Bautista, Gerard        Melgarejo, JoshuaCarlos, Ace                            Pena, AlexCelestino, Raymond               Plana, MargaritaDefiesta, Niccolo        Whijin, YoonFajardo, Marien       

TREDTRI, November 11, 2014__________________________________________________________________________

On Jesus as Human

    What makes Jesus human is his ability to choose, yet chooses to do what is right by not only himself, but by God and others. By choosing good, he serves as the ultimate example for us; he demonstrates the power of ignoring temptation through his human nature. There are numerous qualities that make up the true nature of being human - and not all are virtuous. Suffice to say, Jesus had probably embodied these qualities, as human, but has chosen not to act upon it. That is what makes him Jesus. Which then goes back to the saying quoted from Jesus, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me," (John 14:6) The following qualities are only some of his, but some of the most important and attributable ones as well.

Committed        Jesus was not one to quit from a task; he sees to it that the task is completed. From harsh criticisms by multiple Pharisees, such as in Matthew 15:1-3 (English Standard Version) where the Pharisees and Scribes from Jerusalem criticized Him and His disciples that they weren’t washing their hands before eating bread; to numerous insults while he was being crucified (John 19:17-27, also English Standard Version), he never quitted to what he was doing. He still pushed on. Jesus’ commitment stems from His love and compassion for the people. No matter what obstacle was thrown at Him, be it a mental obstacle or a physical obstacle, Jesus would keep His ground and kept going, even finishing strong.

    “But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26, ESV)

Also, The bible clearly presents the idea of Jesus’ commitment to His Father sa stated:John 8:29 “The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him."

John 10:17-18 “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.

    In the incident in the Garden of Gethsemane, before Jesus was captured He prayed to God knowing that his timely death will come. He prayed and hoped that there was another way but He knew that one of his apostles will betray Him and eventually will lead to His death. Even

though He knew the things that will happen, He still kept His promise with God because He was committed in sending out the message that He wants to give to the people. He was committed to continue His mission even though He already know what pain lies ahead of Him. In Luke 22: 39-46, it was stated that “And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him.” Further strengthening His commitment in this passage.

Compassionate

There are have been many stories taken from the Bible that exemplify Jesus as the most compassionate one of all. He is compelled mostly by those in suffering. As taken from Mark 5, he travelled across borders to heal those who have been suffering. Where others chose to ostracize those in suffering, Jesus received openly. Aside from suffering, he comforted and sympathized with those in sorrow. Jesus himself had suffered from pain. He had wept (John 11:35) and gone through agony and sorrow (Mark 14:32-42 - “They came to a place named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, “Sit here until I have prayed.” And He  took with Him Peter and James and John, and began to be very distressed and troubled.And He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death; remain here and keep watch.”)

Another story from the bible that shows Jesus’ compassion is in Philippians 2:4 where Jesus mentioned this phrase “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.” The first part of the phrase Jesus said that not to look every man on his own things which basically means not to be selfish. He means to say that a person should not allow himself to have all his care and attention only focused on his own concerns, or that of his family. Instead, people should instill their happiness towards others by understanding them and helping them. However, Jesus would not want people to get in other people’s other lives and that we should also understand when to get involved or not. Examples of these bad habits to avoid would be negatively gossiping about certain people’s lives where in fact it would be healthier for them if we just leave them be.

The second part of the phrase quoted in the Philippians stated that every man on the things of others. Jesus means to say that no one person has the liberty or the freedom to become selfish and disregard the interests of others. He wants the people to know that each and every person has a responsibility to be compassionate towards others and that being self centered or selfish will not serve anybody in a positive manner. In other words, being self centered will only put a person in a disadvantage. Jesus tries to make us realize that, on the other hand, if we were to break free from our close minded selfishness, the outcome that will pour out from the shared help and happiness will go back to the person that gave it away one way or another. A scenario where all parties benefit and are happy.

          He is a man who really wants to help others, especially who have many problems in their lives. He is always ready to change people’s lives through his compassion. Jesus cared a woman that should be stoned to adultery, he help a leper to cleansed his skin, he care about the crowds

by feeding them and lastly, he died for our sins. Through his compassion, we will never been like this before. He preached that we should love one another and try not to judge other people or in short we should treat each other equally.He is our role model on this world, because he is a man who have two hands that it is so powerful to help the people that he created.

Jesus showed acts of compassion without strings attached or hidden agendas. His acts of compassion were always positive. People responded in amazement to Jesus’ compassion and placed their faith in God as a result. His compassion changed people’s physical and spiritual lives. The compassion and encouragement we show to others can have an eternal effect upon them. People matter to God above all else. As Christians, we need to check our spiritual pulse to see if we’re still alive to people and how we view them. As God’s people who possess His Spirit, we should feel compassion for those in need, and release God’s spirit of compassion.

Faithful

    Where others didn’t believe, Jesus had conviction. In Mark:5, in the story of the Jauris, ruler of the Synagogue, Jesus was greeted by a throng of people who believed that his daughter was no longer living. In sight of Jairus’ daughter, he influenced those surrounding not to speak of such things; his belief allowed her to rise from the dead. Aside from pulling faith in and for others, he himself seeks God in times of weakness. (Hebrews 5:7-10 “In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek”)

Jesus Christ is our best example of faithfulness. Satan threw his most fiery darts at Jesus. His enemies tried to kill him. Religious leaders falsely accused him. His own people rejected him. But nevertheless, Jesus wasn't weak or defenseless. He had shown signs and wonders to all so they could see his power. He came to suffer in our stead so he offered his back to the stripes of evil men and his face to the spittle of insults and the fists of cruelty. The Son of God was not ashamed of humiliation. We can see in all this how faithfulness is so closely tied to persecution. Even being the target of torture, he was determined to fulfill his mission to the very end. In everything, Jesus continued faithful to the Father and so the Father said of him "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!" (Matthew 17:5

    In the story where Jesus walked on water, the apostles thought Jesus was a ghost and they tested Jesus by asking Him if they can come with Him and Peter got out of the boat and sank. Jesus said that Peter doubted that is why he sank. This story tells us that Jesus is very  faithful in everything He does. Our faith is tested on how much we believe in something. As a human being, we tend to have doubt things and moments in our lives and Jesus is showing that with faith, anything can be done. This passage can be read at Matthew:14, 22-33.

    Jesus came across many temptations (insert temptation stories, quotes from Bible). But through his human nature, he overcame them. (Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we

are, yet without sin.) He chose to choose against it etc etc  (Matthew 4:1-11 , jesus was tempted by the devil into the wilderness)

Fair

In John 8:1-11, Jesus was preaching when a group of Pharisees came to Him with a woman who was adulterous. They were testing Him on what He will do with the woman because in the laws of Moses women who commit adultery must be stoned to death. Jesus said that whoever has not sinned before shall stone the woman. No one stoned the woman and was let to live her life. Jesus showed that the fairness in humanity is always there and no matter what happens we are all sinners because it is in our human nature which makes us equal.

“You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a malicious witness. You shall not fall in with the many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many, so as to pervert justice, nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his lawsuit. “If you meet your enemy's ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him.” (Exodus 23:1-33) Truly Jesus is a fair man, one who is fair to both his friends and his enemies. With this passage in mind, we must always strive to be fair to one another, as it is both how Jesus intended us to be, and how we as a society should be. We as a people, or rather, a race, must have a deep sense of what is right and what is wrong, for a society that aligns itself with fairness is a one step closer to enlightenment to what is true and everlasting.

There are many biblical stories that show Jesus as a fair and just person. He treated everyone kindly and with equal respect. Among these people are people whom “normal” people judge and look down upon such as lepers, prostitutes, tax collectors, and even criminals.Verses from the new and old testament both give evidence to this quality Jesus portrays. His acts of equality and fairness intrigued the people of his time who were quick to judge anyone who looked differently and did things differently. Jesus treated kings and outcasts alike. Learning from Chris, the quality of being fair does not only deal with treating everyone the same but it deals with how we respect one another as human beings. We, not only as Catholics, but as human beings, should take Jesus Christ as an example of how we should truly be respecting each other.

References:

http://consultingbyrpm.com/blog/2011/10/jesus-christ-fair-balanced.html

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+8:1-11

http://www.christianfallacies.com/articles/sorsb/whatKindOfManWasJesus.html

http://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/10-character-traits-of-jesus-to-emulate/

http://www.godvine.com/bible/philippians/2-4