Jesus as a Divine Child: Son of God
Luke’s Jesus is able to identify with certainty that he is human through his relationships and actions, but the same can also be said about his understanding of his own divinity. Luke allows Jesus to recognize his divinity at an early age. Even when he is only twelve, Jesus understands that he is the “Son of God.” According to Fitzmyer, Jesus’ words in Luke 2:49 are “the Gospel’s first pronouncement story…It puts on the lips of Jesus an implied statement about who he is, making manifest to his parents the way in which he is related to Yahweh—as an obedient Son of his heavenly Father.” Even more importantly, “the first words attributed to Jesus in the Lucan Gospel form a statement about his relationship to
Jesus is so wise and intelligent that others cannot comprehend what he says. Still, they, like Jesus, understand that there is something divine about him. In Luke 2:47, the reaction of the people in the temple is one of “amazement.” Perhaps their amazement extends beyond Jesus’ wisdom and answers and towards his age—Jewish culture still considered Jesus to be a child because he was only twelve. According to Tiede, “The wisdom of this child of God captures the attention of those who have the eyes to see and the ears to hear.” So, just as the people in the temple were amazed, Jesus’ parents were “astonished” by what they found in the temple (Lk 2:48). Jesus is also divine in the eyes of his parents. The use of the words “amazed” and “astonished” hints at everyone being impressed by his wisdom, but later “they did not understand what he said to them” (Lk 2:50). Rather than being impressed, what Jesus told them was over their heads. This furthers Luke’s vision of a divine Jesus. Apparently, the boy was so wise that it was too difficult comprehend his knowledge and
Just as Jesus’ human parents play an important role in this story, they serve an important purpose in the painting. They appear to be supporting Jesus and his divine actions even after he has disobeyed them. The facial expressions on Mary and Joseph seem to simultaneously demonstrate their support and their confusion about the situation. Mary looks decidedly sad and disappointed. She looks as though she loves him intensely because Jesus is her son, but she also cannot seem to comprehend what he has done or what he will become. At the same time, Joseph seems to share in Mary’s disappointment and has an added look of concern. While Jesus is their human child, Tissot’s image of Mary and Joseph shows that they do not know what to do about his divinity.
The way in which Mary and Joseph are physically guiding Jesus out of the temple adds to his identity as a human child. Jesus does not appear to struggle against his parents, so it seems as though he has decided to obey Mary and Joseph. Though he may have just shared his wisdom with the people in the temple, his human parents still have some control over his actions. Mary and Joseph demonstrate their authority as parents in Tissot’s
Step-Father of Jesus Christ, Joseph was a hard working carpenter that serves his people. Jesus was brought into his Step Father’s trade in Book of Mark questioning in astonishment “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” (Mark 6:3) Jesus served his people but never followed his Step-Father’s footsteps and believed he was made for more than being a carpenter but to be a servant for the Lord. “Who thought he was in the form of God, did not count equality with a god to be grasped but taking form of a servant and being born in the likeness of man” (Philippians 2:6-7) Jesus followed passions that Willy never did in “Death of a
Furthermore, Jesus says that those who do not hate their mothers and fathers cannot be disciples of him (Thomas 42:25-27). Likewise, in Luke, Jesus says that whomever comes to him and does not hate their family and life itself cannot be a disciple of his (Luke 14:26). In similar fashion, the gospel of Matthew recalls that Jesus said whoever loves their father, mother, son or daughter more than him is not worthy of him (Matthew 10:37). As discussed before, the language of each gospel is vastly different. While this is true, the message of each has the same point, Jesus wants to be the most loved by his disciples, even if that means that his followers hate their own families and lives. Again, it can be concluded that Jesus of Nazareth made this statement, as he felt his followers should love him most and have unwavering faith in him. If they did this, then they one could be granted access into the
Over 2000 years ago, there purportedly was a man born of a virgin, who made outrageous claims. This man was Jesus of Nazareth and He professed to be the Son of God. Without question, Jesus is one of the most influential people that ever walked the earth, but was he the Son of God? Many suggest that he was not Lord, just a great moral teacher, which is a legitimate answer if one does not consider the bold statements that he proclaimed to the world. Lewis suggests that if Jesus was not God, but claimed to be God, then these opponents have lost their argument because he was clearly not a moral teacher but an outright liar or a crazy lunatic. On the other hand, scholars argue Jesus never professed to be God and followers of Christ distort the
In John 2: 1-12, we find that on the mother of Jesus has been invited to a weeding Cana in Galilee. Jesus and his disciples were both also invited to the weeding. Jesus and the mother of Jesus are both at the weeding when the wine runs out. This is of course a large issue as every weeding needs wine. The mother of Jesus tells them that there is no more wine and this was her way of telling Jesus to fix this the problem in some way. Jesus then states that his time has not come, “O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”, however Jesus does end up doing something about the problem and thus he starts his mission on the request of his mother. The mother of Jesus then tells the servants to do anything Jesus says. To Jesus’s
The painting shows Mary, Mary Magdalen and John embracing Jesus’s dead body while they are crying, and focuses on their emotional distress of losing someone dear. Mary is caught middle of letting out a great cry while embracing Jesus from the left. John is shown with curly brown hair while also letting out a cry, but he is behind Jesus and only his face is visible. Mary Magdalen is to the right holding onto one of Jesus arm that reaches over the edge that almost seems like it is coming out of the painting. The whole scene in the painting is very grim as Jesus, the central figure, is lying dead with scars of his mistreatment clear for everybody to see. His body is white and thin with veins of arms and body showing through the skin, and his face seems so tired and worn out. On his head, there is a crown of thorns, but without any blood or scars. The emotional distress in the faces of those around Jesus are stylized, but any viewer would recognize their
...hem. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’ He took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.”
The birth narrative of Matthew begins with a long genealogy of Jesus, which basically shows how Jesus is son of Abraham who is the father of the nation of Israel, and David the King of the Jews. This may not seem important but this genealogy shows how Jesus is connected to the Davidic line. Then we have Mary, who just found out she was pregnant and Joseph decides it is best to divorce her because he wanted to break his union with someone who is pregnant, by someone else. But behold the angel comes down and reassures Joseph that Mary was pregnant by the Holy Spirit and that he should take her back into his house. The angel also said to name the child Emmanuel. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and King Herod heard of this new newborn king of the Jews and he ordered that all boys under the age of 2 be killed. The magi gave Jesus the gifts and left. In a dream, the angel of the lord told Joseph to take the child and go to Egypt and hide, Herod then died, and Jesus was safe.
At the age of 12, Jesus was seen in the temple talking with, listening to and teaching many learned men. It was then that Jesus declared that he was the Son of God with a divine purpose here on earth. Jesus lived a traditional Jewish life as a simple carpenter. At the age of 30, Jesus was baptized and recognized by John the Baptist. It was now that he began his earthly ministry.
News of the coming of a Messiah spread all over Galilee, including to Jesus' hometown of Nazareth, where the residents had never known Jesus as the Messiah, or as a man who could perform miracles. To the residents of Nazareth, Jesus was merely a simple carpenter. For thirty years, the people of Nazareth had referred to Jesus as "The Perfect Man," but never had witnessed a miracle or anything that would prompt them to think more highly of Jesus (Gledenhuys 167). The residents of Nazareth had heard of Jesus' miracles at Capernaum and were eager to see if this man, whom they had known since birth, was what he claimed to be. Jesus began preaching to the Nazarenes, but as he spoke the residents began to grumble and question each other: "Isn't this Joseph's son?" (New International Version Bible, Luke 4:22). They did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah, because they had not seen any physical evidence; they had not witnessed a miracle. Jesus, sensing their lack of faith, says to them, "Ye will surely say unto me this proverb. Physician heal thyself" (New International Version Bible, Luke 4:23).
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...
The book Under the Feet of Jesus by Helena Maria Viramontes shows you the story of Estrella and her family and the struggles they face as migrant workers. Among all the symbolism in the book the one that stand out the most is Petra’s statue of Christ, which symbolizes the failure of religion and the oppressive nature of the Christian religion especially in minorities. Throughout the book, Estrella’s mother, Petra relies on superstitions and religion to get her through the hardships in life. In tough times, she turns to the statue and prays for guidance. Her thirteen-year-old daughter Estrella is the first of her family to realize that she needs to stop relying on religion and take control of her life. This brings in a wave of self-empowerment, not only for Estrella but eventually for all the characters as well. In the book, you’re able to see how religion exemplifies the failures of religion in minorities and how it hinders the growth of the characters while helping some of them.
Jesus was raised under Judaism and sternly believed in the practices and Jewish customs. In Luke 2:41-52, Luke reveals that Jesus went missing one time from his parents and was later found teaching in his town’s temple. For me, this story shows that from the beginning Jesus was a man of faith with the great ability of explaining and preaching God’s word. I honestly believe Jesus was placed on this earth to teach us unconditional and infinite devotion to God. He lived exactly as humans did. He experienced the same trials and tribulations, the same pains and pleasures of man, and, more importantly, he died to save us from our sins and show what true faith really is. His strength and power lies in his ability to not cave in to worldly urges and to exhibit self control the way God wanted it to be by never reacting with sin.
The gospels explain Jesus’ life and death including His identity but also his activities, works, leadership and his suffering. Jesus is seen as a manifestation of God’s relationship with humans. An important fact about Jesus is the humility and modesty associated with his birth, upbringing and death. The fact that such a person ...
Jesus had a human mother, Mary (see Luke 1:30-31 for example), but his father was God (see John 3:18 for example). Jesus was human, not God. Consider 1 Timothy 2:5:"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;" There could not be a clearer statement that Christ was a man.
Jesus was the Son of God and some may ask why he needed followers, the