“Windows To Spirituality”
Sermon on The Mount The Sermon on the Mount (anglicized from the Matthean Vulgate Latin section title: Sermo in monte) is a collection of sayings and teachings of Jesus Christ, which emphasizes his moral teaching found in the Gospel of Matthew (chapters 5, 6, and 7). It is the first of the Five Discourses of Matthew...
Tree Of Jesse The Tree of Jesse is a depiction in art of the ancestors of Christ, shown in a tree which rises from Jesse of Bethlehem, the father of King David, and is the original use of the family tree as a schematic representation of a genealogy. It originates in...
Judaism’s View Of Jesus Judaism’s view of Jesus is the most influential and, consequently, the most damaging of all false messiahs. However, since the traditional Jewish belief is that the messiah has not yet come and the Messianic Age is not yet present, the total rejection of Jesus as either...
Post-Resurrection Appearances of Jesus The post-resurrection appearances of Jesus are the earthly appearances of Jesus to his followers after his death and burial. Believers point to them as proof of his resurrection and identity as Messiah, seated in heaven on the right hand of God (the doctrine of the Exaltation...
Crown Of Thorns According to three of the Gospels, a woven crown of thorns was placed on the head of Jesus during the events leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus. It was one of the instruments of the Passion, employed by Jesus’ captors both to cause him pain and to mock...
Relics Associated With Jesus A number of relics are claimed to be associated with Jesus and have been displayed throughout the history of Christianity. While some individuals believe in the authenticity of Jesus relics others doubt their validity. For instance, the sixteenth-century philosopher Erasmus wrote about the proliferation of relics, and...
Triumphal Entry Into Jerusalem In the accounts of the four canonical Gospels, Jesus Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem took place in the days before the Last Supper, marking the beginning of his Passion, his time of suffering, death, and resurrection celebrated during Holy Week. In John 12:9-11, crowds gather around Jesus and believe in him after he has raised...
Second Coming The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is a Christian and Islamic belief that Jesus will return again, after his ascension to heaven about two thousand years ago. The idea is based on messianic prophecies and is part of most Christian eschatologies. Views about the nature of Jesus’s Second...
Did Jesus Ever Say The Exact Words, “I am God”? This article covers the answer to the question: “Did Jesus Ever Say The Exact Words, “I am God”?“ No, Jesus never said the exact three words, “I am God.” But Jesus also never said the exact four words, “I am...
Empty Tomb The empty tomb is the Christian tradition which tells that the women coming to the tomb of Jesus on the third day after his crucifixion found it empty. The story is found in all four canonical gospels, but beyond this basic outline they agree on little. However, the whole death, burial, and resurrection narrative predates the gospels and Paul’s letters via oral traditions. The...
Burial Of Jesus The burial of Jesus refers to the burial of the body of Jesus after the crucifixion, as described in the New Testament. According to the canonical gospel accounts, he was placed in a tomb by a man named Joseph of Arimathea. In art, it is often called...
Holy Saturday Holy Saturday (Sabbatum Sanctum), the Saturday of Holy Week, also known as Holy and Great Saturday, the Great Sabbath, Black Saturday, Joyous Saturday, or Easter Eve, and called “Joyous Saturday” or “the Saturday of Light” among Coptic Christians, is the day after Good Friday. It is the day before Easter and the last day of Holy Week in which Christians prepare...
Maundy Thursday Maundy Thursday (also known as Holy Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Great and Holy Thursday, Sheer Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries, among other names) is the Christian holy day falling on the Thursday before Easter. It commemorates the foot washing (Maundy) and the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles, as described in...
Easter Monday Easter Monday is the day after Easter Sunday and is a holiday in some countries. Easter Monday in the Western Christian liturgical calendar is the second day of Eastertide and analogously in the Byzantine Rite is the second day of Bright Week. Religious Observances Eastern Christianity Main article: Bright...
Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. In most liturgical churches Palm Sunday is celebrated by the blessing and distribution of palm branches or the branches of other native trees...
Good Friday Prayer Good Friday Prayer can refer to any of the prayers prayed by Christians on Good Friday, the Friday before Easter, or to all such prayers collectively. Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine-rite Catholic prayer on Good Friday Eastern Orthodox Christians and many Byzantine-rite Catholics, who use the same liturgy, spend this day fasting from all food,...
Ascension Of Jesus The ascension of Jesus (anglicized from the Vulgate Latin Acts 1:9-11 section title: Ascensio Iesu) is the departure of Christ from Earth into the presence of God. The biblical narrative in Chapter 1 of the Acts of the Apostles takes place 40 days after the resurrection: Jesus is taken up from the disciples in...
Good Friday Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday and may coincide with the Jewish observance of Passover. It is also known as Holy...
Virgin Birth Of Jesus The virgin birth of Jesus is the doctrine that Jesus was conceived and born by his mother Mary through the power of the Holy Spirit and without the agency of a human father. The idea is found only in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. It is enshrined in the Nicene Creed (“incarnate of the Virgin Mary”)...
Crucifixion Darkness The Crucifixion darkness is an episode in three of the canonical gospels in which the sky becomes dark in daytime during the crucifixion of Jesus. Christian apologist Tertullian in AD 197 considered this not an eclipse but a portent, which he claimed was recorded in Roman archives. The third-century Christian commentator Origen offered two natural explanations for the...
