The Identity of Jesus

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The Identity of Jesus
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Baptism of Jesus 12-11

• This is the first occasion on which Jesus appears
  in Marks Gospel.
• All 3 persons of the Trinity are present.
• God speaks to Jesus (v11)
• Voice from heaven says Jesus is the Son of God
• The Holy Spirit has returned many Jews believed
  that the Spirit would come back with the Messiah.

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Baptism of Jesus 12-11

• In this passage Jesus is referred to as Son of
  God.
• John the Baptist was preparing the way for Jesus.
• John baptises people to cleanse them of their sin
  so that they were ready to welcome the Messiah
• John was a great prophet and is linked to Elijah.

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Baptism of Jesus 1 1-13

• Mark describes what John wore as he was dressed
  like Elijah clothes of camel hair and a leather
  belt around his waist.
• John was in the desert and Elijah spent a lot of
  time there.
• If Elijah has returned then it means that the
  Messiah was soon to arrive.
• John was preparing the way, but Jesus would bring
  the real message.

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Baptism of Jesus 1 1-13

• Jesus is given the title Son of God.
• You are my own dear Son. I am pleased with
  you.
• Mark tells his readers that the Kingdom of God is
  about to arrive.
• Mark tells his readers that the Holy Spirit has
  returned, which meant the Messiah would return.
• Mark makes it clear that Jesus is the Son of God.

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The Baptism of Jesus and Christians Today

• Mark begins his Gospel with the account of the
  baptism of Jesus.
• John the Baptist preaches turn away from your
  sins and be baptised.
• John understood baptism as giving forgiveness to
  the person who repented and looked forward to the
  arrival of the Messiah.

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The Baptism of Jesus and Christians Today

• One of the most difficult questions concerning
  Jesus baptism is
• Why did Jesus need to be baptised into a baptism
  of repentance for the forgiveness of sins if he
  was, as Christians believe, sinless?

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The Baptism of Jesus and Christians Today

• There have been many attempts to answer this
  question
• Jesus was a sinner for Christians this is an
  unacceptable.
• Jesus was pretending to be a sinner in an attempt
  to identify himself with the work of John the
  Baptist who was preparing the way for the Messiah.

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The Baptism of Jesus and Christians Today

• Some people have suggested that Jesus, by being
  baptised, was showing great humility in
  undergoing the act when he didnt need to.
• The baptism of Jesus is the moment when God
  confirms him as the Messiah
• You are my own dear Son. I am pleased with
  you. (v11)

10
Caesarea Philippi (827-33)

• People of the area were asking questions about
  the identity of Jesus.
• Peters statement shows that the disciples
  already thought of Jesus as the Messiah.
• Jesus tells Peter not to tell anyone that he is
  the Messiah shows that Jesus wanted him to keep
  the Messianic Secret until everyone really knew
  what type of Messiah he was.
• Jesus did not wish to be thought of as the
  popular military leader who would free Israel
  from the Romans.

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Caesarea Philippi (827-33)

• Although Jesus disciples recognise that he is
  the Messiah, Jesus wants them to see that he is
  not a military leader.
• This is the first time that Jesus talks about
  what is going to happen to him.

12
Caesarea Philippi (827-33)

• Jesus calls himself the Son of Man although
  Peter has just called him the Messiah, Jesus
  prefers the title Son of Man.
• Jesus says he must suffer and die at the time
  of Jesus people expected a Messiah who would be a
  victorious warrior-king but Jesus idea of
  Messiah was completely different. The Messiah
  will suffer and die.

13
Caesarea Philippi (827-33)

• Jesus says that he will rise to life although
  the Messiah will suffer, he will also conquer
  death. Jesus will rise from the dead.
• Peter cannot understand what Jesus is saying
  Peter expected Jesus to be a victorious king. So
  when Jesus talks about suffering Peter cannot
  bear it. He tries to tell Jesus off, to make him
  change his mind, but Jesus rebukes Peter and
  calls him Satan the one who tempts people to do
  wrong.

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Caesarea Philippi Matthew 16-13-20

• Matthew tells Peter he is the foundation of the
  church.
• Matthews version is particularly important to
  Roman Catholic Christians.
• In fact most Christians are Roman Catholic (about
  59).
• So why does this passage matter so much to them?

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The Importance of Matthews account for Roman
Catholics Today

• We need to consider the leadership in the Church.
• A leadership structure emerged early in Christian
  history Bishops, Priests, Deacons. This
  structure was firmly in place by the second
  century.
• The Roman Catholic Church has this structure.

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The Importance of Matthews account for Roman
Catholics Today

• Bishops run the Church in each diocese (Bishop
  Thomas).
• The priests and deacons are assistants to the
  bishop.
• The bishop is believed to be a successor to
  Jesus original twelve apostles.
• Roman Catholics listen carefully to what their
  bishops teach.
• The bishop of Rome is called the Pope (Benedict)

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The Importance of Matthews account for Roman
Catholics Today

• You are the rock on which I build my church
  Peter the first Pope / Bishop of Rome.
• Every Pope since then is the successor of Peter
  himself.
• The authority which Jesus gives to Peter is
  passed on to his successors too.
• Jesus gives Peter the authority to make
  decisions, to bind and loose.
• Roman Catholics believe that the Pope has this
  authority too.

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Transfiguration 9 1-10

• Title Jesus is the Son of God.
• This story shows the divine nature of Jesus
  Jesus is God.
• This is shown through the voice from heaven This
  is my own dear Son listen to him!
• and the transfiguring of Jesus clothes and body
  shining white clothes.

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Transfiguration 9 1-10

• Elijah and Moses are present at the
  transfiguration which once again links Jesus with
  the Messiah.
• Jesus is continuing the line of Old Testament
  prophets and of Judaism, therefore he is the
  Messiah.
• Jesus explains to his disciples that he must
  suffer he is the Messiah who must suffer and
  die.
• The disciples still dont really understand as
  Peter wants to build tents for the prophets.
• Jesus tells them not to tell anyone again
  because they will not understand what type of
  Messiah he is.

20
Transfiguration 9 1-10

• Jesus is the Son of God
• Jesus takes his disciples up a mountain. In the
  Old Testament God appears to people on a
  mountain.
• A change came over Jesus his clothes became
  dazzling white. Things linked with heaven were
  often thought to be white in colour.
• Peter and the disciples are frightened of Gods
  power.

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Transfiguration 9 1-10

• The Father tells the disciples who Jesus is and
  that they must listen to him. The Father agrees
  with the Son the son of God must suffer.

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Transfiguration 91-10

• Elijah and Moses appear and talk with Jesus.
• The Jewish law is represented by Moses
• The prophets are represented by Elijah
• Moses had said God would send a new prophet whom
  the people should listen to.
• The OT predicted that Elijah would appear before
  the Messiah.
• Early Christians believed that both these men had
  something to do with the Messiah.
• Jesus is shown as continuing the line of OT
  prophets.

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The problem of the Transfiguration for some
Christians Today

• What really happened?
• A liberal view is that the account is a myth a
  story which did not happen, but which has a true
  meaning.
• If the Transfiguration is a myth, it didnt
  happen. But the storys meaning is true.

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Calming of the Storm 435-41

• Jesus has power over nature and so he is behaving
  like God. Nature Miracle.
• Disciples are afraid and this is Fear of the
  Lord. Jesus is behaving like God and they are
  afraid because they are in Gods presence.
• Who is this? Even the wind and waves obey him.
• Title Son of God. Saviour (he saves the
  disciples from death).

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Marks use of the Story

• In the Old Testament the sea was the symbol of
  chaos and evil, which could only be overcome by
  God.
• The question asked at the end of the miracle,
  Who can this be? Even the wind and the sea obey
  him (441) is left unanswered.
• The answer is obvious Jesus acting as God, is
  the one whom even the wind and sea obey.

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The problem of the Calming of the Storm for some
Christians Today

• The storm could be seen as a symbol.
• It stands for the many troubles people face in
  life.
• Mark is urging people in trouble to trust Jesus.
• Jesus saved his disciples in the storm, and
  Christians should trust Jesus to help them.
• But faith is not just for the bad times. True
  faith focuses steadily on God, in good times and
  bad.

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Feeding of the Five Thousand 639-44

• Jesus shows power over nature. Nature miralce.
• Marks readers would have been reminded of the
  Last Supper when they read this story. Mark is
  thinking of stories about feeding people in the
  Old Testament.
• Jesus saves the people from their hunger. Jesus
  acts like God.
• Jesus shares the food and this is a sign of what
  is to come the Messianic Banquet in the Kingdom
  of God.
• 12 baskets of food 12 tribes of Israel Jesus
  feeds all the Jewish people.
• Titles Son of God. Saviour.
• Different interpretations of this story was the
  miracle that Jesus got people to share and not be
  selfish?

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Marks Use of the Story

• Mark saw Jesus as the Messiah.
• The Jews believed the reign of the Messiah would
  begin with a banquet.
• In this miracle there is a picture of the Messiah
  feeding his people.

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The problem of the Feeding of the Five Thousand
for some Christians Today

• What really happened?
• Conservative View
• Jesus actually feed 5000 people with just 5
  loaves and two fish.
• Others have different ideas
• The people only got a tiny scrap of bread each
• The people of the crowd saw that Jesus was
  willing to share his food with them and they felt
  guilty. They shared their own food with each
  other.

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Walking on the Sea 6 45-52

• Nature miracle
• Jesus behaves like he is God as he shows power
  over nature.
• Mark is thinking of ideas about walking across or
  through water in the Old Testament.
• The disciples are afraid because Jesus is acting
  like God fear of the Lord.
• Different interpretations of this story but the
  miracle still shows that Mark believes that Jesus
  was Son of God.
• Title Son of God

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Marks Use of the Story

• As in the calming of the storm, Mark saw the sea
  as being an evil power over which Jesus had
  control.
• Mark intends us to see Jesus in his divine sense,
  walking on the water as an example of divine
  authority.
• The story tells us who Mark believes Jesus to be.
  He is God.

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The problem of the Walking on Sea for some
Christians Today

• Lots of people find miracles like this hard to
  accept. We know people cant walk on water. Why
  should Jesus be any different?
• On the other hand, it could be said that he was
  different he was unique the Son of God.

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Healing of Legion 5 1-20

• Healing and nature miracle
• Healing takes place in a Gentile area
  (Decapolis).
• Jesus ministry is for Jews and Gentiles both
  are welcome into the Kingdom of God.
• Jesus shows power over nature by sending the
  spirits into the herd of pigs Jesus is behaving
  like God.
• Jesus heals the man of evil spirits.

34
Healing of Legion 5 1-20

• The man has been rejected by the people because
  they are afraid of him.
• Jesus feels compassion even though the man might
  attack him.
• The demons recognise who Jesus is as the man
  calls him Son of the most high God.
• Jesus speaks to the demon and asks its name so
  that he could cast it out of the man. This was
  the usual method of exorcism.

35
Healing of Legion 5 1-20

• The man has many demons which is what Legion or
  Mob means.
• Jesus sends the demons into the pigs which shows
  that the man is really healed of the demons.
• There are different ways of understanding this
  story some people think its not kind to pigs!
• People are frightened fear of the Lord.
• People were impressed by Jesus power to heal
  this dangerous man Gentile people impressed by
  the power of the Jewish God.
• Title Son of God

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Marks Use of the Story

• This miracle comes after the calming of the
  storm, where Mark hints at the disciples failure
  (440).
• It is interesting that Legion a Gentile wants to
  be a disciple but Jesus told him to remain where
  he was in his own district and tell all the
  people how much the Lord has done for you
  (519).
• The story of Legion ends on a positive note for
  discipleship.

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The problem of the healing of Legion for some
Christians Today

• Some Christians today have difficulty with this
  story.
• Jesus seemed to have no respect for the
  livelihood of a Gentile pig farmer. He allowed
  the herd of pigs to be destroyed.

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The problem of the healing of Legion for some
Christians Today

• There are three ways of explaining the
  difficulty
• To accept it as being a contest between good and
  evil
• To treat the death of the pigs as a coincidence.
  The commotion caused them to stampede. It has
  nothing at all to do with the cure of Legion
• The death of the pigs did not take place on the
  same occasion and has nothing to with the
  miracle. It became connected with the miracle
  because both events took place in the same
  village.

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Jairus Daughter 5 21-43

• (Leave out the women who was bleeding.)
• Jesus raises the girl to life. Healing miracle.
• Jesus has power over death which means he is
  acting like God.
• Jesus saves the girl from death.
• The girl is brought back to normal life and will
  die again Jesus is resurrection to a new life.
• Titles Son of God. Saviour.
• Different interpretations of the story might
  conclude that the girl was not really dead
  (539).

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The problem of the raising of Jairus daughter
for some Christians Today

• The main problem with this miracle is the
  question of whether or not Mark meant it as a
  healing miracle or a raising from the dead
  miracle.
• Jesus said the child is only sleeping (539).
• However, the early church saw this story as an
  illustration of the power of God to raise the
  dead.

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The problem of the raising of Jairus daughter
for some Christians Today

• For Christians today the message of the miracle
  is that death is not the end.
• Jesus has power over death and a new life comes
  after death.