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.
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus shares the life of the lowly and poor. Although he is a savior, he is also a human being who is often rejected during his ministry, just like how society view and often treat lowly people. “The one who has power on earth to cure the sick, forgive sins, and exorcise demons serves at table and is obedient to the
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.
Wright, N. T. Simply Jesus: A New Vision of Who He Was, What He Did, and Why He Matters. New York: HarperOne, 2011. Print.
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.
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
“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 symbolic world of Jesus and his followers belonged with Israel, its history and its scriptures. The evangelists and the Early Chri...
The life of Jesus is one that is often discussed and debated among scholars and authors since the time Jesus walked this earth. Gerd Theissen’ s work, Shadow of the Galilean, takes the unique perspective of a grain merchant who has been enlisted by Pilate to find out information on various religious sects and report back to him. After Andreas, the grain merchant’s, first report he is given the task of finding out more about this Jesus who is gaining quite a following. Pilate and the Romans want to know if he is a threat to them. This book follows Andreas as he goes on a journey to find out more about Jesus from various sources for his report to the Romans.
The presentation of Jesus Christ in Mel Gibson’ The Passion of the Christ, while certainly dramatized, largely stays faithful to the presentation of Jesus in the canonical Gospels. The majority of the differences between this film and the Gospels can be considered creative choices that do not substantially change the narrative, making this film by and large an accurate representation of the scenes in the Bible. However, its near-exclusive focus on Jesus’ trial and death omits much of the context and significance of this event in the life and teachings of Jesus and his greater mission of the salvation of humanity.
1) but was mislead to believe he would be. He enticed the audience's attention to provoke an inquiry into the nature of his preservation. It is vital to comprehend that at the certain age of twelve and thirteen the adolescents are finding their place in their congregation; it becomes difficult for some to surrender to the pressure of the congregation. The “lambs” ( Hughes para. 3 ) were to be strengthen into the inclusion of the elder’s society, thus they would be accepting of their church and faith. Despite the fact Hughes needed physical credibility to believe in Jesus, he wanted to believe his aunt regarding his newcome salvation. He realized that in reality he was not saved, rather he was corrupted by the pressure from the congregation leading to the loss of
Harvey, B. (2012). The emotions of Jesus. The New Zealand Journal of Christian Thought & Practice, 19(1), 19-23.
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 Messiah left the people hopeful by explaining how easy it is to enter the kingdom of Heaven. According to Matthew 5:3-12, the people with righteous hearts will definitely inherit the kingdom of Heaven. Jesus inspires everyone to be humble, merciful, peaceful, and kind to one another, and he also mentions the importance of forgiveness and love several times, portraying his loving nature. Christ warns the nations to not fear persecution, because their reward in heaven will be great. Jesus mentions that Christians are to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. However, salt without saltiness is worthless; hence, Christians without spiritual knowledge won’t get far in life. Christ motivates Christians to stand out by being loving, kind, compassionate; a reflection of Jesus so that unbelievers are eager to become Christians as well (New International Version, Matt.5:13-17). Additionally, he mentions the consequences of murder, adultery, and divorce. He talks about the sincerity of oaths and the importance of loving your enemies and giving to the poor. Jesus preaches about the importance of prayer because it is the way of communicating with the Lord. The Lord favors intimate and personal prayers over hypocritical prayers in public (New International Version, Matt.5.21-33,43, 6.1-5,25). Christ mentions the
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: