St Mary's Church, Dymock

In Module 1 we saw how God revealed himself to humanity through Abraham and how, through Moses, he gave us Laws for living as he intended, together with an agreement with his early people to be their God and protect them if they obeyed his Laws (the Old Covenant). However, they and all of us ever since, find it impossible to keep those Laws well enough long enough and, as a result, cause a 'rift' that separates us from God, just like a naughty child is 'separated' from its parents.
.
In this Module 2 we explore the part of the Bible known as 'The Gospel' to see how God took the initiative and, when he decided humanity had grown mature enough, came to earth himself in the form of his Son, Jesus Christ, to put right that separation, by teaching us how to implement his Laws properly and, supremely, to reconcile us back to himself.
.
As he prepared for the end of his ministry here, and at his last supper with his disciples, Jesus gave us a New Covenant that if we at least try to keep God's Laws, even though we inevitably fail, he'll speak up for us.

• 2/0: Introduction (this page)
• 2/1: Jesus birth & childhood
• 2/2: Teaching & Miracles - 1
• 2/3: Teaching & Miracles - 2
• 2/4: Ministry Nears Its climax
• 2/5: Trial and Execution
• 2/6: Resurrection and Proof
  .
  
• It was traditional in ancient times to seal agreements by shedding blood. Moses sealed the Old Covenant by sacrificing a bull on an altar and splashing the blood over the people. Jesus sealed the New Covenant with his own blood, shed on the cross.
  (Return to Big Picture Menu)

God's Messiah, or 'Chosen One', who will save us from the results of our disobedience (our 'sin'), is predicted throughout the Bible's Old Testament, and we provide several references to show that. For instance, when God deemed the time was right, announcements were made that the Messiah was about to be born, followed by a proclamation to 'Prepare the Way' for him.
(Return to top)

• He called together twelve disciples, or followers, as 'apprentices' to learn from him so they could continue to take out his message to the world after he returned to heaven.
  (Return to top)

Jesus began his ministry in the area to the north of Israel known as the Galilee, where he went about teaching crowds of people how to interpret God’s Laws as was originally intended and by performing miracles of healing to show that God is a God of caring love and not wrath and punishment, as some seem to have thought. He taught with authority, but much of his teaching was radical compared to that of the established religious authorities, which annoyed them.

• God promised Abraham he would have many dependents if he would start out for a land God would only reveal later.
  (Return to Top)

Jesus continued to teach and perform miracles but he gradually moved towards the capital, Jerusalem, the centre of established authority, and added teaching about the nature of heaven, about God, about himself, and about humans. He also performed miracles of resurrection of the dead – were these hinting at his own resurrection?
(Return to top)

• No-one knows what heaven is like as no-one has ever returned from there, so Jesus described heaven as ‘like’ other things we already know about.
  (Return to Top)

Jesus now entered Jerusalem in the style of a conquering king - but with a difference! At first he was acclaimed by the crowd with cheering, though they later turned on him and called for his execution by crucifixion.
.
He drew his ministry towards its climax by warning his disciples of his death, gave us an example of how to serve each other as he served us, and proved a means of perpetuating his teaching and memory among humanity forever.

• The nature of Jesus' ministry got more radical, which annoyed the established authorities even more, until they determined to get rid of him by any means.
  (Return to Top)

The religious leaders bribed one of Jesus' own disciples to betray him (Judas Iscariot), so they arrested him, gave him a mock trial with false witnesses and condemned him to death; except they couldn't carry out the death penalty themselves so took him before the Roman Governor who, after trying to acquit him, gave in to the crowd who had now turned against him, had him flogged, and executed as a common criminal on a cross.
(Return to top)

• Jesus died and was buried in a stone tomb given by a secret follower, and that might have seemed that, but it wasn't the end, God had planned something more.
  (Return to Top)

On the third day after his execution, Jesus rose to life again, as he had predicted. He revealed himself to his followers beginning with one special friend, then to his disciples, then to over 500 people all at one time, before he returned to heaven and left his apprentices, his disciples, to take out his message to all the world, as we shall see in Module 3.

• It was by his self-sacrifice on the cross that Jesus made reconciliation between God and humanity for our disobedience of his Laws. An act of supreme caring love by the source of all love - God, the Holy Trinity.
  (Return to Top)

An account of these events is included in the first four books of the Bible's New Testament, which are known as 'The Gospel' (Gospel is the Greek word for 'Good News' - the Good News of Jesus Christ).
(Return to top)

• A description of the Gospel books is provided, as a guide to help you navigate through them.
  (Return to Top)