The End

I want to start this post by saying that it will possibly be my last. By finishing this gopel, we are done with the Bible, and because we are not going to have to read at home any longer, we won't do reading blogs either. It has been great talking about the Bible and all the other books we have read with this nonexistent audience.

So, the last chapters of the gospel of John. I have to say they were a lot more entertaining than the rest of the gospel. I really like the parts when they are pursuing and challenging Jesus, because it is more interesting that the rest of the boring stories, no offence.

The first thing I have to notice is that I think the disciples are portrayed as stupid. They never understand anything that Jesus says, but they will still follow anything he says word by word without caring to think through it. "Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father? 18 They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what he saith (John 16:17)." How come they didn't understand something as easy as "I am going to Heaven, but I will come back." Especially being disciples? I think it was done on purpose to make Jesus seem more intelligent.

I really liked a small part when Jesus was praying to God, and he prayed for his apostles, saying that they gave him great joy. I thought it was very humble and nice to him to say that, after all the time they had spent together.

I also noticed that at the end where a lot of parts that seemed to have the same story as in Luke, because everything about Pilate and how he didn't find Jesus guilty of anything happened in both gospels. The way how it was decided that he was going to be crucified, and important part like those were also the same. Anyway, there were also some major differences, like Jesus' last words.

In Luke's gospel, I don't remember his last words, so I am thinking they might not have been as important or as direct as in John's. Instead, in John's gospel his words are not easily forgotten. He says "I thirst" and "It is finished (John 19:28,30)." That is something that generally keeps you thinking, and you don't really forget that Jesus said he was thirsty as part of his last words. At least to me, it was very interesting, because I didn't expect that to happen. I had also never heard of it, but I think he just said it to fulfill that prophecy he is always talking about. The so-called "scriptures."

For me it is weird that they are always talking about the scriptures, because it seems as though the writer was just reading the scriptures and inventing the story based on what was supposed to happen. " For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken. 37 And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced (John 19:36)." Don't you think it seems as if they had said "Oh, because Jesus can't have his bones broken, then let's say he died before they could break them, to fulfill the scriptures." I don't know, but I find it very weird and discouraging.

A crucial difference between both gospels was that in the gospel of Luke, Jesus only appeared one time to his disciples, and the way he was first seen was a lot different. In this case, Jesus appears at least three times. "This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead. (John 21:14)" I find this strange, because even though I expected differences, something as big as how many times he came back after his resurrection is something big enough that everyone should agree on.

I didn't like the end of this gospel. "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen (John 21:25)." But since there is nothing I can do about it, then I will just have to leave it as the last words in my reading blog! TTYN!

Not That Different After All

Starting off the chapters from eight through fourteen, Jesus already does something I would never expect him to do. I knew he forgave sins, but I would have never thought that he would forgive someone breaking one of the Ten Commandments. When a woman commits adultery, which is one of the most important don't-do, he lets her go, justifying himself by saying everyone there had also sinned. Still, I think according to the Christian church, committing adultery should be a lot worse than normal sinning, but it seems like I was wrong.

I continue and continue to find examples about Jesus being a lot meaner and blunter than the Jesus portrayed in the gospel of Luke. Look at this one, in which he is basically saying that he is a lot more important than the rest of the humans, and that they should only follow him. I know it is probably true, but the way in which he said it made it sound like he was a very arrogant person: "Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he,ye shall die in your sins (John 8:23)."

Then, after seeing all these differences, I saw something I had heard about before. I haven't read it yet, because it appears in the gospel of Mark, but I had heard my friends talk about it. Jesus uses the same method of healing than he did in Mark, he "spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay (John 9:6)." I find this interesting, because it makes me believe in it a little more than before.

Another thing that was similar, this time to the gospel of Luke, was that he used a parable to explain his point of view. In Luke's gospel this is basically all he does, and now it is the first time he tells a story. Anyway, it doesn't work that well, because his apostles don't understand the parable's meaning.

Then, after I thought it wasn't going to be that different after all, I found another difference. In the gospel of Luke, when someone died, Jesus would just be strong and revive them, but in this gospel, "Jesus wept (John 11:35)." I didn't expect him to cry, because he is supposed to be strong and give strength to his followers. Also, he always knew that he was going to revive him, so there was no need to mourn his death.

Something else was that when he was pursued by the Jews, in the gospel of Luke he just continued and accepted his fate, but in this one "Jesus... walked no more openly among the Jews; but went thence unto a country near to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there continued with his disciples (John 11:54)." I don't think this is very Jesus-like, because I thought he was braver than to just hide away when they were looking for him. If he could revive the dead, how come he couldn't face a bunch of humans?

There was this line that Jesus said to his disciples, that I want to share with you. It is very similar to another line I liked that he said. "I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness (John 12:46)." This means that Jesus is a light that came to the earth meant to take away the darkness to everyone who couldn't see, or make happy everyone who was sad. This definition of Jesus is one that I really like, and I hope everyone else sees its beauty too.

Another thing that I didn't expect, but I think is a development in Jesus' personality, is when he washed his disciples' feet. I thought that was an act of humbleness and a good way of teaching lessons to his apostles. I think it is majorly important because it was during the last supper. I really liked it, and I loved the teaching that came with it.

My last analysis in this post is something that I had never heard, but I think is very important. I have to say I don't really understand it, because I don't know to whom Jesus is referring to: " But the Comforter, which isthe Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you (John 14:26)." Who is the "comforter" or the "Holy Ghost?" I don't know if Jesus is referring to himself after the resurrection, or if it is someone else. I will leave you now with that question, and if you know the answer, please comment!

A Lot More Different Than What I Thought

Hello! New week, new gospel! I chose the gospel of John for this week. As I said before, because you already know the story of Jesus as told in the gospel of Luke, I will analyze the other gospels by comparing them. As the title states, the gospel of John is a lot more different from the gospel of Luke than what I thought it would. I thought that because it was the same story, written at approximately the same time, by people who saw the same things with their own eyes, it would be fairly similar. Well, it wasn't.

I first want to say that, without meaning to offend anyone, the gospel of John until now is boring. I have only read the first seven chapters, but they are enough to make me notice the difference. One of the things that was very different was the way of writing. I am not sure why, but this gospel has a very different tone and even word choice. It sounds more religious, sometimes a lot more descriptive, and for some reason it seems to care more about Jesus' words than his actions. Here they describe exactly what he says, while in Luke they described more of his actions.

Something weird that I noticed was that it said that either Jesus had created the earth, or God came to the earth and no one recognized him. Something else was that, from my point of view, Jesus was a lot blunter and mean in this version. "Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? (John 2:10)" The other version of Jesus was very nice, curing everyone and forgiving sins, while this one doesn't believe in his followers and is always blaming them for everything.

Another difference that I found, or at least something I noticed for the first time, is that Jesus doesn't baptize. I am not sure, but I think he WAS the person who baptized in the Luke version, but here it says that it is his disciples the ones who do his work. "Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples... (John 4:2)" I'm not sure, but I read that attitude as being selfish, and sort of saying "I am too good to baptize normal people; I only do stuff to more important ones." Anyway, I might be wrong, and it might be simply that Jesus put that work to his disciples, just to give them something to do.

He also says things like, "Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews (John 4:22)," which make him sound a lot more selfish. I think he sounds as if he didn't know what he was talking about, and he has an attitude of being better than others that is not prone for Messiahs.

Also, there is a moment in which the disciples make it clear that it is very surprising that Jesus talked to women, because it seems like it was not very common for men to speak to women out on the streets. I think that is very classist of their part, because even if that was what people did those times, they should set a good example. I got this from the quote that says "And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman (John 4:27)."

One of the few moments when I really saw that the stories had something in common was when it said that someone had asked Jesus to help cure his son, and Jesus had said that when the man went back his son would be cured. The man finally got back some days later and saw that his son was well, and when he asked when he had gotten well, his servants replied that it had been the day the man had seen Jesus. He then got the whole household to believe in God and in Jesus. I think this story would really fit in into the gospel of Luke. That is why, I think, I liked it more than the rest of the story.

Another story that was exactly the same was the one that with very little bread, Jesus was able to give as much as they wanted to eat to 5,000 people, and when they finished the servants picked up 12 baskets of leftovers. This story is basically exactly the same in both versions.

Somethiyng that doesn't happen in Luke but that I hadn't heard before was that Jesus can walk on water. I had heard that a lot, nut hadn't read it until now. It is a very nice description.

Last but not least, I want to say that it is ver strange how about half of the people like Jesus and would support him everywhere possible, and as in both gospels it is said, there are many who spend their lives planning how they will kill him. After all, they achieve their task.

You Know the Process: Crucifixion, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension

Chapter 20-24
As you can see, we finally got to the last 5 chapters of the Gospel of Luke! Finally what I was waiting for! I have to tell you that the whole time I was reading it I couldn't wait to see how it would end and the description of Jesus' death and resurrection. I think this will be the place where there will be more contrast between the four gospels, so I really wanted to see how it folded out in Luke's Gospel. I have also only heard this part of his life through what my friends have told me, so I want to see how it is according to the Bible. Sadly, he dies at the end, so I will talk about other things first.

The whole lot of chapters in this part are very pessimistic. It mostly talked about how the priests wanted to arrest and to kill Jesus, because he was always talking against them. They had lots of witty fights and the priests wanted to tempt him into saying things he didn't mean so that the king would arrest him. Also, Jesus all the time was saying how the world was going to end so they had to do something about it and be prepared.

25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; 26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. 27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. (Luke 21:25-28)

I really liked this description, so I put it all. Still, I don't think this has all happened yet. As I said before, it is a little pessimistic. There was a very big description (it continued after that), and everything sounded reasonable, but there was one part I didn't expect. "Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away (Luke 21:33)." What is that supposed to mean? Heaven will "pass away?" I always took for granted that Heaven was going to be there forever, and that everyone, according to Christianity, was going either there or to Hell. But what happens if it disappears? What will happen to the people who were still on Earth? Maybe I understood wrong, because I don't think it is possible for Heaven to just "pass away."

I was reading about a supper very normal, when I realized something. They were talking about the last supper. As in, "The Last Supper." If you don't know what I am talking about, just look at the image above. It was very inspiring to know I was finally reading the piece that inspired this work of art. "And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer (Luke 22:15)." Afterwards, he gets bread and gives it around to his apostles. When he is doing that, he says that they should remember when they eat bread because it was his body. I am not sure, but I think that is what they say in modern-day preaches when they give the host.

In chapter 23, the priests finally achieve their goal of arresting Jesus, and take him to King Pilate. They say that Jesus has acted wrong, and he should be crucified. Pilate analyzes him and decides he doesn't find anything wrong in him, so he sends him to Herod. He doesn't find anything wrong either, and sends him back. The priests continue to argue, and finally, "Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required (Luke 23:24)." I don't think it is fair at all that Pilate agreed just because they argued nonstop.

Finally, we got to the moment. "And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him (Luke 23:33)." Don't you think it is weird that he was crucified in line 33 of chapter 23, and 2*3=6 and 3+3=6, six being the devils number? I find it really creepy! Although I haven't yet found proof in the Bible that six is the devil's number, I have heard all my Christian friends say it.

The next part I found really cool was the resurrection. "And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus (Luke 24:3)." I remember I once watched a show in Discovery Channel where they said they thought they had found Jesus' tomb, and his body inside. That would be very strange, because according to the Bible, his body wasn't left in this world. I wonder if by now the study was proved right or wrong. If I find out, I promise to tell you.

I thought it was very cool how Jesus appeared again in front of them and didn't let them recognize him, and as soon as they did, he vanished. I had never heard that part of the story.

It was pretty nice how the story ended, with the resurrection and the happily-ever-after. I will leave it hear, like the other endings I have read, for you to enjoy! "And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen (Luke 24:51-53)."

Love Him or Hate Him

Ch. 14-19
As the past chapters, and probably the next too, these chapters were characterized by their stories. Every chapter was about Jesus going somewhere and then going somewhere else, always healing people and telling stories to them in the way. There were many parabolas to teach people about their exact situation in other words. Sadly, even though I understood most of the stories, I didn't really understand their points or their meanings. Or if I did, I didn't agree with them. Anyways, they were fun to read, and I am not complaining too much about them. The rest of the chapters I will analyze by quotes.

The first one I want to talk about is one that I found very true, and I liked very much. "But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just (Luke 14:14)." I think it is true, but also very difficult to achieve, because most people, even if they don't realize it, do things to get things back from other people, as soon as possible. Knowing that doing something for people who can't pay you back will compensate itself indirectly when you get to God. That is very important to understand.

There are, like I said in my previous post, some parts I completely disagreed on. Sometimes I can't believe how Jesus can be so blunt, to say it that way. For example, he ones said, "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple (Luke 14:26)." How can Jesus say that? Why doesn't he accept that they love both him and their families?

Another part was in chapter 17 when Jesus made the comparison of a servant with his followers. He asked them if they asked the servant to sit with them after he had worked the field, and said he didn't think so; one told them to serve him and to eat later. He then asked if they thanked the servants, and said he didn't think so. At that moment I thought he was going to say that it was good to be nice to the people who serve you, but what he said instead was that they should expect him to act like that with them, and say that they were "unprofitable servants," and had "done that which was [their] duty to do (Luke 17:10)." I find that extremely unfair and arrogant.

Also, I found more examples of stories like the one of Mary and her sister from the last post that are unjust and not understandable for me. This time, it was a story about a father and his two sons. One followed by him his whole life and served him, and his father treated him like a servant. The other instead, took all the money and used it for personal purposes. The day that son came back, his father made a really big party with everything included. The good son didn't understand why, and I don't either.

Anyways, there had to be some part I agreed with. There was this quote I really liked, and I think that if everyone followed it the world would be a better place: "And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him. (Luke 17:4)"

By now, it is the third time we hear Jesus predict he will die, "And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again. (Luke 18:33)" Still, I keep waiting and waiting for it to happen and it never does. I don't know when it will be, or even how he knows, but it sounds like a pretty harsh death. I can't wait to see how the different versions of his death compare.

I also mentioned before that I thought the priests and Jesus didn't get along very well, but I never thought it would get to this: "But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him. (Luke 19:47)" They want to kill him! I don't know if it is true or not, but a small voice in my head tells me that the priests are the ones who will be responsible for Jesus' death.

See you later!

The Healing Man

Ch. 9-13
First, if I had to choose one word describing what Jesus did with his life it would be healing. For the most part, all that the gospel said was that Jesus went this way and that healing people everywhere he went. It didn't matter if you had a stomach ache or if your ear had been cut off; Jesus could make everything better for you.

There were many things I liked, many things I didn't understand, and many things I don't agree with. As I'm not sure how to put everything out there, I will just put everything as they start appearing in the text.

The first thing I didn't understand was how this is possible: "But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God. (Luke 9:27)." If I understand correctly, the Kingdom of God is Heaven, and how can one see Heaven without dying?

I have to notice that Jesus wasn't exactly a calmed man his whole life. Even though he did have many peace moments, he could lose it sometimes also. "And Jesus answering said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? (Luke 9:41)"

I also have to accept that Jesus is a great man, and that he is very intelligent, but throughout the Gospel I didn't have much proof that told me his apostles were too. Instead, I had proof they were a little dumb. "Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest. (Luke 9:46)" and "And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us. (Luke 9:48)." Why would they stop someone who was trying to save someone else from the devil just because they are not part of his little club? And why would they fight about who is the best? I find that a little immature.

As I previously mentioned, Jesus didn't have his emotions exactly right, and in my opinion he could sometimes be a little mean with people who hadn't done anything wrong and were just normal people, like this guy, "...Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God (Luke 9:62)."

There are parts in the story where I don't think Jesus is being such an exemplary man, or at least, I am not smart enough to understand his reasoning. In this story, he tells the sister who is working that the other sister, who was doing nothing, was doing the right thing. Why? Don't ask me! "Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: 42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her (Luke 10:41)." And talking about stories, I have noticed that in all past books we have read, there is always a way in which we are presented the "teachings." In this one, it is very noticeable that the way they will tell us everything is in the form of stories. I actually like it, so I'm not going to say anything bad about it.

Here is a line that I want to share with you, not because I completely understand it, but because I think its meaning is very pretty and it can be related with many aspects of life: "No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light (Luke 11:33)."

Something else that becomes more and more obvious as I read the Gospel is that the priests and Jesus don't exactly like each other. In fact, I think it was them who crucified Jesus, and Jesus is also insulting them at times. Here is a clear example: "Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered (Luke 11:52)." By the way, this is only true if "lawyers" is "priests," which I think they are.

The last thing that I want to mentioned that I have been seeing throughout it all is that in everything revolving around faith, and what is expected of you by Jesus, is that the poor have it a lot easier than the rich. Jesus is always saying that they have to get rid of everything you have in order to be faithful, which isn't that easy if you have spent all your life cultivating your richness. It is a lot easier if you don't have anything. It also mentions how Jesus-followers didn't have to take food or anything that was part of their daily necessities, because the Lord knew what they needed and would give it to them.

That's about it! See you soon!