Mark 16 - Jesus is present each time a human mimics Jesus’ civic-integrity (Yeshua note)

 

Note: In early 2024 I learned his mom and dad in Nazareth named and called him "Yeshua", and "Jesus" is a consequence of translations from Aramaic/Hebrew to Greek, to Latin, to old English, then to Protestant English. "Christ" supports Paul, and some people believe Paul without civic objection. This discovery is wonderful and to be shared.

[Please recall I ponder reliability to Genesis 1:26, NIV, “in our image so they may rule . . . earth”. May coming-from-the-God implies can and leaves the person with choice to pursue order or not. This is not equivalent to free-will, which is presented without assessment of consequences: there may be chaos (no rule). I do not know the-ineluctable-truth, and therefore seek it.

I perceive that John 1:1 asserts that Jesus is God. Further, Matthew 5:48 asserts that a human-being can pursue perfection that mimics Jesus’ perfection. It is their unique perfection no other human can pursue. Also, Matthew 25:41-45, expresses that citizens who do not treat fellow-citizens as unique images of Jesus, accept neither Genesis 1:26-28 nor its source, Jesus.

Happy is the person who joins with fellow-citizens to pursue& promote the-civic-Jesus.]

16 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. [Many cultures, e.g., Greece, 2800 years ago, consider obligations to dead citizens on par with obligations to the living. See Death, Burial, and the Afterlife in Ancient Greece | Essay | The Metropolitan Museum of Art | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (metmuseum.org).] ² Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb ³ and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

⁴ But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. ⁵ As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

⁶ “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene [Note the controversy that nothing good comes from Nazareth. See Can Anything Good Come Out Of Nazareth? | The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News — Sunday Magazine — The Guardian Nigeria News – Nigeria and World News.], who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. ⁷ But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’” [This suggests a supernatural yet physical resurrection of Jesus. I don’t know the-ineluctable-truth. However, I trust& am committed to the-civic-Jesus, which involves practice, facilitation& encouragement to the-good --- reliable-human-independence, which is expressed as a theism in Genesis 1:26-28.]

⁸ Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

---

[The earliest manuscripts and some other ancient witnesses do not have verses 9–20.]

⁹ When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. ¹⁰ She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping. ¹¹ When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.

¹² Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. ¹³ These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either.

¹⁴ Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.

¹⁵ He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. ¹⁶ Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. ¹⁷ And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; ¹⁸ they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” [I agree when scholars express doubt in these supernatural claims. In fact, a civil judge who must assign children unfortunately orphaned by snake handlers is likely to seek a blood relative who opposes snake handling. And, anyone who drinks deadly poison dies. Likewise, it is healthy to doubt the physical resurrection of Jesus, because doubt positions a person to consider more earnestly the civic-lessons concerned students can glean from things Jesus is reported to have said and done. For example, from Matthew 25:41-45, citizens who do not treat fellow-citizens as unique images of Jesus, accept neither Genesis 1:26-28 nor its source, Jesus. Jesus may be the source of the-good. I do not know the-ineluctable-truth, yet I perceive evidence.]

¹⁹ After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. ²⁰ Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it. [Jesus is alive and well each time a living person practices, facilitates, and/or encourages Jesus’-civic-influence -- influence to the-good.]

[I apply Genesis-1-NIV perspective to Bible interpretation -- NIV because of the phrase “so they may” in Genesis 1:26. Coming from the-God, “may” implies “can”: Each person may& can choose the-good. For all I know, Jesus is the-God, and the-God may be the-good.

“For all I know” seems a casual equivalent of “I don’t know the-ineluctable-truth”. I consider my position humble to the-God, whatever it is and would appreciate opportunity to change my opinion toward more appreciation& humility.

I think Genesis 1:26-28 expresses the-civic-Jesus-message (CJM):  Human male unites-to female human-being and their spouse-hood may& can pursue comprehensive-safety& security to the living species and to the earth (SECURITY). In self-interest, there is no race; no rights; no coercion; no force – only human-opportunity to choose the-good. Every person may& can aid SECURITY, and the civic-citizen so chooses. “Civic” means reliable in human connections& transactions. Some persons neglect, partially or wholly, civic-Jesus-appreciation, Jesus’-peace, and SECURITY. I don’t know that there are humans who cannot, rather than will-not, aid SECURITY. But some humans choose not to aid SECRITY.

I call Genesis-1’s message, “reliable-human-independence”, or RHI. Responsible is like reliable. Some human-beings, throughout history, practice, facilitate& encourage RHI. Jesus exemplified& encouraged RHI. From the past, civic-citizens guide-us to the-good, and consequences from non-civic-persons warn-us against error. I think the-civic-Jesus guides-us to RHI. Perhaps the authentic Jesus merely advocated the-good.

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

Persons who appreciate contemporary human being (verb), during each generation, develop CJM. CJM facilitates the civic-appreciation that human being (verb) applied “before Abraham was born”, since then, and into the future. 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 CJM could be the-good. Yet the-good cannot replace the authentic Jesus. Nor can Christ displace Jesus. Allowing “Christ” to obfuscate Jesus seems ruinous. Yet I expect& accept judgement from higher than myself.

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

It seems the-laws-of-physics& progeny (PHYSICS) constrains the consequences of each person’s choices. A person who claims to be a spirit nevertheless bleeds. Physics’ progeny includes: fundamental forces, mathematics, chemistries, biology, psychology, imagination, and their subsets. I choose to accept the-civic-Jesus and pursue Jesus’ “my-peace”, in-order-to commit-to and trust-in PHYSICS. For example, I work for my food& shelter rather than accept what a bureaucrat might provide. Food is essential and I have no right to it. Only if I secure my energy to work can I help fellow-citizens including the indigent. I work to aid SECURITY rather than pray for an entity to attempt to usurp RHI. Make no mistake: if one of my loved ones seems threatened beyond my protection, I pray to the-what-I-don’t-know.

Admitting I could be wrong, I accept that Genesis 1:26-28, NIV, urges me to constrain chaos in my way of living; in other words, urges me to the-good suggested by the-civic-Jesus, which I pursue by listening to fellow-citizens. I don’t know, but at age 79, I perceive joy made possible by Jesus’ direct-influence and look forward to what I may& can learn on the journey toward age 99. I hope readers will take these ideas seriously and share ideas I need to hear.]

Matthew 21 discovering “a-reliable-people”

[Please recall I ponder reliability to Genesis 1:26, NIV, “in our image so they may rule . . . earth”. May coming-from-the-God implies can and leaves the person with choice to pursue order or not. This is not equivalent to free-will, which is presented without assessment of consequences: there may be chaos (no rule).]

^21:1 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, ² saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

⁴ This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

⁵ “Say to Daughter Zion,
    ‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
    and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”^[a]

[The above is a construct by Rabbinical leaders, weather Levites, Pharisees or synagogue lords. To accept it as the word of God lessens Jesus to “the anointed one” and king, whereas Jesus is at least a witness to the-ineluctable-truth, and for all I know is God and source of Genesis 1 (as implied in John 1:1).]

⁶ The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. ⁸ A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

“Hosanna^[b] to the Son of David!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”^[c]

“Hosanna^[d] in the highest heaven!”

¹⁰ When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

¹¹ The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

[The point here is that Jewish hearsay had the Messiah coming not from Nazareth. I perceive I associate with the crowd, except that I refer to Jesus as a-civic-citizen rather than prophet.]

Jesus at the Temple

¹² Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. ¹³ “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’^[e] but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’^[f]”

¹⁴ The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. ¹⁵ But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.

¹⁶ “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.

“Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read,

“‘From the lips of children and infants
    you, Lord, have called forth your praise’^[g]?”

¹⁷ And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.

[I see no way selective, physical miracle working comports to Genesis 1:26-28. Arbitrary favor creates division rather than order.]

Jesus Curses a Fig Tree

¹⁸ Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. ¹⁹ Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.

²⁰ When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked.

²¹ Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. ²² If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

[I take comfort that the-Jesus-that-influences-me does not behave with meanness; does not take eye for eye; does not condemn the errant citizen. The-civic-Jesus practices, facilitates, and encourages reliability in living connections& transactions. “Civic” expresses reliability rather than conformity; appreciation rather than praise; right rather than wrong. Jesus knows what I pursue.]

The Authority of Jesus Questioned

²³ Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”

²⁴ Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. ²⁵ John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”

²⁷ So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

[Throughout my lifetime, Bible promoters invariable corner themselves into admitting “I don’t know but that is what I believe”. In my 80^th year, I realize: “but” cannot negate what came before. That’s why I often remind people, “I don’t know”.]

The Parable of the Two Sons

²⁸ “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’

²⁹ “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

³⁰ “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.

³¹ “Which of the two did what his father wanted?”

“The first,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. ³² For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

[I nominate the above passage as an illustration of the-civic-Jesus. Of the ideas attributed to Jesus, some are applicable to reliability to humankind. In this case, the moment a person discovers the right behavior, they can& may choose to make it a habit, so as not to risk bad consequences of wrong behavior. For example, in 1972, I accepted that smoking was killing me and Cynthia. Together we stopped, cold turkey. I never smoked again and Cynthia smoked only a few times in the mid 70s.

At this moment, I realize that “civic”, a byproduct of my work on the preamble to the U.S. Constitution, expresses reliability to U.S. intentions. I sense that “civic” may yield to “reliable”, in my work as impacted by Nomads and others in UBC. I now promote a-civic-people and may change to a-reliable-people if it seems more expressive as the phrase matures in my mind.]

The Parable of the Tenants

³³ “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. ³⁴ When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.

³⁵ “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. ³⁶ Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. ³⁷ Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

³⁸ “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ ³⁹ So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

⁴⁰ “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”

⁴¹ “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”

⁴² Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

“‘The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes’^[h]?

⁴³ “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. ⁴⁴ Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”^[i]

⁴⁵ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. ⁴⁶ They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.

[Once a human-being grasps the Mesopotamian message (MM) in Genesis 1:26-28, NIV, they may choose to accept that they can pursue in their way of living order-rather-than-chaos. The MM may be: pursue safety& security in your way of living. For all I know, Jesus is the source of the message, you can& may choose the-good for self-interest and aid a-reliable-people as well.]

Matthew 28 proffers a divisive gospel. I prefer Jesus’ leadership (Yeshua note)

 Note: In early 2024 I learned his mom and dad in Nazareth named and called him "Yeshua", and "Jesus" is a consequence of translations from Aramaic/Hebrew to Greek, to Latin, to old English, then to Protestant English. "Christ" supports Paul, and some people believe Paul without civic objection. This discovery is wonderful and to be shared.

[Introduction: Biblical literature offers hints to the-ineluctable-truth about human opportunity. Imagine 3 possibilities: Jesus is the-God (John 1:1), Jesus’ wills/hopes (Genesis 1:26-28, NIV featuring “may” choose the-good), and Jesus’ message, "Be [as] perfect" as the-God (Mathew 5:48). Ineluctable means: not to be avoided, changed, escaped, neglected, obfuscated, rationalized, or resisted.

The speaking Jesus may have advocated the-good rather than claimed to be “anointed one& king”, a Jewish argument. 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. Humankind can& may effect the public resurrection of the-civic-Jesus.

Under our generation’s mystery-watch to “ourselves and our Posterity”, Jesus-the-God can surpass Christ -- Judeo-Christian messiah& king. Each person may practice the-good by acquiring& maintaining appreciation& humility to life.] 

 

28 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. [With the horrible events to this point, it is striking yet typical that women have the courage to effect care. Similar examples are in Greek literature, where women take responsibility while men leave it to the-God. For example, when Clytemnestra discovers that Agamemnon is going to sacrifice Iphigenia, in order to gain favorable winds for the Greek armada, his wife says, essentially:  Not on my watch.]

² There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³ His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. ⁴ The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. [The details reflect an age when there were no biased fact checkers in business.]

⁵ The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. ⁷ Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” [Would the angles be powerless if the women had not arrived?]

⁸ So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹ Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

¹¹ While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. ¹² When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, ¹³ telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ ¹⁴ If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” ¹⁵ So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day. [These days, whistleblowers are encouraged and protected to volunteer such inside information, so that select media can increase their wealth. Listening to whistleblowers lessens public standing.]

¹⁶ Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. [In other words, Thomas relieved other disciples from wonder about physical evidence.] ¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” [The Trinity, in fact Christianity itself, seems a Judeo-Christian church-construct that feels exponentially successful. In this era, there are 15 million Jews and 2400 million Christians among 8000 million people in the world. However, there are 45,000 Christian denominations. I think Father, Son, and Holy Ghost lessen Jesus’ message: individuals can& may choose the-good.]

[I apply Genesis-1-NIV perspective to Bible interpretation -- NIV because of the phrase “so they may” in Genesis 1:26. Coming from the-God, “may” implies “can”: Each person can& may choose the-good. For all I know, Jesus is the-God, and the-God may be the-good.

“For all I know” seems a casual equivalent of “I don’t know the-ineluctable-truth”. I consider my position humble to the-God, whatever it is and would appreciate opportunity to change my opinion toward more appreciation& humility.

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). In self-interest, there is no race; no rights; no coercion; no force – only human-opportunity to choose the-good. Every person can& may aid SECURITY, and the civic-citizen so chooses. “Civic” means reliable in human connections& transactions. Some persons neglect, partially or wholly, civic-Jesus-appreciation, Jesus’-peace, and SECURITY. I don’t know that there are humans who cannot, rather than will-not, aid SECURITY. But some humans choose not to aid SECRITY.

I call Genesis-1’s message, “responsible-human-independence”, or RHI. Some human-beings, throughout history, practice, facilitate& encourage RHI. Jesus exemplified& encouraged RHI. From the past, civic-citizens guide-us to the-good, and consequences from non-civic-persons warn-us against error. I think the-civic-Jesus guides-us to RHI. 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, obfuscated, rationalized, or resisted: I can& may choose either RHI or dependency, such as religious arrogance. I can& may choose dereliction to my self-interest.

Persons who appreciate 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”, since then, and into the future. 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 CJM could be the-good. Yet the-good cannot replace the authentic Jesus. Nor can Christ displace Jesus. Allowing “Christ” to obfuscate Jesus seems ruinous. Yet I expect& accept judgement beyond myself.

Perhaps CJM always was the-good human being (verb). Perhaps intention to the-good was present at the Big Bang, 13.7 billion years ago. There’s joy in accepting IDK, seeking the-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. A person who claims to be a spirit nevertheless bleeds. Physics’ progeny includes: fundamental forces, mathematics, chemistries, biology, psychology, imagination, and their subsets. I choose to accept the-civic-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. Food is essential and I have no right to it. Only if I secure my energy to work can I help the indigent. 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 IDK.

Admitting I could be wrong, IDK, I accept that Genesis 1:26-28, NIV, urges me to constrain chaos in my way of living; in other words, urges me to the-good suggested by the-civic-Jesus I pursue by listening to fellow-citizens. IDK, but at age 79, I perceive joy made possible by Jesus’ direct-influence and look forward to what I can& may learn on the journey toward age 99. I hope readers will take these ideas seriously and share ideas I need to hear.]