Jesus of Nazareth' is the life's work of Benedict XVIThe lives of missionaries, an example for all CatholicsJesus of Nazareth impacted humanity in such a transcendental way that we have not found any other personage in the past or present who has captivated human thought and feeling as He did. His story is not science fiction or a figment of the imagination of fanatical followers.
There are two first century historians who included passages in their writings about Jesus of Nazareth. One was the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus in "Antiquities of the Jews", written in the years 93-94 A.D. Another important mention was by the Roman historian Tacitus who lived in the years 55 to 120 A.D. These mentions are considered as good historical evidence.
It is important to mention that according to other historians there have been more than 50 "messiahs" in the history of Israel. Next to Jesus, on that balcony of judgment looking out over the crowd, Pontius Pilate presented one of them, Barabbas. The people were given a choice between the messianism of war or the messianism of peace. We know the answer.
After Christ, throughout the Christian era, especially from the 1900's until 1994, 5 other rabbis were followed by fanatical Jews as Messiahs. But why didn't the rest of the world follow them? And how many other Jewish teachers did the people follow because they were their spiritual trainers and teachers of the Torah! Only in the years when Jesus lived on earth, there were more than 400 synagogues in Jerusalem and in the Galilee, all attended by different rabbis. But none reached the fame and prestige of Jesus.
Why Jesus of Nazareth?
In truth, no historical figure has marked humanity as He did. In these times alone, there are some 2.3 billion followers of Christianity, nearly 2 million missionaries Christians helping humanity in some corner of the world. And throughout history, how many have there been? We have lost count.
There are currently approximately 37 million Christian church buildings in the world. That means that there is one church erected for every 65 inhabitants of the planet. How many have there been throughout history? We have lost count.
And how many books of Christian study or reflection have been published throughout history? We have lost count. But in recent history some 180 million books with Christian themes have been written. It is estimated that 7 billion books have been published. Bibles with the Old and New Testament in 3,030 different versions and in 2011 languages. Even the Gospel itself said, in John 21, 24 and 25, "this is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote this, and we know that his testimony is true. And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written down in detail, I think that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written".
Jesus Christ and humanity
Just as in the Old Testament we read of the historic Exodus when the Israelites needed to leave the bondage of Egypt and Pharaoh, so too throughout history we see a repeated exodus of humanity needing to leave its chains and bondage, following Jesus and his promises of freedom, love and eternal life. The stories have changed, but we human beings are still the same in need of freedom, love, support, peace, tranquility, brotherhood, life projects, guidance and purpose.
Jesus Christ not only changed the calendar between before and after Christ. He transformed histories because his message was and is transformative for every follower. Jesus Christ fulfilled more than 300 messianic prophecies. While the religious of his time offered messages of unbearable burdens, unbearable precepts, instead they heard Jesus say, "come to me those who are weary and burdened, I will give you rest, give me your burdens in return I give you mine which is bearable."
John 10:10 says, "I came that they may have life and have it abundantly". While in John 5 we see a multitude of blind, lame, lepers, once a year in front of the pool of Bethesda, because only 1 healed there one day a year, we see Jesus in the outskirts of Jerusalem and Capernaum gathering crowds of sick and hopeless people, as in Luke 6, 19: "there was an impressive group of people who tried to touch him because from him came a power that healed them all".
Jesus was different: he visibly sympathized with the needy, sometimes he approached the crowd and sometimes he withdrew from the crowd. He let himself be touched by sinners, he ate with Pharisees and tax collectors, he was not intimidated, for his message never conformed to the expectations of his persecutors or those he was supposed to impress. Jesus was manly and maternal.
He assertively confronted those who declared moral and spiritual cold war against him, and presented himself as the good shepherd or the hen that gathers her chicks. He healed hundreds, and resurrected or brought back to life several. He stopped the storm to calm the fear of those who sailed that sometimes stormy sea, he obtained for them miracles of miraculous fishing, and on more than one occasion, the multiplication of scarce bread. He forgave the unforgivable, freed the possessed and the bound, and above all, accepted the cross as a redemptive sacrifice, offering His life for the salvation of the world. No other so-called messiah ever offered Himself for so much! We have heard it said many times: many men have wanted to be gods, but only one God wanted to be man.
Jesus delivers the gospel of love with the most valuable codes of life that educators, philosophers and rulers have adapted for the development of societies and countries, and to direct the lives of men with moral conscience. Exemplifying the ideal of human conduct, many have been inspired by the commandments of God's law and the teachings of Jesus Christ so eloquently presented in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5, 6 and 7).
Jesus of Nazareth today
In Matthew 16, 4-16 Jesus asks his disciples the same question that he continues to ask us 2000 years later to all human beings in history: "Who do men say that I am?" And I ask you, at what crossroads did he find you? From what ailment or sickness did he heal you? From what abyss did he bring you out?
It is ironic that the more we advance scientifically and technologically, the more we distance ourselves from God, and the more the voids and ailments grow in human hearts: depressions, anxieties, addictions, suicides, divorces, etc. Today we must turn to Jesus because we need Him more than ever! We need to learn from His way of merciful love and forgiveness. Philippians 1:5 says, "let the same mind of Christ be in you".
But His most significant contribution is when He presents us with the Father, a creator and paternal God, a close provider, protector and healer, who continues to be inserted in His creation and in His creatures. This responds to the most tenacious struggle of the human being: his physical, psychological and spiritual survival. And it is this message that is most needed by all human beings of all times and ages. As John 17:21 says, "I ask You Father that they may all be one, as You are in me and I in You, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe".
In this secularized and irreverent world, we need to bear witness to His divine presence: "The same God who said let light shine in the darkness has become light in our hearts so that we may radiate the glory of God as it shines on the face of Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6). We need to speak God's truths to a world hardened by selfishness and sin as He spoke to those of His time; He spoke to them with loving authority: "learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart" (Matthew 11:29-30). "They marveled at Him because He spoke to them with authority"(Luke 4:32).
We need to preach to the world in the style of Jesus, who used the images of life to present profound pictures of eternal truths. As when he taught 33 parables: the sower, the good shepherd, the new wine, the fig tree, the lost sheep, the prodigal son, the hidden treasure, the pearl of great price, the guests at the king's supper, among others.
We need to present His message to restore joy to the saddened world: "I have told you these things so that my joy may be complete in you" (John 15:11). And we need to preach with the truthfulness and reliability as He preached: "Good Teacher, we know that you are a lover of truth" (Matthew 22:16).
The answer in Christ
Jesus manifested the sum of all that others before and after Him tried to manifest:
- Abraham's unconditionality
- Intelligence of Joseph (son of Jacob)
- Moses' fortitude
- Elias Consistency
- Jeremiah's courage
- Tenderness of John
- Paul's Apostolic Zeal.
Jesus Christ came to respond to all the cravings and needs of life: hunger for God, hunger for love, hunger for peace, hunger for relevance, paternal love, merciful care, unconditional forgiveness, and longing for eternity.
