The Revelation of
Jesus Christ in
Scripture
 What does revelation mean?
 What does it mean to say God “reveals” Himself to us?
 The Church teaches that God has freely and fully revealed himself
to us in order to draw us nearer to him and to make us more like
him.
 God’s Revelation culminates in the person and the mission of
Jesus Christ.
 God offered his Revelation to human beings in stages.
 With Noah – after the flood.
 With Abraham – Our Father in
Faith.
 With Moses – The Ten
Commandments.
 The Prophets preached about a
new and everlasting covenant
that would supersede all other
covenants.
 Jesus is God’s final Revelation.
He is the fulfillment of all
covenants.
 The word Bible is from a Greek word which means
“book.”
 Composed of 73 books – 46 Old Testament and 27
New Testament books.
 Books are NOT arranged in the order in which they
were written.
 Most books written by several authors.
 The Holy Spirit inspired the
human authors of the sacred
books.
 “God chose certain men who, all
the while he employed them in
this task, made full use of their
own faculties and powers so that,
though he acted in them and by
them, it was as true authors that
they consigned to writing
whatever he wanted written and
no more.” (Dei Verbum, 11)
 Literal sense – what the written words mean as they
are written.
 Spiritual sense – looks at what the words signify:
 Allegorical
 Moral
 Anagogical
 Canon refers to
the books of the
Old and the New
Testaments that
the Church
accepts as
inspired books.
 The canon of the Old Testament includes
 The Pentateuch – The first five books of the Bible also
called the Torah or Law books.
 The Prophets – e.g. Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc.
 Writings – all other books not included in the first two
categories.
 From the Greek word for “seventy.”
 The translation of Scripture from Hebrew into Greek.
 Seventy-two Hebrew elders divided into teams to
translate the Scriptures.
 At the conclusion, each of the translations was exactly
the same!
 Catholic Bibles include the 7 extra books from the
Septuagint called deuterocanonical or “second
canon.”
 The Old Testament canon of Protestant Bibles
includes only those books originally written in
Hebrew. However, the “second canon” books are
usually printed in a separate section called
apocrypha.
 The Council of Trent in the 16th Century confirmed the canon of
the N.T. using the following criteria:
 1) originated with the Apostles.
 2) widely circulated and accepted by more than one local
Christian community.
 3) doctrine taught was essential to the Christian faith.
 Gospels (good news)
 Letters (epistles) written to
local Christian communities
or individuals by St. Paul
 Letters intended for the
entire Church (Catholic
letters)
 Acts of the Apostles sequel to Luke’s Gospel
recounts early days of the
Church
 Revelation – apocalyptic
literature
- Written between 65-100 AD
- Synoptic Gospels – Although written for different Christian
communities, Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are similar.
Synoptic = “one eye.”
-Gospel of John – written later - reflects a fuller understanding of
the divinity of Christ.
 Stage 1 – The life and teachings of Jesus
Christ
 Stage 2 – Oral tradition
 Deaths of the Apostles, concern for
weaknesses in oral tradition, need for
catechetical manual and worship aid led to
Stage 3…
 Stage 3 – The Gospels were written down
 First reading from the Old Testament
 Psalm Response
 Second Reading from New Testament Letters
 Gospel Reading (related to the OT reading)
 Homily (Scripture explained by the priest)
 Year A – Matthew, Year B – Mark,
– Luke
 John – Lent and Easter, 5 Sundays of Year B
Year C
 The Second Vatican Council renewed interest in
Scripture.
 Readings at Mass are in the vernacular (language of
the people).
 Over a three year cycle, Catholics hear readings from
virtually every NT book and a large selection of OT
readings.
 Scripture readings for Mass are contained in the
Lectionary (book of readings).
 The Bible is the “book of
the Church.”
 The words of Scripture
must be incarnate and
living – not locked into the
century in which they were
written.
 We must understand what the human authors were
attempting to say and what God wanted to reveal by
their words.
 The reader must take into account the historical and
cultural context of the writing.
 The detailed study or explanation of a biblical book or
passage is known as exegesis from the Greek word
meaning “to lead.”
 1. Pay attention to the Bible as a whole – See the unity
of God’s plan with Christ at the center.
 2. Read the Bible in the light of the living Tradition of
the Church – from the perspective of the Church
rather than individualistically.
 3. Be attentive to the analogy of faith – Scripture
understood within the entire plan of God’s Revelation.
 Relational truth – you know it is true from your
experience and from the testimony of others.
 Symbolic truth – parable – story that uses easily
understood symbols and ends with a surprising moral
lesson.
 Moral truth – laws and standards for living.
 Religious truth – describes God’s relationship with
humankind.
 Lectio divina – “divine
reading” prayerful
reading of Scripture
 Choose a Scripture reading
 Call on the Holy Spirit
 Read slowly through the
passage
 Listen to God speaking in
your heart
 Conclude with prayer in your
own words