Life, Miracles, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ
The Life, Miracles, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ
Birth and Early Life
- Mary is unexpectedly pregnant. An angel appears to her in a dream, announcing that her pregnancy is by the Holy Spirit and prophesying that her son will be the Jewish Messiah. Wise men from the East arrive in Jerusalem, asking for the “King of the Jews who has just been born,” intending to worship him. This alerts King Herod the Great, who decides to eliminate this potential rival. The Magi, guided by a star, reach Bethlehem and worship the child. The angel visits Joseph and warns him of Herod’s impending persecution. The family flees to Egypt and stays there until the death of the monarch.
- In the Gospel of Luke, Mary and Joseph live in the Galilean town of Nazareth. The story of Jesus’ conception is intertwined with that of John the Baptist. Mary and Elizabeth, John the Baptist’s mother, are relatives. The angel Gabriel announces the birth of Jesus to Mary (the Annunciation). Emperor Augustus orders a census, requiring everyone to register in their place of birth. Joseph, being a native of Bethlehem, travels there. Jesus is born in Bethlehem during their journey and is adored by shepherds. Luke also includes short stories on the circumcision of Jesus, his Presentation in the Temple, and an anecdote that happened on a trip to Jerusalem for Passover when he was twelve.
Public Life
Accompanied by his followers, Jesus visited the regions of Galilee and Judea, preaching the gospel and performing many miracles. The order of the words and deeds of Jesus varies according to different Gospel accounts. Nor is it indicated how long the public life of Jesus lasted, though the Gospel of John mentions that Jesus celebrated the annual feast of Passover (Pesach) in Jerusalem on three occasions. The Synoptic Gospels refer only to one Passover holiday, during which Jesus was crucified.
Much of the facts in the public life of Jesus told in the Gospels have the setting of northern Galilee, near the Sea of Tiberias or Sea of Galilee, especially the city of Capernaum, but also others such as Chorazin or Bethsaida. He also visited places in the south of the region, like Cana or Nain, and the village where he had grown up, Nazareth, where he was received with hostility by his former neighbors. His preaching also extended to Judea (according to the Gospel of John, he visited Jerusalem three times since the beginning of his public life), and he was in Jericho and Bethany (where he raised Lazarus).
Miracles
The Gospels narrate the following miraculous cures wrought by Jesus:
- He healed a leper by word and the touch of his hand (Mark 1:40-45, Matthew 8:1-4, Luke 5:12-16).
- He healed ten lepers, who found their way to Jerusalem, by word (Luke 17:11-19).
- He healed a man who had been ill for thirty-eight years in Jerusalem on the Sabbath (John 5:1-9).
- He healed a blind man in Bethsaida, putting saliva on his eyes and laying on his hands (Mark 8:22-26).
- He healed a woman suffering from a blood flow, who was healed by touching the garment of Jesus (Mark 5:25-34, Matthew 9:18-26, Luke 8:40-56).
- He healed a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath in a synagogue, through the word (Mark 3:1-6, Matthew 12:9-14, Luke 6:6-11).
- He healed a deaf and dumb man by putting his fingers in his ears, spitting, touching his tongue, and saying “Ephphatha,” meaning “open” (Mark 7:31-37).
Three Extraordinary Signs
- Multiplication of the loaves and fishes. It is the only one of all the miracles of Jesus that is recorded by all four Gospels (Mark 6:32-44, Matthew 14:13-21, Luke 9:10-17, John 6:1-13).
- The miraculous catch of fish (Luke 5:1-11, John 21:1-19).
- Turning water into wine at the wedding at Cana (John 2:1-11).
After dinner, according to the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus and his disciples went to pray at Gethsemane. The apostles, instead of praying, fell asleep, and Jesus had a moment of high anxiety about his fate but decided to follow the will of God.
Judas betrayed Jesus and delivered him to the chief priests and the elders of Jerusalem in exchange for thirty pieces of silver. With a group armed with swords and clubs, sent by the chief priests and elders, he came to Gethsemane and revealed the identity of Jesus by kissing his cheek. Jesus was arrested. Some of his followers attempted resistance, but eventually, they all dispersed and fled.
Trial
After his arrest, Jesus was taken to the palace of the high priest Caiaphas (according to the Gospel of John, he was taken first to the house of Annas, Caiaphas’ father-in-law). He was tried before the Sanhedrin. There were false witnesses, but their testimonies did not match and were not accepted. Finally, Caiaphas asked Jesus directly if he was the Messiah, and Jesus said, “You have said so.” The high priest tore his clothes at what he considered blasphemy. The members of the Sanhedrin cruelly mocked Jesus. In the Gospel of John, Jesus was taken first to Annas and then to Caiaphas. Only the detailed interrogation before Annas is quite different from what appears in the Synoptic Gospels. Peter, who had secretly followed Jesus after his arrest, was hidden among the servants of the high priest. Recognized as a disciple of Jesus by the servants, he denied it three times (two, according to the Gospel of John), as Jesus had prophesied.
The next morning, Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate, the Roman procurator. After questioning him, Pilate found him not guilty and asked the crowd to choose between freeing Jesus or a known bandit named Barabbas. The crowd, persuaded by the chief priests, called for the release of Barabbas, and Jesus to be crucified. Pilate symbolically washed his hands to express his innocence of the death of Jesus.
Crucifixion
Jesus was scourged, dressed in a red cloak, and they put on his head a crown of thorns and a reed in his right hand. The Roman soldiers mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews.” He was forced to carry the cross on which he was to be crucified to a place called Golgotha, which means, in Aramaic, “place of the skull.” A man named Simon of Cyrene helped him carry the cross.
They gave Jesus wine mixed with gall to drink. He tasted it but would not drink it. After he was crucified, the soldiers divided his garments. On the cross over his head, they put a sign in Aramaic, Greek, and Latin with the reason for his conviction: “This is Jesus, King of the Jews,” which is often abbreviated as INRI (Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum, literally “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews”). He was crucified between two thieves.
Around three o’clock, Jesus cried out, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which in Aramaic means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” according to the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. The final words of Jesus differ in the other two Gospels. There are also differences between the Gospels about which of Jesus’ disciples were present.
Resurrection
The four Gospels record that Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his death and appeared to his disciples on several occasions. In all cases, the first to discover the resurrection of Jesus is Mary Magdalene. Two of the Gospels (Mark and Luke) also report his ascension into heaven.
In the Gospel of Matthew, Mary Magdalene and “the other Mary” went to the tomb on Sunday morning. An earthquake occurred, and a white-robed angel rolled back the stone from the tomb and sat upon it. The guards, who witnessed the scene, shook with fear and “became like dead men.” The angel announced the resurrection of Jesus to the women and sent them to tell the disciples to go to Galilee, where they would see him. Upon returning, Jesus himself met them and repeated the instruction to tell the disciples to go to Galilee. Meanwhile, the guards warned the chief priests of what had happened. They bribed them to spread the idea that Jesus’ disciples had stolen his body. The eleven disciples went to Galilee, and Jesus commissioned them to preach the gospel.
In the Gospel of Luke, some women—Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and others whose names are not given—went to the tomb to anoint Jesus with perfume. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, entered it, and did not find the body. Then two men in dazzling robes appeared to them and announced the resurrection of Jesus. The women announced the resurrection to the apostles, but they did not believe them, except Peter, who came to the tomb and found that the body had disappeared. That same day, Jesus appeared to two disciples walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus, who recognized him at the breaking of bread. Soon after, he appeared before the eleven, who believed that he was a spirit, but he proved to them that he was flesh and bones and ate in their presence. He explained the meaning of his death and resurrection and later took them near Bethany, where he ascended into heaven.