Adonis Diaries

Complete story of Jesus’ visit to Jerusalem; (September 20, 2009)

For six months now, Jesus had been marching toward Jerusalem for the yearly celebration.

Thousands of pilgrims and followers were accompanying Jesus. Jesus was not a desk Rabi; not an urban Rabi. Jesus was a walking Rabi followed by thousands of long marching disciples.

All indications point to the possibility that Jesus never visited Jerusalem: his mother Mary and her close relatives never set foot in Jerusalem: They had their Great Temple on Mount Carmel; they belonged to the Essonite sect. They lived in the district attached to Tyr (in Phoenicia, Lebanon) and in Galilee which was also attached to Tyr district, administratively and judicially (read https://adonis49.wordpress.com/2009/03/18/the-virgin-mary-is-from-the-town-of-qana-in-lebanon-book-review/.

Of the 12 original disciples only Judas Iscariot was an “original” Jew belonging to the tribe of Benjamin.

The ancestors of Judas were from around Beer Sheba by the desert before they relocated close to Jerusalem; John the minor and Judas were practically the only literate of the group of 12.

Thus, 11 of the original disciples were new converts to Judaism, a religion imposed upon them by the sword by the Hessonite (Maccabees or Hasmodite) Kingdom a century ago.

The Hasmodite Kingdom had conquered most of Palestine and forced the population to be circumcised and to abide by the Jewish Laws of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, way south.

As new converts, the disciples were ultra conservatives with respect to the Jewish laws but they had their own Great Temple on Mount Carmel north of Samaria. They also had no liking for the two southern Jewish tribes and apprehended visiting Jerusalem, as did Jesus.

The yearly pilgrimage of Jesus and the disciples was to the Great Temple; the pilgrimage this year was to Herod Temple in Jerusalem.

Judas was a political Jewish zealot and hated the Romans because they destroyed the Hasmonide Kingdom 60 years ago.

After Judas’ father Simon suffered leprosy the family acquired a summer residence in Galilee; Jesus cured Judas’ father; Jesus later resuscitated Judas’ brother Lazarus from the dead; Marie Magdalena, the sweet heart of Jesus, was Judas’ sister as well as Martha.

Jesus loved this family even more than his own. Jesus trusted and loved Judas more than most; Judas had the purse because he was rich and was highly literate.

Jesus must have discussed and gone into lengthy arguments with Judas the zealot. The advance to Jerusalem was slow; Jesus and the disciples from Galilee were not that excited of entering Jerusalem because it was a hostile city in their mind.

Two factors might have kept Jesus marching on, though he received many intelligence that the multitude of followers joining the trip were not excited for it.

The first reason is that the Pharisee priests of Jerusalem have been scheming for over a year to lure Jesus in: they had neither legal hold on Jesus in the counties he preached nor any power there.

The second factor might be the permanent encouragement of Judas Iscariot coaxing Jesus on. Judas had political ambitions since he was rich and a learned Jew from the southern tribes. The large followers of Jesus have encouraged Judas to plan for a bolder and direct political job.

Jesus enters Jerusalem on a Friday and chased out the money changers and those doing business as usual by Herod Temple. Jesus was chocked by these practices that were never done in the Great Temple of Mount Carmel; his wrath had no limit; he borrowed a whip and ran after those who desecrated the Holy Place; a place for prayer.

Then Jesus camped outside the city limit (this sinful city was no place to honor) and was received as a popular Rabi leader on Sunday morning; Jesus is mounted on a donkey.

On Thursday evening, and after the Last Supper Jesus is made prisoner and convicted of fomenting disruption by the Jewish Sanhedrin in Jerusalem.

From Sunday till the Last Supper what happened?

This year was not a run of the mill celebration; Jerusalem was swarmed by thousands of different brands of pilgrims and a walking Rabi entered preaching and speaking a new message; a walking Rabi who has been lambasting the Pharisee and the other Jewish sects of the priesthood for over six months by now.

The Jewish Sanhedrin has been gathering intelligence on Jesus for over a year and it has accumulated a thorough biography of Jesus and on his messages.

The Sanhedrin knew that Jesus of Galilee was the “son of Marie“; it was convinced, and their rumors aided a lot, that Joseph was not the genetic father of Jesus. And Mathew poured oil on the fire by relating a not convincing story 60 years later.

I don’t care one way or another who was the real father of Jesus but everyone else at that period did care and must have known, especially the Sanhedrin. The Jews named the sons and, especially, the eldest son after the patriarch of the family. The Sanhedrin knew that Jesus was a “gentile” who was circumcised by law during the century old Macabe Kingdom and followed the Jewish rituals.

The Sanhedrin was highly upset and frightened that this walking Rabi knew more on the Book and the history of the Jewish priesthood than the most learned among them. And yet, not a historian, not a document, not an anecdote recounted what happened between Sunday and Thursday.

These four days are as blank as the period of Jesus before he started disseminating his message at the age over 30.

From Sunday to Thursday we know nothing of the activities and whereabouts of Jesus or his apostles.

Were the disciples scattered to disseminate the new message?

Was Jesus preaching and meeting with the masses?

Has Jesus discussed with a few priests in the Sanhedrin?

What is certain is that the Roman Pilates had no facts or accounts on Jesus activities to substantiate fomenting any civil revolt. The Sanhedrin was reduced to asking Jesus abstract and metaphysical questions “Are you the son of God?”

I am inclined to believe that Jesus camped outside the city limit and made scarce appearances. Jesus was awed and disoriented. The thousands of pilgrims in Jerusalem might be Jews but they didn’t look or behave like the Essonite (Essenien) sect he belonged to.

Jesus might have dispatched Iscariot to negotiate with the Sanhedrin for a peaceful pilgrimage; he would pray with his disciple in Herod Temple and leave.

Meanwhile, the Sanhedrin had actively fomented the southern Jews against Jesus and then lured Jesus within the city limit for Thursday’s Last supper. Plausibly, Jesus was to meet with the highest priests. The meeting was not to take place and Jesus realized that the trap is closed and that would be the last supper with his disciples.

Jesus was possibly no fool but he had no choice but to take that risk.

In the last year, Jesus realized that his message was not taking roots; he was followed out of his charisma and for performing miracles. Resuming the same wandering trips was leading to no where; his life was already nerve wracking and miracles were sapping his energy.

The other alternative was a kind of moratorium on his activities or an agreement to be included as a valued outsider member in the Sanhedrin. Judas might have thought that he had a win-win situation; whether the meeting between Jesus and the Sanhedrin is a success or a failure he was assured an honorable position.

Judas was rich and didn’t need these lousy 30 silver coins; maybe this money was a practical symbol as a first installment on a larger agreement. Judas had no intention of following Jesus any further and being settled in Jerusalem suited him grandly.

Most probably, the other disciples had no winds of the negotiations between Judas and the Sanhedrin; Judas was simply proselytizing the message, visiting old family relations, and preparing logistic accommodations. The other disciples (apostles later on) were pretty happy not to wander in this hostile city; they were as disoriented as Jesus was.

The Sanhedrin would not be humiliated by convicting a “gentile” on Jewish religious grounds; it would not legally stick with the Romans who did not meddle in sects divergences.

The Sanhedrin would not bring troubles to its structure of interests by spreading an accusation of a popular movement getting underway contesting its legitimacy. The Sanhedrin was in a major predicament but it would not allow Jesus to freely resume his teaching; Jesus was to die in Jerusalem before he gets out of their religious jurisdiction.

After Jesus was crucified, all the scared apostles huddled in a remote house. From the testimony of the apostles, all that they retained from Jesus’ message was that there is another “coming” and pretty soon.

After news of Jesus resurrection reached the apostles, the second coming was confirmed to the apostles with a twist: the second coming will take place during their lifetime; if they die before the “coming” then they will be resurrected within 3 days to participate in the final event.

Thomas would not be railroaded one more time: he wants to touch Jesus and check the wounds.

Jesus has been teaching his message in parabolas, the best technique for verbal retention; these parabolas were in the Gnostic literature of the Land and the examples were extracted from the customs and tradition of the Land.

The apostles learned nothing much of the spiritual message of Jesus; they didn’t even comprehend the message; they just discussed what in the message differed from the Jewish daily rituals and customs.

Maybe Jesus was funny and told his stories in a funny way but the testimonies of the apostles were not that funny; most probably the funny apostles with sense of humor were not taken that seriously and their accounts forgotten, burned, and destroyed.

These events did not take place in pre-history.

The Land was highly civilized and cultured. The elites spoke Greek, Roman, Aramaic, and Hebrew. The Land had been disseminating all sorts of philosophical schools, sciences, and literatures.

And yet, nothing to account from Sunday to Thursday! Could you say that we have a biography of Jesus? The Jews even created a biography for Noah! I love biographies and I am not at all satisfied with what I have got.

Thousands of Christian “heretics”, according to Imperial Byzantium Church, who believed only in the human nature of Jesus were persecuted, imprisoned, and crucified for not abiding by Byzantium orthodox dogma. Why did these “heretics” have to defy a stupid orthodox dogma since there were no confirmed documents describing the entire life of Jesus?

Thousands of Christian “heretics” who believed only in the spiritual nature of Jesus were persecuted and executed for not following the orthodox dogma; why did they have to revolt against the orthodox dogma since even the apostles did not care or comprehend that much about Jesus spiritual message?