How did Christianity originate
Did Jesus establish it? Who was Jesus?

To answer these questions one has to look beyond the New Testament, far into the history, the culture, and the religions of the ancient Near East and eastern Mediterranean, and into ancient texts that preceded and inspired the New Testament.

One of those texts is the Old Testament. Jesus read it. It was his "spiritual food." In the heart of this study is Jesus. Part of learning about the real Jesus is learning about the origins of the Old Testament, the spiritual food that nourished Jesus' mind.

Thus, we will begin our investigation of the origins of Christianity with the origins of the Old Testament.

Before writing was invented the ancient Near Eastern peoples preserved their wisdom, religion, and history orally. The Hebrews were no exception. They passed their history and religion from generation to generation orally.

It was not until the 10th century BCE, when they acquired their alphabet from the Phoenicians, that they began gradually to write down their traditions in various books, which today we call the Old Testament.

They wrote the Old Testament over many centuries. They did not include in it all their traditions. They preserved some of them orally even after they finished writing the Old Testament.

Oral tradition played an important role in the Judaic religion, since reading and writing was the privilege of the very few.

As the Hebrew stories were transmitted orally, from one Hebrew tribe to another and from one generation to another, they became diversified: some branched out into two or more versions.

When the Hebrews wrote their stories down, instead of choosing the best version of each story and discarding the rest, sometimes they retained multiple versions. (The Christians did likewise. Instead of choosing the best version of Jesus’ story and discarding the rest, they included four versions in the New Testament: the four gospels.)

For example, there are three versions of Sennacherib’s siege of Jerusalem. There are three versions of Nebuchadnezzar’s capture of Jerusalem. There are two versions of Jehoiachin’s release during the exile.

Sometimes they blended two versions into one story. For example, the creation story of Genesis is a sequence of two versions, which differ in style and in the order of creation.

In the first version (in chapter 1) God created the animals before man, but in the second version (in chapter 2) he created them after man:

How It Was Copied and Edited
To trace the history and development of the Judeo-Christian doctrines we must know how the Old Testament books were preserved.

Whenever a manuscript wore out, scribes had to make a new one, and probably retire or destroy the old one. During the process of copying they made unintentional errors and intentional changes. In this study, we are interested in intentional changes. Here is an example of an intentional change. Sometime after Habakkuk wrote his book a scribe added the following title to the book: "The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet received." (Habakkuk 1:1 NIV) Later, this title became the first verse of that book.

The second verse follows with the words of Habakkuk: "O LORD, how long will I cry, and you will not hear!" (Habakkuk 1:2 KJV) (Notice the difference: the first verse was written in the third person, while Habakkuk wrote in the first person.)

Here is another example. Sometime after Jeremiah wrote his book, a scribe added three verses in the beginning of the book, by which he explains who Jeremiah was and when he wrote: "The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah ... To whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah ... It came also in the days of Jehoiakim ..." (Jeremiah 1:1-3 KJV)

These verses were written in the third person while the words of Jeremiah follow in the first person: "Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying ..." (Jeremiah 1:4 KJV) Likewise in the book of Isaiah: he wrote in the first person, while editors added various verses in the third person.

Here is an error of redundancy: Psalms 53 and 14 are almost identical (i.e. they are two versions of the same psalm). One of them is unnecessary.

Over the centuries and through repetitive copying the text of the Old Testament was altered. Scribes added or removed words or phrases. For this reason, God commanded not to add or subtract anything from his Word (the law): "You will not add to the word that I command you, neither will you diminish anything from it." (Deuteronomy 4:2 KJV)

This command was probably intended for the scribes. Jeremiah rebuked the scribes for corrupting the law (the Pentateuch ): "But behold, the lying pen of the scribes has made it into a lie." (Jeremiah 8:8 NASB )

During the Hellenistic era copyists inserted in the book of Daniel (in the Septuagint version, the Greek version) the stories called The Prayer of Azariah, The Hymn of The Three Young Men, Susanna, and Bel and the Dragon.

These insertions were part of the Christian Bible until 1546, when the Protestants removed them from their Bible and designated them apocryphal, while the Catholics reaffirmed them and designated them deuterocanonical.

The Jews of Palestine had fixed the number of psalms to 150. However, when the Hellenist Jews of Alexandria translated the book of Psalms they added an extra psalm (psalm 151) and titled it: "This psalm is ascribed to David and is outside the number {i.e. 150}. When he dueled Goliath." To enhance the psalm’s authenticity, the author of the psalm wrote pseudonymously: as David speaking in the first person. He wrote, "I {David} was young to my brothers and the youngest in the house of my father. I tended the sheep of my father ..."

At a later time this psalm was recognized as inauthentic and was removed from the Christian book of Psalms (the Psalms of the Septuagint).

The copying and editing of the biblical manuscripts went on for centuries. In the 2nd century BCE the Essenes of Qumran edited their manuscript of Isaiah.

In one Qumran scroll of Isaiah, in the 15 verses of the "suffering servant" prophecy (Isaiah 52:13-53:12), professor Dupont counted 34 variants. Between this Qumran scroll of Isaiah and the Isaiah of the Masoretic text there are a few hundred variants.

The Qumran scribe altered the text (in most cases very slightly) to conform it to his understanding of Isaiah. He modernized Isaiah’s language and introduced expansions and various types of harmonization.

The book of Jeremiah originated with Jeremiah (626-585 BCE) but was later expanded with several additions.

Even the conservative Christian editors of The NIV Study Bible acknowledge that the last chapter of Jeremiah "is an appendix added by a later hand." (As mentioned above, the first three verses of Jeremiah are an introduction inserted by a scribe.)

The following verse was inserted in Jeremiah probably after the exile (586 BCE): "Thus you will say to them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they will perish from the earth, and from under these heavens." (Jeremiah 10:11 KJV)

Jeremiah wrote in Hebrew. This verse is the only verse in Jeremiah written in Aramaic. It does not fit into the context of the passage.

It is a prophecy (allegedly, uttered by God) that interrupts Jeremiah’s description of God. Here is the full context for a comparison: 10 "But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth will tremble, and the nations will not be able to abide his indignation. 11 Thus you will say to them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they will perish from the earth, and from under these heavens. 12 He has made the earth by his power, he has established the world by his wisdom, and has stretched out the heavens by his discretion." (KJV) Without verse 11, Jeremiah’s description of God flows smoothly.

To sum it up, the repetitive copying and editing of the Old Testament manuscripts over the centuries produced several versions of the Old Testament.

God of Abraham

How Abraham Discovered God
It is a well-known fact that Christianity came from Judaism. Both religions worship the same god, Yahweh, but they differ in their perception of him.

The Jews (his early worshippers) perceive him as one person while the Christians (his later worshippers) perceive him as three: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

This striking difference is evidence that the image of Yahweh evolved in the eyes of his worshippers.

A careful study reveals that ever since the time of Abraham, which is as far back as our study can go, the image and the will of God have been changing

Other than the accounts of Genesis, we have no evidence that Abraham existed. According to the Jewish Calendar, the Bible places his birth at about 1815 BCE

Many scholars place Abraham in the 19th century BCE. Abraham was born in Sumer. During his time Semitic Akkadian displaced the Sumerian language. So he probably spoke Semitic Akkadian, and definitely not Hebrew. At his time the Hebrew alphabet and language did not exist.

Since Genesis was written in Hebrew and Abraham spoke Semitic Akkadian, we can say with surety that his words recorded in Genesis could not be the actual words he uttered.

Abraham came from Ur, a city in Sumer west of the Euphrates. Abraham and his father were pagans. They worshipped Sumerian gods: "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Long ago your ancestors-Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor... served other gods." (Joshua 24:2 NRSV)

For the first seventy-five years of his life Abraham worshipped "other gods": Sumerian gods. Then, God called him out of his family and out of his country.

"Now the LORD had said to Abram, Get yourself out of your country, and from your kindred, and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. ... and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran." (Genesis 12:1 KJV)

Judaism did not begin with Adam. Adam was not a Jew. God was never called "the God of Adam." Also, Judaism did not begin with Noah. Noah was not a Jew.

Noah was Abraham’s ancestor and Abraham abandoned the gods of his ancestors. Noah, according to Genesis, died when Abraham was 60 years old.

Thus, while Noah was alive Abraham worshipped pagan gods, the gods of his ancestors; and this includes Noah. Fifteen years after Noah’s death, God called Abraham out of his family and, in effect, out of the "other gods."

The religion of God was Judaism and Judaism began with circumcision. Abraham was the first to be circumcised. The term "the God of Abraham" implies that Abraham established the religion of Judaism.

Abraham is the father of the Jews
Who was the god of Abraham? The word "God" in the English versions of the Old Testament, in 213 instances is the translation of the Hebrew word "El."

For example, God is called "El" fifty-six times in the book of Job. "God {Heb. El} thunders marvelously with his voice." (Job 37:5 KJV) The proper name of the god of Abraham was El.

In the following verse Jacob (also known as Israel ) built an altar to god El: "There he erected an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel {El, god of Israel}." (Genesis 33:20 RSV)

"And God spoke to Israel {Jacob} in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I. And he said, I am God {Heb. El}, the God {Heb. Elohim} of your father." (Genesis 46:2-3 KJV)

The phrase "El, the god of your father" makes it clear that the proper name of the god of the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) was El.

Who was El? El was the highest god of the Canaanite pantheon. He is mentioned in numerous passages of the Ugaritic texts. For example, "Your decree, O El, is wise, Your wisdom is eternal ..."

The Ugaritic texts were written ca. 1400 BCE. They were discovered in modern Syria. Abraham discovered God in Haran, Syria, and then moved to Canaan.

In the English Bibles God is also called "the most high God," which in the Hebrew is "El Elyon." "Elyon" means "most high."

The Canaanite god El was the most high god (the head god of the Canaanite pantheon) this is why his name was "El Elyon."

Melchizedek was a Canaanite king, the king of the city of Salem. He was also the priest of El Elyon.

The following verse shows that Abraham worshipped the god of Melchizedek: "And Melchizedek king of Salem ... was the priest of the most high God {Heb. El Elyon}. And he ... said, Blessed be Abram {the early name of Abraham} of the most high God {Heb. El Elyon}, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most high God {Heb. El Elyon} ... And Abraham said ... I have lift up mine hand to the LORD, the most high God {Heb. El Elyon}, the possessor of heaven and earth ..." (Genesis 14:18-20, 22 KJV)

The phrase "the most high God" identifies the head god of the Canaanite pantheon. It was customary in the ancient Near Eastern cultures for people to worship the god of their king.

Therefore, the Canaanites of the city of Salem worshipped El Elyon, the god of their king, who was also the priest of this god. Certainly, Abraham did not introduce the god El, to the Canaanites.

He dwelled among them as a stranger. He was not their king to impose his god on them. He learned about El Elyon from those who had been worshipping El before him.

Professor William Albright wrote, "Thanks to the work of E. A. Spieser and Frank M. Cross, Jr., it has become clear that early Hebrew religious traditions rest on pre-Mosaic foundations."

Part of these pre-Mosaic foundations was the worship of the Canaanite god El. The patriarchs worshipped one god, while they believed that other gods existed. They practiced henotheism.

Henotheism continued among the Hebrews until the establishment of monotheism, sometime during the exile (soon after 586 BCE).

Words have meanings relative to time and place. As time goes on, the meanings of words change. Originally "El" was a name: the name of the head god of the Canaanite pantheon.

After worshipping "El" for several centuries, the Canaanites abandoned worshipping him and switched to the worship of Baal. After that, the name El lost its prominence.

It acquired additional meanings: "(a) god," "(a) power," or "mighty." In the Old Testament, as a rule (i.e. 213 times out of 245), the word "El" is the name of God and in a few exceptional instances is used as a generic term: "(a) god," "(a) power," "mighty," etc. Here is an example where after the establishing of monotheism (after 586 BCE) the name El is used as a generic term ("a god"): "For you will worship no other god {Heb. el}: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God {Heb. el}." (Exodus 34:14 KJV)

The Origins of the Story of Noah’s Flood
The Jewish Calendar is based on the Old Testament and it dates the creation of the world at 3761 BCE, that is 5,760 years ago (present: 1999 CE). It was put together at about 360 CE.

The Jews have been observing this calendar ever since. For the Christians the date of the creation of the world was originally calculated by Archbishop James Ussher of Armagh in 1650-1654 CE. He, too, based his calculations on the Old Testament.

His calculations were exhibited in the Bible in the King James Version, the Bishop Lloyd’s edition, 1701 CE. According to Archbishop Ussher, the creation took place in 4004 BCE. Today, many believers adhere to the calculations of Archbishop Ussher.

The Jewish Calendar is probably more biblically accurate than Archbishop Ussher’s calculations. The Jews probably had genealogical information that is not available in today’s Old Testament.

The Bible says that the human kind is less that six thousand years old, while scientists have traced sculls and bones of human beings that existed more than 50 thousand years ago.

According to biblical archeologists, Moses died around 1245 BCE, that is, during the reign of Ramesses II (1279-1212 BCE). According to the Jewish calendar, Bible places Noah’s flood at about 2105 BCE.

(Click at the underlined text to go to the hronological chart and then click at the destination point to return here.) One can calulate this his date through the biblical genealogies, starting with Moses.

From Moses to Noah the ible lists about fifteen generations, a period that amounts to a few hundred years. (See chapter,The Jewish Calendar from Adam to Moses. (Again, after viewing the Jewish callendar click at the destination point to return here.)

The story of the flood leaves many questions unanswered. For example, how did animals that require the wet and freezing temperatures of the north pole survived with animals and insects that require the dry and hot temperatures of the Sahara desert.

They were all enclosed in a box for over a year. Or, how did the saltwater fish and the fresh water fish survive in the same water (the water or the flood). Or, how did the carnivorous animals survive after they came out of the ark.

Normally, they would have eaten the few pairs of herbivorous animals of the ark and then starve to death. Either God solved these problems with miracles that are not mentioned in the Bible, or the story is a legend.

Furthermore, there is no biological evidence that around 2105 BCE the animal population of the world diminished to a pair of each species. There is no geological evidence indicating that at 2105 BCE the whole earth was covered with water fifteen cubits  above the tip of Mount Everest (measuring from today’s sea level, over 29,028 feet deep) for about seven and a half months and the flat land for about eleven months.

Many are pointing to sea-life fossils on mountains as evidence that the flood covered the mountains. Such sea-life fossils are millions of years old, while the flood, according to the Bible, took place at about 2105 BCE.

Furthermore, there are Egyptian mummies that are five to six thousand years old. They predate the flood. Those mummies have been preserved dry up to today.

Supposedly, after the flood therewere only eight people alive in the whole world (the family of Noah). But historical and archaeological records show that before and after 2105 BCE there were millions of people on the face of the earth.

Sites in Palestine and Anatolia that existed thousands of years before 2105 BCE show no evidence of destruction by flood or interruption of civilization (other than the usual destruction from wars and declines from migrations).

The city of Thebes was for many centuries the capital of ancient Egypt. It originated in prehistoric times and became prominent during the Old Kingdom (ca. 2755-2255 BCE). Scattered over the site of Thebes are the remnants of numerous temples, tombs, and other monuments of various eras.

Before and after the time of the flood pharaohs ruled over hundreds of thousands of Egyptians. Representations (on Egyptian granite) made before 2000 BCE portray black men with lips as full and hair as closely curled as today’s blacks.

Obviously, the black race did not evolve from Noah right after 2105 BCE. It existed before and after that time, as did the Chinese race and other peoples.

Genesis states that Noah lived three hundred fifty years after the flood: "And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years." (Genesis 9:28 KJV) He died at 1755 BCE. Calculations of the genealogical ages of Genesis show that Noah died when Abraham was 60 years old.

That is, when Abraham was still in Sumer (Mesopotamia),  the area where a great flood took place. Yet, the Bible does not indicate that Abraham had a relationship with Noah or that he even knew him. When Noah died he was the oldest person on earth.

All who were alive at that time, from Abraham to the kings of Egypt, were indebted to him. At that time, in the ancient Near East patriarchs were revered. Yet, the alleged patriarch of all post-flood humankind lived his final decades in anonymity. Allegedly, he died in historical times, in which Sumerian and Egyptian inscriptions abound.

Many grave monuments of Egyptian and Sumerian-Akkadian kings survive, but, to our knowledge, no monument was raised to mark the spot where the second father of mankind (first being Adam) was buried. To our knowledge, no account exists describing his burial or his grave.

The answer to these puzzling questions is that the legend of Noah’s flood is a copy of one or more legends that circulated in the ancient Near East. These legends are recorded in Akkadian texts, which date to about 1800 BCE, long before Genesis was written. One of them is The Epic of Gilgamesh, which was discovered in 1853 in the library of Ashurbanipal in Nineveh.

Many details of this epic are strikingly similar to the biblical legend of Noah. Most scholars agree that the biblical account is dependent on the Gilgamesh text but there is a possibility that both may depend on an even earlier common source.

Even the conservative Christian editors of The NIV Study Bible acknowledge that the eleventh tablet of The Epic of Gilgamesh is similar in its outline to the story of Noah.

In both versions the heroes are informed by divine revelation that a great flood will occur. They were given instructions to build a boat to save themselves from drowning.

The similarities include such details as the construction of the boat, the embarkation, the release of a dove and a raven at the end of the flood, the landing on a mountain, and the subsequent sacrificing.

Here are some excerpts for comparison:

Gilgamesh, tablet 11 "Dismantle your house, build a boat ...	Genesis 6:14 You make an ark [boat] of gopher wood;
Put aboard the seed of all living things, into the boat.	6:19 And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort you will bring into the ark,
The boat you are to build will have her dimensions in proportion ...	6:15 And this is the fashion which you will make it of:
Ten dozen cubits the height of each of the walls, Ten dozen cubits each edge of the square deck ...	6:15 The length of the ark will be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.
Gave her six decks ...	6:16 ... with lower, second, and third stories will you make it.
Three sar of bitumen I poured into the kiln, Three sar of pitch I poured inside ...	6:14 ... and will pitch it within and without with pitch.
Enter the boat and shut the door! I went aboard the boat and shut the door.	7:1 You Come and all your house into the ark; 7:7 Noah went ... into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
A black cloud came up from the base of the sky. For six days and seven nights the wind blew, Flood and tempest, overwhelmed the land ...	7:12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights. 7:18 the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth;
For all mankind returned to clay ...	7:22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died.
I opened a hatch, and light fell upon my face,	8:6 ... Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made:
The boat had come to rest on Mount Numush ...	8:4 And the ark rested ... upon the mountains of Ararat.
When the seventh day arrived,	8:10 And he stayed yet other seven days;
I put out and released a dove. The dove went; it came back, For no perching place was visible to it,	8:8 Also he sent forth a dove from him, 8:9 But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned to him into the ark,
I put out and released a raven. The raven went and saw the waters receding.	8:7 And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth.
Then I put out everything to the four winds, and I made a sacrifice."	8:20 And Noah built an altar ... and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
"When ... the Great Goddess arrived, She lifted up the great jewels ... "... verily by the lapis around my neck and I will not forget these days Surely I will remember and not forget."	9:13, 16 I set my bow in the cloud, and it will be for a sign of a covenant between me and the earth. When the bow is in the cloud, then I will look upon it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature ... (NASB)

Geological Evidence Concerning the Flood
The archaeologist Leonard Wooley in 1929 in the excavation of Ur, in southern Babylonia, made an astounding discovery.

His crew was digging at the depth of about forty feet. They found under layers of rubbish the tombs of King Mes-kalam-dug and Queen Shub-ad, who ruled sometime toward the end of the 4th millennium BCE. Under their tombs they found more rubbish, clay tablets, pottery, and implements.

The relics indicated a continuous history. When they dug deeper, they discovered a clean water-laid stratum of clay. This layer was eight feet deep. Under it they discovered normal soil, which contained more rubbish, implements, and other man-made objects.

However, the articles under this water-laid layer were of a different character than those above it. The layer of clay indicated a distinct break in the historical continuity of the archaeological relics.

The objects found below this flood level consist of painted pottery, metal, flint, and implements. Above the flood deposit were found such tools and artifacts that indicate a definitely different mode of living. A shaft was dug some distance away and revealed similar results. The flood layer was throughout the area.

The evidence excavated by Leonard Wooley dates to about 3200 BCE. The layer of clay of about 8 feet thick was caused by a flood of unprecedented magnitude.

However, the flood was regional. It covered a strip of 400 miles long and 100 miles wide in the Tigris-Euphrates valley. (It is likely that the torrential rain may have caused the overflow of a large lake in the mountains of north of Mesopotamia. This overflow may have caused the erosion and eventual collapse of the earth that contained such a lake.

The spilling of that lake may have contributed to the volume that water.) The flood wiped out the local Sumerian civilization along the banks of the river Euphrates and assumed great importance in the minds of the Sumerians who survived it and in the traditions of the Akkadians and the Babylonians who came after them.

Another startling discovery was made by the archaeologist Stephen Langdon at Kish (another Sumerian city). His discovery confirmed the findings of Leonard Wooley at Ur. In the location of Kish, Professor Langdon found a stratum eighteen inches thick consisting of fine river sand, shells, and small fish.

This layer separated the debris above from the debris below consistently around the entire site. Below the stratum of the river sand, to about fifteen feet, Professor Langdon found a continuous civilization with implements of the Neolithic age and painted pots dating not later than 4000 BCE. The excavations at Kish show a complete and continuous stratification.

Josephus, the Jewish historian who lived in the first century CE, tried to prove in his writings that the ark was still on Ararat. People have been trying to prove this in the past two thousand years.

In the 20th century more claims than ever were made. However, their evidence did not withstand rigid, scientific scrutiny. Eyewitnesses contradict each other.

The photographs they have produced are either missing or have been exposed as counterfeit. Pieces of wood claimed to be parts of the ark are dated to the 7th century CE.  Nonetheless, the belief that the ark is still on Ararat is strong in America.

Jesus believed that the story of Noah was real. He said, "For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away." (Matthew 24:37-39 NASB) This is another clue that Jesus was not omniscient.

The Jewish Calendar from Adam to Moses.

(After viewing the Jewish Calendar, Click here to return to the text.)

According to the calendar of the Jews, the creation took place at approximately 3761 BCE. From Adam to Moses, the genealogies are continuous.

From Moses to Jesus the genealogies have gaps. Archeologists estimate the date of the exodus at about 1250 BCE and Moses’ death at about 1245 BCE.

The forty years that supposedly Moses spent in the desert is a figure of speech. The phrase "forty years" indicates a long time. How long? At the most, a few years.

At 1209 BCE the Hebrews were already established in Israel.

 

Name	Date CE	Jewish Year	Age	Exodus
Adam Seth Enosh Cainan Mahalaleel Jared Enoch Methuselah Lamech Noah Shem Arphaxad  Salah Eber Peleg Reu Serug Nahor Terah Abraham ..... Isaac Jacob	3761 BCE 3631 3526 3436 3366 3301 3139 3074 2887 2705 2205 2105 Noah's Flood 2070 2040 2006 1976 1944 1914 1885 1815 1755 Noah died 1715 1655	0 130 235 325 395 460 622 687 874 1056 1556 1656  1691 1721 1755 1785 1817 1847 1876 1946 ..... 2046 2106	130 105 90 70 65 162 65 187 182 500 100 35 30 34 30 32 30 29 70 100 ...... 60 ......	5:3 5:6 5:9 5:12 5:15 5:18 5:21 5:25 5:28 5:32 11:10 11:12 11:14 11:16 11:18 11:20 11:22 11:24 11:26 21:4 ..... 25:26

 

Jacob and Kohath enter Egypt	1525 BCE	2236		Jacob was 130 years old when he entered Egypt (Genesis 47:9)
Kohath begat Amram	1445 BCE(approx.)	2316 (approx.)	80	Kohath was 133 years old when he died(Exodus 6:18)
Amram begat Moses	1365 BCE(approx.)	2396 (approx.)	80	Amram died 137 years old.(Exodus 6:20)
Exodus	1250 BCE
Moses died	1245 (approx.)	2516 (approx.)		He died 120 years old (Deut 34:7)
Common Era:	0	3761
Present year:	1999	5760	Years from creation to today.

God of Moses

Who was Moses God
Moses was, allegedly, adopted into Pharaoh’s household. If so, he would have been educated like a prince.

He would have been exposed to the innovative religious ideas of Pharaoh Akhenaton (or Akhenaten), who reigned for nearly 17 years, a little more than a century before Moses.

But even if Moses had not been part of Pharaoh’s household, he could have learned about the god of Akhenaton from other Egyptian sources.

Akhenaton worshipped only the god Re-Harakhty, Aton, the Sun-disc. His Hymn to the Sun-disc (The Hymn to Aton) describes the sun-god Re-Harakhty as the creator and sustainer of the universe.

Akhenaton abolished the worshipping of images. Moses did likewise; he prohibited worshipping images. Akhenaton abolished the great hope of all Egyptians, the multi-faceted world of the beyond, the underworld over which Osiris presided.

Moses did not tell the Hebrews about a world where dead people continue to live. Sheol is mentioned in the Pentateuch but is not considered important enough to be described.

It is presented as the grave, the final destination of a person. The Hebrew god did not judge the dead. He had no contact with them: "... the slain that lie in the grave, whom you {God} remember no more: and they are cut off from your hand." (Psalm 88:5 KJV)

The most important influence of Akhenaton’s religion on pre-exilic Judaism was the absence of the underworld and the total separation from God after death. Moses may have been inspired by the Egyptians in naming his god "Yahweh." "Yahweh" is an abbreviated name.

In Egypt personal names were abbreviated in everyday use, and the same was probably true of divine names. William Albright wrote, "... The full name YHWH ‘Yahweh-asher-yihweh’ means literally, ‘He who causes to exist what comes into existence,’ i.e. the Creator of everything that exists, is an exact translation of a rather common Egyptian liturgical formula, applied to the chief god, who is also the creator of the world, according to Egyptian theology."

The Egyptians formed several syncretisms between the god Re and other gods, resulting in such names as Re-Harakhty, Amon-Re, Sebek-Re, and Khnum-Re. Similarly, Moses combined two gods into one: Yahweh-El.

The Hymn to Aton shows from where the Hebrews acquired some of their ideas about their god Yahweh.

The sequence of the verses has been re-arranged to allow you to compare this hymn to psalm 104. Both are hymns to the creator of the universe.

They both use the same motifs and often use similar wording. Since the Hebrew writer translated from Egyptian, some of the differences may be due to translating Egyptian idiomatic expressions (such as "a Nile in heaven"):

The Hymn to Aton "For you have set a Nile in heaven that it may descend ... and make waves upon the mountains To water their fields."

Hymn to Yahweh: Psalm 104:6-8 the waters {of the rain} stood above the mountains ... they fled ... they hasted away ... they go down by the valleys. (KJV)

The Hymn to Aton "You make a Nile in the underworld, you bring it forth as you desire ..."

Hymn to Yahweh: Psalm 104:10 He sends the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills. (KJV)

The Hymn to Aton "All beasts are content with their pasturage; The birds which fly from their nests, their wings are stretched out in praise of your Ka. Trees and plants are flourishing."

Hymn to Yahweh: Psalm 104:11-13 {springs} give drink to every beast of the field ... By them will the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches. ... the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your works. (KJV)

The Hymn to Aton "Darkness is a shroud, and the earth is in stillness ... Every lion is come forth from his den; All creeping things ..." At daybreak, when you arise on the horizon

Hymn to Yahweh: Psalm 104:20-21 You make darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth. The young lions roar after their prey ... (KJV)

The Hymn to Aton "At daybreak, when you arise on the horizon {Men} awake and ... they do their work."

Hymn to Yahweh: Psalm 104:(22-23) The sun arises ... Man goes forth to his work and to his labor until the evening. (KJV)

Miscellaneous parallels between the Hymn to Aton and the Old Testament

Aton created the languages ..."You set every man in his place ... their tongues are separate ... you distinguish the peoples."

Yahweh created the languages..."And the LORD said, Behold, the people ... have all one language. ... let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech." (Genesis 11:6, 7 KJV)

Aton created the seasons..."You created the seasons, in order to make all your creation thrive; the winter to cool them, the heat that they may taste you."

Yahweh created the seasons..."And the LORD said in his heart ... While the earth remains, seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night will not cease." (Genesis 8:21-22 KJV)

Akhenaton was probably a henotheist. The Hymn to Aton reads, "the only god {Aton}, beside whom there is no other ..."

However, this phrase may be just a euphemism because Aton was not the only god. The following quotation from the same hymn says that Aton begat Akhenaton (Akhenaton came out of the body of Aton):

Aton begat King Akhenaten "You raise them (creatures) for your son who came forth from your body, the king of Upper and Lower Egypt ... Akhenaten, and the great royal consort Nefertiti."

Yahweh begat King Solomon "I will declare the decree: the LORD has said to me, You {Solomon} are my Son; this day have I begotten you." (Psalm 2:7 KJV)

Also, an inscription of Akhenaton at El-Amarna, his royal city, calls Akhenaton the god Horus: "The living Horus ... Gold-Horus: Who exalts the name of Aten; the King of Upper and Lower Egypt ... the son of Re ... Akhenaten ..."

The Egyptians considered Akhenaton a god (Egyptian kings were sons of gods); such was their culture.

Where was Jesus born
John wrote that the Jews believed Jesus was from Galilee: "On hearing his words, some of the people said, ‘Surely this man is the Prophet [the messiah}.’ Others said ‘How can Christ {the messiah} come from Galilee?

Does not the scripture say that the Christ will come from David’s family and from Bethlehem, the town that David lived?’ Thus the people were divided because of Jesus." (John 7:40-43 NIV)

They were not divided on the issue of where Jesus was born. They were divided on the issue on whether Jesus could be the messiah without being born in Bethlehem. None of them argued that Jesus was from Bethlehem.

The issue of Jesus’ birthplace came up for consideration in the Sanhedrin when Nicodemus (a member of the Sanhedrin) raised a question about the ministry of Jesus.

Nicodemus told the Sanhedrin, "‘Does our law condemn anyone without first hearing him to find out what he is doing?’

They replied, ‘Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.’ Then each went to his own home." (John 7:51-53 NIV)

Nicodemus did not contend that Jesus was from Bethlehem. The leaders of the Jews were positive that Jesus was from Galilee. The writer of John did not dispute their belief.

Could it be that the members of the Sanhedrin were mistaken about the birthplace of Jesus? Who were they? They were the leaders of a small society.

The Sanhedrin was the supreme Jewish council in Jerusalem, which acted as a judicial court for the religious and internal affairs of the Jews. It was the political link between the Jews and the Roman governor.

It is not unreasonable to assume that the Sanhedrin had some access to the Roman census that recorded Jesus at 6 or 7 CE (when Jesus was about twelve years old). It is also reasonable to assume that the Sanhedrin had informers keeping track of their own people, the Jews of Judea (where Bethlehem was).

In those communities "everyone knew everyone." The neighbors and peers of Jesus knew where he was born. Since Bethlehem was small, it is unlikely that the Jewish leaders would not know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

Not only the Pharisees and the people believed that Jesus was from Galilee, but even his own disciples, who were Galileans: "Philip finds Nathanael, and says to him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And Nathanael said to him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?" (John 1:45-46 KJV)

John did not indicate that Philip or Nathaniel were wrong. People in those days were identified by the pace they were born or by their father.

Philip’s expression "Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph" was a typical form of identification. In the gospel of John, the plaque on Jesus’ cross read, "Jesus of Nazareth the king of the Jews." (John 19:19 KJV)

John never raised the issue that this plaque was erroneous or that Philip and Nathanael wrongly believed that Jesus was from Nazareth. Allegedly, even Jesus admitted to Paul he was born in Nazareth: "And I {Paul} answered, Who are you, Lord? And he said to me, I am Jesus of Nazareth ..." (Acts 22:8 KJV)

Disciples

Did the Disciples believe Jesus was God
After Jesus Died, Did His Disciples Believe He Was God?

According to Acts, after the ascension of Jesus, when Peter testified for Jesus in front of thousands of Jews in Jerusalem he did not claim that Jesus was God or a god. (Acts 2:22 NRSV)

He said, "You that are Israelites, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know ... " (Acts 2:22 NRSV)

Peter called Jesus "a man." He said that God did miracles (signs) through Jesus. Peter did not say that Jesus did miracles. God did miracles through Jesus. (Acts 2:36 NRSV)

When Peter said "God," he meant "Yahweh," he did not mean Jesus. The Israelites who heard Peter say "God" understood "Yahweh," not Jesus. (Acts 2:36 NRSV) Peter never used the word "god" in reference to Jesus.

Then Peter said, "Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him {Jesus} both Lord {Master} and Messiah {of the Jews}, this Jesus whom you crucified {i.e. you turned him in to the Romans}." (Acts 2:36 NRSV)

Peter said, God appointed Jesus as Lord. The Jews used the term "Lord" in reference to their king-messiah. Peter said, God appointed Jesus as the messiah.

When he said "messiah" he meant "messiah of the Jews," not "savior of the world." The Jews understood "messiah of the Jews." Peter also said, "Since he {King David} was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would put one of his descendants {i.e. Jesus} on his throne." (Acts 2:30 NRSV)

Peter said that God will put Jesus on the throne of King David, the throne of Israel. In other words, Jesus will be the king of Israel.

Peter was preaching to Jews, not to gentiles. He told them, "For the promise is for you {the Jews}, for your children, and for all {the Jews} who are far away {the Diaspora Jews}, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him." (Acts 2:39 NRSV)

Peter was preaching to Jews, about Jesus, the man who was appointed by God as the messiah of the Jews. Later on, in front of another group of Jews Peter preached, "The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant Jesus ..." (Acts 3:13 NRSV)

Peter presented Jesus as the servant of God. He did not tell them that Jesus is God, or a god. Later on, Peter, John and their friends prayed to God, not to Jesus: "... they raised their voices together to God and said, ‘Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth, the sea, and everything in them ... the peoples of Israel, gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed..." (Acts 4:24, 27 NRSV)

They prayed to God "who made the heaven and the earth, the sea, etc." Unlike the writer of the Gospel of John, they believed that God "made the heaven and the earth," not Jesus.

These verses show that Peter did not believe in the Logos doctrine. Peter never said that Jesus pre-existed. Peter was an Ebionite.

Irenaeus wrote, "The so-called Ebionites admit that the world was made by the true God {the Father of Jesus} ..."

The Logos doctrine was the doctrine of the Hellenist Christians. Further on in their prayer Peter, John, and their friends said, "... while you {God} stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus." (Acts 4:30 NRSV)

They believed that God was the one who stretched his hand and healed people through Jesus.

Jesus was merely the holy servant of God, like Moses. Peter believed the Father is the god of Jesus: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!" (1 Peter 1:3 NRSV)

This is similar to what Jesus said himself: "I ascend to my Father, and your Father; to my God and your God." (John 20:17 KJV)

The second letter of Peter, was not written by Peter. But even the writer of this letter differentiates God from Jesus: "May grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord." (2 Peter 1:2 NRSV)

He identified two persons: God and Jesus. The title of the Father is God and the title of Jesus is Lord.

Peter believed that God is one person. James held the same belief. He wrote, "There is only one {Gr. e i V , referring to one person} lawgiver and judge the one who is able to save and destroy." (James 4:12 NASB) The phrase "there is only one lawgiver and judge" refers to the Father of Jesus, God.

Jesus did not give the law. God gave the law and he is the only one who will judge the world. "But God is the judge." (Psalms 75:7 KJV) "... God will judge the righteous and the wicked." (Ecclesiastes 3:17 KJV) James also wrote, "You believe that God is one {Gr. e i V , referring to one person}; you do well." (James 2:19 NRSV)

James referred to God as one person.

James 4:12 e i V e s t i n o n o m o q e t h V = one {person} is the lawgiver

James 2:19 e i V e s t i n o q e o V = one {person} is God

To James and to the Jewish Christians Jesus was just a the messiah of the Jews.

Eusebius wrote, "They {the Ebionites} regarded Him as plain and ordinary, a man esteemed as righteous through growth of character and nothing more, the child of a normal union between a man and Mary."

He did not perform miracles because he was God. Nicodemus may be called one of the original Jewish Christians. He believed that Jesus performed miracles because God was with him, not because he was God: "This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him.’ " (John 3:2 RSV)

Similarly, the Ebionites believed that God was with Jesus, not that Jesus was God. They believed he had died and rose spiritually (not in the flesh).

Their claim that Jesus rose was not unusual for those days. They did not make his death and resurrection a central factor in their interpretation of his significance.

They did not believe that Jesus died for their sins. Matthew 1:21 says Jesus will save the world from their sins: "She {Mary}will bear a son, and you {Joseph} are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." (Matthew 1:21 NRSV)

This verse was not part of their gospel. As mentioned earlier, their gospel of Matthew did not include the first two chapters.

The Ebionites believed that "even after Christ descended on Jesus in the form of a dove at his baptism, Jesus remained simply a man."

They saw him as a holy man who brought the law back to the true ideas of Moses. They believed that Jesus was going to return with the angels of God to redeem Israel.

Did Mark Believe Jesus Was God?
Mark’s source is probably Peter who was with the historical Jesus.

Bishop Papias (a defender of Christianity, who flourished in early 2nd century) wrote, "Mark became Peter’s interpreter and wrote accurately all that he remembered, not, indeed, in order, of the things said or done by the Lord. For he had not heard the Lord, nor had he followed him, but later on, as I said, followed Peter, who used to give teaching as necessity demanded but not making, as it were, an arrangement of the Lord’s oracles, so that Mark did nothing wrong in thus writing down {not in historical order} single points as he remembered them.

For to one thing he gave attention to leave out nothing of what he had heard and to make no false statements in them." According to Papias, the Gospel of Mark is based on Mark’s memories of Peter’s memories. Peter in his first letter called Mark "my son": "Your sister church ... sends you greetings; and so does my son Mark." (1 Peter 5:13 NRSV)

Mark’s source is probably Peter and Peter knew Jesus long before Paul.

In the chronological study of the evolution of Jesus’ image from man to God Mark’s gospel must be placed ahead of Paul’s letters (even though Paul wrote before Mark ) because Mark’s source is older.

Since Peter was Mark’s source, his gospel is quite compatible with the Jewish Christian view of Jesus.

However, his gospel contains some Hellenistic doctrines. For example, "... the Son of man came ... to give his life a ransom for many." (Mark 10:45 KJV) This is not what Peter and the Jewish Christians believed. When Peter preached to the Jews (in the book of Acts), he never mentioned or implied that Jesus’ death was a sacrifice for the atonement of sins.

Peter and the Jewish Christians believed that Jesus’ death was prophesied in the book of Daniel: "After the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one will be cut off {killed} and will have nothing ..." (Daniel 9:26 NRSV)

The book of Daniel does not say or imply that the death of this anointed one will be a ransom for the sins of many. Peter and the Jewish Christians performed sacrifices and baptism for the atonement of their sins.

Mark is the only gospel writer who believed that Jesus was a mere man. "And Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.’ " (Mark 10:18 NASB)

Jesus said this himself: Don’t call me good, only God is good. He excluded himself from being God. This verse is compelling evidence that Mark believed Jesus was a normal human being.

The literal interpretation of the phrase "o u d e i V a g a q o V e i m e i e i V o q e o V " is "No one is good except one person, God."

The Greek word "e i V " indicates one person. In other words, Mark’s verse in the Greek text indicates that God is one person (not a trinity).

Jesus did not say "God is three lords." He said "God is one Lord": "‘The Lord our God is one Lord;’ And the scribe said to him, ‘Right, Teacher, you have truly stated that he is one {Gr. one = e i V , referring to one person}; And there is no one else besides him’ {Gr. him = a u t o V , referring to one person} ... And when Jesus saw that he answered intelligently, He said to him, ‘you are not far from the kingdom of God’ " (Mark 12:29, 32, 34 NASB)

The scribe was a Jew. Jews did not believe in the Trinity. Neither did Jesus. The scribe told Jesus that God is one person: "e i V ": one person. Jesus did not correct him. Jesus approved of his answer.

Mark believed that Jesus was the messiah of the Jews, whom the Jews called "Son of God": "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ {messiah}, the Son of God." (Mark 1:1 KJV) Again, "Son of God" was the auxiliary title of the messiah of the Jews. The following quotations are parallel accounts.

According to Mark, Peter called Jesus "the messiah." According to Matthew, Peter called him, "the messiah, the Son of God." The latter is the complete title of the messiah of the Jews.

Mark: messiah "{Peter said:}You are the Christ {messiah}." (Mark 8:29 KJV)

Matthew: messiah, the son of the living God "{Peter said:}You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (Matthew 16:16 KJV)

Nowhere in his gospel did Mark indicate that Jesus pre-existed. Such a belief is fundamental to Hellenistic Christianity.

Had Mark and the rest of the Synoptists believed that Jesus pre-existed, they would have mentioned it. They had many opportunities to mention it in their descriptions of Jesus.

John who believed that Jesus pre-existed, indicated his belief explicitly and in numerous instances.

Mark does not say that Jesus was a god or God. According to Mark, Jesus excluded himself from being God: "And Jesus said to him ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.’" (Mark 10:18 NASB)

Jesus refused to be called "good" because only God is "good." In other words, Jesus is not God. The literal interpretation of the phrase "o u d e i V a g a q o V e i m e i e i V o q e o V " is "No one is good except one person, God."

The Greek word "e i V " indicates one person. In other words, Mark’s verse in the Greek text indicates that God is one person.

Jesus did not say "God is three lords." He said "God is one Lord": "‘The Lord our God is one Lord;’ And the scribe said to him, ‘Right, Teacher, you have truly stated that he is one {Gr. one = e i V , referring to one person}; And there is no one else besides him’ {Gr. him = a u t o V , referring to one person} ... And when Jesus saw that he answered intelligently, He said to him, ‘you are not far from the kingdom of God’ " (Mark 12:29, 32, 34 NASB)

The scribe was a Jew. Jews did not believe in the Trinity. Neither did Jesus. The scribe told Jesus that God is "e i V ": one person. Jesus did not correct the scribe.

He did not explain to him that there was a Godhead of three persons and that he was one of the three. Simply, he approved of the scribe’s answer.

Had Jesus believed that he was one of the three deities that make up the godhead of Trinity and avoided to tell this to this scribe and the rest of the Jews, it would have been an incredible fiasco: God misrepresenting himself to humans.

Mark portrays Jesus as not omnipotent. Only God is omnipotent. Jesus said, "But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give." (Mark 10:40 KJV)

Jesus had limited authority. Mark portrays Jesus as not omniscient.Only God is omniscient. Jesus said, "But of that day and that hour no man knows, no, not the angels who are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father." (Mark 13:32 KJV) Jesus did not know the day of his return.

Here is another example where Mark’s gospel contains a Hellenist Christian doctrine. Mark wrote that Jesus had the power to forgive sins. (The Jewish Christians did not believe that Jesus had the authority to forgive sins. But the Hellenist Christians did.) However, this power did not make Jesus a god, because, according to John, Jesus’ disciples had such power.

Jesus forgives sins "...Jesus ... said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’ Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, ‘Why does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?’

At once Jesus perceived in his spirit that they were discussing these questions among themselves; and he said to them, Why do you raise such questions in your hearts?

Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and take your mat and walk’?

But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"--he said to the paralytic-- ‘I say to you, stand up, take your mat and go to your home.’ " (Mark 2:5, 7-8, 11 KJV)

The disciples forgive sins "{Jesus said to his disciples} If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." (John 20:23 NIV)

The Hellenist Christians believed that the power to forgive sins was given by God to Jesus, and Jesus delegated it to his disciples. They believed that the power to forgive sins is lesser than the power to perform miracles. Jesus demonstrated this by performing a miracle:healing the paralytic.

In this account, Mark indicated that Jesus had the power to read the minds of the scribes. This power, too, was given to him by God, because, according to Mark, Jesus was not omniscient.

Mark did not portray Jesus as always having the power to read minds. Here are some examples: "... when he {Jesus} had spit on his eyes, and put his hand upon him, he asked him if he saw anything." (Mark 8:23 KJV) "... the teachers of the law arguing with them. As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they ... ran to greet him. ‘What are you arguing with them about?’ he {Jesus} asked." (Mark 9:14-16 NIV) "Jesus asked the boy’s father, ‘How long has he {the boy} been like this?’ From childhood he {the father} answered." (Mark 9:21 NIV)

Jesus did not know who "touched his clothes": "... Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, "Who touched my clothes?" ... He looked all around to see who had done it.

But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth {that she had touched his clothes}." (Mark 5:30, 32-33 NRSV)

Family

Did Jesus family believe he was God
While Jesus Was Alive, Did His Family Believe He Was God?

If there was only one family in the world who would know Jesus it would be his family. They lived with him. They knew him best.

Did they believe that jesus was God? Did they believe he was their creator? How did people treat God?

Moses was afraid to even look at GOD: "And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God." (Exodus 3:6 KJV)Moses’ reaction seems appropriate.

Did Jesus’ family treat him with respect? Mary was irritated with Jesus: "... his mother said to him, ‘Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety’ " (Luke 2:48 NRSV)

His family and his relatives did not respect jesus: "Jesus said ... ‘Only in his home town, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor.’ " (Mark 6:4 NIV) He spoke of himself.

His relatives and his own family ("his own house") did not honor him. As a result, Jesus was not connected with his mother: "Jesus said to her, Woman, what have I to do with you?" (John 2:4 KJV)

Isaiah wrote, "Who has understood the mind of the LORD, or instructed him as his counselor?" (Isaiah 40:13 NIV) If Jesus’ brothers believed he was God, they would not dare "instruct him as his counselors."

His brothers not only told Jesus what to do but criticized his ways: "His brethren therefore said to him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, {so} that your disciples also may see the works that you do.

For there is no man that does any thing in secret, and he himself seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world." (John 7:3a KJV)

Jesus brothers taught him knowledge. "Will any {man} teach God knowledge?" (Job 21:22 KJV)

Jesus family thought he was out of his mind: "When his (jesus) family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, ‘He is out of his mind.’ " (Mark 3:21 NIV)

We have no reason to believe that his family was wicked. The most obvious reason they dared to "take charge of him" and say "he is out of his mind" is because they knew who he was. They knew him best.

They spent thirty years with jesus. They knew where and how he was born. They did not believe in him: "For neither did his brethren believe in him." (John 7:3b KJV)

Obviously, jesus family did not believe he jesus was God, their creator. Actually, they, like the Jewish leaders who knew where Jesus was born, did not accept him as the king-messiah of the Jews.

"Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding?" (Isaiah 40:14 NIV)

Peter probably knew these verses. If he believed Jesus was God, his creator, he would not have rebuked him: "Peter took him (jesus) aside and began to rebuke him." (Matthew 16:22 NIV)

Had his disciples believed that jesus was God they would not have deserted him: "Then all the disciples deserted him and fled." (Matthew 26: 57 NIV)

In the gospels, while Jesus was alive, none of his disciples acknowledged him as God. "... he asked his disciples ... whom {do} you say that I am? And Peter answered and said to him, You are the Christ {the king-messiah of the Jews}." (Mark 8:27-29 KJV)

They believed he was the messiah of the Jews, the Son of God, a mere human being.

Jesus - crucifixion

Why Did the Romans Crucify Jesus

Jesus was crucified because of what he said and did. His sayings and his acts led many Jews to believe that he was their long awaited king-messiah.

They believed that their messiah was going to re-establish the kingdom of God (the kingdom of Israel).

Before the birth of Jesus, the Jews were expecting this: "Behold, the days come, says the LORD, that I will raise to David a righteous Branch, and a King will reign and prosper ... In his days Judah will be saved {liberated}, and Israel will dwell safely. (Jeremiah 23:5-6 KJV)

Before the birth of Jesus the writer of Psalms of Solomon wrote this: "See, Lord, and raise up for them {the Jews} their king, the son of David ... undergird him with strength to destroy the unrighteous rulers, to purge Jerusalem from gentiles ... to smash the arrogance of sinners like a potter’s jar; To shatter all their substance with an iron rod ... their king will be their lord messiah." (Psalms of Solomon 17:21-24, 32)

They expected God to raise this king-messiah to free them from their oppressors: "I {God} will take away the chariots from Ephraim {Israel} and the war-horses from Jerusalem." (Zechariah 9:10 NIV)

Through this king-messiah, God was going to submit all nations to them: "Thus says the Lord God {to the Jews:}, ‘Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations {Gentiles}... And they will bring your sons in their bosom, and your daughters will be carried on their shoulders. Kings will be your guardians, and their princesses your nurses. They will bow down to you with their faces to the earth and lick the dust of your feet." (Isaiah 49:22-23 NASB)

The Jews who accepted Jesus as their messiah believed that God was going to accomplish these things through Jesus.

The Hellenist Christian idea of the messiah being a savior of the world was unknown to the Jews. John wrote that Jesus said, "... I came ... to save the world." (John 12:47 KJV)John’s gospel is the least historical of the gospels. These words do not fit in the mouth of Jesus. They are contradictory to what he did and said.

He did not try to save the world. He had no Gentiles as disciples. He did not minister to Gentiles. He was "a minister of circumcision," that is, a minister to Jews only.

During his ministry he told his disciples to avoid preaching to Gentiles. He said, "...I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. " (Matthew 15:24 NASB)

The Jews did not accuse Jesus for claiming to be the savior of the world. They accused him for claiming to be the king-messiah of the Jews: "Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews." (John 19:21 KJV)

They claimed that Jesus called himself king of the Jews. Anyone who called himself king of the Jews became the enemy of the Romans: "... the Jews cried out, saying ... whosoever makes himself a king {of the Jews} speaks against Caesar." (John 19:12 KJV) To the Romans "messiah" meant rebellion. They slaughtered messiahs and their followers.

The following evidence indicates that Jesus convinced many common Jews that he was the king-messiah of the Jews, and that the leading Jews turned him in to the Romans to save themselves and Jesus’ followers from being slaughtered by the Romans, and that the Romans crucified him for claiming to be the king-messiah of the Jews.

Evidence that Jesus Was the King of the Jews
According to Matthew, the Magi called Jesus the "King of the Jews:" "Where is he that is born King of the Jews?" (Matthew 2:2 KJV)

Herod was alarmed because the King of the Jews was expected to destroy him. Hence, he tried to kill Jesus. (Even though this account is fictional, it reveals the title and the agenda of Jesus.)

In the beginning of the Gospel of Luke, Zechariah identified Jesus as the king-messiah of the Jews, who would liberate them from the Romans. He made the following prophecy about Jesus. "{God} has raised up a horn of salvation {the deliverer = messiah} for us {the Jews} ... That we should be saved from our enemies {i.e. the Romans}, and from the hand of all who hate us {i.e. Herod and the Herodians}; The oath which he {God} swore to our father Abraham, That he would grant to us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies {the Romans} ..." (Luke 1:69, 71, 73-74 KJV) Zechariah was a Jew, not a Hellenist Christian. (The Hellenist Christians did not exist in his time.)

When he said "salvation for us" he meant the Jews. When he said "our father Abraham," he meant the father of the Jews. When he said "our enemies" he meant the Romans. This "horn of salvation" (the king-messiah) would liberate the descendants of Abraham from the Romans. "And he {Jesus} will reign over the house of Jacob {Israel} for ever." (Luke 1:33 KJV) "The house of Jacob" was the nation of Israel. Zechariah expected Jesus to reign over Israel.

After Zechariah, Simeon declared Jesus the messiah of the Jews: "Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation {comfort: liberation} of Israel ... It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Messiah {the king-messiah of the Jews}. Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, ‘Master, now you are dismissing your servant {to die} in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation {i.e. the messiah of the Jews}... {and the} glory to {or, glory of } your people Israel.’ " (Luke 2:25-32 NRSV) Simeon was a Jew; not a Hellenist Christian. To him Jesus was the glory of Israel, the salvation of Israel, the messiah of the Jews.

Right after Simeon an old woman, a prophetess named Anna came, "... and began to praise God and to speak about the child {Jesus} to all who were looking for the redemption {liberation} of Jerusalem." (Luke 2:38 NRSV) This verse implies that Anna spoke about Jesus as the messiah of the Jews, who was going to redeem (liberate) Jerusalem from the "war-horses."

Some Jews expected the messiah to baptize. For this reason they asked John the Baptist if he was the messiah. He said, No. Then they told him, "... Why {do} you baptize then, if you are not that Christ {the messiah}? ..." (John 1:25 KJV) By baptizing, John was acting as the messiah of the Jews. Herod Antipas had John killed just on the mere suspicion that he might be the messiah of the Jews, who would start a rebellion.

Josephus wrote, "Herod {Antipas}, who feared lest the great influence John had over the people might put into his power and inclination to raise a rebellion (for they seemed ready to do anything he should advise), thought it best, by putting him to death, to prevent any mischief {i.e. rebellion} he {John} might cause ..." "At that very hour some Pharisees came, and said to him {Jesus}, Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you." (Luke 13:31 KJV)

Herod Antipas wanted to kill Jesus for the same reason he killed John the Baptist. Antipas was appointed by the Romans to rule. He was not concerned with the religious teachings of Jesus. He was concerned with Jesus’ claim of being the king-messiah of the Jews.

As messiah of the Jews, Jesus was a threat to Antipa’s position. Indeed, Jesus had an adversarial attitude towards him. He called him a "fox": "go and tell that fox ..." (Luke 13:32 NASB) This was an insulting designation.

The Herodians were Herod’s supporters. They were the most Hellenized and politicized of all Jews. They were against Jesus: "And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him." (Mark 3:6 KJV) The agenda of the Herodians was political, not religious.

Jesus was a Galilean. Galilee was the fountain of revolutionaries. Josephus wrote, "... the Galileans are accustomed to war from their infancy." Jesus’ disciples were Galileans. One of his disciples, Simon, was a Zealot. The Zealots were revolutionaries.

Before Jesus’ arrest in Gethsemane, his disciples were carrying swords: "And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords." (Luke 22:38 KJV) Apparently, these swords were daggers, which they carried concealed under their garments.

Josephus wrote that the revolutionary Sicarii "made use of small swords, not much different that the Persian acinacae, but somewhat crooked, like the Roman sicae {sickles} ..." The disciples carried swords intending to use them; and they did: during Jesus’ arrest, they asked Jesus, "Lord, should we strike with the sword?" (Luke 22:49 NRSV). Then one disciple struck the servant of the high priest with his sword.

Jesus’ disciples had no idea about the messiah of the world. They understood that Jesus was the messiah of the Jews, who would liberate them from the Romans: "... Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty ... we trusted that it had been he who should have redeemed {liberated} Israel." (Luke 24:19-21 KJV)

The sons of Zebedee expected Jesus to rule Israel, and wanted to become his top commanders: "Then came to him {to Jesus} the mother of Zebedee’s children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him. And he said to her, What will you? She says to him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on your right hand, and the other on the left, in your kingdom." (Matthew 20:20-21 KJV)

Nathanael called Jesus "the Son of God ... the king of Israel": "Nathanael answered and said to him, Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel." (John 1:49 KJV) As mentioned earlier, an auxiliary title of the king of Israel was "the Son of God." Jesus acknowledged Nathaniel’s declaration.

Jesus often called himself "the son of man." This was a term associated with of the messiah of the Jews. It appears in intertestamental books (such as the Similitudes of 1 Enoch) and in Daniel: "I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man {a human being} came with the clouds of heaven ..." (Daniel 7:13 KJV)

When Jesus called himself "the son of man," he called himself "the messiah of the Jews." The Essenes believed in the book of Daniel. They were the first Jews to accept Jesus as their messiah. They expected their messiah to be a common man, the son of man, who would come on the clouds of Heaven.

Jesus led the Samaritan woman to believe that he was the messiah she was expecting: "The woman said to Him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I who speak to you am He’ " (John 4:25-26 NASB) What Jesus meant with this statement is irrelevant. What he led her to believe with it is what matters. He led her to believe that he was the one she was waiting for: the messiah of the Jews. This applies also to other instances.

It is immaterial what Jesus meant. What matters is what the Jews understood. What he led them to believe. With his words and actions he led the Jews to believe that he was the messiah they were expecting. This is what caused his death.

Some Jews acknowledged him as their messiah: "Others said, This is the Christ {the messiah of the Jews}." (John 7:40 KJV) "Then said some of them of Jerusalem ... Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ? {the king-messiah of the Jews}" (John 7:25-26 KJV) Jesus led them to believe this.

The chief priest could not arrest Jesus because Jesus had the support of the people who acknowledged him: "When the scribes and chief priests realized that he had told this parable against them, they wanted to lay hands on him at that very hour, but they feared the people." (Luke 20:19 NRSV)

Some Jews attempted to declare him king of the Jews: "When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king {of the Jews}, he departed again into a mountain himself alone." (John 6:15 KJV) Jesus withdrew. He was not ready to publicly declare his messianship at that time. He was planning to make his debut at a later time (when he entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey). "One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him {Jesus} and saying, ‘Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!’ "(Luke 23:39 NRSV) When the rebel said "are you not the Messiah?’ he meant the messiah of the Jews.

The rebel was not a Hellenist Christian. Only Hellenist Christians used the word "messiah" with the meaning "savior of the world." The rebel demanded that if Jesus claimed to be the messiah of the Jews, then he should have the power to save himself and the two rebels from the cross.

For the most part of his ministry Jesus spoke of his messianic role privately, to his inner group. When he spoke about it in front of outsiders he used metaphors, so that his enemies would not find out that he claimed to be the messiah and turn him in to the Romans.

His enemies suspected it but they wanted him to declare it openly so they could turn him in: "The Jews {his enemies } then gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, ‘How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.’ Jesus answered them, ‘I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father's name, these testify of Me’ " (John 10:24-25 NASB) Jesus did not want to tell them plainly that he was the Christ, neither did he want to lie about it. So, he gave a roundabout answer and kept his enemies confused. He was not ready to make his debut.

His delay caused even John the Baptist to wonder if he was the messiah of the Jews: "And {John the Baptist} said to him, Are you he that should come, or do we look for another?" (Matthew 11:3 KJV) This verse indicates that John did not believe that Jesus was "... the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29 NRSV) In this instance (and in a few other instances) John’s gospel does not harmonize with the Synoptic gospels. In Matthew, John the Baptist expected Jesus to liberate and rule over Israel. But, in the Gospel of John, John the Baptist declared Jesus the savior of the world.

Most Jews who revered the book of Zechariah expected the fulfillment of the following prophecy: "{God promised to the Jews:} your king comes to you ... riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war-horses from Jerusalem." (Zechariah 9:9-10 NIV) God promised to send this king-messiah on a donkey to take away the "war-horses from Jerusalem."

To the Jews of that time this meant liberation from the Romans. Jesus knew the importance of this prophecy and he wanted to self fulfill it. So he told his disciples to go get a foal of a donkey and bring it to him so that he may ride it to Jerusalem and thus fulfill the prophecy of Zechariah.

His disciples did as he told them and Jesus entered into Jerusalem riding on a donkey, on a colt (like the prophecy specified). The Jews recognized the signal and received him as their messiah: "Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is the one {the messiah} who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming {the restoration of the} kingdom of our ancestor David!’ Hosanna in the highest heaven!" (Mark 11:8-10 NRSV) John wrote, "Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord--the King of Israel!" (John 12:13 NRSV) The masses believed that the kingdom of David was going to be restored.

The liberation from the Romans was coming. This was Jesus’ debut. He led the masses to believe that he was the king of Israel. This triumphant entrance into Jerusalem was the main reason for his crucifixion. According to Matthew and Luke, immediately after his messianic entrance into Jerusalem Jesus caused a commotion at the temple. Such an act would have been understood as an attack on the dominant priestly class, the Sadducees.

As mentioned earlier, the Sadducees were perceived by the Essenes, the Zealots, and by Jesus as Roman puppets. They advocated the tribute to Caesar. The cleansing of the temple was an act of rebellion. It would have warranted his immediate arrest. Indeed, Jesus was arrested later as a rebel: "At that time Jesus said to the crowd, ‘Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me?’ " (Matthew 26:55 NIV) Here is a strange clue.

Mark mentions "an insurrection": "Now a man called Barabbas was in prison with the rebels who had committed murder during the insurrection." (Mark 15:7 NRSV) Which rebels, and which insurrection? Could it be that Mark inadvertently referred to the rebellion of Jesus at the temple? Could it be that they were crucified with Jesus because they were part of Jesus’ insurrection?

John indicates that Roman soldiers were in charge of Jesus’ arrest: "So Judas came to the grove, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials ..." (John 18:3 NIV) This "detachment of soldiers" was part of the Roman army. The Romans did not arrest Jesus for his theological teachings. They were not interested in whether or not Jesus blasphemed the god of the Jews, or broke the Sabbath rules.

The function of the Roman army was to suppress civil disturbances and revolutionary attempts, not to solve the religious differences of the Jews. The fact that they arrested Jesus suggests that Jesus indeed attempted a rebellion against the Romans.

The Sanhedrin condemned Jesus for claiming to be the king-messiah of the Jews: "Again the high priest asked him, ‘Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?’ Jesus said, ‘I am; and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.’ " (Mark 14:61-62 NRSV) Jesus admitted that he was the messiah of the Jews and then quoted Daniel: "... behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him." (Daniel 7:13 KJV)

The Jews expected their messiah to ride on the clouds of Heaven. With this quotation Jesus portrayed himself to the high priest as the messiah of the Jews. "Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, ‘Why do we still need witnesses? You have heard his blasphemy! {blasphemy! he called himself the messiah!} What is your decision?’ All of them condemned him as deserving death." (Mark 14:61-64 KJV) The word "blasphemy" in this passage is inappropriate.

Had Jesus truly committed blasphemy, or any serious religious sin, the Jews would have stoned him to death, like they did Stephen. Their concern was that by claiming to be the messiah, Jesus endangered the lives of the Jewish people. The chief priests explained to the Sanhedrin: "If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation." (John 11:48 KJV) When the chief priests said "all men will believe on him" they did not mean that they would become Christians and be saved. They meant, if more people believed that he was the messiah of the Jews the Romans would surely come and slaughter all the Jews.

John wrote, "... for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who {believed and} confessed Jesus to be the Messiah {of the Jews } would be put out of the synagogue." (John 9:22 NRSV) To save the nation from an inevitable massacre, the leading Jews decided to turn Jesus in to the Romans: "And one of them, named Caiaphas ... spoke up ... it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not." (John 11:49 KJV)

Jesus did not secure the support of the Jewish leaders because (as we will examine later) he was not born in Bethlehem and he did not have an army to fight the Romans. He believed that at the right moment God would supply him with an army: legions of angels. During his arrest, when his disciple smote the ear of the servant of the high priest, Jesus told him, "Put your sword back into its place." (Matthew 26:52 NASB) Jesus believed that he had no need for his disciple to defend him. Then, he told the disciple, "Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?"" (Matthew 26:53-54 NASB)

Jesus believed that "it must happen this way": that God would put at his disposal more than twelve legions of angels. He said, "How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled?" He followed the scriptures. He said, "The Son of Man {the messiah of the Jews} will go just as it is written about him." (Matthew 26:24 NIV) What was written about him? When he said that God would send his legions of angels to fight, he probably had in mind the following verse of 2 Kings where God sent heavenly forces to Elisha when he prayed: "And Elisha prayed ... and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha." (2 Kings 6:17 KJV)

He probably also had in mind the following prophecy of Zechariah, where God promised to come down himself on the mount of Olives to fight against the enemies of Israel and liberate Jerusalem : "Then will the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet will stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east ... And men will dwell in it {Jerusalem}, and there will be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem will be safely inhabited." (Zechariah 14:3, 11 KJV) These verses prophesied that God was going to take part in the liberation of Jerusalem.

Besides Jesus, the Zealots, too, believed that this was going to happen. During the siege of Jerusalem and before the destruction of the temple (in 70 CE), the Zealots laughed at the offers for surrender and the threats of Titus, the Roman general (the son of Emperor Vespasian).

They expected God to send his forces at the last minute and save them from the Romans. Josephus wrote, "{The Zealots believed that those threats}would come to nothing; because the conclusion of the whole {war} depended upon God."

Jesus frequented the mount of Olives and began his messianic entrance to Jerusalem from there probably because Zechariah prophesied that God would come down upon the mount of Olives. Like the Zealots, Jesus expected God’s intervention up to the last moment (the moment of his crucifixion). When he realized that God was not coming he said, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34 KJV)"And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ {messiah} a King." (Luke 23:2 KJV)

The messiahs of that time "perverted the nation" by trying to destroy the Jewish political commitment to the Romans. They urged the Jews not to pay taxes to the Romans. Their titles, like Jesus’, were "christ" and "king."

Despite the editing of the story by the writers of the gospels, who tried to de-politicize the term "christ," its use in the accusation before Pilate was political. They accused him "saying that he himself is Christ a King" which means, saying that he himself is the king-messiah of the Jews.

Jesus was brought in front of Pilate as a rebel: "Pilate summoned the chief priests and the rulers and the people, and said to them, ‘You brought this man to me as one who incites the people to rebellion ...’ " (Luke 23:13 NASB) The Jews did not accuse him for his religious teachings or that he made himself a god. They accused him for inciting the people to rebellion.

They accused him that he made himself the messiah of the Jews: "The Jews answered him {Pilate}, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God." (John 19:7 KJV) This statement "We have a law, and by our law he ought to die" appears to be fictitious. Had Jesus broken the Jewish law, they would have stoned him, like they did many others.

The Romans were not taking orders from the Jews. They were not executing those who broke the Jewish law. When the Jews said "he made himself the Son of God" they accused Jesus for passing himself as the king of the Jews. As mentioned earlier, the title "son of God" was an auxiliary title of the king of the Jews.

The accusation "he made himself the Son of God" in front of Pilate did not have religious implications. It was a political accusation: "... the Jews cried out, saying, If you {Pilate} let this man go, you are not Caesar's friend: whosoever makes himself a king {of the Jews} speaks against Caesar." (John 19:12 KJV) Caesar was not going to dismiss Pilate for releasing Jesus, who made himself the offspring of God.

Pilate did not ask Jesus, Which god’s son are you? Mark wrote, " ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ asked Pilate. ‘Yes, it is as you say,’ Jesus replied." (Mark 15:2 NIV) The verdict for this charge (king of the Jews) was death. When Jesus admitted to Pilate that he was the king of the Jews the case was closed. The decision was made by Pilate.

The leaders of the Jews said, He is not our king-messiah, he is the one who claimed to be such: "Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews." (John 19:21 KJV) Jesus indeed had claimed this several times.

Pilate, too, acknowledged Jesus as the king of the Jews: "Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?" (Mark 15:9 NASB) He ordered the superscription: "And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS." (Luke 23:38 KJV)

One might say that the Jews caused the death of Jesus by turning him in to Pilate. And this they did to save themselves. Pilate was in charge of the trial. He told Jesus, "Don't you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?" (John 19:10 NIV) Pilate was the one who ordered Jesus’ execution.

Joseph of Arimathea had to obtain permission from Pilate to remove Jesus’ body from the cross. Certainly the two rebels ("robbers") that were crucified with Jesus were crucified by the Romans. In other words, Jesus was crucified by the same authority that crucified the two rebels.

The Romans often executed rebels by crucifixion. (They displayed the dead rebels on the cross so that the Jews would see them and not dare rebel.) In other words, Jesus was crucified by the Romans as a rebel.