Presented by Marge Martinez

1. JESUS COMES AMONG US
“Eternity came into Time, to take us
from Time into Eternity”.

2. Names
• Jesus Heb Jeshua “God Saves”
• Messiah Heb Mashiach “Anointed one”
• Christ Gk. Christos “Anointed one”
• Lord Gk. Kyrios Title of power and authority
• Son of Man
• Son of God

3. The Incarnation
• Incarnation: (carnus Lat = flesh) “Enfleshing”
“embodying in flesh”
• The belief that for the salvation of the world, the
Son of God, while remaining fully divine, became
truly and fully human, like us in all things but sin.

4. John 3:16“For God so loved the world that he gave
his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him
may not perish but may have eternal life.”
• WHY? CCC 456 – 460
• In order to save us by
reconciling us with God
• So that we might know
God’s love
“In this is love, not that
we loved God but that
He loved us and sent His
Son to be the atoning
sacrifice for our sins.”
1John 4:10.

5. John 3:16“For God so loved the world that he gave
his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him
may not perish but may have eternal life.”
• WHY? CCC 456 – 460
• So that we might learn
how to live as God
wants us to live with
Jesus as our model
• So that by sharing in
our humanity He might
make us sharers in his
Divinity

6. John 1: 14
“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
• HOW?
The Annunciation
Luke 1:26 – 38
The Visitation
Luke: 39 – 56
The Nativity
Luke 2: 1 – 20
Matthew 1: 18 – 25

7. The Annunciation
Luke 1:26 – 38
• Mary (Miryam – “Lady”
• Engaged to Joseph ( “Let him increase”)
• A virgin (mentioned twice in v. 27 & 28)
Jesus will be born of a virgin; conceived by the Holy Spirit.
• Jesus’ name is announced. He is Son of God and will be the
final and eternal King of Israel. The promised Messiah.
• Mary’s “fiat” (L)
“Here I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be done with me
according to your word.” v. 38
• "At the message of the angel, the Virgin
Mary received the word of God in her heart and in her body,
and gave life to the world" (Constitution on the Church, 53).

8. The Visitation
Luke 1:39 – 56
• Elizabeth’s joy-filled greeting
represents all the women
of Israel who have longed for the
Messiah and anticipates the faith of all
Christians who call Jesus Lord.
• The New Testament ( beginning in Jesus) comes
to sanctify the Old Testament’s last prophet ,John
in order to prepare him for his mission with an
outpouring of the Spirit.
• A prayer of praise bursts forth from Mary’s soul as
she celebrates the greatness of God.

9. The Nativity ( natus = “to be born” L.)
• In Bethlehem, City of
David
• The poverty, humility
and lowly beginnings of
the King of Kings.
• The birth is announced
by angels to shepherds.
• Read also the birth
narrative in the Gospel
of Matthew Chap 1 & 2

10. The Presentation
Luke 2: 25 – 40

11. The Finding in the Temple
Luke 2: 41 - 51

12. • Luke 2:40 The child grew and
became strong; filled with
wisdom, and the favour of God
was upon him.
• Luke 2:51 Then he went down
with them and came to Nazareth,
and was obedient to them. His
mother treasured all these things
in her heart.
• Luke 2:52 And Jesus increased in
wisdom and in years and in divine
and human favour.

13. The Baptism of Jesus,
The Temptations in the Desert,
Jesus begins His Public Ministry.

14. The Story So Far…..
• Jesus Comes Among Us
• The story of His birth,
Presentation at the
Temple, Finding in the
Temple.
• The “Hidden Life” of
Jesus
• He is now 30 years old…

15. Capernaum
Nazareth
Jerusalem
Bethlehem

16. The mission of John the Baptist.
• At a precise point in history (Luke
3: 1 – 2)
• Description of the mission in all
four Gospels: “A voice cries in
the wilderness: ‘Prepare a way of
the LORD, make his paths
straight.’”
(Is. 40:3)
• John’s baptism was a call to
conversion and an
announcement that one greater
than himself was to come.
• He points to the true identity of
Jesus

17. The Baptism of Jesus
Luke 3:21 - 22

18. The Significance of Jesus’ Baptism – Identification
and Obediance
• His complete identification with sinners although
He himself was sinless. (Hebrews 4:15)
• An immersion and a prefiguring of His death, the
ultimate sacrifice for our sins
• A rising to new life prefiguring the Resurrection.
• His communion with the will of the Father opens
heaven – the place where the Father’s will is
perfectly fulfilled.
• The proclamation of Jesus’ mission by the Father:
not what Jesus does but who He is: He is the
beloved Son on whom God’s favour rests.

19. The Significance of Jesus’ Baptism-
Identification and Obedience
• A new identity born out of
anointing by the Holy Spirit –
Christ, the anointed one.
• The mystery of the Trinitarian
God is beginning to emerge.
• An arc joins this beginning of
Jesus’ journey with the mission
he entrusts to His disciples
after His Resurrection (Matt.
28:19)

20. The Significance of Jesus’ Baptism
for me
• A personal acceptance of
God’s call to a new life
through Baptism
• It is a turning point in my
life
• It is dying with Him and
rising to new life.
• With Jesus as mediator, we
too can lay claim to the
term “children of God.”
• As sons and daughters of
God and partakers in His
Divine nature, all that we
are and do is in Christ and
His Body, the Church.

21. The Significance of Jesus’ Baptism for me
•Does this make
sense to me?
Do I feel drawn
to this “new
beginning”?
Is this what I
want?

22. The Temptations of Jesus
(Luke 4: 1 - 13)

23. Parallels with OT
• 40 years wandering in the wilderness; 40 days in the
desert.(40 is symbolic of a generation, a life-time)
• The last line of Exodus Chapter 24 v. 18 “Moses entered
the cloud and went up on the mountain. Moses was on
the mountain for forty days and forty nights.”
• Three failures of the Jews at a time of testing; three
temptations of Jesus.
- Jews complained about their hunger; that in Egypt they
ate their fill of daily bread. (Exodus 16)
- Broke their faith in God and worshipped the golden calf.
(Exodus 32)
- Lack of trust that God would provide water for them.
(Exodus 17)

24. The Temptations of Jesus
(Luke 4: 1 - 13)
• The Bread Temptation: Trying to make Jesus prove
His is the Son of God.
• One does not live by bread alone (Deut 8:3)
• The Authority Temptation: Testing Jesus’ faithfulness
to God.
• Worship the Lord your God and serve only him (Deut.
6:13)
• The Trust Temptation: Trying to get Jesus to doubt
God; to test His trust in God
• Do not put the Lord your God to the test (Deut. 6:16)

25. Jesus in the Synagogue at Nazareth
(Luke 4: 16 – 30)
• Refers to His
anointing by the
Spirit
• Proclaims His
“mission
statement”
• Describes His
mission as the
fulfillment of the
Old Testament
prophecy.

26. Jesus in the Synagogue at Nazareth
(Luke 4: 16 – 30)
• The prophecy that Jesus read in
the Nazareth synagogue that
Sabbath, describes perfectly the
earthly ministry of Jesus Christ.
It reveals to us the essence of His
message which is a message of
grace and of love.
• In Isaiah’s prophecy that Jesus
proclaimed to be fulfilled that
day in Him, we learn clearly
about the nature of his ministry.

27. Jesus in the Synagogue at Nazareth
(Luke 4: 16 – 30)
• His message is good news, a gospel of joy.
• His ministry is one of healing.
• Jesus’ ministry is a ministry of hope.
• Jesus’ ministry is one of light.
• Jesus’ ministry is one of freedom.
• His ministry is one of restoration.

28. Jesus in the Synagogue at Nazareth
(Luke 4: 16 – 30)
• From initial approval,
the mood of the people
begins to change.
• The rejection, the
violence prefigures the
eventual fate of Jesus at
the hands of His own
people.

29. For next week…
• Continue reading the Gospel of Luke
• If you can, right up till the end. It is, after
all, the greatest story ever told.
• Please read Matthew Chapters 5 – 7. The
Sermon on the Mount.