Jesus’ willingness to heal
The cure of a man suffering from a virulent skin disease (Mk 1:40-45) shows Jesus healing what was known as an incurable disease at that time. During Jesus’ time leprosy was seen as a punishment from God for sins against him. This beseeching man approached Jesus pleading him to cleanse him from this impurity, “A man suffering from a virulent skin disease came to him and pleaded on his knees saying, ‘If you are willing, you can cleanse me.’” During this time, lepers were seen as social outcasts of society, to such an extent where they had to warn people that approached them of their disease. However Jesus goes against the norm of the time, reaches out and cleanses the leper, under one condition, the leper must not speak of this miracle, but go and show himself to the priest and make the offering for his cleansing.
The question posed is, why did this leper come to Jesus and ask Jesus to cleanse him from his impurities? He obviously was aware that Jesus had the ability, but he was not confident about whether Jesus would be willing. But then again we ask ourselves, why did he presume that Jesus would be capable of performing such a deed? Perhaps he heard of other previous miracles Jesus had performed. We are unsure about
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As leprosy was viewed as a punishment from God, therefore cleansing this disease was equal to forgiving a person who had done wrong by God. As Christians, we are thought to forgive others, even those who have wronged us, just like Jesus has done here by cleansing this leper of a disease which marks them as someone who has sinned against God. Leprosy was seen as an example of being damned by God, and instead of out casting the leper like the rest of society done, Jesus was there to heal the leper from his suffering. Just like the leper we are all sinners and each one of us needs forgiveness and the grace of God to aid us in getting through whatever life throws at
Howard Thurman in his book, “Jesus and the Disinherited” presented Jesus as a role model for the oppressed on how to find strength, freedom and peace within God and oneself. Thurman shares the story of how Jesus offered an alternative to accepting the Roman rules, like the Sadducees did in hope of being allowed to maintain their Jewish traditions; A solution to remaining silently obedient, like the Pharisees, as hatred and resentment destroyed them from within. Jesus provided an alternative solution to the Zealots of his day who resorted to physical force to advance their justified cause, often paying the ultimate cost, their life. Jesus taught love. Love of God, self, neighbor and especially your enemy. Thurman stresses that Jesus know that “it is man’s reaction to things that determines their ability to exercise power over them”.(Thurman, 18) Jesus taught and modeled the art of strength through humility. He
We can see the birth of Jesus in Matthew (Matt 1:18-25) (Matt 2:1-12), Luke (Luke 2:1-2) and John (John1:1-18). Both Matthew and Luke tell us that Jesus’ birth place was in Bethlehem in Judea in the time of King Herod of Judea and Emperor Augustine of the Roman Empire. The gospels tell us that Jesus was born in a stable under an inn (Luke 2:7). This is unlikely because Bethlehem was the birthplace of David, who was Joseph’s ancestor. This means that there may have been a house with his cousins or extended family there. The Hebrew word for inn can also be described as ‘the upper room’ and in traditional Jewish houses, there was an upper room where the family stayed and underneath this was the place where the animals were kept. This could have been seen as the stable under the ‘inn’. Now because of the census performed by Emperor Augustine the Jews had to travel to their ancestral home that meant that the house Mary and Joseph were staying at could have been full, so the upper room was full, making the only available room for the baby to be born in the stable below. Jesus was thought to be traditionally born in 1AD after the Monk Dionysus Exigus tried to calculate the year, from the Birth of Jesus, by taking away the reigns of Kings. Unfortunately Exigus made a few errors and Jesus is now thought to be born a few years BC. We know that in Matt 2:1 and Matt2:16 (Luke 1:55) that King Herod the Great was the ruler of Judea. From Roman records we know that King Herod died in 4BC near the feast of the Passover. This means that the earliest time Jesus could have been born was early 4BC. Herod plays an integral part in determining Jesus birth date because it also could explain the Bethlehem Star, which we...
The article I chose to critique was the article called “Jesus is a brand of Jeans” by Jean Kilbourne. By reading this title you would more than likely think that it would be about something much more different than what it is about. The purpose of this article is to inform about advertisements. This article talks about kids and adults that are influenced by advertisements. Every aspect of life has been taken over by advertisement. This article is meant to help explain how advertisement seeps its way into our everyday lives.
He knew what rattled them and what persuaded them. He spoke not to their logical minds, but to their aching hearts. How could he know these things if he was not God? If we take the perspective he was God, then we see he already knew these people’s thoughts, weaknesses, and hearts. Consequently, he already knew many would not believe him or follow him, yet he still died a horrific death knowing that only a few would accept him.
The true identity of biblical leprosy, and what it defines as within the confines of the Bible are areas of hot debate among scholars. The majority of religious academics generally now accept that the leprosy of biblical times is not what we...
He continues his spiritual journey with other questions such as, “Was Jesus a Lord, liar, or lunatic? Could it be possible that Jesus really believed that He was the Son of God but actually was not? If He were not, how could He have been able to perform the miracles that He did and forgive those who had sinned against others?” Only God has the authority to forgive someone who has wronged someone else. Only God can perform the miracles that were witnessed by
He accepted what was done to him this is a good example for Christians today because if they were being mocked about their faith they should not retaliate. This teaches us not to argue or make fun of some one for whatever reason but just accept it. Jesus accepted it as he believed it was what he was called to do. Jesus is a good example for Christians today in Egypt, Pakistan, china
John 18:39- but it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release `the king of the Jews'?"King of Jews- He's not the king of the Jews, He's slapping them in the face.The same thing Jesus was being accused of Barnabbas did.JN 19:1 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. [2] The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe [3] and went up to him again and again, saying, "Hail, king of the Jews!" And they struck him in the face.Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged.This is your Messiah people, this is not VBS, or bible study, this is the Messiah that is in love with you.MT 27:27 Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him.
It is quit ironic that Jesus would visit the same place were he performed his first miracle, turning water into wine. Now he returns back to the same place and heals a nobleman's son. Who ever said that a miracle can't happen in the same, place twice. Instead of him ( Jesus ) going there to lay physical hands on a person he, instructs the nobleman to go his wa...
From the excerpt from the novel, “Under the Feet of Jesus” by Helena Maria Viramontes, the main character is Estrella, a young Spanish girl with a powerful desire to learn to read. Although she is persistent, her teachers refuse to educate her because they are more concerned of Estrella’s personal hygiene. This leaves Estrella resentful because of the barrier between herself and knowledge. Estrella remains silent until a man named Perfecto Flores teaches her how to read by using his expertise in hardware and tools to represent the alphabet. Viramontes depicts the heartfelt growth of Estrella through her use of tone, figurative language, and detail.
The book Under the Feet of Jesus by Helena Maria Viramontes shows you the story of Estrella and her family and the struggles they face as migrant workers. Among all the symbolism in the book the one that stand out the most is Petra’s statue of Christ, which symbolizes the failure of religion and the oppressive nature of the Christian religion especially in minorities. Throughout the book, Estrella’s mother, Petra relies on superstitions and religion to get her through the hardships in life. In tough times, she turns to the statue and prays for guidance. Her thirteen-year-old daughter Estrella is the first of her family to realize that she needs to stop relying on religion and take control of her life. This brings in a wave of self-empowerment, not only for Estrella but eventually for all the characters as well. In the book, you’re able to see how religion exemplifies the failures of religion in minorities and how it hinders the growth of the characters while helping some of them.
John was one of the first twelve disciples of Jesus and therefore an eye-witness (John 19:35); John brings out the spiritual significance as well as recording the practical aspects of Jesus' works and words. John lived to be older than any of the other writers. It is therefore likely that he was familiar with their accounts and wanted to supplement theirs with additional teaching and miracles by Jesus which had a bearing on the situation towards the end of the first century AD.
When the priest has examined him, he shall pronounce him unclean.’” This description loosely resembles that of leprosy, which gives evidence that the definition of the disease has changed since biblical
Systematically, the disabled citizens were excluded from religious affairs and functions by Jewish leaders and other religious leaders. Lepers were often required to separate themselves completely from the community at large . This is why so many parables and teachings of Christ focused on the sick and the poor; they were outcast by religion and the rich. Some believe that there are many parables that are like so many folktales and fables. Many fables, especially Greco-Roman Jewish fables are closely parallel with the gospel parables and that perhaps when Jesus spoke the parable he was pulling from the original Egyptian Fable about a rich man and a poor man . Fables typically have a moral to learn and usually end in irony. Mary Beavis states the ...
The book of Matthew in the bible tells of the many lesion that were taught to Jesus disciples. These lesson where then passed on to the followers of Jesus Christ, they were taught many lessons for daily living. Jesus gives basic rules to follow one that sticks with me is “11 Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 11-12, King James Version). This lesson sticks with me because knowing even if people mistreat me, or talk about me, I can keep my head held high because my father in heaven will comfort me with his love and grace. The lessons in the book of Luke (15-31, King James Version) Jesus uses stories to explain how people may stray away, but how we as Christians should either bring or welcome them back. Today’s society forgets these lessons and sees their fellow men as nuisances as back then. Therefore Jesus had to perform miracles for people to see what he said was real.