Interpretation Of Feeding The 5000

Interpretation Of Feeding The 5000 13 When Jesus heard what had happened, He withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. 14When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, This is a remote place, and its already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food. 16 Jesus replied, They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat. 17 We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish, they answered. 18 Bring them here to me, he said. 19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the people. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children. The bibles new testament contains a plethora of information and stories that chronicle the life and times of Jesus. Most of the accounts in the new testament are filled with symbolism and are regarded as relating to matters of higher purpose and deep significance. The new testament still provides moral guidance and clarification on improving ourselves even two thousand years after the passages were written. One of the many well known accounts of the new testament is Matthew 14:13-21, otherwise known as the feeding of the five thousand. In Matthew 14:13-21 the structure is relatively straightforward. The focal point is certainly the miracle that was carried out to satisfy a need. But the conversation that leads up to it is significant to the interpretation, Jesus is using the miracle to get something more across. Jesus does not simply do the miracle, but first instructs the disciples to give the people something to eat. They, of course, have nothing to give the thousands. And so Jesus gives to them, so that they might give to the people. The point of the passage is the revelation of Jesus as the Messiah, and as the Messiah He can and will meet all the needs of his people. The principal message is for Christians to have the same compassion that Jesus did. If we see the poor, needy, hungry, and are stirred with compassion, then we must follow the teachings of Jesus. We are called by Jesus to feed the hungry. Though we may not necessarily have a lot to give, we may have more than the needy. We can reason that they will only squander what we give them, or that we should not give because it will only encourage them to remain poor and dependent, but that is not what the Bible tells us to be concerned about. In order to become more like Christ we will need to be moved by compassion, which we then go to meet the needs of the people. Another idea suggested by the passage is that the provision of food has a spiritual meaning as well. The people would have had it in their thinking that man does not live by bread alone, or, that God provides things for people in order that they will listen to Him. We too have received the word from the Lord, and so must give it to the people. Any time God provides something for people it is a call for faith, a call for them to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, and that they need to trust in Him. This message calls people to take the spiritual food that Christ gives and to give it to the spiritually needy people of the world. It may well be that in providing physical food for the hungry and the masses there will also be the opportunity to tell them of true sustenance. The provision of life from Christ is always available for those who are spiritually needy. The story of Jesus feeding the 5000 has a message and meaning that still holds true to this day. The story tells us to be compassionate for the needy, and to provide them with the sustenance of God. With Jesus showing compassion and contributing his time and food, he wants others to follow his lead and do the same. This miracle reveals Jesus power as the messiah, through his limitless capacity to satiate the needs of the people. Bible interpretation table Text reference Notes Introduction Literary analysis What form/genre is the text? Who are the characters? What is the point of the text? What words does the author use to get this point across? What is the style of the text? What images are used in the text? What type of tone is used in the text? What words are repeated? The text chronicles the life of Jesus with storytelling. The characters in the story are Jesus, the disciples and the 5000 people that Jesus fed. The purpose of the text is to spread the message of Jesus through one of his miracles. The image of the 5000 people is to provide readers with an understanding of the sheer numbers that Jesus had to feed. Historical background Where was the text set? What major historical events were taking place at the time in which the text is set? Where was this text written? Who is the author? When was this written? What major historical events were taking place at the time the text was written? What was the society like in which this text was written? What religious background needs to be known to understand the text? Who are the characters of the text and what was their role in society? What cultural context must be known to understand the text? The location of the story is somewhat disputed. Luke says it was in the area of Bethsaida. Therefore it would be somewhere on the northwest shore of Galilee. All of the gospels contain the miracle of the feeding of the 5000 so the identity of the first author is unknown. The story was probably written at the end of the first century A.D. At the time, Jesus was travelling around with his disciples, teaching the people. Jesus was asserting his role as the messiah. Theological Meaning What have others written about the meaning of this text? What is your interpretation of the meaning of the text? Others have written that Jesus represented Gods will to provide for his people. The food represents Jesus spirituality, which he then splits and shares with everyone else. Conclusion Why is this text significant? It spreads the message of Jesus with a relatively simple yet powerful story of one of his miracles.

Opinion Piece Romeo and Juliet Essay

There are so many wrong things about the love that Romeo and Juliet had. They said they loved each other, but I do not find that possible. For one thing, the love that Romeo felt for Rosaline was not love. Second, Shakespeare does not exactly explain love very well, or the definition of it. Thirdly, Juliet and Romeo were never in love, plain and simple. And fourthly, defining infatuation. Apparently, Shakespeare has mistaken love for infatuation in this play. First off, the ‘love’ that Romeo felt for Rosaline was definitely not actual love. He only strongly admired her from a distance, not being able to get closer. She never felt anything for him in return; it was never meant to be. But when Juliet came along, his feelings were strong enough to forget about Rosaline completely. Juliet was different; she actually had feelings for Romeo too. When Juliet had feelings for Romeo, Rosaline barely even knew he existed. When Juliet spent time with Romeo and cared for him even though she barely knew him, Rosaline could not have cared less. The fact that Romeo and Juliet’s families are enemies possibly might make the two teenagers want to be together more, to sort of rebel against their families’ ways. I mean, they are teenagers. Now, we have to go over defining love, because clearly it is not properly introduced in Shakespeare’s play. There is no specific way to know you’re in love, because if you actually are you should just know, and feel it. There’s no telling that a first love will never last. There is no rule that you can only be in love when you are a certain age. Anyone is capable of love. Teenage love is true too, and can be strong. Or at least, some is. You cannot say that a person is only in love when they feel certain things. It only matters that you do know the person somewhat well, and you strongly care about them. That they bring out a positive part of you or make you feel warm and fuzzy inside, and that you feel no need to hide your true self from them. Infatuation or admiration is NOT love. It’s like an extreme exaggeration of feelings. For example, say a girl who’s obsessed with a celebrity says she loves him. No, she is not. Because for one thing, she’s never even met the guy before–or gotten a chance to know him. So that is how it was with Romeo and Rosaline. Although, Romeo didn’t know Juliet very well either. Romeo and Juliet were never in love. It is plainly put. Everything happened too fast, the relationship moved too quickly which resulted in a tragedy. There was no time for them to get to know each other. Though you can fall in love quickly once you know who they are. But no, there was no time for that. They just had to get married quickly and leave the knowing each other for later. To love someone, you have to know them. Romeo never knew what Juliet’s favorite color was, or what her hobbies were. He never knew her fears, her favorite food, or her skills. Juliet never knew if Romeo liked poetry, music, or fighting. Though, obviously he did not. But did she ever know that? Maybe he was afraid of spiders. Who knew? Juliet barely had an idea. In order to love someone, you have to know at least something about them or their life or their personality. It is absurd. And in order for them to have a successful marriage, they would have to get to know each other pretty well first. You can not save that for later, marriage does not work that way. And what if, once they did get to know each other, they did not like each other at all? Say, if one was not what the other was expecting of a person. They might make each other mad all the time, and the relationship would come crashing down, only because they didn’t know each other first, before they went and got married. Infatuation. To define it more specifically, it is when you obsess over someone or something, saying you love it and adore it but you really don’t, you just don’t know it. You strongly admire that thing or person, and you love the idea of it being yours. So basically it’s a sense of possession you feel when you really want something and all you care about is having it. You become completely obsessed and that’s all you care about. So, evidently, Romeo was definitely infatuated with Rosaline, and he was infatuated with Juliet too, the only feelings Romeo ever felt for anyone was infatuation. Juliet and Romeo barely knew each other.

An Analytical Biography of The Catcher in the Rye Essay

Critic Jonathan Baumbach explores the significance of innocence in J.D Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye. He claims that the novel is not only about innocence, but actively for innocence-as if retaining one’s childness were an existing possibility. Not only that, but he states that Holden wishes to be a saint: the protector and savior of innocence by preventing them from falling into the cruel adult world of corruption and fickleness. Although he also wants someone to prevent his own fall since he is in fact still a child himself. Baumbach states that this is Holden’s paradox, saying that he must shed his own innocence to protect innocence. These statements are what send Holden off into the three day soul-searching quest that dooms Holden to sinking into insanity in our novel. The critic opens with a rather descriptive insight about how others view and critique Salinger’s first and only novel, as well as pointing some of the flaws that Catcher has: â€Å"The novel is sentimental; it loads the deck for Holden and against the adult world, the small but corrupt group that Holden encounters is not representative enough to permit Salinger his inclusive judgments about the species.† Baumbach claims that Holden does not have enough information to comment on the phoniness of humanity as a whole based on his observations of only a select few. As the critic investigates further, he makes a few interesting points. Some of which regard Mr. Antolini: Holden’s former English teacher. Baumbach claims that Antolini’s kindness to Holden is triggered by a homosexual interest that he has in the protagonist. Pointing  out the flaws in his teachers marriage, as well as ambiguous actions that he had done while with Caulfield. Based on Baumbach’s misguided interpretation the reader could be lead to think that of Mr. Antolini’s gesture as one of a perverted old man rather than as one of concerned mentor. Additionally, the critic moves on to discuss Holden’s concern of where the ducks go during the winter. He claims that what Holden really wants to know is whether there is a benevolent authority that takes care of the ducks; for if there is one for the ducks, there is must be one for people as well. Next, Baumbach switches focus to Holden’s prayer to Allie, which takes place before he goes to visit his family’s apartment. The critic postulates that Holden’s prayer to Allie is not so much an act of anguish as an act of love. However, if one closely examines the scene in the novel, the reader will realize that Holden’s prayer is actually the act of one wallowing in self-pity, of one that has truly hit rock bottom. After examining Jonathan Baumbach’s critique I can gather that he is a wonderful writer, he uses a colorful vocabulary and his sentences are perfectly structured. Although a line should be drawn when using more complex vocabulary; for while reading the critique the reader will likely find themselves having to look up several words to understand the points the critic is trying get across. Not only that, but the critic makes several assumptions based on very little information or goes out on a limb to make a point. Moreover, Baumbach’s points regarding Mr. Antolini’s homosexual nature, the significance of the Central Park ducks, as well as Holden’s prayer to Allie are not entirely concrete, and leave themselves open for dispute. When a reader goes through a book more than once, they find things they never caught while reading it through the first time. One would realize that Holden views Mr. Antolini as a father figure and a role model and comes to him looking for all the answers to the questions no one has figured out yet. For example, during the story when Holden arrives at Mr. Antolini’s apartment, He knows that Holden is spiraling downward and is basically aiming to fall into that insanity he has been drifting towards throughout  the novel, he warns him of this and eventually the two head to sleep. Now the controversial action that causes some of the audience to believe that Mr. Antolini is sexually interested in Caulfied, is that he awoke to find him stroking his hair. Holden misunderstood and made such a rash decision to put everyone into that Phony corrupt persona that he believes humanity is composed of, and storms off out of his home. If Holden was thinking more clearly he would’ve probably been able to handle the situation more responsibly, realizing that Antolini was only stroking his hair in more of a concerned fatherly way. The reader can tell by the way Holden refers to Mr. Antolini they have a strong relationship and he views him as a surrogate father, and not some perverted old man that Baumbach has painted him out to be. Additionally, As far as the Central Park ducks are concerned†¦Holden’s obsessive curiosity about what happens to the ducks during the winter shows the more child-like side to his character. Although Baumbach believes that Holden is searching for a higher power, instead helps him relate to that child innocence he is so fond of. It gives him the hope that change isn’t always permanent. It also helps the reader compare Holden’s perfect world in which time stands still (Like in the Museum of Natural History), to the real world which is constantly changing. Proving that he isn’t searching for some sort of â€Å"higher power† in the ducks, but it was a way to keep in touch with his innocence of his childhood. Lastly, when Holden hits rock bottom in the novel he says a prayer to Allie, in which Baumbach claims that it is an act of love and anguish. Although, this isn’t entirely true. Holden is actually wallowing in his own self-pity, how could he pray to Allie for help when while Allie was alive he wouldn’t even allow him to go on his bike with him and a friend? Sure, he feels regret for it now that he is dead and no longer with him, but it happened yet again when Phoebe wanted to run away with him and Caulfied turned her down the same as he had done with Allie. Proving that after hitting rock bottom Holden is desperate enough to pray although he doesn’t actually believe in God, but is hoping that there is one to not only save him but the soul of his deceased brother as well. In conclusion, Baumbach as a critic did write a well-written review of J.D Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye although it was a bit difficult to understand at times, he made a clear point and backed up his point with facts from the novel. He had colorful vocabulary and his critique flowed well together. Although the critique was a bit on the longer side I did enjoy reading it. The Catcher in the Rye which is believed to be J.D Salinger’s most famous work, had been an everlasting favorite of teens and tweens of the literary scene. This novel known for its stylized prose and focus on themes of angst, alienation, and rebellion has received wide acclaim for its extraordinary sense of originality. This novel will endure as a lifetime favorite of adolescence everywhere because it has life and is probably the most original piece of its time.

Adversity in Yann Martels Life of Pi Essay - 1110 Words

People dont truly accept life for what it is until theyve actually tasted adversity and went through those misfortunes and suffering. We are put through many hardships in life, and we learn to understand and deal with those issues along the way. We find that life isnt just about finding ones self, but about creating and learning from our experiences and background. Adversity shapes what we are and who we become as individuals. Yann Martels Life of Pi shows us that adverse situations help shape a persons identity and play a significant role in ones lief by determining ones capabilities and potential, shaping ones beliefs and values, and defining the importance and meaning of ones self. Adversity has the effect of evoking†¦show more content†¦He realized that he had far more capabilities that he could use while sharing the lifebot with a tiger. Pis father taught him many life-saving practices and Pi used these to his advantage when he decided to train Richard Parker. Pi was able to apply his fathers wisdom of animals to the situation with Richard Parker - like using the whistle - and ended up learning something new about himself, and discovering one more piece of the puzzle that is Pi. He found that he would survive if he just used those unrealized and recognized capabilities to his advantage. Even at the beginning of the novel we see Pi had the ability, the potential to survive, the adversity just exposed it and brought it to light. The novel shows that, what adversity brought out in him, Pi applied to his life. Pi has the incredible capacity to accomplish far beyond what he thinks his limits actually are and this is all due to adversity and its role in h is time on the Pacific. Pi was able to push through the misfortunes and troubles, the suffering and hardships, and came out not just alive, but having realized his true potential as a human being and a child of God. Knowledge can be gained everyday, after all we learn something new everyday, but our beliefs and values are develped and built up over time through hardships and suffering. However, we cant enjoy and cherish these discoveries, unless we have something that drewShow MoreRelatedJourney - Life of Pi, Journey to the Interior, the Red Tree Essay1482 Words   |  6 Pagesself discovery. Journeys allow individuals to extend themselves physically, mentally or emotionally as they face challenges. This understanding of mine has been shaped by the novel Life of Pi, written by Yann Martel, ‘Journey to the Interior’, a poem by Margaret Atwood and The Red Tree, a picture book by Shaun Tan. Yann Martel, Margaret Atwood and Shaun Tan use various techniques such as extended metaphors, symbolism, imagery and figurative language to show how journeys lead to self discovery andRead Moreâ€Å"Jesus, Mary, Muhammad and Vishnu!† – a Story of Religious Survival in â€Å"Life of Pi†1052 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Bapu Gandhi said, ‘All religions are true.’ I just want to love God† (Martel 76; ch.23) says Pi in response to being rebuked for his practice of multiple religions. The notion that religion should not be discussed in polite company is demonstrated clearly by the scene Martel depicts in Chapter 23 of â€Å"life of Pi†, in which the pundits of Hinduism, Islam and Christianity come almost to blows over Pi’s enthusiastic practice of the three. It is this youthful fascination which equips him for the turbulentRead MoreLife Of Pi, And By Tim Burton s Big Fish1510 Words   |  7 Pages Storytelling, in many ways, allows one to express their imagination through fanciful adventures and tales; thus, serving a purpose in terms of allowing an individual to cope with their tragedies, but also to entertain one another. In Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, and in Tim Burton’s Big Fish, the audience comes to real ize that the conflict between fact and truth, combined with storytelling, are the central themes; it becomes clearer that facts have to be proven, whereas the truth is usually straightforward