Similarities Between Beowulf And Jesus

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”. These are the famous first words of the Bible and the basis for the Christian belief of creationism. Christians also believe that Jesus is the Messiah and that while He was here on earth, he taught many lessons on how to live life in a way that is pleasing to God. His message was love, therefore He never participated in any brawls or physical altercations. Unlike Jesus, the hero Beowulf’s prevalent attribute was warfare. Despite the obvious differences of a warrior and a messianic figure, Beowulf and Jesus are more alike than they seem to be. The epic Beowulf is a wonderful story that was told in the Anglo-Saxon era. This story revolves around war and violence just as the culture

Jesus was born in Bethlehem around 2-4 B.C. in the Hellenistic era. In the Old Testament of the Bible, Jesus’ birth is foretold in Isaiah saying, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). And not only was his birth prophesied, but his purpose as well by revealing that he will be called Immanuel. Immanuel means “God with us” and means that Jesus is literally God and was there on the earth in human form. Jesus’ coming is also told as the coming of a king in second Samuel, “When your (Kind David) days are fulfilled… I will set up your seed after you… I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Samuel 7:12-13). The jews interpreted this to mean that Jesus would take the throne and reign as their literal king of the land. Believing with their entirety, the Jewish people waited for Jesus their savior to be born. The Hellenistic world was ruled by kings who were in complete control of their kingdom. “Galilee which was at that time under Herod Antipas” (Attridge). When Jesus was born, Herod Antipas’s father, Herod the Great was threatened by the birth of a “new king”, and ordered all the newborn babies in the land to be killed so Jesus’s family fled. When Herod the Great died, Jesus’ parents, Joseph and Mary, brought the family back to Galilee. Upon growing up, Jesus gathered twelve close followers called disciples to travel with him. While traveling, He performed many supernatural tasks called miracles. A friend of his named Lazarus died of sickness and when Jesus came to visit the family, they informed him of the death. Instructing them to take him to the grave, Jesus prayed a prayer and called Lazarus out of the grave. “When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus,