John 6: 1-15

1After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias.
2And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased.
3And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples.
4And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh.
5When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?
6And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.
7Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.
8One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him,
9There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?
10And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.
11And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.
12When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.
13Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.
14Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.
15When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.

The Loaves and Fishes Analysis and Reflection

In this picture depicting the event of the loaves and fishes, Jesus is seen as the savior of all humanity. All the people are in a posture of supplication. They seem frightened, desperate, and destitute. In this painting, Jeus is seen as the, "light of the world". He is the only bright part (symbolized by his bright clothing and his halo) in the darkness, which is the world (symbolized by the grey skies and drab clothing). He is the only order amongst the disorder depicted in the frantic movements of the people. In John's Gospel, the statement, "I am..." is often used by Jesus. How would the statement end in this situation?

Chapter 17 Reflection

In the movie, The Matrix, the character Morpheus states to Neo, “I can only show you the door. You're the one that has to walk through it”. Such a statement reflects Chapter 17’s views on Jesus. Jesus did not tell people what to do. He invited people to discover themselves and their own path. In your opinion, what would happen in today’s world if authority figures followed Jesus’ example and chose less dominance and emphasized discovery and compassion?

"A Man for All Seasons"

"V for Vendetta"

Chapter 10 reflection

I was impacted by several elements of chapter 10 from Jesus Before Christianity. The first was that Nolan acknowledges a kingdom of Satan, and the second is that the difference between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan is a matter of power -- not who has more but what type of power. According to Nolan, the power of Satan is the power of domination and oppression whereas the power of God is the power of service and freedom.

In chapter 10, Nolan also quotes Luke 14:11 "Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the man who humbles himself will be exalted." It is partially because of this that I have decided to dedicate my life to service and that I will be joining the Navy. I was surprised to find such a profound connection to this reading but I do agree with his previous statement that there will be a reversal of fortunes in the end. A military service career is not synonymous with wealth, but I feel that it provides enrichment of the soul to be able to protect and defend not only fellow Americans but those people around the world who are less fortunate.

Chapter 10 Reflection

Cicero once stated, “The people’s good is the highest law”. In Chapter 10, Albert Nolan’s interpretation of Jesus correlates to this statement. Jesus asserts that laws were made for the good of the people, not to repress the people. Laws were enforced to the most trivial of matters, completely forgetting the true purpose of the law. Even today, that situation holds true. Countries around the world are oppressed by laws that were meant to help the people. Even genocides and torture are carried out under the façade of aiding the people. If Jesus was a man in society today, what would he say about all the world’s laws and institutions? Would he say the same things about governmental officials as he did about the Pharisees? What are examples of laws today that have been convoluted to the point that the true meaning is lost?

Chapters 10 and 17

Chapter 10 details the difference between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Satan in terms of power. Society cannot function without power. The Greek word “basilea” means not only kingdom but kingship. However, it is oftentimes translated as just kingdom. Albert Nolan reminds us that it also means the political power of God. The most important aspect of this power is that it is not about domination but rather about service. Power is supposed to serve the people, not the other way around. For example, take the law of the Sabbath. In Jesus’ time, the Pharisees made the law of the Sabbath into a burden rather than a service. The Pharisees insisted on many trivial rules that oppressed people and their goodness, declaring kind acts such as helping one another as illegal on the Sabbath. According to Mark 2:27, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath”. The Sabbath was designated as a resting day to help the people, not hurt them. The leaders in Jesus’ time and even our time today enslave themselves to the law for not only esteemed regard but because the fear of freedom. Once they themselves deny themselves freedom, they deny others their freedom. Jesus wished to change this by ensuring that the law was our servant not our master, “dethroning” it, in other terms. In the Kingdom of God, there is no domination. Rather, authority, power, and law will work in a way that everyone serves another.

In Chapter 17, author Albert Nolan details the important characteristics of Jesus, noting that the humanity of Jesus is what made him great. It is important to notice that Jesus had no fear. He did not fear contradicting authority or stating his own beliefs. The issue of him being called the “son of man” is quite controversial. Nolan insists that “son of man” cannot be considered a title. Nolan concludes that “son of man” was Jesus’ way of, “referring to, and identifying himself with, human beings as human beings”, not an attempt for rank or title. In fact, Jesus was completely against titles. He disagreed with titles such as Rabbi and master, though he was often called this himself. A very important characteristic of Jesus was his authority. Authority is often defined as demanding obedience from others. Jesus can be seen as exerting authority over evil through the power of faith. However, his actual teaching and preaching contains no traces of authority. He doesn’t tell people what to do, he instead enables listeners to discover something by themselves by asking provocative questions within a work of art like a parable. He wanted others to, “see what he saw and believe what he believed”. He did not rely on any type of sign or vision to substantiate his claims. As Linnemann said in her studies of Jesus, “the only thing that could give weight to the words of Jesus were the words themselves”. The basis of truth for Jesus was his compassion and solidarity with God. This is what made him into the insightful man so known by all today.