World Religion Research Paper

Christianity

Life and Teachings of Jesus

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INTRODUCTION

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Introduction

Some believe Jesus was a great moral teacher; some believe he was a prophet of God; some believe he is God.

One thing that is clear is that he was a Jew.

Many have noted the relation of his thought and sayings to the thought of the Pharisees, though he often seems to “turn them up a notch”.

He had great knowledge of the Jewish scriptures, and is even said to have discussed Jewish law with Jewish elders as a boy. (To the right)

He seems to have had great reverence for the Temple.

The Beatitudes (part of the Sermon on the Mount) resemble in form the blessing lists from Jewish liturgy.

His teachings on repentance take the Jewish concept of “turning away from sin” up a notch, but are clearly in the tradition.

And he claimed to be a descendant of King David, and the Messiah that was prophesied by Isaiah.

Whatever else he was, he was a Jew.

Indeed, most of the famous early Christians were Jews.

From a sect of Judaism, Christianity would soon become a separate religion– a religion that would eventually be a world religion, embraced by billions in one form or another.

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Judea at time of Jesus

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Roman Occupation of Judea

Many Jews were unhappy with Roman rule. They attacked the Roman eagle which the Romans tried to place over the Temple as an idol, forbidden by Jewish law.

Some thought the Roman occupation was a sign of the end-times, and that the prophesied Messiah would return.

Many conceived of this Messiah as something like another Judah Maccabee, a military leader who would expel the Romans as Judah Maccabee had expelled the Seleucids.

Others thought he would be a teacher of righteousness.

The Messiah was also supposed to be descended from King David.

Some, like the Essenes, believing the end- times were coming, removed themselves into small, almost monastic communities.

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The New Testament

Our knowledge of Jesus and the early days of the Church comes from the New Testament.

The New Testament was written in Koine Greek. It consists of several sections. The life, teachings, and death of Jesus are contained in the Gospels, each of which was written several decades after the events described. Several of the Gospels may be based in part on a conjectured document called the Teaching Document, or Q. Whether the Gospels were written by the Apostles or their friends, as traditionally thought, is now disputed by modern scholars. The term means “good news”, from the Greek word “evangelion”.

The Acts of the Apostles tells the early history of the Church. It was probably a continuation of the Gospel of Luke, and written by whoever wrote Luke. Peter and Paul (Luke was a friend of Paul) are prominently featured in the Acts.

The Epistles are letters on religious topics and theology by Paul, Peter, and others. They are considered by Christians divinely inspired.

The Book of Revelations tells of the end of the world. Traditionally, it was written by John the Apostle.

The present “canon” of the New Testament was accepted by about the year 400 of the Common Era.

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The New Testament • The Gospels • Matthew, Mark, Luke—The

Synoptic Gospels

• The Gospel of John • Acts • Epistles—Paul, Peter,

others

• The Book of Revelations

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Synoptic Gospels

The first three Gospels are very similar, and are called the Synoptic Gospels, because they have many similarities, often sharing language and events in the same order. John, however, includes many incidents not in the Synoptic Gospels, and much theology as well, as shown in the following excerpt:

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Gospel of John

• “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made….The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”

• John 1:1-3, 14

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Sophia

In the Book of Proverbs, one of the Writings [Ketuvim], it was suggested that Wisdom was the master plan that God had devised when He created the world, and that it was the first of his creations.

Wisdom (in Greek, Sophia) became personified as a female creation of God, she was the Divine Word by which God had created the world. She was a symbol of God’s activity in the world, and would wander the world in search of humanity. She was a human perception of God.

Orthodox Christian representation of Sophia

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The Word

In the Targums, Aramaic translations of the Hebrew scriptures, Memra (Word) was used to describe God’s activities on Earth. Like the earlier concept of Wisdom, the Word symbolized God’s original plan for creation.

It began to mean the principle of divine reason and creative order. Some said God used the Word—in Greek, Logos, to do things like create the Earth.

John identified the Word with Jesus Christ. Perhaps he meant Jesus took on the divine characteristics of the Word, which was created by God, but it would soon be taken that the Word, as John puts it, was God.

So, if the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and made flesh…well, Jesus was the Word, and therefore God.

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John 3:16

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John also contains the above verse.

Many consider that this verse sums up the Gospels, and will often display the verse publicly, as Tim Tebow famously did.

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Birth of Jesus

According to the New Testament, especially Luke, angels told Mary, a virgin, that she would bear a savior, and shepherds, angels, and kings went to adore him, and there was an unusual star in the sky. Perhaps some of this happened, but the only thing an objective historian can be sure of was that he was born—and probably in the spring, if there is any truth to the tales.

He was a carpenter, living in Galilee. He was also by family tradition descended from King David, through Joseph, so he had at least one of the requirements to be Messiah. There are genealogies of Jesus in several Gospels tracing him back to David.

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Jesus as a Boy Jesus is portrayed in the Gospels as a child prodigy, capable of discussing

with understanding difficult questions of Jewish law with much older rabbis.

Similar stories are told of many famous Jewish rabbis.

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Baptism of Jesus

Isaiah had prophesied that the Messiah would be preceded by a messenger to prepare the way for him. Traditionally, the messenger was to be Elijah, the great prophet who had fought against Baal during the time of the Kings.

In the desert bordering the Jordan, a man named John began preaching repentance for sins, of which baptism was a symbol of the removal of sins.

Some thought he was Elijah, and he is said to have said he was the prophesied “voice crying out in the desert.”

Jesus went to John and was baptized— according to Mark, when this occurred, the heavens opened, and Jesus saw the Holy Spirit in the form of a bird, and a voice telling him that he was “the son of God.”

This was a term on occasion applied in the Hebrew and Christian scriptures to someone with a special relationship with God.

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Temptation of Jesus After his baptism, Jesus is said to have spent 40 days in the desert, where Satan tempted him. Among the temptations was all the kingdoms in the world, if Jesus would worship him.

Buddha is also said to have been tempted by the demon Mara.

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The Gathering of the Disciples

Jesus began gathering disciples. According to Matthew, he tells two of them, Peter and Andrew, who were fishermen, that “from now on you

will be fishers of men.”

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Parables and Sayings of Jesus

• Why do you look at the mote of dust in your brother’s eyes and ignore the beam in your own?

•   • A farmer was scattering seed. Some fell on the road and was crushed by

travelers; some fell on rock and could not grow. Others on thorns. But some fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown. Let those who have ears to hear let them hear. {Luke 8:4 etc.]

• He then explains when the disciples ask: The seed is the word of God. Those on the path hear the word, but the devil takes it away. Those on the rock hear it but have no root, they believe for a while, then fall away…the seed on good soil have a good and noble heart, hear the word, retain it and produce a crop.

•   • No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. • The Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you

plant in the ground. When planted, it becomes the largest of all garden plants with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade.

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The Kingdom of God

The Kingdom of God (or Kingdom of Heaven, in Matthew) was the central theme in Jesus’s teaching.

The Kingdom was the state of affairs that exists when humans recognize God’s sovereignty over the world and respond in love and obedience to God’s will.

It is the world as it ought to be, a world in which God’s love and righteous rule are fully recognized.

Sometimes, it would occur in the future after the sun darkened and the stars fell from Heaven—but other times, it was already present among Jesus and his followers.

The Kingdom was of all-surpassing importance, and it was a treasure worth any price.

It was open to all who repent. But repentance was more than just being sorry—it was a turning away from things that prevent you from doing God’s will.

The Hebrew word for repentance, “t’shuvah” literally translates to “to turn” or “return”. Jesus’ teachings often seem based at least in part on Jewish teachings, but “taken up a notch” or interpreted in a rather different manner than in Judaism.

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Sermon on the Mount I— The Beatitudes Jesus’s teachings and moral code may be found throughout the Gospels, but are perhaps best read in the form of the Sermon on the Mount, which was, according to Matthew, given on a hill to a large gathering of people:

Blessed are the poor in spirit,       for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.     4Blessed are those who mourn,       for they will be comforted.     5Blessed are the meek,       for they will inherit the earth.     9Blessed are the peacemakers,       for they will be called sons of God.     10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,       for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

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Sermon on the Mount II

• You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' 22But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment.

• You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.’ 28But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

• If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

• It has been said, 'Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce. 32But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.

• You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.‘[ 39But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

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Sermon on the Mount III

• You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

• 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

• 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

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Sermon on the Mount IV

Perhaps the two easiest commandments are “Do not murder” and “Do not commit adultery”.

But according to the Sermon, getting angry is murder, and looking at a woman with lust is adultery. Two of the easiest commandments are now among the hardest—some have argued even humanly impossible, as anger and lust are almost instinctual.

Jesus’ moral code is one of the strictest ever made, if not the strictest. It is a difficult code to uphold— perhaps humanly impossible.

Jesus also commands that we love our enemies. Not tolerate them or make peace with them, but love our enemies.

And he asks that we be perfect, as God is perfect.

But we are humans, so can we be perfect?

Many say no.

If this is the moral code we are held to, it is argued by many that we will all fail.

Later theologians would argue that, basically, that was the point. No human could meet the standard —without the assistance of Jesus, who was not just metaphorically a son of God, but actually the Son of God.

Accept his sacrifice, it was argued, and you were saved.

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Love

Love is at the heart of Jesus’s teaching. Genuine love knows no limits and is offered freely to everyone—“Love your enemies.”

Love leaves no room for the condemnation of enemies—Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. Love requires forgiveness. Even enemies deserve love and compassion.

The Prodigal Son is greeted with joy when he returns home, not with reproach.

John goes so far as to say:

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

1 John 4:8 NIV

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Peter

According to the Gospels, Jesus asked his disciples who they thought Jesus was. Simon calls Jesus the Messiah. Jesus then said:

“You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church…I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Matthew 16:18-19). Simon, now called Peter (the Rock, or “Rocky”, from the Greek Petros) later became the first Bishop of Rome—the first Pope. In later centuries, the claims of the popes to be the leaders of Christianity traced back to being successors of Peter—and therefore holding the keys to the kingdom of Heaven.

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The Problem Jesus Posed

Jesus annoyed or frightened much of the power structure.

If Jesus did claim to be the Son of God, (there is some doubt among scholars on this) not in the metaphorical sense of someone with a close connection to God, but in the same sense that Hercules was the son of Zeus, this was blasphemy against Judaism.

If he claimed to be the Messiah, which he very likely did, then this was claiming to be the King of the Jews and was in rebellion against Rome.

This frightened the priestly authorities—Judea was a powder keg, and they worried about charismatic preachers who might claim to be the Messiah—people would flock to their banner, revolt against Rome, and Rome would crush the rebellion.

That would mean an end to their positions and the country.

Thousands could be killed and the Temple destroyed.

They were right to be worried—the Romans finally destroyed the Temple and exiled the Jews as a solution to the problems of ruling the region.

With his preaching that it was difficult for the rich to enter Heaven, he annoyed the wealthy, and his preaching against what he considered hypocrisy annoyed many pious Jews. His attack on the money-changers in the Temple (to the right) may have seemed a call for social revolution.

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The Arrest of Jesus

If Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, not a son of God (there is some modern doubt on this point) then that was blasphemy against Judaism.

If he claimed to be the Messiah, then he was claiming at least the equivalent of kingship, and that was rebellion against Rome.

The priestly authorities feared people would flock to his banner, revolt against Rome, and be defeated.

Then the Temple would be destroyed, they would lose their power, the people would be exiled. Within a few decades of Jesus’s death, these calamities would happen.

In an attempt to prevent these terrible events, the Gospels say they ordered the arrest of Jesus for blasphemy and sedition.

Caravecchio painting of Jesus’s arrest, featuring Judas’ kiss.

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Trial of Jesus

Jesus is finally arrested on charges of rebellion.

Jesus is tried in a rather irregular manner. He appears at night before the Sanhedrin, which never met at night, especially on Passover (some argue that many Galileans celebrated Passover a day earlier than Jerusalem-area Jews).

He is brought before the Roman prefect Pontius Pilate.

Pilate is very reluctant to try him, and tries to pass the buck to Herod, puppet “tetrarch” of Galilee, who was in Jerusalem for the Passover holiday.

Herod has heard much of Jesus, and is eager to see Jesus perform a miracle, but Jesus either can not—or will not—oblige.

Disappointed, Herod sends him back.

Jesus is horribly scourged, whipped 39 times, but continuously refuses to defend himself against the charges.

According to John, he finally confessed to being the king of the Jews.

This makes him a rebel, and bending at least partially to the will of what many argue was a “rent-a-mob”, Pilate sentences him to death.

Jesus was soon crucified. 28

The Crucifixion Crucifixion places the body in a position where it is slowly suffocated, in addition to the piercing of the body by nails. Jesus,

already terribly injured by floggings, beatings, and the crown of thorns, according to the Gospel expired fairly quickly.

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The Crucifixion and Resurrection

The crucifixion was either 29 or 33 CE. Jesus was about 33.

Now things get very strange.

The Gospels tell of empty tombs and of Jesus returning from the dead, walking talking and eating, allowing Doubting Thomas (one of his disciples) to stick his hands in his wounds, and of Jesus telling the disciples to continue preaching his message, that he would be coming back soon, and of an ascent to Heaven.

Perhaps these were hallucinations, waking dreams—some even have argued for a pious hoax.

Some have even pointed to Elvis sightings after his death—people wanted so badly to see Elvis, that they did. Maybe something like that happened here.

These are matters of faith—an objective historian can only report that Jesus was reported to, after his death, have been seen walking and talking, eating, being touched, and preaching.

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The Great Commission

• Matthew ends with the Great Commission the resurrected Jesus is said to have given his disciples in Galilee:

• “All authority in Heaven and Earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all the nations…..”

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