Mark 11:12-35 is the first scene after Jesus and his disciples enter Jerusalem. This is the scene where Jesus curses the fig tree. Several scholars say that in the Marian narrative the curing of the fig tree is a foreshadowing of the cleansing of the temple (Mark 11:15-19). Because of this I find that it is highly important to discuss, why did Jesus curse the fig tree and if it was actually necessary? To answer this question the paper will look into the symbolic elements that it might have. A second question that raises is, even though Jesus knew that the tree was not in the right season to produce fruit why did he curse it anyway? Is it a part of the symbolism, that the temple will be cleansed no matter what the season? Or is it more of …show more content…
To find these answers and others this paper will focus on, the Textual Context, the Literary Context, Historical Context, and theological implications. This pericope is stationed after the scene that becomes known as Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday is what is known as the beginning of Holy Week in most protestant churches. So it is interesting to discover that the cursed fig tree episode happens during what it typically known as Holy Week. With this textual information it is important to dig down a little deeper. The text can be broken up in this way: “12-14 Cursing of fig tree: beginning; 15-19 Cleansing of the Temple, 15-16 Action, 17-19 Teaching and reaction; 20-23 Cursing of fig tree conclusion, 20-21 tree withered, 22-23 Teaching on faith; 24-25 Teaching on prayer, 24 Believe, 25 Forgive. ” With this layout of the text it is easy to see how Jesus is still using every moment he can to teach his disciples before he leaves . If you take the story in Matthews Gospel the Fig tree comes right after the cleansing of the temple. This is different in the fact that in Mark’s Gospel the fig tree is cursed
The introduction deals with the ideas of authority and perspective, and how they function properly in the process of Biblical interpretation. A key idea is that reading is a dialogue between the text and the reader. Both sides have a role to play. If we acknowledge this, then we must also acknowledge that the perspective of the reader has some significance in how the Bible is interpreted and exercises authority. This dialogical reading transcends the categories of ‘objective’ and ‘subjective’, and
The book under review is titled, Reading Romans in Context: Paul and Second Temple Judaism, edited by Ben C. Blackwell, John K. Goodrich, Jason Maston with a foreword by Francis Watson.
The Shadow of the Galilean sheds light on the historical context of Jesus by showing how people of ancient Palestine received his message; then he shows how this illuminates the actions and sayings of Jesus by revealing that his most important teaching was that he was the son of God, and that while some aspects of his teachings were permissible or even attractive to members of both Roman and Jewish authority, the baggage of this claim was too much to carry.
The expression “Jesus take the wheel” is quite common in today’s world, but just because it is a modern saying does not mean that it did not have any relevance in earlier time. Throughout the story of Beowulf, a comparison between Christianity and paganism had always been a topic discussed both within the text and spoken aloud in the classroom. Likewise, in this instance, man-made issues serves as a mirror of paganism and trust in God becomes Christianity. Many factors throughout section three revert to paganism rather than Christianity because there was no trust in God. Details such as pride, arranged marriage, and death are the major aspects of man-made issues in this section.
For Part 1 of this assignment, you will complete this worksheet by reviewing the "The Story of the Bible" "flags" and fulfill each writing requirement. http://lc.gcumedia.com/zwebassets/courseMaterialPages/cwv101_biblical-timeline-v1.1.php
John H. Walton’s Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament: Introducing the Conceptual World of the Hebrew Bible is broken up into fourteen chapters. Those fourteen chapters are each part of one of five sections. This book also contains over twenty historical images. Before the introduction, the author gives readers a full appendix of all images used in this published work. The author then gives his acknowledgements followed by a list of abbreviations.
This story uses metaphor to mention lots Christian symbols and the different actions between religion-religious people and non-religious people.
Baker, William R., and Paul K. Carrier. James-Jude: Unlocking the Scriptures for You. Standard Bible Studies. Cincinnati, OH: Standard, 1990.
In this paper, I am writing about the Gospel of Mark. The Gospel of Mark is the shortest Gospel, but is a really cool one. It covers a lot of key events that happened during Jesus’ lifetime. After reading the chapters, we pointed out things that stood out to us, which we thought were strange or interesting. We also pointed out spiritual lessons that taught us about our faith. We also wrote down questions that we had about the material.
Hagner, D., Hengel, M. & Barrett, C. (1999). Conflicts and challenges in early Christianity. Harrisburg, Pa: Trinity Press International.
As we look back on history we can see that human beings have made great strides as well as suffered many setbacks in our development of fundamental doctrines and/or beliefs by which we live and view the world. These foundational beliefs have provided the framework for which all civilizations preserve, cooperate, and govern their way of life. Certainly throughout history, the spread of Christian theology and doctrine has been influential in establishing and developing a deeply rooted theistic and biblical worldview foundation; thus being the center of much debate. In light of the various views within Christian theology, we will focus specifically on doctrine that is foundational to the Christian
The history of how the Bible came into existence has been explored for centuries and is an active area of study today. There are many facets to the Bible and each has its own set of unique characteristics and teachings. The Old Testament is considered a contemporary guide for daily living, even though it was composed hundreds of years ago. Where did the Old Testament come from? What are some of the influences that shaped the Old Testament? What are the significant events of the Old Testament? In order to gain a better understanding of the Old Testament and its message to Christians, special consideration is given to its historical and cultural context, and to the major milestones in its development. Personal application of the teachings offered in this section of the Bible should be the aspiration of all Christians today.
Each verse will be analyzed separately with the intention of satisfying the hypothesis of the paper. Each verse will have a standard functional examination followed by exposition.
The book of Romans is considered, by many in Christianity, to be the greatest book comprised in the Holy Bible. This is a very strong view to hold, considering the great details of Jesus and His ministry that are given in the book of Luke, the direct, to the point style of truth written by James, and the great lessons of faith in Hebrews. The other books in the New Testament are all great within themselves also but, Romans is very distinctive in itself. Written by the Apostle Paul, Romans can be viewed as the Christian Life handbook or the Christianity 101 manual. When we read Romans, we can see that Paul took every thought and possible counter thought by any
The third section dissects the formation of the New Testament with more historical context and views of other writings defined as Gnostic writing. Bruce explains the spoken words of the apostles carried as much authority as their written words and gives an in depth explanation how the Gospels and Pauline writings were viewed by the Church Fathers. The rest of the section demonstrates the Church Fathers and their views of what was to be considered scripture and the councils that affirmed the inspired scripture.