Chapter
7
The Journey of Jesus Christ
In This Chapter
Jesus’ life from birth through Ascension
The role of Jesus’ miracles
When Jesus is tempted by Satan
Understanding why the Crucifixion occurred
The hope and grace of the Resurrection
Now we come to actual events of Jesus’ life, the events recorded in Scripture that give us a picture of who Jesus is, what he said, and how he lived. For many Christians, some of these stories are as familiar as the stories of their own families’ lives. For others, hearing about the many ways in which Jesus helped, healed, and saved will be refreshingly “good news.”
Jesus saved humankind through his death on the cross and his Resurrection. However, it was the individual events of his entire life that led up to this culmination of his mission on earth. We cannot possibly understand what Jesus did for us if we don’t go back and look at the life that he lived.
The Meaning of His Life
The creed breaks down the events surrounding the Incarnation—Jesus’ conception and birth—and the events surrounding what the Church calls the “paschal mystery”—his Passion, Crucifixion, death, burial, descent into hell, Resurrection, and Ascension. (512)
Church Speak
Passion comes from the Latin word patior, meaning “to endure, to undergo, or to suffer.” We get the noun “patient” as well as “passion” from this Latin root. In the Church, the Passion of Christ refers to the suffering and death Jesus endured. Palm Sunday is also known as Passion Sunday. Twice during Lent—on Palm Sunday and Good Friday—Catholics hear the Passion, which is the Gospel account of Christ’s final hours, from the Last Supper to his Crucifixion.
The Catechism explains that Christ’s entire earthly life—from the things he said and did to the events of his “hidden life” (something we’ll explain further in a minute) and the sufferings he endured—is a revelation, bringing us ever closer to God the Father. His life was a “mystery of redemption.” (517)
His life is also called a “mystery of recapitulation.” Sounds bad, but it’s not—at least not for us. What that means is everything Jesus had to go through in his life occurred in order to return us to our original vocation, so that what we had lost in Adam we might recover in Jesus. (518)
We have to start off by recognizing that Jesus Christ did not enter into life on earth so he could buy a nice house in a suburb of Nazareth and become CEO of God, Inc. He came to earth not to achieve anything for himself but to achieve everything for us. As the Nicene Creed says, “For us men and our salvation, he came down from heaven.”
Birth and Baptism
It all begins on Christmas, which, of course, wasn’t called Christmas back then. As Luke tells the story that we hear at each Christmas Midnight Mass, Joseph and Mary made a long, arduous trip to Bethlehem because of a government census, and, as most of us have probably experienced in our own lives with things like this, it couldn’t have come at a worse time. Mary was large with child. There was no room at the inn. But it turns out that this is exactly how it was supposed to be.
In Luke’s account, Jesus was not meant to come in palatial glory but in humility. He arrived in a filthy stable, surrounded by hay and barnyard animals.
There is a series of events in Jesus’ infancy, recounted by Matthew and Luke, that hold great importance in the life of the Church and the faith. They may seem fairly common on the surface, but the Catechism explains that they signify much more than meets the eye:
Luke’s account of the circumcision of Jesus when he was 8 days old is not simply a Jewish tradition that Jesus’ family was bound to uphold. Instead it’s a sign of Jesus’ connection to the covenant people of Israel, whose laws he would observe and whose rituals he would celebrate throughout his life. It is also a foreshadowing of the baptism that would one day be the pivotal event that would usher all Catholics into the family of faith. (527)
Matthew’s story of the Epiphany—when the wise men, or magi, came from the East to pay homage to the child Jesus—is not about Mary and Joseph doing that whole new-parent thing and insisting, “You have to come see the baby.” The Epiphany is what the Catechism calls a “manifestation of Jesus as Messiah of Israel, Son of God, and Savior of the world.” In other words, the Epiphany demonstrates that people of all nations and backgrounds can come to Jesus, as the wise men did when they sought out the “king of nations.” (528)
Luke’s account of the presentation of Jesus in the temple is another ordinary event with extraordinary significance. When Jesus was brought before Simeon and Anna, he was recognized as the Messiah. This event signified the anticipation among the people of Israel for the long-awaited Messiah. This was also where the sorrow in Jesus’ life was predicted, and Mary was told that a sword would pierce her heart. (529)
Matthew’s account of the flight into Egypt and the massacre of the innocents by King Herod’s soldiers signifies that Jesus’ entire life would be lived “under the sign of persecution.” His departure from Egypt was reminiscent of the Exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt and set Jesus up as the new Moses and “definitive liberator” of humankind. (530)
The finding in the temple is a later event in Jesus’ childhood, recounted by Luke, that gives us a rare glimpse of Jesus during a time that is otherwise absent from the Gospels. In this episode, we see Jesus step out of his “hidden life” to show us his complete commitment to the mission of his Father.
Mary and Joseph took Jesus to Jerusalem every year for the feast of Passover. When he was 12 years old, he did not join his parents’ caravan home but remained in the temple, listening to the rabbis and asking questions. More than a day had gone by before Mary and Joseph realized he was not with them and several more days had passed before they found him. When they finally did catch up with him in the temple, he said simply, “Did you not know that I had to be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49) Even as a child, Jesus was called to a special role in his Father’s plan, although Mary and Joseph often could not fully understand it.
After Luke’s account of the finding in the temple, the Gospels all jump from the earliest days of Jesus’ infancy to his adult life in the public eye. What we miss are the many years he spent being a normal person—living a simple life amid regular people, working, praying, and being obedient to his family and Jewish law. The part of Jesus’ life we don’t hear much about in Scripture is called the “hidden life” of Jesus, and is the part that is probably most like ours.
With his baptism by John in the Jordan, Jesus came into public view once again. You may wonder why Jesus would need to be baptized if he was the Son of God. The Catechism explains that by being baptized, Jesus accepted his mission as the suffering servant of God (as prefigured in Isaiah 42–53) who would suffer for the sake of the people of Israel at the hands of the people of Israel.
By his baptism, Jesus, though sinless, “allow[ed] himself to be numbered among sinners” and anticipated the “baptism” of his bloody death. With his death and resurrection, the heavens that were closed by Adam were reopened, and Jesus took on the role as the Lamb of God, who would take away the sins of the world. (536)
Church Speak
Jesus is known as the Lamb of God, a title referring to his sacrifice for humanity in a new Passover, just as a lamb is sacrificed in Jewish tradition to mark the start of the Passover of the Hebrews under Moses.
Temptation in the Desert
Now we come to Jesus’ temptation in the desert, which might seem odd at first to think Jesus could be tempted. If Jesus is God, how can he be tempted, and what was he doing in a desert for 40 days? Wasn’t he pure enough? Remember, he’s God but he’s also man in all things, except sin. This desert experience presented an opportunity for Jesus to take everything Adam did and turn it on its head.
When Jesus was in the desert, hungry and alone and probably a little worn out, Satan decided to test his mettle. He tempted Jesus three times, suggesting he should be a flashy Messiah, a showy Savior. Satan, who is the symbol of all that is opposed to God, told him to turn stones to bread, to jump off the top of the temple to see if God would save him, and to bow down to Satan and receive power beyond his wildest dreams. These temptations by Satan remind us of how he tempted Adam in Paradise and the Israelites while they wandered in the desert for 40 years. The similarities end there, however, as Jesus rebuffed all of Satan’s temptations. And Satan “departed from him for a time,” meaning that he had every intention of coming back when things are looking bleak and Jesus is looking weak. (Luke 4:13)
The Catechism explains that in the desert Jesus “is the devil’s conqueror,” giving us a glimpse of what was to happen during the Passion when Jesus submits himself in complete obedience to the will of his Father. (539)
Teachable Moment
The Church season of Lent connects Catholics to Jesus’ 40-day fast in the desert. During Lent, Catholics journey through a spiritual desert, fasting and praying for 40 days in preparation for Holy Week and Easter.
Signs and Wonders
After Jesus was baptized, things started to happen quickly. Before you know it, John the Baptist was arrested and beheaded. Meanwhile, Jesus was in Galilee preaching and selecting the men who were to become his apostles. Throughout all of this, Jesus’ main message was as the Son of Man, he has come for all people, not just the children of Israel but every single human being. And it doesn’t matter if you are a sinner; as long as you repent and follow Jesus, then you, too, can enter the kingdom of God.
The Catechism reminds us that Jesus “shares the life of the poor” and he reached out to the poor in a special way, telling his followers they must love and care for those in need if they hope to have a share in God’s kingdom. He also reached out to the sinners, those who were the outcasts and pariahs of society. He “invites them to conversion” and shows them the Father’s mercy. (544–545)
Church Speak
In his preaching, Jesus used parables, which are stories that teach people lessons about God through comparisons to real-life experiences. The Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son, and the Lost Sheep are a few of the better-known parables that Jesus used to teach deep doctrine in easy-to-understand ways.
Jesus, of course, didn’t just preach the Good News. He had the miracles to back up the words. His signs of wonder were not performed to satisfy curiosity but to bear witness to who he was and what his mission was. He fed the hungry, cured the lame, and cast out demons as visible signs of his invisible connection to God the Father. Through his miracles, Jesus gave everyone a glimpse of his victory over Satan once and for all. (550)
To help him in his mission on earth, Jesus chose the Twelve Apostles, giving them a “share in his authority” and sending them out to preach the Good News. Simon Peter, whom Jesus called the “rock” on whom he will build his Church, recognized Jesus early on as the “Messiah and Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16–18). Peter was promised the keys to the kingdom of heaven and eventually took the “first place” among the Twelve. (552)
After his Resurrection, Jesus made their mission even more specific. He gave Peter the “power of the keys,” indicating the authority to govern the house of God, which is the Church. Even more, he gave the apostles power to “bind and loose,” which means to absolve sins, and to pronounce “doctrinal judgments,” which are authoritative interpretations of the teachings of Jesus. (553) This mandate continues to this day, carried out by the college of bishops with the pope functioning like Peter before him.
Transfiguration
As we get toward the end of Jesus’ public preaching life and move toward his Passion and death, there are two important events that must be discussed: the Transfiguration and Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem.
During the Transfiguration, Jesus took Peter, James, and John up a mountain where he was “transfigured” before them. His face and clothes became dazzling with light. Moses and Elijah appeared on either side of him. A cloud came and cast a shadow over them and then a voice said, “This is my chosen Son; listen to him.” (Luke 9:35)
Jesus revealed his true nature during the Transfiguration, and, according to St. Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologica, also revealed the Holy Trinity: “the Father in the voice; the Son in the man; the Spirit in the shining cloud.” (555)
The Gospel account is clearly about the Lord’s Transfiguration, and it is also about the suffering he was to endure. It is about his glory, and it is also about his impending death. It is about his status with the greatest of the lawmakers and the greatest of the prophets, and it is also about his status as the suffering servant of God, who, though innocent, would suffer and die for Israel.
The Transfiguration gave the three apostles who were privy to it something to hold on to when things turned increasingly more desperate and dangerous as Jesus’ Passion and death neared. For Catholics today, the Transfiguration remains a promise of things to come, something to hold on to as we journey toward heaven.
Teachable Moment
In the Catholic Mass, at the beginning of the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the people sing Holy, Holy, and Hosanna, echoing the shouts of the eager crowds in Jerusalem all those years ago.
When Jesus entered Jerusalem so triumphantly less than one week before his Crucifixion, it was hard to imagine things would turn out so badly. But as he headed toward the holy city, Jesus knew he would die there. He told his apostles he would die there. Riding on a donkey, he entered Jerusalem to a crowd waving palm branches and shouts of Hosanna, which means “save us.”
Agony and Death
The Apostles’ Creed says Jesus “suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the living and the dead.”
The Nicene Creed skips the part about hell and adds a few bonus phrases about Jesus doing everything for our sakes, fulfilling Scripture, coming in glory, and opening up to us a kingdom with no end.
Before we get to the glory, however, there is much, much agony. The Church calls going from agony to glory the “paschal mystery,” which refers to Jesus’ suffering, death, and Resurrection. This is the apex of Jesus’ mission on earth, and this is the heart of the Good News that every follower of Jesus Christ is challenged to proclaim: Jesus, the Savior of the world, has set us free through his cross and Resurrection.
Let’s talk about why anyone wanted Jesus dead in the first place. Wasn’t he a good guy? He was curing people, getting rid of demons, turning water into wine. Who wouldn’t love that? Well, some of the things we find so incredibly amazing and comforting are the very things that got Jesus into trouble with the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the government.
For instance, he healed on the Sabbath—a no-no according to Jewish law. He ate with public sinners. He was accused of demonic possession, blasphemy, and all sorts of religious crimes that set him up as an enemy of Israel. And when he said he was the Son of God, one with God, well, that was the last straw for the people in power.
You’re Absolved If …
Some may think the Catholic Church blames the Jews for Jesus’ death. While there is a scriptural reference where the people in the crowd condemning Jesus shout, “Let his blood be on us and on our children” (Matthew 27:25), the Church today teaches that Jews cannot be held accountable for crimes committed during the Passion.
As we approach Jesus’ Passion, his final suffering, the one question that most likely comes to mind is why Jesus had to die at all. If he is God, couldn’t he have found another way to save humankind? The Church teaches that Jesus’ death was not an accident, a coincidence, or bad timing on his part, but that his death was God’s plan from the beginning of time.
Of course, that makes it sound as if Jesus did not have free will or as if the people responsible were not acting of their own accord. But that’s not true. You have to remember God, who exists from before time began in his own sort of timeless universe, not only knows the plan but also knows how everyone will eventually react to the plan. So although he set the plan in motion, he does not choose the end results. People do that. (600)
In other words, Jesus freely offered himself up to death to free us from sins, as it was written in Scripture and in his Father’s divine plan. (601)
Christ’s final days begin with the Last Supper, when he sat down with the apostles to share the Passover meal and transformed it—what the Church would remember and continue to celebrate as the Eucharist. “This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me.” (Luke 22:19) We will explore the Eucharist further in Chapter 13, so for now let’s simply understand that Jesus offered himself to his disciples. Then he invited his apostles to “perpetuate” that offering, which is what happens every time a priest celebrates Mass. (611)
From the Last Supper we move to the Agony in the Garden of Geth-semane, where Jesus asked God to take away the suffering he was about to endure, but freely accepted whatever the Father willed. This was where Jesus was arrested after his betrayal by the apostle Judas Iscariot.
The Catechism explains just as Adam’s disobedience brought sin upon all of us, Jesus’ obedience to the Father brought us redemption. Jesus, the “suffering servant,” made an offering of himself for us—all of us, for all time. He substituted his obedience for Adam’s disobedience. (615)
Just because Jesus atoned for our sins doesn’t mean we don’t have some work to do. Jesus called on all of his disciples to “take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24), reminding us that we are not immune from suffering. Not that we have to die on a literal cross, but we must be willing to bear the crosses that are placed on our shoulders in the forms of suffering, pain, and sorrow, and to die to our own weaknesses and failings. (618)
After Jesus’ death on the cross, he was placed in a borrowed tomb. He died and was buried like every other human, but, unlike the rest of us who are fully mortal, Jesus’ body was kept from corruption. (627)
Resurrection and Ascension
Now we get to the part where Jesus descended into hell, which is only in the Apostles’ Creed and not in the Nicene Creed. You’re probably wondering why Jesus would go to hell. If he, of all people, didn’t go straight to heaven, then who would? Well, it’s not exactly hell in the sense we might imagine, the one reserved for those playing fast and loose with the big commandments.
Jesus died a human death, and therefore descended into the “realm of the dead,” where he brought the Gospel message of salvation to complete fulfillment. (634) According to Church teaching, everyone—good or bad—must await salvation, which they cannot achieve on their own. They need Jesus. So Jesus, when he died, did not descend into the place of eternal damnation and hellfire, but to a realm where there were souls awaiting their redeemer. (633)
The Catechism explains that by dying a human death and descending to the realm of the dead, Jesus conquered death and the devil, and that he opened the gates of heaven for those souls who had descended to the dead. (635)
The Apostles’ Creed links Jesus’ Resurrection to his descent into hell almost into the same breath. “On the third day he rose again,” it says. This is it, the crowing glory. Jesus’ death was not in vain. Just as he promised, he rose from the dead and, in doing so, gave every person reason to hope, to know that death cannot own them.
The Church teaches that Jesus’ Resurrection is not merely a figurative event or a literary device. It is a real and actual event, although we do not and cannot fully comprehend it in human terms.
True Confessions
After Jesus’ Resurrection, the apostle Thomas would not believe the news and said until he put his finger into the nail marks and his hand into the side of Jesus, he would not believe. (Matthew 20:24–29) So at first, Jesus’ Resurrection was met with disbelief not only by his enemies but also by many of his followers.
The Catechism explains that by his death Jesus freed humankind from sin and by his Resurrection he opened a new way of life for all people. Through his death and Resurrection, Jesus gave all humanity a share in his grace, making all men and women his adopted brothers and sisters. (654)
After his Resurrection, Jesus remained on earth, walking among humans and revealing himself to his apostles in various ways, often in the breaking of the bread. After this period, he ascended, body and soul, to his Father in heaven.
We end this section of the creed with the words, “From thence he shall come to judge the living and the dead,” meaning Jesus will return, at which point he will be the judge of those who have lived righteous lives and those who have lived lives filled with sin and evil.
The Church teaches that before Jesus comes again, his followers will have to stand a “final trial.” Jesus, however, will triumph in the end of time, at which point he will reveal the secrets within the heart of each person. (679)
The Least You Need to Know
Jesus came for all people and performed miracles to bear witness to God’s power and to his own mission of redemption.
The Transfiguration, which was a pivotal moment during Jesus’ ministry on earth, revealed his true nature to the apostles Peter, James, and John.
By freely accepting the Crucifixion, Jesus opened the gates of heaven for all humanity.
Jesus redeemed humankind from the sin of Adam through his death on the cross and Resurrection.
Having ascended into heaven, Jesus now sits at the right hand of his Father, his humanity forever linked with the Trinity.
At the end of the world, Jesus will come again and will judge both the living and the dead.