Chapter 15 Summary

In chapter 15 (The Temptation to Violence) of "Jesus Before Christianity" the main theme is temptation. The Jews of Palestine had been waiting for a Messiah for sometime. They wanted a "king" to come along and take control of the political and military power and to restore the kingdom of Israel. There are two stories in this chapter exemplifying his struggle with resisting temptation. The first is the story of the "loaves and fishes" Jesus could tell that the 4-5,000 men there were like sheep with no Shepard. They wanted to come and make him there Messiah so he escaped, Jesus never rarely if ever referred to himself as the Messiah because he felt that it was a temptation of Satan which needed to be rejected. The second story is when Peter continues to refer to Jesus as the Messiah. The two get into a argument. Peter was mad at Jesus for not taking the chance at seizing power and becoming the Messiah. (Peter was playing the role of Satan aka the tempter). Jesus struggled throughout his life with this temptation of power and kingship. In today's society we are faced with temptations everyday it might not be as dramatic as becoming the Messiah or King but we must act like Jesus and think with a clear mind and resist the temptations.

---RAY O'C

Chapter 8 Summarry

Chapter 8, The Kingdom and Prestige,talks about the main value of society as social status. The society was so structured that everyone had a place on the social ladder. Nothing was every done to change any of it. Basically, whatever was in history, that was the way that things were done. Status and prestige were based upon ancestry, wealth, authority, education and virtue. Status was a much part of religion as it was of social life. People with the higher status were able to say what religion was to be value. (eg. Ponitus Pilot) Jesus came around and contradicted everything that the society valued. He basically said that the kingdom has such distinctions as social status would hold no meaning. A little child would serve as an image of the kingdom because people who have the lowest places in society are the people whom Jesus often called the little one or the least. They essentially make up the kingdom of God. Jesus' love for the poor and the oppressed was not an exclusive love; it was an indication of the fact that what he valued was humanity not status and prestige.
------Chelsea