Jesus of Nazareth …

1. Jesus of Nazareth…

2. Jesus’ Passport Name: Yehoshua Place of birth: Bethlehem Date of birth: 6BC (approximately) Religion: Jew Place of work: Nazareth Mother: Mary of Nazareth Appearance: Dark complexion (brown eyes, black hair)

3. Jesus – a summary • Jesus was a Jewish peasant, which tells us about his social class. • Jesus was a wisdom teacher. His use of language was remarkable and poetic, filled with images and stories. • Jesus was a social prophet like Gandhi or Martin Luther King. He challenged the dominant system of his day.

4. Jesus – a summary (cont.) • Jesus was a healer • He was a Jewish mystic. He had a spiritual presence around him, like that reported of St. Francis or the Dalai Lama.

5. Jesus – a summary (cont.) • Some people would say that he was insane, as his family did, or that he was simply eccentric, or that he was a dangerous threat, or you could conclude that he was filled with the Spirit of God

6. The Emperor Augustus passed a law that a count be made of every person in the empire, so everyone returned to their hometown. Joseph went with Mary, who was soon to give birth, to Bethlehem, in Judea. When at last they arrived, they found the city full of people and every inn and lodging were full.

7. Eventually they found some shelter and here, during the night, Mary’s son was born.

8. News of Jesus’ birth spread far and wide. A group of wise men travelled from the east to Jerusalem. When they arrived they asked everyone, “Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews? We have seen his star and have come to worship him.”

9. After the wise men had left, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph and said, “Get up. Take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod will look for the child in order to kill him”

10. ‘When Herod found out that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was furious. He gave orders to kill all boys in Bethlehem and the surrounding district, who were two years old or under.’

11. Rembrandt

12. Jesus lived a hidden life in Nazareth for 30 years

13. Jesus, aged 12,went missing in Jerusalem after the festival of Passover. Mary and Joseph are desperate with worry.They finally found him sitting in the middle of a group of wise men and teachers talking.c. 9 A.D.

14. Son why did you do this to us? Are you not aware that your father and I have been searching for you in sorrow ?

15. Jesus the Man

16. The years passed, John, Elizabeth’s Son and Jesus, Mary’s son grew up. John warned people that God would punish them if they did not repent and change their ways. He also brought good news. He told the people that he was preparing the way for a very important person. He said, “I am only baptising you with water – He will bring you all God’s blessings and power. He will be God’s awaited King.

17. One day, Jesus came to see John. He asked John to baptise him. John said, “It is not right that I should do this. Jesus replied, “Let us do what God asks of us,” and he walked down the banks of the river and into the water.

18. The time had come for Jesus to begin to tell everyone of God’s Kingdom had arrived on earth. Jesus knew that he would need people to help him and he asked God to show him who he should call to help him in this work. He chose twelve men altogether to be his close disciples. There were a mixed bunch, among them fishermen, freedom fighters and tax collectors.

19. Although there were many other men and women who became Jesus’ disciples, as time went by, these twelve were special. Jesus called them “apostles” or “messengers” because he sent them out to tell others the good news about the kingdom of God.

20. Jesus travelled the countryside and towns preaching, teaching, healing and performing miracles. The numbers who came to hear him were very great and he was building up a reputation as a great rabbi, a teacher of the Scriptures.

21. News of his teaching spread and he was always followed by a large crowd wherever he went. He often put over a point by telling a parable – a story with a particular point to it such as this one.

22. A man asked Jesus,"Who should I love?" Jesus told this story.

23. The Good Samaritan

24. Once a man walked down a lonely road.

25. Robbers came and beat him up and stole his things. They left him for dead.

26. A priest came by. He didn't stop. He passed by on the other side.He only cared about himself.

27. Next came a Levite, a man who assisted in the temple, he too gave a quick look and then passed by on the far side of the road.

28. But then a Samaritan came along. He felt sorry for the man and stopped to help.

29. The Samaritan put the man on his donkey. He took him to an inn, and arranged for him to be cared for.

30. Who loved the man? The one who stopped to help!

31. Jesus said we should do the same. We should love everyone!

32. Jesus healed the sick, lepers and the blind. He forgave people their sins. He even brought people who had died back to life and he performed many other miracles

33. One day he fed a crowd of over 5,000 who had come to hear him. He fed them all with just five loaves and two fish.

34. All this made him very unpopular with the Jewish leaders, they saw him as a threat to political stability. They wanted to get rid of him.

35. Jesus journeyed with his followers down to Jerusalem for the greatest of Jewish feasts, the Passover. The city was seething with people arriving for the festival.

36. As soon as news arrived that Jesus was on his way, an excited crowd set out to meet him. They all cried out, “Hosanna” and sang and shouted his praises. “Blessed is he who is coming in the name of the Lord!”

37. When they got into the city, Jesus knew that his enemies would be looking for him. It was important that he have a safe, private place where he could enjoy his last supper with his friends.

38. While at dinner Jesus was sad because he knew that Judas, one of the apostles, had betrayed him to the Jewish authorities for a bag of silver

39. They all sat together and Jesus blessed the bread, broke it and shared it among them. He said, “Take this and eat for this is my body.” Then he blessed the wine and passed the cup around and said, “Drink this, for this is my blood. Do this in memory of me.”

40. After the meal they walked into a nearby garden where Jesus could pray. Judas arrived with an armed guard who arrested Jesus and took him away.

41. The high priests interrogated him all night and sentenced him to death.

42. Next morning they bound him and led him away and delivered him to Pilate, the governor. Pilate cross examined Jesus.

43. The crowds by now were calling for Jesus to be crucified. "Crucify, crucify him!"They shouted.

44. Pilate didn’t himself believe that Jesus should die butgave in to the wishes of the mob. He ordered his soldiers to whip Jesus before taking him to be crucified.

45. Jesus had to carry his cross up to the hill of Golgotha past all the mocking, jeering crowds.

46. The soldiers also mocked and jeered him as they nailed him to a cross between two thieves.

47. For three hours Jesus suffered, then he cried out to his Father in heaven and died.

48. Jesus was given a proper burial. Two men washed and wrapped his body and laid it in an unused grave, in a tomb cut out of rock.

49. The morning after the Sabbath, Mary and some others went to visit the grave. As they came close to the tomb , they saw , with horror, that the stone closing the entrance to the tomb had been rolled away.

50. Two angels were sitting where the body of Jesus had lain. “Why are you looking in the place of the dead for someone who is alive? Jesus isn’t here! He has been raised from the death, remember he told you in Galilee that this would be so.”