christianity section 2

• Death of Jesus


  1. Jesus is crucified between two thieves

  2. One thief asks him to remember him when he comes into his kingdom

  3. Jesus asks God to forgive his executioners

  4. Jesus cries out, 'My God, my God, why have you abandoned me'

  5. Passers-by and one of the thieves mock him

  6. There is a period of darkness (3 hrs)

  7. Jesus says, 'Into your hands I commit my spirit' and breathes his last

  8. The Temple curtain is torn in two, from top to bottom

  9. There is an earthquake and dead saints are resurrected

  10. The centurion/spectators at the cross say, 'Surely this man was the Son of God.'
• Resurrection of Jesus


  1. Jesus was placed in a tomb on the Friday, and a heavy stone was used to seal the entrance

  2. The tomb was guarded by soldiers

  3. On the Sunday morning there was a violent earthquake and an angel descended and rolled the stone from the entrance to the tomb

  4. Some of the women/Mary went to the tomb to anoint the body

  5. They found the stone rolled away from the entrance and the body of Jesus was gone

  6. An angel told them Jesus had risen and that they should go and tell the disciples

  7. Mary encountered a man who she took to be the gardener. She realised it was Jesus, and she ran and told the disciples

  8. In Mark's account, the women didn't tell anyone about the encounter with the angel because they were afraid
• The resurrection demonstrates God's awesome power. If you say it didn't happen you're limiting God.
• For Christians, the hope of life after death is central.
• Jesus' resurrection is the proof that this is possible, and helps them to have confidence that one day they will rise from the dead too.
• It removes the 'sting of death' which is its finality.
• Jesus' resurrection confirms that Jesus was who he said he was ― the Messiah, and an incarnation of God/God's Son.
• The resurrection is essential because it shows Jesus was able to beat death, and good truly won over evil.
• If Jesus didn't rise, being a Christian would be a waste of time, as it would remove hope of life after death.
• For those who take the Bible literally and see it as God's word, it must be true, because God's word can be trusted completely.
• Some Christians feel the resurrection isn't meant to be taken literally ― it is a metaphor or a myth. It shows that Jesus' power lived on after his death, but through his teachings and the lives of his followers.
• Some will argue that Jesus didn't talk a lot about what happens after death. He was most concerned with teaching people to bring about God's Kingdom in this world while they were alive, so believing in His resurrection isn't essential.
• Some Christians feel that they can't accept the supernatural elements of the story, because it doesn't fit with how science understands what a human being is. However, they believe it is still possible to be a true follower of Jesus if you live by his teachings. They might feel that the resurrection appearances were a spiritual experience rather than a physical one.
• Jesus as an incarnation of God

  • Jesus was the Messiah, promised in the Jewish scriptures and sent by God as a saviour
  • His birth was miraculous – as God's Son he didn't need a human father
  • He is an incarnation of God himself - God the Son, one of the three persons in the Trinity
  • More liberal Christians see his virgin birth as a symbolic way of showing that he was blessed by God
  • Jesus reveals God's nature to human beings
  • Through his death and resurrection, he defeats sin and heals the alienation between God and human beings
  • Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead