one is with dignity and
integrity.

Mark, on his part, never allowed Jesus to enter Jerusalem until chapter 10, and after
this chapter, Mark did not authorize or like Jesus to stay in the city, at least at
nighttime. Jerusalem represents rejection. The enemies of life are present here. It is a
shelter for those whose only goals in life are to maintain their wealth, status, and
notoriety. While Jesus worked for the restoration of life in Galilee, in Jerusalem,
Jesus’ life was being taken away from Him. And as His enemies increased, His
friends deserted Him.

2) b. Jesus maintained hiding places

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, He did not just go and sleep anywhere in the
nighttime. The Gospels can trace facts that Jesus avoided places of danger at night.
He took refuge in safe places, if not his hiding places, like Bethany and Ephraim,
Gethsemane. These are forested, hilly, and stony places away from and overlooking
Jerusalem. The twelve apostles only know these places. They knew where the
Master should spend the night. That is why it took Judas Iscariot to betray Him, for
the arresting soldier did not know this forested, hilly, and stony place of Bethany,
Ephraim, and Gethsemane.

2) c. Jesus no longer went about openly

Amid hosannas and leafy branches, Jesus entered Jerusalem. (Mk. 11:7-10) Danger
ahead! He is entering the heart of the enemy zone. The Sanhedrin was there. The
Jewish military was there. The unique Jesus Rally of Palm Sunday probably alerted
his enemies. He went around only with His close and trusted friends.

Jesus entered the Temple. Here, he was going to stage a raid on the morrow. So
what did Jesus do? He did a preliminary survey in the Temple, “He looked around at
everything” This was in preparation for the assault. (Mk. 11:11) As it was late in the
day, he left. Was he avoiding the city? Yes! It was the territory of His enemy. It was
not safe even during the day, less so at night. In addition to the Jewish police, there
was the Roman garrison overlooking the Temple. He slipped away, of course, from
His trusted friends, the Twelve. If a man would think of submitting him to the
authorities, he must be from His trusted friends.

2) d. Jesus felt the most profound anguish in his life:

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Jesus fought. Jesus resisted as long as he could hold out. Let us follow him for a
short while before he is killed. The event follows in quick succession: on the following
day, Jesus attacked the Temple. Then, He engaged in verbal tussles with his
enemies. Then, He ate the Passover Meal with his disciples. All the while, his
enemies were busy plotting his death. Did Jesus go to his death like a lamb being
led to the slaughter? Of course, Jesus did not! Not until after the anguished
semicolon in his life passed.

In Gethsemane, his whole being was shaken. He was terribly in trouble. His deepest
self was in distress, agitation, and grief. He resisted and warded off his mortal fate.
“Take this cup from me.” (Luke 22:42). It is a pivotal event. It is the great divide of
his life. So painful, so heartbreaking. Before this, He was fighting, resisting, and
refusing, but He came to the end of this human struggle. The time has come that
he was able to accept, “yet, not my will but Your will.” (Read Mark 14:32-26)
h. The so-called God’s Will in Jesus' death:

Almost drowned in agony, Jesus cries, “Abba, Father… not my will but yours be done”
(Lk. 22:42). Did God plan that Jesus be killed in that manner? Is anyone here, the worst
Father, who dreamed of having his noble Son be put to death? A foolish Father! The
Father of Jesus is a Loving Father. You will perhaps notice that Jesus hardly spoke of
“God’s will.” He usually talked about His Father’s will, My Father, Your Father (Mt. 7:21,
10:29, 12:50).

If Jesus spoke of “God’s will,” He was not referring to “doing God’s will,” for it
evokes the image of God, who is iron-fisted, arbitrary, inflexible, insensitive, and distant. The
worst father who would design a plan for the cruel death of His only begotten Son. However,
Jesus mentioned longing, desire, seclusion, and a parent's will. He's talking about a life flow
here. Like a river, it is. Some areas, like serene lagoons, are calm and peaceful. There are
turbulent parts where the river crashes against crags and boulders, flaring up into
smithereens of pain. Here crises, their questionings, here abandonment, their despair.
These turbulent parts may not, will not, and cannot have answers. But the whole life flow of
the river does. The river as a whole knows the entire adventure and understands the
absolute certainty that it is going to one place, the great ocean.

Same with what Jesus is referring to as the will of God for his death: the life flow must be
obeyed and done. The conflict of His life is already growing; crises, questionings,
abandonment, and despair are already present. He may not understand what it means right
then, but the whole flow of life may explain it well.

i. Jesus was killed

(In Silence, let us pause for a moment and keep in touch with the violent death of the
proclaimer of the Kingdom of God.)

And so they killed Jesus on the Hill of the Skull (Mt. 27:33). It is one of the
cruelest and most painful deaths invented by men. The Authorities crucified the JUST MAN
who brought Salvation into the world. The authorities never realized that Jesus had
launched the Reign-Kingdom of God, but now they tried to tear it off from the life of the
people. The Gospels recorded this dramatic picture of the killing of Jesus.
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j. THE SACRIFICIAL ASPECT OF THE DEATH OF JESUS

We are moving towards the meaning of this human death of Jesus. Of course, we have
high regard for a meaningful death. That of Jesus is undoubtedly one of the most, if not the
most significant in human history. The stakes Jesus played for the sake of human life, the
poor, and justice would have been given enough meaning to his death. His being killed
must also be perceived as a sacrificial aspect. Thus, the next lesson follows the theological
part of Jesus' death.

For the moment, focus on the killing of Jesus

Let us pause for a while here. Say nothing, Do nothing, just be in touch with the flow
of life that exudes from the core of the Crucified Jesus. Feel the energy shared with us by
this unusual Jesus. Allow the last breath of Jesus to become life-giving rivulets to us and
the rest of all creation.

(Short Silence)

1. The Most meaningful death in human history

Jesus of Nazareth is now hanging on the cross. What do you expect a recipient of the
Kingdom of God proclamation would say in front of the dead Jesus? How would a
beneficiary of salvation explain that painful death? Indeed the believer of Jesus lamented
the most beautiful meaning attached to the end of this holy man who did noble works for the
poor and the oppressed.
We have hinted that Jesus' followers have high regard for the most meaningful death
in human history. When a person dies, almost everything about that person has been given
meaning. Virtually all these meanings are good to mean that this person who is dead now
has lived a good life. Good things in the person's life will be recounted much when the
person dies.

Yes, we have followed Jesus in His struggle to accept His death. His fight indeed was
not able to stop His death. Why did He not come to the point of finally escaping His
death? Why did He allow it to happen?

2. JESUS IS DEAD

“… Then Jesus uttering a loud cry, breathed his last.” (Mark 15:3). Jesus is now dead,
no more life. Their life has been torn away from his body. At this point, we can ask, “Why
was Jesus killed? It was not the only quest, significant though it was. Another appropriate
question is also: “Why must Jesus die?” In other words, Jesus can not die. Just as he
can stop the flow of the river and not go through the turbulent flow, he can also have a
detour of the river to a place where there are no crises and the test.

a.) THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE EXPERIENCE

We then said that Jesus felt the greatest fear of death and the most profound anguish
of his life. He experienced the great divide of His very self. But why did Jesus able to accept
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His death on the Cross? He was innocent. Jesus did not do wrong. He just followed the plan
of God for all humanity. He was just doing what is just.
However, in His profound encounter with the Father “Abba” in prayer, He shook off
the shades of fear. The great divide between His being and His doing has taken its beautiful
shape. Yes, cruel people may take all that Jesus has done in His Ministry. They may
lacerate from Jesus the good things He has offered those in need of His time. But they
cannot tear off the very being, the very self, the integrity of the “nephesh” within Him. They
cannot take away the image and likeness of God inscribed in the person of Jesus. It is in
this manner that this Gethsemane experience became a pivotal moment of acceptance of
this painful death. Jesus reached the rock bottom of his very self. He was in the authentic
confrontation of the human self. He was able to confront His human struggle, fears,
apprehension, and anxieties.

In the Garden of Gethsemane experience, Jesus was in the deep composition of His
self. He was able to burn fears out and reached the point of saying, “NO FEAR” (as we read
stickers around). He felt no more struggles to face this dangerous death as the most
meaningful one. While Jesus became brave enough, it was during this time that Judas
Iscariot was negotiating with the authorities. When Judas brought the captors, it was no
longer a fearful Jesus who faced the captors. The powerful and brave Jesus was held in
custody by the Temple police. What helped Jesus eradicate this fear? What made Him
firmly ground his shaken self to face the pangs of death? There are some Religio-cultural
supports for His acceptance.

a. THE RELIGIO-CULTURAL BACKGROUND OF JESUS’

ATONING DEATH

Jesus was helped to accept His death. The Early Christians discerned
the insights into the sacrificial meaning of Jesus’ death, who eventually
understood Jesus’ death in the light of the suffering servant of Isaiah 52:13-
53:12 (Please take time to read this text .) However, we must note that this faith
meaning can also originate from Jesus when all the arrows of death were
pointing upon and closing in on him later in his life. It was indeed part of their
religio-cultural belief that death at the hands of the unjust and oppressive
structure can have a beautiful meaning as follows:
1) A Martyr can offer his death for the sins of others

The Jews believed an innocent man was martyred for other people's sins. It had
been developed in their culture since they were under the foreign domain.
Martyrdom had been so familiar. Just as the Crucifixion during the time of the
Romans was a typical daily sighting on the skull hill, A Jew can be put to death to
save others.

2) A Sacrificial Blood, usually of animals, was believed to atone for Sins

The Jewish religious system considered sacrificial blood as a

vehicle for the atonement of sins. This is what their
ancient religion, Yahwism, prescribed for them. From time
immemorial, this was the sacred observance they had done
in the temple after escaping slavery in Egypt. However, no
record said that they had offered the blood of human
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beings; it was always the blood of animals worthy of God. The Sacrifice of Jesus
was the blood of the innocent Man being shed for the Salvation of many.

3) The Servant-figure of the Messiah

Prophet Isaiah, the main inspiration of Jesus, has influenced

His conviction, actions, and reflection so much. Isaiah 53
spoke of the servant figure. The Suffering Servant figure is
initially referring to the people of Israel who suffered for the
transgression of others, the sinful world. Later, this servant-
figure boiled down to the Suffering Servant-figure of the
Messiah. Jesus has en-fleshed this prophecy to figure out the Messiah as a
Sacrificial Lamb who takes away the world's sins.

b.) THE THEOLOGICAL/SACRIFICIAL MEANING OF JESUS’ DEATH

“Why must Jesus die?” evokes a different faith meaning of Jesus’ death. The
faith-meaning is also known as the sacrificial aspect or Theological explanation given
to Jesus’ death. Jesus’ death was a sacrificial offering for the atonement of the world's sin.
He has given his life for the forgiveness of our sins. We can refer it to 1Cor. 15:3-4, Rom.
3:21-25, Eph. 5:2, Jn. 1:29. Paul and John are now trying to correspond to what the
Synoptic Gospels have recorded. Jesus died for our sins; His death was a fragrant sacrifice
for the evil encroaching on humanity, history, and the world.

At this point of our study, we have to deal with the faith interpretation of Jesus’ death
not as a theological doctrine to be memorized but as a faith experience, the fruit of mystical
seeing and experiencing the such event of faith. Our pathway to it is likewise mystical
insights and experiences. Here “mystical” could mean everyone’s right to make their
analysis. How can touching or drinking directly from the source be a privilege or a monopoly
of the chosen few? This faith meaning must be a birthright for all the believers of Jesus.
We have the fundamental right to get in touch with the mystical insights and experiences like
that of the trusted friends of Jesus, the Apostles. Who was with Him during his pre-
crucifixion activity, which became His eyewitnesses? “Who had heard and seen” what He
did and who proclaimed this to the world.”

The atoning death of Jesus is a sure constituent or tenet of our faith life. It is a
precious possession, especially to those for whom it is not just a doctrine to be believed but
an open side from whose juices we slake our thirst. As a specific tenet of our faith, Jesus’
death on the cross serves as a stronghold to give the most meaningful death for a most
meaningful life. This faith interpretation of his death had become so colorful because his life
was so colorful.
Jesus’ death was a sacrificial death for the forgiveness of the sins of the world. It is
the theological significance of faith meaning discerned by Jesus when the forces of
opposition and death were closing in on him and by the early Christians when they felt what
Jesus felt. They were facing persecution because of the steps of Jesus they followed.

i. COMBINING TWO ASPECTS OF JESUS’ DEATH: Historical and Sacrificial

Aspects
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Repeatedly, it was emphasized that Jesus’ death was historical and sacrificial. The
end of today’s martyr could probably clear this matter. “Death-for-sin” is the faith-meaning
and theological significance but is grounded in various historical reasons that led to the
killing or execution. We would do well in our faith life not to let the theological explanation
cancel or overlook the historical aspects – under pain of trivializing Jesus’ death. Both
aspects must be viewed as one, which means not to magnify one aspect as what history did
to us by blowing up so much the theological meaning.
The faith testimonies recorded by John and Paul are the theologies of death in
atonement for sin that have already dominated our faith understanding of Jesus’ death for
many centuries. And this happened because the Christians embraced this as the
comprehensive framework for Jesus' story. However, the demand is to be fair with the
testimonies recorded in the Synoptic Gospels. Thus, supplementing John and Paul in their
theological aspect of Jesus’ death. Combining these two aspects would aid us to better
view Jesus’ death and lead us to respond better to the demand of the Christian way
of life.

Great conflict in the societal, political, cultural, and religious structure; thus pushing Jesus to
the wall of death he could accept after human struggles, he offered himself as a sacrificial
victim for the salvation of many. He laid down his life, and His blood was shed for the
salvation of all.

IV. REVISIT JESUS’ MISSION:

Watching over the dead Jesus, who now is taken from the cross in the lap of his
Mother, Mary, a believer cannot help but rewind their memory of what meaningful life this
person had lived, how dangerous was way he had taken, and how precarious was the death
he suffered.

Flashing back from the beginning of his mission before the Cross, Jesus proclaimed
and actualized the final-and-definitive salvation he termed the Reign-Kingdom of God:
healing, exorcisms, liberation, and justice to the poor and oppressed. (Mk. 1:14-15, Mt.
11:12-16, Luke 6:20). This proclamation, concretization, and actualization of the final-and-
definitive salvation established a conflict whose end product was His death on the Cross.

ii. CHURCH’S TEACHINGS ON JESUS SUFFERING DEATH

As has been said numerous times, the purpose of Jesus' death in the traditional
interpretation of the Christian religion was to atone for sin. It has grounded its view on the
Jewish heritage. Through the long tradition of persecution and suffering, they handed over
the acceptance of becoming a martyr. Every faithful Jew was willing to be tortured (esp. the
Zealots) rather than submit to an oppressive social structure.

Thus the Church has taught us this for a long century: (again, do not forget the historical
facts):
a.) Jesus’ suffering and death were closely associated with the coming of the
kingdom (Mt. 5:3-12)
b.) Jesus was determined to destroy suffering. Destroying the sufferings of the poor
and oppressed would mean their justice and liberation.
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c.) Jesus’ suffering and death were not for personal fame but the salvation of all
people.
d.) Jesus’ suffering and death are a service.
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k. Readings on Jesus' Passion and Death in the Bible:

We come now to ourselves and keep in touch with the suffering and death of Jesus
until the time when he breathed his last. The readings below would mean that you refer to
your daily struggles with the opposing current with the forces of death that Jesus must face:

John Luke Mark Matthew

Triumphal Entry: Jesus weeps over 12:12-30 19:29-44 11:1-11 21:1-11
Jerusalem
The Fig Tree Cursed (Mon) - - 11:12-14 21:18-19
The Withered Fig Tree (Tues) - - 11:20-26 21:20-22
Last Battle with Pharisees - 20:1-8 11:27-33 21:23-27
The Authority of the Jews - 20:20-26 12:13-17 22:15-22
Tribute to Caesar - - 12:28-34 22:34-40
The Great Commandments - 20:41-44 12:35-37 22:41-46
Messiah-Son of David - 20:45-47 12:38-40 23:13-35
Woes Against the Pharisees - 21:1-4 12:41-44 -
The Widow’s Mite - 21:5-38 13:1-37 24:1-51
Discourse on the Last Things - 21:1-2 14:1-2 26:3-8
And the Fall of Jerusalem - 22:3-6 14:10-11 26:14-16
Council Against Jesus (Wed)
Betrayal of Jesus (Wed)
Thursday - 22:7-13 14:12-16 26:17-19
Preparation for the Pasch 13:1-20 - - -
The Last Supper: Washing of Feet 13:21-30 22:21-23 14:17-21 26:20-25
The Traitor - 22:14-20 14:22-25 26:26-29
The Eucharist 13:31- 22:24-30 - -
35
Discourses of Jesus 13:36- 22:31-34 14:26-31 26:30-35
38
Peter’s Denial Predicted* 14:1- - - -
The Last Discourses 17:26 22:39-54 14:32-52 26:36-
56
Agony and Death 18:1-12 22:54-55 14:53-64 26:57-
66
Agony in the Garden and Arrest 18:13- 22:55-62 14:66-72 26:69-
24 75
Before Annas and Caiphas 18:15- 22:63-65 14:65 26:67-
27 68
Denial of Peter
Maltreatment of Jesus
- 22:66-71 15:1 27:1-2
Friday - - - 27:3-10
Second Trial Before Sanhedrin 18:28- 23:1-7 15:2-5 27:11-
32 14
The End of Judas - 23:8-12 - -
Before Pilate – First Time 18:33- 23:13-22 15:6-14 27:15-
40 23
Before Herod 19:1-7 - 15:16-20 27:26-
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30
Before- Second Time Barrabas 19:8-16 23:26-32 15:20-22 27:31-
33
The Scourging 19:8:16 23:26-32 15:20-22 27:31-33
Crowning With Thorns 19:18- 23:33-38 15:23-28 27:34-
22 38
Condemnation 19:23- 23:39-46 15:29-37 27:39-
30 50
The Way of the Cross 19:32-42 24:47-56 15:38-47 27:51-66
The Crucifixion
Events after Death: Burial

THE RESURRECTION, AND THE COMING AGAIN OF JESUS

I. THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS

Our planet earth, the stars, the galaxies, the supernovas – these make up the
universe. And where is the center? Based on the past Newtonian physics, there is no one
physical center. Instead, each of us is The Center; each of us is also the bosom of the
universe. There, according to our Faith, is also where the Spirit of the RISEN LORD. There
is the indwelling Spirit of our Lord.

1. JESUS IS RISEN, Alleluiah

After a brief while, this Jesus who died was experienced as alive again by his close
followers. He had defeated death! God had raised Him from the dead! He was risen and
exalted at the right hand of the Father. Yahweh had thus vindicated this innocent and
just man, this Servant of the Lord. There are testimonies of the resurrection of Jesus.
And the testimonies are simple, straightforward, almost a matter of fact: He has Risen. He
is not here. He was raised on the third day. (Please read Mk. 16:5-6, 1 Cor. 15:3-5, and
Luke 24:32). The testimony can also be very personal, deep, and mystical. “It is no longer I
who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.” (Gal. 2:20)
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2. EVENTS OF JESUS’ RESURRECTION:

Although the New Testament testimonies on Jesus' resurrection have no definite

chronological sequence of the events, this part offers events for clarity's sake.
EVENT TEXT
a.) Jesus' appearance to Mary Magdalene. Mk. 16:9-11 and Jn. 20:11-18
b.) Jesus’ appearance to the holy women on the day of Mt. 28:9 ff., Mk. 16:1-8
Resurrection.
c.) Jesus’ appearance on the day of the Resurrection to
Peter
d.) Jesus’ appearance on the day of the Resurrection (late Luke 24:13- 34, 1 Cor. 15:5
afternoon) to two disciples at Emmaus
e.) Jesus’ appearance on the day of the Resurrection (late Mk. 16:12 f., Mt. 16:15-18
evening) to the Apostles, Thomas being absent
f.) Jesus’ appearance eight days later to the eleven Luke 24:13-35, Mk. 16:19 ff.
apostles, including Thomas
g.) Jesus’ appearance to seven disciples at the Sea of Mk. 16:14 f. 1 Cor. 15:6
Tiberias 1 Cor. 15:7
h.) Jesus’ appearance to the eleven apostles on a Mountain Luke 24:36-43
in Galilee
i.) Jesus’ appearance to five hundred people John 30:19-23
j.) Jesus’ appearance to Apostle James Jn. 20:26-29, Luke 24:44-49
k.) Jesus’ last appearance in Jerusalem Jn. 21:1-14, Acts 1:4-8
l.) Jesus’ ascension to heaven Mt. 28:26-2, Luke 24:50-53
Acts 1:9-12

The central doctrine of Christianity is the Resurrection of Jesus. The apostle Paul
put it succinctly in his First Letter to the Corinthians, “If Christ has not been raised, our
preaching is void of content, and your faith is empty too” (1 Cor. 15:14).

3. Principal meanings of Jesus’ Resurrection by the Early Christians

There were several meanings attached to the coming back to the life of Jesus
himself. These are nourished and nurtured by His early believers, especially those who
experienced the Resurrection event.
a.) The Risen Jesus as God’s Vindication

God’s way of giving justice differs from how humans claim justice. One meaning of
Jesus’ Resurrection embraced by early Christians was that Jesus’ resurrection was God’s
vindication and approval of Jesus and his concretization, actualization, and proclamation of
the Reign-Kingdom of God, his innocent death on the Cross. This first meaning entails the
adversative “You killed Him; God raised him.”

For the first Christians, the Father’s act of raising Jesus from the dead was an act of
giving justice to the innocent victim of violent death. It is the Father’s yes to the stances and
workings of this extraordinary person. Above all, it is the OK seal that validates the death
of Jesus and invalidates the death-prone-social structure, the ideology, and the
machinations of the people who killed Jesus. We can find this in Acts 10:39-41 and Phil.
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2:8-9 that the innocent man has been raised and no more power of evil can overtake Him.
Yahweh has exalted this man who has been humbled by the rich and the powerful. This
INNOCENT, JUST MAN, SERVANT OF THE LORD is now alive, and death has no power
anymore.

b.) The Risen Jesus as the first fruit of the New World

Another meaning attached to the Resurrection of Jesus was this; Jesus is the first
fruit or the firstborn of the New World of life and resurrection. How beautiful it is to be in this
New World where evil has no trace, death has no power, and God will be all in all. This
second meaning stimulates images and hopes of people who are victims of the Evil world.
They are hope images of Jesus and a deathless and ever youthful world in which
Jesus is the first.

Here is a replay: Is there not a future where each day will rouse us to a new world
where the last enemy, death, will be destroyed? Is not the Kingdom of God a new world
where those who once slept, in the end, would rise to new life? WELL, JESUS IS THE
FIRSTBORN OF THAT NEW WORLD! Is not the Kingdom of God like a harvest? (Mt.
13:20) WELL, JESUS IS THE FIRST FRUIT. (Please read 1 Cor. 15:20 and Colossians
1:18)

c.) The Risen Jesus as the Indwelling Spirit

Another ancient meaning attached to Jesus' Resurrection is that: the Risen Jesus is
the Spirit, present in the community and the hearts of its members. He is the one that
sanctifies Christians, makes them children of God, and will one day raise us also from the
dead.

The Risen Jesus is the life energy that dwells in our deepest selves. Please read,
once again, Galatians. 4:6, 2 Cor. 3:18, Eph. 3:17, Rm. 8:9-11, Phil. 1:19 and Cor. 15:45.
Jesus no longer has to play by the rules and regulations of our kind of materiality. He frees
us from all limitations of our type of flesh-and-blood existence. Thus unfettered, Jesus can
be the most intimate guest of our hearts. He is the indwelling Spirit. He is the divine element
that works the Alchemy of our divine sonship and daughter ship. And cradled in our once-
based hearts, we can utter the simple cry: “Abba, daughters” that the Cry is worth
infinitely more than all the valued metals in the universe. As if we let him, he can break
through our opaqueness and impermeability and change us “in his likeness from one degree
of glory to another.” And if we are thus rooted in Christ, our loving is not an exertion but a
natural fruit, a spontaneous happening in our lives. And finally, when our days have grown
older, we too will have tasted death. “He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also
give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”
d.) The Risen Jesus is Keeping intact the Kingdom Perspective

The fourth meaning given to the resurrection of Jesus is the reality that Jesus' death
and resurrection constitute one salvific act . Jesus has obtained atonement for sin
through his death and resurrection and has given humanity the Spirit. The Cross-and-
resurrection of Jesus has been called the Paschal Mystery. Just as the paschal lamb and its
blood on the doorposts saved the ancient Hebrews from Pharoah’s terror during their march
out of Egyptian Slavery (Ex. 12:11-13), the Sacrificial Blood of Jesus brings salvation from
sin. The Salvation that Jesus has wrought consists in:
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1. the atonement for sin
2. the outpouring of the Spirit
3. the consequent attainment of eternal life and Salvation

The center of Christian doctrine is the Cross and Resurrection of Christ. Its centrality
is rooted in very ancient tradition. Even before Paul, we already had a formulation of faith,
of which Paul reminded the Corinthian community. (1 Cor. 15:3-4). We also find it in Paul’s
very ancient hymn, expressing belief in Jesus’ obedience unto the cross and his exaltation
by God in Phil. 2:6 ff. Before considering Cross and Resurrection as a Paschal Mystery, we
have also to think that there was a Kingdom-focus associated with this Cross and
Resurrection. The heart of Jesus’ pre-crucifixion mission and the message was the
Kingdom, the new world where God, justice, peace, joy, and whole life reign.

e.) The Risen Jesus as the Cosmic Christ

The Risen Jesus has shaken off the shackles of mortality. The Pauline epistles
unveil another profile of the Risen Jesus. The Risen Jesus, now having ascended back to
the bosom of the Godhead, is the Cosmic Christ. Based on the Greek word for the
universe, “cosmos,” we speak of the Risen Christ filling the entire universe as the Cosmic
Christ. It is the fifth meaning of Jesus’ resurrection. Jesus seals, animate, and binds all
things in heaven, earth, and under the world. Thus, the letter to the Ephesians:
“He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the Heavens so that
he might fill all things. (Eph. 4:10)” “Which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all
in all. (Eph. 1:23)

Having broken loose from limitations our flesh is heir to, Jesus has passed on to
another dimension. There he has become divine energy that permeates and penetrates all
of reality, just as a room saturates with sounds or presence. What Yahweh said is now
spoken of Christ, “Do I not fill heaven and earth?’ said Yahweh (Jer. 23:4). “One God and
Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all.) (Eph. 4:6)
Jesus that came back to life is the Energy that fills all in all. The universe breathes;
the universe is alive. The Early Christian hymns celebrated the Cosmic Christ as the
cohesive energy like the gravitational force that holds things together, without which all
things in the universe are scattered and cannot stand. “Jesus is before all things; in him,
all things hold together. (Col. 1:17)” “He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact
imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When
he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on
high.”
1.) One Ocean of Energy:

At least three significant groups celebrate a beautiful reading of life in our vast
universe. So attest to the eastern religions, the indigenous religions, and
contemporary physics. They say that all things in heaven and earth are one ocean of
energy. The universe is alive. The Religion of the Early Christians and Jesus join this
chorus. For Christians, one name for the sea is either God Himself or the Cosmic
Christ. It is the Spirit Lord that binds us together with the rest of creation. The Risen
Jesus holds together “all things in heaven and on earth and under the earth.”

Contemporary science, with telescopes, looks up and sees the energies of our
present universe in uninterrupted communion with the points of reality. Viewing it
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from the current homo sapiens- back to the first animals to the first living cells, the
first single element, the birth of the sun, the delivery of the milky way, the galaxies –
to the initial burst of stupendous billion years ago found out; connect us. The exact
contemporary science with a microscope looked down and found the microscopic
world invisible to the eye. It discovers not lifeless bits of matter but living energies,
the universe is made up of relationships of powers, forming one continuous
communion of points, and we are connected.

1.) Reconciliation and Harmony of Creation:

Not only is the universe animated and upheld by the Cosmic Christ, but it reconciles
through him. Jesus’ saving death not only brings about salvation and reconciliation
between God and humans (Rom. 5:10-11, 2 Cor. 5:18-19) and among humans,
making Jew and non-Jews into one body (Col. 3:11, Gal. 3:27-29, Eph. 2:13-16). It
also brings about harmony and reconciliation to the rest of creation. The blessings of
Salvation and well-being are meant not only for humans but also for our mother, the
earth, our ancestors, our relatives, and the mammals.

The harmony in nature probably correlates with the defeat of evil powers, which
Biblical Religion discusses. It is tempting to find the incarnation of these evil powers
in our time. We can refer perhaps to the neo-liberal ideology of globalization and its
minions.

2.) Songs of Creation:

Before the final and complete root of those principalities and powers, the created
universe is groaning in labor pains until it is set free from bondage to decay and
obtains the freedom of the glory of the Children of God. Many indigenous people
hear the voices of the mountains; Eastern Religions listen to the sound in their
communication with universal unity.

Thus, the cosmic Christ, who presently animates, upholds, and reconciles the
universe has a past or future. In the past, he had a hand in the birthing of the
universe. In the end, he will bring the universe to its final consummation. At the
climax and closure of human history, God's grand plan will come to pass, sum up all
things in the heavens and on earth in Christ, with the Cosmic Christ as head of all
creation.

So what about nature’s right to well-being?

- Why contaminate the air and rivers?
- Why kill corals and fingerlings?
- Why rape the oceans and forests?
St. Francis of Assissi did not just believe in the Cosmic Christ. He knew it by heart and
blood. He knew brooks, mice, butterflies, flowers, and weeds; He also knew that humans
are brothers and sisters and the Earth is our Mother. St. Francis had heard the voices of the
mountains, the whisper of the winds, and the song of creation as the song of the Cosmic
Christ, Himself.

Our best teachers on these purviews of the Resurrection are the unassimilated
indigenous people, the Lumads. They must have heard the groaning, the wailing of the
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mountains when geothermal power plant diggings are going on. Is not the Risen Christ
growing too?

2.) THE COMING AGAIN OF JESUS: PAROUSIA

The familiar feelings associated with the Coming Again of Jesus are fear instead of
hope, sadness instead of joyfulness, and shaking instead of excitement. Different sects
have their faith interpretations of this event in Jesus’ life. There is a need to return to the
hopes, joys, excitements, and expectations of the Core community of Jesus, the ancient
core of their belief that the Messiah would come again.

Perhaps we have been overwhelmed with the deep faith meaning of Jesus’
resurrection as upheld by his contemporaries as we bring it to the clasp of the hand of the
universal realities. All of us realized that all stories have closure. Jesus’ story has. For
Jesus’ contemporaries, this closure did not happen in his death, Crucifixion, or in his coming
back to life, Resurrection. This closure of Jesus’ story occurs at the ‘COMING AGAIN’ of
Jesus. The Kingdom of God inaugurated in Jesus’ Ministry will be consummated at his
arrival or the Parousia.

Parousia is a Greek word that means “ “being by” or “being near,” hence
“appearance.” Its standard reference is to the Coming again of Christ, understood as His
return to earth to set up God's final and definitive Kingdom. The coming of the last and
absolute Salvation marks the end of the Life-Story of Jesus.

Why? Where did Jesus go, that he has to come again? Isn’t it that He is the
Indwelling Spirit in us and among us, but why need to go again if He is just around? We
would probably encounter these questions in this faith event in Jesus’ life story.

A. The Risen Jesus has ascended to the Father.

It is but timely to talk here about the ascension of Jesus before touching the Parousia
Ascension constitutes an integral part of Christ’s paschal mystery. The Risen Jesus, as
experienced by his trusted friends, is now “lifted.” “So then, after speaking to them, the Lord
Jesus was taken up into heaven.” (Mark 16:19). Ascension refers to the final post-
Resurrection manifestation of Jesus to His followers. This memorable disappearance of the
Risen Christ impressed the Twelve after the forty-day special moment of encounter with
Him.

The Acts of the Apostles reports that Jesus appeared to his disciples “over forty
days.” (Forty days is a symbolic number in the Bible that indicates an especially sacred time
of history, a moment with God). Jesus stated that the Apostles would soon experience the
baptism of the Holy Spirit. "He was before their eyes in a cloud which took him for their
sight," St. Luke continues. (CFC #648-49)
“Jesus ascended into heaven.” Heaven here is not an entity but a substitute for
“God.” The time has come that the Risen Jesus entered into “Heaven, " meaning Christ
entered God's nature. Having experienced the new dimension of life in the Resurrection,
Jesus is now with God, and no human eyes can see Him. In this ascension event, Jesus is
ending His “physical appearance” in the sight of His trusted friends and entering His Glory
as God.
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“And I, when lifted from the earth, will draw men all to myself.” (Jn. 12:32). The lifting
up of Jesus on the cross signifies and announces his lifting up by his Ascension into
heaven, and indeed begins it. Jesus Christ, the one priest of the new and eternal Covenant,
“entered, not into a sanctuary made by human hands… but into heaven itself, now to appear
in the presence of God on our behalf.” (Heb. 9:24). There, the Christ permanently
exercises his priesthood, for he always lives to make intercession for those who draw near
to God through him. As a high priest of the good things to come, he is the center and the
principal actor of the future world. (CCC # 662)

2. PAROUSIA: The Final Salvific Event

The raising of “The Christ” did not end with his coming back to life but stretches to the
Gospel Testimonies of His ascension until the coming again of that Risen Christ. At this
stage, the Coming Again of the Christ was hardly part of our religious consciousness. With
the fast-growing technological development and the excitement of downloading the Internet,
it is hard to think that this important historical figure that made a vibrant change two
thousand years ago is coming again (cf. CFC #653). It was something serious to think of
today’s believers as we made passing reference when we recited the Apostles Creed:
“he ascended to heaven, sits at the right hand of the Father, from there, he
shall come to judge the living and the dead.”
We hardly understood anything about that coming of Jesus event, except that it was
something to be faced. Are we ready to meet our Judge? Are we prepared to accurately
account for every thought, word, and deed during this life? It is a favorite way of teaching the
essence of the Second Coming of Jesus. So follows are the fearful teachings of the
Parousia. (cf. A Third Look at Jesus pp. 215)

Paul writes to his Thessalonians community: “God calls us to his glorious kingdom.”
In the meantime, we lead our lives in anticipation of the coming again of our Lord Jesus.
When He does come, in apocalyptic glory or not, we look up because our final redemption
will have arrived.

As a final saving event, what really would happen in the Parousia? Bits of pieces in
the Bible narrative can give us images of this great event in the life of our religion.

a.) A Great Event of Salvation

A closer look at the Bible reveals the privileged place that Jesus’ coming again had
occupied in the awareness of the early Christians. Luke 21:25-28 is a clear
description of the Coming of the Son of Man. While St. Paul, in his first letter to the
Thessalonians, urges the community to live a life worthy when Jesus would come
again. It will be a great event of Salvation.

Throughout the 100 years or so of the New Testament era (30-120 C.E.) and even
later, the Parousia of Jesus was an important event in Christian consciousness.
Why? Because that is Victory-day, the day of the coming of the Kingdom! When
Jesus ‘COMES AGAIN’ then will also dawn that New World. A world where
humankind will know no more mourning, pain, suffering, or death – because all these
things will have been new! It is an excellent event for our SALVATION! “Salvation
has come.”
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b.) A Joyful Pledge for a New World

What a vibrant joy of biblical people that people of today have not considered a
significant event of Salvation is the coming again of Jesus. Fear, rather than
anticipation and joy, used to be our feelings towards the Parousia. After centuries of
those fears, the 21st generation refreshes in an ancient consciousness of Parousia.
At last, in modern perspective grounded in the old conviction of the friends of Jesus,
we shouted, “Wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” By this, we
are proclaiming the faith of the contemporaries of Jesus and the certainty of the New
World of the Future.

The coming again of Jesus is the dawn of the New Word. It is a world where the New
Life is bursting forth free from all forms of evil, including sin. It is a world where there
will be no more suffering, no more pains, no more sickness, no more death. All
things, all humans, the whole world, the universe, the humanity, the history will be
God’s. “God will be all in all.”

c.) Your Redemption is at hand

“Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great
glory.
When these things begin, stand up and raise your heads.” (Luke 23:27-28).

This passage from Luke is an interesting phrase that mirrors the early Christians'
deep consciousness about Jesus’ coming again. Our traditional knowledge
associates the word ‘REDEMPTION’ with Jesus’ death or resurrection or any other
event except the Parousia. But the tone of St. Luke is the great glory of the
consummation of the Reign-Kingdom of God. The Christ who allowed the earth to
breathe and to undergo rebirthing will now end this era to a new era, the Era of our
Redemption. (cf. A Third Look at Jesus, p. 216)
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3. At the Closure with Mary, the Mother of Jesus

The Catholic tradition upheld the vital role of Mary in the life of Jesus, the Christ.
Why could Jesus withstand the opposing current in the River of his life? Why was Jesus
able to strengthen his deep commitment to the poor and oppressed? It
cannot be attributed to the Spirit of the Father only, but of course, the
mother's love must also be a significant factor. (Filipino culture speaks
--- to this impression)

Catholic people believed that Mary, as a Mother of Jesus, was

the Mother of the Proclaimer of the Reign-Kingdom of God. She is a
person who, with a sword-pierced heart, witnessed the earthly closure of
Jesus' mortal life on the Hill of the Skull. She is the person who has
already experienced the full redemption that we expect to be ours only at
the ‘coming again’ of Jesus. In the Parousia, as an event of Salvation,
this woman, Mary, the mother of the proclaimer, will be there to
celebrate with us and the whole of creation.

4. The Eucharist and the Parousia

Today, the Eucharist is primarily understood as Presence,

Communion, and as a memorial to the sacrificial death of Jesus. Our
average Christian consciousness would not readily associate the
Eucharist with the Parousia of Jesus and the coming of the New World.
But in contrast, Paul’s letter to the Corinthians says: “as often as they
ate the bread and drank the cup, proclaimed the Lord’s death until he
comes.” (1 Cor. 11:26)

As the Corinthians lived out their days and celebrated the Lord’s death in the
Eucharist, their eyes were focused on the Parousia and the Kingdom, as if to say, “Come
soon, and let the Kingdom and its blessings break into our lives today!” Their prayer was,
‘Maranatha, come, Lord Jesus! Hurry up! (1 Cor. 16:22b)

The apocalyptic imagery – coming in a cloud (Luke 21:27) sound of God’s trumpet (1
Thess. 4:16) need not be literal. Nor do we know exactly the shape and form of this
“coming,” No one could tell us about this, but the hope is there. What was said is that God
or His Christ will put closure to our history.

There is restoring imagery of the apocalyptic hope for the Eucharist and the
Parousia in the early Church. The Catechism for Filipino Catholics (CFC) has emphasized
the Eucharist as a pledge for future glory. What is essential for us today, as we await in
joyful hope for the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ, is that we have actively participated in
making the Parousia of Jesus. We cannot just passively wait, not just contemplate or pray
for Jesus’ coming and the coming of the final and definitive Salvation. In his first coming, he
gave a mandate to his followers:

“As you go, proclaim the good news, the kingdom of heaven has come near,
cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.” (Mt. 10:1-
8).
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With these words ringing in our ears, the Parousia and the future Kingdom take on
the guise of a finish line which summons us to take our action today, DO OUR SOCIAL
RESPONSIBILITY as the true essence of Christianity.

It is not “to-just-wait” but must be something to do. There is a task given to the
believers of Jesus. Do it now. We hear the sound of God’s trumpet in the voices of the
mountains whose terrain refreshed the songs of the clear rivers and animating trees.
According to the transparent cloud of hope for humanity, the entire planet, and history,
which sounded by the melodic whisper of the cool air and the moistness of the morning dew.
Do the kingdom works today while waiting for the time Christ comes in His glory?

Is bringing about the Reality of the Reign-Kingdom of God

Ministry Death Resurrection Parousia

Salvation Salvation Salvation

Salvation
is blessings is death on is fullness of life
is coming
of life the cross when Jesus comes
back to
for Sins again
life
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THE TITLES AND IMAGES OF JESUS IN FAITH

Abesamis cited that when Jesus appeared in human history, He tried to shy away
from titles and honorifics. He must not be given a brand with his works as much as
possible. Yes, we can find in the Gospel that He intensely warned those who had beautiful
experiences with Him not to say to anybody. However, something became more apparent
to His followers after His death and resurrection. First, Jesus is the Agent of God’s final
and definitive Salvation, whom the people of old waited for hundreds of years. Secondly,
Jesus dies for our sins, and Jesus belongs to the Divine sphere. In this topic, we
consider the Titles given to Jesus either used by himself or the Early Christians. These titles
of Jesus reflected how the early believers experienced Jesus’ phenomenon in our human
history.

1. THE IMAGES OF JESUS IN THE FAITH OF THE EARLY CHURCH

The early Church reflected the actual happening of Jesus' life. Having embraced the
commitment and conviction of this moral man, the early Church carved and molded in their
hearts the faith images in Jesus.

a. JESUS, THE CHRIST:

As we already know, Christ is not the surname of Jesus. It is one of the essential Titles
the early Christians gave to Jesus. It is the most familiar Title attributed to Jesus that it
becomes the personal name of Jesus for us Christians: Jesus Christ or simply CHRIST.

In Biblical history, the specially set apart and specially commissioned people, such as
kings, priests, and prophets, were anointed with oil. This title was most likely seen as apt for
Jesus because He was from King David’s genealogical line, which according to ancient
oracles, was the provenance of king-saviors. Of course, Jesus was not a king according to
monarchial standards, but He was a Savior who concretized God’s reign and died for casing
evils and forgiveness of sins. In Luke 4:18, Jesus asserts to be the anointed one not to die
but to proclaim Good News to the Poor. Similarly, Acts 10:38 associates God’s anointing of
Jesus with “going about doing GOOD and HEALING all that were oppressed by the devil, for
God was with Him. (cf. A Third Look at Jesus, p. 223 and Jesus and You, p. 95)

b. JESUS, THE SUFFERING SERVANT:

The Title Suffering Servant finds its roots in the writing of Second Isaiah, especially in
the four Servant songs, Isaiah 53:4-5, 12:13:
- he shall divide and spoil the strong
- who suffered pain for our transgressions
- who sustained injuries as a result of our sins
- upon Him was the chastisement that made us whole
- because he poured out his soul to death and tore the sin of many

In this original Isaianic context, the Servant is most likely referred not to as an individual
personal savior figure but to the ISRAELITE PEOPLE. For centuries, the Israelites suffered
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the cruel hands of mighty empires like Assyrians, Babylonians, and Romans. Israel is
bearing the sins of many, so they were the Suffering Servants.

However, the third-millennium believers of Jesus take a look in Isaiah 42 at another image
of a suffering servant. A servant is one who -
- He is the chosen one
- Will bring forth justice to the nations,
- he will faithfully bring forth justice to all,
- he will not fail or be discouraged until he establishes justice on earth.
- It unfolded Yahweh’s salvation in him
- of his bringing forth justice and liberation for the poor and the oppressed.

This servant figure now sharply points to the exact characteristics of the Anointed One of
Yahweh, the Messiah, who came to restore the covenantal promises of Yahweh. In Jesus is
the imagery of a faithful suffering servant. He is the new Israel who suffered and died for the
salvation of the many.

c. JESUS, THE LORD:

Lord was the earliest title used by the early Christians after the Resurrection to
designate the Divinity of Jesus. It is one of the more notable titles attributed to Jesus.
During His ministry, various people called Jesus LORD. This usage meant something
equivalent to our “Sir or Master,” or in the colloquial term we used, “Boss.” It was a title of
address that denotes respect.

Lord, this address also meant ruler or owner of Land, something like the Medieval prince
in the European countries, particularly in the feudal landholding system. It points to the
great Truth of our faith that Jesus is Lord and the Ruler of the Universe. Only GOD is the
Lord of all creation, in heaven, on earth, and under the world. If God is the Ruler of the
Universe, no other has the power to rule over it, of course, not the superpowers we have
today and in the future. To call Jesus Lord is to affirm His Divine origin; he is from God,
God Himself, the Great Ruler of all Creation.

d. JESUS, THE SON OF MAN:

Jesus referred to Himself as the SON OF MAN throughout the Gospels. It is how Jesus
fondly called Himself. It is the Title that only Jesus uses and no one else in His lifetime. In
Jesus’ culture, the phrase SON OF MAN simply meant, “Someone who represents what it
is to human.”

In the book of Daniel, the Son of Man is a symbolic representation for the people of
Israel, who are contrasted with four beasts and give victory and glory to the Son of Man. It
might be the best background for the New Testament use. Son of Man is the title of the prize
in Daniel. In some if not most of the sayings of Jesus, the Son of Man is with His suffering,
Death, and Resurrection, and His coming again in the final and definitive Salvation.

e. JESUS, THE SON OF GOD:

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The Title, SON OF GOD, has become an essential designation for Jesus through the
ages. It is not used in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) but can be found
primarily in the writings of John and Paul. Jesus had not used this title to refer to Himself
when Peter declared, “You are the Son of the Living God.” Jesus told Him that it is only the
Father who revealed to him. It was not from Jesus Himself but the Divine. (Mt. 16:17)

f. JESUS, THE WORD OF GOD:

Jesus, the Word of God, was one of the loftiest titles given by Jesus by the early Church,
as highlighted by the Gospel according to John (1:1-4). It is a meditative Title that suggests
a rich reflection on the nature of Jesus. In Greek, Jesus is the LOGOS or the WORD OF
GOD.

This title of Jesus means Jesus is God’s perfect Word. He is the fullest expression of
God in the Created Reality. Jesus is the way to get to God; Jesus is the Mediator, the
perfect mirror-image of how people are to relate to the Almighty God. He is the God-made
flesh, the God Presented to us in a form that we can see, hear, touch, and tangible to our
sense. As the Word of God, we must guard our faith and not reduce Jesus as a mere copy
of the Bible. But in a deep understanding of trust, let us hold on to the belief that Jesus is
the Word who is Visible to represent the Invisible God. (cf. Jesus and You, pp. 104-105)

g. JESUS, THE PROPHET, PRIEST, KING:

These are very traditional titles attributed to Jesus in faith. These titles as King,
Prophet, and Priest only identify who Jesus is, but they speak of his function. His role for
humanity. Prophet emphasized Jesus’ role as Testifier of the Truth of God’s Reign-Kingdom
or Salvation. The priest is Mediator between God and humanity. Jesus made us one with
God; He has atoned for our sins by His sacrifice. He brought the world, society, history, and
universe to the right hand of the Father. These refer to the threefold functions of Jesus we
have shared upon receiving our Baptism. (PCP #116-121)

Thus, as a Prophet, Jesus opens our eyes to the Truth of the design of God’s will. God
designed a plan that
a) all people will share the earth's wealth equitably, and no one should be deprived of
the blessings of life from God Himself.
b) All people will live in harmony with one another and the whole of creation.
In unfolding the Truth, Jesus lives as a prophet in word, deed, and fate.

As King, Jesus united us to fight against evils that would destroy God’s Plan for all.
Jesus leads us on the way to liberating people from idolatry and injustices. He carefully
showed us what a believer of God must do in a bad situation. Jesus brought all evils into
damnation as a Priest by His casting them out and sacrificing Himself on the Cross. It is
challenging for all when we claim to be Jesus’ disciples.

2. IN THE FILIPINO FAITH, IMAGES OF JESUS

How does the Filipino perceive Jesus? The rich and colorful religious experience
among Filipinos from the Pre-Christian era down to the centuries when we became
Christians until the third millennium has built a unique way of perceiving Jesus based on our
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culture. The Catechism for Filipino Catholics (CFC) spelled out what the Second Plenary
Council (PCP II) firmly declared: the 21 st century marks the 500th year since we first
accepted Faith in Jesus. This acceptance made the Philippines the only Christian nation in
Asia (CFC #28). PCP II insisted on the mutual interaction between Christian Faith and
Filipino culture.

But how do we, Filipinos, perceive Jesus, then? This question can be answered by
looking at who the Christian Filipinos are, which the CFC carefully outlines. Here are some
of the predominant Filipino characteristics viewed in the five essential traits of Jesus:

FILIPINO TRAITS FILIPINO FAITH IMAGES

Self-identity Jesus, Son of God and Son of Man

Jesus as both the Son of God and the Son of Man endears
From whom do we naturally draw himself naturally to us family-oriented people. As Son of Man,
our identity? The Filipinos are family- leads us to His Mother Mary whom He shares with us. He
oriented. The anak-magulang thus welcomes us into his own household, offers himself as
relationship is of primary importance to our brother and draws us through the Sacrament of Baptism
us. This family-centeredness to a new identity and into a family of his heavenly Father. (cf.
supplies a basic Sufferings in life:
sense of belonging, c.JnJesus,
3:5-7).the In our family-orientedness,
Suffering Servant, is portrayed we through
are naturally
stability, and security. It is from our attracted
our favoritetoFilipino
Jesus images
of Nazareth, Sonthe
of Jesus, of God and Sonthe
Nazareno, of Man.
Howfamilies
do wethat react
wetoFilipinos
sufferings in life?draw
naturally Thus PCP
Santo II #46-48
Entiero, stresses Heart.
the Sacred the exceptional
Throughimportance
these of
Filipinos are kundiman-oriented.
our self-identity. our Filipino family as both
images, Jesus appears as one of the “least of our subject and object of
The kundiman is a sad Filipino song Evangelization.
brethren”: (CFC #and
the hungry 36-37)
the thirsty, the naked, the
about wounded love. Filipinos are sick, the lonely stranger and the prisoner. (MT. 25:31-
naturally attracted to heroes b. Meaning of Life
sacrificing b. Jesus
46). Jesus as thethe Livingservant
suffering Bread,can thethus
Eucharist
reach out to us
everything for love. We are patient and Filipinos as healing and forgiving Savior who understands
Where do we
forgiving to afind theThis
fault. deepest meaning
acceptance of in our Jesus
our as Eucharist
weaknesses, our isfailures,
not onlyourthe host of
feelings of the new Paschal
depression,
lives? Filipinos
suffering are meal-oriented
manifests a deep, positive (kainan). mean
fear andand the food,
loneliness. He the
has bread of lie, but
been through it allalso the guest
himself.
Because
spiritualwe consider
value almost
of Filipinos everyone as part of
Kalooban. Toin usevery gathering.
Filipinos who canThe evenNew Testament
celebrate the refers more than
sufferings
the family (parang pamilya), we are known for twenty-five
and hardshipstimesin life to eating. Jesus
in song. Eating together
Christ in the
call “Come to table
being gracious hosts and grateful guests. Serving fellowship
me, all you whowitharetheweary
presence of life
and find the burdensome,
Risen Christ… andSo we,
our guests with the best we have is an inborn I Filipinos
will refresh feelyou.
naturally “at home”
(Mt. 11:28) in the
(cf. CFC breaking of the bread
#39-40)
value to Filipinos, rich and poor alike. We love to together with Jesus. PCP II’s “spiritually of social
celebrate any and all events Life Commitment
with special meal. d. Jesus as Christ,finds
transformation the Kingin the(Christo Rey) not only its full
Eucharist
Even with unexpected guests, we Filipinos try our nourishment but also its total prayerful with the Lord of
best to offer How do we commit
something, meager ourselves
as it may be, These Christological
salvation image responds
and liberation.” (PCP II 281).well (cf.
to the
CFCbayani-
# 37-38)
to our ideals in life? We Filipons are oriented Filipino. As born social critics, organizers, and
with the traditional greeting: “Come and eat with
bayani-oriented. Bayani is a hero. martyrs, we Filipinos see Jesus Christ as the Conqueror
us,”
We are natural hero-followers. For all of the world by his mission as Prophet, King, and Priest.
our patience and tolerance, we will not Jesus came as one sent by the Father to do the mission
accept ultimate failure and defeat. We as stated in Luke 4:18-22… As bayani-oriented, we
tend instinctively to always personalize enthrone our image of Cristo Rey, He assures us that
any good cause in terms of a leader, everything will be alright in the end. Christ the King has
especially when its object is to defend won the ultimate victory over all forms of evil. (CFC #42)
the weak, and the oppressed. To
protect this innate sense of human
dignity, Filipinos are prepared to lay
down even their lives.
World View e. Jesus, the Miracle Worker,
What is our worldview in all its depth
and hidden reality? The Filipinos are Jesus promised to send His Spirit to His disciples to give
Spirit-oriented. We are often said to new life is very appealing to us Filipinos. The Holy Spirit
be naturally psychic. We have the sent by the Father an the Risen Christ, draws us Filipinos
deep-seated belief of the supernatural into a community, into a authentic worship of the Father
and in all kinds of energy dwelling in in Spirit and Truth. This same Spirit, which empowered
individual persons, places, things, and Jesus, the Miracle Worker, is active in his disciples,
nature. Even in today’s world of science uniting them in the teaching of the apostles and in the
and technology, Filipinos continue to community fellowship of the breaking of the bread and
invoke the spirits in various prayer through Christ the Lord. (CFC #44)
undertakings, especially in faith-
healings and exorcisms.(CFC #43)
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THE JESUS’ MISSION OF SALVATION: A TASK AND GOAL FOR ALL CHRISTIANS

As we follow through the entire life story of Jesus, we enjoyed the Good News He
announced. We also hoped that it would happen to us today. We understood why He has to
be strong amidst the opposing current dealing with the oppressive social structure. But we
trembled with fears and felt the pains and the struggles against death. But finally, we
smelled the aroma of the newness of life in His Resurrection. And now, we joined in faith
that we would actively and joyfully prepare ourselves, our world, and our history for the final
and definitive salvation.

1. A Call to Discipleship

There is an excellent call to discipleship. There is a great demand to live the life of
the Jesus of history.

a. Why should one be a Christian?

Based on a faith experience that sees Jesus still present in history, humanity, the
world, and even in a particular actual situation, the Christian affirms Jesus as the Christ, the
ultimate source of Salvation. Christianity is a way of life, the way of life lived by Jesus, the
Christ. It is a conviction, a commitment. When we declare ourselves Christian in today’s
world, we do it because we still experience Jesus as the Christ in our midst, as an offer for
salvation, liberation, and wholeness. If not, why should one be a Christian? (De Mesa,
Doing Christology p. 340)

b. Who is a disciple?

Being a disciple means allowing God's self to permeate every aspect of who we
are—including our lives and selves—rather than just imitating Christ. Every Disciple
has the imprint of God's personality.

It demands a lot of concretizing the works of Jesus and openness to worship the
Spirit in our lives. Jesus lived in and from the grace of the Father. His whole life is an
expression of the will of God. His Disciples expected it. (de Mesa. Doing Christology p.
312)

The specified source of inspiration must shape our life; the “Spirit” received from
Jesus: God’s Reign among us. Aemonn Bredin, in his book, “Rediscovering Jesus,”
emphasized that “It is the Spirit of this Jesus that is given to His disciples to strengthen
them, animate them and make them true witness. This is “a spirit of sonship, not a spirit of
fear, which makes us cry like Jesus, “Abba.” Thus Jesus’ work is a task and goal for all
disciples. Jose de Mesa, in his book, “Doing Christology,” describes the disciple further as:
a) Somebody who confesses in Faith that the Kingdom of God has come…
one who dares to follow Jesus in His commitment to a life free from all forms of
evil,
b) Somebody who runs the risk of being opposed and rejected by the world for
the cause of injustice, compassion, and faithfulness but finally has the
conviction that they will accept by the Father through Jesus (de Mesa,
Doing Christology, p. 313)
 141

The PCP II strongly stressed that the call to discipleship is for every Christian and the
call to all of us from that Missionary Community of Disciples, which is the Church. (PCP
II. 345)

2. The Opposing Currents of Discipleship

What form or shape should our works of salvation take today as Disciples of Jesus?
Our works of salvation cannot be a photocopy of Jesus’ in His time, nor can they be precisely
the same as Jesus’ Kingdom works or Kingdom practice. Why not? Because we live in a
different historical context from Jesus, we also have various historical challenges and
ecological threats. But one thing we do have in common with that of Jesus is a concern for
the entire life and well-being of humans and all creation. (cf. Abesamis, A Third Look at
Jesus pp. 126-127)

There is a need to seriously scrutinize the signs of times (cf. Mt. 16:3). The world,
humans, and history, according to the contemporary tool, social analysis, are seriously ill.
The diagnosis is a worldwide disease called “globalization” (Abesamis, A Third Look at
Jesus, p. 127). Pope John Paul II, in his visit to Mexico, addressed this illness by saying,
“attacked free market policies for their neglect of the poor under the purely economic
conception of Man.” It is the principle behind the political and economic interest of
globalization. He blamed globalization for the growing gap between the rich and the poor.
(New York Time, January 27, 1999). This evil of today’s world garnered a decorative, if not
gold plated plaque. Globalization is a full-grown adherence to the basic principle: profit must
be pursued even at the expense of the life of the people and nature.

Carlos Abesamis, in his book, “A Third Look at Jesus,” outlined the visible effects of
globalization on human beings and nature. Abesamis further showed how these effects of
globalization threatened the life of the earth's inhabitants and the earth itself as humanity's
home. (Abesamis, A Third Look at Jesus, p. 128). Today, the Philippine society is facing no
longer a crisis but a tragic economic, ecological, cultural, and political disaster. It seems that
Christian Filipinos stood helpless amidst disastrous unjust social realities. This helplessness
of the Christian Filipinos affirmed the idea that Christianity has not failed; it has not tried.

Globalization, as an anti-thesis of the Kingdom of God, is the opposing force to the

disciples of Jesus. The Kingdom-work of Jesus’ disciples in the face of this
globalization means joining the global project to find alternative paradigms for
promoting life and living this life as the globe, our home. Like Jesus, may we be able to
say THE KINGDOM OF GOD or something of it – IS ALREADY AMONG US.

Disciples are not only to believe the truth but to live Jesus’ Mission of Salvation
amidst the opposing current of modern society. It is a challenge for all the believers of
Jesus. It is a great moment to imbibe the Missionary zeal, principles, commitment, and
conviction of Jesus, the proclaimer of the Reign-Kingdom of God. We shared this mission
with our Baptism. We, too, are proclaimers of the Reign-Kingdom of God by being a faithful
members of the Church. As a Prophet, a Priest, a King, we can make Jesus alive again,
working for Salvation and Liberation today in our midst.

What is our vocation as Catholic Filipinos in Asia?

 142

We are called both personally, as individual believers, and ecclesially, as members of

the Church, to share Jesus Christ with our Asian brothers and sisters by word and witness
through an active commitment to peace, truth, justice, freedom, and universal Christian love.
Our vocation is to move from being a true “Church of the Poor” through “Renewed Integral
Evangelization” “toward becoming a real Community of Disciples of Christ” before the world.
(CFC #60)

LIFE IN CHRIST (CCC 1691- 1698)

"Christian, recognize your dignity and, now that you share in God's nature, do not
return to your former base condition by sinning. Remember who is your head and of whose
body you are a member. Never forget that you have been rescued from the power of
darkness and brought into the light of the Kingdom of God."
The Symbol of the faith confesses the greatness of God's gifts to man in his work of
creation and even more in redemption and sanctification. What religion reveals, the
sacraments communicate: by the sacraments of rebirth, Christians have become "children
of God" and "partakers of the divine nature." Coming to see in the faith their new dignity,
Christians are to lead a life "worthy of the gospel of Christ henceforth." They are made
capable of doing so by the grace of Christ and the gifts of his Spirit, which they receive
through the sacraments and prayer.
Jesus always did what pleased the Father and lived in perfect communion with him.
Likewise, Christ's disciples are to live in the sight of the Father "who sees in secret," to
become "perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect."
Incorporated into Christ by Baptism, Christians are "dead to sin and alive to God in
Christ Jesus" and participate in the Risen Lord's life. Following Christ and united with him,
Christians can strive to be "imitators of God as beloved children, and walk in love" by
conforming their thoughts, words, and actions to the "mind . . . which is yours in Christ
Jesus," and by following his example.
"Justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God," "sanctified .
. . [and] called to be saints," Christians have become the temple of the Holy Spirit. This
"Spirit of the Son" teaches them to pray to the Father and, having become their life, prompts
them to act to bear "the fruit of the Spirit" by the charity in action. Healing the wounds of sin,
the Holy Spirit renews us interiorly through a spiritual transformation. He enlightens and
strengthens us to live as "children of light" through "all that is good and right and true."
The way of Christ "leads to life"; a contrary way "leads to destruction." The Gospel
parable of the two ways remains ever present in the catechesis of the Church; it shows the
importance of moral decisions for our salvation: "There are two ways, the one of life, the
other of death; but between the two, there is a great difference."
Catechesis has to reveal in all clarity the joy and the demands of the way of Christ.
Catechesis for the "newness of life" in him should be:
-a catechesis of the Holy Spirit, the interior Master of life according to Christ, a gentle guest,
and friend who inspires, guides, corrects, and strengthens this life;
-a catechesis of grace, for it, is grace that saves us, and again it is by grace that our works
can bear fruit for eternal life;
 143
-a catechesis of the beatitudes, for the way of Christ, is summed up in the beatitudes, the
only path that leads to the eternal beatitude for which the human heart longs;
-a catechesis of sin and forgiveness, for unless man acknowledges that he is a sinner, he
cannot know the truth about himself, which is a condition for acting justly; and without the
offer of forgiveness, he would not be able to bear this truth;
-a catechesis of the human virtues which causes one to grasp the beauty and attraction of
proper dispositions towards goodness;
-a catechesis of the Christian virtues of faith, hope, and charity, generously inspired by the
example of the saints; -a catechesis of the twofold commandment of a charity outlined in the
Decalogue;
-an ecclesial catechesis, for it is through the manifold exchanges of "spiritual goods" in the
"communion of saints" that Christian life can grow, develop, and communicate.
This catechesis's first and last point of reference will always be Jesus Christ, who is
"the way, the truth, and the life."
It is by looking to him in faith that Christ's faithful can hope that he fulfills his
promises in them and that, by loving him with the same love with which he has loved them,
they may perform works in keeping with their dignity:
I ask you to consider that our Lord Jesus Christ is your good head and that you are one of
his members. He belongs to you as the head belongs to its members; all that is his is yours:
his spirit, his heart, his body and soul, and all his faculties. You must use all these as your
own to serve, praise, love, and glorify God. You belong to him, as members belong to their
head. And so he longs for you to use all that is in you, as if it were his own, for the service
and glory of the Father.

I. References

A. Books
 144

Ref. 1 Abesamis, C., S.J. (1999). The Third Look At Jesus, Quezon City: Claretian
Publications.
Ref. 2 Bredin, E., (1986). Rediscovering Jesus. Mystic: Twenty-Third Publications.
Ref. 3 Cunningham, D., (1988). God’s Order vs. The Jewish/Roman Social Order.
Manila: SPI Publications.
Ref. 4 De Mesa, J. and Wostyn, L., (2005). Doing Christology: The Re-appropriation of a
Tradition.Quezon City: Claretian Publications.
Ref. 5 Duquesne, J., (1998). Jesus; An Unconditional Biography. United Kingdom:
Liguori/Triumph.
Ref. 6 Finley, J. and Pennock, M., (1977). Jesus and You. Indiana: Ave Maria Press.
Ref. 7 Kleger, Roland. Christology and Soteriology, engl.7.2015.
Ref. 8 Loewe, W., (1997). Introduction to Christology. Quezon City: Claretian
Publication.
Ref. 9 Mercado, L, SVD. (1982). Christ in the Philippines.Tacloban: Divine Word
University Publications.
Ref. 10 Pastva, A., (1982). The Mystery of Jesus of Nazareth.Glencos Publishing Co.:
California.
Ref. 11 Perkins, P., (2010). Reading the New Testament. USA: Paulist Press.
Ref. 12 Rahner, K., (2004).Encyclopedia of Theology: A Concise Sacramentum
Mundi. India: St. Pauls.
Ref. 13 Rausch, T., (2005). Who is Jesus? An Introduction to Christology.Claretian
Publications.
Ref. 14 Senior, D., (1975). A Gospel Portrait: Jesus. Ohio: Pflaum Publishing.

B. Others

Ref. 15 Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines. (1991). Acts and Decrees of the
Second Plenary Council of the Philippines. Philippines:
PaulinesPublishing House.
Ref. 16 Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines (1994).Catechism for Filipino
Catholics. Manila: Word and Life Publications.
Ref. 17 Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines (2005). Compendium of the
Catechism of the Catholic Church. Manila: Word and Life Publications.
Ref. 18 Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, (2004).Compendium of the Social
Doctrine of the Church. Manila: Word and Life Publications.
Ref. 19 Pope John Paul II.(1976). RedemptorHominis (Mystery of Redemption and
Dignity of Man). Pasay City: St. Paul Publications.
Ref. 20 ReEd Program Faculty. (1995). Compiled Materials for ReEd 2. Holy Cross of
Davao College: Davao City.
Ref. 21 The New American Bible and the Christian Community Bible.