The Crucifixion across Biblical Writings
The Bible has been a major cultural influence throughout the world for centuries. This work has taken roots in movies, music, literature, art, and more, and as a result the interpretations and spin-offs are endless. The Gospel According to Jesus Christ by José Saramago is one of these interpretations. Saramago is knowledgeable on the Bible as well as information about the historical circumstances of the time period. Putting these two factors together, he created a novel that humanizes the characters to make it more understandable to readers, as well as sculpt a unique backstory that differs from anything Christians would find acceptable. However, he was so efficient in doing so, that some would
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Judas betrays Jesus and he is brought to the Prefect Pilate after being arrested based on the suspicion of acting treasonably by declaring himself King of the Jews. Pilate interrogates him several times and continuously finds that Jesus has done nothing wrong. After much time and the suggestions of the crowd, Pilate sentences Jesus to death by crucifixion, and he ultimately ends up on the cross. Jesus requests that Pilate write a specific inscription on the cross that says; “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.” Pilate tells the others that what he had written he had written, and then Jesus begins to declare that he is thirsty. At this point someone put of sponge of wine to his mouth and he says: “It is finished” (John, 19:30). Then, Jesus dies and the soldiers pierced him in the side with a spear.
Saramago version of the story is much different. The scene starts by Jesus explaining to everyone how they are going to die. He cooks up a plan that he thinks will save the people. So, instead of die on the cross as God’s son, he asks one of his followers to get him arrested for treason. His followers do not agree with his plan and think that if he is the Son of God, he should die as the Son of God. Judas ultimately volunteered to help, Jesus thanks him, and he is arrested. When questioned by Pilate, Pilate shows much less compassion than the one in John’s telling. He questions Jesus for some time asking how Jesus could possibly be a
In the book of “Luke” in “The Holy Bible” Jesus is crucified and while on the cross he also calls out to his father, which is God. 7 After Luke is let out of the hole he goes back to his bunk, he returns ” broken by his tormentors and stripped of the respect of worshipful inmates”(William Web). They were disappointed because Luke finally gave into the bosses and they offer Luke no help at all. The other inmates appear sad and some are even trying. This is very similar to how Jesus was forced to carry his cross, and did not receive any help from his disciples, whom had followed him for years. His disciples only act sad and cry from the sidelines. 8 Dragline and Luke escape in the end and we see them hiding out in an orchard. Drag ends up selling out Luke’s whereabouts to the bosses, because he believes they will go easier on him. One of the saddest stories in ”The Holy Bible” is the story of how Judas betrayed Jesus and sold him out to be crucified in exchange for 30 pieces of silver. Jesus and Luke were both sold out to one of their closest and most reliable followers. 9 After Dragline betrays Luke, Luke is shot and killed by the man with no eyes. One of the last scenes depicts Dragline surrounded by inmates
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.
“When He had finished praying, Jesus left with His disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was an olive grove, and He and His disciples went into it. Now Judas, who betrayed Him,
It can be argued that the similarities and differences of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke can cause the reader to either see both of these accounts to complement one another with their different perspectives or that they contradict one another by certain events being mentioned in one birth narrative but not the other. Different aspects of both of these birth narratives such as the way Matthew and Luke treat Mary, the extent to which they use the Old Testament and the audience to whom they are writing to reveals the authors’ agenda as they allow their culture and own personal beliefs to influence what they write. These factors could be argued to have an effect on the historical authenticity of these texts as it could be possible that they could have caused the authors to twist the truth to fit in with their own beliefs.
Let’s talk about the world about 2,000 years ago. It was a world where the mass of people were illiterate, taxes were extremely high, and the leaders would cheat and kill to feed their ever growing need for power. We all can relate to having a good storyteller in our lives, most were read to at night by their parents or are parents themselves that read to their children. What is the purpose of storytelling? It’s simple, comfort. A good story can ease your psychological unrest as well as offer a moral purpose. Sometimes you can even relate a story to your own life and offer an explanation to something you may be experiencing. This is exactly what the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were. They told their stories of Jesus to offer comfort to their people in a time when people could not pick up a story and read it themselves. It is part of human nature to have the desire for a good story. This paper will describe several events that were written by great storytellers in the bible.
The theories of the process and order of writing of the Gospels, the authors of the textbook conclude that “Q” is not a reliable source. The authors believe that relying on “Q” is dangerous; believing that the gospel that has not been found can be a reliable source for the description of Jesus.
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
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.
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
“the Jesus I Never Knew,” by Philip Yancey, was a lot more interesting than I was expecting. When I first read the plot, or summary, on the back of the book itself, I begin to wonder what this book what relate to me in what way. As I continued to dig deeper in the marvelous writing of Philip Yancey, I instantly began to relate to his occurrences, and remembering of Jesus as a young child.
The teachings of Jesus focused primarily on the "the kingdom of God" and were usually relayed through parables drawing on familiar images from agricultural life. He rebuked the hypocrisy of some Jewish leaders and taught the importance of love and kindness, even to one's enemies. Jesus' popularity grew quickly, but so did opposition from local leaders. Roman rulers were uncomfortable with the common perception that he was the Messiah who would liberate the Jews from Roman rule, while Jewish leaders were disquieted by Jesus' shocking interpretations of Jewish law, his power with the people, and the rumor that he had been alluding to his own divinity. In the Gospels, Jesus repeatedly suggests to his disciples his end is near, but they do not fully understand or accept the idea. The clearest expression of this is at the "Last Supper," which took place on the night before his death. All four Gospels record that Jesus shared bread and wine with his disciples, asking them to "do this in remembrance of me." Christians celebrate this event in the sacrament of the Eucharist, or Communion. On this evening Jesus also predicts that one of them will betray him, which is met with astonishment and denial. But that very night, Jesus' fate was sealed when Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples and possibly the group's treasurer, led Roman soldiers to Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. As they arrested Jesus, the ever-colorful Peter defended his master with a sword, slicing off
The betrayal of Christ, by Judas is explained in history in the Gospels. Luke 22:47-48 says, “While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kill him, but Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss (BibleGateway)?”
The crucifiers would drive a stake into the ground when whoever was being crucified arrived at the execution place. Sometimes they attached the victim to the cross only with ropes. In that case, the crossbeam, where they bound a victim’s arms, was fixed to the vertical beam. They then continued to tie their feet to the stake with a rope. If the victim was pinned down by nails, he was laid on the ground, with his shoulders on the crossbeam. They would hold out his arms and nail him to the crossbeam, which was raised. The victim's feet were nailed down against the previously nailed stake.
The word "gospel" is a translation of the Greek word "euangelion" which means "good news. The first three books in the New Testament (Mark, Matthew, and Luke) are often referred to as the Synoptic Gospels (from Greek synoptikos, "seen together") They bear greater similarity to each other than any of the other gospels in the New Testament. Along with these similarities come some differences among the gospels, suggesting that each gospel was written for a specific audience and for a specific purpose. This paper will examine the resurrection of Jesus, while identifying the significant differences between Mark, Matthew and Luke. This paper will also analyze the differences to suggest the prominent theological perspective each gospel author