Have you ever wondered what life must have been like in Jesus' time?

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Have you ever sat down on a Sunday lazy afternoon after Mass and wondered what life would be like during Our Master’s time?
How would it feel being one of the spectators/listeners when Jesus spoke? Or when He was handing out fishes and loaves to the hungry? Or when he raised Lazarus from the dead?

What would have you done, or wished for if you clung to his garment? Would you feel privileged taking the place of one of the other two unknowns at the crosses of Golgata where He was crucified? I put this question here because i want feedback from all Christians and non-Christians alike. Wouldn’t it be amazing if we had the chance to see Jesus in action and face-to-face? I mean WOW!:bowdown::extrahappy:
 
this exercise is actually the basis for a valid form of meditation on the Gospels, that favored by St. Ignatius, to enter into the scene of the Gospel story with the imagination, and yes I do it frequently, and encourage the children in RE classes to do so.
 
Children can have vivid imaginations and its wonderful that you teach them this form of meditation. 👍 We need teachers like you to motivate our children into understanding His teachings.

Do you, as a grown-up do this frequently? Without the Bible at your side? Sometimes i look up at the night sky and look at the stars, wondering if He is looking back at me and i sit down on my outdoor swing just contemplating in His footsteps. I ask Him lots of questions at times and sometimes, i silence my mind so that i can “tune” in to His instructions.
 
cathopologist said:
… Wouldn’t it be amazing if we had the chance to see Jesus in action and face-to-face? I mean WOW!:bowdown::extrahappy:
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No, it wouldn’t.

It would be something like a world leader, or the Pope, who is flacked by entourage. You couldn’t get close to Him.

That’s why He has to be heaven… so that you can be close to Him.

It sounds strange, but I heard our priest say something similar in a church sermon. He did a better job of explaining it. Don’t be envious of the apostles, because we too can learn from Him just as much.

Sorry… I’m not being rude, even though I do sound it.
 
I have never thought about what it would be like to live in the time of Jesus. I do think it would be awesome to be there considering (with hindsight) the effect Jesus has had on the world.

Sitting outside or better yet a nighttime bicycle ride under a starry sky is a great time for contemplating God and his creation.

It reminds me that I am one of his humble creatures.
 
Life during the time of Christ was no picnic. There was deep poverty in the society that he was born into. Plus, there were strong class divisions and bigotry against outsiders. It was a tough time to be in Judea at the time of christ. And heaven forbid if a person was not a jew but a samaritan or a gentile.

True, perhaps if I were there, it would be marvelous to see christ in action. But then again, I may had been just an ordinary jewish person, socialized into my society with all the postives and negatives that this entails. Or maybe I would have been a zealot, cutting the throats of roman soldiers…or a tax collector, being responsible for impoverishing people etc. And who knows, I may have been the one in the crowd who would scream ‘crucify him’. I will never know. As none of us know what we would have done. I can just hope that I would have been a follower of Christ.

But there is a reason why we weren’t born into that time frame and why we are existing now. Now that would be great to understand and visualize. Why now?
 
If I were there, I would like to visit His mother first and have her introduce me.
 
cathopologist said:
Have you ever sat down on a Sunday lazy afternoon after Mass and wondered what life would be like during Our Master’s time?
How would it feel being one of the spectators/listeners when Jesus spoke? Or when He was handing out fishes and loaves to the hungry? Or when he raised Lazarus from the dead?

What would have you done, or wished for if you clung to his garment? Would you feel privileged taking the place of one of the other two unknowns at the crosses of Golgata where He was crucified? I put this question here because i want feedback from all Christians and non-Christians alike. Wouldn’t it be amazing if we had the chance to see Jesus in action and face-to-face? I mean WOW!:bowdown::extrahappy:
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Hypothetical question but kinda good to reflect upon. First of all, life then would be simpler but harsher. There were no cellphones and internet; and MP3 for our kids to play with. One could get killed if one messed with the laws. A life has its own time and place.

Jesus was the most misunderstood person that ever graced this planet who brought a message that’s contradictory to his time. Hid friends and disciples, all did not understand who he truly was and what his misson for. Had I been there without the knowledge that I have now, I would no doubt be one of those who called for his execution. And how true it was, we all are today responsible for his death, one way or the other.

In retrospective, I say it would worth it to take the place of one of the criminals that hang by his sides on the cross. It would be hard but if given a chance, I would do it. But isn’t this the message for us today as Christians? - to die on the cross, physically or spiritually? It’s sobering and frigthening to think of it and from experience when we come to this topic, many Christians would just digress and sidestep this issue. But on the other hand, who say it’s easy to follow Christ?
 
The best view of what life was like in Jesus’ time that I have seen is presented by Anne Rice in her two most recent novels,
  • Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt
  • Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana
The story line in both books is true to the Gospels but Anne has done an enormous amount of research on the history and customs of that time and literally takes you back 2000 years to the household of Mary and Joseph and the village of Nazereth.

Incidentally, Anne’s personal memoir, Out of Darkness, comes out next week, in which she relates the story of her coming back to the Church of her childhood after a lifetime of atheism.
 
I once meditated in front of the Eucharist and I swear I was there in those times. I was a little girl and I was playing on some rocks by an ocean. Jesus came over and asked my name. I told him but I don’t remember the name. He put his hand out to me to help me up on the rock and he was smiling. We walked on the beach, sat together and we threw rocks in the water. Then He got up and said he must go now. I was sad and chased after him. He said where he is going I cannot come, so I watched him walk in the distance.
When I saw that this was the man who was carrying the cross days later, I cried so bad and walked along the roads in the background with him. The crying was so bad in my thoughts that I actually started crying .
This was so real, that I wasn’t even in the room. Remembering Jesus as a child I can’t figure out, but it all makes sense about his kindness and love for us all. 🙂
 
A great book to read is Anne Catharine Emmerick. She saw the whole Passion revealed to her in detail from our Lord and what a book it is.
This is a book I once recommended to a girl studying Wicca, and after she read it, she converted.🙂
 
I’m telling you, the first time machine comes into play and I am THERE! 😃 I have always said that if I could go back in time it would be to sit at Jesus’ feet (even if I can’t get right close to Him, just to sit on the same ground He walks on would be enough for me) or, if I was able to get to talk with Him wouldn’t that be AMAZING! I could ask Him straight out why there is so much hurt in our world… I would love to cry at His feet and feel His comfort. I do it now but I think if He were physically there it would mean that much more… 🙂
 
yes imagintively putting oneself in the gospel scene is a valid form of meditation, but it has to be done honestly and humbly. We can’t really dictate the circumstances, we simply have to be willing to be present.
 
For a great view of daily life in Jesus’ day, you can’t beat Henri Daniel-Ropps’ book from 1962, Daily Life in the Time of Jesus.

LC Control No.:​
62009040
LCCN Permalink:​
http://lccn.loc.gov/62009040
Type of Material:​
Book (Print, Microform, Electronic, etc.)
Personal Name:​
Daniel-Rops, Henri, 1901-1965.
Uniform Title:​
Vie quotidienne en Palestine au temps de Jésus. English
Main Title:​
Daily life in the time of Jesus. Translated by Patrick O’Brian.
Edition Information:​
[1st ed.]
Published/Created:​
New York, Hawthorn Books [1962]
Description:​
512 p. 22 cm.

search.barnesandnoble.com/Daily-Life-in-the-Time-of-Jesus/Henri-Daniel-Rops/e/9780892830855/?itm=6

You can find it in libraries and the link above is to a used copy.
 
Singinbeauty said:
I am curious… why?

It doesn’t appear that anyone else did this…
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The couple at the wedding in Cana apparently went to her and asked her to help with the wine. They didn’t go directly to Jesus. Yet, rather than scolding them, He performed His first public miracle for them.

So going to Mary first does indeed have Scriptural precedent - not to mention positive results. 👍
 
Have you ever wondered what life must have been like in Jesus’ time?
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Answer A: Yes, as in the way of meditative prayer that puzzleannie was talking about. I do that frequently.

Answer B: Yes, and I think about how there was no hot running water, electricity, deodorant, or closed toes shoes. And how the people living in Jerusalem used to dump their icky waste products right out in the street and then I thank God I was born when I was because, truth be told, I’m a bit of a wimp.

I think sometimes I romanticize stuff when I do Answer A, but maybe that doesn’t matter.
 
A book that beautifully describes Jesus and the people and the land at that time is **A ****Life of Jesus **by Susaku Endo.

I would have loved to have heard Him and seen Him and washed His feet. It would have been awesome.:heaven:
 
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