New Testament Images Of Jesus As A Healer

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Write an essay outlining your understanding of two of the following New Testament images of Jesus. Jesus as a Rabbi/Teacher and Jesus as a Healer.
The New Testament can be viewed as God at work in Christ. It is through the New Testament we can examine the images of Jesus as a Rabbi and a Healer. Generally people view the New Testament as more modern and realistic than the Old Testament which allows us to see a clearer image of Jesus. (Sheenan, 2001) explains how Jesus was a teacher of prayer however Jesus left no written records, he and his disciples quoted the Old Testament. However reliable accounts were needed of his teaching and healings were needed for communities this led to the emergence of the Gospels in the New Testament. This established …show more content…

In these example Jesus is preaching and teaching God’s message in synagogues in the temple and even on a boat as there was overcrowding on the land. These examples represent the popularity of Jesus message and that people were attracted to the word of God from Jesus’ teachings. The theorist Rudolf Bultmann acknowledges that Jesus on earth was a rabbinical teacher who re-interpreted the law and preached a more radicalised Old Testament faith in God. Bultmann has firm beliefs that Christianity only began after Jesus was crucified and that earthly Jesus remained within the framework of Judaism. He believes that this history of Jesus and the Old Testament covenant has been superseded by Christianity. Bultmann is known for his belief that the historical analysis of the New Testament is both futile and unnecessary. Bultmann argues that all that is integral is the "thatness" of Jesus, meaning that only Jesus existence preaching and death by crucifixion matters in his life as these are based on historical facts. Therefore Bultmann dismisses the images of Jesus as a teacher and a healer as unimportant. As these deal with Jesus’ character such as his role as a teacher and his explanations of the message of God many find viewing images of Jesus as the easiest way of interpreting Jesus and his message. However Bultmann is greatly criticized for his views on Christology by Christologists today. One such person is (Strecker, 2000) who argues that the image of Jesus developed is in the religious content of Judaism Jesus spoke of the coming of the kingdom of God and explained it in a way that was relevant to the time of his teaching. This supporting that Jesus’ teaching was an integral part of his life and vital to the spreading of the message of the Kingdom of