WHAT JESUS TAUGHTChapter 20

AUTHORITY: LORD, TO WHOM SHALL WE GO? FOR YOU HAVE THE WORDS OF EVERLASTING LIFE.

• “No man ever spoke like this man!”• People initially addressed Jesus as “Rabbi” or

teacher but his interpretations of scripture didn’t admit debate.

• “People’s Responses to Jesus”• Comforter, wise teacher,

Messiah• Imposter, Arrogant• Either way, He couldn’t be

ignored

PARABLE: IF A BLIND MAN LEADS A BLIND MAN, THEY WILL BOTH FALL INTO A PIT. (MT 15:14)

Parable: A story used to illustrate a principle or moral teaching

2 Primary Messages of Jesus’ Parables:Invitation to the feast of the Kingdom

One must give all to gain the Kingdom

Mt 7: 24-27 - Parable of the man who built his house on a rockMt 16: 17-18 – Peter’s Great Confession

KINGDOM OF GOD: THE TIME IS FULFILLED AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND; REPENT AND BELIEVE IN THE GOSPEL. (MK 1:15)

• The Kingdom of God is the secret at the

heart of EVERY parable!

Christ’s central teaching was the Kingdom of God being at hand; the rest of his teachings were about what the Kingdom is like and how to live in it.

THEMES OF JESUS’ TEACHINGS:

BORN FROM ABOVE: TRULY, TRULY, I SAY TO YOU, UNLESS ONE IS BORN ANEW, HE CANNOT SEE THE KINGDOM OF GOD. (JN 3:3)

• In Baptism we are “born from above” by water and the Spirit

• Baptism is the entry into the Kingdom of God.

• John 3:4-5

• Nicodemus the Pharisee

• “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher from God, for no one can do these signs that you’re doing unless God were with him.

LETTER OF THE LAW IS NOT ENOUGH: GOD DESIRES MERCY, NOT SACRIFICE. (HOS 6:6)

The Spirit of the Law-Luke 10:30-36

• The Lawyer’ questions

• “What do I do to inherit eternal life?”

• “Who is my neighbor?”

• The Parable of the Good Samaritan

• The Priest and Levite

• The Samaritan

• Micah 6:7-8

THE NEW LAW AND THE OLD LAW: DO NOT THINK THAT I CAME TO ABOLISH THE LAW OR THE PROPHETS; I DID NOT COME TO ABOLISH BUT TO FULFILL. (MT 5:17)

• To be holy, one must obey not just the letter of the Law but the spirit behind it; the Spirit of the New Law is the Holy Spirit, who shows love and mercy to every person without qualification, illustrated by the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

The New Law elevates and orients the Old Law toward the Kingdom of God by proclaiming the poor, sorrowful, humble, and persecuted will be first and the rich and proud will be last.

THE NEW LAW: …EVEN THE SON OF MAN CAME NOT TO BE SERVED, BUT TO SERVE, AND TO GIVE HIS LIFE AS RANSOM FOR MANY. (MT 20: 27-28)

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

• Journal about the Spirit of the New Law of Love.

THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT: THE LAST SHALL BE FIRST AND THE FIRST SHALL BE LAST.

• The Paradox of the Beatitudes:

Christ taught those suffering what are considered misfortunes are actually blessed because of the rewards they will receive from God.

• The Beatitudes take up and fulfill God’s promises from Abraham on by ordering them to the kingdom of Heaven. They respond to the desire for happiness That God has placed in the human heart. –CCC1725

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQ1VCDFEkkk

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NEW LAW: BUT I SAY TO YOU, LOVE YOUR ENEMIES AND PRAY FOR THOSE WHO PERSECUTE

YOU, THAT YOU MAY BE CHILDREN OF YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER. (MT. 5:44)

• The New Law commands:

• Love of enemies

• Unconditional forgiveness

• Practice mercy towards others

• Pray without ceasing

• Receive the true Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist

LOVE YOUR ENEMIES: …BUT LOVE YOUR ENEMIES, AND DO GOOD, AND LEND, EXPECTING NOTHING IN RETURN: AND YOUR

REWARD WILL BE GREAT, AND YOU WILL SEE THE SONS OF THE MOST HIGH. (LK 6:33)

“Seventy-seven fold”

• GN 4:23-24 – Lamech’s revenge• MT 18:21-22 – Peter’s

forgiveness

CLASS DISCUSSION

•Why should you love your enemies? •How can you love your enemies?

•Does loving enemies have reasonable limits as to what you let them do to you or what you

should do for them?

THE PRODIGAL SON: BUT NOW WE MUST CELEBRATE AND REJOICE, BECAUSE YOUR BROTHER WAS DEAD AND HAS COME TO LIFE AGAIN; HE WAS LOST AND HAS BEEN FOUND. (LK 15:32)

God’s grace Is undeserved.

“The New Law is the grace of the Holy Spirit received by faith in Christ, operating through charity. It finds expression above all in the Lord’s

Sermon on the Mount and uses the sacraments to communicate grace to

us.” CCC1983

THE NEW LAW: GRACE

THE NEW LAW: PRAY WITHOUT CEASING:  AND WHATEVER YOU ASK IN PRAYER, YOU WILL RECEIVE, IF YOU HAVE FAITH. (MT 21:22)

JESUS IS THE BREAD OF LIFE

• Jesus’ disciples did not understand what Jesus meant when he said, “I am the bread of life.” He had to explain it and become more specific each time.

• Jn 6:35

• Jn 6:51

• Jn 6:53-58

• The teaching was so shocking and challenging that many followers left him.

• Jn 6:67-69

• They recognized what Jesus meant at the Last Supper. This is why the Eucharist is the source and summit of the life of the Church.

• It provides us with the grace and salvation that He promised.

•What is the relationship between obeying the spirit of the Law and conversion of heart?

•What 2 commandments sum up the New Law?

•Why did the lawyer as “Who is my neighbor?” in Luke?