Jesus' Life and Teachings
On His birth, ministry,
and the paschal mystery
Our source of information on Jesus'
life and teachings is found in the New
Testament. There are other sources but
many of them are literature that are not
part of the regular canon of the Bible.
Introduction
There are many scientific evidences that add to our
knowledge on the life and teachings of Jesus, but
for the purpose of this article, we will just get
our main sources from the Scripture and other related
sources that are part of the tradition of the Church.
Jesus' conception and birth
The four gospels describe the virginal conception of
Jesus in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Two synoptic
gospels (Matthew, and Luke) give similar and related
details of the birth. In the gospel of John, the
conception of Jesus is given in a prologue that
identifies Jesus as the Word of God made flesh and
comes as the true light to enlighten all men.
Jesus' ministry
The accounts of the gospels relate how Jesus grew
in wisdom and stature in the simple environment of
Nazareth. When the time came for him to preach
about the kingdom of God, he underwent the usual
ritual given by his cousin, John the Baptist, being
baptized in the river Jordan with water. From there,
he was led by the Spirit to the desert to undergo a
testing that will prepare him for the ministry of
preaching the kingdom of God.
The ministry of Jesus involved three main activities:
preaching, teaching and healing. Many of his miracles
were related to his healing ministry: healing the blind,
the deaf, the mute, the lame and all those who suffered
from diseases that prevented them from living a life
together with others. As regards his preaching and
teaching ministry, they are often given in the form of
parables - stories which contain familiar elements to
the people of his time.
Teaching about the values of the kingdom of God often
led Jesus to confront the religious leaders of his time.
This teachings were often directed to correct the emphasis
of the leaders on the Law and the strict observance of all
of them. Jesus, however, stressed the importance of the
spirit of love, service, mercy, and charity which is
necessary to be placed above the law in order to save the
human person. His teaching was considered a threat to
the religious establishment of his time as the people
believed him and followed him wherever he went.
The Paschal mystery: the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus
Jesus' suffering and passion
Much of Jesus' suffering came from his not being understood
not only by the religious leaders of his time but even by
his own apostles and disciples. And when he reached a
level of popularity that made the religious establishment
of his time feel threatened, the Sanhedrin met together and
decided to do something in order to prevent disorder and
revolution among the people. This was how Jesus came to be
a sacrificial lamb that was offered in order to expiate the
sins of mankind. By the betrayal of one of his apostles,
he fell into the hands of the religious authorities who
arrested him and gave him to the Roman authorities.
Under the Roman authorities, Jesus had to endure much
physical suffering and abuse from the soldiers who mocked
him, beated him, scourged him, and made him carry the cross
he was to be crucified in at Calvary. Although his pain
and suffering was physical, the greatest suffering he
had to endure was the abandonment he experienced from his
own apostles and disciples and also the abandonment he
felt from the Father. Many scholars say that this
psychological pain and suffering was even greater than
the physical pain and sufferings he experienced.
Jesus' death
Jesus drew his last breath on the cross giving his very
spirit to the Father. At the foot of the cross, the only
ones who were faithful to him to the end were his mother,
the Blessed Mother, and his beloved disciple, John, whom
tradition attributes as one of the relatives also of Jesus.
The death of Jesus on the cross truly confirms the passage
in John 3:16, "Yes, God loved the world so much that he
gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him
may not be lost but may have eternal life." Of the many
accounts in the life of Jesus, his death on the cross is
one of the most poignant and deeply affecting for our
Catholic faith. This death on the cross is commemorated
every Lenten season and when Catholics celebrate the
Eucharist every Sunday.
Jesus' resurrection
Probably the greatest miracle and the wondrous truth
about the mystery of Jesus is his resurrection from the
dead after three days in the tomb. No one in human
history has ever died and rose again to life as Jesus
did. The gospel accounts of his ministry always relate
how Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life. Many of
his miracles were bringing people back to life. The
most dramatic of which is the raising from the dead
of Lazarus in the gospel of John. It is this ministry
of life that Jesus truly confirms at the end when in
the power of the Spirit, he was raised by the Father
from death into life. Jesus' resurrection is the
Christian mystery that attests to the truth of the
victory of life over death, of good over evil, of
grace over sin, of consolation over desolation, of
health over sickness, and many more human realities
we experience daily.
Analyzing the relevance of Jesus life and teaching today
The life and teachings of Jesus were counterculture
to the values of his religious affiliation and also
to the values of the cultural world of the Roman
empire. Since his teachings were counterculture
and Jesus was uncompromisingly stalwart in his
conviction of the truth, the way and the life, this
led to his being put to death by the powers of his
time: the Jewish religious authorities and the Roman
authorities.
Many of those who felt called to follow Jesus radically
in his conviction died a martyr's death as Jesus did.
They were part of the many years of persecution that
Christians had to suffer while the Christian religion
was not still an official religion accepted by the
Roman empire. Those however who also believed in Jesus
but followed his teaching not to the level of the
Christian martyrs, lived, prayed and celebrated the
Eucharist in the catacombs - the burial places of the
saints and the martyrs.
Since the time that the Christian faith became a part
of the official religions of the Roman empire, the faith
grew rapidly and Christians all over the world followed
the teaching of Jesus as he handed it down to his apostles
and disciples. Eventually, the Christian faith was made
into an institution that had more structure and organization.
In this time, especially in the contemporary culture we
now live in, Christianity continues to live and to be
counterculture against the values of the world and many
cultures who resist its being inculturated among its
peoples and citizens. Thus, the tradition of martyrdom
that was instituted by Christ's death on the cross,
continues to this present day. It is a reality that
happens not only to Catholic Christians but to all who
adhere and believe in the person, the life and the
teachings of Jesus.
Although Christianity appears irrelevant to a world
that sees the importance of material things over things
spiritual, conversions still do occur. People still
choose Christ as a priority in their life over the other
things that are important also to them. The Christian
faith can still be relevant by its being inculturated in
ways that will be meaningful to the people of our present
age. And as long as the world values a culture of life
and a culture of peace, then Christianity will still be
relevant. For peoples who do not value a culture of life
and a culture of peace, then Christianity for them will
be irrelevant. The key to relevance of the Christian
faith lies very much in how Christian missionaries can
successfully inculturate the Christian message in a way
that will be valuable and meaningful to the present
contemporary cultures and to the future and evolving
cultures that will develop in time. And the hope that
Christianity will continue to be relevant lies much
also in all of the members of the Churches: the clergy,
the religious, and the lay faithful, who are called all
to bring the gospel message in the secular realities
of marriage and family life; the social and economic
life; the cultures of the world and media; and the
political life of communities. Moreover, the life of
the Christian faith, as in the Roman empire that
officialized them, will continue to be relevant when
secular institutions continue to respect its message
and traditions.