Have you ever wondered about the biblical presentation of Jesus’ arrest and trial? I have questioned in my mind those events since I was a teenager. According to the stories presented in the Bible, Jesus was aware that that his teachings represented heresy to the Jewish religion. Therefore, he was a traitor and would be treated accordingly if captured. Judiciously, he spent most of his public life on the edges of populus society so as to not rouse the suspicion and ire of public officials. However, as time progressed, it seems apparent that stories of his teaching gradually reached the Jewish hierarchy.
Eventually, Jesus sensed his time for capture and trial was drawing near and decided to make a final assault on the temple. There he overturned the moneychangers’ tables while whipping them with a lash and calling them a den of thieves, a pit of vipers, while demanding they leave his Father’s house. Then, not long afterward, he was apprehended in the dark of night after being betrayed and identified to the authorities by one of his own, Judas Iscariot. In the meantime, before his arrest, he had his last meal with his apostles. There he does several remarkable things — he predicts his betrayal and identifies his betrayer, he changes bread and wine into his own body and blood while commissioning his apostles to do likewise in memory of him — one account shows him washing his apostles’ feet as an example of servitude, humility, and love which he expected his apostles to exemplify thereafter.
At his trial, the Roman ruler, Pontius Pilate, could find no evidence against him, but despite that, the crowd is incited by the Jewish authorities to demand his crucifixion which was carried out the next day. While hanging in agony on the cross, conflicting stories are presented in the Bible about his interaction between two insurgents who were crucified alongside him. Luke’s account portrays Jesus promising one insurgent that they would be in paradise together that day. Another account by Matthew presents Jesus as being berated by both insurgents until his death.
You may recall, from my previous writings, I had noted by age twelve or so that nothing we prayed for ever materialized. My parish priest told me that was God’s will. Immediately, I began to question and wonder about who our God really is — the God presented to me by my religion didn’t fit the mold of the God I was observing. I was in a quandary — my head began ‘spinning like a top’ so to speak. I couldn’t relate to the God of my religion, but I didn’t know why — my religion had to be correct or did it? —I determined to find out—it took sixty-five years but, finally I did.
As I studied all sorts of history, read and reread the bible, listened to my priest speak of Luke’s or Matthew’s ‘version’ of a story, I became keenly aware that both versions could not possibly be true — maybe neither was true. Eventually, after years of research regarding Church history and the multiple translations and revisions (versions) of the Bible, I concluded that, of the Bibles we have, none is dependable for giving us an accurate account of Jesus. It became obvious to me that no version of the Bible makes clear what teaching of Jesus was heretical enough to stir the ire of the Jewish hierarchy and justify his crucifixion.
What did finally become clear to me was that the bishops who formulated the first official Holy Roman Catholic Church in 325 AD at the demand of Emperor Constantine, were determined to retain their Jewish heritage by continuing a ‘sacrificial’ religion patterned after the Jewish custom. The Christian God was the same ‘vengeful’ God of the Jews. Their God, of course, demanded sacrifice for appeasement of his anger. So, they fabricated an ‘unbloody’ sacrifice of the Mass during which the priest changes water and wine into the body and blood of Jesus and offers it to God — Jesus became the ‘sacrificial lamb’.
It should be noted that nowhere in the Bible does Jesus say that he came to die as an appeasement of his Father for atonement of our sins. As far as I can determine that philosophy was developed by the Catholic Church over several hundred years. In the meantime, the repeated overt abuses, including sexual, political, and monetary, by both the Catholic hierarchy and priests, prompted Martin Luther and others to bolt the Church and formulate other religions — the cat was out of the bag. So, now we have 45,000 so-called Christian religions and sects worldwide — each proclaiming authenticity and claiming to be the best way to heaven.
While the Catholic Church remains the largest by far, many splinter groups based purely on the Bible, with most seemingly adhering to some version of Paul’s philosophy that baptism and acceptance of Jesus as their savior is all that is necessary for salvation, have evolved. That represents Paul’s obvious split with Peter and James who continued to demand ‘sacrifice’ along with good works for salvation.
All the above information created an insatiable determination in me to solve that puzzle — what piece was missing? It occurred to me that all seemed to be worshiping a different God while, simultaneously, claiming Jesus as their foundation — how could that be? — no one could or had defined the essence of the God they were worshiping. With good fortune and luck, I stumbled onto Quantum Mechanics which along with previously acquired information allowed me to define, irrefutably, God’s essence. God is a Perfect Ration Being.
The ramifications of that definition are staggering — all religion is invalid — physical miracles are an impossibility — re-analysis of Jesus of Nazareth is mandated.
Instantly, two things happened — my quandaries about God were eliminated, and my understanding and reassessment of Jesus were mandated. It became clear that those who formed and perpetuated Christianity had deliberately made obscure most of Jesus’ basic teaching. Furthermore, they had misappropriated his words at the last supper, and used them as a power base for themselves. In retrospect, it is obvious to me that what Jesus was telling them at the last supper, and what he had been telling them all along, as verified in The Gospel of Thomas, was that he, they, and all creation are in God and God in all his creation — that bread and wine he gave them was God already.
Jesus was an insightful genius who, without any scientific understanding at all (there was none) instinctively knew that God is in all, and all is in God. Therefore, God is all love — vengeance is impossible — appeasement is impossible and any attempt at appeasement is irrational because God cannot possibly reject himself. Jesus only command was ‘love God with your all and love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Paraphrased)
The idea of a vengeful God was given to us by Moses. He lied to his people to control them. He obviously had no problem lying —after all, he was a murderer who had weaseled his way into control of the Israelites — a little lie wouldn’t hurt. Well, as a matter of fact, a little lie did hurt. It hurt billions of people for nearly three thousand years, and is still hurting — I daresay, it will continue to hurt for hundreds more. So, we see that ‘a little lie’ can have devastating consequences.
So, what was Jesus’ intention that led to his preaching of love and his eventual ignominious torture and death by crucifixion? Briefly stated, he intended to supplant the irrational, illegitimate, sacrificial religion of the Jews with a concept of ‘no religion’ — only love. That was/is the Gospel, the Good News which Jesus had hoped would be promulgated worldwide by his followers. His intention was to be our Liberator — he would be our savior only in the sense that he would free us from the oppressive, guilt driven, sacrificial religion of the Jews. It is quite obvious that he was/is a total failure. However, in my opinion, Jesus was the greatest, most laudable, most determined patriot who ever lived.
If we could ever understand and accept that simple concept, then we could become likeminded. Fighting would cease — Worldwide Peace would prevail. Will it ever happen? I am doubtful. It is more likely that an uncontrollable ‘argument’ will break out and mankind will self-exterminate — maybe sooner than you think. Praying to a false God is useless — inner soul-searching and conversion to truth could be extremely beneficial.
With that in mind, as an assist to you, please read my books on this matter, Wilderness Cry first. Then read Peace in Spirituality and Provocative Catholic. You will be edified. If you care to know more about me, Growing Up In Fancy Farm Kentucky will help. All books are available Amazon-Kindle and from me, autographed, (handg@comcast.net).
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WILDERNESS CRY by Hilary L Hunt MD 