Summary of F. J. Sheed's To Know Christ Jesus

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The evangelists did not mind how the events in Jesus’ life were ordered, as long as they were told about them. They did not have our interest in dates, and they did not care about the order of events.

#2 The Gospels do not give the same order for everything that happened during the life of Jesus. The main lines are clear, but the details may differ. Think back to the first days of the Church with hundreds already converted, thousands thronging in order to find salvation in acceptance of Jesus.

#3 The Gospels are not written in quotation marks, so it is sometimes difficult to tell where a speaker ends and the evangelist begins his own commentary. Different Gospel writers will have Jesus saying the same things not only on different occasions, but differently.

#4 We must read the Gospels with the closest attention to understand Jesus. We must remember that these are real people, not figures in a parable or an altarpiece. We must meet Jesus in the Gospels for ourselves, not just hear great sermons about him and look at pictures by great masters.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Aug 6, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822582583

IRB Media

With IRB books, you can get the key takeaways and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

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Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The evangelists did not mind how the events in Jesus’ life were ordered, as long as they were told about them. They did not have our interest in dates, and they did not care about the order of events.

#2

The Gospels do not give the same order for everything that happened during the life of Jesus. The main lines are clear, but the details may differ. Think back to the first days of the Church with hundreds already converted, thousands thronging in order to find salvation in acceptance of Jesus.

#3

The Gospels are not written in quotation marks, so it is sometimes difficult to tell where a speaker ends and the evangelist begins his own commentary. Different Gospel writers will have Jesus saying the same things not only on different occasions, but differently.

#4

We must read the Gospels with the closest attention to understand Jesus. We must remember that these are real people, not figures in a parable or an altarpiece. We must meet Jesus in the Gospels for ourselves, not just hear great sermons about him and look at pictures by great masters.

Insights from Chapter 2

#1

The time of the Annunciation was not at the beginning of 1 A. D. , but rather in the reign of Herod, who died in 750 B. C. The birth of Christ was in the year 753 after the founding of old Rome, which was the point from which everything was dated in the Roman Empire.

#2

The town of Nazareth, where Mary was from, was a small village in Galilee. It was never mentioned in the Old Testament, and was so insignificant that even the nearby town of Cana could ignore it.

#3

The Annunciation is a very important event in Christianity, but we often forget about the messenger who delivered the message. Gabriel was not just a mailman; he was God's envoy, and he explained the message.

#4

Mary’s parents were Joachim and Anna. She was betrothed to a man called Joseph. He was a carpenter, and he had in him the noblest blood that Israel knew.

#5

The Catholic Church believes that Mary was of David’s house. However, the Bible is silent on this issue. It is possible that Joseph was a close relative of Mary, and that her ancestry was the same as his.

#6

Theophilus was a man who had been instructed in the Gospel by an angel. He was not yet in the Church, but he had read the opening phrases of the Gospel carefully and was confused by the angel Gabriel’s announcement that his elderly wife would bear him an elderly son.

#7

Theophilus was a very inquisitive man, and he would have asked many questions when he received the book of Luke’s Gospel. He would have been especially interested in the Greek language of the opening chapters, which was patterned on the Greek of the Septuagint, a translation of the Old Testament made by the Jews of Egypt.

Insights from Chapter 3

#1

The angel who visited Zechariah in the Temple in Jerusalem was sent to Mary in her hometown of Nazareth six months later. Mary did not see the angel, but she did hear his voice.

#2

The opening words of the Angel’s greeting to Mary were Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women. The next words were a huge compliment: The Lord is with you.

#3

The Annunciation, the conception of Christ in his mother’s womb, and the birth of Christ on December 25 are all celebrated together by the Catholic Church. The Church believes that the conception was to happen immediately, but Gabriel waited nine months to tell Mary about it.

#4

The Virgin Mary was a handmaiden of the Lord. She accepted God’s will, and she was consecrated. She waited before consenting to God’s plan, because she felt that she should understand his message before accepting it.

#5

The conception announced by the angel Gabriel concerned two persons