Life Of Jesus Christ - Essay Example

Jesus Any writer of a life of Jesus has a dilemma. Do you start when his ministry did as St Mark’s Gospel does? ( Mark 1) Do you begin by tracing his ancestry back to Abraham, as Matthew does? ( Matthew 1) Do you set the scene as Luke does? ( Luke 1,2) Do you trace his ancestry back to God as Luke does? ( Luke 3) Or like John do you place him back before time began? (John 1) This may seen contradictory, but apart from a few differences of chronology, what is amazing is how the different gospel stories do fit together into a coherent whole. So why are they different? They were written for different purposes and had very different writers. Mark’s account is actually the written down account as told to him by Peter according to very early scholars in the 2nd century. Luke was a Greek convert, companion to St Paul, and a doctor, so his interest was in the global gospel and in healing. He was also intent on accuracy as he makes clear in his opening passages. John’s gospel was written much later than the others, probably right at the end of the 1st century C.E. He had had time to reflect and his story is much more concerned with who Jesus was – the Bread of Life, the Light of the World, The Good Shepherd etc. On several occasions Jesus is referred to as the son of Mary. This either means that people were aware that Joseph was not his real father or that he had died before Jesus began his ministry. He was also described as a carpenter – his father ‘s trade. The gospel’s of Matthew and Luke explain his very special birth to the virgin Mary as a Jew in the then Roman province of Palestine. When exactly he was born is not clear, but it must have been several years early than 1 C.E. as Herod was dead by then. Nor is it likely that shepherds would have been in the fields in mid December, but it should be pointed out that the scriptures make no such claims. It is simply that the church adopted the Roman winter festival of Sol Invictus. According to the Qu’ran he was so special that he could even speak while still in the cradle. In the Old Testament there are many prophecies which were fulfilled by his birth. In Micah 5 v 5 it tells how he would be born in Bethlehem, and in Isaiah 11 v1 we read how he would be a descendant of Jesse i.e. of the line of King David. These are just a few of many such prophecies. The Qu’ran 3:49 describes him as – a messenger unto the Children of Israel, (saying): Lo! I come unto you with a sign from your Lord. Lo! I fashion for you out of clay the likeness of a bird, and I breathe into it and it is a bird, by the Lords leave. I heal him who was born blind, and the leper, and I raise the dead, by the Lords leave Jesus was related through Mary to John the Baptist, child of her cousin Elizabeth.(Luke 1 ) Isaiah had prophesied that the Messiah would be preceded by a messenger preparing the way before him and John took this role as is described in the first chapter of Mark. It is likely that John was an Essene, i.e. a member of a community of ascetics Jews and scholars, or at least had contact with them. This fits in with the description of John given in Mark 1 v 4-8. Because they were cousins it is therefore likely that the young Jesus was also aware of the group who left us the Dead Sea Scrolls. Joseph was a carpenter, and his story is included in the Apocryphal book ‘Joseph the Carpenter’ as well as in the gospels. Evidence from this is used by Walker in his 1886 translation of ‘The History of Joseph the Carpenter.’ Toschi in 2007 lists other references. The prophets had also predicted that the Messiah would come from Egypt. ( Hosea 11 v 1) Soon after his birth the family were forced to flee to Egypt, but returned once the danger was past. Herod died in the spring of 4 B.C.E. and the family returned to Nazareth. As Jesus grew to adulthood he became known for his wisdom and knowledge He took up the trade of carpenter. He is described as such in Mark 6 v 3 . It would have been natural to follow his step-father’s trade. To be a carpenter in those days was more like that of architect today. So as well as making chests, boats, yokes and so on, it is possible that Jesus and his father were involved in building work - perhaps even in the nearby Roman city of Tiberius. There are a number of legends about Jesus’ hidden years, in particular one about a visit to Britain with Joseph of Arimathea. When Jesus began his ministry he was about 30 years of age. Why did he wait so long? It may be that he had family commitments. Joseph is no longer mentioned after Jesus was 12 years old and it is clear from the New Testament record that he had brothers and sisters, despite some Catholic teaching about the perpetual virginity of Mary by Jerome in the 3rd century C.E. . Matthew 13 v 55 and Mark 6 v 3 name several brothers and also make reference to sisters. Jesus soon gathered around him a number of disciples who followed him around on his many travels during the next three years. There was an inner group of three – Peter and the brothers James and John, all three Capernaum fishermen. There were another 9 disciples, plus many more unnamed people, male and female. He taught the people, often in stories, and also healed many, including raising people from the dead. These miracles are too many to be recorded here - I can only refer you to the gospels. As well as physical healings the gospels also record such things as the calming of the storm, the feeding of thousands and the casting out of demons. Some 30 or so miracles are recorded , but these can be taken as samples of many more. As John says in John 21 v 25 :- Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written. His activities stirred up the authorities against him. There were even claims that his powers came from the Devil. The leaders of the people were probably frightened that he would cause the Romans to come down heavily on them for fear of an uprising. Jesus was well aware that he would die, ( Luke 9 v 44) but at the same time he did not avoid this. In Luke 9 v 51 we are told that, rather than returning to Galilee, he set out resolutely for Jerusalem. There the crowds proclaimed him, ( Matthew 21 v 9 ) ‘Hosanna to the Son of David, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’ A week later though we know from the gospels records that the mood had changed and Jesus was tried and executed all in a few hours. The end? – not according to the scriptures. All of them record that in some miraculous way Jesus was resurrected and appeared to his followers not once but many times. This is recorded in all 4 gospels and in the Book of Acts, which also records his ascension into heaven in full view of his followers ( Acts 1). Even that though is not the end of the story. Before he died Jesus promised his disciples that the Spirit of God would come to them ( John 15 v 26) and empower them to carry out the task he had given them as recorded in Matthew 28 v 19:- .Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. Acts 2 records the coming of that Holy Spirit. Whatever happened that day it is clear that it brought about huge changes. Peter had earlier denied even knowing Jesus. ( Luke 22 v 54-62, but now he is prepared to go out and preach boldly ( Acts 2 v 14) He , and many others , spent the rest of their lives telling others about Jesus and how , by believing in him as the son of God, they could receive eternal salvation., because as John recorded in 3 v 16:- God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. The church gradually became a separate entity, rather than a sect of Judaism – Jesus and his followers were of course Jewish. At first Christians met together on Sundays, but also went to the synagogues and the temple. The changes came about as the gospel message spread throughout the world and gradually the majority of members were non-Jewish. The church , despite many problems, has continued, to pass that message on to this day. There have been those over the years who have sought to distort the message, but usually these were recognised and dealt with, as with the teachings of Arias in the 3rd century. Then the Emperor Constantine was converted and made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. A council was held at Nicea to establish what were and were not the true beliefs of Christianity – there was much discussion about such things as the relationship of Christ with God the Father for instance. They came up with the Nicean creed, still repeated by Christians to this day. The person of Jesus has been and still remains a subject of controversy just as it was in his own day ( Matthew 16), but even those who do not accept him as the Son of God would claim that he went about doing good – which is more than many of us do. There are however many millions who do believe. References Bible, New International Version Jesus in the Qu’ran, retrieved 23rd December 2010 from http://www3.sympatico.ca/shabir.ally/new_page_24.htm Joseph of Arimathea, ( 2006) Book Rags , retrieved 28th December 2010 from http://www.bookrags.com/wiki/Joseph_of_Arimathea#Joseph_and_Britain Nicene Creed, retrieved 28th December 2010 from http://www.creeds.net/ancient/nicene.htm Toshi, L., ( 2007) St Joseph in Apocrypha, Oblates of Saint Joseph, retrieved 28th December 2010 from http://www.osjoseph.org/stjoseph/apocrypha/ Walker, A. ( translator) (1896) The History of Joseph the Carpenter, Church Fathers, from ante-Nicene fathers, Volume 8, Vol. 8. Edited by Roberts,A. Donaldson,J. and Coxe,A.,. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1886.retrieved 28th December from http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0805.htm Read More

The Qu’ran 3:49 describes him as – a messenger unto the Children of Israel, (saying): Lo! I come unto you with a sign from your Lord. Lo! I fashion for you out of clay the likeness of a bird, and I breathe into it and it is a bird, by the Lords leave. I heal him who was born blind, and the leper, and I raise the dead, by the Lords leave Jesus was related through Mary to John the Baptist, child of her cousin Elizabeth.(Luke 1 ) Isaiah had prophesied that the Messiah would be preceded by a messenger preparing the way before him and John took this role as is described in the first chapter of Mark.

It is likely that John was an Essene, i.e. a member of a community of ascetics Jews and scholars, or at least had contact with them. This fits in with the description of John given in Mark 1 v 4-8. Because they were cousins it is therefore likely that the young Jesus was also aware of the group who left us the Dead Sea Scrolls. Joseph was a carpenter, and his story is included in the Apocryphal book ‘Joseph the Carpenter’ as well as in the gospels. Evidence from this is used by Walker in his 1886 translation of ‘The History of Joseph the Carpenter.

’ Toschi in 2007 lists other references. The prophets had also predicted that the Messiah would come from Egypt. ( Hosea 11 v 1) Soon after his birth the family were forced to flee to Egypt, but returned once the danger was past. Herod died in the spring of 4 B.C.E. and the family returned to Nazareth. As Jesus grew to adulthood he became known for his wisdom and knowledge He took up the trade of carpenter. He is described as such in Mark 6 v 3 . It would have been natural to follow his step-father’s trade.

To be a carpenter in those days was more like that of architect today. So as well as making chests, boats, yokes and so on, it is possible that Jesus and his father were involved in building work - perhaps even in the nearby Roman city of Tiberius. There are a number of legends about Jesus’ hidden years, in particular one about a visit to Britain with Joseph of Arimathea. When Jesus began his ministry he was about 30 years of age. Why did he wait so long? It may be that he had family commitments.

Joseph is no longer mentioned after Jesus was 12 years old and it is clear from the New Testament record that he had brothers and sisters, despite some Catholic teaching about the perpetual virginity of Mary by Jerome in the 3rd century C.E. . Matthew 13 v 55 and Mark 6 v 3 name several brothers and also make reference to sisters. Jesus soon gathered around him a number of disciples who followed him around on his many travels during the next three years. There was an inner group of three – Peter and the brothers James and John, all three Capernaum fishermen.

There were another 9 disciples, plus many more unnamed people, male and female. He taught the people, often in stories, and also healed many, including raising people from the dead. These miracles are too many to be recorded here - I can only refer you to the gospels. As well as physical healings the gospels also record such things as the calming of the storm, the feeding of thousands and the casting out of demons. Some 30 or so miracles are recorded , but these can be taken as samples of many more.

As John says in John 21 v 25 :- Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written. His activities stirred up the authorities against him. There were even claims that his powers came from the Devil. The leaders of the people were probably frightened that he would cause the Romans to come down heavily on them for fear of an uprising. Jesus was well aware that he would die, ( Luke 9 v 44) but at the same time he did not avoid this.

In Luke 9 v 51 we are told that, rather than returning to Galilee, he set out resolutely for Jerusalem. There the crowds proclaimed him, ( Matthew 21 v 9 ) ‘Hosanna to the Son of David, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

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