Giacomo Biffi - The Man Christ Jesus: How the Lord Looked, Acted, Prayed, and Loved

by Giacomo Cardinal Biffi

Translated by Charlotte J. Fasi

............................ ix

Introduction:

....... xv

Part One

The Man Christ Jesus According to Those Who Knew Him

1. Christ's Physical Appearance

2. Christ's Personality

3. Christ's Originality

Part Two

The Man Christ Jesus by the Light of Faith

4. Christ the Son of God

5. Christ the Savior of the World

6. Christ the Head of the Body

.... 121

While they were reading this book to me, two texts continually came to mind: the prologue of Luke's Gospel and the beginning of the first letter of John. The more they read, the more it became clear to me that these two texts were a perfect summary of this wonderful book.

Cardinal Giacomo Biffi addresses our wish to know the truth about Jesus of Nazareth. Through careful attention to the evangelical texts, he gives us a clearer and more vivid image of the Son of God's humanity during his mortal life. It is the testimony of one with a long and intimate acquaintance with the writings of the Evangelists. As a result, he has insight into Jesus the man.

With exceptional authority, the apostle John tells us what he learned being with Jesus. He was a man. John saw him and heard his voice. In his Gospel, he recalls his own experience living with the Man of Nazareth. He was a witness to his transfiguration and even followed him to his death at Calvary.

Luke, in his prologue, tells of the care he took collecting news of Jesus from those who had seen this Nazarene. They were eyewitnesses to the events in his life. It was written with the love of a disciple who couldn't leave out a single recollection of Jesus. John's experience is direct. He was one of the Twelve. He followed Jesus from the beginning of his ministry.

The author of this book, with the same care and love, takes from the evangelists each bit of information about Jesus' life: each word, each gesture, his physical appearance, his sentiments, his thoughts, and his will. A portrait of an extraordinary man emerges from this examination. It stirs in the reader a desire to learn, who is Jesus?

Cardinal Biffi wishes to bring alive the human and divine figure of Christ. The often-referenced evangelical text he continually cites allows him to inform today's world about Christ as described by the apostles in the time of the Roman dominance. The author presents the witness of the apostles with nearly the same authority as the evangelists. He does so in a contemporary style never diverging from the inspired books.

I must confess that I have been won over by the beauty of this presentation of Jesus. Often, some detail of his life or physical appearance reveals to us the complexity of this human figure. Here, with total clarity, the figure of Christ is made known to the reader. Only his voice is missing from this examination of Jesus. He speaks in the open air to thousands of people; they all listen. His words move them. To hear Christ speak, men leave their work and women their homes. The author records this power by stressing the vigor and physical health of our Lord. It was because the author knew how to collect and put together all the facts scattered throughout the New Testament that he was able to create a profile of Jesus.

The presence of Christ throughout this book is not an end in itself. Rather, the greatness of Jesus inspires us to know him better. Research helps us understand the mystery and vision of this man. With great clarity and intelligence, this book achieves it. I can say in complete honesty that it is one of the greatest books of our times. It is truly the highest testimonial that today's Church gives to its Divine Founder. Each century God has a need to renew and update the apostolic witness. This text is the testimonial and confession of faith that the Church gives to today's generations.

said, "Each day Peter confesses: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." This confession makes up the last part of the book. Penetrating the mystery of Christ with reason and a secular approach is contrasted with the confession of Peter and Church teaching.

Cardinal Biffi could not have given us a greater gift than this solemn confession of faith. It is a faith unchangeable but renewable in time for as long as man is alive. This confession, not adding anything to the greatness of Christ, is the rock on which every hope, certainty, and the Church itself was founded. We wish to hear this confession repeated from those who continue the mission of the apostles. They have received the mandate of confirming the faith in believers.

Who, then, is Christ? According to the apostles, he is the Son of the living God and the Savior of the world. He is the Head, the only Son of God, and the sum of all things. If the greatness of Christ exalts us in his mission as Savior, it is still nearly unimaginable for even true Christians to have enough faith to recognize God's presence among us as our brother, united to us by the love of God himself.

The second part of the book responds directly to our need to know who the Master of Nazareth is. But the greatness of Jesus transcends every human insight. Nothing we find out is enough. Human intelligence cannot reveal the mystery of Jesus. It is the same Christ who asks his own - who for him have abandoned everything - what they think of their Master. The answer, in Jesus' words, requires God himself to reveal the mystery of who he is in the person of Jesus.

The last part of the book is a summary of the passages from Matthew, chapter 16, and verses beginning with twelve. Jesus is in the territory of Caesarea Philippi and asks, "Who do the people say is the Son of man?" People are uncertain. This is contrasted with the clear and solemn declaration of Peter. The people, asking themselves who Jesus of Nazareth was, were confused. They did not have faith. And only faith could reveal Christ's nature to the disciples. Jesus remains an enigma for them. They had an opinion about Him. But whenever they spoke, their thoughts about Jesus were confused. This is contrasted to the confession of Peter.

The Man Christ Jesus brings to life this confession of faith. Its greatness and strength cannot be ignored. We realize that it is not just any writer who speaks, but the Church itself proclaiming its faith to the world. This book has the explosive force of a confession. It rejects and condemns any judgment that reduces Christ to mere human greatness. God is brought to life in Jesus.

Don Divo Barsotti

Casa San Sergio, Settignano (Tuscany)

March 25, 2000

Jesus is a unique event. No one is more historically important than Jesus of Nazareth.