Who is Jesus?

We began with the question:  Who is Jesus?  With contributions from everyone, we gathered an impressive list:
God's Son
Died for our sins
Messiah
Christ
Lord
Son
Son of Man (Human One)
Deliverer
Leader
Holy One
Savior
Emmanuel (God-is-with-us)
King of the Jews
Friend
Always present
Helps
The One who loves us all
Teacher
Rabbi
Mentor
Companion
Master
Miracle Worker
The One we follow on God's path
Listener
Companion
Healer
Shepherd
Lamb
carpenter

Our list includes titles, identities, qualities, and actions. Also reflected are our perceptions of who Jesus is to us, and for us.
--Which of the descriptions on the list do you find  most meaningful?
--Are there qualities that reflect important values in your life? (for example: friendship; helping; being present for others; companionship; listening; loving in all circumstances )

We took a walking tour in the church, finding as many images of Jesus as we could.  We identified more than twenty on our short excursion, taking time to recall the biblical stories related to many of them.  It took us through quite a bit of gospel territory.
We noted that the meaning of Jesus' name is, essentially, "God saves." Christ, his common title, means "anointed one."  The terms "Christ" and "Messiah" are held in common.  The name "Emmanuel (Immanuel)"  is from Matthew 1:23, the story of Jesus' birth, and hearkens back to  Isaiah 7:14.
Our ongoing discussion led to some a several excellent inquiries:
--Noting that Jesus was baptized around age 30, a number of people wondered what Jesus was doing for the previous 30 years.  Only Luke Chapter 2 gives us a glimpse of Jesus in the years between his infancy and the time of his baptism; we are given a story of Jesus at age 12 when he travels with his family to Jerusalem for the Passover festival.  Mark 6:3 has people in his hometown of Nazareth referring to him as "the carpenter"  when they are astonished at his teaching.
--A very interesting question was presented for our exploration and reflection: During those first thirty years, did Jesus know he was the Son of God?
--How long was Jesus' ministry?  At most, perhaps, three years.
--Weren't there references to Jesus in the Old Testament?  We spoke a bit about the prophets who seemed to point ahead to Jesus' coming.  Isaiah 7:14, mentioned earlier in connection with Matthew 1:23, would be such an example.
There was even more to our discussion!  That content will be reflected in future posts. Remember to read the resource sheet on Baptism for next week's class.