JESUS CHRIST

Our Lord received the name Jesus, according to the instructions that the angel transmitted to Joseph (Mt. 1:21) and Mary (Lk. 1:31). Sometimes given to other individuals, this name could be an expression of the parents’ faith in God, Savior of their people, or also of their certainty of the future salvation of Israel.

Imposed on the Son of Mary, the name revealed the particular functions that the bearer of it was going to perform. “You will call his name JESUS, for he will save his people from their sins” (Mt. 1:21). The title of Christ comes from the Gr. Christos (anointed), translated from Aramaic M’shînã, from Heb. Mãshîah (anointed one, Messiah).

Thus, Jesus is the personal name of our Lord, while Christ is his title. But this second name has been used since early times, as well as today, as a proper name, either alone or in combination with the name Jesus.

This article presents, in broad strokes, the stages of our Lord’s life on earth, to present the main events in their probable order and in their mutual relationships.

I. CHRONOLOGY.

Although the dates of Jesus’ birth, baptism and death cannot be absolutely specified, most scholars agree on his dating within very narrow limits.

Our ordinary calendar has as its author Dionysius the Exiguus, a Roman abbe who died before the year 550 BC. He decided to take the year of the incarnation as a reference point that would allow us to locate the dates before and after the coming of Christ; Having identified the year 754 of the founding of Rome with the year of the Lord’s birth, he was thus able to determine the year 1 of the Christian era.

But Josephus’ claims reveal that Herod the Great, who died shortly after the birth of Jesus (Mt. 2:19-22), actually died some years before 754 AD. Herod died 37 years after being proclaimed king by the Romans, a proclamation that took place in the year 714 of Rome.

Thus, the date of his death was the year 751 or 750 (we do not know whether Josephus counted fractions of years as full years). The date of 751 would seem plausible, since Josephus reports that, before his death, Herod had two Jewish rabbis put to death, and that an eclipse of the moon occurred on the night of his execution.

Astronomical calculations indicate that in the year 750 there was a partial lunar eclipse, on the night of March 12 to 13; but the whole sequence of events up to his succession by Archelaus shows that Herod died after Easter 751 and several months before Easter 752.

Thus, Anderson, in his chronological study of the Nativity, places the birth of the Lord around the autumn of the year 750 or 4 BC. (cf. Anderson Sir R. “The Prince Who Is to Come”, esp. pp. 115-121, 241-246). The date December 25 did not appear until the 4th century AD, and has no historical basis.

As Augustine of Hippo confesses, the ancient pagan festivals were assumed, with changes of name, to satisfy the Christianized pagan masses who wanted to maintain their joyful festivals. December 25 corresponds to Saturnalia.

The date on which our Lord began his public ministry is determined primarily based on Lk. 3:1: “In the fifteenth year of the empire of Tiberius Caesar…” This was the year in which the ministry of the Lord began, the first year of the reign of Tiberius, which began on August 19, 28 AD, until the August 19, 29 AD

Since the year of the Lord’s birth is counted as year one (and not as year zero), the calculation of years from 28-29 AD. until 4 BC It gives us an age for the Lord between 30 years and almost 32.

Another argument that agrees with this date is the statement of the Jews, shortly after the baptism of Jesus: “In forty-six years this Temple was built.” Herod proposed the reconstruction of the Temple between 20 and 19 BC; But he then promised not to start the works before having completed the preparations, due to the distrust of the people.

Assuming a preparation period of one to two years, the forty-six years mentioned take us to 29 AD. (cf. Anderson, op. cit., p. 246; Ant. 15:11, 27).
The duration of Christ’s ministry, and consequently the year of his death, is determined primarily by the number of Easter feasts mentioned in the Gospel of John.

If we only had the Synoptic Gospels (see GOSPELS), we could assume that Jesus’ ministry only lasted one year; However, the Gospel of John tells us about three Passovers in an explicit way (John 2:13; 6:4; 13:1). Hengstenberg (“Christology”, pp 755-765) gives overwhelming evidence that Jn. 5:1 is also the Passover festival.

In this case, Christ’s ministry included four Passover feasts. If he was baptized at the end of the year 28 or the beginning of the year 29, then his crucifixion took place in the year 32 AD. (For a more in-depth consideration of this topic, see Anderson, Sir R.: “The Prince Who is to Come” [Pub. Portavoz Evangelico, Barcelona, 1980], and cf. Hoehner, H. W.: “Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ”, in Bibliotheca Sacra, Oct. 1973, Jan., Apr., Jul., Oct. 1974; Jan. 1975 [Dallas Theological Seminary, Dallas].).

The chronological question has led to many investigations, and there are strong controversies; However, the positions of Anderson and Hoehner, although divergent within a year, seem the most solidly supported. This article follows that of Sir Robert Anderson.

II. POLITICAL CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE JEWS.

When Jesus was born, Herod the Great was king of the Jews. This skillful and cruel ruler reigned at the same time over Samaria, Galilee and Judea. Although of Idumean origin, Herod professed the Jewish religion.

Antipater, his father, had been made governor of Judea by Julius Caesar; Herod himself, after an eventful career, had been proclaimed king of the Jews by the Romans. An independent monarch in many ways, he ruled, however, only thanks to the support of the Romans.

He depended on them, who were then the owners and arbiters of the known world. Upon Herod’s death, his kingdom was divided among his sons. Archelaus received Judea and Samaria; Herod Antipas had Galilee and Perea; Herod Philip the territory located northeast of the Sea of Galilee (Lk. 3:1).

In the tenth year of his reign, 6 or 7 AD, Archelaus was deposed by Augustus. From this date, Judea and Samaria were administered by Roman governors, who held the title of procurators; This situation continued until the rebellion that ended with the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, with the exception of the years 41 to 44, when Herod Agrippa I exercised sovereignty (Acts 12:1).

During Christ’s ministry, Galilee and Perea, where most of His ministry took place, were subject to Herod Antipas (Matt. 14:3; Mark 6:14; Luke 3:1, 19; 9:7; 13:31; 23:8-12), while the Romans directly governed Samaria and Judea through their procurator who, at the time, was Pontius Pilate.

The yoke, direct or indirect, of the Romans, irritated the Jews to the core. During the earthly life of Christ the country was constantly in the grip of political effervescence.

On the one hand, the Romans tried to give the nation as much political autonomy as possible, so that the Sanhedrin (supreme court) exercised jurisdiction in a large number of cases.

The conquerors had also granted the Jews numerous privileges that had to do, above all, with religious practices. But, despite everything, the people brake under a foreign domination that, at times, made itself felt in an oppressive way; The occupiers, of course, had no intention of restoring to the Jews the freedom they had enjoyed in an earlier era.

Furthermore, the Jewish aristocracy, made up mostly of the Sadducees, had no hostility towards the Romans. The Pharisees, who were joined by adherents of the most rigid piety, wanted to preserve Judaism at all costs, but they avoided political commitments.

The writings of the time also speak of the Herodians, who supported the aspirations of Herod’s family to the crown. According to Josephus, a party of patriots rose up in various uprisings, but in vain, trying to shake off the Roman yoke.

In such circumstances, any man who presented himself as the Messiah risked becoming involved in political conflicts. In order to be able to proclaim above all the spiritual dimension of the kingdom of God and to lay its foundations through redemption, Jesus was going to wait for the time set for the establishment of the Kingdom, which was not to be introduced through political manipulations, but would come to be imposed by a frontal, majestic and irresistible irruption of the Son of Man in His Second Coming.

III. RELIGIOUS CONDITION OF THE JEWS.

It is evident that political circumstances intensely influenced the development of religious conditions. The official media of Judaism had almost left aside the basic aspect of the redemption and rapture as an introduction to the Kingdom, according to the promises of the OT; and the people in general focused their hopes on a terrestrial kingdom that would give them independence and national greatness.

By paying attention almost exclusively to the external aspects of the kingdom, they forgot the moral and redeeming foundations on which it should be built. The Gospels present us with two leading parties: the Pharisees and the Sadducees.

The Pharisees were religious and had much more influence over the people than the Sadducees; but they placed their theological tradition, the ceremonies and the subtleties of casuistry above the Word of God. They had managed to transform the religion of Moses and the prophets into a narrow, sterile formalism, devoid of spirituality.

The Pharisees opposed the teachings of Jesus, his doctrines so contrary to their traditions, and, above all, they resented his quoting the Scriptures in opposition to tradition. The Sadducees were the representatives of the aristocracy.

The families of the high priests belonged to this party. Influenced by pagan culture, the Sadducees rejected the traditions of the Pharisees, and were more interested in politics than religion. They ended up opposing Jesus, fearing that his actions would harm the political balance (John 11:48).

The sumptuous ceremonial of the Temple in Jerusalem continued to be carried out. Large crowds faithfully attended religious ceremonies. The fervor of the nation, jealous of its privileges, had never been so great. From time to time, an explosion of patriotism, mixed with fanaticism, raised the hopes of the people.

However, there remained Israelites who maintained the spirit and faith of a religion without compromise. Most of them, although not all, belonged to the lower classes of the population. The wait for a Savior, for a Deliverer from sin, had subsisted among them.

Jesus came from one of these means rich in piety. At the time of Christ, the Jewish people were still a religious people, knowledgeable about the OT, which was read in the synagogues and taught to children. The nation expressed its interest in religion and was agitated on the political level.

These facts explain the popular effervescence aroused by the preachings of John the Baptist and Jesus, the hostility that both aroused in the ruling classes, the success of the method that Jesus used in preaching the Good News, and the persecution and violent death that He himself had already anticipated.

IV. LIFE OF JESUS.

1. Family, birth, childhood.
The circumstances of Jesus’ birth recounted by the Gospels agree with the greatness of Christ and with messianic prophecies. These circumstances harmonize at the same time with the humble appearance that the Savior must have had in his life on earth.

Malachi (Mal. 3:1 and Mal. 4:5, 6) had prophesied that a herald, endowed with the spirit and power of Elijah, would precede the coming of the Lord; Luke tells us, first of all, the birth of John the Baptist, the precursor of Christ.

Zechariah, a priest of sincere piety, bereft of descendants and very old, was busy in the Temple fulfilling the duties of his office. It was his lot (according to the custom established among the priests) to make the offering of incense over the holy place, a symbol of Israel’s prayers.

The angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah, and announced that he would be the father of the announced precursor. This appearance probably took place in the year 5 BC. After that, Elizabeth and Zechariah headed back to their mansion, located in a town in the mountainous country of Judah (Lk. 1:39).

There they waited for the fulfillment of the promise. Six months later an angel appeared to Mary, a virgin from the family of David; This maiden from Nazareth was betrothed to a man named Joseph, who descended from David, the great ruler of Israel (Mt. 1:1-16; Luke 1:27). (See GENEALOGY, MARÍA).

Joseph, a pious Israelite and of humble condition despite his noble lineage, was a carpenter. The angel announced to Mary that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, she would become the mother of the Messiah (Lk. 1:28-38); The child, whose name was to be Jesus, would inherit the throne from his predecessor David.

The angel also announced to Mary that her cousin Elizabeth was pregnant. When the angel was gone, Mary hurried to visit Elizabeth. When they met, the Spirit of prophecy entered into them.

Elisabet, greeting Mary, called her the mother of her Lord; Mary, following the example of Anna of old (1 Sam. 2:1-10), sang a song of praise, celebrating the future liberation of Israel, and the honor she had been granted.

At the time when Elizabeth was due to give birth, Mary returned to Nazareth. God himself intervened to save him every blunder. Joseph, seeing the state in which Mary was, wanted to break up with her secretly, without accusing her in public.

But God did not allow him to act like that. An angel revealed to him in a dream the reason for Mary’s pregnancy; He told her that the child was going to be the Messiah, and that he was to be born of a virgin, just as Isaiah had prophesied. Joseph obeyed the angel’s voice, because her faith was as deep as Mary’s, and he did not abandon her.

The child was born of the virgin Mary, but legally had at the same time a human father, whose love and honor protected Mary; It is evident that it was she who later made these facts known.

Neither Christ nor his apostles resorted to the virginal conception as a demonstration that Jesus is the Messiah. This silence, however, does not allow us to attack the veracity of the story. The fact of the supernatural birth of Christ is not susceptible of historical proof. It must be accepted as revelation.

However, the account of the manner in which Christ was incarnated agrees admirably with what we know of the greatness of the Messiah and of his mission on earth, as well as of the witnessed fact of his resurrection.

The Messiah was to be the perfect summit of Israel’s spirituality, and Jesus was born into a pious family, which zealously practiced the pure religion of the OT. The Messiah had to present himself in a humble way: Jesus came from the home of a carpenter in Nazareth.

It was necessary that the Messiah was David’s son: Joseph, his legal father, was descended from David, as was his mother. The Messiah was to be the incarnation (see INCARNATION) of God, uniting divinity and humanity in his person: Jesus was born of a woman, having been conceived miraculously by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Luke recounts the birth of John the Baptist, and cites the prophetic song that came from the long-silenced lips of his father, Zechariah, regarding the Forerunner (Lk. 1: 57-79). He then explains the reason Jesus was born in Bethlehem (Luke 2:1-6).

Augustus had ordered a census of all the subjects of the empire, and his decree included Palestine, although it was under Herod’s jurisdiction. But it is evident that the census of the Jews was carried out following the Jewish method: it is not at the home where each head of the family was registered, but in their place of origin.

Joseph had to go to Bethlehem, the cradle of the house of David, and Mary accompanied him. The inn, where strangers could stay, was already full when Joseph and Mary arrived. They only found space in a stable, which was possibly a cave adjacent to the inn.

The use of caves for stables and stables was frequent. The story does not say that this stable housed animals; It is possible that it was not then used for this purpose. Contrary to what is believed among us, the fact of occasionally staying in a stable did not displease people at that time; However, it is very true that the Messiah came into the world in an extremely humble place. He had been destined for a walk of humility, and Mary laid him in a manger (Luke 2:7).

Despite this great humiliation, his coming was solemnly witnessed. Some angels appeared to some shepherds who were spending the night with their flocks in the fields near Bethlehem.

They revealed to them the birth of the Messiah, the place where he had been born, and proclaimed this message of praise and blessing: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men!” (Luke 2:14).

The shepherds hurried to Bethlehem, found the Child, and related what they had seen and heard, then returning to their place. All these facts also agreed, in an astonishing way, with the mission of the Messiah; Let us also point out that this took place among humble rural people, and that they went unnoticed in the world.

Joseph and Mary stayed for a time in Bethlehem. On the eighth day, the boy was circumcised (Luke 2:21) and given the name Jesus, according to the instructions they had received. Forty days after his birth, Joseph and Mary went up to the Temple, in fulfillment of the Law (Lev. 12).

Mary made the offerings to purify her and to present the newborn to the Lord (Lk. 2:21). This expression means that every Israelite firstborn had to be ransomed at the price of five shekels of silver (Num. 18:15-16).

Also, the mother had to offer a burnt offering as a sacrifice of thanksgiving. Luke notes that Mary offered the poor offering: “A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons” (Lev. 12:18). Once again the family’s modesty of means is evident. But the Messiah, despite his humility, was not to leave the Temple without recognition.

Simeon, a pious old man, went to the sanctuary, moved by the Spirit, and when he saw the Child, he took him in his arms. God had promised him that he would not die before having seen the Messiah. Simeon gave thanks, and prophesied that his life would be glorious and tragic (Luke 2:25-35).

Anna, an old prophetess who was constantly in the Temple, also testified that the Christ had come (Lk. 2:36-38). Thus, there was a remarkable testimony about the true character of the newborn.

Shortly after Joseph and Mary’s return to Bethlehem, the wise men from the East arrived in Bethlehem, asking about the newly born king of the Jews. There is no doubt that these men had learned from the Jews scattered in the East, that they were waiting for a king, who should appear in Judea and liberate humanity.

God had given them a star as a sign (see STAR of the East), which had appeared in the East, announcing to them (Mt. 2:2, 16) the birth of this liberator. It is also certain that the divine nature of the Child was revealed to them, because they said without ambiguity that they had come “to worship Him.”

Their words intrigued Herod, who summoned the scribes to ask them where the Messiah should be born. Upon learning that he was in Bethlehem, Herod sent the wise men there, but making them promise that they would let him know who he was.

On the way, the wise men saw the star again, which stopped over Bethlehem and over where the Child was. Having found Jesus, they offered him gifts of great price: frankincense, gold and myrrh. Incense is the offering that corresponds to God, gold, the image of the tribute due to the King, and myrrh, the prophecy of the sufferings of the Messiah (John 19:39; cf. Matt. 26:12; Luke 24 :1).

The presence of these strange visitors must have aroused in Joseph and Mary mixed feelings of surprise and admiration, and must have been a confirming sign of the high destiny reserved for the Child and the work that He was going to accomplish in favor of the most remote nations.

After this, God warned the wise men not to return to Herod: this pervert wanted to have instructions from him to kill the newborn. Thus, they headed to their country by another path (see MAGOS). An angel warned Joseph, instructing him to go with Mary and the Child to Egypt, in order to escape the action of Herod.

This cruel monarch, of whom Josephus tells us that he had no qualms about having his own wife and children, and other close relatives, executed, with a paranoid obsession to remain in power, sent his soldiers to Bethlehem to kill all the children under two years old.

Thus, Herod hoped to frustrate the purpose of the wise men, who had left without revealing to him where the newborn was. It is possible that the executioners did not kill many children, because Bethlehem was a small place; but it was a horribly cruel slaughter. Jesus escaped to her.

We do not know the duration of the Lord’s stay in Egypt; It was probably no more than a few months, because Herod died in 3 BC. Many Jews lived in that country at the time, so Joseph should not have had any difficulties in finding asylum.

When the danger passed, the angel informed Joseph of the tyrant’s death, and ordered him to return to Israel. Joseph had proposed to raise the Child in Bethlehem, the city of David, but for fear of Archelaus, son of Herod, he remained undecided and, following a new message from God, went with his people to Nazareth in Galilee.

When Jesus began his public ministry, he was called “the prophet of Nazareth” or “the Nazarene.” These are the data transmitted by the Gospels about the birth of Jesus. If they are of great price to us, they were not very emphasized at that time.

The few people who were involved in these events remained silent, or forgot them. It is undoubtedly Mary who gave the account of all this when the church was founded. Matthew and Luke give their accounts with evident independence from each other; Matthew, to demonstrate that Jesus is the King, the Messiah, in whom the prophecies are fulfilled; Luke, to expose the origin of Jesus and the beginning of his story.

2. Childhood and youth.

After settling in Nazareth, we are told nothing of Jesus’ life except the incident of the visit to the Temple where, at the age of 12, he accompanied his parents (Lk. 2:41-51).

This significant episode reveals the deep piety of Joseph and Mary, who strove to piously raise the Child; It also shows the precocious spiritual development of Jesus, who was especially interested in the religious problems that the Jewish rabbis dealt with in his lessons, to the point of separating from his parents for three days.

Everyone was amazed at his intelligence, at his questions, and at his answers. This passage from Luke also illustrates the human aspect of Jesus’ life: “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52).

Neither Joseph nor Mary divulged the astonishing facts that accompanied his birth. Neither Jesus’ companions nor his family members considered him to be a supernatural being; but he must have seemed notable to them for his intellectual vigor and for his moral purity.

By touching on other facts that the Gospels mention incidentally, we can reconstruct an outline of the circumstances of Jesus’ childhood and youth. He was part of a family, and had four brothers and several sisters (Mark 6:3, etc.).

Certain exegetes assume that they were children from a previous marriage of Joseph; others claim that they were cousins of Christ. However, the internal evidence of the Scriptures shows that they were true brothers of the Lord (see BROTHERS OF THE LORD).

In any case, Jesus grew up in a family, where he knew joys and pains. He became a carpenter, like Joseph (Mark 6:3), so he was accustomed to manual activity; At the same time, there was no lack of a certain intellectual formation in his midst.

Jewish children received a very intense teaching of Scripture. In any case, the quotations that our Lord makes of the Scriptures demonstrate that he knew them deeply (cf. Jn. 7:15). His parables show him sensitive to the lessons that emerge from nature, and always attentive to seeing God’s thoughts revealed in his works.

Nazareth was on the edge of the most active part of the Jewish world, not far from where some of Israel’s most famous events had taken place. From the heights near the city you could see some of these historical places.

Not far from Nazareth stretched the Sea of Galilee, around which was concentrated a kind of miniature of the various aspects of life. It was that time, as has already been noted, of great political effervescence. Rumors of sensational events frequently penetrated Jewish homes.

There is no reason to believe that Jesus grew up in isolation; It is rather to be believed that he was constantly alert to the development of events in Palestine.

Jesus spoke Aramaic, a language that had taken the place of ancient Hebrew among the Jewish population by this time; but it is certain that he heard the Greek, and it is possible that he knew it. The evangelists pass this entire period of his life in silence, since his writings do not propose to give his biography, but rather to relate his public ministry.

What we know enables us to outline the person of the Lord in the human aspect of him, and shows us the means in which he prepared himself for his future activity. The brushstrokes given to us by the evangelists reveal the beauty of his character and the gradual development of his human nature, awaiting the hour when he would appear before his people as the Messiah sent by God.

3. THE BAPTISM.

This important hour struck (possibly in the summer or at the end of the year 28 AD), when John, son of Zechariah (Lk. 1:80) received from God the mission to call the nation to repentance, because the Messiah was going to appear.

John left the desert where he had lived ascetically, and dedicated himself to going along the Jordan, baptizing from place to place those who received his message. He spoke like the ancient prophets.

Elijah, in a particular way, called the people and individuals to repentance, announcing the near coming of the Messiah, whose judgments would purify Israel, and whose death would take away the sin of the world (Mt. 3; Mark 1:1-8; Luke. 3:1-8; Jn. 1:19-36).

John’s ministry had profound and immense importance. Crowds came to hear him, even from Galilee. The Sanhedrin sent some Pharisees to him to ask him by what right he arrogated to such authority. The ruling classes did not respond positively to John’s call (Mt. 21:25), but the people listened to him with admiration and emotion.

The purely religious preaching of John the Baptist convinced truly pious souls that the long-awaited Messiah was finally coming. After John had ministered to him for a certain time, six months or perhaps more, Jesus appeared among the crowd and asked the prophet to baptize him.

The prophet understood, by the Spirit, that Jesus had no need of repentance, and discerned that He was the Messiah. “I need to be baptized by you, and you come to me?” he told him he (Mt. 3:14). Naturally, Jesus was fully aware that He Himself was the Messiah.

His response demonstrates this: “Let it be now, for thus it is fitting that we fulfill all justice.” The baptism of Jesus means that he gave himself to the work announced by John, and that he took, in grace, his place among the repentant remnant of the people that he had come to save.

Upon coming out of the water (Mark 1:10; Jn. 1:33-34), John saw that heaven was opened and that the Spirit of God, in the form of a dove, descended and rested on Jesus; A voice made this known from heaven: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Mt. 3:17).

Thus the power of the Spirit was given in all its fullness to the human nature of our Lord, with a view to his ministry (cf. Luke 4:1, 14). In the course of his ministry he immediately showed himself to be true man and true God.

4. THE TEMPTATION.

Jesus was not to approach his ministry before he was sufficiently prepared. Knowing what his calling was, he immediately followed the inspiration of the Spirit, which led him to the desert, undoubtedly to give himself over to meditation and communion with the Father.

Satan then appeared, trying to divert him from his mission, trying to make him act through selfishness and ambition. The disciples must have learned about these events through Jesus himself.

The personal intervention of the Tempter cannot be doubted, nor the reality of the scene that has been described to us (Mt. 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13); It is also worth noting that the power of temptation resided in the subtlety with which the world was presented to Jesus as more seductive than a life of austere obedience to God, and whose end, from a merely human perspective, would be tragic. The test lasted forty days; Fully consecrated to the destiny of humility and suffering that he knew was God’s will for the Messiah, Jesus returned to the Jordan Valley.

5. CALL OF THE DISCIPLES.

Jesus began his work without spectacular proclamations. John the Baptist directed some of his own disciples to the One he called the Lamb of God (John 1:29, 36). Two of them, Andrew and probably John, followed his new Master (John 1:35-42); The next morning, Jesus called Philip and Nathanael (John 1:43-51).

This small group accompanied Jesus to Galilee. In Cana, the Master performed his first miracle. The disciples saw there the first sign of his future glory (John 2:1-11). Here it can be seen that Jesus did not carry out any large public demonstration.

The new movement began with the faith of some unknown Galileans. But, according to John’s account, Jesus knew perfectly well who He was and what His mission was. He was waiting for the right moment to reveal himself to Israel as the Messiah.

6. Beginning of the ministry in Judea.

This occasion arose as the Passover approached, in April of the year 29. Leaving Capernaum, where he dwelt with his family and his disciples (John 2:12), Jesus went up to Jerusalem. He drove out the merchants who desecrated the Temple.

The repression of abuses and the reform of divine service were part of the gestures of a prophet; but Christ’s words: “Do not make my Father’s house a market house” show that He presented Himself as more than a prophet (John 2:16).

This rebuke amounted to a public appeal to Israel, inviting the nation to follow Him in His work of religious reform. He already knew that the nation would not follow Him, and that He Himself would be rejected, which would give occasion, after his rejection, for the calling of the Gentiles and the building up of his church.

The barely veiled prediction of the death He would suffer at the hands of the Jews also demonstrates that He already expected this rejection (John 2:19).

During Nicodemus’ visit, Jesus proclaimed the need for the new birth and his own Passion (John 3:1-21), which would give all men access to the salvation that God’s love had sent him to achieve. . It is John who tells us about the beginning of Jesus’ ministry in Judea (John 2:13-4:3), which lasted about nine months.

After the Passover, Jesus left Jerusalem, and retired to the rural areas of Judea. The nation was unwilling to follow him, so he began to preach the need for repentance, as John the Baptist still did. For a certain time, the two worked hand in hand.

Jesus did not want to begin an independent work before John’s providential mission had manifestly come to an end. The common action of the two sought the spiritual awakening of the nation. When Jesus attracted more disciples than John, he decided to leave Judea, because he did not want to appear as a rival of John (John 4: 1-3).

7. The ministry in Galilee.

Crossing Samaria, Jesus met a woman at Jacob’s well with whom he had a memorable conversation (Jn. 4: 4-42). He then rushed to the north of the country. When he arrived in Galilee, the fame of his name had already preceded him (John 4:43-45).

It was evidently in Galilee where Jesus had to dedicate himself to the work, since the fields were already whitened for harvest (John 4:35). A tragic circumstance indicated to him that the hour had already arrived in which, by divine will, Jesus must undertake his personal mission.

He learned that Herod Antipas had had John the Baptist imprisoned. The Forerunner’s ministry had come to an end; he had called the Jews to repentance and spiritual awakening, but all in vain. Immediately, Jesus began to preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God in Galilee, exposing the fundamental principles of the new dispensation, gathering around him those who would constitute the nucleus of the future Church.

Jesus’ great Galilean ministry lasted about 16 months. The Master focused his activity on Capernaum, a very active commercial city. In Galilee, Jesus was in the midst of an essentially Jewish population, but in a region in which, due to the distance, the religious authorities of the nation did not intervene much.

It is evident that his purpose was to announce the Kingdom of the Lord and to reveal to the people, by powerful works, what were both his personal authority and the nature of this kingdom. Jesus demanded that people believe in Him.

He revealed the true character of God, and the claims of him in relation to men. Jesus did not openly reveal that He was the Messiah (except in Jn. 4:25-26), because his unspiritual listeners would not have been able to discern the true character of his mission; Furthermore, the time had not yet come for the public manifestation of the Messiah (in Greek, Christ). Generally, the term “Son of Man” was applied.

At first, the Lord did not allude to his death, because the listeners were not prepared to hear about it. He taught them the principles of true piety, interpreting them with authority. His extraordinary miracles aroused enormous enthusiasm.

Thus he attracted attention to himself to the point that the entire country was eager to see and hear him. However, and just as He had foreseen, the multitudes were carried away by false conceptions of Him, and could not recognize Him in His character of humility and self-denial.

Only a small group followed him faithfully; and it was these few who spread throughout the world, after his death and resurrection, the truths that the Master had taught them.
8. Trips in the direction of Jerusalem, and ministry in Perea.

It is impossible to establish in a precise manner the succession of the Lord’s movements, since Luke’s account, the main source of teachings for this period, does not follow a precise chronological order. But the essential facts are well known.

Jesus attracts the attention of the entire country, including Judea. He sends the seventy to announce his arrival; he appears in Jerusalem during the Feast of Tabernacles (Jn. 7); then, once again, during the feast of the Dedication (John 10:22). In these two circumstances he appears to the people on several occasions.

He claims to be the Light of the world, the Good Shepherd of God’s flock, and boldly fights against the authorities who oppose his teachings. He also tours Judea and Perea, explaining to the people, in a beautiful and concrete way, what authentic spiritual life consists of, and what conception we must have of God and the service we must render to him. Here are the parables:

of the good Samaritan,
of those invited to the wedding banquet (Lk. 14),
of the lost sheep,
of the lost drachma,

of Lazarus and the wicked rich man,
of the importunate widow and the unjust judge,
of the Pharisee and the publican.

As the deadly hostility of the authorities grows, the Lord proclaims the Gospel more completely. There is one fact that brings the agitation to its climax. Lazarus of Bethany, friend of Jesus, falls ill.

When Jesus arrives at his house, he has already been dead for four days. Jesus resurrects him, this miracle being of a notoriety and character that surpasses all others (John 11:1-46). This prodigious event, occurring so close to Jerusalem, made its effects felt like a shock wave. At the instigation of Caiaphas, who was the high priest that year, the Sanhedrin estimated that only the death of the agitator could annihilate his influence (John 11: 47-53).

Jesus withdrew immediately (John 11:54). It is evident that he had decided not to die before Easter. As the day of the festival approached, he set out again towards Jerusalem, passing through Perea (Mt. 19; 20; Mark 10; Luke 18:31-19:28), teaching and preaching again the imminence of His death and resurrection, arriving in Bethany six days before the Passover (John 12:1).

9. THE LAST WEEK.

In Bethany, Mary, sister of Lazarus, anointed the head and feet of Jesus during dinner. The Lord saw in this gesture the prophetic sign of her upcoming burial. The next day he made a triumphal entry into Jerusalem, riding on a donkey.

By doing this, he provoked the anger of the authorities, by publicly presenting himself as the Messiah, giving expression to the peaceful character of the kingdom he had come to found. The next day, upon returning to the city, he cursed a fig tree that, full of leaves, however lacked fruit: a notable symbol of a Judaism that, diverted from the truth of God, he claimed without possessing.

Then, as at the beginning of his ministry three years ago, he expelled from the Temple the merchants who desecrated the courts. This gesture of Jesus constituted a new call to the Israelite nation, urged to purify itself (Mark 11:1-8).

Despite the multitude of pilgrims who had hailed Him as the Messiah during His triumphal entry, and who continued to surround Him jubilantly, the religious authorities continued to maintain their hostile attitude.

The next day (Tuesday), Jesus returned to the city. When He arrived at the Temple, the delegates of the Sanhedrin asked Him by what authority He was acting. Knowing that they had already decided on His death, the Lord refused to answer them, but spoke the parables of the two sons, the wicked tenants, and the wedding. of the king’s son (Mt. 21:23-22:14); these describe the disobedience of the religious authorities to divine commandments, their perversion of the sacred trust entrusted to the nation, the disaster that would befall his city.

They made an effort to establish ties with him to discover in his words a reason for accusation or denigration. The Pharisees and Herodians wanted to encourage him to decide whether it was legitimate to pay the tax to Caesar. The Sadducees questioned him about his resurrection.

A doctor of the Law asked him about the greatest commandment. Having all been reduced to silence, Jesus disconcerted them by asking them the meaning of David’s words addressing the Messiah as his Lord. Indeed, Ps. 110 clearly implies that Jesus was not committing blasphemy by calling himself the Son of God and equal to God.

Throughout this day controversy raged, and Jesus accused the unworthy leaders (Mt. 23:1-38). The desire of certain Greeks who wanted to see him made him foretell that the Jews would reject him, the Gentiles would follow him, and that his death was imminent (John 12: 20-50).

Upon leaving the Temple, he sadly announced to his disciples the approaching destruction of that magnificent building; Later, in a conversation with four of His own, He spoke in more detail about the destruction of Jerusalem, the spread of the Gospel, the future sufferings of His disciples, and His Second Coming (Mark 13). .

This statement shows that, in the midst of the hostility that had been unleashed against Him, Jesus had a perfectly clear vision; he was ahead of tragedy, knowing that it would ultimately lead him to victory.

The plan of betrayal was surely carried out that night. Judas, one of the twelve, had undoubtedly long been alienated from the spiritual ideal of the Master. The Iscariot was frustrated because Jesus showed no intention of establishing an earthly kingdom.

John says of Judas that he was greedy. During the Bethany dinner, that miser finally realized his irreducible antipathy towards Jesus. Angered when he realized how vain his hopes were, he decided to hand his Master over to the authorities. His betrayal changed his plans.

The adversaries had decided to wait until Easter was over and the crowds had dispersed. Not knowing what to accuse Jesus of, they welcomed Judas’ proposal. It seems that the next morning, which was Wednesday, Jesus isolated himself in Bethany.

On Thursday afternoon the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed; The memorial dinner, in which all Israelites had to participate, was celebrated after sunset.

That meal marked the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which lasted seven days. On this day, Jesus sent Peter and John to prepare the feast in the city, for the twelve and for Him. His instructions probably meant that they go to the house of a disciple or a friend (Mt. 26:18) .

By ordering them to follow a man with a jar of water upon entering the city, Jesus intended to keep the place where they were going to eat a secret, to prevent Judas from reporting him to the authorities, which could have caused the interruption of the last and precious conversation with the apostles.

On Thursday night, Jesus celebrated the Passover meal with his disciples. With regard to the position of some that Jesus was crucified on the afternoon of the sacrifice of the Passover lamb, and that the Passover meal which He celebrated with His disciples took place one day before the actual celebration, it must be said that based on a very restricted interpretation of the meaning of the expression “eating the Passover” in Jn. 18:28.

There is no discrepancy. As Sir Robert Anderson rightly observes: “The only remaining question, therefore, is whether or not the participation in the peace sacrifices of the festival (of unleavened bread, which lasted for seven days) could be designated by the term of “eat the Passover.”

The same Law of Moses gives us the answer: ‘You shall sacrifice the Passover to Jehovah your God, of the sheep and of the herds… You shall not eat leavened bread with it; seven days you will eat unleavened bread with it’” (“The Prince who is to come”, Pub. Portavoz Evangelico, Barcelona, page 131).

Anderson also considers other apparent problems in his work, showing the internal agreement of the evangelical accounts. Christ did not die on the day the Passover lamb was sacrificed, but on the following day, as Matthew, Mark, and Luke record. Only an erroneous interpretation of the language used by John has allowed us to arrive at a hypothesis so foreign to the Gospel story.

Judas’s withdrawal most likely took place before the institution of the Lord’s Supper (see LORD’S SUPPER), and Jesus twice predicted Peter’s fall; He announced it first in the upper room, and then on the road to Gethsemane.

The Gospel of John does not relate the institution of the Lord’s Supper, but rather the last words to the disciples. Jesus prepared them for his death, revealing to them that, thanks to the work of the Holy Spirit, his spiritual communion would be maintained and made fruitful (John 14-16).

John also records the sublime priestly prayer (John 17). On the way to Gethsemane, Jesus warned the disciples that they were going to be dispersed, and summoned them after his resurrection, in Galilee. The agony of the garden marked the total and definitive abandonment of his person for the supreme sacrifice.

Judas appeared at night, accompanied by the cohort, detached from the garrison quartered near the Temple, under the pretext that a dangerous revolutionary had to be arrested (John 18:3, 12). There were with these men some Levites of the guard and some servants of the chief priests.

Judas knew that Jesus had the habit of going to Gethsemane. Certain exegetes suppose that the traitor first went to the upper room and that, not finding Jesus there, he went to the foot of the Mount of Olives, where the garden was located. After a few brief words of protest, Jesus allowed himself to be arrested; the disciples fled.

The armed company led him first before Annas (Jn. 18:13), Caiaphas’ father-in-law. Jesus was subjected to a preliminary interrogation by Annas, while the Sanhedrin was convened (John 18:13-14, 19-24).

It is possible that Annas and Caiaphas resided in the same building, because the story says that Peter’s denials were uttered in the palace courtyard, while the interrogations took place before Annas and, later, Caiaphas. Jesus refused, at first, to answer the questions put to him, and demanded the certification of the prosecution witnesses.

Annas sent him bound to the residence of Caiaphas, where the Sanhedrin had gathered with all urgency. The depositions about blasphemy, which was the crime they wanted to accuse him of, were contradictory. No proof could be given.

Finally, the high priest solemnly abjured the accused to say whether he was the Messiah. Jesus stated it in a totally clear way. The court, furious, sentenced him to death for blasphemy. The judges, delivering the condemned man to ignoble mockery, thereby revealed the spirit of iniquity with which they had pronounced the sentence (Mark 14:53-65).

But the Law required that the Sanhedrin promulgate its decrees by day, and not by night. Thus, the court was constituted again, early, and they repeated the process (Lk. 22:66-71). Since the Jews had no right to execute those sentenced without the consent of the Roman procurator, the Sanhedrin prepared to send Jesus before Pilate.

The shameless haste of this entire procedure shows that the court feared the intervention of the people, which could have prevented the execution. Pilate probably resided in Herod’s palace on Mount Zion, not far from the high priest’s mansion.

Still early, the members of the Sanhedrin went to the praetorium to demand that the procurator accede to their plans. The Jews wanted Pilate to allow them to execute the condemned man without him seeing the cause, but Pilate refused (John 18:29-32).

Then they accused Jesus saying “that he perverts the nation, and that he forbids giving tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is the Christ, a king” (Luke 23:2). When Jesus had admitted his status as king to the governor, he questioned him on this particular point (John 18:33-38), and quickly discovered that there was no political program of insurrection in his statements. Pilate claimed that Jesus was innocent, and that he wanted to free him. But, in reality, the attorney did not dare to oppose the intractable administration of him.

After having fiercely demanded the execution of Jesus, Pilate resorted to various petty procedures to remove that responsibility from him. Learning that Jesus was a Galilean, he sent him to Herod Antipas (Luke 23:7-11), who was then in Jerusalem, but Herod refused to judge him. Meanwhile, the crowd was gathering.

It was customary to release a prisoner on the Passover festival, so the governor asked the crowd which prisoner he wanted released. It is evident that he hoped that Jesus’ popularity would cause him to escape from the chief priests. But they persuaded the crowd to ask Barabbas.

The message from Pilate’s wife testifying to Galileo’s innocence increased his desire to save him. Despite his repeated interventions on behalf of Jesus, the crowd proved implacable and thirsty for blood. The attorney, frightened, did not have the courage to act based on his personal conviction and allowed the execution order to be taken from him.

While, in the inner courtyard of the palace, Jesus suffered the torture of flagellation, which always preceded being nailed to the cross, Pilate was overcome with doubts. By presenting the bloodied Jesus, crowned with thorns, he once again attempted to satisfy the Jews, who, enraged by what they had already achieved, cried out: “He must die, because he made himself the Son of God” (John 19: 1-7). These words renewed Pilate’s superstitious fears. He again privately questioned Jesus, and once again attempted to free him (John 19:8-12).

The Jews, well aware of the governor’s political ambitions, accused him of supporting a rival of the emperor and of being disloyal to Caesar. This slander was stronger than Pilate’s doubts.

He thereby had the somber joy of hearing the Jews proclaim their complete submission to Tiberius (John 19:13-15), and handed the Nazarene over to his enemies. Although he was innocent, Jesus had been convicted, and without due process of law. His death was actually a legalized murder. Four soldiers executed him, under the supervision of a centurion (John 19:23).

Two criminals were led to death together with Him. Usually, the condemned personally carried both parts of His cross, or only the transverse part. At first Jesus apparently carried the entire cross (Jn. 19:17), and then Simon of Cyrene was forced to carry it (Mt. 27:32; Mark 15:21; Luke 23:26).

The site of the crucifixion was outside the walls, a short distance from the city (see CALVARY). Usually, the prisoner was nailed to the cross lying on the ground, and then the cross was lifted and planted in a hole prepared for it.

The prisoner’s crime was indicated on a tablet fixed above his head. For Jesus, the inscription was made in Hebrew (Aramaic), Greek and Latin. John is the one who reproduces it in its longest form: “JESUS OF NAZARENE, KING OF THE JEWS” (Jn. 19:19). Mark says: “It was the third hour when they crucified Him” (Mark 15:25), that is, nine in the morning.

If we remember that the Sanhedrin had summoned him at dawn (Lk. 22:66), there is no problem about his crucifixion at nine in the morning, which agrees with the haste of the Jews since the beginning of the drama.

In relation to the crucifixion, the Gospels relate some details that cannot be entered into due to lack of space. Certain prisoners were kept alive for several days on the cross; But in the case of the Lord Jesus, in addition to the fact that humanly speaking he was very weakened, it must be taken into account that He was the owner of his life and death.

He had said to his disciples: “I lay down my life to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I put it on myself. “I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again…” (John 10:17, 18). Thus, at the ninth hour (approximately our three o’clock in the afternoon), after the whole country had been three hours in darkness, Christ expired with a great cry.

This very fact shows that Christ’s death was an active act of his will. This is not the way in which the crucified die, but completely exhausted, unable to breathe. The words spoken from the top of the cross demonstrate that He was conscious until the end, and that He knew perfectly the meaning of everything that was happening.

A very small number of people attended His last moments. The crowd, which had initially followed the procession, had returned to the city, frightened by the signs that had accompanied the execution of Jesus.

The mocking priests had also retired. Some disciples and soldiers were, according to the Gospels, the only ones who remained there until the end. Thus, the leaders were not informed of the death of Christ. So that the bodies would not hang from the cross during the Sabbath, the Jews asked Pilate to break the legs of those crucified.

When the soldiers approached Jesus to do so with Him, they realized that He had already expired. Wanting to make sure, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear. John, who was present, saw blood and water coming out of the wound (John 19:34-35).

There are commentators who believe they see here that the cause of Jesus’ death was a broken heart. However, as stated above, Jesus did not die because his body gave up, but because he gave up his life. The breaking of his heart, if it came, was an effect, not a cause, of his death.

However, the fact that He had absolute control over His life, to lay it down and take it up again, does not take away from the immense depth of His sufferings, both at the hands of His enemies and, above all, by the wrath of God. God who fell upon Him as the victim for the sins of the world.

In the words of J. N. Darby: “To Him death was death. The utter weakness of man, the extreme power of Satan, and the just vengeance of God. And alone, without sympathy from anyone, abandoned by all those He had loved.

The rest, his enemies. The Messiah given to the Gentiles and cut down, before a judge washing his hands and condemning the innocent, the priests interceding against the saint instead of for the guilty. Everything dark, without a ray of light, not even from God” (“Spiritual Songs”, note on page 34).

Joseph of Arimathea, a secret disciple of Jesus, despite his high position and his membership in the Sanhedrin, had not consented to the Lord’s condemnation (Lk. 23:51). He went before Pilate and claimed the body of Jesus. Accompanied by some people, Joseph placed him in a new tomb that he had had carved in the rock of his garden.

10. RESURRECTION AND ASCENSION.

The sudden arrest and quick death of Jesus baffled and overwhelmed the disciples. The Gospels mention that at least three times the Lord had announced his death and resurrection on the third day; Despite this, the disciples were too frustrated in his grief to have any hope.

Those who have known the despondency and bitterness of complete desolation are not surprised by the behavior of the disciples, nor do they doubt the Gospel story. The Gospels do not pretend to give a total account of the events, nor a catalog of evidence of the resurrection.

They are a testimony of reality through the testimony of the apostles, to whom Christ appeared on so many occasions (1 Cor. 15:3-8). The Gospels have recorded those facts that have intrinsic interest, those that God wants everyone to know.
The order of appearances of the Risen Lord was probably the following:

Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, two groups of Galilean devotees went to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus, with a view to his final burial. The first was composed of Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome (Mark 16:1). Juana and other unnamed women formed a second group. The passage from Lk. 24:10 mentions the account given by all the women.

The first group saw the stone moved away from the tomb; Mary Magdalene believed that the body had been removed, and she ran to tell Peter and John (John 20:1, 2). Upon entering the tomb, the other women saw an angel who announced to them the resurrection of Jesus, and gave them orders to bring the news to the disciples (Mt. 28:1-7; Mark 16:1-7).

Presumably, as they hastened to join them, they met the other group of women, and returned with them to the tomb, where two angels solemnly repeated to them that Jesus was no longer among the dead, but among the living (Luke . 24:1-8).

Leaving the tomb, they ran to Jerusalem to announce this news. Along the way, Jesus appeared to them (Mt. 28:9, 10). During this interval, Mary Magdalene had already informed Peter and John that the tomb was empty; The two disciples ran there and saw that it was just as they had been told (John 20:3-10).

Mary Magdalene had followed them. They left the garden, but she remained there, and there Jesus appeared to her (John 20:11-18). Finally, all the women gathered with the disciples, giving them the wonderful news. But the disciples’ faith in the resurrection was not to be based only on the testimony of women.

On this first day of the week, the Lord appeared to Simon Peter (Lk. 24:34; 1 Cor. 15:5), then to two disciples who were going to the town of Emmaus (Lk. 24:13-35); That same afternoon, Jesus presented himself to the apostles, in the absence of Thomas (Lk. 24:36-43; Jn. 20:19-24).

This time he ate before them, to demonstrate to them the reality of his bodily resurrection. The disciples remained in Jerusalem, while Thomas persisted in not believing what had happened. The following Sunday, Jesus appeared again to give proof of his resurrection to the unbelieving apostle (John 20:24-29).

It is then, it seems, that the apostles headed to Galilee. The Gospel speaks of seven of them who were fishing in the Sea of Tiberias, when the Lord appeared to them (Jn. 21). He also gave them an appointment on a mountain in Galilee; It is there that He entrusted them with the Great Commission, promising them His power and His continued presence (Mt. 28:16-20).

The five hundred disciples spoken of in 1 Cor. 15:6 likely attended this solemn delegation of authority. Later, the Lord also appeared to James (v. 7), but we do not know where. Finally, Jesus sent the apostles to Jerusalem, and led them to the Mount of Olives, in a place overlooking Bethany (Lk. 24:50, 51); from there he was taken up to heaven, and a cloud took him out of his sight (Acts 1:9-12).

Thus, the NT mentions ten appearances of the resurrected Savior, to which Paul adds his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus (1 Cor. 15:8). But there is no doubt that there are other appearances that have not been recorded. According to Acts. 1:3, “after he had suffered, he presented himself alive with many indubitable proofs, appearing to them for forty days.”

However, he no longer kept in constant contact with his disciples as before; He appeared before them on certain occasions (John 21:1). The forty days between the resurrection and the ascension were a period of transition, intended to train the disciples in view of the future ministry they were to assume.

There was a need for Jesus to clearly demonstrate, on various occasions, that he had really been resurrected. It has already been seen above that he gave these proofs in a full and conclusive manner.

The Lord had to complete his teachings on the necessity of his death and on the character of the Church that he was going to establish through their ministry. He also had to show his disciples how his work was the fulfillment of the Scriptures; This was also the time to begin to make them understand that a new dispensation was coming. Before Jesus’ death, His people were not prepared to receive such teaching (John 16:12).

Also, the experiences during those forty days helped the disciples to recognize that, although absent, their Lord was alive, and very close to them, although invisible; that he had entered into a new life, with a body like that in which they had known him, and that, furthermore, he had now been glorified.

Thus, his people were led to proclaim everywhere the divinity of the Only Begotten Son, true king of Israel, also the Man of Nazareth, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Meanwhile, the Jews claimed that the disciples had stolen Jesus’ body. On the day of the crucifixion, the chief priests had asked Pilate to have the tomb guarded by a guard of soldiers, for fear that Jesus’ body would be stolen.

When the resurrection occurred, accompanied by the descent of an angel who rolled the stone from the tomb (Mt. 28:1-7), the guards were terrified and fled. Pagans and superstitious, they were surely no more affected by what they had seen than the common ignorant people who think they see ghosts.

The Jewish authorities pretended to believe in a trick on the part of the disciples, and thus explained the statement of the soldiers, whom they bribed to reduce them to silence about the resurrection of Jesus. Thus the story spread that the body had been removed while the guards slept (Mt. 28:11-15). On the day of Pentecost, the apostles began to bear witness to the resurrection of Jesus; The number of believers increased rapidly (Acts 2).

The chief priests then strove, not by argument, but by violence, to destroy this testimony and crush the nascent sect (Acts 4). There are therefore two facts that remain irrefutable:

(I) There has never been any person capable of showing the dead body of Jesus. The Jews could have made the most of it, because in this way they would have definitively closed the mouths of the disciples. On the other hand, if the Christians had been in possession of the body, they would not have been able to refrain from embalming it and surrounding it with a true cult.

(II) If the disciples had falsely affirmed the resurrection of their Lord, nothing would have led them to martyrdom, and this by thousands, to support a conscious falsehood. The early Church was totally convinced of the fact of the resurrection.

The entire transformation of the apostles and the unprecedented dynamism of the first Christians can have no other explanation, neither psychologically nor spiritually, but only by the fact that they were reliable witnesses of the resurrection of Christ, with all the consequences that this entailed.

This article did not have the purpose of developing the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ, but rather of presenting the external and historical framework of his earthly existence. The Gospels gradually reveal to us the personality of Jesus and his message.

This very revelation constitutes one of the strongest proofs of the veracity of the stories found at the basis of our information. Because of his humanity, Christ is situated on the historical plane and in a particular environment. His life develops in a natural way, without stopping, leading with a defined purpose.

This authentically human existence belongs to history, but Jesus openly declares that He is more than a man (cf. e.g., Mt. 11:27; Jn. 5:17-38; 10:30; 17:5, etc.); It is revealed little by little to his disciples, who are impressed by his sovereign dignity (Mt. 16:16; Jn. 20:28). Later, under the light of the Spirit, reflection and experience, the fact of his divinity was revealed to them more and more.

The last of the surviving apostles became the fourth evangelist. Recounting the earthly career of his Lord, he presents him as the incarnation of Him who is the Word of God. But John never neglects or conceals the human aspect of Jesus.

He gives us, of this incomparable Man, an extremely precise portrait. “In the beginning he was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we saw his glory, glory of him as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

“These (things) have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31).