In both the Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of John, Jesus perform many miracles, but the most notable one is the healing miracle that Jesus performs. Diseases and physical impairments are symbolisms of spiritual uncleanliness and sins, and Jesus’ healings restore their complete bodily function as well as the spiritual well being. The healing illustrates the relationship between men and Jesus through the value, faith. The function of Jesus’s healing are very much alike in both the Gospels of Mark and John because it serves more than simple physical healing. It not only establishes faith in Jesus and His power, but it also confirms and supports pre-existing faith in Jesus. His healing also serves as a kind of societal purification, which is shown …show more content…
when Jesus attempts to teach the religious authority, who have control over people’s everyday lives, to walk on the righteous path of having faith in Jesus. In the Gospel of John, the healing provides an opening for people with different background to learn to believe and have faith in Jesus. A Roman government official is a man with no known religious background, and yet instead of going to the doctor to save his dying son, he decides to go to Jesus. The official begs Jesus to save his son, and Jesus tells him to go back home and assures the man that his son will live. Then the man goes back home as Jesus commanded and sees that his son is cured, he “realized that this was the hour when Jesus said to him, ‘Your son will live.’ So he himself believed, along with his whole household.” (John 4.53). Even though there is no indication that government official believes in Jesus, he still personally goes to Jesus for help when he could send a messenger or go to another doctor. In the end, the government official believes that Jesus has the ability to save his son. Jesus demonstrates that the official’s faith is correct by healing his son. The physical cure is evidence of the power of faith in God and convinces the family to believe Jesus. Likewise, in the Gospel of Mark, the healing also provides a lesson to non-believers that they must have absolute faith in Jesus to be healed. A man comes to Jesus’s disciples for his son to be healed from the epilepsy that the child suffers, but the disciples could not heal him. The father of the son begs Jesus, and Jesus replied, “All things can be done for the one who believes.” Immediately, the father of the child cries out, “I believe: help my unbelief!” (Mark. 9.23). There is no doubt that the father believes that Jesus and his disciples could heal his son, and this is why he brings his son in the first place. However, the father does not wholly believe in Jesus because he needs to articulate and swear that he does have faith in front of Jesus. Only after knowing that the father now truly believes in Jesus and his ability, Jesus heals the son by ordering the unclean spirit to leave the body alone. Jesus explains that prayer is needed to validate the faith of the non-believers because it acts as a measure of the quality of the faith that man has. This healing event compels the father, who is introduced as a uncertain believer, to completely believe in Jesus by expressing his faith verbally. Along with the usage of healing to instill faith in people, Jesus also heals the believers to give them confirmation that it is right to believe in him. In the Gospel of Mark, there is a woman who suffers from bleeding for twelve years, and she has been excluded from the community because she is considered unclean due to her disease. As she is miserable in her current state, she “came up behind [Jesus] in the crowd and touched his cloak, for she said, “If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well” (Mark 5. 27). Her faith gives her courage and determination to be healed through Jesus, and because of the absolute faith she has, she is immediately cured of her disease. The woman is not afraid to demonstrate to the crowd that she trusts Jesus and admits that she is the one who touches the clothes of Jesus. Pleased by the display of the faith she has in him, Jesus answers that her faith in him makes her become healthy once again. This event highlights that the woman’s confidence in Jesus’s ability to heal serves as a gateway to become physically whole once again. However, the Gospel of John shows a different result as Lazarus falls victim to death, even though he and his sisters have faith in Jesus’s ability.
When Jesus heard that Lazarus is sick and in need of Jesus, he replies that “‘This illness does not lead to the death; rather it’s for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’ Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place he was [stationed at]” (John. 11.4-6). This event shows that Lazarus and his sisters believe in Jesus, and yet their faith alone does not cure Lazarus’s sickness. Due to the fact that Jesus does not heal Lazarus immediately as Jesus has other goals in mind, it leads to the death of Lazarus. Jesus gives no confirmation to Lazarus and his sisters that it is correct to have faith in him in the moment of Lazarus’s death. This event consequently leads to the sisters painfully grieving for their brother’s death and also leaves them torn between their love for their brother and their faith in Jesus, since Jesus does not award their faith with immediately curing their …show more content…
brother. Even though Jesus fails to affirm to Lazarus and his sisters that it is right to believe in him in the moment they needed Jesus the most, Jesus later raises Lazarus from the dead to demonstrate that they are never wrong to have faith in him, and furthermore establishes faith in other people. Jesus is “greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved” when visiting the tomb of Lazarus, but when he commands Lazarus to rise and the man did, “many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him” (John 11. 33, 45). Even though Jesus wishes to heal Lazarus during the time of sickness, he has to wait in order for more people to experience his healing miracle. The event where Jesus raises the dead man symbolizes the complete healing of the physical and spiritual being of a man. Jesus purposefully waits so that a large amount of people can experience the miracle, which consequently leads to people believing in him and his power to heal a person completely in both the physical and spiritual aspects. Not only do the healings provide and reinforce the belief that people should have faith in Jesus, but they also act as lessons to restore understanding of God’s commandments for the society.
One of the Ten Commandment that God expects men to follow is the Sabbath Day, in which he commands that men will work six days of the week, but on the seventh day they will not work because God made that day holy. Violating this rule is not acceptable, and people of the time could receive a death penalty. So, in the Gospel of Mark, the Pharisees wait and see if Jesus would heal the hands of the withered man on the Sabbath day so that they could charge him and put him on a trial for violating one of the Ten Commandments. Knowing that the Pharisees are waiting to shift blame on him, Jesus asks before he heals the man: “‘Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?’ But they were silent. He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of the heart” (Mark. 3.4-5). Jesus rejects the unreasonably strict interpretation of The Commandments, and heals the man purposely in front of the religious authority, demonstrating that importance of doing good on the day that God created for men. Jesus preaches that God does not require men to obey the Sabbath day and neglect all the duties, but God makes the days for the benefits of men. Thus, men should help people in need on this holy day. The healing event
on the Sabbath Day is aimed to teach the religious authority to abandon their rigid misunderstanding of The Commandment and to urge them to help people who are in need. Similarly, in the Gospel of John, Jesus heals the man who is born blind in order to teach the religious authority that they are blind spiritually. Jesus preaches how the man was born blind so that God can perform miracles on him, and that his blindness is caused neither by his own sin nor his parents’ sins. After the man is healed from his blindness, Jesus asked the man, “‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’ He answered, '‘And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have seen him, the one speaking with you is he.’ He said, ‘Lord, I believe.’” (John 9. 35-38). While Jesus is slandered and accused of committing a crime on the Sabbath Day, the blind man respects and worships him for healing his physical impairment. The blind man is neither good nor bad, and once he is healed, he can see physically, and because he believes in Jesus, he can also see spiritually. However, the Pharisees claim that their visions are perfect and they can definitely see, both physically and spiritually; but in actuality, they fail to see the spiritual truth by refusing to believe in Jesus. As a result, the Pharisees commit a sinful behavior by lying and being ignorant of the truth. The healing event is an approach used to teach the religious authorities to have faith in Jesus and to urge them to see the true light of the world, which is symbolized by the acceptance of Jesus. Both the Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of John deliver the same messages through the miracle of healing but uses different diseases and different way of healing to present that message. Jesus heals physical illnesses that people possess with the intention to establish and confirm faith, as well as with the intention to correct the misconceptions of the religious authority on worldly affairs. Physical illnesses are symbolic of spiritual diseases; so when Jesus heals a patient, he cures both the physical and spiritual aspects. The healings performed by Jesus is a call for people to follow him and to live the life of faith, which ultimately rewards the promise of eternal life, which is freedom from physical and spiritual diseases.
One of the main protagonists within Brave New World--John--expresses beliefs connecting to the essence of Christ. Therefore, the embodiment of Christ displays John's desire to save the world that criticizes his ideals. John represents this Christ figure through the decisions he enacts. A Christ figure, according to Foster, consists of features such as: self-sacrificial actions, crucifixion, and the redemption of a world that is not worthy.
The Gospel of Thomas is considered to be a non-canonical collection of sayings of Jesus that reportedly have been dictated to the apostle Thomas. Some of the statements within the Gnostic Scriptures are extremely bizarre and could not have possibly been said by Jesus of Nazareth. In contrast, some of the statements parallel with parables or statements that are present in the New Testament of the bible. While not all are included, some statements that readers can conclude came from the Jesus of Nazareth are described and their parallel to the New Testament is explored.
The Gospel of John, the last of the four gospels in the Bible, is a radical departure from the simple style of the synoptic gospels. It is the only one that does not use parables as a way of showing how Jesus taught, and is the only account of several events, including the raising of Lazarus and Jesus turning water into wine. While essentially the gospel is written anonymously, many scholars believe that it was written by the apostle John sometime between the years 85 and 95 CE in Ephesus. The basic story is that of a testimonial of one of the Apostles and his version of Jesus' ministry. It begins by telling of the divine origins of the birth of Jesus, then goes on to prove that He is the Son of God because of the miracles he performs and finally describes Jesus' death and resurrection.
The New Testament is primarily about Jesus’ ministries and teachings. As Jesus traveled from country to country during his last three years on earth, He performed many miracles and healings of sick, lame, and demon-possessed people. As a student, I can relate to this tremendously, since I am studying pre-physical therapy. "A physical therapist can help injured or ill people improve their movement and manage their pain. These therapists are often an important part of rehabilitation and treatment of patients with chronic conditions or injuries (Occupational Outlook Handbook-Physical Therapists, 2014)." Similarly to Jesus, I can help people and maybe even help heal their injuries as a physical therapist. However, Jesus is the ultimate healer that can work through me to make this possible.
He not only provided for people physically, he also provided for them spiritually. He healed the diseased and healed the spiritually dead. A healing hospital aspires to embody what Jesus did for mankind. They care not only for the physical needs of patients, but also considers and cares for all aspects of their health. In Matthew nine, a bleeding woman was healed because of her faith (ESV). Jesus considered not only her condition, but her spiritual health as well. This aspect of Jesus’ ministry is seen in these environments and helps healing hospitals succeed in their care of patients. This philosophy is backwards in the medical world. Only the physical needs are considered in most hospitals and this new concept has the influence to change it (Eberst, 2008). The paradigm seen from Mercy Gilbert shows that this concept helps patients and continues to serve patients in the best ways possible (Eberst, 2008). Jesus is the paradigm of healing hospitals should
The last way that Jesus demonstrated His discipleship was in the way he took care of people’s spiritual needs. The first time we see this is in Mark 1:21-28. In these verses Jesus is i...
Reading the Bible takes time and patience. Understanding the meaning of the stories can make the Bible more interesting to read. The baptism of Jesus is one such story that may seem small, but it has a deeper meaning to it that sheds some light on Jesus’s mission. The baptism of Jesus is recorded or indicated in all four gospels of the New Testament. It was specifically mentioned in Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11, Luke 3:21-22, and John 1:24-34. All the gospels give different accounts of how the baptism took place. True to their name, the Synoptic Gospels have stories that are almost similar, but the Gospel of John has its own unique story. Understanding the different accounts of the baptism is crucial to understanding the significance of why Jesus was baptized and by whom.
“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to the Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14). Jesus reiterates that the people of God should strive to bring glory through their actions to God so that their light shines and all the nations can be blessed. We see in Matthew that Jesus preforms many miracles, and is able to bless many people through them. “And in his name the Gentiles will hope” (Matthew 12:21). This verse, along with the ones before it, from the prophet Isaiah, explain why Jesus healed the crippled man; Jesus’s miracle will bring hope to the Gentiles. This hope to the Gentiles brings God to all nations, as part of the global restoration
To truly understand the Bible takes a lot of research. One process used to interpret scripture is OIAP. OIAP stands for observation, interpretation, application, and praxis. This process helps you to understand scripture in its text. The passage that is going to be researched in this paper is Mark 14:32-42. My intent through this research is not only to understand the text, but also know how to apply its meaning to today's society. I hope to know more about who Jesus was during His time here on earth. I want to research the human aspect of Christ. It is impossible to understand what Jesus actually felt without understanding his human side. I hope to find out how much of his godliness he retained when he came to earth as a man.
“Christianity Begins with the starling statement that the center of human reality is love” the central issue here is what love is, how the gospel of John brings to the Johnnie community? And how do we understand the Word “Love” and its reality. Obviously John portrays love as synonymous to Jesus the Son of God
The four gospels are detailed accounts of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Each portrays a unique story and angle of Jesus, who is the savior of the Jews and the world. Apostle Matthew’s writings are to prove to the Jews that Jesus is their Messiah. Mark stressed the humanity of Jesus and also his deity. Luke wanted to show that the gentile Christian in God’s kingdom is based on the teachings of Jesus. John speaks of Jesus as one sent from God to reveal His love and grace to man. The four gospels work together to elaborate on the several key themes; salvation, spreading His word, and the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise.
The New Testament teaches about who Jesus is and what he did on the earth. John wrote the last of the four gospels which recount Jesus’ life and what is to come. The gospel of John is somewhat different from the other three gospels, in that it is more symbolic and less concrete. For example, John expresses Jesus as the Passover Lamb when Matthew, Mark, and Luke do not. This gospel is showing that Christianity is moving away from the long-practiced Jewish traditions. John’s gospel can be laid out into four parts: the prologue or the incarnate word, signs of the Messiah with teachings about life in him, the farewell teaching and the passion narrative, and the epilogue or the roles of Peter and of the disciple whom Jesus loved. The Gospel of John is arguably the most
During the time of Jesus, God’s and demigods were believed to have healed the sick and raised people from the dead. Some believed famous and virtuous men could calm storms, chase away pestilence, and abide by greetings as gods. Christian authors viewed the miracles of Jesus as works of love and mercy showing compassion for a sinful and suffering humanity. Each miracle involves specific teachings and they were an important component of Jesus’ divinity and the dual natures of Jesus as God and ...
In this essay, the Messianic secret of Mark will be discussed. The Narrative of the Messianic Secret Marks interpretative record of Jesus Christ begins to be secret starting at Mark first chapter with the prophecy of John the Baptist, who heralds the coming of Jesus and baptizes him, although the actual event is not told and seems to be incomplete without even the words of
In Mark Jesus healed many people with various ailments such as evil spirit possession, hemorrhaging, healing the deaf, the blind and epilepsy. The healings that Jesus conducted in Mark show that God’s love and mercy is everlasting. Also the power of faith and will power that the people had who were in need of the healing was very visible. Sometimes we go through situations and forget that God never left our sides during tribulations and His son Christ is within us no matter what. Also displayed in Mark through the stories of Jesus healing is the fact that God always has the final say so or judgment. Since God has the final say we should not worry or be too sadden by obstacles that we face. I truly believe that God will not give us more then we can handle and through obstacles we find our strength and courage to keep fighting.