The New Testament Witness to Christ and His Kingdom, Mentor's Guide, MG13

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T H E N E W T E S T A M E N T W I T N E S S T O C H R I S T A N D H I S K I N G D O M

Truly, the entire New Testament underscores what this segment suggests about the centrality of Jesus’ resurrection to faith. The hope of the New Testament is a single, seamless, and eternal hope. Jesus suggested that his resurrection would be the confirming sign of both the authority and accuracy of his teachings about himself and the Kingdom of God (Matt. 12.38-40). It is the resurrection of Jesus that not only guarantees the salvation of all those who cling to Jesus by faith (1 Pet. 1.3), but also establishes the means whereby our Lord, as exalted and ascended High Priest, can carry out his priestly intercession on behalf of his Church (Heb. 7.23-25). What all of this suggests is that this segment on both the centrality of the resurrection, and the validity of its history is central to faith, to hope, to service, and to ministry. Ensure that the students comprehend the significance of this doctrine before you go on to other matters. Make sure that the students understand the basic terms, definitions, and concepts associated with the resurrection of Jesus. This is the place in the Capstone curriculumwhere these issues are considered largely from a historical vantage point, although the same are considered in the God the Son module from a more theological and Christological view. What is important here is your confidence that the students understand the actual facts and the ramification of those facts as they relate to the historical events surrounding the resurrection of Christ. Ask carefully worded questions designed to test their knowledge of the facts, and their understanding of the significance of those facts for the purpose of verifying the identity of Jesus as Messiah. The Great Commission is one of the central post-resurrection injunctions of the risen Lord. In it, Jesus commands his Apostles to go into all the world and make disciples, carrying the message of the Messiah and the Kingdom of God to all nations, to the very ends of the earth. This is the continuation of a basic message associated with the salvation of God, first alluded to in the Old Testament (e.g., Isa. 45.22; cf. Gen. 12.3) and fulfilled and instituted formally for the Church in the New Testament (Matt. 9.35-38; 28.19; Acts 1.8). Jesus, as risen and living Messiah,

5 Page 128 Student Questions and Response

6 Page 129 Summary of Segment 2