A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 14: Jesus Christ, Our Savior

OLRL ^ | Fr. William J. Cogan

[NYer]

Lesson 14: Jesus Christ, Our Savior

"For God so loved the world, as to give His only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in Him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting.  For God sent not His Son into the world, to judge the world, but that the world may be saved by Him."  (John 3:16-17)

1. Did God abandon the human race after Adam's sin?
      No, He promised to send a savior into the world and to open again the gates of Heaven.

   "I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed:  She shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel."    (Genesis 3:15)

• Who is the Savior of all men?
     Jesus Christ, who, by His death on the Cross, has saved us from our sins.

  "Thou shalt call His name Jesus.  For He shall save His people from their sins."    (Matthew 1:21)

• Who is Jesus Christ?
     The Son of God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, true God and true man.

  "And I saw, and I gave testimony, that this is the Son of God."    (John 1:34)

• Who is the Mother of Jesus?
     The Blessed Virgin Mary.

  "And the angel said to her:  Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God.  Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a Son; and thou shalt call His name Jesus."    (Luke 1:30-31)

• Did Jesus have a human father?
     No, because Mary conceived Jesus through the power of God.

  "Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign.  Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and His name shall be called Emmanuel."    (Isaias 7:14)

• Who, then, was St. Joseph?
     He was only the foster father of Jesus.

  "The angel of the Lord appeared to him in his sleep, saying:  'Joseph, son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her, is of the Holy Ghost.'"    (Matthew 1:20)

• Did Mary have any other children besides Jesus?
     No, she and Joseph lived as brother and sister, although they were legally married.

  "The angel Gabriel was sent from God... to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph... and the virgin's name was Mary... and the angel said unto her...; 'Thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a Son'... And Mary said to the angel:  'How shall this be done, because I know not man?'"    (Luke 1:26-34)

• When and where was Jesus born?
     He was born some 2,000 years ago on Christmas Day in Bethlehem, a small town near Jerusalem in Israel.

• Where did Jesus live during most of His life?
     In the city of Nazareth, until He was about thirty years old.

• How did Jesus spend the last three years of His life?
     He preached His Gospel, worked miracles and established His Church.

  "And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom:  and healing all manner of sickness and every infirmity, among the people."    (Matthew 4:23)

• How was Jesus condemned to death?
     One of His Apostles, Judas Iscariot, betrayed Jesus to His enemies, who got the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, to condemn Him to death, as He (Jesus) had foretold.

  "Jesus began to shew to His disciples, that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the ancients and scribes and chief priests, and be put to death, and the third day rise again."    (Matthew 16:21)

• What were the chief sufferings of Jesus?
     The agony in the garden, the bloody sweat, the cruel scourging, the crowning with thorns, His death on the Cross, and His spiritual and mental sufferings.

  "He was wounded for our iniquities, He was bruised for our sins:  the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by His bruises we are healed."    (Isaias 53:5)

• How did Jesus die?
     He was nailed to a cross on a hill called Calvary, just outside the city of Jerusalem, and three hours later He died.

  "Who His own self bore our sins in His body upon the tree:  that we, being dead to sins, should live to justice:  by whose stripes you were healed."    (1 Peter 2:24)

• On what day did Jesus die?
     On Good Friday.

  "This is My commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you.  Greater love than this no one hath, that a man lay down His life for His friends."    (John 15:12-13)

• When Jesus died, where did His soul go?
     He went to Limbo to tell the people there that the gates of Heaven would soon be opened.

  "Put to death indeed in the flesh, but enlivened in the spirit.  In which also coming He preached to those spirits that were in prison."    (1 Peter 3:18-19)

• On what day did Jesus rise from the dead?
     On Easter Sunday, three days after His death, as He had foretold.

  "For I delivered unto you first of all, which I also received:  How that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures:  And that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures:  And that He was seen by Cephas; and after that by the eleven.  Then was He seen by more than five hundred brethren at once."    (1 Corinthians 15:3-6)

• How long did Jesus stay on earth after His Resurrection?
     For forty days, to prove that He really had risen.

  "To whom also he shewed Himself alive after His passion, by many proofs, for forty days appearing to them, and speaking of the kingdom of God."    (Acts 1:3)

• When did Jesus ascend into Heaven?
     On Ascension Thursday, forty days after His Resurrection.

  "And the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken to them, was taken up into Heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God."    (Mark 16:19)

• Who ascended into Heaven with Jesus?
     The souls who had been in Limbo.

  "Ascending on high, He led captivity captive; He gave gifts to men.  Now that He ascended, what is it, but because He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?"    (Ephesians 4:8-9)

• Will Jesus come back again?
     Yes, on Judgment Day, to judge the living and the dead.

  "For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels:  And then will He render to every man according to His works."    (Matthew 16:27)

• What did the Apostles do after the Ascension?
     They went back to Jerusalem and waited for the coming of the Holy Ghost.

  "But when the Paraclete cometh, whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceedeth from the Father, He shall give testimony of Me."    (John 15:26)

• When did the Holy Ghost come down upon the Apostles?
     On Pentecost Sunday, ten days after the Ascension.

  "And when the days of the Pentecost were accomplished, they were all together in one place.  And suddenly there came a sound from Heaven, as of a mighty wind coming, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.  And there appeared to them parted tongues as it were of fire, and it sat upon every one of them:  And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost."    (John 15:26)

PRACTICAL POINTS

1. The life of Jesus is contained in the first four books of the New Testament, called the Gospels, written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. However, only the main events of Christ's life are in the Gospels.

2. The brothers and sisters of Jesus mentioned in the Bible were not children of Mary, but were only cousins. The words "brother" and "sister" were used by the Jews to mean cousin or other relatives.
   

     See Lev. 10:4, I Par. 23:22, Gen. 12:5, and Gen 14:14.

3. From the sufferings of Jesus, you should learn of God's great love for man, the evil of sin and the perfect example of patience in suffering.
   

   "For what glory is it, if committing sin, and being buffeted for it, you endure?  But if doing well, you suffer patiently; this is thankworthy before God.  For unto this are you called:  Because Christ also suffered for us, leaving you an example that you should follow His steps."    (1 Peter 2:20-21)
   
   

   "And He said to all, 'If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.'"    (Luke 9:23)

[NYer]

Lesson 14 of 43.

[AnAmericanMother]

One of the citations in paragraph 2 may throw some folks for a loop.

I Par. 23:22 is the equivalent of 1st Chronicles in the KJV.

In the Douay-Rheims (which this Catechism cites), the books of Chronicles are known as the Paralipomenon, that is in Greek, "that which was omitted" from the Books of Kings.

[Salvation]

Excellent coverage of the life of Christ. Actually, I think there could be a little more about the Proclamation of the Kingdom of God and the Call to Conversion.

I remember a lot of these answers! LOL!

[Salvation]

A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 1: Religion
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 2: The Bible and Tradition
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 3: God and the Holy Trinity
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 4: Prayer
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 5: Public Worship of God

A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 6: Angels and Devils
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 7: Human Beings and the Purpose of Life
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 8: Sanctifying Grace
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 9: Heaven
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 10: Mortal and Venial Sin

A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 11: Hell
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 12: Purgatory
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 13: Original Sin
A Brief Catechism for Adults - Lesson 14: Jesus Christ, Our Savior

[swmobuffalo]

“The brothers and sisters of Jesus mentioned in the Bible were not children of Mary, but were only cousins. The words “brother” and “sister” were used by the Jews to mean cousin or other relatives.

See Lev. 10:4, I Par. 23:22, Gen. 12:5, and Gen 14:14.”

Just made a run through Strong’s Greek and Hebrew Dictionary focused on the word “son”, didn’t find such a definition as proposed above.

[fidelis]

“Just made a run through Strong’s Greek and Hebrew Dictionary focused on the word “son”, didn’t find such a definition as proposed above.”

When trying to understand these verses, note that the term “brother” (Greek: adelphos) has a wide meaning in the Bible. It is not restricted to the literal meaning of a full brother or half-brother. The same goes for “sister” (adelphe) and the plural form “brothers” (adelphoi). The Old Testament shows that “brother” had a wide semantic range of meaning and could refer to any male relative from whom you are not descended (male relatives from whom you are descended are known as “fathers”) and who are not descended from you (your male descendants, regardless of the number of generations removed, are your “sons”), as well as kinsmen such as cousins, those who are members of the family by marriage or by law rather than by blood, and even friends or mere political allies (2 Sam. 1:26; Amos 1:9).

Lot, for example, is called Abraham’s “brother” (Gen. 14:14), even though, being the son of Haran, Abraham’s brother (Gen. 11:26–28), he was actually Abraham’s nephew. Similarly, Jacob is called the “brother” of his uncle Laban (Gen. 29:15). Kish and Eleazar were the sons of Mahli. Kish had sons of his own, but Eleazar had no sons, only daughters, who married their “brethren,” the sons of Kish. These “brethren” were really their cousins (1 Chr. 23:21–22).

The terms “brothers,” “brother,” and “sister” did not refer only to close relatives. Sometimes they meant kinsmen (Deut. 23:7; Neh. 5:7; Jer. 34:9), as in the reference to the forty-two “brethren” of King Azariah (2 Kgs. 10:13–14).

Because neither Hebrew nor Aramaic (the language spoken by Christ and his disciples) had a special word meaning “cousin,” speakers of those languages could use either the word for “brother” or a circumlocution, such as “the son of my uncle.” But circumlocutions are clumsy, so the Jews often used “brother.”

http://www.catholic.com/library/Brethren_of_the_Lord.asp

[swmobuffalo]

Think I’ll stick with the literal meaning of the words, since I think that if Jesus’s brothers and sisters were his cousins it would have been referenced so by the writers of the New Testament. After all, they did refer to Elizabeth as Mary’s cousin, no problem there.