Was Jesus Simply a Good Man?
I feel that to truly understand the significance of this quotation we
should define the real meaning of the word "good." This quotation
raises the issues of Jesus simply as a man who was good or that it
emphasises the special relationship between Jesus and God. (Jesus was
often referred to as the Son of God.) I feel that these are the two
main ways that we can interpret the quotation.
To look at Jesus as simply a good man who had a philosophy of doing
good and showing compassion to others is safe but we already know that
Jesus is not a mere man. He is so much more than a man; we can see
this by looking at the way the gospel of Mark begins:
"This is the Good News about Jesus Christ, the Son of God."
(Mark Chapter 1 Verse 1)
Mark clearly wants to emphasise and concentrate on the special
relationship between Jesus and God. We usually see God to be the
epitome of "good", by saying this I mean that we as human beings look
at God as a role model. We try to be like him and live up to h...
...ude the controversial issues about Jesus. Andreas seemed to have been on the border line with following Jesus and believing he was some guy that was telling lies around the cities. It’s not until Jesus is up for execution when he becomes a follower of Christ. Once Andreas returns, he learns that Barabbas and two zealots were arrested. Barabbas is Andreas’ friend, so he decides to propose ways of rebellion to the Romans. Pilate decides to have a meeting with Andreas about his proposal leads. Pilate manipulates Andreas’s proposal by giving the people of Jerusalem the decision which criminal to keep from execution: Barabbas or Jesus. In the end the people chose Barabbas which meant Jesus, including two other criminals, was sent to be crucified. The story concludes with Andreas recognizing Jesus’ power after so many of the people in his life have been changed by Jesus.
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...
Jesus, however, has many different beliefs. He believes there is a certain way to live in order to achieve the greater things in the afterlife. For doing the right thing for god is the way we all need to live. At times it can seem very radical. For example, Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount "Whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery," and "If you say, 'You fool, ' you will be liable to the hell of
Jesus Christ became human and walked with men and women. The Creator of heaven and earth became a creature and entered the creation that he made into existence. God made himself known so humanity could have the most basic understanding of who he was and Christ there would be no Christianity. Jesus taught mankind a high view of Scripture and inspired his followers and others to uphold it as God’s Word. (A Starting Point for Wisdom by Jason Hiles and Anna Faith
In the parables and teachings of Jesus in the book of Matthew, when Jesus is faced with describing how one should judge others he states, “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way that you judge, you will be judged…” (Matthew, pg. 179). To Jesus withholding judgement was crucial to stemming hypocrisy and empowering his followers to self-reflect. When thinking of the philosophical implications of Jesus’ teachings it is important to ask what the principles upon which he defines goodness are. How might his teachings differ from the works of Aristotle when it comes to defining relationships and defining what makes people good or bad?
Wright, N. T. Simply Jesus: A New Vision of Who He Was, What He Did, and Why He Matters. New York: HarperOne, 2011. Print.
The book, The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions, by Marcus Borg and N.T. Wright is a conversation of sorts between, “The Leading Liberal and Conservative Jesus Scholars” as they “Present the Heart of the Historical Jesus Debate.” In the introduction, the scholars note that the inspiration and writing of the book grew out of friendship. The book is evidence of the public and private conversations between these scholars and friends, sharing in Christian faith and practice as they work through these complex issues in hopes of understanding each other better. Both, “…acknowledge Jesus of Nazareth as Lord, and [we] regard the no-holds-barred study of his actual history as a vital part of what we mean by that” (viii).
Jesus has been referred to in the Gospels as a man who had power over
The really crazy thing though, is that Jesus always wanted to be a servant to the human race, he was the son of man, and in the biblical sense, son is a lower status than father.
Jesus worked tirelessly to teach humanity about the love of God instead of the fear of God that was not compatible with the true nature of God (book of Luke). Jesus was opposed to the concept of atonement to appease an angry God. Atonement is the belief in the sacrifice of an innocent life as reparation for
...redibly powerful person to die for everyone else's sins and rise from the dead so that humans could have the hope of eternity in the presence of God forever
Before this semester I had never taken a moment to ask myself - Who is Jesus? It is something that I have never been given the option to question. Being brought up in a strong Christian background, where I went to mass every Sunday, and then following mass, went to bible school for two hours, ingrained a specific image of Jesus into my head. This image portrayed Jesus as a white man who preformed miracles for the poor and oppressed, and also sacrificed himself on the cross for all of humanity’s’ sins. However, after taking this course, I have been able to rethink Jesus in ways that I could have never imagined. It has become evident to me that there are many different ways to see Jesus. And with each of these contrasting views, there comes both biblical and rational evidence supporting each image along with criticism disputing each image.
...ons. Jesus is the most qualified of the three Divine persons because Jesus wants to be on with us and with the world. Everyone in the world was born by a woman and men work with hard labor, this is the human consequence for not following the law of God. Jesus is the light of the world, he came to save is from all sin by being condemned to death. I also believe that the Incarnation matters because if the Incarnation did not happen, the world may be different.
1. Son of God- This title is used no more than eight times in Mark's
was a faithful Jew and followed all the Jewish customs. Jesus was a human being.