Greco-Roman Culture Vs Greek Culture
During biblical times, Israel was ruled by the Greeks and Romans. The Israelites had to assimilate to the Greco-Roman culture and try to maintain their own culture. The Greco-Roman culture focused on ideality. People from this culture strived to be the best person they could be; they believed that they had to do everything to the extreme. The Israelites were ruled by their strict adherence to the Halakha which is also known as the 613 laws from the Old Testament. They believed that they had to follow every law to be accepted into heaven. When Jesus came, he went against both Greco-Roman and Jewish culture. This is known as being countercultural. Jesus’s message is that you should be countercultural, and he communicates this concept through parables.
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In the parable, “A Rich Young Man’s Question”, a wealthy man inquires about what it is he should do to make it into heaven. Jesus tells him that he should follow specific commandments and give his wealth to the poor. The man walks away, and Jesus says, “Yes, I tell you that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:24 ICB). For a camel to jump through the eye of a needle is physically impossible. Jesus means that to gain entrance into heaven, you must not be like most rich people who think of themselves and do not have a humble heart. Jesus also means that it is not all about the laws that you follow. This relates to the message of Jesus because Jesus says that you have to be countercultural, and by caring more about the type of heart you have rather than the law and physical traits, Jesus is going explicitly against the Greco-Roman concept of ideality and the Jewish strict adherence to the
In the parable, “A Rich Young Man’s Question”, a wealthy man inquires about what it is he should do to make it into heaven. Jesus tells him that he should follow specific commandments and give his wealth to the poor. The man walks away, and Jesus says, “Yes, I tell you that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:24 ICB). For a camel to jump through the eye of a needle is physically impossible. Jesus means that to gain entrance into heaven, you must not be like most rich people who think of themselves and do not have a humble heart. Jesus also means that it is not all about the laws that you follow. This relates to the message of Jesus because Jesus says that you have to be countercultural, and by caring more about the type of heart you have rather than the law and physical traits, Jesus is going explicitly against the Greco-Roman concept of ideality and the Jewish strict adherence to the