Life and Teachings of Jesus

He was flogged publicly multiple times while his mother and friends watched. He had a “crown” of thorns pushed into his skull; he had to carry his cross up a very tiresome and difficult hill to a place called Golgotha, meaning the skull. Golgotha was a place where criminals would die a slow and very painful death. Since you would be nailed to wooden boards, you could stand your feet up so you wouldn’t suffocate to death. When the sunset the day you were crucified, the soldiers would come by and break your legs so you wouldn’t make it to the next morning. This was not the case for Jesus, because he was already dead before the sun set. Only in the Gospel of Luke does one of the criminals next to Jesus say, “Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemned justly, for the sentences we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man had done nothing criminal.” He went on to say, “Jesus remember me when you come into

For Jefferson, he was at the wrong place at the wrong time. “The defense argued that Jefferson was innocent of all charges except being at the wrong place at the wrong time.” (Gaines, 7). For Jesus, Pontius Pilate asks the crowd he and Jesus were in front of, what they wanted to happen with him. “Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him.” (Luke 23:22). In a way Pilate seems to be defending Jesus like the defendant in Jefferson’s trial, trying to see what the jury wants to happen, also trying to bail him out; “Though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.” (Isaiah 53:9) “But this man has done nothing wrong” (Luke 23:41). “The fact that Mr. Gropé shot only Brother and Bear was proof of Jefferson’s innocence.” (Gaines, 7). Both Jesus and Jefferson were recognized as innocent by some and yet still received a death sentence. In the Old Testament, it was prophesized that Jesus would have done nothing wrong but still be convicted, as well as Jefferson was convicted for something he did not do.

Pilate fear that the people would consider him a traitor to Caesar, instead of a friend. Moreover, Pilate could not ignore the charges brought against Jesus. The Jewish council did not only charge him with blasphemy, besides, the political charges brought against him (misleading the people saying that he was Christ, the king). Such charge that was consider treason, Pilate could not ignore. Which lead to Pilate reacting in such manner. However, after finding no fault against Jesus Pilate refused the verdict. Nonetheless, they sought more charges against Jesus. Leaving Pilate with no choice but to hand him over to them.

It is possible to write on the life of Jesus from the information gathered from the bible. I will be dividing my essay into three parts. In the first part of the paper, I will talk about the nature of the gospels, John’s views vs. the Synoptic, discuss if the authors of the gospels are eyewitnesses and how they used written sources. Also I will talk about the Q source. Then I will elaborate on the topic of how Matthew and Luke were similar. Then I will continue on by discussing how the Old Testament uses Moses, Samuel and Elijah to interpret Jesus, and finally whether or not the Sermon on the Mount happened. In the second part of my paper, I will talk about Jesus’s birth and childhood, his miracles, his resurrection, and what Jesus did to cure people, spirits and how they are interpreted to the prophet, magician and the mad man compared to Saul and Elijah. The final part of the paper I will talk about what Jesus talked about as regards to the Kingdom of God vs. the Kingdom of the Romans and what he intended by speaking of the end of the world. I will also speak of the reasons behind the Romans executing him. My sources for this paper will be the New Jerusalem Bible Readers edition as my primary source and lecture notes from Professor Trumbach.

Jesus preached about His beliefs with God, and all his Glory. He went around telling people that he was the son of God. These accusations raised chaos with the Jews. He was brought to the house of Caiaphas, the high priest. They were looking for any kind of evidence, or excuse to kill Jesus. “The high priest

Pontius Pilate, as Roman Governor, had a position to fulfill to the Roman population along with the Jewish community. During a time of Jewish Passover, along with the chaos Jesus had created, Pilate was under great influence from many outside factors. “The stir created by Jesus' preaching and the size of his following perturbed both the Roman and the Jewish authorities, fearful of any wind that might fan the smoldering discontent in Palestine into a raging flame of revolt.” (Hexter 62) In the Roman trial, Pilate was chosen to judge Jesus on the act of sedition, however counter to Hexter's perspective, repeatedly stated that he saw no case against him. In the Gospel of John, it is apparent that Pilate not only doesn't want to be involved but is puzzled at the situation at hand. “Your own nation and the chief of priests have handed you over to me; what have you done?” (John 18:33) Pilate is attempting to keep order in his city and rather not involve

Whilst the bible does not specifically mention euthanasia, it does address closely related topics. Euthanasia is essentially killing out of mercy, hence the name ‘mercy killing’. The bible tells us that we are not to murder (Exodus 20:13) and any form of taking a life is seen as killing. It says that we die when God chooses us to, and to murder is an attempt to deny God his right of appointing death. Therefore, ‘mercy killing’ is going against God’s will and is a sin. The sixth commandment is “You shall not murder”, and that justifies what is previously said. However, in the beatitudes, it says “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy”. If we show mercy by killing,

What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify

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.

In the book of Matthew, Jesus’ story of his crucifixion plays out. His case is brought before Pontius Pilate who rules in Judaea as a judge. Usually at these events “the governor was accustomed to release a prisoner for the crowd, anyone whom they wanted” (Matthew 27:15). The crowd has two choices: Jesus, someone who had had a history of healing and teaching or Barabbas, a convicted murderer and rebel; they choose Barabbas. Pilate wonders why the crowd wants Jesus to be killed so badly. Although Pilate tries to challenge them, they start to riot. He then washes his hands and proclaims to the crowd that he is “innocent of this man's blood” (Matthew 27:24), sentencing Jesus to be crucified and Barabbas to be released.

author keeps the same divine abilities Jesus’ was presented with throughout the book, and uses the crucifixion scene as a glorification of Jesus’ life. Consequently, Jesus’ refuses to use his powers and allows the crucifixion (Harris 269). Pontius Pilate, the Roman official which historians have deemed responsible for sentencing Jesus (Harris 91). In John, Pilate makes eight attempts to dissuade Jesus’ accusers that Jesus is guilty of crime. According to John, Pilate had written on the cross, “’Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews,’” (John 19:19). This depiction of an innocent Pilate, and guilty Pharisees and Temple priests expresses the Johannine community’s distance from Judaism. Instead of blaming Rome, something the Jews have done for

Pontius Pilate did not want to sentence Jesus’s death and even tried saving him couple of times. For example, when Pilate was reminded that it was customary to free a prisoner during the festival, he tried to use this as an excuse to release Jesus. However, the people chose another person, Barabbas. Barabbas was a criminal who committed robbery and murder. People chose to save this criminal over someone who did not commit any sin. Pontius Pilate must have been really frustrated with this decision and how stubborn these people

Jesus—perhaps the most discoursed name in history. He has transformed and influenced many lives including mine. To some people, He was a prophet. To others He is a mere legend. To me, he is a father and a friend, but most of all, He is my Lord and Savior through justification, sanctification, and redemption.

To start off, I will say a very simple fact, Jesus is everything and everyone. Jesus is all that is around us. When I say this I mean that Jesus is the reason we are where we are, He made everything possible for us and we don’t understand that. Jesus is a symbol of strength, Saving grace, human weakness, hope, life, love, understanding, knowledge, wisdom and almost any other intangible definition of humanity that we could think of. The reason I say this is because Jesus of scripture was everything good in the world and also he highlighted humanity as we are. Jesus in scripture is shown in every situation and can be applied to our world as a symbol. He is in all that is good and also in any situation that is bad. I don’t mean bad as in he is the creator of evil because that would be a complete religious contradiction. I mean that Jesus is the hope in any bad situation. He is what makes evil turn out good. Jesus makes anything bad become understandable through all that He means.

As believers, we are constantly reminded that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins. His death and his resurrection are fundamental to our Christian faith. Without his death, the relationship between God and His creation would have remained broken. Unfortunately, many believers do not take the time to consider the complex and deep meaning of Jesus’ death. If I have learned one concept throughout this class is that if I do not have a personal comprehension of Jesus’ death, I will never be saved. His death signifies salvation. It motivates us to imitate Jesus’ life as he was completely human and never sinned, yet he died on the cross in the cruelest way. Personally, Jesus’ death means love, reconciliation, redemption, and victory.