CHRIST HAS DIED

OVERVIEW

Suffering and death are two inseparable realities which every human person has to face. Does
Jesus Christ help us accept these realities and even find meaning in them? This module focuses on the
Passion and Death of Jesus Christ and their meaning for Filipino Christian life. It also touches on some
Filipino popular devotions and the parallel virtues springing from those devotions.

See!
I. LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this module, the students will be able to:

o understand Jesus’ suffering, death and descent into the dead;
o appraise the importance of Jesus’ suffering and death to their personal lives;
o determine the popular practices and devotions to Jesus in the Philippines
related to his sufferings and death, and
o share to the class the Filipino values inspired by the popular practices and
devotions to Jesus related to his sufferings and death.

II. SUBJECT MATTER

A. Topic : Jesus’ suffering, death, and descent into the dead

B. References :
 Bergsma, J. (2012). Bible basics for Catholics: A new picture of salvation history. Notre Dame, IN: Ave
Maria Press.
 Catechism for Filipino Catholics. (1997). Manila: ECCCE Word & Life Publications.
 Catechism of the Catholic Church

Discern!
1. INPUT

What is the true meaning of Christ’s suffering and death for us, Filipinos of today? Two contradictory but
widely shared attitudes seem most common:
1) One piously makes suffering something to be sought in itself;
2) In worldly fashion, suffering is something to be avoided at all costs.
Both gravely misunderstand the authentic Christian approach to suffering and death.

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IO-RE2: Fundamental Theology (Center for Religious Education, Office of Religious Affairs, UST-Legazpi, Legazpi City, Albay)
In the face of such misleading views, it is all the more important for us to develop an accurate and ever-
deepening personal understanding of the suffering and death of Jesus Christ.

The Creed puts great stress on Christ’s passion and death. Immediately following “born of the Virgin
Mary”, it proclaimed five actions undergone by Jesus: suffered, was crucified, died, was buried, and
descended to the dead.

1. CROSS: Christ suffered

Christ’s Cross of salvation is central to the Gospel. The Cross is the symbol of Christ’s Paschal Mystery
(life, death, resurrection, & ascension), and Christian discipleship (“Whoever wishes to come after me
must deny himself, take up his cross each day and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose
it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” Lk. 9:23-24).

How do the sufferings of Christ save us?

Christ save us not by the physical sufferings taken separately, but by his prefect love for his Father and
for us which was expressed in his sufferings and death for us.

2. Christ’s view of his own suffering and death

Today, some people try to explain Christ’s suffering and death merely as political execution of a non-
conformist revolutionary by the Roman colonial powers. Doubtless there was a political aspect to the
Cross, but it surely was not its essential meaning as interpreted in the inspired writing of the New
Testament.

The Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) recorded Jesus’ triple prediction of his suffering and death
(Mk 8:31; Lk 12:50; Mt 21:33-46).

Why did Christ suffer and die?

Jesus freely and consciously went to his death to fulfill the mission he had from his Father. He saw
himself fulfilling the Old Testament prophecies by “giving his life in ransom for many” (Mk 10:45).

“Our Savior Christ Jesus… sacrificed himself for us, to redeem us from all unrighteousness and to cleanse
for himself a people of his own, eager to do what is right” (Ti 2:14).

3. Characteristics of Christ’s suffering and death

i. Redemptive – The Gospels asserts the redemptive value of Christ suffering and death.
 Mk 10:45 – “The Son of Man has not come to be served but to serve and to give
his life in ransom for many.”
 Mt 26:28 – “This is my blood, the blood of the covenant, to be poured out in
behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins.”
ii. From Sin – Christ’ coming was “to expiate the sins of the people” (Heb 2:17; CCC 601, 606)
 Clarification. Some have gravely misunderstood Christ’s expiation as picturing
the Father punishing Jesus cruelly for our sins, even though he is completely
innocent. This is a monstrous view of God the Father, and badly misinterprets the
New Testament. The Father hates sin, not Jesus. Jesus is the Father’s “beloved”
(Mk 1:11)
iii. For Us – Christ’s Sufferings and Death affect us sinners through corporate solidarity. This
principle is from the “Servant Songs” of the prophet Isaiah (Is 42:1-4; 49:1-6; 50:4-9; 52:13-
53:12). The Servant Songs present a mysterious figure chosen by God to “give his life as an
offering for sin… through his suffering my servant shall justify many, and their guilt he shall
bear”.

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IO-RE2: Fundamental Theology (Center for Religious Education, Office of Religious Affairs, UST-Legazpi, Legazpi City, Albay)
How did St. Paul summarize Jesus’ saving work?
St. Paul described “the redemption wrought in Christ Jesus” in four steps:
 Jesus offered a sacrifice as both priest and victim;
 To expiate for our sins
 Creating a new Covenant with God in his blood; and
 For us and our salvation

How does Christ’s saving love redeem us?

Christ redeem us in two basic acts:
 He removes our subjective guilt by bringing us God’s pardon and forgiveness, and
 He restores the objective moral order broken by our sins through his loving act of reparation.

How can Jesus’ Suffering and Death save us?

Because of his corporate solidarity with us sinners, Jesus could take away “the sins of the world” (Jn
1:29) as the “suffering Servant” foretold by the prophet Isaiah.

What is the meaning of the sentence “Christ died for our sins”?
It means Christ died because of our sins, and to overcome our sinfulness and its effects in the world.
Thus, he made possible our own repentance and sacrifices, to share in his redemptive work.

4. Profound effects of Christ’s death

Christ’s saving love is unique and his death is different from all other martyrs through the ages.

What special qualities mark Christ’s Redemption?

Christ redemptive Death is different from all others in that its effect is:
a. Universal – touching all
b. Eschatological – reaching to eternal life (“already but not yet”)
c. Empowering us to share in his redemptive work

What is the significance of “universal” in describing Christ’s Redemption?

Christ died “not for our sins alone, but for those of the whole world” (1 Jn 2:2). Thus,
 there is no salvation apart from Jesus Christ,
 who won objective redemption for all sinners,
 by his loving obedience to his Father’s will and his love for all mankind;
 calling all to true subjective repentance for sin and loving service of their neighbor.
Why does Scripture emphasize redemption through the “blood of Christ”?
 In the Old Testament, blood symbolizes life, cleansing from sin, and seal of the Covenant with
God.
 In the New Testament, Christ’ blood bring new life, taking away the sin of the world, and
establishing the New Covenant (Mk 14:24).

Is it Jesus alone who saves us?

No, it is the Father who sends His only begotten Son to redeem us from our sins, and to give meaning
and purpose to our lives through the fellowship inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Thus, our redemption, like our creation and sanctification, is a work of the Triune God: Father, Son, and
Spirit.

What does Jesus’ redemption demand of us?

We are called to radical conversion of heart:

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IO-RE2: Fundamental Theology (Center for Religious Education, Office of Religious Affairs, UST-Legazpi, Legazpi City, Albay)
 i. Trusting in God, our loving Father,
ii. who grounds our own innate dignity and worth,
iii. as well as that of all person, and
iv. calls us to follow Christ His Son in self-giving service and simplicity of life.

How does Jesus help us toward this radical conversion?

Jesus leads us to:
i. basic truth in God as our heavenly Father,
ii. deeper, more authentic self-respect,
iii. acceptance of others as His beloved children, and
iv. authentic hierarchy of values in everyday life.

How does this help of Jesus reach us today?

Jesus “frees” us today by touching us
i. through his inspired Word of Scripture;
ii. in his saving symbolic acts, the Sacraments;
iii. through the service and witness of his disciples in the Christian community; and
iv. especially through his Holy Spirit, indwelling in each of us.

5. Christ descent to the dead

The last action of Christ’s Passion and Death proclaimed in Creed is: “He descended to the dead”. The
first meaning of this expression may simply be a confirmation of “died and was buried”. Christ truly and
fully underwent the final test of all humans, death (CCC 632). But the scriptural basis implies a second
meaning, namely Christ’s salvific works on behalf of the just who had died before his coming (CCC
633).

A third implication of Christ’s descent to the dead is the fundamental Christian truth that all who are
saved are redeemed by Christ’s Passion and Death, whose effects are not limited by time or space (CCC
634-635). The universal scope of Christ’s redemptive work grounds the possibility of salvation even for
those who have never heard of the “Good News” nor known Jesus Christ (LG 16; NA 2).

What is the meaning of “Christ descended to the dead”?

This means that Christ really and fully entered into the human experience of death, that his salvific
ministry is universal, extending to all who had died before him, and that he is truly the Savior of all,
including even those who have never heard of his “Good News”.

2. ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

Only in the Philippines

1. Name some Filipino practices or devotions that are common only in the Philippines
especially during Holy Week?
2. Why do we do those practices and devotions?
3. Do these practices and devotions reflect the biblical and theological teachings of our
mother Church? Why?

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IO-RE2: Fundamental Theology (Center for Religious Education, Office of Religious Affairs, UST-Legazpi, Legazpi City, Albay)
3. INTEGRATION

The Creedal doctrine on the Sufferings and Death of Christ proclaims central truths of our Christian
faith: God as redeeming Love, and Christ our Savior, responding to our sinful human condition. Christ,
the Word-made-flesh, whose glory is that of the Father’s only Son (Jn 1:14), never reveals the Father
more intensely than when dying on the Cross, loving to the end, crying out “Father, into your hands I
commend my spirit” (Lk 23:46). The glory of God shines through the Crucified Christ as nowhere else!
“When you lift up the Son of man, then you will realize that I AM… The One who sent me is with me.
He has not left me alone.” “And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself”
(Jn 8:28; 12:32).

Christ redemptive Death is, of course, the ground for the center of Christian worship, the Eucharist.
The Easter Prefaces proclaim that Christ, our Paschal sacrifice, is “the true Lamb of who took away the
sins of the world. By dying he destroyed our death; by rising he restored our life.” The Easter
Proclamation (Exultet) even dares to proclaim:
Father, how wonderful your care for us!
How boundless your merciful love!
To ransom a slave you gave away your Son.
O happy fault, O necessary sin of Adam,
Which gained for us so great a Redeemer!

By his Passion and Death, Christ reached down into the deepest roots of human alienation – our
separation from God, from ourselves, and from one another. The love of the crucified Christ becomes
the norm, the source, the means, and the final goal of all Christian morality. Christ tells us: “If a man
wishes to come after me, he must deny his very self, take up his cross, and follow in my steps” (Mk
8:34). For “This is my commandment: love one another as I have loved you” (Jn 15:12).

Act!
1. ENRICHMENT ACTIVITY

Parallel Quest (10-minute Activity)

1. Divide the class into four working groups. Each group will choose one popular image of Jesus in the
Philippines related to his suffering and death. No duplication of a popular image.
2. Then, after choosing one popular image of Jesus, the students will list Filipino values that are inspired
by the popular image.
3. After that, the students will determine the most dominant Filipino values inspired by the devotion to
that specific popular image of Jesus.
4. Each group is given 5 minutes to complete the task; and 30-second presentation of each spokesperson.

3. HOMEWORK

Life and Work of St. Martin de Porres (for IO-RE1)

In a short bond paper: in the first paragraph, summarize the life of St. Martin; in the second paragraph, summarize
his works and contribution; and in the third paragraph, write a brief reflection on his life and contributions to the
Church and society.

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IO-RE2: Fundamental Theology (Center for Religious Education, Office of Religious Affairs, UST-Legazpi, Legazpi City, Albay)