Was Jesus a good son?

[marco]

We are told that Jesus loves us, and presumably loved his mum and dad. Yet any interaction is minimal; did he ever hug his mother or even talk to his father. We don't know. It would seem that Jesus was keen to play down his family. He wasn't the ideal son, but a man who rejected them. Only at the last minute did he leave his mother in the care of somebody else, having caused her endless pain.

We would have expected Jesus to demonstrate admirably the command: Honour thy parents, but there is precious little of honour in him for his mum and dad.

Was Jesus a good son?

Did he break the commandment?

[JehovahsWitness]

There's no nice word for Mary until she's weeping ... and he tells her to look after the guy he likes.

I wonder what your support is for believing Jesus DID care

Fair enough, one can but wwonder why you added"and he tells her to look after the guy he likes" but I hereby make the claim that the text supports Jesus dying instructions not as being a mandate to burden Mary with the responsibility to care for John but as a act of loving concern for his mother that she be looked after and she in turn not feel alone or emotionally and spiritually disconnected.

Do you wish to challenge me on that?



JW

[marco]

I hereby make the claim that the text supports Jesus' dying instructions not as being a mandate to burden Mary with the responsibility to care for John but as an act of loving concern for his mother that she be looked after and she in turn not feel alone or emotionally and spiritually disconnected.

Do you wish to challenge me on that?

There's no reason to challenge you for being kind and generous in you evaluation. If only Christ's reported actions had merited such an appraisal! As I said, a last minute comment to somebody rather than secure provision by himself is not good enough but it is consistent.

[JehovahsWitness]

... he is at least being consistent with the way he has been reported through the gospels....negligent of his mother.

Where is he reported of as being negligent of his mother? Which specific text do you use to support this conclusion.

(I am uninterested in your baseless assumptions, you can have her weeping for lack of bread and chained to a gate for 30 years if you so wish; after all, children are encouraged to develop their imaginations)

[JehovahsWitness]

I hereby make the claim that the text supports Jesus' dying instructions not as being a mandate to burden Mary with the responsibility to care for John but as an act of loving concern for his mother that she be looked after and she in turn not feel alone or emotionally and spiritually disconnected.

Do you wish to challenge me on that?

There's no reason to challenge you for being kind and generous in you evaluation

I didn t ask you to challenge my character or world view, this is a debating forum we are only jnterested in solid argumentaton. Would you like to challenge the words I wrote as being an inaccurate assessment of the specific text in question. notably Jesus dying request that Mary be looked after by his friend.




JW

[marco]

Where is he reported of as being negligent of his mother? Which specific text do you use to support this conclusion.

I am uninterested in your baseless assumptions.

Should I change my argument now to one of unstinting admiration for Jesus and his affection for his mum to attract your interest?

It should not be hard to find places in the gospels where Jesus confronts his mother. I am not going to involve myself, again, in the question of whether she was present when his family was shunned by Jesus.

The OP is: Was Jesus a good son? I have offered instances that show he was not. Can you find any instances that indicate he was good or are we forced to squeeze some kindness out of the last few minutes of Christ's existence?

[marco]

I hereby make the claim that the text supports Jesus' dying instructions not as being a mandate to burden Mary with the responsibility to care for John but as an act of loving concern for his mother that she be looked after and she in turn not feel alone or emotionally and spiritually disconnected.

Do you wish to challenge me on that?

There's no reason to challenge you for being kind and generous in you evaluation

I didn t ask you to challenge my character or world view, this is a debating forum we are only jnterested in solid argumentaton. Would you like to challenge the words I wrote as being an inaccurate assessment of the specific text in question. notably Jesus dying request that Mary be looked after by his friend.

Try as I may I find it impossible to see how, in saying an evaluation is "kind and generous" towards Jesus, I have somehow transgressed, and raised my cannon against your character or even your "world view." I was invited to challenge, that is, find fault with your assessment. Are words being placed in poor inarticulate Marco's mouth to assist him in his replies, to make them more robust. I am happy for any help, of course, but I have to say that there is nothing "inaccurate" about how someone sees a situation, based as it is on one's judgment.

We have already said that the pittance offered in the last seconds of Christ's life come too late. One would have expected a life of Christ to shine with motherly love, in both directions, but I'm afraid it seems to flow only one way.

[JehovahsWitness]

Where is he reported of as being negligent of his mother? Which specific text do you use to support this conclusion.

I am uninterested in your baseless assumptions.

Putting aside your insinuation (and prompt retraction) that he behaved badly with his dying reference to his mother and friend (which you conceded as a loving gesture), it seems the only support for your accusations amounts to ...


# presumed insolence at 12


From this you extract:

[He was] a man who rejected [his family]

[demonstrated] a callous disregard for his own family..

....[he] caused her [his mother] endless pain.

...he absolutely forgot his ordinary parents ... [and held ] them in some contempt.

I have searched your posts thoroughly and in the mass of verbage and groundless speculation can find no other solid reference to a text in support of your conclusions. Feel free to highlight any additional textual references I may have missed.




JW

[Mithrae]

One would have expected a life of Christ to shine with motherly love, in both directions, but I'm afraid it seems to flow only one way.

I for one would have expected him to go to the toilet more, too. Those gospel authors had thousands of words to write about these miracles and teachings, but not a single sentence saying "Jesus went to the loo" or "Jesus loved his mother" - I guess an objective reader must conclude that neither was the case.

[marco]

One would have expected a life of Christ to shine with motherly love, in both directions, but I'm afraid it seems to flow only one way.

I for one would have expected him to go to the toilet more, too. Those gospel authors had thousands of words to write about these miracles and teachings, but not a single sentence saying "Jesus went to the loo" or "Jesus loved his mother" - I guess an objective reader must conclude that neither was the case.

Going to the loo is perhaps something we can assume Jesus did. Your post seems to suppose we should similarly assume parental love without being told about it and that would be a good assumption were it not for the fact that the few references we have to Christ's family suggest he was rather cold. Therefore an indication that the Son of Man respected the Commandment to love one's parents would be an expectation.

As it happens I think most readers are not "objective"; most people who persevere with reading the gospels are already steeped in faith. It would not surprise me if such readers did believe Jesus paid no visits to the loo.

[marco]

Where is he reported of as being negligent of his mother? Which specific text do you use to support this conclusion.

I am uninterested in your baseless assumptions.

Putting aside your insinuation (and prompt retraction) that he behaved badly with his dying reference to his mother and friend (which you conceded as a loving gesture), it seems the only support for your accusations amounts to ...


# presumed insolence at 12


From this you extract:

[He was] a man who rejected [his family]

[demonstrated] a callous disregard for his own family..

....[he] caused her [his mother] endless pain.

...he absolutely forgot his ordinary parents ... [and held ] them in some contempt.

I have searched your posts thoroughly and in the mass of verbage and groundless speculation can find no other solid reference to a text in support of your conclusions. Feel free to highlight any additional textual references I may have missed.

I'm sure you'll be successful eventually. The son rarely has much to do with his family, from what we gather. A more interesting pursuit would be to search for the occasions when Jesus shows love for his family. You'd think they would feature a lot.

It is interesting, and amusing, to note that when you come across the SINGLE reference to Jesus in boyhood it shows a rather impertinent brat, arrogantly calling the Temple his father's house. But that doesn't count, I suppose.