CLE II Quarterly Test Reviewer There is no other book that can enlighten us better about Jesus Christ than

the Bible. I. New Testament VS. Old Testament NEW TESTAMENT Jesus Christs birth, teaching, Passion, Death, and Resurrection are narrated and proclaimed covers Gods definite covenant with all people mediated by his Incarnate Son, Jesus Christ OLD TESTAMENT

Describes the early spread of the Good News to the world and the formation of the early Church

3. Letters y y The twenty-one Letters in the bible are called Epistles. Fourteen of these are attributed to St. Paul: Romans, 1&2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 &2 Thessalonians, 1&2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, and Hebrews. o They addressed to the early Christian communities and to the individual leaders of these communities. o They give advice on some doctrinal positions about the person of Jesus and practical directions or guidelines on how to live a Christian Life The remaining Letters- James, 1&2 Peter, 1,2 &3 John, and Jude- are attributed to other apostles All the letters are concerned with how Christians should apply Jesus teachings, His Good News of salvation, to their daily lives

covers Gods Various covenants with Israel, especially the Sinai covenant mediated by Moses

II. Grouping of the books a. OLD Testament y y y The Law or Torah The Prophets The Writings y

b. NEW Testament 1. Gospels  Books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John y They announce the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ y They were authored by writers known as evangelists o EVANGELISTS- a term derived from the Greek word euangelion, which means announcement of the good news y Four Gospels are the Principal witnesses to the life and teachings of Jesus Christ y Gospels are not historical biographies of Jesus, but rather are faith accounts about Jesus by His early followers 2. Acts of the Apostles

4. Revelation y The book of Revelation, also called Apocalypse, is the only prophetic book in the New testament Highly Symbolic and visionary account of the decisive struggle of Christ and His followers against Satan and his forces.

III. Gospel Formation y Jesus Death and Ressurection took place around A.D. 30, while the first written Gospel appeared only around A.D. 60 to 70

Stage 1: Earthly Life & Teaching of Jesus y y y Jesus came to live among us The actual preaching & teaching of the early Jesus He established a new covenant through his words and deeds

Emmanuelle M. Zabat//CLE REVIEWER II

y y y

He never wrote his teachings, sermons & stories Jesus actions are Gods actions. Jesus words, instructions and parables are Gods words to us.

Not: y y A chronological summary of the details of Jesus life Modern biographies insisting on historical data

Stage 2: Oral Tradition (A.D. 30-64) y y y Go into the world & proclaim the good news to all (Mk. 16 :15) With the power of the Holy Spirit, the apostles started preaching the Good News This Stage developed because of two important factors o Celebration of the Eucharist o Day to Day problems of the Early Christians Why did it take so long for the Evangelists to write the Gospels o The Semitic people preferred the spoken living word than the written word o The original witness to Christs life were still living o The early Christian expected the Risen Christ to come back

Remember y y Faith testimonies to the Life, Death & Resurrection of Jesus. The Gospels were written by people of faith for people of faith

Role of the Holy Spirit y y y y In all of these three stages of the Gospel formation the Holy Spirit was at work He helped the apostles understand Jesus teaching He inspired the evangelists to put them into writing It is the same Holy Spirit who will inspire us today to read and understand the Good News of Jesus.

Factors leading to the third stage: y y y The apostles & original witnesses were dying or being martyred The Christian communities, composed of both Jews and Gentiles, grew larger and larger They realized that Jesus would not be coming back soon, so there must be a more permanent record of Jesus message for the future generation of Christians

Stage 3: Written Gospels (A.D. 65-100) y y Gospels were written over a period of 30 to 40 years, from about A.D. 60 to 100 The four evangelists were the only ones who gave the final shape to the gospels. They selected, developed and edited the materials they had on hand The evangelists wrote the gospels by the grace of the holy spirit -Inspiration

Purpose of the GOSPELS y y John 20:30-31 The Gospels were written to explain more fully to those who already put their faith in Jesus who it is that they are trusting.

Emmanuelle M. Zabat//CLE REVIEWER II

IV. Gospel Portraits of Jesus GOSPEL YEAR Mark 60-70 A.D. REPRE. Desert Lion JESUS? TO WHOM? Suffering Persecuted Servant Roman Christians/ Jesus as Suffering the Son Christians of God and the Son of Man Messiah and King Jesus is the expected MessiahKing promised to the Jews. Luke 70-80 A.D. Ox Savior of the World Gentile Christians; outcasts of the Jewish society Jesus is the Savior of humankind, full of mercy & compassion John 80-90 A.D. Eagle Son of God, The word of God made man Jesus as the Son of God who gives Life To the Churches around the Roman Empire JewishChristian 1. Mark: Jesus is the Suffering Messiah y The evangelist wanted to make clear to the persecuted Roman Christians that, like them, Jesus Himself also suffered. Mark meant to console the suffering Christians, but he was also intent on teaching what it meant to be a disciple of Jesus, that is, to follow Him unto the cross Jesus trying many times to keep his true identity a secret. Representation: Desert lion o Because his Gospel opens with John the Baptist crying out in the desert o Also fits Marks style which is vivid and as direct as a lions roar Purpose: To proclaim that the rejected, despised and crucified Jesus is the Son of God.

y y

Matthew

70-80 A.D.

Man

y 2. Matthew: Jesus is the Messiah and King y Whereas Mark showed Jesus avoiding being proclaimed the Son of God, Matthew portrayed him being recognized and proclaimed as the Messiah by His apostles. Matthew explained to follow Jesus is to learn Jesus way of life as He is the Teacher greater than Moses. Representation: Man o Because his Gospel opens with a record of Jesus human ancestors. Purpose: To show the Jewish Christians how the hopes of Israel in the OT were fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth.

3. Luke: Jesus is the Savior of the World. y Luke wanted to bring the Gentile community the good news that Jesus was the Savior not just of a chosen few but of all people, especially those considered outcasts of Jewish society. Portrayed Jesus as being full of mercy and compassion, often crossing social, religious, and political barriers to reach out to the poor, the outcasts, the sinners, and the women Representation: OX o Because his Gospel with Zechariah offering a sacrifice to God in the temple o The ox is a reminder of ancient animal sacrifices Purpose: To proclaim that Christ came to save ALL of Creation (universal salvation). Emmanuelle M. Zabat//CLE REVIEWER II

4. John: Jesus is the Son of God, the word of God made man. y Johns Gospel emphasizes the divinity of Jesus who is described in symbolic images and titles such as The word of God enfleshed and The light of the world Begins with a prologue Representation: Eagle o Because his Gospel starts with a prologue praising Jesus. Purpose: To reveal to humankind the richness of life in Christ and establish a firm foundation for their faith.

y y

SYN OPTICS (together to see) SYNOPTIC GOSPELS (Synoptics)



Mark Matthew Luke

They follow almost the same development in the accounts. They can be studied together or alongside one another. They share many similarities:  Parables  Miracles

V. The Baptism of Jesus y Read Mark 1:9-11 o The Markan prologue intends to give the reader an insight into the mystery and mission of Jesus o The baptism scene, as the climax of prologue, establishes the identity and the authority of Jesus o To establish the identity and authority of Jesus is the texts Primary point, and not imparting of information about the historical event, that is, Jesus baptism o It intends to proclaim Jesus as the promised Messiah and Son of God, the baptizer in the Spirit, as well as to indicate that the beginning of his ministry animated by the Spirit. Verse 9 o It gives the setting. It tells of the baptism of Jesus and identifies Jesus as coming from Nazareth of Galilee Verse 10 o The descent of the Spirit

This is a allusion to Is 42:1c, I have put my Spirit upon him. o Or it may refer to other passages in Isaiah, like 11:2, which expresses in symbol that Jesus is the one anointed by the Spirit in fullness. o Or it may refer to Is. 6:1, the descent of the Spirit upon Jesus is the symbolic expression as the bearer of the Spirit announced for eschatological times. o Thus, in all these allusions to Isaiah, Christ is the anointed one, the one anointed by the Spirit, possessing divine authority for a messianic mission, who will act in function of the authority of God Verse 11c o with you I am well pleased  This is an allusion to Is. 42:1b, My chosen one in whom my soul delights  That God is pleased with someone means that he has chosen him for a mission Verse 11b o you are my son  This is an allusion to Psalm 27, which addresses the king on the day of his coronation, or on the day celebrating his coronation yearly o beloved  This is an allusion to Gen. 22:2, 12, 16. y In the Jewish tradition, beloved son means Only Son o Jesus is the only son of God just as Isaac was the only son of Abraham o This indicates a unique relationship of Jesus to the Father o

SUMMARY y y The Baptism scene informs the reader about who Jesus is from Gods evaluative point of view. It shows us three things: o That Christ is the unique Son of God (v. 11b) o That Christ is Gods Son equipped with the Spirit (v. 10) o And that he is equipped with the Spirit for His revelatory eschatological mission (v. 11c)

Emmanuelle M. Zabat//CLE REVIEWER II

Additional Information regarding Jesus Baptism: y Johns Baptism was a sign of repentance or a change of heart and was, in fact, a way of preparing for the coming of the Messiah Many of the Jews even thought that John himself was the Messiah but he made it clear to them : One mightier than I is coming after Me (Mk 1:7) His ministry was to prepare the way of the Lord by proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins

VI. Beholding Gods Own Beloved Son in Jesus Baptism  Jesus began His public ministry by being baptized by John the Baptist, Matthews account relates the occurrence of three phenomena: y The opening of the heavens o Signifies that God had come to visit His people o It symbolizes Gods intervention in human affairs through His Sonmade-man, Jesus Christ The descent of the dove o Represents the coming of the Holy Spirit o It signifies Gods Spirit resting on Jesus and anointing Him with the extraordinary power he needed for His public ministry o Dove also symbolizes the Spirits gentleness and peace, whose presence characterizes the divine joint mission Jesus and the Spirit would accomplish for the people of Israel and the whole world The proclamation of the voice from heaven o Was God the Fathers affirmation of Jesus as His own beloved Son, the Messiah who would save all people from sin

Temptation 1: Turn these stones into bread o Jesus knew the anguish of the poor and the oppressed o His messianic mission included reaching out to them o Satan tried to persuade Jesus to accomplish his mission by bringing material riches to Israel o Temptation was for Jesus to take a shortcut and perform some sort of magic to produce the material things that Jews needed or wanted, which would gain for Him the peoples acceptance but Jesus refused to take the shortcut o Jesus mission as a Messiah was to save the people from sin and not to satisfy all their physical and material needs Temptation 2: Throw yourself down o The devil tempted Jesus to throw himself of the parapet of the temple. Because angels would support Him, Jesus would be able to prove that He was indeed Gods Son o The devil wanted to convince people that He was indeed the Son of God by doing impossible and strange things o Jesus mission was not to seek a great name for Himself but to draw people to the Father. o Jesus rejected the way of worldly prestige and reputation Temptation 3: Prostrate yourself and worship me o Satan asked Jesus to pay homage to him, he would give Jesus all the worlds power o But again, Jesus did not succumb to the temptation of the devil. He refused to pursue the illusion of power o Jesus mission was to establish Gods Kingdom of love here on earth o He was committed to do this even if it took Him to the Cross and to His death

VI. Temptation of Jesus  Jesus was led by the Spirit into the dessert to be tempted by the devil  The spirit who descended upon Jesus at His baptism was the same Spirit who drove Him into the desert.  In the history of the Jews, the desert was a place both for testing and receiving great favors  The desert is a place where decisions involve life and death  Gospel Records: that while Jesus was in the desert, He fasted for forty days and forty nights Emmanuelle M. Zabat//CLE REVIEWER II