Jesus by Katherine

Jesus by Katherine - February 2016 Scholarship Essay

If I could have dinner with any historical figure it would probably be Jesus. My curiosity would probably be insatiable during the entire meal because of the mysterious man who is leaving a mark on our world even 2000 years after he died. That’s a long time!
Probably the first thing that I would ask him about would be his life. It’s so shrouded in mystery, the only clues being left by the gospels which make up the Bible, and the other holy books of the disciples (which are kept in the Vatican and are not open to the public). His life must have been so interesting for millions of people to convert to Christianity, and for the Roman Empire to abandon its own gods and adopt Catholicism as its new religion. But they’re not even the only religions who think of Jesus as somebody important! The Jews and the Muslims count Jesus as a prophet. For one person to affect so many lives, both in the past and the present, he must’ve been amazing. And, as a naturally curious person, he’s obviously the greatest mystery of them all.
Then I would ask him if he really was the Son of God, the Messiah. So many people have different takes on who they believe him to be, and never once in the Bible does he ever straightforwardly state whether or not he is, in fact, the Messiah. You can infer as much as you want, but when the person lived 2000 years ago and the books that you are inferring your information from have been translated from one language to another you can never know for sure. As a Christian, I believe that he was the Messiah, however, it would be nice if I were given some feedback, from the person himself, whether in fact this is true.
Finally I would ask him about the afterlife, and what it’s like. In the Bible it says, “Whatever you loose on Earth will be loosed in Heaven.” I want to know if this merely means what society says is wrong or right for you to do, or if in fact everything that we do on Earth is loosed in Heaven. If it’s the latter then all that I’m imagining is crowded neighborhoods, litter everywhere, and an environment growing slightly more poisonous every year. I wouldn’t want this to be true, but if this is in fact what he meant then I would probably dedicate all of my time, and anybody else’s that I can convince, for our entire lives to trying to fix the environment. Not even necessarily for me, but for those loved ones that have gone before me.
In essence I would ask Jesus all of the questions that I deem to be important because of my belief in him being one part on an all-knowing God. If he was in fact a part of an all-knowing God I could finally be at peace with who I am, and who the rest of the human race are. It probably wouldn’t quench my thirst for knowledge, but it would open the gate to new ideas and questions for me to find the answers to.