What Does Alexa Say About Jesus Christ?

What Does Alexa Say About Jesus Christ
Does Amazon’s Alexa say Jesus Christ ‘is a fictional character’? The world is absurd beyond limits really! Except beyond the uneducated no-one really disbelieves the existence of Christ our savior. There is a reason why we’re counting years the way we do, from year zero and forward.

Both Paul and the early church relates to Christ in a way that is ridiculous if he did not exist.
Christ is and will always be a real and historical figure regardless of what sceptics will ever forward.
Christ is and will always be our savior.
He has revealed himself in time, but is outside of time.
Christ is the fathers logos from eternity! Reactions: I asked my Alexa (ECHO) Who is Jesus Christ and she gave the wikipedia definition.

quite acceptable in today’s world. SO I posed it differently and received the same reply. Then I asked IS Jesus a fictional character -and she began a higher level of information regarding how most scholars have proven that Jesus did indeed live though some do question his,

philosophy shall we say? Nevertheless, I’m gifting my ECHO to my assistant for Christmas, just can’t have that spy in my home any more (and also my smart tv is going out the door, and my iPhone is shut OFF totally powered down during the night so it is limited in how much it spies/updates etc.) Reactions: I asked my Alexa (ECHO) Who is Jesus Christ and she gave the wikipedia definition.

philosophy shall we say? Nevertheless, I’m gifting my ECHO to my assistant for Christmas, just can’t have that spy in my home any more (and also my smart tv is going out the door, and my iPhone is shut OFF totally powered down during the night so it is limited in how much it spies/updates etc.) You need to enclose the iPhone in a Faraday cage.

Simply wrapping it in Aluminum foil may suffice. I have not yet gone to that extreme yet, but mostly due to laziness. Reactions: I know this is slightly OT but I’ll respond once Faraday shields only work if they are metal and totally sealed. The items insides must be shielded from touching any part of the inside of the “box”. Heavy Duty foil might suffice for some less sensitive items. My phone is cold after I’ve powered it down for a bit, and in the morning, so they aren’t listening in.yet.

I do have the bags I bought the toll pass items.
Which block said signals for like when you have more than one in a vehicle and don’t want both charged fees.
On Alexa, however, they listen all the time.
And with the giant computer system in South Dakota, the dark powers can collect and keep 6000 items a second on each person in the world.

I can’t even do 1 item a second personally. Microwave ovens work great as faraday cages. If you have an old one that isn’t leaking (no waves out means sealed and no waves in) use it for any electronics you wish to keep protected in case of an EMP. If you’ve been thinking of buying an Amazon Alexa device for your home or someone you love for Christmas, you might want to rethink that idea.

According to a video posted on Nov.24, Alexa said that Jesus Christ is a “fictional character.” Does this mean that when you are a gazillionaire like Jeff Bezos, you get to decide ‘what is truth’ and ‘what is fiction?’ Continued below. Oh, okay. If they faked the answers, they went to a lot of trouble.

Bruce Jenner is indented as Caitlyn Jenner, there are more than two genders, and so on. If it’s a hoax, it’s a good one. Does anyone have an Alexa? I also have Alexa and can confirm what they say below. I asked my Alexa (ECHO) Who is Jesus Christ and she gave the wikipedia definition.

Quite acceptable in today’s world.
SO I posed it differently and received the same reply.
Then I asked IS Jesus a fictional character -and she began a higher level of information regarding how most scholars have proven that Jesus did indeed live though some do question his,
Philosophy shall we say? Except beyond the uneducated no-one really disbelieves the existence of Christ our savior This is another good point.

The vast majority of even secular scholars agree that Jesus was a historical person, the ones who do not are a minority and often admit as such. Even from a purely secular historical perspective, Alexa saying that Jesus is a fictional character would be incorrect information.

Was Jesus a real person or a fictional character?

Traditional and modern approaches on Jesus – Mainstream scholarship recognizes that there was a historical Jesus. However scholars differ about the accuracy of the biblical accounts about Jesus, with only two events supported by nearly-universal scholarly consensus: Jesus’ baptism, and his crucifixion,

The mainstream scholarly view is that the Pauline epistles and the gospels describe the “Christ of faith”, presenting a religious narrative which replaced the historical Jesus who did live in 1st-century Roman Palestine,
Martin Kähler made the famous distinction between the “Jesus of history” and the “Christ of faith”, arguing that faith is more important than exact historical knowledge.

According to Ehrman, Jesus was a first-century Palestine Jew, who was not like the Jesus preached and proclaimed today, and that the most widely held view by critical scholars is that Jesus was an apocalyptic prophet who was subsequently deified. The origins and rapid rise of Christianity, as well as the historical Jesus and the historicity of Jesus, are a matter of longstanding debate in theological and historical research.

What was Jesus’s message?

Jesus’s teachings: a divine blueprint – Within Jesus Christ’s teachings we find the plan for our happiness, our redemption, and our salvation—a divine blueprint that includes faith in Christ, repentance, baptism, keeping God’s commandments, receiving the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.

These are the saving principles taught by Jesus Christ, the bedrock on which His Gospel is built.
Shortly after His baptism by John the Baptist, Jesus taught His gospel and outlined how to be a righteous disciple in a powerful discourse called the Sermon on the Mount.
During this beloved sermon, Jesus introduced a new standard of righteousness that expanded on the Ten Commandments.

“Thou shalt not kill” was no longer enough; Jesus required His followers to reject hatred, be forgiving, and even love their enemies. He asked for people to change their hearts as well as their actions. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus also gave eight important teachings called the Beatitudes. Blessed are the poor in spirit Jesus taught that the kingdom of heaven is for those who humble themselves. Matthew 5:3 Those who are teachable, patient, long-suffering, etc., are promised to “inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5 Jesus said, “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful” (Luke 6:36), meaning those who show mercy will also receive it. Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the peacemakers Those who make peace with one another “shall be called sons of God.” Matthew 5:9 Blessed are they that mourn Jesus promised that those who mourn and turn to Him will find the comfort they seek. Matthew 5:4 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteous Those who seek out righteousness are promised to be satisfied because of their faithful desire. Matthew 5:6 Blessed are the pure in heart Those who strive to keep goodness in their hearts and minds “shall see God.” Matthew 5:8 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake When people are persecuted for living righteously, Jesus declared that “theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:10 Because of Christ’s compassion and divine insight, He was uniquely able to understand those He taught and speak compellingly to them through simple words and also through parables.

The use of parables was a powerful teaching method that fit the tradition of His time, and these simple, memorable stories represent a third of His teachings found in the Bible. The unique power of parables is that they contain several layers of meaning and can be understood on different levels depending on the spiritual preparation and sensitivity of the reader.

His parables teach important lessons that are still applicable today. Click through a summary of Jesus’s parables below. The Laborers in the Vineyard Jesus taught that all who choose to come unto Him and labor in His work can have the opportunity to receive equal blessings (see Matthew 20:1–16). Jesus taught us the important lesson of forgiveness by asking, “Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?” (see Matthew 18:33). Jesus said that we should love our neighbor, and the parable of the good Samaritan teaches us that our neighbors can be anyone, including strangers or foes (see Luke 10:25–37). As the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ earnestly seeks after all of us—especially those who have been separated from His flock (see Luke 15:3–7). Every person who turns to Christ will receive His loving acceptance, regardless of what he or she has done (see Luke 15:11–32). Through His actions, and specifically miracles, Jesus taught important lessons about faith, kindness, and God’s ability to make great things from our most humble offerings.

For example, as a multitude of 5,000 men and an untold number of women and children gathered around Him near Bethsaida, Jesus Christ fed them all with two fish and five loaves of bread.
Similar opportunities to teach—sometimes through miracles, and sometimes through His actions—arose when He encountered lepers, rich men, the woman at the well, and the Pharisees.

He taught at religious and social gatherings, He taught among the afflicted as He healed them, He taught among the powerful as He rebuked them, and He taught among the sinners as He forgave them. Jesus continues to perform miracles even today. The inspiring accounts of His miracles can help us grow closer to Him. He gave sight to the blind “Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it” (Matthew 9:27–31). “And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed” (Luke 17:12–19). He healed the sick and afflicted “And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God” (Luke 13:11–17). “Behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up” (Luke 7:12–15). He turned water into wine “Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it. When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was” (John 2:3–11). “And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea” (Matthew 14:25). He fed thousands with little food “And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all. And they did all eat, and were filled” (Mark 6:41–42).

What is unique in Jesus’s life?

The Character of Jesus –

From these verses, describe the character of Jesus. ( Luke 23:33-34, John 2:13-17, John 13:1-17, Romans 5:8-1 ) How does Jesus’ attitude contrast with the attitude of His contemporaries toward the following? Adults (Matthew14:15-21), Children (Mark 10:13-16), Those who offend (Luke 9:51-56) Why did the following people love Christ? The widow of Nain (Luke 7:11-15), The sinful woman (Luke 7:36-50), Mary and Martha (John 11:30-44). From the beginning of His life, Jesus demonstrated unfailing grace, amazing wisdom, and astounding understanding and knowledge. He consistently pleased God. Read Matthew 7:28-29. What other reactions do you think the people had to His teachings besides amazement? How do you feel about Jesus and why?

The crowds found His compassion constant, and He was humble and meek before His enemies. He treated the poor with respect and the children with love and tenderness. His character was pure, selfless, and sinless. Jesus also proved His divine character through His immeasurable love, an unconditional love unique in history.

How does Jesus identify with us?

Identifying with Jesus — Redeemer Coast Church I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20 NIV) On the cross, Jesus identified with us, taking the consequences of our sin.

Identification’ is a spiritual principle. Even in the natural, people become like who they identify with. If our identity is based on our cultural heritage, that’s what we become like. If we identify with a particular sport or sports star, we become like them; we wear the same uniform as them and share in their wins and losses.

Knowing that Jesus died for our sins and believing on him for forgiveness will get you saved and ‘born again’. Jesus identified with us spiritually and physically in his death on the Cross and so spiritual and physically, he bore our sin and our shame.

However, there is more.
The same power that raised Christ from the dead is available for us to live a victorious Christian life (Romans 8:11).
We are saved not just for eternity, we are also saved for a life of victory in the here and now.
The question is, how do we access that power? We access the power of God in this life by ‘reverse identification’.

Christ identified with us by taking our sin, guilt and shame on the cross: now we need to identify with him in his death and resurrection. Firstly, we identify with His death, by believing that we have died to our sin and shame. This means we no longer accept the guilt accusation for the wrong things we have done.

Be careful here; this is not denial or refusing to acknowledge sin. This is saying “I no longer identify with this sin, it is not who I am because I died to sin in Christ Jesus”. When guilt and condemnation come against us we must take a stand. We have to speak to our self and speak to the accuser and say, “You’re mistaken, that old sinner is no longer me, that person died with Christ on the cross, I am a New Creation, I am ‘in Christ Jesus’.

Secondly, we need to identify with Jesus in His resurrection. When Jesus rose from the dead he shattered the power and authority of Satan. The Bible says he ‘destroyed powers and principalities, making an open show of them’ (Col 2:15). In identifying with Jesus in his resurrection we receive the benefits and authority of his resurrection (Ephesians 1:16-23).

When opposition comes against us we need to make a stand and take the authority that we have in our new identity, in Christ Jesus. We have to speak to the opposition and tell it that we have been raised with Christ and are now in a position of authority. Speak God’s Word over your life and say; “Because I rose with Christ, I have the authority of Christ over forces of darkness in my life”.

The opposition will have to bow it’s knee when we identify with the risen Christ and use our New Creation authority. : Identifying with Jesus — Redeemer Coast Church

What language did Jesus speak?

Jesus Was Likely Multilingual – Most religious scholars and historians agree with Pope Francis that the historical Jesus principally spoke a Galilean dialect of Aramaic. Through trade, invasions and conquest, the Aramaic language had spread far afield by the 7th century B.C., and would become the lingua franca in much of the Middle East.

In the first century A.D., it would have been the most commonly used language among ordinary Jewish people, as opposed to the religious elite, and the most likely to have been used among Jesus and his disciples in their daily lives. But Netanyahu was technically correct as well. Hebrew, which is from the same linguistic family as Aramaic, was also in common use in Jesus’ day.

Similar to Latin today, Hebrew was the chosen language for religious scholars and the holy scriptures, including the Bible (although some of the Old Testament was written in Aramaic). Jesus likely understood Hebrew, though his everyday life would have been conducted in Aramaic.

What does Jesus call us to do?

16 Bible verses about God’s calling for our lives Note: Images taken prior to the CDC’s recommendation to wear masks in public. “What is God’s calling for your life?” For many people of faith, that question is alternately a source of mystery, frustration, confusion, and hope.

Does God have a fine-tuned plan for each of us, or is God’s call more general, with the details left up to us? You’ll likely find the same number of answers as the number of people that you ask. But there is work that God calls all of us to do, and it’s laid out for us in the Bible. God makes it clear again and again that we’re to love others, care for the poor, and live our lives in such a way that we point to the power of the gospel.

When we contemplate what God’s calling is for our lives, those universal commands are a great place to start. Here are 16 Bible verses about God’s calling for our lives, no matter who we are or where we live! (All Bible verses from the, Bolded emphasis added.)

What was Jesus main goal?

JESUS AS THE WAY AND THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH ACCORDING TO THE GOSPEL OF JOHN Craig R. Koester Luther Seminary

St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.A. The Gospel of John is a story of mission because it is a story of sending. Throughout its pages the evangelist speaks of God sending ( apostellein, pempein ) the Son into the world in order that the world might be saved through him (John 3: 17).

Through Jesus’ words and actions he bore witness to the God who sent him, in order that people might come to know God and find eternal life (17:3).
Before his crucifixion, Jesus promised that he would send the Spirit or Paraclete from the Father, and that the Paraclete would remain with his followers as a continuing witness to Jesus (14:26; 15:26; 16:7).

After his resurrection, Jesus sent his followers into the world and breathed the Spirit into them (20:21-22; cf.17:1 8). Interpreters have sometimes considered Johannine Christianity to be a kind of introverted sect because of the way the Gospel speaks about the world’s failure to understand Jesus and about its hostility toward Jesus and his followers (1 :10; 7:7; 15: 18-19).1 This seems unlikely, however, given the Gospel’s persistent emphasis on sending, which points to an ongoing interest in engagement with the world.2 The Fourth Gospel reflects its interest in the world by telling how the circle of Jesus’ followers came to include both Jews and Samaritans through the testimony that one person bore to another (1:35-51; 4:31-42), and in its account of Jesus’ public ministry the Gospel anticipates the inclusion of Greeks in the Christian community (12:20).

The final chapter of the Gospel, which may have been added at a late stage of its composition, tells of the disciples bringing a great catch of fish to Jesus-an action that is generally recognized to anticipate people being drawn to Jesus through the work of his disciples (21:1-14). Finally, the Johannine Epistles, which were probably written later than the Gospel, deal with questions of proper support for traveling evangelists (3 John 5-8).

The Johannine writings manifest of Christian separation from the world, yet continue to expect Christian engagement with the world.2 The Fourth Gospel’s witness to Jesus includes the words, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

These words, which Jesus speaks to the disciples during the last supper, are among the most memorable and disputed in the New Testament.
For many, the Johannine claim that Jesus is the way is one of Christianity’s most essential teachings.
It is heard as good news because it announces that through Jesus Christ one may relate rightly to God, and it provides impetus for mission because it is a message to be shared.

For others, however, the idea that Jesus is the way is uncomfortably narrow. It is heard as an expression of Christian exclusivity that is awkward at best and dangerous at worst in a pluralistic world.3 A large part of the problem arises from the repeated use of the definite article in Jesus’ statement.

Many objections presumably would fade if we could modify the passage so that Jesus would say, “I am a way, and a truth, and a life.” To call Jesus the bringer of “a way” among other ways and the bearer of “a truth” among other truths would be a rather modest claim that would probably elicit little opposition from those outside the Christian fold.

Moreover, referring to Jesus as “a way” would ease the discomfort of those within the Christian community who want to avoid the impression that Christianity is exclusivistic. The difficulty with this approach, of course, is that the word “the” stubbornly appears before each of the three terms “way,” “truth,” and “life” in Greek as well as in English.

Understanding the passage involves coming to terms with its particularity, and the best way to do this is to think through the questions that have been raised about the Fourth Gospel’s presentation of Christ’s uniqueness.4 Although some sense that portraying Jesus as the way makes the gospel message too exclusive and insufficiently open, reading Jesus’ words in light of the theological dynamics of John’s Gospel suggests that the opposite is true.

When each element of the saying is given due weight, Christ’s words are disturbingly inclusive and surprisingly open, but in ways that are often overlooked.I. THE WAY AND THE HUMAN CONDITION Jesus was sent into the world in order that people might have life in relationship with God.

The goal of his being sent, according to 14:6, is that people might “come” to the Father, which in the immediate context means that they might know and believe in God.
After identifying himself as the way by which people “come” to the Father ( erchesthai, 14:6), Jesus shifts to the verb “know” ( ginoskein ) when he says, “If you know me, you will know my Father also.

From now on you do know him and have seen him” (14:7). Then he shifts from “knowing” to “believing” ( pisteuein ) by saying, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?” (14:9). Coming, knowing, and believing are overlapping expressions for human relationships with God in this passage, as they are elsewhere in the Gospel (e.g., 1:10-12, 6:35, 68-69, 7:37-38).5 The problem with the human condition, which is depicted starkly in the Farewell Discourses, is that “no one comes to the Father” (14:6b).

This comment is perhaps the Gospel’s most disturbingly inclusive claim, since the context makes clear that “no one” ( oudeis ) includes everyone.
The assumption that underlies these words is that all people are separated from God.
To say that “no one comes to the Father” assumes that all people are separated from the Father-otherwise there would be no need to come to him.

This separation from God arises Mom human sin, and sin figures into the condition of every human being. To say that no one comes to the Father means that sin separates everyone from the Father. The claim is categorical. Humanity’s separation from God is a persistent theme in John’s Gospel.

When speaking of God’s word, the prologue declares that “he was in the world, and the world came into being through him, yet the world did not know him” (1:10).
A cleft separates the human from the divine.
Throughout the Gospel Jesus addresses listeners who do not know God, who have never heard God’s voice and have never seen God’s form (5:27; 7:28, 8:19).

God and his Son belong to the world above whereas human beings belong to the world below, and the cleft between the divine and human realms is characterized by alienation. Jesus says to his opponents, “You are from below, I am from above, you are of this world, I am not of this world,” and “I told you that you would die in your sins” (8:23-24).

Therefore, when the Son of God crosses the divide and enters the world, the world hates him because he testifies that its works are evil (7:7).
The statement that “no one comes to the Father” (14:6b) points to humanity’s estrangement from God.
Because separation from God is a fundamentally human problem, it affects Jesus’ followers as well as his foes.

The disciples do not show the same kind of animosity that Jesus’ opponents do, but the context of the comments about the way indicates that John’s Gospel understands separation from God to be an issue for all people. Jesus addresses his followers in the same way that he previously addressed his adversaries when he tells them, “as I said to the Jews” who have shown opposition, “so now I say to you ” who belong to the inner circle: “Where I am going, you cannot come” (13:33).

At a fundamental level the disciples are in the same position as the Pharisees and temple police who tried to arrest Jesus (7:34; 8:21): none of them has any innate ability to go where Jesus goes.
The portrayal of individual disciples at the last supper reinforces the sense that Jesus addresses a fundamentally human problem.

The portrayal of individual disciples at the last supper reinforces the sense that Jesus addresses a fundamentally human problem. First, Peter protests, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you” (13:37). In reply Jesus discloses that Peter will deny him three times (13:37-38).

Peter had been a loyal disciple since the beginning of Jesus’ ministry (1 :41-42), and when many of Jesus’ followers fell away because of Jesus’ insistence that they eat his flesh and drink his blood, Peter confessed that Jesus was the Holy One of God, who had the words of eternal life (6:68-69). Nevertheless when Peter, in the high priest’s courtyard, denies that he is Jesus’ disciple, he shows that he shares the condition that manifests itself in Jesus’ Jewish opponents.

Recall that previously some of the Jewish leaders were asked whether they wanted to be included among Jesus’ disciples, and they denied it (9:27-28). During Jesus’ hearing before the Jewish authorities, Peter will do the same by repeatedly denying Jesus (18:17, 25, 27).

Second, Thomas interrupts Jesus’ discourse at the last supper by declaring, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” (14:5). Earlier in the Gospel Thomas had been ready to follow Jesus back to Judea to attend to Lazarus, even though Jesus’ adversaries posed a threat in that region (11:16).

Yet during the last supper Jesus spoke of another kind of journey, one that Thomas was not able to fathom. Jesus was going to God, and Thomas’s inability to understand this recalls the incomprehension that Jesus’ adversaries showed earlier when they asked, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him?” and “What does he mean by saying.

‘Where I am you cannot come?”‘ (7:35-36; 8:22).
Thomas is as unknowing as Jesus’ opponents had been.
Third, Philip says, “Lord, show us the Father and we will be satisfied” (14:8).
Philip was called by Jesus early in his ministry, and Philip had confessed that Jesus was the one “about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote” (1:45).

Philip had been present for the miraculous feeding of the five thousand (6:5, 7), and he was one told Jesus that the Greeks wanted to see him when Jesus entered Jerusalem (12:20-23). Yet Philip’s request at the last supper indicates that he is not satisfied with what he has seen thus far, and his words echo previous episodes in which Jesus’ Jewish opponents were the ones who demanded to know, “Where is your Father?” (8 :19).

Accordingly, Jesus’ response is poignant: “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me?” (14:9). Like others, Philip does not genuinely know Jesus at this point in the story. Jesus’ words, “no one comes to the Father” (14:6b), level the distinctions between people by directing attention to the separation from God that all human beings share.

This negative assessment of humanity’s situation is the presupposition for the Gospel’s positive presentation of Jesus as the way. The Fourth Evangelist presses readers to see the depth of human estrangement from God and to understand the person and work of Christ as God’s response to that estrangement.

John’s Gospel does not identify Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life in order to close off relationships with God, but to open up relationships with God where sin has created separation (14:6a). The word “except” (ei me) in the phrase “except by me” (14:6c) means that the categorical judgment that “no one comes to the Father” is not the last word (14:6b).

The word “except” introduces the prospect of relationship with God despite human estrangement from God. “Except” is like a window that lets light into a closed room. The term is congruent with what the Gospel says about Christ coming as light into a world of darkness (1:5, 9; 3:19) and serving as the door or gate that enables people to enter God’s sheepfold (10:7-10).

Rather than restricting access to God the word “except” creates access to God. The interplay between an unequivocal judgment on the human separation from God and a promise of new relationship with God is part of the fabric of John’s Gospel. One of the Gospel’s most memorable characters is Nicodemus, who speaks as a Pharisee (3:1), as one of the crowd (3:2; cf.2:23), and finally as a representative of a benighted humanity (3 19).6 Jesus speaks categorically when he says to Nicodemus, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God” (3:3a).

After hearing Nicodemus’s reply, Jesus reiterates his judgment by saying, “no one can enter the kingdom of God” (3:5a). Both sayings presuppose that the human condition is one of separation from God’s kingdom. To say that “no one” can see or enter the kingdom means that everyone begins at a point outside the kingdom.

Against the backdrop of this negative judgment Jesus inserts the word “unless.” The word “unless” ( ean me ), like the “except” in 14:6, provides for relationship with God in the face of separation from God. To say that “no one” can enter or even see God’s kingdom makes an unequivocally negative assessment of human capacities to relate fully and rightly to God.

Adding that this is true “unless” he or she is born anew (3:3b, 5b) points to the prospect of a relationship where one would otherwise be impossible. Being born anew means coming to faith, which is why “believing” is mentioned so often in this passage (3:12, 15, 16, 18).

Believing is a relational notion in John’s Gospel; it is the way people relate rightly to God.
Faith is evoked by the Spirit (3:6) through the message that God so loved the world that he gave his Son to suffer and die in order to redeem it (3:16).
Similar dynamics appear in John 6, where Jesus speaks to representatives of the multitude that he had fed with five loaves and two fish.

In the middle of his discourse Jesus makes the categorical judgment that “no one can come to me” (6:44a), using “come” as a synonym for faith (cf.6:35). The crowd’s demeanor bears out his statement. Jesus transformed the five loaves and two fish into a meal for five thousand people with plenty left over (6: 1 – 15), yet they continued to demand a sign in order that they might believe (6:30).

Their insistence on signs, after having been given a sign, discloses their inability to perceive the presence and work of God, whose power was manifested through the Son whom he sent (6:27, 29, 32,33). They not only do not come, but evidently lack the ability to come, for the text says that “no one can ” do so (oudeis dynatai, 6:44a).

The evangelist underscores the depth of the problem by noting how the people “complained” or “murmured” against Jesus, using word that was associated with the contemporaries of Moses ( goggyzein, 6:41, 43). Moses’ generation had benefited from divine actions like the deliverance at the Red Sea, the gift of water from the rock, and a daily provision of manna, the bread from heaven (Exod 14:21 -31; 16:4; 17:1 -7).

Yet they persistently complained and refused to trust God (Exod 16:7; 17:3; Num 14:27, 29).
The parallels between the wilderness generation and the crowd fed by Jesus indicate the persistence of human estrangement from God.
Jesus tells the crowd that “no one can come,” making a negative pronouncement on the human condition (John 6:44a), but this judgment is met again by the word “unless” ( ean me, 6:44b).

Taken on its own the statement that “no one can come” means that relationships with God and the Christ whom God sent are impossible. Yet adding “unless the Father who sent me draws” the person means that relationships can occur when God acts to overcome the barrier that separates the human from the divine.

God “draws” ( helchyein ) people to Jesus and so to himself by communicating with them, according to 6:45. Later, readers learn more specifically that people are “drawn” to Christ by the power of his being lifted up in crucifixion, as well as by his resurrection and return to the Father (12:32-33).7 According to John’s Gospel, Christ’s death and resurrection are means by which God communicates his love to the world and thereby draws the world back into relationship with himself.

II. THE WAY OF THE CROSS AND RESURRECTION Calling Jesus “the way” points to the prospect of a relationship with God in the face of the negative judgment that “no one comes to the Father.” The image of the way can best be understood by noting that Jesus spoke about going the way himself before he spoke about being the way for others.

Focusing initially on what it means for Jesus to go the way casts into relief what it means for Jesus to be the way. Jesus’ own journey is mentioned repeatedly in John 13-14, and in typically Johannine fashion his statements encompass multiple dimensions of meaning.8 Accordingly, when Jesus speaks of “where I am going” (13:33, 36), his words can be taken on two levels: his destination and his route.

Each level merits consideration. First, we can consider what the Gospel says about Jesus’ destination. During his public ministry Jesus speaks of going to the one who sent him (7:33-34). Bystanders in the story find these remarks opaque, but the evangelist gives readers enough information to know that God sent Jesus (5:23-24; 6:38-39).

Therefore, when Jesus speaks of going to the one who sent him, readers understand that he refers to his return to the Father.
Similarly, the comments that introduce John’s account of the last supper repeat that Jesus has come from God and is going to God (13:1, 3).
After piquing the disciples’ curiosity about where he is going, Jesus tells of preparing a place for them in his Father’s house with its many rooms (14:2-4).

Readers who follow these cues will respond to the question, “Where is Jesus going?” (13:36; 14:5) by saying, “He is going to God.” Second, we must note the route that Jesus will take to his destination. Jesus speaks about where he is going in contexts that mention the prospect of arrest and the coming “hour” of the passion (7:30, 34; 8:20-21).

When the evangelist later tolls the hour of Jesus’ return to the Father, readers learn that the path Jesus follows will pass through betrayal (13: 1-2).
After Judas leaves the company of disciples and plunges into the night in order to carry out the betrayal, Jesus speaks about glorification and going where no one else can go (13:30-33).

According to John’s Gospel, Jesus’ glorification and return to the Father take place through his dying and rising (12:23-24).9 Peter unwittingly accents the fact that Jesus is going on a course that will lead through death by declaring that he will follow Jesus and lay down his life for him, which prompts Jesus to foretell Peter’s denial (13:36-37).

These cues in the text enable readers to respond to the question, “Where is Jesus going?” by saying, “He is going the way of the cross.” 10 John 14 begins by identifying Jesus’ destination as his Father’s house, but when Jesus introduces the term “way” in the statement “You know the way where I am going” (14:4), 11 he focuses attention on the way of crucifixion and resurrection that will lead to that destination.

As the narrative unfolds, Jesus goes to the garden where he is arrested, then to the high priest’s house where he is questioned and to the headquarters of the Roman governor where he is scourged. He follows the way out of the city, bearing his own cross, and is crucified at Golgotha.

Death and entombment are followed by resurrection-and all of this belongs to the way by which he returns to the Father (20:17). The disciples do not understand the way of Jesus prior the passion, as Thomas makes clear by objecting, “Lord we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” (14:5).

Jesus tells Thomas that he is the way by which people come to know and to see God the Father (14:6-7), but only after Good Friday and Easter, when the risen Jesus shows Thomas the marks of crucifixion, are the words of John 14 realized in Thomas’s confession, “My Lord and my God” (20:28).

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The significance of Jesus’ saying about the way emerges after his death and resurrection, just as the Gospel indicates that his comments about the destruction and resurrection of the temple (2:21-22) and his washing of the disciples’ feet (13 :7) can only be understood in light of the passion through the work of the Spirit (14:26).12 Jesus says “I am the way” (14:6) after he has spoken about going the way himself (14:4).

By going the way of the cross and resurrection he comes to embody the way of the cross and resurrection. To call Jesus “the way” is to call him “the Crucified and Risen One.” The term “way” is evocative and like light, water, bread, and other key Johannine images it brings to mind associations from various sources while reshaping these associations in relation to Jesus’ passion.13 Earlier, John the Baptist invoked the image of the way from the book of Isaiah when he called himself “the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord”‘ (1:23; Isa 40:3).

Although the other Gospels link the Lord’s way to the call to repentance (Matt 3:2-3; Mark 1:2-4; Luke 3:34), the Fourth Gospel says that John the Baptist makes straight “the way of the Lord” by bearing witness to Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
Thus the promise of the way, which is mentioned in Isaiah, finds its realization in Jesus’ death for the sake of others.14 At the last supper the image of the way is introduced with the words “I am” ( ego eimi ), which recall how God revealed himself to Moses at the burning bush by saying, “I am who I am” (Exod 3:14).

The divine connotations of the “I am,” which appear in various Old Testament passages, are developed in John’s Gospel.15 In some contexts the words are used in an absolute, ungrammatical sense in which the divine element is clear. For example, when Jesus says, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58), the crowd recognizes the allusion to God’s name and attempts to stone Jesus for blasphemy.

In other passages the “I am” is used with an implied predicate, so that it is often translated “I am he” or “It is I.” Nevertheless, when Jesus utters the “I am” in this manner in the garden of Gethsemane, his adversaries fall to the ground, apparently in response to the numinous quality of the words (18:5-6).

Finally, the “I am” is coupled with images such as bread, light, a door, a shepherd, resurrection, and a vine. In these statements the revelatory quality of the expression persists, so that by saying “I am” Jesus not only identifies who he is, but indicates how he reveals God’s power and presence.

Taken together, the two halves of the statement “I am the way” announce that Jesus reveals God through his death and resurrection. The “I am” in the first half of the saying echoes the name of God and, like the other “I am” passages in John’s Gospel, indicates that God is made known in Christ. Reference to “the way” in the second half develops what Jesus has intimated about going the way of the cross and resurrection in order to show that Jesus comes to embody the way of the cross and resurrection.

III. THE WAY IN A PLURALISTIC WORLD Asking “For whom is Jesus the way?” in a pluralistic context means considering the prior question, “For whom did Jesus go the way?” or more pointedly, “For whom did Christ die?” According to John’s Gospel, Jesus went the way of the cross for all people.

In the opening chapter John the Baptist foreshadows “the way of the Lord” (1:23) by pointing to “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (1:29). Using the term “world” ( kosmos ) emphasizes the scope of Christ’s mission. Christ sacrificed himself for all because sin, which separates people from God, is part of the human condition.

According to John’s Gospel, Jesus dies as “the Lamb of God” when he is crucified on the day of Preparation for Passover, when the Passover lambs are slain (19:14). And the conviction that Christ dies for the sake of the world is underscored by the sign above the cross, which proclaims Christ’s identity in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek for all the world to see (19:20).

The way of the cross is the way of divine love. It was because “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son” to suffer, die, and rise, “so that whosoever believes in him might not perish but have eternal life” (3:16). When Jesus reveals God by going the way of the cross, he manifests God’s love for a world alienated from its Creator.

Human beings are capable of recognizing that the greatest expression of love is to lay down one’s life on behalf of someone else (15:13). Accordingly, Jesus went to the cross not only to show his own love for his followers (13 :1) but also to reveal the love of the God who sent him in order that the world’s relationship with God might be restored (3:16).

The absolute quality of the statement “I am the way” expresses the absolute quality of God’s love for the world.16 Calling Jesus not only “the way” but also “the truth” (14:6) further describes what he reveals by going the way of the cross and resurrection.17 According to the prologue, the word of God entered the world, became flesh, and revealed divine glory as “grace and truth” (1:14).

Jesus manifested God’s glory during his public ministry by acts of power (17:4), but ultimately he was glorified through death and resurrection, the events by which grace and truth “came” or more literally “happened” ( egeneto, 1: 17). Shortly before his crucifixion, Jesus tells Pilate that he has come into the world to bear witness to the truth (18:37).

When Pilate replies, “What is truth?” (18:38), Jesus responds not so much by words as by going the way of the cross, which is the consummate form of testimony to the truth. To know the truth that sets people free from bondage to sin (8:31-34) is to know the love of God that Christ reveals. By going the way of the cross and resurrection to reveal the truth of God, Christ comes to embody the way and the truth.

“Life,” which elaborates what it means for Jesus to be the way and the truth, is a relational expression.18 True life means life in relationship with the God who is true (3 :33, 36). Life has a physical dimension but is not limited to what is physical.

People who are alive in a bodily sense pass “from death to life” when they come to believe what Jesus reveals of God (5:24).
In the Fourth Gospel “life” is often synonymous with “eternal life,” since authentic life comes through knowing the eternal God (17:3).
Life is a relationship that begins in faith and continues beyond death into everlasting life through resurrection (5:29).

By his crucifixion and resurrection Jesus reveals the divine love that draws people into the relationship with God that is true life. When Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life” he speaks of a gift that is extended to all human beings whom sin has separated from God.

This saying, like the other “I am” statements, announces what God offers to the world.
When Jesus says, “I am the bread of life” (6:35) he means that he is “the bread of God.which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” that hungers through the crucifixion of his flesh (6:33, 51).
When he says, “I am the light of the world” he indicates that he came to give “the light of life” to all who experience the darkness of sin and death, and he demonstrates this gift by bringing light to the eyes of a man born blind (8:12; 9:5-7).

When Jesus says, “I am the gate,” he explains that he came that people might be saved and have life abundant (10:7-10); and the context emphasizes that as the gate Jesus opens up a way for those who would otherwise be shut out, like the man expelled from the synagogue (9:34).

When he says, “I am the good shepherd,” he promises to give eternal life to his sheep by laying down is life for them (10:11, 28).
When he says, “I am the resurrection and the life” he emphasizes what he gives to all who believe (11:25-26).
When he says, “I am the true vine,” he calls people to abide in him because he will sustain them with divine love (15:1, 4, 9).

The words “I am” beckon readers to begin theological reflection by considering who Christ is and what he has done. This has the strange effect of reversing the usual questions that emerge from a reading of John’s Gospel. Beginning with the world’s many traditions and truth claims makes it natural to ask how anyone can say that Jesus is “the way,” because from this perspective the Gospel’s claims seem uncomfortably narrow.

Beginning with the Gospel’s internal logic, however, discloses that Jesus is the way because he went the way of the cross and resurrection.
This makes it natural to ask whether there is anyone for whom Christ did not die.
If Christ went the way of the cross for all people, then saying that Christ died for some but not for all would be an uncomfortable narrowing of what Christ has done.

Again, it seems exclusivistic to say that Jesus is “the way,” yet the Gospel calls Jesus “the way” because Jesus went the way of the cross to reveal God’s love for the world that was estranged from him. Accordingly, it would be exclusivistic to say that Jesus is the way for some but not all, for it would mean that Jesus reveals God’s love only for some but not for all.

If all people are separated from God-for “no one comes to the Father” (14:6b)- then Jesus goes the way of the cross and resurrection and embodies the way of the cross and resurrection to overcome this estrangement by the revelation of God’s love.
The love of God is at the heart of Jesus’ mission to the world, according to John’s Gospel, and it remains the hallmark of the missionary activity of those whose faith and lives are shaped by this Gospel’s witness.

Notes 1. See, e.g., Wayne A. Meeks, “The Man from Heaven in Johannine Sectarianism,” JBL 91 (1972) 44-72; Jerome Neyrey, An Ideology of Revolt: John’s Christology in Social Science Perspective (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1988); Norman Peterson, The Gospel of John and the Sociology of Light: Language and Characterization in the Fourth Gospel (Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1993); Herbert Leroy, Räatsel und Missverstandnis: Ein Beitrag zur Formgeschichte des Johnnesevangeliums (BBB 30; Bonn: Peter Hanstein, 1968) 21-25; Tom Thatcher, The Riddles of Jesus in John: A Study in Tradition and Folklore (SBLMS 53; Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2000) 104-8 2.

Studies of mission in relation to John’s Gospel include Teresa Okure, The Johannine Approach to Mission: A Contextual Study of John 4:1-42 (WUNT 31; Tübingen: Mohr/Siebeck, 1988); Andreas J.
Ostenberger, The Missions of Jesus and the Disciples according to the Fourth Gospel (Grand Rapids/ Cambridge: Eerdmans, 1998).

For discussion of the sectarian quality of the Johannine writings see David Rensberger, Johannine Faith and Liberating Community (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1988) 25-29. For discussion about the way Johannine language serves engagement with the world see Craig R.

Oester, Symbolism in the Fourth Gospel: Meaning, Mystery, Community (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1995) 1824, 248-56.3.
For reflections on the differing perspectives see D.
Moody Smith, “Prolegomena to a Canonical Reading of the Fourth Gospel,” in “What I John? “: Readers and Readings of the Fourth Gospel (ed.

Fernando F. Segovia; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1996) 169-82, esp.175-76; R. Alan Culpepper, “The Gospel of John as a Document of Faith in a Pluralistic Culture,” in “What is John? ” 107-27, esp.121-25.4. See also the reflections by Gail R. O’Day in The New Interpreter’s Bible 9 (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995) 743~5.5.

On the various expressions used in the Johannine vocabulary of faith see John Painter, The Quest for the Messiah: The History, Literature and Theology of the Johannine Community ( Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1991) 327-33.6. On character portrayal in John and on Nicodemus as a representative of humanity see Koester, Symbolism, 45-48.7.

On the verb “lift up” ( hypsoun ) see J. Terence Forstell, The Word of the Cross: Salvation as Revelation in the Fourth Gospel (Analecta biblica 57; Rome: Biblical Institute Press, 1974) 61-65; Rudolf Schnackenburg, The Gospel According to St John (3 vols.; New York: Herder/Seabury/Cross-road, 1968-84) 2:399-401.8.

On the close connection between John 13 and 14 see Fernando F.
Segovia, The Farewell of the Word: The Johannine Call to Abide (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1991) 59-68.
On multiple meanings in John see Koester, Symbolism, 1-31.9.
On glorification see Forstell, The Word of the Cross, 73-74; Schnackenburg, The Gospel, 2:401-4; C.H.

Dodd, The Interpretation of the Fourth Gospel (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1953) 207-8.10. John Painter, John: Witness and Theologian (London: SPCK, 1975) 41, 47; Francis J. Moloney, The Gospel of John (Sacra Pagina 4; Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1998) 395; and Glory Not Dishonor: I Reading John 13-21 (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1998) 36.11.

The NRSV paraphrases 14:4 to read, “And you know the way to the place where I am going.” The words “to the place” do not appear in Greek.12.
John’s Gospel mentions Thomas only in 11:16, 14:5, and 20:24-29.
There are literary and theological relationships between these passages.
On retrospect in John see Jean Zumstein, Kreative Erinnerung: Relecture und Auslegung im Johannesevangelium (Zürich: Pano Verlag, 1999) 46-61.13.

Note for example how the image of bread from heaven, which recalls traditions about manna (Exod 16:4), is understood in terms of Jesus giving his flesh for the world through his crucifixion (John 6:51). Similarly, the Gospel indicates that the truly good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep even though this action that was not commonly understood to be the mark of good shepherding (10:11).

John’s Gospel develops the shepherd image in light of the cross.14.
See also Isa 42:16; 43:19; 48:17; 49:9, 11; 57:15; 62:10; David Mark Ball, “I Am” in John’s Gospel: Literary Function, Background and Theological Implications (Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series 124; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1996) 232-40.15.

For example, the Greek translation of the Old Testament reads, “I am and there is no god beside me” (Deut 32:39) and “I am and there is no other” (Isa 45:18). On the uses of “I am” in John’s Gospel see Raymond E. Brown, The Gospel According to John (2 vols.; Anchor Bible 29-29A; New York: Doubleday, 1966-70) 1:533-38; Ball, “IAm” in John’s Gospel, 146-76.16.

What Jesus look like in real life?

What Research and Science Can Tell Us About Jesus – In 2001, the retired medical artist Richard Neave led a team of Israeli and British forensic anthropologists and computer programmers in creating a new image of Jesus, based on an Israeli skull dating to the first century A.D., computer modeling and their knowledge of what Jewish people looked like at the time.

Though no one claims it’s an exact reconstruction of what Jesus himself actually looked like, scholars consider this image—around five feet tall, with darker skin, dark eyes, and shorter, curlier hair—to be more accurate than many artistic depictions of the son of God. In her 2018 book What Did Jesus Look Like?, Taylor used archaeological remains, historical texts and ancient Egyptian funerary art to conclude that, like most people in Judea and Egypt around the time, Jesus most likely had brown eyes, dark brown to black hair and olive-brown skin.

He may have stood about 5-ft.-5-in. (166 cm) tall, the average man’s height at the time. While Cargill agrees that these more recent images of Jesus—including darker, perhaps curlier hair, darker skin and dark eyes—probably come closer to the truth, he stresses that we can never really know exactly what Jesus looked like. What Does Alexa Say About Jesus Christ

What is a life without Jesus?

A life without Christ is a life without hope or meaning.

Why Jesus is different from us?

How Is Jesus Different From Other Gods? — POLISHED One of the major reasons faith in Jesus is different from other religions is that He doesn’t demand perfection from us or ask us to achieve some higher state of living before we can be allowed into heaven.

He really just wants a relationship with us.
He wants us to get to know Him and believe in His plan for our lives.
I don’t know about you, but I’m not perfect.
Even when I don’t want to, I mess up and hurt not only myself but others.
By admitting to God that I’m not perfect, and accepting Jesus’ sacrifice for my sinful behavior, God no longer sees my sin when He looks at me; He sees Jesus’ perfection, instead.

I am now free to live a life without fear (without constantly striving for the unattainable “perfect life”), and free to get to know the One who created me and loves me more than anyone else in the universe. : How Is Jesus Different From Other Gods? — POLISHED

How does God see you?

We Are Precious and Honored in His Eyes – In Isaiah 43:4, it says, “Since you are precious and honored in my sight and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life.” In God’s eyes, we are precious and honored. He loves us so much that he would exchange nations for our life.

Who is Jesus in my life?

Who is Jesus Jesus Christ is the reason we exist, He is the purpose and explanation of life. He is the answer to man’s desperate need for salvation. Sin separated us from God, but because of His great love for us, he sent His Son Jesus to give His life as a sacrifice to pay the price for our sin.

In the Bible, John 3:16, illustrates just this, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only son.
That whoever believes in Him, will not perish but have everlasting life.
Jesus is more than a famous historical figure or a great teacher who once lived.
He came to carry our weaknesses, our sickness, our pain, so that we can live an abundant life In Him and have total freedom, peace, power and purpose.

Jesus wants to have a personal relationship with us. All we have to do is receive it by faith. To receive Jesus its a simple as A,B,C. Acknowledge that you are a sinner, separated from God, and in need of salvation. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Romans 3:23) Believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died for your sins and rose again from the dead. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8) Confess (say) with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord!” That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

(Romans 10:9) To receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior simply pray the prayer below and your life will be changed forever. : Who is Jesus

What did Jesus go through while on earth?

Born in humble circumstances – Jesus was born to the virgin Mary in a small village in a remote corner of the world. That humble birth fulfilled the hopes and dreams of all of us. He was the Son of God with infinite knowledge and power, yet He was also mortal and susceptible to hunger and pain.

Jesus Christ fully experienced the challenges and sorrows of this life. He knows each of us and understands us perfectly. Even as a young man, Jesus was teaching the word of God. At 12 years old, He taught in the temple, and all that heard Him were astonished at His understanding. When Jesus began His ministry, He fasted in the wilderness for 40 days.

He was tempted by the devil and overcame that temptation. He was also baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. Although Jesus was without sin, He was still baptized by immersion in order to teach us obedience to God. After Jesus’s baptism, God declared, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17).

Jesus healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, and even brought the dead back to life. More importantly, He made these miracles possible. Although His works were considered blasphemous behavior by the Jewish priests, Jesus continually reminded people that His works were aligned with God’s will so “that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:13).

Jesus is also the perfect example of love. During His life on the earth, He cared for the poor, He healed the sick (see Luke 17:12–19), and He never turned away little children (see Matthew 19:13–14). His love is endless and available to all of us. Jesus taught that we must forgive.

Is there pain in heaven?

3. Heaven will be a place of joy, not pain. – In a vision John was given, he says about heaven: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:3-4).

The first thing to say about heaven is that God Himself will be there! So that will mean joy for all who have loved Him and longed for His coming. But it also clearly means that there will be no sin in heaven. And since every cause of sin will be excluded from heaven, all the effects of sin—tears, death, mourning, and pain will pass away too.

Your ex-husband, if he is in heaven, will no longer cause you grief, sorrow, or pain. These things will no longer be a part of your experience in heaven. I hope and pray that you will be encouraged by these things. I pray that you will be able to reflect on these verses and see that there is nothing for you to worry about regarding your ex-husband.

Either he will be in heaven, and be a very different man from the one you knew, or he will not be in heaven at all.
Warmly in Christ, Pastor Tim Tim serves as the resident pastor, writer, and editor of Open the Bible.
He was born and raised in northern Wisconsin, came to faith in his 20’s while working in the business world, and received a Master’s in Divinity from Trinity International University.

He is author of the children’s book Man on the Run, and co-author of The One Year Unlocking the Bible Devotional with Colin Smith. Tim lives in Arlington Heights, IL with his wife Janna, and they have four grown children.

Will we be reunited with loved ones in heaven?

7. The reunion of believing loved ones – When Paul writes to believers who grieve the loss of a loved one, he offers them this comfort: “We who are still alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thessalonians 4:17, emphasis mine),

“Them” refers to believing loved ones who are now in the presence of the Lord. A wife who grieves the loss of her believing husband has the comfort of knowing that when the Lord comes, she will meet her husband again. Sons and daughters who grieve the loss of a believing father or mother can find comfort in the prospect of this happy reunion when we will be reunited with those who have gone before us into the presence of the Lord.

That’s more than enough to settle the issue for me, and I hope that it is for you as well. Christians who know and love each other on earth will know and love each other in heaven. Go deeper on this topic in the sermon “Will We Know Each Other in Heaven?” which is part of the Listeners Favorites set. This article is adapted from Pastor Colin’s February 2017 column in Mature Living Magazine, Colin Smith is the Senior Pastor of The Orchard Evangelical Free Church in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. He has authored a number of books, including Heaven, How I Got Here and Heaven, So Near – So Far, Colin is the Founder and Teaching Pastor for Open the Bible. Follow him on Twitter,

Can you see God in heaven?

He is invisible. He is present everywhere. And, he is not localized like we are. Any change in our nature wouldn’t help us see God, because it would take a change in His (invisible) nature.

What religion was Jesus?

Jesus’ identity cannot be understood apart from his Jewishness. Harold W. Attridge: The Lillian Claus Professor of New Testament Yale Divinity School What was the dominant religious influence on ? Jesus was certainly subject to the influence of the traditions of Israel, there’s no doubt about that. But in what form those traditions came to him in Galilee at the beginning of the first century is somewhat unclear.

He certainly would have known of the Temple in Jerusalem, and probably, as traditions report., would have gone up to Jerusalem for the major pilgrimage festivals.
He would have known of the rituals of the Temple, their atoning ignificance.
He would have celebrated Passover, I suspect, with his family, and would have known of the hopes embedded in Passover for divine deliverance.

He probably was aware of the growing Pharisaic movement which preached a notion of purity that was available to all Jews, not simply those who were officiating at the Temple cult. He certainly would have known Jewish scripture, And we can see in some of his parables how he plays on images from scripture.

For instance, the great Cedar of Lebanon from Ezekial probably plays a role in his description of the mustard seed, which becomes a tree, and there’s probably an element of parody there. So his relationship with the scriptural heritage is a complex one, but it certainly is an important one in his formation.

Shaye I.D. Cohen: Samuel Ungerleider Professor of Judaic Studies and Professor of Religious Studies Brown University Was Jesus Jewish and, if he was, how would that have influenced his experiences as a young man growing up in Galilee? Was Jesus a Jew? Of course, Jesus was a Jew. He was born of a Jewish mother, in Galilee, a Jewish part of the world. All of his friends, associates, colleagues, disciples, all of them were Jews.

He regularly worshipped in Jewish communal worship, what we call synagogues.
He preached from Jewish text, from the Bible.
He celebrated the Jewish festivals.
He went on pilgrimage to the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem where he was under the authority of priests.
He lived, was born, lived, died, taught as a Jew.

This is obvious to any casual reader of the gospel text. What’s striking is not so much that he was a Jew but that the gospels make no pretense that he wasn’t. The gospels have no sense yet that Jesus was anything other than a Jew. The gospels don’t even have a sense that he came to found a new religion, an idea completely foreign to all the gospel text, and completely foreign to Paul.

That is an idea which comes about only later.
So, to say that he was a Jew is saying a truism, is simply stating an idea that is so obvious on the face of it, one wonders it even needs to be said.
But, of course, it does need to be said because we all know what happens later in the story, where it turns out that Christianity becomes something other than Judaism and as a result, Jesus in retrospect is seen not as a Jew, but as something else, as a founder of Christianity.

But, of course, he was a Jew. Paula Fredriksen: William Goodwin Aurelio Professor of the Appreciation of Scripture, Boston University Was Jesus Jewish? Why is it so important to us and why would it have colored his perceptions? What astonishes me when I read the stories about Jesus in the New Testament, is how completely embedded he is in this first century.

Jewish world of religious practice and piety.
We tend to get distracted by the major plot line of the gospels, because we’re waiting for the story to develop up to the crucifixion.
But, within that story, and the stories that are told by the evangelists that fills in the gap between the Galilee and Jerusalem, Jesus presented continuously as going into the synagogue on the Sabbath.

He is presented as going up to Jerusalem for the pilgrimage holidays, specifically in John, for any number of pilgrimage holidays, and in the synoptic gospels, most importantly, for Passover. Jerusalem at Passover is not the sort of place you’d want to be in unless you were really committed to doing an awful lot of ritual activity with tremendous historical resonance.

hat we’ve learned from the gospel stories is not that Jesus was not Jewish. Quite the opposite. He’s completely embedded in the Judaism of his time. What we learn from the gospels is that he’s not a member of one of the groups whose identifying characteristics Josephus gave to us. He’s not a Sadducee. He’s not a Pharisee.

He’s always arguing with the Pharisees. He’s not an Essene. He’s not an insurrectionist. And the fact that he’s arguing with other people who may be members of these other groups just simply signifies that he’s a Jew, because that’s what these Jews all did with each other – argue with each other all the time.

What language did Adam and Eve speak?

Adam naming the animals as described in Genesis, In some interpretations, he uses the “Adamic language” to do so. The Adamic language, according to Jewish tradition (as recorded in the midrashim ) and some Christians, is the language spoken by Adam (and possibly Eve ) in the Garden of Eden,

It is variously interpreted as either the language used by God to address Adam (the divine language ), or the language invented by Adam with which he named all things (including Eve), as in the second Genesis creation narrative ( Genesis 2:19 ).
In the Middle Ages, various Jewish commentators held that Adam spoke Hebrew, a view also addressed in various ways by the late medieval Italian poet Dante Alighieri,

In the early modern period, some authors continued to discuss the possibility of an Adamic language, some continuing to hold to the idea that it was Hebrew, while others such as John Locke were more skeptical. More recently, a variety of Mormon authors have expressed various opinions about the nature of the Adamic language.

What does Allah mean in the Bible?

Read a brief summary of this topic – Allah, Arabic Allāh (“God”), the one and only God in Islam, Etymologically, the name Allah is probably a contraction of the Arabic al-Ilāh, “the God.” The name’s origin can be traced to the earliest Semitic writings in which the word for god was il, el, or eloah, the latter two used in the Hebrew Bible ( Old Testament ).

Allah is the standard Arabic word for God and is used by Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews as well as by Muslims.
The association of the word specifically with Islam comes from the special status of Arabic as the language of Islam’s holy scripture, the Qurʾān : since the Qurʾān in its original language is considered to be the literal word of God, it is believed that God described himself in the Arabic language as Allāh,

The Arabic word thus holds special significance for Muslims, regardless of their native tongue, because the Arabic word was spoken by God himself. Allah is the pivot of the Muslim faith. The Qurʾān stresses above all Allah’s singularity and sole sovereignty, a doctrinal tenet indicated by the Arabic term tawḥīd (“oneness”).

He never sleeps or tires, and, while transcendent, he perceives and reacts to everything in every place through the omnipresence of his divine knowledge.
He creates ex nihilo and is in no need of a consort, nor does he have offspring.
Three themes preponderate in the Qurʾān: (1) Allah is the Creator, Judge, and Rewarder; (2) he is unique ( wāḥid ) and inherently one ( aḥad ); and (3) he is omnipotent and all-merciful.

Allah is the “Lord of the Worlds,” the Most High; “nothing is like unto him,” and this in itself is to the believer a request to adore Allah as the Protector and to glorify his powers of compassion and forgiveness. Allah, says the Qurʾān, “loves those who do good,” and two passages in the Qurʾān express a mutual love between him and humanity.

Although he is infinitely forgiving, according to the Qurʾān, there is one infraction that God will not forgive in the hereafter: the sin of associationism, or polytheism ( shirk ).
The God of the Qurʾān proclaims himself to be the one and the same as the God who has communicated with humanity through his various emissaries ( rusul ) who came to different communities, including the Jewish and Christian prophets.

Muslim scholars have collected, in the Qurʾān and in the Hadith (the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad ), the 99 “most beautiful names” ( al-asmāʾ al-ḥusnā ) of Allah, which describe his attributes. These names have become objects of devoted recitation and meditation.

Among the names of Allah are the One and Only, the Living One, the Subsisting ( al-Ḥayy al-Qayyūm ), the Real Truth ( al-Ḥaqq ), the Sublime ( al-ʿAẓīm ), the Wise ( al-Ḥakīm ), the Omnipotent ( al-ʿAzīz ), the Hearer ( al-Samīʿ ), the Seer ( al-Baṣīr ), the Omniscient ( al-ʿAlīm ), the Witness ( al-Shahīd ), the Trustee ( al-Wakīl ), the Benefactor ( al-Raḥmān ), the Merciful ( al-Raḥīm ), the Utterly Compassionate ( al-Raʾūf ), and the Constant Forgiver ( al-Ghafūr, al-Ghaffār ).

The profession of faith ( shahādah ) by which a person is introduced into the Muslim community consists of the affirmation that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is his messenger. For pious Muslims, every action is opened by an invocation of the divine name ( basmalah ).

The formula in shāʾa Allāh, “if Allah wills,” appears frequently in daily speech. This formula is the reminder of an ever-present divine intervention in the order of the world and the actions of human beings. Muslims believe that nothing happens and nothing is performed unless it is by the will or commandment of Allah, although humans are individually responsible for the moral choices they make at any given moment.

As signified by the term Islam, the personal attitude of a Muslim believer, therefore, is a conscious submission to God. Such submission is not blind and passive but should be purposeful and based on the knowledge of God and his commandments through his revelations.

What does real Jesus look like?

Though no one claims it’s an exact reconstruction of what Jesus himself actually looked like, scholars consider this image—around five feet tall, with darker skin, dark eyes, and shorter, curlier hair—to be more accurate than many artistic depictions of the son of God. In her 2018 book What Did Jesus Look Like?, Taylor used archaeological remains, historical texts and ancient Egyptian funerary art to conclude that, like most people in Judea and Egypt around the time, Jesus most likely had brown eyes, dark brown to black hair and olive-brown skin.

Who is Jesus based off?

Jesus has been compared to a broad variety of figures from various mythological traditions within the Mediterranean Basin, including (in rows from left to right) Dionysus, Mithras, Sol Invictus, Osiris, Asclepius, Attis, and Adonis.

Who is Jesus an avatar of?

Chakkarai, in his book Jesus the Avatar, 2 stated that according to the Christian view Jesus Christ was ‘the Avatar of God ‘. And it has been shown in Chapter 3 how Christ replaced Krishna as a Western Avatar.

Who is Jesus and his character?

He is simultaneously a ‘Savior’ (Luke 2:11) and a servant who lowers himself to the ground, washing the feet of his disciples (John 13:5). Jesus is bread (John 6:35), light (John 9:1), and water (John 7:38-39). He is also King of Kings, Lord of Lords (Rev.