Jesus’ Public Ministry:
Building the Kingdom of God
Through Deeds
The Miracles of Jesus
The Miracles of Jesus


Miracle of Miracles from Fiddler on the Roof
How would the Jewish people of Jesus’ day
define the term miracle?
The Miracles of Jesus

Miracle (for the Jewish people)




Any event or experience that reveals God’s action
in the world or desire to have a personal
relationship with and participate in the life of his
people
Any event or experience that reveals God’s love for
the world and its people
A work or deed of God
A blessing, gift, or grace of God
The Miracles of Jesus

Miracle (for the Jewish people)


Both a historical and a present-day reality
More inclusive than the modern day understanding




Big, extraordinary, tremendous, world-altering events or
experiences
Small, ordinary, common, everyday events or
experiences
The seemingly unexpected or impossible that
occurs in the world
Looked to God as explanation for supernatural
phenomenon, rather than science, reason, or logic
The Miracles of Jesus

Jesus teaches us about



God (relationship with God)
The Kingdom of God
Discipleship


Appropriate response to God’s offer of the Kingdom
Relationship with other people
The Miracles of Jesus

Jesus teaches us about the Kingdom of God





Promise of Unconditional Love
Commitment to Poor and Outcasts
Power over Sin and Evil
Offering of Healing and Reconciliation
Divine Presence Incarnated in Jesus
The Miracles of Jesus

Types of Miracles

Healing Miracles



Restorations of Life
Exorcisms
Nature Miracles
The Miracles of Jesus

The Synoptic Gospels





The Healing of a Centurion’s Slave (Luke 7: 1-10)
The Raising of the Widow’s Son (Luke 7: 11-17)
The Calming of a Storm (Luke 8: 22-25)
The Healing of the Gerasene Demoniac (Luke 8: 26-39)
The Gospel According to John
 The Wedding Feast at Cana (John 2: 1-12)
 The Curing on the Sabbath (John 5: 1-18)
 The Man Born Blind (John 9: 1-41)
 The Raising of Lazarus from Death (John 11: 1-44)
The Everyday Life of
Jesus
The Everyday Life of Jesus

Jesus teaches us about



God (relationship with God)
The Kingdom of God
Discipleship


Appropriate response to God’s offer of the Kingdom
Relationship with other people
The Everyday Life of Jesus



Jesus Eats with Tax Collectors and Sinners
(Mark 2: 13-17; Luke 5:27-32; Matthew 9: 913)
Jesus and the Adulterous Woman (John 7: 53 –
8: 11)
The Cleansing of the Temple (Mark 11:15-19;
Luke 19:45-48; Matthew 21:12-17; John 2: 1325)
The Everyday Life of Jesus

The Cycle A Gospels from John for the Third,
Fourth, and Fifth Weeks of Lent

The Samaritan Woman at the Well (John 4: 3-42)


The Man Born Blind (John 9: 1-41)


The Third Sunday of Lent - The First Scrutiny
The Fourth Sunday of Lent - The Second Scrutiny
The Raising of Lazarus from the Dead (John 11: 144)

The Fifth Sunday of Lent - The Third Scrutiny
The Passion Narratives
The Gospel According to Mark, 14-15
The Gospel According to Luke, 22-23
The Gospel According to Matthew, 26-27
The Gospel According to John, 12-19
The Passion Narratives

Major Characters







The Anonymous Woman in Bethany; Mary, the
sister of Martha and Lazarus (from John 12: 3)
Judas Iscariot
Caiaphas
Peter
Pontius Pilate
Herod Antipas
Barabbas
The Passion Narratives

Major Characters







Simon of Cyrene
Veronica
The Repentant Thief
The Roman Centurion
Longinus
The Women from Galilee (from Luke 23: 49); His
mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of
Clopas, and Mary Magdalene (from John 19: 25)
Joseph of Arimathea
The Passion Narratives

Traditional Understanding of the Crucifixion

Jesus as the “Suffering Servant”




Passages in the book of the prophet Isaiah (42: 1-4, 49:
1-6, 50: 4-9, 52: 13 - 53: 12)
An unnamed servant of the Lord who suffers greatly, not
as punishment for his own sins, but to save the people
from their sins
Through his suffering and death, the “Servant” is
glorified by God
For the early Christians these passages



Foretold the mission of Jesus
Explained the suffering Jesus went through in the Crucifixion
Explained the belief that Jesus freed humanity from sin through the
Cross
The Passion Narratives

Traditional Understanding of the Crucifixion

Jesus as the “Paschal Lamb”

Passages in the Gospel of John


“The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”
Links the death of Jesus with the Jewish feast of
Passover


The blood of the paschal lambs was the sign that spared the
Israelites from death, led to their liberation from slavery in
Egypt, and began their journey to the Promised Land
By calling Jesus the new “Paschal Lamb,” John was suggesting
that Jesus’ death on the Cross constituted a “new Passover” and
that Jesus’ death on the Cross and Resurrection saved all
humanity from death and sin
The Passion Narratives

Traditional Understanding of the Crucifixion

Jesus as a “Ransom for Many”

Passage from the Gospel of Mark



For a Gentile audience (rather than the Jewish
understanding of Jesus as the “Paschal Lamb”)
Ransom is the price paid to release a slave



“The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to
give his life [as] a ransom for many.” (Mark 10: 45)
Often paid by someone other than the slave
Jesus’ death liberates humanity from slavery to sin
Jesus sets humanity free by demonstrating the incredibly
freeing power of a love that knows no limits
The Passion Narratives

Traditional Understanding of the Crucifixion




Jesus as the “Suffering Servant”
Jesus as the “Paschal Lamb”
Jesus as a “Ransom for Many”
Shared belief that, through the Cross, Jesus gave up his life
for humanity or that “Jesus Died for Our Sins”
 Misunderstanding


An angry God demanded that Jesus had to die as payment for
past human offenses
True Meaning

A loving and forgiving God desired that Jesus bridge the
separation between God and humanity created by sin and, by
overcoming sin, to free humanity from death
The Passion Narratives

Traditional Understanding of the Crucifixion

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only
Son, so that everyone who believes in him might
not perish but might have eternal life. For God did
not send his Son into the world to condemn the
world, but that the world might be saved through
him.” (John 3: 16-17)
The Passion Narratives

Traditional Understanding of the Crucifixion

A sign of God’s unlimited and complete love for all
people and formed a new covenant with all people




God so loved humanity that He became human in Jesus,
giving totally of His divine Self to His people
Humans rejected and attempted to destroy God’s gift of
love by crucifying Jesus
God responded not with anger and punishment, but by
offering forgiveness and new life to anyone who accepts
His love as expressed in Jesus
Ultimately, the power of God’s love is stronger and
greater than the power of sin and death
The Passion Narratives

The Paschal Mystery



The Passion, Death (Crucifixion), Resurrection, and
Ascension of Jesus and Pentecost
What meaning does the Paschal Mystery reveal
about who God is?
What meaning does the Paschal Mystery reveal
about who we are called to be?


What does it mean to say we believe in and follow a
Crucified God?
What does it mean to say we believe in and follow a
Resurrected God?
The Passion Narratives

The Meaning of the Crucifixion

“Take Up Your Cross and Follow Me.”

Called to imitate the Cross of Jesus by totally giving of
self to others with unlimited and unconditional love


Involves great risk and personal sacrifice, sometimes even
loving and forgiving our enemies
It is only through complete trust and faith in God that
humans can fully love as Jesus did
The Passion Narratives

The Meaning of the Crucifixion

“Take Up Your Cross and Follow Me.”




Called to imitate the Cross of Jesus by totally giving of self
to others with unlimited and unconditional love


What burdens (crosses) do you carry?
How are you crucified in your everyday life?
How do you crucify others in your everyday life?
Involves great risk and personal sacrifice, sometimes even loving
and forgiving our enemies
It is only through complete trust and faith in God that
humans can fully love as Jesus did
The Passion Narratives

The Meaning of the Resurrection


Love and Life conquers sin and death
A New Life of Joy and Hope

Not pain and suffering