Biblical Church Events

The Bible tells us many things that happened during the life of Jesus. We don't know much about Jesus' childhood, but we know that Jesus grew up with a lot of faith and wisdom.

Below are some big parts of Jesus' life, including Pentecost.

Christ's Death and Resurrection

While Joseph and Mary were in Bethlehem, the time came for her to have the baby. She gave birth to her first son. There were no rooms left in the inn. So she wrapped the baby with cloths and laid him in a box where animals are fed.

The Birth of Jesus

Even before Jesus was born, God promised that a virgin would give birth to a Son who would come to save humankind. Many people were waiting for the Messiah to come, but they didn't know when it would happen.

At the very beginning of the New Testament, we hear that a young girl named Mary is visited by an angel, who tells her that she will give birth to a Son, who will be the saviour of the world. Mary was young, around her teenage years, and she wasn't in a relationship with a man in that way; so she would have been scared and confused. But the angel comforted her by saying that the Lord is with her and by God's power it could be done.

Mary was engaged to a man named Joseph, and they had to travel to a place called Bethlehem to do a census. While on their travels, Mary was ready to have her baby, although they couldn't find a place to have the baby. There weren't any hospitals and all the rooms in the hotels were full.

Mary and Joseph found a stable and Mary gave birth to Jesus there. When Jesus was born, a bright star appeared in the sky above the stable, showing where Jesus was born.

There were some shepherds in the area whose job was to look after the sheep and cattle. The Spirit of the Lord appeared to them to tell them the good news that the Saviour that everyone had been waiting for has been born. Suddenly many angels from Heaven came down and sang praises to the Lord.

Imagine the excitement and the joy that the shepherds would have been feeling.

3 kings from a different land (possibly in Asia) heard that the Messiah was born, and travelled a long way to go and see Him. It would have probably taken the 3 kings many months to get to Bethlehem. King Herod who was the King in Jerusalem at this time was scared that there was a little boy who could overthrow him as king. King Herod tried to trick the 3 wise men and asked them to tell him how to get to the place so he could worship Jesus. This was a lie; King Herod was scared so much about Jesus that he wanted to kill him. After the 3 Kings got to see Jesus, an angel told them in a dream to not see King Herod again and to go back to Asia another way.

One night, an angel came to Joseph in a dream and told him that He must take Mary and the baby Jesus to Egypt because King Herod wanted to kill Jesus. So Joseph, Mary and Jesus left for Egypt as soon as they could.

When King Herod heard that the 3 Kings had left the country without coming back to him, he was very angry and sent his guards to kill any little boy under 2 years old in and around Bethlehem, in case Jesus was one of them.

After Christmas day, Catholics have a special day where we remember all the lives of the baby boys who died at this time. This day is called the Feast of the Holy Innocents.

Mary, Joseph and Jesus came back to the town of Nazareth after King Herod died.

Luke 4:18-19

“The Spirit of the Lord is in me.

This is because God chose me to tell the Good News to the poor.

God sent me to tell the prisoners of sin that they are free, and to tell the blind that they can see again. Isaiah 61:1. God sent me to free those who have been treated unfairly, Isaiah 58:6, and to announce the time when the Lord will show kindness to his people.” Isaiah 61:2

Jesus' Ministry

We don't know much about the childhood of Jesus, but we learn that from a young age, Jesus was strong and wise. Jesus was very interested in religion, and once was found in the temple when he was 12 years old talking to the religious leaders and asking them questions.

When Jesus was an adult, He saw that His cousin, John was baptising people. Jesus asked John if he too could be baptised. When Jesus was Baptised, the Holy Spirit came down upon Jesus like a dove, and God the Father was very pleased with Jesus and acknowledged that Jesus was His Son.

Straight after Jesus was baptised, the Spirit of God led Jesus into the desert for 40 days and 40 nights. Jesus didn't eat anything during that time, and he was very hungry. The devil came to Jesus because he wanted to test Jesus to see how faithful He was. The devil offered Jesus many things if Jesus would worship him, but Jesus refused and told the devil to go away.

We remember in the season of Lent Jesus being tested in the desert. We give up things and do special things like giving money to the poor to grow closer to Jesus.

After His time in the desert, Jesus began to teach in the synagogues in Galilee. Many people were amazed at the teachings of Jesus. But some people didn't want to listen to Him. Jesus healed many people from sickness and sometimes healed people from evil spirits.

Jesus found some people and asked them to follow Him; we call these followers the disciples. Jesus showed them all of His special work like healing people and serving people. The disciples of Jesus were His special friends, they went almost everywhere with Jesus and listened to what He had to say. Jesus taught them and his other followers the Lord's prayer (what we say at Mass) and told them the importance of worshiping God, and doing His will. Jesus teaches His followers that we should forgive everyone of their wrongdoings, because God forgives us when we do wrong.

Jesus did amazing things, that are recorded in the New Testament. Once Jesus even healed a blind man and a man who couldn't walk. These are called miracles. There are many kinds of miracles that Jesus did. When Jesus went to a wedding party one day at a place called Cana, He even performed a miracle that turned normal water into wine.

Matthew 17:2-3

While they watched, Jesus was changed. His face became bright like the sun. And his clothes became white as light. Then two men were there, talking with him. The men were Moses and Elijah.

The Transfiguration

One day, Jesus took his closest friends, Peter, James and John up to a high mountain to pray. No one else was around. Suddenly when Jesus was praying, Jesus looked different and shone brightly like the sun, and His clothes became white. Two men, Moses and Elijah that we know from the Old Testament appeared next to Jesus. Moses, Elijah and Jesus talked about Jesus' departure from this world.

The disciples were very joyful, but they didn't really understand why this was happening. Peter was so excited that he asked if he could set up a tent for each of them. God the Father called from Heaven and told the disciples to listen to Jesus. The disciples got scared and bowed down to the ground. When Jesus came to comfort them, Moses and Elijah had gone and Jesus looked normal again.

We call this event in the Bible, the transfiguration of Jesus. The transfiguration is very special because it shows that Jesus is both human and Divine (God), and reminds us that God is with us. Jesus will one day come back to earth in His glorified body, and bring his faithful to Heaven. The transfiguration also makes us look forward to Heaven; because in Heaven our bodies will shine as well.

This event points to the future of the sufferings that Jesus will face soon.

Mark 14:22

While they were eating, Jesus took some bread. He thanked God for it and broke it. Then he gave it to his followers and said, “Take it. This bread is my body.”

The Last Supper

The last supper was Jesus' last Passover meal with His disciples before His death. Passover was a very important feast in the time of Jesus and in the Old Testament, and involved a lot of preparation. Passover is when the Jewish people remember and reflect on God bringing the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. The Jewish faith still celebrates Passover today.

In Jesus' time, they would celebrate Passover with a roasted lamb, wine and some bread and spices. Many people came to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, so the city was packed full of people.

Jesus asked some of His closest friends to go and find a place to have the Passover meal. Jesus didn't tell all His friends where the meal was going to be, because He wanted to keep it a secret until later when Jesus took them there. Jesus knew that he would die soon, so He wanted to make sure that the last meal that he shared with His friends was really special.

When the disciples were eating, Jesus took some bread and a cup of wine, thanked God for it, and told His disciples that the bread and wine is His own body and blood and that they need to eat it. He tells His disciples to follow what He is doing and to remember Him when they do it.

This Passover celebration was very important because it is when Jesus establishes the sacrament of the Eucharist. He did this because He loves us so very much. He wanted to give us everything. In the Last Supper, Jesus makes a new covenant between God and His believers and promises that whoever eats and drinks His Body and Blood will be saved. The Last Supper is actually the celebration of the first Mass that ever took place in the world.

We call this remembrance "communion" as well because we all share in the body of Christ.

The disciples believed that the bread and wine were Jesus' body and blood because, in the year before, Jesus told many followers that He is always the living bread from Heaven, and has came down to save us.

In every Mass, we remember and relive the last supper by receiving the Eucharist. When the Priest in Mass repeats what Jesus said to His disciples in the last supper, Jesus comes to us in the bread and wine. Catholics believe that the bread and wine that we have in Mass are the real body and blood of Christ.

The last supper is actually connected in many ways to Jesus' death on the cross. In the last supper, Jesus is the lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. Instead of the real lamb that was sacrificed at the Passover feast, Jesus was that lamb that was being sacrificed for us.

John 19:29-30

There was a jar full of vinegar there, so the soldiers soaked a sponge in it. Then they put the sponge on a branch of a hyssop plant and lifted it to Jesus’ mouth. Jesus tasted the vinegar. Then he said, “It is finished.” He bowed his head and died.

Jesus' Death and Resurrection

After the Last Supper, Jesus took His disciples out to a garden to pray. Jesus knew His hour of death was coming very soon, and he was so scared about what He had to go through that He even sweated blood. He prayed to God the Father for the courage to do His will.

Judas, one of Jesus' disciples didn't want to follow Jesus anyone, and betrayed him. Judas went and told the religious leaders where Jesus was and they went to the garden where Jesus and His friends were and arrested Jesus.

Jesus didn't do anything wrong, He was innocent; but He didn't say anything to the guards because He knew He must die so we could be saved.

The guards took Jesus away from His friends. Jesus was taken to the house where the High Priest lived. The High Priest and other religious teachers and elders came to talk to Jesus. The religious leaders were angry that Jesus said that He was the Messiah and the Lord. Jesus is God, but they didn't believe Him and they thought He was telling a big lie, so they made the decision that Jesus would be put to death.

They beat Jesus with a whip and spat in Jesus' face. The guards laughed at Jesus and teased Him. Even though The High Priest and the other leaders wanted Jesus to die, they weren't allowed to do it. They had to go to someone higher up.

Early in the morning the next day, the guards took Jesus to Pilate, who was the governor of Rome (the Roman Empire ruled over Jerusalem at that time). Pilate didn't believe that Jesus had done anything wrong and actually wanted to free Him; but he was worried that everyone would be angry at him if he freed Jesus. Pilate was so worried that in the end he sent Jesus away to be executed. The guards made a crown of thorns and put it on Jesus head. It would have been very painful.

Imagine how Jesus would have been feeling at the time.

Jesus walked out of the city carrying a big wooden cross. He had to walk a long way and His cross was very heavy to carry. A few times on the walk, Jesus fell down. The guards were very mean to him and shouted at Him to get up and keep going. It was a very difficult walk. When they got to a place called Calvery, they nailed Jesus' hands and feet onto the cross and lifted the cross up so everyone could see. The guards continued to make fun of Jesus, but Jesus forgave them for their actions.

Jesus would have been in so much pain on the cross and been very sad too. He prayed one more prayer to God the Father and then died.

The followers of Jesus were very upset and His mother Mary was very sad too. The sky turned black and there was an earthquake. Even one guard realised that Jesus was the Son of God and was innocent.

We remember the death of Jesus on Good Friday. We call the day "Good", because even though it was a terrible thing to happen, Jesus had to die for our sins, so we could be saved. We are thankful to Jesus for dying on the cross because He loves us so much, and now the people who follow Jesus can be with Him in Heaven. Jesus died on the cross not just to save the people at that time, but for everyone in the future, including us. Christ died for you because He loves you.

We celebrate the resurrection of Jesus 3 days later on the Sunday, because that's the day when Jesus rose from the dead. On that Sunday, Mary Magdalene, who was a friend of Jesus went to the tomb of Jesus, but the stone that was at the entrance was rolled away, and the body of Jesus wasn't there.

Jesus appeared to some of his followers later and they were very happy and excited to see Him. Some followers were bit confused, because they wondered how Jesus could be alive again; but Jesus reminded them that He said that He was going to die and rise again.

Christ won't ever die again, because He defeated death. The Passion of Christ is the ultimate love story, that we are included in. One day, the faithful of Jesus', will rise from the dead.

Acts 1:8-9

But the Holy Spirit will come to you. Then you will receive power. You will be my witnesses—in Jerusalem, in all of Judea, in Samaria, and in every part of the world.” After he said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up. A cloud hid him from their sight.

The Ascension

After Jesus rose from the dead, He spent 40 days with His disciples. He taught them how to serve the followers of Jesus, and how to love God more. He told them how they would need to go and share the good news of Jesus with others, so that the whole world can know about Him too. Jesus promised the disciples that He will be with them forever, and one day He will come back again and bring the faithful up to Heaven. The disciples had a lot of questions for Jesus, they wanted to know when God would save the world, but Jesus said that only God knows when it would happen, and they need to wait and see.

Jesus said to them that He was going to go back to God the Father soon; but one day they may come as well. Some of the disciples were sad, they didn't want Jesus to leave them; but Jesus promised that He would give them the Holy Spirit, so God would always be with them and help them share the good news to the whole world.

All of a sudden, Jesus was lifted off the ground and taken into the sky. A cloud covered Jesus so no one could see where He was going. Jesus was going back to Heaven to be with God the Father.

Imagine how the disciples would have been feeling? Maybe a little confused or sad that their friend had left.

The Ascension of Jesus is a very special time, because we know that Jesus beat death and lives with God the Father in Heaven being fully alive. Jesus is King of Heaven and earth. This gives Christians hope that one day God will save us from death and we will go up as well to be with God.

Acts 2:41-42

Then those people who accepted what Peter said were baptized. About 3,000 people were added to the number of believers that day. They spent their time learning the apostles’ teaching. And they continued to share, to break bread, and to pray together.

Pentecost

Pentecost is a very important and special time in the life of the Church. It is the time when the Holy Spirit came to the disciples and they began to go out and spread the good news of Jesus.

Pentecost happened 10 days after Jesus went back to Heaven, and 50 days after He rose from the dead. The disciples had been scared because their friend and teacher had gone, and they didn't know what to do. The followers of Jesus didn't have the courage to go out and spread the faith, but they remembered that Jesus was going to send them the Holy Spirit. They gathered together in a house and started to pray. Suddenly there were a loud noise and the house shook. It would have been a bit scary, but the disciples kept praying.

The followers then saw something that looked like flames of fire around them. The flames then moved to above each person's head. This flame was the Holy Spirit. The followers of Jesus started to talk in different languages to each other, and they could understand what the other person was saying. They were filled with the joy and courage from the Holy Spirit that they left the house and went out onto the streets.

At that time, thousands of people from different countries were in the town. Many people around the place heard the loud noise and came out of their houses to see what the noise was. The people were amazed that the followers of Jesus could speak in different languages, some visitors from the different countries even recognised their own language being spoken. They were bit confused on how this could happen. Some people even thought the followers of Jesus were crazy and had too much wine.

Peter stood up and told the crowd of people about Jesus and His miracles. He said that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, but was raised to life again, and now lives with God in Heaven. Peter told everyone that they should turn away from evil and be baptised, and the Holy Spirit will come to them.

Many people started to believe in Jesus and the good news at that time. Around 3,000 people joined the other followers.

The Holy Spirit has filled many people all over the world throughout all of history with the joy and love of the Lord. We also receive the Holy Spirit in the sacraments. With the Holy Spirit, we know God even more, love Him and are encouraged to follow His Will.

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