Tag Archives: Jesus

The cleansing of 10 Lepers

Leave a reply

B. The cleansing of ten lepers.

  1. (11-14) The healing of the lepers.
    Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.

a)As He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers: It was not unusual for these lepers to congregate with one another. They were outcasts from society at large, and had no company other than other lepers – so, they stood afar off.
i. Who stood afar off: “They kept at a distance, because forbidden by law and custom to come near to those who were sound, for fear of infecting them. See Leviticus 13:46; Numbers 5:2; 2 Kings 15:5.” (Clarke)


ii. Passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee: “The words dia meson are best translated ‘through the middle of,’ or ‘between,’ referring to Jesus’ travel along the border between Samaria and Galilee.” (Pate)

Continue reading →

Becoming Disciples of Jesus

Leave a reply

Introduction…

This first Module is aimed at building a strong foundation as followers of Jesus Christ. We can only help others to become disciples

as far as we have been discipled ourselves.

What we teach others must be in accordance with our own life. We have to be true disciples following Jesus wholeheartedly.  In that way we are being 

transformed to His image, and in time we can join Paul in saying:

“Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.”(1st Cor 11v1)

“As the Son was sent by the Father (131) so He too sent the Apostles, saying: “Go,

therefore, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father

and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things

whatsoever I have commanded you. And behold I am with you all days even to

Discipleship
Priesthood
The Priest
Offering

the consummation of the world” (132) The Church has received this solemn

mandate of Christ to proclaim the saving truth from the apostles and must carry it out to the very ends of the earth.(133)

Continue reading →

The time is now, how will God judge you?

Leave a reply

🧐Recently I was thinking about a question. Peter did not know that he would later hold the keys to heaven, but he was willingly crucified and died for the Lord Jesus; Job did not know that the Lord would appear to him later, nor did he know that God would bless him much afterwards, yet he was able to have true obedience to God when the great trial came. I wondered, if God had not given us the promise of heaven, or assuming that we would not enter heaven at all, would my heart of faith in God be the same as it is now? What would my attitude toward God be if I had nothing and was in such great pain as Job was? Would I really be able to obey? If God asks me, “Have you ever been true to me at all? Have you ever been true to me without any dealings and without any mixture? I thought of 2 paragraphs of God’s words to share with you.

🙏God says:”So many believe in Me only that I might heal them. So many believe in Me only that I might use My powers to drive unclean spirits out from their bodies, and so many believe in Me simply that they might receive peace and joy from Me. So many believe in Me only to demand from Me greater material wealth. So many believe in Me just to spend this life in peace and to be safe and sound in the world to come. So many believe in Me to avoid the suffering of hell and to receive the blessings of heaven. So many believe in Me only for temporary comfort, yet do not seek to gain anything in the world to come. When I brought down My fury upon man and seized all the joy and peace he once possessed, man became doubtful. When I gave unto man the suffering of hell and reclaimed the blessings of heaven, man’s shame turned into anger. When man asked Me to heal him, I paid him no heed and felt abhorrence toward him; man departed from Me to instead seek the way of evil medicine and sorcery. When I took away all that man had demanded from Me, everyone disappeared without a trace. Thus, I say that man has faith in Me because I give too much grace, and there is far too much to gain. “

God says:”You must have visions as your foundation. If misfortune befalls you one day, what ought you to do? Would you still be able to follow Him? Do not say lightly whether you would be able to follow to the end. You had better first open wide your eyes to see just what time it is now. Though you may currently be like pillars of the temple, a time will come when all such pillars will be gnawed by worms, causing the temple to collapse, for at present, there are so many visions that you lack. You only pay attention to your own little worlds, and you do not know what the most reliable and appropriate way of seeking is. You do not heed the vision of the work of today, nor do you hold these things in your hearts. Have you considered that one day your God will put you in a most unfamiliar place? Can you imagine what would become of you one day when I might snatch everything from you? Would your energy on that day be as it is now? Would your faith reappear? “

Christ is Medicine, our salvation.

Leave a reply

While attending Mass and listening to the Gospel, you may notice links between the Old Testament and the New Testament. Where Christ reveals what had been ‘hidden’ since the creation of the world. How he also fulfilled what was written in scripture, and scripture itself is proof that Christ was to come, exactly as he did, to fulfil its promises.

Where ancient Scribes brought from the treasury New and Old, demonstrating this ability to link the new and Old Testament in such a way that the reader is in no doubt that Christ fulfilled scripture. The ‘Treasury’ is the whole Bible

There are dozens and dozens of Biblical example of this, while few given here where Moses being commanded by God to raise a Bronze serpent on a staff to be ‘looked upon’ by the people for their ‘salvation’. Christ fulfils this role in the New Testament as the one ‘raised up’, to be looked upon for the salvation of all mankind.

In Zechariah we hear of the ‘fountain’ to cleanse sin, and the ‘mourning for the One pierced’.

It goes deeper in the 2nd half in Zechariah to talk about ‘The Shepherd’, ‘The Covenant’, and ‘The price of a Man’. When Christ breathed his last on The Cross, the Veil of the temple was torn in two.

This was to fulfil the scripture of the breaking of The Covenant between God and Israel. Salvation came from the Jews, but God was no longer present among the people in the Ark of the Covenant, in the ‘Holy of Holies’. The two staffs in Zechariah were Broken, thus breaking the covenants.

The New Covenant was with Christ (The worthy One from Revelation 5), and was for All Peoples.

In Zechariah we also find the 30 pieces of silver, the price of a Man. It was no accident that Pontus Pilate said ‘behold, I give you the Man (Ecce Homo). In Zechariah we see the 30 pieces ‘cast into the treasury’ in the house of The Lord. When Judas tried to atone for his sins, he tried to get the high priest to take back the 30 pieces of silver. He cast the 30 pieces into the temple, the house of The Lord, for it to be put back in the treasury. The Chief priests could not put blood money back in the treasury, and purchased the potters field. Again, Christ fulfilled all that was written about in scripture.

While the key themes here are this, Christ came to reveal what was hidden since the beginning of time. He alone fulfils what is written in scripture. His atonement was pure and perfect, and He alone could satisfy the Justice required by God for the sin of all mankind. This perfect and Holy sacrificed restored mankind to God. God no longer dwelt among the people in the Holy of Holies. Christ became worthy (Revelation 5) to receive All Power, Glory, and Honour. He alone could open the scroll. Through him we now come to the Father, redeemed by Christ. His dwelling place is within us (You are no longer your own. You were purchased/ransomed for a heavy price). That is why confessions are so important (The cleansing of the bodily temple), and receiving Christ in The Holy Eucharist. Christ tells us that we cannot have life within us unless we eat and drink of His flesh.

What is the holy Trinity?

Leave a reply

The holy spirit Is three divine aspects of God the Father in one.

Three aspects of God the Father within and around us which interact within our lives, guiding us.

So there is God the Father who we look up to and Jesus Christ who we try to walk in the footsteps of and do good for others and then there is the holy spirit who corrects our actions and thinking.

The Trinity is like an egg. Just as ONE egg has THREE different parts – the shell, the white, the yoke – ONE God has THREE different Persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Similarly, we often hear the Trinity compared to an Apple. ONE apple has three different parts – the skin, the flesh, and the seed.

For the majority of Christian denominations, the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Holy Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and is Almighty God. As such he is personal and also fully God, co-equal and co-eternal with God the Father and Son of God.

Why is the trinity important?

The Trinity is important as it helps Christians to understand the complex nature of God. The belief in The Trinity is a central doctrine of Christianity. The three persons of the Trinity teach Christians better about the nature of God and the roles he plays.

The Christian doctrine of the Trinity, in  Latin translates as Trinitas, lit. ’triad’, originating from Latin: trinus meaning  “threefold” where it defines God as being one god existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial 
divine persons.

Being God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, three distinct persons sharing one homoousion, essence.

In this way, the three persons define who God is, while the one essence defines what God is.

The old Testament.

The Old Testament has been interpreted as referring to the Trinity by referring to God’s word (Psalm 33:6), his spirit (Isaiah 61:1), and Wisdom (Proverbs 9:1), as well as narratives such as the appearance of the three men to Abraham.

However, it is generally agreed among Trinitarian Christian scholars that it would go beyond the intention and spirit of the Old Testament to correlate these notions directly with later Trinitarian doctrine.

How does the Trinity affect our lives?

So we must become a people of love. Our lives reflect the Trinity. … And the Holy Spirit, the love between the Father and the Son, makes us holy. The Holy Spirit makes possible the wholeness or oneness in us to enable Christ to work through us.

Why is Jesus important in the trinity?

God the Son helps Christians to understand how God makes his love known in the world. Jesus spread teachings of compassion and healed people who were sick. The life of Jesus, as described in the Gospels , also demonstrates that sacrifice and suffering are important parts of the human experience.

What is the difference between God and Jesus and the Holy spirit?

God is a spirit ( according to scriptures) whereas Jesus himself declared not to be a spirit rather he considered himself human with flesh and bones. God is said to have unlimited knowledge while Jesus being a person is said to limited knowledge.

Jesus is Tempted in the Desert. Mark (1:12 – 15)

Leave a reply

The author Mark clearly links Jesus ‘temptation in the desert with the baptism. There, Jesus experiences the divine world in the communication from the Father. In the temptation, however, he is in the desert or wilderness, I.e., the demonic world, the traditional haunt of the evil forces. Forty days’ suggests a link with the 40 years of Israel’s wandering in the desert or wilderness.

Whereas Israel failed during that period, here Jesus succeeds. The author also seems to imply a certain messianic element in this scene, namely, the type of messiahship Jesus would embrace. Jesus thus begins his battle with Satan and the powers of evil. His death and subsequent resurrection will resolve the form of his messiahship and his relationship to the powers of evil.

In the conclusion of this passage the author begins the account of the public ministry of Jesus with a summary. He noted the fate of the Baptist and suggests that the Cross cannot be divorced from a consideration of the person and mission of Jesus. In Jesus, God’s Kingdom, I.e., his providing for the needs of his people, has finally dawned. In Jesus, the new age has begun.

The audience is thus invited to adopt a new way of thinking that will lead to a new way of acting (‘repentance’) and put their trust in the good news of salvation that comes in the person of Jesus. Mark thus presents a Jesus bound up with the world of chaos. Satan and the powers of evil personify that chaos, one that brings in its wake human sickness, perversion, and isolation. The task of Jesus is to overcome such chaotic forces.

The struggle in the desert or wilderness is the beginning of Jesus’ containing of chaos. He proceeds to offset such chaos by proclaiming hope in the form of the kingdom of God, God’s definitive intervention in which he will provide for all the needs of his people. The person of Jesus is God’s finest expression of hope for a choice world.

John Baptised Jesus.

Leave a reply

In recounting the baptism of Jesus by John, Mark underlines Jesus ‘ vision and the heavenly voice. The tearing open of the heavens recalls Isaiah 63:19 where the prophet begs God to rend the heavens and come down. The second element in Jesus’ vision is the descent of the dove-like spirit.
The role of the spirit in Jesus’ ministry is paramount for Mark since it will enable him to carry out his mission.
The heavenly voice establishes a unique form of communication between God and Jesus. Mark thereby identifies Jesus as both God’s Son and his beloved servant (see Isaiah 42:1 – 2).



For Mark’s audience this scene is good news indeed since it reveals that God has not forgotten them. Rather through Jesus he has established a special form of communication. The result is that heaven and earth are now in contact. As Son, Jesus enjoys a special bond with God, a bond that he will manifest in his moments of prayer. As beloved son, Jesus is also the suffering servant who will achieve his mission by coping with pain on behalf of his people. As no stranger to suffering, Jesus easily appeals to Mark’s audience. He will, however, ultimately triumph but only at the cost of his life. As God’s servant, Jesus can empathize with the experience of Mark’s audience. The shadow of the cross is painfully present.

Prologue: The beginning of the Good News.

Leave a reply

John the Baptist Announces the Coming One (1:1 – 8).

This passage marks the beginning of Mark’s message for his distraught community. The story of Jesus can now unfold with the proclamation of John the Baptist.

The audience is to learn that neither the formidable power of evil nor the crushing brutality of the powers-that-be will enjoy the last word.

The Baptist senses God’s presence in the person of Jesus. He also understands his own mission in terms of precursor – he is to prepare the way of the Lord.
Specifically, he prepares the people for the arrival of ‘one mightier ‘ than he by proclamation of radical conversion. He proceeds to demonstrate the seriousness of his intent by appearing in the guise of Elijah (camel’s hair clothing and leather belt). He emphasises the centrality of Jesus by seeing himself only in the role of a herald. Jesus, not he, is to occupy centre stage.

There is life in his name.

Leave a reply

The Purpose of John’s Gospel.

John 20:30 – 31:

And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:

31.

But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.


Patience…

Leave a reply

Psalm 27:10 – 14.

10. When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.

11. Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.

12. Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty.

13. I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.

14. Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.