Nero had been a very cruel man as he was one of the causes why Christians suffered and it was said that Peter was beheaded in the arena by Nero. Christians of all ages were used as entertainment to Romans, as they were thrown to the lions in the arena and sewn into the skins of wild beast and attacked by dogs.
(a)(ii) We know that Mark Gospel was written for non-Jews because he writes about Jews lives and the way they lived. We also know that why would you write for Jews that already knew how to live and eat and
A(ii)
I think that Mark wrote for non-Jewish because he talks about how Jews lived there life. In marks Gospel the following quote: “some Pharisees and teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered round Jesus. They noticed that some of his disciple eating there food with hands that were ritually unclean – that is, they had not washed the in the way the Pharisees said people should. Some people suggest that Mark wrote for non-Jews, this is because Jews and Pharisees were taught by there ancestor to wash there hands before they eat or they weren’t allowed to eat. This was traditional to the Jews to wash there hands in the proper way: nor do they eat unless anything comes from the market unless they wash it first. Also another quote from the marks gospel that supports my theory is “I t was towards evening when Joseph of Arimathea arrived. He was a respected member of the council, who was waiting for the coming of the kingdom of god. It was preparation day (that is the day before the Sabbath). This quote proves that Mark would not need to explain the Jewish custom or Sabbath day unless you didn’t understand it. This explain the statement “how we know that Marks Gospel was written for non-Jews (gentiles) this is because Mark has written about Pharisees and Jews life and how they lived, the quotes support this statement as why would someone write about for Jews if they already knew how there traditional customs
A(iii)
The statement “Jesus’ life and death helps Christians today when they are being persecuted”. I may not agree with this statement but others might. Jesus suffered for us and was crucified. As Jesus was crucified he says “Can you drink the cup of the suffering that I must drink? Can you be baptized in the way I must be baptized?’ Jesus is trying to say that we should suffer for the kingdom to come, and even though Jesus was God son, it is said that Jesus was afraid of death. This may encourage others as Jesus who had gave his life for his friends and family, because as this quote says ‘If one of you wants to be great, he must be servant of the rest; and if one of you wants to be the first, he must be the slave of all. For even the son of man did not come to be served; he came to serve and to give his life to redeem many people. This quote shows that Christians serve for god and to be gifted in heaven, this helps people as this it tells them that sacrifice your self and then be rewarded in heaven. We know that Jesus was afraid and also scared this may help others to understand that being scared of death is natural “When Jesus was in the garden he was very scared and prayed to his father: Take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet not what I want, but what you want. This helps Christians because this example encourages others and makes them see that there is life after death. Martin Luther king was a very good example of modern day torture when he was imprisoned after expressing his thoughts of Christianity and racism, some of the public joined his thoughts and some were against, this supports my statement.
I might now agree with this statement but others might, “Christians today are not prepared to suffer as Jesus did”. This statement does not mean that u must kill your self to prove that you love Jesus or suffer for him. Even though people have choose this path to show that they are dedicated to there belief and that they should not be treated different to others.
Many people suffered for being a Christian and some even have even died, there are still Christians suffering for their faith today countries like Nigeria and China were they are classed as an outcast and forced to worship in secret. Christianity is still a major world religion and fewer Christians suffer now for their faith than years ago. People like Oscar Romero who lived his life serving god and helping Christians who are suffering around the world, he believed that there Christians and even priest were being treated unfairly and needed to be stopped. He stood up for his rights and try to change the way they were treated, family’s were shot and killed for being Christians and tortured. Oscar Romero was shot in a church in1980.
People say that there so much wrong in the world, why should sacrifice themselves, when it wont make any difference in the world. Some people think that standing up will not change anything but examples like Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa and Oscar Romero prove that standing up changes everything. Some people pray instead of risking there life’s and bringing problems to there family and friends, people like nuns and a part of the Christian community are afraid because they find it hard to accept life after death. Some people also find it hard to believe that there is life after death this may worry them and prefer not to choose the path as Jesus did. Many Christian put themselves out for others, yet still live happy lives, e.g. Sister Mary who lived her life serving God, by helping people around the world even though she was helping others she lived and died being a Christian. Jesus was certain about life after death, but this is difficult for an ordinary person to believe at times, this may be because people have never experienced this or have lived to tell.
