How Jesus Helped the Lesser

Three identifiers, as defined by the author, that describe Jesus as social status as a man include being a Palestinian Jew, being impoverished and belonging to a minority group among the majority Roman rule. Thurman points out that Jesus would have grown up experiencing the resentment of his kinsman of the Romans and the oppression of being poor. The question is asked by the author why does Jesus differ from many others in his same setting?” The answer according to Thurman is found in what makes Jesus unique and not the same has his fellow citizens. Jesus know that it was only through up lifting the inner spirit that humankind would be triumphed not through conquering their oppressors through physical force. Jesus is interpreted as the great liberator of the oppressed spirit. Through his teachings and actions, Jesus provides the tools to overcome the great oppressors fear, deception and

of oppression, understanding the central core of the Gospels as Jesus' identification with the poor

Jesus’ teaching must have seemed very radical. How Jesus treated women was dramatically different from how they were treated among the Jewish society. He consistently treated men and women as equals. Which in today’s society is the definition of a Feminist. According to Dictionary.com, Feminist means “advocating social, political, legal, and economic rights for women equal to those of men.” Jesus violated many of the Old Testament regulations, which specified gender inequality. He refused to follow the rules that were established by the three main religious groups of the day. Those three religious groups consisted of the Essenes, Pharisees and Sadducees. There are many examples on the Jesus radical treatment of women, one would include how he taught women students. Jewish tradition at the time was to not allow women to be taught. In Luke 10:38-42, he taught Mary, sister of Martha. Jesus also used terminology which treated women as equal to men. For example, in Luke 13:16 it describes how Jesus cured a women from a Satanic Spirit. He called her a daughter of Abraham, therefore implying that she had equal status with sons of Abraham. Another example of Jesus’ use of terminology can be described in Luke 7:35 to 8:50 where it is described how Jesus forgave a woman’s sins. He refers to women and men as children of

The status of women in Palestine during the time of Jesus was very decidedly that of inferiors. The women is, ‘in all things inferior to the man,’ as stated by first century

In a time where Jews and Samaritans did not associate with one another and women were treated as greatly subordinate to men, Jesus Christ not only spoke to a sinful Samaritan woman but told her that he was the Messiah and he would save people like her. To fully understand the magnitude and importance of this event, it is helpful to examine the details of the event, the significance of the woman’s background, and how Jesus’s impact on her affects all Christians.

Luke’s Gospel is a portrayal of Jesus as a model of social justice. Hence, the reader is empowered and influenced by the Gospel to be actively involved in social justice issues. The Catholic Church has sought to reach out to those in need, and Luke’s Gospel demonstrates this through injustices that Jesus challenged. In addition, mental illness, which is a current social justice issue reflects and appeals to problems that Jesus faced and reacted to in his time.

The stories told about women in the bible illustrate the importance of their role and contribution to society. Although the Bible does not explain God’s relationship with women as with Moses and other prophets, it illustrates love and devotion women had for Him. The stories of the bible describe brave, nurturing, and God fearing women whose decisions impacted the existence of the Israelites.

| Through ethical conduct, Jesus was able to use Women to justify Gods actions and show us how to share Gods never failing love.

between two groups that are unequal in power and control.” Last week’s reading lesson tells us that Jesus was born in a poor society. In my conclusion, I believe that Jesus defied the system of

In cases of severe poverty and suffering, people may often find themselves asking, “where is God?” People often challenge the church as well as God’s power and wonder how such suffering could be. God has a plan for everyone and provides faith for those in impoverished situations, but can not control every poor decision made that sends such an unfortunate number of humans into despair. Jesus, who was poor himself, focused on the poor and suffering people, and any legitimate church will provide help to those who have historically been marginalized or deprived of their rights. All church doctrine should grow out of the perspective of the poor. Defending the rights of the poor is seen as the central aspect of the gospel.Chapter four of Elizabeth

The four gospels are the closest things we have to a primary source for the life of Jesus. Each one recounts the same story, but with different details and focuses. During my research of the gospels, I noticed that Jesus seemed to be a large advocate of women’s rights for his time period. He changed the laws of divorce to be more equal between the sexes, and treated everyone he met equally, regardless of their gender or ethnic background. Additionally, there are prominent female figures that played a key role in the story of Jesus, such as Mary Magdalene, Susanna, and Joanna, who followed him throughout his ministry. While women were present in the story of Jesus, I noticed that the gospels all seem to have different representations and interpretations of the women in the various stories. When Jesus fed the crowd of five thousand people in the gospel of Mark, “Those who had eaten the loaves numbered five thousand men” (New Oxford Annotated Bible, Mark. 6.44), meaning that the crowd was comprised entirely of men. However, in the gospel of Matthew, the story is slightly different: “And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children” (Matt. 14.21). However, despite the various differences in representation of women in the gospels, what I found most interesting was that none of the gospels mention women being present at the last supper, despite the fact that Jesus had numerous close female followers. These observations lead me to ask the following

In Luke 8, he began mentioning that the twelve disciples were with Jesus traveling between cities, “as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities…” (Lk 8:02). This is yet again another example where a group of women is not only mentioned, but specified in such a way that deems them equal to their counter-parts. In Luke 10:38, Jesus told Martha, a woman upon visiting, that she should be listening to him instead of being distracted with her work. He also taught Mary several things, whom was the sister of Martha. During that time period women were not allowed to be educated and were confined in their homes. Luke portrays Jesus as a man who valued women and their faith to him. In a century where women were minimized, Luke didn’t fail to mention the women followers and what Jesus told them. ““Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and children. For the days are surely coming when they will say, “Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed”” (Lk 23:28-30). Here Jesus understands the importance of bearing children and how in doing so women play a significant role in the ministry of Jesus. He warns the daughters of a day and age when failure to do these things will be praised by

Jesus was born from a virgin Marry. Jennifer Bird elucidates the reasons why Jesus had to be born from a virgin, “according to the sacrificial system of the Jews, was if Jesus was pure and blameless and sinless” The culture at that time was very strict into women guarding their virginity, in other words for the female it was their pride to be virgin. To families as well it was an honor to keep a girl to the point of being married and still be virgin. The reaction of Jacob’s sons to the rape of their sister Dinah could explain the importance, Genesis 34.14 they replied, “...that would be a disgrace for us.” And in our cultures in Africa, virginity of a girl is valued. To parents it is an honor that can let them ask for

Jesus taught many through his ways that making the correct choice may be very hard and you will not be liked for it either. Such as feeding the hungry who may be despised of their current situation. Any group of people who share their food and give up their belongings for those who live unjustly stand in contrast the others in society. Life is not easy being the good guy. Disciples gave up popularity and wealth helping others. They may be failures economically and get into trouble for opposing the authority when they see injustice. Through this essay I will take you on a journey through multiple centuries from the time Jesus was alive to modern day injustice. We will explore Paul, the apostles, and the martyrs Perpetua and Stephan.

In the Bible, the four Gospels push different ideologies, views, lessons and different stories that center around the central figure of Jesus. The Gospel of Luke main themes center on Universalism, social justice, compassion for outcasts, the role of woman and the Holy Spirit.(Hauer and Young) These parables are able to connect to the context of when Luke was able bring these stories together in 85 CE. The Gospel was most likely written in Greek speaking area located in the Roman empire.(Coogan et al.) This time of stability allowed for the proliferation of Christianity and Gospels such as Luke. The passages that will be discussed will mainly focus on compassion for outcast seen in Luke 16:19–31 and warning against greed in Luke 12:13-34. Luke 13:6-9 focuses on a fig tree talks of the opportunities people and if they use them properly. Finally, the last parable is 7:11-17, which focuses on holy spirit and the possibilities for miracles and the importance of life. These parables in Luke are able to give a social justice commentary that can make a person feel compassionate for the poor and the reckoning they would receive in the afterlife if they didn’t follow Jesus’s teachings. As, well the story is able to push across a message that will everlasting importance to people. This has led to the Gospels of Luke becoming one of the main 4 Gospels and one of the most highly regarded of the Gospels. (Hauer and Young)