Who Was Jesus Essays (1333 words) - Jesus And History, Christology

Who Was Jesus? annon A Humanities Essay That Teaches The Study of The Bible As A Historical Document I felt a very positive impression of who Jesus was after finishing the Book of Matthew. I had a new image of someone who was a down-to- earth, caring individual. I did not find quotes of Jesus that claimed being superior to the common man, of whom sinners could not look upon (a view that most people had of their Gods for centuries before). Matthew 12:49-50, Jesus announces to multitudes that they are his mother and brothers. In that way, he puts himself at an equal level to the people, rather than claiming to be a God above them. This reflects the whole attitude of the book. Chapters 6-7 of Matthew quote Jesus as he is presenting rules to live by to the multitudes. To me, all of these sounded like hints to leading a happy life for yourself. Jesus reflects a God that does not expect virgins or animals to be sacrificed in His name; but, a God that is pleased by followers that love not only God, but each other also. These seem like simple, logical rules to live by. But, they reflected a time in history where that kind of love for one another was hard to find because of the hardships inflicted upon the people. I find some conflict in Jesus' actions, however. Jesus never (as far as I know) says to ignore to commandments of God in the Hebrew Scriptures; however, constantly breaks the Sabbath (Matt 12:13 and others), and gives VERY flimsy and unconvincing explanations for it. I am not sure what his message was in those actions. Perhaps he didn't care? In general, Matthew was a good, entertaining story to read, with a very dramatic ending, and great character development (a little sarcastic humor here)! I was very surprised to find much of the Book of Mark a repeat of what was written in Matthew, but with a little less detail, and a few stories omitted. Jesus goes a little overboard on the parables! Most of the parables needed to be explained to his disciples, and some of them I wasn't able to understand either! Although many parables have a good, inspiring morals to them, I would question Jesus as to if they were an effective way to witness to common people. Even today, too many people read parables as TRUTH, rather than just a story. Plus, they are misinterpreted. But, I have to tell you that an amazing coincidence happened to me after I finished reading the Parable of The Pearl of Great Price. A couple of hours later, I was watching an old episode of Star Trek on TV, and 'Scotty' had actually quoted the same, exact parable at the end of the show! Funny that the writers of Star Trek predict the future to still hold the same religion as now, and 2000 years ago. Both Matthew and Mark write about the part of Pilate in His crucifixion. It seems to me that Pilate was a good-guy, and did not really want to have Jesus killed because he did not see anything that He did wrong (as compared to Barabbas, the murderer). (Mark 15:1-15) As a matter of fact, I see that Pilate tried to give Jesus another chance by asking the crowd to choose to punish the Murderer, or Jesus. Then, 'washed his hands' of this crucifixion after the decision was made. Why is Pilate portrayed as a 'Good-Guy' in these books while we know, historically, that Pilate was NOT a friend to the Jews? After reading these books, I get the feeling that Jesus was here to save the Jewish people, not the gentiles (like most of today's Christians). I can't find the spot, but Jesus seemed reluctant to pay attention to a sick gentile, but finally healed her because of her faith. Yes, he is the king of the Jews, that is said in many places. But, was Jesus here to save only Jews, or the people in all the world (like Rome, the Sumarites, etc.)? That kind of makes me feel unsure of why Christianity has become the primary religion of Non-Jewish people. My God, the expansion of the Church was incredible from the time of Jesus! After reading Matthew and Mark during the time of Jesus on earth, and then reading Acts, I was shocked at the change! A few things that happen in Acts are strangely different than what I had expected after reading about Jesus and His religion. As I said before, I felt good about