Book019

Intimacy with Jesus

The uniqueness of Jesus

Should we have, as a norm, a life of communion and intimacy with Jesus? or should we just remember him as the greatest prophet of God, and no more? Let us try to answer these questions.

We are able to communicate with Jesus

The New Testament relates to us how Christianity was born: by the preaching of Jesus' good news, the gospel. But Christianity was not just a doctrine; Christianity was more a happening, a fact regarding a person: Jesus of Nazareth. In other words, at the center of the preaching of the gospel was a person who, although dead, as everybody knew, was still alive and mysteriously living in and with the disciples: Jesus.

There might be some "exaggerations" in the writings of the New Testament, and some "creations" from the early church; but there is a fact: without the living presence of Jesus, it wouldn't be Christianity. This living Jesus played a role in the life of the apostles and disciples; he guided them, inspired them when they had to talk, gave them strength when they had to suffer, and was their constant friend and companion. The living Jesus was essential to Christianity.

The mission of Jesus extends beyond his death

The role and mission of Jesus goes beyond his death; this is the fact, too. As Christianity wouldn't have grown and evolved without the living Jesus, then, there is no Christianity without the living Jesus, today. We cannot ask why, because we are talking here about events of faith; there is no proof. We may believe it or we may not.

What we know for certain, by the accounts of the New Testament, is that the disciples experienced the presence of the living Jesus with them. According to the reports, there was a life of intimacy of the disciples with Jesus, and Jesus was a living fact in their lives.