The disciples, who before had lost all hope, came to believe in Jesus’ Resurrection because they saw him in a different way after his death, spoke with him, and experienced him as being alive. [640-644, 656] The easter events that took place in Jerusalem in the year 30 are notContinue Reading
No. “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain” (1 Cor 15:14)Continue Reading
Jesus really died on the Cross; his body was buried. All the sources testify to this. [627] In John 19:33ff., the soldiers even make an explicit determination of death: They open the side of Jesus’ dead body with a lance and see blood and water come out. Furthermore, itContinue Reading
Christians should not seek suffering, but when they are confronted with unavoidable suffering, it can become meaningful for them if they unite their sufferings with the sufferings of Christ: “Christ … suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps” (1 Pet 2:21). [618] Continue Reading
The Cross on which Jesus, although innocent, was cruelly executed is the place of utmost degradation and abandonment. Christ, our Redeemer, chose the Cross so as to bear the guilt of the world and to suffer the pain of the world. S he brought the world back home to GodContinue Reading
Since Jesus was true man, he truly experienced fear of death on the Mount of Olives.[612] With the same human strength that we all possess, Jesus had to fight in order to consent interiorly to the Father’s will that he give his life for the life of the world. AbandonedContinue Reading
Jesus washed the feet of his apostles on the evening before his death; he instituted the -> EUCHARIST and founded the priesthood of the New Covenant.[610-611] Jesus showed his consummate love in three ways: He washed his disciples’ feet and showed that he is among us as one who servesContinue Reading
The violent death of Jesus did not come about through tragic external circumstances. Jesus was “delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God”(Acts 2:23). So that we children of sin and death might have life, the Father in heaven “made him to be sin who knew noContinue Reading
No one can assign collective guilt for the death of Jesus to the Jews. Instead, the Church professes with certainty that all sinners share in the guilt for Jesus’ death. [597-598] The aged prophet Simeon foresaw that Jesus would become ” a sign that is spoken against” (Lk 2:34b). AndContinue Reading
Jesus posed a decisive question to his contemporaries: Either he was acting with divine authority, or else he was an imposter, a blasphemer, and a violator of the Law and who had to be called to account. [574-576] In many respects, Jesus was an unprecedented challenge to the traditional JudaismContinue Reading
