The Secret PathA story of Jesus: November 2020

Sunday, November 15, 2020

Archived Secret Path (an early draft edition)

The archive links below go to a draft edition of Secret Path, not to the latest, improved edition found at this url:
https://secretpath108.blogspot.com/2021/01/table-of-content.html

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Friday, November 13, 2020

Table of content
(This is the first edition of Secret Path, not the second, improved edition)

Please go to the latest, revised edition of The Secret Path -- A Story of Jesus

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https://secretpath108.blogspot.com/2021/01/table-of-content.html

Old edition content

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Thursday, November 12, 2020

A new deal
(This is the first edition of Secret Path, not the second, improved edition)

The reconstruction of events in this section is in some places speculative.

En route to Jerusalem for the Feast of Weeks, Peter and other disciples stopped off to rest. That pilgrimage feast, known in Greek as Pentecost, occurs seven weeks after the Passover celebration.

As they sat inside a house in Bethany -- possibly the house of Lazarus -- a man appeared among them, though no one noticed him enter the room.

"Why are some of you troubled?" the man asked. "What is this skepticism of yours?"

At once, the men who had met Jesus in Galilee realized who was speaking, but some of the others who had missed that appearance were skeptical -- though because of his strange arrival they wondered whether they might be seeing a ghost.

The man held up his wounded hands and displayed his injured feet.

"Look at my hands and feet," he said. "Feel me. A ghost lacks flesh and bones. But you can see I am made of flesh and bone."

Skepticism turned to incredulous joy among those who had had doubts about the Galilee encounter.

"Have you something to eat?" Jesus asked.

He was given a piece of broiled fish, which he ate as they watched.

Then, as he had done with the Emmaus pair, Jesus opened the minds of the disciples to the meaning of the Scriptures referring to him – the Messiah – that are written in the Mosaic books, the Psalms and the prophets. The Scriptures show, he said, that it was necessary for the Messiah to endure pain and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached to all peoples, beginning at Jerusalem.

"I send you just as my Father sent me," Jesus told them. He then breathed on them, saying, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you absolve anyone of sin, he is absolved, and if you don't absolve, then his sin remains."

They would be clothed with power from on high, Jesus added.

Then, as he blessed his brothers, he was gone.

Everyone knew where he had gone. He had gone to join his divine Father.

By speaking the word and breathing, Jesus assured that the gift of the Spirit was bound to come. Very soon, at the Feast of Pentecost, God's Spirit would come.

Shortly thereafter in Jerusalem, the disciples were gathered in an upstairs room room that had been provided for them with the help of the wealthy women who had followed Jesus and the disciples around. Among those present were some of those women followers, along with Jesus' mother Mary, who was accompanied by some of his biological brothers. Other women on hand were Mary the wife of Clopas, Mary of Magdala and Jesus' maternal aunt.

As the fellow who had been Jesus' pet disciple contemplated Mary, the feeling came over him that he should accept responsibility for her care. Mary also felt a deep connection toward that disciple. It was as if Jesus were talking to them from the cross. They were to be mother and son, even though male relatives were legally and morally responsible for Mary's welfare.

Aside from Peter, others present were the brothers James and John; Andrew; Philip; Thomas; Bartholomew; Matthew; James the son of Alphaeus; and Simon the Zealot; and Judah the brother of James.

Outside, Peter called a conference of Jesus' disciples, who numbered about 120 altogether.

As 120 = 10 x 12, it is possible that the Lucan writer wanted to convey the idea that the Twelve chief disciples were "embodied" in the rest of the disciples and followers gathered there.

"Brothers, the Scripture had to have been fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke through David concerning Judah, who guided those who arrested Jesus. He was one of us and shared in our service work. This man purchased a field with the iniquitous payoff and falling headlong, his up body burst open and his bowels were emptied."

Later, a Christian noted that everyone who lived in Jerusalem had heard about this incident. That's why that plot of land, he wrote, came to be known as Blood Field, or, in Aramaic, Hakel-D'ma.

We add that Peter may well have been speaking metaphorically. As in: all that Judah's blood money got him was a burial plot in the field his money paid for. According to Matthew, Judah hanged himself once he realized the enormity of his crime and, according to Acts, he ended up in the very field that was purchased for the burial of non-Jews. Because Judah had accepted blood money, it is quite possible the very people who gave him the payoff deemed him unfit for a proper Jewish burial.

Peter's description of Judah's suicide is compatible with the fact that on death, muscles are suddenly relaxed, often causing the bowels to empty.

Further, we mention that Peter does not specify that Judah hanged himself in Potter's Field.

Peter pointed out, "For it is written in the book of Psalms,

Let his habitation be desolate,
and let no man dwell therein:
and his position let another take." [NDx1]

He then recommended that the disciples choose someone to come in to the inner circle to take the place of the dead Judah and help the other eleven in their work of declaring the truth and meaning of the resurrection. Many of those standing there had followed Jesus and the Twelve right from the beginning of the ministry, when John was immersing people in the Jordan.

So they decided on two candidates, Joseph (who was known as Barabba) and whose surname was Justus, and Matthias.

The men prayed, saying, "Lord, you know the hearts of all men. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take part in our mission after Judah transgressed and fell, so that he might go to his own place."

So the men used a lottery to determine God's choice. The lot fell to Matthias and he was then considered the twelfth apostle.

We may note that the term apostle originally signified a messenger or missionary. Later, Christians used that word as a title that signified someone specially commissioned to start the church. Paul uses the word in both senses.

Lottery. Probably the disciples placed marked straws in a container and shook it up. The first one pulled would be the winner. If that was not the method, it was something similar.

On the actual day of Pentecost – a festival for offering homage to God for the harvest – a group of men and women followers of Jesus were gathered together, all in accord.

Suddenly the house was filled with a sound of the rush of a strong wind and what looked like pronged tongues of fire that rested on each person present.

The people were filled with the Holy Spirit, who motivated their speech.

Now since Pentecost was a pilgrimage feast, Jerusalem was packed with observant Jews from all over – not only Jewish Palestine, but from Jewish colonies around the Roman Empire. Passersby heard the commotion and quickly a crowd gathered.

On arrival, these Jews were shocked to hear the message of salvation being proclaimed in their own language.

"See here! Aren't these people speaking all these languages Galilaeans?" said amazed bystanders. "Yet, I hear my own language spoken!"

In that time, people from Galilee were regarded as generally uneducated and in some eyes barely Jewish.

Among the hearers were Parthians, Medes and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia Minor. Others were from Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and from in and around Kyrene, Libya. Crete and Arabia were also represented. More came from Rome – both Jews and people who wished to convert to Judaism. And of course there were plenty of people from all over Jewish Palestine.

They were all astonished to hear the wonderful works of God being proclaimed. "What does this mean?!" they wondered. But other people in the crowd laughed at them, saying, "These men are full of new wine."

Peter, flanked by the other eleven chief disciples, went to the crowd, raised his voice and used words to this effect:

"Men of Judaea and all you who are in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I have to say:

"These people here aren't drunk, as you suppose. It's only the third hour! [9 a.m.]

"What is happening is what was foretold by the prophet Joel:

It will come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour my Spirit onto all flesh.
Your sons and your daughters will prophesy, and your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.
In those days, on my servants and on my servant girls will I pour forth my Spirit, and they will prophesy.
I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath: blood, fire, and clouds of smoke.
The sun will go dark, and the moon will turn to blood, before that great and terrible Day of the Lord comes.
And it shall come to pass, that whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.[NDh1]

"Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth was a man among you, whom God confirmed by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did by him in your midst – miracles many of you know about.

"He was handed over, in accordance with God's plan and foreknowledge, to you, and by wicked hands he was crucified and slain. But God has raised him up, having untied the pangs of death, for it was impossible that Death should hold him.

David speaks about him:

I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved.
Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad.
Moreover also my flesh will rest in hope, because you will not leave my soul in Sheol, neither will you suffer your Holy One to see corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life. You will make me full of joy with your countenance.[NDh2]

"Men and brothers, let me speak honestly about the patriarch David: He is dead and buried, and his tomb is still here with us. But, being a prophet – and knowing that God had made him a promise to raise up one of his descendants [according to the flesh] as the Messiah to sit on his throne – when David had this vision, he was speaking of the resurrection of the Anointed One, whose soul was not left in the Valley of Death.[NDk1] Nor did his flesh see corruption.

"This Jesus has God raised up, and we are all witnesses.

"Having been raised to the position of God's right-hand man and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, Jesus has shed forth that Spirit, which is what you're now seeing and hearing.

"David did not ascend to the heavens, and yet he himself said:

The Lord said to my Lord, Sit on my right hand, while I make your foes your footstool.[NDm1]

"Therefore let all the house of Israel know that it is certain that God has made that same Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah."

At these words, many in the crowd were cut to the heart.

"What can we do?!" they asked.

Peter replied, "Turn away from you old ways, and let every one of you be immersed in the name of Messiah Jesus for the remission of sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

Peter, who had first been a disciple of John the Dunker, initiates water baptism here, exercising his authority over God's kingdom given to him (and not only him) by Jesus. Peter believed that water baptism was a good way to demonstrate one's true conversion toward God in the name of Jesus. But note that, without first trusting in Jesus, they could not be saved. Also note that Peter associated the act of water baptism with the baptism in the Holy Spirit, which was to follow immediately.

Peter pointed out that the "promise is to you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call."

The promise was to Jews near and far. But God was extending that promise to non-Jews.

Peter continued with many other words to testify and exhort. His message was: "Save yourselves from out of this warped society."

Many gladly received his word and were baptized. That day, the Messianic group expanded by about three thousand souls.

God had established a new people in a single day.

Who has heard of such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.[NDk2]

When Jesus was dying on the cross to pay for all sin, "Zion travailed." When the Holy Spirit descended on all sorts of ordinary Jews at Pentecost, "a nation was born in a day."

Surprise!
(This is the first edition of Secret Path, not the second, improved edition)

Following is a composite account of the drama of the empty tomb.

The women returned to the cemetery shortly past dawn the day after the Sabbath, when they could do no work, in order to embalm the body with funerary spices.

On their way there they were wondering about finding someone who could roll back the stone that barred the entry. But when they arrived, they saw that the huge boulder had been rolled out of the way.

Proceeding inside, they were shocked to find a young man in a dazzling white robe.

"Don't be troubled," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. But he is risen. Look at the place where he was laid to rest. He is not here.

"Why do you look for the living among the dead?

"Go and tell Peter and the other disciples, 'He goes before you into Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you'."

Terrified, the two women ran from the tomb, saying nothing to anyone. [S1a]

It also happened early on that first day of the week that another Mary, the Magdala woman from whom Jesus had expelled seven demons, and her friend Joanna, went to the tomb and were disconcerted to find the stone rolled away and the chamber empty. Mary ran back to where Peter and some others were lying low and told them the surprising news.

Peter, followed by Jesus' pet student, rushed off to have a look. Jesus' special friend arrived first and peeked inside, seeing the graveclothes, followed by Peter who ventured inside, where all he could see were the graveclothes and the cloth for the head set off by itself.

Trailing far behind, Mary arrived after the two men had already left.

Stooping down and peeking into the tomb again, Mary wept.

As she turned to leave, she came face to face with a man, who said, "Woman, why are you crying?"

Supposing that he was a cemetery gardener, Mary said, "Sir, if you took his body from here, tell me where you put it, so that I can take care of it."

"Mary," said the man.

"Teacher!" replied a stunned Mary.

"Stop clinging to me," Jesus said. "I haven't yet gone up to my Father." He added, "Go tell my brothers that I go to my Father -- and your Father. And tell them that when they go to Galilee, I will meet them there."

Jesus was saying to Mary that her weeping showed that she was clinging to him in human terms. She was seeing him only as a man she loved rather than seeing him correctly, as not only a man she loved but as the Messiah who was about to go to his Father and send her the Spirit. Or, in other words: Mary, let go and let God.

Mary returned again and told the disciples what had happened, but they were skeptical. After all, Peter and another disciple had been right there and had seen nothing.

Even so, Peter was a very perplexed man.

Not long after, two of Jesus' students told of a strange encounter they had while walking along the road to Emmaus [S1], talking about the terrible turn of events.

As they were talking, a fellow they did not recognize joined them.

"What are you men talking about?" the third man asked.

They stood still, looking sad.

One of the disciples, Cleopas, replied, "Are you the only pilgrim to Jerusalem who hasn't heard the things that have been going on?"

"What things?" the stranger asked.

"We're talking about Jesus of Nazareth. Everybody knows that he was a great prophet, both in what he said and what he did. The chief priests and the authorities had him arrested, condemned and executed. But we had been hoping he was the one who was to redeem Israel. This is the third day since all this occurred.

"But then some women said they saw angels at his tomb, and his body was missing! So one of us went to the tomb, and found it empty, just as the women said."

Their companion replied, "I don't think you understand what the prophets really have to say. Wasn't it necessary for the Messiah to experience all those things before he entered his glory?"

Beginning with Moses, he went through what the prophets had to say concerning the Messiah, explaining the meaning of Scriptures as they walked along.

As the two disciples approached their destination, their companion acted as though he would continue onward. But the disciples urged him to stay with them. "It's getting towards evening and there isn't much daylight left," they said.

He agreed to join them in the village.

When they sat down to eat, their companion took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them.

Suddenly, they realized who they had been talking to. They saw Jesus, who then disappeared.

Awed, they said to each other, "Weren't our hearts burning inside us as he opened the Scriptures while we were on the road?"

After their meal, the two went straight back to Jerusalem, and told the others what had happened, but they were met with skepticism.

The day after the crucifixion, some of the elders approached Pilate and asked him to post a guard at the tomb. They were worried that his disciples might remove the corpse and then pretend that their king was still alive and that their movement still had its leader.

Pilate agreed, assigning a detail of soldiers to them.

"Make the tomb as secure as possible," was Pilate's order to the detail. "Make sure the entrance is sealed off."

A Roman seal on the tomb was a severe warning to grave robbers or others: Break this seal and you risk major reprisal!

But, after the resurrection, the Jewish authorities were informed that the tomb was empty.

"Say Jesus' disciples took away his body while you slept," the elders told the guards as large bribes were counted out. "If Pilate hears about this matter, we will talk to him and make sure nothing happens to you."

Such dereliction of duty could easily have meant the death sentence.

The soldiers were in a difficult situation. Though an earthquake was said to have been responsible for the stone being rolled aside, that fact did not explain how the body had vanished without them noticing. They knew that Pilate was likely to suspect them of cowardice -- hiding during the temblor and failing to see the "grave robbers."

In any case, a false cover story went out that Jesus' disciples had taken away the corpse so that they could claim that he was actually alive.

NEXT PAGE:
A new deal
https://secretpath191.blogspot.com/2020/11/a-new-deal.html

Crucifixion
(This is the first edition of Secret Path, not the second, improved edition)

As Jesus struggled along with a crossbeam on his torn-up shoulder, the soldiers seized a bystander and compelled him to carry the beam to the stake outside the city walls where the death sentence was to be carried out.

Christians later recollected that the bystander's name was Simon, who was the father of two Christians named Alexander and Rufus. Simon was from Cyrene, a Greek city in the Roman province of Cyrenaica in north Africa.

It is reported that Cyrene's Jewish community was established when large numbers of Palestinian Jews were forced to settle there during the reign of Ptolemy Soter (323–285 BC), who took over Egypt and Palestine upon Alexander the Great's death. Alexander had seized those regions during his tour of world conquest.

Cyrene was an early center of Christianity.[C1]

A big crowd followed.

Women mourned and wailed as he staggered along.

But he turned to them and said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, don't weep for me. Weep for yourselves and for your children. The days are coming when people will say, better off are those who can't have children. In that time, people will plead with the mountains: fall on us! And to the hills: bury us! For if these things are done in the green tree, what will they do in the dry?"

We may interpret this last saying to mean that if terrible sins are done in the presence of and to the Savior, what might evil people do once grace has been withdrawn?

The soldiers brought him to a place known as the Skull. They offered him wine with myrrh in it, but he refused.

Roman soldiers used this combination as a painkiller, as it helped them endure the discomforts of military life such as cold, damp nights on the ground. Apparently it was also customary to give it to those about to be crucified.

They affixed him to the cross and then divided up his garments among them. But, the men cast lots to determine who would take the purple robe, a garment so luxurious that it had no seam.

It was the third hour (about 9 a.m.).

Some of the religious leaders stood by and jeered. "So he's the anointed savior! Then let him save himself!"

"Let the Messiah King come down from the cross, so that we may see and believe!"

Others joined in.

"You who build the Temple in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross!"

"Aha! The great savior can't save himself!"

The soldiers laughed also.

As he hung in great pain from the instrument of torture, Jesus said, "Father, forgive them. They don't know what they're doing."

The soldiers then attached a notice to the cross above Jesus' head: "King of the Jews."

It was Roman practice to place a placard naming the crime for which the person was being crucified. Other placards typically said things like "Thief" or "Murderer."

Pilate knew that no real crime had been proved, but it was necessary to write something giving a reason for the execution.

The inscription confirms the injustice of the execution of Jesus.

Crucified along with Jesus were two bandits, one to his left and the other to his right.

Even one of these criminals reproached him. "I thought you were the Messiah! Why don't you save yourself and us, too?!"

But the other one said, "Have you no fear of God? We're all condemned to die, but we deserve what we're getting. He doesn't."

Then that criminal turned to Jesus and said, "Jesus, remember me when you receive your kingdom."

Jesus replied, "Today you will be with me in Paradise."

After Jesus had been hanging on the cross for three hours, the sky went pitch black, staying that way for another three hours (from about noon till about 3 p.m.).

Then, Jesus let out a shout: "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani!"

(This means, "My God! My God! Why have you abandoned me!?" and is the same plea uttered by David in Psalm 22:1.)

But, as Jesus spoke Aramaic with a Galilean accent, not all the bystanders could understand him.[Ch1] Some thought he was calling Elijah to come and help him.

One man ran to him with sponge soaked in cheap, vinegary wine, using a stick to lift it to Jesus' lips.

Though the psalmist (Psalm 69:21) was speaking poetically about being made to eat gall and vinegar (a way of saying he was receiving harsh treatment from his enemies), we see that such poetry was here fulfilled literally in the sense that this drink was a bitter concoction used by soldiers but considered disgusting by everyone else.

But others said, "Leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to rescue him."

Jesus let out another loud shout and gave up his spirit.

Someone thought they heard him say, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit."

It was later reported that at about the time of death an earthquake struck and that one of the veils inside the inner sanctum of the Temple suddenly was torn apart from top to bottom.

After Jesus was resurrected, other reports said that many tombs of saintly Jews were opened, with the corpses coming to life and the revived persons walking around in Jerusalem, where they were observed by many.

When Jesus died, the captain of the guard detail said, "This man was certainly an angel!"

Joseph, a wealthy member of the council from the nearby town of Arimathea, urged Pilate not to permit the impiety of leaving bodies on the crosses during the Passover Sabbath, which would begin at sundown.

So Pilate ordered that the victims' legs be broken. The soldiers then broke the legs of the two men crucified with Jesus, but when they came to Jesus they saw that he was dead already. So they did not break his legs, thus fulfilling the Scripture that says no bone of his will be broken.

Once the legs are broken, the victim is unable to push up in order to breathe and death by suffocation follows quickly.

But a soldier did thrust a spear into Jesus' side, causing blood and water to spurt out, fulfilling another Scripture that says they will look upon him whom they have pierced.

During crucifixion, blood and water gathers in the pericardial sack around the heart.

The women who had followed Jesus from his Galilee days were watching from a distance. Among this fairly large group were Mary of Magdala, Mary the mother of James (the short one) and Joseph, and Salome.

Surprised to hear that Jesus had been found dead even before he ordered legs broken, Pilate summoned the captain of the guard detail to verify that the prisoner was dead. On learning that death had been assured by the spear thrust, Pilate authorized Joseph to take the body.

Joseph had the body of Jesus wrapped in a linen cloth and taken to Joseph's own tomb, which had been hewn out of a large rock. Once the corpse was inside, Joseph sealed off the chamber by having a large stone rolled across the opening.

Christians later recalled that Joseph had been seeking the kingdom that Jesus had preached about.

Nicodemus, the elder who had spoken with Jesus under cover of darkness, joined Joseph, bringing about 75 pounds of myhrr and aloes for use as burial balms.

The two Marys saw where the body was taken.

NEXT PAGE:
Surprise!
https://secretpath191.blogspot.com/2020/11/surprise.html

Trial
(This is the first edition of Secret Path, not the second, improved edition)

The militiamen took Jesus to the house of a chief priest.

A group of religious leaders, which included a number of priests and scribes, gathered in the room where Jesus was being held.

A chief priest, Annas, tried to quiz Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.

"I spoke openly in public," said Jesus. "I taught continually in the synagogues and in the Temple. I concealed nothing. Why are you asking me. Ask the people who heard me. Obviously they know what I said."

At that, one of the militia officers standing nearby reached out and struck Jesus.

"You dare answer the high priest like that?"

"If I have spoken evil, bear witness about the evil," Jesus replied. "But if I have spoken accurately, why do you hit me?"

Peter, who had followed Jesus and his captors from a distance, joined a group of militiamen in the courtyard, where they were warming themselves by a fire.

The religious leaders were seeking to obtain testimony that would be grounds for a death sentence, but they were having a difficult time of it. That is because the testimony of the many false witnesses did not match up.

One of the accusations: "He was heard saying, 'I will destroy this Temple that is made with hands and in three days I will build another one made without hands'."

But even that claim could not be verified by a second witness.

Finally the high priest stood up and spoke to Jesus. "You answer nothing to all these things said against you?"

Jesus did not reply.

The questioner probably was frustrated that the council had been unable to use Jesus' own words to trip him up.

So then the high priest demanded to know: "Are you the Messiah, the son of the Blessed?"

"I am," came the answer. "And you will see the son of man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming with the clouds of heaven."

The interchange here follows Mark. The priest here avoids the phrase son of God, though that is what he means. In those days, observant Jews often refrained from mentioning the generic or specific names for God, which we would translate as God and Jehovah.

God's Messiah, or anointed one, would be considered his son, whereby son could mean devoted human servant.

So if Jesus believed he was the Messiah, then answering yes was not blasphemy, especially since he made no claim to be God. Both Matthew and Luke were troubled by Jesus apparently directly affirming his status as messiah, because of the idea that a witness should not testify on his own behalf, and used what I see as literary circumlocutions.

But, I have capitalized I AM to indicate that Jesus may have been answering in the affirmative, or he may have been letting the Great I AM speak through him. Thus, in this interpretation, God the Father was testifying on behalf of Jesus. The next statement, which evokes Daniel 7:13 [T1], is in the third person. Thus, strictly speaking, Jesus made no claim that was provably about himself.

The term right hand of Power again reflects Jewish scruples about directly uttering a name of God. Though Jesus would not have feared to say God publicly, it seems reasonable to suppose that he would have observed Jewish custom. But it is this concept that seems to bulge the envelope on blasphemy because God's right-hand man would be someone who exercised all God's power on his behalf, just as Joseph, as Pharaoh's grand vizier, exercised all Pharaoh's power on behalf of Pharaoh.

So implying that you are God's right-hand man is equivalent to saying that you are, as far as the human race is concerned, God.

We see that God, speaking through Jesus, provoked the Temple leaders into the rash assumptions that they were so eager to make. But, there was no blasphemy or any crime against God or man. It was necessary that a completely innocent man be murdered on behalf of the rest of us.

The interrogator then tore his garment and exclaimed, "Why do we need any more witnesses?! You have heard the blasphemy! What do you think?!"

The crowd of leading men all agreed that Jesus deserved to die. Some spat on him and roughed him up. And as the militiamen took hold of Jesus, who had been blindfolded, they landed punches on him.

"Haha! Who hit you?! Prophesy!" they jeered as they showered him with insults.

As Peter stood outside in the courtyard, one of the servant girls noticed him.

"You were one of the men with the Nazarene," she said.

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Peter, easing away from her and into the forecourt.

Just then, a cock crowed.

But the woman spoke to the others, insisting, "He's one of them."

Peter again denied it.

A short time later, some people at the fire agreed with the girl. "You must be one of them. You're a Galilean."

Peter swore up and down: "I never heard of this man!"

Just then, the cock crowed a second time.

Suddenly Peter remembered what Jesus had said, that Peter would deny him three times before the cock crowed twice.[T2]

He wept.

As morning arrived, Annas had Jesus sent to the high priest, Joseph son of Caiaphas, who remanded Jesus to the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate. The Jewish accusers, concerned not to ritually defile themselves during Passover, did not enter the Praetorium, which Pilate normally used in his role as judge while he was in Jerusalem. (People generally called the high priest simply Caiaphas.)

The priests and scribes hurled a number of charges against Jesus.

"He has been perverting the Jewish people."

"He has been telling people not to pay their taxes to Caesar."

"He calls himself the Anointed One, a king."

A chief priest, Annas, tried to quiz Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.

"I spoke openly in public," said Jesus. "I taught continually in the synagogues and in the Temple. I concealed nothing. Why are you asking me. Ask the people who heard me. Obviously they know what I said."

At that, one of the militia officers standing nearby reached out and struck Jesus.

"You dare answer the high priest like that?"

"If I have spoken evil, bear witness about the evil," Jesus replied. "But if I have spoken accurately, why do you hit me?"

Annas then had Jesus, still bound, to the high priest, Caiaphas, who remanded Jesus to the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate. The Jewish accusers, concerned not to ritually defile themselves during Passover, did not enter the Praetorium, which Pilate normally used in his role as judge when he was in Jerusalem.

So Pilate came outside and asked, "What accusation do you bring against this man?"

The Jewish leaders bombarded Pilate with claims that Jesus was a criminal.

"If he weren't an evildoer, we would not have brought him to you," was the substance of the reply.

Pilate realized something was amiss. Why were these Temple politicians being so evasive? Obviously some religious matter was at issue. In general, Rome paid little heed to religious disputes among its subjects.

So Pilate said, "You deal with him. Judge him according to your law."

But the Temple officials replied, "We are not permitted to put anyone to death."

Rome reserved the perogative of capital punishment in the provinces to its governors. By this, Rome held in check forces which might execute people who were friends of Rome or otherwise useful to Roman interests.

Pilate went back inside the Praetorium and summoned Jesus.

"Are you the king of the Jews?" the governor asked.

The Temple authorities had leveled this charge when they were speaking with Pilate because they knew that, in Jewish Scriptures, God's Anointed One -- the Messiah -- is pictured as a great human king who will subjugate the Gentiles.

"Did that question come from deep inside, or are you just repeating what others say?" Jesus said.

"Am I a Jew?" said Pilate. "The chief priests of your own people have handed you over to me. What have you done?"

Jesus replied, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, then my servants would have fought to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But my kingdom is not from the here and now."

"So you are a king?" Pilate said.

"Those are your words," Jesus answered. "I came into this world for this reason: To bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice."

"What is truth?" Pilate shrugged.

Then the governor said, "Haven't you heard all those accusations! Have you nothing to say in your defense?"

But much to Pilate's amazement, Jesus declined to respond.

After some consideration, Pilate told the Jewish leaders, "I find no fault in this man."

The accusers became more vociferous. "He's been stirring up the people, teaching his poison all through Judaea, after starting out in Galilee."

On hearing the word Galilee, Pilate asked whether Jesus were a Galilean. Learning that he was, Pilate sent Jesus over to Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea. (The Romans had appointed Antipas [Ty1] as tetrarch, which meant, from the point of view of his subjects, that he was their de facto king.)

During major holidays, Pilate left his usual residence in Caesarea on the Mediterranean coast and took command in Jerusalem to help assure order. Being a Jew, Herod Antipas would also come to Jerusalem from one of his residences, usually his palace in Tiberias on Lake Galilee, to celebrate the feast.

Antipas was very happy to see Jesus. He had long been eager to see the performance of a miracle.

The tetrarch peppered Jesus with questions, but Jesus said not a word, though the leading priests and scribes inundated Antipas with vehement accusations.

In the end, Antipas and his soldiers jokingly dressed Jesus in a robe of royal purple and sent him back to Pilate.

That day, Antipas and Pilate became friendly with each other. Previously the two rulers of Jews had been rivals who disliked each other.

Pilate warned Jesus, "You won't speak to me? Don't you understand that I have the power to crucify you and that I have the power to release you?"

"You would have no power at all against me had not you been given it from above," said Jesus. "He who handed me over to you has the greater sin."

From that point on, Pilate tried to come up with a way to let Jesus go free.

Pilate again told the Jewish leaders and their hangers-on, "See here, I have examined this man on your charge that he perverts the people. But I have found nothing that proves your allegations. In fact, neither could Antipas find anything worthy of having him executed.

"So, my decision is: I will chastise him and release him."

But the Jewish leaders were adamant: Jesus must die!

"If you let him go, you're no friend of Caesar!" they ranted. "Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar!"

The crowd, incited by the Temple officials, roared the louder: "Death to him! Death!"

Then Pilate, trying to placate the leaders, hit on a compromise. He would make a show of accepting their verdict, but then exercise the customary practice of pardoning one prisoner favored by the people.

Pilate was attempting a typically Roman political maneuver whereby Jesus would be set free without Pilate having to face censure from his superiors. He knew very well that these priestly Roman collaborators were very capable of damaging him politically.

The custom of the Passover pardon fits well with the Roman policy of using gestures of magnanimity in order to help keep down unrest. In addition, Rome granted its governors nearly dictatorial power over their provinces.

But the Romans were also holding another man who had actually been convicted of capital crimes, including murder and insurrection. His name was Jesus bar Abba. The crowd, instigated by the Temple authorities, shouted out, "Let Barabba go!"

Pilate asked the crowd, "Whom shall I release to you? Jesus the Anointed One or Jesus Barabba?"

Note the irony here: an actual seditionist is to be freed in place of the man falsely accused of sedition. Yet, Pilate knew the Temple officials would not complain to Rome about a pardon of Barabba.

———————

Very early manuscripts have Jesus Barabba, but some of the non-Jewish early churchmen objected that the name Jesus was too holy to have been applied to a criminal. They did not realize that Jesus is a form of Joshua and is a very common name for Jewish boys.

Some 20th Century scholars questioned the reality of the name Barabba, which means son of the father, but archaeological evidence from the period has surfaced showing that the name was in general use in that region in those days.

Pilate did not like what the Jewish authorities were doing, as he realized they were acting out of jealousy.

During this time, Pilate's wife sent a message to him: "Have nothing to do with that righteous man. I have had terrible nightmares about him."

But the Jewish leaders kept up the pressure, with the crowd screaming, "Barabba! Barabba!"

"So what should I do with this king of the Jews?" asked Pilate.

"Crucify him! Crucify him!" the crowd shouted.

Pilate responded, "Why? What is his crime?"

The mob was now even more insistent: "Crucify! Crucify!"

When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere and that a riot was about to break out, he had a bowl of water brought and washed his hands in front of the crowd.

"I am innocent of this blood," he said. "You are responsible."

The crowd roared that they would accept responsibility.

Matthew records that the crowd yelled, "His blood be on us, and on our children!" If members of the crowd did use those words, what they meant was that they took responsibility for the decision to have Jesus executed.

Pilate brought Jesus out and said, "Look, it's your king. Should I crucify your king?"

"There is no king but Caesar!" was the answer from the priestly authorities, who were largely Sadduceans who had no belief in an afterlife.

So Pilate released Barabba to them and had Jesus scourged and taken away for crucifixion.

A scourge was a short whip made of two or three leather thongs, which were knotted with a number of small pieces of metal, usually zinc and iron. The scourging would horrendously tear up the flesh and muscle of the victim.

Then Pilate's soldiers took Jesus to a Praetorium courtyard, where they stripped him and put the scarlet robe back on him. They also placed a crown made of thorn vines on his head and mocked him, "Hail to the Jewish king!"

The men kept batting him on the head with a stick they were using as a mock royal sceptre, all the while spitting on him. Some of them bowed low, as if to a king.

After they had had their fun, they took off the purple robe and led him away to crucify him.

Once Judah saw the result, he was horrified.

He rushed back to the Temple and found those who had bribed him.

"I have sinned! I have betrayed innocent blood!"

"What's that to us?" came the reply. "That's your problem."

Judah took the bag of thirty silver coins, threw it down inside the sanctuary and left.

He then went and hanged himself.

The priests said, "It is unlawful to put this into the Temple treasury, since it is blood money."

So after talking it over, they decided to use the money to purchase Potter's Field, to be used as a cemetery for foreigners.

That plot of land was known as the Field of Blood for years afterward.

That event fulfilled the prophecy of Zechariah:

They took the thirty pieces of silver,
the price of him who was priced,
whom certain of the children of Israel did price,
and they gave them for the potter's field,
as the Lord appointed me.[Tz1]

NEXT PAGE:
Crucifixion
https://secretpath191.blogspot.com/2020/11/crucifixion_12.html

Last supper, agony, betrayal
(This is the first edition of Secret Path, not the second, improved edition)

On the first day of the Passover celebration – the Day of Unleavened Bread – his disciples asked Jesus, "Where should we go to arrange for you to eat the Passover meal?"

He sent two disciples into Jerusalem, telling them, "Go into the city, and there you will meet a man carrying a pitcher of water. Follow him, and wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, 'The rabbi says, where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover meal?' And he will himself show you a large upper room all set up. Then prepare everything."

The two went into town and found that everything happened as Jesus had said. So they set up the meal.

In the evening, Jesus came with all twelve disciples and they reclined, as was the custom when eating the Passover meal.

"I have greatly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer," he said. "For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom."

Jesus forecasts his imminent death as the sacrificial lamb of God. The Hebrews escaped from Egyptian bondage when the angel of death passed over their houses, which had a sign on them: lamb's blood smeared on the doorposts. The blood of Jesus is the sign required in the New Dispensation. For a person, whether Jew or Gentile, to be spared a fate worse than the death of the body, and to gain something better than the promised land of Canaan, God the Father must see the sign of Jesus on that person. The blood of Jesus – which was spilled for many – pays for that new possibility.

As they reclined together, Jesus took some unleavened bread and, after blessing it, broke it.

As the bread was being passed around, he said, "When you do this, think about me. This is my body, which is given for you."

As they were eating, Jesus became very solemn, even sorrowful, and said, "I am very serious when I say to you: One of you will betray me."

That act of treason fulfills the Scripture: For even my trusted friend, who ate my bread, lifted his heel against me. (Psalm 41:9)

On hearing this, they grieved. Each asked in turn, "Rabbi, is it I?"

Jesus replied, "He who dips with me in the dish betrays me."

All the disciples were sharing in the communal dish, and so Jesus is here saying the traitor was one of the men at their dinner.

"The son of man goes, just as it was written of him, but woe to the man through whom the son of man is betrayed. Better that he had never been born."

Judah, the traitor, said, "Rabbi, surely you don't mean me."

"That's what you say," Jesus replied.

Just as it is written. See Psalm 22:1-31, Isaiah 53: 1-12, and Daniel 9:1-27, in particular 9:26.

Leaning against Jesus was a disciple for whom Jesus had particular affection.

Simon Peter signaled this disciple to ask whom Jesus meant.

So that disciple asked, "Master, who is it?"

"I will give someone a piece of food after I dip it," said Jesus. "That's him."

After dipping the food, he handed it to the Judah from Kerioth.

Shortly after, Satan consumed Judah's thoughts.

Jesus addressed him. "What you do, do quickly."

Nobody had any idea why Jesus said what he said. Some thought that, because Judah carried the money, Jesus was telling him to purchase supplies for the rest of the Feast period or to donate funds to the poor.

After receiving his bit of food, Judah stood up and went out into the night.

Once Judah had gone, Jesus said, "Now is the son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him.

"Boys, I will only be with you a short time now. You will look for me, but as I told the Pharisees: where I am going, you cannot go.

"I leave you with a new teaching. You are to love each other, as I have loved you. Then everyone will know you are my disciples."

Peter again raised the question: "Where are you going?"

"Where I go you cannot follow," replied Jesus, "but later you will follow me."

At the end of the meal, Jesus took a cup and gave thanks.

"This is my blood, which is shed for you," he said. "Take this and share it among yourselves. I tell you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the day I drink it new in the kingdom."

From a later perspective, the last words of this statement tend to imply that the kingdom arrived soon after his resurrection: at the feast of Pentecost seven weeks hence. But that fact does not preclude the kingdom coming in a fuller sense at the end of time.

As Luke notes, the blood represents the New Dispensation which replaces God's old covenant with Israel and which would occur once Jesus had conquered death. Many people have benefited from the shedding of this blood.

After supper Judah, incited by the Devil, left on his mission, as he knew that that Jesus and his disciples almost always would go to the park at Olive Hill.

But Jesus did not leave right away. First, he arose, laid aside his clothing and wrapped himself in a towel.

He then poured water into a basin and began washing the feet of his disciples.

When he came to Peter, Peter said, "Master, you are going to wash my feet?!"

"You don't understand now what I am doing, but you will later," Jesus replied.

"Never will you wash my feet!" declared Peter.

"If I don't wash you," said Jesus, "you have no part of me."

"In that case," said Peter, "don't just wash my feet, but also my hands and head."

Jesus replied, "He that is washed is clean everywhere, except for his feet. And you are clean."

Then he added, "But not all."

Those last words were said because Jesus was aware of who would betray him.

We may observe that this manner of speaking with puns and double meanings – as in you are not altogether clean versus not all of you are clean – is fairly common in the Bible and seems to have been almost routine with Jesus. Similarly, we have Peter thinking of a washing of the body while Jesus speaks of a washing of the soul (with his blood and by his Spirit, which is the import of baptism [originally, Greek for immersion].)

Also, the footwashing may be viewed as symbolizing your need for Jesus' grace every day once he has saved you (washed clean your soul). You will still face difficulties in your daily walk with the Lord and so, though spiritually clean, you will still need God's loving forbearance and assistance with your missteps. That is, Jesus will wash your "spiritual feet" daily.

Once he had finished, Jesus asked them, "Do you understand what I have done for you? You call me Master and Teacher, and you are right. That is who I am.

"So if I, who am your master and teacher, have washed your feet, then you should likewise wash each other's feet.

"I have given you an example that you should follow.

"I really mean it when I tell you that the servant is not greater than his master, nor is the messenger greater than the one who sent him.

"If you understand this advice, then follow it and you'll be happy,"

Jesus continued, "He who is the greater among you, let him become as the junior. And he who is chief, let him be as a server. For who is greater, he who sits at the dinner table or he who serves? Yet here am I in your midst as a servant.

"You are those who have stuck with me through my trials, and a kingdom I bestow on you, just as my Father has bestowed on me – so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom. And you will sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel."

As they prepared to leave, Jesus had a few more things to say.[LSzz1]

"Don't worry. You believe in God. Likewise, believe in me."

Jesus was apparently telling his students that they are able to believe in God sight unseen and so after the resurrection they should believe in him sight unseen (though there would be occasional appearances).

Jesus went on, "My Father's house has plenty of room. There are many living spaces. You can bank on that being true. Now I go to prepare your new place.

"That means I will come back for you so that you can stay with me where I am.

"You'll know where I go and how to get there."

Thomas was puzzled.

"Master, we don't know where you are going. So how can we know the way there?"

Jesus replied, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father other than through me.

"If you really knew me, you would have known my Father. But, from now on, you do know him, and have seen him."

After the resurrection, Jesus and the Father would send the Holy Spirit on the disciples so that they would know Jesus and the Father in spirit and in truth.

But Philip said, "Master, show us the Father, and that will suffice."

Jesus looked at him with amusement.

"Have I been with you all this time and you still don't know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father. So what kind of question is show us the Father?

"You mean you don't know that I am in the Father and the Father in me? I don't speak my own words to you. They are the Father's, who dwells within me. And he's the one who does the works.

"Count on me being in the Father. If not, believe what I say on account of the works.

"I really mean it when I tell you that whoever trusts in me will do the works that I do. In fact, because I go to my Father, he will do even greater works than those.

"Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it – so that the Father may be glorified in the son.

"I will do whatever you ask in my name.

"If you love me, stick with my teachings.

"I am going to talk with the Father on your behalf, and he will give you another Comforter so that he can stay with you forever.

"That Comforter is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive. It can't see him nor know him. But you know him, for he dwells among you and will dwell inside you.

"I won't leave you without comfort. I will come to you.

"Soon the world will see me no more. But you see me – because I live, and you will also live.

"Then you will know that I am in my Father and that you are in me and I in you.

"The person who has my teachings and honors them is the person who loves me. And the person who loves me will be loved by my Father. And I will love him and make myself known in him.

Judah – not the traitor – asked, "Master, how can you make yourself known to us but not to the world?"

Jesus answered, "If a person loves me, he will do as I say. And my Father will love him and come to him and lodge with him.

"Whoever doesn't love me doesn't do what I say. The word from my mouth isn't mine. It's from the Father who sent me.

"I am telling you all this while I am still present with you. But the Comforter, whom the Father sends in my name, will teach you everything and help you remember everything I've said to you.

"Peace I leave with you – a peace which is nothing like what the world calls peace.

"Don't worry, and don't fear. Keep in mind that I predicted in advance that I would go away and return to you. If you only knew what I meant when I say I am going yo my Father, you would be really happy. For my Father is greater than I am.

"So now that I tell you this before it happens, then, when it does happen, you can believe.

"From now on, there won't be much time for talk. The ruler of this world is on his way. We have nothing in common, but even so I am going to obey my Father's order, so that the world will know that I love the Father."

"Let's get going."

After singing a hymn, they departed for Olive Hill.

Jesus told them, "All of you will be offended. For, it is written:

I will smite the shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered abroad.[LS1]

"But, after I am raised up, I will go before you into Galilee."

Peter responded, "Even if everyone else is offended, I won't be."

"Simon, Simon, look here," replied Jesus, "Satan has asked to have you so that he might sift you like wheat. But on your behalf I appealed for your faith not to fail you. And when you have turned back again, establish your brothers."

Peter insisted, "Master, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death."

Jesus replied, "I assure you, Simon, that before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times."

The others joined in, saying they would never do such a thing.

Jesus however asked them, "When I sent you out without purse or knapsack or shoes, did you lack anything?"

"Nothing," they replied.

"But now," he said, "he who has a purse, or knapsack, let him carry it. And he who lacks a sword, let him sell his cloak and buy one. I am telling you, this writing must be fulfilled in me:

And he was reckoned among criminals.[LS2]

For that which is about me is fulfilled."

The disciples said, "Master, look, here are two swords."

Jesus said, "That will suffice."

Jesus' was contrasting the previous experience of his missionaries, when everything went well, with what is coming. Jesus is warning that Satan would attack and stir up enemies. Whereas many were hospitable to the disciples on their earlier mission journeys, now they will face danger and persecution. So this teaching is Jesus' picturesque way of saying, be prepared.

In addition, we may suppose that the two swords represent both divine power and earthly power – as all power was shared by God with Jesus and in turn with his disciples. Jesus' disciples do not exercise much earthly power, but their post-resurrection spiritual power had and has enormous influence on world affairs.

——————————————

Many have been puzzled as to why Jesus seemingly ate a Passover meal a day or two ahead of the beginning of the official Passover celebration. The gospel writers agree that this supper happened but modern scholars disagree on the timing. A possibility is that, after the crucifixion, the apostles realized that the last supper evoked much of the symbolism and imagery of the Passover. And we may suspect that God himself, using divine messengers to lead the two disciples, arranged for this final get-together.[LSz2]

On their way over to Olive Hill, Jesus gave more teachings to his students.

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.

"Every branch in me that bears no fruit, he clips off. And every one that does bear fruit, he prunes it, so that it may have a greater yield."

A modern example of such a branch is someone who goes to church on Sunday but during the rest of the week has no regard for the teachings of Jesus. Such a person isn't saved because he or she has never really accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior.

"You are clean now because of the word I have spoken to you.

"Abide in me, as I do in you. You understand that a branch cannot yield fruit unless it is united with the vine. Likewise, you are useless if you aren't abiding in me.

"I am the vine. You are the branches. If you abide in me and I in you, then you will yield much fruit. Apart from me, you can do nothing.

"If a person doesn't abide in me, he is thrown out like a branch, which dries up and which people toss into the fire, where it burns with the other sticks.

"If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you will ask whatever you wish and your request will be granted.

"When you yield a great deal of fruit, showing that you are my students, that glorifies my Father.

"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Keep going in my love.

"If you follow my teachings, you will abide in my love – just as I have followed my Father's teaching and abide in his love.

"I'm telling you all this so that my joy may remain in you, and your joy will be full.

"I leave you this instruction: Love each other as I have loved you.

"The greatest love is this: that a man lay down his life for his friends.

"You are my friends, when you obey my instructions.

"From now on, I won't call you servants, for the servant doesn't know what his master is doing. But I call you friends, because whatever I hear from my Father I reveal to you."

In that period, the student (disciple) had the status of a servant with respect to the teacher (master).

"You did not choose me, but I have chosen you, and commissioned you so that you go out and yield much fruit and that you keep doing so. That way, the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.

"Remember: Love each other, even though you receive the world's hatred. Don't forget: It hated me first.

"If you were part of the world, the world would love its own. But the world hates you because I have called you out of it and you're not part of it.

"Recall that I told you: The servant is not greater than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they have kept my teaching, they will also keep yours.

"But on account of my name, they will do vicious things to you. That's because they don't know him who sent me.

"Had I not come and put out the word, they would have no sin. But now, they can't cloak their sin.

"Whoever hates me also hates my Father.

"Had I not done works among them that no one has ever done, they would have no sin. But they see those works, and so they hate my Father.

"But this happened so that the word might be fulfilled that is written in the Law that they say is so important to them: They hated me without a cause.

"But when the Comforter comes, whom I send from the Father, he will testify about me.

"And you will bear witness also, because you have been with me from the beginning.

"I am telling you all this so that you won't be offended.

"They will put you out of their assemblies. Yes, and the time will come when the people who kill you think they are doing God's will.

"They will do these things to you because they haven't known the Father or me.

"When these things occur, you will remember that I told you this was coming. At first I did not talk about such persecution much because I was here with you."

That is, while Jesus was conducting his earthly ministry, his disciples were shielded from violence.

"But now I am on my way to the one who sent me – though none of you has understood what I mean by that.

"Yet, what I have been telling you has made you all very sad.

"But here is an important point: It is to your benefit that I go away. If I don't leave, the Comforter won't come to you. But, if I depart, I will send him to you.

"And once he comes, he will reprove the world, showing up sin, making plain righteousness and bringing judgment.

"The sin is that they don't trust me.

"The righteousness is that I go to my Father, and you see me no more.

"The judgment is: the ruler of this world is condemned.

"I have much more to tell you, but you can't deal with it yet.

"But, the Spirit of truth, once he comes, will guide you into all truth. He won't speak his own words, but only what he hears. And, he will show you things that are coming.

"He will glorify me. He will receive what is from me and show it to you.

"Everything of the Father's is mine. That's why I said the Spirit will take my things and show them to you.

"A little while from now you won't see me. A little while later and you will see me, because I go to my Father."

Again, his disciples didn't really understand Jesus' teachings. They seemed to them to be some very mysterious ramblings, and so, off to the side, they asked each other, "What can he mean by a little while, you won't see me and then a little while, you will see me?"

Jesus, aware of their puzzlement, said, "Are you asking each other what that means: a little while...

"I really mean it when I tell you that while the world is rejoicing, you will weep and mourn. But, your sorrow will turn into joy.

"When it is time for a woman to give birth, she is tormented by labor pains. But as soon as the baby is born, she forgets all about the agony and is instead very happy that her new baby has arrived in the world.

"Right now, you are a glum lot. But, we will meet again. And you'll be very happy – so happy that no one can take it away."

"Then all the questions you have now will be answered.

"In the past, you have never asked God for anything in my name. But now you may ask, and you will receive, and be full of joy.

"My teachings have often been conveyed to you figuratively. Yet the time is coming when I won't be so indirect, but will show you plainly what comes from the Father.

"When that time comes, you will ask something in my name – but I won't say that I will ask the Father for you. That is because the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came forth from God.

"I came forth from the Father, and have come into the world. Now it's time for me to leave the world, and go to the Father."

The clouds began to part from the minds of the disciples, as they were able to grasp some of what Jesus was saying.

"We can tell that you know everything and that you don't need any human to inform you. So, we are sure that God sent you."

Jesus replied, "Oh, now you believe? Well, listen to this: The time is coming – and is here now – when everyone scatters, fleeing his own way, and leaves me alone. But, I won't be alone. The Father is with me.

"I tell you all this so that you can relax – even though in this world you will have much distress. But be happy: I have overcome the world."

Jesus lifted his eyes skyward and said, "Father, it's time. Glorify your son so that your son may glorify you."

The writer of John comments that the Father has given the son power over all humanity so that he may grant life to every person the Father has given to the son.

The writer adds, "Eternal life is this: Knowing the only true God and knowing Jesus, the one anointed and sent by God."

Jesus continued in overheard prayer, "I have glorified you on earth. I have finished the work you gave me to do.

"And now, Father, please glorify me with the glory of yourself which I had before there was a world.

"I have made known your name to the people whom you gave me from out of the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me. And they have kept your word.

"Now they know that everything you have given me really is from you.

"For I have given them the words you gave me, and they have received them, and certainly realize that I came from you, believing that I am your messenger.

"I pray for them. I don't pray for the world, but for those you have given me – for they are yours.

"And all mine are yours and yours are mine. And I am glorified in them.

"Now I am no longer in the world, though these are. I come to you, Precious Father. Please keep in your own name those you have given me so that they may be one, as we are one.

"While I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name. Those whom you gave me I have kept, and not one of them is lost – except the man of the abyss, whose extinction fulfills scripture.

"It's time for me to come to you. These things I say while here in the world are for them, so that they fill up with the joy I experience.

"I have given them your word. The world hates them, because they are like me: not of this world.

"I don't ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them clear of evil.

"They are not of this world, just as I am not of this world.

"Sanctify them through your truth. Your word is truth.

"As you have sent me into the world, so have I also sent them into the world.

"And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

"I am not only praying for these, but I also pray for those who come to believe through their word – so that they all may be one, as you Father are in me and I in you. May they all be one in us. That will let the world know that you have sent me.

"The glory you gave me I share with them, so that they may be one, just as we are one.

"I in them and you in me. Then they will be completed as one. That will let the world know that you have sent me, and that you love them as you have loved me.

"Father, I desire that they, whom you have given me, also be with me where I am so that they may see my glory, which you have given me. For you loved me before the world was founded.

"O Righteous Father, the world hasn't known you, but I have – and these know that you have sent me.

"And I have declared to them your name, and I will declare it – so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them. And I in them."

By declare, Jesus means more than uttering a verbalism for God. He means that he has made known the reality of the true God to these poor men.

After crossing Kedron Creek and reaching Olive Hill, Jesus and his disciples entered an enclosed park named Gethsemane (Olive Press) at the foot of that hill.

Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and told the others, "Wait here while I pray."

Once in the park, he became greatly distressed.

"My soul feels so much sorrow – right down to the pit of death," he said, telling the three, "Wait here, and observe."

Then he went forward about a stone's throw and fell to the ground, praying that, if possible, his appointment with death might pass away.

"Father, all things are possible with you," he moaned. "Remove this cup from me."

His prayer became so intense that he sweated what looked like large drops of blood. [LSz1],[LSz2]

But, finally, Jesus said, "Yet let not my will, but your will, be done."

After this, he returned to his students and found them sleeping.

This raises the question of who witnessed this prayer in order for the Marcan writer to learn of it. One possibility is that one of the three disciples had not yet quite nodded off. Another possibility is that an anonymous youth who barely escaped arrest was the witness.[LSz1]

"Simon, you're sleeping?" he said. "You couldn't even keep watch for an hour?

"Stay awake and pray, so that you don't enter into temptation. The spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak."

Jesus went back to pray more and returned again one or two more times to find everybody sleeping. Their eyelids were heavy and they did not know what to say when Jesus awakened them.

When he came back the final time, he said, "Sleep on now, and take your rest. The time has come. Look, the son of man is delivered into the hands of sinners. The one who betrays me is here."

And as he was speaking, Judah arrived with a large party of armed men who had been sent by the Temple authorities.

Judah had told the militia leader, "Whomever I kiss, that is the one you are to arrest."

In those days in that area, a kiss was considered a polite form of greeting among friends and relatives.

So as Jesus' face shone with reflected torchlight and moonlight, Judah walked over to him, saying, "Hello, Rabbi," and kissed him.

"Judah, you betray the son of man with a kiss?" said Jesus.

Then Jesus walked a few paces toward the militiamen and asked, "Who are you looking for?"

The commander replied, "Jesus from Nazareth."

"I am he," said Jesus.

As soon as the word I am went forth, the men recoiled backward and stumbled in confusion.

Then Jesus again asked, "Who are you looking for?"

The commander again replied, "Jesus from Nazareth."

"I told you I'm that man," said Jesus. "So if you are here for me, let these others go."

Thus was fulfilled the word he had spoken earlier: I have lost none of those whom you gave me.

Jesus then said to the militia officers, "Have you come out against a robber, with swords and clubs, to seize me? I was with you every day in the Temple, teaching, and you did not arrest me. But this is your hour, the hour of the dark power."

This unjust arrest occurred in accordance with Scripture.

The militia group drew near to arrest Jesus, but as they did, Simon Peter took one of the two swords and swung it, slicing off the ear of the high priest's servant.

Jesus told Peter, "Sheath your sword. Am I not to drink the cup my Father has given me?"

As Peter darted backward, the militiamen seized Jesus, quickly putting fetters on him.

As the soldiers moved, Peter and the others were able to make their escape under cover of darkness.

A youth who had followed Jesus and the disciples was wearing only a linen cloth. The soldiers tried to seize him but he ran away naked, leaving them clutching the cloth.

Mark is the only one who records this curious incident. There have been a number of suggestions as to its meaning, with no real agreement. What can be said is that the incident points to a probable historical event, for what would be the purpose of incorporating a fictional account here? And, this point adds to numerous other observations that tend to show that many of the scenes recorded in the gospels are based on historical events.

The same can be said for the "discrepancy" over the timing of the last supper.

NEXT PAGE:
Trial
https://secretpath191.blogspot.com/2020/11/trial_12.html

The good shepherd
(This is the first edition of Secret Path, not the second, improved edition)

People sat around Jesus in the Court of the Women listening intently.

"It is so true that anyone who does not enter the sheepfold through the gate, but climbs over the fence or gets in some other way, is a thief and a robber.

"The one who enters through the gate is the shepherd. That's who the gatekeeper opens the gate for. When the shepherd calls his own sheep by name, the sheep recognize his voice and follow him out."

Apparently the custom was for several flocks to be kept in a common pen by night. Each flock would then be led out during the day to its pasture land. No one was permitted into this pen but the shepherds who cared for the sheep by day.

"When the shepherd takes his flock out of the pen, he walks before them and the sheep follow him because they recognize his voice.

"They won't follow someone they don't know, but will flee. The don't respond to the voice of a stranger."

Jesus' hearers had little comprehension of what he was driving at, and so he made his meaning plain.

"This is so very true: I AM the sheep gate. Everyone who preceded me was nothing but a thief and a robber. And the sheep did not hear them.

"I am the gate. If, by me, anyone enters in, he will be saved, and will go in and out, and find pasture.

"The thief only comes to steal, to kill, to destroy. I have come so that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for his sheep.

"I'm not like the hired hand who doesn't own the sheep and who, when he sees the wolf coming, runs away so that the wolf catches the sheep and scatters the flock.

"The hired hand flees because the sheep aren't his and he cares nothing for them.

"I am the good shepherd -- who knows his sheep and is known by them. "Similarly, the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for my sheep.

"I also have other sheep, not of this fold. I must bring them forth. They will respond to my voice, and then there will be one fold with one shepherd."

This statement has traditionally been taken to mean that Jesus was telling his Jewish hearers that Gentiles would join Jews in the company of the saved, not that they would have had much comprehension of these mysterious words at the time they were spoken. Such teachings and sentiments would become clear only after the resurrection and the empowerment of the church.

"My Father loves me -- because I lay down my life, so that I might take it up again.

"No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have been assured of this by my Father."

These words sparked contentious debate among his hearers, with many saying, "He is devil-crazed! Why do you even listen to him?!"

But others countered, "How can these be a demon's words? Can a demon open a blind person's eyes?"

Later, Jesus was walking in the Solomon's Porch area of the Temple.

A group of agents of the religious authorities gathered around him and pressed him to answer them:

"How long will you keep us in doubt? If you are the Messiah, say so plainly."

Jesus answered, "I have told you, but you don't believe. The works I do in my Father's name speak volumes about me. But you don't believe because you are not from my flock. As I told you earlier, my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me."

Later, his disciples related that statement to other words he uttered in less public circumstances: "I give my sheep eternal life and no one shall seize them from my hand.

"My Father, who gave them to me, is greater than all. No one is able to pluck them from my Father's hand.

"I and my Father are one."

When Jesus told his antagonists that they were not his sheep, their countenance darkened and, had not the people been so supportive of Jesus, these fellows would have stoned him.

Jesus admonished them. "Many good works have I shown you from my Father. Which one of them makes you want to stone me?"

The men answered, "Not for any good work, but for blasphemy, because you, a man, make yourself God."

Even though they hadn't forced Jesus to declare himself Messiah, these agents thought that what he did say implied that he was divine.

Jesus replied, "Is it not written in the Law you say you follow: I said, you are gods?

"He, who received the word of God, called them gods -- and the Scripture can't be broken. So are you saying that the one who was sanctified and sent into the world blasphemes because he says he is a son of God?"

Son of God was a term used to mean servant of God, and ordinarily did not mean God the Son. But Jesus' antagonists understood that Jesus seemed to be blurring that distinction.

Jesus continued, "If I don't do my Father's works, then don't believe me. But if I do them, then believe on account of the works, even if not on account of me. Then you may believe that the Father is in me, and I in him."

Though his antagonists menaced him when he said those words, Jesus was able to continue on his way.

NEXT PAGE:
Last supper, agony, betrayal
https://secretpath191.blogspot.com/2020/11/last-supper-agony-betrayal_12.html

What you don't need to believe
in order to be saved by Jesus

When you come to Jesus with a broken and a contrite heart and seek his forgiveness, you have done all you need to do in order to be saved!
You don't need to believe that Jesus is God. You don't need to believe that he is the Son of God in some literalistic sense. You don't need to believe he was born of a virgin. You are not required to first subscribe to the idea of the Trinity. You don't need to be baptized in water before receiving Jesus into your heart.
All you need do is to trust Jesus enough to accept his help. And that means you must believe that God raised Jesus from the dead so that people like you could be saved by the man he appointed to that task.

When the Bible says you must believe Jesus is the Son of God, it means you must believe he can save you, that he is the Savior.
You may come to believe in some or all of the assertions listed above in the first paragraph. But none is necessary to get you into God's kingdom. Just trust Jesus to help you out of your sad predicament. That's it!

The Secret Path
A story of Jesus