1) Let us start with one of the most significant actions
of Jesus as described in Chapter 15. His healing of the daughter of Jairus clearly shows
his mastery over death and is a symbol of the new life that is possible through a
relationship with him.
2) In Chapter 21, Daniel has an
incredibly significant personal interview with Jesus, where Daniel tells Jesus about the
guilt he feels over Samson's death. Note what Jesus tells Daniel about his desire for
vengeance as a method of repaying Samson's heroism:
He did not give you vengeance. He gave you love.
There is no greater love than that, that a man should lay down his life for hsi friend.
Think, Daniel, can you repay such love with
hate?
Jesus thus slowly
teaches Daniel about the limits and evils of vengeance, and how superior forgiveness is.
As Jesus tells Daniel, "The only thing stronger than hate is love." This is the lesson
that Daniel finally is able to master at the end of the story when he invites the Roman
soldier in to eat with him and his sister.
3) You also
might like to look at what Jesus reads out in the synagogue in Chapter Four and what
this tells us about his mission. One part of the scripture he reads says: "The Spirit of
the Lord is upon me, because He has annointed me to preach good news to the poor." This
makes clear the focus of Jesus' mission as being not based on the rich and those with
power, but being a kind of bottom-up revolution that glorifies those who are scorned by
society.
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