The gospel of Luke portrays a distinctive theme as it interprets the story of Jesus to an intellectual audience. Luke tries to relate his writings to other ancient Greco-Roman and Jewish historical narratives of that time-period offering interesting details of what actually took place in the life of Jesus. One particular topic within the text is the sadness Jesus shows concerning the rich and the poor, which is presented several times throughout Luke’s gospel (Mueller 71-73). Recorded only in Luke, is a specific story that focuses on the interaction between a sinner and Jesus, the perception of others towards that contact and communication, and the results of the relationship.
The story of Zacchaeus the tax collector is the account of a meeting between Jesus and Zacchaeus when Jesus was passing through the town of Jericho. Jesus has built up a following of spectators trying to witness any miracles being performed, but Zacchaeus was too short to see him over the crowd. By climbing up a sycamore tree, not only was Zacchaeus able to see Jesus, but Jesus could also see Zacchaeus. Jesus walks over to Zacchaeus and invites himself to his house. During their meeting, Zacchaeus has an attitude of repentance and promises to give half of his possessions to the poor in addition to repaying anybody he cheated four times the amount he extorted from them. As a result, Zacchaeus is forgiven of his sins and receives salvation as a descendant of Abraham (Luke 19:1-10).
The main message of the story is about Jesus being the Son of God who loves Zacchaeus no matter what he has done or who hates him. The real reason Zacchaeus could not see Jesus was not because he was short. The crowd probably would not let him through since he was a tax collect...
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...thy of love but then Jesus enters their lives at just the right moment. Jesus came into the world to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10), which includes everyone who has a sincere heart and is open to receiving an invitation from Jesus. Just like Zacchaeus, regardless of the circumstances, personal status, or religious background, anyone can receive salvation through the grace of Jesus Christ.
Works Cited
Henry, Matthew. "Commentary on Luke 19". Blue Letter Bible.1 Mar 1996. Web. 6 Mar 2011.
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Mueller, J.J. SJ, et al. Theological Foundations: Concepts and Methods for Understanding Christian Faith. Winona, MN: Saint Mary’s Press. 2007. Print.
Saint Mary's Press College Study Bible: New American Bible. Winona, MN: Saint Mary's Press, 2007. Print.
Kodell, Jerome. "Luke." In The Collegeville Bible Commentary. Edited by Dianne Bergant and Robert J. Karris. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1988.
Andreas, son of John, was in Jerusalem when an outbreak occurred. Andreas had come up from Sepphoris in Galilee for Pentecost to visit an old friend, Barabbas, when he noticed Roman soldiers dressed as normal citizens; they had then pulled out their clubs and started hitting people during the demonstration. The demonstration was for Pilate, and Andreas just happened to get into the middle of all the action. “The demonstration was because Pilate wanted to take money from the temple treasury to build a new aqueduct for Jerusalem” (4). The Romans captured people from the demonstration that they suspected for having ties with the terrorists Bannus and Barabbas. While being interrogated about the demonstration, Andreas is given a choice, to both further prosecution and imprisonment or to gather information for the Romans about rising movements that might take over the land.
"In front of the tents the Jesus-lovers sat and watched, their faces hard and contemptuous. They did not speak to one another, they watched for sin, and their faces condemne...
Vermes, Geza. Jesus the Jew: A Historian's Reading of the Gospels. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1973.
The story of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16:19-31 is perhaps the most vivid description of Hell mentioned in the Bible. Many unbelievers today, however, as well as many believers, erroneously believe that this story was merely a parable and not to be taken as a literal story of an actual event that had taken place. There are many theories and opinions as to what the purpose of this story was and what it was supposed to illustrate. This essay will cover a verse by verse analysis of the story in an attempt to determine the message that Jesus was trying to relay. This essay will also determine whether or not this should be considered a story of an actual event or simply another parable used as method of teaching that was common in this time period.
In the Gospel of Luke, it is emphasized that God cares for the poor and lowly.The Gospel of Luke was written on 80-90 AD. Luke was a Gentile who converted to Christianity. He is also the companion of Saint Paul and the author of Acts of the Apostles. Luke aims to reach to the lowly through Jesus, by bringing them liberty and good news that they too are welcomed in heaven. Jesus shows this in many acts such as recovering sight of the blind, releasing the imprisoned, and freeing the oppressed. As a result, Luke shows Jesus as a compassionate savior because he seeks to save those who are in need and give the lowly God’s mercy.
Thesis: the historical Jesus was a Galilean man who who lived during the first Century A.D. and gained fame through chicanery and tricks, which ensured him as the basis of modern day Christianity.
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.
The crucifixion periscope is one of the most read and studied stories of the gospels, second only to the story of the resurrection. Luke’s presentation of the darkest day in Christianity is appropriately not as poetic and literary elegant as some of his other writings, yet dramatic. He stresses some common Lukan themes of forgiveness, prayer and universalism.
The book consists of three parts. The first part has five chapters of which focuses on explaining what the key questions are and why we find them difficult to answer. The second part has nine chapters explaining in detail what N.T. Wright considers Jesus’ public career and the approach he had in first century Palestine. The third part of the book, the last chapter, challenges readers to wrestle with the questions of Jesus’ life and ministry.
Donald Kraybill’s The Upside-Down Kingdom does a wonderful job explaining the realities of Jesus’ life and teachings. Kraybill examines the literary text of bible and adds the historical and religious facts of that time to further show the true context behind the life of Jesus. Kraybill takes the teachings of Jesus and brings to light the importance of the political and social climate. Kraybill reveals that Jesus’ teachings directly correlated to the social conditions of his time. He addresses how the teachings of Jesus were directly influenced by the economic, political, and religious struggles that the people of Jesus’ time faced. Throughout the book Kraybill explores the ideas of Jesus, and examines the facts that Jesus’
“Who is Jesus Christ to you?” When first presented with this particular writing prompt, I quickly dismissed it as being “easy” to write. However, as I brainstormed the meaning of this question, I realized that writing this essay would be more difficult than I originally thought. I wondered how I could possibly illustrate the extent of who Jesus Christ is to me in a single personal essay. I then realized that as hard as I try to put everything Jesus Christ is to me into words, I would never be able to properly accomplish this task. While I feel like my essay could never do justice to the relationship I have with Jesus Christ, I found three ways to describe who he is to me and how he and his story control my life.
Damrosch, David, and David L. Pike, eds. "The Gospel According to Luke." The Longman Anothology of World Literature. Compact ed. New York: Pearson, 2008. 822-33. Print.
The three parables contained in chapter fifteen of the Gospel of Luke are a tightly woven trio anchored on either side by closely related teachings. The preceding chapter gives instruction on humility and hospitality, telling the reader to open the invitation to one’s meal table to all, including the poor, the sick, and the unclean. In the following chapter the reader finds instructions for how to use wealth to benefit those same people. In the middle of these we find chapter fifteen, containing the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal and his brother. As a part of the triplet, the parable of the lost sheep challenges the reader to not only invite the poor into one’s community, but to receive them as family with joy and celebration.
Jesus Christ, the incarnation of God walked the earth trying to achieve peace for humanity. Jesus Christ suffered for humanity so that humans could live in peace with one another and with God. The evangelist Mark, who announced the gospel of Jesus, spoke of a victory. This victory was one of kind in the sense that it was not one by an emperor or a king, but by a real God; a God of truth, peace, and justice. By the birth of Jesus Christ, God had sided with the poor and the oppressed. The story of Jesus Christ begins when an angel announces to the priest Zacharias that his wife Elizabeth will give birth to a son to be named John (Luke 1:5–25). It was during Elizabeth’s sixth month of pregnancy that an angel also appeared to Mary, who was living in Nazareth. Although she was engaged, to Joseph, Mary was still a virgin (Luke 1:34). The angel said to her: