Emily Sandifer
REL 102-Introduction to the New Testament
Dr. Ralph Noonkester
May 7, 2010
My Experience in New Testament
When I joined this class, I figured I would gain some knowledge about Biblical history and nothing more. I was quite wrong. I found myself beginning to understand more clearly the person of Jesus Christ.
As a Christian, I looked forward to taking this class to learn about “The Bible Days” as some call it. I’ve always loved learning about history whether American or Biblical. However, this class taught me more than just dates and events that happened quite some time ago. It taught me how to look at Jesus as a real human being. A human being in a real, sinful world and how he, being fully God yet fully man, overcame the temptations that we all deal with on a day to day basis.
Not once did Jesus give in to his fleshly desires. This fact is absolutely amazing to me. I sin every day. Sometimes I sin and do not even realize that I am sinning. However, Jesus never once broke God’s law. This says much about Jesus as a person. He was devoted to God and to the plans he knew God had for him. Some would say this was easy for Jesus to do since he was the Son of God. However, they forget to take in to consideration that he was also fully human, just like the rest of us. Jesus portrayed faith in God like no other before or after him.
The Essay on Gilgamesh Thirds God And One Third Human
Gilgamesh The story of Gilgamesh seems to relate to stories of the bible in some instances, but in others it seems like some great writers were at work when they created this story. For instance when I read the book The line "Gilgamesh, two-thirds god and one-third human, is the great-est king on earth and the strongest super-human that ever existed", sound similar to Jesus Christ. It makes me ...
When I started to think of Jesus, the human being, instead of Jesus, the Son of God, it began to challenge me. If Jesus, being a real person with his own individual wants and desires can stand firm on what he knows to be right and true, then maybe I can do the same. This of course can only be accomplished with the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit which comes to live inside each believer in Christ.
Jesus’ humanity and loyalty to God was demonstrated in a great way during his experience in the garden of Gethsemane. Though he was disturbed by the weight of his destiny, he prayed through it and said to his Father, “not my will but Thine be done.” These words required much courage and faith. Even though Jesus was scared and was not looking forward to dying a painful death, he trusted the Father and did it anyway.
This is a great lesson to be learned by all of us. Jesus had the greatest and most difficult destiny of all men to fulfill, yet he willingly undertook it. If he, dying a horrific death and taking on the sins of the entire world, can stay faithful to God and His principles, then we should do the same.
This was my greatest lesson learned from taking Introduction to the New Testament. I was challenged to think of Jesus and all of his sufferings and how he never sinned in spite of them. This really encouraged me to “keep on keeping on” when I face trials in my own in life. With the help of God and his Holy Spirit living inside of me, I can face any tragedy or difficulty and not sin or be discouraged because of it.
