Jesus Ministry Research Paper

Two thousand years ago, the birth of Jesus, arguably the most influential man the world has ever seen, altered history forever. Christians know him as the Messiah, the son of God who came to save all of mankind, and for others, he may just be a great teacher and person of history. It is the latter that Reza Aslan attempts to shed an unbiased light on by comparing the Jesus that modern Christians believe in to the Jesus that Aslan believes would have fit into first-century Palestine: a violet revolutionary, dedicated to the eradication of the Roman government in Israel and the deposition of the rich priestly class. Aslan paints a portrayal of Jesus using knowledge of the time period, Scripture that has been taken out of context and misinterpreted, and most of all, the author’s imagination and powerful rhetoric to cover up his faulty argumentation. In his book Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth, Reza Aslan recreates an interesting but purely speculative image of the historical Jesus through exploring the political and social history of first-century Palestine, the life and teachings of Jesus, and the development of early Christianity.

He is forceful with the demonic possession, but kind to the man. He never forces himself on anyone in the story, from the man, the herdsmen and even the crowd who come around. Jesus appears to be unshaken or moved by the responses of the Legion. We also see in the text that his notoriety has preceded him. In the text we see that in verse 2, when the man ran to meet him. The potential conflict is indicated when the man shrieks and screams when he sees Jesus. The demonic spirit is speaking out when it sees Jesus approaching. He is showing that he knows based on an early exchange referenced in the text that Jesus is going to attempt to remove it from the current inhabitants. The spirit also makes a reference acknowledging who he perceives Jesus to be, in verse 6, it says, “Jesus, Son of the Most High God” this is a direct reference to Jesus and his deity. We learn at this time that the demonic spirit has had some previous knowledge of the miracles and exorcisms of Christ, and aware of the potential for expulsion from their current residence inside the man. We also see that the demonic spirit is aware of showing reverence for Jesus because of its knowledge of who he is. This could represent the many things in our lives that over take us. Often when we are overtaken it is usually not by one major things but by many things together that create what seems an unstoppable

In the book The Jesus I Never Knew, Phillip Yancey presents an image of Jesus that contradicts the image of the Son of God society has established. As children, a majority of conventional Christians are subjected to a warm, soft-spoken, calm, levelheaded Jesus. Yancey argues against this common interpretation of Jesus, opting for a different, more realistic approach to Him. In contrast to the accepted portrayal, he stresses to the reader that Jesus was not always calm and accepting, and although he was the Son of God, he was still a human. As a human, Jesus was not without strong emotions of both love and anger. In the book of Mathew, it is written, “Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned

I was first introduced to Jesus Christ through several Korean missionaries from America, who came to my orphanage in Russia one day. A bright green church, which is my favorite color to this day, was implanted right behind my orphanage and the people of the church went around inviting and encouraging people to join them on Sunday mornings. We were told there would be donuts and other food. Of course that would lure any orphan right off the bat. I among other children, joined the church on Sunday mornings. Maybe it was simply the donuts, but I felt accepted right away. Although I was very fond of the things we were told and taught, they appeared to be only stories to me. The stories did not become an entity or reached my heart until after I got adopted into a Christian family three years later.

The Gospels of Jesus tell a story that is a unified story over the four gospels. Each of the four writers had their own point of view that they were writing from. Just a four journalists covering an important story will write from their own point of view

Since the crucifixion of Jesus (approximately 2,000 years ago), opponents of Christianity have directly criticized the religion’s foundation, attempting to discount the historicity of Christ’s physical resurrection. Without providing tangible evidence, these secular advisories introduce conspiracy theories, and propose alternative naturalistic explanations, to challenge the authenticity of Jesus’ resurrection. One popular notion reasoned against the validity of witness accounts, postulating post crucifixion appearances of Jesus were merely grief-induced hallucinations, temporarily experienced by Jesus’

In the Gospel of Matthew the Jewish community is fearful of the coming of the Messiah. Such is evidenced upon stating following Jesus’ birth “King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him (Matthew 2:3-4)”. Additionally King Herod’s actions regarding the mass murdering of the innocents is noteworthy as such event fully expresses the fear experienced concerning Jesus’ existence. By contrast, the Jewish community in the Gospel of Luke epitomizes an overall sentiment of elation concerning the Messiah’s birth. The rejoiceful nature of the Jewish community is evidenced through the public proclamation of Jesus through the characters of Simeon and Ana.

Jesus' decision to physically cast out the moneylenders from the temple stands as one of the most interesting events of his life, because it represents what seems to be the only moment in the Gospel narratives where he becomes visibly angry to the point of physical action. While one could argue that Jesus is frequently (and justifiably) angry with the disciples from time to time, this is the only moment that Jesus' anger moves him to physical force. Although the event is recorded in all four of the Gospels, this study will focus specifically on its rendering in Matthew, because when considered in the context of Matthew's larger narrative, one can see how Jesus' decision to cleanse the temple does not represent an aberration in either his character or theological message, but rather the natural culmination of Jesus' life and works prior to that point, and demonstrates a kind of revolutionary, anti-authoritarian element of Jesus' message of salvation that is all too often overlooked by Christians and critics alike.

The name of Jesus was spread in the Decapolis through the healed demon-possessed man and people were amazed. People should know that Jesus is not the only the Messiah of the Jewish people but also the savior of the Gentiles. He has authority over the evil spirits.

Egyptian Museum 10263 is an invocation of Christ. Proof of the necromantic manipulation of the spirit of Jesus, otherwise known as appe, is located in tons of Christian magical texts. One distinct entry appears in a fourth or fifth century text entitled ‘spell invoking Christ for protection in opposition to infection particularly, fever and ill remedy. The spell begins through invoking Jesus the usage of the standard method of recounting details ranging from his existence within the womb of the virgin Mary, his being born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth, along with his crucifixion. The general motive of the spell is to protect the bearer from illness and evil effects. Considering the fact that the author Marvin W. Meyer comments that this papyrus ‘appears to have been buried with a mummy’, we might also count on the fact that that performer of this rite has utilized an acquainted technique to manipulate the untimely death of this mummy by placing the spell in a tomb along the corpse. This thereby assumes that Jesus’s powers may have been used and summoned as without difficulty because the power it takes to place a spell like that on the dead who are in the

Some biblical critics even indicate that Jesus’ provocative preaching and actions were intended to bring this desired end. Lloyd Steffen contemplates about the idea of Jesus’ altruistic sacrifice and

Reza Aslan’s monograph, Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth, is an interesting perspective on the Christianity’s Jesus Christ. The book tells the story of Jesus, his companions, and the history of the places he originates from and anything relating to his story.

The Jesus Movement has and will continue to shape the world around us and has left behind texts that allow us to understand what the world used to be like. Discussing Mark 8:22-32 we can see the way society was structured and helps give insight as to how the Jesus Movement spread so rapidly. It also gives insight into the views of the author and how they might have viewed authority. The main topics of this article are miracles and Jesus’ outlined plan to be a martyr.

The ministry of Jesus began when Jesus was 30 years old, after his baptism in the river Jordan. Within three and a half years of his ministry Jesus did more miracles than any man in the world could have accomplished. He preached about the ways of changing lives and often gave parables to educate people. Even though he was rejected Jesus continued to spread the gospel in different cities around Israel, including Capernaum and Bethsaida.

Many Americans flocked to see Mel Gibson’s movie, “The Passion of the Christ.” On over 2.000 screens across America the viewed the “harrowing depiction of Jesus' last 12 hours in wide-screen vivid color.” (Allen 2004) People viewed images of Jesus being flogged, crucified and left to die. This violence caused some Christians discomfort with theology, and some Jews’ fear that it will “incite violence against them because of its portrayal of Jews’ involvement in Jesus’ death.” (Allen 2004)