THE BOOK OF BOOKs

pray for his return and that he will reign for a while

Jesus is one of the most fascinating personalities in human history. The One with the most spin-off, penetrating history, science and philosophy, but also manifesting in real life, when government officials refuse to marry gay-couples. Or feeding the homeless in his name.

Jesus died young, like soldiers die young, dying on the cross, aged 33 or 34. Surprisingly very little is known of his life, except for the last three years, when he accepted followers and students to be is his apostles. They, like Maria Magdalen, were eye-witness or spoke to those who saw Jesus perform miracles, turn water into wine, walk on water, debate in synagogues and attack the money-lenders and temporarely destroying a central banking system. Every pilgrim, every visiting Jew had to pay religious fees or made gifts to the Temple. Water, used for a cleansing bath before entering, had to be paid for as well. Deep down and around Jerusalem an age-old irrigation system is still operative.

Visitors came from all around the Roman Empire and beyond.

An empire where all types of coins were in use and they stayed in use a long time. The money-lenders were the intermediairy in exchanging all kind of Roman and other coins into shekels, the locally used currency (in modern Israel uses the shekel again.) Imagine the aftermath of the anger of the Messiah, all the coins, the silver and the gold, shattered around. It is not strange, that Jesus was not arrested at this point and simply could walk away. Everybody, Roman guards, priests, visitors and of course the money-changers were crawling around on the floor chasing coins.

The Bible begins with the Gospels of Matthew, Marc, Luke and John (not John of Patmos, author of the Book of Revelation). For centuries these 4 gospels were the basic info about Jesus' life and death. Several major archeological finds have delivered (parts of) scrolls and codexes, that contained proto- or early christian writings. Some texts were exactly identical with the Torah and the Bible. What also came to light were (parts of) several, unknown, gospels. Sensational was the finding of the Gospel of Mary Magdalen, Thomas and even Judas. Shock-waves, where theologians and clergy, still have to deal with.

There are even non-biblical accounts of Jesus. The Jewish/Roman historian Josephus mentions Jesus' crucifixtion.

What all the documents have in common, that they speak mostly of his reigning years, when the Spirit got hold of him the way. Jesus could have walked away any moment, but he did not. Was it his choise? The Qu'ran gives a complete different picture of the punishment of the Sun of God. Some-one else took his place at the Cross. It may be heresy, but I don't feel this to be Jesus-like. Walking away from the scene, smiling.

We hardly know anything of the first 30 years of his life. We suppose, that he was born in Bethlehem and fled to Egypt, because Herod ordered the “Slaughter of the Innocent.”

All newborns up to 2 years, Herodes' soldiers killed. A desperate attempt by a desperate King, who wanted to kill his, prophesied, successor. Joseph and Mary were warned and fled, to Egypt. Here they stayed for several years. We may assume that Jesus came into contact the Egiptian mystery-religion and sunworship. There are some stories of his youth in Nazareth, where his father worked as a carpenter.

In one of those tales, a friend of Jesus falls of a roof and is killed. The parents accuse Jesus and claim that he pushed their child to his death.

The young Jesus brings his friend back from death. The boy assures his parents, that Jesus had nothing to do with his death. He performs “small” and innocent miracles. He transforms mud-birds into real ones. “Remember me.”, Jesus shouts, when they fly away.

Jesus must have been considered a prodigy but he disappears about 12 years of age, to return when he was thrirty and baptised by John.

Where has he been during these “lost years”?

India? Maybe even Tibet?

Some Bible-scolars think to have proven resemblances between the Lord Buddha's teachings and those of Jesus. In the folklore of Kasjmir and the Punjab stories circulate about the visits of Isa, Jesus. Even his grave is supposed to be in Srinagar.

What I am trying to say, that twice, in his short life, the Messiah disappeared out of sight. He was influenced, so I presume, by Egyptian's mystery religions and probably Hinduism and (Tibetan) Buddhism. Jesus may have tried to produce a synthesis, between the most dominant religions of his age. It was too far-reached, to revolutionary. Like the attempt of Akhenaton to introduce monotheisme in Egypt.

The message of Jesus is still a revolutionary one. Maybe, in this time of religious fundamentalism, tensions and violence, his pledge for love, humility and understanding will be heard, understood and transformed into reality.