Mark 10-16
In these seven chapters of the Gospel of Mark, Jesus teaches His disciples through parables, words, and actions. These chapters include Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem, His prediction of the destruction of the Temple, the anointing at Bethany, the Last Supper, the betrayal and arrest of Jesus, and His Passion, death, and Resurrection. In Chapter 16, Jesus appears to His disciples and sends them into the world to preach the Gospel.
Throughout these chapters, there is evidence that Jesus is the Messiah. Then, in chapter 15, when Jesus appears before the Sanhedrin, He is asked if He is the Messiah, to which He responds, “I am.”
Based on these seven chapters, how does Jesus fulfill the ideas of who the Messiah is (such as Healer, Teacher, Suffering Servant, Leader, etc.), considering what we talked about in Isaiah?
Jesus also warns about false prophets and messiahs. Looking back on history, do you think there have been false messiahs?
Also, consider the element of violence present in the “sacrifice” of Issac that we discussed in class. Do these chapters contain the same element of violence? Does our God require violence?
-Sarah Purple and Cristina Curtin (we're posting under Philip's account because we're technologically challenged)
Within these parables that Jesus speaks to his followers, he alludes to various lessons that we should take to heart. The various ideas such as (healer, teacher, etc.) can be referenced in use of each of these parables. These parables give light to the quality of the individual who follows the lessons of these parables. Jesus, in giving each of these pearls of wisdom, alludes to these qualities that the Messiah would fulfill. Jesus, through his passion, death and resurrection easily give light to what elements need to be fulfilled by the Messiah as a suffering servant and leader of belief. His teachings in the parables easily depict him as a teacher. In reference to the false prophets, I think that there have been false messiahs. I can believe that someone may be able to fully practice faith and good works as well as heed the scriptures, but the person will never truly be the messiah. That term can only be used to accurately depict one person who is Jesus. In terms of violence, the passion, death and resurrection they are quite violent scenes. Does God require violence? I would say no to that point. I do think that violence is part of our world which is undeniable that is common to all peoples from all respective backgrounds. Violence also carries a different meaning within this context. Mere harmful acts have no true purpose beyond hurting others. While the violence depicted within Mark or "the sacrifice of Isaac" carry a different note altogether. Violence is also seen as a demonstration of faith. Jesus suffers through his trials in the end; however, he believes in the Father and will not waiver. In the sacrifice of Isaac, Abraham nearly kills his son for the sake of his belief in God. Violence should not be present within our world but it is an entity that brings us together and makes us act.
ReplyDeleteGoing off of that, I feel as though a parallel can be drawn between Abraham sacrificing Isaac and God sacrificing His son, Jesus Christ for humanity's sins. It was touched upon in class, but sacrifice is seen - as you say - an act of faith.
DeleteWe talked today how the "Son of Man" ought to be the suffering servant, undergoing trials and acts of "violence" for the sake of God. I don't really see it as God advocating war and hostility between people.
In the last seven chapters of The Gospel of Mark, Jesus fulfills the ideas of who the Messiah is through parables, actions, and words.
ReplyDelete-When Jesus curses the fig tree and commands that no one will ever eat of its fruit again, the fig tree withers. Peter is amazed when he sees the tree, and Jesus teaches that “all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours.” (Mark 11:20-25)
-Through the Parable of the Tenant, Jesus teaches that God will bring those who are good tenants, followers of Christ and producers of God’s fruit, into the kingdom of God.
-Jesus proves to be a Leader in exemplifying love, for God and for neighbor, as the greatest commandment. Jesus is a leader for virtue and belief.
-Jesus proves to be Healer in his cleansing of the leper, the healing of the paralytic, the cure of Simon’s mother-in-law, and restoring the man’s withered hand.
-Jesus is portrayed as the suffering servant by his rejection, betrayal, and crucifixion.
I think there have definitely been false prophets and messiahs throughout history. False prophets are those who say they are speaking in God’s name, although He has not instructed him to do so. False messiahs are anyone who claims to be Jesus, the second coming of Jesus, or sent by God to complete Jesus’ earthly mission. False prophets and messiahs alter and form their own false faith. There are definitely people who hold the belief that they are prophets or the messiah, and many gain a following of religious people.
I think that these chapters do contain violence, but the difference between this violence and that of the other biblical stories, such as the 'sacrifice' of Isaac, is that here the violence is happening to Jesus, and therefore against God, not in is name (as Isaac's death would have been.) Thus, we definitely see signs of the “suffering servant” aspect of Jesus' role in the world through the violence showed towards him in his passion and crucifixion.
ReplyDeleteWhen interpreting the warnings about the false prophets from the Christian point of view, it is possible to give Muhammad as an example of one of these figures. After all, he claimed to be God's prophet, gathered followers, and “formed his own false faith,” in Meagan's words concerning false prophets. However, there have not been any false messiahs in history (that I am aware of), and since Jesus warned about them coming before his second coming, can we say that there most likely will not be a false messiah until just before the end of the world? Or is that too much of a leap?
Christ's passion and death are extremely violent events. Jesus is beaten by the guards of the Sanhedrin and then later flogged by the Romans, given a crown of thorns to wear on his head and whacked with a reed. After being beaten, he is hung on a cross to die. This violence actually happens unlike the story of Isaac, in which his father almost kills him, but ends up not harming him at all. According to Christ, his own death is necessary to fulfill the prophecy (MK 12:1-11; 14:27). According to Aristotle, all humans seek to avoid pain and find pleasure. Thus, for one to accept pain on oneself, it would be an action of the rational part controlling the appetitive part of the soul. Pain is not natural, so accepting pain - to the point of death - for God is a huge statement. It says that if one loves God so much, they will do what is not human accept pain to be closer to God. Jesus says in the "Conditions of Discipleship" "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it" (MK 8:34-35). This implies that martyrdom is a direct link to God and a most righteous deed. I do not think that God requires violence, although accepting pain and death for Christ is, in my interpretation of the scripture, a righteous and heavenly deed.
ReplyDeleteI agree. God does not require violence, but Jesus' passion is neccessary for the salvation of the world. God could have saved humans in a different way, but He chose to save us through the murder and resurrection of His son. God allows the Jews to make a horrible choice of killing His son, but He uses this event for His glory in Jesus' resurrection and for the salvation of all people.
DeleteJesus does indeed fulfill this idea of the Messiah through all of his teaching through his parables, his cure of the sick and his 'laying on of hands' in a sense to the disabled and the sick, like the woman possessed by the demons. He also represents Isaiah's idea of the Suffering Servant, as previously mentioned, through the abuse and harassment he comes by at the hands of the Jews, the Sanhedrin, and even the Roman soldiers in the end. I feel that there is a very violent aspect throughout this whole gospel and it is always related to Jesus. However, I feel that the violence was down-played a bit by the way that it was spread out through the gospel chapters. Primarily beginning with the cursing of the fig tree, which was astounding in my opinion, to the over-turning of the tables in the temple, and finally to his arrest and death. I don't think that our God requires violence, I just feel that at certain instances Jesus could only use violence as a means to make us understand his true message to the people, that the coming of God was serious and that if they missed the opportunity there would be no turning back for them.
ReplyDeleteAs for false prophets, there have no doubt been false prophets and even false messiah's claiming all sorts of crazy things. However, none of them could have ever compared to Jesus as the true Messiah because of all of his amazing and incredible signs to the people.
I like everyone else agree that chapters 10-16 show many different aspects of how Jesus is the true Messiah. Throughout these chapters, Jesus heals a blind man and curses a fig tree. These show his extra-human capabilities, signaling that He is something beyond just an ordinary person. Additionally, He is the suffering servant alluded to in Isaiah, going through the ultimate suffering possible for our own sake. At the end, when He is Resurrected, He once again shows His almighty power. I really liked how Andrew brought in Aristotle's idea about pain and pleasure. Jesus accepted pain for us, and I think that is truly what makes Him our Messiah. He has reached an ultimate victory over sin, and while He was not a literal political Messiah for the Jews at the time, this victory over sin is better than anything at all.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to false prophets and Messiahs, I think that there are more than what we might originally think. Sure, there have been false religious prophets and Messiahs. However, I think we have all encountered false prophets and Messiahs on a daily basis. Alcohol is supposed to make us happier. Cheating on an exam might look promising. Doing drugs or hooking up may give us satisfaction. Doing bad and tempting things can generally appear promising and enticing in some way. I think that Jesus was warning us about these small things in addition to false religious Messiahs. To truly follow Christ, we not only have to ignore other gods or religious figures, but we also have to ignore the false prophets and Messiah in our everday college lives.
Messiah means the anointed one. In history, we have seen royalty and holy people anointed, but Jesus seems to be specially anointed by God as the chosen one given power to spread the messages of God and redeem God's people through his death and resurrection. The Hebrews long expected a Messiah that would be a descendant of the high King David who would save the people from their hardship and bring peace and prosperity as well as the rule of God. The overshadowing idea was a powerful ruler who would rule in justice and strength for the people. We see in Jesus' life however that he was not that kind of Messiah. He came as a holy teacher with peace, humility, and mercy. In these chapters we see him giving the commandment to love God and to love others as yourself, favoring the meek and lowly widow, foretelling of his coming kingdom, and ultimately submitting himself to suffering and death for his people so that he would rise and they may rise with him.So, although he does not seemingly fit the expectations of the Hebrew people for a mighty king, Jesus is the Messiah who has come to he is the Messiah who comes to redeem his people through gentleness and supreme self sacrifice.
ReplyDeletenote: He is however a powerful king in that he is resurrected in glory into a position of kingship over the Heavens. Jesus says that he is the "Son of Man seated at he right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of Heaven." (15:62)
I do not think these chapters contain the same amount of violence as in the Isaiah. However, Jesus is shown to turn over tables and seats of the money changers in the temple area. Clearly this shows God is not a pacifist and violence is not inherently bad. Jesus did what was necessary to fulfill the Scriptures and spread the gospel. However, Jesus did undergo torture and crucifixion. These are both great acts of violence done to Jesus, God made incarnate. Ultimately, though, this is in God's plan for salvation. In His infinite love and mercy, God takes great evil and pain and transforms it into life-giving and redeeming. In doing so Jesus destroyed death and restored our life in Him. Jesus is our Messiah by the greatest act of love:sacrificing Himself on the cross out of love for us.
ReplyDeleteLooking back at history, I really don't think there have been any false messiahs, perhaps only small, unknown ones. None of the major world religions with Abraham as the patriarch have recognized any other messiahs, only important prophets such as Mohammad and Joseph Smith.
ReplyDeleteThere have been many false prophets and Messiahs I believe. Some still live today, although this is not as prevelent as it was in history. Almost all of them are self-proclaiming. From kings in ancient times, to Hitler, we have seen many self-proclaiming prophets that have received large followings. There are, of course, those people that thought they were prophets that received no following, too. I think if you asked many of the dictators of today their belief of themselves would be very similar to that of a prophet or Messiah, too. There is a woman from my home town that considers herself a prophet and has started a cult church. It is unclear how any of us could verify this.
ReplyDeleteWe all experience hard times and want to look up to someone that can lead us through. That does not make that person a prophet or the Messiah. Jesus tells us that he is the only Messiah and that we should not be deceived. We even have the signs that we should look for as we anticipate his coming. That should be enough for us Christians. God will make it truly known to us of any prophets and second comings when ever they happen.
I agree with Chris in that I cannot think of any major false Messiahs throughout history. However, as Sarah and Cristina point out, Jesus not only warns about false Messiahs, but also false prophets. And so, while I don't think there have been false Messiahs, I do believe there have been false prophets. Those people whom Chris pointed out may fit the description.
ReplyDeleteI see a similar element of violence in that Jesus is crucified similarly to how Isaac was nearly sacrificed by Abraham. Of course the obvious difference would be that Jesus's death actually occurred while Isaac's just almost occurred. However, both acts were inspired by God and so the similarity lies in the origin of the action. Although much violence occurs in these stories, I do not think that our God requires violence necessarily. This is evident in the fact that God stopped Abraham from sacrificing Isaac and even though He knew Jesus had to die, he did not "require" his death per se. In other words, He knew it had to happen in order to save His believers but He did not command it to happen. I believe that if there had been a peaceful way to achieve the same end that Jesus's crucifixion achieved, God would have chosen it rather than to sacrifice His only son.
ReplyDeleteI noticed Jesus fulfilling the role of Teacher particularly in these passages from the Gospel of Mark. He instructs not only his disciples, but also all those who approach him with questions, like the rich young man, whom he instructs to give up all of his possessions, or even the high priests who are constantly trying to trick Jesus. With his apostles, too, Jesus takes on the role of a teacher, preparing them for the time when he will not be with them. He accomplishes this through parables, like that of the tenants and the example of the fig tree. These present his teachings in a relatable way to his faithful followers, helping them to fully understand the teachings of Jesus.
ReplyDeleteI've always thought that the instances of violence in the Gospels show just how important the matters are. With the cleansing of the Temple, Jesus resorted to violence to show just how wrong what was happening was. I think it showed just how fed up he was with the situation. It must have been frustrating, to be teaching the people of the ways of God and for them to continue to not only not pay attention, but to continue to defile his Father’s house. Obviously violence is not always the correct way of handling a situation- it’s not like Jesus, the Prince of Peace, was going around town in a violent fury throughout his entire ministry. But Jesus had to do what was necessary for the people to really see that he meant all that he was teaching and that they had to change their ways.
Jesus does fulfill so many of the different roles of the Messiah, notably those of the Christian understanding: the Messiah as a suffering servant. After all, the Passion, Death, and Resurrection is the greatest form suffering, sacrifice for man all at the expense of Jesus himself. Of course he is a healer, as we can see from the many miracles detailed in the Gospel of Mark- fixing the fig tree, healing the sick, etc. Teacher, definitely- the entire gospel is filled with the "teachings of Christ." But, in a metaphorical sense, Jesus also completes the Jewish understanding of the messiah, to be a ruler - a king. Of course Jesus isn't the political king that the Jewish people were expecting but He does have certain qualities that make Him alike to a king- for example His followers are much like subjects.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of violence in these chapters there is an evident similarity between these passages and the sacrifice of Abraham. But, as previously mentioned, the violence is directed at Jesus in the Gospel of Mark. This affirms the idea of Jesus as the 'suffering servant.'
But I have to disagree with the people who have been arguing that there haven't been false messiahs. In fact there have been plenty- most recently in November of last year (2011) Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez. He shot a fake AK-47 9 times at the white house claiming to be Jesus Christ re-incarnated sent to kill Barak Obama (the anti-christ). In fact I was so surprised to find a list of people who claimed throughout history to be Jesus Christ... each has his own following- if you're interested here is the link to the wikipedia page that lists them all out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_who_have_claimed_to_be_Jesus
Of course you should always check the citations so you know you can trust wiki :D
~the REAL Philip da Costa
I want to go off your point because I additionally did see this article of people claiming to be Jesus when you posted it to Facebook, as well as an additional wiki article that lists Messiah claimants:
Deletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_Messiah_claimants
It got me thinking about why so many men, such as this man with the fake AK-47, have claimed. What was their motivation? Probably self-gain. I'm hesitatingly agreeing with Regina that Muhammad was a false prophet, only because there could be elements of truth in the Muslim faith. We have to remember that Christian teaching declares that Christ in the Catholic Church is the ULTIMATE truth - the most satisfying and the most complete of the world religions - but that does not mean God didn't inspire his people in other ways. However, these false messiahs...I agree with Lauren, that false prophets preach a false message. If the "Messiah" does things for an alterior gain, he will claim to be one he isn't (God or a savior) and thus fall into pride. But if we are selfless and fully adhere to God's message, we will be LIKE a messiah and LIKE the Christ in our goodness, which is a model Jesus put forth for us. So false messiahs do wrong, but those that model themselves after the Messiah and Christ may seem like him in goodness, but will never claim divinity.
in the passages of the suffering servant by Isaiah and the passages form Daniel chapter 7, the destiny of the Son of Man is described. Daniel speaks of one who, after suffering and persecution, is given glory by God. this reality of Son of Man who must suffer before glorification is fulfilled in the life of Jesus. God is not a being of violence, it is us that crucified Jesus and demanded for his death. in mark's theology, we cannot come to understand Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God until we recognize him as the Son of Man, one who must suffer. in chapter 8-9, Peter first declares Jesus as Messiah, then Jesus prophesies about the Son of Man and his suffering, and it is only then that Jesus' divinity and role as Son of God is revealed to us in his transfiguration. similarly, in chapter 13 the woman anoints Jesus, (messiah, meaning anointed one), suffering is predicted and then the coming of Son of God is described.
ReplyDeleteJesus does indeed fulfill the role of Messiah but not in the way deemed necessary by many of the Jews. through Christ we receive freedom from all that binds us (sin),but the Jews wanted to be free from captivity. we as christians believe we are free, jews are still waiting for their savior and Messiah.
Jesus fulfills His role as Messiah in this chapter, especially in answering "I am" to the Sanhedrin. "I am" is derived from the Hebrew name for God "Yahweh" or "Adonai". He is a great teacher as was shown during His discussion with the Pharisees outside of the temple. And the whole of the Roman province containing and surrounding Israel knew of His healing powers. Obviously He is the suffering servant as shown by His passion and his rebuke by the people of Jerusalem and the Pharisees. Also, plenty of false Messiah's have existed in history, from the occultist madman to the cheesy tv evangelist. I would like to bring up though, that the Gospels rarely or never mention violence as a means of devotion to God. Jesus says that giving oneself to God is the greatest sacrifice and not the blood of animals (or of anything for that matter). So, I don't see any reason to mention violence in accordance with the New Testament.
ReplyDeleteIn response to the second question, I definitely believe there have been false messiahs. I think that situations related to false messiahs are prominent during times of trouble when people are vulnerable and these false messiahs are able to take advantage of many groups. For example, the man who convinced thousands in Texas in the early 90s that he was the second-coming of Christ and that they should heed his message of no sin and no evil. However, although these people who have claimed to be the "messiah" have been proven false, it is difficult for us to be able to declare such a sensitive subject. This then raises the question of what determines what kind of person can be considered the Messiah and will we actually know for certain when the messiah does have their second coming on Earth during our time.
ReplyDeleteHaley introduces a very interesting question here that maybe others would like to build on. When Jesus returns as the Messiah, how will we distinguish Him from these other false messiahs? What are the qualities that we will look for in the Messiah when He returns and how can we prevent ourselves from being fooled?
DeleteJesus confused the disciples because He was not what the Jewish people had come to expect from a Messiah. He was more like the suffering servant in Isaiah than the glorious political savior the Jewish people had longed for. Jesus naturally is the healer, teacher, prophet, and all the offices expected of a Messiah. However, the biggest difference is how He preaches submission, not domination.
ReplyDeleteThose who pretend to be Messiahs and claim to be Jesus throughout history fail to heed what Jesus Himself said: no one knows the hour that the Son of Man will return. And so, one must do his or her best to discern when the real Jesus returns. However, the return will be very special, with no possible way to confuse it with a false one!
In terms of violence, Jesus said the exact opposite. He preached a gospel of humility. Killing and violence are not humble things; instead, they come out of our sinful nature.
I would like to parallel the sacrfice of Isaac to the sacrifice of Christ with reguard to violence. The sacrifice of Isaac is important in our history because God tells Abraham not to kill Isaac in the end. This is making a statement about human sacrifice. Human sacrifice is not necessary to the Jewish God. Violence as a result of sacrifice is not necessary. However, the sacrifice of Jesus is violent. There is the distinction though, that God is not asking this sacrifice to be performed by His people. This sacrifice is being asked of an individual[God's son] to present Himself as sacrfice. (Isaac didn't have a choice.) Christ is replacing the sacrifice of Isaac. Jesus is the "Son" who gives freely of Himself. Unlike sacrifices prior to Jesus, sacrifices were made to please God. Jesus' sacrfice was made to save all of humanity. It can be said then that Jesus' passion is the fulfillment of Abraham's sacrifice. Jesus offers Himself up as the last human sacrifice to God and humanity.
ReplyDeleteThere have been many false Messiahs over the years and to this very day people claim themselves as the Messiah and this happens even to this day with prophets and "holy figures" that claim the apocalypse and other disasters and "deliver messages from God." Many use their charisma rather than other holiness to gain followers and these usually end in cults and violence. Many claim to be the Messiah, but none have risen in the way that Jesus did.
ReplyDeleteHuman nature, I believe tends to be the cause of the violence with relation to God. Violent acts throughout time have been looked upon as holy and the suffering shows an extent to that of which humanity will go through for God. I do not believe God himself requires violence, but it is the resort of human nature.
Jesus has an uncanny way of doing things in ways we would never expect. I think that this is the way he fulfills the role of the Messiah. The ancient Jews were expecting someone who was a great king and military leader. Instead they got the prince of a heavenly dominon and a man with authority in the world and in the spiritual realms. The promises of the Messiah being a healer, teacher and servent are more clearly seen in Jesus' coming, but again, Jesus turn these expectations on their heads and takes them beyond the natural and physical world to the spiritual and supernatural.
ReplyDeleteIf, however, we run with the Jewish belief of what the Messiah is it is easy to see that there have been dozens if not hundreds of messiahs: people like Gandhi, Churchill and Washington, around whom the people can rally, and who bring peace and strength to their lands through authority and devotion.
I think Caitlin made a good point about there being many false messiahs. Many people try to use other's emotions to push their own agendas. People just want someone to rally around and to take care of them. Sometimes this is an intentional act, but people can also unintentionally become messiahs. However, whatever the reason, a messiah in a modern sense carries the connotation of being something that gives people hope and therefore there are many false messiahs.
ReplyDeleteI think that Jesus does fulfill so many roles because it is from Him that we get a true understanding of these roles. He truly demonstrates what it means to be a servant, a king, a teacher, and so many other things. However, I do not think that He fulfills the roles all at the same time. On earth, Jesus was more of the teacher and the servant while after His death He became more of a king. But all in all, Jesus fulfilled many roles and none of the false messiahs even come close.
Actually, historically speaking there were several "false messiahs" popping up around the time of Jesus. Everyone evxpected the Messiah, and so to rally people together someone would claim to be the Messiah in order to start a revolution. See list here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_messiah_claimants
ReplyDelete