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The mission of the gospel
Discipleship marks the gospel of Jesus Christ
The mission of the gospel
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Throughout the New Testament readers can also observe the culture and laws given to the Jewish people. Most of the New Testament refers to Jesus adulthood and there is no recollection of his birth. In the New Testament, there was talk about his ministry and gathering of disciples. There wasn’t really any use of pathos within the bible until the Gospel of Mark. In this passage Jesus was asked which commandment was the most important and that people have to love God first before they can show any love towards other people. This passage explains the need to love and how it affects the world’s problem when people do not reconcile to God. No peace will be found if everyone is rebelling against God. The Gospel of Mark was written during the time
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
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.
Equally important, he expresses how Jesus had to apply his love-ethic to the enemy. Not to mention, Thurman expound on three ways the enemy will attack, the first being the personal enemy, one who is in some sense a part of one’s primary-group life that I can relate to. Ordinarily, to love such an enemy requires reconciliation, the will to re-establish a relationship. Also, it involves confession of error and a seeking to be restored to one’s former place also the kind of enemy that the disinherited find easy to deal with. Furthermore, I’m in agreement with Howard Thurman that such conflict may have resulted from misunderstanding or harsh words growing out of a hot temper also too much pride on either side to make amends (Thurman
The book of Luke, found after the books Matthew and Mark, focuses on the ministry of Jesus Christ but it also gives us a look into His birth and growth in totality. In this chapter we see a historical account of some of the journeys that Christ experienced. It is important to keep in mind that the Bible and all of its books do serve as historical accounts but each book is unique in the fact that they incorporate a theological timeline. The Bible is, conceivably, the most important book that has ever been written. It gives the world eyewitness accounts to historical events that helped not only shaped a region of the world but the whole entire world. It is nearly impossible to go through some formal societal education and have never once read a part of the bible or have heard a story that adapts from the stories within the bible. The bible has helped formed institutions, associations and so much more. By reading the Gospel of Luke we are truly reading what is meant for us to read as Christians. The principal plot in the book of Luke is the life of Jesus Christ, his sacrifice, His ability to beat death and remain perfect as the son of GOD despite being human as well. Jesus is seen as the perfect savior for humans in the book of Luke. Luke not only gives multiple examples of the power of Jesus but also it gives us a look at The Lord’s triumph over temptation. Luke also depicts Jesus as a man/GOD who had a very deep concentration on people and relationships. The book of Luke gives Jesus a loving characteristic but doesn’t shy away from showing that at times Jesus got angry too. Jesus showed a great deal of compassion to the sick, those in pain, the poor, and unambiguously the sinful. Jesus had genuine love for everyone. Throughout this...
Gerhard Lohfink, in his book, “Jesus of Nazareth” believes that Jesus’ person and ministry are intertwined, or actually one and of the same. After Lohfink clarifies the difference between the "reign of God" as distinct from the “Kingdom of God,” he asserts that in Jesus, there is this active, ongoing reign which is not only revealed, but is manifested in all He says and does. Lohfink states, that Jesus is “not just preaching about the reign of God, but He is announcing it,” going on to indicating that Jesus is manifesting this reign in His own self disclosure and the actions of His ministry. Jesus ways of teaching and interactions with others, is shown as compassionate, gentle, direct and personal, as well as definitive and bold. As we also find in Ch. 3, “All that is happening before everyone’s eyes. The reign of God is breaking forth in the midst of the world and not only within people.” (51) And for Lohfink, this is taking place in the actual preaching, actions and life of Jesus Christ. Simply, we are personally and collectively and actively a part of establishing this “reign” right here, right now. A “reign” of mercy, compassion, forgiveness, self-giving, sacrificial love, as well as of justice and peace.
In relations to the thesis, chapter 8 “Impious Piety” allows readers to better acquaint themselves with Jesus and his personality. As a vast majority of us know, Jesus died on the cross for our sins. However, his purpose for roaming the earth was to spread the way of the heavenly kingdom and to shape the individuals who followed the Lord, and to hear his word instead of merely listening. Throughout this chapter, a deeper understanding of why Jesus deplored religious rituals, scorned civil laws, and broke the rules of piety by working on the Sabbath is acknowledged which may shock many individual readers. In example, I was personally influenced by the boldness of Jesus’ ways due to the fact of always thinking he was not one to go against laws. However, Jesus needed to spread the message which was prevalent in ancient times, and still relevant today, that we must serve God and only God. This meant breaking the rules such as working on the Sabbath, and going against civil law, for they were not right in the eyes of the
Jesus however, has much different beliefs. He believes there is a certain way to live in order to achieve the greater things in the after life. For doing the right thing for god is the way we all need to live. At times in the story “Sermon on the mount,” it can sound very radical. Saying things such as "Whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery," and "If you say, 'You fool, ' you will be liable to the hell of
A timeless and infamous text that has been influenced is the New Testament story of Jesus Christ. His teachings were written as early as 50 AD but the story was only put into text from oral tradition as early 63 AD, but it wasn’t until 80 AD when all recognised accounts were finished. This gives an idea of how powerful and large the story had spread and how the cinematic storytelling techniques originally employed by the likes of Homer to immerse specific audiences and achieve its goal of spreading the word of Christ. Set from just before the start of the common era to circa 30 ACE, it was a time where the Jews were heavily oppressed and occupied by the Romans. Jews were forced to worship the Roman emperor like a God(2), pay heavy taxes to Rome and one was severely beaten by Roman soldiers if one did not comply. Also there was a strict social order in which if you broke, you...
The Gospel of Matthew is an eyewitness story written for an audience of believers, under great stress, and persecution. Matthew develops a theological plot incorporating genealogy, speeches, parables, inter and intra textual references, common vocabulary, and fulfillment quotations, with a tension that builds as we are invited into the story. The crucifixion and resurrection bring us to a Christological climax that symbolically points beyond its conclusion to God’s Kingdom, bringing atonement, salvation and the ushering in the Eschaton. The extraordinary events surrounding the crucifixion act as commentary, adding important details concerning the death of Jesus.1
Mystery of the New Testament The New Testament is a part of the Christian Canon, which is inclusive of the Old and New Testament. The New Testament consists of twenty-seven books, and is the foundation of the Christian religion. The New Testament has set the bar for Christianity as a religion, but many questions surround the New Testament. These questions surrounding the New Testament have continuously sparked controversy.
The Gospel according to Matthew, although being the first book of the New Testament canon, it was not considered the first gospel genre to be written. Matthew’s gospel gives an account of the life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. In this essay, I intend to look at how the exegesis and interpretation of this gospel may be affected by our understanding of the authorship, its intended readership and where and when it was written. Although all these categories are important in their own right, I will focus more of the intended audience and readership of this gospel.
In an article entitled "Oath Taking in the Community of the New Age (Matthew 5:33-37)," Don Garlington calls Jesus' prohibition against swearing an oddity and the avoidance of swearing by certain Christian sects a superficial application of the logion.[1] As a member of one such group, the Mennonites, I offer an apology rather than a rebutal. Mennonites make affirmations rather than swear oaths in order to fulfil Jesus' command often without wondering if they have fulfilled his intention. When they find rationale for their avoidance of oaths, they tend to point to swearing as an occasion for sin rather than something sinful in itself. According to the Mennonite Encyclopedia, one avoids swearing in order to avoid an inadvertant sin of error or the habit of lying when one is not under oath.[2] Both of these reasons for minding the prohibition can be extrapolated from the Matthean text, but neither explains why the act of swearing a truthful oath is from evil. In order to comprehend Jesus' intent, we need to examine Jesus' understanding of language as a human activty that is not always accompanied by mindfulness of the reality that makes it potent, possible, and meaningful.
The humanity of Jesus is evident throughout Scripture. He was born of a woman (Galatians 4:4), and later he would die a human death. Though his conception was spiritual his birth was fully human. Jesus had human emotion. He became weary after long travels, and as depicted in John 11:35 “He wept”. His outpouring of emotion over the loss of a friend shows that he cared deeply for the people he was connected with. Jesus was fully human. He was born human, felt human emotions, and live on Earth as a human.
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.
It’s not an easy way to live because you often act or even speak before you act. Several people often do things without thinking. It’s human nature. For example if person ‘A’ were to clout person ‘B’, person ‘B’ would automatically strike back. This is unquestionably not what Jesus would do. There is only very few people who would actually just turn the other cheek or walk away. Instead everyone else would probably do the same or even worse than what the other person did.