John 7 denying the-God of John1:1, in order to promote a messiah

[Introduction: Biblical literature offers hints to the-ineluctable-truth about human opportunity. Here are 3 hints: Jesus’ will expressed (Genesis 1:26-28, NIV), Jesus is the-God (John 1:1), and Jesus’ message, "Be [as] perfect" as the-God (Mathew 5:48). Humankind works to discover the-ineluctable-truth.

The living Jesus may have advocated the-good rather than claimed to be “anointed one& king”. Human-beings can& may accept the-good, continually pursue the-good, and continuously practice the-good. If asked how humankind discovered self-interest in the-good, we can& may express appreciation to Jesus. Also, see my Genesis 1 essay about human duty, at the end of this study.

Consider the scholarly Bible evidence, “From Jesus to Christ”, Parts 1& 2, FRONTLINE,1998 at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JN8FM1NCOSk and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXqFvfCaFwY. Each Easter, we can effect the public resurrection of the-civic-Jesus and accept the mysterious-Jesus presence in the beginning until the end.

Under our mystery-watch to “ourselves and our Posterity”, Jesus, the-God, can overcome Christ, messiah& king of Judeo-Christianity.] 

John 7 After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want to go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders there were looking for a way to kill him. ² But when the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near, ³ Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. ⁴ No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” ⁵ For even his own brothers did not believe in him.

⁶ Therefore Jesus told them, “My time is not yet here; for you any time will do. ⁷ The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil. ⁸ You go to the festival. I am not going up to this festival, because my time has not yet fully come.” [His brothers might have known better: fellow-Jews attend festivals.] ⁹ After he had said this, he stayed in Galilee.

¹⁰ However, after his brothers had left for the festival, he went also, not publicly, but in secret. ¹¹ Now at the festival the Jewish leaders were watching for Jesus and asking, “Where is he?”

¹² Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, “He is a good man.”

Others replied, “No, he deceives the people.” ¹³ But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the leaders. [Do church leaders silence people in all ages? Is church the original wokeism? If so, members can& may reform their church.]

¹⁴ Not until halfway through the festival did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. ¹⁵ The Jews there were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having been taught? [The Jews appreciated Jesus despite their leaders. In all generations, some people appreciate Jesus despite Christ; the-God of John 1:1 despite the anointed one; pursuing as-perfect behavior despite soul salvation.]”

¹⁶ Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me. ¹⁷ Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. ¹⁸ Whoever speaks on their own does so to gain personal glory, but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth [Jesus repeats this point, while facing death-sentencing, in John 18:37.]; there is nothing false about him. ¹⁹ Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?” [They construct& defend their-God rather than practice humility to the-God.]

²⁰ “You are demon-possessed,” the crowd answered. “Who is trying to kill you?”

²¹ Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle, and you are all amazed. ²² Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a boy on the Sabbath. ²³ Now if a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing a man’s whole body on the Sabbath? ²⁴ Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.” [Perhaps expecting miracles is arrogance toward the-God.]

²⁵ At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? ²⁶ Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Messiah? ²⁷ But we know where this man is from; when the Messiah comes, no one will know where he is from.” [Contradicting Jewish tradition.]

²⁸ Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own authority, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, ²⁹ but I know him because I am from him and he sent me.”

³⁰ At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. ³¹ Still, many in the crowd believed in him. They said, “When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs than this man?”

³² The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.

³³ Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I am going to the one who sent me. ³⁴ You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”

³⁵ The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? ³⁶ What did he mean when he said, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me,’ and ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?”

³⁷ On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. ³⁸ Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” ³⁹ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

⁴⁰ On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”

⁴¹ Others said, “He is the Messiah.”

Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? ⁴² Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” ⁴³ Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. ⁴⁴ Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.

⁴⁵ Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?”

⁴⁶ “No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards replied.

⁴⁷ “You mean he has deceived you also?” the Pharisees retorted. ⁴⁸ “Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? ⁴⁹ No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them.” [The curse is the church, and only the people can effect reform. Just as civic-citizens determine their civil-governance, civic-citizens govern their church.]

⁵⁰ Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, ⁵¹ “Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?” [Is it beneficial to constrain Jesus, the truth, to Christ, the messiah& king? Consider John 18:37, “’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.’”]

 

The importance of Genesis 1, a 5,500 year old Mesopotamian political philosophy:

[I apply Genesis-1-NIV perspective to Bible interpretation, NIV because of the phrase “so they may” in V 26. Coming from the-God, “may” implies “can”.

I think Genesis 1:26-28, expresses the-civic-Jesus-message (CJM):  Human male unites-to female human-being and their spouse-hood can& may pursue comprehensive-safety& security to the living species and to the earth (SECURITY). Every person can& may aid SECURITY, and the civic-citizen so chooses. Some persons neglect, partially or wholly, mysterious-Jesus-appreciation, Jesus’-peace, and SECURITY.

I call Genesis-1’s message, “responsible-human-independence” or RHI. Some human-beings throughout history practice, facilitate& encourage RHI. History’s Jesus exemplified RHI. From the past, civic-citizens guide us and consequences from non-civic-persons warn against error. I think the-civic-Jesus practiced, facilitated& encouraged RHI. “Civic” means reliable in human connections& transactions. Perhaps the authentic Jesus merely advocated the-good.

But I don’t know the-ineluctable-truth (IDK). “Ineluctable” means: not to be avoided, changed, escaped, neglected, or resisted: I can& may choose either RHI or dependency, such as religious arrogance. I can& may be derelict.

Persons appreciating contemporary human being (verb), during each generation, develop CJM. In other words, CJM facilitates the civic-appreciation that human being (verb) applied “before Abraham was born” and since then. Given the question, “Was Jesus a man?”, I respond IDK yet value CJM, an attitude which seems sufficient& complete to my person. I advocate the-civic-Jesus and admit that could be the-good. Yet the-good cannot replace the authentic Jesus.

Perhaps CJM always was the-good human being (verb). That potential was present at the Big Bang, 13.7 billion years ago. There’s joy in accepting IDK, seeking ineluctable-evidence, and reserving humility to RHI. Joy may facilitate happiness.

It seems the-laws-of-physics& progeny (PHYSICS) constrains the consequences of each person’s choices. Physics’ progeny includes, forces, mathematics, chemistries, biology, psychology, imagination, and their subsets. I choose to accept mysterious-Jesus and pursue Jesus’ “my-peace”, in-order-to commit-to and trust-in PHYSICS. For example, I work for food& shelter rather than accept what a bureaucrat might provide. I work to aid SECURITY rather than pray for an entity to usurp RHI. Make no mistake: if one of my loved ones seems threatened beyond my protection, I pray to the-God.

Admitting I could be wrong, IDK, I accept that Genesis 1:26-28, NIV, urges me to constrain chaos in my way of living, or urges me to the-good suggested by the-civic-Jesus I pursue by listening.]

John 9 infants totally uninformed at birth

[Biblical literature offers 3 hints to the-ineluctable-truth about human opportunity: the mystery of Jesus’ will in Genesis 1:26-28 NIV, John 1:1's claim that Jesus is the-God, and Mathew 5:48's Jesus-message, "Be [as] perfect" as the-God. The living Jesus may have advocated the-good rather than claimed to be “anointed one& king”. Human-beings can& may accept the-good, continually pursue the-good, and continuously practice the-good. If asked how humankind discovered self-interest in the-good, we can& may express appreciation to Jesus. Also, see my Genesis 1 essay about human duty, at the end of this study.

Add the scholarly Bible story, “From Jesus to Christ: The First Christians”, Parts One and Two; FRONTLINE, 1998 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JN8FM1NCOSk and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXqFvfCaFwY advocated to me by Barry Baker. We can imagine the public resurrection of the-civic-Jesus each Easter, privately accepting the mystery of Jesus as the word that was present in the beginning.] 

9 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. [By the end of this story, “blind” means totally ignorant. Innocence is characteristic to every human infant at birth. And it takes a quarter-century for a civic culture to offer willing youth comprehension and intention to purse their unique perfection before death.] ² His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

³ “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. [This construct supports the preposterous idea that evil exists for the glory of the-God.] ⁴ As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. ⁵ While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” [Light shines on common sense for the-good.]

⁶ After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. ⁷ “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

⁸ His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” ⁹ Some claimed that he was.

Others said, “No, he only looks like him.”

But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”

¹⁰ “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked.

¹¹ He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”

¹² “Where is this man?” they asked him.

“I don’t know,” he said.

¹³ They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. ¹⁴ Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. ¹⁵ Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.”

¹⁶ Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” [People can invent the Sabbath but cannot impose it on the-God.]

But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So they were divided.

¹⁷ Then they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.”

The man replied, “He is a prophet.” [Why not a faith healer?]

¹⁸ They still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. ¹⁹ “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?”

²⁰ “We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. ²¹ But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” ²² His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. ²³ That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.” [I am reminded of Kahlil Gibran’s short poem, “On Children”, from The Prophet.]

²⁴ A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.” [This statement defies both the-God and the instruction judge not . . . I am glad I do not recommend it and accept I do not know the-ineluctable-truth.]

²⁵ He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”

²⁶ Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”

²⁷ He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?”

²⁸ Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! ²⁹ We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.” [Any claim to know the-God is arrogance when humility is needed.]

³⁰ The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. ³¹ We know that God does not listen to sinners. [More arrogance, now in the words of the healed man: no one knows the-God.] He listens to the godly person who does his will. ³² Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. ³³ If this man were not from God, he could do nothing. [More arrogance yet.]”

³⁴ To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out. [This claim is circular to V. 2.]

³⁵ Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

³⁶ “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”

³⁷ Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”

³⁸ Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.

³⁹ Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” [For the sake of opposition, John 18:37 has Jesus saying “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.” John 18:37 does not have Jesus crushing error with blindness.]

⁴⁰ Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”

⁴¹ Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains. [Not so, according to the-civic-Jesus, if they consider their error, accept it, repent, and make certain they don’t repeat. See Matthew 18:15-17; 21-22. ]

The importance of Genesis 1, a 5,500 year old Mesopotamian political philosophy:

[I apply Genesis-1-NIV perspective to Bible interpretation, NIV because of the phrase “so they may” in V 26. I think Genesis 1:26-28, in the-civic-Jesus-messages (CJM), suggests the following:  Human male unites-to female human-being (noun) and their spouse-hood can& may pursue comprehensive-safety& security to the living species and to the earth (SECURITY). Every person can& may aid SECURITY. Some persons neglect, partially or wholly, mysterious-Jesus-appreciation, Jesus’-peace, and SECURITY-duty.

I call Genesis-1’s message, “responsible-human-independence” or RHI. Some human-beings throughout history practice, facilitate& encourage RHI; for example, Jesus exemplified RHI. From the past, RHI-individuals guide us and consequences from non-RHI-persons warn against error. I think the-civic-Jesus practiced, facilitated& encouraged RHI. “Civic” means reliable in human connections& transactions. Perhaps the authentic Jesus advocated the-good.

But I don’t know the-ineluctable-truth (IDK). “Ineluctable” means: not to be avoided, changed, escaped, neglected, or resisted: I can& may choose either RHI or dependency, for example, religious arrogance. I can& may be derelict.

Persons appreciating contemporary human being (verb), during each generation, develop CJM. In other words, I attribute to CJM the civic-appreciation that human being (verb) applied “before Abraham was born” and since then. Given the question, “Was Jesus a man?”, I respond IDK yet value CJM, and attitude which seems sufficient& complete to my person. I advocate the-civic-Jesus and admit that could be the-good. Yet the-good cannot replace the authentic Jesus.

Perhaps CJM always was the-good human being (verb). That potential was present at the Big Bang, 13.7 billion years ago. There’s joy in accepting IDK, seeking ineluctable-evidence, and reserving humility to RHI. Joy may facilitate happiness.

It seems the-laws-of-physics& progeny (PHYSICS) constrains the consequences of each person’s choices. Physics’ progeny includes, forces, mathematics, chemistries, biology, psychology, imagination, and their subsets. I choose to accept mysterious-Jesus and pursue Jesus’ “my-peace”, in-order-to commit-to and trust-in PHYSICS. For example, I work for food& shelter rather than accept what a bureaucrat might provide. I work to aid SECURITY rather than pray for an entity to usurp RHI. Make no mistake: if one of my loved ones seems threatened beyond my protection, I pray.

Admitting I could be wrong, I accept that Genesis 1:26-28 NIV urges me to constrain chaos in my way of living, or urges me to the-good suggested by the-civic-Jesus IDK and pursue.]

Luke 6 Jesus’ chief message: listen in order to learn

[Biblical literature offers 3 hints to the-ineluctable-truth about human opportunity: the mystery of Jesus’ will in Genesis 1:26-28 NIV, John 1:1's claim that Jesus is the-God, and Mathew 5:48's Jesus-message, "Be [as] perfect" as the-God. The living Jesus may have advocated the-good rather than claimed to be “anointed one& king”. Human-beings can& may accept the-good, continually pursue the-good, and continuously practice the-good. If asked how humankind discovered self-interest in the-good, we can& may express appreciation to Jesus. Also, see my Genesis 1 essay about human duty, at the end of this study.] 

6 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels. ² Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”

³ Jesus answered them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? ⁴ He entered the house of God, and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.” ⁵ Then Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” [I doubt the authentic Jesus likes confusion of his name: (100) The Difference Between "Son of God" and "Son of Man" - YouTube. I do not encourage “Son of Man”, “Christ”, and “Son of God” to compete with Jesus, all three displayed on this video without “Jesus”. Yet I don’t know the-ineluctable-truth (IDK).]

⁶ On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. ⁷ The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. ⁸ But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand in front of everyone.” So he got up and stood there.

⁹ Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”

¹⁰ He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was completely restored. ¹¹ But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus. [I don’t think Jesus would compromise by performing miracles (e.g., see Luke 4:12). I speculate that the Pharisees& teachers were chastising a “faith healer” who was working on a Sunday.]

¹² One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. ¹³ When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: ¹⁴ Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, ¹⁵ Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, ¹⁶ Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

¹⁷ He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, ¹⁸ who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, ¹⁹ and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.

²⁰ Looking at his disciples, he said:

“Blessed are you who are poor,
    for yours is the kingdom of God.
²¹ Blessed are you who hunger now,
    for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
    for you will laugh.
²² Blessed are you when people hate you,
    when they exclude you and insult you
    and reject your name as evil,
        because of the Son of Man.

²³ “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.

²⁴ “But woe to you who are rich,
    for you have already received your comfort.
²⁵ Woe to you who are well fed now,
    for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
    for you will mourn and weep.
²⁶ Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you,
    for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets. [This sermon is an indictment against humankind, who has not, so far, embraced the Genesis 1:26-28 message: the-God (John 1:1 perhaps says Jesus.) willed that female& male human being could& may rule life on earth, accepting the-God’s command of the mysteries. It is not too late for “ourselves and our Posterity” of 2023 to choose civic-integrity and pursue the Genesis-1 responsible-human-independence (RHI).]

²⁷ “But to you who are listening I say: Love [Love is overboard. Try appreciate.] your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. ²⁹ If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. ³⁰ Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. ³¹ [I do not accept this as Jesus’ advice, because it facilitates and encourages dependency rather than civic-integrity to RHI. Yet, I must accept that I could be wrong in Jesus’ opinion.] Do to others as you would have them do to you. [This is an egocentric rule. Try practicing it regarding your person. By all means a person can& may do unto themselves as their self would have them do.]

³² “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. ³³ And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. ³⁴ And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. ³⁵ But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward [Civic-integrity is the key to perfecting your person, and developing your unique perfection, low as it may be to humankind’s ultimate good, fulfills your life.] will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked [This negates the credit and reward formula presented above.]. ³⁶ Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. [It seems to me when people reject Genesis 1:26-28 the consequences are merciless. If the-God is the author of the choices& consequences balance to humankind, the imbalance seems emotionless. IDK]

³⁷ “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. ³⁸ Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” [The consequences of personal choices have neither emotions nor judgement. They simply come. Fortunate is the person who never repeats an error.]

³⁹ He also told them this parable: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit? ⁴⁰ The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher. [This may be the most important guidance Jesus ever uttered. The person who pursues Jesus’ reliability will be like the-civic-Jesus. The-metaphysical-Jesus is a mystery. “Christ” is an abuse of Jesus.]

⁴¹ “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴² How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. [Nevertheless, you cannot be forgiven 70 times 7 if you don’t respond when your brother suggests you are in error; or when you discover your own error. Conversely, you cannot aid your brother if you don’t humble to your plank, in-order-to cite the speck.]

⁴³ “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. ⁴⁴ Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. ⁴⁵ A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. [Two good people collaborate in-order-to mutually improve their opinions and to pursue comprehensive safety& security to everyone, including the derelict and the evil ones.]

⁴⁶ “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? ⁴⁷ As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. ⁴⁸ They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. ⁴⁹ But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.” [It seems to me the-civic-Jesus has influenced my life. Only upon returning to UBC at age 78 did I begin to accept that church constructs -- “the Father”, “Son of Man”, “Son of God”, “Satan”, “Christ”, soul, afterlife, and other jargon has bemused Jesus. That is, the-good that Jesus suggests through what can be discerned about him from fellow-citizens, ancient, past, present& future (our Posterity). Yet IDK: Jesus knows.]

The importance of Genesis 1, a 5,500 year old Mesopotamian political philosophy:

[I apply Genesis-1-NIV perspective to Bible interpretation. I think Genesis 1:26-28 NIV, in the-civic-Jesus-messages (CJM), suggests the following:  Human male unites-to female human-being (noun) and their spouse-hood can& may pursue comprehensive-safety& security to the living species and to the earth (SECURITY). Every person can& may aid SECURITY. Some persons neglect, partially or wholly, mysterious-Jesus-appreciation, Jesus’-peace, and SECURITY-duty.

I call Genesis-1-NIV’s message, “responsible-human-independence” or RHI. Some human-beings throughout history practice, facilitate& encourage RHI; for example, Jesus exemplified RHI. From the past, RHI-individuals guide us and non-RHI-persons warn against error. I think the-civic-Jesus practiced, facilitated& encouraged RHI. “Civic” means reliable in human connections and transactions. Perhaps the authentic Jesus advocated the-good.

But I don’t know the-ineluctable-truth (IDK). “Ineluctable” means: not to be avoided, changed, escaped, neglected, or resisted: I can& may choose either RHI or dependency, for example, religious arrogance.

Persons appreciating contemporary human being (verb), during each generation, develop CJM. In other words, I attribute to CJM the civic-appreciation that human being (verb) applied “before Abraham was born” and since then. Given the question, “Was Jesus a man?”, I respond IDK yet value CJM, which seems sufficient& complete to my person. I advocate the-civic-Jesus and admit that could be the-good. Yet the-good cannot replace Jesus.

Perhaps CJM always was the-good human being (verb). That potential was present at the Big Bang, 13.7 billion years ago. There’s joy in accepting IDK, seeking ineluctable-evidence, and reserving humility to RHI. Joy may facilitate happiness.

It seems the-laws-of-physics& progeny (PHYSICS) constrains the consequences of each person’s choices. Progeny includes, forces, mathematics, chemistries, biology, psychology, imagination, and their subsets. I choose to accept mysterious-Jesus and pursue Jesus’ “my-peace”, in-order-to commit-to and trust-in PHYSICS. For example, I work for food& shelter rather than accept what a bureaucrat might provide. I work to aid SECURITY rather than pray for an entity to usurp RHI. Make no mistake: if one of my loved ones seems threatened beyond my action, I pray.

Admitting I could be wrong, I accept that Genesis 1:26-28 NIV urges me to constrain chaos in my way of living, or urges me to the-good.]

Matthew 7: Jesus testifying to the truth

[There are three hints to the-ineluctable-truth in the literature: the mystery of Jesus’ influence on Genesis 1:26-28 NIV, John 1:1's claim that Jesus is God, and Mathew 5:48's "Be [as] perfect". The living Jesus may have advocated the-good rather than claimed to be “anointed one& king”. Human-beings can& may accept the-good, continually pursue the-good, and continuously practice the-good. If asked how humankind discovered self-interest in the-good, we can express appreciation to Jesus. Also, see my Genesis 1 essay about human duty at the end of this study.] 

7 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ² For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

³ “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴ How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. [So far, the civic-guidance is clear.]

⁶ “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces. [Are dogs and pigs metaphors for persons the-God has not chosen to believe Jesus? How are they so powerful? How can the believer discern them when instructed not to judge?]

⁷ “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. [I am fortunate to have lived to 78, because only then did I perceive I have been positively influenced by the-civic-Jesus all my life. Then, I erroneously reported it to Andy Hale that it is the-metahpysical-Jesus.]

⁹ “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? ¹¹ If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! ¹² So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. [I have studied this rule and about 8 alternates for years and find them all egocentric. And if you assume the other wants what you want, you have judged them. Better to aid comprehensive safety& security on earth so that every human-being can& may responsibly pursue the happiness they want rather than the happiness you would impose. Also, Jesus corrected the Law, e.g., consider Matthew 19:3-8.]

¹³ “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. ¹⁴ But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. [To grasp just how precise the narrow road is, consider Matthew 5:48, be as perfect.]

¹⁵ “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. ¹⁶ By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. [Does a person work for mutual, comprehensive safety& security to life on earth? If so, they seem aware of Genesis 1:26-28. For all we know, Jesus wrote that political philosophy. Nevertheless, we do not know the-ineluctable-truth.]

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ [I think the-civic-Jesus advocates for the-good. However, the-good could never serve as my guide. I cannot avoid, change, escape, neglect, rationalize, or resist Jesus.]

²⁴ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” [Fellow civic-citizens are my rock. When I withdrew from the Baptist brotherhood and from Christianity, my family, mostly Cynthia, was my rock and mutual friends aided my journey to discover that under my pursuit of the-ineluctable-truth I advocate the-civic-Jesus. I don’t think I could have written that thought had I not returned to UBC and joined Nomads Class. Now, I feel effective in Courage Class and look forward to the future.]

²⁸ When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, ²⁹ because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law. [Challenged by Pilot to claim kingship, Jesus said, “. . . 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.”]

The importance of Genesis 1, a 5,500 year old Mesopotamian political philosophy:

[I apply Genesis-1-NIV perspective to Bible interpretation. I think Genesis 1:26-28 NIV, in the-civic-Jesus-messages (CJM), given each 1) mysterious-Jesus, offering appreciation to human being (verb) and 2) Jesus’s “my peace”, suggests the following:  Human male unites-to female human-being (noun) and their spouse-hood can& may pursue comprehensive-safety& security to the living species and to the earth (SECURITY). Every person can& may accept personal duty to SECURITY. Some persons neglect, partially or wholly, mysterious-Jesus-appreciation, Jesus-peace& SECURITY-duty.

I call Genesis-1-NIV’s message, “responsible-human-independence” or RHI. Some human-beings throughout history practice, facilitate& encourage RHI; for example, Jesus exemplified RHI. From the past, RHI-individuals guide us and non-RHI-persons warn of error. I think the-civic-Jesus practiced, facilitated& encouraged RHI. “Civic” means reliable in human connections and transactions. Perhaps Jesus advocated the-good.

But I don’t know (IDK) the-ineluctable-truth. “Ineluctable” means: not to be avoided, changed, escaped, neglected, or resisted: I can& may choose either RHI or dependency, such as religious arrogance.

Persons appreciating contemporary human being (verb), during each generation, develop the CJM I advocate. In other words, I attribute to CJM the civic-appreciation that human being (verb) applied “before Abraham was born” and since then. Given the question, “Was Jesus a man?”, my response, IDK, yet value CJM, seems sufficient& complete to my person. I advocate the-civic-Jesus and admit that could be the-good. Yet the-good cannot replace Jesus.

Perhaps CJM always was the-good human being (verb). That potential was present at the Big Bang, 13.7 billion years ago. There’s joy in accepting IDK, seeking ineluctable-evidence, and reserving humility to RHI. Joy may facilitate happiness.

It seems the-laws-of-physics& progeny (PHYSICS) constrains the consequences of each person’s choices. That is, the laws of forces, mathematics, chemistries, biology, psychology, imagination, and their subsets. I choose to accept mysterious-Jesus and pursue Jesus’ “my-peace”, in-order-to commit-to and trust-in PHYSICS. For example, I work for food& shelter rather than accept what a bureaucrat might provide. I work to aid SECURITY rather than pray for an entity to usurp RHI. Make no mistake: if one of my loved ones seems threatened beyond my action, I pray.

Admitting I could be wrong, I accept that Genesis 1:26-28 NIV urges me to constrain chaos in my way of living, or urges me to the-good.]