Jesus' Teachings and Mission in Christian Life

Jesus' Mission and Christian Life

1. For some, he would restore strict observance of the law; for others, he would be a military leader who would liberate the Romans. Others expected him as a manifestation of divine power.

2. Jesus healed the sick at the pool of Bethesda. But it was Saturday, and the Pharisees reproached him for carrying his mat after being cured. Jesus used this situation to explain the depth and sense of his mission. He says he acts like his Father and cannot do anything on his own, but seeks the will of the One who sent him.

3. Paul had a past life in Judaism; he was Jewish and a Pharisee who persecuted the Church vehemently. He changed his life because God called him and was pleased to reveal his Son in him, commissioning him to proclaim to the Gentiles. He considered everything about his past life a loss compared to Christ.

4. In the process of discernment, the Christian has some words of Jesus in the Gospels that have gained importance as a model of Christian life: the Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount. There we find a summary of what to do or avoid, what is important and worthwhile according to the preaching of Jesus. They are a great help to Christian discernment.

5. Jesus came to earth to tell us and teach us what God had said and to fulfill what had been said in the Old Testament.

6. A uniform code of conduct applicable to any environment or circumstance — the fundamental values of the Gospel guide the lives of Christians.

7. Distinguishing what is God's will here and now in a particular situation of 'my' own life is a task that cannot be improvised; it requires continued work in the Gospel and living by exercising conscious moral activity. One must turn and commit his life so that everything becomes oriented toward the sinner who hopes for forgiveness, toward the patient waiting for healing, and toward the hungry — a message of salvation to the poor and those marginalized by the conventions of his time.

9. Throughout the life of Jesus, what he did on earth is the most accurate expression of who God is: 'God is love.' But this is a love of personal renunciation and surrender even unto death, always seeking life and salvation for others.

10. A Christian is someone who feels challenged, called by the person of Jesus, and agrees to follow him. Encountering Jesus and following him is the central experience of Christian life, as shown by Zacchaeus, the Samaritan, Matthew, and Saint Peter. They felt loved by Jesus and saved by this love.