Ep 24. Who Is the Holy Spirit? An Introduction to the Trinity

“If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.” St. Paul staked everything on one claim: a man publicly executed on a Friday walked out of his tomb on Sunday morning. So did it really happen? In the final part of our walk through the Passion, we go down with Jesus to the realm of the dead on Holy Saturday, then stand at the empty tomb on Easter morning. We look at the many people who saw him risen, and we test the oldest alternative theory, that the disciples stole the body. Then we turn to the sign Jesus himself chose, the sign of Jonah, and discover why the early Christians saw the evidence for the resurrection all around them. Scripture references Everything hangs on this • 1 Corinthians 15:14 (“If Christ has not been raised...”) Holy Saturday • 1 Peter 3:18–19 (He preached to the spirits in prison) • Catechism of the Catholic Church 632–635 (Christ descended to the dead) Easter morning • Matthew 28:1–7 (The earthquake, the angel, “He has risen, as he said”) • Luke 24:44–47 (Everything written in the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms) • Luke 9:30–31 (His exodus to be accomplished in Jerusalem) The appearances • John 20:11–18 (Mary Magdalene) • Matthew 28:9–10 (The women) • Luke 24:34; 1 Corinthians 15:5 (Simon Peter) • Luke 24:13–35 (The road to Emmaus) • John 20:19–29 (The apostles, without and with Thomas) • John 21:1–14 (By the Sea of Galilee) • 1 Corinthians 15:6 (More than five hundred at once) • Acts 9:1–9; 1 Corinthians 15:8 (Saul on the road to Damascus) • Matthew 28:18–20 (The Great Commission; “I am with you always”) • Matthew 1:23; Isaiah 7:14 (Emmanuel, “God with us”) Did the disciples steal the body? • Matthew 28:11–15 (The stolen body story) • Mark 14:50 (They all fled) • Matthew 26:69–75 (Peter’s three denials) • John 19:26–27 (John at the foot of the cross) • John 20:19 (Behind locked doors) • 2 Corinthians 11:23–27 (Paul’s sufferings) • Acts 12:2 (James put to the sword) • John 21:18–19 (Jesus foretells Peter’s death) The sign of Jonah • Matthew 12:38–41 (No sign but the sign of Jonah) • Jonah 1–3 (Jonah’s flight, the fish, and Nineveh’s repentance) • Jonah 2:2 (From the belly of Sheol) • 2 Kings 17:5–6 (Assyria conquers the northern kingdom) • Nahum 1–3 (Nineveh’s later destruction) The nations come to the God of Israel • Isaiah 2:2–3; Micah 4:1–2 (All nations stream to the mountain of the Lord) • Zechariah 8:23 (Ten men take hold of the robe of a Jew) • Isaiah 66:18 (Gathering all nations and tongues) • Daniel 2:34–35, 44 (The stone that became a mountain) Who do you say that I am? • Matthew 16:13–17 (Peter’s confession at Caesarea Philippi) • Matthew 16:24 (Take up your cross) • John 14:16–18 (“I will not leave you desolate”) Coming next episode • Acts 2:1–4 (Pentecost) Also cited: the ancient homily for Holy Saturday (Liturgy of the Hours); St. Justin Martyr; St. Athanasius, On the Incarnation; Brant Pitre, The Case for Jesus Chapters 00:00 “If Christ has not been raised...” 00:45 Welcome and where we’ve been 01:39 Holy Saturday: “He descended into hell” 03:16 Easter morning: the stone moves 04:04 “Everything written about me” 05:07 Why Jerusalem? 05:55 The appearances of the risen Jesus 06:42 Five hundred witnesses 07:05 “I am with you always” 07:46 Did the disciples steal the body? 09:28 The worst scheme in history 10:24 Who dies for a lie? 11:16 What the New Testament leans on most 11:56 The sign of Jonah 12:52 The story of Jonah and Nineveh 14:46 Jonah and Jesus side by side 15:27 Something greater than Jonah 16:20 What astonished the early Christians 17:29 The prophets and the nations 18:31 Just a coincidence? 19:59 “Who do you say that I am?” 21:03 Faith is a gift 21:43 Next time: Pentecost

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” For 2,000 years, these words have troubled Christians. If Jesus is God, how can God abandon God? And what kind of Father turns away from his Son? In Part 4 of our series on the Paschal Mystery, we go to the cross and discover that this cry may be one of the most hope-filled things Jesus ever said. We hear Psalm 22 the way the crowd at Calvary would have heard it. We also pick up the thread from last episode: the four cups of the Passover, the cup Jesus left undrunk in the upper room, and what he really meant when he said, “It is finished.” Scripture references The cry from the cross Matthew 27:46 (“Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?”) John 10:30 (“I and the Father are one”) Psalm 22 (The full psalm, from anguish to praise) Matthew 27:41–43 (The mockers echo the psalm) John 19:23–24 (Casting lots for the tunic) John 12:32 (“I, when I am lifted up… will draw all men to myself”) “I thirst” and the fourth cup John 19:28–30 (“I thirst”; “It is finished”) Romans 4:25 (Raised for our justification) Psalms 113–118 (The Hallel Psalms) Luke 22:18, 20 (The cup after supper; “I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine”) 1 Corinthians 10:16 (The cup of blessing) Matthew 26:30 (They sang a hymn and went out) Matthew 26:39 (“Let this cup pass from me”) Mark 15:23 (Wine mingled with myrrh refused) Exodus 12:8, 22 (Eating the lamb; hyssop and the blood on the doorposts) The moments around his death Mark 15:38–39 (The curtain torn; the centurion’s confession) Leviticus 16; Hebrews 9:7 (The high priest and the Holy of Holies) John 19:31–37 (The spear, blood and water) Exodus 12:46 (Not a bone broken) Zechariah 12:10 (“They shall look on him whom they have pierced”) Ezekiel 47:1–12 (Water flowing from the temple) John 2:19–21 (His body as the temple) Genesis 2:21–22 (Eve formed from Adam’s side) Matthew 27:57–66 (The burial and the guard at the tomb) Coming next episode Matthew 12:39–40 (The sign of Jonah)

There are two words Jesus spoke only once in the Gospels, on one night, in one room, over one cup. Israel had been waiting centuries to hear them. Many of us hear them at every Mass without noticing. In Part 3 of our series on the Paschal Mystery, we go to the upper room and hear the Last Supper the way a first-century Jew would have: a Passover meal, the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s promised new covenant, and the moment Jesus freely offers himself as the Lamb of God. Then we follow him to Gethsemane, before the high priest and Pilate, and toward Golgotha, crowned as a king and clothed as a priest. In this episode we discover how Jesus' sacrifice started on Holy Thursday, the night he laid his life down freely, when he instituted the New Passover and New Exodus at the Last Supper. But when does the New Passover end? And what are the implications for your faith? Scripture references The upper room and the new covenant Exodus 12 (The first Passover) Luke 22:7–8, 15, 20 (Preparing the Passover; “the new covenant in my blood”) Matthew 26:26–28 (The institution of the Eucharist) Jeremiah 31:31–34 (The promise of a new covenant) Ezekiel 34:23–25 (One shepherd, “my servant David,” a covenant of peace) Genesis 22:18; Deuteronomy 18:15; Daniel 9:25 (The promises Israel was waiting on) John 10:18 (I lay it down of my own accord) Exodus 24:8 (Moses and “the blood of the covenant”) The Last Discourse John 14:15–18 (The promise of the Spirit) 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19 (The temple of the Holy Spirit) John 16:7, 13 (“It is to your advantage that I go away”) John 16:32–33 (“I have overcome the world”) John 17:1, 11 (The High Priestly Prayer) The arrest and trials John 18:1–6 (The arrest in the garden) Mark 14:55–64 (Before the high priest) Daniel 7:13–14 (One like a Son of Man) John 18:37 (Before Pilate) John 19:1–3, 14–15 (Thorns, the robe, “We have no king but Caesar”) Matthew 27:28 (The scarlet cloak) Genesis 22:7–8, 13 (Abraham and Isaac on Moriah) Jesus the High Priest Leviticus 16 (The Day of Atonement) Hebrews 9:11–12 (Christ enters heaven with his own blood) Genesis 14:18–20 (Melchizedek) 2 Samuel 6:14 (David in the linen ephod) Psalm 110:4 (A priest forever) John 19:23–24 (The seamless tunic) Exodus 28:39 (The high priest’s linen tunic) Also cited: Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 3.7.4 Coming next episode Matthew 27:46; John 19:30

Why would Jesus call the cross the hour of his glory? In this Part 2 of the Paschal Mystery series, we explore what John means when Jesus says, “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself,” and why John pauses to tell us exactly which kind of death he meant. Last time, we looked at what the crucified Savior reveals about sin and divine love. This time, we follow John’s trail through the prophet Isaiah, where “lifted up” describes both the Lord enthroned in glory and the Suffering Servant led like a lamb to the slaughter. We then turn to Elijah on Mount Sinai and the still, small voice, and to the Upper Room, to see why the glory of God shows itself in love poured out rather than in force. By the end, you may never look at a crucifix the same way again. Scripture referenced in this episode: • John 12:23–41 (the “hour” and “lifted up”) • Isaiah 52:13–53:12 (the Suffering Servant) • Isaiah 6:1–4 (Isaiah’s vision of the Lord) • 1 Kings 19:11–13 (Elijah and the still, small voice) • Matthew 26:26–28 and Luke 22:19–20 (the words of institution) • Luke 23:34 (“Father, forgive them”) Further listening: This episode was inspired by a teaching from Dr. Scott Hahn on his podcast, The Road to Emmaus. If you’re not familiar with Dr. Hahn’s work, I highly recommend it. Upon This Rock explores the biblical foundations of the Catholic Church, one step at a time. New to the series? Start with Episode 1 and follow along in order.

On a human level, the crucifix is a strange symbol of salvation. So why have Christians held it up for 2,000 years? In this first episode of our series on the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus, we step into the heart of the Christian faith: the Paschal Mystery. Before we walk through the events of Holy Week, we ask what the cross means. In this episode: • What “the Passion” actually means, and why it can’t be told without the Resurrection • What the crucifix reveals about the horror of sin and the depth of God’s love • How Christ, the new Adam, bridges the infinite gap opened by sin • Punishment or sacrifice? Why Jesus was the victim of divine love, not divine wrath • Why God didn’t simply forgive us with a word (with help from St. Thomas Aquinas) • How the cross lifts us beyond Eden, making us “partakers of the divine nature” • “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” A cry of despair, or something else? Scripture: 2 Peter 1:3–4 · John 17:20–23 · John 15:13 · Mark 10:45 · 1 Peter 4:8 · 1 Corinthians 1:23–25