After being raised in a very family-oriented Lutheran church, it is strange to read verses from the Gospels that show Jesus wanting families to be divided and rejecting his own family. Most Christian understandings of family stem from love and “Honor thy father and mother,” but in Matthew and Mark, Jesus’ expectations are harsh and negative. Rather than showing them honor and following parents’ wishes, Jesus wants people to go against the people they are closest to. While both Matthew 10:34-39 and Mark 3:20-35 are about the importance of Jesus over human relationships, Matthew’s version is frustrating and Mark’s may be more hopeful. Matthew’s text on “Not Peace, but a Sword” opens with a verse that, while it doesn’t sound much like the …show more content…
Mark’s text, though, does not direct family members to go against one another. While it is possible that 3:33 suggests Jesus completely denying his biological family, it is not explicitly stated. He does not directly address any of his family members. Jesus chooses different, adopted family members in the following verse, but only because the do the “will of God.” (If Jesus’ family later were to do the will of God, would he automatically accept them as family again?). In this text, Jesus shows that it is at least possible to maintain human connections. Rather than eliminating family connections altogether, one can at least be connected to form of “family.” This text in Mark does not completely deny the benefits of family like Matthew does. Based on Jesus’ acceptance of the people around him in 3:34, he makes it clear that a person still needs to have a “family”—as long as this family is made up of the right kind of people. The value of this “family” is demonstrated in Mark 3:24-25. Verse 24 outlines the value of a united kingdom and verse 25 relates this to a united household. Jesus’ message in Mark completely goes against Matthew’s idea to divide …show more content…
Matthew’s Jesus wants us to abandon (or at least fight with) our family members. Mark’s Jesus wants us to maintain family-like connections, but only with those who have matching understandings of God’s will. From my own research, I know that Luke 2:41-52 (the story of the boy Jesus in the temple) presents a Jesus who is careful to simultaneously love and obey both God and his biological parents. Luke’s Jesus wants us to stay connected to our biological families while still making room for God. In the present day, it is hard to imagine anyone using Matthew’s views to justify broken families. It seems strange to encourage arguments between people who care for each other. When Jesus pits sons and daughters against mothers and fathers, it also raises an interesting question: why have children born to parents in the first place if might end up hating each other? Mark and Luke certainly contain more comfortable views on what family life should be, and they better reflect our present understandings of
Jesus Christ sought to improve the individual, the component of society, and as result, his teaching ideally aims to advance the well-being of society as a whole. The four Gospels and the book of Acts thoroughly demonstrate the extensive sociological knowledge that was present in Jesus’ teaching. His message facilitates personal reform, rather than change in the social structure alone. Although Jesus establishes the church as a social institution, he does so, only after a number of individuals become his followers.
Shouldn't you love your family and accept your family even if they are different. “Crawling backwards made him look like a doodlebug so I began to call him doodle... [and] nobody expects much from someone named doodle.”(Hurst 464) The whole Armstrong family had giving up on doodle, plus his brother felt like he was baggage he wanted to get rid of him. “I begin to make plans to kill him by smuggling him with a pillow,”(464) but instead of killing him he decided to help him learn to walk: “I can't walk brother, he said”(466)
‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. The second is like unto it. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two precepts hang all the law and the prophets’ (Mathew 22.37, 38, 39, 40). ‘By this all men know that they are my disciples, if ye have love one to another’ (John 13.35) …’He who loveth God loveth his brother also’ (1 John 4.21) …’If any man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar’ (1 John 4.20) …The first thing that takes our attention is the saying of Jesus, ‘Thou shalt love,’ etc. (501-2)
Families in the world are very different. They come in different shapes and sizes, it can be based on different kinds of relationship, but what all families have in common that it is made of people you love and care. Over past 20 or more years families in the world has changed the most than it has changed in all history. Of course changes in the families are different among cultures and religions. It seems that United States, Canada and Northern Europe families has changed the most, now Nuclear families are dominating there, when in Asia Extended families still takes a greater number. In the richest places in the world numbers of same sex marriages,
The sphere dealing with the home can be taxing at times. The relationship here is much easier when everyone in the home are Christians. However, if dad is a Christian and mom is not, or vice versa, or perhaps a child or children surrender their lives to the calling of Jesus, and mom and dad have not, family relationships and harmony in the home can become much more difficult. Paul writes about how the relationships in the home should be. He talks about how each person should deal with the other. The book of Genesis tells us the story of Noah and how he was a successful father and husband. He was able to reach his entire family for God. It was his family that was saved
When comparing how the Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of Thomas view the kingdom of God, the writings have some similarities, but have two opposing main views are how you get to the kingdom. In the Gospel of Mark, it talks more about how one has to repent in order to enter the kingdom of God. It’s portrayed as more of a place one has to earn the right to enter through various doings. In the Gospel of Thomas, it has written that the kingdom is inside and all around. It’s not a specific place, but rather the kingdom is present at all times. However, both Gospels describe the actual kingdom in such a similar way, both comparing the kingdom to a mustard seed.
The books of Matthew and John though have many similarities, also have many differences due to the goals that they are trying to achieve and the importance of points/events they are trying to get across. The reason behind the initial portrayals of Jesus helps achieve the goals of each book; whereas Matthew’s book tries to ‘convince’ the educated readers and quarrelers (Pharisees), John’s book does not care much about reputation per se. For example, Jesus turns on the Jews who believe in him to generate a readers response to him as the definitive expression of God 's will or revelation as opposed to Matthew’s intentional readers response to God 's will as expressed in the Mosaic Law. While there are many qualities I could delve into regarding the difference in characters of Jesus, my essay in particular will look at what each book views is especially important with regard to Jesus and his intentions. Specifically, my main focus will be on the presentation of Jesus and reasons for doing so; setting in context what the book is basically about.
While both books of Mark and Matthew portray Peter as one of the most important followers of Jesus, Mark seems to emphasize Jesus' spiritual career unlike the broad, more in-depth pursuit of Jesus' life that Matthew embellishes on. As both Jesus' student and friend, Peter is the one disciple most commonly referred to in the stories. Yet the two passages seem to draw different pictures of Jesus' distinguished disciple. In Matthew, Peter seems to play a larger role in Jesus' teachings and seems more significant to Jesus throughout the book. In Mark, he is still important, but to a lesser extent in the eyes of the author. Mark leaves Peter out of a few of the stories altogether and only touches
When looking in the Gospel of Matthew 15:21-28 and the Gospel of Mark 7:24-30 one can find that each of these pieces of their respective gospels have both some similarities and differences. There is evidence of overlap between these two which are quite easy to find whilst one is reading the sections of each. There also are points in which these two accounts diverge from one another by either telling a certain part of the other gospel in a different way, removing content from one of the other gospels, or adding something that may not have been referenced or described in the other. Either way these accounts from Matthew and Mark both have connections to each other even if not visible on the surface.
In regard to teaching style, the extent to which Jesus teaches by authority varies in the Gospel of Mark and Matthew. Jesus’ teaching style in Matthew is overall more authoritative. Both Mark and Matthew tell that Jesus “taught as one having authority, and not as their scribes” (Matthew 7: 28-29, Mark 1: 22). In the Gospel of Matthew, the authoritative phrase “But I say to you” appears 12 times in the “Sermon on the Mount.” However, such a repetitive and declarative phrase is not commonly seen in Mark.
There are many different gospels that tell a similar story. Matthew and Mark are two Gospels written in a similar way but have different audiences. The story is the Last Supper and is about the last meal that Jesus experienced with his Apostles before his Sacrifice. There are many similarities, but not very many differences. Overall, the same story is told, but from two different perspectives.
Growing up I believed that the three bears in the tale of Goldilocks were a family because they lived under the same roof and ate at the same table. I also believed that Barbie and her little sister, Skipper, were family because they looked alike, and that Mr. Potato Head and Mrs. Potato Head were family because they were married. Now that I am grown, my understanding of family has matured, and many sources have helped shape my belief. Carol Shields points out in her article, “Family Is One of the Few Certainties We Will Take with Us Far into the Future,” that all around us there are different definitions and symbols of family (Shields 558). In short, a family does not have to conform to
Jesus is portrayed as a compassionate healer and teacher in Luke's gospel. Luke also portrays Jesus as a saviour in the image of a divine man. Like was a well educated jew that was struggling with the christians new faith. Luke is one of the synoptic gospels in the New Testament whose audience appears to be gentiles. Luke portrays Jesus as a person who reaches out to the poor and brings Justice to all. In Luke 10:38-42 Jesus visited Martha and Mary. Martha was disrespectful to Jesus as she put cleaning before Jesus, where as Mary sat down at Jesus’ foot and stayed with him. Jesus then says “Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things” Jesus is showing compassion and love even though Martha was showing disrespect towards Jesus. Overall,
The word family has changed so much in the past century. A family back in the 1950’s was probably considered a husband, wife, and one or more children. Times have changed and families have become much different. The Interpersonal Communication: Relating to Others book defines family as a, “Unit made up of any number of persons who live in relationship with one another over time in a common living space who are usually, but not always, united by marriage and kinship” (Beebe, Beebe & Redmond, 243). Families can be broken up into five different types. The first is the traditional family, which includes a mother, father, and their biological children. Next, is the blended family which includes
A family can be defined in many ways, but the common denominator in all is the love and fulfillment one gets by being surrounded by family members. Families can sometimes be at odds with each other, but the strain of this type of relationship usually creates an upsetting feeling to the people involved. People want others to rely on, talk to, do things with, share, love, embrace, and be part of. No matter what the family dynamic is the qualities the word family has will remain the same, as time goes by, and life evolves once again for every person living their