What follows is a
harmony of the four canonical gospels with material from several non-canonical
gospels and other works, such as the Didache. Several later alterations to
earlier versions of the canonical works have been removed. The foundation of the whole work presented
here is the Gospel of Mark, but with
many additions from the other three canonicals and the other works mentioned at
the end.
I did one of these
back in the late 1980’s, but the goal then was to include as much as possible
in as coordinated a manner as possible.
This time, the effort is tied to the motivations behind my earlier essay
“The Real Jesus Christ”, and as such I have focused on what a first century
Galilean prophet may have said or done.
I have deliberately
left out anachronistic allegories to later events such as the Little Apocalypse of the Olivet
Discourse, the story of “Legion” being cast out of a human into two thousand
pigs, and the feedings of the five thousand and of the four thousand. I have left out “plot devices” such as filler
material and voyages across “the sea” that really go nowhere. I have also excised all of the “magical”
elements found in the canonical gospels such as people being resurrected from
the dead and water transmorphosing into wine.
Several of the healing stories involved other elements than the
miraculous, and seemingly miraculous cures for which there is nonetheless a
scientific explanation are not unheard of.
The gospel of *Jesus Chrestos the Nazorean of Capernaum, according to Chuck
(*aka Isho Nasraya, Yeshu ha-Notzri, Iesous Nazoraios, Iesous Chrestos, and Iesous Christos)
Baptism of Jesus
Jesus went up from Capernaum in Galilee,
and was baptized by in the Jordan. Coming up from the water, he heard a voice
come out of the sky, ‘You are my Son; this day have I begotten you’. Immediately the Spirit drove him out into the
wilderness, where he was tempted by Beliar for forty days.
Beginning of the Galilean
ministry
After the forty days, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom
of God, saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at
hand! Repent, and believe in the gospel’.
They went into Capernaum, and on the Sabbath he went to
synagogue and taught. They were
astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as having authority, and not as
the scribes, asking each other, ‘Where did this man get these things?’ and, ‘What is the wisdom that is given to this man, that such mighty works come about by his hands? Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? Aren’t his sisters Mary and Salome with us?’
Man with the unclean spirit
There was at their assembly a man with an unclean spirit,
and he cried out, saying, ‘Ha! What do
we have to do with you, Jesus the Nazorean? Have you come to destroy us?’
Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be quiet, and come out of
him!’
The unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud
voice, came out of him. The report of him
went out immediately everywhere into all the region of Galilee and its
surrounding area.
Jesus heals many at
Simon’s house
After they left the assembly, they came into the house of
Simon and Andrew.
Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick with a fever, and they told him about
her. He came and took her by the hand,
and raised her up. The fever left her,
and she served them.
At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to him all
who were sick, and those who were possessed by demons. All the city was gathered together at the
door. He healed many who were sick with
various diseases, and cast out many demons.
Preaching tour in
Galilee
Early in the night, he rose up and went out, and departed
into a deserted place, and prayed there.
Simon and those who were with him followed after him; and they found
him, and told him, ‘Everyone is looking for you’.
He said to them, ‘Let’s go elsewhere into the next
towns, that I may preach there also, because for this reason I came
forth’. He went to assemblies throughout
all Galilee, preaching and casting out demons.
Cleansing of a leper
There came to him a leper, begging him, kneeling down to
him, and saying to him, ‘If you want to, you can make me clean’.
Being moved with compassion, he stretched out his hand, and
touched him, and said to him, ‘I want to. Be made clean’. When he had said this, immediately the
leprosy departed from him, and he was made clean. He strictly warned him, and immediately sent
him out, and said to him, ‘See you
say nothing to anybody, but go show yourself to the priest, and offer for your
cleansing the things which Moses commanded, for a testimony to them’.
But he went out, and began to proclaim it much, and to
spread about the matter, so that Jesus could no more openly enter into a city,
but was outside in desert places: and they came to him from everywhere.
Healing of a
paralytic
When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was heard
that he was in the house. Many gathered together
there, so that there was no more room, not even around the door; and he spoke
the word to them.
Four people came, carrying a paralytic to him. When they could not come near to him for the
crowd, they removed the roof where he was. When they had broken it up, they let down the
mat that the paralytic was lying on. Jesus,
seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven
you’.
But there were some of the scribes sitting there, and
reasoning in their hearts, ‘Why does this man speak blasphemies like that? Who can forgive sins but God alone?’
Jesus, perceiving in his spirit their thoughts, said asked, ‘Why
do you reason these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to tell the paralytic, “Your
sins are forgiven”; or to say, “Arise, and take up your bed, and walk”? But that you may know that I have authority
on earth to forgive sins’—he said, turning to the paralytic—‘I tell you,
arise, take up your mat, and go to your house’.
He arose, and immediately took up the mat, and went out in
front of them all; so that they were all amazed.
Jesus calls Levi
As he passed by, he saw Levi bar Alphaeus sitting at the tax
office, and he said to him, ‘Follow me’. And he arose and followed
him.
It happened that many tax collectors and sinners sat down
with Jesus and his disciples at the table in Levi’s house, for there were many
who followed him. The scribes, when they
saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, asked his disciples, ‘Why
is it that he eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?’
When Jesus heard it, he told them, ‘Those who are
healthy have no need for a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to
call the righteous, but sinners’.
Question about
fasting
John’s disciples and the scribes were fasting, and they came
and asked him, ‘Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the scribes fast,
but your disciples don’t?’
Jesus replied, ‘Can the groomsmen fast while the
bridegroom is with them? As long as they
have the bridegroom with them, they can’t fast.
But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them’.
About the Sabbath
It happened that he was going through the grain fields on
the Sabbath, and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of
grain. The scribes said to him, ‘Why do your
disciples do that which is not lawful on the Sabbath?’
Jesus answered, ‘Did you never read what David did, when
he had need, and was hungry, he, and they who were with him? How he entered into the house of God when
Abiathar was high priest, and ate the show bread (which it is not lawful to eat
except for the priests) and gave also to those who were with him?’
He concluded, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man
for the Sabbath. Therefore man is lord
even of the Sabbath’.
Man with a withered
hand
When Jesus went to assembly, there was a man with his hand
withered. He told Jesus, ‘I was a mason
and earned my livelihood with my hands; I beg you, rabbi, to restore me to my
health that I may not with ignominy have to beg for my bread.’
The scribes and elders watched Jesus, to see whether he
would heal him on the Sabbath.
Jesus said to the man who had his hand withered, ‘Stand
up’.
He asked those of the assembly, ‘Is it lawful on the
Sabbath to do good, or to do harm? To
save a life, or to kill’? But they were silent.
When he had looked around at them with anger, being grieved
at the hardening of their hearts, he said to the man, ‘Stretch out your
hand’. He stretched it out, and his hand was restored as healthy as the
other.
Sermon on the Plain
He came to a broad level place with a crowd of his
disciples, and a great number of the people who came to hear him and to be
healed of their diseases; as well as those who were troubled by unclean spirits,
and they were being healed. All the
multitude sought to touch him, for power came out of him and healed them all. Then he lifted up his eyes to his disciples
and the masses, and taught them.
‘Come to me, all you who struggle and labor under heavy
burdens, for easy is my yoke and my burden is gentle, and you shall find rest
for yourselves.’
Blessings and curses
‘Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of
God; but cursed are you who are rich, for you have already received your
consolation. Blessed are you who are
hungry, for you will be filled; but cursed are you who are full, for you will
be hungry. Blessed are you who weep, for
you will laugh; but cursed are you who are laughing, for you will mourn and
weep. Blessed are you whom people hate,
and exclude, and revile, and defame; for that is what their ancestors did to
the prophets. But cursed are you of whom all speak
well, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.’
On the validity of
the Torah
‘Don’t think that I want to destroy the Torah or the Prophets.
I don’t want to destroy them but to bring them to fulfillment. Truly I tell you, unless heaven and earth
pass away, not even one iota or one stroke shall in any way pass away from the Torah.’
The spirit of the
Torah
‘You have heard it said, “You shall not kill”; and “Whoever
kills will be in danger of the judgment”.
But I tell you, that everyone who is angry with his brother without a
cause will be in danger of the judgment; and whoever says to his brother,
‘Raca!’ will be in danger of the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be
in danger of Gehenna.
‘You have heard it said, “You shall not commit adultery”, but
I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed
adultery with her already in his heart.
‘Again you have heard it said, “You shall not make false
vows, but shall perform to the Lord your vows’, but I tell you, don’t swear at
all, neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God, nor by the earth, for it
is his footstool, nor by Jerusalem, for it is his city. Nor shall you swear by your head, for you
can’t make one hair white or black. Let
your “Yes” be “Yes” and your “No” be “No”. Whatever is more than these is of the evil
one.
‘You have heard it said, “An eye for an eye, and a tooth for
a tooth”. But I tell you, don’t resist evil. Whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn
to him the other also. If anyone sues
you to take away your coat, let him have your cloak. Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with
him two. Give to any who ask you, and
don’t turn away any who desire to borrow from you.
‘You have heard it said, “You shall love your neighbor and
hate your enemy”. But I tell you, love
your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and
pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you, that you may be
children of your Father in heaven. For
he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just
and the unjust.
‘If you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Don’t sinners and tax collectors do the same?
If you only greet your
friends, what more do you do than others? Don’t sinners and tax collectors do the same? If you lend to those from whom you hope to
receive, what credit is that to you? Don’t
sinners do the same? Therefore you shall
be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
‘Love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing
back; for your reward will be great, and
you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind toward the unthankful and
evil.’
Reconciliation before
offering
‘If you are offering your gift at the altar, and there
remember that your brother has anything against you leave
your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then
come and offer your gift. Agree with
your adversary quickly, while you are with him on the way; lest perhaps the
prosecutor deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer,
and you be cast into prison. Most
certainly I tell you, you shall by no means get out of there, until you have
paid the last penny.’
Golden Rule
‘In everything, what you do not want to be done to you, do not do to
another; this is the Torah and the Prophets.’
On mercy
‘Be merciful, even as your Father is also merciful. Don’t judge, and you won’t be judged. Don’t condemn, and you won’t be condemned. Set free, and you will be set free. Give, and it will be given to you: good
measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be given to
you. For with the same measure you
measure it will be measured back to you.’
Masters and disciples
He spoke a parable to them. ‘Can the blind guide the
blind? Won’t they both fall into a
pit? A disciple is not above his
teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher’.
Worry about your own
shortcomings
How can you tell your brother, “Brother, let me remove the
speck of chaff that is in your eye,” when you yourself don’t see the beam that
is in your own eye? First remove the
beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck of
chaff that is in your brother’s eye.’
A tree and its fruit
‘For there is no good tree that produces rotten fruit; nor
again a rotten tree that produces good fruit.
For each tree is known by its own fruit.
For people don’t gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from
a bramble bush. The good man out of the
good treasure of his heart brings out that which is good, and the evil man out
of the evil treasure of his heart brings out that which is evil, for out of the
abundance of the heart, his mouth speaks.’
The two foundations
‘Everyone who comes to me, and hears my words, and does
them, I will show you who he is like. He
is like a man building a house, who dug and went deep, and laid a foundation on
the rock. When a flood arose, the stream
broke against that house, and could not shake it, because it was founded on the
rock. But he who hears, and doesn’t do, is like a
man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the
stream broke, and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.’
A royal official’s
son
In the town of Capernaum once again, a royal official came
to ask Jesus for help.
He said, ‘Rabbi, my son is in bed at my house. He cannot move and has much pain’.
Jesus said, ‘I will come and heal him’.
The official said, ‘Rabbi, I am not worthy to have you come
into my house. Just say the word, and my
son will be healed’.
Jesus was amazed when he heard this.
He said to the officer, ‘Go home. Your
son has been healed’. At that very same
time the official’s son was healed.
On following Jesus
As they went on the way, a scribe came and said to him,
‘Rabbi, I will go anywhere you go’.
Jesus said, ‘Foxes have holes to live in, and birds have
nests; but I have no place to lay my head’.
Another man who was a follower of Jesus, said to Jesus, ‘Mari,
let me go first and bury my father’.
But Jesus said to him, ‘Come with me, and let the dead bury
the dead’.
Nothing stays hidden
‘Everything that is
hidden will be seen. Everything that is
hidden will be known. What I say to you
in the dark, tell it in the light. What
you hear in secret, shout to others from the rooftops.’
Whom to fear
‘Do not fear people
who can kill the body. They cannot kill
the spirit. But fear the one who can
destroy both spirit and body in hell. Are
not two sparrows worth only a small amount of money? Yet not one of them falls to the ground
without your Father knowing about it. Even
the number of hairs on your head is known.
So do not fear. You are worth more than many sparrows.’
Not peace but a sword
‘Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I
have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against
her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s foes
will be those of his own house’.
Conditions of
discipleship
‘Now great multitudes were going with him. He turned and said to them, ‘If anyone comes
to me, and doesn’t disregard his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers,
and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he can’t be my disciple’.
Jesus chooses disciples
Jesus called those whom he desired, and they came. He appointed several to be with him, that he might send them out to preach, and to have authority to heal
sicknesses and to cast out demons: , James his brother, Cephas, John, Andrew, Levi, and Jude his brother.
Ministering women
Soon afterwards, he went about through cities and villages,
preaching and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. With him were the disciples, and certain women who had been healed of evil
spirits and infirmities: Mary Magdalene; Joanna, the wife of Chuzas, Herod’s steward; Susanna; and many others who
served them from their possessions.
Jesus and Beliar
He came into a house.
The multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat
bread. When his friends heard it, they went
out to seize him: for they said, ‘He is insane’. The scribes who came down from
Jerusalem said, ‘He has Beliar’, and, ‘By Beliar the prince of the demons he
casts out the demons’.
He summoned them, and said to them in parables, ‘How
can Beliar cast out Beliar? If a kingdom
is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that
house cannot stand. If Beliar has risen
up against himself, and is divided, he can’t stand, but has an end. But no one can enter into the house of the
strong man to plunder, unless he first binds the strong man; and then he will
plunder his house’.
Parable of the Sower
Again he began to teach by the seaside. A great multitude was gathered to him, so that
he entered into a boat in the sea, and sat down. All the multitude were on the land by the
sea.
He taught them many things in parables, and told them in his
teaching, ‘Listen! Behold, the farmer went out to sow, and it happened, as he
sowed, some seed fell by the road, and the birds came and devoured it. Others fell on the rocky ground, where it had
little soil, and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of
soil. When the sun had risen, it was
scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns
grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. Others fell into the good ground, and yielded
fruit, growing up and increasing. Some brought forth thirty times, some sixty
times, and some one hundred times as much’.
The purpose of the
parables
When he was alone, those who were around him with the twelve
asked him about the parables. He said to
them, ‘To you is given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but to those who
are outside, all things are done in parables, that seeing they may see, and not
perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest perhaps they
should turn again, and their sins should be forgiven them’.
A lamp under a bushel
basket
He said to them, ‘Is the lamp brought to be put under a
basket or under a bed? Isn’t it put on a
lamp stand? For there is nothing hidden,
except that it should be made known; neither was anything made secret, but that
it should come to light’.
Parable of the
Growing Seed
He said, ‘The kingdom of God is as if a man should cast
seed on the earth, and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed
should spring up and grow, he doesn’t know how.
For the earth bears fruit: first the blade, then the ear, then the full
grain in the ear. But when the fruit is
ripe, immediately he puts forth the sickle, because the harvest has come’.
Parable of the Tares
Jesus told the people another story.
‘The kingdom of God is like a man sowing good seed in his
field. While people were sleeping, a bad
man came and sowed weeds among the good seed. Then he went away. The good seed grew and the plants gave more
seeds. Then the weeds grew too.
‘The servants came and said to the man who owned the field,
“Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How did the weeds get here?”
`He answered them, “An evil man has done this”.
‘They asked him, “Do you want us to go and pull up the
weeds?”
‘”No,” said the man. “If you pull up the weeds, then the
good plants will come up with them. Let
them both grow together until the harvest time. When it is time to cut it, I will say to the
men who cut it, “Cut the weeds first. Tie
them in bundles to be burned. Then put
the grain into my storehouse”.’
Parable of the Mustard Seed
Parable of the Mustard Seed
He said, ‘How will we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable will we illustrate
it? It’s like a grain of mustard seed,
which, when it is sown in the earth, though it is less than all the seeds that
are on the earth, yet when it is sown, grows up, and becomes greater than all
the herbs, and puts out great branches, so that the birds of the sky can lodge
under its shadow’.
Parable of the Leaven
Again he said, ‘To what shall I compare the kingdom of
God? It is like yeast, which a woman
took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened’.
Parable of the Hidden
Treasure
‘The kingdom of God is like this. Something worth a lot of money is buried in a
field. A man found it and covered it
again. He was so glad that he went and
sold everything he had. Then he bought
that field.’
Parable of the Pearl
of Great Price
‘The kingdom of God is like this. A trader was looking for fine stones called
pearls. He found a pearl that was worth
a lot of money. Then he went and sold everything
he had and bought it.’
Parable of the Fish Net
‘The kingdom of God is like this. A fish net was thrown into the sea. It caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the men pulled it to the
land. They sat down and picked out the
good fish into baskets. But they threw
the bad fish away. That is the way it will be at the end. The
angels will come and take the wicked away from the good. They will put the wicked into the
never-ending hell fire, where they will wail and gnash their teeth.’
Parable of Treasures
Old and New
‘Anyone who knows the Torah and has learned about the
kingdom of God, is like the headman of a house. He can bring both new things and old things
out of what he has stored up.’
Commission of the Disciples
Jesus began to send his disciples out
two by two. He charged them that they should take nothing
for their journey, except a staff only: no bread, no wallet, no money in their
purse, but to wear sandals, and not put on two tunics. He said to them, ‘Wherever you enter
into a house, stay there until you depart from there. Whoever will not receive you nor hear you, as
you depart from there, shake off the dust that is under your feet for a
testimony against them’.
They went out and preached that people should repent. They cast out many demons, and anointed many
with oil who were sick, and healed them.
Traditions of the
elders
Then the Pharisees, and some of the scribes gathered
together to him, having come down from Jerusalem. Now when they saw some of his disciples
eating bread with unwashed hands, they found fault. The Pharisees and the scribes asked him, ‘Why
don’t your disciples walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their
bread with unwashed hands?’
Jesus said to him, ‘You wash the outside of a cup and dish clean, but inside they are full of filth, like the greed and excess within you. Hypocrites! Did not God make the inside as well as the outside? Do good, and do it from your heart, then everything is clean for you’.
Jesus said to him, ‘You wash the outside of a cup and dish clean, but inside they are full of filth, like the greed and excess within you. Hypocrites! Did not God make the inside as well as the outside? Do good, and do it from your heart, then everything is clean for you’.
‘You set aside the mitzvot of God, and hold tightly to the tradition of men; the washing of pitchers and cups, and you do many other such things. For Moses said, “Honor your father and your mother”; and, “He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death”. But you say that if a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban”, then you no longer allow him to do anything for his father or his mother, making void the mitvah of God by your tradition, which you have handed down. You do many things like this’.
He said to the multitude, ‘Hear me, all of you, and
understand. There is nothing from
outside of the man, that going into him can defile him; but the things which
proceed out of the man are those that defile the man’.
When he had entered into a house away from the multitude,
his disciples asked him about the saying.
He said to them, ‘Are you thus without understanding also? Don’t you perceive that whatever goes into the man from outside can’t defile him, because it doesn’t go into his heart, but into his stomach, then into the latrine, thus making all foods clean?’ He continued, ‘That which proceeds out of the man is what defiles the man. For from within, out of the hearts of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, sexual sins, murders, thefts, covetings, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and defile the man’.
He said to them, ‘Are you thus without understanding also? Don’t you perceive that whatever goes into the man from outside can’t defile him, because it doesn’t go into his heart, but into his stomach, then into the latrine, thus making all foods clean?’ He continued, ‘That which proceeds out of the man is what defiles the man. For from within, out of the hearts of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, sexual sins, murders, thefts, covetings, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and defile the man’.
The Phoenician
woman’s faith
Along the borders of
Tyre and Sidon, he entered into a house, and didn’t want anyone to know it, but
he couldn't escape notice. For a woman,
whose little daughter had an unclean spirit, having heard of him, came and fell
down at his feet.
Now the woman was a Gentile, a Phoenician. She begged him that he would cast the demon
out of her daughter.
But Jesus said to her, ‘Let the children be filled
first, for it is not appropriate to take the children’s bread and throw it to
the dogs’.
But she answered him, ‘Yes, Mari. Yet even the dogs under the table eat the
children’s crumbs’.
Jesus was amazed and
embarrassed at the depth of her humility. He said to her, ‘For this saying, go your way. The demon has gone out of your daughter’.
She went away to her house, and found the child having been
laid on the bed, with the demon gone out.
Curing of a blind man
at Bethsaida
He came to Bethsaida. They brought a blind man to him, and begged
him to touch him. He took hold of the
blind man by the hand, and brought him out of the village. When he had spit on
his eyes, and laid his hands on him, he asked him if he saw anything.
He looked up, and said, ‘I see men; for I see them like
trees walking’.
Then again he laid his hands on his eyes. He looked intently, and was restored, and saw
everyone clearly. He sent him away to
his house, saying, ‘Don’t enter into the village, nor tell anyone in the
village’.
Challenge to the
multitude
He called the multitude to himself with his disciples, and
said to them, ‘Whoever wants to come after me, let him deny himself, and
take up his cross, and follow me. For
whoever wants to save his life will lose it; and whoever will lose his life will
save it. For what does it profit a man,
to gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
For what will a man give in exchange for his life?’
He said to them, ‘Most assuredly I tell you, there are
some standing here who will in no way taste death until they see the kingdom of
God come with power’.
Healing of a boy
possessed by a spirit
Coming to the disciples, he saw a great multitude around
them, and scribes questioning them. When
they saw him, all the multitude were greatly amazed, running to greet him. He asked the scribes, ‘What are you
asking them?’
One of the multitude answered, ‘Rabbi, I brought to you my
son, who has a mute spirit; and wherever it seizes him, it throws him down, and
he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth, and wastes away. I asked your disciples to cast it out, and
they weren’t able’.
He answered him, ‘Bring him to me’.
They brought him to him, and when he saw him, immediately
the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground, wallowing and foaming at
the mouth.
He asked his father, ‘How long has it been since this
has come to him?’
He said, ‘From childhood.
Often it has cast him both into the fire and into the water, to destroy
him. But if you can do anything, have
compassion on us, and help us’.
Jesus said to him, ‘If you can believe, all things are
possible to him who believes.’
The father of the child cried out with tears, ‘I believe. Help my unbelief!’
When Jesus saw that a multitude came running together, he
rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to him, ‘You mute and deaf spirit, I command
you, come out of him, and never enter him again!’ Having cried out, and convulsed greatly, it
came out of him. The boy became like one dead; so much that most of them said,
‘He is dead’. But Jesus took him by the
hand, and raised him up; and he arose.
When he had come into the house, his disciples asked him
privately, ‘Why couldn’t we cast it out?’
He said to them, ‘This kind can come out by nothing, except by
prayer and fasting’.
They went out from there, and passed through Galilee. He didn’t want anyone to know it. For he was teaching his disciples.
Temple tax
They came to Capernaum. There the men who were collecting the tax for
the temple came to Cephas. They asked
him, ‘Does not your teacher pay the tax for the temple?’
Cephas said, ‘Yes, he does’.
When he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him about it
first. He said, ‘Simon, what do you
think? From whom do kings on earth take taxes? Do they
take them from their own people or from other people?’
Cephas said, ‘From other people.’.
Jesus said, ‘Then the children do not pay a tax. But we must not make them think something
wrong about us. So go to the sea. Throw a fish-hook into the water. Take the first fish you catch. Open its mouth and you will see a piece of
money. Take it and pay them the tax for
you and me’.
Who is the greatest?
When he was in the
house he asked them, ‘What were you arguing among yourselves on the way?’
But they were silent, for they had disputed one with another
on the way about who was the greatest.
He sat down, and called the Twelve; and he said to
them, ‘If any man wants to be first, he shall be last of all, and servant
of all’. He took a little child, and
set him in the midst of them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, ‘Whoever
receives one such little child in my name, receives me, and whoever receives
me, doesn’t receive me, but him who sent me.
And whoever causes one of these little ones to stumble, it would be
better for him if he was thrown into the sea with a millstone hung around his
neck’.
An exorcist outside
the group
John said to him, ‘Teacher, we saw someone who doesn’t
follow us casting out demons in your name; and we forbade him, because he
doesn't follow us’.
But Jesus said, ‘Don’t forbid him, for there is no one
who will do a mighty work in my name, and be able quickly to speak evil of
me. For whoever is not against us is on
our side’.
Temptations and consequences
Jesus said, ‘If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off.
It is better for you to enter into life
maimed, rather than having your two hands to go into Gehenna into the
unquenchable fire. If your foot causes
you to stumble, cut it off. It is better
for you to enter into life lame, rather than having your two feet to be cast
into Gehenna. If your eye causes you to
stumble, cast it out. It is better for
you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes to
be cast into the Gehenna, where their worm doesn’t die, and the fire is not
quenched. Everyone will be salted with
fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt.’
Blessing on the
troubled
‘Blessed are they who have been persecuted in their heart;
these are they who have known the Father in truth.’
Parable of the Lost Sheep
Tax collectors and sinner all came close to Jesus to hear
him.
The scribes and other religious leaders did not like it, and
said to each other, ‘This man is glad to have sinners come. He eats with them’.
So Jesus told them this story.
He said, ‘Which one of you will not do this? A man has a hundred sheep. He loses one of them. He leaves the
ninety-nine in the wilderness, and he goes to look for the one that is lost. He looks until he finds it. And when he has found it, he is very glad. He carries it on his back. When he comes home, he calls his friends and
neighbors to come. He says, “Be glad with me! I have found my lost sheep”.
‘I tell you, the angels in heaven will be glad like that
when one sinner repents. The angels will
be more glad about that one person than about ninety-nine good people who do
not need to repent.’
Parable of the Lost Coin
‘What woman will not do this? She has ten coins of silver. If she loses one of them, she lights a lamp
and sweeps the house. She looks for the coin
until she finds it. When she has found
it, she calls her friends and neighbors to come. She says, “Be glad with me! I have found the coin I lost”. I tell you, the angels of God are glad when even
one sinner repents’.
Parable of the
Prodigal Son
Jesus also said, ‘A man had two sons. The younger son said to his father, “Father,
give me my part of what will belong to me”.
So his father divided all he had between the two sons.
‘After a few days, the younger son packed up his things. He left home and went to a country far away. There he spent his money in foolish and wrong
ways. He spent everything he had.
‘There was no food in that country for a long time. He began to be in trouble. So he went to stay with a man in the country
who had a farm. The man sent him out to
his farm to feed the pigs. He would have
been glad to eat the food the pigs ate. But
no one gave him anything.
‘Then he started to get sense. He said, “My father has many men who work for
him. They have plenty of food. But here I am dying because I have nothing to
eat! I will get up and go to my father. I will say to him, “Father I have been a bad
son. I have done wrong to God in heaven
and to you. I am not good enough now to
be called your son. Let me be like one
of these men who work for you”.
‘So he got up and went to his father. While he was still far away, his father saw
him. He loved him and wanted to share in
his troubles. He ran and put his arms
around him and kissed him.
‘The son said to him, “Father, I have been a bad son. I have sinned against God in heaven and against
you. I am not worthy to be called your
son. Let me be like one of these men who
work for you”.
‘But his father said to his servants, “Go quickly and bring
the best clothes. Dress him. Put a ring on his hand. Put shoes on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let us have a feast and a good time. This is my son. He was dead and now he is alive again. He was lost and is found”. And they began to have a good time.
‘The older son was out on the farm. When he came home and was near the house, he
heard music and dancing. He called one
of the servants and said, “What is going on?”
‘The servant said, “Your brother has come home. Your father has killed the fat young cow
because your brother is home and he is well”.
‘But the older son was angry. He would not go into the house. His father came out and begged him to come in. But the son said to his father, “Look. I have worked hard for you for many years. I have always done everything you told me to
do. And yet you never even gave me a
young goat to make a feast with my friends.
But now this son of yours has come back. He has spent all your money and was with bad
women. And yet you kill the fattened
calf for him!”
‘The father said, “Son you have always been with me. And all that I have is yours. But now we should have a good time and be
happy. Your brother was dead and now he
is alive again. He was lost and is
found”.’
If your brother sins
against you
‘If your brother sins against you, go to him. Talk alone to him and tell him what he has
done. If he listens to you, you have
kept your brother as a friend. But if he
does not listen to you, take one or two others with you to talk to him. Then two or three people will hear every word
and can prove what was said. If he does
not listen to them, tell the synagogue. If
he does not listen to the synagogue, treat him as Gentile or a tax collector.
What you bind
‘I tell you the truth. What you tie on earth will be tied in heaven. What you set free on earth will be set free in
heaven.’
Two or three gathered
‘I tell you another thing. If two of you on earth agree together to ask
for something, my Father in heaven will do it for them. Where two or three people meet together in my
name, I am there with them.’
On reconciliation
Then Cephas came to Jesus and asked him, ‘Mari, how many
times should I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Should I forgive him seven times?'
Jesus answered him, ‘I say not seven times only, but seventy
times seven; for in the prophets even after they were anointed with the Holy
Spirit was the word of sin found’.
Parable of the
Unforgiving Servant
‘In that way the kingdom of God is like this. A king was ready to finish his business with
his servants. The first servant was
brought in. He owed the king a very
large sum of money. He could not pay it.
So his master said, “Go sell him, his
wife, his children, and everything he has, and pay me!” So the servant bowed down in front of
him. He begged, “Sir, give me time. I
will pay everything”. His master was
sorry for him and let him go. He did not
make him pay the money.
‘That same servant went out and met another servant. This man owed him a much smaller sum of
money. He caught him by the throat and
said, “Pay me what you owe me!” Then
this servant bowed down in front of him. He begged, “Give me time. I will pay you”. But he said, “No”. He went and put the man in prison until he
could pay what he owed him.
‘The other servants saw what he did. They were very sad. They went and told their master everything
that had been done. Then his master
called the first servant to him. He
said, “You evil man! I let you go. I did not make you pay all you owed me,
because you begged me to be kind to you.
You should have been kind to the other servant, as I was kind to you”.
‘His master was very angry. He turned the servant over to the prison
guards until he could pay all he owed him.
‘That is like what my Father in heaven will do to every one
of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart’.
Rejection by the
Samaritans
They went to one of the towns of the Samaritan people to get
ready for him. But the people would not
take him in.
When the disciples saw that, they said, ‘Maran,
do you want us to ask for fire to come down from the sky and burn them up?’
But he turned and said to them, ‘Stop that! You do not think about what kind of spirit you
are showing. I did not come to kill
people, but to save them’. And they went
on to another town.
On prayer
One day Jesus was in a place praying. When he had finished, one of his disciples asked
him, ‘Mari, teach us to pray as John the Baptist taught his disciples’.
Jesus said, ‘When you pray, say, “Father, blessed be your
name. Send your Spirit to purify
us. Give us what is sufficient day-by-day.
Forgive us our debts, as we forgive those indebted to us. Prevent us
from succumbing to temptation, and protect us from evil. Your will be done. Amen’.
‘Maybe one of you has a friend. You go to him in the middle of the night and
say to him, “Friend, lend me three loaves of bread. A friend has come to my house. He has been on the road. I have no food to give him to eat”.
‘Maybe the friend in the house answers you and says, “Do not
trouble me. The door is locked. And my children and I are in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything”. I tell you this. Maybe he will not give him anything because he
is his friend. But he will get up and
give him what he needs because he keeps on asking for it.
‘Ask and it will be given. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks will receive. He who seeks will find. And the door will be opened to him who knocks.
‘Which of you fathers will give your child a snake if he or
she asks for a fish? Will you give them
a scorpion if they ask for an egg? You
are sinners and yet you know how to give good things to your children. Much
more, the Father in heaven will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.’
Evil spirits return
‘When an evil spirit has gone out of a man, he goes through
dry places. He looks for a place to
rest, but he does not find any. Then he
says, “I will go back to my house from where I came”.
‘When he comes back, he finds it clean and all fixed up. Then he goes and brings seven other spirits
who are worse than he is. They go in and
live there. Now the man is worse than he
was at first.’
True blessedness
As he said this, a woman among the people called out, ‘Blessed
is your mother who gave birth to you, and fed you as a baby’.
But Jesus replied, ‘Blessed are those who hear the Word of
God and keep it!’
Concerning light
‘Your body gets its light through your eyes. When you have good eyes, all your body has
light. But when your eyes are bad, your body is in darkness. So be sure that it is not dark in you where
it should be light. If no part of your
body is dark, it will all be light. It will be like a lamp that shines to give
you light.’
Against the scribes
Then Jesus talked to the people and to his disciples. He said, ‘The scribes sit in Moses’ seat; so
obey and do everything they tell you to do. But do not do what they do. They say what should be done, but they do it
not. They make heavy loads and put them
on people’s backs, but they themselves will not put up even one finger to help
carry the loads.
‘They do all their work to be seen by other people. They widen their tefillin and lengthen their
tzitzit. They want to sit in the best
places at the feasts. They want to have
the front seats in the meeting houses. They
want people to greet them in the market, and to call them ‘rabbi’. But people should not call you ‘rabbi’. You have one Teacher, and you are all
brothers.
‘The one who is greatest among you will serve the others; anyone
who exalts himself humbled, and anyone who humbles himself will be exalted.’
Parable of the Rich
Fool
One of the people in the crowd said,
‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide with me the things my father left when he
died’.
Jesus said, ‘Man, who made me a judge over you or gave me
power to divide your things?’
Then he said to the people, ‘Take care. Do not be greedy in
any way to get more and more things. Even if a man has much more than he needs,
it cannot give him life’.
Then he told them a story.
He said, ‘A rich man had a farm. The
things that grew on it were many. He
said to himself, “What will I do? I have no place to keep all the food I have
grown”. So he said, “This is what I will
do. I will break down my storehouses and
build bigger ones. I will keep in them
all the food and everything I have. Then
I will say to myself, Man, you have much in your storehouses for many years. Rest now. Eat, drink, and have a good time.
‘But God said to him, “You fool! Tonight you will die. Then who will have all the things you have
kept for yourself?” So anyone who keeps
things for himself is not rich in the way God wants him to be rich.’
Parable of the Barren
Fig Tree
Then Jesus told this story: ‘A man
had a fruit tree on his farm. He came to
look for fruit on it, but did not find any.
He said to the man who cared for the trees, “For three years I have come
to look for fruit on this tree, but I have not found any. Cut it down. Why should it spoil my farmland?” The man who cared for the trees answered, “Sir,
let it stay one more year. I will dig
around it and put good soil around it. If it has fruit on it next year, that will be
good. But if it has no fruit, you can
have it cut down”.’
Healing of the sick
woman on the Sabbath
Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues
on the Sabbath.
A woman was there who had a spirit that had made her sick
for eighteen years. She had to bend down
all the time and could not stand up straight.
Jesus saw her and called her to come to him. Then he said, ‘Woman, you
are healed. You are not sick any longer’.
Jesus put his hands on her, and right away she stood up
straight. And she praised God.
The chief of the synagogue was angry because Jesus had
healed on the Sabbath. He said to the
people, ‘There are six days to work. You
should come to be healed on those days, and not on the Sabbath’.
Jesus said, ‘Hypocrites!
Every one of you unties his cow or horse and takes it to the water to
drink on the Sabbath. Do you not? This woman is a child of Abraham. Satan has tied her for eighteen years. Is it not right that she should be set free on
the Sabbath?’
When he said that, all those who had talked against him were
ashamed. All the other people were very
glad for all the wonderful things Jesus did.
The Two Ways
‘Try hard to go in by the small gate. Many will want to go in but they will not be
able. The Way of Death is broad and the
gate to enter it wide; many go that way.
But the Way of Life is narrow and the gate to enter it small, therefore few
find it’.
Healing of the man
with dropsy on the Sabbath
One Sabbath Jesus went to eat at the house of one of the chief scribes. They were watching him closely.
At one point, a man stood in front of him, sick with dropsy.
Jesus asked the scribes, ‘Is
it right to heal a person on the Sabbath or not?’
They did not answer. So
he took the man and healed him. Then he
sent him away.
Jesus said to them, ‘If your horse or cow falls into a hole,
which one of you will not pull him out right away on the Sabbath?’
They could not answer that.
On humility
Jesus told a story to the people who were asked to eat at
the house. He saw that they chose to sit
at the best places. He said to them, ‘When
you are called to a wedding, do not sit in the best place. It may be that a better man than you has been
called. Then the man who called you both
will come and say to you, “Get up and let this man sit here”. Then you will be ashamed. And you will go and sit down in the last
place. But when you are asked to go to a
wedding, go and sit down in the last place. Then when the man who called you comes, he
will say to you, “Friend, come to a better place”. Then all the people who sit at the table will
see how he respects you. All who exalt themselves
will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted’.
Then Jesus said to the man who had asked him to come, ‘When
you make a dinner or a feast, do not ask your friends, or your brothers, or the
people in your family, or your rich neighbors.
They will repay you by making a dinner for you. But when you make a dinner, ask the people
who are poor, hurt, lame, or blind. You
will be made happy because they cannot pay you. You will be repaid when all good
people are raised from death’.
Parable of the Great
Dinner
One of those who was sitting at the table heard this. He said, ‘Blessed are they who will eat in the
kingdom of God!’
But Jesus said to him, ‘A man made a big feast and asked
many people to come. When the feast was
ready, he sent his servant to tell the people who had been invited. He said, “Come. Everything is ready”. But the people all began to make excuses. The first one said, “I have bought a farm. I
must go and see it. I beg you, excuse me
from the feast”. Another man said, “I
have bought ten oxen. I am going to see
them. I beg you, excuse me from the
feast”. Another one said, “I just got
married, so I cannot come”.
‘The servant came and told his master. Then the master was very angry. He said to his servant, “Go out quickly. Go on all the streets in the city. Bring here people who are poor, hurt, blind,
or lame”.
‘The servant came back and said, “Sir, I have done what you
told me to do. There is still room for
more people”. Then the master said to
the servant, “Go out onto the roads and behind bushes. Find people and make them come in so that my
house will be full. I tell you, not one
of the men who were called first will eat any of my feast”.’
Price of discipleship
Many people were going with Jesus. He turned to them and said, ‘If any man comes
to me, he must hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers
and sister. Yes, he must hate himself
too. If he does not, he cannot be my
disciple.
‘When any of you wants to build a high house, you sit down
first and see how much it will cost. You want to see if you have enough money
to finish it. If you do not have enough
money, you will not be able to finish it after you have made the foundation.
Then all the people who see it will laugh at you. They will say, “This man started to build a
house and could not finish it”.
‘When a king goes to fight against another king, he sits
down first and thinks about the matter. He
will ask himself, “Can I fight him with ten thousand soldiers? He has twenty thousand soldiers”.
If he cannot fight him, he will send some men to meet the other king while
he is still far away. He will try to
make peace with him.
‘In the same way, any one of you who does not give up all he
has cannot be my disciple.’
Parable of Salt
‘Salt is good. But if the salt has lost its taste, how can
it be made salty again? It is not good
for the land or the dirt pile. People
throw it away.’
Parable of the
Dishonest Steward
Jesus also talked to his disciples. He said, ‘A rich man had a steward in charge
of his things. People told the rich man that the manager was wasting his
things. He called the steward and asked
him, “What is this I hear about you? Tell
me what you have done. You cannot be my
steward anymore”.
‘Then the manager thought to himself, “What will I do? My master is taking my work away from me. I am not strong enough to go out and dig. I am ashamed to beg. I know what I will do. Then, when I lose my job, these people will
take me into their own homes”.
‘So he called to him everyone who owed his master something.
He asked the first man, “How much do you owe my master?” He answered, “A hundred tins of oil”. The manager said, “Take your paper. Sit down right now and write on it fifty”. Then he asked the next man, “How much do you
owe?” He said, “A hundred bags of
grain”. The manager said, “Take your
paper and write on it eighty”.
‘Then the master praised the manager who did wrong. He praised him because he did what was wise. The people of this world are wiser than the
people who have the Light. They know how
to get along with people like themselves.
‘I tell you this. Money
may be a wrong thing, but use it to make friends for yourselves. Then when your money is spent, they will be
glad to see you come into that place where people live forever.
‘Anyone who can be trusted in a little matter can also be
trusted in a big matter. Anyone who does wrong in a very little matter will do
wrong also in a big matter. So if you
could not be trusted to use money, which is bad, who will trust you to use true
riches? If you could not be trusted with
what belonged to another person, who will give you something for yourself?’
God and mammon
‘No servant can work for two masters. He will hate one and love the other, or he will
obey one and despise the other. You
cannot serve both God and wealth.’
Parable of Lazarus
and Dives
‘There was a rich man named Dives who dressed and lived like
a king every day. A poor man named
Lazarus was put at his door. He had many
sores on his body. He wanted to eat the
pieces of food that fell from the rich man's table. Dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died. Angels carried him to be with Abraham.
‘Dives also died and was buried. He was in great pain in the world of dead people. He looked up and saw Abraham far away. With him was Lazarus. He called out, “Father Abraham, help me! Send Lazarus to dip his finger in some water
and cool my tongue. This fire is very
hot for me”.
‘But Abraham said to him, “Son, remember this. You had good things when you were living, and Lazarus
had bad things. But now he is happy here
and you are in pain. But that is not
all. A wide abyss is between you and us.
No one can go from here to you if he
wanted to. And no one can come from where
you are to us”.
Unprofitable servants
‘If your servant is working in the field or taking care of
sheep, what will you say to him when he comes in from the field? Will
you say, “Come now and sit down to eat”?
No, you will say, “Get my food ready. Get ready to wait on me. I will eat and drink. After that, then you may eat and drink”. Will you thank the servant for doing what you
told him to do?
‘It is the same with you. When you have done all you were told to do,
you should say, “We are servants. We
have not done a big thing. We have only
done what we should do”.’
Healing of ten lepers
Jesus was on the road between the countries of Samaria and
Galilee. When he was going into a
village, ten men who had leprosy came to him. They stood far away. And they called out, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have
mercy on us!’
When Jesus saw them, he said to them, ‘Go and let the
priests look at you’. While they were
going, they were healed of the leprosy.
One of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back. He praised God with a loud voice.
He bowed down in front of Jesus and thanked him. He was a Samaritan.
Then Jesus asked, ‘Were not ten people healed? Where are the other nine? Is this stranger the only one who has come
back to praise God?’
Then he said to the man, ‘Get up and go on your way. Your faith has healed you’.
The kingdom of God is
within
The scribes asked Jesus, ‘When will the kingdom of God
come?’
He answered them, ‘You will not see the kingdom of God coming. People will not be able to say, “Look, here
it is!” or “Look, there it is!”, because the kingdom of God is inside each and
every one of you’.
Parable of the Widow
and the Unjust Judge
Jesus told them a story to teach them that they should keep praying
and not give up.
He said, ‘There was a judge in a city. He did not respect God or care about people. There was a woman in that city whose husband
was dead. The woman came to the judge
again and again. She said, “Save me from my enemy!” For a long time he would not do it. But after a time he said, “I do not respect
God or care about people. But this woman
is troubling me. So I will save her from
her enemy. If I do not, she will keep
coming until I am tired”.’
Jesus explained, ‘The judge was a bad man. And yet you should listen to what he says. When the people whom God has chosen call to
him day and night, he will save them from their enemies. He may let them wait a time. But I tell you, he will save them from their
enemies soon. But when the Son of Man
comes, will he find any people who believe in him?’
Parable of the
Pharisee and the Publican
‘Two men went to the temple to talk with God. One was a Pharisee and the other one was a tax
collector.
‘The Pharisee stood and said to himself, ‘God, I thank you
that I am not like other men. They
steal, cheat, and commit adultery. I
thank you that I am not like this tax collector. Two times in the week I fast, and I tithe of
all that I have”.
`The tax collector stood far away. He did not even look up towards heaven, but he
beat his chest, saying, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner”. I tell you, when this man went home, he was
right with God. The other one was not.’
The adulterous woman
One day after teaching in the assembly, Jesus was returning
to his place and encountered some of the local elders taking a captive woman somewhere. When he stopped them and asked what they were
doing, they told him, “Rabbi, we found this woman in adultery, in the very act. Now in the Torah, Moses commanded us to stone
such women. What do you say?”
He stooped down, and began writing on the ground. Then he stood and answered them, ‘Let he who
is without sin among you throw the first stone at her’.
They, when they heard it, being convicted by their
conscience, went out one by one, beginning from the oldest, even to the last. Jesus was left alone with the woman where she
was, in the middle.
Jesus, standing up, saw her and asked, ‘Woman, where
are your accusers? Does no one condemn
you?’
She said, ‘No one, Mari’.
Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you. Go, and sin no
more’.
On divorce
Another time scribes asked him, ‘Is it lawful for a man to
divorce his wife?’
He answered, ‘What did Moses command you?’
They said, ‘Moses allowed a certificate of divorce to be
written, and to divorce her’.
But Jesus said to them, ‘For your hardness of heart, he
wrote you this mitzvah. But from the
beginning of the creation, “God made them male and female. For this cause a man will leave his father
and mother, and the two will become one flesh”, so that they are no longer two,
but one flesh. What God has joined
together, let no man rend asunder’.
In the house, his disciples asked him again about the same
matter. He said to them, ‘Whoever
divorces his wife, and marries another, commits adultery against her. If a woman herself divorces her husband, and
marries another, she commits adultery’.
Blessing of children
People were bringing to him little children, that he should
touch them, but the disciples rebuked those who were bringing them. But when Jesus saw it, he was moved with
indignation, and said to them, ‘Let the little children to come to me, and
don’t forbid them; the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Whoever will not receive the kingdom of God
like a little child, he will in no way enter into it’. He took them in his arms, and blessed them,
laying his hands on them.
The rich young man
As he was going out into the way, one ran to him, knelt
before him, and asked him, ‘Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit
eternal life?’
Jesus asked him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good except one, God. But you know the mitzvot: Honor your parents, Do not kill, Do not commit
adultery, Do not steal, Do not give false testimony, and Do not covet’.
He said to him, ‘Rabbi, I have observed all these things
from my youth’.
Jesus replied, ‘How can you say, “I have fulfilled the Torah
and the Prophets”? For it stands written
in the Torah: “Love your neighbor as yourself”, but many of your brothers and
sisters, children of Abraham, are filthy and starving, while your house is full
of good things and nothing at all comes forth from it to them! One thing, therefore, you lack: go, sell all
that you have, and give the money to the poor, so that you will have treasure
in heaven; then come, follow me’.
The young man’s face fell at that saying, and he went away
sorrowful, for he was one who had great possessions. Jesus remarked to his disciples, ‘How
difficult it is for those who have riches to enter into the kingdom of God!’
The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said further, ‘It is easier for
a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the
kingdom of God’.
They were exceedingly astonished, and asked, ‘Then who can
be saved?’
Jesus, looking at them, said, ‘With humans it is
impossible, but not with God, for all things are possible with God’.
Cephas told him, ‘We have left all, and have followed you’.
Jesus
said, ‘Most assuredly I tell you, there is no one who has left house, or
brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or land, for
my sake, and for the mission's sake, he will receive one
hundred times more now in this time, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers,
children, and land, with persecutions; and in the age to come eternal
life. But many who are first will be
last; and the last first’.
Parable of the
Workers
‘The kingdom of heaven is like this. A man owned a vineyard. Early in the morning he went out to look for
men to work on his vineyard. He agreed
to pay them a day's wages and sent them out to his farm.
‘At the third hour he went out again. He saw some men standing around at the market.
They were not working. He said to them, “You go out to work on the vineyard
too. I will pay you what is right”. And they went to work.
‘The man went out again at sixth hour and at the ninth hour,
doing the same as he had done before.
‘About the eleventh hour, he went out again and found other
men standing around. He said to them, “Why
have you been standing here all day? Why
are you not working?” They replied, “No one
has hired us to work’. So he said to
them, “You go out to work on the vineyard too”.
‘When evening came, the man who owned the vineyard said to
his manager, “Call the workmen and pay them. Begin with those who came last and end with
those who came first”. Each of the men
who started work at the eleventh hour was paid a day’s wages. Those who started work first thought they
would get more than that, but they also were paid a day’s wages. They took it, but they were angry and talked
against the man who owned the vineyard.
‘They said, “These men came last, and worked only one hour. Yet you paid them the same as you paid us. We worked all day, when the sun was hot”.
‘But he said to them, “My friends, I am not doing any wrong
to you. You agreed that I should pay you
a day’s wages. Did you not? Take your
money and go. I want to give the last
man the same pay as I gave you. It is my
own money. Can I not do with it as I
like? Do you think it is a wrong thing
for me to be kind?”
‘In the same way, people who are last will be first, and those
who are first will be last.’
Healing of Bartimaeus
in Jericho
They were on the way, going up to Jerusalem for the Feast of Sukkot, the festival of Ingathering and of Tabernacles, also that at which many Jews believed the Messiah ben David would bring the kingdom of God. Jesus was going in front of them, and they were amazed; and those who followed were afraid.
They came to Jericho. As he went out from there with his disciples and a great multitude, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the road. When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out, and say, “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me!” Many rebuked him, that he should be quiet, but he cried out much more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’
Jesus stopped, and said, ‘Call him’.
They called the blind man, saying to him, ‘Cheer up! Get up. He is calling you!’
He, casting away his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.
Jesus asked him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’
The blind man said to him, ‘Rhabboni, that I may see again’.
Jesus said to him, ‘Go your way. Your faith has made you well’. Immediately he received his sight, and
followed Jesus in the way.
Zacchaeus
As Jesus was passing through Jericho, a man named Zacchaeus
was there. He was the head tax
collector, and a rich man. He wanted to
see who Jesus was but he could not see him because he was a short man and there
were many people around him. So he ran
ahead and climbed into a tree, for Jesus was coming that way.
When Jesus came to the tree, he looked up. He said, ‘Zacchaeus, come down right now. I must stay at your house today’.
So Zacchaeus came down right then. He was glad to have Jesus come in his house. When all the people saw this, they did not
like it. They said, ‘He has gone to
visit a sinner’.
Zacchaeus stood up and said to Jesus, ‘Look, Mari, I will
give to the poor people half of all I have. And if I have cheated anyone, I will give him
back four times as much as I took’.
Jesus said to him, ‘The head of this house has been saved
today! He also is a son of Abraham. I came to look for and to save those who are
lost’.
Triumphal entry into
Jerusalem
When they came to Jerusalem for Sukkot, he sent two of his
disciples, and said to them, ‘Go your way into the village that is
opposite you. As you enter into it, you
will find a young donkey tied, on which no one has sat. Untie him, and bring him. If anyone asks you, “Why are you doing this?”
say, “Jesus needs it”, and immediately he will send him back here’.
They went away, and found a young donkey tied at the door
outside in the open street, and they untied him. Some of those who stood there inquired, ‘What
are you doing, untying the young donkey?’
They told them just as Jesus had said, and they let them go.
They brought the young donkey to Jesus, and threw their
garments on it, and Jesus sat on it. Many
spread their garments on the way, and others were cutting down branches from
the trees, and spreading them on the road.
Those who went in front, and those who followed, cried out, ‘Hosanna, we
beseech you, O Yahweh! O Yahweh, we
beseech you, give us success! Blessed is
he who comes in the name of Yahweh. We
bless you from the house of Yahweh’.
Jesus entered into the temple in Jerusalem. When he had
looked around at everything, it being now evening, he went out to Bethany with
the twelve.
Cursing of the fig
tree
The next day, when they had come out from Bethany, he was
hungry. Seeing a fig tree afar off
having leaves, he came to see if perhaps he might find anything on it. When he
came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. Jesus said to it, ‘May no one ever eat
fruit from you again!’, and his disciples heard it.
Cleansing of the Temple
Cleansing of the Temple
They returned to Jerusalem, and Jesus entered into the temple,
and began to throw out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and
overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of those who sold the
doves. He would not allow anyone to
carry a container through the temple. He
preached to them, saying, ‘Isn’t it written, “My house will be called a
house of prayer for all the nations?” But you have made it a den of thieves!’
The chief priests and the scribes heard it, and sought how
they might destroy him. For they feared
him, because all the multitude was astonished at his teaching.
Lesson of the fig
tree
When evening came, he went out of the city. As they passed by in the morning, they saw
the fig tree withered away from the roots. Cephas, remembering, said to him, ‘Rabbi, look! The fig tree which you cursed has withered
away’.
Jesus answering said to them, ‘Have faith in God. For most assuredly I tell you, whoever may
tell this mountain, “Be taken up and cast into the sea”, and doesn’t doubt in
his heart, but believes that what he says is happening; he shall have whatever
he says’.
Jesus’ authority
questioned
They came again to Jerusalem, and as he was walking in the
temple, the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders came to him, and
they began saying to him, ‘By what authority do you do these things? Or who gave you this authority to do these
things?’
Jesus said to them, ‘I will ask you one question. Answer this question first, and I will tell
you; the baptism of John; is it from heaven, or from men?’
They reasoned with themselves, saying, ‘If we should say,
“From heaven”, he will ask, “Why then did you not believe him?” If we should say, “From men”, we will have to
worry about the people, for many held John to be a prophet. So they answered, ‘We don’t know’.
Jesus said to them, ‘Neither do I tell you by what
authority I do these things’.
Parable of the Two
Sons
Jesus began to speak to them in parables.
‘A man had two sons, and he came to the first, and said, “Son,
go work today in my vineyard.” He answered, “I will not,” but afterward
he changed his mind, and went. He came
to the second, and said the same thing. He
answered, “I go, sir,” but he didn’t go.
Which of the two did the will of his father?’
They said to him, ‘The first.’
Jesus said to them, ‘Most certainly I tell you that the
tax collectors and the prostitutes will enter into the kingdom of God before
you’.
Pilate’s aqueducts
Pilate’s aqueducts
Pontius Pilatus, prefect
of Judea, had undertaken to bring water to Jerusalem by aqueduct, and did so by
spending money from the temple treasury.
The aqueduct ran to a spring two hundred furlongs away. When he was come to Jerusalem from the
capital at Caesarea Maritima for the feast with his troops, tens of thousands
of Jews came to his tribunal to protest, and made a clamor at it. Some of them also used insults, and abused
the man, as crowds of such people usually do.
Now since he had been
apprized beforehand, he had mixed his own soldiers in their armor with the
multitude, and ordered them to conceal themselves under the habits of private
men, and not indeed to use their swords, but with their staves to beat those
that made the clamor. He then gave the
signal from his tribunal. The Jews were
so badly beaten that many of them died, and many were trodden to death in the
stampede. Others of them ran away
wounded. Some of the survivors were
arrested.
Question about taxes to Caesar
Some of the Pharisees and the Herodians came to trap him
with words. When they had come, they
asked him, “Teacher, we know that you are honest, and don’t defer to anyone;
for you aren’t partial to anyone, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or
not? Shall we give, or shall we not
give?’
But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, ‘Why do
you test me? Bring me a denarius, that I
may see it’.
They brought it.
He asked them, ‘Whose is this image and inscription?’.
They said to him, ‘Caesar’s’.
Jesus answered them, ‘Render to Caesar the things that
are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s’.
They marveled greatly at him.
Question about the
resurrection
There came to him Sadducees, asking, ‘Teacher, Moses wrote
to us, “If a man’s brother dies, and leaves a wife behind him, and leaves no
children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up offspring for his
brother”. There were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and dying left no
offspring. The second took her, and
died, leaving no children behind him. The third likewise; and the seven took her and
left no children. Last of all the woman also died. In the resurrection, when they rise, whose
wife will she be of them? For the seven
had her as a wife’.
Jesus answered them, ‘Isn’t this because you are mistaken,
not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God? For when they will rise from the dead, they
neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. But about the dead, that they are raised;
haven’t you read in the book of Moses, how God spoke to him from the burning
bush, saying, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob”? He is not the God of the dead,
but of the living. You are therefore badly mistaken’.
The Greatest Mitzvah
One of the scribes came, and heard them questioning
together. Knowing that he had answered
them well, asked him, ‘Which commandment is the greatest of all?’
Jesus answered, ‘Love Yahweh your God with all your
heart and love your neighbor as yourself; there is no other mitzvah
greater than these’.
The scribe said to him, ‘Truly, Teacher, that is what is
more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices’.
When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to
him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God’.
Parable of the Good
Samaritan
Another scribe, watching the exchange, asked Jesus, “But who
is my neighbor?”.
Jesus answered, ‘A man was going from Jerusalem to Jericho. Bandits caught him on the road. They took his clothes and beat him. Then they went away and left him half dead. A cohen (priest) happened to be going down that road. He saw the man but he passed by on the other
side of the road.
‘A Levite from the temple came along to that place also. He saw the man but he passed by on the other
side.
‘A Samaritan was going on that road also, and came to the
place. He saw the man and wanted to
share in his troubles. He went to him
and tied up the sores he had from the beating. He washed them with oil and wine. Then he lifted the man up and set him on his
own animal to ride. He took him to the house for strangers. And he cared for him.
‘The next day he gave two pieces of money to the man who was
in charge of the house for strangers. He
said, “Take care of this man. If it costs you more than this, I will pay you
when I come back”.’
Jesus asked that scribe, ‘What do you think? Which of these three was a neighbor to the man
who was caught by the bad men?’
He said, ‘The man who was kind to him’.
Jesus said, ‘Go and do likewise’.
Mary and Martha in
Bethany
Jesus and his disciples returned to Bethany. A woman named Martha, whose younger brother
was Lazarus, took him into her home.
While Martha was very busy doing many things for Jesus, her
sister Mary sat at his feet listening to what he said. Martha complained to Jesus and said, ‘Mari, my
sister has left me to do all the work. Do
you not care? Tell her to come and help
me’.
Jesus answered, ‘Martha, Martha, you worry too much about too
many things. Only one thing is needed
right now. What Mary has chosen is good,
and it will not be taken away from her’.
Question about the
Messiah
Jesus asked, as he taught in the temple, ‘How is it
that the scribes say that the Messiah is the son of David? For David himself said in the Holy
Spirit, “The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand, until I make your
enemies the footstool of your feet”. If
David himself calls him “Lord”, so how can he be his son?’
Jesus denounces the
scribes
The common people heard him gladly. In his teaching he said to them, ‘Beware
of the scribes, who like to walk in long robes, and to get greetings in the
marketplaces, and the best seats in the synagogues, and the best
places at feasts: those who devour
widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation’.
Widow’s offering
Jesus sat down opposite the treasury, and saw how the
multitude cast money into the treasury. Many who were rich cast in much. A poor widow came, and she cast in two small
brass coins, which equal a quadrans coin.
He called his disciples to himself, and said to them, ‘Most
assuredly I tell you, this poor widow gave more than all those who are giving
into the treasury, for they all gave out of their abundance, but she gave all
that she had’.
Anointing and supper at
Bethany
In the house of Simon the leper in Bethany, Jesus ate his
last supper with the disciples the evening of the third day of the week. As he sat at the table, Mary, the sister of
Lazarus and Martha, came with an alabaster jar of ointment of pure nard that
was very costly and broke it, pouring nard over Jesus’ head.
There were some who were indignant among themselves, saying,
‘Why has this ointment been wasted? For
this might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to
the poor’. They grumbled against her.
But Jesus said, ‘Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work. As it says in the Torah, the poor will never
cease from the Land and will always be here, so you can do good to your brother
and to the needy and to the poor whenever you want; but you will not always
have me. She has done what she could’.
When supper was finished and they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of
Olives.
Mount of Olives
Mount of Olives
They came to the Mount of Olives. He said to his disciples, ‘Sit here,
while I pray. He took with him James his brother and Cephas and John, and began to be greatly troubled and distressed. He told them, ‘My soul is exceedingly
sorrowful, even to death. Stay here, and watch’.
He went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed.
He came and found them sleeping, and said to Cephas, ‘Simon,
are you sleeping? Couldn’t you watch one hour? Watch and pray, that you may not
enter into temptation. The spirit indeed
is willing, but the flesh is weak’.
Again he went away, and prayed,. Again he returned, and found them sleeping,
for their eyes were very heavy, and they didn’t know what to answer him.
He came the third time, and said to them, ‘Sleep on
now, and take your rest. It is enough. The hour has come. Behold, I am betrayed into the hands of sinners. Arise, let us be going’. It was just before dawn on the fourth day of
the week
Arrest of Jesus
While he was still speaking, soldiers came from the chief
priests, elders, and scribes with swords and clubs. They laid their hands on Jesus, and seized
him.
Jesus answered them, ‘Why have you come out as against
a bandit, with swords and clubs to seize me?
I was daily with you in the temple teaching; why you didn’t arrest me
then?’
The disciples all left
him, and fled.
Jesus before Pilatus
Jesus before Pilatus
Jesus remained imprisoned in the house of the high priest
all through the fourth day of the week, and in the morning of the fifth day, the
chief priests, with the elders and scribes, and the whole council, held a
consultation, and bound Jesus, and carried him away to the praetorium in the
Upper City in the former palace of Herod Archelaus.
There, they delivered him up to Pilatus, the prefect of
Judea who was in the city because of the feast, for judgment. The prefect was also overseer of the administration
of the temple.
After waiting in the prison throughout the fifth day of the
week, Jesus was brought to the tribunal before the prefect at dawn on the sixth
day, the Day of Preparation for the Sabbath.
Pilatus found Jesus guilty of the charges, and handed him over to be flogged
and then crucified.
The soldiers clothed him with purple, and weaving a crown of
thorns, they put it on him. They began
to salute him, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’
They struck his head with a reed, and spat on him, and bowing their
knees, did homage to him.
When they had finished mocking him, they took the purple off
of him, and put his own garments on him. They led him out to crucify him. They compelled one passing by, coming from
the country, Simon of Cyrenaica, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to go with
them, that he might bear his cross. They
brought him to the place called Gulgalta.
The Crucifixion
They offered him wine mixed with myrrh to drink, but he
didn’t accept it.
Crucifying him, they parted his garments among them, casting
lots on them, what each should take. It
was the third hour, and they crucified him.
The superscription of the charge for which he was convicted
written over him was this: “The King of the Jews”. This ridiculed Jesus as a messianic claimant,
the manner of death signifying him a rebel.
With him they crucified two terrorists, Dismas and Gestas,
taken in the recent insurrection; one on his right hand, and one on his left.
Those who passed by verbally abused him; likewise, also the
chief priests and the scribes. Those who
were crucified with him also insulted him.
When the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the
whole land until the ninth hour.
At the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, asking, ‘My
God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’
Some of those who stood by, when they heard it, said, ‘Behold,
he is calling Elijah’, for in Aramaic the words Jesus spoke are, ‘Eloi, Eloi,
lama sabachtahni’.
One ran, and filling a sponge full of vinegar, put it on a
reed, and gave it to him to drink, saying, ‘Let him be. Let’s see whether Elijah comes to take him
down’.
Then another took a
spear and pierced his side, and out came water and blood.
Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and gave up the
spirit.
There were also women watching from afar, among whom were
both Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and
Salome; who, when he was in Galilee, followed him, and served him; and many
other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.
The burial
When evening came, Joseph of Arimathaea, a prominent Sanhedrin
member who was was looking for the kingdom of God, went to Pilatus, and asked
for Jesus’ body. The prefect wondered if
he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he had
been dead long. When he found out from
the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.
He bought a linen cloth, and taking him down, wound him in the linen
cloth, and laid him in a tomb which had been cut out of a rock. He rolled a stone against the door of the
tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary, the
mother of James and Joses, saw where he was laid.
The empty tomb
When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the
mother of James and Joses, and Salome, bought spices, that they might come and anoint
him.
Very early on the first day of the week, which was also the
feast of Shemini Atzeret, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. They were asking themselves, ‘Who will roll
away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?’ for it was very big. Looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled
back.
Entering into the tomb, they saw the linen cloths in which Jesus had been wrapped and the napkin which had been on his head. Then they went out, and fled from the tomb, for trembling and
astonishment had come on them. They said
nothing to anyone; for they were afraid.
The disciples later reported that Jesus was alive and had
appeared after his crucifixion, first to Mary Magdalene, then to Cephas, then to James his brother,
then to all the apostles. Therefore,
they continued as his disciples, and the tribe of Chrestians exist to this day.
Endnotes:
The following were consulted in the composition of the
foregoing: the Gospel of Mark, the Gospel of Luke, the Gospel of Matthew, the Gospel
of John, the Gospel of the Nazarenes,
the Gospel of the Hebrews, the Gospel of the Ebionites, the Secret Gospel of Mark, the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Nicodemus, the Didache, the Didascalia Apostolorum, the Clementine Homilies and Recognitions, prayers
from the Reformed siddur, and the Antiquities
of the Jews by Flavius Josephus. The article “Dating the Gospels” on the blog Common Paine (http://commonpaine.blogspot.com/2010/07/dating-gospels.html) was quite helpful. The canonical gospel passages which formed the foundation of this work
were taken from the World English Bible© and are in the public domain.
Some explanation of the more glaringly obvious changes,
inclusions, exclusions, rewriting are probably in order.
The first thing the reader may notice is the opening similar
to that of the Gospel of Mark differs
in two things. First, the name given is
Jesus “Chrestos” rather than Jesus “Christ”.
The reason for that is simple; until the third century, the first was
the title or epithet with which the subject of our story was most often
saddled. Used thus, it literally means “the
Good”. Standing alone rather than acting
as a modifier, it could be translated “the Righteous One”, as much a messianic
title as the more specifically thus “Christos”.
I have used the anglicized Greek name “Jesus” rather than
the Hebrew Yeshua or Yehoshua, or the Aramaic “Yeshu” or “Isho” because the
gospels, at least the ones we have anyway, were written in Greek, and the name
Jesus is more familiar, at least to English speakers. The second-century sect leader Marcion of
Sinope, and the members of his sect after him, used the name “Isu”, as reported
by Latin Fathers, which would probably be “Iso” in Greek, indicating that the
Assyrians probably have the correct name, “Isho”.
The majority of scholars and archaeologists agree that the
town of “Nazareth” did not exist before the third century CE. The need to invent one came about when a
scribe mistranslated “Jesus the Nazorean” as “Jesus of Nazareth”.
The earliest copies of Mark lack “Son of God” in the opening
sentence.
The background material on John the Baptist is not here
because its purpose for being was to present John as the Forerunner of the
Messiah ben David. Extrabiblical sources
indicate he had a rather strong and lasting following all his own; the Early
Church Fathers refer to his sect as the Hemerobaptists. The Mandaeans also claim John the Baptist as
their founder. Flavius Josephus places
his death in proximity to the war between Herod Antipas of Galilee and Perea
and Aretas IV Philopatris of the Nabataeans in the winter of 36/37 CE, more
than three to six years after the time when Jesus was crucified according to most
sources.
From the second century BCE at least through the first
century CE, the boogie man was usually named as “Beliar”, a later form of
Belial, among Palestinian Israelites.
The title-become-name “Satan” was not used until much later; the being
called Satan in Judaism was and still is part of the divine court, a heavenly attorney
general; in fact, this role is alluded to in Revelation 12:10.
Lake Gennesaret was never called the “Sea of Galilee”, not
until the writer of the original version of the Gospel of Mark, who almost certainly lived in Alexandria.
Most scholars and linguists agree that “Nazorean” is more
correct than “Nazarene”; although both forms are used in the New Testament, the first, derived from Nazaraios, appears thirteen times while the second, derived from Nazarenos, is used six times.
Changing water into wine was borrowed from Dionysus, thus no
wedding feast at Cana, no matter how amusing the idea that Jesus and his
disciples drank so much that he had to perform a miraculous resupply.
The story of the energumen (ecclesiastical term for one
possessed by a demon or other evil spirit) possessed by the “Legion” of demons
who were cast out into two thousand pigs is almost certainly an allusion to the
Legio X Fretensis. This legion took a
lead role in the First Jewish Revolt (Great Jewish War) of 66-73 CE, then
served as the primary occupying force with their base camp and headquarters on
the western hill of Jerusalem, what had been the Upper City before the entire
city was destroyed in 70 CE. Specifically,
they occupied the site of the former praetorium, which had previously been the
palace of Herod the Great and of his son Herod Archelaus. The fact that one of the four symbols of the
legion was a boar (its main symbol was a bull) strengthens that case
considerably.
The feeding of the five thousand, after which twelve baskets
of leftovers were collected, and the feeding of the four thousand, after which
seven baskets of leftovers were collected, are allegories of the Twelve
Apostles and the Seven Deacons.
Two anachronistic motifs in the gospels of Jesus’ mission in
Galilee are synagogues, with the physical building implied, and the abundant
presence of Pharisees. Though Pharisees
were quite plentiful after the academy and the Patriarchate were transferred to
Galilee in the second century, in the first century their presence was almost
nonexistent. References to them have
been changed to “scribes”, as the religious teachers were then
denominated. The same is the case with synagogue
buildings; the number of those in Galilee in the first century can be counted
on one hand. The one in Capernaum, for
example, dates no earlier than the late fourth century. I have, therefore, translated the references
to “synagogue” into the literal meaning of “assembly”.
The Little Apocalypse, or Olivet Discourse, as originally
written was an “apocalypse” about the First Jewish Revolt and the resulting
siege and destruction of Jerusalem. The
earlier version warning of “Jerusalem surrounded by armies” can be found in the
Gospel of Luke; that in Mark and the Gospel of Matthew warning of the “abomination of desolation” dates
from after the Third Jewish Revolt (Bar Kokhba War) of 132-135. It was after that war that Hadrian Augustus
put a statue of himself on horseback right over the spot where the Holy of
Holies had been, along with temples to Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva atop what
used to be the Temple Mount.
I have included the Pericope Adulterae, the story of the
woman caught in adultery whom the scribes wanted to stone, because even though
it is a later addition to John, the story was around at least as far back as
the time of Papias of Hierapolis (in Egypt), who flourished around the cusp of
the first and second centuries. Eusebius
of Caesarea reports that Papias commented on the story which he had found in
the Gospel of the Hebrews. The version here is based on that of the fourth
century Alexandrian theologian Didymus the Blind in his Commentary on Ecclesiastes.
The healing at the pool of Bethesda is a clear anachronism,
its description of being “five-sided” an allusion to the Asclepeion built by
Herod Agrippa I, who was King of the Jews 41-44 CE, roughly a decade and a half after the
Crucifixion (the date given in the Didascalia Apostolorum for that event is the year three hundred thirty-nine of the Persians, or 27 CE).
In most places where the gospels have “Master” or “Teacher”,
I have used “Rabbi”, but I do want to stipulate that I know that was not an
official title that early in the century.
However, it is likely to have been used informally for some period
before it was made formal. For “Lord”,
in reference to Jesus, I have used “Mari”, the Aramaic for the same thing.
The transfer of the events of the Passion Week from
Pesach-Matzot to Sukkot are my own twist, based on the picture painted of the
Triumphal Entry and the fact that the timeline of events syncs up with the
seven-day Sukkot which was and still is followed immediately with the one day
feast of Shemini Atzeret. The “Day of
Preparation” in the gospels was not a day preparing for Pescah, or Passover,
but for the Sabbath. Every sixth day of
the week was a Day of Preparation, just like every seventh day was the
Sabbath. The Synoptics also make the
Diaspora mistake of equating Pesach with the first day of Matzot; Pesach is actually
the day upon which the sacrifice was performed in the Temple, not that in which
the seder was observed, which, coming after sundown, was indeed the first day
of Matzot.
As for the timing of the events of the week, I relied upon
the sequence laid out in Chapter 21 of the Didascalia Apostolorum, which places
the Passover supper on Tuesday night.
The story of the alleged "Last Supper" itself, previously part of this work, I have taken out to be consistent with my previously expressed opinion that the story was invented in the first place because of the problems in many local churches with the fellowship meals. Too, the earliest Eucharistic prayers we have, those of the Didache, make no mention of the so-called "Institution" nor do they mention either the crucifixion or the resurrection.
The story of the alleged "Last Supper" itself, previously part of this work, I have taken out to be consistent with my previously expressed opinion that the story was invented in the first place because of the problems in many local churches with the fellowship meals. Too, the earliest Eucharistic prayers we have, those of the Didache, make no mention of the so-called "Institution" nor do they mention either the crucifixion or the resurrection.
The story of Pilate and the aqueducts is found in both the
Wars of the Jews and the Antiquities of the Jews, both written by Josephus.
I left out descriptions of the trial because what we have is
clearly a literary invention based on the actual events centered around a
peasant preacher named Jesus ben Ananius in 62 CE. Also, with the disciples all hiding out,
there wouldn’t have been any witnesses to report.
The names Dismas and Gestus came from the Gospel of
Nicodemus. “Terrorists” is the nearest
twenty-first century term to “lestai”, which literally meant “bandit” but was
used in the first century almost exclusively for terrorists.
The original ending of the first (known) written gospel was
the same as here. The final word about
what the disciples reported, which clearly they did, or at least believed, was
adapted from combining the account of Jesus in the Arabic version of
Antiquities with Paul of Tarsus’ account in 1 Corinthians 15.
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