Reflection Paper

When I first decided to expand my education, it had been so long since I had been to school, and I was very hesitant. I talked at length about my decision with my husband and with his encouragement, decided to enroll but still was not quite sure which degree program to enroll in. I knew that this was something that I had always wanted to do since I obtained my Associates Degree in Nursing, but I did not have the courage, nor did I want to give up the time with my family and children. I second guessed my abilities and my knowledge because it had been so long since I had been in college. Now that my children are about to graduate high school and

The major groups of the religious Jewish authority that are present in The Shadow of the Galilean are the members of the Sadducidic and Pharisidic movements. The movement that best illustrates how Theissen illuminates the actions and sayings of Jesus are the Pharisees. Theissen helps show that the characterization of the Pharisees in the Gospels is shallow, and that they were not as condemnatory or unified as the Bible presents them.

On September 6, 2017, I were documented for an incident that involved a University Housing policy violation. I was charged with violating the University Housing Alcohol 1.2 policy. With my violation, came consequences. I met with The Residence Conduct Coordinator to discuss my actions and came to the conclusion that I would have to schedule a meeting with The Campus Alcohol and Drug Education Center (CADEC) and with that, a reflection paper.

Chapter 11-12 A sadducee was mostly a priest or aristocrat that was apart of the Palestinian sect. A pharisee was apart of a Jewish sect that had beliefs in oral traditions, afterlife and believing in the coming of the messiah. There is almost always problems and tension between Jesus and the religious leaders.

During the time of Jesus, Josephus claimed “there were five sects of Jews at the time of Jesus: Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, Zealots and Sicarii” (How Jews lived in Jesus time). These groups had their own way of interpreting the scriptures to fit their lives in present and in future.

To understand the way Jesus, the disciples, and most of the Jewish community lived, 7-2 B.C. to 30-33 A.D., one must look into further detail at the surrounding communities. One of the surrounding nations to the Jewish were the Samaritans - ‘…an offshoot the Jewish religion, from which they split over the question of the location of the temple as week as other matter; the descendants of settlers who were transplanted into palestine in 722 B.C. by the Assyrian king Sargon…’. It is possible to summarize their alienation and and their main differences saying that it was a process that began with the Kindgom of Israel being divided, and with promoted antagonism it continued through successive incidents, including the foreign tribes sent into Samaria by Assyria, rejection of this new Samaritan community by Jewish people, the building of a temple on Mount Gerazim instead of Jerusalem, the political and religious opportunism of the Samaritans, and the destruction of both the Samaritan temple and their capital of Shechem by John Hyrcanus during the 2nd century B.C. The Samaritan religion at the time of Jesus had become strongly anti-Jewish, but was also Mosaic and quasi-Sadducean. Jesus recognized their pagan origins and the falsity of their religious claims. To fully understand how this knowledge aids are interpretation of the people living in Jesus’ time and the Gospels, one must analyze the Samaritans origins, their beliefs and writings, and their relationship with the Jewish

The Gospel of Matthew, at least in its final form, is dated in the 80s AD and was possibly written in Treasures New and Old (9: The Good News of Jesus) 2015 Syria. It gives us insights into the painful transition from Judaism to early Christianity, including a growing number of Gentiles. • Matthew’s community faces the problem of self-identity – Who are we? Where do we belong? Jewish Christians discussed among themselves what it means to follow Jesus, the Christ, and yet remain Jewish. Could these two things be reconciled? • Evidence of this dilemma occurs in those texts that describe the arguments that Jesus had with members of the Pharisaic group. The Pharisees were a reforming group within Judaism. They were sincere and genuinely concerned

In this passage Jesus taught the disciples to deal with the communities with humility and forgiveness. At this time Christians were being persecuted and ridiculed, so this passage taught them to stay strong and don’t give up. During this time there was a revolt that occurred and most of the Jewish people moved to the Northern Galilean region(Morison). Here the Pharisaic movement started. Which caused two different views on life.

Countless people regard Jesus as one of the greatest leaders in history, as evidenced by the fact that Christianity continues to be one of the largest religions practiced worldwide. Christians see Jesus as a role model because of the parables he teaches about being loving, faithful, and merciful. Followers of Christ, both the contemporary disciples and modern Christians, create a focus around these parables, use these parables as a model by which to live. What people fail to recognize by focusing on only the parables, however, is the fact that Jesus was really a fear-based leader, especially in guiding the disciples. While the stories Jesus tells preach love and mercy, the stories the Mark tells about Jesus show a Jesus that instills terror.

Countless people regard the disciples as some of the most devout followers of Jesus, as they were the first and the chosen ones. Followers of Christ use the disciples as models of faith, and attempt to share the messages of the Gospels in the same way the twelve did. What modern Christians fail to emphasize, however, is that the disciples doubted and denied Jesus. Although the disciples spread Jesus’ message after Jesus’ death, during Jesus’ lifetime, they were not always the perfect models of faith that they are portrayed as today.

Sadducees and Pharisees grew abominable feelings towards Jesus’ popularity, and Gospels fueled that thought and blamed the Jews for Jesus’ demise. Followers of Jesus felt Jews didn’t fully understand his message leading to the belief that God rejected the Jews and its Christians duty to punish

Each one was addressing an audience of people who wanted to know about the Kingdom of God that Jesus was teaching. Even though Matthew’s audience, the Jewish sect, were looking for a way to get rid of Jesus. Nevertheless, each audience had a responsibility to receive the Word or seed that Jesus was releasing out of the Kingdom of God. The Jewish sect who need to open there hearts to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as their Messiah and Savior. The persecuted Christians who needed the encouragement and exhortation to continue their faith in Jesus Christ.

The Sadducees were a very influential group in Judaism, many being priests (Wenham and Walton 40). There was no worry to the Sadducees of losing their position because it was “secure under Roman rule” (Wenham and Walton 41). Their beliefs were different from the Pharisees in that they did not practice oral traditions, that is verbally telling the stories of the Scriptures. Even though they accepted the Old Testament scriptures, they only practiced the beliefs that were in the Pentateuch, which is the first five books from the Old Testament (Murphy 239; Wenham and Walton 42). Another underlying belief the Sadducees had was their disbelief in resurrection as well as they did not believe in fate (Evans 100; Wenham and Walton 42). Furthermore,

This passage is preceded by a warning from Jesus about the Sadducees and Pharisees, and to beware of their false teachings, which is a common theme in Matthew. As usual, he rebukes them for their lack of faith and comprehension of his true mission and identity, and for their constant concern

Establishing a new community requires multiple individuals willing to dedicate themselves to a common identity. Therefore, Matthew’s gospel uses the word disciple or disciples 68 times, more than any other synoptic gospel (Longenecker 4). The text is mostly the direct words of Christ, revealing what it means to be a disciple through listening to and obeying Jesus’ teaching.