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A short reflection on Jesus Ministry
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Explain how the context of Jesus' life and ministry impacted on his teachings. (1000 words)
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“I am an historian, I am not a believer, but I must confess as an historian that this penniless preacher from Nazareth is irrevocably the very centre of history. Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all history.” HG Wells.
Christianity is the name given to a religion based on the first century life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. The followers of Jesus claimed that he was the Jewish Messiah, the long awaited deliverer sent to the people of Israel by God to bring hope and salvation. During that first century, the followers of Jesus broke away from Judaism, and what we now
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While all four gospels tell of Jesus’ ministry and the last three years of his life, only the Gospels of Matthew and Luke tell us of Jesus’ birth and early years. These ‘infancy narratives’ are really myths and were written to place Jesus’ ministry in a strongly Jewish context. Matthew and Luke wanted to explain that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, as some of the Jews expected that the Messiah would be born in that city, the birthplace of David (c. 900 BCE), the first king of Israel and a Messiah …show more content…
This is a highly metaphorical term which could have been taken by a Jew at the time to mean the re-establishment of Judea or, as it was understood later, the Christian heaven. Persently this important tem is understood in a number of ways by Christians. Pope Benedict XVI in his book Jesus of Nazareth, states that there are ‘three dimensions’ to the Church Fathers’ interpretation of the Kingdom of God. The first is that Jesus is himself the Kingdom in person, the second is that the kingdom is ‘within you’ and the third is expressed in the relationship between the ‘Kingdom of God’ and the
Although the New Testament is the main source of information regarding Jesus’ life, Jews often disregard it as a reliable source of information. It was not written until two to three generations after Jesus, hence it cannot be considered a primary source. Also, from a Jewish perspective, the aim of the Gospels is not to give an accurate account of Jesus’ life and teachings; the Gospels served as missionary documents containing accounts recorded by biased evangelists. They reflect the aims of the church rather than actual facts, and their writers were more concerned with the advancement of Christianity than the transmission of factual historical information. For these reasons, it is impossible to separate the historical Jesus from the divine Christ presented in the Gospels, and Judaism regards the Gospels as unreliable and irrational.
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 Bible is a large and rather confusing book of laws, parables and true stories. The most important story in the Bible, in the story of Jesus ' birth. These two passages which tell of Jesus ' birth are, especially because Christians, at least the majority of them, base their beliefs on it, along with his death. Matthew and Luke are the only two books out of the sixty-six in the bible which give detailed descriptions of the monumental event. There is the main idea in American culture that the Birth story is clear, that there are not any issues between Matthew and Luke 's stories. However, there are many conflicting facts in the two books, although most of them are easily thought, though, there are some that are a little harder to explain,
The birth narrative of Matthew begins with a long genealogy of Jesus, which basically shows how Jesus is son of Abraham who is the father of the nation of Israel, and David the King of the Jews. This may not seem important but this genealogy shows how Jesus is connected to the Davidic line. Then we have Mary, who just found out she was pregnant and Joseph decides it is best to divorce her because he wanted to break his union with someone who is pregnant, by someone else. But behold the angel comes down and reassures Joseph that Mary was pregnant by the Holy Spirit and that he should take her back into his house. The angel also said to name the child Emmanuel. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and King Herod heard of this new newborn king of the Jews and he ordered that all boys under the age of 2 be killed. The magi gave Jesus the gifts and left. In a dream, the angel of the lord told Joseph to take the child and go to Egypt and hide, Herod then died, and Jesus was safe.
Jesus’ life was ministry and death. Much of the early life of Jesus Christ is a mystery. The preponderance of information on or about his life is found in the four gospels of the New Testament. Jesus was born to the Virgin Mary in the year “0” B.C. near the town of Bethlehem in a manger outside an inn. This humble beginning was the foreshadowing of a life of humility and service.
All of the religions in the world are great. However, there is one that always seems to catch everyone’s interest and that is Christianity. Christianity is one of the largest growing religions and traditions in the world. But why is it one of the largest growing religions in the world? What is Christianity? What are their teachings? Christianity is the religious tradition based on the life and teaching of Jesus of Nazareth also known as Jesus Christ. Christians believe that Jesus is the Messiah. Everything that the Christians know about him comes from the four Gospels written by, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, which can be found in the New Testament. So, what is a Messiah? The Jews believed that the Messiah would come and present to them a new world free from Roman power and bring about a greater national prosperity. They were expecting not a humble servant of God but a literal king or military leader. Therefore, when investigators want to learn more about Jesus the Messiah and his teachings they can refer to the Four Gospels. Many Christians focus on four of Jesus teachings. They are: The “Kingdom of God” has arrived and is present among us, Love ...
belief in the God of Abraham which involves strict rituals and laws. The rituals, sacrifices, and consequences of sin are all in accordance with obedience to God. Christianity began as a religious ...
Christianity is mainly founded on the life, death, teachings, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Christianity was developed from Judaism during the 1st century, it has several different branches and forms which accompany different beliefs and practices. Christianity
Christianity started as a missionary religion and has now become the world's most widespread faith. It focuses on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The traditional story of Jesus tells of his birth in a stable in Bethlehem in the Holy Land, to a young virgin called Mary who had become pregnant with the son of God through the action of the Holy Spirit. The story of Jesus' birth is told in the writings of Matthew and Luke in the New Testament of the Bible. The New Testament, a collection of twenty-seven books written in the century after Jesus' death in 30 C.E., has had importance by shaping the church's teachings, ethics, ritual, organization, and mission in the world (Van Voorst 245). His birth is believed by Christians to be the fulfillment of prophecies in the Jewish Old Testament which claimed that a Messiah would deliver the Jewish people from captivity ("The Basics").
Christianity is now in our modern world one of the five major religions. The other major religions include Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Judaism from which Christianity descended. Christianity was practiced before Christ, During his life, and after his life. After Christ¹s life Christianity spread to become a main world religion.
Christianity was founded from Judaism. The first people to convert to Christianity were Jews so Christianity was seen as a branch of Judaism. The converts, who were encouraged by the Apostle Paul, eventually acknowledged that their faith was distinct from Judaism.
Those who were followers of Christ began to raise the question about the person and work of Christ. Understanding this epoch of time opens the door for believers to comprehend the religious system and our roles as modern Christians in today’s society. When we as Christians can see how our historical roots connect to our personal beliefs. We strengthen our theological foundation and we develop into a persuasive witness in own
Christianity is one of the world’s major religions. It’s built on the idea that Jesus Christ is the Son of God whom God sent to save mankind. Christians believe in Jesus as a leader and savior, and follow his teachings. According to Christianity, Jesus is a divine being whom a virgin mother conceived of. God made this occurrence possible. Jesus however grew and lived among humans on earth over 2000 years ago. Jesus was a Jew, he lived and died in Israel and spent his life in ministry with his disciples, teaching and spreading the word of God and the message of God’s love. Jesus is the central figure of Christianity. His contemporaries recognized the fact that he was leader. Jesus as a Christian leader had 5 basic roles: he was regarded as the messenger of God, he was to serve as a mouthpiece of God, he was to pass his message to the people whom he was sent to, he was to prepare the people on earth for the coming of the kingdom of God, and lastly to proclaim the kingdom of God and the consequences for not preparing for it.
Christianity has the largest population worldwide and has been able to continue to develop over the centuries. “Christianity is the name given to a religion based on the first century CE life and ministry of Jesus”. His followers claimed Jesus to be “The Jewish Messiah”, a person sent to the people of Israel to bring salvation and hope. However, during the first century, Christianity spread throughout the regions controlled by the Roman Empire and as Jesus’ followers began to separate from Judaism they established this living religion. Thus, the core foundation of Christianity is based on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, which can be found today in the Bible.
Christianity is one of the major religions practiced in the world, it is a monotheistic religion. Christians believe in God, they believe that Jesus is the son of God, and are inspired by his teachings. Although I knew