The Analysis of the Images of Jesus Christ - Essay Example

Introduction This paper discusses the two chosen images of Jesus Christ taken from a long list of images of Jesus according to Anselm Gruen. The first part of this paper discusses the first image which is ‘Jesus the Good Shepherd’ and the second part discusses the second image which is ‘Jesus the light’. The ‘Good Shepherd’ and ‘the light’ are two important emblems in the Holy Bible which tell about the Holy life of Jesus. These are pure words but when they are to be created as images, they have significant impact for they would try to impart visual messages about the true characteristics of Jesus presented in the Holy Bible. Jesus is described in the Holy Bible as Holy and with such holiness are other important characteristics that are in line with the righteousness God wants to impart to His people. Jesus the Good Shepherd From the dictionary definition a shepherd is someone who looks after the herd of sheep by guarding and tending them. A shepherd is someone tasked to lead the herd of sheep in the safest and abundant place. It is necessary for the herd of sheep to be tended in the green pasture with a fresh source of water flowing in abundance. In this way, the herd of sheep will survive and they are given all the essentials they need. The psalm of David in chapter 23 describes God as shepherd full of righteousness. God is revealed by David as a good Shepherd, and since Jesus is the Son of God (John 3:16), it is implied that the Son and the Father have the same characteristics and they are working together for one common good and that is salvation of the humanity from eternal condemnation (Matthew 1: 18-21). In John 10:14, Jesus said he is a good shepherd and part of being such is to know his people and his people to him. He sacrificed his life for the humanity to bring salvation to all. Jesus has great compassion for the people of God. Such compassion can be clearly defined by the great love Jesus is willing to give for the humanity. He gave up his life for the humanity and such is the great manifestation of his universal and unconditional love. The image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd depicts the meaning of a good servant and a leader. Being a good servant or a leader therefore requires following Jesus as far as biblical principles are deemed important. In fact, being a Christian means following Jesus whatever the cost may be. Christians are tasked to be good shepherds in their own ways. The general principle of a good shepherd is still coming from the authority of God and this applies to every walk of life today. A Christian minister can be considered a shepherd because of the responsibility to care for and guide a group of people in the ministry. Jesus as the Good Shepherd is therefore a remarkable model of every Christian minister who is responsible to lead the beloved people of God. The herd of sheep is the people of God who need spiritual leader to give them guidance, protection and as the main character to give a meaningful importance in the preservation of life. A Christian minister is there to provide the needs of people to be one with God. A Christian minister is there to provide guidance of the people of God. The authority that every minister has is coming from the authority that Jesus possesses as the Good Shepherd. A father can also be considered a shepherd as he is giving the right direction for his family. A father sees to it that he loves his wife and children by providing them their basic necessities in life and providing them the things which encompass his responsibility for his family. A father is the one to provide guidance for his sons and daughters as they grow. A father as the head of the family must ensure the essential growth of his family from emotional, physical down to spiritual. A father needs authority coming from the Holy presence of God in order to give the right direction for his family. The leaders of every nation are God’s chosen people to guide his people and protect their primary rights as citizens in this world. The government is there to protect the people. In order for the government to function well, there is a need for a leader in order to implement the law and ensures that everything goes into the right direction. This can only be realised if the chosen leader has the character of a Good Shepherd whose intention is for the good of the people. It is important to consider that leading a nation is leading the people who are loved by God. In the same way, it is important to consider that in order to lead effectively; there is a need to feel the same compassion God has for His people. It takes enough time to understand this, but one of the ways to make it much easier is to understand the life of Jesus and part of it is the basic understanding about him as a Good Shepherd. As in line with the preservation of life, the government and the people’s chosen leader must be able to have substantial authority so as to implement the right thing in the right possible way. After all, governance is about trying to lead the people of God. Jesus the light From a dictionary definition, a light is an energy producing a sensation of brightness that makes seeing possible. Light is synonymous to any thing with brightness in it. Everyone needs brightness to see. Everyone needs light in order to do what is good since it is hard to see in darkness and it is hard to be productive in darkness. Light is something that helps everyone to see and it is something that needs to be treasured. When there is light, there is truth and direction. Light gives the path through the right direction. One can clearly see where he or she is heading and there is no reason one may stumble because it is clear where the feet walks on. Light enables the eyes to see the truth. With light, there is nothing that can be hidden because it exposes everything that is visible. With light, the beauty of things and even the very little of them can be appreciated and the true nature and physical aspects of undesirable things can be exposed. There is no wonder why Jesus is considered the truth and the light in the Holy Bible. Jesus said that he is the way, the truth and the light and whoever follows him will not walk in darkness but have the light of life (John 8:12). Jesus is a living light who provides everyone the needed brightness in order to be productive. Jesus as “The light” is the light of this world, the light to everyone’s path so as no one will stumble in darkness. Jesus is more than just a physical light. In the Holy Bible, he is considered as the one to bring the good news about salvation. In fact, the whole point of the Holy Bible is salvation. The Holy Bible contains the words of God. In the new testament of the Holy Bible, Jesus is the word that everything is made because of him and because of that he is considered the light that will shine in the darkness (John 1:3-5). Jesus with his teachings can enlighten one’s soul. His teachings are teachings coming from God and they are all revealed to those who are worthy to receive the message. Thus, those who want to see the truth will in fact see the truth (Matthew 7:7-8). This makes Jesus as the light. What he brought to the world were words about the truth, about God, about heaven and about salvation. These are things considered by Jesus as important which are above on anything else in this world. Today, everyone seems to find for the truth and understanding the message of Jesus is easy to understand for it is to serve as the light. Thus, reading the Holy Bible is the best possible way to understand more about Jesus as the light. Conclusion In the Old Testament, it was David who identified God as a Good Shepherd and this is presented in the book of Psalm. In the New Testament, it was Jesus who declared as the Good Shepherd. In fact, Jesus proclaimed to be one with God and with this, it is clear that he is a self portrait by God. The fact that Jesus has the same compassion and ultimate love for the people just like that of God the Father has is a clear picture that Jesus is one with the Father. With this, it only justifies the fact that Jesus indeed has an authority to spread the truth into the humanity since his wisdom and the language he used were from God. This makes him a clear symbol not only as a Good Shepherd but as the light of this world. References The book of John. The Holy Bible. New International Version. The book of Matthew. The Holy Bible. New International Version. The book of Psalm. The Holy Bible. New International Version. Read More