I felt a very positive impression of who Jesus was after finishing I had a new image of someone who was a down-to-earth, caring individual. I did not find quotes of Jesus that claimedbeing superior to the common man, of whom sinners could not look upon(a view that most people had of their Gods for centuries before).Matthew 12:49-50, Jesus announces to multitudes that they are hismother and brothers. In that way, he puts himself at an equal level tothe people, rather than claiming to be a God above them. This reflectsthe whole attitude of the book. Chapters 6-7 of Matthew quote Jesus as he is presentingrules to live by to the multitudes. To me, all of these sounded likehints to leading a happy life for yourself. Jesus reflects a God thatdoes not expect virgins or animals to be sacrificed in His name; but, aGod that is pleased by followers that love not only God, but each otheralso. These seem like simple, logical rules to live by. But, theyreflected a time in history where that kind of love for one another washard to find because of the hardships inflicted upon the people.I find some conflict in Jesus' actions, however. Jesus never (asfar as I know) says to ignore to commandments of God in the HebrewScriptures; however, constantly breaks the Sabbath (Matt 12:13 andothers), and gives VERY flimsy and unconvincing explanations for it. Iam not sure what his message was in those actions. Perhaps he didn'tcare? In general, Matthew was a good, entertaining story to read, with avery dramatic ending, and great character development (a littlesarcastic humor here)! I was very surprised to find much of the Book of Mark a repeat ofwhat was written in Matthew, but with a little less detail, and a fewstories omitted. Jesus goes a little overboard on the parables! Most of theparables needed to be explained to his disciples, and some of them Iwasn't able to understand either! Although many parables have a good,inspiring morals to them, ...
