Beliefs In The Actions & Teachings Of The Historical Simply Jesus

Question: Write an essay explaining first how Wright tries to show the roots of these beliefs in the actions and teachings of the historical Jesus. Secondly, whether or not you agree with or hold these beliefs, do you find Wrights analysis explaining why and how these beliefs arose to be persuasive? Answer: Nicholas Thomas Wright (Tom Wright) is a renowned British scholar who strongly believes and supports the need of a scriptural presence in respect to visions of theological studies. He has always been a vivid reader of biblical texts which made him worry that evangelicalism has been stretched too much by debates and lines instead of by scripture. In his book, Simply Jesus, he has displayed an entrancing vision of Jesus Christ along with his reason for existence. It has invigorated and diversified the knowledge we had about Jesus in regards to his story and culture of past times. Wright makes a very provocative claim in this book that after around 2000 years of belief, we might be wrong about Jesus. According to (Isbouts, 2012), much confusion has taken place over Jesus Christ, which is partially due to the result of historical and cultural difference, and partially because of what Jesus said and did was unusual in those times. He believes that we have diminished Jesus by trying to fit him into the concept of either a social reformer or Gods personification. In the earlier pages of his book, Wright questions the conservative crusaders as well as liberal cynics by asking them to put down their war weapons and linger on the questions about the real incidents. The writer is successful in identifying how the acts, words, rituals, symbolic phrases deeply influence ideas in Jesuss time. Wright paints a clear picture of Jesuss perfect storm in his own regards to aid us in seeing it with this century eyes. It is the collision of the dreams and hopes of the Jewish, th e Roman magnificent takeover of the universe as well as the wind of God which lead the way for Jesus to come to the rescue of humanity from their predicament. Jesus fits into the role of God when Wright says that He was the one in whose presence, work, and teaching Israels God was indeed becoming king. Teaching statements given by Jesus mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew is quite rich and it gives insights of how Jesus believed in humanity (Anderson, 2012). His intention was not to set theology or teaching doctrines. Rather, he established his teachings along with commandments within his ministry (Matt. 28.20). Jesuss teachings were considered very enigmatic and cryptic by the Christians because they believed that Gods kingdom was coming to stand in a unique way (Harvey, 2012). The writer also observes that the repetitive reminiscence of the exodus was very significant and important for Israel, although they had failed to be the messiah in a violent way. Jesus had been involved in a cosmic war which could be termed as clash of kingdoms but it was not with Greek or Romans. (Duling, 2012) suggests that Jesus is very suited to the role of messiah since he personifies the place where it is considered that earth and heaven meet. His desire solely rested on the thought of Gods kingdom would come on earth as in heaven. The question might arise that if Jesus was Gods King, then why his death took place. Wright concludes that it is only because of his love for his people. The replaced life of loving the innocent one did give the ability to turn around the waves of the cosmic war in his favor. But de ath was not the only answer. Jesuss resurrection was required which not only revives him but also establish the beginning of a new age where he is ideally considered as the Gods King and the world as his kingdom project (Wojciechowski. 2014). Personally, it can be said that Jesus was really just trying to show what God was in real sense and exactly how His Kingdom of Heaven functioned through his miracles and teachings. He believed and preached that love and peace cannot be achieved by violence, bloodshed or conquest. It can only be gained with the true meaning of love, sacrifice, and humility. Sometimes even death. Wright appears to have no conviction in the concept of Rapture where Jesus is believed to return. He seems more like the follower and believer of Amillennialism which rejects the belief of Jesus serving thousand long physical years on the earth. However, it still cannot rationalize the existence of a superior power which is working around this world for the past centuries (Cobb, 2014). Though this does not concern my concept of rapture, I can agree with the notions put across by Wright in his book. The concluding chapter in Wrights book raises a very imminent question - What on earth does it mean, today, to sa y that Jesus is king, that he is Lord of the world? It can be said that the writer goes for a transformed sense of earthly vocation since it is evident that humans play a key role in the project of Gods kingdom. As said earlier, Wright believes that the community of human is confused with the idea of Jesus. Trying to categorize Jesus in any definitive theory is symptomatic of a much larger malaise that we have not allowed Jesus himself to express his part (Ascough, 2012). Yes, it seems that the beliefs we have followed for such a long period of time, that over the years it has become persuasive to our cause. The belief that Jesus still rules our world is a very controversial and challenging idea. People have theocracy which states that priests are the official spokesperson and they tells us from whats right and wrong. Allowing the church to act as the hierarchy and believing that they have the upper hand isnt substantial enough. Christians need to be studying how to make it happen t hat God is King on earth as in heaven. Our faith focuses on Jesus Christ along with all the witness and texts to support Christs life here on earth. Nevertheless, even being a strong believer, we all sometimes have asked ourselves the question in the back of our minds. The question which still remains Who was Jesus, actually and what was his belief? References Anderson, William Angor. The Gospel Of Matthew. Liguori, MO: Liguori Publications, 2012. Print. Ascough, Richard S. "The Triumph Of Christianity: How The Jesus Movement Became The World's Largest Religion. By Rodney Stark. San Francisco: Harperone, 2011. Pp. Vi + 506. Cloth, $27.99.". Relig Stud Rev 38.3 (2012): 173-173. Web. Cobb, John B. "Why Jesus?". Dialog 53.3 (2014): 213-222. Web. Duling, Dennis C. A Marginal Scribe. Eugene, Or.: Cascade Books, 2012. Print. Harvey, Paul. Moses, Jesus, And The Trickster In The Evangelical South. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2012. Print. Isbouts, Jean-Pierre. In The Footsteps Of Jesus. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic, 2012. Print. Wojciechowski, Micha. "Teachings Of Jesus And Popular Hellenistic Stories". BPTh 7.1 (2014): 43. Web. Wright, N. T. Simply Jesus. New York: HarperOne, 2011. Print.