Jesus Lives:

The Incarnation and

Resurrection

LEARNING GOAL: To understand what is meant by the Incarnation and

Resurrection of Jesus and why they are the key beliefs of Christianity.
 The Incarnation

• Incarnation means “coming-into-flesh”.

(Latin: in and caro ‘flesh’)

• It is the key Christian belief that in

Jesus, God became a human being.

Copy this definition into your notebook.

Discuss:
Why do you think that this is a key Christian belief?
God becoming flesh

• Devout Jews in the first century had great difficulty with this
because they saw God as a spirit.
• They could not imagine God as a human being.
• Discuss: Why would this be difficult to grapple with?
God and human: maintaining the balance

• The Church has had to work out the best ways to express and
maintain this truth.

• Extreme view arose from time to time and were rejected by the
Church. Some of these include:
• That Jesus was not a real physical being. He only appeared to
be real.
• That Jesus was God, but was not truly human. His humanity
was absorbed into his divinity like a drop of oil in the ocean.
Jesus: both human and divine

• The Church teaches that the person, Jesus Christ,

is a unity of two natures, divine and human.

• Christians worship Jesus and pray to him as God.

• At the same time, they relate warmly to him in

his human nature. God has lived the human life
and understands its sorrows and joys.
DISCUSSION

• “If we make Jesus only divine he seems remote, but if we make

him only human he is no different to any other religious leader.”

Think and record your answer in sentence form. Share with a peer
and add at least ONE new idea to your response:

• How did Jesus show his divinity?

• How are present church leaders – e.g. cardinals and the Pope – like
Jesus?
ACTIVITY: RESEARCH ANALYSIS – Option 1

Work in groups of three.

• Find a hymn, a prayer and a painting related to Jesus. Include the
time/era that these were created as this sometimes affects how
Jesus is portrayed.

• Analyse how the hymn, prayer and painting emphasis the divine
and human natures of Jesus.

• Present your findings to the class using PowerPoint or Prezi.

ACTIVITY: RESEARCH ANALYSIS – Option 2

View this modern song (beware: hard rock) -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGrM1sh-8pE

Record: How does this relate to Jesus’ incarnation?

Locate the lyrics here

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/breakingbenjamin/dearagony.html
and cut and paste them into a Word document.

Use the comment app in MS Word (review ribbon) to explain at least 5 links
between the lyrics and your knowledge.
 The Birth of Jesus: What do you know?

• Make a list of everything You know about the Birth of Jesus. In your
notebook, record:
Who
What
Birth of Jesus
Where What I know…
When
Why
How
Try to answer them all with a word or phrase.
 The Birth of Jesus: What do you know?

• Our knowledge about the Birth of Jesus may owe more to carols and
In your
Christmas cards than to the New Testament. notebook,
record the 5
most
• Matthew and Luke’s gospel provide information on the Birth of Jesus
important
words or
• There are differences in the way that the gospels tell the story phrases from
this slide
• The Gospel of Mark – the earliest written gospel – does not include any
record of Jesus’ birth.

• The Gospel of John – the last gospel to be written – says that Jesus was the
son of Joseph (John 1:45) and does not include any birth story.
 The Birth of Jesus in the Gospels

• These writings are called the Infancy Narrative.

In your
notebook,
record the 3
• In our Christmas stories, we often combine the details of most
the two stories. Although there are some conflicting details important
words or
phrases from
• Symbolism and metaphor in these stories illustrate the this slide
wonder and beauty of the Incarnation. They aren’t
necessarily historical accounts but a description of what
God is like.
PAIR WORK (slide 1 of 2)

Person A: watch - http://youtu.be/nAqNub2XmDQ

• Summarise the key details that Luke emphasizes in Luke’s narrative of

the Birth of Jesus (Lk 1:26-38). Ensure you answer these questions:
How was the child conceived?
Who announced the birth? To whom?
The name of the Child?
Then make a list of the key events of Luke’s account using dot points.

*If in doubt, refer to the scripture reference in www.biblegateway.com

 PAIR WORK (slide 2 of 2)

Person B: watch - http://youtu.be/8Tjw0tY3sPU

• Summarise the key points that Matthew emphasizes in Matthew’s narrative of the
Birth of Jesus (Mt 1:18 – 2:23) Ensure you answer these questions:

How was Jesus conceived in Matthew’s account?

Who announced the birth and to whom?
The name of the child?
Make of list of the key events in Matthew’s account as dot points.

*If in doubt, refer to the scripture reference in www.biblegateway.com

 Create a Graphic Organiser summarizing key
details of the Infancy Narratives (Collect Bibles
from Library)
• Copy and Paste a map at the top of your A4 THE INFANCY NARRATIVES
page which shows Bethlehem, Nazareth
and Jerusalem.
• Divide the page in two and provide the
headings: THE INFANCY NARRATIVES, Luke’s
Gospel and Matthew’s Gospel. Luke’s Gospel Matthew’s Gospel

• Send your notes to your partner and paste Common to

both Gospels
theirs into your document.
• Insert a shape into the centre of the table
for the details common to both Luke and
Matthew.
• Compare the two accounts. In the centre
shape list all details that are the similar in
both Luke’s account and Matthew’s
account.
 The Meaning of the Infancy Narratives

• These scriptures were used to record the birth and life of

Jesus. Matthew and Luke’s Gospels were used by the early
Church as a record that the promise from God to send a
Messiah had been fulfilled in Jesus.
*Record this in your notebook
TASK: Read Micah 5:2-5, Matthew 1:1-17, Matthew 2:1-12, Luke
2:1-20 – who were they expecting? Summarise your ideas in a
paragraph below the above notetaking.
The Birth of Jesus

• Jesus came from very humble beginnings – born in a stable

amongst farm animals.
• It was the way he lived his life that made him great.

*Record this in your notebook

Read and compare Luke and Matthew’s account of the visiting

magi (Lk 2:1-20, Mt 2:1-12) Extend this comparison to find
references in the Christmas hymn ‘We Three Kings’ – clip with lyrics
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJxBlJFjOU4
Who is Jesus?

Think, pair, share:

Write a list of at least 5 adjectives (5 letters or more)

that you would use to describe Jesus.

Share with the class and create a list of at least 15

which can be copied into your notebook. This will be
useful for future tasks and your assignment.
 Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC)

The CCC has a lot to say about the Incarnation of Jesus

http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p122a3p1.htm
In groups, ‘translate’ the section allocated to you into everyday language,
aiming for a total response less than 30 words

(A) 457-460 (B) 461-463 (C) 464-466 (D) 467-469

(E) 470, 475 (F) 471-474 (G) 476-477 (H) 478
(I) 479-483

Your teacher will go through one statement (456) with the class
Creative Jesus

• To summarise and define further what you know about Jesus,

choose one of these tasks to complete:

• 1. Jesus Profile – Research and fill in the profile (send to your

teacher to print and display in your classroom)
2. Jesus haiku – three line poem – first line 5 syllables, second line
7 syllables and third line 5 syllables
3. Jesus acrostic poem – the J stands for … the E stands for …
choose phrases, rather than words which represent Jesus
Optional Task 1
Interesting article – Jesus, the asylum seeker

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1416278/Jesus-was-
asylum-seeker-says-bishop.html

How does this relate to how the Church speaks out on social
injustice? Consider the Catholic Social Justice Teachings you studied
in Term 1. Pinpoint and describe at least 3 links.
Link to CSJT summary:
http://www.centacarebrisbane.net.au/assets/downloads/content/4
103.pdf
Optional Task 2
The true meaning of Christmas

Design a pamphlet, write a letter, poster or invitation

which outlines the true meaning/importance of Christmas.
In your composition, respond to these core questions:
• What are we called to do?
• What sort of world do they hope for, like the Jewish
people did in the time of Jesus?
• What gifts should we give others? The three wise men
gave Jesus – gold, frankincense and myrrh. Why do you
think these were chosen?