August 27, 2025 • 20 mins
The Synoptic Gospels' testimony to the Holy Spirit is very similar from Jesus' baptism through his temptations in the desert.
Dr. Schreck examines the distinctive emphasis on the Holy Spirit in Jesus' life and teaching in the Gospels of Mark and Matthew. He also shows how Jesus is anointed by the Spirit as priest, prophet, and king, and how his followers today share in this anointing for mission through baptism and confirmation.
Listen to more The Spirit and The Bride episodes and discover other Catholic podcasts, videos, and resources at Faith and Reason.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
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(00:10):
Hello, this is Doctor Alan Schreck.
We're continuing our series
In the spirit, in the bride,on the Holy Spirit in the New Testament.
Just a little review.
We've been looking in our past podcasts
in the Holy Spiritand in the life and teaching of Jesus
as presented in the Synoptic GospelsMatthew, Mark, and Luke.
And we've seen, in our past podcastthat there are many similarities.
(00:33):
Especially at the beginningof these three, gospels,
especially early in the focusof the Holy Spirit,
in the infancy narrativesin Saints Matthew and Luke,
and which that would include,the Holy Spirit working in John
the Baptist, which is and focused on inLuke's gospel and, both in Matthew
(00:54):
and Luke in the conception of Jesusby the power of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus's, as we profess in the Creed
conceived by the Holy Spirit,born of the Virgin Mary.
Likewise, we see in all three of theseGospels they they speak of the Holy.
And toward the beginning of the gospel,the Holy Spirit at Jesus's baptism
(01:15):
in the Jordan, where it is
recounted that the spirit descendson Jesus in the form of the dove.
And then after that,the Holy Spirit is said to drive
or to leadJesus out in the desert to confront Satan,
to begin his public ministryand the power of the spirit.
In their last podcast,we talked about how, this this is,
(01:37):
an anointing of Jesus for his messianicministry as, as priest, prophet and king.
As I'll discuss towardthe end of today's podcast,
I, I like an analogy of Jesusgoing out to confront Satan.
After his baptism.
It was like thethe Christian analogy, is today,
you know, it's on the day of WorldWar two when,
(02:01):
the Allied forces stormed Normandy Beach,where it seemed like,
the powers of Germany were,holding into Europe.
But they established this beachhead.
And I like to think of Jesus's,coming into the desert to confront Satan.
It's the beginning of, the the downfallof the kingdom of Satan in this world
and the beginning of the establishmentof the kingdom of God,
(02:23):
which Jesus goes on to proclaimas he comes out of the desert.
We looked at that how, he proclaims,the good news, especially in Luke's
gospel, in the synagogue where he says, I,I fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah 61.
The spirit of the Lord is upon mebecause the Lord has anointed me.
So that's a little review.
We've looked at this, after this,
(02:46):
when we look at the, those three gospels,Matthew, Mark and Luke,
there are more after this point,there are more market differences
in the presence of the Holy Spiritin Jesus's life and teaching.
the spirit, is more prominentin Luke's gospel.
And in our next podcast,we'll look at more deeply
at the the Gospel of Lukeand the acts of the apostles.
(03:07):
But I'd like to to look at especially thethe Holy Spirit in the life of Jesus
as recorded and in the teaching of Jesus,as recounted by Matthew.
Saint Matthew's Gospel and Saint Mark.
Now they're very similar in this respect.
Both recount Jesus's exorcism of a demonin a blind and a mute man,
(03:28):
which leads a Pharisee,and in Mark's Gospel
ascribe to say it is only by Beelzebub,
the prince of demons,that this man cast out demons.
That was in Matthew 1224 and Mark 322,
and that led Jesus to, reject this,
and even to warn against blasphemy,against the Holy Spirit,
(03:52):
a sin which he says cannot be forgiven,an eternal sin.
And in the last podcast,they discussed, what that blasphemy
of the Holy Spirit involves.
But, just just to mention that,it was because they were accusing Jesus
of doing his mighty works of exorcismand healing, not by God's power,
(04:12):
but by the prince of demons, Beelzebub,Lord of the flies.
And of course, if you can't distinguish,the devil
spirit of evil, from the Spirit of God,this is a severe sin.
It's a blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
And that that accountis not in Luke's gospel.
But I'd like to go on andand look at what?
(04:33):
So those two are similar.
Matthew and Mark both talkabout this account of Jesus's, exorcism
of the demoniacand his, denunciation of the Pharisees
who accuse him of doing thisby the power of Beelzebub.
But after this, we're going to see moredistinct,
rolesof the Holy Spirit in Mark and Matthew.
(04:53):
And what one reason for thisis that we have to recall that
all the Gospels are addressing differentaudiences in different situations.
Mark isaddressing, especially in this gospel,
the church in Rome,which is undergoing severe persecution.
And so Mark focuses on this challenge,this crisis,
(05:15):
and therefore on the necessityof suffering for Christ
as Christgave his life for us through suffering.
So to the persecuted church,especially there in
Rome, has to suffer,
it is implied, that that Jesus is,
mighty deeds of healing and exorcism
(05:35):
is, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Mark doesn't mention this as frequently,but in Mark's gospel,
you might say the greatest testimony
of the Holy Spirit in, as we see in
Jesus, is a life of serviceto God, even unto death.
Father George Montague in his workHoly Spirit Growth of the
(05:59):
Biblical Tradition, remarks on page 252.
Here we have the ultimate manifestoof Mark's theology of the spirit
new mythology.
What distinguishesthe Son of God from other,
that of those with spirit poweris that he, unlike them,
has come to serve to the extentof giving his life as a ransom for many.
Mark 1045 then this line, martyrdom,
(06:21):
not miracles,is the ultimate testing of the spirit.
And this is what he would distillfrom Mark's gospel.
And he goes on discipleship for Markis then following Jesus beyond the signs
and epiphanies to the cross, where alonethe divine sonship is revealed,
the Holy Spirit is guaranteed tothe disciple as much to as to the master.
(06:43):
But his function in discipleship is known,and the ability
to witness fearlesslyin the face of martyrdom.
And here's a passagethat, we see both in Mark's gospel, also
in Matthew, about, where the Holy Spiritis explicitly mentioned.
This is when they bring you
to trial and deliveryou up, do not be anxious beforehand
(07:08):
of what you are to say, butsay whatever is given you in that hour.
For it is not you who speak,but the Holy Spirit.
that passage passages from Mark 1311.
So the emphasis and explicitmention of the spirit in Mark is what will
the spirit dowhen you're when you're brought to trial
(07:28):
to deliver it up,to for inquiry and persecution?
Don't be afraid or anxiousabout what you're to say.
The Holy Spirit will speak in you.
So, it says Mark is much more problematic.
Who says Mark is much more interestedin the power of the spirit
and labelingthe Christian to witness unto death?
(07:49):
And if we wish to know why,we have not far to look.
Mark wrote his gospel
for the Roman Churchbeing persecuted, probably under Nero. So,
even though therefore
the the explicit mentions of the spirit
are not frequent in Mark,there's a different emphasis.
It's the Holy Spirit giving the power,
(08:09):
to witness in the face of persecution.
To take a look at, Matthew's gospel,
Matthew addresses a Christian community
under a different sort of persecutionor, situation.
But it's a crisis.
And the crisis is the rejection of Jesus,
as Messiah by most of the Jews.
(08:30):
And that one response tothis is, is where,
Matthew in his gospelfrequently quotes Old Testament passages.
That's that speak of Jesusfulfilling Old Testament prophecies
to try to convince themthat he is indeed the Messiah.
Also,
we do see in in the Gospel
(08:52):
of Matthew more, evidence of,manifestation of the spirit,
by mighty works such as healing
and also in prophecy.
Now, as we'll see when we look at the the,
the writings of Saint Paul, prophecy,speaking forth
a word from Godis a work of the Holy Spirit.
(09:14):
And, in a couple timesin, Matthew's gospel, he refers to God
sending people prophetsand that, that that apparently.
Well, Father Matthew says the community,
in Matthew's gospel,the community was one in which prophecy
was not only widely exercised,but had become an identifiable office
(09:34):
both for service within the communityand for missionary work, too.
And he refers to Matthew 1041
and Matthew 23, verse 34.
But then apparently
there's also some warning, that, well,there are authentic prophets,
in Matthew's gospel,Jesus also warns against false prophets.
(09:55):
He writes, Matthew writesin chapter seven, verse 15,
Jesus says, beware of false prophets
who come to you in sheep's clothing,but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
And so how can you distinguishthe true prophet from the false well,
the answer is, Jesus goes on to say,by their fruits you will know them.
(10:15):
Matthew 716 through 20. So
what what Matthew is doing.
And remember, Matthew, this is rightat the end of the sermon on the Mount,
where the emphasis of Matthewis following the teaching of Jesus
on how to live an upright, righteous lifeby living the Beatitudes.
So this is a signof the manifestation of the spirit.
(10:39):
What is the fruit of your life?
It's not just that you can prophesy.
False prophets could do that, but only,
a true testof of the authenticity of the spirit.
Working in a person is also the ability
to, live the beatitudes,to live an upright life.
And that explainswhen Jesus says a, following
(10:59):
in Matthew 721 through 23.
He says, not everyone who says to me,Lord, Lord, shall enter
the kingdom of heaven, but he who doesthe will of my father in heaven.
On that day many will say to me, Lord,Lord, did we not prophesy in your name
and cast out demons in your name,and do many mighty works in your name?
And now Jesus isn't rejecting that.
(11:20):
But the problem is, and he goes on to say,and then I will declare to them,
I never knew you.
Depart from me, you evildoers!
Evildoers!
Apparently these people were,
They were blessed with differentmanifestations of the spirit
prophecy, casting out demons,even mighty works, miracles.
But, by their fruits you will know thatif they're not living an upright life
(11:43):
according to Matthew Todd,Jesus taught the Beatitudes.
Jesus will not allow entryinto the kingdom of God
just by powerful works alone.
You have to have an ethical life.
And Father Montague concludesthus authentic charismatic activity bears
the seal of ethical holinessabout prophecy and healing and exercising.
(12:04):
Even the name of Jesus can be carried outwithout paying
any attention to the ethical demandsJesus gave in the sermon on the Mount.
Immediately preceding, this passage.
So, this is a good old Catholic. Both.
And it's not either charismatic.
Manifestationsand power healings exercise and
or upright holy living,living a life with good fruit.
(12:27):
It's both.
But, the test of a true prophet is onewho practices
what he preaches, who livesaccording to the teaching of Jesus.
There are a few other thingsFather Montague says about this, but
one interesting and important pointin Matthew's gospel comes.
And really, something surprisingat the very end of Matthew's Gospel,
(12:48):
we have the Great Commission,where Jesus commissions his.
And this is immediatelybefore his ascension into heaven.
In Matthew 2819, he says to go thereforeand make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the father,
and of the son and of the Holy Spirit.
(13:08):
Finally, Matthew comments.
This formula comes as a surprisebecause the Trinitarian direction in which
it points could not at all be suspectedfrom the rest of the gospel it reflects.
And he speculates that perhaps this was,a later
liturgy tradition, that,that Matthew included to say
to show that that we don't just baptizedin the name of Jesus,
(13:31):
but as, as is evidencedin other passages in the New Testament.
But now Matthew has come to the pointof realizing that,
also we must baptizein this Trinitarian form
only formula in the name of the fatherand of the son and the Holy Spirit.
I'm going to conclude by,
I wanted to go back to somethingFather Con La mesa
(13:53):
pointed out in his book,The Holy Spirit in the Life of Jesus.
And basically it's, Jesus.
Going back to the last podcast,we said that Jesus, began
his messianic mission at his baptism,where the Holy Spirit descends on him.
And Jesus is, in a sense, anointed,for his public ministry, as he says in
(14:16):
Luke's Gospel, chapter four, quotingIsaiah, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.
The Lord has anointed me, and he,and he goes on to state
all these things that he's been anointedto do as the Messiah.
The word Christ is means the Anointed One.
Messiah is means the Anointed One,
Jesus's anointedby whom his anointed by the Holy Spirit.
(14:39):
But one thingthat, Father Kalamazoo points out is,
first of all, he points outthat Jesus receives a three fold anointing
anointingas a priest, as prophet, and as king.
And he gives
three specific passagesthat illustrate this.
First of all, his his,
kingly anointing goes back to that passage
(15:03):
we saw, in gospel of Markand Matthew were in Luke.
When Jesus is anointed by the spiritto establish
the kingdom of Godby confronting Satan, in the wilderness.
So that is an example of immediatelyafter the spirit
comes, he is anointed as the true king.
Satan can be called the princeof this world, but his kingdom is falling.
(15:27):
Jesus came as King to establishhis kingdom.
As we'll see in his public.
And that leads to the second point.
Jesus is anointed to be a prophet,to proclaim the kingdom of God.
And indeed, this is his first wordsafter his public ministry.
He he, he comes out to proclaim the gladtidings, the kingdom of God is at hand.
(15:50):
The first words of his public proclamationof his mission.
Repent and believe in the gospelbecause the kingdom of God is at hand.
Jesus is speaking forth the word in power.
And again, that passage from Luke 418where Jesus quotes Isaiah,
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,because Lord has anointed me
to preach the good news to the poor, etc.
(16:13):
So Jesus said, as is the greatest prophet,
he is announcing the breakingin of the kingdom of God,
as in a prophetic waywhich is supported by his mighty works.
And the final thingis, Jesus is the great High Priest,
and he receives a priestly anointing.
And the passagefather Manju points out her father.
(16:34):
The Colonel Holomisa,rather points out, is the passage
in Luke chapter 21 and following,
and I quote that in that same hour
he, Jesus, rejoiced in the Holy Spiritand said,
I thank you, father,Lord of heaven and earth,
that you have hidden these things
from the wise and the understanding,and revealed them to infants.
(16:55):
And it goes on.
But the point is,Jesus is anointed as priest.
He's making a priestly prayer,he rejoices in the Holy Spirit and bursts
out in this beautiful, basicallya prayer of praise and thanksgiving.
I thank you, father,Lord of heaven and earth.
Luke says that he rejoicedin the Holy Spirit.
(17:17):
And Jesus.
All of Jesus's prayers are prayersanointed and inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Will be looking at John's gospel laterwith the High Priestly Prayer.
But the important thing we close here isit's not just Jesus
who receives this anointing is priest,prophet, and king.
(17:37):
All of us.
And the Second Vatican Councilespecially emphasized this,
that all of us who have been rebornthrough baptism have received, the
anointing of the Holy Spiritthrough our baptism and our confirmation.
And we too are anointed as to carryon Jesus's mission
that we too are a priestly people,a kingly, a royal priesthood,
(18:02):
a holy nation,a kingly people, and a prophetic people.
And I might add that it was the Second Vatican Council that really emphasize this,
and really brought it, in a sense, to thefor something
that maybe had been overlookedin, previous theology.
And I'll close with this, commentfrom father kind of Mesa,
(18:25):
in his book,The Holy Spirit in the Life of Jesus
among the Latins,with the advent of scholasticism,
the mystery
and very concept of Jesus of Christanointing by the action of the Holy Spirit
on the day of his baptism disappearscompletely from theology,
never figuring as a separate topicin any of the various summa,
starting with Saint Thomas Aquinas,but with the Second Vatican Council,
(18:47):
the mystery has resurfaced in the church'sconsciousness, and he quotes
the documenton, life and Ministry of priests.
Chapter one.
The second article, quote,
the Lord Jesuswhom the father has made holy and sentence
the world has made his whole mystical body
(19:07):
share in the anointing by the spirit
with which He Himself has been anointed.
So we can rejoice that just as Jesushas been anointed priest,
prophet, and king, we through our faith,our baptism, and our confirmation
also share in his prophetic,priestly and kingly ministry.
(19:28):
So we thank the Lord as we pray.
Come, Holy Spirit,
fill the hearts of your faithfuland kindle in us the fire of your love.
Send forth your spirit,
and we shall be created,and you shall renew the face of the earth.
Oh God, who
by the light of the Holy Spirit,and instruct the hearts of your faithful,
grant that by the same spiritwe may be truly wise
and ever rejoice in his consolationsthrough Christ our Lord.
(19:52):
Amen. Please join us at our next podcast.
We'll look at more deeplyin the Holy Spirit, in the Gospel of Luke
and in the acts of the apostles.
Hello, this is Doctor Alan Schreck.
We're continuing our series
In the spirit, in the bride,on the Holy Spirit in the New Testament.
Just a little review.
We've been looking in our past podcasts
in the Holy Spiritand in the life and teaching of Jesus
as presented in the Synoptic GospelsMatthew, Mark, and Luke.
And we've seen, in our past podcastthat there are many similarities.
(00:33):
Especially at the beginningof these three, gospels,
especially early in the focusof the Holy Spirit,
in the infancy narrativesin Saints Matthew and Luke,
and which that would include,the Holy Spirit working in John
the Baptist, which is and focused on inLuke's gospel and, both in Matthew
(00:54):
and Luke in the conception of Jesusby the power of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus's, as we profess in the Creed
conceived by the Holy Spirit,born of the Virgin Mary.
Likewise, we see in all three of theseGospels they they speak of the Holy.
And toward the beginning of the gospel,the Holy Spirit at Jesus's baptism
(01:15):
in the Jordan, where it is
recounted that the spirit descendson Jesus in the form of the dove.
And then after that,the Holy Spirit is said to drive
or to leadJesus out in the desert to confront Satan,
to begin his public ministryand the power of the spirit.
In their last podcast,we talked about how, this this is,
(01:37):
an anointing of Jesus for his messianicministry as, as priest, prophet and king.
As I'll discuss towardthe end of today's podcast,
I, I like an analogy of Jesusgoing out to confront Satan.
After his baptism.
It was like thethe Christian analogy, is today,
you know, it's on the day of WorldWar two when,
(02:01):
the Allied forces stormed Normandy Beach,where it seemed like,
the powers of Germany were,holding into Europe.
But they established this beachhead.
And I like to think of Jesus's,coming into the desert to confront Satan.
It's the beginning of, the the downfallof the kingdom of Satan in this world
and the beginning of the establishmentof the kingdom of God,
(02:23):
which Jesus goes on to proclaimas he comes out of the desert.
We looked at that how, he proclaims,the good news, especially in Luke's
gospel, in the synagogue where he says, I,I fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah 61.
The spirit of the Lord is upon mebecause the Lord has anointed me.
So that's a little review.
We've looked at this, after this,
(02:46):
when we look at the, those three gospels,Matthew, Mark and Luke,
there are more after this point,there are more market differences
in the presence of the Holy Spiritin Jesus's life and teaching.
the spirit, is more prominentin Luke's gospel.
And in our next podcast,we'll look at more deeply
at the the Gospel of Lukeand the acts of the apostles.
(03:07):
But I'd like to to look at especially thethe Holy Spirit in the life of Jesus
as recorded and in the teaching of Jesus,as recounted by Matthew.
Saint Matthew's Gospel and Saint Mark.
Now they're very similar in this respect.
Both recount Jesus's exorcism of a demonin a blind and a mute man,
(03:28):
which leads a Pharisee,and in Mark's Gospel
ascribe to say it is only by Beelzebub,
the prince of demons,that this man cast out demons.
That was in Matthew 1224 and Mark 322,
and that led Jesus to, reject this,
and even to warn against blasphemy,against the Holy Spirit,
(03:52):
a sin which he says cannot be forgiven,an eternal sin.
And in the last podcast,they discussed, what that blasphemy
of the Holy Spirit involves.
But, just just to mention that,it was because they were accusing Jesus
of doing his mighty works of exorcismand healing, not by God's power,
(04:12):
but by the prince of demons, Beelzebub,Lord of the flies.
And of course, if you can't distinguish,the devil
spirit of evil, from the Spirit of God,this is a severe sin.
It's a blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
And that that accountis not in Luke's gospel.
But I'd like to go on andand look at what?
(04:33):
So those two are similar.
Matthew and Mark both talkabout this account of Jesus's, exorcism
of the demoniacand his, denunciation of the Pharisees
who accuse him of doing thisby the power of Beelzebub.
But after this, we're going to see moredistinct,
rolesof the Holy Spirit in Mark and Matthew.
(04:53):
And what one reason for thisis that we have to recall that
all the Gospels are addressing differentaudiences in different situations.
Mark isaddressing, especially in this gospel,
the church in Rome,which is undergoing severe persecution.
And so Mark focuses on this challenge,this crisis,
(05:15):
and therefore on the necessityof suffering for Christ
as Christgave his life for us through suffering.
So to the persecuted church,especially there in
Rome, has to suffer,
it is implied, that that Jesus is,
mighty deeds of healing and exorcism
(05:35):
is, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Mark doesn't mention this as frequently,but in Mark's gospel,
you might say the greatest testimony
of the Holy Spirit in, as we see in
Jesus, is a life of serviceto God, even unto death.
Father George Montague in his workHoly Spirit Growth of the
(05:59):
Biblical Tradition, remarks on page 252.
Here we have the ultimate manifestoof Mark's theology of the spirit
new mythology.
What distinguishesthe Son of God from other,
that of those with spirit poweris that he, unlike them,
has come to serve to the extentof giving his life as a ransom for many.
Mark 1045 then this line, martyrdom,
(06:21):
not miracles,is the ultimate testing of the spirit.
And this is what he would distillfrom Mark's gospel.
And he goes on discipleship for Markis then following Jesus beyond the signs
and epiphanies to the cross, where alonethe divine sonship is revealed,
the Holy Spirit is guaranteed tothe disciple as much to as to the master.
(06:43):
But his function in discipleship is known,and the ability
to witness fearlesslyin the face of martyrdom.
And here's a passagethat, we see both in Mark's gospel, also
in Matthew, about, where the Holy Spiritis explicitly mentioned.
This is when they bring you
to trial and deliveryou up, do not be anxious beforehand
(07:08):
of what you are to say, butsay whatever is given you in that hour.
For it is not you who speak,but the Holy Spirit.
that passage passages from Mark 1311.
So the emphasis and explicitmention of the spirit in Mark is what will
the spirit dowhen you're when you're brought to trial
(07:28):
to deliver it up,to for inquiry and persecution?
Don't be afraid or anxiousabout what you're to say.
The Holy Spirit will speak in you.
So, it says Mark is much more problematic.
Who says Mark is much more interestedin the power of the spirit
and labelingthe Christian to witness unto death?
(07:49):
And if we wish to know why,we have not far to look.
Mark wrote his gospel
for the Roman Churchbeing persecuted, probably under Nero. So,
even though therefore
the the explicit mentions of the spirit
are not frequent in Mark,there's a different emphasis.
It's the Holy Spirit giving the power,
(08:09):
to witness in the face of persecution.
To take a look at, Matthew's gospel,
Matthew addresses a Christian community
under a different sort of persecutionor, situation.
But it's a crisis.
And the crisis is the rejection of Jesus,
as Messiah by most of the Jews.
(08:30):
And that one response tothis is, is where,
Matthew in his gospelfrequently quotes Old Testament passages.
That's that speak of Jesusfulfilling Old Testament prophecies
to try to convince themthat he is indeed the Messiah.
Also,
we do see in in the Gospel
(08:52):
of Matthew more, evidence of,manifestation of the spirit,
by mighty works such as healing
and also in prophecy.
Now, as we'll see when we look at the the,
the writings of Saint Paul, prophecy,speaking forth
a word from Godis a work of the Holy Spirit.
(09:14):
And, in a couple timesin, Matthew's gospel, he refers to God
sending people prophetsand that, that that apparently.
Well, Father Matthew says the community,
in Matthew's gospel,the community was one in which prophecy
was not only widely exercised,but had become an identifiable office
(09:34):
both for service within the communityand for missionary work, too.
And he refers to Matthew 1041
and Matthew 23, verse 34.
But then apparently
there's also some warning, that, well,there are authentic prophets,
in Matthew's gospel,Jesus also warns against false prophets.
(09:55):
He writes, Matthew writesin chapter seven, verse 15,
Jesus says, beware of false prophets
who come to you in sheep's clothing,but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
And so how can you distinguishthe true prophet from the false well,
the answer is, Jesus goes on to say,by their fruits you will know them.
(10:15):
Matthew 716 through 20. So
what what Matthew is doing.
And remember, Matthew, this is rightat the end of the sermon on the Mount,
where the emphasis of Matthewis following the teaching of Jesus
on how to live an upright, righteous lifeby living the Beatitudes.
So this is a signof the manifestation of the spirit.
(10:39):
What is the fruit of your life?
It's not just that you can prophesy.
False prophets could do that, but only,
a true testof of the authenticity of the spirit.
Working in a person is also the ability
to, live the beatitudes,to live an upright life.
And that explainswhen Jesus says a, following
(10:59):
in Matthew 721 through 23.
He says, not everyone who says to me,Lord, Lord, shall enter
the kingdom of heaven, but he who doesthe will of my father in heaven.
On that day many will say to me, Lord,Lord, did we not prophesy in your name
and cast out demons in your name,and do many mighty works in your name?
And now Jesus isn't rejecting that.
(11:20):
But the problem is, and he goes on to say,and then I will declare to them,
I never knew you.
Depart from me, you evildoers!
Evildoers!
Apparently these people were,
They were blessed with differentmanifestations of the spirit
prophecy, casting out demons,even mighty works, miracles.
But, by their fruits you will know thatif they're not living an upright life
(11:43):
according to Matthew Todd,Jesus taught the Beatitudes.
Jesus will not allow entryinto the kingdom of God
just by powerful works alone.
You have to have an ethical life.
And Father Montague concludesthus authentic charismatic activity bears
the seal of ethical holinessabout prophecy and healing and exercising.
(12:04):
Even the name of Jesus can be carried outwithout paying
any attention to the ethical demandsJesus gave in the sermon on the Mount.
Immediately preceding, this passage.
So, this is a good old Catholic. Both.
And it's not either charismatic.
Manifestationsand power healings exercise and
or upright holy living,living a life with good fruit.
(12:27):
It's both.
But, the test of a true prophet is onewho practices
what he preaches, who livesaccording to the teaching of Jesus.
There are a few other thingsFather Montague says about this, but
one interesting and important pointin Matthew's gospel comes.
And really, something surprisingat the very end of Matthew's Gospel,
(12:48):
we have the Great Commission,where Jesus commissions his.
And this is immediatelybefore his ascension into heaven.
In Matthew 2819, he says to go thereforeand make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the father,
and of the son and of the Holy Spirit.
(13:08):
Finally, Matthew comments.
This formula comes as a surprisebecause the Trinitarian direction in which
it points could not at all be suspectedfrom the rest of the gospel it reflects.
And he speculates that perhaps this was,a later
liturgy tradition, that,that Matthew included to say
to show that that we don't just baptizedin the name of Jesus,
(13:31):
but as, as is evidencedin other passages in the New Testament.
But now Matthew has come to the pointof realizing that,
also we must baptizein this Trinitarian form
only formula in the name of the fatherand of the son and the Holy Spirit.
I'm going to conclude by,
I wanted to go back to somethingFather Con La mesa
(13:53):
pointed out in his book,The Holy Spirit in the Life of Jesus.
And basically it's, Jesus.
Going back to the last podcast,we said that Jesus, began
his messianic mission at his baptism,where the Holy Spirit descends on him.
And Jesus is, in a sense, anointed,for his public ministry, as he says in
(14:16):
Luke's Gospel, chapter four, quotingIsaiah, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.
The Lord has anointed me, and he,and he goes on to state
all these things that he's been anointedto do as the Messiah.
The word Christ is means the Anointed One.
Messiah is means the Anointed One,
Jesus's anointedby whom his anointed by the Holy Spirit.
(14:39):
But one thingthat, Father Kalamazoo points out is,
first of all, he points outthat Jesus receives a three fold anointing
anointingas a priest, as prophet, and as king.
And he gives
three specific passagesthat illustrate this.
First of all, his his,
kingly anointing goes back to that passage
(15:03):
we saw, in gospel of Markand Matthew were in Luke.
When Jesus is anointed by the spiritto establish
the kingdom of Godby confronting Satan, in the wilderness.
So that is an example of immediatelyafter the spirit
comes, he is anointed as the true king.
Satan can be called the princeof this world, but his kingdom is falling.
(15:27):
Jesus came as King to establishhis kingdom.
As we'll see in his public.
And that leads to the second point.
Jesus is anointed to be a prophet,to proclaim the kingdom of God.
And indeed, this is his first wordsafter his public ministry.
He he, he comes out to proclaim the gladtidings, the kingdom of God is at hand.
(15:50):
The first words of his public proclamationof his mission.
Repent and believe in the gospelbecause the kingdom of God is at hand.
Jesus is speaking forth the word in power.
And again, that passage from Luke 418where Jesus quotes Isaiah,
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,because Lord has anointed me
to preach the good news to the poor, etc.
(16:13):
So Jesus said, as is the greatest prophet,
he is announcing the breakingin of the kingdom of God,
as in a prophetic waywhich is supported by his mighty works.
And the final thingis, Jesus is the great High Priest,
and he receives a priestly anointing.
And the passagefather Manju points out her father.
(16:34):
The Colonel Holomisa,rather points out, is the passage
in Luke chapter 21 and following,
and I quote that in that same hour
he, Jesus, rejoiced in the Holy Spiritand said,
I thank you, father,Lord of heaven and earth,
that you have hidden these things
from the wise and the understanding,and revealed them to infants.
(16:55):
And it goes on.
But the point is,Jesus is anointed as priest.
He's making a priestly prayer,he rejoices in the Holy Spirit and bursts
out in this beautiful, basicallya prayer of praise and thanksgiving.
I thank you, father,Lord of heaven and earth.
Luke says that he rejoicedin the Holy Spirit.
(17:17):
And Jesus.
All of Jesus's prayers are prayersanointed and inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Will be looking at John's gospel laterwith the High Priestly Prayer.
But the important thing we close here isit's not just Jesus
who receives this anointing is priest,prophet, and king.
(17:37):
All of us.
And the Second Vatican Councilespecially emphasized this,
that all of us who have been rebornthrough baptism have received, the
anointing of the Holy Spiritthrough our baptism and our confirmation.
And we too are anointed as to carryon Jesus's mission
that we too are a priestly people,a kingly, a royal priesthood,
(18:02):
a holy nation,a kingly people, and a prophetic people.
And I might add that it was the Second Vatican Council that really emphasize this,
and really brought it, in a sense, to thefor something
that maybe had been overlookedin, previous theology.
And I'll close with this, commentfrom father kind of Mesa,
(18:25):
in his book,The Holy Spirit in the Life of Jesus
among the Latins,with the advent of scholasticism,
the mystery
and very concept of Jesus of Christanointing by the action of the Holy Spirit
on the day of his baptism disappearscompletely from theology,
never figuring as a separate topicin any of the various summa,
starting with Saint Thomas Aquinas,but with the Second Vatican Council,
(18:47):
the mystery has resurfaced in the church'sconsciousness, and he quotes
the documenton, life and Ministry of priests.
Chapter one.
The second article, quote,
the Lord Jesuswhom the father has made holy and sentence
the world has made his whole mystical body
(19:07):
share in the anointing by the spirit
with which He Himself has been anointed.
So we can rejoice that just as Jesushas been anointed priest,
prophet, and king, we through our faith,our baptism, and our confirmation
also share in his prophetic,priestly and kingly ministry.
(19:28):
So we thank the Lord as we pray.
Come, Holy Spirit,
fill the hearts of your faithfuland kindle in us the fire of your love.
Send forth your spirit,
and we shall be created,and you shall renew the face of the earth.
Oh God, who
by the light of the Holy Spirit,and instruct the hearts of your faithful,
grant that by the same spiritwe may be truly wise
and ever rejoice in his consolationsthrough Christ our Lord.
(19:52):
Amen. Please join us at our next podcast.
We'll look at more deeplyin the Holy Spirit, in the Gospel of Luke
and in the acts of the apostles.
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