One Small Step From Life to Death - Gospel St. Matthew XI - XVIII

These last few chapters narrate basically Jesus' journey until the day of his death. All along, he has been the savor of many people's life, he has cured all those in need, he has taught those to follow the right path, and has been a leader in all senses. He makes miracles for the benefit of others and for their future, since once they understand who he really is, their lives will change forever. They will have faith in their leader, they will believe and follow the greatest example of all. This last part of the Gospel was the toughest one since it was based on Jesus being crucified. He had sacrificed himself over everyone, over everything. But why? If he could make miracles for others, why not for himself? If he could cure others, why not cure himself? If he could save others, why not save himself? I believe this question is asked constantly among Jesus' followers, and the truth is that Jesus didn't save himself for he knew that he would be safe afterwards. But he didn't care. He didn't mind about himself. Well, after making such sacrifice for the benefit of all others, we can see that he wasn't selfish at all. He only cared for others, he wanted to save everyone no matter what he had to go through.

The last words of Jesus are always the most important. Even though these weren't the last he said, but however close enough to his end, I believe that these words mean so much that they may be seen as his final words. And Jesus said, "thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." (Matthew 22: 38) Jesus, being the son of the Lord, loved his people so much that he gave his own life for them. Here, he clearly says that one should love God with passion and always have faith in him. This is something very true that one should do. Think about it. God has gave his people everything, he has helped them always and never let them down. The only way of thanking him for that, is by loving him. We tend to represent love with a heart, for we love with our hearts. Or so, thats what we've been told. But this time, Jesus is telling us to not only love with our hearts, but also with our minds and souls. I believe that this type of love reflects that one should think in God and admire him as well as one

should have faith in God and never doubt on him. The message given in this quote is really meaningful and inspiring.

Getting closer to the end, it was all on the crucification. We all know that Judas betrayed Jesus, but what may still remain unknown to many, is that he later regretted it. Judas felt bad, well why wouldn't he? "Then Judas, which had betrayeth him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself.." (Matthew 27: 3) He felt so bad and his repentance was so great that he killed himself. No, Iam not exaggerating. Judas then went on to hang himself, and somehow, pay for what he had done.

But Judas never came back, while Jesus did. Jesus was his name-o! Even though Jesus dies crucified and humiliated, he lives again. He had to continue guiding his people and leading them towards the correct path of life. He wanted to save and teach them. I believe that by resurrecting, he showed people that death wasn't the end and that one should always continue living. Makes sense right? You should never stop living the moment and death is not the end for you will continue forever. Nowadays, people all over the world believe in Jesus. And once you have faith in him, your soul will always live.

Three Tree Teachings - Gospel St. Matthew XI - XX

The story of Jesus as the son of God according to St. Matthew, continues by talking all about the miracles that Jesus made and how he taught the disciples certain teachings within parables. All along, Jesus helped everyone in need not only to cure them, but also to show them that he was there to support them. By doing this, he wanted to gain followers that would learn from him and therefore, go towards the correct path. By followers I don't mean fans but people that will continue the right way and someday be successful human beings. However, if you see fans in the same way as followers, one can say that Jesus wanted a lot of fans. He wanted crazy fans within his concerts. "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and l

earn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11: 28-30)

It also talked about Peter and his attempt at walking on water such as Jesus did. Since Peter had lots of faith, Jesus allowed him to do this and guides him towards "success". However, when Peter gets down the ship and begins walking towards Jesus, he gets scared of the wind and begins to sink as he cries to the Lord to be saved. Yes, Jesus did save him. Well who doesn't he save in these stories? But when he reached his hand out to help him, he says, "o thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” This shows that when one doubts in Jesus, one fails. Thus, if you have faith in Jesus, you will accomplish all your goals successfully and won't "sink". Wow! What a metaphor!

“If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” (Matthew 17: 20) This has been one of my favorite quotes so far. It is amazing how Jesus compares faith with a simple seed. But actually, it isn't that simple. A mustard seed is the smallest seed of all, but once it grows, it can become the biggest tree of all of them. This means that if you have faith such as a grain of mustard seed, nothing will ever be impossible to you. Your faith will grow, and it will get bigger and stronger with time. You just have to believe. Believe in Jesus.

So Far So Great - Gospel St. Matthew I - X

This new Gospel, the one according to St. Matthew, narrates the life of Jesus since his birth and very first teachings. It starts off completely different to the Gospel of St. John since this one actually talks about the beginning and birth of Jesus.The other Gospel begins with Jesus already grown and being baptized by John. However, it doesn't mention at all anything about his childhood, since it went directly from his birth to his miracles. Anyways, it states that Jesus was born in Nazareth being the son of Mary, (whose husband was Joseph) and God. "And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him". (Matthew 3: 16) It clearly says how Jesus was worshipped since the very beginning, and was loved and honored by everyone. Oh wait! Not clearly everyone; the kings wanted to destroy Jesus, and later on he also encounters with Satan.

Satan, the most evil creature yet to exist, tries to challenge Jesus and somehow convince him on "changing sides" and begin to worship him instead of God. However, using his intelligence and comebacks, Jesus puts Satan in his place. He tells him that one should only worship and serve God and live by the words that he says. No material or other being is as powerful as the Lord, and therefore you can see how Satan's offer is completely ridiculous. Who would exchange faith for materials? "And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me." (Matthew 4: 9) Satan's offer was not accepted for Jesus demonstrated how strong he could be and would not let anyone trick him.

Jesus began to make miracles and cure all those in need so he could show everyone that he was someone really special and unique. The miracles he makes are very similar to the ones in St. John, for he heals the sick, the possessed by evil, and the ones with incapacity. He soon became known all over, and his power became known by every being. “And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.” (Matthew 4: 24) It is amazing how Jesus achieved all that he wanted, and accomplished everything he proposed himself. He did good to everyone and always thought of the others before himself. However, I would like to add that to me, it seemed as if Jesus' fame was due mostly because of God and his powers, which obviously influenced him. Anyways, one should never forget that God gave Jesus these powers for a reason and thus, they are both incredible. "The incredibles they shall be called." (Michelle Katz)

I would also like to mention how Jesus reenforces the commandments that Moses had once created. He adds a few according to that times perception and situation. “But I say unto you, that ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.” (Matthew 5: 39) Is this understood?

I personally liked this Gospel much more than John since it delivered the message in an understandable way and I was able to read it more fluently. I also loved the fact that it doesn't mention anything against Judaism and it doesn't segregate anyone. I learned a lot in this Gospel and I believe its teachings made much more sense than the ones of the other one. So far, so great.

Execution - Gospel St. John XIV - XXI

So according to John, Jesus knew his death was to come soon and so he had everything planned. By planned, I don't exactly mean that he had a strategy of dying. And much less do I mean that he had a map or a diagram with all the steps to follow. What this really means, is that Jesus could have escaped death if he wanted to, but he didn't. But why did he do this? Why did he sacrifice his life if he had the option to continue living? After all, he is the son of God and could have avoided this if he really wanted to. So why didn't he? The reason for this is that since Jesus' goal on earth was to save humanity and spread the world of God, he only wanted to complete his mission no matter the humiliation and torture that he could be submitted to. In other words, Jesus predicted his death. He was able to do this since he suspected Judas betrayal. It turns out that Judas was "the devil", and the commander of Jesus' death. "Judas then, having received a band of menand officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons." (John 18: 3)

"These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." (John 17: 1-3) At the beginning I found this to be so powerful and sacrificial, but then I come to learn that Jesus knew he was going to resurrect. So, if he was going to die in a humiliated way for viewers but proud of himself, why would one not care to die if you were anyways going to come back to life? Now, everything makes sense. Its not that noble of Jesus of letting himself be crucified. He knew it would be beneficial for everyone at the end, and that since he would have another chance on earth, unlike everyone else, it didn't matter to lose the first one. Makes sense right? Today, it is obviously shown how Jesus accomplished all his goals for now there is plenty of people that follow his religion.

Pilate's situation was completely different than that of others in this Gospel. And let me tell you, it was a tough one. He thought that Jesus had no fault at all, and tried to convince the Jews upon this. "And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar’s friend: whosoevermaketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar." (John 19: 12) He literally had no choice at all. It was either his life, or Jesus'. The trouble that he would have been in for "ignoring" the emperor Caesar would have been greater than anything and most possibly, he would have been sentenced to death. So why not escape all of those troubles? At least he tried, I mean, he was so brave and this should be taken into consideration. One point for Pilate!

And so, the Gospel comes to an end. Yes, I know, it has a horrible ending but that was just the way it had to be. Anyways, you can look at it in the positive way. Jesus accomplished his mission and after all, he resurrected. He made the world that we have today and created the most followed religion on earth. Congratulations Jesus!

It seems as if Jews are bad. All along my reading I've felt attacked and completely ashamed. But why ashamed? I shouldn't be. The only things said in the Gospel about Jews is bad. There is nothing good. Nothing at all. I hope someday you can understand how I feel and read the story from the other side; from the Jewish point of view. I knew I would hate to read Gospels. It's a complete offense against others. Measures were taken from both sides, and the only ones to end up as the bad are those Jews. Screw you all.

I wish there could be a Gospel clearing out the Jewish point of view. Maybe, but just maybe, you'll then understand how it feels. How about we create a Gospel according to Moses? Actually, one according to Michelle, (who is still alive) would be much better.

Miracles Happen - Gospel St. John VII - XIII

After many miracles, such as the ones explained in my previous post, Jesus continues with his quest and mission of spreading the word of God. He surprised many people, but as well, he created enemies; the Jews. The Jews grew angry with him after he tried to cure a man at the pool of Bethesda. But why did they feel so much hatred for him if he was only trying to help someone? The problem was that Jesus committed a sin by breaking Sabbath. For us Jews, Sabbath is something sacred and knowing that one broke it, would be taken as an offense. It is a total misdeed for one to do this, and it is unexpected for one known as so sacred and right to break it. It is upsetting and totally disappointing that Jesus did this. But after all, I am Jewish and this is only what I think.

Surprised that Jesus had done this, the Jews began to persecute him. "After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him." (John 7: 1) How could Jesus be the son of God if he is sinning every now and then? This is a question that was spread by the Jews in those times, or at least that's what they were really wondering. The breaking of Sabbath did not only happen once, but it continued for other various times. Jesus kept on curing people but he did it by ignoring the concept of Sabbath completely, and as this continued, the Jews got more and more furious. The madness accumulated and it came to a point in which the beneficial side of the curing was no longer even considered. Jesus gave back the sight to a man that was born with blindness. With no doubts, this is seen as a miracle but taking into consideration the fact that it was done during Sabbath, it no longer is. I would like to recall that I am not trying to offend Jesus and much less discriminate Christianity. I am just sharing my point of view of the story as the person that I truly am. Maybe when reading my post, you will think I am a racist, but that is completely wrong. Put yourself in my position and now try to interpret the story. Hard right? For me, my religion goes first and the importance of Sabbath may not be understood by all of you since you don't follow it. So lets try to analyze both points, since I can also understand the Christian perspective of the story. I would say that Jews were terrible by persecuting Jesus in such manner, since what he was only tying to do was help those in need. He was trying to impress others in order to make them believe that he was the son of God and for them to follow his word.

"This man is not from God, for he does not keep the sabbath. "But others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?" There was a division among them. So they again said to the blind man, "What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?" He said, "He is a prophet." (John 9: 16-17) I had previously said how many might have made conclusions that Jesus wasn't the son of God, since he didn't keep the Sabbath. In this quote, this is actually confirmed and you can see how it completely makes sense. Others were also wondering that how could a man that sinned so much, do such miracles. Jesus had created a whole topic of controversy that could have remained unclear forever. Many thought of him in one particular way that sounded absolutely ridiculous to others. But those that were cured saw him as a prophet. Sad that no Jew could have been cured in Sabbath in order to have changed things up a little. A little? Actually a lot. Think of it in this way: If Jesus didn't cure during Sabbath, there had never been such a problem, and if Jews could have been cured during Sabbath, they would have thought of it differently. So why did things happen in such complicated manners?

There are two ways of interpreting this story. Those two sides would be that of the Christians and the one of the Jews. I can see how both make sense and how they can each be discussed. The Christians obviously thought of him as the son of God and they couldn't see why the others didn't believe in him as what he was. They couldn't understand how they denied Jesus after all the miracles that he had performed in the Lord's name. Why did the Pharisees think that an evil person could perform actions of such good?

Then, comes the side of those Jews. They were all wondering and found it ridiculous that the son of God, the most powerful and correct being in the world, committed sins. Why did someone that knew everything as it should be and what was good to do and what wasn't, do such bad acts? This is why they didn't believe that Jesus was God's son and they kept on denying him.

However, they never came to agreements and the different "groups" weren't able to convince one another. They tried to stone Jesus various times, but he kept on resisting and never gave up. Why did he do this if he knew that there was nothing he could do and he wasn't going to be able to convince them? After all, what he really wanted was to continue with his mission no matter the obstacles he had to confront. He had been prepared for everything to come. "Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end." (John 13: 1)

Holy Stuff - Gospel St. John I - VI

At the beginning of the course, when I was told that we were going to read the Bible, I didn't really love the idea since I understood that we had to read all about the Christian believes. Then, I realized that what we were actually reading was the Old Testament which I was satisfied with since I'm Jewish and it actually relates completely to my religion and beliefs. Its not that I don't like to read about other roots, its just that I feel as if I was following their religion; as if I was committing a sin against my own. It was all fluent and I was able to understand perfectly the whole context of the Old Testament, but now I find myself trying to understand all the Christian beliefs without judging or offending. Yes, I have to read some Gospels from the New Testament which are getting me really confused.

It turns out that the Gospels are crucial in Christianity, for they narrate the life of Jesus as the son of the Lord. In the Old Testament, God was presented as the almighty, powerful being that could take control over everything and knew all the differences between right and wrong. He was the leader of people and the voice of good. He was the creator of earth and the savor of its creations. So who is his son? Is he as powerful as God? Jesus was a fragile, merciful being whose mission was to spread the word of God. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1: 1) I'm not completely sure of what "the Word" means in the quote, however in my point of view, it seems as if the Word is everything. If you actually take this word and replace it for "Word", you will see how it makes sense. I believe that "the Word" is what one should follow, how one should act and believe. It is that that shall be passed from generation to generation since it is the most essential to live.

But now the question may be that who is St. John. Who is he? What is his relationship with Jesus? At the beginning of the reading, it is told how the one that should spread "the Word" of God is Jesus. However, it is also shown that the one that should be doing this, and acting upon as a messenger is actually John. Anyways, you then learn that John is more than a messenger sent by God, for he is also a witness. "There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe." (John 1: 7) But a witness of what? A witness of how great and powerful Jesus would be. John was also someone who baptized people along the river. He got the news that Jesus was also doing this and he decided to join him for them to be together in this. John knew Jesus very well, all about his miracles and powers and he even got to baptize him. "After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized." (John 3: 22)

Something that I found very interesting was the miracles that Jesus makes. He can make water into wine which shows how divine he is. Wine is seen as a celestial "drink" compared to any other. It is expensive nowadays, but during those times I would see it as a symbol of superiority and power. It is can be used to show honor, and to convert a simple liquid such as water into wine, shows extreme superiority. "Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." (John 4: 13-15) This excerpt shows that even though it is not turned into wine here, it is showing that any type of connection that Jesus has with you will be sacred. If you drink from normal water, you will be thirsty again but if you receive that same water by him, you will never be thirsty again for it will be in one "a well of water springing up into everlasting life". Wow. I want that water!

The Ugly And Final Truth - Tao Te Ching XLVII - LXXXI

The Tao reached its end and I am more than happy to say that it has been my favorite reading so far. I really enjoyed analyzing all of its teachings and adding my own point of view to the actual context. I believe this text is really deep and meaningful. As I read it, I found myself completely relaxed and almost as if I was in another world. Each axiom seemed extremely short, but what was written in those few verses, was able to say so much; each axiom was worth a page of meaning and thought. Its poetic sense comes to contradict itself in some parts in order to show reality. It talks about the world as it is or how it should be, by being ruled by someone that shares and treats everybody equal. Values, good examples, and "tips" are given through the lecture of the Tao Te Ching.

On the last teachings, governing issues were mentioned constantly. It said how one should govern and how one shouldn't. It talked all about the consequences and reactions of the people if these governing methods weren't applied. Again, the balancing of opposites was of great importance for it was used in order to represent the differences among ways. The first governing topic that comes up for me to discuss is the fact that non action leads to success.

On my last post, it had been stated how one should not try to change the universe because you would ruin it and you should not try to hold it because you would lose it. In other words, what was told was that one should not interfere with the universe because it is sacred and you cannot improve it. This idea is repeated again in axiom fourty-eight when it says that "the world is ruled by letting things take their course and it cannot be ruled by interfering." So, this means that if you do nothing and just stay put and let things go their own way, ruling will be achieved. But how can this happen? Wasn't a good governor that that could take control of things in a moderate and perfect way? One that could cause change for a better place? For this reason, I find this excerpt inaccurate and contradicting on what the world is really today. People always try to make things better in order to be happier, but what the Tao is saying is that this is impossible. How so? If I was the ruler, this method wouldn't convince me at all.

"There is no greater catastrophe than underestimating your enemy." (Tao 69) I, as a sports player, have heard this quote more than a few times in the past years. It means that you should never be overconfident of oneself as a player or as a whole team while playing a match. You should never misjudge the opposite squad that will compete against you. But the Tao isn't about sports, and much less about volleyball. It is all about governing and being who you should be according to Lao Tzu, the great leader. So why is this quote being brought in the text if it is completely against violence and is always favoring harmony? Is it because of war? Well, all along the reading I believed that the Tao was absolutely against war since it opposes violence, but now I know that for peace to exist, there has to be war as well. It also said previously that when war is the case and you can't turn back, one should succeed in it without enjoying the victory. This mean that it is indeed against war because it is against the glory of deaths. Therefore, this excerpt means that in war issues, one should never underestimate the enemy of the battle field.

I would like to end with my favorite quote of the book which was the most meaningful to me. "Truthful words are not beautiful. Beautiful words are not truthful." (Tao 81) This is so true and realistic that it makes me realize how things really are. Those words that sound beautiful to you when they are told, are the ones that are deceitful. And those truthful words that can be told, may not be beautiful at all. The truth is something that hurts hearing, and this is usually told with truthful words which aren't beautiful to you. Why is this the ugly truth? Why can't truthful words be beautiful always?

There is this song that is stuck in my head that actually reminds me of the Tao. Some of its lyrics correspond to the teachings it tries to deliver.