Why Jesus Inspires Me and Other Poeple

Who Was Jesus?

Jesus is the central figure of Chrisitanity. Jesus was a religious leader and preacher in the time of c. 4BC - c. AD30/33. He was sent to Earth by God, and Mary (a virgin) conceived Jesus through the Holy Spirit, with none of Joseph’s (her husband’s) involvement. He was born in Bethlehem, in a stable and he grew up with Mary and Joseph as his mother and father, in a small town called Nazareth in Galilee. Jesus’ family were peasants, and he learned to read and write like every other child but his attitude was different. Jesus never had bad thoughts or bad attitudes, and he never did anything wrong or had bad actions. It was said that in Jesus’ early life, he became a carpenter, like his father, but different people see him as different things. Lots of people see him as the son of God, a prophet, a healer, a teacher, a wise man, or even just a Jewish person, who founded Christianity. Jesus performed miracles which proved that he was the son of God. He could heal people who were blind, sick, or with any disability. Mark 5:21-42 shows how Jesus was revered for his healing. When Jesus was on his way to heal a young girl, he was held up by a sick woman who touched his coat as she desperately wanted to be healed of her sickness. This story shows how much faith people had in him and popular he was with his healing abilities. During Jesus’ life, many people didn’t like Jesus and claimed that he was violating laws, by calling himself God. The Roman Authorities did not accommodate Jesus’ openness to the outcasts in their society at the time, such as the poor, disabled people, people with sickness, tax collectors, and many more. However, many people praised Jesus for he could perform miracles, and was kind to everyone and treated everyone equally. On Palm Sunday (the first day of Holy Week), Jesus arrived in Jerusalem on a Donkey. People gathered and placed palm leaves on the ground for Jesus’ path, and waved them in the air. The people thought that Jesus was their new king, this is foretold in John 12:12-19. Considering that people claimed Jesus as being the king of Israel, the Roman Authorities saw Jesus as a threat, so they sentenced him to death and execution. Leading up to his death, Jesus appeared to be very stressed and worried about his crucifixion. He was shaking and sweating in terror, and this was not the way people expected Jesus to react. The night before his execution, Jesus went to the garden to pray, and he was found in ‘agony’ in the garden of Gethsemane. The Romans put a crown of thorns of Jesus’ head, in order to mock him for being the King of Jews, and they made him carry his cross through the village to put him to shame on his way to the hill where he was crucified. On the cross, Roman leaders laughed and mocked Jesus and asked him if he was truly the Son of God, why didn’t he save himself like he saved others, but Jesus ignored them and told his father to forgive them. When he died he was put in a tomb, for he was later to be buried, this was on Good Friday. Three days after Jesus died, Mary Magdalene found the tomb wide open, and she went in to find Jesus’ clothes on the floor, with nobody there. She thought that Jesus was stolen. Then she went outside and a person whom Mary thought was a gardener, asked why she was so upset, and she looked up to find that he was Jesus. Jesus was resurrected on the day we know as Easter Sunday.

Jesus treats everyone as equals. He never saw anyone differently to others, whether they were ranked high in society, or what they looked like, acted like, or what they said. He looked past people’s reputation in society, or the labels people had given to them, he respected the leaders of society just as much as he respected the outcasts. He did not look at someone differently based on what they looked like, or the actions they had done in the past. Jesus was the type of person that went out of his way to notice the people that were invisible to others. Luke 19:1 - 9 shows how Jesus looked at the good in people rather than the sins they had done. He looked past the sins that Zacchaeus the Tax Collector had done, and he had faith in him that he would do the right thing, and in the end, Zacchaeus gave back half of his possessions to the poor, paying them back four times the amount he stole. In our society today, many people find it very hard to trust the people that may have labels on them, that have done bad things in the past, but that shouldn’t mean that we treat them differently to how we treat others. People find it inspiring how Jesus could look past people’s sins, or what they look like, and look at the love and kindness they display. Many people go by the golden rule; “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12). Jesus has made people realise that everyone matters, even if they are different to you.

Jesus was forgiving. Jesus would always forgive people’s sins, or anything that they regretted from the past. In Luke:36-50, Jesus went to have dinner with a Pharisee and a Sinful woman came and cried on his feet, wiped it with her hair, and then poured very expensive perfume on him. The other people who were at the dinner were very confused and asked him why he was letting this woman who was a sinner do this to him. He explained that a person who has the most to lose also has the most to gain for forgiveness. Forgiveness is very important in our lives today because one person’s mistake can have a large influence on another person’s life. Having the ability to forgive is a strong value to adopt, for it allows us to move on with our lives without having to hold anger or contempt for ourselves. People find Jesus’ forgiveness inspiring because he was able to free people’s lives, so that they can focus on the present, without regret in the past. Forgiveness allows us to live remorseless, and not hold a grudge or hurt against ourselves, for anger harms us far more than it harms the offender.

Jesus displayed kind actions because he genuinely wanted to. Jesus was compassionate to others, and could put himself in other people’s shoes. He displayed kind actions when he felt pitiful to others. He was very selfless, and would always put others before himself. His kind actions were done, not because he wanted everyone to see that he was being kind, but because he genuinely wanted to be kind. Matthew 6:1-4 says “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets” which shows that when you do good deeds, you don’t have to show off about it. Also that if you do something, to not expect anything in return but do it because you care about them. He is also saying that helping people should be natural and that you if you do it from the heart, you shouldn’t want to be noticed. An example of when Jesus does this is in Matthew 8:1-4. Jesus goes to the mountainside and a man with leprosy follows him. He kneels before him and asks him to make him clean. Jesus touches the man and heals him from his leprosy. Then Jesus told him to not tell anyone that he was healed, but to continue on with his life. In this story, Jesus doesn’t boast about how he healed a man with leprosy, and he tells the man he healed not to show off that he was healed, and this shows that he does his kind actions because he naturally wants to, and the man had faith in him.

Jesus was always satisfied with what he had. He was always content with the amount of clothes, shelter, and possessions he had, and he was always grateful for his life and what he had in it. He never wanted more and was never thinking about the future, he was just thankful for the things that were in his life in the present. “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?” Matthew 6:25-34. It is inspiring to notice and be grateful for the things in life that matter, and to live in the moment and not the future. Be grateful for your place on earth, and for life, and try not to get caught up in the world of materials and being in the latest trend. Jesus is inspiring in this way because we can easily associate with it. Everyone gets caught up in preoccupation of the latest trends, but Jesus was able to look past the clothes that people wear, and the food they have, and focus on the appreciation of living and the world around us. Jesus could disregard the amount of money and how wealthy people were, and he regarded being happy as more important, and it is inspiring that he could think like this. In our world today, people have started to adopt this mindset, that the amount of money you have is how successful you are, but those that are wealthy, may not be happy. Happiness is more important than wealth.

Jesus would not judge people. Jesus would never judge people by their wealth, looks, or religion. He loved everyone no matter what and would never see anyone as less superior to him. Jesus came to earth with powers from God, yet he never took it as being more powerful to others. He could have been able to make others serve him, yet he served others because he never judged them or saw them as smaller than him. “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” This quote from Matthew 7:1-5 shows how the way you treat others is the way that other people will treat you, that God will treat you exactly the way you treat others. This is inspiring because judging others is a large problem in our society today. It is hard not to look at people and judge them by how they present themselves or what they are wearing, but we all know that it is something that we have to train ourselves not to do. Jesus is inspiring because he shows us how this can be done, and that it is possible to stop judging people.

I personally find a lot of things inspiring about Jesus. One thing I admire in particular is that he was always satisfied with what he had. Today, I find it hard to not think about what I want in the future, because I can get caught up in the latest trends. During my research about Jesus, I found it inspiring about how he was able to live in the moment, and it has reminded me that I should be grateful for the things I have in the present and not always want more for the future. His teachings have encouraged me to change my mindset and become more mindful about how I am so lucky I am to have the clothes I have, a roof over my head, and a loving family. I have started to notice these things more, but instead of just thinking about these things, I have started to say these things to the people who have made this happen. I have started to thank my parents, for working so hard to keep us at the school I go to, to have a roof over my head, to be able to eat the food I want, and choose the clothes I wear. I have become more aware that I am very lucky to have what I have, and that I need to be more content with what I have, and to not always want more. Jesus has inspired me to think like this, and I find him inspiring because he didn’t care about what he was wearing, where he lived, what food he ate, and he didn’t judge people on these things either. This is another thing I find inspiring about Jesus; how he never judged people. I find it is hard to not judge people today, because I often look at what people wear, and how they present themselves, and I try not to but I often judge them on these things. Sometimes I also see people as smaller than me, if they live on the streets, or if they don’t have that much money, but I don’t know what has gone on their life before they got to the state, and it could have been for the good. I want to train myself not to think like this, and Jesus’ teachings in the bible have helped me understand and change the way think.

Overall I find Jesus inspiring because he was so selfless, and always put others before himself, and he was always satisfied with what he had and he would never judge people.

Bibliography

• https://www.jesuscentral.com/ji/historical-jesus/jesus-life.php
• https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevin-deyoung/why-did-they-crucify-jesus/
• https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/what-do-jews-believe-about-jesus/
• https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/history/whokilledjesus_1.shtml
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM5fwxzJTnY
• https://www.learnreligions.com/palm-branches-bible-story-summary-701202