Jesus: Ministry and Message
Ordinary citizens in 1st Century Palestine struggled with the basics of everyday life and were awaiting a messiah who would bring them a new teaching of God to follow. Jesus did this by introducing the concept of the ‘Reign of God.’ Thus to a significant extent Jesus’ words and actions in relationship to outcasts in 1st century Palestine revealed the Reign of God, through love, forgiveness and sincerity he embraced outcasts who would have otherwise been left to struggle alone. Many people are still excluded from society therefore his teachings are still relevant in several contexts today.
Life as a Jewish outcast in 1st Century Palestine was a helpless struggle as they were disregarded from the church because they were considered to be ‘impure.’ This in turn led to rejection from almost every aspect of society, even forced to live on the outskirts of towns (Roberts, 2010).
In Jesus’ time Judaism was not just a religion but a lifestyle that had very strict laws. One rule was that followers were expected to be pure and clean to enter the temple. People such as tax collectors, prostitutes, the sick and mentally ill were considered to be ‘impure’ and denied entry (Schreck, 2012).
An example, of in particular, a lepers further alienation from this unforgiving society is that in Leviticus it states, “The person with the infectious skin disease is to tear his garments and loosen his hair. He is to cover his mustache and shout out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!” (Leviticus 13:45).
The Essay on Kingdom Of God Jesus Society Community
Crossan asserts that the human body is a microcosm for the body politic, citing anthropologist Mary Douglas who states, "the body is a symbol of society" (77). This means that interactions between individuals serve as the basis for the macrocosm. Individuals are confined systems with distinct boundaries that are continuously guarding against outside threats. On the macrocosmic level, the ancient ...
This is evidence that outcasts such as lepers lived a humiliating and helpless life as they could not be part of everyday society and had to constantly be reminding people that they were outcasts. Jesus disagreed with this treatment and challenged society through his words and actions to become more inclusive.
Jesus’ most vital teaching was about the Kingdom of God, one of the biggest impacts he made was through the teaching of love, as he was able to demonstrate that he cared for outcasts, which was unheard of. He taught that anyone who was loyal to God was acceptable to become part of the Kingdom of God. The purpose was to provide people with the guidance they needed to be children of God (Gumbleton, 2011).
It was outcasts that the Kingdom of God applied to most in Jesus’ time as they were the most marginalised in society, in particular lepers. A story from the new testament of the Bible reads, “A leper came to him begging and kneeling he said If you choose, you can make me clean. Moved with love Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and he said I do choose. Be made clean…” (Mark 1:40 – 45).
It is evident that Jesus demonstrated love, as without hesitation he reached out and touched the leper, which at the time was considered controversial because lepers were considered to be ‘impure’ and contagious (Roberts 2010).
Jesus disregarded this and demonstrating the Kingdom of God through his actions and words completely overruled the consequences of his actions.
Worldwide there are still many ‘outcasts’ in society therefore by more people replicating the teachings of the Kingdom of God including genuine sincerity and non-prejudicial treatment in conjunction with forgiveness, the Kingdom of God can still exist. Specifically in Australia, aboriginal people can be considered ‘outcasts’ and are subjected to negative social attitudes for reasons including poor; health, educational opportunities and employment options and general cultural differences (Skwirk, 2013).
In 2008 the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd apologised to the stolen generations on behalf of Australia for policies which had “Inflicted, profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians,” (Rudd, 2008).
The Essay on Adam And Eve God Sin Jesus
1. Eden and the Expulsion a. ) Eden, interpreted through the reversal of the curses, is given to Adam and Eve, like a gift from God. Eden offers them food, "and the Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out from the ground - trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food," (Genesis 2: 9) and a place to live a simple life. Adam's task is to work the land, and in return he would be provided ...
However before the aboriginal people can truly accept the apology and forgive past generations sincerity must be shown to truly prove that collectively, Australians are sorry. Many programmes have been established to help Aboriginal people with health, education and employment opportunities however there is still plenty of discrimination and racism directed towards Australia’s Indigenous people. In the way of Jesus, with more cooperation, sincerity and forgiveness much could be achieved in reducing racial tensions and improving Aboriginal people’s quality of life.
Drawing from evidence from the Bible it can be concluded that life for outcasts in first century Palestine was a harsh and lonely existence. Jesus’ overarching point of his ministry was to proclaim the Reign of God and it was through unconventional love, forgiveness and sincerity that he achieved a better life for outcasts. In regards to Aboriginal people, today society still struggles with injustices and his teachings can still be applied to improve their quality of life also.
