Metaphysical-Jesus’ civic influence

Introduction

This post is intended to collaboratively, publically develop political philosophy from the metaphysical Jesus. "Meta-" means developed after, or later than, discovery. Thus, the metaphysical Jesus is the influence "to ourselves and our Posterity" after New Testament books and other reports of Jesus' life became available. It seems Jesus did not write, so we have only constructs on 40 year-old and older memories of his life.

Metaphysics comes on evaluation of discovery

            Some people who learn about Jesus actually study consequential ideas. Some people guide some choices in life according to statements they learned about Jesus or personal impressions of Jesus from those statements. In other words, sometimes a person interprets a statement about Jesus differently from the intentions of the speaker or writer. Nevertheless, some people in every generation act on what they perceive as Jesus's guidance.

Jesus’s peace

            For example, we understand Jesus said, in John 14:27, ". . . my peace I give you . . . " implying comfort. In Matthew 10:37, he's quoted, "I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." As a Southern Baptist and a Christian, I listened to metaphysical explanations for what seems to me direct contradiction. Family members always forgive offenders and facilitate reform, often mutually. I trust myself and declare that Jesus offers his peace, and I neither comprehend nor try to offer what I do not possess. Not owning Jesus's peace, I offer fellow-citizens my aid to comprehensive-safety& security during life. I skateboard with the intention not to fall yet wearing safety gear.

Comprehensive-safety& security: a political philosophy

            I think there's an overlooked message: humankind is independently responsible for comprehensive-safety& security on earth. Somehow, Jesus' influence was available from the beginning of time. Western civilization debates a 1000-year span of influence between 3,000 years ago and 2,000 years ago. Judeo-Christian competition neglects both the ancient ancients and modern discovery.  

            The development and end of the Sumerian civilization, about 10,000 years ago to about 4,000 years ago, when they were conquered by the Babylonians, might be reflected by Hebrew scholars in Genesis 1. I may assume that the creator-God in Genesis 1 is the-High-God, and "the Lord God" of Genesis 2 is the originator of Abrahamic religions. With that rhetorical convenience, I can assume that "Before Abraham was born I am", attributed to Jesus, means Jesus' influence is reliable in all times to all civilizations. My reasoning is metaphysical to all generations after the first primitive one -- perhaps before Adam& Eve. Maybe Jesus actually said that some humans pursued the-good before Abraham was born rather than mimicked a Hebrew "I am" (Exodos 3:14).

Accept mysteries until evidence is discovered, yet constrain chaos

I accept the mysteries of God, the Holy Spirit, Satan, souls, heaven, hell, and Jesus to their actual origins& purposes, which I do not know. Also, I practice the following political philosophy: willing fellow-citizen can glean from Jesus' seemingly independent advice that does not advocate violence, whether physical or psychological. While we do not comprehend Jesus' peace, we know that our duty (comprehensive-safety& security) calls for violence only in physical and not in psychological defense. Also, belief in worship& praise is no surrogate for performance of the human-being's duty: constrain chaos in personal ways of living.

The individual human-being is powerless to resolve mysteries without evidence, and by accepting the above-listed mysteries, a person can choose to focus on responsibility to their own life: civic-integrity in self-interest. Genesis 1:28 asserts the political philosophy that a person can& may provide order& prosperity both on earth and to the earth. In other words, each person may choose to constrain chaos in their way of living. Again, worship& praise is no substitute for constraining chaos.

Mystery need not suppress the-good and vice-versa

The fact that Jesus has influenced many people to the-good, now for 2,200 years, is evidence that some ideas attributed to him are valuable. He did not write. Therefore, ancient memory and scholarly analysis are all humankind has with which to discern his positive civic-influence. Thus, his influence is neither physical nor historical and seems metaphysical: reasonable appreciation of the positive. We comprehend that Jesus physically lived; we may pursue positive consequences. That is, the generations may glean the-good Jesus-influence and share to their posterity. 

The purpose of this work is to discover and record possible civic-morality or positive political philosophy suggested by the metaphysical Jesus, without discouraging beneficial private pursuits of the mysteries presented in the literature. Each human can& may add worship& praise, if they want to, to personal aid to comprehensive-safety& security on earth – add personal hope& comfort to civic-integrity.

A list of civic suggestions from Jesus’ influence

Readers are invited& requested to use the comment box to suggest new entries to this list of civic-advice derived from the literature about Jesus:

1.    By affirming if not authoring Genesis 1:28’s political philosophy, Jesus suggested that a human-being can& may perfect their unique person before death. Humans have opportunity to practice, facilitate, and encourage civic-integrity. Integrity means reliability in every human connection and transaction. Jesus may have suggested that some humans pursued civic-integrity “before Abraham was born”, which may be extrapolated to the beginning of human-kind.

2.    Challenged, in Matthew 19, to approve divorce, Jesus clarified, “. . . a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” Some people overlook “man will leave . . . be united to . . . one flesh”. In John 8:11, Jesus expresses that error does not condemn the errant yet they should not repeat mistakes.

3. In Matthew 22:15-21, some people who practiced legal pride challenged Jesus about supporting the civic commander-in-chief. Jesus said they should, affirming Genesis 1:28’s political philosophy. 

Edited on September 3, 2022

John 8: thegood for living or mystery for the afterdeath?

 

John 8: Jesus’ civic influence to all generations

[I read Bible passages with Genesis-RHI perspective. RHI means responsible human independence, both civic individual and civic collective. I speculate Genesis 1:28, in a metaphysical-Jesus perspective, suggests that, while theGod offers appreciation and Jesus offers peace, male human-being unites to female and the spouse-hood provides comprehensive-safety& security (Safety) to the living species and to the earth. Every person can& may accept the Safety-duty I call Genesis-1 “responsible-human-independence” or RHI.]

¹ but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

² At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. ³ The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group ⁴ and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. ⁵ In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. [Here, Jesus improves the Torah.] Now what do you say?” ⁶ They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. ⁷ When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” [The message here is, be perfect if you will judge others. However, it is not a message to ignore adultery. Also, all the accusers may have been adulterers.] ⁸ Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

⁹ At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. ¹⁰ Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

¹¹ “No one, sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

[This above story illustrates wisdom that Jesus reportedly expressed with no agendum beyond civic morality. Citizens need not explain the source of the expressed wisdom to benefit from it and extrapolate to contemporary issues. The civic collaboration to benefit from development of morality attributed to Jesus is what I call “Jesus’ civic influence”. It is not necessary to call it that, but I choose to.]

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Dispute Over Jesus’ Testimony

¹² When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. [What if 70 years before John wrote, the real Jesus said, “Thegood has always been the human option to the bad and evil”?] Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” [rather than preserve mystery unto their afterdeath.]

¹³ The Pharisees [a member of a Jewish sect of the intertestamental period noted for strict observance of rites and ceremonies of the written law and for insistence on the validity of their own oral traditions concerning the law] challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.”

¹⁴ Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. ¹⁵ You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. ¹⁶ But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. ¹⁷ In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. ¹⁸ I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.” [Maybe in his vernacular Jesus said he pursues RHI under nature (the-laws-of-physics) rather than erroneous tradition.]

¹⁹ Then they asked him, “Where is your father?”

“You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” ²⁰ He spoke these words while teaching in the temple courts near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come. [This is John, building his construct that Jesus was a messiah to believers, chosen by the Father.]

Dispute Over Who Jesus Is

²¹ Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”

²² This made the Jews [now the whole crowd rather than only Pharisees] ask, “Will he kill himself? [This indicates the Jews were neither interpreting the Messiah prophecy nor applying it to Jesus.] Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come’?”

²³ But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. ²⁴ I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins [That is, not be saved.].”

²⁵ “Who are you?” they asked.

“Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied. ²⁶ “I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is trustworthy, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.” [What if in his vernacular Jesus was saying that his comprehension of Sumerian political philosophy (you may rule on earth) is trustworthy advice for people: RHI.]

²⁷ They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. ²⁸ So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up [executed?] the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. ²⁹ The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” ³⁰ Even as he spoke, many believed in him. [This theme, Jesus obeying the Father, is distributed within John.]

Dispute Over Whose Children Jesus’ Opponents Are

³¹ To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. ³² Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

³³ They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”

³⁴ Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin [James 4:17 says sin is intentional error]. ³⁵ Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. ³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed [If Jesus persuades you to rule to thegood, you will be free]. ³⁷ I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. [Imagine Jesus saying this to Abraham’s descendants through Hagar: Genesis 16:9-16 – “live in hostility”.] Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. ³⁸ I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.”

³⁹ “Abraham is our father,” they answered.

“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do what Abraham did. ⁴⁰ As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. ⁴¹ You are doing the works of your own father.”

“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”

⁴² Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. ⁴³ Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. ⁴⁴ You belong to your father, the devil [I doubt Jesus told anyone they could not reform – could not accept Genesis 1:26-28 NIV. And is the devil merely personification of the bad? Is theGod merely thegood?], and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. ⁴⁵ Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! ⁴⁶ Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? ⁴⁷ Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.” [Only John and the Church would claim people belong to the devil. Jesus expresses that everyone can& may practice, facilitate, and encourage RHI. See Matthew 5:43-48 and imagine it refers to Genesis 1:26-28.]

Jesus’ Claims About Himself

⁴⁸ The Jews [including the faction who believed him] answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan [a person who is generous in helping those in distress] and demon-possessed?”

⁴⁹ “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. ⁵⁰ I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. ⁵¹ Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.” [This claim begs a definition of “death”. Does death mark the cessation of body, mind, and person?]

⁵² At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. ⁵³ Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”

⁵⁴ Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. ⁵⁵ Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word. ⁵⁶ Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”

⁵⁷ “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”

⁵⁸ “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” [In Exodus 3:14 God tells Moses to say “I am” sent me. Note also that in Exodus 3:8 God promises Egypt-enslaved Israelites a land of “milk and honey” occupied by “the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites”. Today, that land is Israel and Palestine. ] ⁵⁹ At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

[In general, John’s writing is wandering, especially the transition from not facing death to demon possession, to “I am”. As an advocate for Genesis 1:28, Jesus would not accuse “Jews who had believed him” of being liars, trying to kill him, etc. I see the story as Jesus, an authentic man, expressing the idea that thegood aways existed and he proposes reforming from taking the bad for granted and pursuing thegood. It amazes me that John 8, on this pass, after experiencing the recent Nomads studies, from Yale and then from Baylor, plus my time in Courage class, plus UBC sermons and discussions, plus Billy King’s recent men’s discussion of Philippians somehow fostered the thoughts about the good.]

Updated on November 19, 2023 in association with Baylor unit on forgiveness by Nomads class.

Genesis 18 reported toying with the Lord

 

Genesis 18

[I comprehend Genesis 1:28, in Jesus’s perspective, to suggest that, while the-High-God offers appreciation and Jesus offers peace, male human-being unites to female and the unit provides comprehensive-safety& security (Safety) to the living species and to the earth. Every person can& may accept the Safety duty, which I call Genesis-1 “responsible-human-independence” or RHI. I read Bible passages with Genesis-RHI perspective.]

18 The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. ² Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground. [Why be so subservient?]

³ He said, “If I have found favor in your? eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. ⁴ Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. ⁵ Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant.”

“Very well,” they answered, “do as you say.”

⁶ So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. “Quick,” he said, “get three seahs [36 lbs] of the finest flour and knead it and bake some bread.”

⁷ Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. ⁸ He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree. [Did not dine with them.]

⁹ “Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked him.

“There, in the tent,” he said.

¹⁰ Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.”

Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. ¹¹ Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. ¹² So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?”

¹³ Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ ¹⁴ Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”

¹⁵ Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I did not laugh.”

But he said, “Yes, you did laugh.” [Why did the writer choose to report Sarah a liar?]

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

¹⁶ When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. ¹⁷ Then the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? ¹⁸ Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. [What writer thinks contemporaries will believe he is privy to the Lord’s thoughts?] ¹⁹ For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.” [Abraham’s conduct after this promise was awful. I doubt the reliability of this writer.]

²⁰ Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous ²¹ that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.”

²² The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord. [Or, the Lord remained with Abraham.] ²³ Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? ²⁴ What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? ²⁵ Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” [I recall the Declaration of Independence’s phrase “the Supreme Judge of the world”. In context, I think it refers to the military might of allied nations, e.g., France and Spain with the 13 English colonies against England.]

²⁶ The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

²⁷ Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, ²⁸ what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five people?”

“If I find forty-five there,” he said, “I will not destroy it.”

²⁹ Once again he spoke to him, “What if only forty are found there?”

He said, “For the sake of forty, I will not do it.”

³⁰ Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?”

He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

³¹ Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?”

He said, “For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.”

³² Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?”

He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.”

³³ When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home. [50, 45, 40, 30, 20, 10; that’s 6 times “the dust” tested the almighty – “ashes” toyed with the Supreme judge -- to what purpose? To say there were no righteous people in the town? It’s no wonder when people exposed to this passage nourish error rather than learn from the consequences and effect self-discipline. Whether there the-High-God exists or not, bad behavior invites misery& loss, and the error is not to be repeated.]

John 18: does the-God conform to Bible prediction?

 John 18: does the-God answer to Bible prediction?

[I comprehend Genesis 1:28, in Jesus’s perspective, to suggest that, while God offers appreciation and Jesus offers peace, male human-being unites to female and the unit provides safety& security to the living species and to the earth. Every person can& may accept the safety& security duty, which I call Genesis-1 “responsible-human-independence” or RHI. I read Bible passages with Genesis-RHI perspective.]

18 When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was a garden, and he and his disciples went into it.

² Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. ³ So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons. [Rabbis and the national guard.]

⁴ Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?” [Jesus expressing leadership.]

⁵ “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.

“I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) ⁶ When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

⁷ Again he asked them, “Who is it you want?”

“Jesus of Nazareth,” they said.

⁸ Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. If you are looking for me, then let these men go.” ⁹ This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: “I have not lost one of those you gave me.” [This John quoting John. I don’t trust John; John 18:9 John 6:39. Nevertheless, I consider Jesus reliable, primarily because I glean civic-integrity from his independent thought.]

¹⁰ Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.)

¹¹ Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” [This is Catholic doctrine; did Jesus actually say that? If so, was he representing his political philosophy more than the-God?]

¹² Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. [What was the charge at the time of the arrest?] They bound him ¹³ and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. ¹⁴ Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jewish leaders that it would be good if one man died for the people. [Really? To what people and what benefit? Jews leaders claimed that Jesus was leading an insurrection against Rome that would result in Rome punishing the Jewish people: better to murder Jesus.]

Peter’s First Denial

¹⁵ Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard, ¹⁶ but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple [John competing against Peter?], who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the servant girl on duty there and brought Peter in.

¹⁷ “You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?” she asked Peter.

He replied, “I am not.”

¹⁸ It was cold, and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep warm. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself.

The High Priest Questions Jesus

¹⁹ Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.

²⁰ “I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus replied. “I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. ²¹ Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said.” [Why have Jesus refer to hearsay? Does John accept that Jesus could lie . . . that his audience could be more reliable?]

²² When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby slapped him in the face. “Is this the way you answer the high priest?” he demanded.

²³ “If I said something wrong,” Jesus replied, “testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?” [So far, Jesus’ question seems strange.] ²⁴ Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

Peter’s Second and Third Denials

²⁵ Meanwhile, Simon Peter was still standing there warming himself. So they asked him, “You aren’t one of his disciples too, are you?”

He denied it, saying, “I am not.”

²⁶ One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, “Didn’t I see you with him in the garden?” ²⁷ Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow. [This construct is too convenient to have impact on my life: I don’t trust John.]

Jesus Before Pilate

²⁸ Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace, because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. ²⁹ So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?”

³⁰ “If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed him over to you.”

³¹ Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.”

“But we have no right to execute anyone,” they objected. ³² This took place to fulfill what Jesus had said about the kind of death he was going to die.

³³ Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

³⁴ “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”

³⁵ “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”

³⁶ Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.” [I don’t believe Jesus would call his followers “servants”. I do not believe he would cite “another place”. His leadership and advice was for living, not for death. Jesus affirmed Genesis 1:28: humankind is independently responsible for safety on earth, and so advised people he persuaded.]

 [Plato’s record of Socrates’ trial and execution presages some elements of the Biblical Jesus story: unjust accusation and conviction, friends to rescue Socrates if he would agree, and false witnesses in the jury. Socrates chose death instead of exile. Socrates died to uphold the-rule-of-law, even when adjudication fails.]

³⁷ “You are a king, then!” said Pilate.

Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

³⁸ “What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him. [At this point, Pilate, in the-God’s image and in the interest of statutory justice would not have killed Jesus. To say that he had to kill Jesus to fulfill the-God’s plan is a construct I do not accept. The-God could have handled Pilot delivering justice in the-God’s image.] ³⁹ But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?”

⁴⁰ They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in an uprising. [Mark 15:7 says he was imprisoned with insurrectionist who had committed murder. Perhaps an uprising against Rome, but not by the influential Jesus; in other words, not reflecting on the Jewish people, as Jesus did.]

[In this story, the truth is that Pilate failed Jesus’ suggestions, such as, render unto Caesar, be perfect, appreciation existed before Abraham was born, and more. Pilate killed an innocent man, in order to to partner with the clergy and religious elites.

Each human being who considers this story has a choice: Believe Jesus’ independence, or believe the Church’s construct. We don’t know the-ineluctable-truth, where “ineluctable” means “not to be avoided, changed, or resisted”. Each of us has only reason with which to make our choice. I choose Jesus’s message and assert that the-God could have managed without the crucifixion of Jesus. The Church is no different from us:  It is important to them to maintain humility toward the-God.

I don’t want anyone to think as I do; rather let them think as they do. However, I do not encourage anyone to think I can advocate a Jesus that differs from the one that influences my person, regardless of my distrust of John and other writers who reported decades after Jesus died.

I think for the first time in my life I am in another place where that is possible: today’s UBC, enhanced to me by Nomads class, at least. (The other place is with my family.)]