“How can I follow Christ?” A question asked often. Since the time of Jesus, people have been drawn to him. These people glare at scripture for direction. Often, they become misguided and will abandon scripture’s special revelation. This exegetical paper will discover the constant power of scripture. The saying of Jesus within Matthew 16:24-28 will be studied. The literary and historical contexts of the passage will be deduced. Finally, exegesis on all five verses will be done. How does one follow Christ? Will the literary context of this passage affect its interpretation? These questions and more will be answered below.
Literary Context
In order to properly interpret the cost of discipleship addressed in Matthew 16:24-28, a look into the literary context of the passage is a must. All three synoptic Gospels contain this similar passage. The differences in the synoptics will be discussed briefly to identify the purpose of including this passage in each context. Also, the surrounding context of the book of Matthew will be provided so as to correctly exegete the passage.
First, who does Jesus address while saying these things? In Matthew, Jesus is speaking to his disciples as stated in 16:24. In Luke, the narrative opens with Jesus speaking ‘to all.’ Glancing back will show that Jesus was talking to his disciples from 9:18. Mark’s Gospel suggests the presence of a crowd along with Jesus’ disciples in 8:34. There is a significant difference between Jesus addressing a crowd versus merely his disciples. Each of the three Gospels articulates the Messianic secret. In each one, Jesus has just finished commanding his disciples to tell no one of him being the Christ. It is unclear why Mark would have Jesus also talking to a crowd. This ...
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N.T Wright (2008) stated that “When we read the scriptures as Christians, we read it precisely as people of the new covenant and of the new creation” (p.281). In this statement, the author reveals a paradigm of scriptural interpretation that exists for him as a Christian, theologian, and profession and Bishop. When one surveys the entirety of modern Christendom, one finds a variety of methods and perspectives on biblical interpretation, and indeed on the how one defines the meaning in the parables of Jesus. Capon (2002) and Snodgrass (2008) offer differing perspectives on how one should approach the scriptures and how the true sense of meaning should be extracted. This paper will serve as a brief examination of the methodologies presented by these two authors. Let us begin, with an
Teachers around the time when Jesus lived thought that learning was such that the people who wanted to learn should come to them to be taught. But Jesus felt differently and rather than waiting for people to come to him, he went out to find them and then chose them to be his followers. He called them disciples and this word means one who learns. But Jesus chose his disciples carefully as we are told in Mark 1:16-20 and also in Mark 3:13-19. In the first passage, Jesus appoints his first four disciples, Simon, Andrew, James and John. Jesus said to them “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Mark 1:17) In Mark 2:13-17, Jesus calls up the fifth disciple, Levi who was a tax collector, and Jesus later renamed him Matthew. But Levi was not called in the same way as the other four disciples. Jesus was with him at the tax collector’s booth and Jesus simply said, “Follow me” (Mark 2:14) and he rose and followed Jesus.
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After reading through this book, I feel that my thoughts on what Christian discipleship should be have been reinforced and somehow cleared up. Discipleship is central to Christian faith and practice because it is how the Christian message is shared with the world. Christian discipleship is not just about spreading the Word of God; it is also showing the world what being a Christian really is. Discipleship-focused faith should demonstrate how God’s Word is for everyone and knows no boundaries whether they are race, language, country, size, gender, etc. Jesus died on the cross for the sins of the world, therefore, His sacrifice it to be shared with the world through our actions, as always, actions speak louder than words.
God’s written law is something that is and should be continuously turned, to not only when Christians find themselves in need, but also throughout in one’s daily life. The four gospels tell to story of Jesus’ life and his teachings he gave while on the earth making it possible for there to be a true example of Christ-like faith. The proposition that there are differences in the story of Jesus and in his teachings seems to question the basis upon which the Christian faith is found upon. Rather than proclaiming the gospels as falsehoods because on the differences they possess, by analyzing the differences in the context of the particular gospel it can be understood that the differences are not made by mistake, rather as a literary device. While the four gospels have differences and similarities, they cannot be regarded as an argument against the faith because their differences are what point to the many aspects of Christ.
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Matthew 12:1-8 highlights the Pharisees opposition to Jesus by recounting his argument with them over the fulfilment of the Sabbath. It describes a passage in which the disciples of Jesus plucked grain on the Sabbath, and the Pharisees accused Jesus of failure in keeping the law. The text also presents insights into how Jesus was intent to transform the mindset of His people. His aim was to clarify, the way things should be, when following his commands to practice the Sabbath. This paper examines Jesus’ approach to dealing with human need over law. The passage reveals that Jesus’ condemnation of the disciples ' actions by the Pharisees came not from any lawful decree, but rather from their impure hearts. In essence, the disciples acted
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When Jesus called His disciples, His invitation was simple. He invited them to follow Him. The same is true today. In Matthew 28, Jesus gave His last charge to His disciples, and the charge was simple. He called his followers to go and make disciples. Much effort has been placed by Christians to fulfill this charge, commonly referred to as the Great Commission. Jesus chose to fulfill the implementation of the New Covenant through 12 men who He called, appointed, and commissioned, and he only had a few short years to prepare them for the task (Willson, 1990). His methods were unconventional and were revolutionary for that time. His disciples were to be trained extensively by Jesus, living with Him for three years prior to His ascension. He taught about servant leadership and its meaning for both the leader and follower Matt. 20:25-28). From the beginning, Jesus put in place a careful plan, and an examination of His actions in the Gospels showed that Jesus left behind the pattern to be replicated. His methods, which included the incorporation of three different levels of discipleship, included His interaction with Peter, His closest three (Peter, James, and John), and finally the group of 12. This paper identified and analyzed the three levels of discipleship Jesus modeled, these discipleship methods were then measured against modern leadership theories, and Jesus’s level of involvement and interaction with his disciples were critiqued in light of these modern theories in an effort to determine the effectiveness of this approach.