1. STORY OF JESUS IN A LAYMAN LANGUAGE...
2. REASONS FOR HIS COMING INTO THIS WORLD
3. WHY DID HE SUFFER?
4. MIRACLES PERFORMED BY JESUS
5. PROPHECIES ABOUT JESUS
6. WHAT HAS HE COMMANDED US TO DO?
7. IS JESUS STILL LIVING AMONG US?
8. WHERE IS THE WORLD HEADING FOR?
9. THE TWO GREAT COMMANDMENTS
TO BE OBEYED
STORY
OF JESUS IN A LAYMAN
LANGUAGE...
- He came as a human being on earth;
- He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit,
born of the Blessed Virgin Mary in a manger amidst the cattle;
- He led a life of poverty;
- He helped his father St.Joseph, who was a just man,
in his work as a carpenter;
- At the age of thirty he started his public ministry;
- He performed so many miracles and wonders,
because he had all the authority from the Heavenly Father,
yet he was humble and gentle in heart;
- He earned no degree, yet he taught people in synagogues, on mountains, near seashore - with authority about the Kingdom of God and about His Father and his love;
- He learned no magic, yet as He was the Son of God, he calmed storms, raised the dead and cured everyone of all diseases and illness;
- He chose 12 persons as his disciples, among whom were illiterate men including fishermen and tax collectors, who were not so famous among the people, and had no particular qualification in education;
- After three years of his public ministry,
one of his disciples betrayed him,
for just thirty pieces of silver coins,
and with wrong accusations handed him over to the authority;
- They came to arrest him with swords and clubs as if he was a bandit;
- He was subjected to severe trials;
- He was mocked, insulted, and beaten up,
although he had committed no crime;
- The soldiers spat on his face, they stripped him and divided his clothes among themselves by casting lots;
- He was given the cross and a notorious prisoner was set free in place of him;
- He was crucified in between two criminals, one of which repented and was saved at the last moment by Jesus Christ;
- On his cross was written "Jesus of Nazareth, King of Jews", as he was called a Nazarene, but His Kingdom did not belong to the earth as he was preparing a Heavenly Kingdom through his mediation and intercession for his Father;
- His heart was pierced with a lance but not a single bone was broken;
- He shed even his last drop of blood for all sinners as a sacrifice for the reconciliation of their sins; he did not get a proper place either to be born or to die;
- He died on the cross with thirst on his tongue and forgiveness in his heart;
- The temple curtain was torn in two and the earth shook,
the rocks split apart, and the graves broke open, and many of God's people who had died were raised to life;
- He was buried among the rich;
- But on the third day he rose again from the dead;
- He appeared to his disciples several times and then he
ascended into heaven seated at the right hand of the Father;
- He is still living with us and he will come again on the Judgement day from Heaven in the same way as he was taken up in to heaven as a righteous judge to judge the living and the dead.
- He is JESUS CHRIST, OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR.
JESUS CAME INTO THE WORLD AS... 
Jesus Christ is the only Son of God (St.John1:14,St.John
3:16-17, St.John 11:27) who was sent on earth 2000
years back for us sinners(Romans 3:9-12, Romans 5:12, ;5:18-19;1John1:8-10)
from Heaven (St.John 3:13) as a man (St.John 1:10-12) conceived
by the power of the Holy Spirit (St.Matthew 1:18-21; St.Luke 1:35)
and born of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Isaiah 7:14;
St.Matthew 1:18; St.Luke 1:30-33)
As a - Messiah to the world ( St.Luke 24:26; St.John
20:30-31; Acts 8:5; Acts9:22),
Saviour to save us from all sins (Acts 4:12;5:3,10:43,16:31;1John
3:5;1John 4:14),
Redeemer to redeem us from all iniquity (St.Matthew
20:28,Galatians 4:5; Titus 2:14),
Deliverer to deliver us from this evil world
(Galatians1:4; Hebrews 2:10-11),
Teacher, Messenger and Preacher to teach
us the way of God (St.Luke 4:18, St.Luke 4:34;
4:43; St.Mark 12:14, St.John 3:2),
Mediator and Intercessor between man and
God (St.John 14:12-14,23;15:16; St.John 17; Romans 8:34;
1Timothy 2:5-6),
Light of the World to expel all darkness (Isaiah
49:6; St.John 1:1-9, 8:12),
Truth, the Way and the Life (Eternal)
(St.John 3:36, 4:14,6:35, 6:47, 6:51, 7:38, 8:31-32,
8:45,14:6; Romans 8:11),
King of Kings, Prince of Peace
(Isaiah 9:6-7; St.Luke1:32-33; St. John18:36-37),
Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world
(St.John 1:29) by giving away His Life on the
Cross (St.Matthew 26:2; St.John 6:51,10:11,10:28).
But on the third day after his death,
as He had said before hand to His disciples when He
was with them(St.Matthew 16:21,17:22-23, 20:18-19), he rose again
from the dead (Acts 2:32-36; Romans 6:9-10, 8:34; 1Corinthians
15:3-28) and he appeared to his disciples several times(St.John
20-21) and to his followers in Galilee (1Corinthians
15:5-7) and then He was taken up to heaven seated at the
right hand of the Father in Heaven(St.John 1:18; Ephesians
4:10; 1Peter 3:22) and is still alive and He lives among
us (St.Matthew 1:23; 28:20). Jesus Christ will come again (Acts 3:20-21; James 5:8; Titus 2:13; 1John 2:28) to
judge the living and the dead on the Judgement
Day(Isaiah 26:21;Malachi 3:2-5,16-18;Malachi 4:1-3;St.Luke 21:27; Jude 14-15; Revelation 16:15;19:11-16; 20:11-15; 22:7,
12-15).
"Then the sign of the
Son of Man will appear in the sky; and all the peoples of
earth will weep as they see the Son of Man
coming on the clouds of Heaven with power and
great glory. The Great trumpet will sound, and He will
send out His angels to the four corners
of the earth, and they will gather His chosen people
from one end of the world to the other."(St.Matthew
24:30-31)
But "No one knows, however,
when that day and hour will come - neither the angels
in heaven nor the Son; the Father alone
knows."(St.Matthew 24:36)
But "Before He
was taken up to heaven(Ascension), He gave instructions
by the power of the Holy Spirit to the men
he had chosen as His Apostles.{12 of them in all
whom He had given authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal
every disease and every sickness - Simon (Peter)
& his brother Andrew, James & his brother John;
Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus,
and Thaddaeus; Simon the Patriot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed
Jesus for just thirty pieces of silver coins(St.Matthew
10:1-4)} For forty days after His death
He appeared to them many times in ways that proved beyond
doubt that He was alive. They saw Him
and He talked with them about the Kingdom of God."(Acts1:2-3)
WHY
DID JESUS CHRIST SUFFER
AND WHY
WAS HE CRUCIFIED?
"Christ himself suffered for you and left you
an example, so that you would follow in His
steps. He committed no sin, and no one ever heard a lie come from
His lips. When He was insulted(St.Matthew 27:27-31),
He did not answer back with an insult; when He suffered,
He did not threaten, but He placed His hopes in God, the
righteous judge. Christ Himself carried our sins in His body to
the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for
righteousness. It is by his wounds that you have been
healed. You were like sheep that had lost their way, but now you
have been brought back to follow the Shepherd and Keeper
of your souls.
(1Peter 2:21-25)
"But He endured the suffering that should have
been ours, the pain that we should have borne. All the
while we thought that his suffering was punishment sent
by God. But because of our sins he was wounded, beaten because of
the evil we did. We are healed by the punishment he
suffered, made whole by the blows he received. All of
us were like sheep that were lost, each of us going his own way.
But the Lord made the punishment fall on him,
the punishment all of us deserved.
"He was treated harshly, but endured
it humbly; he never said a word. Like a lamb about to
be slaughtered, like a sheep about to be sheared, he never said
a word. He was arrested and sentenced and led off to
die, and no one cared about his fate. He was put to
death for the sins of our people. He was placed in a grave with
evil men, he was buried with the rich, even though he had never
committed a crime or ever told a lie."
The Lord says, "It was my will that
he should suffer; his death was a sacrifice to bring
forgiveness. And so he will see his descendants; he will live a
long life, and through him my purpose will succeed.
After a life of suffering, he will again have joy; he
will know that he did not suffer in vain. My devoted servant, with
whom I am pleased, will bear the punishment of many
and for his sake I will forgive them. And so I will
give him a place of honour, a place among great and powerful men. He willingly gave his life and shared the fate of evil
men. He took the place of many sinners and prayed that
they might be forgiven." (Isaiah53:4-12)
The Bible gives us all
the details of Jesus Christ; his First and the Second coming in
to the world, his birth, life, death and resurrection
and all that He did - all healings, teachings and miracles
and wonders that he performed etc.
MIRACLES PERFORMED
BY JESUS:
Jesus performed many miracles(St.Matthew 4:24-25, 8:16, 12:15, 14:35-36, 15:30-31, St.Mark 3:10-12) and did many wonders during his time 2000 years back here on earth and large crowds used to gather round him bringing with them the lame, the crippled, the blind, the dumb, those possessed by the devils, the sick, and many others, and Jesus cured them all, drove out the spirits with a command and cured all who were sick.
"He had cured so many that all who were afflicted
in any way were crowding forward to touch him. And the unclean
spirits, whenever they saw him, would fall down before him and
shout, 'You are the Son of God!' But He warned them strongly not
to make Him known."(St.Mark 3:10-12)
"And wherever He went, to village or town or
farm, they laid down the sick in open spaces, begging Him to let
them touch even the fringe of His cloak. And all those who touched
Him were saved."(St.Mark 6:56)
Many of these can be read in the New Testament of
the Holy Bible.
"He used to make a tour through all the towns
and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good
News of the Kingdom and curing all kinds of disease and all kinds
of illness."(St.Matthew 9:35)
" In his disciple's presence Jesus performed
many other miracles which are not written down in this book. But
these have been written in order that you may believe that Jesus
is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through your
faith in Him you may have life."(St.John
20:30-31)
Some of the renowned and well-known miracles are listed here for
you :
a) Miracles
- Turning water into wine (St.John 2:1-11)
- Feeding the five thousand (St.Matthew 14:13-21)
- Feeding the four thousand (St.Matthew 15:32-39)
- Great catch of fish- 153 in all (St.John 21:6-11)
- Stilling the storm (St.Matthew 8:23-27)
- Walking on water (St.Matthew 14:22-33)
b) Driving out demons
- Blind and dumb demoniac (St.Matthew 12:22)
- Daughter of woman of Tyre tormented by a devil
(St.Matthew 15:21-28)
- The epileptic demoniac boy(St.Matthew 17:14-18)
- Man in Capernaum (St.Mark 1:23-27)
- The Gerasene demoniac (St.Mark 5:1-20)
- Mary Magdalene (St.Mark 16:9)
- Crippled woman possessed by a spirit in the
synagogue (St.Luke 13:10-13)
c) Other cures
- Blind Bartimaeus (St.Mark 10:46-52)
- Blind man at Bethsaida (St.Mark 8:22-26)
- Deaf-mute (St.Mark 7:31-37)
- Man with skin-disease (St.Matthew 8:1-4)
- Man with swollen arms and legs (St.Luke 14:1-6)
- Officer's servant (St.Matthew 8:5-13)
- Paralysed man in Capernaum (St.Matthew 9:1-8)
- Ten men with skin-disease (St.Luke 17:11-19)
- Woman with severe bleeding (St.Matthew 9:20-22)
- Paralysed man in Jerusalem paralysed for 38
years (St.John 5:1-9)
- Peter's Mother-in-law in bed and feverish(St.Matthew
8:14-15)
d) Raising the dead
- Daughter of Jairus, the roman official (St.Matthew
9:18-26)
- Son of widow of Nain (St.Luke 7:11-17)
- Lazarus, brother of Martha and Mary (St.John
11:1-44)
"Now, there are many other things
that Jesus did. If they were all written down one by one, I suppose
that the whole world could not hold the books that would be written."(St.John
21:25)
PROPHECIES
ABOUT JESUS CHRIST IN THE
BIBLE :
The Old Testament
of the Bible contains many references to the coming of Messiah.They
were written long before the birth of Christ. As they are carefully
studied and examined, one can reach no other conclusion
than Jesus Christ as the Messiah.
All the Prophecies related to Jesus Christ in
the Old Testament regarding -
His Birth (Micah 5:2; Hosea 11:1; Isaiah 7:14,
9:1-2; Jeremiah 31:15),
His Public Ministry(Isaiah 42; 61:1-2),
His Entry into Jerusalem (Zechariah 9:9),
His Betrayal by his disciple and His Arrest(Zechariah
11:12; Psalm 41:9),
His Trial(Isaiah 50:6-7, 53:4-12; Psalms 35:11),
His Suffering and Crucifixion(Isaiah 52:14,
Isaiah 53:3,5,7-8; Psalms 22:12-18; Psalms 34:20;69:21;
Zech 12:10),
His Resurrection(Psalms 16:10; 49:15),
and
His Second coming as a judge on the Judgement
Day (Isaiah 26:21;
Malachi 3:2-5,16-18; Malachi 4:1-3; St.Luke 21:27;
Jude 14-15;
Revelation 16:15;19:11-16; 20:11-15; 22:7,12-15)
have been completely fulfilled in Jesus
Christ in the New Testament of the Bible.
THE
FOUR GOSPELS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT:
The New Testament consists of four
books in the beginning that record the 'Good News' (Evangelium,
or Gospel) brought by Jesus Christ, his life story, the first three
are so alike that they can, in many passages, be placed
side by side and viewed as it were at a glance : for
this reason they are called 'synoptic gospels'. Tradition dating
from the second century assigns them respectively to
St.Matthew, St.Mark and St.Luke.
The fourth Gospel ('gospel'-
which proclaims that Jesus is Messiah and Son of God, and
its teaching, based on 'signs' that Jesus gave, is to bring the
reader to believe in the Messiah and so to attain
life.) according to St.John have some features that mark it off sharply from the synoptics. In the first place, it is far more concerned than the Synoptics to bring out the significanceof the events of Christ's life and of all that He did and said.
The things Christ did were 'signs': their meaning, hidden at first, could be fully understood only after
His glorification. The things He said had a deeper meaning not perceived at the time; it was the business of the Spirit who spoke in the name of the risen Christ, to remind the disciples of what Jesus had said, to deepen their understanding
of it, and to 'lead' them 'into the whole truth'. The Gospel according to John looks back on the earthly life
of Jesus in the light of this completed understanding.
Moreover, this Gospel is far more interested than the Synoptics in worship and sacraments.
It is a complex work; it is related to the earliest Christian preaching,
and yet at the same time it gives us the results of
a quest, completed under the guidance of the Holy Spirit,
for a deeper and more rewarding apprehension of the mystery of Jesus.
Hence, each of the four
evangelists has his own approach to Christ's person and mission.
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