Comparing and Contrasting how Human is Jesus, According to Theologists Compare & Contrast Essay

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Introduction

The Gospels written by Mark and John have a series of common traits, as soon as they tend to assign particular connotations for the human nature of Jesus. Thus, both texts cover mental and emotional aspects of Jesus assigning them with worldly characteristics. Meanwhile, one is likely to find some differences in the approaches that the authors of Gospels employ.

The discrepancies might be determined by the fact that the Gospel of Mark was written before the Gospel of John; thus, the author might have experienced less impact of the social vision of God. As a result, the emphasis on the divine nature of Jesus is less significant in his text than in the Gospel of John.

Jesus’ Human Emotions

The depiction of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark has several connotations for human nature. Thus, the emotions that Jesus experiences let one perceive him as an ordinary man. In some parts of the Gospel, he is “moved with compassion” that creates a positive link to human nature (Mark 1:41).

In the meantime, other passages represent Jesus as “greatly troubled, which means the author of the Gospel of John goes further assigning some negative emotions to the character (John 11:33-35). Different attempts to endue Jesus with worldly feelings and concerns might signify the authors’ intention to emphasize the idea of human’s creation in imitation of Christ.

Jesus’ Human Body

While trying to assign human traits to Jesus’ body, the authors choose different approaches. Hence, the Gospel of John focuses on the natural needs that contradict with the image of higher beings. Therefore, in the Gospel of John, Jesus claims “I thirst” (John 19:28). The Gospel of Mark, on the contrary, prefers to preserve the connotations for super-naturalness while speaking of Jesus’ body.

Thus, it is in the Gospel of Mark that Jesus touches a leaper without being afraid of getting infected (Mark 1:41). As a result, the Gospel of John employs the physical aspect in order to create a more humane image of Jesus, while the Gospel of Mark avoids such parallels.

Jesus’ Human Mind

In the Gospel of Mark one might find the following line, “Concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Mark 13:32). Therefore, according to the relevant statement, Jesus does not have those divine abilities his father possesses.

His mind is wiser than the mind of a simple person but not more powerful. The author of the Gospel of John has another view and through the entire Gospel treats Jesus as God’s Word; he is supposed to be supreme that an ordinary man due to his sacred mission. It is reported that Jesus is aware of everything (“Lord, you know everything”), which contradicts with the ideas presented by the author of the Gospel of Mark (John 21:17).

Conclusion

The analysis of the relevant Gospels shows that both authors are inclined to draw parallels between the nature of Jesus and an ordinary human-being. This phenomenon might be explained by the authors’ intention to emphasize the idea of the work of God being alike with its creator. Nevertheless, the authors have some contradictions regarding the most ambiguous question – the aspect of Jesus’ mentality is elucidated from opposite perspectives.

Works Cited

The Gospel of John 2014. Web.

The Gospel of Mark 2014. Web.

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IvyPanda. 2019. "Comparing and Contrasting how Human is Jesus, According to Theologists." May 30, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/comparing-and-contrasting-how-human-is-jesus-according-to-theologists/.

1. IvyPanda. "Comparing and Contrasting how Human is Jesus, According to Theologists." May 30, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/comparing-and-contrasting-how-human-is-jesus-according-to-theologists/.


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IvyPanda. "Comparing and Contrasting how Human is Jesus, According to Theologists." May 30, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/comparing-and-contrasting-how-human-is-jesus-according-to-theologists/.

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