Amazed & Afraid

Episode 1, Part 2

• The Work of Jesus, the Messiah
  • Described in the Torah (Law), Prophets, and Psalms
  • The Messiah, the Anointed One, called to four tasks (N. T. Wright)
  • Jesus accomplished the four tasks in the strangest way
• The First Task: Gathering the Tribes of Israel
  • This gathering is for the sake of the world
  • The Kingdom of God is the call to be gathered and reunited
    • Humanity is scattered as a result of sin.
    • God’s desire is for mankind to be gathered together as His people.
  • Jesus shepherded the people of Israel, forming the New Israel, the Church
• The Second Task: Cleansing the Temple of God
  • Adam was the first priest; the Garden of Eden was the first temple
    • In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve offered perfect adoration to God, being in full harmony with Him.
    • Original sin introduced disordered worship—adoring creation rather than the Creator.
  • Israel was a temple, created to teach right praise and to offer sacrifices
    • The Israelites were called to offer sacrifices, returning parts of creation to God in acts of worship.
    • The prophets foretold the departure of God’s presence from the Temple and looked forward to a new, perfect Temple.
  • The cleansing of the Temple by Jesus
    • Jesus' cleansing of the Temple was not an act of rebellion, but an act of renewal.
    • He foretold the destruction and rebuilding of the Temple, referring to the Temple of His own body.
    • Jesus is the true dwelling-place of God and the perfect sacrifice.
• The Third Task: Dealing with the Enemies of Israel
  • The Davidic Warrior
    • Israel had long been oppressed by foreign powers—Egyptians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Philistines, and Romans.
      • This oppression was the consequence of Israel’s sins.
      • Liberation from oppression could come only from God.
    • Jesus is the true “Davidic Warrior”.
      • The power of God is revealed in a child in a manger.
      • C. S. Lewis described the baby Jesus as being “behind enemy lines”.
    • Worldly power versus Heavenly power:
      - Quirinius, governor of Syria, and Caesar Augustus represented worldly power.
      - Jesus Christ, the True Emperor, represents heavenly power, feeding His people through the Eucharist rather than being fed.
  • Dealing with the enemies of Israel: Palm Sunday and Holy Week
    • Jesus took upon Himself all human sin and dysfunction.
    • On the Cross, He embodied the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount.
  • The Resurrection
    • The Resurrection completed the first three tasks of the Messiah.
    • It is the only rational explanation for the rise of the early Christian movement, which should logically have perished with Jesus' death.
    • The Resurrection is not symbolic or a fable.
    • “Shalom, peace”: Jesus showed His wounds to the disciples in the Upper Room.
• The Fourth Task: Reigning as Lord of the Nations
  • “Iesus Kyrios” (“Jesus is Lord”)
    • Pilate, by placing the sign over the crucified Jesus, was ironically the first evangelist.
    • The phrase “Jesus is Lord” was a direct challenge to Roman authority.
  • However, it was through Rome that Christ and His Church spread to all nations
  • “Glad Tidings” was an imperial greeting
  • The Cross taunts Rome and its successors

The Tasks of the Messiah

In response to numerous false gods, Peter declared, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). Jesus is the Messiah, the Anointed One. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains: “It became the name proper to Jesus only because He accomplished perfectly the divine mission that ‘Christ’ signifies” (CCC 436). Bishop Barron describes this mission in terms of four tasks:

1. Gathering the tribes of Israel.
2. Cleansing the Temple of God.
3. Dealing with the enemies of Israel.
4. Reigning as Lord of the nations.

These tasks are foretold in the Torah, Prophets, and Psalms. While the Jews of Jesus’ time anticipated these tasks, they were often shocked by the way Jesus fulfilled them.

Gathering the Tribes

The Psalmist writes, “Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise” (Psalm 106:47). Likewise, the prophet Jeremiah says, “At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the LORD, and all nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the LORD in Jerusalem” (Jeremiah 3:17). These passages reveal the hope and longing of the Jewish people for the Messiah to gather them from exile.

The scattering of Israel was a result of their failure to keep the covenant, as described in the Torah. Deuteronomy warns that if Israel forsakes the covenant, they will be scattered “among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the LORD will drive you” (Deuteronomy). However, it also promises that if they return to God, He will “gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you” (Deuteronomy 30:3).

For first-century Jews, this gathering was a central task of the Messiah. Jesus’ proclamation of the Kingdom of God promised not just political restoration, but the forgiveness of sins and the gathering of all humanity into a new salvific order. As Bishop Barron notes, this was the arrival of the Gatherer of Israel.

This gathering work was oriented towards forming the New Israel, the Church. As the Second Vatican Council stated, the Church is “the visible sacrament of this saving unity” (Lumen Gentium 9), in which all nations are united.

Cleansing the Temple of God

In ancient Judaism, the Temple was the centre of worship, a place for offering sacrifices to God. The Temple in Jerusalem was built by Solomon and represented the presence of God among His people.

Adam can be seen as the first priest, and the Garden of Eden as the first temple. In Eden, Adam and Eve offered perfect adoration to God. But original sin introduced disordered worship, leading to the first priest being cast out of this primordial temple.

The health of Israel’s relationship with God was reflected in the state of the Temple. Prophets like Jeremiah warned that the presence of the Temple would not save the people if they continued to sin: “Do not trust in these deceptive words: ‘This is the temple of the LORD’” (Jeremiah 7:4).

Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple was not an attack on the Temple itself, but a prophetic act pointing to its future destruction and the establishment of a new and perfect Temple—His own body. As Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger explains, this new Temple was inaugurated by the Resurrection. Jesus Himself is the true Temple, and through Him, the Church becomes the Temple of the Holy Spirit.

Dealing with the Enemies of Israel

Israel had long been oppressed by foreign powers, a consequence of their failure to keep the covenant. The Messiah’s role was to not only gather the scattered people but also to confront and defeat these enemies.

Jesus, however, did not defeat His enemies through military might. Instead, He embraced suffering and death as the means of victory. C. S. Lewis described this as a divine invasion “behind enemy lines”. Jesus faced temptation, not by seizing worldly power, but by rejecting it in favour of love and sacrifice.

The Gospel of Luke contrasts worldly power, represented by figures like Caesar Augustus, with the humility of the true King, Jesus Christ, born in a manger. This new Davidic warrior did not lead armies but conquered sin and death through His crucifixion and Resurrection.

Reigning as Lord of the Nations

On the Cross, Jesus fulfilled the Sermon on the Mount, taking on the sins of the world and embodying divine humility. His Paschal Mystery brought to completion the first three Messianic tasks.

The Resurrection is not merely symbolic but is a historical reality, attested by the transformative encounters of the apostles with the risen Christ. St. Paul argues that if Christ has not been raised, then faith is in vain (1 Corinthians 15:14).

Pilate’s sign over Jesus, “King of the Jews”, became an ironic proclamation of the truth. This sign, along with the Resurrection, inaugurated Christ’s reign as Lord of the nations, a reign that began with the blood of martyrs but spread through the very empire that sought to destroy it.

Questions for Understanding

1. What were the four central tasks expected of the Messiah by most first-century Jews? Where did those tasks originate, and what are some examples of how they were expressed?
2. Why did the tribes of Israel need to be gathered? How did Jesus go about doing this? (CCC 541, 542)
3. What was the purpose of the Temple within ancient Judaism? How did Jesus identify Himself with the Temple? (CCC 2099, 2100, 1179, 1197)
4. What enemies did Jesus conquer, and how did He do battle? (CCC 559, 550, 635)
5. Why did Jesus die on the Cross? What did He accomplish, fulfil, and embody in being crucified? (CCC 599, 613, 614, 616, 618, 622, 623)
6. Why is the historical and physical nature of the Resurrection so important to Christians? What is a historical argument in favour of the Resurrection? (CCC 638, 639, 643, 644, 645)
7. Who was the first evangelist for the crucified Messiah? What is the irony of that fact? (CCC 306, 307)

Questions for Application

1. What does the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross mean to you personally?
2. We are all called to be evangelists and to spread the Gospel. How can you be a better evangelist of the Good News? What fears or concerns do you have about evangelising, and how can you address those concerns?