Who is Jesus? The birth narratives

Unit 3 opens with the question the whole Gospel turns on: who is this man? CCEA answers it through five titles — Son of God, Messiah, Son of Man, Son of David and Saviour — studied through key events, beginning with Jesus' birth.

• Matt. 1: 18–25 — Joseph plans to divorce Mary quietly; an angel tells him the child is conceived by the Holy Spirit, and that he is to be named Jesus, "for he will save his people from their sins". Matthew adds the title Emmanuel, "God with us".
• Matt. 2: 1–12 — wise men from the East follow a star, ask Herod where the king of the Jews has been born, and find the child; they offer gold, frankincense and myrrh and go home another way. Christ is revealed to Gentiles from the very start.
• Luke 1: 26–45 — the angel Gabriel tells Mary she will bear a son who will be called the Son of the Most High and will reign on the throne of his father David. Mary answers, "Let it be to me according to your word." Elizabeth greets her as "the mother of my Lord".
• Luke 2: 1–20 — born in Bethlehem and laid in a manger; the announcement comes not to the powerful but to shepherds: "to you is born this day a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord."

Read the two accounts as two portraits. Matthew shows Jesus as the promised king of Israel who is worshipped by foreigners; Luke shows him as the Saviour whose arrival is announced to the poor. Both make the same claim — that in this child, God has come.

Baptism and temptations

The baptism (Matt. 3: 13–17). Jesus comes to John at the Jordan. John protests that he should be baptised by Jesus, but Jesus insists, "to fulfil all righteousness". As he comes up from the water the heavens open, the Spirit descends like a dove, and a voice from heaven says: "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."

Why it matters: the baptism is a public declaration of identity — Son of God. Jesus does not need repentance; by stepping into the water he steps into solidarity with the people he came to save.

The temptations (Matt. 4: 1–11). The Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness for forty days, where the devil tempts him three times, and each time Jesus answers with Scripture:

• Turn stones into bread — the temptation to use power for himself.
• Throw yourself from the Temple and let angels catch you — the temptation to force God's hand with a spectacle.
• Bow down and receive all the kingdoms of the world — the temptation to take a short cut to power without the cross.

Significance: Jesus defines what kind of Messiah he will be — not a magician, not a celebrity, not a political conqueror. For Christians, the passage also shows that temptation is not sin, and that Scripture and prayer are the resources for resisting it.

Think it through

Peter's declaration and the Transfiguration

Peter's declaration (Matt. 16: 13–20). At Caesarea Philippi Jesus asks, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" The answers are John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, one of the prophets. Then: "But who do you say that I am?" Peter replies, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Jesus calls him blessed, says the answer came by revelation, and tells the disciples to say nothing to anyone.

Note the two readings of "on this rock I will build my church". Catholic teaching sees here the foundation of the office of Peter and so of the papacy; many Protestants read the rock as Peter's confession of faith, or as Christ himself. Both readings are held by serious scholars — and quoting both is a strong AO2 move.

The Transfiguration (Matt. 17: 1–13). Six days later Jesus takes Peter, James and John up a high mountain. He is transfigured: his face shines like the sun, his clothes become dazzling white, and Moses and Elijah appear talking with him. Peter offers to build three shelters. A bright cloud overshadows them and the voice says, "This is my beloved Son... listen to him." The disciples fall on their faces; Jesus touches them and says, "Do not be afraid."

Meaning: Moses represents the Law and Elijah the Prophets — Jesus stands with them and above them, their fulfilment. The glory is a glimpse of who he really is, given to strengthen the disciples just before he sets out for the cross.

Match each title of Jesus to its meaning

Tap a title on the left, then its meaning on the right.

Discipleship and prayer

Salt and light (Matt. 5: 13–16). "You are the salt of the earth... You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden." A lamp is put on a stand, not under a bowl, so that people "may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven."

Meaning: discipleship is public and useful. Salt preserves and gives flavour; light exposes and guides. A private, invisible faith is, on this teaching, a contradiction in terms — but the goal is God's glory, not the disciple's reputation.

Teaching on prayer (Matt. 6: 5–15). Do not pray like the hypocrites, who love to be seen; go into your room and shut the door. Do not heap up empty phrases, "for your Father knows what you need before you ask". Then Jesus gives the Lord's Prayer: God's name hallowed, his kingdom come, daily bread, forgiveness of debts as we forgive our debtors, and deliverance from evil. He adds a warning: if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive you.

The Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18: 9–14). Two men pray in the Temple. The Pharisee thanks God that he is not like other people, and lists his fasting and tithing. The tax collector stands far off, beats his breast, and says, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." Jesus says the tax collector went home justified: "all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."

Think it through

Forgiveness, wealth and poverty

Forgiveness (Matt. 5: 38–48). "You have heard it said, an eye for an eye... but I say to you, do not resist an evildoer." Turn the other cheek; go the second mile; love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, because God "makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good". The old law limited revenge; Jesus abolishes it.

The unforgiving servant (Matt. 18: 21–35). Peter asks how often he must forgive — "As many as seven times?" Jesus answers, "Seventy-seven times" (or seventy times seven). Then the parable: a servant is forgiven a debt he could never repay, walks out, and throttles a fellow servant over a trivial sum. The master, on hearing of it, hands him over to be punished. Point: those who have been forgiven an immeasurable debt by God cannot then refuse to forgive.

Wealth and worry (Matt. 6: 24–34). "You cannot serve God and money." Look at the birds and the lilies: do not be anxious about food and clothing. "Strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

The rich young man (Matt. 19: 16–30). He has kept the commandments and asks what he still lacks. Jesus tells him: "Go, sell your possessions, give to the poor... then come, follow me." He goes away grieving, for he had many possessions. Jesus says it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom — and adds, "for God all things are possible."

Evaluation (AO2): Christians disagree over how literally Matt. 19 binds every believer. Some (Francis of Assisi, monastic and some radical traditions) take it as a universal call to poverty; most read it as an individual diagnosis — the one thing that owned this man — while still demanding real generosity. Either way, the passage refuses to let wealth be spiritually neutral.

Think it through

Responses to Jesus' teaching — the sower

A sower scatters seed. Some falls on the path and the birds eat it; some on rocky ground, where it springs up quickly but withers without root; some among thorns, which choke it; and some on good soil, where it yields thirty, sixty and a hundredfold.

Jesus explains it (13: 18–23): the seed is the word of the kingdom, and the soils are hearers.

• Path — hears without understanding; the evil one snatches the word away.
• Rocky ground — receives it with joy but has no root; falls away when trouble or persecution comes.
• Thorns — the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.
• Good soil — hears, understands, and bears fruit.

Why it comes here in CCEA's list: the parable is about responses to Jesus' teaching. Note its realism — most of the seed fails. It is an honest warning against shallow enthusiasm, not a promise of easy success.

Who Jesus met — and how he treated them

• Religious leaders (Matt. 23: 1–12, 23–28). Jesus tells the crowds to do what the scribes and Pharisees teach but not what they do: "they tie up heavy burdens and lay them on the shoulders of others" and love the best seats and the titles. "The greatest among you will be your servant." He calls them hypocrites for tithing herbs while neglecting "the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy and faith", and compares them to whitewashed tombs — beautiful outside, full of decay within.
• A woman accused (John 8: 1–11). A woman caught in adultery is brought to Jesus as a trap. He bends down and writes on the ground, then says: "Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone." One by one they leave. "Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin again." Mercy and moral seriousness in a single sentence.
• A tax collector (Luke 19: 1–10). Zacchaeus, a rich chief tax collector, is too short to see and climbs a sycamore tree. Jesus stops and invites himself to his house; the crowd grumbles that he is the guest of a sinner. Zacchaeus stands and pledges half his goods to the poor and fourfold restitution to anyone he has defrauded. Jesus says, "Today salvation has come to this house... the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost."
• Leprosy sufferers (Luke 17: 12–19). Ten men with a dreaded skin disease call out from a distance. Jesus tells them to show themselves to the priests, and they are healed on the way. One turns back, praising God and falling at Jesus' feet — "and he was a Samaritan". Jesus asks where the other nine are, and tells him, "your faith has made you well."

The pattern: Jesus is fiercest with the religiously respectable and gentlest with the socially excluded. That reversal is the point CCEA wants you to be able to explain — and to apply to the church today.

Think it through

Which theme does each set passage belong to?

Tap a passage, then tap its CCEA theme. Some passages could fit more than one theme — here, put each one where CCEA lists it.

From the Last Supper to the ascension

• The Last Supper (Matt. 26: 17–30). At the Passover meal Jesus says one of the Twelve will betray him. He takes bread, blesses and breaks it — "Take, eat; this is my body" — and the cup: "this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." They sing a hymn and go out to the Mount of Olives. This is the origin of the Eucharist and Communion.
• Gethsemane (Matt. 26: 36–46). "My soul is deeply grieved, even to death." Jesus prays three times, "let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want." The disciples fall asleep. His obedience is chosen, not automatic.
• The arrest (Matt. 26: 47–56). Judas betrays him with a kiss. A disciple draws a sword and cuts off a servant's ear; Jesus tells him to put it away — "all who take the sword will perish by the sword". The disciples desert him and flee.
• The trials (Matt. 26: 57–68; 27: 1–2, 11–31). Before Caiaphas and the council, Jesus is silent, then answers the question about being the Messiah, and is condemned for blasphemy. Before Pilate, he stays silent; Pilate washes his hands, releases Barabbas, and hands Jesus over. Soldiers mock him with a crown of thorns.
• The death (Matt. 27: 32–61). Simon of Cyrene carries the cross. Jesus is crucified at Golgotha between two bandits; darkness covers the land; he cries out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" and dies. The curtain of the Temple is torn in two, and a Roman centurion says, "Truly this man was God's Son." Joseph of Arimathea buries him in a new tomb.
• The resurrection (Luke 24: 1–12; Matt. 28: 16–20). The women find the stone rolled away and the tomb empty; two men in dazzling clothes ask, "Why do you look for the living among the dead?" The apostles think it "an idle tale" — Luke records their disbelief. In Matthew, the risen Jesus meets the eleven on a mountain in Galilee and gives the Great Commission: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them... and remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
• The ascension (Luke 24: 50–53). At Bethany Jesus blesses them, is carried up into heaven, and they return to Jerusalem with great joy, continually in the Temple blessing God.

Significance for Christian truth and identity: the cross is understood as atonement — the torn curtain signals that the way to God is open. The resurrection is the ground of Christian hope, and the Great Commission turns a rescued group of failures into a mission to the whole world.

Think it through

The Mass, a Protestant order of service, and prayer

Unit 3 turns from the Gospels to the church that grew out of them. You need the Catholic Church and one Protestant Church side by side.

• The Mass — Introductory Rites → Liturgy of the Word (readings, Gospel, homily, Creed, intercessions) → Liturgy of the Eucharist (offering, Eucharistic Prayer, Our Father, sign of peace, Communion) → dismissal.
• A Protestant order of service (Presbyterian or Methodist, typically) — call to worship → hymn → prayer → Bible readings → hymn → sermon → intercessions → offering → hymn → benediction.
• Singing and music — hymns, psalms, chant, choirs, worship bands; hymns teach doctrine as well as express praise.
• Liturgical vs non-liturgical — a set written order, versus a flexible pattern chosen by the leader.
• Preaching — usually the climax of Protestant worship; present but shorter in the Mass, where the Eucharist is the climax.
• The Bible in worship — read publicly in both; Catholics follow a lectionary; Protestant emphasis on sola scriptura gives the sermon its authority.

Types of prayer: adoration (praise), confession (admitting sin), thanksgiving (gratitude), supplication (asking for oneself) and intercession (praying for others). Prayer may be formal or extempore, public or private.

Furniture, the church year, baptism and Communion

Architecture and furniture: pulpit (preaching), altar or communion table (Eucharist or Communion — "altar" implies sacrifice, "table" implies a shared meal), lectern (Bible reading), tabernacle (Catholic: reserved consecrated hosts, with a lamp burning beside it), baptismal font (pouring, including infants) and baptismal pool (full immersion of believers).

Festivals: Advent (preparation) · Christmas (incarnation) · Epiphany (Christ revealed to the nations) · Lent (self-examination and fasting) · Holy Week and Easter (death and resurrection) · Ascension · Pentecost (the Spirit given) · Saints' Days · Harvest (thanksgiving). They retell the Gospel story through the year, so the passages you have just studied are lived rather than merely read.

Sacraments and ordinances:

• Baptism — Catholic: infant baptism by pouring, with white garment, candle and oil. Protestant: infant baptism (Presbyterian, Methodist, Anglican) or believers' baptism by immersion (Baptist, Pentecostal).
• Eucharist / Communion — Catholic: transubstantiation; the Mass re-presents Christ's one sacrifice. Reformed: Christ is received spiritually by faith. Baptist and many evangelicals: a memorial — "do this in remembrance of me". All trace it to the Last Supper you studied in Matt. 26: 17–30.

Think it through

Community cohesion and the challenge of change

Contribution to the local community: food banks, debt and addiction support, youth clubs, night shelters, lunch clubs, schools, hospital and prison chaplaincy — and, in Northern Ireland especially, deliberate cross-community work: shared worship, joint youth projects, mediation and peace-building.

The challenge of changing moral and social trends: falling attendance; a more secular culture; internal disagreement over sexuality, marriage and the role of women; the damage done by abuse scandals and their cover-up.

The big ideas to know

You have covered all seven themes of CCEA Unit 3. Press Finish to see your score.