In chapter one, we learn what it means to “sit at the feet of Rabbi Jesus.” It not only means that we are literally sitting at his feet, but it is also an idiom for learning from your rabbi. The disciples did this to be covered in the dust of their rabbi. Ann and Lois give an example through the story of Mary and Martha. They too wanted to be covered in Jesus’ dust. Mary literally sat at his feet and listened to Jesus; while Martha was too busy being distracted by other things. This helps us retune our thinking and imagine being a disciple at Jesus’ feet. In chapter two, we learn how extremely devoted the Jewish are through their religion and daily customs. The Rabbi had the most customs to uphold and their life style and goals were different from most. Jesus’ greatest goal was to raise up disciples who would carry on his teaching after he was gone. He spends his entire time on earth being a living example of God to all of his disciples.…
The author does a great job of explaining the different perspective of the different authors of the New Testament. They each see Jesus Christ differently. Mark sees Jesus as the hidden and suffering Son of God. He saw how Jesus was not given the proper recognition even though He was the Son of the Living God. Mark also speaks of the miracles that Jesus performed. The author, Roberto Imperato makes special mention of what a miracle is. He defines it as a special "act of God." It is something that no human can do. The Gospel of Mark, as the author explains is a long introduction to the death of Jesus Christ. In the Gospel of Matthew, he explains the fulfillment of the Jewish hope through Jesus Christ. He also teaches that Jesus is the Messiah, Son of God and the Teacher of New Righteousness. Many of the Pharisees believed that their ways and teachings were the fulfillment of Jewish life while Matthew believed that real fulfillment came through Jesus Christ. Luke views Jesus as a Martyr Prophet and merciful Savior. Luke believes that Jesus is a Martyr prophet because people may react in a negative way and cause harm to the messenger. Luke also sees Jesus as a merciful savior. John refers to Jesus…
The scriptures show that Jesus visited both the Temple and Synagogues of his day (Nickens, 2011). The purpose of this paper is to provide background and explain the purpose of the Temple and Synagogues that existed in Jesus’ day. A layout of the Temple and a description of its different areas will also be included.…
Because the devil tempts Jesus with “all the kingdoms of the world and all their splendor” (Matthew 4:8), Kraybill starts the chapter with a historical summary of political power before and throughout Jesus’ life in. The Persians’ finally released the Hebrews from captivity in 538 B.C.E after fifty years in Babylonian captivity. This was short lived as Alexander the Great came into power, and quickly conquered the Persians. After Alexander’s death his empire fell due to his quarreling generals. Syria, or “The Madman”, captured the Jewish kingdom from the Egyptian’s in 198 B.C.E. The Syrian King quickly set up policies teaching Jews the Greek lifestyle. He built a gymnasium for athletic training, where Jews were made fun of for their circumcisions. “The Jewish writer of 2 Maccabees (4:14) laments that even Jewish priests had deserted their sacred responsibilities to watch sporting events—wrestling, discus throwing, and horse racing”(Kraybill). These activities were threating Jewish identity and heritage. Although there were Jews who welcomed the Greek culture, there was a small group of traditional Jews who resented the foreign influence. “Some other Jews, however, thought they had to fight if their culture, worship, and identity were to survive here in their homeland. They were known as the…
Pilgrims visit the Holy Land (Israel) to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. There are several places that are particularly associated with him; Bethlehem where he was born, Nazareth where he was brought up, Galilee where he did much teaching, preaching and healing and Jerusalem where he was crucified and rose again from the dead.…
The Gospel of Mark is the second of the four gospels in the New Testament, written by John Mark to Gentile Christians in Rome as an evangelism and discipleship manual. It recounts many of the events of Jesus' life in narrative fashion and focuses significant attention on the final week of His passion in…
The book of Matthew begins the genealogy of Jesus with Abraham and continues to David for a total of fourteen generations, the book of Matthew continues with David’s descendants to the Babylonian exile for a total of another 14 generations and finally the final fourteen generations to “Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary by whom…
The argument among scholars concerning the identity and role of “The Jews” in the gospel of John still continues today. The majority of Johannine scholars interpret that the term “Jews” differentiates with the context it is in. Who the “Jews” are ranges from the religious authorities/priests, a specific geographical location, or to the non-believing world. The role of the “Jews” was to act hostile towards Christ, reject him, and remain spiritually blind to the “light”.…
Jesus was born around 2,000 years ago to a devout Jewess named Mary and her husband Joseph, a carpenter (Fisher, 2005, p.288). According to Gospels of Matthew and Luke, Jesus was conceived by a miracle of the Holy Spirit while Mary was still a virgin. They also reported that Jesus was born in Bethlehem because the Roman emperor had decreed that all families register for a census in their ancestral hometowns. After making the journey to Bethlehem, Mary and Joseph had to stay in a stable, because the inn was full. Jesus was born there in the stable among the animals. According to Luke, poor shepherds, who had been visited by angels carrying the news of the savior’s birth, paid their respects to the new baby by bringing gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh, which confirmed his divine kingship.…
Here I would argue that the genre of John as a whole and certainly that of the second chapter has a theological relevance across time, not solely because of the biographical narrative of Christ nor the historical influence but of the theological proclamation the text imparts within the story and subsequent miracle at Cana. In comparison of the historical, biographical, and theological waveforms it is important to look closely through the Jewish matrix which gave rise to the Church itself9. For to appreciate the Gospels accurately we need to read them as testimonies of faith10. A faith that has a historical impact through a biographical understanding that leads ultimately to a theological truth.…
This is where the benefit of cultural diversification is divinely inspired knowledge for the tactical application in communication of the salvation message of Jesus Christ; and I am not totally convinced that God has not set the entire “humans forming families, families joining communities, communities forming cultures, and cultures creating civilizations, with every generation shaped in turn by its own upbringing” into this very process for the soul purpose of equipping, any and all, of His One-and-Only Son’s, saved, sanctified, bought & paid for in full by the Blood of the Lamb, faithfully obedient soul-winning followers after God’s own heart.…
I Introduction First Christian communities appeared in Jewish Palestine and Diaspora after the death of Jesus of Nazareth, called the Christ, around 30 CE. Not only Jesus himself was a Jew, but also his followers and very first members of the new growing community were mainly Jews. They all shared the Jewish belief, the Sacred Scripture that Christians later started to call the Old Testament (OT), and were not aware of founding a new religion. A closer examination of Jewish worship will let us understand how it influenced the new Christian worship. We will have a closer look at places of worship, liturgical sources and customs which were common at that time. A last task will be to ask whether there are any significant Jewish elements missing in the later Christian Eucharistic liturgy.…
The story of Jesus is popular and well-known in the United States. However, when people attentively read the four gospels in the New Testament, it can be seen that difference in the narratives of Jesus’ birth. For example, the birth of Jesus is not mentioned in Mark Gospel. By contrast, John Gospel talks about the theological truth about Jesus before the beginning of the world, which means it is not about the human and natural birth. Matthew Gospel and Luke Gospel state more details in the birth of Jesus. This short essay will narrate the stories of Jesus’ birth in Matthew and Luke, the difference between the two accounts, and the reasons of the difference.…
The history of Jesus’ life is well known to almost everyone, not just Christians and Jews. There are movies, pictures, and other forms depicting his life. One may begin with the famous of story of the birth of Jesus, whose name means “God saves”, as it is written in the book of Luke. Jesus was born to Mary and Joseph. Although Joseph was not Jesus’ biological father Joseph and Mary were forewarned about the birth of Jesus. The birth of Jesus was foretold in the Bible in many of the books of the Old Testament. Jesus was born the Savior, in essence, knowing the reason why He was born and the outcome of His life. Jesus was born to die to save mankind.…
The study of religion not only entails understanding ancient teachings and manuscripts; an all encompassing understanding of religion, Christianity in particular, includes the origins of the religion itself. It is for this reason interest in the setting in which Christianity grew is of most importance. Religious beliefs of the Jewish people, widespread hellenization, philosophy and the history of the Jewish people (after 70 AD), were the main contributing factors to the rise of Christianity.…