4th FINAL EXAM IN RELED
● The Agony in the Garden
Jesus’ First Prediction
In the first prediction, Jesus simply announced
that He would suffer, die, and rise again after three
days, but He did not give any details about this. The
apostles did not understand Jesus’ words at all. (See
Mk 8:31-33 for more biblical reference.)
Jesus’ Second Prediction
In the second prediction, the mood was more
intense. There was a hint of betrayal in the phrase “to
be handed over to men.” The apostles were very quiet.
(See Mk 9:30-32 for more biblical reference.)
Jesus’ Third Prediction
In the third prediction, Jesus included specific
details of His suffering: the mocking and scourging.
Jesus was described as walking ahead of the apostles,
suggesting the intensity of His desire to fulfill His
mission. The apostles were completely bewildered, yet
they followed Jesus because they loved Him.
The Institution of the Eucharist (Lk 22:14-20)
The Last Supper is the new Passover meal.
Like all practicing Jews, the apostles were all aware of
the meaning of the Passover meal and its significance,
expressed in the symbolism of its various elements like
the slain Paschal lamb, the unleavened bread, the bitter
herbs, and the cup of wine. But at the Last Supper, the
apostles realized that something even more significant
was taking place.
The New Commandment of Love
Jesus also declared His new commandment of
love during the Last Supper event as described in the
Gospel of John–“I give you a new commandment: love
one another. As I have loved you, so you also should
love one another. This is how all I will know that you
are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn
13:3435).
The institution of the Eucharist, the Death on
the Cross, and our present celebration of the Sacrament
of the Eucharist can only be summarized in one word–
LOVE.
Uniting Jesus in His Passion
All four Gospels give extensive accounts of
Jesus’ Passion and Death. We call these accounts the
Passion narratives. Some details in the Passion
narratives differ among the books since the accounts
came from different sources and points of view, but
the main idea and events are unmistakably clear. The
events of Jesus’ Passion are discussed below.
Jesus’ agony in the garden expressed what
death represented to Him. The thought of His
impending Passion filled Jesus with mental
anguish, inner death, and sorrow. Thrice, He
sought the comfort of His friends, but they were
asleep, overcome by their own grief (Lk 22:45).
His only recourse proved to be His heavenly
Father. In His prayer, Jesus accepted His
Father’s will. This perfect loving obedience
brought Him the strength to carry through the
Passion. Prayer is at the heart of the Gethsemane
scene.
● The Betrayal of Judas and the Arrest of
Jesus (Mt 26:47-56; Jn 18:1-14)
Judas, one of the twelve who had turned a
traitor and had become a hired spy, pointed out
Jesus to the temple guards and Jewish
authorities by kissing Him.
● Jesus’ Death on the Cross
After Jesus’ terrible scourging, Pilate
handed Jesus over to the soldiers to be crucified.
Crucifixion was the most painful from the death
widely used in the early centuries of the Roman
Empire. Roman citizens could not be crucified.
Only slaves, foreign traitors to the state, and
criminals of the worst kind could be executed in
this manner.
MEANING OF JESUS’ DEATH TO THE
FOLLOWING PEOPLE
For Local Romans: Jesus’ death meant the end of
another routine execution of a troublemaker.
For Jewish Leaders - Jesus’ death was designed
to be the end of their fears that Jesus would
supplant them.
For Jesus’ followers (before) - Jesus’ death was
initially the devastation of their faith in Him.
To Jesus Himself - His death crowned His earthly
ministry as the greatest act of love for us and for
our salvation.
To Present- day Disciples of Jesus (Us) - Jesus
died for our sinfulness; He died to show us how to
overcome sin and its effects on our broken world
and to empower us to fight sin; conquered what is
evil and brought us new life.
NOTE: “INRI” is an abbreviation for the Latin IESUS
NAZARENUS REX IUDAEORUM “Jesus of Nazareth, King
of the Jews.” These four letters were sometimes referred to
as the sacred monogram, perhaps they originated as a kind
of vague parallel to the Tetragrammaton, YHWH (cf.
Bringing Out Evidence for the
Resurrection
Resurrection is Jesus’ passage from death to a
new glorified life. It is the central event in God’s
plan of salvation.
CFC 629:Christ’s Resurrection, as an event, is
both historical and trans-
historical.
It is historical in terms of the testimonies of the
witnesses of the Risen Christ,
the empty tomb, etc. It
surpasses and transcends history
(trans-historical) because the
Resurrection is Jesus leaving the
historical conditions of time and
space. No one claimed to have
seen the event and no one
described how it took place. No
one, in fact, can explain what
“risen glorified existence” is.
HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OF JESUS’
RESURRECTION
1. The Empty Tomb
2. The Resurrection Appearances
A. The Risen Lord and the Women at the Tomb
(from the Synoptic Gospels)
- The women went to anoint Jesus’ body on Easter
Sunday.
- They found that the stone sealing the tomb had
been rolled away.
- The body of Jesus was gone.
- A message was given that Jesus had risen.
B. The Risen Lord Appears before Mary
Magdalene (John 20:11-18)
- Jesus was transformed when He appeared to
Mary; hence, Mary did not recognize Him.
- Jesus called Mary’s name. The Word of God
penetrated her heart allowing her to recognize the
Risen Christ.
- We need faith to recognize the Risen Christ in
our lives.
C. The Risen Lord Appears to Two Disciples on
the Road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-31)
- The two disciples recognized the Risen Christ
only during the breaking of the bread.
D. The Risen Lord Appears before the Apostles
(Luke 24:36-43)
- Jesus appeared to the apostles who were hiding
in the cenacle room/upper room.
- Jesus greeted them with the words “peace be
with you.”
E.Jesus Appears before Thomas (John 20:24-
29)
- Thomas exclaimed the words “My Lord and my
God” after he touched the hands of Jesus.
CCC651 "If Christ has not been raised, then our
preaching is in vain, and your faith is in
vain."521 The Resurrection above all constitutes the
confirmation of all Christ's works and teachings.
All truths, even those most inaccessible to human
reason, find their justification if Christ by his
Resurrection has given the definitive proof of his
divine authority, which He had promised.
CCC652 Christ's Resurrection is the fulfillment of
the promises both of the Old Testament and of
Jesus himself during his earthly life. The phrase
"in accordance with the Scriptures" indicates that
Christ's Resurrection fulfilled these predictions.
CCC 655 Finally, Christ's Resurrection and the
risen Christ Himself is the principle and source
of our future resurrection: "Christ has been
raised from the dead, the first fruits of those
who have fallen asleep. . . For as in Adam all
die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
"The risen Christ lives in the hearts of his
faithful while they await that fulfillment. In
Christ, Christians "have tasted. . . the powers of
the age to come" and their lives are swept up by
Christ into the heart of divine life, so that they
may "live no longer for themselves but for him
who for their sake died and was raised.
This conviction of the disciples on
Jesus’ Resurrection is based on the historical
witness of the apostles. It is their concrete
historical witness to the reality of Jesus’
Resurrection that a) changed their life
completely, 2) grounded the beginnings of the
church; and 3) inspired the writing and
formation of the New Testament and instituted
the observance of Sunday as the Lord’s Day.