In the New Testament, Jesus’ words to Mary in John 2:1-11, “Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come,” hearken back to two passages in the Old Testament’s Book of Kings. The Second Luminous Mystery ~ Wedding Feast at Cana Just as Moses established God’s covenant with Israel, so too does Jesus establish the new and greater covenant between God and all mankind. Both Matthew and Mark are presenting Jesus as a new Moses, who did the same after ratifying the covenant between God and the Israelites (Ex.24:12-18). This was to fulfill what had been spoken through Isaiah the prophet:Īnd he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.Īfter Jesus’ Baptism, He goes off into the wilderness to fast and pray (Mt. The fulfillment of God’s promise of a “chosen servant” is explicitly stated later in the New Testament, in Matthew 12:17-21. He shall bring forth justice to the nations. Now take a look at Isaiah 42:1 in the Old Testament: In the end, God provides a replacement lamb to be used for Abraham’s sacrifice, thus foreshadowing Jesus as the Lamb which God will provide later to save all mankind. Isaac, Abraham’s only beloved son, willingly carries the wood of his own sacrifice. The image of the sacrificial lamb is foreshadowed in the Old Testament: Genesis 22 tells the story of the testing of Abraham. But Jesus will suffer greatly for our sins, and ultimately serve as the sacrificial lamb through His victorious death on the Cross. God delights in Him, and the Spirit rests upon Him. And a voice came from the heavens, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:13-17) After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove coming upon him. John tried to prevent him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?” Jesus said to him in reply, “Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed him. Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. Since the Jordan River was the Israelites’ final entryway into the Promised Land after forty years in the desert, it seems that John’s decision to baptize repentant sinners in this river was his way of “announcing” that the final exodus, with the ultimate Messiah, was underway. The Jews were longing for a Messiah king to come and rescue them from oppression, as Moses had freed their ancestors from the Egyptians. In reading the passage from Matthew, we can pinpoint several examples of “fulfillment” ringing through from promises made in the Old Testament. Jesus’ Baptism in the Jordan can be found in the New Testament in Matthew, Mark, and Luke (often referred to as the "Synoptic Gospels"). The First Luminous Mystery ~ Baptism in the Jordan John Paul II in 2002, these Mysteries fill a rather glaring void left by the "traditional” Mysteries of the Rosary, which previously jumped from Jesus’ early life straight to His passion and death - completely skipping over His public ministry.īut Jesus’ public ministry is where He very much “gets down to business.” It's during this time of His life when He makes the greatest connection with His disciples, and shows the people, through His own actions and deeds, how our Father expects us to treat Him - and how to treat each other. ![]() Surprisingly, the Luminous Mysteries are a fairly new development in the Rosary. ![]() Jesus’ story of water-to-wine was certainly on repeat in the Cana wedding couple’s household for generations! Most of us have attended at least one wedding - likely even our own - and we probably have stories affiliated with those weddings, humorous stories that are told over and over again. Though many of us might not recall our own baptism, certainly we’ve attended those of our children, godchildren, relatives, and friends. Jesus’ public ministry is especially appealing to most of us because it's during this very brief time in His life when He experiences some significant “life events” to which we can probably very much relate. Now that we’ve dug a little into the Old Testament “types” (promises) and their New Testament “antitypes” (fulfillment) in Jesus’ early life as we meditate on them in the Joyful Mysteries, it’s time to move on to Jesus’ public ministry.
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