Parousia And Jesus Comparison Essay

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After reviewing both the teachings of Jesus in the canonical gospels and the Pauline teachings portrayed in Paul’s letters to the many churches he wrote to, I find myself perplexed as to Paul’s intentions in either continuing Jesus’s original teachings or founding a church following newly developed teachings. Jesus’s teachings in all four gospels are looked to in the traditional Christian community as the righteous way of living life; however, some of the teachings that Paul shares can be interpreted to either agree or contradict with those of Jesus, and instead propose of new way of living. A few of these fundamental topics in which demonstrate differences and similarities between Jesus and Paul include the initial intended audience, necessities for salvation, and the idea of the Parousia. Following the discussion of these three topics, a consensus should be achieved regarding Paul’s intentions for Jesus’s words. One of the main differences observed throughout the New Testament between Jesus and Paul is the intended audience. In the canonical gospels, Jesus predominantly addresses Jews when describing the …show more content…

In both Mark and Mathew, Jesus uses several parables to describe the Parousia as an approaching event that will come at a surprising moment. With this exact same picture in mind, Paul states in Romans that “And this knowing the time, that is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than we believed” (Romans 13:11). So Paul believes that the second coming of Christ will happen within his lifetime, just as Jesus believed that it would occur relatively soon. Knowing that Paul must have known about and studied the words of Jesus prior to writing his letter, I once again conclude that Paul was continuing the teachings of Jesus found in the canonical

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