This fragment is taken from THE NEW TESTAMENT (King James version). More importantly, the fragment appears in THE GOSPAL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW, which is the first gospel out of four. While there is no speaking character in the fragment, it is possible to witness several characters in it. First, there are the wise men who came to visit and see baby Jesus. Second, when they entered the house, they saw Jesus with “Mary, his mother.” In this fragment, one can notice the significance of the wise men (Magi). Seeing that, the wise men function as evidence to display Jesus’s godliness and his relation to God, by seeing him they “fell down, and worshiped him.” Due to God’s intervention in the wise men’s dreams, they have changed their actions, understanding …show more content…
Under those events, King Herod feels threatened and lies to them to find the future king, so he would be able to worship him as well. While the King’s intentions are impure (he wishes to kill Jesus), the wise men with the help of the divine star find Jesus, as witnessed in this fragment. The wise men’s actions which are affected by heavenly interventions (the star and God’s revelation in their dream), disclose the real nature of Jesus in this fragment. Therefore, Jesus is not just the “King of the Jews” but a being of worship and divinity. The wise men represent the people who seek salvation, someone to lean on, and an opportunity to omit sins. On the other hand, King Herod who is not present in the fragment, but mentioned, may represent the people who are interested in finding the truth, but are not doing anything in order find it. King Herod fears that his position as King is compromised, and by that driven fear he deceits the wise men. As a final point, the themes of deceit, the way people are represented and divine interventions play a significant role in this fragment, which will accompany THE NEW TESTAMENT as a
Immediately, we are introduced to a host of characters, most notably Jairus, a temple leader, a prominent individual in the community, in verse 41 and 42a: “Then a man named Jairus, came, and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come to his house, because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying.” It is important to note that in the verse prior, Jesus had just returned and was welcomed by a crowd, or a multitude, (NKJV) as one translation describes. It must have been a great number of people waiting for his arrival because
Gerhard Lohfink, in his book, “Jesus of Nazareth” believes that Jesus’ person and ministry are intertwined, or actually one and of the same. After Lohfink clarifies the difference between the "reign of God" as distinct from the “Kingdom of God,” he asserts that in Jesus, there is this active, ongoing reign which is not only revealed, but is manifested in all He says and does. Lohfink states, that Jesus is “not just preaching about the reign of God, but He is announcing it,” going on to indicating that Jesus is manifesting this reign in His own self disclosure and the actions of His ministry. Jesus ways of teaching and interactions with others, is shown as compassionate, gentle, direct and personal, as well as definitive and bold. As we also find in Ch. 3, “All that is happening before everyone’s eyes. The reign of God is breaking forth in the midst of the world and not only within people.” (51) And for Lohfink, this is taking place in the actual preaching, actions and life of Jesus Christ. Simply, we are personally and collectively and actively a part of establishing this “reign” right here, right now. A “reign” of mercy, compassion, forgiveness, self-giving, sacrificial love, as well as of justice and peace.
This highly-charged atmosphere reached a fever pitch in Galilee, which produced a host of eccentric figures – many of whom amassed sizable followings. As the peasantry anticipated the arrival of the promised Messiah to deliver them from Roman oppression, a number of social bandits were inspired to pretend to this mantle of "king of the Jews." Others assumed the role of prophet, attempting to recreate the miracles of Joshua or predicting an impending judgment. Also circulating in the area were various Jewish holy men revered as miracle-workers, allegedly capable of influencing natural phenomena. It is in this milieu that the figure of Jesus Christ emerged.
...ffection for his lover, in the novel they kill or act irrationally, in a conventional sense, for love. In their minds every action is justified by the love that they feel, whether it is for power and wealth, closeness, or maintaining the race. Love is all around them and drives them to be the people that they are. In all cases, including biblical, they cling to the love that inspires even the most absurd of actions and live their lives to fulfill their needs.
...hard to understand fully because of its comprehensive metaphoric language and the difference in culture from present day. It is also sometimes hard for us to understand God's actions because we think of him simply loving and caring rather than ruthless and violent. We need to understand that the creation of mankind is taking place in the recordings of these scriptures and so things may not be as customary as we would like to think. I believe that God has a plan for everyone. And, in the case of Saul, he had a plan to take away his kingdom in order to pass it on to David so the formation of history could continue. I also think this passage, like many other passages from the Bible, has a message linked to it, a lesson to the story if you will. The lesson is to prove that God's unlimited power must never be taken for granted or there surely will be hell to pay.
“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” So begins Matthew chapter 6, the biblical book containing the story of Jesus Christ’s temptation. After his baptism Jesus is said to be led by the Holy Spirit into the wild, for forty days and forty nights of spiritual meditation, in preparation for his ministry. He fasted for the entirety of this time, fed only through prayer communication with the heavens. After this time had passed he was faced by the devil who, noticing his emaciated state, demanded that “If thou shall be the son of God, command that these stone be made bread.” But Jesus denied this request, stating that “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeded out of the mouth of God.” Frustrated
Jesus is born and visited by the wise men who were led by a star.
- Who is doing or looking for what? Jesus healed, taught and was compassionate to the crowd. He performed a miracle and fed all five thousand people because they needed something to eat. The apostles/crowd were looking for Jesus to hear him teach, ask questions and to be reassured that Jesus will always help them and give them guidance. At the start of the passage, they were looking for Jesus to tell him all that they had done and taught.
From the excerpt from the novel, “Under the Feet of Jesus” by Helena Maria Viramontes, the main character is Estrella, a young Spanish girl with a powerful desire to learn to read. Although she is persistent, her teachers refuse to educate her because they are more concerned of Estrella’s personal hygiene. This leaves Estrella resentful because of the barrier between herself and knowledge. Estrella remains silent until a man named Perfecto Flores teaches her how to read by using his expertise in hardware and tools to represent the alphabet. Viramontes depicts the heartfelt growth of Estrella through her use of tone, figurative language, and detail.
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 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.
Since Matthew and Luke are not modern day biographies, they do not follow the standard that we imagine. I think the explanation for the combination of similarities and differences comes from the fact that the Matthew and Luke are styled differently and also have different audiences. Since Matthew and Luke are interpreting history for a specific audience, this would explain why Matthew and Luke contains differing details. For example, Matthew tells of the Wise Men that came to visit Jesus in Matt.2:1-12 while Luke tells of shepherds that came to visit Jesus in Luke 2:8-20. Since Matthew is styled for a Jewish audience, perhaps it is considered more impactful and stunning that wise philosophers came to worship a child. On the other hand,
3Jesus chose one of the unlikeliest of men to be his apostle, Matthew the much hated tax-collector who worked for the Roman empire (Matthew 9:9)
Throughout the bible, there have been a variety of different characters, both good and bad, that have helped in understanding God’s law, His expectations of the people, and the promises He delivers. Whether it be through prophetical oracles, short stories, myths, or genealogy stories, these bible passages have depicted to readers the messages that God intended for the people and His establishment of a divine kingdom. One passage that contains a meaningful message is that of 1 Kings 3:1-15. These 15 verses help establish a greater understanding of a promise made by God to Solomon, son of David and King of Israel, after his father’s reign. The overarching theme of this passage contains the importance of wisdom over superficiality or material
When other popular teachers died, their movement died with them. However, after the death of Jesus, his movement continued to build strength and grew rapidly. James, Peter, John and Paul, Jude and the writer of Hebrews were convinced of Jesus’ resurrection, they believed this with such conviction that they did not even try to defend or prove this. They stated it as fact. “In each narrative, names are given of those to whom the resin Christ presented himself (Barnett 130)”. This can be verified and proven true, based on eyewitnesses. After the death of Christ, the lives of the writers of the New Testament were radically changed. They traveled where they had not gone to reach out to people outside their comfort zone. They died in their challenge