Shelly Dunne

Dr.Bass Religion 124

March 17, 2010

Personal Response #4

As I read more about The Gospel According to Matthew, by Barbara E. Reid, I noticed something that I read in the gospel of Mark as well, which is that Jesus rarely states what he means directly. For example, when Jesus tells his disciples to deny themselves and take up their cross, he did not mean for people to endure the hardships they were given by God in life, like many people think. It actually means one should give up life’s luxuries and choose to follow Jesus to his cross. Taking up one’s cross means to walk the path that Jesus walked, to choose to suffer in order to live life. Again, “living life” does not mean living on this earth, but it has an eschatological meaning. On the day of judgement, the one’s who chose to suffer for God will be the one’s who live the real life in heaven. Another example of Jesus using deeper meaning in his sayings is when he tells his disciples to share his cup with others, which seems confusing at first. However, Jesus is really telling his disciples to share his ministry with the whole community, the rich and the poor. Overall, through the extensive narrative of Jesus’s life in Matthew, I was able to observe how Jesus spoke and the deeper meaning of what he meant.

Before I came into this class, I did not give the sayings of Jesus much thought because I really did not understand most of them. However, now that I have read Mark and Matthew, I am able to notice and comprehend the deeper meaning of Jesus’s sayings. I have always heard that taking up one’s meant that when something bad happened, one should still have faith and trust in God. I never really thought that Jesus is asking all of us to choose to suffer for him, in order to get rewarded in heaven. Even as I know the deeper meaning now, it is difficult for me to put into practice because it requires an immense faith. Even the ones chosen by Jesus, the disciples, had a difficult time following Jesus to his death, and suffering with him. I also enjoyed learning that what Jesus meant when he said that someone will “live” when they choose to suffer or die in his name. I had never given much thought to the fact that life on earth is temporary, and people are working up to have a real life in heaven. Finally, I am glad that Reid broke down what the sharing of the cup meant because I know it is a huge part of our religion, we even drink Jesus’s blood out of a cup. I was surprised to learn that it was a metaphor for Jerusalem, and sharing meant that Jesus’s ministry should be spread to everyone no matter who they are. Overall, I enjoy that Matthew’s gospel is longer and contains more phrases that help me break down very important parts of my religion.