Rain, Manilac Melissa S.

Martha Fe, OSF

ReEd 1:30PM to 2:30PM MWF

Sister Mary

1. After watching the movie, what similarities and differences can you see between their situation and the situation here today? Philippines being the only Christian nation in Asia- so much have been said about this. Yet the benefits of having most of the people as Christians are hardly felt in our country. Poverty, corruption, criminality, immorality by pushing the RH Bill to be imposed in law and other harsh realities that we see everyday in our society are definitely not the fruits of Christianity. Some of these problems were present in their situation eons ago. Next similarity is that- Jesus in His time performed lots of miraculous deeds like healing, feeding the thousands and preaching. But still the people in those times still were looking for the signs of His divinity. Presently, we too sometimes question God. We always ask for more. We dont have that solid faith. We refuse the feel Gods presence with the full use of our physical and spiritual sense. Up until now, there is still that ultimate test of genuine faith. Many Christians still have doubts about God. We are still blind because we refuse to see and feel God in our hearts. We still allow evil spirits to come into our lives because we dont have solid faith in God. Physical abuse of the soldiers (men of Herod), adultery, constant criticizing, lying, stealing and the like are the evil spiritual forces that are attempting to influence our spirit-minds. Number one similarity is that we are still choosing to remain under the control of our sinful nature. As an advocate of change, we Christians must always remember that we can do little things with love.

2. List the major characteristics of the Pharisees, Sadducees, Scribes, the Zealots, and the Sanhedrin. Do you see any people today who are similar to these groups? Pharisees always preach but they do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on peoples shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. We can be one of the Pharisees who are hypocrites. We are hypocrites because we try to look good in order to hide the dark side of us. Politicians are the Pharisees in this contemporary world. These are the

politicians who do things well just to make sure that they are noticed by others or in the public in general. They are very religious in Gods law of cleansing their hands yet they are missing the very important part which is the cleansing of the heart. Scribes are very subtle compared to the Pharisees. They are equally likely the same. They are the self-righteous person. Theyre like those greedy businessmen who only think for themselves not for the welfare of everyone. They have a strong influence towards people. Theyre one of the black list and hypocrites also. Theyre too proud for their own self. They want to do good things so that they will be praised. Sadducees wealthy people. They can be compared to those people who focus MORE on politics rather than religion. They are unconcerned with Jesus until they became afraid He might bring unwanted Roman attention. More particularly, they are like the scientist who denied the existence of spiritual world. We are also like the Sadducees who are so self-sufficient to the point of denying Gods involvement in our everyday life. Zealots are the true devout Christians. They were the ones who were slaved by King Herod or any Roman ruler. We are Zealots. We are trying our very best to have a leader who is God-fearing and for this we will do anything just to achieve justice. Zealots are the people who obey the law of God sincerely. This actually talks about the true and real Christian who is willing to sacrifice and who is willing to pay the price and who is willing to offer his life to God. Sanhedrin is a juridical and administrative body. It is like the Supreme Court of the Philippines that were composed of influential people that will judge about the culprit. Sanhedrin is like soldiers who only did things commanded to them. They accused someone falsely like Jesus. It loses their credibility seeing the Sanhedrin who bribed Judas Iscariot by just paying a silver-Unworthy dollar.

3. How did John the Baptists approach to Religion differ from the approach of the Sadducees and Pharisees? John the Baptist was a righteous and a holy man, but this cost him his life. Truly humble in character, he accepted the thought that Jesus had to increase in popularity while he had to decrease. John the Baptist was a prophet who spoke boldly compared to the Sadducees and Pharisees who were bragging and who always pretend that theyre good even though its obvious that they were so unmerciful. John did not tolerate hypocrisy from anyone, not even Herod the ruler. John publicly condemned the adulterous affair of Herod which leads him to imprisonment.

John the Baptist is indeed a Christian model worthy of emulation. He preserved in his faith, seeking nothing other than to serve and obey God in humility.

4. At the time of Jesus, what was the idea of the kingdom of God of each of the fellow groups: a. The poor. I remembered the one line of Beatitudes in which it states Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs Kingdom in Heaven. The poor all depended their life to God. They viewed the Kingdom of God as their life and happiness. Their joy and blessedness comes out due to the utter dependence on God. They are walking joyfully in the company of God. The poor were favored in the Kingdom of God not only because injustice is done to them but because they put all their trust to God. b. The zealots, (as what stated) was a glorious military ruler who would overthrow the Romans. For me, they are like militant nationalists who sought liberation from the oppressive Roman Empire. They are already ready for the Kingdom of God to be established on earth, particularly their spot here on earth. c. The Pharisees are so selfish and insensitive. They separated themselves from others, especially the poor and the sinners. They memorized all the scriptures and commandments but they dont have the ability to love. They judged that depressed and deprived people do not fit for the kingdom of God. They were judgmental of others.

5. Explain the symbolism of the temptations of Jesus according to Luke 41-43. These are the temptations of God as stated according to Luke 41:43. First temptation is about turning stones into bread. Indeed, Temptations starts with doubt. Jesus was tempted by making stones into bread. This is the first temptation in which the devil gave him the suggestion on what to do in that time where Jesus is hungry. The devil tempted Jesus through his human physical wishes. What Jesus wants us to know is that our physical needs must be met in Gods way, not our own selfish, short-cut way. Were tempted, of course, to cheat, to fornicate, to lie, and to provide a quick fix in our problems.

God is able to supply all our needs, but we must wait on him and seek to do things in his way. Second temptation is to take control over the authorities. In context with this, Jesus always believed the word and will of God. He is not willing to depart from the will of God in the spiritual realm. This is about the authority and worldly glory. The devil leads Jesus up to a high place and shows him the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. This goes to show that Satan controls power and material rewards. We must be like Jesus who can resist all these power. We must be like Jesus who will His Fathers path. Third temptation is to defy the person of God. This temptation involved the purpose of His coming into the world. For me, Jesus came to redeem men, not to rule them. Satans way, still followed by many, required no suffering and death, but Jesus chose Gods way, the way of the cross. The point of this is that we must not try to manipulate God with bargains and deals. We must take seriously Jesus words, Do not put the Lord your God to the test.