CONFIRMATION STUDY SHEET

Jesus’ death on the cross was by asphyxiation–the weight of his body on his arms collapsed his chest, making it very difficult to breathe. The one way to catch a breath was by raising the body by putting weight on the feet. This is why the soldiers broke the legs of the two thieves, so that they couldn’t breathe and would die faster.

Jesus spoke seven times on the cross. These “Seven Words from the Cross” are

1. Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing

2. (To the thief on the cross) Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in

          Paradise.

3. (To Mary His mother) Woman, behold your son. (To St. John) Behold your

          mother.

4. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

          (The punishment for sin is to be forsaken by God, abandoned by God. This

          cry of abandonment shows that Jesus was taking the full punishment for our

          sins)

5. I am thirsty

6. It is finished (Not “I am finished” or “I am washed up”–rather, “I have done

          what I came into the world to do–to die to take away the world’s sins.”

          Rather like “Mission accomplished”).

7. Father, into your hands, I commend my spirit (this was the evening prayer of

          every Jewish child–Jesus as He dies uses a bedtime prayer!)

Jesus rose in His physical body. The disciples could touch that body; He even ate some fish in front of them. The body was real. It was not a spirit, not a ghost.

Even though Christ’s body was physical, it could do things other bodies can’t–like pass through solid objects. The stone was rolled away from the tomb, not because Jesus was trapped in there and couldn’t get out, but to show that the tomb was empty.

Even on Jesus’ risen and glorified body, the marks of the nails and spear remain. This shows that Jesus’ sacrifice is always there to forgive our sins.

“Apostle” means “one who is sent”. The Apostles were the disciples of Jesus and several other people who had a special part in the early days of the Christian church. When we say that we believe in “one holy Christian and apostolic church, we are saying that the church is founded on the teaching of the apostles.

Jesus remained with His disciples for forty days after His resurrection. After those forty days, He ascended into heaven. This event is called the Ascension, and is celebrated 40 days after Easter (on a Thursday).

Even though Jesus has ascended into heaven and we no longer see Him, He is still with us invisibly.

Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit. Some of the things the Spirit does are:

          –helps us to believe in Jesus. Without the Spirit, we could not believe.

          –comes to us in our baptism and unites us with the crucified and risen Jesus

          –helps us in our prayers, so that even if we get the prayers wrong, God

                    hears them right

          –guides us in our Christian life, helping us to choose right and turn from

                    wrong

The day that the Spirit came was the festival of Pentecost. In the Christian calendar, this celebration comes 49 days (seven weeks) after Easter.

Our bodies are Temples of the Holy Spirit. This means that our bodies are sacred places. We should treat our bodies as holy–take care of them and not use them for anything dishonorable.

Another name for the Holy Spirit is the Paraclete. This means “the one who is called to stand beside you” in Greek–it is translated as comforter, counselor, helper, or advocate (i.e., attorney).

St. Stephen was the first Christian martyr. Martyr means “witness”, and the word is used to describe someone who dies for their faith.

Saul held the coats for the people who were stoning Stephen to death. Then he set out for Damascus to persecute the Christians there. On the road to Damascus, Jesus appeared to Saul. Saul was struck blind for a time; he was baptized, and, under the name of Paul, became a very great preacher and teacher of the Christian faith.

The first non-Jewish convert to Christianity was a man from Ethiopia.

There was a disagreement in the early church about whether people had to follow the Jewish law (i.e., not eat pork or shrimp, etc.) to be Christians. God gave Peter a vision in which he was told to eat unclean (non-kosher) animals. When Peter was reluctant, God said: “Do not call unclean what I have called clean.” This was Peter’s signal that non-Jews could become Christians. (It also means that, for Christians, there are no forbidden foods).

Jesus promises that He will come again. We do not know when He’ll come–He leaves us uncertain so that we will always be ready. The day that He returns will be a day of great joy, as we and the whole creation will be glorified.

The followers of Jesus were first called Christians in Antioch.