Running Head: JESUS 1

Jesus
History, Character, Purpose, and Plan
Armon Q. Parker
English 1300 Composition II
National American University
August 2012

JESUS 2
Table of Contents

Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………………3
Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………..4
History……………………………………………………………………………………………..5
Character……………………………………………………………………………………..........5
Purpose…………………………………………………………………………………………….5
Plan………………………………………………………………………………………………..5
Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………...6
References…...……………………………………………………………………………………7

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Abstract
This paper will provide the readers with basic information concerning the history of Jesus, his character, purpose and plan. This paper is not written to sway anyone form any other belief system that they may have. It is only to give information in regards to whom He was and is. This will be done by answering four questions: What is His history, character, purpose and plan? As a result, the answering of following questions will leave the reader more informed about what he/she may not have known regarding the man known as—Jesus.

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Jesus
History, Character, Purpose, and Plan

Jesus has gone down in history as one of the most influential people who has ever walked the earth, and because of whom He claimed to be, churches, movements, and even religions have become established all over the world. All for the love of this one man, people have even confronted the Grimm Reaper himself and have openly accepted his invitation to the grave.
Unambiguously, this paper will address key issues about Jesus, which caused radical movements worldwide. It will give light to possible questions the reader may have, while stating facts about the person of Jesus.
This paper presents specific areas of Jesus’ life which encompass whom He is. In order to accomplish this task, this paper addresses the following question --Who is Jesus-- by answering these specific questions: * What is His History? * What is His character? * What is His purpose? * What is His plan?
To answer these questions, this paper has four sections: History, Character, Purpose, and Plan.

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History To talk about Jesus, one must start from the beginning. This is somewhat difficult to do, but this is only because little is known about the childhood of Jesus; one can only gather that, He being a Jew partook in the customs of other Jewish children of his age. (Rich, Tracey, 1996-2011) suggest that, “Most commentaries will say that the Jewish child doesn’t start to follow the things of the Torah until the age of 13 (for boys) and 12 (for girls)”. According to (Ellwood, Robert & Alles, Gregory, 1998), “Jesus was born 4 BC and he was the founder of Christianity; he was also born from a virgin named Mary who was engaged to a man named Joseph.” Most would agree that they have heard this information growing up and believing in the Christmas story. For most of His younger years there is only speculation as to what He did. Some poets, writers, and artist believe that he followed in the footsteps of His father Joseph. Joseph was a carpenter, and it was customary for children, especially the male child to follow in their father’s footsteps to be able to one day take over the family business if they had one. One moment that we do know of from Jesus’ childhood took place when he was only 12. Luke 2 41-52 states: Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? Behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. And he said unto them, how is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business? And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man. If you continue to read through the gospel of Luke, it explains that around the age of 30 Jesus begins His ministry. Matthew 4:17 begins to convey that during this time he taught and preached about the coming kingdom of God. Many times during his teachings Pharisees and scribes felt threaten and made attempts to place Him into custody. There were times when they even wanted to stone Him for some of the claims that he made. Towards the latter years of Jesus’ life, those who wanted to do Him harm, were finally able, do to someone from Jesus’ own circle betraying him.

Character
Before you are to look at the scriptures as a source of reference to find out about the character of Jesus you must first understand the definition of character is. According to Dictionary.com (n.d.), Character is the aggregate of features and traits that form the individual nature of some person or thing; moral or ethical quality. Now that you have a clearer understanding of the word character, I will briefly describe some of Jesus’ titles:
Second Adam, Advocate, Beginning of Creation, Good Sheppard, Bread of Life, Counselor, Deliverer, Savior, and The Christ. These are only a few of the titles that were used to describe Jesus. All of these titles have powerful meanings and they force you, the reader to understand and or even define them individually to be able to fully comprehend them. One of Jesus’ most noted characteristics (imago dei) is what ultimately led to His crucifixion. Imago dei is a Latin word meaning the image of God. “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature” (Colossians 1:15). This statement is hard for many to believe, however, for those who are Christians it makes perfect sense. Now look into the title Savior, “Savior of what,” the readers might ask. If someone was asked to define savior, he/she might say that “It is a person who saves or rescues someone from danger.” (Akper, G., 2007) describes in his writings that “Christ being the savior of His people, has given them a perfect example for Christian behavior , which demands, not only verbal opposition to evil but even giving one's own life for the sake of God's justice and welfare of neighbor.” From a readers perspective it’s easy to see what kind of character Jesus possesses. It takes someone with great compassion, to be able to lay down his own life to save those that he/she cares about dearly. Anyone who knows anything about Jesus (Western Culture) knows that He supposedly died for the world. (1 Corinthians 15:3-4) declares that, “Jesus died for sins according to the scripture, was buried and was raised from the dead on the third day.” I write this only to paint a clearer picture into Jesus’ character. Is it possible to come across someone like this in today’s society? The previous question was figurative in nature used to make you reflect on Jesus’ person. A man by the name of Cornelius Tacitus had a work he wrote entitled Annals. In this he wrote about the Emperor Nero, and the things which he had done. One particular piece he wrote stated:
Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilate, and a most mischievous superstition thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome... ("What do we," 2011).
These Christians were tortured because the man they believed was one whom had the upmost of character. Today people are looking for men and women of great character to led schools, businesses, and even the country. If the readers can understand this, then understanding Jesus’ purpose will be clearer.

Purpose
As you read through the history section of this paper, you start to get a small glimpse into the purpose of Jesus. The Bible is full of prophetic events; one such even describes of man born of a virgin mother who would save the people of the world (Ellwood, Robert & Alles, Gregory, 1998). Jesus had come to fulfill this prophesy along with many others. ("Why did Jesus," 2008) quotes from the bible stating the “He came to call out—by His ministry, death, and resurrection—a people for His name whom He would call His church” (Mark 10:45; Luke 19:10). This quotation deals greatly with Jesus purpose, which was not just preaching the kingdom of God, but becoming a sacrifice for those he loved, that they might inherit the kingdom of God. Preaching was among Jesus’ purposes, after His baptism, he traveled all over Galilee

Plan
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Conclusion

To summarize, Jesus is more than just a name that we have all heard about at some point in our lives. He is a real person who and if you choose to believe still exist. By following the simple process of identifying Jesus’ history, character, purpose, and plan the reader is able to understand more than what he/she might not have known.
This paper gives a brief history of Jesus, with sources not only from the Bible, but others so that those who read this will know that this paper is not written with bias intent, but to inform or enlighten. This paper also articulates into the characteristics of Jesus, as well as His purpose and plan. It is important to understand that without the knowledge of this individual, Catholicism, which led to the Protestant movement that caused Christianity to become what it is today; moreover the United States itself may not be what it is today.

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References
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(H. Souhanov, A. P. Prickett, J. R. Pritchard, D. & M. Weeks, D. (Eds.), 1992)
Ellwood, R. S., & Alles, Gregory , D. (1998). The enclopedia of world religions. New York, NY: Book Builders Incorporated.
Fredriksen, P. (2004). What you see is what you get: Context and content in current research on the historical Jesus. Theology Today, 52(1),
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Galvin, J. P. (2001). Who is Jesus? history in perfect tense/the challenge of Jesus: Rediscovering whoJesus was and is. Interpretation, 55(3), 2.
Okure, T. (2009). Jesus and the samaritan woman (jn 4:1-42) in africa. 70(2), 401-418.
Reader's Digest Association. (1993). The story of Jesus. Pleasantvill, New York: The Readers Digest Association Inc.
(The Reader's Digest Association, 1993)
Rich, T. R. (1996-2011). Bar mitzvah, bat mitzvah and confirmation. Retrieved from http://www.jewfaq.org/barmitz.htm
Spohn, W. C. (1995). Jesus and christian ethics. Theological Studies, 56(1),
Stettler, C. (2004). Purity of heart in Jesus' teaching: Mark 7:14-23 par. as an expression of Jesus’ basileia ethics. Religions And Theology, 55(2), 467-502.
Reader's Digest Association. (1993). The story of Jesus. Pleasantvill, New York: Readers Digest Association Inc.
(The Reader's Digest Association, 1993)