CHRISTIAN FAITH EDUCATION 1

GOD’S JOURNEY WITH HIS PEOPLE

COURSE MATERIAL

JESUS’ EVENTS: IN HIS PUBLIC MINISTRY

CONTEXT
Who is Jesus according to TV commercials and slogans? This brings out examples such as:
Jesus is like Boysen because He is the “Quality you can trust!”
Jesus is like Metrobank because in Him, “You’re in good hands.”
Jesus is like Meralco because in Him “May liwanag ang buhay.”
Jesus is like Mang Inasal because “Hahanap hanapin mo.”
Jesus is like Banco de Oro because together “We find ways.”
Jesus is like Globe Telecom because He tells me “Abot mo and mundo.”
Jesus is like Bayantel because He assures me that “Gaganda pa ang buhay.”

How about you? What TV commercials and slogans have you encountered where you can relate the presence of God?

Because of God’s revelation of himself, you are capable of recognizing His presence in the ordinary and unexpected
events of your lives. Let us now continue journeying with God through the Public ministry of His Son.

INSPIRED WORD OF GOD

Read and reflect on the Biblical texts about the events in the life of Jesus. Watch also the video entitled “Where
Jesus walked.” Please see the video link attached below. Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efZXSQ2L6Ew

Be guided by the following questions:

1.What do the healing miracles of Jesus tell about his character?
2.What is the significance of Jesus' healing, teaching and table fellowship in his proclamation of the Kingdom of
God?
3.What is the relevance of Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection in his public ministry?

On Jesus Preaching about the Kingdom of God

The Parable of the Mustard Seed. He proposed another parable to them. “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed
that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It
becomes a large bush, and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.’” (Mathew 13: 31-32)

The Cure of a Demoniac

Jesus then went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee. He taught them on the sabbath, and they were astonished at his
teaching because he spoke with authority. In the synagogue there was a man with the spirit of an unclean demon, and he
cried out in a loud voice, “Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who
you are—the Holy One of God!” Jesus rebuked him and said, “Be quiet! Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the
man down in front of them and came out of him without doing him any harm. They were all amazed and said to one
another, “What is there about his word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come
out.” And news of him spread everywhere in the surrounding region. (Luke 4: 31-37)

Other Healings
At sunset, all who had people sick with various diseases brought them to him. He laid his hands on each of them and
cured them. And demons also came out from many, shouting, “You are the Son of God.” But he rebuked them and did not
allow them to speak because they knew that he was the Messiah. (Luke 4: 40-41)
 On Jesus’ Table Fellowship

He came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax
collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for
he was short in stature. So, he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that
way. When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay
at your house.” And he came down quickly and received him with joy. When they all saw this, they began to grumble,
saying, “He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.” But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Behold, half of
my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times
over.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham.
For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.” (Luke 19: 1- 10)

The Sentence of Death

Now on the occasion of the feast the governor was accustomed to release to the crowd one prisoner whom they wished.
And at that time, they had a notorious prisoner called [Jesus] Barabbas. So, when they had assembled, Pilate said to
them, “Which one do you want me to release to you, [Jesus] Barabbas, or Jesus called Messiah?” For he knew that it was
out of envy that they had handed him over. While he was still seated on the bench, his wife sent him a message, “Have
nothing to do with that righteous man. I suffered much in a dream today because of him.” The chief priests and the
elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas but to destroy Jesus. The governor said to them in reply, “Which of the
two do you want me to release to you?” They answered, “Barabbas!” Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with
Jesus called Messiah?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!” But he said, “Why? What evil has he done?” They only
shouted the louder, “Let him be crucified!” When Pilate saw that he was not succeeding at all, but that a riot was
breaking out instead, he took water and washed his hands in the sight of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s
blood. Look at it yourselves.” And the whole people said in reply, “His blood be upon us and upon our children.” Then he
released Barabbas to them, but after he had Jesus scourged, he handed him over to be crucified. (Mathew 27: 15-26)

The Death of Jesus

From noon onward, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And about three o’clock Jesus cried
out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Some of
the bystanders who heard it said, “This one is calling for Elijah.” Immediately one of them ran to get a sponge; he soaked
it in wine, and putting it on a reed, gave it to him to drink. But the rest said, “Wait, let us see if Elijah comes to save him.”
But Jesus cried out again in a loud voice, and gave up his spirit. And behold, the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two
from top to bottom. The earth quaked, rocks were split, tombs were opened, and the bodies of many saints who had
fallen asleep were raised. And coming forth from their tombs after his resurrection, they entered the holy city and
appeared to many. The centurion and the men with him who were keeping watch over Jesus feared greatly when they
saw the earthquake and all that was happening, and they said, “Truly, this was the Son of God!” There were many
women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him. Among them were
Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. (Mt. 27: 45-56)

The Resurrection of Jesus

After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.
And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, approached, rolled back the
stone, and sat upon it. His appearance was like lightning and his clothing was white as snow. The guards were shaken
with fear of him and became like dead men. Then the angel said to the women in reply, “Do not be afraid! I know that
you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. Come and see the place where
he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and he is going before you to Galilee;
there you will see him.’ Behold, I have told you.” Then they went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and
ran to announce this to his disciples. (Mt. 28: 1-8)

A. The Ministry of Jesus

Jesus’ ministry covers his baptism, from the previous lesson, which marks the start of His ministry, His teaching, healing
and table fellowship and also, not to be seen separately, His passion, death and resurrection. Jesus’ whole mission and
message is centered on His relationship with His Father and of drawing all into His Father’s Kingdom.
1. Teaching
Jesus’ teachings, which often utilized parables and aphorisms, were aimed at changing people’s paradigm of
God: from being an authoritative and legalistic God to a compassionate and loving one. “His teaching started
from what was already familiar to the people. He built further on that knowledge and led them to a deeper
insight. He invited them to make their own decision. He taught with a new authority and his teaching made a
deep impression on the people.” (Colla 2002, 39)

a. The Kingdom of God

The Kingdom of heaven was inaugurated on earth by Christ. It is central to Jesus’ ministry, everything
that he did was directed to its fulfilment. This kingdom shone out before men in the word, in the works,
and in the presence of Christ. Thus, when people meet Jesus, they could feel that God was very near.
Meeting Jesus was, and still is, meeting God Himself. (Colla 2002, 85)

Jesus’ invitation to enter his kingdom comes in the forms of parables, a characteristic feature of his
teaching. Through his parables he invites people to the feast of the kingdom, but he also asks for a
radical choice: to gain the kingdom, one must give everything. Words are not enough; deeds are
required. The parables are like mirrors for man: will he be hard soil or good earth for the world? What
use has he made of the talents he has received? Jesus and the presence of the kingdom in this world are
secretly at the heart of the parables. One must enter the kingdom, that is, become a disciple of Christ, in
order to “know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven.” For those who stay, “outside,” everything
remains enigmatic.

b. The Primacy of Love

Exegetes, on Jesus’ ministry, emphasized that Jesus Christ is the fulfilment of the Father’s plan of love. In
Jesus Christ, the decisive event of the history of God with mankind is fulfilled. Thus, Ian Knox, in his book
Encountering Jesus in the Gospels, talks about the impetus behind Jesus’ ministry:
The love that inspires Jesus’ ministry among men is the love that He has experienced in His
intimate union with the Father. The New Testament allows us to enter deeply into the
experience, that Jesus himself lives and communicates, the love of God his Father – “Abba” –
and, therefore, it permits us to enter into the very heart of divine life. Jesus announces the
liberating mercy of God to those whom He meets on His way, beginning with the poor, the
marginalized, the sinners. He invites all to follow Him because He is the first to obey God’s plan
of love, and he does so in a most singular way, as God’s envoy in the world.

Jesus’ self-awareness of being the Son is an expression of this primordial experience. For Jesus,
recognizing the Father’s love means modelling his actions on God’s gratuitousness and mercy. (Knox
2011)

c. Parables
A parable can be defined as a short, simple story, usually about a familiar event, from which a moral or
religious lesson may be drawn (Colla 2002, 37). A third of Jesus’ teachings recorded in the gospels are ‘in
parables’. We possess so many stories and figurative statements of Jesus clearly because it is related to
the fact that he was a speaker, not a writer. Jesus did not write down his teachings after due reflection.
He spoke left and right on various occasions and to a more or less accidental public. His parables are
situational (Hendrickx 1987, 1).
The parables are taken from ordinary life.
Jesus challenged his audience by frequently making use of parables. They had to decide the right
course of action in a situation in which they were not personally involved. But then, they were
made to realize that the situation described in the parable was also their own situation. It is a
very expedient tool to bring home a message, especially because it is simple. It creates a
situation in which a certain action must be taken. The listener is invited to place himself in that
situation. He can identify with the character of the story, without getting involved. He can live
throughout its action. (Colla 2002, 37)
2. Healing
Stories of Jesus’ healing miracles are abundant in the Gospel Readings. One fact becomes very clear: God was at
work in and through Jesus. Jesus’ unshakable faith in God was the power at work in his miracles. Jesus believed
in God’s goodness. He believed that the power of goodness is greater than the power of evil. He believed that
God wants to liberate humankind from the bonds of evil. He believed that God is love and compassion.

a. Outreach to Sinners and Social Outcasts

His healing, which included reaching out to the sinners and social outcasts, was a statement that all evils
that contribute to human suffering in all its form can only be overcome through acting out of justice and
compassion.

Jesus was moved with compassion for all who were in need. Compassion made Him reach out to all. It
was more than an emotion or feeling. It was the driving force of His life. It made Him respond
unrestrainedly to all suffering. Indeed, moved by compassion, Jesus set out to liberate the people from
every kind of suffering and anguish. Through his compassion the Kingdom of God became visible. (Colla
2002, 70)

b. Cure of Diseases
The people were amazed at the works of Jesus, they said, where did this man get such wisdom and
miraculous powers? (Mt 13:54) Let Jesus answer for himself:
i. The Power of Faith
Many times, when Jesus performed a miracle of healing, he himself ascribed it to the power of
faith, as in the case of the paralytic at Capernaum. There are many more instances where the
healing is attributed to faith, among others are: The Story of the Centurion’s Servant (Mt 8: 5-
13) where Jesus said, “I assure you, I have never found this much faith in Israel.” The boy was
cured because of his father’s faith. The Story of Two Blind Men (Mt 9: 27-31). Jesus said to the
two blind men, “Because of your faith it shall be done to you.” They recovered their sight
because of their faith.

ii. No Miracles without Faith

Without faith no miracle could be performed. If faith was evidently the power by which miracles
happened, the absence of faith made it impossible to perform any miracle. These are traced
from Gospel passages such as: Mt 13: 54-58 (Jesus at Nazareth). People in Jesus’ hometown
were amazed that a carpenter’s son could preach and perform miracles as he did. They simply
found him too much. Thus, “And He did not work many miracles there because of their lack of
faith.” Lk 9: 37-43 (The Story of the Possessed Boy). A father had asked Jesus’ disciples to cure
his son who was possessed by an evil spirit. But they had failed. “What unbelieving and perverse
lot you are, Jesus exclaimed.”

iii. For the Greater Glory of God

Jesus did not perform miracles to make a name or to claim authority for himself. On the
contrary, whenever a miracle happened, he attributed it to the faith of the people. Often the
miracle stories conclude with Jesus’ instruction not to talk about it.
Miracles have been defined as unusual acts of God on behalf of man. That was exactly how
people understood them. Miracles became an occasion for them to praise God. The following
testify to this: “At the sight, a feeling of awe came over the crowd, and they praised God for
giving such authority to men” (Mt 9:8). “They glorified the God of Israel” (Mt 15:31). “Fear
seized them all and they began to praise God” (Lk 7:16). “And all who saw it marveled at the
greatness of God” (Lk 9:43). “One of them came back praising God in a loud voice” (Lk 17:15).
 3. Table Fellowship
Many Gospel stories speak of Jesus’ compassionate association with people. They relate how he sat at a table
with a variety of people from all levels of society. He sat at a table with tax collectors and sinners, with the
outcast and with those with whom no one wanted to share his or her table. There can be no doubt about Jesus’
sharing the table with all. The four Gospels agree on this point and testify to it as a regular practice in Jesus’ life.

Table community was of great importance among the Jews. To share one’s table meant to share one’s life. Jesus
was of the opinion that no one should be excluded from one’s table. In other words, no one should be excluded
from one’s social community and Jesus did not exclude anyone. This practice caused scandal in the eyes of the
upper and middle class, but was a source of great joy for the people of the lower class. The Pharisees said, “This
man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” (Lk 15:2) Jesus was aware that the people spoke ill of this
unconventional practice of joining all classes of people at table. He spoke of it when he said, “You say: here is a
glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners. (Lk 7:34)

B. On Jesus’ Passion and Death

Crucifixion was the most humiliating and painful of all punishment in the Roman Empire. As Ian Knox said:
The punishment of crucifixion was carried out by the centurions. The execution was done outside the
city walls of Jerusalem, at a place called Golgotha. “Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed his last” (Mk
15: 37). These words give us a relatively bare statement of Jesus’ death. It was the death of a criminal’s
execution at the hands of an occupying army. However, this painful and disgraceful death manifested
Jesus’ own identity as Son of God and effected salvation for others.

The passion of Jesus is both a historical event rooted in the past and a living dynamic memory that gives
meaning to the present. The gospels portray Jesus’ death as the culmination of his mission, the final act of
selfless love and service that sealed a life totally committed to others. Jesus’ death was a prophetic witness in
the cause of God’s justice. Despite opposition and hostility directed at him and his mission, Jesus remained
faithful until the end and ultimately was vindicated by God’s love, a love stronger than death. But for Christian
faith, the passion of Jesus is not simply a heroic and poignant death confined to past history. The passion of
Jesus lives on in the faith and experience of the Christian community. Through the mysterious communion of
God with humanity, Jesus’ sufferings continue in the suffering of every child of God, down to the present
moment. The passion of Jesus is indeed a historical event that ultimately gave meaning and force to the entire
mission of Jesus and it is a living memory, a powerful grace that gives meaning and hope to all human suffering.
The gospels accounts of the passion embrace both dimensions, rooting their narratives in the historical
traditions about Jesus’ last days but inviting the reader to find in the passion of Jesus the ultimate meaning of
human existence and Christian commitment.

By recalling the distinctive portrayal of the suffering Jesus in each of the Gospels, we are invited to enter deeply
into the mystery of the passion and to bring one’s own experience into vital contact with this core of the
Christian message.

C. On Jesus’ Resurrection
It is important for us to understand the distinct character of the Resurrection of Jesus given the many confusions
being attached to it. As Ian Knox emphasized:
Christ’s Resurrection was not a return to earthly life, as was the case with the raising from the dead that
He had performed before Easter: Jairus’ daughter the young man of Naim, Lazarus. In his risen body, He
passes from the state of death to another life beyond time and space. At Jesus’ resurrection, His body is
filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. He shares the divine life in his glorious state, so that St. Paul can
say that Christ is “the man of heaven” (1 Cor 15: 30-50) (CCC 646).

Besides being the fundamental argument for our Christian belief, the Resurrection is important for the following
reasons:
• It shows the justice of God who exalted Christ to a life of glory, as Christ had humbled Himself unto
death (Philippians 2:8-9).
 • The Resurrection completed the mystery of our salvation and redemption; by His death Christ freed us
from sin, and by His Resurrection He restored to us the most important privileges lost by sin (Romans
4:25).

• By His Resurrection we acknowledge Christ as the immortal God, the efficient and exemplary cause of
our own resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:21; Philippians 3:20-21), and as the model and the support of our
new life of grace (Romans 6:4-6 and 9- 11).

CHURCH TEACHING

Faith in Jesus, and all that he taught and did, is the center point of the Christian life, the energizing core that
gives meaning and purpose to life. As you reflect on how to become genuine disciples of Christ, bearing in mind what
you learned from the lessons above, kindly ponder on the texts under the Church Teaching guided by the following
questions:
1. It is said that Jesus came to “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.” What does this mean? How
does Jesus challenge you?

2. “Christianity's goal is not to escape from this world. It loves this world and seeks to change it for the better.”
― Marcus J. Borg, 2011 What does this saying imply about your being Christians? What are you asked to do?

3. Jesus was the most honest, integral and straightforward of persons. He understood what his duty was and, in
obedience to his conscience, was prepared to carry it out, even if it meant death. What the passion and death of
Jesus say to us is that, if we dedicate ourselves to establishing the reign of God on earth, we can expect to face
powerlessness, misunderstanding and even death. (Knox, 1999) What are you willing to dedicate to take part in
making present the reign of God here on earth?

4. The resurrection represents the triumph of the forces of good, and therefore, the resurrection is the center of
our hope that God, in his goodness and love, will not abandon us to a pointless death and the power of the “evil
one.” (Knox, 1999) As Christians, how do you also become a source of hope in these trying times?

A. On Jesus’ Teaching, Healing, and Table Fellowship

It is without doubt that the Kingdom of God is central to Jesus’ ministry. This public ministry includes Jesus’ acts
of healing and preaching about the Kingdom of God and the celebration of it through many instances of table
fellowship with his disciples, friends, and with the outcasts. Jesus’ teaching and healing ministry is a
manifestation of the experience of the Kingdom of God. Everything that he did was directed to its fulfillment.

His teachings, which often utilized parables and aphorisms, were aimed at changing people’s paradigm of God:
from being an authoritative and legalistic God to a compassionate and loving one. His healing, which included
reaching out to the sinners and social outcasts, was a statement that all evils that contribute to human suffering
in all its form can only be overcome through acting out of justice and compassion. On the other hand, his table-
fellowships symbolize Christ’s whole mission and message of drawing all into His Father’s Kingdom.

Let us read and reflect on what the Catechism for Filipino Catholics teaches about Jesus’ teaching and healing
ministries in relation to the Kingdom of God.
The teaching and preaching of Jesus centered on the “Kingdom of God,” a dynamic symbol of God’s
active presence among His people. For Christ, this Kingdom, was grounded in the Old Testament hope
for Yahweh’s presence (cf. Ps 91:1, 96:10; 97:1; 99:1 etc). This hope was eschatological, that is,
something already present but not yet fully (cf. Mk 1:14f; Mt 4:17). Without ever defining precisely what
the Kingdom of God is, Jesus uses it to embrace all the blessings of salvation, a salvation of God’s active
presence within people’s daily life, liberating them from the enslaving power of evil, for loving service of
their fellowmen. For Filipino Christians today, PCP II sketches the essentials of the Kingdom as a “gift of
God,” made present in Jesus, as a “Task” and as a “Promise” (cf. PCP II 39-43) (CFC 481).

Christ’s typical method of communicating his word about the Kingdom was by telling stories, parables.
In them he focused on the common life of his listeners, and drew them into recognizing God’s presence
 therein. Jesus taught the people that God was their Father, not in competition with them. That He was
not calling them out of their own humanity, but rather making their own creative human efforts possible
by His divine presence (CFC 482).

Besides his healing, Christ’s ministry was noted for his celebration of the Kingdom in table-fellowship. He
not only forgave sinners and associated with tax collectors and outcasts (cf. Mk 2:15-17); he even
scandalized his pious contemporaries by dining with them. Such table-fellowship symbolized Christ’s
whole mission and message of drawing all into his Father’s Kingdom. “I have come to call sinners, not
the self-righteous” (Mk 2:17). It prefigures the eternal banquet in the Kingdom of God in which “many
will come from the east and the west and will find a place, while the natural heirs will be driven out into
the dark” (Mt 8:11-12) (CFC 488).

The importance of this table-fellowship in Jesus’ ministry is confirmed by two things. The first is the
special importance among the early disciples of the “breaking of bread” (Lk 24:35; Acts 2:46). This must
have come from Jesus’ own mannerism. The second is the Lord’s prayer which Christ taught his
disciples. It summarizes the ministry of Christ in terms of “Abba” (Father), the Kingdom, bread,
forgiveness and the final test. All of these refer in one way or another to table-fellowship and more. Not
just voluntary “coming together” but the koinonia, the transforming communion we have in the
Eucharistic celebration as members of Christ’s Body (CFC 489).

B. On Jesus’ Passion and Death

It is quite clear from the gospels that Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection were of greater importance to the
gospel writers than his infancy and childhood. But even though the passion narratives are more historically detailed than
many other parts of the gospel, they are still very much theological reflections which try to understand the working of
God in human experience.

Jesus understood that he had a mission from his Father to preach the good news of God’s reign and to work for
the establishment of that reign. He understood that his mission was to do the will of God and he pursued that goal with
a single-minded fidelity which led him to his death. He was not the first or the last person to suffer for his integrity and
principles. (Knox, 1999)

C. On Jesus’ Resurrection
Scholars warn us that the account of the resurrection is couched in a faith– language that defies scientific
analysis, just like the Crossing of the Sea of Reeds. It should not be read literally so as not to fall into the error of “over-
belief” – fundamentalist interpretation. We should not concern ourselves with “how” it really took place. Resurrection is
rising to a new and different life, a life of which we have little or no experience. The apostles understood Jesus to be
alive, but transformed into a new mode of existence, an existence that transcends and is different from the former
mode but is continuous with it. Jesus had conquered death (CCC 645-646). It transformed the lives of the apostles, from
being fearful to becoming brave and bold.

As a result of memory, reflection and prayer, they came to see that Jesus is unique, someone in whom the
power and presence of God had been expressed. They reinterpreted the incidents in the life of Jesus in the light of the
resurrection event.

“But the truth is: Christ IS risen, and his resurrection has revolutionized both the very notion and image of God,
and the ultimate meaning and goal of our very own lives.” (CFC 2008, 150) Indeed, Christ’s acts of healing and
forgiveness became more meaningful and relevant into the lives of the people because of his resurrection. Let us look
into the salvific importance of Jesus’ resurrection from the teachings of the Catechism for Filipino Catholics 621-627.
We can sketch the meaning and salvific importance of Christ’s Resurrection in five points (cf. CCC 651-
55).
First, his Resurrection confirmed everything Christ had done and taught. It fulfilled both Jesus’ triple
prediction of his Passion, Death and Resurrection in the Synoptics (cf. Mk 8:31; 9:30; 10:32), and his
triple prediction of being “lifted up” in John’s Gospel (cf. Jn 3:14; 8:28; 12:32). Christ’s exaltation
vindicated all he claimed to be, as he himself asserted in his trial before the high priest (cf. Mk 14:61f)
(CFC 621).
 Second, through his Resurrection, Christ fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies promising a Savior for all
the world (cf. Ps 110; Dn 7:13). The history of God’s Self-revelation, begun with Abraham and continuing
through Moses, the Exodus, and the whole Old Testament, reached its climax in Christ’s Resurrection,
something unprecedented, totally new (CFC 622).

Third, the Resurrection confirmed Jesus’ divinity. St. Paul preached that Jesus was “designated Son of
God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead” (Rom 1:4; cf. Phil 2:7-
8). Upon seeing the Risen Jesus, Thomas cried out, “My Lord and my God!” (Jn 20:28) (CFC 623).

Fourth, Christ’s death freed us from sin, and his Resurrection brought us a share in the new life of
adopted sons/daughters of the Father in the Holy Spirit. “If then we have died with Christ [freed from
sin], we believe that we shall also live with him” (Rom 6:8) (CFC 624).

Finally, the Risen Christ is the principle and source of our future resurrection. This means Jesus rose not
only to a “glorious” higher state of life himself, but also to become the source of this new life for all. “He
will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body by the power that enables him also to
bring all things into subjection to himself” (Phil 3:21). “In Christ all will come to life again” (1 Cor 15:22;
cf. CCC 651-55) (CFC 625).

This importance of the Resurrection is often missed. Two practical problems indicate this. Many Filipino
Catholics today seem to feel uneasy if asked to explain the meaning and implications of Christ’s
Resurrection. This may indicate that many merely accept the fact that Christ has risen from the dead.
But they have no idea of what this means nor do they know how to “live out” its implication in their
lives. No one has helped them see how Jesus’ Resurrection can be the basic principle and animating
force for a truly Christian way of life. We are saved only if we not only “confess with our lips that Jesus is
Lord” but also “believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead” (Rom 10:9) (CFC 626).

The importance of the Resurrection also calls for the clarification of some common misleading
conceptions. Some Christians treat the Resurrection simply as a factual “proof” of the Gospel message,
with no particular meaning in itself. But in the New Testament, Jesus’ Resurrection is not only a proof of
the Gospel message – it is also the message! (CFC 627).

MISSIONARY RESPONSE
N.B. DO NOT ANSWER THIS PART
With the rise of social media platforms, “Social Media Influencing” is now trending. A single post receives
millions of reactions from people all over the world. Acting as an influencer, inspired by the liberating ministries of Jesus,
take an image or picture of you depicting or capturing any event in Jesus’ life mentioned in this module. Also, put a
caption on your picture.
Answer also the following:
1. What event in Jesus’ life does it depict?
2. What is the significance of this event to you?
3. Inspired by the event in Jesus’ life, what message do you want to convey to your viewers?
References

A Commentary on the Gospels of the Passion. The Passion of Jesus Christ. (n.d.).
https://passionofchrist.us/commentary/.

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