John was combating the view of Jesus

John was combating the view of Jesus

When John says that the Word became flesh, he is expressing the human nature of Jesus Christ, who is ‘the word’ in this context. The word is symbolic of Jesus, the son of God, who has been introduced in the first verse of the same chapter as having existed in the beginning. He shows that Jesus has the nature of the human as opposed to divine nature as well as material nature instead of the spiritual one. Flesh presents Jesus as a living and breathing being who is real. I think it was necessary to John that the Word became flesh so that he could testify of a fellow human being, who had experienced what other mortal people do experience. It would also be more comfortable for John to accomplish his mission through his fellow human-the word. John was combating the view of Jesus as a supernatural being who understood nothing to do with humanity.

To say that Jesus is the light of the world, it means that Jesus illuminates the dark phases of the world. Being close to him or in a relationship with him makes the people in the world live lives that are worthwhile while on earth. Those who are not intertwined with Jesus have experiences engraved in darkness. When God created a light, he saw that it was good and separated it from the darkness. So it means that knowing Jesus, who is the light, the world will be a better place where people will live in joy and happiness, which are good virtues, symbolizing light. Him being the light also means that he exposes us to our sins’ light through the sacrifice that he made on the cross; to die so that we as sinners may be saved. Therefore, since light is right, Jesus exists so that we can follow him and walk in the right path that impresses God.

When Nicodemus asks how someone can be born when they are old, he is thinking about being born again in a literal way. He thinks that being born again means getting back to the stomach of an individual’s mother and coming out again. He is thinking in the body rather than in the spirit. He does not seem to understand what Jesus means by talking about being born again. To be born again means to accept Jesus Christ as one’s savior and proclaim it with the mouth. It means leaving the old sinful ways and conforming to the ways of Christ, which dictate that one should leave a righteous life. Hence, it involves burying the old sinful self and accepting to live a new righteous one. Being born again also means avoiding to do things of the world since the bible says that friendship with the world is enmity with God (James).

The story of Nicodemus expresses symbolism in the way Jesus uses symbols instead of direct language. When Jesus tells Nicodemus that no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born again, he is symbolizing salvation using the ‘born again’ phrase. On missed connections, Nicodemus fails to understand the symbolism used and takes Jesus’ words literally, hence missing the intended meaning. On double meanings, by being born again, Jesus is trying to tell Nicodemus that he needs to accept Jesus as his savior and confess with his mouth. At the same time, he also means that he needs to be baptized when he tells him that one needs to be born of water and spirit (John 3: 5). When one becomes born again, they receive the Holy Spirit to be their guide.

Nicodemus is a representation of a relational and transformational view from the advice that Jesus gives him on how to strengthen his relationship with God and accept the transformation. Jesus tells Nicodemus that to inherit the kingdom of God, one needs to be born again, which is getting saved and establishing a closer association with God than before. By the time Jesus was talking to Nicodemus about this, he was not saved. So, it is was more of a wake-up call to him to get transformed and change his ways into Godly ways by accepting Christ in his life and walking in the right path to maintain a connection with the heavens. He also needs to change his way of thinking, especially when it comes to matters of salvation, and start seeing it from the spiritual perspective.

Many major sporting events have people holding up a sign with John 3;16 words. I think it is one way of spreading Christianity on the platform and also compelling the spectators, whether Christian or non- Christians to pray for the event. When people see the verse, it reminds them of prayer, and they feel indebted to make one in support of the ongoing activity in question. I also think it is one way of expressing existing ho[e beyond the game. They use these platforms to remind the players as well as the players that it is not just about sports. There is something else we need to aspire to acquiring-eternal life, which will only come to us through believing in God. Additionally, I think the verse helps in maintaining the attention of everyone to the game since it is one of the most straightforward and most famous verses in the bible.

The relation of the water that Jesus speaks about in 4:13-15 to the one which the woman seeks from the well of Jacob is that both drinks of water quench the thirst. The water that Jesus talks about quenches the spiritual thirst while the water that the Samaritan woman seeks in Jacob’s well quenches physical thirst. The dialogues between Jesus and the woman teaches us to be truthful always. When Jesus asked the woman where her husband was, she honestly said that she had no husband(verse 17). From the woman’s honesty and Jesus’ response, the Samaritan was able to recognize he was a prophet and spread the word to others of the wonder of Christ. The society can also learn to be welcoming and generous regardless of where someone comes from. The other party could be a change agent in their life like Jesus was to the woman.

Luke traces the genealogy of Jesus to Adam and God while Mathew traces the same genealogy to Abraham and Joseph, Jesus’ earthly father. The genealogy of Mathew is significant because it presents Jesus as the Messiah, who was prophesied would come into being from the household of David. It is a fulfillment of that prophecy that had been made in the Old Testament about the coming Messiah, who would be king. The genealogy is a representation of promises that God had made to Abraham and David, that he would establish an everlasting throne from their household. It also presents Jesus as an Israelite since his descendants Abraham and Davis mentioned here were Israelites. Luke’s genealogy, on the other hand, shows the origin of Jesus to be from God. It is significant because it presents Jesus as the son of God, who was born on the earth through man.

Saying that Paul’s letters are occasional, it means that each letter was responding to particular situations in the church branches in the early times. He addresses his letters to various churches based on specific occasions that prevailed for that specific time. For example, he wrote his letters to the church of God in Corinth in majority sections of first Corinthians to respond to questions of the church. In the first big section of Corinthians, Paul is appealing for unity, and not divisions. He addressed this after he had received information that believers at Corinth had begun tearing apart. Different chapters are addressing various subjects. In his letters to Philemon, Paul was requesting an individual for particular items. He also sent his letters to other churches such as Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians, Timothy, and Titus.

The letters of Paul are classified into three groups; the Deutero- Pauline letters are also known as disputed letters which include Colossians, 2nd Thessalonians, and Ephesians, the second groups is called undisputed Pauline epistles which encompass Romans, 1st and 2nd Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1st Thessalonians, and Philemon. The third group is Pastoral letters, which are 1st and 2nd Timothy and Titus. The division of Paul’s letters depends on pseudepigraphy because they are distinguishable into two. There are those that Paul wrote himself- which are called disputed letters, and those that were written by his followers called undisputed letters. When you focus on a book like Hebrews, it is in the category of letters of Paul, but he is not the one who wrote it. The same case applies to the books of 1st and Timothy and Titus, which are believed to have been written by an individual (s) from the school of Pauline who aimed at adapting teachings of Paul to the circumstances that were changing.

The Gospel of Mathew presents Jesus as a Jewish Messiah. To begin with, Mathew, when introducing the genealogy of Jesus, he refers to him as the messiah, son of David, the son of Abraham (Matt 1:1). David and Abraham were Jews, and hence associating Jesus with them meant that he was also a Jew since his two descendants were. Having the Jewish identity and being brought out as the messiah, qualify him to be called the Jewish Messiah.

As we proceed to read chapter two of the same book, we notice that when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea during King Herod’s reign, when Magi came over to Jerusalem, he asked where the one who had been born king of Jews was (Matt 2:2). This was after they had followed the star that directed them to the exact place where the Messiah had been born. The fact that the Magi came looking for Jesus, king of the Jews, is proof that he was presented as the messiah for the Jews.

After Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus and noticed that he was condemned, he returned the thirty pieces of silver that he had been given. The chief priests used the money that Judas threw in the temple to buy a field because it was against the law to put such money into the treasury following that it was blood money. Earlier that morning, elders and the chief priests had planned on Jesus’ execution. Later on, Jesus was brought before the governor for interrogation. When he was asked whether he is the king of Jews, he said he was (Matt 27: 11). This is a confession of Jesus himself, accepting that he was the king of Jews. Elders and chief priests afterward accused Jesus and released Barabbas.

Before Jesus was crucified, he went through a mockery from soldiers. These soldiers stripped him and made a crown of thorns to out on his head. They then knelt in front of him and mocked him calling him king of Jews (Matt 27:29). This is yet another way that Mathew has succeeded in presenting Christ as the Jewish messiah. After the mockery, they led him to where he was to be crucified.

Luke is referred to as the gospel of social justice. This is because the book has recorded many instances where social justice has been accorded. In Mary’s song known as the Magnificat, she says that the Lord has lifted the humble, and brought down rulers from their thrones(like 1:52). This is a form of social justice where opportunities and privileges are fairly distributed where those who are humble are granted while those who have taken pride in the thrones have been demoted. She goes ahead to say that he has sent the rich away empty and filled the hungry with good things(53). This is justice since the hungry who had nothing are given pleasant things, and the rich are sent empty because they already have.

When the crowd tasked John the Baptist what they should do, he encourages them to share with those who do not have food as well as clothes. He also advises tax collectors to be fair and just when collecting tax. He tells them to avoid the required amount and not more. To the soldiers, he said to them not to extort money nor accuse other people falsely. He also asked then to be satisfied with their salary( Luke 3:10-14). All these are forms of social justice.

When Jesus was tested by a law expert on what one should do to inherit eternal life, he narrated to them the parable of the Good Samaritan in a bid to explain what a good neighbor is. After he finished describing the parable, he asked the law expert who was a good neighbor to the injured man amongst the people when passed near him when he lay injured. The expert answered that it was the good Samaritan who helped the young man by taking him to an Inn and paying for his treatment bills even though they had different identities. Jesus told him to go and do the same( Luke 10:25-37). The act of the good Samaritan that Jesus advocated for was a social justice act.

When Jesus entered the synagogue, he unrolled the script and read the message in it. The message was that the spirit of the Lord was on him because he was anointed to proclaim the good news to the poor and freedom to the prisoner as well as to set the oppressed free (Luke 4:18-19). All these are acts of social justice.

Jesus also talked about blessings and woes. The first blessing promises the poor the kingdom of heaven. This is justice since there is the hope of acquiring something for those who were not wealthy while living here on earth. Those who weep are also promised laughter, and the hungry are promised satisfaction. The rich are also woed for already receiving comfort while on earth, which means they will not be blessed in days to come (Luke 6:20-26). All these present social justice.