Two of the Gospels, compared and contrasted Assignment

Two of the Gospels, compared and contrasted - Assignment Example The gospel according to Mathew begins with the genealogy of Jesus. It traces His roots of to King David through Joseph, His father. Jesus had a miraculous conception through the Holy Spirit as Mary conceived before meeting with Joseph. A star guided visitors from the east to visit Him at Bethlehem. Later on when he was two years old, he escaped with his parents to Egypt when King Herod began killing all children who were less than two years of age. He returned from Egypt after Herod died. John the Baptist announced that Jesus would baptize people with fire and the Holy Spirit. John baptized Jesus afterwards he went to the wilderness and fasted for forty days and forty nights. The devil came to tempt Jesus three times after his fasting. However, he overcame these temptations and began his mission. (Johnson 167). The gospel according to Luke begins with the annunciation of the birth of Jesus Christ by angel Gabriel, six months into the pregnancy of Elizabeth. His conception was miracul ous, as Mary did not meet with Joseph before getting pregnant. His birth was at Bethlehem in a manger. A week later, he underwent circumcision in accordance to Jewish customs, and named Jesus. Later on, he underwent purification when presented to the temple for dedication in Jerusalem and met Simeon and Prophetess Anna. At age twelve, he went with His parents to the temple in Jerusalem for the Passover Feast and stayed behind with the Pharisees. John the Baptist baptized Jesus. Afterwards, he went to the wilderness for fasting for forty days and forty nights after which the devil came to tempt Him. He began his work in Galilee, teaching in synagogues where he encountered rejection at His own home in Nazareth (Johnson 167). Write an essay explaining the significance, background, conversion, and ministry of the Apostle Paul. Christianity in the early days got a lot of opposition from the rulers of its time, especially among Romans who were ruling Jews. It brought about numerous change s in spiritual settings of everyone who heard the gospel. This led to confusion in the Roman Empire because most teachings of Christianity condemned socially accepted practices such as corruption and bribery, which were a common feature in the Roman Empire. Jesus ascended to heaven after charging His disciples with the duty of spreading the good news to the Jews and the Gentiles, and across all nations of the world. Romans disliked this confusion and persecuted everyone found spreading the gospel, or claiming to be a Christian, i.e. a follower of Christ. Saul was one of the men who had deep hatred for Christianity. He was an army general and had immense hatred for Christians. He travelled across cities of the world persecuting and killing all the Christians he came across. One day he was on his way to massacre Christians in Damascus when the Lord appeared to him in a flashing light and thunderous voice. The Lord spoke to him and asked him why he was persecuting His people. The brigh t light form of the Lord blinded him for three days where he ate or drank nothing. The Lord gave a dream to Ananias who went to pray for Saul. Saul proceeded to Damascus where he accepted salvation and became a follower of Christ. The scales on his eyes came off and he regained his sight. Saul changed his name to Paul from this day on. He became one of the biggest followers of Christianity, travelled everywhere to preach the gospel and endured all manner of persecution for the sake of the Lord. In fact, he wrote the largest number of books in the bible, i.e. the Pauline Epistles. Based on the principles and tools for interpreting the Bible given in Unit 3 (historical context, literary context, genre, etc.) and the discussion of Paul’s letters in the book and in Unit 9, explain how you