THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST

The synoptics, that is, the gospels that present the same vision of Jesus Christ, narrate an episode in which Jesus and his disciples decide to cross the Sea of Galilee. At a certain point in the crossing, a strong gale arose, so much so that the evangelist Matthew: "they were in great danger" (8:23). But according to Mark, "Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion" (4:38). The disciples went to Jesus, who waking up, "rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completly calm" (Matthew 8:26).

This brief narrative, contained in the first three gospels, points to three theological questions of greatest relevance to the Christian faith. The first question that stands out is the mystery of Christ. After Jesus' action calming the storm, the disciples asked themselves: "what kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him?” (Matthew 26:27). The second is the human condition. The three narratives show the disciples dominated by the fear of death. And finally there is the theme of the human need for salvation, that is, the liberation of man from his condition of fall.

The disciples did not understand Jesus. They saw him as a man of flesh and blood, so much so that Mark reveals the detail of Jesus sleeping with his head resting on a pillow, showing his complete humanity. But this man, whose address they knew, shows impressive power over nature, matter and physics. He not only controlled the winds and calmed the sea. In other passages, He appears turning water into wine (John 2), multiplying bread (Matthew 14:13-21; 15:29-39) and walking on the waters of the Sea of Galilee (Mark 6:45-56). The Gospels also show that He had power over sickness, spiritual powers of evil and even death.

How can a human being with such supernatural power? This misunderstanding will only be dispelled after the descent of the Holy Spirit that led them to understand that Jesus was not a political-nationalist Messiah as they thought and expected. Jesus came into the world for a spiritual mission.  He did not come to solve the problems of the Kingdom of Israel, but to establish the Kingdom of God, whose agenda included the formation of a new humanity, made up of people freed from the power of sin and death. He came to, through the sacrifice of his life, open a way for man to return to Eden, to the presence of God.

The disciples discovered, after the arrival of the Holy Spirit, that who was with them in that boat was indeed a man of flesh and blood, but also, mysteriously and incomprehensibly, God incarnate. Jesus testified that his origin was divine. He said, "I came from the Father" (John 16:28); "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30). This perception of Christ's divinity began early in the early church. Paul, possibly one of the first to write texts that would later become part of the New Testament, said, "theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, foreve praised! Amen!" (Romans 9:5). This is the mystery of Christ that we understand only by faith.

Regarding the second theological question, the human condition subject to death, Luke tells us that they said to Jesus: "Lord, save us! We’re gonig to drown!" (Mattews 8:24). Death is a striking reality in human life. However, the Bible shows that man was created perfect and with eternal life. The death only entered the human race after original sin (Genesis 2 and 3). According to the Scriptures, Jesus came into the world to solve this problem. Paul calls Jesus "the second Adam". The first was tempted and sinned, losing his original condition. Jesus, however, "went through all kinds of temptations, but without sin" (Hebrews 4:15). Thus, He walked the way of Adam, but as He never sinned, God raised him from the dead and He returned to the Father.

This is Jesus' way: "I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father" (John 16:28). And here the third question is briefly presented: the human need for salvation. Man, after original sin, was trapped in a new condition of existence subject to suffering and death. His body now progresses to death and his spirit has died to God. So when Jesus saw the disciples in fear of death, saved them and asked, "Why are you so afraid? Have you no faith yet?" Jesus saved them, but the Scripture show that Christ did not come to save men from earthly dangers, but from the prison of eternal death. Man, however, only attains this gift by faith in Christ. It is as the author of Hebrews said: "without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (11:6). Only through faith in Jesus can man walk the path of Christ and rediscover himself with God.

Antônio Maia - M. Div.

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