Jesus the Messiah• Jesus the Messiah was unique in His birth and His character (nature).

Concerning His birth, we discovered that no one has ever been born like Jesus, because He had no earthly father. He was born of a virgin, by the power of the Holy Spirit of God. Concerning His character, Jesus was unique. Never has another been born with a holy nature like His. He had a body like ours, but He did not have our evil nature. Jesus was unstained by sin, because He was the Saviour that God sent into the world to bear for us the punishment for our sin.

Jesus never committed sin! No unjust word ever came out of His mouth. (1 Pet. 2:22) He never told anyone, "Forgive my faults" {Wolof formula/cliché for asking forgiveness}, because He never wronged anyone. He could not commit sin, because there was no root of sin in Him! He had a holy nature (character). Evil was not a part of Him. He only did what pleased God. He had a physical body like ours, but He did not have an evil nature like ours! That is what the Scriptures declare, when they say: "We do not have a high priest {mediator, spiritual leader} who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet was without sin." (Heb. 4:14,15)

When Jesus was thirty years old, the time for Him to begin His work {mission, ministry} as the Saviour of the world had come. One day, left the town of Nazareth, and headed for the Jordan River where the prophet John was preaching and baptizing the people in water.

John the Baptist

• He was born six months before Jesus. John was the prophet whom God sent to prepare the hearts of people, so that they might repent of their sins and welcome the Messiah whom God had sent.

• (Matt. 3) 1In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." 3This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him!'" 4John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt round his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

John the Baptist

• John preached: "Repent of your sins! Turn from your evil deeds, and prepare to meet the holy Messiah who has come to you from heaven!" Those who confessed their sins before God were baptized by John in the river. Thus, the prophet John became known as John the Baptizer. Being baptized in water could not wash away the people's sins. It was only a sign {mark, demonstration} which showed that they had repented of their sins and were ready to receive the Messiah as their Saviour

• 7But when [John] saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. 11"I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing-floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire!"

John the Baptist baptising Jesus

• 13Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" 15Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness."

• By being baptized, Jesus not only put before us an example to follow, but He also showed us that He came to live as one of us and to die for us.

• 16As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. 17And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased!“

• In the Holy Scriptures prophet David and the angel Gabriel called the Messiah "God's Son." Now God Himself calls Jesus, "my Son, whom I love!" Why did God call Jesus His Son? As we have already seen, Jesus is called the Son of God because He came directly from heaven. Jesus had no earthly father. God placed His Eternal Word in the womb of a virgin. Here we see another reason Jesus is called the Son of God. God called Jesus His Son to set Him apart from all others.

How is Jesus different from the children of Adam?

Everyone descended from Adam has a nature stained by sin, but Jesus' nature was unstained by sin. He did not have a single sin, because He came from the holy Spirit of God. The Messiah took on a physical form like ours, but He did not take on our sinful nature. He had a holy and perfect nature! That is why God, the Holy One, could take pleasure in Jesus, as a father takes pleasure in an obedient, faithful son. It is said that the son is the shadow of the father. Whoever sees the son knows what his father is like. Similarly, whoever knows Jesus, knows what God is like, because Jesus is the One who came from God to display God's nature. No one has ever seen God, but the Messiah has made Him known! Jesus is the only human who had a holy nature, because He is the only One to come from the holy Spirit of God! That is why God was not ashamed to make His voice echo from heaven, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased!"

Jesus was tempted by the devil

• (Matt. 4) 1Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2After fasting for forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3The tempter (that is Satan) came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." 4Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" 5Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6"If you are the Son of God," he said, throw yourself down…For it is written: 'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands…" 7Jesus answered and said, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" 8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour. 9"All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me." 10Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only." 11Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

Three times Satan tried to entice Jesus to obey him and sin. All three times Jesus answered the devil by quoting the Word of God. As Satan tempted Adam and Eve to sin in the Garden of Paradise {Eden}, so also, Satan tempted the Lord Jesus to sin in the wilderness. But Jesus did not sin.Why did the devil tempt Jesus? Because he knew that Jesus was the holy Redeemer who had come from heaven to earth to save the children of Adam from his dominion. Satan also knew that if Jesus were to commit a single sin, Jesus could not save the children of Adam from the dominion of sin. Thus Satan harassed Jesus, attempting to deceive Him. But Jesus did not fall for the devil's trap.The Lord Jesus could not sin because God cannot sin. Like Father, like Son. Jesus was the living and powerful Word of God in a human body. God sent Him into the world to deliver the children of Adam from the power of Satan and the penalty of sin. Only the Lord Jesus can deliver us from Satan and sin, because only He overcame Satan and sin. That is why the Scripture says of the Messiah: "Such a high priest meets our need-one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, [The Lord Jesus] does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself." (Heb. 7:26,27)

(John 1) 19Now this was John's testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, "I am not the Christ (the Messiah)."… 22Finally they said, "Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" 23John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, "I am the voice of one calling in the desert, 'Make straight the way for the Lord.'"… 26"I baptize with water," John replied, "but among you stands one you do not know. 27He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie." 28This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing. 29The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30This is the one I meant when I said, 'A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.'“Thus did John make known to his disciples that this Jesus standing before them was the Messiah, "the Lamb" which God sent down from heaven, the Perfect Sacrifice of which all the prophets prophesied. Jesus is the holy sacrifice who came into the world to die in the place of the children of Adam so that God can forgive us of our sins forever!

Jesus and his disciples• John's disciples began to follow Jesus. Andrew and Peter, Philip and

Nathanael rejoiced greatly when they saw Jesus, because they knew that for thousands of years the prophets had been predicting the coming of the Messiah. Now they were seeing the Messiah with their own eyes! Praise be to God! The mighty Redeemer of whom all of God's prophets had been prophesying was in their midst! Praise God, at last, the Messiah had come! Thus, these four disciples of John began to follow Jesus, becoming His first disciples.

• Jesus called , [19James son of Zebedee and his brother John , "Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."] 22And immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

• Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them. 25Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him."

John expressed great joy when his disciples left him to follow the Messiah! John's joy was complete, because he had accomplished his mission; he had prepared the way before the Messiah. Like a true prophet of God, John's only desire was to lead people to the Messiah. How different the prophet John was from so many religious leaders today! A true spiritual leader will always point you to the Lord Jesus, because Jesus is the only One who can get you into the holy presence of God in Paradise. John knew that there were many prophets of God, but only one Saviour! That is why John said: "Whoever believes in the Son (Jesus the Messiah) has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him!" (John 3:36)

The end of John the Baptist’s life

• "And with many other words John exhorted the people and preached the good news [about the Messiah] to them. But…John rebuked Herod the tetrarch [for marrying Herodias, his brother's wife, and for] all the other evil things he had done." (Luke 3:18,19)

• That is why Herod gave orders to have John arrested, bound and put in prison. In the end, Herod had John beheaded in order to please his wife. (See Mark 6:17,27) Thus, John entered the glory of the presence of God in heaven.

• the proclamation of the prophet John was: "The Messiah is here! His Name is Jesus! Look! The Lamb of God who will be killed to take away the sin of the world has come! Follow Him!" Thus John accomplished his task as the illustrious prophet who prepared the way for the

Messiah.

Home work

• What are the different names used to address Jesus by the prophets

• At what age did Jesus started preaching• What happened when Jesus was Baptised• Name the first four disciples of Jesus• How many disciple's did Jesus have and can you

name them• What was John the Baptist’s mission• For how many days did Jesus fast before being

tempted by Satan • How many times did Satan try to entice Jesus to

obey him and sin• How did John get the name of “John the Baptist”• What did John the Baptist wear and eat• How did John the Baptist die• What are the seven sacraments

The prophets of God called Jesus by various names

• Redeemer, • the Saviour, • the King, • the Lord, • the Word of God, • the Son of God,• the Lamb of God,• Messiah.

Jesus and his disciples• Simon, who is called Peter • Andrew, Simon's brother • James, the son of Zebedee • John, James's brother • Philip of Bethsaida• Bartholomew (Nathanael)• Thomas • Matthew, the tax collector • James, the son of Alphaeus • Thaddeus, aka Lebbaeus • Simon the Canaanite • Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus

• also, in place of Judas, Matthias was chosen (Acts 1:15-26)

The Seven Sacraments• The Latin word sacrament means "a sign of the sacred." The seven sacraments are ceremonies that point to what is sacred,

significant and important for Christians. They are special occasions for experiencing God's saving presence. That's what theologians mean when they say that sacraments are at the same time signs and instruments of God's grace.

Baptism The Sacrament of Baptism is the first step in a lifelong journey of commitment and

discipleship. Whether we are baptized as infants or adults, Baptism is the Church's way of celebrating and enacting the embrace of God.

Eucharist The Eucharist, or Communion, is both a sacrifice and a meal. We believe in the real

presence of Jesus, who died for our sins. As we receive Christ's Body and Blood, we also are nourished spiritually and brought closer to God.

Reconciliation The Sacrament of Reconciliation (also known as Penance, or Penance and Reconciliation) has three elements: conversion, confession and celebration. In it we find God's unconditional forgiveness; as a result we are called to forgive others.

ConfirmationConfirmation is a Sacrament of mature Christian commitment and a deepening of baptismal gifts. It is one of the three Sacraments of Initiation for Catholics. It is most often associated with the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Marriage The Sacrament of Marriage, or Holy Matrimony, is a public sign that one gives oneself totally to this other person. It is also a public statement about God: the loving union of husband and wife speaks of family values and also God's values

Holy OrdersIn the Sacrament of Holy Orders, or Ordination, the priest being ordained vows to lead other Catholics by bringing them the sacraments (especially the Eucharist), by proclaiming the Gospel, and by providing other means to holiness.

Anointing of the SickThe Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick, formerly known as Last Rites or Extreme Unction, is a ritual of healing appropriate not only for physical but also for mental and spiritual sickness.

Saint John Bosco advice to the children was, “Pray when it’s time to pray, study when it’s time to study, Play when it’s time to play. Show kindness to everyone you meet, but do it all for the love of Jesus.”Feastday of Saint John Bosco is on 31st of January